Of Irish Butts and Bowls

It is said that when one stops learning, it's time to die. I guess I've got a few more years in me. It all started so simply at school: Colin walked up to me and began telling me about this game he'd heard about from his boss. He wanted to know if I'd ever heard of Irish bowling. I presumed it was a ten-pin game with a lot more drinking than Milwaukeeans might do...warm beer, at that! His description, sounded nothing like anything I'd heard about previously (me being the font of most knowledge and all!). He spoke of rolling a ball on the road outside, around curves and into and out of ditches...hmmm...I thought maybe he and/or his boss was on the sauce. Or maybe they have fewer actual buildings and more country lanes in Ireland than I had presumed. Off to Google it.
To my surprise, it's actually called Irish Road Bowling, and the game is eerily like a venture I'd always wanted to try: I bet someone once that I could throw a tennis ball from the city limits of Algoma to the western shore of Lake Michigan in ten throws or fewer. We could never find an appropriate time: the sidewalks were rolled up in the evening or the FIBs were rolling through from Chi-town or the fog was rolling so thick it actually tasted like pea soup. Anyway, I loved the idea but never got around to it...maybe on the last day prior to retirement. Let's see, I could get sponsorships from Wilson or Penn, perhaps. Nike, of course, would get in on the deal because I'd be wearing their Dri-Fit ball-throwing attire.
BUT I DIGRESS...Irish Road Bowling amounts to throwing a 28-ounce steel ball the size of a tennis ball underhanded DOWN A ROAD! Teams of two or four take turns rolling a heavy ball as far as they can. When it stops, they throw it from there...the first one to the end wins! In case of a tie in the number of throws taken, the one rolling farther past the end of the road is declared the winner. It could not be any simpler! I mean, there are rules, too, but damn few. There is also terminolgy, including the Irish term for "Let's kick some butt!" (loose translation) Actually, the mark made on the road to show where the ball stopped is called the "butt" and if the next thrower exceeds the line before releasing the throw, he/she is said to have "broken butt." It's possible since the thrower can take a running start before releasing the "bullet." I fell once, butt unbroken but somewhat cracked.
Here's a link, in case you are interested: http://www.wvirishroadbowling.com/index.html There are currently three groups in the U.S. One in New York (Rip Van Winkle and the Dutch notwithstanding),one in Boston, and one in West Virginia from whence cometh the link.
Get the farm implements off the roads! I'm going road bowling as soon as I can get my hands on some 28-ounce steel cannonballs.