Cataract Surgery, Chris Barnes, and Kelly Kulick

"It’s a tremendous privilege and honor to be invited to the White House and to meet the President and First Lady. I see this not only as something that honors my accomplishment but provides recognition for the sport of bowling as well.”
--Kelly Kulick

I had cataract surgery yesterday and will be taking it kinda easy on my eye so far as blogposting is concerned for the next few days or so. But I do want to say that I'm looking forward to getting back out on the lanes in a couple of weeks and to actually being able to see the arrows and boards once again.

When I bowled last Monday night, I literally couldn't see the arrows, much less the boards between them. Fortunately, I was playing a line near the right channel, and I didn't have to shoot many spares, so I didn't need to see very well. But on a more challenging condition or with lots of spares to shoot at, you're in real trouble if you can't see worth a darn.

On another note, I'm looking forward to the next Chris Barnes Challenge. Tomorrow night, Chris will go head-to-head with a high school sophomore names Sean Johnson in a three game match in which the high series will win the pot. This time, each bowler put $400 of his own money into the pot. Actually, Sean's dad put up the money for him.

Sean averages 225 on a house shot and even bowled the TQR in Columbus, Ohio this week, finishing 59th in a field of 96 and averaging 191 on a pro pattern to do it. So it sounds like he's pretty good for a 16-year-old.

However, there's been some discussion on the PBA website about whether a kid that young should be bowling in adult leagues and TQR's and going one-on-one with PBA superstars for money. Some have said that he should get more seasoning in junior leagues and collegiate competition before he jumps into the deep end of the bowling pool.

I'm inclined to agree when it comes to him bowling adult leagues and TQR's, but I think it's great that his dad submitted the winning bid for him in the upcoming Chris Barnes Challenge and that young Sean will now have what may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take on the best bowler in the world in a three game match shown live all around the world via Xtra Frame. Whatever the outcome, it's likely to be one of the most joyously memorable experiences of his life, and he may even learn some valuable lessons from it about bowling better. I say more power to him, and I hope he gives Mr. Barnes all he can handle. If you subscribe, you can watch it live tomorrow at 5:30 PM EST on PBA Xtra Frame. I just hope that "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark and guest Del Ballard provide more informative commentary than they did last time.

Finally, I see that Kelly Kulick will be visiting the White House Monday to meet with President Obama and the First Lady for Women's History Month, and I'm thrilled to see her receive this kind of recognition for the history she made recently. As I wrote in a previous entry, Why Isn't Kelly Kulick a Star?, I've been very disappointed with how little attention Kelly and her remarkable TOC Championship have garnered. I even wrote Oprah Winfrey about it a few days ago, but I haven't heard back from her yet. :-)

Maybe you could write too.