Bowling Bytes--4/29/10

~ Kulick takes 2010 USBC Queens title -- "Kelly Kulick proved she could beat the men earlier this year and Wednesday she came out on top against a field of the top women bowlers in the world, earning her second United States Bowling Congress Queens title. The Union, N.J., native climbed the five-player stepladder, winning four consecutive matches, and defeating top seed Tennelle Milligan of Arlington, Texas, 232-188, to win the Queens at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center..."

~ "Mt. St. Marshall": The man behind the volcano that was -- "The car fire that firefighters squelched outside the Hilton Inn Lounge in Akron, Ohio, just up the block from Riviera Lanes where the next day a 21-year-old Marshall Holman would win the first of his two Firestone Tournament of Champions titles, raised no one from their seats that night. “They had stayed in their seats while the fire department extinguished a pretty good car fire in the hotel driveway,” writer Doug Bradford observed of the bowling royalty mingling in the lounge. The figures crowding the lounge after a final round of match play that Friday night were characters that defined an irreplaceable era of professional bowling — Billy Hardwick in his “rainbow trousers,” Dick Weber with his “ice cream suit” and the peroxide-brightened hair that prompted Tour pals to dub him “The Blond Fonz,” Earl Anthony chatting with the Ebonite execs whose contract offer would soften his resistance to “PBA School” in a few years. If any of them thought back to that driveway fire after Holman sealed his historic win at the 1976 Firestone Tournament of Champions and considered it a sign of things to come, they would quickly find that they were on to something — something the PBA Tour had never seen before. The fire Holman brought to the lanes the following afternoon would do more than raise people out of their seats; it would raise hell..."

~ Minnesota team back on top at USBC Open Championships -- "After an uncharacteristically poor spare-shooting performance left them just shy of the Regular Team lead at the 2010 USBC Open Championships, the members of Linds Lakers 1 of Minneapolis easily could've lost their focus on the tournament lanes. Instead, the group turned to 124 years of Open Championships experience and averaged more than 226 during doubles and singles to take over the top spot in Team All-Events with a 10,187 total, the eighth-highest in tournament history. Red Carpet Lanes of Greenfield, Wis., previously held the lead with 10,131..."

~ Hall of Famer Nancy Chapman dies at age 80 -- "Nancy Chapman, a member of the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, passed away Wednesday, April 28, at the age of 80. The Oneida, Wis., native was inducted into the Women's International Bowling Congress (now USBC) Hall of Fame for meritorious service in 2002..."

~ USBC Convention opens in Reno, Nev. -- "The 2010 United States Bowling Congress Convention and Annual Meeting takes place this week with a theme of "Moving Forward Together." This year's convention will feature workshops that will cover such topics as growing membership, coaching and future initiatives. At the USBC Annual Meeting, delegates will vote on 24 proposed amendments related to bylaws, league rules and tournament rules. Additionally, delegates will elect four members to the USBC Board of Directors..."

~ It's down to four women in 12th Sinai International Open -- "Zandra Aziela, Malaysia, Mennat Soltan, Egypt, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, and Cassie Staudinger, Australia, will battle it out for the women's title in the 12th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament Thursday at International Bowling Center in Cairo, Egypt..."

~ Michigan Bowlers: Take Your Last Puffs -- "Saturday, May 1, 2010 is the beginning of a smokeless Michigan. At least in public establishments. As a resident of and bowler in Michigan, this will be one of the best days of my life. Cigarette smoke has always bothered me, and I will not be sad to remove cigarettes from the classic bowling smell: cigarettes, oil, fried food, stale beer. Instead, I'll return home from the bowling alley with a new and improved bowling smell: the same as before, but without the most offensive of the aromas..."

~ Tommy Jones: The Interview, Pt. 2 -- "Yesterday Tommy Jones discussed last season's struggles and why he will return to the Professional Bowlers Association spotlight in 2009-'10. Today, Jones goes farther back to the days when he spent Saturdays dreaming of the glory that his idols Marshall Holman and Mark Roth owned when he was growing up, explains how he developed his high-rev style, why the mantra "straight is great" continues to hold true in the era of the "rev rate," and much more..."

~ A How-To For Adjusting Ball Speed: The Importance of Ball Speed Change and a Research-Based Method to Change It-- "Many bowlers arrive at the Kegel Training Center with a strong desire to increase their rev rate. These individuals perceive higher revolutions as a panacea or the ultimate solution for improving their game. Yet, in reality, the ability to manipulate axis of rotation and ball speed would result in being able to alter their ball motion significantly more..."

~ Analyzing the lane graphs of the Hoosier Classic: What the data reveals about how the lanes will play (Coaching the Youth Bowler: Dug Barker--Bowling This Month, May 2010, pgs. 21-25) -- "...One of the items every team discusses before competition begins is the lane graph and charts as they apply to the team. This is the subject of this article. I am going to provide an overview of lane graphs and charts from the perspective of a collegiate coach..."