Bowling Bytes--5/14/10

I apologize for the fact that jury duty and bowling have cut into my blogging time this week and probably will through at least next week as well. So, let me take advantage of this opportunity to begin catching up on an eventful week in the bowling world.

~ Kelly Kulick takes another major title, wins U.S. Women's Open -- "The dream season continued to be a reality for Kelly Kulick as she won her second major women's title in 15 days on Wednesday, claiming the U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event. Kulick, of Union, N.J., defeated Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., 233-203, in the first live event televised from the new International Training and Research Center. Kulick also won the event in 2003 and became the 11th player to win the event more than once..."

~ The 11th Frame: Kulick completes the 'Kelly Slam' -- "It's only May and Kelly Kulick already has compiled the greatest year in the history of women's bowling. On Wednesday, she added the U.S. Women's Open crown to her prior wins in 2010 in the USBC Queens and PBA Tournament of Champions. That's three major titles -- one the first PBA Tour tournament a woman has ever won. If that "Kelly Slam" doesn't make it the greatest year in the history of women's bowling, I don't know what could. The sad thing is that Kulick may not have any more significant chances to win titles against the other best female bowlers, unless the PBA adds back the Women's World Championship..."

~ The 11th Frame: Update: PBA regional player Gollick fires 279-300-300-300 -- "PBA regional player and Storm Products staffer Tommy Gollick of Harrisburg, Pa., fired 47 straight strikes in games of 279, 300, 300 and 300 in a league Tuesday night...The United States Bowling Congress could certify the 879 series of the first three games but not the 900 of games 2-4, as USBC rules count the first three games or any other groupings of three games such as 4-6, 7-9 or 10-12 in a competition. The 47 straight strikes, which followed a split and open frame to start Gollick's night, would be a record if USBC certifies the series..."

~ Donnie Layman: Is Kamron's Success Bad for the Sport? -- "Is it bad for professional bowling when a 12 year old is competitive? There have been many, many pre-teen junior bowlers who have put up some pretty significant scoring numbers. The record for the youngest bowler ever to bowl a 300 game belongs to Chaz Dennis of Columbus, Ohio when he shot 300 on December 16th, 2006, which made him all of 10 years and 88 days old. The record for youngest to ever shoot an 800 series belongs to someone whose name I'm sure you've heard by now, Kamron Doyle. He achieved this on March 14, 2009 at 11 years, 2 months, and 1 day old. Young Mr. Doyle is also 3rd on the "youngest to shoot 300" list when he bowled his first 300 in May of 2008. He also became the youngest bowler to ever cash in a PBA event this past weekend with a 30th place finish at the South Region event at Cherokee Lanes in Canton, Ga.This leaves us with a tough question: Is this good for the sport of bowling?..."

~ Jason Thomas: Quick Take on Kamron Doyle -- "So, assuming you haven't been locked in a cage or cleaning up oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico (although, according to Mike J's recent blog, that may not necessarily disqualify you), you've heard that a 12 year-old from Brentwood, Tenn. cashed in a PBA regional tournament last weekend. The story is currently making the rounds in the national print and broadcast media and the world is generally marveling over the youngster's accomplishment.After watching the kid's interview on ESPN2 this morning, he came across looking like, well, a kid. From what I hear, he's a very intelligent (straight A student), well-mannered, likable pre-teen...who happens to be the youngest bowler in history to roll an 800 series (at 11), and now, to cash in a PBA tournament (he also rolled a 300 game at just 10 years, 5 days, making him the third-youngest ever to accomplish that feat). And after watching the video of Doyle compete on Xtra Frame, I was even more amazed than I was when I'd just heard about it. First off, this kid weighs just 80 pounds! When he stands next to the likes of Walter Ray Williams Jr., or even just an average-sized player like Jason Sterner, he resembles a Lilliputian attempting to slay the giant Gulliver. It's truly a shocking sight..."

~ 12 Year-Old Kamron Doyle on ESPN2's First Take (YouTube video of interview)

~ USBC adds four new members to Hall of Fame -- "The United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame welcomed four new members on Wednesday during the first induction ceremonies to be held outdoors. The induction ceremony for Marshall Holman and Kim Terrell-Kearney for Superior Performance, Betty Barnes for Meritorious Service and John Handegard in the Veteran category was held in front of the International Bowling Campus, home of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame..."

~ Cassidy Schuab powered his way into the lead in Istanbul Open -- "Two-handed lefty Cassidy Schaub (pictured left), United States, led the first qualifying on Thursday, the 9th overall, with 1591 six game total and an average of 265.17 en route to move to the top of the leaderboard in the 7th Istanbul Bowling Open currently underway at Timeout Bowling Center in Istanbul, Turkey. The Team USA member, who had already a 1502 under his belt, started his series with 249 and 237, then fired games of 299 and 300, the third perfecto of the tournament, before he closed out with 248 and 258 to take the lead. Schaub missed the tournament record of 1603 set by Martin Larsen, Sweden, in 2008 by mere 12 pins...3-time defending European Bowling Tour ranking champion Osku Palermaa (right), Finland, became the fourth player who cracked the 1500-bar and the fourth player who achieved perfection when he rolled games of 267, 233, 245, 300, 258 and 235 in Squad 10 to move into third place with 1538 (256.33)..."

~ Joseph Hostetler hits the BTM Clean Block Pot -- "Joseph Hostetler of Minerva, Ohio bowled a 932 series on May 10 to move into second place in The BTM tournament in Reno, one of the side tournaments contested at the USBC Open Championships venue in Reno, Nev. Hostetler was happy with his games of 212, 234, 233, and 253 though being a few pins shy of taking the lead since his 4-game block was clean with no open frames. He became the first bowler in two years to record a clean block in The BTM. If he is the only bowler this year with a clean block, he will collect the $12,500 jackpot. The 21-year-old took up bowling as a 14-year-old high school student. According to Joseph, long-time Team USA head coach Fred Borden saw him bowl, recognized his talent and began coaching him to refine that talent..."

~ Sundbyberg, Spader Dam win the men's and women's National Team Championships-- "Team Sundbyberg from Stockholm and Spader Dam (Queen of Spade) from Helsingborg captured the men's and women's title in the Swedish 8-player team league finals at Bowling Arena in Jönköping..."

~ How Do You Use Practice Frames? -- "If you're a recreational bowler who has never participated in a league, you likely have no knowledge of practice frames outside a casual reference you may have seen on one of the many bowling-themed episodes of any sitcom ever produced...But for league bowlers (those who show up on time, anyway), practice frames are an essential part of the bowling experience...So, how do you practice?..."