2019 World Bowling Women's Championships: Day Two

I love the biggest international bowling tournaments for women because the best players and teams from all over the world compete in them. Unlike professional PWBA and WTBA tournaments and regional amateur tournaments such as the Asian Games, PABCON, and Pan American games which draw either individuals or individuals and teams from what tends to be a fairly narrow range of countries and which are often not streamed here in the States or at least not comprehensively so, the World Bowling Women’s Championships is streamed comprehensively in the States throughout qualifying and perhaps also finals and semi-final rounds, and it features most of the best female players from the world over.

One of the countries that sends players and teams to the World Championships that I seldom if ever get to see elsewise is Korea. Unlike Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and even China, and for reasons I don’t understand, I never see Korean women competing in PWBA or WTBA tournaments, and I think that’s a real shame. Why is that? Because Korea has some outstanding women bowlers and teams that have shown themselves plenty capable of competing head-to-head with the best players and teams anywhere. And they’re proving it so far in the World Championships.

As I reported yesterday, Team Korea member Nayoung Lee led singles qualifying Saturday, and what I didn’t report is that five of the six Team Korea members placed in the top 34 in the field of 176. I don’t think any other team placed so many that high. And then yesterday, one of their teams placed second in doubles qualifying just 29 pins behind a powerhouse Colombian team. And another Colombian team placed third in the group of four teams advancing to the semi-finals on Thursday, followed by a Swedish team in the fourth spot and two more Swedish teams below them in the fifth and sixth spots. A USA team finished seventh.

Incidentally, I’m writing this blogpost after the first three-game block of qualifying for trios, and Korea has a team in second, behind a Colombian team, and another team in fifth. A USA team currently sits precariously in fourth. They’ll all bowl three more games of qualifying this afternoon, and, as with the other events, only the top four placers will advance to the semifinals in a brutally brief elimination process.

I wish I didn’t have to say it, because I think elite bowling and elite bowling coverage face more than their share of criticism and pandemic negativity, but I’m hugely disappointed with Dailymotion’s live-streaming so far. I don’t know how much, if any, of it is their fault as opposed to South Point’s data-handling capability and other infrastructural components and functions outside Dailymotion’s control. But to be blunt, the streaming has sucked. Often times, only one stream has been up when five were supposed to be. And, just as with Saturday, yesterday and today I’ve frequently found a stream I was watching intently, as I followed my favorite players and teams, buffering and then stopping altogether followed by a dreaded “Server Error” message.

Some might say I should just be grateful the Championships are being streamed to any extent, and I am. But I can be and am both grateful for what coverage there is and disappointed, frustrated, and sometimes downright angry over how spotty and limited it’s often been.

Anyway, we’ll see what today’s next trios block of three games brings in terms of results and the quality of the live-streaming.

Team USA Roster Announced for Women's World Championships

"This is one the strongest, most experienced teams we have ever fielded to compete in the Women's World Championships. It was difficult to narrow down our roster to just six players because we had six other players on the team who were just as deserving to represent the United States."

--Rod Ross, Head Coach of Team USA

I can just hear the legendary Mr. T saying, "I pity the fool who bowls against this team." Team USA has just announced its roster for the 2011 World Tenpin Association Women's World Championships in Hong Kong later this year.

How would YOU like to bowl against the team of Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Liz Johnson, Kelly Kulick, Stefanie Nation, Shannon O'Keefe, and Shannon Pluhowsky?

You can see how this juggernaut of a team does against its competition by watching all rounds of the tournament live on BOWL.com on Sept. 3-11.

Men's Team USA's Gold Medal Streak Ends in PABCON Championships

Well, it would have been nice to see Men's Team USA continue their dominance of the PABCON Men's Championships, but I suppose that all good things must come to an end. After sweeping all the gold medals in the previous two tournaments and winning 25 out of 30 golds since 1997, they had to settle for Mike Fagan's bronze medal in the singles competition. Columbia's Manuel Otalora (see photo above) won the gold, and Canada's Dan "The Man" MacLelland took the silver. Bill O'Neill was fifth, Wes Malott sixth, Chris Barnes seventh, Patrick Allen eighth, and Walter Ray Williams Jr. finished in 20th place.

Today's action will move to doubles competition. The Team USA pairings will feature Chris Barnes and Bill O'Neill, Mike Fagan and Wes Malott, and Patrick Allen with Walter Ray Williams Jr.

You can click here for the USBC press release about yesterday's action and watch a video below of bowlers competing in the tournament.

Chris Barnes Looks Dominant in Second to Last Week of the 2010-2011 Season

"I’ve bowled well on TV the last couple of years, but last year the four people I bowled against shot a combined 1,012 so no one gave me any breathing room. I’ve bowled pretty well, and the season before, at the end of the year, I won back-to-back titles and left a 8 pin on the money shot in the U.S. Open to win. The things that haunted me through those TV shows Mark Baker (Barnes’ coach) addressed, and I fixed them, and when I get in those situations now there’s no fear about what’s going to happen. I know what I need to execute when I’m in those situations and it’s gone pretty well since then."

--Chris Barnes

Barnes' Vindication

A year ago, I posted a blog entry (you can click here to read it) titled "Why Do So Many Love to Hate Chris Barnes?" I wrote it a day after the telecast in which Barnes showed displeasure over a Brad Angelo crossover strike and Angelo got fired up over it and defeated Barnes during the final tournament of the season.

Barnes had had a rough year. Well, at least it was rough year for Chris Barnes, even though most touring pros would have probably considered it a good to great year. And after losing more than one "Chris Barnes Challenge" to lesser opponents, not winning a Tour title all season, and making that snide remark about Angelo's "Brooklyn," it seemed that the floodgates sprang wide open for fans to criticize and mock Barnes as an overrated, arrogant jerk who "always chokes" on TV. Never mind that, as I pointed out, he was still near the top in every statistical category and that the last three opponents he faced on TV that season shot a combined score of 811 against him.

Well, after performing superbly for Team USA in the 2010 Men's World Championships, winning the first major of this season in the PBA World Championship, sitting high in all the PBA statistical categories, and putting on a remarkable performance in his match televised yesterday against Jason Belmonte in the Regional Championships Round of the inaugural Dick Weber PBA Playoffs, I don't see how anyone can mock Mr. Barnes now.

Not only did Barnes not "choke" yesterday, but he elevated his outstanding game to a dazzling level of excellence. While all five other bowlers struggled to hit the pocket consistently and carry strikes, Barnes executed beautifully, hitting the pocket every time on a pretty tricky pair of lanes and carrying ten strikes on his way to a commanding 260-199 victory over Jason Belmonte in the final match of the day.

I don't know that I've ever seen him or anyone look sharper, and I don't think anyone has a better all-around game than his. Even if Barnes wins the title next week, Mika Koivuniemi appears to have a deserved lock on Player of the Year, but Barnes' only competition for the runner-up spot would be Bill O'Neill.

Not bad at all for an "overrated, arrogant jerk who always chokes on TV."

Other Matches

Randy Weiss def. Steve Jaros 191-179.

Dick Allen def. Jack Jurek 222-198.

Jaros and Jurek, along with Belmonte, earned $7,000 each.

You can read Bill Vint's summary of yesterday's televised matches here. As of now, I can't find any video posted online of yesterday's matches, but if and when I do, I'll present it in a follow-up entry to this one.

EJ Tackett and Men's Team USA

Unless you follow bowling pretty closely, you've probably never heard of EJ Tackett. But he deserves a lot more attention in the bowling world and beyond than he seems to be getting. At least that's the point I tried to make to PBA Xtra Frame's "bowling doctor" Jeff Mark and USBC announcer Lucas Wiseman the other day as Xtra Frame and bowl.com collaborated to bring us live online video coverage of the recent Team USA tryouts for the Pan American Games.

The tryouts, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday at the USBC's amazing International Training and Research Center (ITRC) in Arlington, TX, had all eleven members of this year's men's Team USA bowling eight games on each of four different patterns to partly determine which two bowlers would represent the USA in Guadalajara, Mexico this summer in North and South America's version of the Olympics held every four years.

The competing members were PBA stars Bill O'Neill, Chris Barnes, Patrick Allen, Wes Malott, Tommy Jones, Mike Fagan, and Walter Ray Williams, along with Scott Boyle, Steven Smith, Jarret Mizo, and EJ Tackett. The top two were determined based 60% on where they finished in the tryouts, 20% on their finish in the USBC Masters, and 20% on where they finished in the U.S. Open. By virtue of those calculations, Bill O'Neill, who ran away from the field for most of the tryouts, and Chris Barnes were the top two point-getters and will represent the USA in the men's bowling competition at the Pan American Games. I can't think of two better choices, can you?

But what impressed me almost as much as these two bowling superstars during the tryouts was the performance of EJ Tackett. For much of the competition, he held his own with bowling's big guns on challenging patterns, even sitting in fourth place after 17 games, until he faltered at the end, and by virtue of his performances during the tryouts and the U.S. Open earlier this year where he finished 15th overall, he was the highest overall point-getter among the non-touring pros on Team USA, finishing behind Walter Ray Williams.

What was so impressive about this? Well, EJ Tackett is only 18-years-old and is still in high school, and he throws what looks to me to be one helluva ball. I can't imagine how gratifying it must have been for him to make men's Team USA this year, finish so high in the U.S. Open awhile back, and then bowl so well against such a stellar field of pros in Arlington earlier this week. Talk about a kid's dream come true!

Well, not quite. EJ's biggest dream is probably not to win a PBA "major" or represent men's Team USA in international competition, but to win a PGA major. That's right, EJ Tackett says he loves golf more than he does bowling, is currently a 2-handicapper, and will be attending college on a golf scholarship next year.

As I watched him bowl during the tryouts, I wrote a Facebook message to Jeff Mark and Lucas Wiseman that I was surprised they weren't paying more attention to EJ instead of treating him like just another competitor. Mark's response was that unless and until he wins a big tournament, he hasn't really done anything all that noteworthy and doesn't deserve any more attention or coverage than he's been getting.

I respectfully disagree. I think one of bowling's biggest problems right now is poor public relations. It doesn't know how to market itself to the masses in a way that gets people interested and makes them respect the sport and the players more. When a young phenom like EJ Tackett or Kamron Doyle comes along, bowling publicists should jump on the opportunity to bring them to the public's attention. How many boys and girls and young men and women, who are the future of bowling, might be inspired by the stories of young competitors such as these to take up the game and get serious about it? When guys like Jeff Mark and Lucas Wiseman take the ho-hum attitude that they do, they're just shooting themselves and bowling in general in the foot, and they're not giving superbly talented and accomplished young competitors like EJ Tackett their due.

I wish EJ Tackett well with his golf game. He's certainly right when he says there is more "opportunity" in professional golf than there is in professional bowling. But I hope he keeps bowling too. I really like his game and would love to see him shine as a star on both the PGA and PBA Tours.

Below you can watch two video stories on EJ Tackett and video of the Team USA tryouts for the Pan Am Games. And you can click here for the official USOC press release on the selections for the Pan Am Games.

Bowling Video--Dr. Dean Hinitz Working With Women's Team USA

Yesterday, I blogged about the highlights of bowling psychologist extraordinare Dr. Dean Hinitz's presentation to us attendees of the recent Fireside Lanes bowling clinic. Although it's too large to embed, you can click here to see a YouTube video that features Dr. Dean recently conducting a team-unity building exercise with the women's Team USA in Texas.

Bowling Bytes--6/18/10

~ The 11th Frame: History Channel show to feature bowling on Saturday -- "The History Channel show "Sliced" will feature bowling Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Central time, PBA announced. The show, which is hosted by John MacCalmont and slices things in half to reveal how they actually work, will explain the sport of bowling in a segment that features veteran PBA star Parker Bohn III. "Humans have been bowling for over 5000 years. But the popular indoor version we all know didn't appear until 1840," "Sliced" Executive Producer Brendan Latrell said in a PBA news release. "Today, nearly 100 million people worldwide bowl every year. To discover the secrets at the end of this dark alley, John will slice up bowling balls, a bowling alley, a ball return, and the mysterious pinsetter. He'll discover this ancient game's secrets... if he can stay out of the gutter..."

~ Four players remain unbeaten at USBC Senior Masters -- "Wayne Webb (pictured left) of Grove City, Ohio, was ready to withdraw with a left knee injury even before the 2010 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters started. Now he's one of four undefeated players in match play heading into the final day. Webb is joined in the winners bracket by Henry Gonzalez (below left) of Colorado Springs, Colo., Pete McCordic of Katy, Texas, and Peter Knopp (right) of Germany. The four players will hit the lanes again Friday at 9:15 a.m. PDT, just three wins away from the $16,000 top prize at the South Point Hotel and Casino Bowling Center..."

~ Dutch girls average almost 230 to lead WEC Team event at halftime -- "The five-player team from the Netherlands got off to a blistering start as Wendy Kok, Lisanne Breeschoten, Ghislane van der Tol, Bianca Wiekeraad and Priscilla Maaswinkel tallied a 3436 series on short oil to lead the Team event at the Women's European Championships after 3 of 6 games with a 229.07 average. The Dutch girls had games of 1182, 1046 and 1208, the highest game of all 16 countries. Kok led the team with a huge 789 series (268, 287, 234), Breeschoten contributed 697 including a 299 game, Van der Tol added 658, Wiekeraad 656 and Maaswinkel 636..."

~ Team USA women's camp features special day of bonding -- "When the training camp for Team USA women was held in Arlington, Texas, in early June, not all training activities were bowling related. Team USA head coach Rod Ross and assistant coach Kim Terrell-Kearney took the team to Main Event Entertainment in Frisco, Texas, where sports psychologist Dr. Dean Hinitz put the team to the test both in the classroom and on a unique ropes course called "Gravity." The elevated course has rope bridges, ladders and beams; participants have safety harnesses, but no nets. The purpose of the activity was to take a group of skilled individual athletes and help them come together as a team...Team USA women will compete in several events this year including the Pan American Bowling Confederation Women's Championships on Sept. 25-Oct. 2 in Las Vegas. They also will compete in the QubicaAMF World Cup in Zagreb, Croatia, and the Lee Evans Tournament of the Americas in Orlando, Fla..."

~ PBA Spare Shots: PBA.COM's Xtra Frame Set for Busy Summer of Senior, Regional Event Coverage -- "In case you think there’s not much going on in the world of bowling during the summer months, pba.com’s Xtra Frame online video streaming service will demonstrate otherwise. While the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour begins gearing up for fall, the summer months belong to the PBA Senior Tour and the PBA’s seven regional programs, and that’s where Xtra Frame will turn its attention. Xtra Frame will be on location to cover the championship rounds of the final three PBA Senior Tour events of 2010, along with select PBA Regional events where some of the stars of the PBA Tour will work on keeping their games sharp while the future stars of the PBA test their skills against them. In addition, International Bowl Expo in Las Vegas will provide a who’s who gathering of the biggest names in bowling. On June 30 and July 1, Xtra Frame will be on location on the trade show floor at International Bowl Expo in Las Vegas to provide subscribers with a unique “Bowlers Journal on Xtra Frame” inside look at what’s happening on the business side of bowling. Manufacturers’ representatives, industry leaders and bowling superstars will provide insights on the newest products, services and programs in bowling from the Las Vegas Hilton Convention Center..."

~ Jimmy Smith (1908)

~ Leaving Corner Pins? -- "Ten-pin leaves (7-pins for lefties) are commonly caused by seemingly perfect pocket shots that deflect from the headpin too much, hitting the 3-pin too square, which hits the 6-pin too thin, driving it around, rather than into the 10-pin (for lefties, the 2-pin and 4-pin are the guilty ones). Most of you know this. The question is why it happens; the problem is how to keep it from happening..."

~ Junior bowler wins Jupiter regional -- "Andrew Koff of Miami, Florida recently won the PBA South Region Jupiter Open. Koff is one the youngest bowlers ever to win a PBA event at the age of 18. Pete Weber is said to be the youngest, although his exact age at the time of his win is not recorded...Koff has a long and already decorated bowling resume. He is a two-time member of Junior Team USA and missed making the match-play round of the US Open when he was only 16 years old..."

~ Ball selection tips for entry-level bowlers -- "As an entry-level bowler, your bowling ball selection process will hinge on one or two factors: comfort and controllability. Purchasing a bowling ball of your own will put you at an advantage because the pro shop professional should be able to get you set up properly in both regards. He or she will determine the proper ball weight, grip and ball type for you and your game, which will make your job much, much easier...In regard to weight, use this little trick: stand with your feet together and swing the ball like you're going to throw it. Keep going up in weight until you find the heaviest ball that doesn't pull you off balance; that's the proper ball weight for you..."

~ Building a life based on bowling (Bowlers Journal International: Inside Line, June 2010, p. 20) -- "It's said that behind every good man there's a good woman. But Char Hammel would be quick to point out that the opposite also could apply. In her case, that good man would be her husband of nearly 16 years, Mark..."

Bowling Bytes--4/16/10

~ Ryan Lingholm: The Other Side of Two-Handed Bowling -- "Jason Belmonte's exemption in the Professional Bowlers Association this season opens a new frontier in a sport that has seen as many new eras as a high school history text book. With the two-handed bowling phenomenon now in full bloom, the man known only as "Belmo" completes a trinity of two-handed specialists on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour this year that includes Finland's Osku Palerma and Team USA's Cassidy Schaub. But there is one two-handed bowler for whom the style is not just about 600 revs per minute and a violent collision of pins; it also makes bowling accessible to those who otherwise would never be able to compete..."

~ ITRC technology dazzles Team USA in training camp -- "The International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas, played host to its first men’s Team USA Training Camp this week and the 12 elite bowlers found many tools in the new facility to help them improve their game. Among the attendees were Professional Bowlers Association Tour stars such as reigning PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. as well as Chris Barnes, Rhino Page, Wes Malott, Tommy Jones and 2010 U.S. Open winner Bill O’Neill..."

~ PBA Women's Series Showdown to air Sunday on ESPN From International Training and Research Center -- "The 2009-10 PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM concludes its third season with the PBA Women’s Series Showdown at the new International Training and Research Center Sunday on ESPN with six of the sport’s top women bowlers vying for a $25,000 prize in a unique competition. The PBA Women’s Series Showdown, presented by BOWL.COM, will air on ESPN Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern..."

~ Wendy Kok overtakes the qualifying lead in 4th Qubica/AMF Open -- "Qualifying in the 4th Qubica/AMF Open 2010 continued on Thursday with qualifying squads 5 and 6 at Bowling Center Gladiator Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The top 3 players from Squad 5 cracked the 1400-bar and the top 8 moved into the top 10 in the overall qualifying standings. Wendy Kok (pictured left), Netherlands, started with games of 218, 246, 236 and 187 before she closed out her six-game block with back-to-back 150s (250, 254) for 1391 pinfall total and an average of 231.83. The Dutch national team member added 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour, to move to the top of the leaderboard with 1439 total..."

~ Un-a "dore"ing -- "It is sometimes sad to see Rome fall, in particular when the rise to power never fully reached its potential. As a curator of bowling from a participatory and philosophical standpoint, it is important to see things as objectively as possible, despite what your head and heart tells you. This tell tale heart version surrounds the end to the Vanderbilt Commodores 2009-10 Women's Bowling season: a season that resulted in 67 wins against arguably, the nation's toughest schedule..."

~ Help youth prepare for success with tips from collegiate coach Barbara Lewis -- "What do college bowling coaches look for in potential players, and what can youth coaches do to help teens land spots on college teams and maybe scholarships, too?..."

~ The Rituals and Routines of Expert Coaches -- "The following article provides coaches with a guideline on effectively teaching bowlers. In addition, it can be used by bowlers in their own practice process..."

~ Bowling Lessons for Beginners: Video Series -- "Learn bowling tips and techniques for beginners, including how to pick the right ball, attire, shoes to wear, how to keep score and rules of the game, in this free online video series..."

~ Cold Rolls: How bowling cold impacts your body (US Bowler, Winter 2009-10, p.18) -- "...No matter what sport you play, warming up before launching yourself into competition is a smart thing to do. Bowling is no different..."

~ The Master of the 'Mega' (Bowlers Journal International, April 2010, pgs.24-25) -- "Megabucks tournaments may be a little short on the "mega" these days, but to Rick Miller, the luster is still there--and you can make that a double. Defying astronomical odds, Miller won both the High Roller and the Mini Eliminator on the same weekend..."