Bowling Video--Ball Talk With Chris Schlemer

Bowling Video--2013 PBA Japan Cup

Men's Team USA Now Competing in PABCON Men's Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico

While the regular PBA Tour may be on hiatus, some of its biggest stars are busy this week bowling for Men's Team USA in the PABCON Men's Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Team USA is one of sixteen national teams competing in the five-player Team, Trios, Doubles, Singles, All-Events, and Masters events at the Pan American Bowling Confederation's Men's Championships. It probably comes as no surprise that Men's Team USA has won 25 out of a possible 30 gold medals since 1997, and should do well again this year with Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes, Bill O'Neill, Patrick Allen, Michael Fagan, and Wes Malott making up the team.

Everybody practiceed last night on all the oil patterns, and the action officially begins today. Stay tuned to this blog for the results as they unfold.

Below is a video of Men's Team USA practicing on the PABCON lanes.

Bowling's Bottlegate Between Jason Belmonte and Brad Angelo Continues

Summary of Matches

Congratulations to Jack Jurek, Jason Belmonte, and Chris Barnes for their victories in their regional championships of the 2011 Dick Weber Playoffs that were televised yesterday. Jurek bowled 221 to Wes Malott's 206 and Bill O'Neill's 178 to win the Midwest region. Belmonte shot 211 to Brad Angelo's 201, and Dino Castillo's 160 to win the Southwest region. And Chris Barnes rolled 217 to Lonnie Waliczek's 201 and Lenny Boresch Jr's 177 to take the West/Northwest region. All three bowlers will now advance to the next round where Steve Jaros will take on Randy Weiss, Dick Allen will bowl Jack Jurek, and Chris Barnes will bowl against Jason Belmonte in semifinal matches to be televised next Sunday.

Yesterday's scores were lower and the bowlers seemed to struggle more than in the previously televised regional matches because, as Chris Barnes explained, the front part of the right lane especially was burnt and hooking a lot while the backends of both lanes were tight. Barnes addressed the challenge by using a weaker ball to get as cleanly as possible through the front part of the lane while still getting enough hook and hitting hard enough on the back end to carry, albeit barely, strikes. Other bowlers had trouble keeping their balls from hooking early and either missing the pocket left or rolling out into the pocket to leave flat 10's.

You can watch all three matches below.

Bottlegate Crinkles and Pops On

There's been much ado in this blog, the PBA website, and other blogs and media sources about what is now being called the "Bottlegate" incident between Jason Belmonte and Brad Angelo where Angelo complained to Jason about Jason's distracting him with a noisy water bottle. You can find my previous take on all of this here and here as well as watch the incident here. However, it seems that there's more to say that may be worth saying about it all.

Angelo Podcast Interview

Above180 featured a recent podcast interview with Brad Angelo that you can listen to here. Of course, he was asked about the "Bottlegate" incident, and here is some of what he had to say:

Well, over this last week I’ve gotten a few phone calls about that, and a lot of people kind of saw what I felt, and so I went on yesterday to see the clip, and I don’t know...I don’t really know what to say about it. I don’t want to throw Jason under the bus or anything like that, but it was a little peculiar that he had picked up the water bottle when I stepped back up on the approach, and then he was very quiet, and then right during the silence of me walking to the foul line that he had, I guess, squeezed it loud enough for me to hear it again. I mean even when I’m explaining it, it sounds a little goofy and it sounds a little petty, but when you’re bowling on TV and every person in the crowd is silent and sometimes you can barely even hear Rob Stone or Randy Peterson that are way down at the other end of the lane...so it’s pretty quiet, and then to have that happen at that point in the match, it was just frustrating at that time when it happened, and I guess that’s all I really have to say about it.”

Belmonte Interview

On PBA Xtra Frame's post-telecast show, "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark asked Belmonte about the incident and this is how Belmo described it:

“We had a chat at the end of it. There was a slight pop in a watter bottle that I was holding that caught him in one of the frames, and it was completely accidental. And we had a chat, and had a hug at the end of it, and everything’s fine. I think it got blown up out of proportion, and the way that I am, I just felt miserable at the time because you only get ten shots on TV, and to have one of those shots catch you or put you off...I know the feeling, and so I just felt really bad. But he was a gentleman and just basically said it was no problem, no hard feelings, and he ultimately said he had a chance to win the match, so no hard feelings...”

You can watch the entire interview by clicking on here.

One Person's Unflattering Take on Angelo

Kerry, a regular and thoughtful reader of this blog, saw something while watching yesterday's entire match between Belmo and Angelo that I hadn't noticed. This is how he describes it:

Yesterday, I watched and, for the most part, enjoyed all 3 matches in the telecast. Today, I've been reviewing this match on youtube.

My initial impression of Angelo was fortified by his behavior in the total context of the match. Being blunt, Angelo was determined to be a jerk from the start, and he certainly fulfilled that objective.

Angelo had a teenage "fan club" dressed in green shirts, carrying signs designed to show that Angelo was spoiling for a fight. One sign said, That's BAD Brad Angelo, another Pimpin' Brad Angelo, and other signs with That Ain't Brooklyn, to remind folks of his conflict with Barnes. At least twice, I observed Angelo look in the direction of the fan club and give a thumbs up. Clearly he was enjoying the juvenile adulation.

Angelo made a bad shot in the 5th, going through the nose, but only leaving 2. On the way back, he gave a dirty look to Belmonte. Belmonte's water bottle was on the table and he was standing behind the ball return, so Angelo was off base there. If he heard anything, it was LONG before he started his approach.

Angelo picked up his spare and then showed his true colors. Belmonte was on the left lane, the other side of the ball return. While Jason was preparing for his split conversion, Angelo started messing with the balls on the ball return, banging them together and directly in Belmonte's peripheral vision and very close to him. You can barely hear the sound of the balls in the video clip, so Belmonte certainly could hear them. Why did Angelo do that? Then, Angelo goes back to his seat and immediately starts squeezing his water bottle on the table. Clearly, he's seeing what kind of noises the bottle makes.

Now, here's Angelo, who's just made a terrible first shot in the 5th, but his focus on the water bottle instead on his game. That's way out there, IMO. I can't imagine any pro making a bad shot and then not trying to figure out how to fix it. At this point, it's clear that Angelo is fixated on Belmonte and the water bottles. Then, they go to commercial break.

Why didn't Angelo talk to Belmonte during the perfect opportunity afforded by the commercial break? I think he intended to throw the fit on camera hoping to rattle Belmonte and throw him off of his game. At that point, Dino was pretty much out of contention, so Angelo could win the match if Belmonte flubbed another frame or 2.

Jason Thomas wasn't very observant. If he wanted to show gamesmanship, he picked the wrong player. Belmonte wasn't the bad guy here. Watching the entire match gives you the proper perspective and information. Belmonte tried several times to talk to Angelo, but Angelo rebuffed him. Belmonte is a true gentleman and sportsman and was visibly upset over the incident. Fortunately, it didn't affect his game.

The really funny thing was that if Angelo had concentrated on being a "GOOD" bowler instead of a "BAD" man, he could have won the match.

At this point, I don't ever want to watch Angelo again. I don't enjoy that kind of behavior at all.

Now I have to say that I watched the match again today, and I can't say that I saw all of what Kerry did. But what about you? Do you think Belmonte tried to distract Angelo, or that Angelo overreacted or even tried to distract Belmonte in retaliation? Finally, do you think people, myself included, have made too big a deal out of this whole "Bottlegate" thing and that it's time to talk about more substantive matters?

PBA publicist Jason Thomas wrote a column today about how much he now admires Brad Angelo. I'll have a few words to say about this tomorrow, and that should pretty much lay all of this to rest so far as I'm concerned.

Bowling Video of the Day--2010 Marathon Open

Some people missed all or part of yesterday's ESPN telecast of the Marathon Open. Others would no doubt like to see all or part of it again. You can do this anytime you want if you have PBA Xtra Frame, although you'll probably have to wait a few days for it to become available. But if you want to see it right now, it's available on YouTube in HD right now. Normally, I'd embed the videos below, but these videos have windows that are too big for that. So I'll provide links to all 12 parts instead.

Part 1 (Introduction)
Part 2 (Match 1: Wes Malott vs Brad Angelo, Frames 1-6 1/2)
Part 3 (Match 1, Frames 6 1/2 to end)
Part 4 (Match 2: Brad Angelo vs Chris Barnes, Frames 1-3)
Part 5 (Match 2, Frames 4-5 1/2)
Part 6 (Match 2, Frames 5 1/2 to end)
Part 7 (Match 3: Brad Angelo vs Pete Weber, Frames 1-5)
Part 8 (Match 3, Frames 6 to end)
Part 9 (Final Match: Pete Weber vs Mike Scroggins: Warm Up)
Part 10 (Final Match, Frames 1-4 1/2)
Part 11 (Final Match, Frames 4 1/2 to end)
Part 12 (Post game interview)

Bowling Video of the Day--4/3/10

Yesterday I posted a video of Pete Weber bowling against Wes Malott for the 2007 U.S. Open Championship. And although those two could end up bowling against each other tomorrow on television, I'll foolishly go out on a limb and predict that the players competing against one another in tomorrow's title match of the Marathon Open will be those in the video below.

Scroggins is in the Driver's Seat for Player of the Year

"If Scroggs doesn't win tomorrow, it'll be his own fault."
--Jeff Mark

The pin dust has cleared, and the five competitors have been determined for tomorrow's televised stepladder final.

Mike Scroggins bowled a blistering final round of 1708 for 7 games on the difficult Dick Weber pattern to occupy the top spot. He only needs to win one match tomorrow to earn the title and seize Player of the Year from Walter Ray Williams Jr's hopeful hands. However, if Scroggins loses, Walter Ray will win his unprecedented seventh Player of the Year award and be the oldest to ever win the award.

Nevertheless, Xtra Frame's "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark believes that Scroggins has a virtual lock on winning tomorrow because of three factors. First, the top seed gets to pick which oil pattern of the seven they bowled on this week that they will bowl on tomorrow. Second, Del Ballard has already stated unequivocally that Scroggins will choose the Dick Weber pattern because he loves it and ran away from the rest of the field bowling on that pattern in the final round today. Third, Scroggins will be the only left-hander in the finals, meaning that he won't have the four right-handers in tomorrow's finals spoiling his look.

Second seed is Pete Weber, who fittingly finished the final round of qualifying on the pattern named after his legendary father by bowling a 300 game. In third is Chris Barnes. Chris bowled steadily all week and is surely very determined to win his first and only title of the season. I hope he does it and silences his growing pack of detractors and, in so doing, hands Player of the Year to Walter Ray. Fourth is Brad Angelo. And fifth is Wes Malott.

Malott led the tournament most of the week but sputtered badly through most of the final round to fall precipitously from first to sixth or seventh place at one point. He went into the final game in sixth place just five pins behind Walter Ray. But big Wes hung on to shoot 234 to Walter Ray's 196 the final game to make the finals and relegate Walter to a sixth place finish for the week.

As disappointed as I am that Walter won't be on TV tomorrow, I must say that I'm very impressed that he gutted it out and managed to bowl as well as he did after his back injury yesterday and finish a very respectable sixth in one of the most, if not the most, challenging tournaments of the year. The old man still has it, and the guys on the senior tour should "be afraid, be very afraid" that a guy who won two titles and went right down to the wire for Player of the Year on the regular tour this season will be competing against them this summer.

But, as Jeff Mark says, the Marathon Open title as well as the Player of the Year award is Mike Scroggins' to lose. He has had a quietly outstanding season this year, especially during the second half, and, say what you will about his "boring" game, he is tough, tough, tough, especially when he's the top seed with no other righties in the finals and he gets to bowl on the pattern of his choice for the title.

Bowling Video of the Day--Wes Malott vs. PDW

The sixth round of the Marathon Open has just concluded on the challenging Earl Anthony pattern, and Wes Malott remains in first place. He's led since the second round. But a mere 54 pins behind him in second place going into the final seven game round tomorrow on the Dick Weber pattern is Pete Weber. The videos below show Pete and Wes bowling each other in the championship match of the 2007 U.S. Open.

Big Names Lead the Marathon Open

It's been an eventful week at the Marathon Open at the AMF Country Club Lanes in Baltimore, MD, and the proverbial cream has most definitely risen to the top. This is the last stop on tour for the season, and it's one of the most challenging. The bowlers who make it to the final round before the televised finals will end up bowling 53 games on seven different oil patterns--Cheetah, Shark, Viper, Chameleon, Scorpion, Earl Anthony, and Dick Weber. There is no match play during these rounds. It's simply a matter of the top five players in total pinfall competing in the televised stepladder finals Sunday. And the results of this tournament will determine Player of the Year.

Right now, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Bill O'Neill are tied for the PoY lead, and Mike Scroggins is not too far behind. All three have made the first two cuts and are still in contention this week. But Walter Ray injured his back during the Scorpion round and was throwing his strike and spare balls very slowly enroute to a 183 his sixth game before summoning some magic and shooting 246 the final game of the round to keep himself in seventh place just below Mike Scroggins who sits in sixth place. This is the first time I can recall Walter Ray ever being visibly hobbled by any kind of injury, and one wonders if he'll be able to hang on and finish out the qualifying rounds much less score well enough to place high enough to keep Scroggins and O'Neill, who currently resides in 24th place, from besting him in the Player of the Year race.

If Walter Ray doesn't make it to the televised finals, and I don't see how he can given his back injury, and neither Scroggins nor O'Neill make it either, it's my understanding that Walter Ray will become the first bowler in PBA history to win seven Player of the Year awards, and he'll also be the oldest, at 50, to ever win the coveted reward. But if Scroggins wins the title, or O'Neill wins it or makes it into the televised finals and Walter Ray doesn't, then O'Neill will win the award.

I don't know about you, but I'm pulling for Walter Ray to rewrite the record book by winning his seventh award at his geezerly age. But it ain't gonna be easy, judging from the way he was favoring his back earlier today. And how's he going to feel when his back stiffens before the Earl Anthony round of seven games this afternoon?

Another interesting fact is that Wes Malott has led the tournament since the second round. But can he hang on given the fact that he'll be finishing out on two patterns on which he failed to even make the cut earlier this season? I'm guessing that he can, because I'm thinking that the Wes Malott who's bowling so well now is an improved version of the Wes Malott who struggled earlier this season.

And then there's Tommy Jones in second place and bowling awfully well right now. Some may think that because he hasn't won a tournament this year and hasn't been on TV a whole lot that he's having a terrible year. But it only seems that way because of his previous successes. The fact is, Mr. Jones has bowled quite well most of the year and been solidly in contention in many tournaments.

It probably comes as no surprise that Chris Barnes is very much in the thick of the battle, sitting pretty in third place. If ever there were a tournament that seems tailor made for Chris' awesome versatility and overall skill, this is it. I'd be very surprised if he isn't bowling on Sunday, whether or not he takes the title.

And, finally, although Jason Belmonte failed to make the cut to the top 24 after the Scorpion round, Pete Weber had a very impressive round, going +369 for seven games with scores of 285-217-300-249-258-218-242. That moved him up from 13th to 4th place.

Here are the top 13 after 39 games, with two seven game rounds to go, the first of which will take place tonight and the second tomorrow:

1. Wes Malott (+1355)
2. Tommy Jones (+1247)
3. Chris Barnes (+1210)
4. Pete Weber (+1196)
5. Brad Angelo (+1155)
6. Mike Scroggins (+1151)
7. Walter Ray Williams Jr. (+1117)
8. Brian Waliczek (+1017)
9. Mika Koivuniemi (+1000)
10. Jeff Carter (+994)
11. Dave D'Entremont (+972)
12. Sean Rash (+951)
13. Robert Smith (+940)