Jason Belmonte Bowls 300 Wearing Google Glass

Google Glass and similar products may be one of the next big things off and on the bowling lanes. Recently, Jason Belmonte, arguably the world's greatest bowler at the present time and seemingly a shoo-in for PBA Player of the Year this season, became what is no doubt the first person to wear Google Glass while bowling a 300 game and recording the feat for posterity. Below is the remarkable Belmo's-eye view of every shot.

Needless to say, the possibilities for this kind of technology for bowling are tantalizing. I can envision glasses such as these eventually measuring and providing feedback on ball speed and rev rate, and displaying in one's field of vision lane oil distribution patterns and suggesting the best line to play with which ball and at what speed and with which release. Tied in to one or more cameras from behind and to the side, they could be an amazing virtual coach that analyzes every shot and tells you what to correct and how to do it. Many bowling coaches, except, perhaps, for those designing the analytic and coaching programs for this new technology, might need to look for other lines of full or part time work.

Check out the video below and tell us what you think.

New USBC 300 Ring?

So many people are bowling sanctioned 300 games these days that the USBC may have to further devalue the ring they award for it, unless you work for Howard Stern and he foots the bill for the gold version.

Bowling League Secretary Displays False Scores

When I subbed in league earlier this week, a longtime acquaintance showed me a Lancaster, Pennsylvania league sheet he downloaded from League Secretary, the website that provides league and individual stats for bowling leagues nationwide. I was amazed by the averages I saw. One guy was averaging 268 for 21 games. Another was averaging 263 for 26 games. And there was plenty more where that came from.

However, these soaring averages, as spectacular as they were, were probably the least impressive thing on display. What shocked me even more were the prodigiously high series and game scores plastered across the sheet. Two guys had already bowled perfect 900 series, fifteen had bowled at least one 300 game, thirteen had bowled at least one 800 series, and the previous week's high scratch series was a paltry 878.

But, wait, it gets better! I also looked at the 268 average guy's individual season stats. In just seven weeks and 21 games of bowling, he had rolled eight 300 games. On week seven, he shot 280-300-300 for an 880 series. But that was just a warm up for his next outing, where he shot 300-300-300 for a 900 series. That's an 880 series, a 900 series, and five consecutive 300 games over two consecutive league sessions.

My first thought when looking at all of this should have been that it's impossible, that even if the top bowlers in the world were bowling league on those conditions, however easy they might be, they couldn't carry well enough to shoot scores like that. But these scores were in League Secretary, so I thought they must be legitimate, and my overriding thought was that I'd sure love to bowl a few games on those lane conditions just to see what I could do. I then proceeded to e-mail bowling friends of mine links to the League Secretary stats for this league and sit back and wait for an electronic avalanche of awed incredulity.

Instead, I got a phone call from one of those friends--Bob Brown. Bob, who incidentally shot an officially acknowledged 900 series in a tournament back in 1980, was so nonplussed by the scores that he called the bowling center supposedly hosting this incredible league and found out what was really going on. And now I know. These were scores from some kind of "bowling shuffleboard" league in which, as I understand it, players slide hockey-like pucks down a smooth table faintly resembling a mini-mini bowling lane and "knock down" electronic pins.

What I don't know is why these scores appear in League Secretary as real bowling league scores, with the 878 series listed as the top league score of the week nationwide. What's more, I wonder how many other leagues and scores appearing there may be bogus as well. It seems as though League Secretary needs to exercise a little quality control. Or is that their responsibility?

Well, at least the USBC hasn't been suckered. The guys who shot these stupefying scores aren't even listed in the member database. It seems as though these guys do only one kind of league "bowling," and it ain't what most of us call bowling.

Video--Walter Ray Shoots Another 300

Bowling Video--Jessica Baker Bowls 300 in 2012 U.S. Women's Open

In last year's U.S. Women's Open, over a dozen 300 games were rolled. I guess they really DO like to do everything bigger in Texas. I don't know if they all came in qualifying or if some were also rolled in match play. But only one perfect game has been rolled through the first two 6-game rounds of qualifying this year on the lower scoring conditions at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, and former Wichita State standout Jessica Baker is the one who did it last night.

You can watch her final three impressive shots below, courtesy of  the USBC's Lucas Wiseman's camerawork, as he took time out from his one-man calling of the USBC's live streaming of the day's action to masterfully capture the moment.

Josh Blanchard's Fall Heard Round the World

"Trust me if they didn't show me and just showed Jason it would have been fine with me!!!" ~ Josh Blanchard, commenting on Facebook

My previous post featured a video of professional bowler Josh Blanchard hanging up in the thumbhole of his ball when he tried to release it and slipping on the oily heads past the foul line and falling in the channel on his butt on last Sunday's PBA telecast. I said nothing about Australian two-handed sensation Jason Belmonte bowling 300 in the next game and then defeating Brian Kretzer to advance to the PBA World Championship finals to be shown next Sunday.

And it seems that, despite the still relative rarity of 300 games on PBA telecasts (there have been only 21 in 50 or so years), Belmo's accomplishment garnered virtually no attention from the sports or news media. Instead, they were all about Blanchard's boo-boo, with ESPN even interviewing him by phone while playing endless slow motion repetitions of "the fall."

To Blanchard's credit, he handled the interview with good-natured grace, but I'm guessing that this isn't how he wanted to find himself featured on ESPN, as his quote above amply implies. Yet, should the media have ignored him or, at least, given equal coverage to Belmo's 300 and tournament victory?

This was probably the first time a bowler has ever fallen like that on TV compared to the 21 PBA perfectos that have been televised. Yet, if Belmo's 300 had been the first or only the second or third perfecto ever, I'm wondering if it wouldn't have still been eclipsed by Blanchard's fall so far as the media's concerned.

Some complained about the media's coverage. Others said they understood it, even agreed with it and that the PBA should be grateful for any mass media coverage it can get. What do you think?

Bowling Video of the Day--Roh Mohr Shoots 300 on PBA Xtra Frame

For those of you who have never seen the leading player on the PBA Senior Tour, Ron Mohr, bowl, or even for those of you who have but can't get enough of watching this great senior in action, especially when he shoots a 300 game in the PBA Senior U.S. Open, this one's for you.

Ohio Man Bowls 300 After Almost Dying in Freak Accident

"I want to be an inspiration to people who have strokes or whatever...Work with it and things will work out."

--Don Maloney

Don Maloney is a pretty good bowler. This comes as no surprise given the fact that he owns a bowling center in Ohio. But what is surprising is that he was able to quickly rebound from a terrible, freak accident that almost cost him his ability to move and even his life "and [he] just about had to learn to walk again" to bowl 300 on the challenging lane conditions of none other than the USBC Open Championships in Reno recently. You can read more about this inspiring story and see a short news channel video about it here.

Bowling Video--Backup Ball 300 Game, More or Less

I've mentioned several times that I bowl at Fireside Lanes in Citrus Heights, CA because of its wonderful leagues, practice rates, personnel, and junior program. I've also mentioned that I participate in a league there where we bowl 6 games a week--3 of doubles and 3 of singles competition--for an affordable sum of $15 against a great bunch of guys and one gal.

One of the guys is a real character. His name is Charles. Watching him bowl is always entertaining because you never know what he's going to do. Will he throw his strike or spare ball with a regular or reverse hook? Will he throw it slow or fast enough to almost shatter the pins and wreck the lane and perhaps injure himself from his frightfully fierce exertion? You just never know.

You also never know how well he's going to bowl on a given night. He can shoot the lights out one game or series and struggle like crazy the next. Or is he REALLY struggling? It's interesting how when he's bowling a position round or sweepers or tournament where there's some money on the line, he seems to shoot the lights out a good deal more often than he struggles. Funny how some people are that way.

Speaking of this guy's reverse hook, I'd like to put him in the backup ball championship I proposed awhile back. He just might give Maximum Bob, Belmo, and Osku a run for their proverbial money. To prove it, below is a two part video of him bowling a 300 game in practice. The video was taken many years ago. I assure you he throws his backup ball even better now.

USBC Open Sees Its First 300 Game

If you had feverish fantasies of bowling the first perfect game in this year's USBC Open, you can forget it. Barry Zimmerman of Grand Forks, ND beat you to it. He followed it up with 236 and 230 to take the current lead in Regular Singles with a 766 series.

Interestingly, Zimmerman didn't even use his own ball to accomplish his feat. He used a teammate's ball because he could control it better on his pair than he could his own equipment. Lucky for him that he had a teammate whose equipment fits him well and worked well on the pair. You can read more about this story here.

You can no longer be the first to shoot 300 at the Nationals, but if you hurry, you just might be the first to shoot 800. So, hop to it.