Bowling Bytes--5/7/10

If you want to know more about Walter Ray Williams Jr's great season; upcoming live streaming on Bowl.com; who won this year's PBA Steve Nagy award; how Bo Goergen fared this year at the USBC Open after shooting a record high 863 last year;, the new bowling center in New York City's Times Square; release, carrydown, and adjustments; the viscosities of different lane conditioners; and how one participant in this year's USBC Masters prepared for and fared in this hallowed tournament and what he learned and you can learn from it all, check out today's bowling bytes below.

~ PBA Spare Shots: Walter Ray Williams Jr. Concludes Remarkable 2009-10 Season with Statistical Sweep -- "At the ripe old age of 50, Walter Ray Williams Jr. has already used up every superlative you can attach to his record-setting career, and that makes his sweep of every major statistical category during the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season even more stunning. With the completion of the DyDo Japan Cup, the PBA’s statistical season officially ended in the earnings and average categories. Guess who won both?..."

~ The 11th Frame: A first step to simultaneous Player of the Year crowns? -- "If ever an individual sports victory could be expected, it's the Senior Tour debut of a great athlete. It becomes even more expected when the athlete still is at the top of the "regular" sport --something rarely seen in golf or bowling, the two sports with the most active Senior circuits. So it's far from a surprise that Walter Ray Williams Jr. -- the reigning Player of the Year on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour -- on Wednesday won his PBA Senior Tour debut. But that doesn't make it any less noteworthy: No bowler of golfer has ever been Player of the Year simultaneously on the "regular" and senior tours..."

~ Upcoming live stream events -- "A busy schedule of live streaming events are on tap for bowling fans over the course of the next week on BOWL.com. We will have complete wire-to-wire coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open starting Friday morning, while also streaming live coverage of the USBC Open Championships. Here’s the upcoming schedule..."

~ Canada's George Lambert IV wins Steve Nagy Award -- "After finishing second in the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Trials in Allen Park, Mich., last May, native Canadian George Lambert IV expressed his desire to become the first bowler from his home country to win a PBA Tour title. He is now the owner of one of the PBA’s most prestigious honors, but it isn’t the one he had in mind.Click the link below to download the file. Lambert, a 10-time member of Team Canada and a former collegiate star with Wichita State University, has been selected by his fellow exempt tour players as winner of the Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award. He is the first international player to win the award in its 44-year history..."

~ Defending champion helps team into top spot at USBC Open Championships -- "Last year, Bo Goergen (pictured left) of Midland, Mich., rolled the highest series in 107 years of United States Bowling Congress Open Championships history and took home the 2009 Regular Singles title, but something was missing. The 49-year-old right-hander finally accomplished a lifelong goal by winning an eagle, the coveted trophy given to tournament champions, but he knows the accomplishment would be five times more satisfying if he could share it with his teammates. Now, Goergen may have that chance after helping Northern Lanes Pro Shop (right) of Sanford, Mich., into the top spot in Team All-Events with a 10,284 total at the National Bowling Stadium on Thursday night. It was the eighth-highest total in tournament history and topped Linds Lakers 1 of Minneapolis, which previously held the lead with 10,187..."

~ QubicaAMF selected to equip new Bowlmor Entertainment Center in Times Square -- "QubicaAMF Worldwide, a leading manufacturer of bowling and amusement products, has announced that it has been selected as the bowling equipment supplier for the new 50 lane Bowlmor Times Square bowling center, which will be housed on the third and fourth floors of the landmark, 15-story New York Times Building on West 43rd Street in the heart of New York's world famous Times Square..."

~ Questions about release, carrydown, and adjustments -- "Q: How do you get the ball to skid farther down the lane without moving your line or changing bowling balls?...Q: What is carrydown and how do I move when this occurs?...Q: I bowl in travel leagues and tournaments. What is a good system for making moves on the lanes when they transition during competition?...Q: I am a new PBA member and recently bowled in one of the new PBA Experience leagues. For the most part, my ball rolled perfectly straight. I played all different lines – with the same results. Can you give me some ideas about bowling on these types of bowling conditions?...Q: I watch the PBA television show on a regular basis and I have one question that constantly comes up in tight matches. Sometimes it seems that the bowler throws a perfect shot and they leave a 10-pin. Is there a reason for this or is it just bad luck?

~ Viscosity of common lane conditioners -- "I prepared a chart of the viscosity (cps) values for the most common lane oils. This is not exhaustive but will give you a sense of the variation. And, as you can imagine, this will impact your ball reaction. Lower viscosity oils will cause more skill while high viscosity lane conditiones are more durable. But, most importantly, with higher viscocity oils there is more resistance. Consequently, the ball will slow down faster and hook sooner than a lower viscosity oil. Our sport is complex and most be considered a sport. Click the link below to download the file. Viscosity of Common Lane Oils (1 page - small file < 8kb)"

~ 2010 USBC Masters: A day-by-day account of how I prepared for and bowled a "major" (Erik Vermilyea: Sport Bowling: Bowling This Month, April 2010, pgs. 9-14)

-- "Well, the 2010 Masters has come and gone. As you already know, Walter Ray -- "Well, the 2010 Masters has come and gone. As you already know, Walter Ray Williams claimed his second Masters title. I was in Reno with the other 267 competitors who, like me, were trying to win the beautiful trophy. Here is a look at how I prepared for this major tournament as well as a day-by-day look at the competition--what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I learned for the next time. By incorporating some of these strategies into your practice plan, you will be better prepared for the next big tournament..."

Bowling Bytes--5/6/10

Today we see how Walter Ray Williams Jr. fared in his first PBA Senior event and learn about the USBC SMART scholarship funds, a Michigan bowler's big game in the USBC Open, Bo Goergen's return to the Open this year, famed bowling writer Dick Evans' take on this year's USBC convention, a fancy new bowling center in the Ukraine, the good and not-so-good aspects of next season's Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, and top coach Joe Slowinski's characteristically brainy and detailed analysis of the two-handed bowling style.

~ Walter Ray Williams Jr. Wins Senior Miller High Life Classic in PBA Senior Tour Debut -- "Recently-crowned Professional Bowlers Association Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., picked up where he left off at the conclusion of the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season in April by winning the Senior Miller High Life Classic Wednesday at George Pappas Victory Lanes. Making his PBA Senior Tour debut, Williams, the PBA Tour’s all-time leader in career titles with 47, notched his first Senior Tour win by defeating Keith Sharp of Orlando, Fla., 267-245 in the championship match..."

~ PBA Senior Miller High Life Classic--Match Play Rounds

~ USBC SMART scholarship funds transferred to new independent corporation -- "The United States Bowling Congress has created a new corporation dedicated to the management, protection and promotion of youth bowling scholarships. All funds in the USBC SMART (Scholarship Management and Accounting Reports for Tenpins) program have been transferred to the new entity called SMART Bowling Scholarship Funding Corporation. This new corporation is financially and legally independent of USBC, but will continue to use the SMART name. All scholarships previously earned through SMART remain in place with all benefits and eligibility protection for recipients continuing..."

~ Michigan bowler rolls 298 game at USBC Open Championships -- "Only a handful of bowlers each year find themselves in position to roll a perfect game at the USBC Open Championships. Chris Damon of Kimball, Mich., has been there twice in his seven tournament appearances but fell short of perfection on both occasions. Damon's recent attempt came in his final game of singles at the National Bowling Stadium on Tuesday night, but he left the 4-7 on his final shot and finished with the fifth 298 of this year's event. There have been 13 perfect games this year..."

~ On the Lanes with Bo Goergen -- "In the coming months, we'll talk with some of the best-known bowlers at the USBC Open Championships and get their thoughts on their time at the tournament and what it takes to succeed on the championship lanes. This week, we heard from 2009 Regular Singles champion, Bo Goergen, who tossed 32 out of a possible 36 strikes en route to games of 299, 299 and 264 for an 862 singles series last year in Las Vegas. His effort was the highest three-game set in tournament history. He added a 700 series in doubles and 628 in team for a 2,190 all-events total, which was third overall..."

~ Everything you didn't want to know about USBC Convention by Dick Evans -- "Trust is something that is earned and not granted automatic entry into our brains. It is especially true in bowling where the old gutter-ball shooters would flirt with the gutter on their strike deliveries but had trust that their timing would be perfect and the ball would end up the strike pocket. They all lived by the creed: "trust is a must."Their trust was well founded in most cases but I remember when a gutter shooter lost a PBA title because he hit his ankle with the ball, which rolled into the gutter, and he lost the championship game by a few pins. My beliefs about trust seeped into my brain at the USBC Convention April 30 when President Jeff Bojé pointed out how important trust is to the future growth of the United States Bowling Congress..."

~ Largest FEC in the Ukraine features Brunswick-equipped bowling center -- "The largest Family Entertainment Center (FEC) in the Ukraine, Entertainment World Cosmix, which is also one of the largest entertainment complexes in the entire territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), recently started its operation in the country's capital, Kiev. The entertainment facility was completed at the end of 2009 and spans more than 5,700 square meters. It offers visitors some of the most popular and modern leisure activities for the entire family to enjoy, making it the trendiest source of entertainment in the region."Cosmix" includes a pub, a pizza restaurant, a sushi-bar, a billiards hall and tenpin bowling. The bowling center features 20 Brunswick-equipped lanes with Vector® Scoring and Management System, GS-X™ pinsetters, Anvilane™ synthetic lanes, new Frameworx® furniture and the Authority22® lane maintenance system..."

~ Rocky Marciano for Ebonite (1955)

~ PBA 2010-11 preview: fizzling or sizzling? -- "IT’S SAID THAT SIZZLE sells the steak. But is it possible to create an enticing sizzle and produce an appetizing dinner with a limited supply of beef? As a case in point, check out the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour. It buzzes with the promise of a $1 million Tournament of Champions — in which the winner will collect $250,000 — and a real breakthrough in television coverage of the U.S. Open: The winner is slated to earn a check for around $120,000 — after three days of live ESPN coverage. That’s a sizeable amount of bread (or steak, as the case may be) allocated by an organization nearly starving for sponsors and whose internal financial underpinnings have publicly become a concern. Measuring bang for the buck, the PBA’s desire for an attention-getting 2010-11 seems to be on track. But it is the result of some deft rearranging that attempts to make less money look like more...budget constraints will reduce total prize money awarded to players by about $1 million next season, while the new arrangement also will save the PBA about the same amount by reducing TV production costs and staff expenses...A closer look reveals next season’s “tour” barely meets the definition. It’s certainly not a pro bowling tour based on a perpetual city-to-city concept. Instead, it’s a compilation of traditional, though enhanced, majors, surrounded by a revised renewal of the World Series of Bowling and a strategically stretched-out playoff series at the end. Mix in a couple of other official tournaments and unofficial special events, and it adds up to 22 “unique” telecasts originating from eight locations — all subject to change, of course, until all of the plans are etched in stone..."

~ Two-Handed Bowling: A Brief Analysis of a Powerful New Bowling Form -- "In recent years, 2 bowlers with thumbless two-handed bowling styles have emerged as two of the most successful bowlers of our time. These bowlers always attract viewers due to their exciting ability to strike, strike and strike again. Osku Palerma, Finland and Jason Belmonte, Australia, can dominate a tournament with their exciting styles and high scoring games. In November 2006, Palermaa dominated the AMF World Cup, start to finish, to claim the title. In 2007, Belmonte won the High Roller as well as the World Tenpin Masters titles, defeating Chris Barnes along the way. Palermaa defeated Belmonte, this week, in the final of the Istanbul Open, in Turkey. More and more bowlers are attempting to emulate these two bowlers. In fact, in Hickory, NC, PBA great Guppy Troup’s children both use a thumbless release. In December 2006, Chaz Dennis (10 years, 2 months and 27 days) became the youngest bowler ever to shoot a 300 game approved by the United States Bowling Congress. With such success, coaches should review and analyze these styles. With this in mind, here is a brief analysis of this style. I will continue to develop an understanding of the 2-
handed delivery from a coaches’ eye..."