Bowling Bytes--5/26/10

~ 18-Year-Old Matt Gasn Continues Trend of Youth Excellence in PBA Events -- "The youth movement in PBA competition continued last weekend when 18-year-old Matt Gasn of Laurel, Md., won the PBA East Region Non-Champions Open at Faxon Lanes. Gasn’s win is the latest in a wave of outstanding showings by youth bowlers in PBA regional events. Bowling as a non-PBA member, he had a 7-1 match play record, averaged 233 and defeated Michael Bohner of Allentown, Pa., 2-0 in the best-of-three championship match to win a $1,500 scholarship for his SMART account...He bowled in his first regional three years ago at age 15 finishing 12th and has a previous best regional finish of fifth...Among Gasn’s other accomplishments in PBA competition include a seventh-place tie finish in a Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour TQR narrowly missing the Shark Championship field in December 2008. In April 2009, Bowlers Journal named him as one of seven bowlers to watch in future PBA Tour seasons, but for now school remains the priority..."

~ Xtra Frame Top Moment #4: U.S. Open Position Round Shocker -- "This week's Top Moment may have been THE top moment I witnessed the entire season. It was definitely the most shocking. The Open was an extremely pivotal event, even aside from the fact that it's often considered the most prestigious event on Tour. Bill O'Neill, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Mike Scroggins were each jockeying for Player of the Year positioning and all were in contention for spots on the telecast. O'Neill, Scroggins and Tommy Jones were safely in (they bowled for the top three seeds), but Williams (the eventual PoY winner) was involved in a five-way battle for ONE spot..."

~ Caroline Lagrange, Art Oliver Jr. are the Canadian National Champions -- "Caroline Lagrange (pictured left) of Montreal, Quebec and Art Oliver Jr. (right), Hamilton, Ontario are the 2010 Canadian National Champions. Defending women’s national champion Lagrange led the women's field by 78 pins to win her second consecutive national championship. Oliver had a comfortable 206-pin lead in the men's divison to cruise to his first title. Both Lagrange and Oliver are multi-year Team Canada members..."

~ Marcelo Suartz wins XIX Copa AMF Brazil -- "Marcelo Suartz won the XIX Copa AMF Brazil to earn the right to represent his country in the 46th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup at Bowling 300 Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia (Oct. 15-24, 2010)..."

~ Three players move into top 10 in qualifying at Bowltech Aalborg International 2010 -- "Three players from qualifying squad 2 moved into the top 10 in the qualifying of the Bowltech Aalborg International 2010 Tuesday at Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark..."

~ Harry Smith for Manhattan (1948)

~ "Easy" House Shots -- "You may have read, heard, or experienced the phrase "easy house shot." But what does it mean? Is any shot in bowling actually easy, especially for a beginner?..."

~ Breaking free from the house condition mindset -- "A bowler can come to harbor many delusions over the course of 20 years in house shot leagues, but few compare to the delusion that I myself once entertained as a member of the same league as the great Bo Burton at Stuart Lanes in Stuart, Fla. in the 2004-2005 season. There, as I watched Bo rack up one 700 series after another and, on occasion, an 800 series, I almost believed that the discrepancy between the 214 average I myself recorded there and the 235 average that Burton maintained was merely a matter of 20 pins or so. After making the leap from that walled-up house shot to local sport shot leagues and tournaments, I very quickly realized that the discrepancy was not merely one of pins, but also of a wisdom that I could only hope to possess with some very hard work and skilled coaching..."

~ The 11th Frame: Wolfe and his Blue Hammer smash Reno again -- "For years, the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., was known as a haven for left-handers. One of the most visible instances was the triumph at the 2002 Masters by relatively unheralded lefty Brett Wolfe, who used an old urethane Blue Hammer throughout that tournament...On Sunday and Monday, Wolfe and his Blue Hammer -- the same model but not the same ball he used in the 2002 Masters -- resurfaced in the headlines by slamming the Stadium again, moving into second in all-events at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships with a 2,245 total, USBC reported. The score is behind only the all-time record 2,326 of -- you guessed it -- fellow southpaw Matt McNiel of Chanhassen, Minn. With Minnesota lefties Steve Bohn and John Kreyer Jr. also leading doubles at 1,514, this year as shaping up as the most lefty-friendly USBC OC since 2006 in Corpus Christi, when lefties populated much of the upper reaches of the all-events leaderboard..."

~ Bowling ball manufacturers: Interview with Ebonite International, Inc. -- "I recently had a chance to interview Brenda Green, who serves as marketing services manager for Ebonite International, Inc. since she joined the company in 2003, She oversees the company’s pro shop support programs as well as leads and coordinates the marketing activities between brand managers, communications agencies and sales teams. She is currently a Silver Level USBC Certified Coach and organizes a youth bowling league in Clarksville, Tenn., with approximately 150 youth, ages 3-22..."

Bowling Video of the Day--Brett Wolfe Wins ABC Masters

Amateur Brett Wolfe, who is currently in second place in all-events in the USBC Open, beat pro Dennis Horan Jr. in the final match of the 2002 ABC Masters. You can watch it below.

Bowling Bytes--5/25/10

~ Dreams for Some Future PBA Stars Begins This Weekend at PBA Regional Players Championships -- "Just a year ago, Joe Ciccone of Buffalo, N.Y., had lost his exemption to bowl on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, and with his exemption gone, his dream of one day winning a PBA Tour title was severely limited. Winning the 2009 PBA Regional Players Championship at Thunderbowl Lanes in suburban Detroit, however, became a life-changing experience. Along with the RPC title, Ciccone earned his first trip to the PBA Tournament of Champions, an $8,000 prize and a boost in confidence that helped him also regain his Tour exemption the following week in the PBA Tour Trials. The PBA Regional Players Championship returns to Thunderbowl May 28-31 at Thunderbowl as a stand-alone event. There won’t be a PBA Tour Trials as a companion event this time around, but the ultimate prize at the end of the RPC rainbow is brighter than ever..."

~ South Point in Las Vegas to Host 14-Day 2010 PBA World Series of Bowling -- "South Point Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center on the south side of Las Vegas will host the 2010 edition of the Professional Bowlers Association World Series of Bowling, a 14-day extravaganza that will award six PBA Tour titles and pay $625,000 in prize money by the time it’s over. The event, which will be open to PBA members from across America and around the world, begins Sunday, Oct. 24, and culminates with the taping of six television programs over two days Nov. 5-6. The shows will air on ESPN starting Sunday, Nov. 28.

~ Jason Thomas: A PBA.com Tribute to Lost -- "If you've followed my work here on PBA.com and Xtra Frame long enough, you'll know that I'm one of the world's biggest fans of the TV show "Lost", which ended last night. (That sound you hear is me, weeping...and trying to figure out what to do with the extra 3-5 hours a week I normally spend on watching/studying/talking about Lost). Lost references have slipped into many of my TV Recaps, blogs, episodes of "The Bowling Show" and, most recently, onto this week's tip with The Most Important Chair in Bowling. As far as I'm concerned, "Lost" was the best non-cable TV show in history, and last night's finale not only means that I now have a free slot on my calendar every Tuesday night at 9pm, but also stimulates a great deal of thought on the themes of the show...namely, survival, redemption, and being a part of a community of people you care about. Which, of course, leads me back to bowling, where nearly all of these things reside in my own personal/professional life. So, as a tribute to both my favorite TV show and my favorite sport/life pursuit, I thought it'd be cool to make a list of what people/places on the PBA Tour are the equivalent characters/places on Lost. Here goes nothing."

~ PBA midwest Region Leaders Through May 24, 2010

~ PBA East Region Leaders Through May 24, 2010

~ PBA South Region Senior Leaders Through May 24, 2010

~ Former USBC Masters winner moves into second place at USBC Open Championships -- "In 2002, Brett Wolfe of Tempe, Ariz., won the prestigious United States Bowling Congress Masters at the National Bowling Stadium, and he found success at the one-of-a-kind venue again at the 2010 USBC Open Championships. The 33-year-old left-hander was back in his comfort zone and averaged 249.4 on his way into second place in Regular All-Events with a 2,245 total Monday. Fellow southpaw Matt McNiel of Chanhassen, Minn., leads with a record 2,326..."

~ Brunswick signs professional bowler, Chris Loschetter, to pro staff -- "Brunswick Bowling announced today that Chris Loschetter, is the newest professional bowler to join its Pro Staff. Loschetter, who joined the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in 2003, has 12 career 300 PBA games under his belt. Loschetter has appeared in 114 PBA Tour events, making nine championship round appearances and finishing second four times..."

~ Kamilla Kjeldsen takes the early lead in Bowltech Aalborg International 2010 -- "59 Danes and American Ken Bland Jr. took to the 30 lanes at Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark, on Monday evening to kick off the Bowltech Aalborg International 2010. Two-time European Bowling Tour women's ranking champion and two-time EBT Masters winner Kamilla Kjeldsen (pictured left) rolled games of 223, 215, 279, 224, 243 and 213 for the field-best scratch series of 1397, a 232.83 average, and added 48 pins handicap to take the early lead with 1445..."

~ The Cost of Practicing Bowling -- "During the summer, serious or mildly serious bowlers want to practice. But, as with most things in life, bowling costs money. I'm curious to find out how other people practice throughout the offseason and what it costs. At any randomly chosen bowling alley, a game could cost as much as $3-$5. So on the high end, a three-game series would cost $15. Even if you only bowl once a week, that's $60 a month. To me, that seems high for a bowler loyal to his home center who is obviously practicing in preparation for that very center's league..."