Bowling Video--PBA Commissioner Tom Clark Discusses Past, Present, and Future of the PBA

PBA Has YouTube Videos Removed

"So lame. The PBA should be doing all they can to promote the art of bowling, not stifle it. Instead, they have their own paid video subscription service on their website. I'm about as big a bowling fan as you can get, but I will not pay the PBA to have access to their video library." -- YouTube comment

The PBA has purportedly persuaded YouTube to remove one private source's posted videos of all recent televised championships because of copyright infringement. Now I'm the first to admit that I don't know how the copyrighting of televised sports content works. More particularly, I don't know what the legal technicalities happen to be concerning the uploading to YouTube of PBA telecasts carried by ESPN and other networks.

What I do know is that we bowling fans who miss the telecasts or who don't subscribe to cable or who live abroad could almost always find them on YouTube a day or so after the telecast. This suggests that even if it technically violated copyright law to place this content on YouTube without the PBA's consent, the powers-that-be, who were surely aware of what was going on, looked the other way instead of enforcing the law governing this matter.

And it stands to reason that they would. PBA telecasts, unlike movies and music that you buy and watch or listen to any time you wish, are generally shown once only ESPN or on whatever other network they might happen to appear, unless they reappear on an "oldies" channel years afterward. Of course, it's true that a bowling fan devoted enough to fork out the money for a paid subscription to PBA Xtra Frame can watch these telecasts on demand there. But what seems doubtful is that most people who want to see a PBA telecast after it airs are going to subscribe to Xtra Frame in order to watch it there.

So, why did the PBA do this? Did they think that if people can't watch these telecasts on TV when they air, they'll subscribe to Xtra Frame to watch them or that they'll be more motivated to watch them when they air instead of thinking they can always catch them later on YouTube? Or does the PBA plan to post them to YouTube themselves, as they have in the past, and they don't want any competition from private parties? I don't know, even though I'm going to try to find out.

At this point, I don't want to second guess the PBA. They are struggling to prosper in a marketplace filled with diverse competition for the public's time and money, and I don't blame them for doing what they think is best for the cause. I just hope it's wise to deny potential viewers the opportunity to view the telecasts after the fact on YouTube when it seems to me that the PBA wouldn't want to tick people off or reduce the public's exposure to their product. And if it isn't so wise, I hope they reverse course or at least post the videos in question to YouTube themselves via the PBA Channel before too long.

Stay tuned for further developments on this front.

Bowling Video--Geoff Reiss and Tom Clark Discuss Upcoming 2012-2013 PBA Season

Elite Bowling Coverage Should be Better

Reno is now hosting the 2012 BPAA U.S. Women's Open at the National Bowling Stadium. Leanne Barrette-Hulsenberg is defending her championship that she won last year in the novel venue of Cowboys Stadium by defeating Kelly Kulick in the final match. This year's televised finals, albeit shown on ESPN2 six days after the fact, will be held in the even more unusual venue of outdoors under the famous Reno Arch.

As you can see from reading entries such as this, I covered last year's Open with considerable enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, I blogged a lot here about the PBA, women's tournaments, junior tournaments, international adult and junior tournaments, and bowling in general for a couple of years.

But I finally began to lose my enthusiasm not for the sport so much as for the haphazard way the bowling industry itself seems to conduct and promote it. I figured if they didn't care enough to do a better job of promoting, covering, and fostering elite level bowling in this country and, as a result, people don't care that much about the sport to follow it, why should I bother to blog about it? Why even people who call themselves bowling fans seem to suffer from a serious enthusiasm problem, and very few appear to regularly watch bowling telecasts much less read blogs such as this one, so, again, why should I spend a lot of time writing blogposts when almost no one cares enough to read them?

As an example of my displeasure with the way the bowling industry is handling their sport, I posted the following comment just a few minutes ago to the USBC's Facebook wall in connection with their coverage of this year's Open. It echoes, to a considerable degree, this blogpost of mine from a while back. A PBA representative took private issue with that blogpost. He said the bowling industry is doing all it reasonably can to promote the PBA and bowling in general. What do you think?

Elite  women's and, for that matter, men's bowling is in a sad state in this country even as it seems to be growing in popularity in other parts of the world. I agree...that the PBA seems to be hanging on by its fingernails, and there's certainly no indication that any kind of women's professional tour will be coming back. And although many will disagree with me, I think part of the reason for this is that the bowling industry has not made as concerted an attempt as it might to publicize and popularize the sport but, rather, continues on with business as depressingly usual.

I'm not sure what it would take, but maybe if they hired the best PR and advertising minds to barrage the media with compelling commercials, human interest stories, and intelligent and entertaining treatments of bowling, rather than the occasional clownish parody, in television series and movies, more participants and viewers could be brought into the fold. As it is now, bowling and bowlers "don't get no respect," and they should, if people had any idea how challenging bowling really is at the elite level.

One thing I find so disheartening is that bowling seems to get so little respect even from bowling organizations and sponsors. For instance, the BPAA, God bless 'em, is sponsoring the U.S. Women's Open, yet they don't seem to be willing or able to get the finals aired live. We have to wait several days after the fact to see them, and, of course, by then only the most hardcore bowling fan will tune in because everyone else with any interest in the results but not enough to watch a seriously delayed broadcast AFTER learning the results will already know the results and won't bother. What's more, the USBC website's coverage of the tournament seems like a confusing maze. Their videos are great, and Lucas's herculean one-man coverage is to be roundly applauded, but where the hell are the results encompassing ALL the bowlers and not just the top 49? And why can't the BPAA and/or USBC, in the interests of fan interest, provide help to Lucas and the USBC website in tracking results as they occur instead of us having to wait hours to find out how the bowlers are scoring?

If even national bowling organizations and sponsors don't respect their sport enough to give it professional level coverage, how can they expect the public at large to respect it enough to follow it and participate in it? We need a real shakeup in the bowling industry in this country, or elite level bowling here seems all but doomed!

Bowling Doctor Jeff Mark's Mysterious Departure From PBA and Xtra Frame

Jeff Mark was known on the PBA's webcasting service Xtra Frame as the "Bowling Doctor." And if you watched any of Xtra Frame's coverage of PBA events, you know why. He was extremely knowledgeable about the technical aspects of bowling biomechanics, ball physics, lane construction and oil patterns, and how all these variables fit together in the increasingly challenging sport of bowling. Not only that, but he could articulate these concepts very clearly. Many times, I tuned in to Xtra Frame as much for his incisive commentary as to watch the action.

So, I was very surprised and extremely disappointed yesterday to learn that Jeff had parted ways with the PBA and would no longer be commentating on Xtra Frame. I was even more surprised to read one of the rumors circulating about why this happened. I don't believe the rumor and won't share it here, but I admit that I am curious about why Jeff left the PBA or was let go after years of seemingly dedicated and exceedingly capable service.

I inquired about it on Facebook's PBA page and on the PBA's Xtra Frame message board forum, but both inquiries were promptly deleted, and I received a private message from a PBA spokesperson explaining that this was a private matter and that no public discussion of it would be "tolerated" in PBA domains.

I guess I can understand and accept this. If I resigned or were let go from a public position, I might want the details kept quiet too instead of seeing official explanations or rumors galore splattered across the websites of my former employer.

Still, I don't think it's necessarily morbid curiosity that motivates fans of Jeff Mark, as I surely was, to want to know more about why he's no longer with the PBA or on Xtra Frame, and I don't think we're necessarily being unreasonable in our dissatisfaction with the seemingly tight-lipped and heavy-handed way in which the PBA has handled his sudden departure and public inquiries concerning it. I don't know precisely how these things should be handled, but I wish there were a better way to do it.

Nevertheless, the show must go on, and I've been assured by the aforementioned spokesperson that "The Bowling Guy" Jason Thomas will very capably take over Mark's commentary position, and, having heard Jason's work over many hours on Xtra Frame and having read his excellent columns on the PBA website, I don't doubt that he'll do an outstanding job in his own right.

Below is a video showing some of Jeff Mark's work on PBA Xtra Frame, even though it doesn't showcase his superb expert commentary skills.

Don Carter, RIP

"I believe he was the greatest bowler that ever lived. He was a master of any condition, great in the clutch and great coming from behind. He had all the attributes of a great athlete. He was there to bowl and to win. I often thought that if I could build a robot of the perfect bowler, I would take most of the parts from Don Carter." ~ Churck Pezzano, PBA charter member and historian

"It's hard to explain what makes Don so great. All I know is that he's the greatest thing that ever happened to bowling. He's fabulous, above and beyond everybody in the game." ~ Dick Weber, 1962 Bowlers Journal story

"Don was one of the greatest bowlers who ever lived, but he had some other things that made him great. He was a great athlete. He won two 100-game tournaments in one year and I don't know how many other bowlers could take that kind of punishment. And he had the ability to focus better than anyone I've ever seen. On the lanes, he was in his own world, but off the lanes, he was a true gentleman. I had a lot of respect for him, as a bowler and as a man." ~ Carmen Salvino

Don Carter died last night at the age of 85.

If you're reading this blog, you've surely heard of Don Carter even though he retired from professional bowling in 1972 and was at his peak from the 1950's through the early 60's. But if you're my age or older and have been a bowling fan most of your life, the name Don Carter is almost synonymous with godhood. He was that revered by bowlers and bowling fans all over the world.

His bowling accomplishments are the stuff of legend. Between 1953 and 1961, he was six-time national Bowler of the Year. He won the BPAA All-Star Tournament (now known as the U.S. Open) four times. He won seven PBA titles of which five were "majors," five World Invitational titles, the ABC Masters, and four other ABC tournament titles. He was lead off for the awesome five-man Budweiser team of St. Louis that shot an incredible 3,858 series in 1958 that stood as an untouchable national team record for 36 years. He was the first president of the PBA. He became a charter member of the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975. Bowling Magazine ranked him as the Greatest Bowler of All-time in 1970 and the second greatest bowler of the 20th century in a 2000 poll. Bowlers Journal awarded him the title of Bowler of the Century in 2000, and in 2009 he was voted the 11th greatest player in PBA history. He also bowled the first 800 series on TV when he shot 809 on "National Bowling Champions." The list of firsts and other great accomplishments could go on and on.

Yet, there was more to Don Carter's glittering success story than his performances on the lanes and the accolades he received for them. He appeared regularly in TV commercials and, believe it or not, in 1964 he became the first athlete in any sport to sign an endorsement contract for $1 million. The ten-year contract was with bowling equipment manufacturer Ebonite. And prior to his focusing his efforts on bowling, he was a high school All-Star football and baseball player and signed as an infielder and pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1946 but quit because of all the traveling, which he hated, to pursue bowling full time. Chuck Pezzano also remembers this of Carter: "One thing that many people didn't know is that he was very compassionate and helped a lot of people who might have fallen on hard times during his career."

If one peruses the PBA message board, where irreverence toward bowling and even bowling's biggest stars seems to be the rule rather than the exception, one sees nothing but respect for Don Carter and sadness over his passing. But as commenter Fred Lowenhaupt puts it: "It's always a sad time when one of our bowling heroes passes away. But with Don we should be celebrating his long productive life rather than the sadness of his passing at age 85."

I agree in principle, but my heart is filled with sadness. For as another commenter in the forum says, "Bowling is running out of legends," and, I may add, at a time when it can least afford it.

RIP Don Carter, bowling's original superstar.

You can read Bill Vint's excellent PBA.com article on Don Carter's life here, Terry Bigham's bowl.com obituary here, and below you can watch videos of the great Don Carter's stellar career on and off the lanes.

Bowling Quote of the Day--PBA Credibility Crisis

"Only 4 events outside of California/Vegas? And at least 4 events with no television coverage? That can't be a good sign at all. Something's got to change or this sport is completely going to lose what bit of credibility it has left."

--Andy Siebert, commenting on the PBA's Facebook page about the just released PBA 2011-2012 Schedule

Preliminary Details on the PBA 2011-2012 Season

The PBA has just released its tournament schedule for the 2011-2012 season. There's no mention yet of prize funds for any of the tournaments, unlike last season when the unprecedented prize fund for the TOC was front and center news, but it appears that this coming season will supplement TV coverage with more online coverage via the PBA's excellent and ever-improving online video streaming service Xtra Frame. In fact, for the first time, some PBA Tour tournaments will be carried only by Xtra Frame.

Unfortunately, it also looks like there will be even fewer tour stops this season than last, with the majority of tournaments taking place as parts of a grand World Series of Bowling multi-event in Las Vegas in November and culminating in the fabled Tournament of Champions in Vegas in April.

I don't know what to say about any of this except that I'm glad there's still a PBA Tour, but I wonder how long it can continue to hang on for dear life.

Click here for Bill Vint's PBA.com story on the 2011-2012 season.

Jason Belmonte Interviewed About Bottlegate on Above 180 Podcast

If you're interested, as I imagine that many readers of this blog are, Above 180 recently did a podcast featuring an interview with Jason Belmonte. And, as you can well imagine, "Bottlegate" was a big topic of discussion. I've taken the liberty of doing a rough transcription of key parts of the interview, but I strongly suggest that you listen to the entire interview to get the full flavor and all of the content contained therein. You can click here for the interview and read my partial transcription below.

Jason was asked if there was anything more he’d like to say about the Bottlegate incidents with Brad Angelo and, more recently, Sean Rash, and Jason said:

“Going on in my career, I’m definitely not going to stop drinking water, but I’m definitely going to have to be a lot more aware of my surroundings. I was fortunate enough with Sean that when it did happen, it wasn’t in his actual approach like it was with Brad. When it happened, when I picked the bottle up off the ground and it popped in my hand there, I already knew that he was going to turn around.

What I didn’t know, I didn’t expect to see the next part of the story unfold, but I think it’s quite clear that I just can’t do that again. I can’t give anyone any reason to ever think that this was intentional. A few of my friends have said after Brad, what possessed you to even put a bottle in your hand? And I said, “Look, I drink water, and that’s what we’re given. I don’t have another bottle with me, and, at the time, I definitely wasn’t thinking it would ever happen again.” So, I guess that’s where the fault lies with me. Anything that is possible can happen, so I think from here on in, you definitely won’t be seeing me drink out of a crackly plastic bottle again. I think actually in the shows thereafter, I drink out of a glass, which, at the time, was more of a tongue in cheek, but I think it’s probably the smartest thing to do is have something in my hand that isn’t going to create any noise...”

When asked if he agreed with the PBA’s promotion of the event, kind of like Wrestlemania, but then handing out a fine to Rash, Jason said:

“I think there are two sides of the coin to that particular argument. Obviously I would hope for both Sean and I that it wasn’t publicized and it wasn’t marketed because obviously it’s probably something that, well you’d have to ask Sean, but if it was me who did what Sean did, I would definitely not want millions of people around the world to see that. And, from my point of view, I definitely don’t want people to ever assume or ever have a shadow of doubt [about] my character that I was doing something like this on purpose. So, from that point of view, I would obviously say no, I would not like this to have been promoted in the way that it has been.

But then the other side of the coin is that you have to look at it from a news point of view. I don’t think I’ve ever seen what he did happen on the PBA Tour. People want to know that stuff and...even I, between our football and cricket back home, it doesn’t matter what happens to those plays, if it’s a negative review, it gets spoken about through the media outlets. The bad thing for bowling is we’re actually our own journalists, we’re actually marketing and writing about the sport within the industry, unlike these other sports where it’s a completely outside the square entirely. Talking about it, they can say whatever they want, but, with us, we don’t have all the newspapers and TV crews and all these people coming in to write about us, so...the PBA has to do something about it. So, like I said, I wish it never did, but I understand the reasons why it was publicized...It’s very hard to say to the PBA you shouldn’t be writing about this, because it happened, and no one else is going to write about it. So, it’s a really gray area in what should have been done.

Like I said in my letter, the thing that I might have been upset about was the way in which the first incident was written and advertised, and I expressed my views pretty clearly about that as the fact that I don’t care that they want to write about it. It was some of the quotes, headlines were making the assumption that I was a villain on tour, that I was doing these things on purpose, or it was a possibility that I was doing this on purpose. And that was very hurtful, because I pour my heart into this sport, and just to see things written in a way that you know are completely false is very disheartening. So that was my gripe with it all. Not the fact that they were talking about it.

The same thing with the Angelo incident. It happened. It happened on TV. People want to know about it. We live in a world where people don’t just forget about those things. They want to know more about those kind of blow ups It’s the same in any other sport. If there are two football players on the field who are having a go at each other, I’d love to know a little bit more about it, what caused it, why they did it, but as long as the article is written honestly and in a way that didn’t imply that he was doing something on purpose, unless, of course, he was, that’s probably where I would draw my conclusion from."

Jason was asked if he’d spoken to Sean since the incident and whether there’s anything he’d like to say to him.

“He did come over to me directly after the incident. He was wishing the rest of the Storm staff good luck for the rest of the matches. He called me ‘mate’ and wanted to wish me luck. I was a bit fired up after that, and I definitely said some things I definitely shouldn’t have said because I was embarrassed because I just realized what a friend, what I thought a friend had done to me on national television. So I told him in maybe not so polite a way to go away.

That’s probably the one thing I would change is at least give him the chance to say his thing, and I didn’t give him that chance. Then again, I look back and I was so upset I really couldn’t even look at him. I was just very, very disappointed and heartbroken, because this is a guy who, you know, we’ve traveled around the world together, we eat at the same table when we’re away, we golf together, all these things, and it just kind of welled up inside, and when he did that to me it was like I don’t want to see this guy.

But, you know , like I said, looking back, I should have given him the chance to at least wish me luck for the next match and perhaps there we could have spoken about it a little bit and perhaps this wouldn’t have been so bad on a personal level. But since then, no, we haven’t had a chance to talk.

Obviously, we’ve both going to be in Texas for Bowl Expo, and we’re on the same staff for some companies, so I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a time when we’re going to be in the same room, so we’ll see how it goes, and, look, I’m a pretty forgiving kind of guy and it’s not like we’re going to be best mates again, but I’ll definitely like to hear his side of the story and why it was fueled so much as the way it was. You know, everyone’s got a reason for doing something, and he’s not crazy, you know. He obviously had a reason, so I’d like to know that, resolve that reason, and what happens to our friendship thereafter will probably be something that we resolve next time we talk."

It was suggested that Rash is a very competitive and emotional guy who probably just had to let things out “in the heat of the battle” instead of keeping them “bottled up inside.” What’s more, he may have felt a need to defend his friend Brad Angelo, kind of like a big brother sticking up for his little brother. Jason replied:

“Well, that’s true, but at the same time, I wasn’t doing this on national or international television with children present. Whatever anyone ever did to me on a TV show would never warrant that outburst. I would never use the language. And if some of it was premeditated, that was the other part that really kind of upset me was listening to the footage and seeing the extended version, the strike before, he tells me to “Step up to that shot” and he uses a word that you wouldn’t call a friend.

I understand the whole concept that when you’re on the lanes, no one’s your friend, but there’s a respect there for each other. And I think the best example of that is probably Pete Weber. There isn’t a guy I know who is more passionate and emotionally charged on TV than that guy, and yet I’ve never heard him, in all the years that I’ve been watching him, call another player a name. It’s always been a very emotional outburst, and whether it was directed to another player, he never actually used a curse word to call a player.

So a bit of me was thinking maybe this was slightly premeditated to, like you said, get me back for Brad. A little childish, if that was the case, and we’ll obviously have to ask Sean if that was the reason. But we had ample opportunity to discuss what happened with Brad if he was taking it on a personal level with himself or his company. We bowled all weekend. I think actually we spent a week and a half in the Middle East together prior to that showdown in Chicago. There was plenty of time then if he wanted to come up and say to me that he thought what I did against Brad was wrong or to discuss that, but there was no chat. We were friends, we went to dinner, we golfed together in Kuwait, and then, that’s probably where I’m a little bit confused.

I’m sure, if he ever does come up and talk to me about this, we can definitely find out the reason behind it, because I’m just so shocked about the reaction. I mean if it’s the fact that he just doesn’t like the bottle crinkling, then talk to me about it and say, ‘Look, you’re crinkling this bottle, everyone hates it, stop crinkling the damn bottle, get another thing, whatever.’ He could say it in so many different ways. I couldn’t believe what he had done.”

Jason was then asked if he believed that this was the result of some “built up animosity from Sean” and of the fact that he and Sean are on competing ball company staffs, and Jason replied:

“If he comes up to me that’ll be the first question I ask him. Was this a premeditated event? Was it on your mind from the beginning about somehow defending Brad’s honor in any way. That’s going to be one of the first questions that we’ll talk about.

I’m sure one of his first questions will be if I did it on purpose, and I’ll look him right in the eye and tell him I’ve been drinking water all of my entire career and this is the first time anyone’s ever said anything to me about a bottle crinkling, and, on top of that, it’s completely accidental and unintentional. That’s the part that I think I really want to stress to him and anyone else for that matter who has any doubts about what has happened.

It’s disheartening to think that someone would leave their country, their family to go and bowl against the best bowlers in the world, who has the talent to compete on their own, and then feel like I would have to purposely put people off with a simple crackle of the bottle. Like I wrote in my letter, if I’m going to put them off with a bottle, I’ll throw the bottle at their head. That’s how I’ll put them off with a bottle. That’s what just absolutely spellbounds me.

And then on top of all this, after the Angelo incident, if this was an intentional crinkle to put someone off, I would have to be the dumbest person in the world to do it again with about fifteen ESPN cameras and PBA cameras watching our every move. On top of that, it would be even dumber to do it in an event which I’m not going to earn a title from, and even dumber to do it in an event in which Brunswick and Sean were no threat to myself or Storm. There is absolutely no motive in my doing that to Sean that day.

And, like I said, the reason why I didn’t apologize to Sean was because the timing of it wasn’t horrible, it was accidental, but it wasn’t during his approach. That’s why I was apologetic to Brad, because it was in his third step, it put him off, and I felt absolutely horrible and distraught about it. But I’m not going to apologize to Sean because I feel like I haven’t done anything wrong.

What I have to do in the future is take that bottle out of my hand, giving no one the reason for anyone to imply that I’m trying to do something intentionally. So, that’s something that I’m going to have to do, and that’s where I hope it stays. I hope after everything that’s happened, and if any other guys on tour or around the world doubt me, come up to me, talk to me, look me right in the eye, and I’ll tell all.”

Bowling Quote of the Day--PBA Should Disclose Amount of Rash' Fine

"Why won't the PBA disclose the amount of his fine? It seems to me that the main reason to fine somebody is to act as a deterrent to others engaging in the same behavior. How can that deterrent be effective if the amount of the fine is unknown?"

--Comment in PBA Forum regarding the PBA's "undisclosed" fine amount of Sean Rash

Sean Rash Apologizes, Sort Of

In the wake of the PBA's announcement yesterday that Sean Rash was being fined "an undisclosed amount for conduct unbecoming a professional" over the "Bottlegate 2" incident with Jason Belmonte that has yet to be aired on TV but has made the Internet rounds, Rash today released this arguably grudging apology for his actions:

To the PBA, my fellow bowlers, and fans:

I would like to apologize for my poor choice of words used during the taping of the 2011 GEICO PBA Team Shootout which will air on ESPN over the next couple of weekends. I would like everyone to know that this is not the type of image I want to portray as a professional bowler.

As for what happened, it is important to note that I stepped off the approach twice during the match against Jason Belmonte because I could easily hear the water bottle crunching. For the first water bottle crunching, I did not acknowledge the distraction, but after the second incident, I felt that it was more than coincidental and had to call him out on his unusual gamesmanship. The fact is that Jason has been warned before about his untimely bottle crunching, and I did not appreciate that he had not learned from his past actions and was continuing this tactic against me.

While I do apologize for my choice of language, I do not apologize for my actions on calling out Belmonte. In the heat of the moment, the words came out well before I could even think about what I was going to say. I can assure you that I will most certainly call out Belmonte or any other player who tries to use these unprofessional tactics against me in the future, but I will be sure to use a better choice of words.

While I have a great deal of respect for Belmonte as a fellow competitor, the fact is that he is still my competition on the PBA Tour, and bowling is a sport with intense competition. When I step onto the lanes, friendships are set aside. This is our chosen profession and our livelihood, and at times, things get heated.

As for how things are between Jason and I, let’s just say that we will settle it on the lanes.

Sincerely,

Sean Rash

Are you satisfied with Rash's apology? Do you think he even needed to make one?

PBA Fines Sean Rash For Bottlegate 2

Many were wondering what would happen to Sean Rash for his profanity laced tirade (see video below) against Jason Belmonte at the GEICO Team Shootout recently. Even though the incident won't be shown on TV until the first weekend of July, video clips of it have made the Internet rounds, and there has been much discussion of it on this and other bowling blogs as well as bowling forums.

Belmonte even weighed in Monday with a very strong public statement denying that he deliberately sought to distract Rash with his water bottle and expressing profound disappointment with Rash and others for impugning his character over this. Yesterday, I posted my "blow by blow" breakdown of the incident and said what I thought about it.

Today, the PBA announced that they're fining Rash "an undisclosed amount for conduct unbecoming a professional." Your guess is as good as mine as to how much the fine will cost Mr. Rash. I suppose I could ask him at the all-day bowling clinic I plan to attend this Saturday at Fireside Lanes in Citrus Heights, CA, but I think I'll pass on posing that particular question to him. Perhaps you'd like to mosey on over and ask him yourself.

I will say, as I did yesterday, that I don't think Rash should be punished too severely for his outburst, but he and the other players should be strongly discouraged from future very public behavior of this kind. As for Belmo, a lot of people think he should be fined too. But for what? I still think the "Bottlegate" incidents with Brad Angelo and Rash were accidental and that, in any case, there's no proof that they were intentional. However, I think Belmo needs to be officially warned, if he hasn't been already, to keep his hands off his water bottle at crucial times during his matches with opponents, and if he fails to do this, then the PBA would be justified in imposing sanctions.

What do you think? Do you think Rash should have been fined or otherwise disciplined? If so, how much, or how? What about Belmonte?

Ask the PBA and You Shall Receive

I posted an entry the other day about PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi being slated to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Cubs-Astros game at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Well, that event came to pass, even if it apparently didn't so much as make a blip in the media, bowling or otherwise. Indeed, I wonder how many people watching the game either in person or on TV even knew who the tall, lanky guy was who took to the mound to throw that pitch. And even if they knew who he was, did they even care the way they probably would if it were a pop star or top athlete from just about any other sport?

The PBA posted a video of Mika's pitch to their webpage soon after the fact. But I couldn't embed it here, so I wrote to them on Facebook and asked if they could create a YouTube version that I could embed. I was happily surprised over how quickly they obliged. Thanks PBA. Maybe that's one good thing about a sport not being too popular. It isn't too big to heed the comments and requests of the little guy. And there's none littler than me.

What do you think of Mika's pitch (see below)? Should he do like Michael Jordan a few years ago and quit his other job?

Why Did Track Not Re-Sign Walter Ray, and What Does This Say About Them, the Bowling Industry, and Bowling Fans?

I just read an article--Fairytale will continue for Walter Ray, no matter what--online that has me fuming. Now maybe I'm jumping the gun on writing this. Maybe I should take a few deep breaths, recite my mantram, and give my raging emotions a chance to settle and myself more time to check my facts before I fly off half-cocked.

Nah. "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore." Well, I will restrain myself from saying all that I want to say, but I won't hold back from saying anything at all about this travesty.

The article I read said Walter Ray Williams Jr.--yes, the guy who has won more national PBA titles, earned more PBA prize money, garnered more PBA Tour Player of the Year awards, bowled more times on television, and on and on and on than any other bowler alive or dead, and who recently bowled great for Team USA in the PABCON Championships, just won a national PBA Senior title after placing high in the other senior tournaments this season, and whose game seems to be coming back into its own after stumbling for a mere few months in the wake of hernia surgery and a major grip change to his bowling equipment--was dropped from the staff of Track bowling equipment when his contract came up for renewal, and no other company has picked him up.

I've been saying here for a long time that Walter Ray Williams Jr. has NEVER gotten the respect he fully deserves. Not from the fans and not from the bowling industry. He is arguably the greatest bowler in the history of the PBA. He is arguably the greatest bowler who ever lived. At age 50, he won PBA Player of the Year and led every major PBA statistical category in the 2009-2010 season. Then he went out and won his first PBA Senior tournament. And then, because he struggled during the few brief months of an abbreviated PBA season in 2010-2011, he was discarded like a bag of garbage?

Maybe I don't know all the facts. Maybe there's more to Track not re-signing him than I realize. But if it's simply a matter of them dropping this superstar of the bowling firmament because of one sub-par bowling season, then shame on them, shame on the other companies for not a one of them grabbing him up, and shame on the bowling industry in general for not giving this incredible athlete his due.

I posted about this on Track's Facebook wall. As of now, my comments are still up there, and a couple of people have replied to my outrage. One guy wrote: "Yes he is a legend but it is a business and in an economy where exposure means sales sometimes there has to be cuts made."

He's right. Bowling IS a business where "exposure" DOES "mean sales." But I believe that if bowling is the kind of business that caters to fans so fickle that the great Walter Ray Williams' endorsement of a line of bowling balls means nothing to them because he had one off season, and bowling is the kind of business where its powers-that-be are ready to "cut" their greatest star from endorsing their products after one comparatively bad season, despite the reasons for that sub-par performance and signs that he would rebound from it, then I have ample reason to be all the more dubious of bowling's integrity and its future.

Bowling Quote of the Day--The PBO vs. The Baker Boyz

"If I read Mike correctly, pretty soon we can expect to see the Professional Bowling Order (PBO) consisting of Belmo, Osku, Mika, and Gomez vs. The Baker Boyz (Barnes, O'Neill, Jones, Couch) in the main event. Angelo could provide the plot twist by jumping to the PBO side. Gemini jerseys will be replaced by ratted t-shirts and face paint. Plenty of plastic water bottles to go around."

--Comment on PBAForum.com regarding Mike J. Laneside's column on PBA.com

Jason Thomas' Disappointing Article on Bottlegate

"We also saw a nice bit of controversy and confrontation between Brad Angelo and Jason Belmonte."

--Jason Thomas

Jason Thomas posted a column (you can read it here) yesterday on pba.com that I'd like to say a few words about today, now that I've had a chance to give it some thought.

Frankly, I'm very disappointed with Mr. Thomas for using "Bottlegate" to try to "generate fan interest and conversation" heading into last Sunday's show" and then gloating over the fact that "it worked" despite the unpleasant fallout that's ensued.

I'm disappointed that he would characterize what took place between Belmo and Angelo as "a nice bit of controversy and confrontation." Given the accusations and insults that have been heaped on both players ever since on Facebook and probably elsewhere, along with the hurt feelings and resentment Belmo has expressed over the whole incident, I don't see anything "nice" about it.

I'm disappointed that he would sully Belmo's well-deserved reputation as one of the most personable and, more importantly, sportsmanlike players on tour by referring to him as "Australian golden-boy Jason Belmonte" within a context that sounds like a cynical if not sneering appraisal of Belmo's integrity. For while "golden boy" can mean different things, the fact that Thomas uses the expression in an article in which he praises Angelo for rightfully confronting the "Australian golden-boy" sounds like he means the following definition from the Urban Dictionary: "The person who appears to have an untarnished record of any kind. Most people considered a "golden boy" actually do have many flaws and are not what they seem."

I'm disappointed with Mr. Thomas for writing, "The timing of the bottle noise definitely called into legitimate question the intent of the action, and Angelo was simply confronting the culprit in order to stand up for his rights as a competitor." Again, it sounds like Mr. Thomas is casting aspersions on Belmo's intentions, and he's praising Angelo for, in my opinion, handling the incident in a less than optimal manner.

I'm disappointed with Mr. Thomas for writing that after the incident went public, Angelo was criticized far more than Belmo was but that "Brad never felt the need to blame or belittle his fellow competitor after the fact...or bemoan or hassle others (myself and the PBA included) for drawing attention to the thing that led to so much negative criticism." Thomas seems to be alluding to Belmo's comments on Facebook where he expresses his displeasure with Thomas and the PBA for trying to capitalize on the incident, such as when Belmo wrote: "I'm a little sad to see the PBA try and blow this out of proportion considering the match itself is a great match and was very close all the way to the end. Clutching at straws I guess," and referred to the PBA elsewhere as throwing him "under the bus" for publicity's sake. I think Jason Thomas and the PBA have done precisely that, and, for the record, Belmo has had nothing but good words to say about Angelo ever since the incident, whereas Angelo, although generally complimentary to Belmo, continued, in this interview that Mr. Thomas cites as an example of Angelo's graciousness toward Belmo, to express skepticism about Belmo's intentions.

But what disappoints me perhaps most of all is that Mr. Thomas and, presumably, the PBA he represents, seems to think that turning PBA telecasts into bowling's version of Wrestlemania is a good way to promote the PBA. Thomas writes:

"So, if you are not currently a Brad Angelo fan, I would strongly encourage you to re-evaluate your position, if not for the sake of his fan club mailing list and highly successful bowling camps, then at least for the message it sends to his fellow players that what you want to see on TV is candid, in-your-face, bowling action, which when we get it, showcases our sport at it's very best and most dramatic."

I don't know about you, but I think PBA bowling is at its very best and most dramatic when the players let their bowling balls and not their mouths do the talking in outstandingly executed and nail-biting matches to the wire. They don't need to get in each other's faces, and, if and when they do, the PBA doesn't need to glorify it and then take snide shots at those who criticize them for doing so. If professional bowling in this country is so desperate for ratings that it's seeking to turn its telecasts into "PBA Sunday Smackdown," Jason Belmonte's right. The PBA *is* "clutching at straws,"and straws won't keep it from drowning.

You can read my previous entries on "Bottlegate" here, here, and here.

More on the Belmonte/Angelo Brouhaha

I wrote Wednesday about the mini-controversy pba.com's Jason Thomas has stirred up over the recent altercation between Jason Belmonte and Brad Angelo in a televised match. Actually, the match in question hasn't even been televised yet. It will air this Sunday on ESPN. But a clip of the altercation itself has made an advance appearance on YouTube. And people are talking.

They're saying all kinds of things. Some are saying Belmo's a "jerk." Some are saying Angelo's a jerk and a "crybaby." Some are saying it isn't absolutely clear that anyone is either a jerk or a crybaby, but that if Angelo was distracted by Belmonte's noisy water bottle, he could and should have handled it better. Belmonte himself has publicly apologized for his carelessness and said that he "made up" with Angelo after the match.

However, Belmonte also seems a bit perturbed by the way the PBA has handled this "tempest in a teapot," as one commenter on my piece Wednesday characterizes it. In his Facebook comment of last Monday night, Belmonte wrote:

"I didn't attempt to open the bottle in his swing like people or the PBA are trying to suggest. That would be a D-Bag move and last time I checked I'm not a D-Bag...I'm a little sad to see the PBA try and blow this out of proportion, considering the match itself is a great match and was very close all the way to the end. Clutching at straws I guess."

I think Belmo's probably right. I think the PBA probably *is* "clutching at straws" to lure as many viewers as it can to its telecasts lest it not have enough of them to remain on TV or in business. But to what lengths should it go to "live long and prosper"? Should it slyly impugn the motives and character of one of its brightest stars in order to drum up more business, or do you think it even did this in Belmo's case?

I don't know what kind of financial condition the PBA is in today. But I do know that since it was rescued from oblivion when three former Microsoft executives purchased it in 2000, it has had trouble attracting and keeping sponsors and has hemorrhaged so much money that its chairman, Chris Peters, withdrew last year from most of his involvement with the organization and, as I wrote last year, its current CEO, Fred Schreyer, has ominously warned that the PBA's owners will "not invest the same amount of money over the next ten years as they did over the last ten."

So, short of turning PBA telecasts into bowling's equivalent of "Wrestlemania" with manufactured or real feuds, shouting matches, and even fisticuffs between the bowlers, what, if anything, can the PBA do to draw more fans and earn enough money to stay solvent and ultimately become successful again? Or have the times changed so much that the PBA can never hope to regain the glories of its past or even stay in business much longer, no matter how many provocative articles Jason Thomas writes?

About.com's bowling writer Jef Goodger has written a piece about this story on his bowling blog here.

Mika's Detractors After the 2011 U.S. Open

I’ve had the misfortune of reading some online comments about what a “choke,” “drama queen,” and “jerk” Mika Koivuniemi was Sunday when he missed that 10 pin and afterward. Here is one fairly representative comment on the PBA Facebook page:

I loved Mika the "Drama Queen" missing the 10 pin, he should get an Oscar for that, the falling on the approach was one thing, sitting with his hands in his head when he should have gotten to his feet and congratulated Duke was inexcusable. Suck it up boy, you made a bad shot. If Duke does not stone an 8 pin you are a dead duck anyway.

This is how I replied:

I'm guessing that Mika's loudest detractors not only won't ever have to "handle something like that," but that, if they did, they'd be so nervous they'd miss the 10 pin by throwing the ball in the opposite gutter several feet down the lane, and then they'd bawl like a baby afterward. ;-) What's the old saying, "Those who can, do, and those who can't, teach."? Well how about, Those who slam sports competitors can neither do nor teach.? ;-)

Mika bowled almost superhumanly well all day to find himself in that pressure-packed situation, and then he made a very human mistake at the end, just as Norm made one earlier in the game. Both bowled like champions, and both deserve praise rather than blame. Yes, Mika was upset, but only at himself, and he later said nice things about Norm. And life goes on.

Actually, I don’t accept the saying, “Those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.” I understand that there are some excellent teachers among the ranks of the finest men and women bowlers in the world, including Norm Duke and Kelly Kulick. I’d gladly take lessons from them any day, and I was fortunate enough a few months ago to receive some coaching from Bill O’Neill. Now, if only I’d follow his advice.

I personally didn’t take offense at Mika’s reaction at the end. He had just lost $40,000 and the most coveted title in bowling by a mere few inches. Well, actually, he would have still needed an eight count on the next ball to clinch it, and that’s no gimme on a flat oil pattern. Remember Walter Ray, of all people, needing an eight count to make it to the U.S. Open TV finals last year and getting six? But the point is, I don’t think anyone can reasonably blame Mika for being as upset as he was, and I don’t think he acted egregiously in his upset. Furthermore, he did compliment Norm in his post-game comments.

What do you think? Do you think Mika’s conduct was inexcusably unsportsmanlike? Furthermore, do you think his missing that 10 pin will haunt him and, when and if he faces a similar situation in the future, cause him to miss again?

Bowling Bytes--4/9/10

~ PBA Confirms Exempt Player List for 2010-2011 Season -- "The exemption list – except for one Golden Umbrella exemption to be awarded later in the year – includes title winners, players from the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour World Ranking Points List, seven qualifiers from the 2009 PBA Regional Players Invitational, the points leader among Tour Qualifying Round competitors who finished outside of the exempt points list (Dave D’Entremont of Middleburg Heights, Ohio), and two players who were granted hardship or medical deferments last season (Baltimore’s Danny Wiseman and Dave Arnold of Dublin, Calif.)"

~ Two bowlers flirt with perfection at USBC Open Championships -- "Among the cities that may be on the outside looking in: Norwich, Conn.; Columbus, Ohio; Hammond, Ind.; Buffalo, N.Y., and Indianapolis.Michael Lichstein of Broad Brook, Conn., struck first, tossing 11 consecutive strikes in his second game of doubles before leaving a 3 pin on his final offering. Brandon Starr of Oklahoma City flirted with perfection during the afternoon team event, but a ringing 10 pin denied him the seventh perfect game of this year's event...The 41-year-old right-hander teamed up with his father, Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Larry Lichstein, for a 1,287 doubles total."

~ International Bowling Industry Magazine -- "The point is to do better business. Spelled “satisfaction,” “achievement,” “money.” That’s exactly the point of International Bowling Industry. Powerful how-to articles, incisive analysis, profiles of people who matter. For 15 years, the leading magazine in the business of bowling. The only all-business publication in bowling."

~ Remy Ong remains undefeated, wins $25,000 in 4th Kingdom International Open -- "Remy Ong (pictured left) from Singapore remained undefeated in the match play finals of the 4th Kingdom International Open en route to win the title and the $25,000 top prize Thursday at Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ong, a two-time World champion and 3-time Asian Games gold medalist defeated Patrick Healey (right), United States, in the title match, 464-383. The PBA champion was consoled with $13,000."

~ The sport of 'everyman'...and 'everywoman' -- "For better and worse, bowling has long been touted as the sport of Everyman — i.e., a typical or ordinary person. Results from this season’s Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour amplify the notion that all sorts of bowlers from a wide range of backgrounds can achieve great things in the sport...Kelly Kulick’s victory at the Tournament of Champions also clarified that the sport of Everyman also includes Everywoman...In general, success on the tour continues to trend to the older. If it’s not guys over 50 winning tournaments, it’s often late bloomers, such as Mike Scroggins and Jack Jurek, doing their best bowling well into their 40s...Other story lines have been tied to the personal tolls exacted by the worst economic conditions since the Depression. Thomas Smallwood, rendered unemployed by GM, launched a full-time pro bowling career as a somewhat desperate career alternative… and won the PBA World Championship. Mike DeVaney, one of the “new” PBA’s charter exemption holders, found his financial situation so dire he was basically homeless… then won the Scorpion Championship."

~ Tour hosts no more -- "Today, as the PBA contracts its schedule in anticipation of a belt-tightening 2010-11 season, several centers that hosted tour stops this season probably won’t be on the schedule next season. Among the cities that may be on the outside looking in: Norwich, Conn.; Columbus, Ohio; Hammond, Ind.; Buffalo, N.Y., and Indianapolis...It’s a difficult situation for the PBA as well. Needing to cut back on expenses in order to stay afloat in a very tough economy that has seen other sports leagues fold and sponsorships dry up, the decision was made to cut back on traveling expenses and, like this season with the World Series of Bowling, tape multiple championship rounds in a single city. The question is: By the PBA bringing its star players to fewer markets, will it diminish the tour’s fan base to the point that television ratings suffer?"

~ Ball Dynamics and Hook Potential -- "When watching a bowling ball roll down the lane, it is easy to overlook the forces at work within the ball. The ball is round, and the bowler imparts revolutions, axis rotation, axis tilt and ball speed. The round ball undergoes a transition from to skid to hook to forward roll. However, unless you own a clear ball with a high power core design, it is difficult to imagine the position of the core and its rotational influences on the hook pattern of the ball. Understanding the shape and density of the core will enable you to evaluate a ball and its possible benefits to your game."

~ The consummate coach -- "My coach, Bill Harris, died on February 16th. I can hardly breathe. Let me tell you a little about him. He spent most of his life in Fort Worth changing bowlers’ lives for the better. It has been said that he has single-handedly populated numerous Halls of Fame with both male and female bowlers – and he has...An accomplished bowler himself, Mr. Harris has numerous State titles and Southwest Masters titles to his credit. He honed his skills bowling pot games. Anytime anyone came in for a match, he was always ready. And they came from all over. The word about all night games spread easily in the bowling community. They often bowled without sleep for three or four days. Freda tells of many nights when he was home in bed and the center would call saying someone had just driven in from the Panhandle or from Houston and did he want a match? He’d get up, make a few calls, and off he’d go. He actually returned home one time to find a bowling ball in his bed – a subtle hint from Freda!...He believed that learning is not a process of teaching someone what they don’t know but rather helping them discover how much they do know. I am grateful to have been mentored by him. He is the standard by which coaches should be measured. Ask any of the hundreds he has coached… Our lives are better for his presence in them."

~ 2009-2010 CollegeBowling.com To Average / Average Differential -- The Player Averages are calculated from the results of USBC certified intercollegiate team tournaments conducted during the current regular season. The minimum overall participation requirement through February 28, is 40 games and increases each month of the season to a final total of 48 games by March 1 2009. The lists include the top players that meet the applicable participation requirement sorted by either 1) "average" or 2) "average differential".

~ Beyond Skill: What it takes to build a team -- "Like any great sport team, the structure of a quality program is much more than simply skill building in the sport. In bowling, teams would benefit greatly by building around culture, expectations and daily habits. The attention to these details builds the self-discipline, mental toughness and quality focus required to reach a full attention of a team. But, a coach must embed culture and expectations into a daily practice routine in addition to the promotion of skills and knowledge. Culture, expectations, knowledge, data, evaluation and the daily practice process are important elements of great program design."