Bowling Video--2013 PBA WSOB World Championship

Bowling Video: 2012 PBA World Championship Preview

Back to Back PBA and NCAA Bowling Tournaments on ESPN

I know that many eyes were riveted to the PGA Masters and Tiger Woods yesterday. But, hardcore bowling fan that I am, I was more interested in ESPN's bowling programs.

First was the PBA Experience Showdown held at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Tx. It featured the 2009-2010 PBA Tour season's five "animal pattern" champions--Norm Duke (Cheetah), Mike Devaney (Scorpion), Jack Jurek (Shark), Bill O'Neill (Chameleon), and Rhino Page (Viper)--competing against each other and amateur Kevin Reurer, a USBC Sport bowling league member who earned his way into the tournament through a special selection and competition process, in an unusual format in which all six players bowled two frames on each of the oil patterns for their single game score. After that, the players with the top two scores bowled a five frame match, each frame on a different oil pattern, for the championship. Rhino Page beat Bill O'Neill 108-104 for the championship and not-too-shabby $25,000 first prize.

Of course, there were the expected detractors in the PBA Forum. One commented: "That was the most boring bowling I have ever seen. The only one who acted like he wanted to be there was the amateur. Another gimmick. The Tour is over just show the seniors and be done with it.." Others agreed. And I admit that even I didn't find the unconventional format as engaging as a regular tournament, although I applaud the PBA for trying to draw attention to the PBA Experience leagues and to highlight the natures of the various "animal patterns" and the differences between them.

Yet, I wonder how well having each bowler cross the pairs bowling one frame on each pattern and then going back and doing it again after everyone else has bowled the first five frames the same way really helps the public to understand the differences between the patterns and appreciate the skills of the bowlers. It seems to me that one of the defining skills of elite professional bowlers is their ability to repeat good shots on a pattern they've figured out. But when they're moving to a different pattern each successive frame and they have to change their equipment, release, ball speed, and line on each one, there's little to no opportunity to showcase their ability to repeat. I blogged a similar complaint about the "PBA Dual Pattern Madness" of the Go RVing Match Play Championship in March. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed seeing how and how well each of the bowlers tackled the different patterns, and I'm glad they all went home with a paycheck. I wonder how ESPN's ratings for this show compared with their regular bowling telecasts.

Immediately after the men's bowling concluded, ESPN aired the NCAA Women's Bowling Championship match between #1 Nebraska and #3 Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU), and I liked it more than I expected. There were snide remarks in the PBA Forum about the women's weak balls and inappropriate congratulatory cheers and gestures, but I found the best-of-seven Baker format match exciting. Nebraska jumped to a 3-2 lead and looked like they were going to win it, but FDU rebounded and won the final and deciding game at the wire 209-174 to take the coveted national title. Click here to see video of Nebraska in last year's championship.

No, I didn't see anyone who dazzled me with her power or perfect style, but what did impress me was how well these young women performed under the immense pressure of team competition under the TV lights in a rhythm-busting Baker format. I saw a lot of challenging spare conversions and only one missed single pin spare over the entire seven games. I also saw many strikes on pocket hits when they were most desperately needed.

Watching this match on my big screen TV impressed upon me more than ever just how much more pressure there is in bowling team competition at this level than there is in singles competition. In singles competition, if you blow an easy spare or miss the pocket in a crucial situation, it hurts only you. But if you do it as part of a team vying for a national title, the pressure seems magnified countless times over. Those young ladies held up extremely well under all that pressure, which is as much of a tribute to the bowling discipline instilled in them by their coaches and by their experience in grueling competition as it to their raw talent.

However, it should be noted that not all of the best women's college teams participate in NCAA competition. In fact, many of the arguably best women's and men's college teams and individual bowlers aren't in the NCAA because of, as I understand it, the severe restrictions the NCAA places on its athletes. These teams, including perennial powerhouses Wichita State and Saginaw Valley, participate in USBC intercollegiate competition and will be going at it in the USBC Intercollegiate Championships kicking off later this week. I hope ESPN televises the finals of this competition as well.

Bowling Bytes--4/12/10

~ Rhino Page Makes Big Shots to win PBA Experience Showdown in Arlington -- "Rhino Page of Dade City, Fla., made critical shots when he had needed them most to nip Bill O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., in the PBA Experience Showdown presented by BOWL.COM at the International Training and Research Center...the Showdown was a first-of-its-kind contest featuring five PBA Experience lane condition champions (Norm Duke, Cheetah pattern; Mike DeVaney, Scorpion; Jack Jurek, Shark; O’Neill, Chameleon, and Page) along with Kevin Reuer, a USBC Sport Bowling league member from Hoffman Estates, Ill. Reuer, who bowls in the Beverly Lanes Sport League in Arlington Heights, Ill., won a national competition among thousands of USBC PBA Experience League bowlers for the right to bowl against the PBA stars. The made-for-television event required all six players to bowl a single frame on each of the five “animal patterns” and then repeat that process to complete a 10-frame game. After one full round, the field was trimmed to the two highest scores for a five-frame championship game, also across all five patterns. In sequence, players bowled one frame each on the Shark, Chameleon, Viper, Scorpion and Cheetah patterns."

~ Long road to NCAA women's bowling title worth it for Fairleigh Dickinson -- "Fairleigh Dickinson took the long road to its second NCAA women’s bowling championship, finally overcoming No. 1 Nebraska in the seventh and deciding game of the championship match on Saturday night at the Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick."

~ 2010 BEC Video #8 -- Semifinal Match between Zulmazran Zulkifli (MAS) and Rob Thurlby (ENG) -- "The remaining four players after the single-elimination rounds of the 2010 Brunswick Euro Challenge advanced to a traditional stepladder final to bowl for the title and the 13.000 Euro top prize. After defeating No. 4 Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela. In the opening match, No. 3 Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, faced No. 2 Rob Thurlby, England, in the semifinal. The winner advanced to the title match against the No. 1 seed, Adrian Ang, Malaysia."

~ Germany 2 wins Nations Cup at host center of the 2010 Men's World Championships -- "Germany 2 (pictured left with Germay 1) with Jens Nickel, Bodo Konieczny, Pascal Winternheimer, Kai Günther, Michael Holzapfel and Timo Schröder won the Nations Cup 2010, a test event in preparation for the 2010 Men's World Championship at the host bowling center, Dream-Bowl Palace, in Unterföhring, Germany. The Germans led the mini-tournament after four disciplines, Singles, Doubles, Team and another Singles, with 28812pinfall total or an average of 208.78. As each team was allowed six players or more, the team average decided the winner."

~ Zikes Joins 100,000 Club -- "ABC/USBC of Famer Les Zikes of Palatine, Ill., has a bowling resume filled with accomplishments at the USBC Open Championships (formerly known as the ABC Championship Tournament), and he added another milestone to his legacy at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno on Thursday night. The 75-year-old right-hander entered the 2010 USBC Open Championships needing 272 pins to become the newest member of the tournament’s elite 100,000-Pin Club, and he got there in the 7th frame of his second team game. As always, his wife, Mary Cay, was by his side, and he was joined on the lanes by his granddaughter Cathy Kipp and his son, Lyle, who covers the pro bowling beat for BJI."

~ Thought Stopping Methods -- "You’ve bowled quite well in the first five frames against a tough opponent. The match is dead even. Leading off the sixth frame, the other bowler throws a Brooklyn strike. You’re in the pocket, but leave a ringing 10. You say to yourself, “Why don’t I get the breaks?” The spare shot misses. As your stomach knots up, your inner voice says, “Oh no, here we go again. Don’t choke.”Because you keep a self-talk log and know your own tendencies, you quickly recognize the negative self-talk. What do you do next? A technique we recommend for quickly and effectively controlling negative self-talk as well as negative images is thought stopping. Let’s see how it works."

~ French Coach Eric Courault Visits International Training and Research Center -- "Bowling's global push to someday attain the Olympic spotlight has found an ally in French national bowling team head coach Eric Courault...In a whirlwind travel schedule that demonstrated Courault's tireless commitment to strengthening the Tenpin Bowling Association of France, Courault recently visited the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas, just days after attending the Brunswick Euro Challenge in Paris – and then promptly left town en route to the European Youth Championships. "I am so impressed with his overall dedication to the sport and developing it further," says USBC Director of International Relations Bill Hoffman."

~ General Lane Play Guidelines -- "Here are some general guidelines on how to play the lanes, from the outside to the inside, or how-to attack the longer or shorter patterns. I encourage you to read my advanced targeting article as well."

~ Andrew's Angle: Road Trip, Part 1 -- "Road trips. Often regarded as one of the true staples of American freedom, they are also the backbone of those who choose to pursue the bowling dream. I am one of those people."

Tournament Tidbits

I've made it very clear on this blog that I love PBA Xtra Frame. In fact, I've made it so clear that if more than a handful of people actually read this blog, I'd deserve to get paid for all the glowing things I've said about Xtra Frame. It's not perfect, mind you. I get annoyed and frustrated when the video and audio keep freezing up on me and I have to close the window and reopen it again and again. But that's a relatively small price to pay for how entertained I am and for what I learn from its coverage that you can't get anywhere else of PBA events.

Take today for instance. I just finished watching the first 8 game block of match play in the Don and Paul Carter Mixed Doubles Open, and I loved every minute of it. Not only was the bowling exciting, but I listened with rapt attention to announcer Mike Jakubowsky and bowling analyst Jeff Mark converse with guests Mark Sabotini, director of PBA lane maintenance; Cassidy Shaub, two-handed lefty exempt player; and PBA Hall-of-Famer and currrent Ebonite representative Del Ballard. Here are some of the highlights of what I heard this morning:

Belmonte-Feldman dominance- Jeff Mark predicted before match play began that the doubles team of Jason Belmonte and Michelle Feldman would annihilate the rest of the field in match play with their tremendous power games, and it looks like he couldn't have been more right. They're almost 300 pins ahead of the second place team after the first block, and i'm guessing that they're going to keep widening their lead in the second block. They are just destroying the pins and the other teams and opening up their margin of error with their overpowering balls. So, it looks like they'll be seeded first on Sunday's telecast, and I'll be delighted to see them up there. I love to watch them both.

Lane maintenance routine- I never gave much thought to what the lane maintenance people do on the PBA tour, but it was interesting to hear the top guy describe a typical tournament day. When he first arrives at a new bowling center, he unloads the oiling machines from the truck, takes them inside, and plugs them in to warm them up. They have to be at at least 70 degrees to work properly. He then programs them according to predetermined specifications, with a USBC representative there to independently confirm and certify that he's doing it properly, then he runs the lanes with the machine, watches the bowlers warm up and then bowl in competition, and then. after a block is completed, he uses some kind of measuring "tapes," in a manner I don't yet understand, to determine if the lanes were oiled properly.

Sabotini says that the PBA is currently using two kinds of oil. It uses lower viscosity Brunswick Connect lane oil on lower friction surfaces and the much thicker Brunswick Authority 22 lane oil or conditioner on higher friction surfaces. This week, the surface friction is low, so they're using the Connect oil distributed in a modified Scorpion pattern. Sabotini says that the lighter oils don't carry down nearly as much as the heavier ones.

Rookie year challenges- Cassidy Shaub says that he came on tour thinking he already knew a lot about bowling, but he got a rude awakening early on in facing the rapidly changing and extremely challenging conditions that PBA players face on tour. He says it's just "mind boggling" how much they know and, indeed, have to know about lane conditions, equipment, and making the adjustments necessary to be competitive. It's really tough on a young rookie like him to undergo such a steep learning curve and to endure the grind of travel and managing tight finances, but he's doing everything he can to improve, including receiving coaching to help him gain better control of his extremely high revving ball. Yet, when asked if he thinks his two-handed style overtaxes his body and is likely to take its toll over time, he replies that he doesn't think it's any more taxing than a powerful one-handed style.

Two...two...two tournaments in one- Jeff Mark says that a tournament like this week's is really two different tournaments in terms of the conditions the bowlers face and the strategies they must employ between qualifying as individuals bowling only with players of their own gender and bowling match play as a mixed gender team against other mixed gender teams. This presents a special challenge to the women who are now bowling on lanes that get broken down a lot faster by the high revving male players than they are in women's only tournaments. But the men are also faced with different conditions, created by the women bowlers, than they're accustomed to.

Walter Ray loves the women- Del Ballard says that Walter Ray Williams is a huge fan of women's bowling, and Jeff Mark reports that when he was a ball rep and worked with Walter Ray a few years ago, Walter would excitedly approach the pro women for autographs and they were stunned and delighted that this bowling superstar of superstars wanted THEIR autograph. Mark says that no matter how well or poorly he and his doubles partner Staphanie Nation (and they're dead last after the first block) fare in this tournament, no one is having more fun during the mixed doubles format than Walter Ray.

Ballard, who has won a big mixed doubles tournament or two, likes mixed doubles too although he isn't "overly fond" of the Baker format. He's also hopeful for women's bowling. He says he's always maintained that if the women want to get paid as much as the men, they need to be able to beat the men and that Kelly Kulick proved during her amazing performance at the TOC than it can be done. He also agrees with Jeff Mark that Shannon Pluhowsky has such a wonderful style and effortlessly powerful delivery that she could probably compete with the male lefties on the men's tour. Mark says she is one of the few bowlers of either gender that he would actually pay to watch bowl. That's how much he thinks of her game. Ballard says that the most physically talented female bowler he's ever seen is Tammy Boomershine. She made it to match play this week and is paired with heavy rolling British star Stuart Williams.

Two-handed ladies- Ballard recounts a recent experience of practicing on a Sunday morning and seeing two ladies in their fifties come in and start throwing the ball two-handed. When he went over to talk with them, they told him that they'd seen Jason Belmonte do it on TV and wanted to try it for themselves. He said they had a great time and that he did too watching them, talking with them, and giving them a few pointers. He said bowling, even competitive bowling, should be about having fun, which is one reason why he takes no issue with the USBC allowing people to drink beverages, including alcoholic ones, down on the lanes this year at the Nationals in Reno.

Quietest shoulder on tour- I'm not sure exactly what he means by this, but Ballard says, "Nobody on tour keeps their [bowling arm] shoulder quieter than Rhino Page," Ballard says he loves this about Page's style and wishes he could teach it to everyone.

IT may not be all that- I've wondered about Vise's new interchangeable thumb system called IT and have even considered getting it for my own equipment, but, despite the ringing endorsements of some of the PBA's finest, I've been wary of the possibility of it breaking or causing me other problems. Well, this morning, Jeff Mark and Del Ballard gave me further pause. They say that the deep pilot hole that must be drilled into the ball in order to use the IT system may inadvertently alter the shape and density of the ball's core, and that this, in turn, could significantly change the ball's "core dynamics" and roll from what it was designed to be.

Bowling is such a complicated sport at its higher levels. But Xtra Frame helps me understand it better.

Bowling History in the Making

They didn't believe she could do it. Just as she failed to bowl particularly well in match play the year she became the first and only woman to earn exempt status on the men's tour, many figured that she'd falter this time around in match play of the spotlighted TOC against superstars like Chris Barnes, Pete Weber, and Wes Malott. And there was some reason to believe that she would. After all, she'd finished weaker than she started in the previous two match play rounds. Speculation was that as the lanes transitioned and opened up, the pressure built, and the big guns started firing away, she might well fall precipitously from grace as she moved left on the approach and struggled to hold pocket and carry those pesky 10-pins with her woman's game in the final round of match play.

But Kelly Kulick fooled them and put on a performance for the ages. It started out inauspiciously. She began the round with games of 174 and 172. All appeared to be lost But then she made a ball change and instantly caught fire, with the crowd behind her fanning the flames, with games of 223, 279, 277, 222, 236, and a beautiful 267 in the last game against Rhino Page. It was a joy watching her on Xtra Frame as she reeled off strike after strike on a tough condition, hearing the crowd cheering her on, and seeing the hugs and congratulations she received from the male pros after the round was over and she was seeded second in the TV finals. If she can bowl like she did last night, I truly believe that she could win the TOC and that this would be one of the biggest stories ever in professional bowling. I can't wait to watch tomorrow's finals live on ESPN at 10 AM PST!

The first match will feature Rhino Page bowling against "Major" Mika Koivuniemi. Page could have won last year's TOC against Patrick Allen with a nine count or tied for sudden death with an eight count and spare in the eleventh, but he inexplicably threw the ball wide and got an ugly four count to lose the match. The final score was 267 to 263. Now Page has a chance to redeem himself.

The winner of the first match will take on Kelly Kulick, and the winner of that match will face who else but the great Chris Barnes for the coveted title. Like I said, I can't wait to see this.

On a sad note, my man Tony Reyes went into the final position round game last night in second place and with a great opportunity to make the show after bowling so well for most of the week. But he came up short against Chris Barnes, losing 236 to 159, and fell to sixth place behind Pete Weber. It must have been awfully disappointing for him to get so close. But, he can return to San Bruno knowing that he gave it his all, that he hung in there awfully well with the best of the best, and with $4,600 of prize money weighing down his pockets. Not a bad week at all, Tony.

But win or lose tomorrow, it should turn out to be one of the greatest weeks in Kelly Kulick's life.

Below are the heart-stopping final frames of last year's TOC.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I'm watching the third qualifying round of the TOC. Tony Reyes has just bowled 300 and has moved up to third in the standings. I've bowled in a lot of tournaments in the San Francisco Bay Area in which Tony also bowled. I'd like to see him make the finals.

But one thing I notice as I watch the tournament is the large TOC banner over some of the lanes. It features photos of Chris Barnes, Patrick Allen, and Wes Malott. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing's really wrong with it. All three of these guys are outstanding bowlers, and Chris Barnes is arguably the best in the world at this time.

But where is Walter Ray Williams? A TOC banner without the winningest PBA bowler of them all is like a day without breakfast. Or a day without dinner. Take your pick. Walter Ray, the champion's champion, belongs on that banner more than anyone. It galls me that the PBA is so hung up on youth and flashiness! I guess they think they need to be in order to attract the largest possible audience. But I'm part of the audience too. I respect bowling tradition and greatness at least as much as I like to watch the young lions of the game. Why can't the PBA do a better job of honoring both? Why do the older champions, including the greatest of them all, get kicked aside even when they're still very competitive?

After Round 2 of the TOC

I enjoyed watching some of the qualifying rounds of the TOC (Tournament of Champions) yesterday on PBA Xtra Frame. It was great seeing old timers such as Dave Soutar, Carmen Salvino, Ernie Schlegel, Johnny Petraglia, and Don McCune bowling with the youngsters. Surprisingly, Hall of Famer Wayne Webb is in eighth place after two rounds (16 games) of qualifying.

I'm pulling for Wayne, not only because he's always been one of my favorite bowlers and is a fellow Sacramentan, but he was also my ball driller until he left his Sacramento pro shop to bowl full time on the senior tour. Two years ago he watched me bowl, suggested a ball for me, drilled it the way he thought was best for my ball roll, and I took it right out of the box and shot 812 with it in league a few nights later. That ball fits me better than any I've ever had and works very well for me. Thank you Wayne, and hang in there this week.

Another surprise is that Kelly Kulick is in sixth place after two rounds. I'd like to see her make it to the televised finals and challenge the men for the championship. But she may have to get past the likes of Rhino Page, Pete Weber, and Tommy Jones--first, second, and third place respectively after the second round--to win it all. And Walter Ray is, as usual, still in the hunt in 14th place. Yesterday I saw him move from an outside line in the first round to more of an inside line than you almost ever see him play and still hit the pocket consistently and carry pretty well. That may not be his A game, but he usually finds a way to get it done no matter what. I'd like to see him win it all this year and add to his resume what has so far been an elusive championship.

I don't know what's been happening with Norm Duke lately. We've heard nothing from him since his Cheetah Championship win at the WSOB in Detroit, and he had to pull out of the competition yesterday after the 12th game. That must have been very difficult for him seeing as how focused he is on winning majors. But I hope to see him back at his best soon.

Later today, the bowlers will complete the final 8 game round of qualifying and then the top 24 will advance to match play this evening. Match play should be a lot of fun to watch tonight on Xtra Frame with all the expert commentary that will go along with it.