2019 World Bowling Women's Championships: Day One

I had hoped and even planned to drive to Las Vegas Friday to watch all seven days of the 2019 World Bowling Women’s Championships competition taking place from August 24-30. I even reserved a room at South Point so I could be conveniently close to the action. That’s how enamored I’ve become with elite women’s bowling and with the powerhouse teams and top players competing.

But days before the tournament commenced, prudence dictated that I cancel my plans and settle for watching as much of the action as I could via live-streaming.

I don’t know why I thought the live-stream coverage would be good enough to allay a fair portion of my disappointment over not being able to attend the tournament, but I was quickly disabused of my optimism. The disillusionment began when I went to the Championships website at the scheduled starting time of the first event, singles, at 9 am Saturday, clicked on the link labeled “WATCH LIVE,” and repeatedly got the message “COMING SOON.” By 9:10, I figured that the bowling must have started and that I needed to look elsewhere for a functional link to the action, so I did what any reasonably knowledgeable bowling fan would do and checked out Jeff Richgels on Facebook. The chances are overwhelmingly good that he’ll know what’s happening and how you can see it online if it’s anywhere to be seen.

Thanks to Jeff, I found three camera feeds. But the wide-angle views afforded took some getting used to. For while I could see the competition occurring on several pairs at a time, it all had a kind of offputtingly distorted and distant look to it, and I couldn’t make out the scores displayed on the wall above the pins. Watching it might have been the next best thing to being there, but it was a far, far cry from being there, and it took me a while to settle into making the best of it. Worse still was the fact that of the three cameras operating, one or more of them often lost the feed for significant periods of time, preventing me from watching almost entire games of bowlers I really wanted to see.

Fortunately, one of my favorite lady bowlers, Team Singapore’s Bernice Lim, winner of the USBC Queens title in 2016, was on one of the live-streams, and she came right out of the chute striking her way to a first game of 245, which she followed up with a 247 en route to placing first in Squad 1 after the six games of qualifying with a total of 1354 for a 225.67 average. Team USA’s Liz Kuhlkin finished 12th at 1298 (216.33), and Jordan Richard finished in 29th place with a total of 1223 (203.83).

I was thrilled to see Team Malaysia’s fabulous Sin Li Jane on one of the live-streams for the first game of the second squad. And after she shot 248 her first game and 237 her second, I posted to Facebook that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she took the gold in singles and all-events. But a singles gold was not in the cards as she ended up in 22nd place in that squad with a total of 1269 (211.50).

As it turned out, the top four who qualified for the singles semifinals on Thursday and the top five finishers from both squads all came from the second squad. They were led by Team Korea’s Nayoung Lee who finished with a 289 for a total of 1410 (235.0). Second went to Sweden’s Sandra Andersson at 1401 (233.5). Third was none other than the amazing Shannon O’Keefe at 1392 (232.0). Shannon is arguably the best female bowler on the planet right now. She’s the reigning PWBA Player of the Year, has won a phenomenal four PWBA titles already this season coming off her victory last week in the PWBA Orlando Open, and appears to be at the top of her game physically and in possession of an indomitable will to pravail. It’s a real pleasure watching her compete so masterfully and with such a determined spirit. And rounding out the field of qualifiers to the semifinal round was Team USA’s great Danielle McEwan, the defending all-events champ from the 2017 World Bowling Women’s Championships. She totaled 1371 (228.5) and shot a clutch 242 her final game to edge out Colombia’s Maria Jose Rodriguez who totaled 1368 (228.0).

What I didn’t realize until nearly the end of the bowling yesterday was that only four players in the stellar international field of 176 advanced to the next round in singles and that they had only six games to do it. I guess it can’t be any other way in a one week tournament with so many events, but it sure seems like a shame to make women’s bowling’s equivalent of the Olympics an all-out sprint to the finish line.

Oh well, it is what it is. And what it is will keep me watching as much of the action as I can for the rest of the week. Coming up is qualifying for the doubles event, and I can’t wait to see how my favorite lady bowlers fare in that.

Final Thoughts on 2012 U.S. Women's Open Fiasco, With Complete Video

                                                 (Photo from examiner.com)


Well, the telecast has aired, and now I can openly congratulate Kelly Kulick for winning her third U.S. Women's Open without spoiling the suspense for any of my readers. I can also offer some concluding comments about the whole messy business after having seen it, or at least most of it, with my own eyes.

I say "at least most of it," because one of my gripes, shared by many, is that ESPN2 cut out several frames of the competition in order to squeeze two hours worth of bowling action into 90 minutes. I seem to recall that last year's telecast was two hours and didn't edit out any frames, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

However, now that I've watched the telecast (and you can too below if you haven't seen it already or you want to see it again), what more is there to say that I haven't said already? Quite a lot, actually, but I'll try to keep it relatively brief.

First of all, I confess to being pleasantly surprised that things didn't turn out worse than they appeared to. I half expected to see a swirling dust storm all but blocking out our view of the action at times and sending papers and other debris flying past the bowlers and landing on the lanes and having to be removed between shots. And I more than half expected to see the ladies throwing balls that hooked off the lanes even though they were plastic, losing their footing on the dusty approaches, and looking really flustered at times. Instead, I saw consummate poise and professionalism from all the competitors as they as gracefully as humanly possible posted hapless shot after shot and made the best of a terrible situation and scored amazingly well under the circumstances. I have nothing but unbounded respect and admiration for how well Lynda, Shannon, Stefanie, Missy, and Kelly handled it all and how gracious the runners-up were afterward.

Second, I want to repeat what I've said before. I think Dave LaMont and Chris Barnes are the best announcing team in bowling today, and I'd love to see them doing ESPN's PBA telecasts together (Randy Pedersen could be there too) when Chris doesn't make the finals. They too made the best of a bad situation with that telecast.

Now, with due praise delivered, it's time to get to the criticism. I begin by asking, What were they thinking when they decided to hold the finals in a dusty wind tunnel? Don't tell me they had no way of knowing what the weather would be like when they planned things. Reno is a windy place all year round and any respectable meteorologist could have told them that if only they'd asked. Or perhaps they did ask but didn't care when they got the answer. Perhaps they were so busy falling all over themselves shouting, "They can bowl outside by the Reno Arch. How cool is THAT?!" that they didn't give the integrity of the bowlers and the competition a second thought.

I'm guessing they were thinking that bowling outside in that venue would inject a WOW factor that would put women's bowling on the map and draw more onlookers to the actual event as well as more viewers to the telecast. But is there any good reason or evidence to suggest that it would or did? How many extra viewers do they think the telecast actually drew because of where it took place, especially when the telecast was aired almost a week after the fact and everybody knew the outcome? Why do they keep showing these ballyhooed events a week or so late?. Yes, I've heard from someone who should know that showing these events live doesn't seem to affect the ratings any, but I'm not sure how they came to that definitive conclusion. I can't help but think that last year's finals in Cowboys Stadium with its one million dollar offer for a perfect game in the final match would have drawn more viewers had they been shown live.

I discussed this yesterday with someone very much in the bowling industry, and he said, as others have said, that they should have added the money they spent on constructing those outdoor lanes to the prize fund instead and held the finals in the ready-to-go National Bowling Stadium. That way, the finalists would have bowled on conditions at least similar to what they mastered to get them to the finals, they would still have been doing it in a great venue, and they could have used the special occasion to showcase the bowling stadium and talk about the extensive renovations planned for it that will make it an even more spectacular place for tournaments of every stripe in the years to come. Instead, they turned arguably the most prestigious women's bowling tournament on Earth into a freak show.

But, say some defenders of the format, they were all battling the same conditions, and, besides, the U.S. Open SHOULD be tough. Well, does this mean that we should move, say, the NHL Championship game to an outdoor parking lot filled with cracks and crevasses, outfit the players in antiquated field hockey gear and roller skates, and decide the championship THAT way? Or should we make the bowlers throw every shot between their legs to create that WOW factor and make it "tough" on them the way a U.S. Open should be?

Kelly Kulick averaged a blistering 240 + over qualifying and match play to achieve the top seed. Now maybe that was higher than the conditions of any U.S.Open worthy of the name should have allowed, but she should have been able to use the skills in the final match that brought her to it, and not have to resort to throwing plastic with no hand as straight as possible over 25 board and leaving 5-8-10's. The whole thing was a travesty.

As I said, and as you will see if you check out the videos below, the ladies were gracious afterward. And as I disclosed in a previous entry, some of them came to the defense of the BPAA, who sponsored and ran the tournament, because they were just grateful to get any chance to bowl for decent money anymore and were afraid that criticism could take even THAT away from them.

Well, what do you think? Do you think the BPAA will be scared away by all the criticism from sponsoring the event next year and nobody else will step up to the plate? Should we bowlers and bowling fans just keep our mouths shut, unless we have effusive praise for a bowling event and its sponsors, and just take it the way we get it and be happy that we get anything at all?

I think we can be pretty sure of one thing. If there is a U.S. Women's Open next year, and I pray that there is, the bowling ball manufacturers will probably make sure that they're held in a venue where the ladies can show off the latest, fanciest new balls on the market instead of ragged polyester equipment savaged by parking lot conditions. And hopefully the highest game of the stepladder finals will exceed 182.

You can watch the entire telecast in the first video below, followed by brief interviews with all the participants afterwards.

Shannon O'Keefe and Stefanie Nation Respond to My Comments About U.S. Women's Open Finals

People continue to express opinions on last Wednesday's controversial finals of the U.S. Women's Open. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me briefly explain that five women made the stepladder finals after progressing through several qualifying and match play rounds in Reno's National Bowling Stadium. However, rather than conduct the stepladder finals in the Stadium, the people who put on the tournament decided to hold the finals outdoors on lanes terminating at the Reno Arch. I guess they thought this would create more excitement and draw more spectators to the site of the finals as well as attract a bigger viewing audience to the televised presentation of it the following Tuesday.

No doubt they were right in their thinking. There may well have been as much excitement surrounding last Tuesday's finals as any big tournament has ever generated, and there may be more interest, at least among those who know about it, in the upcoming broadcast than there's ever been before.

The problem is, the bowling took place in a wind and sand storm that had all the competitors using plastic balls for their strike and spare shots early on and struggling like mad to make even simple spares. Consequently, there have been many criticisms directed at the people who approved and ran the tournament, and there have been defenses on their behalf.

Yet, until yesterday, I hadn't seen any of the actual finalists answer any of these criticisms. But then I posted some criticism on Dave LaMont's (the Play-by-Play TV announcer of the televised finals) Facebook wall, and, immediately thereafter, Shannon O'Keefe and Stefanie Nation responded. Here is the exchange:

Dave LaMont: A night of bowling like no other before, a major championship decided in a once in a lifetime atmosphere but with rough desert conditions in Reno. I called it "Survivor-Reno" and you can see the challenges five remarkable bowlers, Kelly Kulick, Melissa Bellinder-Parkin, Shannon O'Keefe, Stefanie Nation and Lynda Norry Barnes battle it out July 3 at 8 Eastern on ESPN2

Me: I thought even before the fact that it was ridiculous to hold the finals outdoors because of the weather conditions, and I got booted out of BowlTV's live streaming chat and unsubscribed from BowlTV for saying it aloud. But it looks like my opinion was vindicated by the ensuing debacle Wednesday night. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to seeing the finals on TV as much or more than I've ever looked forward to seeing ANY bowling telecast over the past 50 years. The problem is, I'm not sure if I and other people are looking forward to it for the right reason. We should be looking forward to seeing the best female bowlers on the planet use their best equipment, smarts, and physical skills to show what they can do against each other on conditions not altogether dissimilar to what they bowled on to earn their way into the finals. But, instead, we're looking forward to seeing a comedy of errors in which crazy wind and dust storms reduce arguably the most prestigious women's tournament of the season in the whole wide world into an unprecedented farce. :-/

Shannon O'Keefe:  Hello Steve....I understand your opinion but from one of the ladies that had this incredible opportunity I look at tho show as a blessing and a triumph! Were the conditions crazy...sure but again I'm beyond grateful we have been given the opportunities to continue women's bowling. The how was an amazing experience and one that I will NEVER forget...the atmosphere and energy of the crowd was incredible....does everyone wish scores were higher...sure but I can tell u I have never been so nervous to shoot a spare...lol! I know everyone had an opinion and they are more than entitled to it, but please from a woman who has very few opportunities to bowl, let's embrace this experience and show...I don want all the nay Sayers to ruin future opportunities for all!Stefanie Nation:  I second Shannon's comments. I do understand your perspective and agree with it to an extent, but Having said that, it truly was a challenge and certainly QUITE the experience.... The intentions of the venue were absolutely the right ones and we very well knew we could not control mother nature. People will be talking about this a while and yes, whether it be for the 'right' reasons, who knows. Press is Press. Josh Blanchard falling in the gutter on the PBA telecast got bowling all over the web. Tom Daugherty shooting 99 was chirped about for months. It's all said and done so I'm hopeful that you will watch the show and help boost ratings for our sport!


Me: Well, Shannon, your firsthand perspective of the event should certainly carry immensely more weight than mine, and I greatly appreciate reading it. I watched the live streaming all throughout the tournament and was tremendously impressed with how well you and the other finalists bowled during qualifying and match play. However, I just want to clarify that I'm not saying you ladies weren't blessed to have this opportunity over none at all, and I can well imagine that the excitement level soared to heights never before felt. But I'm just hoping that there's another U.S. Women's Open next year and that this time the powers-that-be decide to hold it in conditions that, no matter how novel and exciting, still allow you ladies to make full use of your best equipment and skills on lane conditions that are at least somewhat similar to what you bowled and excelled on all week, not just so that you'll shoot higher scores but also so that you'll be showcased at your very best as the fantastic bowlers that you are.

Me: Thank you too, Stefanie. You bet I'll be watching Tuesday night! I wouldn't miss it for the world! :-) And I'll be posting about it on my bowling blog as soon thereafter as I can.

Shannon O'Keefe: Agreed with stefanie and one more note...we had two practice sessions before the show started and both of those practice sessions were normal...as a matter of fact I put surface on one of my balls when we practiced from 11-1. Chris and Cathy came around and asked us right before the show started what we were planning on using and what we would switch to....however once the show started and the sun went down...the wind picked up an half way through the first match the unexpected happened...it was not malicious and we were all beyond excited for the opportunity!!! So again I understand all the opinions out there an I respect them and good or bad at least we have people talking about bowling and isn't that what all of us want!!!! 

I guess I'll let the comments above speak for themselves until after we all have a chance to watch the televised finals tomorrow night (7/3) on ESPN2 at 8PM Eastern. After that, I'm sure I'll have more to say and perhaps even be able to embed videos of the telecast in my blogpost for those who want to watch the action there.

Five of Bowling's Best Will Brave the Elements Tonight in the Finals of the 2012 U.S. Women's Open

I got myself into some trouble yesterday during BowlTV's live streaming of the final match play round of the 2012 U.S. Women's Open. I made some ill-advised remarks in the online chat window accompanying the bowling action in which I playfully questioned the intellectual capacities of those who planned and approved the holding of the televised finals outdoors in the fierce winds sure to be blustering under the Reno Arch this evening, and I got unceremoniously booted out of the chat and had my subscription to BowlTV revoked.

I concede that I could and should have expressed myself more tactfully. The powers-that-be behind this tournament are to be commended for seeking and finding a novel and exciting way to bring bowling to the public, and having Lynda Barnes, Stefanie Nation, Shannon O'Keefe, Missy Parkin, and, of course, Kelly Kulick compete in the stepladder finals of the most coveted and lucrative women's bowling tournament in the world under the semi-famous Reno Arch is nothing if not novel and exciting.

However, the point raised by my indelicate remarks is not entirely without merit. These outstanding female bowlers rose to the top of the 200 + elite player field by bowling superbly INDOORS at the National Bowling Stadium, and now you're going to put them OUTDOORS for the most important part of the tournament and force them to bowl not only against each other but against a wild wind and a whole host of other variables profoundly different from the ones they mastered to earn their way into the finals?

Well, obviously that IS what they're going to do, and I'm as eager as anyone to see what happens, even if, barring a trip to Reno to see it in in person this evening, we have to wait until next Tuesday to watch it on ESPN2 at 8PM Eastern. But is it the RIGHT thing to do? What do you think? Or do you want to wait until after you watch the tournament to weigh in?

You can read bowl.com's story on yesterday's match play and tonight's finals here, and you can view Matt Lawson's even better-than-always superlative rundown below.

2011 U.S. Women's Open Finalists Reflect on Upcoming Finals

"I am so excited. I kind of struggled last night and struggled a little bit today physically, and so I kept looking up at the scoreboard and thinking 'How am I still in the running when I'm throwing it this bad?' So, I'm really excited to be in the show, to go bowl in the Cowboy Stadium in front of all my home crowd and just have a great time."

--Lynda Barnes

"I actually get a chance in helping to break those down and hopefully get to break them down the way that I want them. 'Advantage' is a way that YOU look at it. I'm looking at bowling the first match as an advantage."

--Shannon O'Keefe

"We've bowled at some big stadiums but nothing like this. So, it's going to be an absolutely exciting, exciting day. I'd love to make it to the final match and see what goes from there. You know it's going to be a great show regardless."

--Liz Johnson

"Very seldom have I won being in the top position. I don't look at that as a plus or as a negative. But, considering as well as I've bowled this week, I'm just going to take that as a positive, see how the lanes play...I'll have the practice pair to warm up and I'll have a few minutes before the show starts for me. So, if I get lined up quick enough, I'll be alright."

--Kelly Kulick

"It's an even playing field. There's no advantage to anyone, I think, going in there."

--Shannon O'Keefe

"This venue is new to all of us, so we're all on equal playing ground. I'm just going to try to go out there, see what the lanes are doing...hopefully they're going to be similar to what they were like all week long. If I have the same look over there like I did now, I'm going to be tough to beat."

--Kelly Kulick

"It would be icing on the cake. I've always bowled well in the U.S. Open, so it would be a dream come true."

--Leanne Hulsenberg

Video Preview of Stepladder Finals of 2011 U.S. Women's Open

Tonight's the night. Not that you'll be able to see it tonight, for some unfathomable reason (more about that in an upcoming blogpost). But tonight's the night that Lynda Barnes, Shannon O'Keefe, Liz Johnson, Leanne Hulsenberg, and Kelly Kulick will meet on the grandest bowling stage in human history for the championship finals of the tournament jewel of women's bowling. And below is a USBC video preview of the participants and the glory and riches to be had.

2011 U.S. Women's Open Qualifying--First Round

Bowling is underway in Texas for the U.S. Women's Open, and a bowler from the Netherlands is leading after the first round. Lisanne Breeschoten averaged almost 250 for her first 8 games. Shannon Pluhowsky sits in second, Shannon O'Keefe in third, Liz Johnson in fifth, defending champion Kelly Kulick in seventh after shooting 1014 for her last 4 games, Lynda Barnes in tenth, and Sacramento favorite Leanne Barrette-Hulsenberg in sixteenth.

The record field of 286 bowlers is divided into three squads, and each squad will bowl 24 games of qualifying, with 8 games each on fresh oil, on intermediate breakdown, and on "the burn" before the field is cut to the top 32 on Tuesday and the top 16 on Wednesday. The finals will take place on Thursday night in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX and, for some inscrutable reason, be telecast by ESPN2 on Saturday at 6PM Eastern. The winner will receive a record $50,000. Furthermore, if anyone shoots 300 in the title match, she will receive $1 million. I can't imagine the pressure of going into the tenth frame with all strikes, but I hope somebody does it. Unfortunately, those of us who watch the telecast will almost certainly know not only who won the tournament but also whether she shot 300, which kind of takes away the tension.

You can click here for the story and standings of the first round, and you can view yesterday's first round of qualifying action below. Moreover, you can access live streaming of all the qualifying and match play rounds on bowl.com.

Video streaming by Ustream

Video streaming by Ustream

Video streaming by Ustream