~ Will anyone ever surpass Walter Ray's career accomplishments? -- "It was once hard to believe that anyone would equal or overcome the late Earl Anthony's 43 National titles when his greatness was being witnessed. Hank Aaron's home run record once seemed insurmountable until Barry Bonds eclipsed it. Richard Petty's 200 career victories in NASCAR has stood for the better part of two decades now, and no one is even CLOSE to passing that milestone. I'm sure there are some other astounding records out there I'm leaving out. Having to account for some of the differences in the current version of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour from years past, I am hard pressed to come up with any bowler who has a clear cut shot at taking down Walter Ray Williams Jr. and his 47 victories, or his career earnings record, for that matter..."
~ Bowling Manufacturers Set to Do Battle in GEICO PBA Team Shootout -- "Four of bowling’s leading ball manufacturing companies are going to do battle when Six Flags Great Adventure hosts the GEICO PBA Team Shootout in Jackson, N.J., June 11-12. ESPN will air the 15-segment series beginning June 27. For the fourth summer in a row, stars of the Professional Bowlers Association will don shorts and sunglasses, and bowl outdoors on specially-constructed lanes at Six Flags Great Adventure in a made-for-television team competition. The 2010 twist to the Baker team battle will feature Brunswick, Ebonite International, Storm Products and 900 Global – rival bowling ball manufacturers who have selected their own teams...The 2010 GEICOTeam Shootout will use the Baker team format for all matches. In Baker team competition, five players bowl two frames each to complete a game. The Shootout will call for each team to face each of the other three teams twice in “home and away” matches. The “home team” in each match will select the lane conditioning pattern and finishing lane. The head-to-head matches will produce 12 half-hour shows.The standings after the round-robin matches will determine stepladder positions for the final three half-hour shows. The “championship round” will begin with the No. 4 team vs. No. 3. The winner will bowl the No. 2 seed. The championship will feature the semifinal match winner against the No. 1 seed. All matches will be contested on June 11 and 12, with June 13 as a “rain date.” The first two shows will air back-to-back on ESPN on Sunday, June 27, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. The next four shows will air consecutively over a span of two hours on Saturday, July 3, at 1 p.m., followed by four more shows airing Sunday, July 4, also at 1 p.m. The series will wrap up with a five-show, two-and-a-half-hour finale on Sunday, July 11, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern..."
~ Egypt's Mennat Soltan stuns favorites to win women's title in 12th Sinai Open -- "Mennat Soltan (pictured left) from Egypt was the surprise winner of the women's division in the 12th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament while Shaker Al-Hassan cruised to the men's title from the top seeded position Thursday at the International Bowling Center in Cairo, Egypt. Soltan, who earned the No. 2 seed for the women's stepladder finals after averaging 223.63 in round robin, topped No. 4 seed, Cassie Staudinger, Australia, in a high-scoring semifinal, 258-236, and then flew past No. 1 seed, Zandra Aziela, Malaysia, in the title match, 278-212. Aziela's team mate, Shalin Zulkifli, seeded third, lost the opening match against Staudinger, 213-203. Soltan received $4,500 for the first-ever victory of an Egyptian woman in an international bowling tournament. Aziela pocketed $3,200 for second place. Staudinger got $2,200 for third and Zulkifli garnered $1,500 for fourth..."
~ World Championship winner, Tom Smallwood, joins Brunswick Pro Staff -- "Brunswick Bowling announced today that Tom Smallwood (pictured), rookie-bowler and 2009 Professional Bowlers Association World Championship winner, has joined its Pro Staff. Smallwood, who has three career PBA 300 games, finished the season tenth in points on the PBA Tour. As the fifth earner for the 2009-2010 season, he's earned more than $100,000. Thanks to his win at the PBA World Championship, Smallwood earned a two-year exemption on the tour and a chance to bowl in the PBA Tournament of Champions in January. Smallwood's story has been all over the news media from USA Today to Sports Illustrated to the Los Angeles Times. After a job loss prompted him to enter the PBA Tour Trials in Detroit, he finished third and earned a full-year exemption to bowl..."
~ Former Team USA member takes Open Singles lead at Bowlers Journal Championships -- "Former Team USA member Derek Eoff of Arlington, Texas, may be quiet and reserved in demeanor off the lanes, but while competing, his performance often speaks volumes, and he has evolved into the type of bowler people stop to watch. This week, the 29-year-old right-hander turned heads at the Storm Bowlers Journal Championships, presented by USBC, where he fired games of 258, 289 and 268 for an 815 series and added a 202 for a 1,017 four-game total, which moved him into the top spot in Open Singles. David Ewald of Macomb, Mich., previously held the lead with 992..."
~ The many benefits of league bowling -- "For those of you out there who have never bowled in an organized bowling league, you may have won-dered what it would be like to do so. You may have questions about what a league really is and how you would benefit from the experience if you joined one. The simple answer is that league bowling is a group of people getting together to bowl on a competitive basis. League bowlers consist of people of all age groups, all walks of life, and all levels of athletic skills..."
~ Assess Your Bowlers Learning Styles -- "How do you or your bowlers learn best? Are they an auditory, visual, kinesthetic, or a multimodal learner? As a coach, you have a responsibility to learn about your individual players' learning styles and needs to communicate most effectively. Use the following free learning styles assessment to help you be a better coach and to meet the needs of individual players. This will enable you to express and explain ideas more clearly to your athletes..."
~ Traditional vs. functional training methods: Which does the elite athlete choose? (Training Room: Mark Gerule & Paul Butcher--Bowling This Month, May 2010, pgs. 38-41) -- "Regardless of what level bowler you are, it is important to understand what fitness and conditioning program is best for you. By adhering to certain fundamental principles you can increase the possibility that your workout program will produce your desired gains. How will you know which conditioning regimen is best for you?...traditional training and functional training are the two main types of training methods seen in athletic centers today. The authors believe that both methods should be used by bowlers to get transfer of performance from the gym to the lanes. The percentage of traditional versus functional training performed is individually specific and is based on areas of deficiency..."
~ The case for limited layouts: There can be simplicity in choosing your arsenal (Smart Moves: Rob Mautner--Bowling This Month, May 2010, pgs. 48-51) -- "The Five Variables...Coverstock...Core Configuration, RG and Differential...Limiting Pin Positions...What to do with a tired bowling ball...How to choose pin positions....Once you have learned to limit the layouts of your bowling balls, ball selection becomes simply a matter of numbers for the ball purchases and lane changes dictated by transitioning oil."
~ Ferraro Wins PBA Senior Dayton Classic for Second Career Senior Title -- "Steve Ferraro of Kingston, N.Y., won his second Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour title Tuesday by defeating Hall of Famer Wayne Webb 213-210 in the championship match of the PBA Senior Dayton Classic at Capri Lanes..."
~ New York bowler surprises himself in PBA Senior Dayton Classic win -- "Steve Ferraro took a break from tournament bowling — a 25-year break. “Then, when I turned 50, I got the itch a little bit,” Ferraro said. The 56-year-old from Kingston, N.Y., is a tournament champion. He edged PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb, 213-210, in the final of the PBA Senior Dayton Classic on Tuesday, April 20, at Capri Lanes. It is his second PBA Seniors title..."
~ Liz Johnson set to defend USBC Queens title in El Paso -- "En route to winning the United States Bowling Congress Queens last year, Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., got off to a shaky start in qualifying. That won't be a problem this time around. Johnson was 71st after the opening round of qualifying last year but bounced back and to capture her first Queens title. This year, Johnson won't have to worry about her qualifying scores since she's automatically seeded in the 64-player double-elimination bracket as the defending champion..."
~ Celebs Like Justin Bieber Are Making Bowling Awesome Again -- "Think about the last few Friday and Saturday nights. Did you and your friends hit up a bowling alley? If you said yes, you're part of a changing stereotype. Most people think of bowlers as old men. More than that... boring old men. However, new research reveals that for the past four years, there's actually been an increase in bowling popularity with female and young bowlers..."
~ Questions about release, pin carry and targeting--June 2009 -- "Q: I’ve recently been topping the ball when I throw it. It kind of spins instead of rolls. Any suggestions?...Q: I am having trouble carrying the 10-pin on what seem like very solid pocket hits. When I move deeper and use a more direct line, I start leaving a lot of 4-pins and 4-9 splits...Q: I heard on a PBA telecast that Wes Malott targets at the foul line. Have there been any other successful bowlers who do that, and why would a bowler want to target that way?...Q: I have just returned to the game after a 25-year hiatus. I average 188 and have just bought a ball that hooks too much for me to control. I still have my old balls from 25 years ago — an LT-48 and Edge. How would these bowling balls compare in hook and length?..."
~ Upcoming live streaming schedule -- "A busy schedule of live streaming events is on tap for bowling fans over the course of the next week on BOWL.com. We will have complete wire-to-wire coverage of the USBC Queens starting Saturday morning, while also streaming live coverage of the USBC Open and Women's Championships as well as the USBC Senior Queens..."
~ Coach Slowinski Named National Collegiate Coach of the Year -- "At the Night of Champions Banquet, at the Intercollegiate Team National Championship tournament, coach Slowinski was announced as the recipient of the 2009-10 Men's Natonal Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association. Coach Slowinski is the Head Coach of the Webber International University bowling program as well as the Men's Head Coach..."
~ Echoes of 'The Horn' (Bowlers Journal International, April 2010, pgs. 26-28)-- "During bowling's 'action' era, Richie Honreich was a legend in New York..."
~ 89-year-old Wisconsin bowler is the oldest to bowl perfect game -- "When Fran Lasee rolled a 300 game earlier this year, it was the fifth time in his bowling career he had thrown a perfect game. But this 300 game had special significance because it came just a few weeks after Lasee's 89th birthday, making his the oldest person to throw a perfect game in a United States Bowling Congress certified league...In December 2003, Lasee bowled an 834 series - 279, 290, 265 - at age 83, which, at the time, made him the man oldest person to bowl an 800 series..."
~ PBA stars offer "Dream Camp" -- "Amateur bowlers looking to step up their games will have the chance to learn from some of the hottest stars in the sport today when the 3rd Annual Bowlers Dream Camp convenes July 8-10 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis. Reigning U.S. Open champion Bill O'Neill joins former PBA Players of the Year Chris Barnes and Tommy Jones to offer three days of intensive instruction on a broad range of topics, including lane play, physical mechanics, ball motion, drilling layouts and much more. Coordinating the camp is renowned coach Mark Baker, whom Bill O'Neill describes as "the Hank Haney of professional bowling"...The sheer star power the Bowlers Dream Camp offers is one of several factors that sets it apart from other bowling camp experiences, with three-time Tournament of Champions winner Jason Couch, former Player of the Year Doug Kent, and PBA exempt player Dino Castillo joining O'Neill, Barnes, Jones and Baker as coaches..."
~ Two bowlers roll perfect games at USBC Open Championships -- "There were only six perfect games through the first 55 days of the 2010 USBC Open Championships, but there have been three more in the last four days at the National Bowling Stadium. Tony Woodward of Helena, Mont., rolled the eighth 300 of the year during his team event Sunday night, while Dan Matasek of Villa Park, Ill., tossed the ninth in his final game of doubles 13 hours later. Ron Hosler of Denver had one Friday afternoon..."
~ Dale Traber Leads After Second Round in PBA Senior Dayton Classic -- "Averaging 230 for 16 games, two-time PBA Senior Tour titlist Dale Traber of Cedarburg, Wis., led second round qualifying Monday in the PBA Senior Dayton Classic at Capri Lanes. Traber, in his third full season on the Senior Tour, had games of 237, 235, 247, 248, 199, 207, 264 and 235 in his second qualifying block Monday to bring his overall 16-game pinfall to 3,680. He holds a 111-pin lead over Bobby Johnson of Chillicothe, Ohio, in second, and a 127-pin lead over Ron Profitt of Brookville, Ohio, in third. PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb, now making his home in Columbus, Ohio is fourth 136 pins back..."
~ Osku Palermaa in familiar place in European Bowling Tour ranking -- "Osku Palermaa (pictured left), the two-hander from Finland, is in a familiar place after the conclusion of the 4th Qubica/AMF Open, the 7th tournament of the 2010 European Bowling Tour, which was contested April 14-18 at Bowling Center Gladiator Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The 3-time defending European Bowling Tour ranking champion (2007-'09) lost in the semifinals against eventual winner Wendy Kok, Netherlands, en route to finish in third place overall and second in the men's ranking to earn just enough points to pass previous leader Dominic Barrett (right), England, and to stand alone atop the 2010 EBT men's ranking..."
~ Questions on grip types, accuracy and adjustments--Feb. 2009 -- "Q: My 12-year-old son is just starting to bowl. Is it better for juniors to start with a conventional grip or a fingertip drilling?...Q: I need a tip or two about what I should do to control my ball at release. I find when I release the ball, it doesn’t always go on its intended path, and usually veers to the left. My normal target is the 2nd arrow, and when I’m bowling well, I usually hit that target and go on to hit the pocket. When I miss, it is always to the left. It feels like I am throwing the ball from outside to in, and sometimes around my waist...Q: In the 1970s, I averaged 200-plus. I quit the game in 1981, and did not return until 2004. I am now 70 years old and throw a big hook with a 14-lb ball at a speed of 10- to 11-mph. I can’t control these reactive balls, though, and my average has dipped to 148. I used to throw a urethane ball but can’t find them anymore. Do you have any help for this aging, formerly good bowler?...Q: I love to watch the PBA Tour on TV. A few tournaments back, Wes Malott seemed to have everything going when he shot 289 game, but then in the title match, he totally lost it and did not break 200. How can a bowler of his caliber bowl so badly after having a great game?...Q: Is there a good method for shadow bowling before league play? Should you try to figure out the line early or what?..."
~ Ryan Lingholm: The Other Side of Two-Handed Bowling -- "Jason Belmonte's exemption in the Professional Bowlers Association this season opens a new frontier in a sport that has seen as many new eras as a high school history text book. With the two-handed bowling phenomenon now in full bloom, the man known only as "Belmo" completes a trinity of two-handed specialists on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour this year that includes Finland's Osku Palerma and Team USA's Cassidy Schaub. But there is one two-handed bowler for whom the style is not just about 600 revs per minute and a violent collision of pins; it also makes bowling accessible to those who otherwise would never be able to compete..."
~ITRC technology dazzles Team USA in training camp -- "The International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas, played host to its first men’s Team USA Training Camp this week and the 12 elite bowlers found many tools in the new facility to help them improve their game.Among the attendees were Professional Bowlers Association Tour stars such as reigning PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. as well as Chris Barnes, Rhino Page, Wes Malott, Tommy Jones and 2010 U.S. Open winner Bill O’Neill..."
~ PBA Women's Series Showdown to air Sunday on ESPN From International Training and Research Center -- "The 2009-10 PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM concludes its third season with the PBA Women’s Series Showdown at the new International Training and Research Center Sunday on ESPN with six of the sport’s top women bowlers vying for a $25,000 prize in a unique competition. The PBA Women’s Series Showdown, presented by BOWL.COM, will air on ESPN Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern..."
~ Wendy Kok overtakes the qualifying lead in 4th Qubica/AMF Open -- "Qualifying in the 4th Qubica/AMF Open 2010 continued on Thursday with qualifying squads 5 and 6 at Bowling Center Gladiator Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The top 3 players from Squad 5 cracked the 1400-bar and the top 8 moved into the top 10 in the overall qualifying standings. Wendy Kok (pictured left), Netherlands, started with games of 218, 246, 236 and 187 before she closed out her six-game block with back-to-back 150s (250, 254) for 1391 pinfall total and an average of 231.83. The Dutch national team member added 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour, to move to the top of the leaderboard with 1439 total..."
~ Un-a "dore"ing -- "It is sometimes sad to see Rome fall, in particular when the rise to power never fully reached its potential. As a curator of bowling from a participatory and philosophical standpoint, it is important to see things as objectively as possible, despite what your head and heart tells you. This tell tale heart version surrounds the end to the Vanderbilt Commodores 2009-10 Women's Bowling season: a season that resulted in 67 wins against arguably, the nation's toughest schedule..."
~ The Rituals and Routines of Expert Coaches -- "The following article provides coaches with a guideline on effectively teaching bowlers. In addition, it can be used by bowlers in their own practice process..."
~ Bowling Lessons for Beginners: Video Series -- "Learn bowling tips and techniques for beginners, including how to pick the right ball, attire, shoes to wear, how to keep score and rules of the game, in this free online video series..."
~ Cold Rolls: How bowling cold impacts your body (US Bowler, Winter 2009-10, p.18) -- "...No matter what sport you play, warming up before launching yourself into competition is a smart thing to do. Bowling is no different..."
~ The Master of the 'Mega' (Bowlers Journal International, April 2010, pgs.24-25) -- "Megabucks tournaments may be a little short on the "mega" these days, but to Rick Miller, the luster is still there--and you can make that a double. Defying astronomical odds, Miller won both the High Roller and the Mini Eliminator on the same weekend..."
