Chris Barnes Has No Competition in the Cheetah Challenge

Chris Barnes showed up today at Fountain Valley Bowl at 5:30 PM EST with $5000 cash in his pocket, but nobody dared to take him on. That's right, PBA Xtra Frame was all set to live stream a contest in which Barnes and one or possibly more challengers each tossed $5000 into the pot and the highest scorer for three games would walk away with all the money. Yet, not even last year's Cheetah monster and champion Eugene McCune rose to the challenge.

If you recall, McCune not only won last year's Cheetah championship but obliterated the nine-game block scoring record by averaging an unbelievable 274 along the way in match play. I've posted a short video of part of that mind-boggling performance below.

Maybe all the players, fresh off a practice round, were resting physically and psyching up mentally for tomorrow's opening of the PBA Cheetah Open and didn't want to be distracted by a preliminary match with Barnes. Yet, I'm still surprised that no one went after him. Yes, $5000 is a lot of money for most of us, and underpaid bowlers are decidedly no exception. But surely there are well-to-do sponsors out there who would have been willing to take a gamble. After all, Chris Barnes, as great as he is, has not exactly shown himself to be unbeatable here of late on any lane condition. Yes, he had an excellent year last season despite the fact that he didn't win any championships, but HE DIDN'T WIN ANY CHAMPIONSHIPS and was completely out of the running in quite a number of tournaments.

Well, even though Chris didn't get to bowl against anybody, he did throw some impressive practice balls and talk with Xtra Frame announcer Mike J. Laneside and Fountain Valley Bowl resident bowling coach extraordinaire Mark Baker about his game, his equipment, and how to handle the Cheetah pattern, and it was quite illuminating. Chris Barnes has encyclopedic knowledge of bowling and bowling equipment and is very articulate in discussing it.

Any serious bowler who wants to get better and can afford $7.95 a month or $65 a year for Xtra Frame is crazy not to subscribe and start soaking up like a thirsty sponge the incredible information offered. And if you do subscribe and miss events like what I just described, you can always catch them in the archives and go over them as many times as you wish to learn everything you can and want to learn from them.

Not only that, but this season the PBA Tour will run several national tournaments that will be carried only on Xtra Frame. In the past, it has used Xtra Frame to cover qualifying and match play rounds, leaving the finals to ESPN or, in one instance, ABC to televise. But this year, only Xtra Frame will be carrying some of the finals as well. And the Cheetah Championship beginning tomorrow at Fountain Valley Bowl will be one of those tournaments that will be carried only by Xtra Frame from start to finish. Qualifying rounds begin tomorrow at noon EST, and the scoring promises to be high on the highest scoring of all the PBA "animal" patterns.

By the way, one of the things Mark Baker revealed on today's webcast was that he's just sent a book to his publisher entitled "The Game Changer." It is his first instructional book, and he says he's proud of it. Since he is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, bowling coaches in the world, I'm guessing that serious bowlers will want to grab a copy of his book as soon as it comes out. Baker surmises that it will be out around March 15.

Storm's Illustrious Staff's Advice on Increasing and Maintaining Rev Count

Do you want to increase the revolutions on your ball or, at least, be more consistent with the revs you do generate? If so, and it seems that almost everybody does, the staff at Storm have some suggestions that I gleaned from Storm's Facebook page. Here are some of the more notable ones:

 "Sounds to me like there are some timing issues, as well as some muscle in the swing that is causing the inconsistencies. It's tough to tell without physically seeing it, but the key is achieving effortless power." ~ Jeff Carter

"Go to the gym and work on your leg strength, flexibility, and your cardio. You should see a dramatic improvement after a few good workouts. I wanted to increase my rev rate this year so I intensified my routine at the gym and my rev rate went from 360 to 400." ~ Ryan Shafer

"I would try to use a few less revs. You should be able to be more consistent if you find a release that you can repeat." ~ Tom Hess

"Sounds like a timing issue. Make sure to get the slide foot to the foul line ahead of the ball." ~ Randy Pedersen

"It's not all about revs. Consistency is the key though, so you are right about that. Be sure to work on practicing your release. Make it as consistent as possible. One step drills and foul line drills can help with this." ~ Jason Belmonte

"It's tough to say without watching you bowl. I think it's key to make sure you have a consistent timing. Also practice hard on having the same hand position at the moment of release." ~ Andres Gomez

"Well, honestly I'm not sure. I'm not a big guy, so I won't tell you to work out more or pump iron. I'm considered a "tweener," and I would much rather be consistent in hitting my mark than the amount of revs I have on the ball." ~ Pete Weber

"Make sure to accelerate through the release area, not before." ~ Norm Duke

PBA Xtra Frame Now Indispensable to PBA Fans

If you're a big fan of the PBA but don't subscribe to the PBA's webcast service Xtra Frame, tis the season to sign up. I say this not only because Xtra Frame will continue offering incredibly incisive commentary during qualifying and match play leading up to the PBA finals televised on ESPN, but it will also feature coverage of entire PBA tournaments, including the finals, for the first time, that you'll be able to see only on Xtra Frame. Moreover you'll be able to catch regional and senior finals along with other tournament action, special events, and massively archived action that you can't see on TV.

In this podcast on Above 180, Xtra Frame announcer extraordinaire Mike J. "Laneside" discusses the PBA's growing reliance on Xtra Frame as its broadcast vehicle.

Josh Blanchard's Hopeful Words About His Fall

According to Jerry Schneider's "PBA Spare Shots" column this morning, Josh Blanchard is taking his hugely publicized mishap in pretty good stride. He's appeared on several ESPN program segments, on the Howard Stern show, and his fall has rapidly become a YouTube sensation. Here is what he has to say about it:

“I would have never dreamed in a million years that it would have gotten this much attention. Everything happens for a reason and I’m actually having a lot of fun with it. I’m looking at it as an opportunity to turn it into a positive for the sport.”


Below is a brief ESPN "Behind the Horn" video segment featuring his fall. I'm not sure it's possible to make lemonade out of this kind of lemon, but I applaud Josh for trying his level best to do it.

Josh Blanchard's Fall Heard Round the World

"Trust me if they didn't show me and just showed Jason it would have been fine with me!!!" ~ Josh Blanchard, commenting on Facebook

My previous post featured a video of professional bowler Josh Blanchard hanging up in the thumbhole of his ball when he tried to release it and slipping on the oily heads past the foul line and falling in the channel on his butt on last Sunday's PBA telecast. I said nothing about Australian two-handed sensation Jason Belmonte bowling 300 in the next game and then defeating Brian Kretzer to advance to the PBA World Championship finals to be shown next Sunday.

And it seems that, despite the still relative rarity of 300 games on PBA telecasts (there have been only 21 in 50 or so years), Belmo's accomplishment garnered virtually no attention from the sports or news media. Instead, they were all about Blanchard's boo-boo, with ESPN even interviewing him by phone while playing endless slow motion repetitions of "the fall."

To Blanchard's credit, he handled the interview with good-natured grace, but I'm guessing that this isn't how he wanted to find himself featured on ESPN, as his quote above amply implies. Yet, should the media have ignored him or, at least, given equal coverage to Belmo's 300 and tournament victory?

This was probably the first time a bowler has ever fallen like that on TV compared to the 21 PBA perfectos that have been televised. Yet, if Belmo's 300 had been the first or only the second or third perfecto ever, I'm wondering if it wouldn't have still been eclipsed by Blanchard's fall so far as the media's concerned.

Some complained about the media's coverage. Others said they understood it, even agreed with it and that the PBA should be grateful for any mass media coverage it can get. What do you think?

Bowling Video--Bowler Hangs Up in Thumbhole, Takes Televised Spill

I've seen some pretty interesting things on PBA telecasts over the past fifty years or so, but I've never seen this happen before.

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.