Sometimes life throws you a curve ball that eventually winds up a pitch from Heaven. I joined my good budding writing buddy Joe Lyou in Los Angeles for a drive over to Laughlin, Nev., for the 2001 Women's U.S. Open. I never once gave a second thought to how I was going to get back to Las Vegas for my flight back to Daytona Beach, Fla. Fortune smiled on me, or maybe it was a gift from God. I hitched a ride with John Sommer, owner of the PWBA tour, and his lovely wife.
The recent column of Dick Evans (pictured), "Do avid bowlers truly love bowling or is it just a case of puppy love when it comes to taking game on the road?" must have hit home to a few readers. Dick has send us some interesting emails he has received shortly after he sent out his column chastising bowlers for giving their sport only lip service.
Bowling centers in cities all over America continue to dwindle primarily due to the fact that property values have become so lucrative, bowling proprietors are forced to give in to "offers they can't refuse"... simply because the land is more valuable than the business. At the same time, while bowling centers continue to dwindle; we are inundated with statistics that list bowling as one of the leading participation sports. The majority of bowling centers reap their profits from glow bowling, cosmic bowling, private parties, and other activities.
There is no question that the BPAA's 2005 Convention was a thunderous success when you factor in all the lightning that flashed across the sky and the rain that fell morning/noon/night. Most visitors to BowlExpo at the Orange County Convention Center either got wet or had a great umbrella or rain coat. It was just a typical wet June 26-30 period in Central Florida. However, the one event that could have put a damper on the sport of bowling - the meeting between USBC officials and bowling ball manufacturers - failed to produce any stormy confrontation.
Former PBA champion John Forst is the No. 1 of many outstanding lanemen working for Kegel, the world's leading lane maintenance company. Since starting travelling in 1999, John has visited most of the major amateur tournaments in America, Asia and Europe. John reflects on a question that comes up over and over again: "Why do women need to get so many pins during the open tournaments?"
"Bowling is suffering from a lack of credibility in the scoring environment", says Jeff Henry, USBC Director of Sport. "Advancements in technology together with the artificial assist allowed by lane dressing specifications have led to an environment which minimizes the influence of player ability and skill development". The USBC recently issued a news release stating USBC's concern with the degree of influence technology is having over player skills as the primary factor for success in bowling at all levels. This includes the lanes, lane conditions, bowling balls and pins.
The new United States Bowling Congress is trying to slow down scoring by eliminating some of the striking ability of today's bowling balls, which are tributes to modern technology. Bowling balls have become so explosive that they can make a 230-averager out of a 200-average bowler without the benefit of practice or instruction. It's not much different from what science has done for golf clubs and tennis racquets.
Dishes up some interesting comments about State of Bowling Industry world wide
Bill Supper is an American success story that should make every American bowler happy and proud, writes Dick Evans. Friendship with bowling writer/PBA historian Chuck Pezzano led Bill to a job with the PBA, which in turn led to a job with Ebonite. From there Bill Supper took giant career steps by moving on to challenging jobs with Storm and now Columbia 300. Not sure my questions were that great, but his astute answers sure were.
Despite attending one high school and bowling for another, Rachelle Davis excelled in both the classroom and on the lanes and has been selected winner of the $2,000 Columbia 300 John Jowdy Scholarship. The academic and bowling resume of the bowler from Tucson, Ariz., was so impressive that she was a unanimous choice of the four judges. "There were 78 outstanding entries, but Rachelle's was easily the best," said Bill Supper, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Columbia 300.
About the controversy surrounding multiple lane conditions
"There is much controversy surrounding multiple conditions", writes John Davis, CEO Kegel. "It seems so different than the past. However, the sport of bowling has changed and formats of competition have not kept up with these changes to promote Fair Play for all styles.Â
The Lee Evans Bowling Tournament of the Americas, which has been held at Cloverleaf Lanes since its inception in 1962, will be moving to Sawgrass Lanes in Broward County in late August. "We recently signed a 10-year agreement with Sawgrass Lanes to host the 43rd annual Tournament of the Americas, which will be held this year from Aug. 25-Sept. 1," said Executive Director Paulette Watson."
"The recent World Ranking Masters Tournament held at Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales, Fla., was one of the most well coordinated tournaments I have ever attended", writes John Jowdy (pictured). "It was a true testimony to the ingenuity and hospitality of the founder and owner of Kegel, John Davis, arguably the most passionate individual in bowling." For someone who has had limited exposure to international bowling competition, Jowdy, a renowned bowling coach, was greatly impressed with the overall quality of bowling execution by the contestants.
I have to confess that I never really appreciated the C.A.T.S. scoring device until attending the Kegel World Ranking Tournament this week. Being a Doubting Thomas about things I don't understand is sometimes good because I have a greater appreciation for the device when you see it in operation. The Kegel Training Center here is a computerized marvel compared to all other bowling facilities world wide.
And C.A.T.S. (Computer Aided Tracking System) is a marvelous device for spectators, bowlers, coaches and even writers.
Once upon a time, Miami was the Sir Lancelot of the bowling round table when it came to jousting for national bowling happenings. Greater Miami became a major bowling player by building 18 bowling centers that catered to 36,000 sanctioned league bowlers. No city in America, including bowling hubs in St. Louis, Chicago and Cleveland, could touch Miami's bowling appeal in those years. Now, Miami's bowling round table has turned into a square peg.
Most people head for Las Vegas to gamble on the tables or slots in hundreds of casinos. Fort Lauderdale's Craig Auerbach flies to Vegas twice a year to "gamble" on bowling at some fancy and fun hotels/casinos. And more often than not the former Miami junior bowler comes home a winner. Auerbach has just returned after clearing $7,000 in three Las Vegas tournaments The High Roller , the Mini- Eliminator and the True Amateur Tournament.
The PBA is regarded as the preeminent organization for bowlers seeking this vocation as a means of livelihood. Bowling, as a profession, has been greatly enhanced, particularly for those who were/are fortunate to have succeeded in making the top 50 exempt list. With a first place check worth $40,000 and a guaranteed $2000 minimum payoff, the worst any player can earn for a regular 20- tournament season is $40,000. Additionally, "major tournaments" like the ABC Masters, the US Open, and the PBA Tournament of Champions carry a $100,000 winners share, while the PBA World Championship is worth $120,000.
The High Roller megabuck bowling tournament has come to mean many things to many people over the past 24 years. For David Ozio, named Rookie of the Year on the PBA Senior Tour last year, it meant a thrilling finals victory over Jason Belmonte, reigning international amateur of the year, in the championship match Thursday and a $21,000 check. "If there is a better word than ecstatic to describe my feeling right now, I can't think of it right now," said the 50-year-old PBA Hall of Fame bowler."
The new United States Bowling Congress is going to attempt to bring astronomical scores back down to earth with a new ball rule. If the change works, then it will be tougher to string strikes and shoot big scores. So I suggest that all high average bowlers rush out and buy all of the bowling balls currently being sold in pro shops. Also it wouldn't hurt to dust off a high performance ball that you may have stopped using. The reason for haste - all bowling balls produced before Feb. 1 will be grandfathered in.
Here's a striking plan from chuck Chuck Pezzano and Dick Evans:
"Allow league and tournament bowlers with a string of strikes to
continue until they fail to strike so world records can be set." Back in 1984,
Chuck Pezzano and this writer (Dick Evans) agreed to write columns about
a proposal we came up that asked ABC and WIBC to increase their league
dues by 50 cents a year in order to help bowling grow. Pezzano's column
ran across the country in daily newspapers and bowling publications
while mine appeared in The Miami Herald and was sent out over the
Knight-Ridder Wire to about 140 daily papers.
Sometimes life throws you a curve ball that eventually winds up a pitch from Heaven. I joined my good budding writing buddy Joe Lyou in Los Angeles for a drive over to Laughlin, Nev., for the 2001 Women's U.S. Open. I never once gave a second thought to how I was going to get back to Las Vegas for my flight back to Daytona Beach, Fla. Fortune smiled on me, or maybe it was a gift from God. I hitched a ride with John Sommer, owner of the PWBA tour, and his lovely wife.
Bowling centers in cities all over America continue to dwindle primarily due to the fact that property values have become so lucrative, bowling proprietors are forced to give in to "offers they can't refuse"... simply because the land is more valuable than the business. At the same time, while bowling centers continue to dwindle; we are inundated with statistics that list bowling as one of the leading participation sports. The majority of bowling centers reap their profits from glow bowling, cosmic bowling, private parties, and other activities.
"There is much controversy surrounding multiple conditions", writes John Davis, CEO Kegel. "It seems so different than the past. However, the sport of bowling has changed and formats of competition have not kept up with these changes to promote Fair Play for all styles. 