Belmonte Advances to Pepsi PBA Scorpion Championship Finals for Second WSOB IX Animal Pattern Telecast Appearance

by JSchneider  |  Thursday, November 16, 8:36 PM

RENO, Nev. – Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte won his best-of-three Pepsi PBA Scorpion Championship presented by Go Bowling! Round-of-8 match at the National Bowling Stadium Thursday to make his second consecutive GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX animal pattern ESPN finals telecast.

Bowling on the 42-foot PBA Scorpion lane oil pattern, the three-time PBA Player of the Year also made his 18th career WSOB telecast by beating rookie Raymond Lussier of Canada, 2-0 (235-189, 276-237).

Belmonte, a 15-time Tour winner that includes eight majors, qualified for the Cheetah Championship finals earlier Thursday with a 2-1 Round-of-8 win over Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Belmonte, who also qualified second for the PBA World Championship finals earlier in WSOB IX, added to his PBA major win total earlier this season with wins in the Barbasol PBA Players Championship and USBC Masters.

The Scorpion Championship finals will be taped Saturday by ESPN at 6 p.m. PT at the National Bowling Stadium and live streamed on ESPN3. The Finals will air on ESPN Dec. 24 at 2 p.m. ET.

In addition to being part of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Reno Resorts Properties, the Scorpion Championship is also part of the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

Defending PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind., made his first WSOB IX finals appearance by beating Arturo Quintero of Mexico 2-1 (220-157, 188-247, 205-176). Tackett, an eight-time Tour winner will be trying for his third win of the season.

Brandon Novak of Chillicothe, Ohio, made his second consecutive WSOB Scorpion Championship finals appearance by beating Matt McNiel of Minneapolis, Minn., 2-1 (199-205, 279-237, 223-196). In 2016 Novak finished fourth in the Scorpion Championship.

Rounding out the Scorpion Championship finals telecast will be Shawn Maldonado of Houston who swept England’s Dom Barrett 2-0 (234-232, 225-206).

All animal pattern championship ESPN finals telecasts (Chameleon, Shark, Cheetah, and Scorpion) will use a format where the four finalists simultaneously bowl one game on the same pair of lanes with the top two scorers advancing to a head-to-head final match.

Svensson, Belmonte Headline All-International PBA Cheetah Championship Finals Field

by JSchneider  |  Thursday, November 16, 3:40 PM

RENO, Nev. -- Two-handers Jesper Svensson of Sweden and Jason Belmonte of Australia won best-of-three Round of 8 matches Thursday to headline an all-international field advancing to the PBA Cheetah Championship presented by PBA Challenge Mobile Game finals which will be taped Saturday by ESPN at 4:15 p.m. PST and live streamed on ESPN3.

Svensson qualified for his second GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX presented by Eldorado Reno Resorts Properties telecast by sweeping PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla., 2-0 (259-214, 268-201).

Svensson, a six-time PBA Tour winner, earned top-qualifier honors for the PBA World Championship finals after cashers’ rounds were completed earlier in the week.

Belmonte, who qualified second for the World Championship finals, beat Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., 2-1, in his best-of-three match to also make his second WSOB IX finals telecast. After losing the first game 234-206, Belmonte came back to win the next two, 259-189 and 300-214.

For Belmonte, a 15-time Tour winner and three-time PBA Player of the Year, the Cheetah Championship finals marks his 17th World Series of Bowling telecast appearance.

The Cheetah Championship, which will be aired on ESPN Dec. 24 at 1 p.m. ET, is also part of the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

Making it two players from Australia in the finals, Sam Cooley beat PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., 2-0 (243-212, 279-194) to advance to his first WSOB final. Cooley’s best Tour finish was third in the 2016 Barbasol PBA Players Championship.

Two-time PBA Tour winner Thomas Larsen of Denmark rounded out the all-international finals field by sweeping South Africa’s Francois Louw, 2-0 (232-189, 247-232), to advance to the final.

The finals telecasts will use a format where the four finalists simultaneously bowl one game on the same pair of lanes with the top two scorers advancing to a head-to-head final match.

Round of 16 and Round of 8 Elimination Rounds for the Pepsi PBA Scorpion Championship presented by Go Bowling! continue this afternoon. And will be covered live by PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame.

Jesper Svensson Cruises in Last Two Rounds to Earn PBA World Championship Finals Top Qualifier Honors

by JSchneider  |  Tuesday, November 14, 8:46 PM

RENO, Nev. -- After six days of competition and 60 games on four different lane conditions, Sweden’s Jesper Svensson averaged 241 to earn top qualifier honors for the stepladder finals of the PBA World Championship.

The 22-year-old left-handed two-hander finished with a 14,465 60-game pinfall total at the National Bowling Stadium Tuesday to lead right-handed two-hander Jason Belmonte of Australia who qualified a distant second for the finals with a 14,129 pinfall total.

“Obviously a major (win) means more than the rest but it will be like bowling a new tournament,” said Svensson, who as top qualifier needs only to win one match for the title. “I have to forget that I led the qualifying rounds by so many pins and focus on the best 10 frames I can bowl.

“It’s really a different mindset than qualifying,” Svensson added. “If you bowl a bad frame or a bad game there’s plenty of time to make up for it. In the championship match, at the end of the day, it’s whoever throws it the best the quickest.”

In Tuesday’s final cashers’ round bowled on the 42-foot Scorpion lane condition, Svensson bowled games of 183, 255, 224, 224 and 246 after bowling games of 233, 247, 258, 257 and 255 earlier in the day on the 33-foot Cheetah lane condition.

The World Championship finals will be taped on Sunday, Nov. 19 at noon PST (live streamed on ESPN3, taped for telecast on ESPN on Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. EST).

The PBA World Championship is the crown jewel of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Reno Resorts Properties, and the final major championship of the PBA’s 2017 season. WSOB IX is also a part of the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

Svensson, already a six-time PBA Tour winner, will be trying for his second PBA major title after winning the 2016 PBA Tournament of Champions, while Belmonte, a 15-time Tour winner, will be trying for his ninth major, which would put him alone in third place among the PBA’s all-time major title winners. Neither player has won the PBA World Championship.

Belmonte will also be trying for his third major title of the season winning the Barbasol PBA Players Championship and USBC Masters earlier this year.

“This win would be important for a number of reasons,” said Belmonte, a three-time PBA Player of the Year. “It would be a major title I haven’t won and it would go a long way to securing another Player of the Year honor.”

Finishing third for the finals was seven-time Tour winner Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., who is also trying for his second major, after winning the 2015 U.S. Open. Ciminelli posted a 14,031 pinfall.

Two-time Tour winner Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, N.C., another two-hander, earned the fourth qualifying position finishing with a 13,931 pinfall and PBA Rookie of the Year contender Matt Sanders of Evansville, Ind., bowled a 268 in the final game of the round to secure the fifth qualifying position for the finals with a 13,830 pinfall. Sanders won his first PBA Tour title earlier this season in the Xtra Frame Billy Hardwick Memorial Open.

World Championship qualifying and cashers’ rounds were conducted on the 39-foot Chameleon, 45-foot Shark, 33-foot Cheetah and 42-foot Scorpion PBA lane conditioning patterns.

World Series of Bowling action continues Wednesday with PBA Chameleon presented by Reno Tahoe and Shark Championship presented by Xtra Frame elimination rounds beginning at 11 a.m. PST. Fans can catch all the action on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame.

Liz Johnson Among Four Players Advancing to PBA Chameleon Championship Finals

by JSchneider  |  Wednesday, November 15, 3:43 PM

RENO, Nev. -- Liz Johnson, Wes Malott, Anthony Pepe and Tom Smallwood swept their respective best-of-three Round of 8 matches to advance to Saturday’s finals of the PBA Chameleon Championship presented by Reno Tahoe Wednesday afternoon that will be taped by ESPN at noon PST and streamed live on ESPN3.

The finals telecasts will use a format where the four finalists simultaneously bowl one game on the same pair of lanes with the top two scorers advancing to a head-to-head final match. The Chameleon finals will air on ESPN Sunday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. ET.

The Chameleon Championship is part of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Reno Resorts Properties and the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

Johnson, a USBC Hall of Famer and three-time reigning Professional Women’s Bowling Association Player of the Year, beat Josh Blanchard of Mesa, Ariz. 2-0 (239-224, 228-214) to advance to the finals.

Johnson, a native of western New York who now lives in Palatine, Ill., is a two-time PBA regional champion and has a best PBA Tour finish of second which came in the 2005 Banquet Open. She also owns a record 10 PWBA Tour major titles. She will be hoping to join Kelly Kulick, the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions winner, as the only women to win a PBA Tour title.

Malott, of Pflugerville, Texas, a 10-time Tour winner, made his first TV final at the National Bowling Stadium by beating Swedish two-hander and PBA World Championship top qualifier Jesper Svensson 2-0 (279-258, 255-214).

Pepe, of Elmhurst, N.Y., whose first PBA Tour title came in the 2014 Cheetah Championship, will be trying for his second PBA Tour title advancing to the finals by beating Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., 2-0 (202-202 won roll-off 20-19, 279-233).

Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., advanced to the finals with a 2-0 (249-178, 231-225) win over Thailand’s Yannaphon Larpapharat. Smallwood, the 2009 PBA World Championship winner, will be trying for his third PBA Tour title.

Elimination rounds for the Shark Championship presented by Xtra Frame continue this afternoon beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT. All competition will be covered by PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame.

Two Tour Winners and Two Players Making Their First PBA Tour Telecast Advance to PBA Shark Championship Final

by JSchneider  |  Wednesday, November 15, 9:04 PM

RENO, Nev. – Two PBA Tour champions and two players making their first PBA Tour telecasts won best-of-three Round of 8 matches Wednesday evening to advance to the PBA Shark Championship presented by Xtra Frame finals which will be taped Saturday by ESPN at 2:30 p.m. PST and live streamed on ESPN3.

Four-time PBA Tour winner Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., and two-time winner Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Fla., both swept their best-of-three matches. Kent defeated PBA World Championship top qualifier Jesper Svensson of Sweden, 2-0 (233-215, 248-226), while Daugherty beat Thomas Larsen of Denmark, 2-0 (234-225, 216-215).



Charlie Brown Jr., a 36-year-old rookie bowling in his first PBA Tour event, swept Shota Kawazoe of Japan, 2-0, to make his first PBA Tour telecast. Brown, of Grandville, Mich., had to win a three-frame roll-off, 29-27, in the first game after a 257-257 tie and then in the second game narrowly beat Kawazoe 248-244.

Bowling in his fourth World Series of Bowling, England’s Richie Teece finally broke through to make his first Tour telecast by beating Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., 2-1 (212-243, 257-215, 226-212).

The finals telecasts will use a format where the four finalists simultaneously bowl one game on the same pair of lanes with the top two scorers advancing to a head-to-head final match. The Shark finals will air on ESPN Sunday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. ET.

The Shark Championship is part of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Reno Resorts Properties and the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

Kent, the 2014 PBA Rookie of the Year, will be trying for his third win of the season having won the Oklahoma Open and Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open last summer.

Daugherty, who will be trying for his first win of the season, has a seventh and three ninth-place finishes this season. His last PBA Tour win came in the 2016 Wolf Open.

Elimination Rounds for the PBA Cheetah Championship presented by PBA Challenge Mobile Game and Pepsi PBA Scorpion Championship presented by Go Bowling! continue Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. PST. All competition will be covered by PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame.

ESPN's Sport Science Looks at The Forces Of Bowling

Sean Rash on Sports Science

Charitable giving and Storm.

Storm loves to give back.

That means to the sport of bowling and to causes alike. Sometimes the two collide and some magic happens. With October rolling around we wanted to do something great!

And a little different.

This year they are producing 300 Pink Hy-Roads that will only be available for purchase on the Storm website. Each ball will sell for $300 and we will be donating a minimum of 50 % to our Paint the Lanes Pink charities.

Below are the important details about this special project. 

• 300 Pink Hy-Roads will be available for purchase

• Promotion starts at noon (M.S.T.) on September 5, 2017

• Promotion ends once 300 Pink Hy-Roads have been sold

• Pink Hy-Roads will be built and shipped directly to the customer

• A minimum of 50 % of total sales will go to our Paint the Lanes Pink charity

2017 Ushers in New Balls from Columbia 300

New Columbia 300 performance Side Swipe solid features Orange/Red/Gray Bend-It Solid veneer wrapped around the Side Swipe core. With a 500/1000/3000 Abralon® finish, the Side Swipe solid is designed for medium oil, but look for a longer stronger backend reaction from the Side Swipe core shape and cover preparation. January 24th will be the worldwide release date. 


The high performance Columbia 300 Tyrant pearl, with Black/Blue/Silver Reflex Pearl HST should provide a tool for medium to heavy oil patterns, depending on your skills and ball speed. The low Radius of Gyration (RG) and high RG Differential creates a strong "engine" for this new pearl which is finished 500/1000 Abralon® then polished w/ Powerhouse Factory Finish. The predisposition to read the lane provided by the strong Differential, and 1K cover prep should help bowlers get a good read of the mid-lane even though this is a pearl. Look for the Tyrant pearl February 14th. 

New From Track Bowling

Track Mako – The Mako core follows the highly successful i-Core 2.0, found in the Paradox series and represents the second generation of dual density core design. This design allows Track to better manipulate and control Radius of Gyration (RG) and RG differential numbers. The Mako core is dual density and asymmetric. 

The Track Mako is Blue/Purple/Black QR-10 Solid Coverstock, finished to 500/2000 Abralon, designed for Heavy oil lane conditions. World wide release date is January 27th, 2017.

The extremely popular Kinetic series is back. With the modified Kinetic core wrapped in the all new emerald/black DR-6 Hybrid cover, this new Kinetic is at an all new price point, making it the most engine for your money. 

The new DR-6 Hybrid coverstock offers Track’s strongest down lane motion in the mid performance category. Its angular characteristics are perfect for any medium oil condition or broken down lane pattern.

The Modified Kinetic core is back by popular demand. This low RG, medium differential and low Mass Bias core stores energy longer and uses it quicker than Track’s other mid performance cores. You won't find an asymmetric core for this price anywhere!

Track Kinetic worldwide release date is February 14th 2017.

2016 Chicago Sun Times Beat the Champs

Bowling Memorabilia From USBC Hall Of Famer Roger Dalkin

As many of you know over my lifetime I have been an avid collector of bowling memorabilia, some of which is one of a kind. If you ever visited my office at Bowling Headquarters in Greendale, you saw just a small part of my collection. 

My extensive collection in now in boxes in my daughter’s basement. It is time to let others enjoy these items like I did. As a result I am going to start selling off my entire collection over the coming year. 

This post (Facebook) is to see if there is any interest. 

The collection includes medals from the ABC and WIBC Tournaments back to the early 1900’s, ties, art, autographed bowling pins, one of a kind items, and even the 6’ by 9’ USBC sign that was in front of the building in Greendale. 

If you have interest or know anyone who might be interested send me an email with your name and email address and I will send out emails to all who are interested about how I will proceed selling items in the collection. Email me directly at rkdalkin@wi.rr.com.

If you would like you can repost this on bowling sites.

Thanks

Roger Dalkin
USBC Hall of Fame
Former USBC CEO and 
ABC Executive Director

BOWLING INDUSTRY TAPS LINK STRATEGY GROUP AS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AGENCY

ARLINGTON, Texas – Bowling’s major entities – the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) and Strike Ten Entertainment (STE) – have contracted with Link Strategy Group to develop sponsorship partners for the industry.

Combined, the USBC, BPAA and STE provide access to the more than 67 million consumers who bowl each year and more than 5,000 bowling centers across the U.S. Link Strategy Group will serve as the strategic partnership agency to introduce the bowling platform to potential non-endemic corporations interested in access to the sport of bowling.

“After an in-depth search for a partner in this area, the consensus was that Link Strategy Group was a great fit for bowling,” said John Harbuck, President of Strike Ten Entertainment, the marketing arm of the bowling industry. “They immediately grasped the significant power that our organizations collectively offer and have the contacts to get bowling front-and-center with potential sponsors.

“Bowling is the number one participatory sport in the U.S. and, to date, is really untapped when it comes to non-endemic partnerships,” he added.

In addition to providing companies with access to consumers through bowling centers, Link Strategy Group will be able to offer exclusive naming rights for the recently relaunched Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour and tour events. Current PWBA sponsors include Pepsi, Nationwide, Smithfield and Go Bowling.

Link Strategy Group will also be able to provide partners with unparalleled access to the USBC membership, which is larger than the combined memberships of similar organizations in golf and tennis. Opportunities also exist around the USBC’s national events, which draw participation from thousands of bowlers around the country. These include the Open Championships, Women’s Championships, USBC Masters, USBC Queens, U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, Junior Gold Championships, Team USA and others.

“Bowling is the original social network. It’s a game that’s been enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels for literally centuries,” said Jeff Benton, CEO of Link Strategy Group. “We are excited that for the first time a company can own the sport of bowling through the collective assets of the major bowling organizations.  We can deliver this platform, truly unique in the world of sports, to companies who want to reach a very loyal, expansive audience. And, with the PWBA, we have a new platform and women’s sports property that is perfectly suited for companies wanting to connect with the female consumer.”

For more information on how to partner with the bowling industry, contact Stephen Grecsek at sgrescek@linkstrategygroup.com.

My First Bowling Ball, First Bowling Shoes

Recent requests for information leads me to make a few points to those of you that are new bowlers or recreational (low involvement) bowlers. Please do not misunderstand this post, there are 10's of millions of you that bowl every year, just that with the continuing technology and advancements made in the bowling industry, the bowling ball or bowling shoe is not like what grandpa (or great grandpa) used to use!

Many people view a bowling ball or performance shoes like a commodity item, like a shirt or an apple or a screw. Find it cheap and pick up what you need. If you have been shopping lately, there are so many of the above mentioned items it's almost dizzying to consider a purchase. So, between the Fugi, Gala, Golden Delicious, etc., there surely is an apple you like best (that works best for you). Similarly in bowling the right item, let's call them the right tool, will work best, too.

The wrong size screw or shirt certainly will NOT work, so to, with today's modern bowling equipment. Bowling balls, while some are intricately made with resin infused polyurethane covers and built around up to 7 pounds or more of complex inner workings, the core system, some are made just like the house ball you may have rolled when you were a kid first playing this sport or like grandpa's (or great grandpa's) old two finger rubber ball from "awhile ago."  

Just like picking the right size shirt, the look of the shirt must work for you. So let us consider ball weight as something akin to the size of a shirt. If you pick an extremely light ball, to have more "control" of it, you will often find yourself "controlling" it right into the gutter. Weight must be a determining factor for ball choice as it contributes to the effect of your ball. I am sure you have seen plenty of lighter bowling balls bouncing right off the pins hardly toppling a one. The synergistic potential of you swinging a ball without needing to accelerate it, because it is too light or possibly even that it is too heavy, helps create a consistent, momentum and gravity driven swing that is VERY repeatable. Repeatable, like it's better to get two strikes together than one. Better to get three? Five? Repeatable is good in bowling.

Now let us consider the look of our shirt/bowling ball. Color is a personal preference. Having something you like will clearly help you enjoy the shirt. But bowling balls come in some outrageous colors, these days. Just like the guy in the wildly colored shirt, that shirt surely catches your eye and gets your attention. But simpler color pallets can be pleasing, calming, workable in bowling balls, just like a new shirt.

But when you notice more than one of the outrageous colors rolling down the lane, often you notice a dramatic effect created. Ball manufacturers realized along time ago, with bright yellow, dull yellow, dull white and every manner of bright red, that a unique and dramatic color will get peoples attention.

So, the very dramatic colors had better work very well, or people will steer clear of the bright stuff in droves. Look close, today you will see multi color balls of yellow, orange, gold, red, and my favorite PINK, mixed with black, blue purple, etc., for dramatic effect, doing very neat things on bowling lanes all over the world.

You do not want a ball to hook like crazy. Then you will also notice the green, black and blue, and darker hues, work nicely for many bowlers, often with less ground covered out and back on every shot. Effectiveness is not solely living in bright colored balls. More often it is not the ball that is magically striking down those pins but the skills of the person rolling the ball that is performing the magic. A bowling ball that fits correctly helps create the magic you might be looking for. More on ball fit in a future article.

Lastly, when considering the bowling shoe, there are many options. The shoe with a universal sole, works for lefthanders or right handers, is a workhorse. The more basic sport shoes last a long time, breaks in quickly, and often there are a bevy of colors and styles. But like any shoe, the nuance of fit should be investigated. Make sure to check in at the local bowling store, often inside the bowling center you bowl in. Check out the choices and try on some styles that work for you. The specialty retailer that you meet is committed to serving you, the bowler. He or she can be your best asset and confidante when it comes to all things bowling. 

Higher up the bowling shoe ladder is the performance shoe. Often priced comparably to other high performance sports footwear. The more complicated shoes, often made of leather, with colorful trim and accessories, will often last for a decade or more. The accessories can include: multiple soles and heels, pouches to carry the shoes, shoe covers to protect them and more.  The advanced options, usually help serve bowlers that bowl in multiple locations. Multiple soles and heels can provide vastly different potential to limit the amount of slide you get or increase your slide. Creating just the right amount of slide helps a player duplicate their delivery. Repeatability.  

Covering the shoes as you do everything else in a bowling center, but bowl, protects the soles and heels from getting contaminated by moisture or particulates from carpet, etc. Shoe covers are strongly recommended. If you purchase more basic shoes for a small additional investment you can get the additional protection from a number of makers.

Storm's New Timeless Bowling Ball