John Davis, Founder/CEO of Kegel, Passes

 It is with great sadness that Kegel has to announce the passing of our founder and CEO, John M Davis, age 64, who passed away this morning (Friday, January 25, 2013) at his home in Winter Haven, Florida.  

John was a very generous and compassionate man and absolutely loved the sport of bowling.  He built a company around the principles of taking care of others, no matter the cost.  

John leaves behind a legacy that will impact the sport of bowling and those who knew him forever.  He will be sadly missed by his mother, wife, four brothers, three children, and six grandchildren, along with his extended family at Kegel and throughout the bowling industry.

Radical Bowling Partners with Brunswick

Radical Bowling announces an agreement with Brunswick to help produce and sell it's products. The New Radical Bowling Technologies will introduce the Torrid Elite soon, a product of the new relationship.

Additionally, Mo Pinel, President of MoRich Bowling will be working for Brunswick helping design new product for Radical Bowling Tech.

MOTIV Unleashes The Thrash Frenzy in February

The new MOTIV Thrash Frenzy features the Quadfire core (used in the QZ2) and wrapped by a Blue/Aqua Pearl Whiplash™ Pearl Reactive cover with Silver/Red Pearl Neomark labeling finished to 2000-grit Wet Sanded then with Power Gel® Polish. World Wide Release Date: 2/6/13.

Hammer Adds Two Balls in February

The new Hammer Arson Low Flare contains a modified Arson core covered with Blue/Teal/Red Max-Control Pearl coverstock finished aggressively with three stages of 500 Abralon® pads then Polish. World Wide Release Date: 2/5/13

The new Hammer First Blood introduction World Wide Release Date is 2/5/13. A new core labeled the First Blood appropriately, is covered in Orange /Blue / Silver NBT (Next Big Thing) Hybrid, finished aggressively with 3 stages of 500 grit Abralon® pads then Polish.

Global 900 Adds Two Balls in February

February brings 2 new 900 Global balls, the War Eagle and a new Hook with World Wide Release Date: 2/6/13.

The War Eagle is a Red/Sky Blue S70 reactive cover finished with the T pad of their NEAT (4,000 grit) system wrapping the  
Asymmetric Break core. RG: #15/2.500,
DIFF: #15/.047.

The entry level Hook features a polished Black/Neon Green S43 reactive cover wrapping the symmetric Hook Core. RG: #15/2.551 DIFF: #15/.046.

U.S. Pros Off to Japan for Japan Cup

One of the great long-standing traditions of the PBA Tour has been its annual trip across the Pacific to Tokyo for the Round1 Japan Cup. The tradition continues after a two-season absence when the finals of the 26th classic airs on ESPN Sunday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. ET from Round1 Stadium Diver City Tokyo Plaza.

Leading the contingent of 20 invited PBA Tour players, who battled against 123
Japan and Korean PBA members in qualifying and match play rounds at the Minami Suna Round1 Bowling Center in December, was 13-time Tour winner and Japan Cup defending champion Tommy Jones trying for his fourth Japan Cup title.

Joining Jones in Japan were PBA stars Chris Barnes, Dom Barrett, Jason Belmonte, Josh Blanchard, Ryan Ciminelli, Norm Duke, Mike Fagan, Mika Koivuniemi, Wes Malott, Amleto Monacelli, Rhino Page, Osku Palermaa, Sean Rash, Bill O’Neill, Ryan Shafer, Pete Weber, Stuart Williams, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and 2013 PBA World Championship winner Parker Bohn III.

Bohn will be looking to add another Japan Cup title to his record four wins
which included three consecutive championships in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Weber, Monacelli, Barnes, Koivuniemi and W.R. Williams, competing in his 26th
consecutive Japan Cup, are also past winners of the tournament.

The Japanese and Korean players will be trying to break the winning streak by
U.S. Tour players in the tournament of 21 consecutive titles dating back to the
1989 event won by Randy Pedersen. Ken Taniguchi and Takeo Sakai are the only Japanese winners taking titles in 1985 and 1988, respectively.

Bohn Climbs The Stepladder Wins PBA World Championship

Parker Bohn III of Jackson, NJ, completed one of the most impressive, if unlikely, victories in his hall of fame career, defeating four opponents including top qualifier Jason Belmonte of Australia, 254-227, to win the PBA World Championship at South Point Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

The concluding event of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IV, and the first major championship of the 2012-13 PBA Tour season, aired Sunday on ESPN.

Bohn, who had not won a title in more than four years, captured his 33rd PBA Tour title – and second major – with a stunning performance that began when he claimed the 24th and final position in match play by only three pins, followed by qualifying for the stepladder finals by only nine pins.

In the championship round, he defeated Canada’s Dan MacLelland, 226-218; Rhino Page of Dade City, FL, 200-170, and reigning PBA Player of the Year Sean Rash of suburban Chicago (Montgomery), IL, 278-231, to advance to the title match where he defeated Belmonte.

In winning the World Championship, Bohn became only the third ever to win a major championship after qualifying 24th for match play (Mike Aulby won the 1989 U.S. Open and Pete Weber won the 1991 U.S. Open after qualifying 24th), and the 15th overall to accomplish that feat. At age 49 years, 122 days he also became the second-oldest player ever to win the PBA World Championship (Tom Baker was 49 years, 192 days when he won in 2004).

“Dreams do come true if you wait long enough, I guess,” Bohn said. “It was a lot of destiny, a lot of things working in my favor.”

Bohn, who almost cancelled his plans to attend the World Series after Super Storm Sandy devastated his home state, began his miraculous title quest with seven strikes in his first nine frames en route to his victory over MacLelland. In the second match, he got help in overcoming a 10-pin deficit when Page missed a 7 pin spare attempt in the eighth frame and opened again in the ninth.

The veteran left-hander started the semifinal match against Rash with seven strikes and never trailed. In the title match, he struck on eight of his first 10 shots against Belmonte, but didn’t break away until Belmonte left 10 pins in the seventh and ninth frames.

“When I look at everything that’s gone on this week,” Bohn said, hesitating. “I looked at (my wife) Leslie the night before I left and said, you know, it’s a tossup over whether I even go. The only thankful grace at that point was we had our power back a couple of hours before I left."

“When I got here, I missed the first practice session, but lo and behold, I kept going throughout the week. I never made the top 16 in any of the events, but still found myself fortunate enough to sneak in to match play in 24th. I just kept plugging along."

“The only pin I threw away all week was on one fill ball, when I threw a 7 pin away. That’s the only pin I can remember throwing away the entire week. Every pin mattered. I only made the top 24 by three pins, and then I made the TV show by less than 10 pins as well.”

When he got to the ESPN finals, Bohn believes divine intervention came into play.

“I do believe my old friend (the late Tony Reyes) was looking down on me and letting me stand tall. The biggest key was going through the nose in the seventh frame against (Rash). A pin rolls out of nowhere and takes out the 4-7, and I get a strike. Usually whoever wins has one or two breaks and I’m here to tell you, I had my share of breaks today.”

Throughout the World Series, Bohn said he was bowling for more than himself.

“My wife and I have created a Striking Out Sandy fund. We’re trying to raise funds for kids who unfortunately lost everything,” Bohn said. “I know there are families that lost everything, but hopefully there will be other people who can take care of them. We had people who were donating money for every strike during qualifying. All of the money we’re raising is going to buy kids backpacks and things they need for school so they can hopefully put the past behind them."

“My heart always goes out to kids,” he added. “I’ve got five children myself and I want them to be able to live life as normally as they can. I had one guy compute all of the strikes I threw in qualifying and match play – 415 or 420 – and he put up $1 a pin himself. We had another guy who lives in upstate New York near my brother-in-law Doug Kent and his wife Chrissie who had a 25-foot trailer. He saw what we were doing on our website, and filled the trailer with clothes and supplies, and delivered it to our area.”

Information about the Striking Out Sandy program can be found of Bohn's Facebook page and parkerbohn.com. “It’ll be there for a long time to come, because I can’t tell you how much the people back east have gone through,” Bohn said. “It’s not going to get corrected by tomorrow.”

While the hardships friends and family faced were fresh on his mind, Bohn might have been the happiest he has ever been after winning a PBA title.

“I’m as happy as I can be,” he grinned. “Now I can say that I’m the world champion.”

ESPN’s coverage of the 2012-13 PBA Tour season continues next Sunday with the finals of the Round1 Japan Cup from Tokyo, Japan, at 3 p.m. ET. The all-new PBA League then makes its debut with a live two-hour ESPN telecast from Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, MI, at noon ET on Sunday, Jan. 27.

Billie Jean King Initiates the First Trade In The PBA League

Women’s sports pioneer Billie Jean King, owner of the New York City WTT KingPins in the new Professional Bowlers Association League, thought it would only be appropriate for the PBA League’s only woman owner to have a female presence on her team. To make that happen, King completed a trade with Motown Muscle owner Jerome Bettis, acquiring PBA Tour champion Kelly Kulick to her KingPins’ roster in exchange for two-time PBA titlist Brad Angelo, PBA Commissioner Tom Clark announced Monday.

The PBA League makes it historic debut as part of the Detroit Winter Swing, a multi-event week of PBA competition, Jan. 19-27 at Thunderbowl Lanes in suburban Allen Park, MI.

King is well-acquainted with Kulick’s status as an historic figure in professional bowling; she is the only woman ever to win a PBA National Tour title and the only woman ever to win an “exemption” to bowl full-time on the PBA Tour during its exempt tour era. So King requested the first trade in PBAL history to add the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions winner to her KingPins’ roster that includes franchise player Pete Weber, Tommy Jones, Scott Norton, Jack Jurek and John Szczerbinski.

“Getting Kelly Kulick on the KingPins is a big win for us,” King said. “Kelly and I have connected through several Women’s Sports Foundation events and we were so proud of her when she became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title. She is a strong competitor, a quality person and a great addition to our team.”

 

The Motown Muscle, which also obtained future draft considerations in the trade, features franchise player Mike Fagan, Tom Smallwood, Mike Scroggins, Ronnie Russell and Jesse Buss.
 

International Competition for PBA Touring Pros

American and international PBA Tour members returned to action in January in two WTBA-PBA International Tour events: the 43rd Brunswick Ballmaster Open at Tali Bowl which concludes Sunday in Helsinki, Finland, followed by the International Bowling Championships supported by DHC Jan. 17-19 in Nagoya, Japan.

Both tournaments are new on the WTBA-PBA International Tour schedule. The Ballmaster Open and the men’s division of the International Bowling Championships will award PBA Tour titles if the winners are PBA members. Both events also will award WTBA World Bowling Tour points to male and female participants.

Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, PA, defeated fellow PBA Tour star Mike Fagan of Dallas, 236-224, to win the 42nd Ballmaster Open last January and Tommy Jones romped to a 290-204 victory over Finnish-American PBA Tour star Mika Koivuniemi to win the 2012 International Bowling Championships in Japan.

Mr. 100 Shoots 200 and Wins PBA Bowlers Journal Scorpion Championship

After bowling a Professional Bowlers Association record-low 100 game in his only previous television appearance, Tom Daugherty of Wesley Chapel, FL, redeemed himself in the Bowlers Journal Scorpion Championship, winning three consecutive matches including a 200-182 victory over top qualifier Osku Palermaa of Finland, to capture his first PBA National Tour title at South Point Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

The Bowlers Journal Scorpion Championship finals, the fourth of five GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IV events, aired Sunday on ESPN.

Daugherty, who bowled his record-low game in a 299-100 loss to eventual champion Mika Koivuniemi in the semifinal round of the 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions, used his “thumbless” delivery to mow down an impressive field of high-rev power players in the Scorpion finals, raising his television average by 88 pins in the process.

After sneaking into the stepladder finals in fourth position by four pins over Rhino Page of Dade City, FL, Daugherty ruined Jason Sterner’s television debut, eliminating the McDonough, GA, resident, 199-177. He then romped past Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte, 256-187, and threw a critical double in the fifth and sixth frames of the title match to defeat Palermaa, getting help from the Finnish two-handed star when he had consecutive opens in the sixth and seventh frames.

Ironically, Daugherty put together the best performance of his professional career while glancing at a very large “100” in a graphic above the lanes promoting “Bowlers Journal 100th Anniversary.”

“I want to thank Bowlers Journal for reminding me all day of my 100 game,” Daugherty said with a grin at the conclusion of the match.

While all four finalists use power techniques that allow them to generate significant hooking power, the key was slower ball speed, a result of Daugherty not using his thumb in his delivery.

“The difference between me and the two-handers is my ball speed,” Daugherty said. “They throw it 100 miles per hour, so I can actually do something they can’t and that’s a slow hook. I knew if I could get by Sterner, I’d have a good chance. I knew (Belmonte and Palermaa) weren’t going to bowl anything. They might say they threw some bad shots, but I didn’t think either one of them could shoot 200 because of their ball reactions.

“They couldn’t get inside as far as I was because of their ball speed. Their ball would never hook from there,” Daugherty added. “As soon as Belmo tried to move in just a little, he missed the headpin. It was easy for me to do, too, but on my good shots, I could get the ball to make the turn. They couldn’t do that.”

Daugherty admitted he was nervous in making his second career television appearance.

“There was a lot of nerves going on the first game. The three-bagger kinda calmed me down, but leaving that 3-6-9-10 in the first frame was unnerving. I didn’t want to start with an open,” he said after successfully converting the difficult spare. “That’s all I thought about after making the show: not starting with an open and that’s not the spare you want to shoot at in the first frame.”

Daugherty said he was thrilled to win his first National PBA Tour title because it made him eligible to bowl in the 2013 PBA Tournament of Champions under revised eligibility rules that will only allow PBA Tour champions to enter. He had bowled in the TOC previously under rules that allowed PBA Regional title winners to participate.

“I was so disappointed when they changed the TOC criteria,” Daugherty said. “I made a lot of money in that tournament the past two years, but now I’m back.”

The GEICO World Series of Bowling concludes on ESPN next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with the finals of the PBA World Championship, the first major championship of the 2012-13 PBA Tour season. Finalists will include PBA Hall of Famer and 31-time PBA Tour titlist Parker Bohn III of Jackson, NJ; Canada’s Dan MacLelland; Rhino Page of Dade City, FL; reigning PBA Player of the Year Sean Rash of Montgomery, IL, and top qualifier Jason Belmonte of Australia, a five-time PBA Tour champion who is trying for his first major title.

Brunswick Adds Three Balls in February

Brunswick will introduce three new balls February 6, 2013 including the Ringer™ Burgundy Pearl. The CPT / Chemical Projection Technology reactive coverstock describes their newest formulation for a low friction coverstock. The benefits of using Chemical Projection Technology allows them to produce a less aggressive reactive coverstock that easily projects down the lane without making the coverstock highly sensitive to the dry
and oily parts of the lane.

The new Ringer Medium RG symmetrical core features top and bottom offsetting flip blocks over a centered mass. This core design promotes skid through the front, stability through the mid-lane and flip on the backend.

With its High Gloss box finish, the Ringer Burgundy Pearl will provide excellent length with a medium to quick response to friction at the breakpoint. The Ringer Burgundy Pearl is great ball for rev dominant and slower ball speed players on light oil conditions.

Brunswick to introduce the Meanstreak™ Brawler February 6, 2013. The Addaptive ƒ(P+F) Hybrid coverstock of the Brawler in Blue Solid, Bronze and Gold Pearl is Brunswick’s newest advancement in performance enhancing additive chemistry. ƒ(P+F) Hybrid describes the latest ƒormula which combining ƒ(P+F) solid with a pearl creating a highly versatile coverstock. This new formulation produces easy length through the heads and mid-lane with a cover finish of 500 Siaair Pad and Rough Buff compound.

The new Meanstreak Medium RG symmetrical core features a long and lean design to provide maximum energy retention. By increasing the mass around the equator compared to the original Meanstreak High RG core, the maximum RG is lowered further stabilizing the dynamics to increase the mid-lane traction of the core.

The black/blue solid Brunswick Paranormal Aura which combines the Aura Ultra Low RG core and the new Optimum-Hook reactive coverstock to provide a hook potential higher than any Brunswick ball to date. The combination of this new coverstock formulation with the dynamically-designed performance core creates exceptional traction in oil with a quick response to friction and strong continuation on the backend.