Monday Morning Morphine

Another weekend passed, another TGIF league in the books, and another Monday morning that feels short on coffee...

It feels like the weekends are flying by these days. Between TGIF league bowling on Friday night, my weekend "honey do" list around the house, and of course awesome PBA action on ESPN on Sunday. This past Friday at TGIF was one where you have a chance to execute what you practice, feel like you bowled great, but wind up with a humble 600 even. The goal was to transition my foot work and balance that I worked on in the middle of the week to my fun league that I get to apply it on. It's always good to have a league in the mix that you can just blow off steam, not freak out about not carrying a 230+ average in, but keep it real enough to make you execute your game. This one is exactly that. So what transpired was a great game at the line and lots of spares. Only one open on the night and it was the mental miss we have all made where you "know the first shot was great and you shouldn't even be shooting at this spare" shot. Well, I poo pooed a clean 30 because of a mental break in my temper. Now looking back at the night, I am more upset about missing a clean 30 than rolling the weak 600! As they say, it is what it is and this will help me "build character", not that I need any more of that.

At the Tournament of Champions this Sunday, it was shaping up to be a perfect storm, no pun intended. You had the field of Pete Weber, Dan MacLelland, Wes Malott, Dom Barrett, and the two handed phenom Jason Belmonte.The thing that stood out to me the most about this line up wasn't the power house list of major wins, or PDW attempting to defend his title, or even the fact that Jason Belmonte is taking his two handed game to a whole new level. It was that there was a great representation of bowlers from around the world. Three out of the five bowlers in the finales were from outside the United States. Dan MacLelland hails from Canada, Dom Barret from England, and Jason Belmonte from Australia. This shows that the recent feelings of bowling sliding into obscurity as a sport couldn't be farther from the truth. Bowling is becoming a true international sport at the highest competitive levels. The PBA is reaching the four corners of the world and showcasing talents that take an amazing level of dedication to achieve.

As the match got underway, PDW showed brash confidence in his pre-match interview, but that quickly faded as he struggled to get the pair under control with two opens and it wasn't until about the 7th frame that he settled into his shot. By then, MacLelland had a comfortable lead pounding PDW 259 - 211. In match two, Wes Malott stepped in to see if he could wrestle down the hot McLelland. It was shaping up to be a punch for punch match until the lanes started tightening up on MacLelland. He had been playing a straighter line and didn't have much room for error. That margin finally folded on him when he ran high with his shot and left the big 4-6-7-10 split in the fourth frame. Failing to convert, Malott turned into a strike machine to put MacLelland away with a convincing 248 - 199 win. Canada may have to wait for it's fist PBA Tour Title, but today showed why they have reason for their high hopes in a more than capable Dan MacLelland. Match three featured Malott moving up against Dom Barrett. The highlight of this match was Malott putting on a spare clinic and Barrett showing that you don't have to hit the pocket to strike. It's great to see competitive sportsmanship as Barrett went high into the nose of the rack for a strike and apologizing to Malott for it. Good show old chap. Malott on the other hand was in the pocket every single shot and left the 10 pin in just about every way imaginable. Calling his shot at one point in the game as the ball was on it's way, you could hear a faint 10 pin comment from Malott at the line and sure enough, the 10 pin stood firm in its place. In the end, this match showed why spares win games. Malott's ability to convert all of his 9 counts gave him a 205 - 202 win over Barrett.
With the final match ready to run, Belmonte was looking for some revenge from the 2013 loss he suffered from Malott at the U.S. Open title match. That 214-156 loss is something he will most likely never forget. However, today would yield different results. The match stayed anyone's game until the 10th frame. Like two titans in the ring of battle, both bowlers knew they needed to show up to force pressure and win. Belmonte up first in the 10th, rolled a 9 spare and a strike to put Malott in a position to strike on his first ball for a chance to win. In an all or nothing 10th frame, Malott balked, reset, and rolled a great shot. Unfortunately, like most of his previous game, it was a 9 count. With that, Belmonte sitting on the bench, had won the Tournament of Champions. Smoking the field all week long, it was a deserving and dominating finish for the two hander from down under. His one pin 219 - 218 win put that horrible performance at the U.S. Open far away. To put a cap on the day, Bill O'neal with the skills of a ninja, rewarded Belmo with a Barbasol pie in the face. Who says bowling isn't fun at competitive levels. Congrats Jason Belmonte on a great tournament and a solid win at the 2014 Barbasol Tournament of Champions.

To glove or not to glove...

Bowling is about as bad as golf when you look at all the gadgets and toys you can buy that can 'assist' you with your game. Gloves, towels, wrist braces, tapes, not to mention shoes (which we already covered). The list goes on and on. Even fashion has come into play with all of the dye sublimated shirts and yes, we now have the crazy pants. Chris Barnes, love you, but damn those things are bright. I digress. What I wanted to talk about today was gloves. This is by no means an effort for me to vilify gloves as something used to cheat and create more lift on the ball or anything like that. It is really meant to look at the different types and what there used for. The bowling glove that has been a mainstay in bowling for years. Going as far back as Don Carter in the 50's to today's Mike Scroggins and his ever present full brace. Hell, I still use my Robby's Rev-I the majority of the time due to a serious wrist injury that happened years ago. Old age sucks kiddos, enjoy it while you can. At any rate, the question of whether to use a glove or not and what they bring to the game is what I would like to explore.

When looking at all of the options that are out there and if you are going to use one, you have to take a look at your own game. This is about as personal as choosing a layout on a ball or what car you drive. What works for you may not work for the next bowler. I would also like to say that as a training aid, nothing is more useful in building proper technique with wrist control like a glove. Yes there are caveats to every rule, but in general they are very helpful. The other extreme is how non bowlers view our use of gloves. In pop-culture, no single item more than the glove has been used to  exemplify the geeky bowler. That's ok, because we know what makes a real bowler and admit it, that stuff is pretty damn funny. Now, to continue to use one as part of your day to day arsenal, again depends on the bowler. Then there are the choices available. Gloves that support the entire hand, create grip on the ball, brace the wrist, or create comfort in our superstitious ways.

Starting with the basic wrist brace, this is probably the most common item you will see out there on the lanes worn by most avid bowlers. Doesn't matter if it is an Ebonite Wrist Wrap or layer of tape wrapped around the wrist, the protection of the bowlers wrist has become just about the most important thing out there. Especially if you wish to extend your years on on the lanes. There really isn't much to say about these other than just like in most sports that involve impact or repeated use of wrist movement, they are designed to re-enforce the joint to provide consistent support and strength and minimize the risk of injury. It also doesn't restrict the bowlers range of movement as much as a full brace would. Allowing you to cock and load your wrist as you go through the release of the ball, maximizing the rev rate that can be generated.

The next group of gloves are truly that... gloves. The important trait of these are that they have high traction surfaces on the index finger, pinky, and palm. Designed to create a consistent feel on the ball, they are similar to the gloves that you see commonly in golf. Used for the same reason, a great investment if you happen to have sweaty palms or just want to avoid any moisture effecting your grip on the ball. In addition to that, there is a certain 'I am a bad ass' look about these things. Not that we as bowlers would EVER make a purchase based on that...

Finally we come to the grand daddy group of them all. Bowling braces, gloves, guards, whatever you call it, this is the category that is designed to lock your hand and wrist in the optimum position to create a consistent release and roll of the ball. It can be something as simple as the Master Wristmaster that is available in just about every pro-shop in America to the scientifically designed metal monsters like the Robby's Rev-I that I mentioned before. Over the years, the variety of gloves that are available on the market that would fit into this category has exploded. Millions of dollars have been invested by just about every bowling company in the industry to find the perfect combination that allows the bowler to be as consistent as possible at the point of release. With that, there really isn't one design that is going to fit all bowlers. So you have a wide variety of options to chose from. As I said before, this is the place that you want to be if you are a new bowler and want to get some help positioning your hand in the right place or like me, get a little bit of help when you simply do not have the strength to endure a 21 game tournament worth of bowling because of years of abuse. Normally these gloves consist of a metal plate or frame that runs the back of your hand to your wrist, wrapped in a comfortable form to allow for several hours of wear.

So this brings us down a long road to answer the question to glove or not to glove. This is something that can only be answered by each individual bowler. Myself, as a former coach, I kept several types of gloves and braces in my bag so that as I was working with the youth bowlers I could leverage them as not only a training aid, but to see if it would even work for them long term. With that, you also have to think of gloves as an investment. Some of them can run as much as $80+ dollars, not something you just want to buy 'to see if you like it' or because 'it looks cool'. Unless you have the money to just toss around, then I say go for it. Buy one of each, see what you like, what works, and what doesn't, but I doubt any of us are in that boat. So ask your pro-shop if they have a 'try it before you buy it' program with the gloves. Or if you are in the position of learning bowling or taking your proven skills to the next level, speak to a coach or your local pro. They may have something to bring to the conversation in the form of additional advice matching your game or even having some of them on hand, like I did, that you can try out. Do what is right for you.

New Ball Alert!: Hammer Deadly Aim

Put today’s toughest bowling ball in your hand with Hammer’s new Deadly Aim! The Deadly Aim features a new flex-resin poured Dead-center core system that positions a super dense mass near the center of the ball, creating better energy flow throughout the ball. Then we reinforced the outer core with one of the most durable products in the world, carbon-fiber, to create extreme energy recoil upon impact at the pins. With that increased reinforcement, Hammer’s been able to set the industry standard on quality and durability by introducing a new 3-year manufacturer’s warranty best in class. World wide release February 11, 2014.

 The Specs:
- Color: Red/Orange/Yellow
- Coverstock: Primer Reactive Solid
- Core: Dead Center Core
- Core Type: Assymetrical
- Factory Finish: 500 Abralon®/1000 Abralon®/ 2000 Abralon®/4000 Abralon® with Powerhouse™ Clean N’ Sheen
- Radius of Gyration (RG): 2.48**
- Differential (Diff): 0.054**
- Inter. Diff: .008
- ** RG and Diff are based off of 15 lb. balls
- Recommended Lane Condition: Medium-Heavy Oil

New Ball Alert!: Hammer Black Widow Assassin

It’s the return of a Legend. Black Widows are the most popular series of bowling balls ever produced by Hammer, and now they’re back to bite medium to heavy oil lane conditions. The Black Widow Assassin pairs up two of our most popular components ever - the Widow core and the First Blood coverstock. Sanded in a 1000 grit polished finish, the Black Widow Assassin is one of the most aggressive and continuous hooking balls in the market today. Combine that signature Widow core motion with today’s coverstocks, and you’ve got one of the TOUGHEST rolling products in the marketplace! World wide release February 11, 2014.

 The Specs:
- Color: Red/Navy/Purple
- Coverstock: NBT Solid
- Core: Gas Mask Core
- Core Type: Assymetrical
- Factory Finish: 500/500/500/1000 Abralon® with Powerhouse™ Factory Finish Polish
- Radius of Gyration (RG): 2.50**
- Differential (Diff): 0.058**
- Inter. Diff: .014
- ** RG and Diff are based off of 15 lb. balls
- Recommended Lane Condition: Medium-Heavy Oil