Can you explain what a Don Johnson 40 is and how this tourney plays out in the early rounds that aren’t on TV? Like there’s a ton of bowling going on to setup the final ladder order?
Totally insane. Mookie is a stone cold lock for Cooperstown, just casually out there matching Belmonte in a U.S. Open before spring training.
Yeah, in this tournament there was a shitload of bowling going on before the tv finals. Each player bowled 18 games of qualifying. Then the field was cut from 64 to 24. After that everyone bowled one game matches against one another, so that’s 23 more games. Then the top 17 went to the stepladder final. I think Belmonte won 6 straight one game matches, so that’s like 47 games for him over six days. This was primarily an invitational, but a few guys got in from being legends and a few more got in through a qualifying tournament.
The Don Johnson 40 was the oil pattern. Don’t know much about it, other than its 40 feet long. And it seems to be pretty tricky, like not much room for error.
Here’s a page that has a link to the pattern.
The pros understand oil patterns and the physics of bowling balls far better than us duffers. Plus they have guys from bowling ball companies who counsel them on which balls to throw depending on the pattern. Many of the players are signed up with bowling ball companies to throw their balls exclusively. That’s why you always see them thanking their bowling ball maker at the end of tourneys.
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This is amazing. He’s in his car early morning in a sleeper town outside of Akron where this event is being held, ranked 51 out of 64 bowlers, and is talking about how it’s still technically mathematically possible to advance.
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Ha. After 18 games he got there by 6 pins. Wow. Just enough. As he said, “Never give up”. He seems like a pretty down-to-earth guy. Without those 6 pins he would have won $0. He went on to win $100,000. Not bad.
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Is 100K for a major a small amount? Was I lied to by Kingpin?
I like this clip. About 13 minutes into it, Brad and Kyle talk to their friend who is making his first tv broadcast, and I think it might be his first cash in a PBA tournament. He ended up winning one game on tv and finishing 15th for $5,000.
the bowling youtube is really awesome. Pucky also made the tv stream. Good vlogger.
I think the format kinda suck (17 players step ladder?), but it was exciting to watch. I somehow find myself rooting for the one handers, especially EJ who weighs like 70 pounds and throw like a motherfucker.
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also there’s a guy called Wes Melot who is like andre the giant big. I think he’s 8 feet 500 lbs. he doesn’t even bend. he just throws the ball in the air for half the length of the lane.
I’ll always root for the normal throwers, 2 handed stinks to watch
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I’m watching this tourney from the other night and in the first match AJ Johnson gets 3 gutter balls in the first 4 frames and the opponent fouled twice. Insane.
We’ll return to Unstuck Politics in just a moment, but first…
Would never work with a 2 hander
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Seems that she’s making it work.
Really enjoyed this video
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Question for the bowlers. How impressive is this showing with clear footwork problems?
Any 300 is a great accomplishment, especially on tv. That said, it looked like the oil pattern was not that tough, as Belmo pretty much buried every shot and didn’t have any lucky strikes. It looked like he stuck once or twice, but since the bowlers didn’t complain too much about it, I’m not sure how much he was affected.
In a more general sense, sometimes the approaches are sticky, and that can really get into your head. When you stick once, you become afraid of sticking every time. You don’t want to blow out your knee or fall flat on your face at the foul line, but I’ve seen it happen many times because your momentum is moving forward, and then you stick, and the next thing you know you’re on all fours. So of course, your finish can be altered and wrecked even when you don’t stick, if that makes any sense.
Incidentally, some of the bowling shoe companies make shoes with interchangeable soles (velcro) so you can regulate your slide depending on the stickiness of the approach. I have them, but rarely need to change soles.
Can you help me figure out a new ball? I haven’t bowled more than a game here or there in over a decade and my ball finally succumbed to the crack of death. This is the ball:
I’m not too versed in the metrics of balls but I know the basics, and that’s a fairly extreme ball especially on the break angle. Not sure I should be looking to get specs that wild since I’ll only be bowling a dozen or two games per year at most and need something versatile enough to handle unpredictable conditions. If the lanes are bone dry I’ll roll plastic, so this has to cover medium to heavy. I hear a lot of people say the Phaze II is a great all around ball but I’ve never touched one. Also might be overkill for the small number of games I’ll be bowling.
Well, the short answer is I don’t know. Not a huge fan in general of Brunswick balls, but had a “Mastermind” a few years ago and really liked it. That model has since been retired. I would consult with your local pro and see what he or she thinks. I would buy a ball from the pro shop at the center you are most likely to bowl at. Oil costs money, so I think many centers have “dry” lanes, and fewer use too much oil, especially for open bowling. So I would likely stay away from a ball that hooks a lot. That said, a reactive resin ball will give you better carry than a plastic ball because of the way it rotates, even on dry conditions. I think it’s important for your pro to drill your ball in a way that coincides with your PAP or positive axis point. So, it’s not just the ball, but also the layout which impacts hook potential. Here’s a video that helps explain PAP, and there are many more on youtube.
So again, I don’t know. I have bought some balls that just never worked for me the way I wanted them too, and I’ve bought some that work out great. I’m currently liking my Hammer 3D Offset, but just started a league at a new house and it seems like none of my balls really react the way I want, so I might need to take a chance on a new one. Again. Anyway, good luck with the purchase.
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