Bowl Opinion - Mar 2016 - Neither Here Nor There, For What It Is Worth

bowlingball.com 3/18/2016

This is one of those columns we spit out when we are not feeling particularly passionate about any given subject . . .

• Let's start on a happy note. Our great friend Jim Dressel is on the mend. JD has been battling cancer in one hospital or another since last August. His latest testing revealed that he is cancer free. His daughter Lindsay and son-in-law Chris have been by his side the whole way. As he regains strength he should be able to go home soon.

• Have you seen the new 2016 PWBA schedule? The tour has expanded, now has television for every event on the CBS Sports Network, and is gaining sponsors. Wow! Great job USBC and BPAA.

• We saw that there is another World Bowling Coaches Conference in Arlington in May. We attended the 2014 conference with 100 coaches from across the globe. It was terrific, and kudos to everyone involved for keeping this going. Coaches are the backbone of our sport.

• Can you believe these young players on the tours? If you have not had a chance to watch Anthony Simonsen or Danielle McEwen, treat yourself to see them soon. Simonsen is sensational with his Belmo-like delivery, and McEwen just became the second woman to win a PBA title when she won the World Bowling Tour event in Qatar. Look for results next month.

• Check out the interview with Jamie Brooks and John LaSpina in this issue. It is one of the lost interviews from last year's Bowl Expo, but the dialogue is timeless. Jamie and John are both incredible proprietors who also love the sport.
Congrats to Jamie for winning the USBC Joyce Deitch Unity Award. Not bad for an octogenarian!

• Speaking of age, look at Amleto Monacelli. We always thought his top physical condition would pay off for a long time, and he is proving it by winning the Japan Invitational at age 54.

• We got a little feedback on last month's column about Gary Faulkner. Our point was that we did not think that his race was a big factor in his first title, but we understand that some like to keep talking about it. Did you notice that at the Super Bowl Carolina quarterback Cam Newton asked the media not to refer to him as an "African-American Quarterback" or a "Black Quarterback?" He said "I just want to be the best quarterback that ever played the game - period." Good for him, but he has some work to do after losing to Denver with that overwhelming defense. Coach Tom Landry used to preach that great defense will beat great offense every time. This Super Bowl proves how wise he really was.

• What a great thing it is for BPAA that Peyton Manning, their featured speaker at Bowl Expo this summer, won the Super Bowl. I wonder if he asked to re-negotiate his speaker contract.

• Two Major Tournaments, Two young players winning first titles, and both are Two-Handed players . . . what are the odds? Masters winner Anthony Simonsen is only 19, Tournament of Champions winner Jesper Svensson is 21.
Simonsen rolls the ball with two- hands from the right side, Svensson with two hands from the left. Johnny Petraglia was right when he said that he believes that two handers will be the majority of tour players in a decade. Or
maybe he is not right - it may not take that long.

• Did anyone wake up and say wow when two more 900s were rolled in one week in January? Without looking, can anyone say their names? Or even where they are from? Sometime soon, we will see the first women's 900. It will probably happen on the PWBA Tour. We also saw one in Indiana last month when Erica Cutler shot 889, a new women's record. Or maybe a youth bowler will do it.

• Belmo winning three consecutive PBA Player of the Year titles is a sign of the times. With Simonsen and many other two-handers on his tail, the tour has become a revolution revolution.

• Pete Weber and Terrell Owens teamed up to win that celebrity doubles recently, billed as the "Bad Boy of Bowling and the Bad Boy of Football." I've seen the Weber video, and I watched Owens football career. I don't think they are so bad; but I know they are good bowlers. Very good bowlers.

• Jeanette Robinson just completed her 26^th Golden Ladies Classic Tournament. Look for results in the April issue. We love you Jeanette!