Cornerstone Newsletter, June 2009

June Davis — Sun, 31 May 2009 11:23:30 GMT

The Cornerstone

The Foundation Newsletter

Volume 12, Issue 6 June 2009

"The crisis is upon us, friends. Our sport is in trouble. Many of you, that love the game as we do, will look at the crisis like a friend who is in trouble and needs our help. We must not shrink from the task before us, we should welcome it. It is 'our' generation that has been called to the challenge. If not now, when? If not us, who?"

The Foundation

“One World, One Game”

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Letter from the Editor

Threatening the Integrity

Integrity is defined by Merriam Webster as the firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values; an unimpaired condition; the quality or state of being complete and undivided. A firm adherence to a code; one might call that morals, values, or ethics. Integrity implies trustworthiness, honesty, and honor to a degree that a person is incapable of being false to a responsibility. It suggests a high regard for standards towards a particular area whether it be one’s profession, one’s family, or one’s position on a subject. It indicates a refusal to lie or deceive in any manner. It indicates one’s commitment to doing what is right and fair.

In bowling, as in many sports, there are threats to integrity. Unfortunately, in bowling, this threat of integrity is very prevalent and oftentimes blatant. It is also difficult to prove and even more difficult to deter and punish.

Since many bowling leagues use a handicapping system of some sort to “level out” the playing field, many bowlers can simply manipulate the system to their advantage. One could simply bowl at a lower scoring pace than their ability to accumulate more handicap and then bowl at their ability during key matches to secure wins with the extra handicap. One could also bowl less than average in one league in order to maintain a lower average for handicap tournaments or average capped, big money leagues. By maintaining a lower average, said bowler would have higher handicap for tournaments allowing them essentially “extra pins” for the tournament. It would also allow the bowler a lower average to aid in fitting teams into leagues with average caps.

This isn’t something new and we all know or have at least heard the term “sandbagging”. Sandbagging and those who would participate in this practice threaten the honor and integrity of the sport of bowling. Essentially, by “throwing off” to lower their average, they make a mockery of the sport as well as the players; athletes; who take it seriously.

You may be thinking there is nothing you can do. That could not be farther from the truth. As a participant in this sport, you have a voice. Talk to your center, your local associations and even the USBC. Leagues can vote to disallow bowlers to participate; center managers can ban bowlers. Take an active roll and stand up for our sport. Sandbagging is a serious offense. Not only does it threaten the integrity and honor of our sport, it frustrates honest, committed bowlers and pushes them away from our sport which ultimately causes a decrease in participation that affects us all.

Chris Barnes wins Bowling's Clash of Champions

By Lucas Wiseman; USBC Communications

RENO, Nev. - Consider the title defended. Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, picked up where his wife, Lynda, left off last year as he claimed the top spot at Bowling's Clash of Champions, a United States Bowling Congress event.

Barnes, who earned his way into the Clash by being the 2007-08 Professional Bowlers Association Player of the Year, defeated collegiate bowler Rebekah Diers of Kingston, N.Y., in the man versus woman title match 257-207 Thursday at the Reno Events Center.

A crowd of nearly 1,500 fans watched the special made-for-television event that showcased 16 champions of various events competing for a total prize pool of $100,000. The Clash aired on CBS Sports on May 9 from 4-6 p.m. EDT.

"In this format, with this field, it's tough to have high expectations," said Barnes, whose wife Lynda defeated pro bowler Sean Rash to win last year's inaugural Clash. "I was fortunate that Lynda bowled in this event last year because I knew what I wanted to try and accomplish and it worked."

The victory didn't come easy for Barnes, however, as Diers, who bowls collegiately at McKendree, put him on his heels early in the match.

Diers opened the game with four consecutive strikes before leaving the 2-4-10 split and converting it. In the seventh frame, however, she left the 4-6-7-10 split to effectively end her upset bid.

Barnes, meanwhile, started with a strike and a spare before rattling off six consecutive strikes, one of which was a Brooklyn. Needing a mark in the final frame to win, Barnes crushed the pocket for a strike.

"Rebekah bowled just terrific and her first six frames were way better than my first six frames," Barnes said. "If I don't have that Brooklyn in the fourth frame, she is ahead by almost 20 and there's no pressure on her. She sure didn't seem nervous about bowling me in those first few frames."

Barnes took home $50,000 for his victory, while Diers earned $25,000 for finishing second. It was an experience Diers said she will never forget.

"I just tried to do my best every shot," Diers said. "This is the best day of my life. I got to not only bowl with Chris Barnes, I got to bowl against him."

In the semifinals, Diers eliminated Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., while Barnes took out collegiate bowler Dan Vick of Pittsford, N.Y., 226-223.

All four players advanced to the championship round by surviving one of the most unique formats in the history of bowling. Each player made it through their foursome in the one-ball, sudden-death round, defeating opponents who ranged in age from teenagers to seniors.

Johnson claims USBC Queens title

By Lucas Wiseman; USBC Communications

RENO, Nev. - At the start of the week, Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., had virtually written off her chances of capturing the 2009 United States Bowling Congress Queens, the one title that had always eluded her.

Fast forward a few days and Johnson found herself standing on the lanes wearing the Queens tiara, holding the trophy and savoring a moment she had only dreamed about up until that point.

Johnson defeated 2007 Queens Champion Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., 247-204, to earn the title before a crowd of nearly 1,500 at the Reno Events Center. The victory earned her $30,000 and a place among bowling's biggest names as Queens champion.

"This is the most prestigious women's event, and to be in the company of some of the women who have won this is amazing," said Johnson, who finished second to Shannon Pluhowsky at the 2006 Queens. "I was so close to winning the title in 2006, and it took me a couple of months to get over that loss, but this feels absolutely amazing."

Johnson, the top seed, never thought she would have a shot at the title this week after getting off to a rocky start and landing in 71st place after the opening round of qualifying at the National Bowling Stadium. She slowly moved up the standings and fought through the double-elimination match-play bracket undefeated to claim the title.

"This week I bowled OK but my reaction wasn't that good, and I barely won some matches," said Johnson, who now has 13 professional women's titles including the 2007 U.S. Women's Open. "I'm a fighter, though. When it comes to anything, especially bowling, I'm going to fight my way through."

Johnson and Kulick both got off to hot starts in the championship match. After Johnson left a 7 pin on a solid pocket shot, she rattled off four consecutive strikes.

Kulick, however, started the game with five strikes before disaster struck. In the sixth frame, Kulick left the Greek Church, the 4-6-7-9-10 split, and fell into a deficit from which she would never recover.

After converting the 2 pin in the sixth frame, Johnson strung together three more strikes to easily claim the championship.

"This is the one title that has eluded her, and she earned it today," Kulick said. "If there is any bowler I want to finish second to, it's Liz. She's having a great career. She just keeps fighting and seems to overcome everything."

In reaching the title match, Kulick took out Michelle Feldman of Auburn, N.Y., 221-170, in the semifinal. Feldman started with an open and Kulick never trailed in the match.

Kulick defeated Lisa Bishop of Belleville, Mich., the match before by starting with nine consecutive strikes in a 262-224 win. Stepping up in the final frame in her bid for a televised perfect game, Kulick threw the ball a tad slow and it hooked through the head pin and left the 3-4-6-7 split.

To open the championship round, Bishop defeated Brenda Edwards of Mansfield, Texas, 221-199. After leaving the 3-4-6-7-9-10 split in the final frame, Bishop converted the spare to keep her hopes alive. Edwards could have advanced with three consecutive strikes in the 10th frame, but left the 6-10 on her first shot.

Wichita State men defend Intercollegiate Team Championships title

By Lucas Wiseman;USBC Communications

ROCKFORD, Ill. - In a matchup of the two most storied men's programs in the history of the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships, Wichita State defeated Saginaw Valley State on Saturday to win the national title.

The Shockers won their second consecutive title and ninth overall, defeating the Cardinals 2-1 in the best-of-three championship match at The Cherry Bowl. Wichita State claimed the deciding game 180-156 to earn the Kerm Helmer Cup and deny Saginaw Valley State its fifth championship. The title match will air on CBS College Sports on June 3 at 8 p.m. EDT.

"This is such a great achievement, and I guess you could say our journey has paid off," Wichita State junior John Szczerbinski said. "We just try to put our hearts into every shot. We were not worried about making quality shots because all we can do is control our performance."

Wichita State fell behind after losing the first game 212-185. Leading by one pin, Shockers anchor bowler Josh Blanchard had a chance to close out a victory for his team in the final frame, but left a 3-4-6-7 split.

Lead-off bowler Will Barnes, the lone senior on Wichita State's team, turned things around the Shockers by striking to lead off the second game, propelling them to a 203-149 victory.

"We didn't have much to lose after that first game, so we threw our shots and did what we were able to do," Barnes said. "I wanted to go out with a bang, so we did that but I couldn't have done it without the guys."

The loss closed out a dominating tenure at the Intercollegiate Team Championships for Saginaw Valley State senior Dan MacLelland, who was honored with his third consecutive Most Valuable Player award.

"It didn't go our way but I was glad to see that the two top teams in the country met for the title," said MacLelland, who led the Cardinals to the championship in 2007. "It's really emotional, but I just have to look forward. I will always be friends with these guys, and I'll probably be back here coaching next year."

In the semifinals, the Wichita State men defeated Webber International twice Saturday to advance to the championship in the best-of-seven double-elimination format. The Shockers took the first match 4-1 and then advanced with a 4-2 victory. Saginaw Valley State swept Rochester Institute of Technology, 4-0, to make the final.

Joining MacLelland on the men's All-Tournament Team was Wichita State's Josh Blanchard, Webber International's Marcelo Suartz, Rochester Institute of Technology's Dan Vick and North Dakota State's Eric Parvey. MacLelland also earned the Chris Stoehr Sportsmanship Award.

The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships featured the top 16 men's and top 16 women's college bowling teams in the country vying for national titles. All 32 teams competed in best-of-seven, double-elimination match play in the Baker format Friday, after which the field was pared down to four in both the men's and women's divisions.

Wichita State women win ninth Intercollegiate Team Championships title

By Lucas Wiseman; USBC Communications

ROCKFORD, Ill. - From the first shot of the first game, the Wichita State women made it clear they would be tough to stop from winning their record ninth United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships title.

The Shockers led each game from the get go as they swept Lindenwood to win the women's national title, 2-0, at The Cherry Bowl on Saturday. Wichita State took the opening game 218-180 and clinched the title with a 197-156 victory. The title match will air on CBS College Sports on June 2 at 8 p.m. EDT.

"This year was amazing and we worked the whole year on staying in the moment, so we were just feeling really confident," Wichita State anchor Rocio Restrepo said. "It feels great, and now it's time to get some school work done and enjoy this victory."

Wichita State started the first game with three consecutive strikes and never looked back. Lead-off bowler Melissa Hurst began the second game with a strike as well and the Shockers rolled to their third title in the past five years.

Hurst and fellow senior Samantha Linder capped of their careers at Wichita State by each striking on three of their four shots in the championship.

"We wanted to come out and be aggressive," Wichita State coach Mark Lewis said. "Melissa played the lead-off role and made great shots. Knowing it was the last shots of their college career, Melissa and Samantha stepped up and just stuffed the pocket and made great shots."

Lindenwood attempted to make a comeback to win the first game after falling behind by 20 pins. Strikes in the seventh and eighth frames put the Lions in position to steal the first game, but Laura Fonnegra left a pocket 7-10 split in the ninth frame to put an end to the rally.

In the semifinals, Lindenwood took down top seed Central Florida in consecutive matches, beating the Knights 4-2 and 4-3, in the best-of-seven double-elimination format. Wichita State defeated McKendree, 4-3, to advance.

Central Florida senior Brigette Harrelson was named Most Valuable Player in the women's division. Joining Harrelson on the women's All-Tournament Team was McKendree's Rebekah Diers, Erie Community College's Gina Maduri and Wichita State's Restrepo and Sandra Gongora. Diers won the Chris Stoehr Sportsmanship Award.

The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships featured the top 16 men's and top 16 women's college bowling teams in the country vying for national titles. All 32 teams competed in best-of-seven, double-elimination match play in the Baker format Friday, after which the field was pared down to four in both the men's and women's divisions.

The ‘GoodWin’ Scoring System

With sincere respect to our great friend Johnny Petraglia, the recent ESPN telecast of the PBA Women’s Series Showdown using his “Petraglia Scoring System” was interesting – but . . .well . . . a little boring. Low score wins?

With winner Carolyn Dorin-Ballard getting an all-time PBA record 20 consecutive strikes to win the $25,000 top prize, we couldn’t help but wonder how exciting it would have been if normal scoring had been used. Of course, with normal scoring, she probably would not have survived the first round. Thank you, my girl Michelle, who can’t strike on the easiest PBA oil pattern? – gotta work on straightening out that big hook, girl!

He probably does not remember it, but we had a conversation with Johnny about alternate scoring systems a couple of years ago when the Generations Bowling Tour was going. We liked his system for the same reason the PBA was willing to try it – but we still think there is a better one – for lack of a better name, let’s call it the “GoodWin System.”

ESPN Announcer Rob Stone asked Johnny on air what his system would be called if it didn’t have his name – his answer was “The Golf System.” As much as we like golf, that was probably a turn-off for most bowlers. With its low numbers, we thought it was a cross between golf and tennis. One point for a strike, two for a spare. . .and the player had to keep rolling until all pins cleared the deck. A Greek Church might score five or six, and take all day to finish. And low score wins.

Yes, it is simple, but a little too radical for our taste, and we really don’t like borrowing the traditions of the G sport, and the “low score wins” aspect.

The GoodWin System is equally as simple, but it maintains most of the traditions of bowling that have been in place for more than a century. Here’s how it works:

A game of bowling is ten frames, but in the GoodWin System, it is never 12 frames. There is never any “carryover or bonus scoring” that confuses half of the avid bowlers and all of the casual/recreational bowlers. A GoodWin Strike is worth 30 points - period. Ten strikes is a perfect 300 game. A spare is worth 20, and anything less than a spare is the actual pin count for the frame – all frames are limited to two shots. An all-spare game, for example, is 200.

What could be simpler than that? Most 7-year-olds can do the math simply by adding 30, 20, or less than 10 to the previous frame score.

But wait! There is more!

There are several good reasons why we believe the GoodWin System is better than the Petraglia System, which is better than the traditional system. We said that 10 years ago when we first came up with this idea, but we never thought any of bowling’s official organizations would have the courage to try something new – even if it is better . . .but with this PBA telecast, there is hope that the status quo is not as sacred as we once thought it was.

Consider these facts about the GoodWin System:

1. It is so simple, virtually anyone can understand it and explain it in a few seconds.

2. Anyone looking at the score in any given game would know exactly what the totals are and who is ahead at all times.

3. Proprietors will love it because it shortens the game – three-game league sessions will end 20-30 minutes sooner. Television producers would love it for the same reason, and for the simplicity it shares with the Petraglia System.

4. It raises overall scoring by 20-25 pins, but because a strike worth 30 points, it widens the gap between pros and amateurs. In the GoodWin System, top amateurs will average in the 230’s or 240’s. Professional bowlers, because of their ability to make more strikes, will average 250-260. Too high? Have you seen current averages and how many 300 games are being rolled in recent years? And if a 110 average bowler can raise their average to 130 or 140 instantly, isn’t that a good thing? Wouldn’t casual open play bowlers enjoy breaking 100 more often?

5. 300 games – it would only take 10 strikes to get one, but the psychological fear factor would remain. Bowlers who now get nervous after an 8 or 9 bagger would start to freeze-up after 6 or 7 strikes in a GoodWin Game. And the USBC has already changed the awards system so multiple awards for 300’s are history. Why not make it a tad easier for a bowler to get his or her first one?

6. Software engineers could easily adapt present automatic scorers to the GoodWin System. But if it had been in place years ago, there would have been no need for automatic scoring, and all of the additional expense it has brought proprietors, not to mention the price increase for a game to cover that time and expense.

No matter how good an idea is, there is always room for improvement, and in this revolutionary time we are living in bowling, now is the time to implement a few of those new ideas.

So, how about it PBA, or USBC, or one of the megabuck tournaments? Give the GoodWin System a try! Just think – if the GoodWin System had been used on the USBC / PBA Women’s Series Showdown, Dorin-Ballard’s 20-in-a-row could have been back-to-back televised 300 games! How exciting would that have been?

(NOTE: This article was used with permission from “Stars and Strikes –America’s Bowling Newsmagazine. It was the “Bowl-Opinion” column in the April 2009 edition, by Jim Goodwin).

Congrats to the Webber International Bowling Team

On April 21, 2009 Webber International University’s bowling team celebrated the conclusion of its inaugural season partnership with the Kegel Training Center in a banquet at the school. Team head coach, Joe Slowinski gave a presentation highlighting the team’s achievements which included:

* A Tier 1 win in the 1^st year

* Seven top-five finishes in eleven events

* Three top five finishes in Tier 1

* Seven players made All-Tournament Teams

* Three Tier 1, Three Tier 2, and one National Championship

* 1st Baker 300-game in the 34-year history of the Intercollegiate Team Championship

* Marcelo Suartz made the All-Tournament Team for the championship

* Larry Brande voted Rookie of the Year by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches

Association for the season.

Last year (on April 18, 2008), at the inception of the Webber team, Slowinski told Kegel founder and CEO, John Davis, that they would “make college bowling history.” One year to the day later, Webber bowled the dominating top seed, Wichita State in the national semi-final. Webber finished an impressive third place in their first outing. “How proud we all are of you,” Bill Heath, Webber’s athletic director told the team and their coaches.

Other Coaches’ Reactions

Del Warren, Vice President of the Kegel Training Center, was excited to fulfill John Davis’ dream of expansion to college bowling. He ranked the national title performance as high on his own personal achievement list as when making the televised finals of the Firestone Tournament of Champions while he was on Tour. Coach Randy Stoughton called the experience a true “labor of love.” Players and coaches alike all commented on the growth of the team as bowlers as well as well-rounded citizens.

In addition to Kegel, Webber’s success was supported by corporate sponsors including Ebonite, Dexter, Turbo Grips, Classic Products, and Evolution Embroidery. They are looking forward to another championship season next year which will also include the addition of a women’s team featuring Ashly Galante, 2008 Rookie of the Year and Intercollegiate Bowling Championship Most Valuable Player, and Jessica Santiago, Puerto Rican Female Bowler of the Year for 2008.

Congratulations again to this great effort by everyone involved in the very first season. To become a threat in the initial season is indeed remarkable. Bigger and better sights are already set for next year. Way to go, Webber!!!

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Membership Report

We have members in all 50 states,
and the District of Columbia

We have members in 49 countries, including the United States:

Argentina Australia Bahrain Belgium Brazil Canada China Columbia Costa Rica Denmark Ecuador Egypt Finland France Germany Great Britain Greece Guam Guatemala Ireland Israel Italy Japan Korea Latvia Malaysia Mexico The Netherlands N. Ireland Netherlands Antilles
New Zealand Panama Philippines Puerto Rico Peru Qatar Scotland Singapore Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey U.A.E. Ukraine Venezuela

Corporate Sponsors

The problems that exist in our Sport are “industry-wide” problems that must be addressed by the entire Industry. The Foundation does all that they can to help, but we can NOT do it alone.

The Foundation has well over 1000-Members who have joined-in to assist. Some Members (Founding and Charter) have paid to show their support. Some Members (Associates) have just lent their “voice”. ALL of the members are important.

Even though The Foundation has NOT actively solicited bowling-related companies for help, some realize the importance of our “Mission” and have come forward with donations. We recognize the following companies for their loyalty and support to bowling.

KEGEL

KAT Travel

I.B.P.S.I.A.

EBN Services

Storm Bowling

Classic Products

Bobs’ Business, Inc.

Vincennes University

BowlersParadise.com

Virtualtournaments.com

Wichita State University

David Driscoll & Associates

International Bowling Industry Magazine

Stars and Strikes Bowling Newsmagazine

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Cornerstone Newsletter, June 2009