New reader thoughts
Ken Onyschuk
I was pleased to get my first issue of BOWLING DIGEST as a subscriber after reading it for years at suburban libraries. The articles are good and interesting.
I’d like to comment on some of the letters in your recent issues.
I still don’t like Pete Weber’s “crotch shots” on TV. Let the wrestlers do it, not the bowlers.
I use a 14-pound plastic ball (which I won in a past summer league) and bowl well with it using no additional hardware, after developing my arm muscles at the YMCA. My team’s best bowler averages 214, and he doesn’t need any “high tech” equipment, either.
I really don’t care how many balls a pro uses at a PBA tournament as long as they’re legal.
You can convert a 10-pin with a sharp breaking ball on a dry lane if you roll it hard at a spot three feet in front of the pin. Your ball will turn and stay on track to convert.
As for the point system used in today’s tournaments, the change to it was no big deal to me. I read the tournament updates daily on the Internet because sports sections rarely print PBA results. I’m always wondering if one of the lower-seeded bowlers will get “lucky” and pull an upset in match play.
A few of your readers feel that Walter Ray Williams Jr. is the best bowler of all time. Maybe. But the bowling balls and lane conditions have changed a lot over the years. Walter has had good years and bad ones, but he’s never tied Mark Roth’s record of eight titles won in 1979. Neither did Earl Anthony–in a shorter career.
Williams needs to be lucky and stay healthy to win again. The competition is tough today. Time will tell if Walter Ray gets to No. 41 before he’s 50. Pete Weber has 30 titles at 42, but he can be his own worst enemy. He may win a couple more titles.
Personally, I’m a Roth fan because of his bowling style and many accomplishments. I met him for the first time in Hammond at a Senior event, and managed to get a valued autograph. Anyway, I’m always looking forward to TV bowling, whether it’s the men or women. And I look forward to your “Interview” features with the pros, whether current or retired, men or women.
Ken Onyschuk
Joliet, Ill.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
