BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: tommyboy74 on April 28, 2013, 12:05:37 AM
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Well, it's that time of year where we see some of the pro staffs change. Here are a few that I have heard of so far.
Amleto Monacelli has joined Ebonite. He is now the international sales rep for Latin America and the Caribbean. A news release of this was done a while back:
http://ebonite.com/news_events/news_detail/amleto_monacelli_named_ebonite_international_latin_american_caribbean_sales
For those watching the PBA League this year, you may have noticed that Amleto was throwing Storm earlier in the year with the tapings. On the last show, he was throwing the Ebonite Champion. He's also been throwing Ebonite exclusively on the PBA50 as of late.
Track has named 3 new staffers. According to their Facebook page, they are Mika Koivuniemi, Jesse Buss, and Dan MacLelland. Ebonite is no longer allowing 4 brand contracts, so expect to see a lot of people choosing 1 brand.
As for Dan MacLelland leaving Columbia 300, that leaves Chris Barnes as the only PBA staffer for that brand.
Even more interesting, is that Mike Fagan may be leaving Track. Now, I have not seen anything specific other than someone mentioning it on their Facebook page. If he leaves, who knows what his next ball company will be. Fagan has thrown Brunswick, Ebonite, Hammer, and Storm in the past on tv.
Ryan Ciminelli has left Brunswick and is now part of their sister brand DV8. "Mr. 300" Bob Learn Jr has also joined DV8.
Brunswick made Jason Sterner a full time pro staff member. Wayne Webb has also joined Big B.
Motiv has a sizeable pro staff now. Dick Allen returns and the 5 other members now include Patrick Girard, Anthony LaCaze, Jake Peters, Brett Spangler, and Lee Vanderhoef.
There will be others during the summer most likely, but this is what has already happened over the past few weeks.
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Tommy Jones went to hammer too.
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Does the Ebonite brand have anyone left except Kelly Kulick as a pro staff member now that TJ is with Hammer?
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No, Kelly left to, we have no touring staff players as far as I know.
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Kelly threw nothing but ebonite at the Rockaway NJ regional this past weekend and wore ebonite jerseys as well
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She may have stuck around then, but I was told we have no touring pros on staff but they can still throw the balls, lots of shake ups and more will be known soon.
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Hope going to Hammer helps TJ a bit.
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I hope so too. It would be nice to see TJ back in the winner's circle again after a few years of having to deal with the hip issue and other injuries.
This makes me wonder what Ebonite is doing, especially if there will be no pro staffers throwing the actual Ebonite brand...
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Did they say why there will not be any staffers?
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I've heard a few things but more will be known soon.
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Hope going to Hammer helps TJ a bit.
Would EBI be getting ready to separate a brand or two to slim down?
And yes, i really hope TJ does well.
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I got to see Ameleto tearing it up in the PBA50 tournament at the Villages.
I was surprised to see him off of Storm after his year last year! But as great as he looked with some of the different Tropical Heats last year, he may have been setting a record for tournament qualifying average plus match play 249.XX?(minus bonus pins) on a PBA shot in the tournament.
The 1 day I saw him he was wheeling the ball with a Blue Eruption on this short PBA pattern from near 15 out to 3 or wider at about 30 to 35 feet. Almost all top qualifiers were throwing bullets from near 10 to 4 at the arrows out to 3.
His loop of the lanes had a bunch of the strong bowling senior contingent of the Villages going "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh, OOOOOOOOOOOh In unison as his ball wheeled off the 3, 2, or 1 board at the break point and then slammed the pocket for another 250 or higher game. It was hysterical and quite a scene to observe and a lot of fun!
He is absolutely in sync throwing it maybe like in his 30s and playing the patterns in a way others can't do.
Impressed how quick he has made the transition.
REgards,
Luckylefty
PS I think Bo Goergan is on the Storm staff! Saw him go 300 279 what a super game!
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I've heard a few things but more will be known soon.
Good to know, and we'll all be interested to know what goes down.
As far as touring players for Ebonite, with Amleto being the sales rep, plus out on the PBA50 tour, would that in essence make him a touring staffer?
I also remember something about Blanchard being on staff, but I don't know if that was touring or regional. There are a lot of regional staffers that were on tour, but I don't know if they were elevated up to touring staff.
With TJ going Hammer, I wonder how much of a shakeup there will be there. In short, O'Neill.
Finally, Liz Johnson. Her and Mika were the two most prominent bowlers signed to EBI, allowing them access to all four brands. I wonder where this will leave her..
BL.
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I'm pretty sure Liz Johnson is back with Storm. She was throwing an IQ Tour Pearl in the WTBA Woman's telecast.
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I wonder where this leaves Missy Parkin and Scott Norton. Both were only recent EBI signees and were using all four brands.
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I'm pretty sure Liz Johnson is back with Storm. She was throwing an IQ Tour Pearl in the WTBA Woman's telecast.
Liz Johnson has been back with Storm since November 2012 after her 4 brand EBI contract ended.
http://www.stormbowling.com/news/2012/11/3878
She bowls at the same house where I get my stuff drilled and I have seen her throwing the IQ Tour Pearl, IQ, Lucid, and VG Nano when she's there practicing.
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I wonder where this leaves Missy Parkin and Scott Norton. Both were only recent EBI signees and were using all four brands.
My prediction is that Missy joins Columbia 300. She seems to match up well when she has thrown their balls on tv and won with the Omen. I could see Scott joining Hammer or Columbia 300 as well. He seems to throw those 2 lines the most and has been successful with the Enigma, First Blood, and Oath.
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why would ebonite even limit their staffers to only 1 company?i guess the more chances they can get on tv doesn't appeal to them
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We can throw what we want at national stops but are limited to our brand in everything else. No more 4 company deals.
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At this stage in the game...loyalties are out the window, pros and otherwise are going to go where they can and get any kind of compensation, plain & simple
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Can you blame them? If something is going to match up better for me, I'm going there. Plus the $!
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I'm not even taking that into consideration....it's all about $$$$'s at this point cause very LITTLE to go around
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Rico has it right, if you get guaranteed money anywhere in bowling right now, you take it. So what if you suck with their equipment, if they're gonna pay you to throw it, throw it.
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Totally blows a hole in the whole "ball loyalty" thing.
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Totally blows a hole in the whole "ball loyalty" thing.
This is nothing new. Walter Ray seems to change every couple of years when his contracts run out. Sure some of them stick with one brand, but not many.
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Fagan is now a member of the Storm nation
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It's official. Mike Fagan's Facebook page has him with the new argyle Storm jersey.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151437378398207&set=a.10151437378263207.1073741825.163298218206&type=1&theater
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I don't watch the pros much anymore, but I have to say I'm pretty impressed how far Fagan has come since he broke into the tour. Good for him.
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I'm pumped. Mike Fagan is my favorite!
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Yeah, I've given up on the PBA, the stupid team format was the last straw for me. Fagan is great, but he became elite with Track.
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Mike Wolfe has signed with Storm.
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Wasn't Mike Wolfe an EBI staffer with a 4 brand contract?
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I am pretty sure he was
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Mike Wolfe has signed with Storm.
Bloody hell.
Pretty soon we can just call the PBA tour the Storm tour. :o
Something is going on at EBI, and it doesn't sound good at all. I mean, regardless of the 4 brands there, I haven't seen an exodus of this nature from any ball company in the time that I've been in the sport, and that is going back to the late 70s when I was 4.
I don't know if it is all 4 brands, and those that remain have been loyal to them for 15 to 20+ years, or if it is just Ebonite by itself. But this doesn't look good for Ebonite, and just for the sake of fair competition, I hope I am wrong.
BL.
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If Tommy Jones is leaving Ebonite in favor of Hammer, that is my first clue that something's up.
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This kinda combines another post that was made on here on "Why has Storm/Roto Grip not come out with anything new" Maybe Storm/Roto Grip have realized that you can only make so many core designs and they have found cores that work. Didn't someone post on here that it costs like $75k to design a core? Guess by using what works and is still making other products look subpar to theirs, that $75k saved for each core that other companies are producing that they can use to sign Staff members. I drill and throw all brands and I have not found a non Storm brand that I feel has developed a quality ball in the last 3-5 years. (One exception - I do like the Track 508a.) not trying to start an argument, just saying if its not broke, don't fix it. If you take all Ebonite brand cover stock that is supposed to be the next greatest thing, how many are the same with just different names used as a marketing ploy?
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I'm beginning to wonder if Ebonite is dropping to Grass Roots membership on the PBA to save money.
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I'm beginning to wonder if Ebonite is dropping to Grass Roots membership on the PBA to save money.
That could be. But, that would be one of the stupidest things that could be done in terms of name recognition. How would it sound with EBI having their flagship brand Ebonite as grassroots? I'm thinking it would only hurt them to some extent.
Now 900 Global and AMF are a different story from last year. I can understand them going that route, and even Lane #1 prior to that. They had a small or non-existant pro staff and decided to focus on their ball lines instead of shelling out to the PBA. In their case, it made sense.
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I agree. But it was the only thing that I could think of that would cause all their staffers at the pro level to be dropped or leave.
I too think it would be absolutely stupid to take the "main brand" of your four brand empire and drop it off the PBA national tour. If they do go grass roots it doesn't affect me as I can still throw em in regionals and I throw a lot of ebonite.
As a hijack: I wish Lane 1 would go Grassroots. They have a few decent balls that would match up well for me out there
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If Tommy Jones is leaving Ebonite in favor of Hammer, that is my first clue that something's up.
My understanding is Tommy is still with ebonite, that is from a text to my friend who is on staff with EbI and talked with Tommy.
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If Tommy Jones is leaving Ebonite in favor of Hammer, that is my first clue that something's up.
My understanding is Tommy is still with ebonite, that is from a text to my friend who is on staff with EbI and talked with Tommy.
That's what was so weird about it. I know TJ threw a lot of Track stuff during the week so IF he moved I figured it'd be to them.
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If Tommy Jones is leaving Ebonite in favor of Hammer, that is my first clue that something's up.
My understanding is Tommy is still with ebonite, that is from a text to my friend who is on staff with EbI and talked with Tommy.
That's what was so weird about it. I know TJ threw a lot of Track stuff during the week so IF he moved I figured it'd be to them.
Yeah, I guess we just have to wait and see what really shakes out from EBI.
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As far as Storm, theres more guys to get on deck. Stay tuned. Its really simple, Ebonite stuff is incredibly bad right now. The best in the world cant get that stuff to strike.
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As far as Storm, theres more guys to get on deck. Stay tuned. Its really simple, Ebonite stuff is incredibly bad right now. The best in the world cant get that stuff to strike.
I wouldn't be surprised to see more Storm/Roto staffers. Same goes for Brunswick/DV8. The real surprise could be Motiv or Lord Field getting some huge exposure as a result of this.
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storm/rotogrip is the flavor of the month....for now!!!!by the start of the winter swing....there will be a new flavor of the month!!!!yall know that it runs in cycles here!!!!
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in my opinion ebonite stuff is geared more for the league bowler. sure they have a "strong" ball or two but compared to especially storm, their coverstock technology is lacking. ebonite and maybe track should stick to leagues and regionals and leave the national stuff to hammer and columbia. they seem to match up better to stuff out there
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As far as Storm, theres more guys to get on deck. Stay tuned. Its really simple, Ebonite stuff is incredibly bad right now. The best in the world cant get that stuff to strike.
I think that right now Storm/Roto is matching up better to the PBA shots than EBI, there stuff is not incredibly bad, everybody makes good equipment. It still comes down to matching up to lanes, shots, bowlers ability ect. Time will tell, but right now Storm is on a roll on the tour and landing Fagan is Huge.
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storm/rotogrip is the flavor of the month....for now!!!!by the start of the winter swing....there will be a new flavor of the month!!!!yall know that it runs in cycles here!!!!
Flavor of the month? This is an utterly ridiculous statement. Storm has had staying power for YEARS now. Hardly a fly by night operation.
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not ridiculous....lets see what they will be this season or next season!!!!like i said it runs in cycles.....one year your the talk of the town....next i dont hear a whimper from you!!!!of course storm/rotogrips in the running every year....BECAUSE THEY ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST BALL MAKERS OUT HERE!!!!
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storm/rotogrip is the flavor of the month....for now!!!!by the start of the winter swing....there will be a new flavor of the month!!!!yall know that it runs in cycles here!!!!
Flavor of the month? This is an utterly ridiculous statement. Storm has had staying power for YEARS now. Hardly a fly by night operation.
I have to agree. While Storm is making great gear, getting everyone and their mother on staff, and can't keep a ball stocked on the shelves, that doesn't mean that they will be gone in the next year. I understand about flavour of the month (colloquial speak), but they've been around since 1993 and don't have any intentions of going anywhere.
not ridiculous....lets see what they will be this season or next season!!!!like i said it runs in cycles.....one year your the talk of the town....next i dont hear a whimper from you!!!!of course storm/rotogrips in the running every year....BECAUSE THEY ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST BALL MAKERS OUT HERE!!!!
Again, everyone wrote them off with those god awful Sun Storm balls in 1993, and look at where they are now. Storm has had a huge presence and got something right 3 years ago, as Nationals saw basically nothing but Hy-Roads being thrown with a splashing of Nanos, that made me feel out of sorts with throwing a Complete NV in the near purely Ebonite town that Vegas was at that time.
Storm is a great company that is doing great things; their equipment just doesn't fit well with me,so I don't throw them (though I have to say that that !Q Tour Pearl is a pretty looking ball; ranks up there with the Optyx Formula 1, Pearl Quake, and Gold Rhino Pro).
I made mention of this before in the Ebonite section here (http://www.ballreviews.com/bowling/?topic=292826.0) about what is going on, and so far, everything I've mentioned is really coming to pass, except for the exodus of staff. Something is going on in the world of EBI, and it doesn't look good.
BL.
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Hey pal!!!!! The Sun Storm Is awesome......
I personally dont care who throws what. The only thing that would impress me is
if Chris barnes ever stops throwing columbia. But I think he is still under that million dollar
contract for a few more years.
But he does kick some a with them
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Here's another change. Chris Schlemmer in this video announced that Michael Haugen Jr. is now part of the Roto Grip kingdom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIbhcw76Vko
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I wonder where this leaves Missy Parkin and Scott Norton. Both were only recent EBI signees and were using all four brands.
Update on this. One that was missed was Stefanie Nation. Matt Cannazarro (sp?) and Aaron Smith mentioned during the webcast on BowlTV that Stef was an EBI rep that was using all four brands. She has recently signed to Ebonite and was throwing Ebonite gear exclusively at the USBC open.
BL.
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Here's another change. Chris Schlemmer in this video announced that Michael Haugen Jr. is now part of the Roto Grip kingdom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIbhcw76Vko
Very excited about this...haugen jr. is a very nice guy...met him several times..always had time to talk!
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Haugen is bowling really well at the Summer Swing with Roto Grip
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I will throw in my $.02.
While i am a EBI user exclusively, I had heard some comments not unlike whats been said on here about the EBI equipment. soem comments regarding the fact that the EBI equipment has very strong covers which some of the staffers don't like so much.
the difference being that on tour with the Brunswick lane machines only being able to apply forward oil to these patterns (Kegel has the patent on reverse oil)
How the tour patterns play compared to league play is different, so the EBI equipment in my opinion on the patterns I see, is not to strong because of the applied reverse oil with the Kegel machines (which I'm guessing most lanes now use)
So, the premise that Storm or Brunswick makes better equipment is just based on what you see the pro's score with, not going to make a difference on what you score with.
thats my $.02 worth
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I was watching the Wolf Open update on YouTube and they mentioned that Loschetter was throwing some Storm equipment this week. I thought he was on Brunswick staff but I guess not. He's still wearing the Brunswick shirt, though.
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This is incorrect. There is no patent on Reverse Oil. The patent is on the "sanction technology" on how the oil is applied and not the direction of the applied oil. There are many non Kegel machines that have been developed that oil both in forward and reverse. The Brunswick machine was designed to put the amount of oil requested in one pass disregarding the known effects of forward and reverse travel.
For instance AMFs oil machines oil in both forward and reverse and they can do a double run of both directions.
Forward and reverse oiling machines have been around since the 1970's - 80's
I will throw in my $.02.
While i am a EBI user exclusively, I had heard some comments not unlike whats been said on here about the EBI equipment. soem comments regarding the fact that the EBI equipment has very strong covers which some of the staffers don't like so much.
the difference being that on tour with the Brunswick lane machines only being able to apply forward oil to these patterns (Kegel has the patent on reverse oil)
How the tour patterns play compared to league play is different, so the EBI equipment in my opinion on the patterns I see, is not to strong because of the applied reverse oil with the Kegel machines (which I'm guessing most lanes now use)
So, the premise that Storm or Brunswick makes better equipment is just based on what you see the pro's score with, not going to make a difference on what you score with.
thats my $.02 worth
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I was watching the Wolf Open update on YouTube and they mentioned that Loschetter was throwing some Storm equipment this week. I thought he was on Brunswick staff but I guess not. He's still wearing the Brunswick shirt, though.
Loschetter is still listed as a Brunswick staffer. But, Track still has Fagan listed as a staff member too. Maybe Loschetter is now a free agent. He has thrown Storm, 900 Global, Lane #1, Visionary, and Brunswick before on tv.
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Loschetter is no longer on Brunswick staff...he left on his accord
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Loschetter is no longer on Brunswick staff...he left on his accord
You're absolutely right. Loschetter is now a free agent who has been throwing Storm.
http://www.stormbowling.com/news/2013/05/4109