***OFFICIAL PBA Tournament of Champions THREAD***

[Necromancer]

First of all, one of my favorites is back on the roster... ROBERT SMITH! Let's see what he has done in his time off.  Hopefully we can see some great players on the telecast this Sunday (they are all great, but you know what I mean).  Also, it is the longest pattern of the year - 50 feet.  It almost looks like the US Open pattern but just 10 feet long on the backend.  I know I couldn't do well on it.


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Current Arsenal
Storm X-Factor Vertigo
Hammer Black Widow
Lane #1 Cobalt Bomb Solid
Storm Trauma ER
Storm Recharge
Ebonite Vortex Afterburner
Columbia 300 Messenger Ti
Storm Hit Blue Pearl
Ebonite 14 Fun Ball
Total Season Average: 205.642
2007 Year Average: 212.861
2007 Tournament Average: 161.500
The Vertigo is the best ball Storm ever made.  Find one if you can.
I might have the strongest drilled Black Widow in history.

[ozsweet]

I think the pattern is challenging but the format is pretty silly to call this a major. Luck of the draw, and you only bowl 1 person in the event. I realize it's 4/7, but given the nature of bowling, you can't really get the best bowler this week or the best bowler on this pattern.

I love match play, and I realize that this somewhat of a reward, but I'd like to see Round Robin. I think different patterns in majors is great, just like different layouts in golf. But keep the format the same in the majors to test the most important skills - concentration and consistency.

That said, I hope we see a great show (and I wish ESPN could find a way to put some of the earlier rounds on TV, even if they are on tape)
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Just bowl!

[Necromancer]

Smith vs. Mika!

Round of 32 set!
--------------------
Current Arsenal
Storm X-Factor Vertigo
Hammer Black Widow
Lane #1 Cobalt Bomb Solid
Storm Trauma ER
Storm Recharge
Ebonite Vortex Afterburner
Columbia 300 Messenger Ti
Storm Hit Blue Pearl
Ebonite 14 Fun Ball
Total Season Average: 206.774
2007 Year Average: 214.744
2007 Tournament Average: 161.500
Black Widow Average: 248.571
The Vertigo is the best ball Storm ever made.  Find one if you can.
I might have the strongest drilled Black Widow in history.

[Lights out]

I think, this being a "major" a round robin format would be the proper thing to do. Seeing that Walter Ray goes up against Pete Weber in the first round, and Patrick Allen vs. Wes Malot, I believe is not good for PBA Bowling. No disrespect to any of the competitors, but seeing two of the top bowlers getting knocked off in the first round, meerly by luck of the draw is a tough pill to swallow. This is the "TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS!" Give them the proper format and the cream will rise to the top.

[mrteach3]

This format just drives me crazy.  No qualifying at all to seed the players???  Just luck of the draw who you bowl against???  Isn't this supposed to be a major???  This all doesn't make sense to me.  The format makes this tourney seem more like a joke than anything.  Well, except the pattern looks nuts.  
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Who needs a 300 or 800, when I have a 294 and a 295!?!?!

Edited on 3/30/2007 6:46 AM

[Necromancer]

quote:This format just drives me crazy.  No qualifying at all to seed the players???  Just luck of the draw who you bowl against???  Isn't this supposed to be a major???  This all doesn't make sense to me.  The format makes this tourney seem more like a joke than anything.  Well, except the pattern looks nuts.
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Who needs a 300 or 800, when I have a 294 and a 295!?!?!

Edited on 3/30/2007 6:46 AM

That's for sure.  I am curious to see how those that make the telecast play this lane.  If any hand can hook out of this pattern, I want that hand.
--------------------
Current Arsenal
Storm X-Factor Vertigo
Hammer Black Widow
Lane #1 Cobalt Bomb Solid
Storm Trauma ER
Storm Recharge
Ebonite Vortex Afterburner
Columbia 300 Messenger Ti
Storm Hit Blue Pearl
Ebonite 14 Fun Ball
Total Season Average: 206.774
2007 Year Average: 214.744
2007 Tournament Average: 161.500
Black Widow Average: 248.571
The Vertigo is the best ball Storm ever made.  Find one if you can.
I might have the strongest drilled Black Widow in history.

[A K A]

I got to meet Robert Smith, shorter than I expected, but he is a really cool guy, with all that he has been through I hope the best for the guy this week!!

[Necromancer]

quote:I got to meet Robert Smith, shorter than I expected, but he is a really cool guy, with all that he has been through I hope the best for the guy this week!!

It would be awesome for him to make the telecast.  It would be one of most entertaining shows of the year.  So far, for me at least, the best show was the one Billy Oatman was on.  Suspense, underdog, 10th frame, involved crowd.  The shows with Pete Weber were decent too.  But the PBA needs entertainment and personality.  Go SMITH!!!
--------------------
Current Arsenal
Storm X-Factor Vertigo
Hammer Black Widow
Lane #1 Cobalt Bomb Solid
Storm Trauma ER
Storm Recharge
Ebonite Vortex Afterburner
Columbia 300 Messenger Ti
Storm Hit Blue Pearl
Ebonite 14 Fun Ball
Total Season Average: 206.774
2007 Year Average: 214.744
2007 Tournament Average: 161.500
Black Widow Average: 248.571
The Vertigo is the best ball Storm ever made.  Find one if you can.
I might have the strongest drilled Black Widow in history.

[Fluff E Bunnie]

quote:But the PBA needs entertainment and personality.  Go SMITH!!!

What is an entertaining personality is different for different people.  I think they have a good mix of personalities in there right now.  For example, I tend to shudder at the high-voiced "YEAH THAT'S RIGHT" young guns but other people are bored unless they are on there.

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Thunderstruck $olid

[Fluff E Bunnie]

Matches are going now.  Looks like the clash of the titans.  Too many to keep track of.

I am hoping Patrick Healey can make this one.
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Thunderstruck $olid

[Fluff E Bunnie]

Jaros is pretty impressive.
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Thunderstruck $olid

[RadioActive]

Wow, Voss throws a 139 the first game!!!
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The man is back!

[ssh2]

This pattern doesn't play as hard as people think, it blows open quick with the low volume of oil they put out. Take a look at the scores last year on it. We've bowled on this pattern on a sport league before and the guys that knew how to play it averaged 220+ on it. We just knew how it was going to transition and let the people that didn't know how to play it take their 220 grit balls and throw it up the track to create our bump to the right. It's not a gutter shot at all and as anyone who's ever played on it will say, it's a nice fall back shot that forces you to hit your mark until they open up. All the revs in the world doesn't help if you don't know how to play it.

2 Years ago one of the local rev kings came in and about broke his wrist trying to rev it up so much to get the ball to move, was bringing it 15 balls all sanded until they were about white just trying to get the ball to move, watching him leave 5-7-10's was so damn funny. While the handfull of us that knew how to play it just used the burn that he created to bounce our 1000 grit balls off of at 45 feet.

[Necromancer]

quote:Wow, Voss throws a 139 the first game!!!
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The man is back!

I feel his pain.  My low of the year is 117.
--------------------
Current Arsenal
Storm X-Factor Vertigo
Hammer Black Widow
Lane #1 Cobalt Bomb Solid
Storm Trauma ER
Storm Recharge
Ebonite Vortex Afterburner
Columbia 300 Messenger Ti
Storm Hit Blue Pearl
Ebonite 14 Fun Ball
Total Season Average: 206.774
2007 Year Average: 214.744
2007 Tournament Average: 161.500
Black Widow Average: 248.571
The Vertigo is the best ball Storm ever made.  Find one if you can.
I might have the strongest drilled Black Widow in history.

[Necromancer]

http://www.pba.com/livescoring/LiveScoring.aspx

Notable results:

#1 Duke winning 2-0
#24 Voss going from 139 to 233 to make it 1-1
#25 Smith tied 1-1
#4 WRW destroying PW 2-0
#22 Rash 1-1
#14 Tommy Jones 1-1


--------------------
Current Arsenal
Storm X-Factor Vertigo
Hammer Black Widow
Lane #1 Cobalt Bomb Solid
Storm Trauma ER
Storm Recharge
Ebonite Vortex Afterburner
Columbia 300 Messenger Ti
Storm Hit Blue Pearl
Ebonite 14 Fun Ball
Total Season Average: 206.774
2007 Year Average: 214.744
2007 Tournament Average: 161.500
Black Widow Average: 248.571
The Vertigo is the best ball Storm ever made.  Find one if you can.
I might have the strongest drilled Black Widow in history.