I just got back into league bowling after 6 year layoff.  My current average is 153 and I guess you'd call me a stroker.  I've been using a Columbia 300 C/Beast that I bought about 1996 and considering upgrading to a new ball but didn't know what to get.  After discussing balls with guys in my league one of them offered me his old Storm Trauma Recovery for free so I could try out a different type of ball before buying anything.

Well he brought the ball for me last night and I decided to give it some practice rolls before league play since his finger span seems to be the same as mine.  I wanted to see what it was like before I have it plugged and redrilled.  Now normally the guy who gave me the ball rolls a much more pronounced hook than I do.  After giving my ball a good scrubbing with dish detergent I was getting a mild curve at the backend with my C/Beast last night.  But when I rolled the Trauma Recovery last night it went totally straight without the slightest bit of movement which seemed awfully odd since my 12 years old C/Beast was moving and the guy I got it from said it was a good hooking ball for him.  

Someone else said these old Storm balls die after about 100 games and suggested I'd be better off buying a new ball instead of wasting money having this one plugged & redrilled.  Of course he also said the ball was not a good ball for medium to heavy oil which contradicts everything I've found for it online.

Is there any truth to his statement about ball life and wasting money having this Trauma Recovery plugged & redrilled?  

Is there something I should be doing to the ball surface to rejuvenate this ball before I spend the money to have it plugged & redrilled?  With the current economy paying for a new ball now would be rough and impossible if I spend money having this Trauma Recovery plugged & redrilled.

Any help or advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated!

I used dish detergent to clean my ball C/Beast because I came across that recommendation in another section of the forum and I don't know any better.  It did seem to work well.