Okay, for all you "armchair critics", just a little insight into Sundays show that you don't see by watching your TV.....
They ran the lanes for the show, didn't like the graph, so they decided to run them again. The lane machine they used for all the match rounds brokedown in the second run so they had to get the second machine and run them AGAIN. One of the machines had a new buffer, one had an much more used one. Even know they strip each time, lanes constantly get slicker with each run. Now combine that with a pattern (38 feet) that plays tighter in the 18-38 foot section than it does in the front and you have a condition were the ball doesn't read the lane at all, OR if you do get it to read at all, it's in the front and never makes it to the breakpoint.
The Smokin' he had used was basically turned into a spare ball on that. Neither the Total nor the Fury would hook from where he played ALL week. AND YES, regardless of what Randy and Norm said, Brad spent 20-30 minutes trying to develop some kind of ball reaction in the area he needed to play. All this did on that pattern was blow up the heads....and the lane just got tighter downlane. Once that occured, Brad's armswing got tight, as would 99.7% of bowlers out there.
I've been there (it's been awhile), an it ain't fun. Not that y'all care to hear old war stories, but I'll share this one. In 92' I led the stop in Sacremento and the next 6 spots were lefties. Of course this meant I was the only righty on the show. The lefties started out a little slow, but with every game there side got better and better. Now I'm bowling Scroggins for the title and I have absolutely nothing compared to what I bowled on all week. Before the TV day, this was absolultely the best I had ever bowled. Based on the lanes, there was not supposed to be a righty on that show....and I led. Well, I got RUN OVER by Scroggs before I even knew what hit me...and it was over. I watched that show days later and couldn't believe how bad I looked. All the "armchair critics" that are sharing their opinions today would have had a field day with me on that show. ALL WITHOUT MERIT, just like now with Brad.
Sorry to ramble, and thanks for all of you that made it through this whole post. For those that think they know what Brad should have done, collect more data before forming your opinion. I hate to sound harsh, but these types of threads get me worked up. I don't care if it's a Storm guy, Columbia guy, Ebonite guy, or our guy, I've felt their pain on the lanes and I can't stand when Joe Public thinks they know what would have worked. Ya don't. Sorry if that's harsh, but you really don't know unless you experience it out there.
Regards,
RoB LaW
I hate becoming one of the many negative posters on here. I'll try and clean it up next time.
--------------------
I'm gettin' old, I'm hurtin', but I've got Brunswick balls.......Color me competitive.
