i was at the pba midwest/southwest regional tournament in belton, missouri, today and during roll call rich weber informed everyone that the brunswick bvp sidewinder and blast zone are pba approved but not yet usbc approved. i'm not sure how many players had one in their bag but this surprised me somewhat. why would brunswick release these balls before they were usbc approved ?

They made the same announcement at the Central Regional in Centerville, Ohio this weekend.  The Sidewinder and Blast were not allowed in PBA competition because the USBC has not approved the balls yet.