Lane 1 balls are produced by Columbia...not Storm so no it is not a Storm ball and it is not teh first ball as such.
On the topic....
If you look at the core of this ball it looks a bit odd but then lets take a look at some of the other cores in production right now like the No Mercy, Epic Battle and others...not exactly conventional styling.
On the other hand I see a lot of other companies mimicing the shape of the diamond. If Richie had designed his patent a little differently all of teh other companies would lose something in their line. If he had written his patent as such he wouls have had them covered....."a core with a skinny, fat, skinny profile" as opposed to saying "a core configured like a diamond" most of the current core designs would not exist....
I, for one, cannot wait to get one in my hands and see how it compares to the Special Agent I have been using lately....
--------------------
Doug Sterner
Doug's Pro Shop
Owego, NY
http://dougsproshop@aol.com
www.dougsproshop.net
Lane 1 Buzzsaw...The Official Power Tool Of Bowling