Wow...a staffer saying the ball is the cats-meow....go figure
Non staffer reviews please, those will be" Non basis"
Are you saying that staffers shouldn't bother writing reviews about their equipment? Because they would be too "basis"?
You normally see reviews written by staffers for a couple of reasons. The main reason, is that at first, the majority of people that have a new ball are staffers. That holds true for every company. Especially with larger companies, because they send out free test balls to staffers before the release date. Also, its tough for staffers to give comparisons sometimes because they either don't throw, or aren't allowed to throw, equipment from other companies.
I guess it's up to you to decide if the person writing the review genuinely likes the ball, or really hates it... but is only writing a good review because they are on staff. Personally, I try to stick with what the ball actually does, how it compares to others, and then I try to list who may benefit most from the ball or on what conditions folks might like the ball best.
Just because you might have to take a grain of salt with a staffer review, doesn't mean its still not honest. Of course its easier to dismiss the short reviews that just say "greatest ball ever"... but read a few, look for the common threads, watch the videos, and then decide for yourself. If you're looking for a staffer to make the decisions for you, then you'll end up buying whatever company that staffer works with, regardless of the company.
Not too many people are going to take the time to write a good, detailed review of a ball with no vested interest in the ball and/or company. But, if it helps you out any, the few reviews that I HAVE read from independent bowlers (including Bowlers Journal International), have said pretty much the same thing the staffers are saying (minus the "greatest ball ever" part). So I guess my parting advice to you would be to only listen to the play by play, and ignore the color commentary.
Besides, on this site, are you looking at the reviews section, or just the forums?