I was waiting for someone else to start this topic but I will go ahead and try to get some answers.

It has come to my attention watching Norm Duke on the last few shows that he has been using some very high-end balls on a down and in shot. 2 weeks ago he was using an ACE and this past week he was using the new Passion. My question is why use balls with the potential of such backend reaction on a down and in shot? I understand that you can drill a ball a certain way and changing hand positions. But on both shows there have been painfully obvious moments where the balls picked up a lot earlier and hit high or through the nose. I especially noticed it this Sunday when he was using the Passion, more-so on the right lane. Why not use another ball like a HR Super Sport or even a Vertigo; balls that are meant for heavier oil but are not advertised for as much back end. Duke is a great bowler, nothing can overshadow that. But I believe this bad streak of his has a lot to do with ball choice and matching up with the lanes.

Second part question could be: Would a company pay someone to use a ball even if that ball is not what is going to help them win? Could Storm pay Duke to use the ball (i.e: Passion) and say, "We are paying you to use this ball. You work the rest out!"
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Can't sleep, pins are laughing
Can't sleep, pins are laughing...

same reason you'd use them for other shot.  Ball reaction.  The high end ball aren't designed just for crankers.  Just because someone doesn't have 500 revs doesn't mean a ball won't perform well.  Down and in guys are letting the ball do the work for them, crankers are imposing much of their will on the ball.

I don't think Storm minds which ball Duke uses on TV, as long as it one of theirs.  Duke was using the aggressive balls to help with pin carry and achieving the breakpoint he wanted.  In the Geico classic, they were using the Cheetah pattern which has a lot of friction on the outside part of the lane.  That's the way Duke usually plays that pattern, he just got bitten by transition in the title match because of where Mike Edwards was playing in the semifinal match.  In the Pepsi championship, they were using the Shark Pattern, which is supposed to force the players to play inside the second arrow.  I was shocked that he was able to use a Passion to play that line on that pattern, that usually doesn't work.  I was also very surprised that WRW was able to play outside with the Morich Shock & Awe.  In review, if Norm had it to do again, I bet he would've played inside around where Chris Collins was playing instead of trying to play the outside like he did.