Below is a column I wrote in 2005-06 season for the Ten Pin Journal of Milwaukee (I write a monthly column for the paper). Note the ideas at the end to "fix" the problem. Also, it should be pointed out that Dick Evans wrote a column based on this column that came out wrong because I wasn't real clear in what I wrote. My "most sanded ball" at that time was a box finish Fear Factor - I did not have a "set-up ball" at 180 grit or whatever that some guys carry, which is what he thought I was referring to. Anyway, food for thought on this whole issue, which continues to be big today on the Tour for the TV shows. Why they don't have practice on a separate pair and maybe 5 minutes on the TV pair is beyond me. Sigh.
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If you missed last season's Denny's PBA World Championship you missed one of the all-time best blow-ups in PBA history.
Brian Voss memorably lost his composure in losing to Chris Loschetter, at one point grabbing a camera and exclaiming, "Ban sanding bowling balls!" although his exact words were not clear at the time.
Voss's actions caused an uproar on the PBA message boards, with some questioning his sportsmanship.
Voss answered by explaining that Loschetter had rolled a sanded ball during most of practice up 7-9 boards toward the 3-pin, not even trying to hit the pocket. When the show started, Loschetter, who throws a much bigger hook than Voss's normal style, moved in and swung his shot toward that dried out area.
"I don't agree with this," Voss wrote. "Unfortunately, there's no rule to prevent it. . . . Nothing against him, just the rules that allow integrity to be destroyed."
The incident brought to the forefront a long-simmering issue that comes up in regional competition as well.
Is it cheating to try to "set up" a lane? Does it make a difference if you do it to make your shot easier or your opponent's shot harder?
Clearly, it is not cheating, since there's no rule defining practice. And it would be almost impossible to craft one – who is going to be the judge, and what about spare shots and changing lines and balls?
But is it ethical?
My aim when I compete is to win while playing within the rules. So if the rules allow me to do something that can help me win, I do it.
I have rolled shots with the aim of "setting up" a lane – usually to help my line and once to hurt an opponents.
"Defense" is rare because two players usually play similar lines, but I did it against close friend Jeff Carter in 2004-05 where I was playing an outside line and he was playing an inside line. He was crushing me for the second straight game in a best 3-of-5 match. So for the last few frames of the second game I went in to his area with my most sanded ball and threw shots that dried up that area.
He then struggled the next two games and I tied the match before he finally made a major adjustment the fifth game and shot a huge game to win the match.
Without that "defense" I probably would have lost in three straight games.
Did I have mixed emotions? Sure. (Carter had no problem with what I did.)
But what really bothered me is that the rules put me in that situation.
The PBA Tour recently changed the practice rules in an effort to prevent setting up a lane.
Prior to the change, players had 15 minutes of practice on their match play pair. That has been cut to just five minutes – so long as open pairs are available for players to loosen up before the official practice on their pairs.
While 15 minutes is plenty of time to use a sanded ball to dry up an area of the lane with shot after shot – or a plastic ball to carry oil down in a certain way -- five is problematic.
The five-minute rule – which regionals will use when extra lanes are available – is a good start, but to completely eliminate "setting up" a lane, I believe the PBA should adopt Pete Weber's oft-stated position and bring back moving pairs every game during match play – just as it was done during the old round-robin format.
Then you wouldn't be able to sacrifice a game in an effort to win the next one by playing "defense" as I did against Carter.
