Quote from: cory867 on October 27, 2015, 11:38:43 AM

not a fan of the division change.  All that is saying is "hey, I can't compete with the best so make it so I don't have to."  To me this devalues the eagle a little.

I am on the other side of this debate.  What motivation does the 181-200 avg bowler have to show up that in no way can shoot scores on their house shot that would give them a chance to compete much less on the Open pattern.  It can't hurt attendance.  I would like to see them give an optional checkbox that gives you the right to choose to compete on the top level if desired, but am otherwise good with that change.

not a fan of them not releasing the pattern, though I never practiced on it, and it will get leaked at some point anyway. 

I can definitely see how the divisions should allow larger number of bowlers to be able to compete for the trophy, but as milorafferty noted, it will also bring the sandbagging cockroaches out from under the fridge.  Wouldn't be surprised if top scores for the Regular and Standard divisions are about the same.

Quote from: cory867 on October 27, 2015, 11:38:43 AM

not a fan of the division change.  All that is saying is "hey, I can't compete with the best so make it so I don't have to."  To me this devalues the eagle a little.

I am on the other side of this debate.  What motivation does the 181-200 avg bowler have to show up that in no way can shoot scores on their house shot that would give them a chance to compete much less on the Open pattern.  It can't hurt attendance.  I would like to see them give an optional checkbox that gives you the right to choose to compete on the top level if desired, but am otherwise good with that change.

not a fan of them not releasing the pattern, though I never practiced on it, and it will get leaked at some point anyway. 

I can buy that argument.  I also would like the pattern divulged early.  I to did not practice on it prior as you cannot duplicate it anyway.  It would be nice to have an idea of what equipment to bring.  Cannot bring the same stuff for a 36' pattern as a 44' pattern normally.

8 balls may not be enough to bring along without prior knowledge of the lane pattern.  BTW, those better bowlers that go later will have an even bigger advantage as they will have seen months of play prior to bowling and will still have a good idea of how to play.  They may win by an even larger margin.  :-)

My question is how will this play into brackets? This is where most of my profit comes from. And if there is now a separate division that takes those players away then there is no way you could hit the all button and expect there to be $1600 in brackets in the squad.

Brackets are by division currently, so you will have less small fry to feed upon when they they dilute the waters further.

Okay.. be it me to read way too much into things.. but from their press release:

The task force also recommended a series of adjustments to improve the integrity and fairness of the Open Championships. Starting in 2017, USBC will not publish the lane patterns until after the event. USBC also will discontinue providing information about lane-play strategies, including BowlTV live streaming of complete games and fixed live webcams at the event.

However, from their FAQ:

2017 Tournament

• Three Divisions: Regular: 210 average and above; Standard: 181-209 average; Classified: 180 average and below
• Bowling balls checked in scale room prior to team and doubles/singles squads
• Lane pattern not published until after event
• USBC will not show video of complete team games or provide any lane play information
• Professional bowlers eligible with team restrictions
• USBC national headquarters employees and tournament employees will not be eligible for, or have their scores contribute to winning prize money, brackets, side pots or awards. (This rule is effective starting in 2016)/li]
  

Bold and underlined for emphasis. This tells me that team wouldn't be streamed, but wouldn't that leave the possibility for minors to be streamed?

BL.

I wonder how much a cut USBC gets from the ball sales from the vendors. If they do get money I imagine some people will drill on site since the pattern is not known...more money for usbc. I see nothing wrong with giving the distance and volume and show graphs. They don't have to show machine settings or tell the type of oil. Nothing is ever a secret...the pattern will somehow be leaked.

not a fan of the division change.  All that is saying is "hey, I can't compete with the best so make it so I don't have to."  To me this devalues the eagle a little.

What? This makes the eagle that much more special. The pool you must defeat is much stronger.

Quote from: soonerdallas on October 27, 2015, 03:08:13 PM

My question is how will this play into brackets? This is where most of my profit comes from. And if there is now a separate division that takes those players away then there is no way you could hit the all button and expect there to be $1600 in brackets in the squad.

Heres the real rub, the sharks are butt hurt they no longer have minnows to feast on. I say about damn time.

I have seen a number comments by high average bowlers.  Most of their comments are less money for me.  I have to agree the minnows will not there anymore.