By the time this edition of the WCS hits the streets, the PBA Tour will be back on ESPN, Sunday at 1 pm, 12 noon Central, probably the third week show from none other than Hawthorn Lanes in suburban Vernon Hills. Let's start with a primer from JPA Pro Shop 101. One of the things analyst Randy Pedersen will be mentioning in those frequent side angle shots will be timing. Why you ask? It's usually different and a little unique verses what you may see in league play. No matter the era, timing of the greats involves a release with the thumb beginning to exit the ball just past the trailing knee and off the fingers just past the ankle. The ball should appear as it would rolling down a ramp onto the lane. But really, why, and what do they do it that way? Nowadays, that simple move is accompanied by an upper body rotation similar to a golfer pulling a club from the start to the top of the backswing. Well, most of the equipment used on the show hooks just a bit, however, with the lane oils being slicker the last couple of years, these orbs can be thrown faster down the lane. The key Pedersen will highlight is not hitting up on the ball at the release. It is easier to see this from cameras 1 and 2 (behind the bowlers) or from your usual seat during league play. Down the ramp and don't hit up on it?? That's it. The league players doing this seem to carry the off hits a bit better, can throw a different and at times a deeper line to the pocket, and still have a wider area at the pocket to hit. I've written about this before, but it is worth another mention. The key to skid a high friction ball down a high friction lane is not to release it on the upswing past the sliding ankle. If the hand is still in the ball at this point (especially the thumb), you're losing leverage and your inner ear will tell you to survive the approach and do anything to keep your balance. Muscle tension enters the throwing arm and the ball will head to the opposite side of the headpin. If it is online, the shot will most likely be muscled and not hit real hard at the pocket. Now, combine this with shoulder rotation to supply more power at the release, and now you have a lethal combination of accuracy and power. Sounds, simple enough, eh? Just tape or Tivo the shows to see how this task seems to defy the law of physics. So which pocket would you rather hit, a smaller one, or a wider one? Granted most house conditions offer a wide area to play anyway, but try it on one. You may find more skid and a greater backend reaction. The ball should feel like it's falling off early. That's because it is, but just the thumb. It's still on the fingers as they rotate and release the ball with the help of gravity and centrifical force. The ball gets another degree or so of entry angle combined with a later hooking toss, you now get the inch-and-a-half wide pocket verses the quarter-inch to half-inch wide area. Minimal grip pressure and a loose armswing added in for good measure and you are ready for action. It may be hard to work the VCR remote buttons frame-by-frame, but it may be worth your while. Easier league oil patterns can do this for you as Pedersen will mention, but current PBA Tour oil patterns reward this release. Hitting up on the ball and pulling shots inside targets instantly head to flat-hitting shots with really dead pin action. Keep watching the shows for more info. If anything is a bit confusing or makes a clear point, you'll read it about it here, too.

     Oh yes, reading JPA elsewhere again. Steve Jaros and mom Helen have opened up space on their new pro shop website for current and prior columns, including the now-infamous Top 25 TV Bowling Moments list. The new address is www.jandjbowlingsupply.com. At the bottom of the homepage is the JPA link. Archived will be the current Top 25 TV list, and selected past columns, including slightly different versions of the current WCS column. Happy reading.

     So how about that list, Markie? My space here in the Sportsman is running out, so here's a cliff notes version. The 2002 Top 25 TV Moments list starts with Dick Weber bowling outside during a 1994 taping of 'The Late Show with David Letterman," Randy Lightfoot's have-a-beer "alledged comment" after winning the '78 Burger King Open, Randy Pedersen's solid 8-pin giving 52-year-old Ernie Schlegel the '95 Touring Players title, PWBA rookie Cara Honeychurch's TV 300 in 1999, and the still unaired 1991 Tournament of Champions Ozio-Monacelli title match. Number 20 starts with Jason Queen's TV 300 en route to winning the '97 ABC Masters, Pete Weber's on-air '91 U.S. Open trophy drop, 7,000 watch the '95 U.S. Open finals at Joe Louis Arena, a videotape snafu causing Bolingbrook's Steve Jaros TV 300 and third career title not to air for two months, and the legendary Earl Anthony passes the one million dollar mark in career earnings. Next at number 15 is Mark Roth's 7-10 conversion, Pete Weber's 299 game which got the PBA weekly coverage on ESPN SportsCenter and the emergence of P.D.W., a 1987 LPBT show featuring a 299 and a 297 game, the 'kick' giving Marshall Holman a ten-tournament suspension in 1980, and Bob Learn's dream-like 1129 four-game TV series. Now the toughest top ten to crackJoliet legend Jim Stefanich's 1974 TV 300, Therm Gibson's $75,000 six-bagger on a 1961 Jackpot Bowling show, Michelle Feldman throws the first LPBT TV 300 in '98, Johnny Petraglia shoots his TV 300 while brothers David and Dale Traber bowl later that same show for the'94 PBA National crown, Mike Aulby beats Dave Ozio 300-279 for the '93 Wichita title. The top five rounds out with Bob Benoit's 1988 TV 300, Bryan Goebel beating Norm Duke 296-280, Pete McCordic's '87 TV 300, Del Ballard's infamous 1991 gutter giving Pete Weber a title, and finally, Don Johnson's 299 to win the '70 Tournament of Champions.

     Next month, a look back at the '03 Miller High Life Open from Vernon Hills, what could be a new pro women's bowling tour, and the stories behind a few of the Top 25 TV list.