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The bowlers could tell something was different they just didn't know what it was. You could still see the shape of the pattern as the same zones were there but the shim they had seen wasn't as obvious. The early hook spots were there but they weren't as obvious. As the bowlers moved around looking for a match up that would give them their best chance. You could tell the obvious advantage was on the left side of the lane. Mike and Chris both had their share of strikes during practice but with a couple minutes to go in practice I saw the lanes begin to go through a transition in the front. Balls that were making a good move down lane began to not get through the pins as strong. It may not have been as obvious to Chris or it may have just been too late to change. Mike was the more prepared bowler. He made his first transitional ball change right before the game started and it proved to be the right choice. Chris just got caught with the wrong ball at the wrong time. The old saying is it is impossible to out-bowl bad ball reaction. Chris had used the Lane #1 Enriched Uranium ball the night before and at several other times during the tournament and had a very good look. It would be very difficult to blame him for making the choice he did. But like I said something was different it was just hard to pinpoint.

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Game 2

Mike Machuga vs Norm Duke

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This match was between two bowlers who have a close relationship and a lot of respect for each others abilities. During this match it became apparent that one of the biggest challenges was going to be staying up with the transitions. The lanes were drying up faster in the front then expected. The bowlers were going to need to make much quicker transitional moves than they had during the week. The down lane reaction was being effected a lot by the very quick transition in the front and middle part of the lane. Norm's ball began to not get through the pins and Mike's ball was reading the early hook much sharper. I don't think either of these bowlers were surprised by the transition but had to be caught off guard at how quickly it happened.

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Game 3

Norm Duke vs Jason Couch

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I was surprised at how close this match was. Going into the match, I felt that Norm was at a big disadvantage because of the effect of the previous matches. His look in the strip between 10 and 15 was OK but getting the ball through the pins was becoming more and more difficult even with Norm's great hand tricks. His ball choice was starting to read too early and as the oil goes down the lane that is a bad combination for carry. His look to the left was ok as well but the previous matches had transitioned the shot much deeper and much quicker than I expected. With such steep angles and a break point that close to the pocket it would be difficult to compete against the more scoreable angles and shapes on Jason's side of the lane. Jason got off to a bad start for the same reason the bowlers on the right side of the lane struggled. The transition was happening much faster than expected. I was surprised to see Jason's break point as far to the left as I saw it early in the match. That told me Jason was thinking the lanes were tighter. The problem with moving the breakpoint left was they were moving away from the built in track the pattern provided the left this week. Once he made a ball change that allowed him to move to a more playable zone his look drastically improved. This match ended up in a tie but that was based mainly on Jason's bad start. You could see Jason's confidence gaining momentum after his moves. When you look at the match and see how fortunate Jason was to even the match you might not realize the obvious advantage Jason had. But once Jason got the horseshoe breaks he got, you could feel what it takes to win the one game crapshoots the Sunday shows are. I don't mean that as a cut I state it as a fact. Once you realize that fact you can begin to realize that winning on Sunday has a lot to do with being in the right frame of mind. These bowlers are the best in the world but you have to surround yourself with as many positive vibes, and as much confidence and faith as you can.

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Championship match

This was the match that most everybody expected and reminded me of the flaws of the four match challenges we always encountered in the step ladder final.

If you were to check the records you would find that the winner of the semi-final match historically has the advantage in the championship match. This is due to the lack of comfort the tournament leader has with the competitive conditions. The amount of practice he has is based on the pre-show practice session, 4 shots before the semi-final match and another 4 to 6 shots right before the Championship match. I have to be honest with you I was not as confident as I would like to be going into this match. Having seen the TV pair was playing a little different we were prepared for something different.

Parker had bowled every game of match-play with one of two Strike Zones and was very comfortable with how the two balls matched up to the lane and each other. Seeing the differences we had also prepared Parker with a couple more options. A Vapor Zone and an Absolute Inferno. Following is an example of how the practice sessions break down.

The 15-20 minutes of practice before the show is basically used to get used to the general characteristics of the pattern and look for any surprises that might be out there. During this time the lanes go through a lot of transition. It is almost impossible to make a ball choice in the first 10 minutes of practice. The most common characteristic is the lanes feel tighter than expected. And they almost always seem to get tighter in the first 5 minutes of practice. Most bowlers are usually able to deal with this by going to more surface or a stronger cover and or core. Years of experience have proven this is usually a bad move because right before practice ends the lanes almost always seem to go through another transition. The lanes still appear to be tighter down lane but the ball often begins to look even weaker through the pins. If you don't know what you are looking for I can almost always guarantee you that the ball that looked good will not hit for about half the game and then the bowler will see the obvious effect of using too strong of a ball. The ball will begin to make an early move on the lane. This is almost always the first transitional move a bowler on the show has to deal with. Oil down lane is expected, it is a question of: is there enough oil in the front and middle part of the lane to follow it left? since the amount of friction professional bowlers usually encounter in the front and middle part of the lane is much greater than non-professional bowlers can comprehend it is hard for them to understand what they are seeing on the show.

Professional bowlers have many more options than just moving in off of a 4 or 6 pin. I believe bowlers are identified by their moves off of a 4 and 10 pin. Most environments and most bowlers are allowed simple moves because of the front to back and side to side tapers of their environment. Getting to the next level is usually related to recognizing and reacting to transition. The difference in this weeks show was a great example of recognizing and reacting to these transitions.

Every bowler on the show experienced a period of having to make choices at crucial times. Every bowler was seen struggling with their ball reaction and transition. The title match was not different.

By the end of the first practice session Parker knew there was something different. He had a look with the balls he had used all week and had began his search for a possible alternative. This search would go over to the off TV practice pair that never plays like the TV pair. The purpose to is to understand how the balls react compared to one another. This helps to gain a little confidence in the alternatives especially if they are balls the bowler had not used all week. The next opportunity for Parker was 4 shots just before the semi-final match.

Those 4 shots are important in making a decision. Our strategy was to throw the ball he had used during the week and if it looked good the first two shots experiment with speed or move options on the next two. If it looked wrong then throw the alternative ball option on the next two shots. In Parker's case he struck 3 of the 4 shots with the ball he used during the week and the ball got through the pins very good. Keep in mind that no left hander had bowled on the TV pair up to this point.

Back over to the practice pair and hang out watching to see the match and in this case watch Jason's zone and transition during the match. Like every other bowler Jason struggled with quick transition and was forced to make quick decisions. Anybody who witnessed Jason's match realizes how fortunate he was to advance. The show was running way behind schedule and we knew Parker was going to be limited on practice shots. He is guaranteed 4 shots.

Again Parker took his first two shots with the Strike Zone that he used all week and struck on both. His 3rd shot left a 7 and then he struck on the next shot. So through 4 shots Parker had struck 3 times. I walked off the pair and Parker was given two more shots. I don't know the results of those two shots but by that time how can you expect him to make a ball change. Personally I was hoping he did not strike on the early shots because I was feeling that the quick transition I had witnessed in every other match was going to negatively effect Parker's look with the Strike Zone. Most of the week Parker was crossing the arrows from 14-17 and getting his ball to a breakpoint around 8 with more help to the inside than out. Firm speed was never an option for Parker as his look really deteriorated when he opted to throw it harder. As long as he was able to stay slower he was able to follow the pattern in and use the oil to the inside as both push and hold, his slower speed gave him the recovery he needed.

I left the TV pair thinking Parker and Jason had clear pictures and expected the scoring pace to be around 230.

As with every other TV show and another lesson to be learned from the show. Positive vibes, confidence and faith are huge factors. These are all very positive traits of Parker's. But those that witnessed the show saw that the effects of a couple good breaks for Jason and the ball falling off of Parker's hand in the second frame put him in chase mode. Jason's confidence was increasing with each shot. When you see the breaks going in your favor and you have the ability to take advantage of those breaks by surrounding them with some really quality shots good things happen.

Congratulations go out to Jason and I hope everybody was able to take home a learning experience from the show. No matter how long you spend on tour you can never stop learning. I challenge myself to learn from every experience and once the frustration passes I feel stronger and more confident the next time we are in that situation.

See you in Phoenix