From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.sport.bowling,alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: "Killer" bowling balls
Date: 12 Sep 1992 05:38:56 GMT
Organization: Department of Redundancy Department
Reply-To: TWChan@lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117

In article <1992Sep11.124840.26793@worldbank.org> aki <aki@atlas.worldbank.org>
somewhat petulently and probably with some greater accuracy writes:

  +In SOME PEOPLES EYES?  3400 pro bowlers can't ALL be wrong....

Sure, but the National (US) Bowling Council estimated that there were 
71 million participants (in 1989).  I think that most them probably 
don't have their balls drilled fingertip.

  +besides, there is no room for argument here, fingertip drilling DOES offer
  +more control, I have yet to see anyone (I've drilled out literally
  +HUNDREDS
  +of bowling balls, many of them for new fingertip bowlers) who bowled
  +better conventional once they learned the proper fingertip release..

I don't doubt it since I used to bowl that way myself and have three
bowling balls drilled that way.
  
  +>  - Two holes which are used for specialty strikes (heh) such as
  +>    picking up spares.
  +
  +...I don't understand...what's a specialty strike if it is a spare?????

Strike as in hitting the pin as opposed to the technical term strike 
using in bowling.  It was sort of a play on words.  The point is, people
who have such balls don't usually use them on the initial approach.

  [My comments and some of Aki's deleted for brevity and possibly 
   to allow me additional leeway for further obfuscation.]

  +...I disagree on two points...(1)...most arm/hand related bowling injuries
  +type of support is that it forces the bowler to roll a "full roller".  In
  
   [...]

  +order
  +to bowl a full roller, the release must be almost perpendiculiar with the
  +lane (e.g. wrist pointing straight down with the fingers/thumb pointing in
  +toward the lane).  To facilitate such a release and to allow for
  +proper/smooth
  +thumb release, the thumb hole is usually offset by as much as 1/2 inch AND
  +there is radical forward pitch to "grip" the ball harder since the
  +natural 
  +reaction of the hand is to drop the ball.  This will severely damage the
  +wrist/
  +forearm if the ball is not released properly because the thumb will not
  +cleanly leave the ball, thus pulling the thumb/fingers and because the
  +Cobra will not allow the hand to adjust to the radical misadjustment of
  +the hand, it will damage the tendons in the wrist/forearm.  The guy who
  +damaged his arm may now have a classic case of "bowlers elbow"...

Could be.  I understood Greg's protagonist to have damaged the wrist
tendons, which would not be the elbow injury you refer to.  However,
your comment on the Cobra could perhaps point to how such an injury
can be sustained.  So Greg, any further details?

Terry "Aerobic bowler" Chan 
--
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory                    Internet:  TWChan@lbl.gov
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