Hi Rebecca!! Congrats on your new blog Look forward to reading …….

With internet security being on everyone’s mind, I decided to use an alias to prevent identity theft and junk email. I’m sure these layers will protect my true identity enough that I can participate in this discussion. In real life, I’m probably a professional bowler or some government official/ dignitary, but definitely not a guy working in a bank’s IT department.

Question for Rebecca K (if that really is his name). What is the purpose of this blog? I.e. to openly discuss bowling related topics, pose questions to you as an expert source etc. If so, what shall the first topic be? I have my personal thoughts on the “game” of bowling that I’m anxiously awaiting to share with everyone.

Someone not named Jimm
mailto:notjimm@charter.net

Thanks for the well wishes on the blog! I’ve been asked what the intent of the blog is, and what’s the first topic. Whelp, I think ‘Someone not named Jimm” has launched our first topic of discussion. Is bowling a sport? Or is it merely something we do while eating pizza drinking beer and visiting with friends. Let’s start with this inquiry and take it from there. So what does everyone think? Do you consider bowling a sport? Do you feel it’s treated fairly and with as much respect say as golf, football, or tennis? I can’t wait to hear what you all have to say.

Personally, I believe it’s one of the greatest most versatile sports around. It’s a sport where everyone, whether you’re an individual or on a team, can participate. Men and women bowl together for awards or they can bowl separately within their own gender group. I admit I have some issues with how women are treated in the sport, but that’s another blog entry….

Sports vs. games

Here is my breakdown on what makes a sport and the contrary.

Sport: Any activity in which human mechanics is the primary tool used for the competition. There may be other tools used, but use of this tool should not allow one participant any mechanical advantage over another. Sport should be about the human machine not the equipment in any capacity.

I realize that someone will go to dictionary.com and look up the definition; I’ll save you the trouble.
sport.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 04 Aug. 2008. .

noun
1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2. a particular form of this, esp. in the out of doors.
3. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
4. jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
5. mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.
6. an object of derision; laughingstock.
7. something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.
8. something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.
9. a sportsman.
10. Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person: He was a sport and took his defeat well.
11. Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.
12. Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.
13. Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.
14. Obsolete. amorous dalliance.
–adjective
15. of, pertaining to, or used in sports or a particular sport.
16. suitable for outdoor or informal wear: sport clothes.
–verb (used without object)
17. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
18. to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.
19. to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.
20. to trifle or treat lightly: to sport with another’s emotions.
21. to mock, scoff, or tease: to sport at suburban life.
22. Botany. to mutate.
–verb (used with object)
23. to pass (time) in amusement or sport.
24. to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often fol. by away).
25. Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., esp. with ostentation; show off: to sport a new mink coat.
26. Archaic. to amuse (esp. oneself).
—Idiom
27. sport one’s oak. OAK (def. 5).

________________________________________
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME; aph. var. of DISPORT ]

In my opinion, and that’s the key thing to remember, sports are held in higher precedence than a game. A true sport has something noble or regal about it that holds it above the title of a game.

Examples of sports in which the human machine is the primary tool are running, gymnastics, swimming, jumping, boxing and weight-lifting. Originally, these events were conducted without clothing making the human machine the only tool in use. These sports all require excellent in the human machine to achieve victory. There are always comments on boxing being “judged”. Let’s remember that originally, boxing matches went on until someone was knocked out or ultimately resigned. There was not a condition for a tie or decision and fights could go as long as 50 rounds in the hot summer sun.

Sports that use secondary and non-influential tools would be things such as discus, weight-lifting and archery. This holds the assumption that one tool is exactly the same as the other. If the tool provides the participant any mechanical advantage over the other competitors, this is no longer sport in principal. For events such as javelin or weight-lifting where a tool is used, if all the participants use the same tool time after time, this generates no advantage to the others and is considered to be a null point. If the device in use causes mechanical advantage, I term this as a game. Examples of games are baseball, football, bowling, NASCAR and hockey.

I have read other articles claiming that NASCAR is a sport. It is not and cannot be. Each car is different by design and this greatly changes how one driver can be influenced over others. Claims of heat, stress etc. are used to leverage sympathy for how difficult the event is. Difficulty does not make racing a sport. The ability to race cars, at its base, comes from a better vehicle. How about drag racing? Is the driver or the car the faster of the participants? Drag racing is a game.

I am typing right now which is a practiced ability / skill. I have to control my fingers and use them to produce a predicted result time and time again. Hopefully, I am doing this without producing too many spelling errors. If I type faster than you, is typing a sport? Is it a sport if I make less spelling mistakes?

Back to NASCAR. I can drive my car and race Dale Earnhardt Jr. I have no chance to win as his car is obviously better equipped than mine. His machine is tailored to this specific use which gives him advantage over the other competitors. IROC (International Race of Champions) brings up additional points to debate. By my definition, IROC may be considered to be sport as all the cars are supposed to be exactly equal. The principal to remember is that the human machine is supposed to be the primary tool used to determine the victor not the equipment. In NASCA, each vendor or manufacturer has different wind dynamics for drag and down-force, engine characteristics and many other physical properties that bias one vehicle over others. If we race on foot, we are now totally equal and I have as good of a chance as my training will allow. I can control my weight and physical training to become better. The act of spending money for technology should not be a factor allowing me to win.

NASCAR, like other games, makes use of teamwork. Team events are almost always games as they typically have multiple tools outside of the primary human machine which bias performance and do not require the effort of every team member equally for success. Victory comes from strategy in these cases not the human machine. For example:

Baseball – all players use different bats, gloves and baseballs are humidity saturated to not allow the ball maximum flight. If I play center field and the ball never comes to me, I had no impact on the outcome. If I sit on the bench and my teammate hits a homerun, my team won but I had nothing to do with the outcome.

Football – If I am the kicker and we never attempt a field goal and we do not punt, I have no impact yet I am on the team. These choices are based on strategy and impact the outcome of the game. Strategy will also dictate that I am not a good football kicker and therefore making plays that require me to kick will increase the opponent’s chances of victory.

Track events – Track events, such as a relay race, require each teammate’s total combined effort to achieve victory. Track is a true sport.

Chess – strictly a strategy game. There is no physical skill required to win. Other examples of strategy based games are Battleship, checkers and poker.

Golf – I use a $600 Ping driver and you use $50 Meijer brand. Who will drive farther typically and more accurately? This is clearly a case where equipment is biasing the player over others.

I bowl regularly (4-5 times weekly). If I were to compare myself to the all time greats, it is insulting to those true greats that I can generate so much hook and power with my ball. In their day, this was not possible due to limitations in technology used in lane materials and cover-stocks. In short, I have an unfair advantage over them. I play a game not a sport.

Let’s ask ourselves why now are there so many people that have achieved a perfect score of 300 as compared to 20-30 years ago? The lanes are better, the balls have more physics and chemistry in their design and the pins have been designed to allow me to score better. Even the local bowling alley designs a shot to help me score higher. I tend to think that a true sport as being more about kill or be killed mentality.

If I had a time machine and went back 30 years to compete, I would surely astound many of those experts. If I were a runner and went back in time anywhere from 60 years, with all the training in the world, I would still have no chance to beat Jesse Owens in a 100 meter sprint. If all bowlers used the same polyester bowling ball with a symmetrical core, identically prepared lanes and pins placed identically, we could then call bowling a sport. Due to the variations in this game, we cannot call bowling a sport. But, we have shown that it can come close.

Ice Skating / Dancing is not a sport or even a game. It is simply judged art. Do we all agree that the Mr. Potato head looking Picasso looks good? Personally, I don’t get it but my wife loves it. The entire activity of skating or dancing is based on subjective opinion. How can anyone truly and accurately judge that one person is better at something than another person? For this to happen, the judge has bias as to what they want to see. All of a sudden someone having a longer leg makes a move look incorrect when it is physically the same.

It is not possible for everyone to share the same opinions on how to judge so skating is not a sport. If you do not agree, watch the Olympics next week. We all know that someone will loose because of a bad score from a controversial judgment call. If Skating is a sport, so is painting walls in your home. Do we all agree that mauve in the living room was a good choice or should it have been lavender?

How can you deny that bowling is a sport when the very first line of the definition clearly defines everything that bowling entails.(1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.) Ok so some people that bowl may not have the physical capacity that most sports may require, so what, thats what makes bowling such a great sport. You dont need to be a finely tuned athlete to enjoy this sport and if you are hopefully that makes you better at it. Think about all those guys that go out on Thanksgiving morning and play football with family before the big meal, they dont all meet up to the physical standards of a professional football player, but somehow their messing around in the yard does not degrade the sport of football. Football is still a sport, is considered a sport and professionals get paid darn good money to do it. Now let someone who is overweight, out of shape, and over aged frequent the local bowling alley with a few of his friends for a friday night league and because he doesnt fit the “physical” standards of what is considered “normal” in the sports world, bowling is not a sport? Now what about the competitievness of bowling. Well I was recently at the US Womans Open and saw alot of competition to out rank ones competitors going on there. When I go to the local bowling alley (up to 4 or 5 times per week) I witness a great deal of competition going on there as well. I also know that my skill level (as far as bowling) has improved tremendously over this past summer. Due to constant practice. In order to be good at any “sport” doesnt one need to practice. Hence, improving my skill level. So one can deduce that if one can compete physically, be competitive as well as display some form of skill, that they are engaging in a sport (based on the first statement in the definition you posted). So, for all you bowlers out there have a sportive time the next time you pick up your technologically advanced bowling equipment and be thankful we dont have to bowl on the conditions of yesteryears.

Game or sport, welcome to the blogsmonroe family. My kids love to bowl, and if they let me use a lane with bumpers, I can almost break one hundred.

: )

Has anyone seen the high-tech bumpers? They are controlled electronically. At the Brunswick Zone XL in Chicago, the lanes are programed with who is using bumpers and who is not. It’s pretty darn cool. This way if you have a mix of bowlers and some need the bumpers and others don’t want to use them, everyone can bowl together the way they want to. The bumpers come up and go away throughout the game as needed! I was truly amazed since here in Monroe I’ve only seen the ones that need to be put up and down with a hook by hand.

I agree with someone not named Jimm. It sounds to me that he put a lot of thought into his well presented points.

Kudos to you not Jimm.
Morris VanDenBurg – someone not affiliated with Jimm in any way.

I am slowly working my way through the sport versus game post. There are many issues brought up within this post that deviate from the topic of what is sport and what is a game.

The first thought I’d like to throw out there concerns the following from that post:

“The principal to remember is that the human machine is supposed to be the primary tool used to determine the victor not the equipment.”

I have to admit, we bowling athletes do possess the power to buy a piece of equipment which will give us an edge. All generations have had this opportunity, and the equipment has evolved over the years, sometimes to the detriment of the sport. However, it is the human ability to use this equipment properly both physically and in a mental capacity, which provides the bowling athlete with an “edge” so-to-speak. So, it’s a conundrum. Is it truly the edge of the equipment that makes the difference or the know-how of how to use the equipment which gives the athlete the edge?

Over the weekend I will explore this further. I’m curious what everyone else thinks.

Roll on,
Rebecca Keegan

After reviewing the feedback on my previous post, here are some points that should be reevaluated.
My definition was stated as:
Sport: Any activity in which human mechanics is the primary tool used for the competition. There may be other tools used, but use of this tool should not allow one participant any mechanical advantage over another. Sport should be about the human machine not the equipment in any capacity.
Throughout the week, I’ve been asking people I encounter a simple question. What is a sport? The generalized answer always seems to come back as “anything that you can compete at”. I would call this sporting – verb. What we are talking about is the object of sport – noun. I am not talking about the action but rather the object and meaning of these words. I agree and have expressed previously that anything can literally be titled a sporting activity. The idea I am expressing is that “sport”, as an object, is something more than a typical game. Do we all feel comfortable saying that poker is a sport? I personally do not. I see poker as a game that is strictly strategy based. The best player can always loose because of a bad draw. There is also the obvious relation that the cards are out of the players control and dictated by randomness of the queue. If one has limited or no control over the game, is one player really better than another? Or, is it luck and well calculated statistics that allows one player to hedge mathematical advantage?
How does that last sentence apply to bowling and sport vs. game? We use equipment that is designed to forgive our mistakes in trajectory, speed and rotation. Are we not taking the sport out of the game by these actions? If we all use plastic balls with no manipulation of CG, PAP, Pin location, Cover-stock dynamics, mass bias and core technology, we are now focusing on the sport object. We are now only as good as we are; going back to the human machine perspective. When elements are introduced that enhance the individual properties of the ball from a mechanical advantage, this takes equality amongst all players to an individualized basis. This action in and of itself, is saying that one player is not as good as another, but; because of technology can compete equally.
Why don’t we take it to the next level and say that for those that cannot hit the pocket due to lack of experience and skill, we make the ball larger. This would surely increase the chance of an entry level player to hit the pocket. Let’s say that we increase the diameter by 20%. We could go a step further and allow new players to be closer to the pins. Let’s go up to the 20’ mark. Speaking of the pins, they are all going to be lighter, harder and bottom heavy. We’ll even make them larger. We should also allow that players can take a shot over if they are not happy with their first throw. When does it end?
I do not know the number of bowlers in the US. Let’s introduce a number that we can say is an accurate estimate @ ~1,000,000. This number represents all age ranges, both genders and all skill levels. We know that scores today are higher than they have ever been. This can be mistakenly interpreted as meaning that we have all gotten better at bowling. What this actually is revealing is that the technology has diluted the scoring so much that anyone can attain a higher average than was previously possible.
Over the past 6 months, I have completely revised my physical game characteristics in bowling. I have new footwork, balance, hand position both in vertical and horizontal axis and targeting techniques. My average has dropped an estimated 30 pins because of all these changes being new to my physical coordination. As I use these techniques, I am seeing higher scores. I am getting better. I have not mentioned or used a new, more aggressive ball with a more aggressive cover-stock, core or drilling. “I” got better, not my equipment. When I’m on my game, I bowl well. When I am not bowling well, my materials are not making up for my mistakes. If they can, I cannot call this a sport.
Isn’t that what we would call a “sporting” chance? Does not this phrase represent fairness in all aspects of the game? If there is bias from materials we cannot say that everything is fair. How does materials bias calculate into the overall equation?
Scenario:
Jimm has an 8 lb. polyester ball from WalMart. The ball hits the pins and bounces all over the place. Let’s say that Jimm is capable of hitting the 17.5 board (commonly accepted optimum target at the pocket to generate a strike) at the maximum entry angle possible for this equipment. We all know how to calculate this angle thanks to algebra in 8th grade as follows:
All units are measured in inches.
For right- angled triangles with a right angle by C is:
area = (a * b) / 2
a² + b² = c² (Pythagorean theorem)
a² = c * p, b² = c * q (Kathetensatz des Euklid)
h² = p * q (Höhensatz des Euklid)
sin Alpha = a / c
a= 18.85, b=720, c=720.247
Alpha=1.5, Beta=88.5
p= 0.493, q= 719.753, h= 18.844
area: 6786
As you can see, the entry angle Alpha, is 1.5 degrees. This is the maximum holistic entry angle physically possible without modification to the ball. This does not include outside deviations such as application of revolution along specific axis’.

This link illustrates my point and provides hard data and statistics of carry and typical leaves. http://bowlingmentor.com/Offset_and_Ideal_Strike_Locatio.html

The calculated math models state that an entry angle @ 4-6.0 degrees provides the most carry percentage. This angle is not physically possible with the plastic ball that Jimm is using. There simply is not enough shell and mass to accomplish this task. If Jimm hits the perfect pocket 100% of the time, he has a 95.5% chance of getting a strike simplified to 19:20.

Rebecca has a new ball. We’ll say it is a Columbia 300 Momentum Swing @ 14 lbs with pin placement at 4.5” from the mass bias. The cover and core allow for a higher entry angle. The core allows the ball to travel ~ 45 feet down lane before turning into the pocket and for the ball to be further outside. On a common oil pattern, this ball should be at position 8” @ 45’. Here is how the pocket target angles change:

a= 10.23, b=180, c=180.29
Alpha=3.253, Beta=86.747
p= 0.58, q= 179.71, h= 10.214
area: 920.7

By direct comparison, Rebecca’s ball is allowing 3.253 vs. Jimm’s 1.501 entry angle degree. That is a 216% increase in angle. This correlates to an increase in strike carry percentage of 99.88%.

If Rebecca hits the pocket 100% of the time, her game undoubtedly will be 300 where Jimm’s will be a 299 even though they both hit 100% of their targets. The materials made Rebecca win, not her skill. Therefore bowling in not a sport and Jimm does not have a “sporting” chance unless he buys a new bowling ball also. Maybe Jimm can win if he distracts Rebecca with brownies or some other tasty treat but I doubt that is possible.

Interesting…I didn’t have to read any further than the first few sentences of the last post. Please allow me to quote: Sport should be about the human machine not the equipment in any capacity.

The debate is essentially over when you eliminate all the ’sports’ out there that use equipment. Therefore, Someone Not Names Jimm believes any activity that involves the use of equipment is not a sport. Hmmm…that doesn’t leave much. Baseball, basketball, golf, bowling, boxing, football, baseball, NASCAR, etc. I guess these activities are out of luck. Someone better tell these athletes that they aren’t really playing a sport. What do we have left then? Anyone up for a round of bare knuckled boxing?

So now that we agree. What’s our next topic? How about if we get into the equipment topic since the new season is about to start and lots of bowlers will be looking for new gear?

I think everyone should buy the remote controlled bowling ball and throw 300 every time.

http://www.900global.com/remote_control_bowling_ball/