Manufacturer's cup

[J Anderson]

Any reactions to the GEICO Summer Shootout?
It seemed odd that an event that is meant to promote the different bowling ball brands, there was never any mention of what model ball bowlers were using, and barely a passing reference or two that players had made a ball change. For the winter tour it seemed like they would have a graphic set up for each bowler, showing which balls he had to choose from and the one he was using would be highlighted.
I liked that it is no longer held outside in an amusement park. I don't care for the elimination format. I'd prefer to see each team member bowl a full game. You could still do groups of three, low score gets the minimum points, High score goes to the next round, same thing with Baker style doubles, and have your finals with trios.

[kev3inp]

I agree, they barely mentioned the balls at all. Also I would have preferred to see the "competition" at a real center, not the "upscale" version where the rich go to feel like they're slumming. I guess there are no other centers in all of Chicagoland than a place where $4 a game is the off-peak discount, but the beers are still $12.

[MinnesotaBowler]

I wasn't fond of the qualifying format. It seems like a one ball competition didn't really bring out the true potential of all of the great bowlers. I mean if they have one bad shot or they get a bad break, they're automatically out for that round and can't really do anything to make up for it. I would have liked to see them do regular games for qualifying and they could have done a mix of scotch and baker matches to mix things up rather than just the same format every time in qualifying. Obviously real games take longer but if they just had less qualifying games then it could work.

[RoccoRock]

Still on the fence about it. Not sure if I like the one ball eliminator rounds. I did like the fact that not everyone made the stepladder finals. It seemed like the last 2 years qualifying was a total waste. Everyone made the stepladder, no matter how bad you did in the previous shows, and there was no differnce between being the 3 seed or 4 seed, you had to win as many games to win the title. I also liked the splitting up of the teams to showcase each brand, not just the mother comanies. I agree with the fact they should have spent some time talking about the balls they were usinig, especially because it seemed like everyone was using the latest, and best ball there company makes.

[billf]

They seem to run through the shootout at too fast a pace, at least what's televised. This would be the perfect time for the PBA to go more in depth about the players, equipment and the manufacturers. Just another golden opportunity wasted, in my opinion.

[J Anderson]

Still on the fence about it. Not sure if I like the one ball eliminator rounds. I did like the fact that not everyone made the stepladder finals. It seemed like the last 2 years qualifying was a total waste. Everyone made the stepladder, no matter how bad you did in the previous shows, and there was no differnce between being the 3 seed or 4 seed, you had to win as many games to win the title. I also liked the splitting up of the teams to showcase each brand, not just the mother comanies. I agree with the fact they should have spent some time talking about the balls they were usinig, especially because it seemed like everyone was using the latest, and best ball there company makes.

Hard to tell what they were using, but Ronnie Russell seemed to be using a Misfit, and Mike Machuga looked like he was throwing either a Hell Raiser or a Marauder. The Marauder is a new release, but none of these are the strongest balls made by DV8.

[Florida Bowler]

I think they should keep track of it during the season. Maybe have each manufacturer choose 5 bowlers who use their equipment and assign points based on how they finish in each PBA tournament. This would give a little bit of a team approach, and give the announcers a reason to talk about their ball choices. It would also give TV viewers one more thing to hold their interest.