Everyone points to the "rate" because the simple math of it is...Rash + Belmo equals 2 titles more than Chris Barnes has by himself...and half the titles WRW and Earl Anthony possess individually (there about).
I agree Belmo has a shot at greatness and the Majors to back it up. But there's bowlers with 40 titles on that list. At 1.7 (we'll even round it to 2) per year...for the remaining 28 years...that's 56 + his 12...that's 68. HOWEVER...Belmo is already 31. That means he has more like 25 years left. So that brings the number to 62. But here's the rub...the 2-handed style is notoriously bad on the back. Both he and Osku have had setbacks related to back injuries. Can Belmo throw that style for 25 more years? Is the wear and tear on the back any more of a hinderance than the conventional style and it's wear and tear on shoulders/elbows/knees??? I don't know. But we'll see.
But as of TODAY...in REALITY...WRW has 47 titles and Earl Anthony has 43. They are generally considered the two best bowlers to ever roll a ball. Duke could catch him...PDW could catch em...maybe....Parker could catch em. But barring unforeseen circumstances...and given Earl's life was cut a bit short...and Mark Roth had serious health issues later in his career...WRW is not going to be easy to pass. I mean, Parker has been steamrolling the PBA50 this season...PDW also has been solid each outing...and both Duke and WRW just made a PBA Tour stepladder final. These guys are going to have to actually retire if Barnes, Mika, Jones, O'Neill, Rash, Tackett, and Belmo are going to seriously challenge them.
I'm really hoping I get to meet WRW and Parker Bohn at one of the two Pro-Ams I'm participating in next weekend. It'd be cool to meet any of the PBA50 guys really and I'm looking forward to it (but also nervous that I'll suck terribly)...but shaking WRW's hand...knowing that I'm shaking the hand of the greatest bowler to ever live...THAT would be a really cool thing. That picture would be framed and hanging prominently in my apartment. Not in a creepy shrine way...but in a very prominent way like an old Catholic couple might have a picture of the pope hanging in their house.
Too bad classygranny wasn't still in the OC (and her husband didn't mysteriously hate me for some reason)...because if she was around the first weekend in June and then the first part of that following week...she could have been in two Pro-Ams AND got in a clinic with Sean Rash and Missy Parkin. The clinic with Rash/Parkin costs less than or the same as a lesson with Mark. AND she coulda been in the audience for the PBA West Regional Open June 5th-7th. I unfortunately can't make every day of that event because my daughter has a horse show and I'm moving that weekend...but I'm doing both Pro Ams!! I may be the worst bowler to EVER bowl in a pro-am...but I'm doing it anyways!! Ya only live once!
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