Missy Makes Queens TV Show - Watch LIVE on Wed., April 28th at 5pm PST on ESPN 2

Tune in to ESPN 2 to watch Missy Bellinder LIVE in the USBC Queens tournament on Wednesday, April 28th at 5pm PST. Missy is the No. 3 seed in the tournament, after some huge scores and great matches in the matchplay portion of the tournament.

The Queens TV show begins with No. 5 seed, contender's bracket winner, Michelle Feldman facing No. 4 seed Kelly Kulick. The winner facing Missy. No. 2 seed is USBC Hall of Famer Anne Marie Duggan, with the top seed going to fellow Orange County, Calif. native Tennelle Milligan.

For complete results and videos, visit The Queens homepage on www.bowl.com

USBC Women's Championship in El Paso, Texas

Hello from El Paso!

Great food, lots of wind and a whole lot of bowling sums up the city of El Paso, Texas. Being able to see Juarez, Mexico from my hotel room, is a little on the strange side. I actually had no idea just how close the border was to downtown El Paso, which boasts the El Paso Convention Center, site of the 2010 USBC Women's Championships and 2010 USBC Queens tournament.

Yep, the Rio Grande and border are just blocks away (or though it seems) from the tournament site. High above on the hills of Mexico are white rocks spelling out -
Juarez
La Biblia es la verdad
Leela
(Translating - Juarez, the Bible is the Truth, read it!) I was pretty interested to figure out what was on that mountain, as I could only make out the words through using my zoomed in camera, despite the windy conditions almost toppling me over.

My dad and I decided to make a road trip out of the tournaments, making the 12 hour drive from Southern California to The Lone Star state. Although we hit some cross wind and nearly missed a dust storm, it was mostly smooth sailing all the way.

So far, I have bowled all of the events for the Women's Championship- team, doubles and singles. Last night, we bowled team event, comprised of myself, Lynda Barnes, Tennelle Milligan, Lisa Pawlak and Missy Klug. (I must say I'm definitely not used to bowling with another Missy because it just isn't that common of a name; so i did a lot of double takes throughout the two days when someone would yell "Missy".)

We bowled very well in team event, despite the rather high scoring pace, shooting 3345 (+345) for the three games. We shot very consistent games of 1109, 1119 and 1117. I personally wasn't as consistent, shooting 203, 278 and 192 for a 673 series.

Then today in the doubles event I was paired up with long-time friend Lisa Pawlak. We shot 1280 as a team and I shot games of 245, 221 and 228 for a 694 series.

Then we bowled singles and everyone on our team bowled really well! If that would have been our team scores, we would have killed them! LOL! I shot 199, 257 and 258 for a 714 series. Fellow teammate Tennelle Milligan is currently leading singles with a 779 and my doubles partner Lisa shot 745.

So for all-events, that put me at 2081 (+281) for nine games. Scores aren't up-to-date yet, so I'm not sure where that puts me and my teammates on the leader board. But seeing as the tournament isn't over for a few months, I'll just have to wait and see.

Tomorrow begins the 2010 USBC Queens tournament. Check out www.bowl.com for complete coverage. Til then...

"Dare to Compare" Day at Saddleback Lanes

I just wanted to let everyone know that 900 Global and AMF will be showcasing the latest and greatest products from each line in a special "Dare to Compare" Day to be held at Saddleback Lanes this Friday, April 2nd from 5-7pm. Cost to attend the event is $20.

Another words, you will be able to "test drive" the following bowling balls before purchasing them:

900 Global -
Bounty Hunter
Bounty Hunter Pearl
Break Out
Breakpoint Pearl

AMF -
Clutch
Clutch Pearl
Sideways
Mega Recovery

So come on out and see what these great products can do for your game! Special bowling ball prices will be available on this day only.

Precision Pro Shop
(located inside Saddleback Lanes)
25402 Marguerite Parkway
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 454-9922

Missy Shoots 20th 300 Game!!!

Yesterday, I subbed in the Friday morning 590 Classic scratch league at Linbrook Bowl. It definitely proved to be a good start to the day, as I shot 266 my first game (with the front 7). I then proceeded to shot 300 the next game, using my 900 Global Bounty Hunter Pearl! This marked my 20th 300 game!

The lanes got a little tricky the 3rd game and with no carry and a stubborn pocket 4-9 split in the 9th frame, I only managed a 205, missing another 800 series.

The last game (this league bowls 4 games a week), I switched to by 900 Global Break Out, moved left and opened up the lanes, shooting 236 the final game for a 1007 series.

Be sure to check out the Bounty Hunter Pearl and all of 900 Global's equipment at www.900global.com

Til next time....

Orange County Tournament

Last weekend, I competed in Orange County Tournament. Although the event is all handicap now (and I usually steer clear of non-scratch events, I still find this tournament a fun source of competitive practice. I've bowled with the same group of ladies since I turned adult at age 18. I call them "My Moms" (seeing as they all have kids around my age) and I think they all have adopted me as their daughter. Although our team changed a bit this year, we still had a lot of fun and bowled really well! Original team member, Virginia Norton and I paired with new members Rachel Hickenbottom and Samantha Jimenez, who just turned adult this season.

We decided to bowl all three events - singles, doubles and team - all on the same day. Each event consists of three games and the tournament runs over a few weekends. At the end, total pins in each event wins.

We bowled doubles and singles first at Valley View Lanes. Oh the memories at this bowling center... This center brought me into the world of adult bowling, as it used to host a big ladies scratch league, which I bowled every year after turning adult. However, sadly to say, the league folded around 2004.

We bowled doubles event first, and I was paired with Virginia Norton. I shot games of 259, 255 (with the front 7 both games) and then 222 the last game for a 736 series. Virginia shot games of 216, 212 and 187 for a 615 series. Combined we shot 1351 and were unofficially in 1st place.

Singles was my lowest set (as it usually is for some reason), as we switched pairs and I shot games of 225, 203 and 244 for a 672 series. Both sets, I used my Bounty Hunter and was able to open up the lanes, moving inside of everyone and hooking it out to the dry, allowing me to create some area.

Then in the afternoon, we bowled at Irvine Lanes for team event. I had never bowled at this center before, except to practice once or twice. Well we started with a BANG, shooting 997 the first game for our four person team. I shot 268 (with the front 8 using my Bounty Hunter Pearl), Virginia shot 205, Rachel shot 224 and our rookie Samantha shot a perfect 300! Our second game we shot 887, as I shot 238. And our last game, we ended with a 874, as I shot 257. So in total, we shot 2758 for our team of four ladies. I shot 763 in team event, which put me at 2171 for all events.

Unofficially, we are in 1st place for team event. Virginia and I are in 1st place for doubles event and I am in 1st place for all events.

Not bad for a team of scratch bowlers who just wanted to have some fun...

PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles

This week, the PBA and PBA Women's Series ventured to Denver, Colo. for the PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles event held at Brunswick Zone Wheat Ridge.

The event marked the last PBA Women's Series event for the 2009-2010 PBA Tour season. With 32 women competitors and 64 men comprising the field, the bowlers competed 14 games of qualifying separately.

We bowled 7 games of qualifying the first day, and I personally struggled and had yet another roller coaster block. Not being lined up well to start, I shot 173, 202 and then a disastrous 148. Finally switching to the Bounty Hunter Pearl, throwing it very slow and playing very straight and inside, I shot 209, 209, 254 and then hit a bad pair for a 184 finish. I ended the day at -21 and was 42 pins out of the top 16 cut.

The next day, we came back for our final 7 game block of qualifying. After making several surface adjustments on my bowling balls (i.e. sand blasting quite a few), I had a much better second block. I used the Clutch Solid all day and played the tightest line inside, keeping my ball speed down as much as possible. I had started with the wrong ball the first few frames, leaving a pair of splits, then switching to the correct ball and shooting 183, 224, 207, 238, 267 (with the front 8), 229 and 201 for +128 overall and shooting +149 for the block. This block rocketed me to 7th place.

With the women finishing the 14 games of qualifying first, it was then a waiting game to see which of the men would finish in 7th, thus being paired with me for the duration of the tournament. That bowler ended up being exempt player Steve Harmon.

The next day we bowled 16 games of round robin baker match play, meaning that we alternated each frame to complete the game. Steve anchored for the most part, as his look on the lanes was MUCH better than mine. Unfortunately, we struggled to win matches and with 30 bonus pins on the line, that proved to be devastating. We only won 5 out of 16 matches, although one win was against the dominating team of Jason Belmonte and Michelle Feldman. We finished 13th overall.

A few side notes and reflections for the season...
Although this was the first season that I failed to make a TV show for the women's series, I am not totally disappointed. I was badly injured for the majority of the World Series of Bowling, which comprised 5 out of our 7 stops. And I still managed to just fall short of the TV show for the PBA Women's World Championship, coming in 3rd place overall.

I'm not entirely sure if the World Series of Bowling concept is such a good idea, simply due to the fact that we only competed in one bowling center the entire time. This highly favors any bowler whose natural game matches up with that center's characteristics. No matter what pattern that was put out, those bowlers were still going to have the advantage. I think that the concept would have been better if the tour went to somewhere like Las Vegas and competed at a different bowling center every week, but still remained in the same city for an extended period of time.

Another change for this season, was the complete separation of the men and women bowlers each tournament. The women either bowled at completely different times or as in the World Series of Bowling, competed in a completely different area (the Arena Bay) than the men, making it more difficult for fans to watch both the men and women. Prior to this season, the women competed qualifying mixed in with the men and shared paddocks/ball workout areas. This year, everything has been separated between the men and the women, which in a way feels a little like the women have been pushed aside. I will say that having our own paddock and work out area was definitely a plus, but the rest was a little disheartening.

Lastly, I'd like to thank the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) for it's continued support of women's bowling! Without USBC we wouldn't have had the PBA Women's Series for the last three seasons.

I do have one HUGE favor... anyone who is happy seeing the women back in action on TV, can you please send an email or write a letter to USBC stating that fact. In these hard times, you never know what next year brings and bowling needs to not lose professional women's bowling again. Please pass this along to all of your friends.

United States Bowling Congress
Attn: Jeff Boje
621 Six Flags Drive
Arlington, TX 76011

jeff.boje@bowl.com
darlene.baker@bowl.com

Thank you!!!!

PBA Del Rosa Regional

Over February 5-7, I competed in the only regional that is relatively close to my house - the PBA Del Rosa Regional. We bowled on the Viper pattern. However, the scoring paced proved to mimic more of a house shot, as it took +178 to make the semi's.

Many touring pros bowled the event, as the regional fell inbetween the Dick Weber Open and the USBC Masters, which added a nice touch. The regional is always a great event to bowl in because of the great job done by Del Rosa Lanes Owner Nicole Ellison and Manager Dave Wodka.

On Sunday, the top 37 bowlers came back for 5 more games of semi's and then the field was cut to the top 16 for single elimination match play.

In the 8 games of qualifying, I shot +320, using the 900 Global Break Out and was in 4th place overall. The next day, we bowled 5 more games of semi's. I shot +220, using the Bounty Hunter Pearl for those 5 games and ended up in 2nd place overall at +540, averaging 241.6 for the tournament.

In the top 16 match play finals, I was seeded against 15th seed Vance Sisk. In the Round of 16, it's a best 3 out of 5 single elimination format. With the lanes re-oiled, I couldn't seem to get matched up. In the first game, I lost 184-248. I then switched balls, moved left and slowed it down, but still lost 242-269. In game 3, I decided to throw it hard and straight and play outside. This theory proved to be better, as I came back to win 233-184. However, in game 4, I again lost my look and eventually lost 211-234.

I ended up in 10th place in the tournament, as Patrick Allen captured the title.

This week, I'm bowling in the PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles event in Denver, Colo. Check out pba.com for results and to watch live on Xtra Frame.

Til next time...