47 Comments on “USBC APPROVAL UPDATE | STORM DATA FROM USBC QUESTIONABLE? | DISCREPANCIES IN PROCESS?? | PART 1 OF 3”

  1. BR, please give the workers 2-3 weeks of vacation time out of the 52 week year period. That will give you the math that they are probably working. I agree with you, 2 balls is not enough for proof of specs.

    1. No one said don’t give vacation. The point is simply about efficient people, process and the overall execution of USBC approval program. While not the central point, I agree with the need for vacation…wish more US companies had better programs out there 😉

    2. @Bowlers Rant you are not taking into account any of the random testing or elevated levels of testing that occurs if any balls are found to fail. both of those scenarios greatly change the hours per employee in the department

    3. @perrinbash Also, believe it or not, those 5 people might have other things to do, than chasing around after bowling balls.

  2. USBC needs an overhaul of how they do their job. People need to speak up. If USBC continue these fraudulent cases, it will lead to boycotts

  3. here is a crazy idea how about for our money CHAD you do some GD lane certifications there are houses near me that have not been certified in a decade according to the certification stickers on the doors. All the USBC cares about is getting their money. I know in my current Friday league we voted to go unsanctioned next year due to all of this non sense and double talk

    1. Annual lane certifications and award score spot checks were cut in the late 90s-early 00s, as a cost saving measure. As scores went up, and the budget for awards skyrocketed, the USBC (ABC at the time) slowly eliminated costly certification programs, because the rank and file bowler would rather get their 25th 300 ring, or 50th patch or pin, than pay the guy who goes from house to house to house verifying the lane and ball the honor scores were being shot with. The ship for getting lanes certifications sailed a very long time ago.

  4. Hey Chris what a mess I have the Phase 4 and Altered Reality they are awesome. I’m glad Belmo said he wanted to watch some older guys told me back in the day they let you watch testing what gives. Keep up your good work sir. Thanks 😊

  5. It’s appropriate Chad Murphy’s memo was put out on April Fool’s Day, he thinks we’re all fools.

  6. Nicely done this is exactly the conversations, suggestions and investigations that need to be started in order bring this sport out of a free for all chaos based mess. Thanks for your efforts.

  7. Once upon a time, you were allowed a certain number of balls in a PBA event, and that was it, there was no endless drilling of new equipment allowed.

    1. I really wish the PBA would go back to that. The typical pro brings 6-9 balls TO THE LANES… and has another 6-9 in the paddock or in the car. They should just limit the bag to 8 balls for a PBA event. Register your 8 before Game 1, and that’s all you get.

    2. @DeadPolymers I could live without the “ball reps” at the finals too. What’s next, contest between the balls?

  8. This is simple GREED by the USBC… All these highly paid big wigs at USBC are penny pinching the Organization and its affecting everyone. There is PLENTY of money pouring into USBC to fund manufacturing oversight at a reasonable level. They need to renegotiate their salaries(aka lower the executive salaries) and more evenly distribute the funds for more man hours and staff. WHO agreed to pay Murphy 350K per year? I guarantee you take a poll of all USBC members, NO ONE would agree to that salary.

  9. Sounds like the letter that Chad Murphy put out to the Membership reeks of Shinola disguised as what he thinks is damage control. The decision to revoke the approval of the 6 Storm Products bowling balls could have been done after the completion of the USBC Masters, not during the Tournament. Chris, please correct me if I’m wrong, I’ve been out of the Sport for awhile. USBC wanted to do closed (Black curtain) testing without Storm Staffers present, as well as not providing their results of the testing. Yet, both the PBA and Storm have serious concerns about the credibility of how the USBC is doing their testing. I realize that because of the pandemic the last couple of years, that obtaining the necessary materials to make bowling balls, not to mention other bowling equipment, have been very difficult for all of the companies. But my thoughts regarding Mr. Murphy are IMHO, that it may be time for a new Executive Director.

    1. Per the guidelines, a ball will be decertified immediately upon completion of the review process. If that happens at an inconvenient time, then so be it. While I agree that waiting would have been the proper course of action, sticking to the rule book prevents any conspiracy theory blowback. As the the “black curtain” testing, that was for an ongoing urethane ball study that’s been ongoing for a year or more now. I believe they said 300 urethane balls were tested “behind the curtain” during the days leading up to the event, 100 of which were balls that had previously been tested at other events in the last year. The long term goal is to determine if urethane balls actually get softer over time, as so many had complained about with the early Ebonite era Purple Hammers I can’t speak as to if Chad Murphy is good or bad at his job… but he certainly has a knack of pissing people off.

    1. @Bowlers Rant I do agree their timing is suspect, and I find it odd that all of the bowling balls are not right.

  10. Mo Pinel (may he rest in peace) talked about the issue of USBC requiring excessive balls for testing several years back.

    1. No it was the cost of PBA sponsorship he was upset about. If memory serves me right, it was around $40K a year plus a lot of free balls. Enough he didn’t make any profit

    2. @drg19841 he specifically mentioned the number of balls usbc wanted if differential was beyond .05 for testing as usual beans is full of himself… storm must pay well to the ranter…

  11. I am in no way loyal to a brand or company. Everyone is putting out quality equipment. However, as far as dollars go the single biggest donor to USBC funding is Brunswick… make of that what you want

    EDIT: USBC funding comment is only what I was told by a former Hammer staffer and current SPI staffer

  12. I have personally tested a dozen balls we have in the pro shop as well as my equipment and customers equipment. I have not found one ball on the list that was bad. I also tested a purple hammer that is 2 months old and it was super soft, came in with an avg of 68.7 in the 10 spots.

    1. this is why they should extend the trade in period and get it hashed out as the facts come in. I got an Altered Reality stttin’ here on the floor that is a heck of alot of fun to throw.

  13. Yea, and when the PBA ends up saying “we have different data than you provided is and our own governance of our own events…and can afford to keep it up”..the USBC will start seeing nails in the coffin.

    1. The PBA is protecting one of its major sponsors, which it should be doing. Their specs can be 2 clicks below USBC standards and still be OK, which is clearly what is happening here. USBC standards are that a ball below 73D is illegal. The PBA’s limit is 71D. All of the balls on average fall between 71D and 73D, with the Altered Reality, Phaze 4, and Wolverine very close to the 71D limit. Using the same data, the USBC is absolutely right by its standards and the PBA is kind of right by their own different standards. However, both organizations need to make sure that SPI remains financially viable to ensure that the sport stays as healthy as it can. In this situation, though, the USBC is much more correct than the PBA, who is trying to spin the data in a certain way to help make sure that Storm doesn’t lose its shirt (especially after its recent expansion).

    2. @Adam Read PBA should be creating a level playing field or it is wrestling 2022 choosing the winners faking the story if belmo is hungry tom clarke climbs a tree and gets him an apple going out on a limb to do it…

  14. Generally love your work Chris but this petty response is beneath you. Until the manufacturers get in the room with the UBSC with samples and calibrate their equipment and test together, all these breakdowns and criticisms is irrelevant.

    1. @Big Boots  Chris is spouting opinion blaming USBC without details. Yep, I understand that his employment is directly related to selling the manufacturer’s products, and the lack of impartiality is blatant.

    2. The USBC claims manufacturers can compare their testing equipment calibration to the USBC’s every quarter. There is clearly a discrepancy in testing, but that ain’t it.

  15. To be fair, those 5 guys do far more than just process new bowling ball certifications. They also do all the random spot checks that are used to find manufacturing errors. They are responsible for pin, lane, and other assorted equipment certifications as well. Not to mention most of them are likely involved in the various ongoing research projects underway at any given time. I get it… people want to know what’s going on between the USBC and Storm, and all kinds of rumors are flying in all directions. I tend to believe that Storm didn’t knowingly do anything wrong, and the USBC isn’t an incompetent bunch of ninnies running around randomly banning bowling balls. Looks like a classic case of immovable object vs irresistible force, and the rest of us are all standing around waiting to see which one is going to budge first.

  16. Cool video talk to tech bowling ball ban in pba not good bowler rant Chris beans at least it does not include bowling league ban on bowling ball

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