It shouldn't come as a surprise that I watch an obscene amount of bowling videos. Each time I'd watch, links would suggest other video to watch. Which led me to a treasure trove of bowling matches outside the United States. Great stuff. I drool whenever a new release comes up on YouTube.
One particular tournament that's gotten my attention is the Weber Cup. Played in England and named after bowling legend Dick Weber, it's an annual competition that features a team of bowlers from Europe and the United States to compete in a series of singles, doubles and team matches played on a single lane.
In 2011, teams consisted of 4 bowlers, rather than 5 in previous competitions. The United States defeated Europe 17-15.
Team Europe: Osku Palermaa, Mika Koivuniemi, Paul Moor and Dom Barrett
Team USA: Tommy Jones, Chris Barnes, Bill O'Neill and Mike Fagan
The video I've featured on this blog is a singles match featuring Tommy Jones against Dom Barrett. The first time I saw Dom was in 2008's Weber Cup and was very impressed with his controlled power game. I consider myself part of his "Domination" of fans. In November 2011, Dom won his first PBA title in the Scorpion Open.
And to those of you who don't like seeing bowlers like Dom Barrett or Stuart Williams (also from UK) make it to the stepladder or elimination games on ESPN, too bad. There are a lot of US pro bowlers that compete internationally and those venues welcome Americans with open arms. Look at the number of foreign born pros that now play in the NHL, NBA and MLB. They're not going away anytime soon. I find it only makes the sport more competitive.
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