I've watched him bowl quite a bit now. Basically he uses his left hand to hold the ball and steady his thumbless release. Not really a two-handed release.

Sometimes, like this past week, it hurts him. But the pin action is phenomenal. And no, it's not an easy thing to do at all. I love it when he's on. I love to watch Weber and Duke as well. The sport needs some excitement.

I have always said the two handers (the good ones anyways) have a two handed approach with a one handed delivery.

You watch Belmo, Osku, Kyle Troup, etc. and you will see that they all take that left hand off without using it to impart revs on the ball.

I have watched when slow-mo is available, and it's true, the left hand moves to the balance arm. There are quite a few people that don't use there thumbs that could possibly benefit from the same move. It appears to be more about getting back some of the balance and accuracy that the thumbless bowler sometimes has lost.

A member on our league team bowls thumbless, and puts speed and fast revs on the ball. The more I watch him bowl, the more I think his off-balance approach and excess speed is due to having to hold the ball that way. Belmo's method is not flawless by any means, but it's very effective (obviously). The achilles heel is on short patterns and drier, or well-travelled lanes.

Is this Smug?

This is social media marketing.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151947664096603

To me it is. Yes he does bring energy and he is extremely talented. The split conversions are ridiculous, (I've punched 4 through the head pin more times than I would like to and I've only made it twice) but to me his reactions to those splits and the way he acts at other times says "Look at what I just did, I am awesome." It could be a matter of my perception and he is likely not like that in person, but when he is bowling his reactions seem more pompous than energetic to me and it makes me not enjoy watching him bowl.

Mark

Nope, it's SICK, but, it's so awesome to watch when Belmo is on (and he's been ON for a long time now), and his talent is no mistake. As for the two-handed style, I tried it a few years back and it is NOT easy by any means. First you have to have a lot of hand and wrist strength and heavy fingers to get the rev rate you need, and it's almost impossible without hours of practice to generate the BALL SPEED needed to keep such a powerful shot online without it going high. Bottom line, Belmo and Osku are THE best two-handed players in the world and Belmo is our Player Of The Year.

Belmo has different reactions for sure. Look at PDW's BAM!! Sean Rash's yelling. They're all different, which makes it kind of fun. Belmo's body language and style remind me a little of Tiger Woods. They Know they're good, and nothing but Number One is acceptable. That's the way they carry themselves. I've always tried to view Pro sports of any kind for what they are, entertainment. Some of the PBA bowlers have all the excitement of a head of lettuce, but I still enjoy watching them bowl, and I love seeing the varying degrees of style.

Belmo and others are great for the game, because they have marketable personalities.

Trust me, I agree that he is great for the game of bowling and I wish he could bring more attention to the PBA. Not Belmonte's fault, but I do feel that the PBA is in a worse state than during his rookie season. If it was not, this whole thread would not exist.

As for the way bowlers react, I agree that it keeps it interesting to watch and I am entertained by watching it. It also means that there are some athletes/teams in sports I am a fan of and others I am not a fan of. It does not mean I won't watch when Belmonte is bowling or not enjoy shows when he makes the finals because I am a fan of the PBA. I am also a big hockey fan. Sydney Crosby is a very talented, popular player in the NHL who has brought a lot of attention to the NHL. Alexander Ovechkin has done the same. I like Ovechkin but do not like Crosby and I'm not a fan of either the Penguins or the Capitals.

Mark

That's what non bowlers think about bowling events in general. Doesn't matter who's bowling to them unless they're hotties wearing bikinis.