hrm. i guess this doesn't affect me at all. i use Dexter shoes and Storm etc. equipment.

it is a shame though. i wonder if the same happens with smaller name manufacturers like 900 Global, Lane #1, Visionary, AZO Bowling, etc. because i never see them on TV or anything. and that only includes the ball manufacturers, i didn't cover accessory manufacturers.

I too, use Dexter shoes and Storm bowling balls, along with my Ebonite Skull ball for right-hand spares, it's just the choice of other apparel and accessories (all Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders gear, including the converted duffel bags which act as ball bags) that the PBA may have a problem with.

As for 900 Global and 3G, We have already seen 900 Global staffers Steve Jaros (World Championship) and Chris Loschetter (Pepsi Viper Championship) make shows with their new equipment and apparel, so who knows, but after looking at the Approved Equipment page on the PBA's website (here at http://www.pba.com/resources/equipmentSponsors.asp?Type=1 and it is quite small) and I didn't see Visionary or Azo in that list.

Visionary stopped paying the juice a few years ago. They are a smaller company and can't afford it. If they we still under the Hammer brand, they could though because the cost is a lot less for an offshoot than a main company.

I once heard from John DeWitt (who runs J.D.'s Pro Shop at my home house All Star Lanes in Silverdale, WA) that my U.S.-made 1999 Ebonite Skull Ball (my spare ball) and all other Ebonite Optyx balls would be illegal to use in the PBA.

Is this true? I thought that since Ebonite has always paid the juice for their players to use their gear and balls on Tour, that it wouldn't be a problem.... or is it?

I also heard the same thing about Brunswick's Viz-A-Balls, too.

That isn't because of sponsorship money. They are not USBC approved for competition. Here is the list.

http://www.bowl.com/downloads/pdf/approved_balllist.pdf

I saw the list and it lacks most of the older balls (pre-1995) like my first true arsenal, which includes my first ball, my Ebonite Thunderbolt, as well as the Thunderbolt M/D and my first true spare ball, the Gyro I Straight Shot. Walter Ray Williams Jr. used all three back in 1988-89 when he was an Ebonite staffer.

In fact those 3 balls as well as my Skull ball (as used for the 7-pin by Jason Couch in the 1999 Brunswick World Tournament Of Champions, and I do have the Master tape in which I recorded during the LIVE telecast on ESPN back then [not a replay on ESPN Classic either] as evidence) used to be ABC/WIBC approved for competition, I guess that file you sent me is missing some previously ABC/WIBC-approved gear from back in the day.

I think the approved/not approved balls for USBC started around the mid 90s and anything before that was actually grandfathered in. I might be wrong. I know the reason's why the PBA wants to be paid for the "advertising" but I think they also might have some balls the don't allow from the companies. I can see the reason behind not allowing the Vis-a-Balls since they normally have some sort of trademarked image on them that again can be free advertising.

As for the Linds issue, I heard about that few months ago on another site by a bowler that bowls some regionals in his area and was asking about the Master's since it is a USBC event. He wanted some clarification. I know you can't even use the Dyno-Thane shoes since they are no longer a company therefore not paying the fees.

The Skull ball circa 1999 is on the USBC approved list. And incidentally, the 1999 skull IS PBA approved for all PBA events.

Whoever said the 1999 skull ball was not cleared for use in PBA events is incorrect.

Vis-a-balls are allowed as long as they don't have a Corporate logo on them, for example, Pepsi or Sponge Bob, etc... except the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy vis-a-balls which are legal for PBA use.

Don't know what others think, but if this is a way for the PBA to make more money, it clearly says something is wrong. This is professional racketeering.

But, then I think of TV and movies where brand names pay a lot to get their product on the screen. I believe I read somewhere that Budweiser paid a ton of money to put their beer in one of those bowling movies. Maybe Lebovski.