a two-handed bowling star?!

From Adam Thompson on the front page of the WSJ...



A young Australian is almost single-handedly spurring a new age in bowling: He throws the ball with two hands.

With an easygoing charm to match his spiky brown hair and rock-star sunglasses, 25-year-old Jason Belmonte, bowling in a tournament here this week, could well reach new audiences for a sport many younger Americans associate with "The Big Lebowski" and beer bellies.

Jason Belmonte is the best-known practitioner of an unusual bowling style that's starting to gain converts among other pros.

He has quite a novel delivery. Rather than use one hand, he shovels it forward with both from the right side of his body as he slides to a stop at the lane's foul line. Mr. Belmonte plugs two fingers, but not the thumb, of his right hand into the ball's holes and uses his left hand to create extra spin.

The ball can top 600 revolutions per minute, up to 17% more rotation than the nearest elite one-armed competitor and twice what some other top pros generate. Ideally, the approach sends the ball flirting with the right edge of the lane before hooking sharply into the center and creating an explosion of pins. "When he hits the pocket, it's curtains," says John Jowdy, a coach since 1948. "The ball is very destructive."

Mr. Belmonte is the best-known practitioner of a style that's actually gaining converts....

Some see parallels in the unorthodox two-handed approach to track-and-field's Fosbury Flop -- named after the Olympic gold medalist whose backward leap permanently changed high jumping. But Mr. Belmonte has faced doubters on many sides. Some bowlers scoff at what they see as the PBA's favoritism toward him. Some think his little-studied form could injure young bowlers as they get older. And Mr. Belmonte has crossed paths with some old-timers who simply don't like the new style....

Bowling could use a young star. The PBA was on network TV during its heyday in the 1970s. But it barely avoided bankruptcy less than a decade ago and must now settle for a revenue-sharing deal on ESPN, which means the cable-sports giant doesn't pay for the rights to air PBA events....