Xtra Frame gives me "extra" incentive to keep my subscription. Ok, that was a pretty cheesy opening, but at least no one can claim copyright infringement on that one.
Nonetheless, I am a happy Xtra Frame subscriber with the recent news that it will expand its coverage. (Thanks go out to my little brother for spotting me that $5.95 monthly fee for the last two seasons!) This year, Xtra Frame boasts more coverage of bowling, including in depth coverage of the new World Series of Bowling. If that weren’t enough, new bowling balls will be showcased (already available online) and more tips from our favorite pros. Plus the daily 39X60 recap. It’s a catchy phrase. At least they didn’t call it “The Daily Hambone.” (That might have caused a small riot, eh?)
And this year, it’s actually cheaper if you pay the yearly fee versus continuing your current subscription at $5.95 a month. More coverage, less expensive! (That’s almost as cheap as my XBOX Live subscription and I don’t have to listen to some 12-year old tell me how much I suck at videogames and life in general.)
Why am I a fan of Xtra Frame?
Well, besides the fact that this year I figured out how to plug my computer into my TV and not lose video quality, Xtra Frame is great for people like me who like to watch bowling without the fluff and puff of the weekly Sunday telecast. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Sunday telecast too, but there is something raw and unedited about Xtra Frame. Particularly the match play coverage. For the serious bowler, the content is unbeatable, commercial-free and extends well beyond the 1 ½ hours of coverage we get on Sunday. It is more of what we serious players might like to see on a Sunday telecast with very technical breakdowns of the lane, the balls, and the player.
For instance, during match play coverage, the weekly host and mid-stream producer, Jeff Mark provides commentary alongside any number of PBA Tour Professionals, PBA Tour Employees, PBA Sponsors, Equipment Reps and various other guests. I even think a passerby asked where the snack bar was once. The conversations cover such a wide range of topics in such great detail that I sometimes find the conversation more valuable than watching the bowling. They talk about the competitors, their scores, and their ball reaction, but they also cover topics like life on tour and some interesting and embarrassing stories from the past. Almost anything and everything is up for discussion and for the price you’d be hard pressed to find better bowling coverage. Jeff Mark does an incredible job keeping the conversation interesting for nearly four hours of weekly coverage and I don’t think he gets enough credit for it.
As a bonus, we get to see these players practice on fresh conditions, work the lanes, and play unbelievable angles. If you bowl a PBA Experience League, (which I do), it can only help to see where these players start out and how they adjust as the games tally on. Think about it, the Sunday TV pair has over 30 minutes of practice on it before the games start counting. Add the TV lights to it and you have a pattern that isn’t anything like what they have been bowling on all week. Think you can hang with the pros? Wait till they start lofting the gutter!
We get to see controversy right before our eyes. Anyone remember the, "Oops, we bowled on the wrong lane mishap in 2008?" When in the position round, someone bowled on the wrong lane. Then Sean Rash, who had bowled on the correct lane, gets a redo on his game, because of someone else’s mistake and shoots 250-plus in his redo game to make the show and bumps Machuga off the show who would have been on the show if not for the redo 250. ( Deep breath) And the whole time Jeff and his co-host are trying to figure out where they got their scores mixed up when all along, they had it right. Then the air of uncertainty as you wait to find out what will come of it. Then we end up with a five-man stepladder and Machuga runs the table for the championship on Sunday. Knowing that story and how it unfolded made that telecast very entertaining for me and I’m sure a little more rewarding for Machuga.
Aside from the weekly drama, we get to see oodles of bowling talent including the Professionals, the Hall of Famers, and the Amateurs. And occasionally, you get an awkward moment when Jeff Mark doesn’t realize who Chester Rogers is or that he was an exempt PBA player. I’ve always liked watching different styles and seeing new faces on the telecast on Sundays, but now I don’t have to wait for them to finish in the top four or five.
Plus, is there anyone on tour that crunches numbers better than Joe Ciccone? I’m happy that he got his exemption back and I hope he does well this season. My only request is that if he doesn’t make the weekly round of 16, he should be on Xtra Frame. No one has been better than Joe at updating the standings frame by frame.
And just for kicks and giggles, you can watch the Sunday telecast in case you miss it.
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