Sam Cooley on the tele

[GBS]

Congratulations Sam Cooley. Being on the Today Show at 6.35am to promote our sport as Australian Masters Champion was certainly well done.

Less than 15 seconds of fame for a life time of effort. As Sam bowled his first ball the ball barely reached the arrows before the ball did a huge left turn into the gutter.

The Channel 9 commentary laughed their heads off. They said the aspiring "World Champion" was warming up. Unphased Sam stepped right, the ball hooked and looked like it hit 2 pins on the left. To the amusement of Channel 9, laughing was all that could be heard - "for the aspiring World Champion."

Sam had driven from Wollongong at 3 am to do the broadcast.

It seems that not even the bowling centre could put a drop of oil on the lane to showcase our newest superstar and our sport.

This is just another example of the media taking the "mickey" out of our sport, when they clearly know nothing.

To the bowling centre in Sydney - "thanks for nothing."

Sam, congratulations. You were "Ice Cool" in an impossible situation.

Sam please do me a favour. Become World Champion and go to another television station. Well done mate.

GB

 

[jimcross]

What a terrible thing to happen! From your description it was certainly a dry lane. Rather than go into post mortems ( and retribution ) mode, which is tempting, I wonder if TBA and the Tenpin Bowling Show ( if they have Sam on any of their shows)?, could get onto the ToDay show and see if they can rescue the situation, with some facts and a proper bowling clip?

I suggest the Tenpin Bowling Show - having just looked at parts of the Masters filming - There really is, in my view, no comparison.

 

[Brenton_Davy]

What a terrible thing to happen! From your description it was certainly a dry lane. Rather than go into post mortems ( and retribution ) mode, which is tempting, I wonder if TBA and the Tenpin Bowling Show ( if they have Sam on any of their shows)?, could get onto the ToDay show and see if they can rescue the situation, with some facts and a proper bowling clip?

I suggest the Tenpin Bowling Show - having just looked at parts of the Masters filming - There really is, in my view, no comparison.

I've spoken to Tony Drexel nad he said that if any station were to approach the Tenpin Bowling Show for footage of any interview subjects, we would be only roo happy to assist.

 

[jimcross]

I've e-Mailed the today show, pointing out that it's impossible to bowl on an unprepared ( dry ) lane, and said it would be something like putting a rotary hoe thru a cricket pitch and then bringing Shane Warne on to bowl.
I said that I hoped they might consider another segment in their show in the next few days to explain, etc.

I was nice !! Not provocative.

Truly - I can be.

 

[Geoff300]

This is really Sad for Sam , not to mention Bowling itself
It would be interesting to find out who organised all this to take
place, surley they could have made sure things were set
up a bit more appropriately
I am told it was bowled at the Amusement Centre at Darling Harbour
With any luck Jim might get a response and he can do it again

 

[philby]

I also emailed the Today show. I expressed how totally inappropriate the whole thing turned out to be for Sam. A guy who has worked very hard for way to long to achieve what he has achieved. For him to conduct himself as he did is a credit. I would suggest everybody who reads this complains. Then and only then will something constructive come out of it

I addressed my email to Tom Malone executive producer of the Today show at [email protected]. Please ensure your emails are respectful and constructive and not abusive. Abusing people get you know where as he will just ignore you.

Cheers
Phil

 

[Michelle]

Who organised this???

It's got nothing to do with the today show - they don't know about oiling a lane, the complaints should be directed to the bowl n whoever organised it! Sack the head tech I say, I've never felt so sorry for someone - I think sam did a fantastic job with what little he had to deal with...

 

[emmtee83]

The centre and its manager are a disgrace. They knew about the television crews coming and did nothing to prepare the lanes.....If I was a television presenter (and by chance, I actually am....) and saw what the Today Show did, I would laugh too. We as a bowling fraternity are participating in our sport with constant laughter in our faces....its gone on for long enough.

We get our chance to put our sport up in lights and it gets shot down horrifically.....I can only hope the show gives us a second chance to showcase our sport....at a different centre.

 

[jimcross]

I also emailed the Today show. I expressed how totally inappropriate the whole thing turned out to be for Sam. A guy who has worked very hard for way to long to achieve what he has achieved. For him to conduct himself as he did is a credit. I would suggest everybody who reads this complains. Then and only then will something constructive come out of it

I addressed my email to Tom Malone executive producer of the Today show at [email protected]. Please ensure your emails are respectful and constructive and not abusive. Abusing people get you know where as he will just ignore you.

Cheers
Phil

I agree with this. Everyone who can should e-Mail the show, BUT, no hotheads,please. I know it really was the Centre's fault, but only the TV people can put it right.
They are audience driven, so let's make it known to them that a number of people are interested.
I know that other people who I have contacted are working behind the scenes - so - don't let it die. BUT, don't rub people up the wrong way. Following is the e-Mail I sent to the to-day show earlier to-day.........



Hi, have just been told about this mornings segment on TenPin bowling. The lane surface must have not been prepared for bowling ( maybe because of the early segment time )

It is NOT POSSIBLE to bowl on a dry lane surface!

It would be like running a rotary-hoe through a cricket pitch, then asking Shane Warne to demonstrate his skill.

I hope you may be able to do a follow-up segment about this ?

Jim Cross Ballina NSW

 

[Tiger]

If it's one of those Strike type centres then no wonder they didn't have any oil put down.
Probably weren't even aware that you need to put oil down so a ball can travel down the lane properly...

 

[Roysa]

Those places are essentially bars/nightclubs with a few lanes in them. The worst place for this to be filmed. I hope that something can be salvaged from this as same doesn't deserve such a bad result.

 

[jimcross]

If it's one of those Strike type centres then no wonder they didn't have any oil put down.
Probably weren't even aware that you need to put oil down so a ball can travel down the lane properly...

OMG I just googled 'Strike Bowling' to see what you were talking about.

Oh dear, prob nobody there knows that there is any such thing as competitive bowling.

 

[skippy]

Oh yes Jim the Strike Bowling Bars are definately not set up for any sought of competitive bowling...the one at Crown Casino in Melbourne didnt even have an oiling machine for something like the 1st six months as they had no idea that the lanes even needed to be oiled.
I also emailed the Today show this morning to express how unfortunate it was that the piece was filmed at a place and on conditions that have nothing to do with how the sport is played and that perhaps if they wanted to do something like that again then it could be organized in a real bowling centre which would allow the viewing public a chance to see a fair shot on a fair condition. In your email you used the Shane Warne analogy and i said in my email that it was like asking an archer to hit a bullseye from 60 feet with a hundred kilometre an hour cross wind and then laughing when he couldnt do it.
Hopefully with a few more emails they might at least see that it was pretty unfair and if anything further comes from that then surely it can only be positive.

Paul Trotter

 

[the mothership]

this is what I got told would be promised:

1. to have 1 or 2 lanes oiled
2. being interviewed by the show
3. $300 appearance fee

as some have seen there was no oil whatsoever on that lane, after being promised that they'd be set up (frankly, this didn't surprise me).
I was told by the weatherman doing the segment that they don't do interviews on the weather spots.

after throwing these pitiful shots i went to the manager there and said explained why the ball went where it was, her wise words of wisdom were 'they must have oil on the lane, the lane is shiny, and if it isn't oiled it would be as dull as the approaches'

in the end I was NOT going to embarass myself or our sport any further, so I packed up and left.

this is not the first time this has happened, I remember marc triulcio doing a spot also a while back, he had no oil either, and was told he couldn't use his own gear.

its places like these that kill the sport, and in my opinion whoever thought of the idea of these "centres" needs a kick where the sun doesn't shine!!

 

[Roysa]

Well said Sam. It's a deadset disgrace.

 

[jimcross]

Sam ( or anyone who was watching at the time), who was the weatherman, please?

Let me know ASAP, please.

 

[Jez]

Ok guys lets all take a step back and look at who is really responsible for what happened this morning...which I agree was not right and I feel extremely sorry for Sam.

The Today show would not have said..."Lets get ten pin bowling in our weather segments".....someone has approached them to get Sam on the show and organised the whole thing...whoever did this obviously did not ensure the necessary arrangements were made to ensure our Sport was presented in a the proper manner and poor Sam was left with what many of us saw.

I am just concerned that if all these emails are sent into the Today show it is only going to have negative impact and the show will just say.."well lets never put bowling back on here"...it is all too hard.

Whoever set this segment up for Sam needs to atleast issue him with an apology and hopefully the next time the opportunity like this comes forward it is held in a bowling centre which understands the fundamentals of our game.

 

[the mothership]

Sam ( or anyone who was watching at the time), who was the weatherman, please?

Let me know ASAP, please.

I didn't catch his name..but if you saw it then you'll know what he looks like...not that that'll help much

 

[Michelle]

Sam ( or anyone who was watching at the time), who was the weatherman, please?

Let me know ASAP, please.

Just querying what that matters??

 

[jimcross]

Just querying what that matters??

I might just have some influence there, depending who it is. Many times Michelle, it's not what you know, but who you know.


Jez. e-Mails ( polite ones) won't hurt our cause. Any show which desires an audience, and chases ratings, has a need to respond to it's audience when it can. The more interest shown in a segment, etc., etc.
We need to be polite, not timid.
Get those e-Mails in people, please.