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​When I made a recent trip to AMF Riviera Lanes—one of bowling’s most iconic venues—it provided more than just the opportunity to honor a legend.

 

I drove to Akron, Ohio to present Hall of Fame Coach Fred Borden with the prestigious Sam Levine Flowers for the Living Award in his hometown. But the trip also offered a timely chance to take a closer look at two evolving storylines within the PBA Tour.

 

How has the new broadcast team on The CW developed after 10 weeks on the air? And how did one of the sport’s all-time greats, Jason Belmonte, spend his time away from the Tour before returning to compete in the PBA Tournament of Champions?

 

Even while Belmonte stepped away from competition, the show—and the storytelling—carried on.

 

On the PBA Tour telecasts airing on The CW, that responsibility has fallen in part to a relatively new pairing in the booth: play-by-play announcer Rick Allen and PBA color analyst Kyle Sherman.

 

For Allen, a veteran broadcaster stepping into bowling for the first time, the learning curve has been real—but so has the appreciation.

 

“I've learned a lot, but there's still a lot to learn,” Allen said. “I try to immerse myself in the sport. I try to get to know all the bowlers outside of bowling and just learn as much as I can.”

 

That immersion has extended beyond names and storylines to the finer details of the sport itself.

 

“The one thing was the lingo—you’ve got to say the right thing or people will catch you,” he said with a smile. “Bowlers are very particular, and they’ll let you know it right away on social media. Thankfully, I don’t look at social media.”

 

What has stood out most, however, is the precision and athleticism required at the highest level on the lanes.

 

“I always respected the talent level, but it’s grown even more,” Allen said. “What they’re able to do, what they’re able to see and understand, and the decisions they make from one shot to the next—it’s incredible. To hit a spot 40 feet down the lane within a half-inch, and adjust ball speed, rev rate—it’s fascinating. These guys are very impressive.”

 

Allen has made it a point to arrive at tournament sites early, watching qualifying and match play unfold, joining the BowlTV booth commentators and seeing how they call the shots—seeking the context that helps shape the four-game television window.

“I like to see who handles the pressure, how players move up,” Allen said. “Those are the things that help tell the story.”

 

Beside him, Sherman is going through a transition of his own—one that has taken him from PBA competitor/podcaster to commentator in real time.

 

Being behind the mic and calling the live telecast is a far cry from hosting the Brad & Kyle podcast with Brad Miller.

 

“We get to hit the edit button on our podcast, but this—whatever you say goes out into the world,” Sherman said. “It’s been fun, though. Working with the PBA team, trying to do my part to make the shows as good as possible.”

 

The partnership between Allen and Sherman has evolved steadily over the first 10 weeks of the season.

 

“Rick had never called bowling, and I’ve never called anything,” Sherman said. “So we were kind of going through this together. I can share bowling insight, and he can share broadcasting tips. I think you can see the progression from Week 1 to Week 10.”

 

Sherman, who was initially slated only for The CW broadcasts, has also found himself on a bigger stage than expected.

 

“It was a surprise,” he said of additional opportunities in the broadcast booth for the CBS Sports telecasts. “But of course, I was going to say yes. It still doesn’t totally make sense.”

 

In preparing for the role, Sherman leaned on one of the voices most closely associated with televised bowling for the past 25 years: Randy Pedersen.

 

“Coming into this, I studied a lot of Randy’s stuff, and I reached out to him beforehand,” Sherman said. “He gave me nothing but love and respect, and some great tips on how to approach it.

 

“I’m just super thankful to be in this spot. It’s not something I expected to be doing. I'm super fortunate to be able to do it, and I'm trying to do the best job I can. And we’ll see where it goes from here.”

 

While the voices in the booth were finding their rhythm, Belmonte took two weeks off from the grueling 10-week PBA segment after just a mediocre start to the season. The 32-time champion had a pair of top-10 finishes in the first seven events, finishing eighth in the U.S. Open and ninth in the Pete Weber Missouri Classic.

 

So, he took two weeks off prior to the PBA Tournament of Champions and made the trip home to Australia for some family time.

 

“I went home and just basically went straight into father and husband role,” Belmonte said. “I was able to celebrate with my eldest son, Hugo, on his birthday, so that was great. My kids were having school holidays, so we were together a lot, doing things as a family – or my kids were off with their friends.”

 

For one of the sport’s most driven competitors, the break came with a deliberate disconnect.

 

“I did not think about the PBA Tour for a second,” he said. “I watched the highlights because of the time zones, but I didn’t follow the week-to-week competition.”

 

Still, stepping away wasn’t without its challenges.

 

“The hardest part of not being out there for two weeks was that I love my job,” Belmonte said. “But I also recognize there’s a work-life balance. When I go home, I’m so excited to be there, but I miss competing. And when I’m competing, I’m excited to be out here—but I miss home.”

 

That internal tug-of-war has only intensified at this stage of his career.

 

“I feel like I’m at that point now where it’s really difficult, because I miss both of them a lot," he said.

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Despite the time away, Belmonte made it clear that any future decisions about his schedule – even on the PBA50 Tour and beyond – won’t be driven by any physical limitations because of his two-handed bowling style.

 

“Physically, my whole career, I’ve been very fortunate to have no major injuries,” he said. “The decision for me to not be out here will be purely based on my commitment to home.”

 

And when it comes to competition, the fire still burns.

 

“Internally, when I lace the shoes up—and this is not an exaggeration—for every tournament I bowl, there are butterflies,” he said. “There’s excitement, even now.”

 

That feeling may ultimately determine how long one of the game’s all-time greats continues to compete.

 

“I feel like the day I put my shoes on and I just couldn’t care about it anymore, that would be a very telling sign that it’s time to go home,” Belmonte said. “But I still feel it. That’s why there’s that conflict—I don’t know where to go. I love both places.”

 

The two-week break seems to have worked wonders for the bowler from Down Under. He finished fourth in the PBA Tournament of Champions and was the top qualifier in the PBA Chameleon Championship in the PBA World Series of Bowling event.

 

As the PBA Tour continues to evolve—with new voices in the booth and familiar greatness on the lanes—the game remains in good hands.

 

Whether it’s Rick Allen and Kyle Sherman finding their rhythm behind the microphone, or Jason Belmonte wrestling with the balance between home and competition, one thing is clear:

 

The passion for bowling—on the lanes and on the air—hasn’t gone anywhere.

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