THERE ARE some who say it's going to be chaos when Y2K arrives, yet the Y2K is nowhere in sight, although the Chaos has arrived anyway. The Chaos, of course, is Columbia's new ball, as is the Messenger, both of which will be featured this month. Others: AMF's Night Hawk M2 and Brunswick's Mike Aulby MVP and the Deep Violet Zone Pro. The Millenium Y2K is running late, so all we have is some tech stuff.

AMF: Night Hawk M2
The Night Hawk M2 from AMF utilizes the same shape core as the original Night Hawk, with changes in the core densities to deliver more length and hook. The core still retains the Power Ring (marked by the AMF triangle Power Ring Indicator) to deliver the power of a mass bias core without giving up the control of a symmetrical core. Translation: this ball delivers plenty of hook and hit, but reads the oil and plays very well. AMF provides box drill instructions for condition drillings.

This powerful/smooth core is wrapped in a new reactive cover - M2 Super-Flex Mica pearl. This charcoal pearl cover is factory polished and uses yellow logos and pin. The cover sands and polishes easily; in fact, our 15-pound comps came with a matte finish, but polished quite easily as needed.

For the right side of the lane, we used a label-leverage pin with the PRI (Power Ring Indicator) in a position for a strong backend. The 600-matte finish played a fresh strip very well, with playable length and a smooth hook to the pocket. The track area dried up after three games, so we applied a medium polish and went to a fresh pair. The polish gave us about six feet of additional length and a sharper backend. We went back to the used pair and banked the ball in the track area with good length and a strong hook.

The left side drill received a high RG (radius of gyration) and forward-roll drill with the balance hole on the PAP (positive axis point). The matte finish played well inside with excellent recovery, but was too much surface for lighter oil on the outside line. A gloss polish allowed this one to go very long and still hook sharply with pin-blasting hit. The polished cover on either ball even allowed the big rev players to go inside and get the ball back to the pocket with just a trace of backends.

The dull finish on both sides of the pass-around was a little too much for the big hitters, but great for the strokers and wannabees. Polish opened up the lanes for the big boys, and let us rev-challenged folks stay in the track area when the pups were moving area codes. Carrydown was not a problem for this one; just stay in your physical game and line up, and the ball will deliver. The NightHawk is a strong ball, and the new M2 cover delivers even more performance over a broader range of conditions. The M2 is very clean up front, hooks strong and smooth with excellent drive through the deck. The only drawback to this one may be low speed on burnt conditions; while the M2 is smooth, it still brings a lot of power to the table.

Brunswick: Mike Aulby MVP
Pssst! Hey, wanna buy a new Danger Zone cheap? Surprise! Brunswick's got one for you. The discontinuance of the Black Danger Zone left a lot of Zone-heads upset. The ball was one of the longest and best-selling reactive balls ever. Well, sports fans, it's back just as strong as ever. The Aulby MVP is the Danger Zone re-incarnated. Same core, cover and kick-butt skid/flip.

We received four of these blue beauties to play with, and it was fun. We applied label leverage and high RG drills for both sides of the lane and passed them around. Our first set was like stepping back in time to the "new" Danger Zone. This ball is great on a house shot with box polish. The MVP delivers great length, a sharp snap and the pocket-blasting hit that made the Danger Zone the benchmark ball for a long time. The cover does sand/polish easily for conditions. On later shifts as the heads dried up, the 5-inch pin-high Rg delivered more playable length, but the old Zone trademark was still evident. The MVP cover still needs some head oil to get to the break point; if the head oil is too light, even Ricky Rocket has early/massive hook. This ball is great on fresh heads and backends, and plays very well when the lanes go into transition, but bag it when the heads toast out. Even a flatter release rolls and hooks too early. Eleven players used it in the pass-around, and every one of them called it a great skid/flip ball.

While the core and cover might appear weak by today's standards, the Aulby MVP is a ball that will see a lot of service by a bunch of bowlers. If you miss your old Danger Zone (you finally wore it out or could not afford the price), Brunswick has a bargain for you. The Mike Aulby MVP will sell in the same neighborhood as the Johnny Petraglia LY 48 Gold: about $140. You've got to know when to hold it and when to bag it.

Brunswick: Deep Violet Zone Pro
This latest addition to the Zone Pro line features MTX Pro Active urethane. The MTX4 Pro Active cover is formulated to provide more of a skid/snap arcing backend than prior Zone Pros. This cover sports a higher polish than other Zone Pro balls, and can be sanded/scuffed as needed. Warning! If you sand the Mid Traction Effect Pro Active cover, be prepared to spend some time on the ball if you go back to polish. As we have stated before, the Pro Active takes a lot of work to polish, and does not produce a reactive-type gloss.

The core in the Deep Violet looks like a Speed Zone-type core on steroids. This compound core is medium/high RG (thus more length) with a medium Differential. The numbers look like it has less reaction potential than other Zone Pro, but the core and cover combine well to give the ball more length and a quicker hook. Overall hook is within a couple of boards of the Blue and Teal Zone Pros, but the Deep Violet gives it up farther down the lane. Brunswick has seven popular layouts, or go with your favorite two-piece drill for roll and reaction potential.

The left-hand test ball got a 4x4 (pin and CG) layout, and has become a very popular ball for the southpaw users. Our label-leverage right-hand ball requires some care and forethought on heavy oil. On any condition resembling head oil and back ends, the Deep Violet is very clean up-front and quick but smooth on the backend. The ball delivers the explosive hit we expect from a Zone Pro. With several dozen games on these balls, they play the lane well any time of the day with one exception. We tried them on a very tight condition with tight backends following a fun "spray the ball" league. We had three players using the Deep Violets on the pair, and it was tough to get the ball to turn the corner (at least on the right side). The shot was more like a heavy tight tournament condition rather than a normal house shot. Our cranker, tweener and stroker had more than playable length but minimal backend. The cranker changed brands, the tweener used a burgundy pad, and we went to a scuffed Jade Quantum to play the lane. A caveat on the Deep Violet may be to look for head oil and backends, scuff the ball, or go to an ETX Pro Active cover to get desired reaction. This type of oil pattern is unusual, but the ball showed a slight lack of muscle on tight (and how!) lanes. Another night when the heads fried and Blue/Teal Pros and High performance reactives were too early and too much, the Deep Violet still delivered playable length with strong recovery and hit.

Columbia: Chaos
This Carbide Black (with white and red logos) ball is Columbia's first venture into the world of non-traditional urethane. Let's go to the core (motor) first and then touch on the cover (tires). At the heart of the Chaos is the solid-performing core system borrowed from the TiBoss II. This medium/low RG core with medium differential uses a double cylinder Titanium Ceramic inner core and a flip block. This motor will deliver on the average 4-to-6 inches of flare (more for a heavy hand; less for a weaker release). The core is versatile for layouts and drills.

The big news on the Chaos is the tires. Oops, we mean cover material. Word has it that other non-reactive urethane covers are using ceramic beads or flake particles; Columbia has opted to use bubble shapes, which the company says lets them better design control or aggressiveness into the cover. While the cover doesn't have the "fuzzy" feel of other materials, it leaves nothing on the table from a performance standpoint. The TEC (Texture Energy Control) cover is 600-matte finish out of the box and is formulated to hook in oil and retain energy for a strong back-end reaction. The TEC particles are suspended in a base of Super-Flex resin, so the cover tunes easier than some other "new" covers and still delivers outstanding performance. The Chaos has the potential to out-hook all other Columbia balls by four boards or more in CATS testing.

We drilled a ball for the left and right side of the lane. Since the left side is easier (and most of the lefties we use have a strong release), we used a 41Ú2-inch pin from PAP drill for this one. The right-side ball had a label leverage with no balance hole. These balls were very surprising. Box finish on a fresh oil pattern was very playable. Both balls delivered great length with a strong arcing hook from any line, except outside the top hat. The dull finish still needs some oil to get the break point past the splice. The left-side ball received a light polish, which increased the length by 7-to-8 inches, and sharpened up the backend. We tried a polish on the other ball and the ball did skid farther and hook sharper, but since our leagues are early shifts, we went back to a gray pad matte, courtesy of the Haus machine.

Our first league set was a very oily condition for which this surface was great. We were able to move seven boards left from where any resin ball let us play, and the Chaos delivered a very strong hook and hit. We got into trouble in the last half of the third game, when the pups progressively fried the heads from inside the fourth arrow to the ditch; it was fun while we were in there on our own. Boy, if we could just grow a hand and run with these pups! We kept an eyeball on the left-hander a couple of lanes over and liked what we saw. Granted, Dave does get a few more revs than we can muster, but that light polish really delivered for the night.

The Chaos was long and smooth for the set, with small moves over three games. We had long and smooth reaction as long as the lanes were tight, but when the head oil began vanishing, we had early and smooth. With the right oil or polish, the Chaos looked like resin in the heads (very clean), urethane at the break point (big arcing type hook), and pin-blasting resin hit at the deck. Columbia might have raised the ante on the new cover materials with the TEC additive - very aggressive and easily tunable.

Columbia: Messenger
Word came down on this one the day before our deadline, so we can only provide the tech skinny this time around. We start with the cover on this Electric (read: bright) Green two-piece ball, which is Super-Flex reactive from BASF. The cover will have a 600-grit sheen finish to allow the bowler and pro shop professional to tune the surface to the condition. This ball should turn the corner pretty well when it leaves the oil, as Super-Flex is a darn good-hooking reactive cover.

Hey, Cuda-heads, you're gonna love the motor! The core in this one is the Cuda/C core, inverted and minus the Ceramic inner core in 12- to 16-pound weights. This medium/low RG core will offer medium/low RG Differential with an average of 4-to-6 inches of flare potential. The numbers don't look that big, but testing has shown the Messenger to open up the lane 9-10 more boards than a Super Beast Titanium with a sharper hook. The 10- and 11-pound balls will be traditional three-piece construction. When we shake them down, we'll let you know what message this economy ball ($140 range) sends to the pins.

Millennium: Millennium Y2K
The first release from Millennium, the Y2K, will be a limited edition ball, with 2,000 produced. The Utopian Green solid sheen finish will use Millennium's new Inter-Active urethane resin cover stock. This material is designed to offer great striking potential and power that the control bowlers need for today's lane conditions. The sheen finish will be easily tunable to allow the pro shop professional to dial in the surface to match bowler style to conditions.

At the heart of the Y2K (in 14- to 16-pound models) is Millennium's three-part SmartCore compound. Easy box drills will be packaged with the ball, or your pro shop professional might apply the desired two-piece drill for roll and reaction. This medium/high RG core with Medium/High Differential should offer pretty good drilling versatility. The 12- and 13-pound Y2K will be traditional three-piece construction, and should be drilled as such. Each of the Y2K balls is touted as the official ball of the new millennium; each will have a certificate of authenticity designating that ball as one of only 2,000 built. The Y2K Regular Edition will follow with a projected release in April. We will keep you informed on the "regular" ball and report back next month on the performance of the limited-edition Y2K.

Playing the Field
There has been a torrent of super covers and monster cores of late, adding to the confusion of what to buy. Our advice is to read and digest all the information you can. There are ball reviews done by various writers for different publications to read, manufacturer's specs and tech (not advertising hype) to peruse, and knowledgeable pro shop professionals to consult. Note we said knowledgeable - just because someone has a drill press of unknown origin in his basement or garage, or has a semi-legit "pro" shop, does not mean he or she has the skill or knowledge to help you select a piece of equipment, lay it out and fit it properly to your hand. If it was just a matter of putting holes in a ball, any joker with a Mikita could do it. Your hard-earned dollars deserve the best you can get. If the shop professional in your area can get new balls to evaluate, or drills the new stuff to check them out, or if higher-skill bowlers in your center use a ball you are considering, talk to them for their input and feedback. Better yet, look for the IBPSIA member (or, even better, one of the 64 IBPSIA-certified professionals) in your area - these folks care about you and their business.

We would like to address the subject of numerous calls, questions, e-mails and letters regarding a standard of rating/evaluating balls. Folks, we don't want to break your heart, but that standard is like Shangri La: it doesn't exist! We talk to others who test balls and we talk to the manufacturers. For obvious reasons, manufacturers do not talk to manufacturers - they do not want to spill the beans about what's cookin'. The writers for BJI and other publications report on what they see in their centers in regard to ball performance. We who review the equipment are human and watch other humans use the balls on different oil patterns, different finishes and oils, and in different regions of the country (yes, different temps and humidities in differing regions affect patterns and what we see). The American Bowling Congress does have basic standards for core dynamics and surfaces, which are regulated and controlled. But until an independently wealthy individual or group wants to fund an independent site with a Throbot-type machine and a SuperCats system, we will continue to do our best to report how we see equipment perform. It should come as no surprise that manufacturers are going to use their advertising dollars to shed the best light on their releases, and make their ball seem like the best of the best. The numbers that manufacturers use for length, hook, backend, etc. are normally comparative in their line, and abstract at best when you attempt to compare numbers between manufacturers.

* We would like to say thanks to all of the manufacturers who give their support to the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association. Our organization offers the best training and education programs available. Look for the IBPSIA member decal where you shop for bowling equipment, and feel confident that you are dealing with a shop professional who cares about keeping abreast of ever-changing technology.