IF YOU thought we covered a bunch last month, wait until you see how the May releases have ballooned this June article. We have six new releases to report.

Regrettably, we jumped the gun on the C/Beast Reactive SE last month: this ball will not be released as a Columbia ball. The production run was purchased for a private release. If interested, contact Columbia for info on where to buy the ball. Now, on with the show.

Brunswick: Danger Zone Red Alert Night Flash - This Zone uses a pearl version of the PowerKoil 18 cover around a modified Danger Zone core. The cover gets a bit more length than the Red Alert; the core offers mucho energy for that Zone hook and hit. While pearlized and polished from the factory, PowerKoil 18 tunes easily for condition and bowler needs.

The 10- and 11-pound Night Flashes have a one-part spherical core, while the 12- to 16-pound models use a three-part compound core. Drill 10- and 11-pounders as three-piece balls, and use one of the seven box layouts or apply any applicable two-piece drill to 12- to 16-pound weights. The 12- to 16-pound pound balls will offer pin-in and up to 4-plus inches pin-out. Core specs (Rg and differential Rg) are those of the Red Alert, and Brunswick has tagged similar length, hook and back end ratings to the ball. Performance next month.

Brunswick: Johnny Petraglia LT-48 Gold Pearl - The LT-48 Gold has created happy bowlers at our shops with excellent performance without wiping out their bank accounts. The drawback has been insufficient length on drier lanes. The answer has arrived. The new LT-48 Gold Pearl retains the strong inner works of the original 48 Gold and the aggressive cover, now pearlized to offer that extra length for lighter oil patterns.

The 12- to 16-pound versions still use a two-part compound core and pin constructions (in and up to 4-plus inches out) and allow for any two-piece drilling. The pearl cover can be tweaked, but why mess with a good thing? Core specs and Brunswick performance ratings are similar to the solid LT-48 Gold.

The PowerKoil 18 cover and the Rhino Pro LE core will combine to give a heavy-rolling, heavy-arcing reaction with a big overall hook potential.

Brunswick: Power Blitz Purple - Here we have proven Brunswick performance characteristics in a new ball which is a blend of technologies. The Power Blitz is an even-arcing ball that is designed to be used on medium to lighter oil patterns.

The 16-pound ball has a one-part core, 15-pounders use a two-part multi-density core, and 12- to 14-pound balls have a two-part compound core. Pin-in and pin-out construction allow any two-piece drill to be applied to the Power Blitz, or you can use one of the seven popular layouts provided by Brunswick. This ball has been designed to cover many bowling styles, offer strong performance and not put a big dent in your budget.

Brunswick: Power Blitz Pearl Sapphire - The Pearl Sapphire Power Blitz has again blended technologies to offer skid/flip performance on medium to lighter oil at an affordable price. PowerKoil 18 coverstock is wrapped around a core that strongly resembles a Rhino Pro LE/Gold Rhino Pro core. This medium/high Rg core has a slightly higher Rg differential from the Purple Power Blitz to offer a quicker move on the backend. The Pearl Sapphire cover allows the ball to travel "cleaner" through the heads. This ball's been designed to deliver skid/flip on medium to light oil with a variety of bowling styles.

The 12- to 15-pound models will utilize a two-part compound core, with the 16-pound weight using a single-density one-part core. Pin-in and pin-out construction will allow a multitude of drillings to cover any two-piece drill for roll and reaction.

Brunswick: Blitz Emerald Reactive and Black Urethane -New entry-level three-piece Blitz balls in reactive cover and urethane. Three-piece drills will apply, and the covers are tunable for bowler/condition needs in 10- to 16-pound pound weights.

Columbia: Renegade Titanium - The new Renegade features Super-Flex Resin II Jade Green polished pearl cover with white logos and pin. This cover tunes easily and will be used on all weights (10-16 pounds).

At the heart of the 14- to 16-pound Renegades is a compound core with Columbia's dense titanium ceramic nugget in the center. The outer core looks like a lightbulb with a stem on both ends, like the Birds Eye core from the old Warhawk. This medium-low Rg core offers medium Rg differential for up to 5 inches of flare and an aggressive, arcing backend. Pin-in and pin-out constructions will allow for any two-piece drills in 14- to 16-pound Renegades, or use the applicable box drill provided by Columbia. The 10- to 13-pound Renegade balls will be three-piece construction and should be treated as such.

Thanks to Dale for a 3 inch pin-out test Renegade. The 15-pound comp was treated to a wet/dry drill from the drill sheet. This ball arrived too late for extensive testing, so it was treated to four league sets on a house shot. This ball is designed to rev up quick, stay in the heads cleanly, give a heavy arc-type hook and hit hard; it delivered as promised. The Renegade plays very well outside in the drier area (just stay firm) or holds when bumped up against the oil "wall." The heavy hitters were happy with this one deep inside with a small loop. As the heads started to break down late at night, this core/cover combo still held a line through the heads and delivered a consistent arc hook with pin-punishing hit. The Renegade showed no tendencies to hook up early, over-hook or run out of gas as the night wore on.

The Renegade will cost about $175 and delivers excellent control and performance for the "bumper-bowling adults" condition found in many centers.

Dyno-Thane: DT Pro Rx - This Sky Blue Rx, a Wayne Webb signature ball, has yellow logos and pin. Pin-in and up to 4-plus inches pin out are available in 14- to 16-pound weights. Any two-piece drill can be applied to the heavyweights, or use one of the Dyno-Thane drills developed by Webb for tuning.

The Rx uses a new flow-in core system in a multi-density core in which shell material is integrated into and becomes part of the core. This new core system is multi-faceted; the shell becomes part of the core to help control Rg and flare, results in a more solid-hitting two-piece core, and strengthens the core/shell relationship. The modified Bell Curve Dyno-Thane core uses a large flip block on top, resulting in a medium/low Rg with a medium Rg differential and up to 6 inches of flare. These numbers can be deceiving, as the SH3 cover is aggressive and the ball hooks a ton. The new SH3 reactive cover is the most aggressive cover ever used on a DT ball. The box finish on the Rx is a satin gloss (400-sand with a 600-grit dry buff-polish). This finish polishes easily to move the breakpoint down the lane, and sands easily to induce an earlier roll.

Thanks to Ron for a 2 1/2-inch pin-out comp to shake down. The 15-pound Rx was label-drilled (pin outside ring finger and Cg just right of grip center), and we can't imagine the use of a "strong" drill on one of these balls. This late arrival was used on a heavy head oil/tight back-end condition and two fresh strip house conditions. Boy, does it move! These old bones played a tight line and stroke shot on the tight condition. The oil gave the ball length, and the ball created its own backend with tremendous hit. On the house shot, we could get out in the dry, throw a 0-degree tilt, and the ball would walk right to the hole and blast 10 in the pit. With our normal 90-degree tilt, we could get more inside the oil line and turn the thing loose. Release and oil got us the head length, and the Rx delivered the hook and hit we expected. The lanes and the ball combined to give the cranker pups the world on the house shot. With alignment for release power, the Rx will deliver playable length out of the box and gives great recovery with excellent hit and carry. This $230 DT Pro Rx is DT Enterprises' strongest ball yet.

Ebonite: Timber Wolf Pearl - This green Pearl version of the Timber Wolf is on the way, but at press time, very light tech skinny was all we had. The 12- to 16-pound weights will use a pearl version of the MegaBite Super Tack reactive cover with a modified Timer Wolf core. The cover/core combo on this one should make it easier to get a handle on house conditions.

Ebonite: Performance Big Cats - We got three test Cats, and all three were label-drilled and initially used on a heavily oiled heads, non-stripped back-end condition (moderate carrydown for tight backends). On this condition, the Puma delivered the earliest roll, with a good mid-lane roll and a nice arc to the pocket with great roll through the pines. (Our Puma test ball came with a 600-grit sand, not polished per the Ebonite ball matrix.) The Cougar was a bit more aggressive on the backend, which allowed us to slide a couple of boards left. The new Jaguar was easily the most aggressive of the new Cats. This one has a considerably bigger Rg differential than the other Cats, and has a more pronounced change in direction. On this tight condition, we could open up the lane about five boards with a sharper entry and better mix. We had to be careful of ball speed, as even these old bones could squirt the ball past the breakpoint with the 800-grit (almost looks like a light polish) surface.

We next applied a 600-grit polish to the Cats and ran a set on a fresh house condition. The Puma and Cougar increased the arc three to four boards each, with both balls playable across the lane with feet alignment. We didn't increase the polish, as both balls played well in the dry without needing a lot of muscle. As long as we didn't get our feet too deep, these Cats held the wall and recovered well in the oil (credit the cover and the backend). The Jaguar opened up the lane about six more boards than the other Cats, and the core really showed more energy and hit at the pin deck. The old Cats were milder by comparison; the cover has given the Big Cats more bite.

Ebonite: New Wave Line - The old Wave was one of the smoothest and most predictable mid-priced performance balls released last year. Unfortunately, most league bowlers want hook, controllable or not. Put Ebonite's MegaBite Super Tack and ST II cover on the Wave line, and performance climbs. The Tidal Wave Wipeout didn't have the 800-grit sand per the sheet, but was gloss-polished. On the heavy oil, it was pure skid; a 600 sanding changed that problem. With the sanding, the Wipeout revved up quickly and the Bomb core let this one turn the corner with authority. The Tidal Wave gave us about six more feet of length and about two boards less backend. The factory-polished Shock Wave was playable only off the corner and in a direct line. On a fresh house shot, a dulled-up Tidal Wave and Wipeout rolled way too early and had a weak hit.

The box polish on the Shock Wave gave excellent length and the Super Tack cover gave a big boom on the backends. We applied a gloss-polish to the Tidal Wave and Wipeout for this house shot. As expected, the result was a big increase in length and a sharper hook. On a normal house shot, the Wipeout covered the most boards overall, the Shock Wave was about two boards less overall but quicker and sharper, and the Tidal Wave brought up the rear with about another two to three boards less but still a strong flip. The new covers and core (Wipeout) have added a new Wave of reaction to the Wave line from Ebonite.

Ebonite: 8 Ball - A novelty ball with great performance. This neat-looking ball uses the WereWolf core (low Rg, medium-high Rg Differential) and MegaBite Super Tack II reactive cover. This gloss-polished black ball looks just like a big 8-ball right off a giant pool table. The 12- to 16-pound 8 Ball can be drilled using Ebonite's WereWolf suggested drills. Pin-in and pin-out constructions are available, but as we saw on the test balls, the black pin blends in. We hope production changes, but with what we've seen on the test balls and early production, the white circle for the 8 is negative and bottom on the ball.

Thanks to Brian for the Cats, Waves and 8 Balls. We drilled all the test balls with a 1:30 pin. The gloss polish was weak on the heavy pattern, and we did not want to sand this unique ball. The polish produced too much skid and too little backend, but the cover readily accepts sanding or polishing. On the fresh shot, the 8 Ball is a boomer. While the ball spins up easily off the hand, the polish delivers great length. When the core differential takes over and the cover sniffs something resembling dry boards, this ball jumps back. We swapped thumb and finger inserts and passed the 8 Balls around. All users were surprised that a "fun" ball could deliver outstanding performance. Weaker-handed players got needed length from the polish and a strong flip from the core and cover. The heavy hitters just threw it across the lane and let it snap back to the pocket. This polished ball delivered pin-smackin' hit for all users on any condition that resembled a wet/dry (house) shot. With a retail in the $150 range, the 8 Ball is a bang for the buck.

Track: Triton Elite Pearl - Here's an Elite that will clear the heads like a Triton Heat and scream back like the Elite. The 12- to 16-pound Elite Pearl will use the same core/cover as the solid Elite, with a pearl polished cover out of the box. The same pin distances will be available in the pearl, and ditto to the before drills.

A tip of the Bowler's Shop fedora to Phil and Steve for a 15 pound Elite Pearl to use. The Elite sails the heads very well and flat turns over on the big end. In a ball-by-ball comparison, the Pearl gave us 8-10 feet increased length and a couple of boards' sharper hook with any hint of hook area. Understandably, our box-finish solid Elite had more backend on the tight condition. On the wet/dry, the Pearl matched our Heat in length and turned the corner a little more quickly and a couple of boards more than the Solid Elite. We have several "Track-Heads" who used this one on the pass-around, and were surprised with the ease with which the Pearl clears a house shot/late shift heads and flies on the back end. This $230-range ball is a welcome line addition from the folks at Track.