I used to bowl in leagues and for my high school. High school bowling is actually competitive around here and there were some players from my school (right before I went there) and other schools who got Division I athletic scholarships for bowling. My average senior year (almost 3 years ago) was 190, and that was the 3rd highest on our team (5 people start each game). After high school I pretty much stopped bowling because I was bored with it after doing it since I was very little, and I just couldn't make it as serious as other people did. When I go to bowl know just with friends I can still shoot my average consistently, which I guess shows that practice doesn't really mean that much. I miss a few more spares but I'm basically the same. When your friends know you used to bowl competitively, its really a lose-lose situation to play against them. If you win it's "Well, you're a real bowler so of course you should win" and if you don't then it's "Yay, I beat Mr. pro bowler" or some other crap.
I do consider bowling a sport in the same way that golf is, that its more of a mental game. Anyone can chuck a ball down the lane, but you need to read and react to oil patterns and carefully place your shots consistently, stuff like that. Just like reading a green or whatever in golf. Most of the best bowlers and golfers are terrible physical athletes, but that doesn't mean it can't be a sport.
The ball I used/use is a Triton Elite, made by Brunswick I think. It was an old ball then, so its ancient by today's standards I'm sure but I think its considered one of the best balls of its time. I have no idea what the current technology of bowling balls is like, but I know most competitive bowlers are obsessed with having the latest ball even if it means dropping $200 every couple weeks to get the latest model, which definitely isn't for me.