prat
hey man, you're getting lazy AND sluggish!! You used to relish
these questions too. Now you're deflecting all the arrows to
me.
Fighter
If you're looking to work on a straight game first, then the bundle
(shoes + bag + ball) packages of the various Proshops should be
sufficient to get you off the ground. Most of them won't charge
more than $230. Might be even less nowadays, i haven't been keeping
an eye on prices for quite a while. :p
Regarding the terms reactive and extra-length. i believe you're
refering to Brunswick bowling's website - they are the only one's
to use the x-tra length term. Anyway, they are not of any concern
to your straight game. 
Reactive means the cover is more aggressive and 'bites' the lane
surface more than a regular plastic ball. This translates into more
friction and more hook. Extra-length is a non-universal term that
refers to a ball that is designed to hook later (closer to the
pindeck) than other balls. It's very subjective, so it's not used
to evaluate the balls of seperate companies.
Hope that helps.
