Hopefully a Grand time to be had...

By Gary BondThe Grand Rapids Press
The 1993 Professional Bowler's Association tour season will always be special to Walter Ray Williams Jr. It was the second time the Ocala, Fla., native was named the PBA player of the year and one of the seven tournament wins Williams rolled that season was the inaugural Great Grand Rapids Open, renamed the Great Lakes Classic a few seasons ago.
"Grand Rapids is a good bowling area and Spectrum Lanes has an excellent restaurant," Williams said. Even though Williams failed to reach the ESPN-broadcast finals of the CLR Windy City Classic in Vernon Hills, Ill., last Sunday, he will be closely eyed this week in Grand Rapids.
Williams, 48, has made three television appearances this season and has captured one title, the Motor City Classic, making him the first bowler in PBA history to win a title in 15 consecutive seasons.
"I'm bowling well this season and felt good last week, that's why I'm disappointed I didn't bowl better," Williams said. "The PBA Tour is kind of a grind, and every week is a new week, and I'm looking forward to getting back on track."
When asked what meant more to him, winning tournaments or being named the player of the year, Williams said the two go together.
"Player of the year honor means more, but you're not going to be the player of the year if you don't win a few tournaments," he said. "Bowling is a (lane) condition sport, and this week we'll be bowling on the cheetah (short oil) pattern, which typically provides high scoring."
Williams, who is currently first in points and fourth in money earned this season ($60,900), is averaging a tournament-best 232.18 per game. Chris Barnes (Flower Mound, TX) is second with a 228.16 average. Sean Rash (Wichita, Kan.), who won the USBC Master in Milwaukee, Wis., the first major of the season, won $100,000 for the victory and is the tour's current money leader having earned $112,700.
Last year's Great Lake Classic winner, Doug Kent (Newark, N.Y.), is averaging 219.89 per game (22nd on tour) and has earned $10,100 in prize money.
FACT SHEET
PBA Tour in Wyoming
What: The Denny's Professional Bowler's Association Tour Great Lakes Classic.
Where: Spectrum Lanes, 5656 Clyde Park Ave. SW, Wyoming.
When: Wednesday-Sunday.
TV: 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
Tickets: $10-$75
For more information: Spectrumlanes.com or pbatour.com.

Calling all Queens...

The Metro Detroit USBC Association (MDUSBC) will host the 2nd Annual Queens Tournament on Dec. 2 at Beech Lanes in Redford.

The event is open to any female member of the MDUSBC for the scratch event. The maximum field of 64 entries has been reached and is now officially a sell out.

Qualifying will be contested with each bowler bowling a four-game qualifier.

The top 16 players will compete in match play in a single-game single-elimination format.

First place will pay $1,000 plus a tiara pendent with 16th place paying $100.

Defending champion Michelle Ewald of Clinton Township will return to defend her title.

Other notable entrants are 2006 Queens runner-up and 2007 Detroit Bowling Hall of Fame inductee Carol Davis of Lake Orion, Detroit Bowling Hall of Famers Carmeletha Allen of Highland Park, Janet Dimmer of Eastpointe, Sandra Schultz of Macomb and Crystal Trombley of St. Clair Shores. Michigan Women’s Hall of Famer Betty Trimper of Redford will also compete. Allen and Schultz are also members of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

The event is sponsored by Turbo 2-N-1 Grips and Ahee Jewelers.

For more information on the event contact the MDUSBC office at (248) 443-2695 ext. 105.

We're #1!

Numbers released by the United States Bowling Congress show that Michigan is still No. 1 in bowler membership. The USBC had an overall adult/youth membership of 2,608,279 for the 2006-07 season (2,303,191 adults, 305,088 youth). They bowled on 924,580 teams in 83,731 leagues. Michigan again had the largest state membership with 225,177 members overall (204,149 adult, 21,028 youth), and Detroit had the largest local association with 80,683 members (74,530 adult, 6,153 youth).
Ohio ranked No. 2 for overall state membership with 179,734 (158,577 adult, 21,157 youth), and Chicago was second in local associations with 36,410 members (34,996 adults, 1,414 youth). The only place Michigan lagged was in the number of bowling centers. Pennsylvania led with 388, with Michigan third at 357, but Michigan had the most lanes, 8,172. Nationwide there are 5,571 bowling centers with 115,197 lanes. Thanks to Matt Fiorito of the Freep for the story.

Get rollin kids!

The high school bowling season is under way. Practices have begun at most schools, and competition will start Nov. 24 in the Upper Peninsula and Dec. 1 in the Lower. There's still time for schools that don't have bowling to get it started. Information is available from the Michigan High School Athletic Association or through the coaches' Web site -- www.mhsibca.com. If you are a high school coach, you can further support the sport by joining the coaches association. Thanks to Matt Fiorito of the Freep for the story.

Rollin' to the Hall!

The Detroit Bowling Hall of Fame Committee, a committee of the Metro Detroit USBC Association (MDUSBC), has elected six new members to its Hall of Fame and named three others for special awards.

Virginia Austin of Detroit, Carol Davis of Lake Orion, Quintin Greene of Dearborn Heights, George (Mike) Lee of Dearborn Heights, Alvin Harrison of Southfield and George Zainea of Grosse Pointe Woods earned entrance into the hall and Joe Guotana of New Boston, Dave Beachnau of Allen Park and Randall Shank of Sterling Heights will receive special awards. Congrats to all!

Salute!

A Caribbean vacation package, tickets to the 2008 Super Bowl, a Professional Bowlers Association tour event exemption and a Mort Luby painting featuring bowling legend Andy Varipapa were among the intriguing auction items that helped generate approximately $100,000 for the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame at the 2007 Salute to Bowling. The annual fundraiser, held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in conjunction with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America International Bowl Expo, also saw the induction of former major league baseball pitcher Tom Candiotti into the Celebrity wing of the Bowling Hall of Fame. "We're thrilled with the money generated from this year's event," Salute chairperson Keith Hamilton said, "and we appreciate the generosity of the more than 400 bowling enthusiasts who attended. "We also recognized that all was not perfect at the 2007 Salute," Hamilton continued. "We were especially disappointed with the food presentation and the auction checkout procedures, and the committee already is working to significantly improve these areas for Salute 2008." Candiotti, whose nearly impossible-to-hit knuckleball carried him through 16 seasons in the major leagues, was recognized for his continued promotion of bowling through mainstream media. Candiotti, a radio analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks, also is an accomplished bowler, carrying a 200+ average and boasting a certified 300 game in March of this year. The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame collects and preserves the rich history of bowling, and uses that information to help promote the sport worldwide. For more information about the Museum or its Salute fundraiser, call (800) 966-2695.

Hey Coach!

USBC Coaching is pleased to announce an upcoming Silver coach certification conference in Flint, MI. If you or someone you know is interested in this conference, please see the attached flyer with registration form.

The attached form is in the Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have ability to view files in this format, you can download the Adobe Acrobat reader for free by clicking here http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Give it a shot...

Over the years you've supported MDUSBC with your voice, your energy and your dollars. Now, we're proud to say, it's time to give you something back!Metro Detroit USBC Association has a new membership service that actually puts the "fun" in fundraising...and it won't cost you a penny. I know you've heard that one before. But, this time it's true!
Metro Detroit USBC Association now has its own travel website at www.mdusbctravel.com!
This new service is like having our own Expedia® just for MDUSBC supporters and friends! Everything you need is right here. You get access to the same airlines, hotels and rental car companies, cruises and vacation packages you find on all the other major travel websites, and, best of all... you get some of the lowesttravel prices on the internet!
Getting great travel prices for you is fantastic, right? But, how is this going to help raise funds for MDUSBC?Here's How it Works - if you don't know, every time you use a travel website like Expedia®, the travel companies pay BIG commissions for your reservation.
Well, now when you book travel on our website, Metro Detroit USBC Association will get a whopping 40% of those commissions! Any way you look at it, this is a win-win situation. You get great travel rates and you help funnel dollars from the travel companies into Metro Detroit USBC Association to advance our cause. With your help and other MDUSBC supporters like you... we can raise THOUSANDS of dollarsfor Metro Detroit USBC Association to help support our cause! I know you're probably in the middle of planning your summer vacation or maybe looking ahead to plan travel for a fall getaway. Why not take the travel website for a "test drive" right now? I'm sure you'll like what you find and it would be a great way for us to kick off this new service.
Try out our new website at:www.mdusbctravel.com
Use our new travel website and while you are flying to some exotic locale, you'll know you are supporting Metro Detroit USBC Association! It’s that simple!Oh, and one more thing, please bookmark our new website. That way you'll be able to use it anytime you need travel. Thanks for your commitment to Metro Detroit USBC Association and for trying out our travel service at www.mdusbctravel.com.

On the tube...

Match play in the GEICO PBA All-Star Shootout hosted by Six Flags on ESPN will continue Sunday, July 8 at 3 p.m. ET. Winning matches last weekend were 2006-07 PBA Player of the Year and defending USBC Masters champion Doug Kent along with partner 2004 Masters champion Danny Wiseman. The team of 2000 Masters champion Mika Koivuniemi and USBC Sport Bowling spokesperson Chris Barnes also won its match. The special doubles event features 16 of the PBA’s biggest stars teaming up in a round-robin group play format. The top team in the Dick Weber Group and the Earl Anthony Group advances to the championship round.

I'd still take one!

Why a 900 Series Just Isn’t What It Used to Be
By NEIL AMDUR, NY Times

Twenty-five years ago today, Glenn Allison bowled three consecutive 300 games, the first to record the feat in a sanctioned league. But nothing has been the same in the sport since Allison’s 36 strikes in a row were initially heralded, then, after a protracted legal fight, disallowed because of what officials cited as noncomplying conditions at La Habra 300 Bowl in California.
High-tech balls and synthetic lanes have replaced the plastic and wood of Allison’s era. Higher scores and dwindling memberships are dividing purists and recreational bowlers over the sport’s priorities. Even the once-sacred 900 series and the 300 game have become so common that bowling parties have upstaged late-night leagues. In the last 10 years, 12 sanctioned 900 series have been bowled, including two by Robert Mushtare, an 18-year-old from Carthage, N.Y., who also rolled a third that was disallowed by the United States Bowling Congress. But the most startling statistic is the number of 300 games: 51,162 in 2004-5 and 56,212 in 2005-6. In 1981-82, the total (which did not include the few 300 games by women and children) was 5,949.
“It’s easy conditions that’s kept my average up, not excessive talent,” said Allison, 77, who was averaging 215 and 227 in two summer leagues. He added, “I’m truthfully a 190 average now.”
Even Mushtare, who said he tried to bowl 10 games a day, found himself having to defend the three perfect series he rolled at the Pine Plains Bowling Center in Fort Drum, N.Y., from November 2005 to February 2006. “They thought I cheated and was lying,” he said during a telephone interview last week. “I can understand where it was coming from. Jealousy is a factor, too.” Four other bowlers as far back as 1931 preceded Allison with 900 scores, but none were in a sanctioned league or under tournament conditions. Allison said he was not upset that noncompliance with oil distribution on his lanes left him as an asterisk in bowling record books. If Allison rolled a 900 series in a league tonight, it would be approved without an inspection. Rule changes now allow for season-long certification of lanes, another accommodation that rankles traditionalists. But as tennis and golf have had technical and tactical shifts in their sports with the introduction of new equipment, science has found bowling. Allison used one ball for every shot, but many league and pro bowlers now have three or four. The new balls “grip the lanes better,” he said, creating a coefficient of friction that is much higher than years ago. “You can buy a hook with these new balls, and it’s so much easier,” Allison said. La Habra 300 Bowl is commemorating the anniversary of Allison’s achievement with a tournament this weekend. Allison, who has been working the desk there for the last seven years and is affectionately known as Mr. 900, will join in the celebration. “It’s an altogether different game,” said Mickey Curley, who has worked at the lanes for 44 years and whose son Dennis bowled with Allison on the night of his perfect series. “Fitting and drilling bowling balls now is a science.” Roger Dalkin, the chief executive of the United States Bowling Congress, said: “One of the difficulties we have as a governing body is trying to manage the technology and not eliminate it. There’s always a debate: What’s too much, what’s too easy?” Registered membership in the bowling congress fell to 2.7 million last year from close to 10 million in 1982. But according to Simmons Research, 70 million Americans (37 million men, 33 million women) bowl at least once a year, and many are prepared to spend $10 a game and more for the lively social activities at places like Bowlmor Lanes in Manhattan. The bowling congress has also initiated Sport Bowling, a division that tries to emulate pro tour-type conditions for more serious competitors. Begun three years ago, it has 40,000 members and has doubled in membership each of the last three years. “Thirty years ago, 90 percent of bowling was leagues,” Mark Miller, a bowling congress spokesman, said by telephone from Las Vegas, where the Bowl Expo, which ended Friday, attracted 5,000 exhibitors, including bowling center proprietors and product manufacturers. “Now, 60 percent of all bowling is recreational. The game has changed, and you can’t go backwards.” Allison is adjusting with the times. He uses a 14-pound ball instead of a 15-pounder. Mushtare, who prefers the 16, said, “If you can throw 16, throw 16.” Allison, a member of the Bowling Hall of Fame, recently moved into ninth place for career pinfall with more than 103,000 and has his sights set on the leader Joe Norris’s 120,000-plus total. While teasing Allison as the Old Man, Curley praised his longevity. “He’s the greatest,” she said. “Some things change in our sport, but the place wouldn’t be the same without him.”

At the mic...

GREENDALE, Wis. - Bowling greats Nelson Burton Jr. and Marshall Holman and award-winning USA Today columnist Christine Brennan have been named as the announcers for the ESPN telecasts of the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open presented by the United States Bowling Congress.

The U.S. Women’s Open will be conducted at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., in August and will feature a unique televised bracket-elimination format featuring the top 16 players after qualifying rounds. The first four elimination rounds will be taped Aug. 17-18 and shown Sept. 16, 23, 30 and Oct. 7 on ESPN. The final four competitors will return to Reno for a live televised championship round on Oct. 14.

Brennan, one of the country’s most respected sports columnists, will serve as sideline reporter and essayist. She also is a best-selling author and has worked as a commentator for ABC News, ESPN, National Public Radio and FOX Sports Radio. A leading expert on the Olympics and women’s sports issues, she also is a nationally known speaker. Her latest project is a new book, Best Seat in the House: A Father, A Daughter, A Journey Through Sports.

Burton, a member of the USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Halls of Fame, was part of one of sport’s most famous broadcast teams, partnering with lead announcer and fellow hall of famer Chris Schenkel as color analyst on PBA Tour telecasts for 23 years. Burton has most recently served as emcee for USBC’s Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Burton also had an outstanding bowling career winning 17 PBA Tour titles and holds the record for most USBC Open Championships titles with nine, including the 1976 Masters.

Holman, a member of the PBA Hall of Fame, returned to the booth in April as color analyst for the 2007 USBC Queens. He previously served as a color analyst for PBA telecasts from 1996 to 2001. Holman, the 1987 PBA Player of the Year, retired from the tour in 1996. During his career he won 22 titles including two Tournament of Champions (1976, '86) and two U.S. Opens (1981, '85).

They're Back...

For years, the world's top women bowlers have craved for more opportunities to compete at the sport's highest level. With the revival of the U.S. Women's Open, those bowlers are embracing the upcoming chance to compete against the best. The U.S. Women's Open presented by the United States Bowling Congress will be conducted for the first time since 2003, the same year the Professional Women's Bowling Association ceased operations. The event will be held Aug. 13-18 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., with the elimination and championship rounds telecast by ESPN beginning in September. The return of one of bowling's major events has Team USA standouts Diandra Asbaty of Chicago, Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix and Shannon O'Keefe of Rochester, N.Y., excited for the future. "I'm very hopeful this is the start of something big," said Asbaty, a nine-time Team USA member and 2003 graduate of the University of Nebraska who never got the chance to compete on the PWBA Tour. "I really think people are going to respond to this event in a very positive and major way." Pluhowsky, a three-time U.S. Amateur champion and the 2006 USBC Queens champion, has traveled the world competing at the highest level. She grew up with ambitions of making a living as a professional bowler. "We all grow up hoping to be able to bowl professionally," said Pluhowsky, who also owled at Nebraska. "I think this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, these events will lead to the creation of another women's pro tour." While there is no full-time women's professional tour, the Professional Bowlers Association will conduct four special women's events, called the PBA Women's Series, alongside selected regular Denny's PBA Tour events this fall. Qualifying for these events will take place during the U.S. Women's Open. "In order for this sport to survive, we have to give the young women something to look forward to," said O'Keefe, who finished fifth at this year's USBC Queens. "The PBA Women's Series and the U.S. Women's Open do just that. I think it's awesome." The U.S. Women's Open final rounds will feature a bracket elimination format in which the top 16 players will compete on television. In a deal with ESPN, the first four rounds of the finals will be taped Aug. 17-18 and shown on Sept. 16, 23, 30 and Oct. 7. The final four competitors will return to Reno for a live televised championship round on Oct. 14. The U.S. Women's Open has an entry fee of $250 and is open to any female USBC member. The event will feature a guaranteed prize fund of $150,000, including $25,000 to the winner. The players who advance to the top 16 are guaranteed at least $3,000. Competitors in the U.S. Women's Open will also have the option of paying an additional $750 entry fee to have a shot at 16 spots available in the PBA Women's Series, which will feature four events with a total prize fund of $50,000 for each event, including a top prize of $10,000 and last cash of $1,800. The championship match of all four PBA Women's Series events will be televised as part of the ESPN telecasts for the four Denny's PBA Tour events in which women's events will run concurrently. Earlier this week, the PBA announced that it would no longer require PBA membership for the 16 players who qualify for the Women's Series. The move allows amateur players, such as those on Team USA, to maintain their amateur status.

Firepower...

Don’t forget to tune into the GEICO PBA All-Star Shootout hosted by Six Flags that begins airing over five consecutive weekends beginning this Sunday. The first two of 15 shows air June 24 from 1-2 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Shootout is a special made-for-TV doubles competition featuring 16 of the PBA's top stars. Included in that group are 2006-07 PBA Player of the Year Doug Kent, 2005-06 Player of the Year Tommy Jones, 2006-07 Rookie of the Year Billy Oatman, PBA all-time titles holder Walter Ray Williams Jr. and PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber.

The event, which is also sponsored by USBC, Aaron's Rents, Denny's, GEICO and Motel 6, took place June 14-15 at Six Flags St. Louis. The 16 players were paired into eight teams for a doubles competition with the winning team splitting $50,000.
Below is a complete list of scheduled air times. Be sure to check your local listings.

June 24 ESPN 1-2 p.m. ET (2)
July 1 ESPN 1-2 p.m. ET (2)
July 8 ESPN 3-5 p.m. ET (4)
July 15 ESPN 3-5 p.m. ET (4)
July 21 ESPN 12-2:30 p.m. ET (5)
July 22 ESPN2 3-5 p.m. ET (re-air of 4 shows)

Bowling for Scholorships!

Bowling for scholars
Money for college makes league's fun even sweeterBy Robin RoenkerSPECIAL TO THE HERALD-LEADER
L. Curtis Hammond is a born teacher. Weekdays, the Morehead State University associate professor of music finds himself teaching French horn and music history to college students. On Saturdays, though, Hammond's classroom is a different sort altogether. His students are much younger. And the instrument of choice isn't a horn, but a bowling ball. Since last summer, Hammond has coached in and directed the youth bowling league at Mount Sterling's Sterling Lanes Family Fun Center. Under his leadership, the league has successfully transitioned from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning play and has grown to include 40 players, ages 6 through 13. Turns out, teaching French horn and coaching youth bowling have a lot in common, Hammond said. "There are so many similarities with both of them. ... It's all about getting them to have really strong fundamentals. And then letting them progress and go with them as they kind of develop their own individual styles," said Hammond, who has taught at Morehead State since 1993. Recently, Hammond and the league's other coaches -- Hammond's wife, Cathy, and Eric Spurlock, manager of Sterling Lanes -- incorporated a scholarship tournament component within the fall league, which runs September through April. At the first tournament, held April 21, $1,300 in college scholarship money was awarded to the top three boy and girl finishers.
The league held a raffle, sold T-shirts and held "split-the-pot" drawings at the bowling lanes to raise money for the scholarship prizes. Through similar events and business sponsorships, Hammond hopes to raise even more funds for future tournaments. "There are tournaments that kids can bowl in at the state or national level and earn scholarship money, and we thought that was a great idea. We wanted to do something on our own to get more kids a chance to earn scholarship money, and maybe higher amounts of scholarships," he said. The scholarship money goes into a SMART (Scholarship Management and Accounting Reports for Tenpins) account managed by the U.S. Bowling Congress until the student is ready to enroll in college or technical school, Hammond said. Daughter got professor back in the alley Hammond enjoys that, through bowling, his two young daughters, Abby, 9, and Meghan, 7, are already thinking about and saving for college. "When Abby goes to college, my guess is she'll have $2,000, $3,000 or $4,000" in bowling scholarship money, Hammond said. "She'll have a year of college paid for, just from doing bowling." Like her older sister, Meghan Hammond has become an active and accomplished young bowler. Both girls have placed highly at state tournaments. And the sport is something the family enjoys doing together often, Hammond said. "One of the things about bowling that's nice, is that not every kid is built to play football, and not every kid is built to play soccer. Not every kid is going to be able to shoot a basketball or hit a baseball, so here's another sport where they can develop self-discipline, and hand-eye coordination, athletic ability and those things," Hammond said. Bowling provides "good clean fun," to kids, said Connie Willoughby, whose stepdaughter, Judy, 9, participates in the league. "It's brought out social skills and abilities she never knew she had, and the scholarship component encourages the kids to continue their education, which is wonderful. "Judy absolutely loves it. She would stay at the bowling lanes 24/7 if we let her, because of her love of the game, and the excellent coaching she's received there." From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Saturday during the summer and fall leagues, Hammond can be found helping kids perfect their play. Hammond said working around shorter attention spans is one of the biggest hurdles in coaching young bowlers. He likes to pull kids back to the carpet during down time between their turns to work on fundamentals. And he mixes in a lot of high-fiving and pats on the back to encourage them, even when the strikes may not be coming so easily. Hammond feels bowling is on the cusp of becoming a much more mainstream option for kids. "One of the reasons that bowling is not one of the things that parents think about with their kids is that long misconception of what bowling is," Hammond said. "You think of the old days, with the beer-drinking guys that are on league and all the cigarette smoking and stuff. But bowling has really taken off in this country, and there's a lot of interest with the youth."

Here come the Ladies again!

Women's PBA tour to roll into Detroit

BY MATT FIORITO
FREE PRESS BOWLING WRITER
The Denny's Pro Bowlers Association Tour hasn't completed its schedule for the 2007-08 season, but officials in Seattle have confirmed that a new chapter of bowling history will be written in the Detroit metro area. In addition to hosting its regular PBA tournament stop Oct. 31-Nov. 4, Taylor Lanes has been chosen as the host of the inaugural tournament in the PBA Women's Series sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress. The tour starts with the USBC Masters Oct. 23-28 in Milwaukee, followed by the Motor City Classic, which is the first regular PBA tournament of the season. Since the Professional Women's Bowling Association died in 2003, a handful of the top women have competed in PBA events, most notably Kelly Kulick, who qualified as an exempt PBA player for the 2006-07 tour. But in April, the PBA and the USBC, which held the rights to the women's tour, announced that four of the stops on the 2007-08 PBA would also host a women's tournament. It's a mini mini-tour -- 16 women will compete based on tour trials at the USBC Women's Open Aug. 13-18 in Reno, Nev., and just for four tournaments -- but it's a needed and welcome start. "We're thrilled and honored to be chosen to host the rebirth of women's pro bowling," Taylor Lanes general manager Erin Dobbins said. "It's another opportunity for us to make history. The tour trials at the Open and the incorporation of women's competition into the PBA Tour is one example of many great results coming from the growing relationship between the USBC and the PBA." The title match of the women's tournament will be part of the finals telecast for the men's tournament Nov. 4. The winner of each women's event will earn $10,000. All 16 participants are guaranteed a minimum of $1,800 each week.

Prez honors Commodores...

President Bush honors Vanderbilt women's bowling team at White House
By Will MatthewsCourtesy of VUCommodores.com

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush honored the Vanderbilt University women's bowling team Monday afternoon during a special ceremony on the White House's South Lawn.
The 10-player team and its coaches which captured the university's first-ever NCAA team national championship in April arrived in the nation's capitol early Monday and were greeted personally by Bush in the State Dining Room before being introduced on the South Lawn while the Marine Corps marching band played the Vanderbilt fight song, "Dynamite." "It was a pretty unreal experience," said sophomore Michelle Peloquin. "It means a lot to be invited to a place like this. It really is an honor to be recognized in this kind of environment." The Commodores were one of a diverse array of 28 teams that won NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007 - from the University of Florida men's basketball team to the UCLA women's water polo team - that took part in Monday's ceremony and listened as Bush said during an eight-minute address that the one thing all the gathered athletes had in common was achieving "the great title of champion." "People underestimate just how hard we work so getting invited to the White House puts it all into perspective," said sophomore Mandy Keily. "This is the real thing. We are NCAA champions." The team presented Bush with an authentic team jersey and a red, white and blue bowling ball inscribed with the team's logo, a moment that allowed for some humor, Peloquin said. "We were all waiting for him to come and take his picture with us and when he arrived we got real quiet," said Peloquin. "But he came in and made us less nervous by cracking some jokes. We joked that he could use the ball in the bowling lanes in the basement of the White House and he said that was nice. It was fun to be able to see him as a real person." For both Peloquin and Keily, being acknowledged at the White House provided some legitimacy for those critics who still don't view bowling as a sport that stacks up with some of the other more publicized major NCAA sports. "It is something we have been fighting for," Keily said. "We want people to see that we work just as hard as any of the other teams that came here today." Monday's visit marked the first time in history that a college bowling team met with a U.S. President and provided what head coach John Williamson said was a tremendous cap to a tremendous season. "I am excited for the program, for the sport and for the girls," Williamson said. "To be able to interact with the President for even a brief period of time is something a lot of people don't get to do and I hope it is something the kids will remember and something they will be able to be proud of. When I took this job three years ago the goal was to win the national championship and so for this year to end like this puts an exclamation point on a great year."
Freshman Josie Earnest, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the NCAA National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship, will join outgoing senior Christine Luce on the ESPN2 program "First Take" on Tuesday at 10:30 EDT to discuss the Commodores' championship run.

Forget the NBA!

USBC's newest spokesperson, rising NBA star Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, has been certified as a USBC Sport Bowling member, joining thousands who have made a committment to embrace a greater challenge for the overall good of the sport. While his busy NBA schedule will keep him from participating in a weekly league, Paul still receives all the benefits that go with USBC membership, including quarterly issues of US Bowler. Anyone can join USBC - becoming a USBC member shows a committment to the growth and future of bowling and USBC programs.
The 22-year-old Winston-Salem, N.C., native has quickly become one of the most talked about young stars in the NBA after winning the 2005-06 Rookie of the Year Award and helping lead the U.S. Men's National Basketball Team to a bronze medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championships last summer. When not thrilling fans in NBA arenas, Paul can be found crafting his skills in another sport he is passionate about bowling. Paul's passion for bowling has roots with his family his father, Charles, is a USBC member certified in the Piedmont (N.C) USBC Association. Chris has been bowling since a youngster and when not in basketball season, he joins family and friends to bowl as often as twice a day at AMF Major League Lanes in Winston-Salem. Even during basketball season, he tries to bowl once a week. As a spokesperson, Paul represented by Octagon promotes USBC, its programs and the sport of bowling in various television, radio and newspaper interviews as well as appears in advertising and promotional campaigns. The signature event of Paul's charity weekend is a celebrity bowling tournament that draws some of the NBA's top names. The second annual "Chris Paul's Winston-Salem Weekend" will be held Sept. 14-16, 2007.

Have a Ball!

How To Shop For A Bowling Ball
Written by J. Lloyd

Ever since its creation thousands of years ago, bowling has become a sport that people of all ages can enjoy and millions around the world do. Minimally physical, fairly fast-paced and generally quite affordable, there's just something about bowling that hooks people quick. Those who decide to really delve into the sport will likely find themselves shopping for a bowling ball of their own. Getting a personal bowling ball is a great idea for league players and even casual enthusiasts who play a bit more than once in a while. Shopping for a ball can present a bit of quandary, however. Here's what to consider in a bowling ball:* Budget. Balls can get rather expensive. It's not a bad idea to set a budget before doing some serious shopping. Very inexpensive balls can roll in at about $50, but professional grade ones will cost in the hundreds or more. It is possible to find good buys on all types of balls by shopping around and even considering used or form lane balls, but many prefer to have their very own, brand new ball.* Ball type. A bowling ball can have different surface material. This material will help determine its performance when the ball hits the lane. The better the ball, generally, the more friction it provides. This gives a player more control over the ball as it makes its way down a slick lane. The different surfaces include plastic, urethane, reactive resin and particle, or pro-active. Plastic, or polyester, is generally the most affordable and provides the least amount of friction. This ball is considered a beginner's tool. The urethane bowling ball offers a little more control at a slightly higher price. The reactive resin bowling ball provides more hook possibility and power than the other two options. The pro-active ball is considered more of a tournament player's weapon. It offers the most friction and the best reaction in oil. This type of ball is generally the most expensive.* Weight. This is another very important consideration. The standard rule of thumb is to find a ball that is roughly about 10 percent of a person's own body weight. Some people might feel more comfortable with a ball that is slightly lighter or heavier, however. Before taking the plunge and buying a bowling ball, it's not a bad idea to play with several different weights to see what feels the best. The results on the lane are the most important consideration here, even above the standard rule of thumb.* Color, style. The appearance of the ball might not be the most important consideration for game play, but it can be for morale. Find a ball that not only fits budget and design choice, but all appearance choice for a truly ideal purchase. Balls come in a variety of colors and styles. Basic black is not the only option by a long shot.Buying a personal bowling ball can be a great investment for someone who likes to roll a lot. Rather than having to adjust to a different ball every game, this investment puts power in a player's hands.

Some new young guns...

Upsets in Junior Masters bowling finale

The top seeds failed to sprout in the 21st Dan Ottman Memorial Championship, but a couple of bright new stars blossomed in the Alro Steel Michigan Junior Masters Association season finale Sunday in Monroe. In a battle of good friends and doubles partners at Held's Monroe Sport Center, Jesse Hojnacki of Port Huron won the boys title, defeating top-ranked Ryan Van Hecke of Sterling Heights, 226-182. It was Hojnacki's first singles title, after winning three doubles titles, the last with Van Hecke in January. "It feels good," Hojnacki said. "I've been waiting awhile for this one. I'm glad I got to face my friend for it. I wouldn't have wanted to go against anyone else." In an all-Ontario girls final, second-seeded Valerie Calberry of Brampton capped her rookie of the year season by defeating bowler of the year Jennifer Churchill of Windsor in the title match, 205-168. "It hasn't kicked in yet," Calberry replied when asked her reaction to her first title being a major. In addition to competing against the season's top player, Calberry was also competing against her boyfriend's sister. Did that add any pressure? "You really don't think about what bowler you're facing," Calberry said. "You just concentrate on making good shots." Calberry won $1,250 in scholarship money; Churchill $600, and Sarah Jaeger of Highland $500. Felicia Goll of St. Clair Shores, who lost the stepladder opener to Jaeger, 185-175, earned $400. Hojnacki won a $2,500 scholarship; Van Hecke $1,500; Tim Pfiefer of Cranberry Twp., Pa., $1,250; Kevin Black of Port Clinton, Ohio, $1,000, and John Kaashoek of Jenison $900. Other season-ending awards went to Kaashoek and Sara Litteral of Chesterfield Twp.; each was awarded $1,000 Ottman Memorial Scholarships. John Kelley of Sterling Heights was the boys bowler of the year and Chris Creeks of Zelienople, Pa., was boys rookie of the year.
By Matt Fiorito

Real Financial Aid!

North Pointe bowling event rich in scholarships
High school tourney set for Indian Lanes
June 5, 2007
BY MATT FIORITO
FREE PRESS BOWLING WRITER
Money for college is always a concern, so if you're a graduating high school senior who's a bowler, don't waste any time in entering the North Pointe Insurance Group $100,000 High School Singles Championship, July 24-26 at Indian Lanes in Wyandotte. The championship, conducted through the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, is open to any 2006-07 graduate who bowled on a high school team or is a United States Bowling Congress youth member. The only other requirement is a minimum 2.0 grade-point average, and the field is limited to the first 240 boys and 240 girls who apply. Since first place in each division awards $15,000 in scholarship money, I'm surprised that seniors from Michigan haven't already filled the field. The entry fee is $50, and I'm told the gift bag each participant receives will be worth more than that. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.bpaa.com or www.bowl.com. Information also is available through the BPAA at 800-343-1329, ext. 204. The high school championship at Indian Lanes will be held in conjunction with the $70,000 QuibicaAMF International Family Tournament, which runs July 26-28. That field will consist of parent/child or parent/teen teams who were state or provincial winners in qualifying tournaments held in the United States and Canada. First place in each division is a $5,000 scholarship.

TUNE-UP TIME: High school seniors can compete against their peers and warm up for the North Pointe tournament -- and earn some scholarship money -- by entering the Michigan All-Star Tournament at Sunnybrook Lanes in Sterling Heights on June 23-24. It's for graduating high school seniors only. Scholarship money also is available in the Bowl Swami SMART Singles Tournament on June 23 at Sunnybrook for bowlers who were in grades 9-11 in 2006-07. Entry forms are available at MHSIBCA.com.

SEASON FINALE: The Alro Steel/Michigan Junior Masters Association will wrap up its 21st season Friday through Sunday at Monroe Sport Center in Monroe, with the Dan Ottman Memorial Championship Tournament. A field of 57 boys and 18 girls will compete for the titles and a share of more than $20,000 in scholarships. Players to watch are season points leader and three-time winner John Kelley of Sterling Heights and two-time winners Ryan Van Hecke of Sterling Heights and Brian McMahon of Saginaw, along with intercollegiate singles champion Tim Pfeifer (Robert Morris University) of Cranberry Township, Pa. On the girls side are four-time winner Christine Bator of Warren, three-time winner Jennifer Churchill of Windsor and two-time winner Bethan McGeary of New Kensington, Pa. Opening ceremonies, which include the presentation of the Ottman Memorial Scholarships, are 6 p.m. Friday, followed by qualifying at 7 p.m. Qualifying continues at 9 a.m. Saturday. The final round of match play starts at 9 a.m. Sunday; stepladder finals follow at about 1:30 p.m.

CHALLENGE WINNERS: Vicki Shieck stepped in for me at the University of Michigan Transplant Center's Bowling for Camp Michitanki Challenge and probably saved me several inches of column space. Normally in these challenges I get beat by everybody, but this year, with Nurse Vicki performing ably on the lanes, the only challenge winners -- and congratulations to them -- were Mike Moceri, Kyle Green, Doug Armstrong, Alyson Sprang, Jordan Garypie, Katie Lassila, Robert Pluhatsch, Scott Potis, David Cain, Jim Henson, Cindy Terznzi, Destenee Hudson, Dianne McPharlin, Lorie Uranga, Kaleb Diana, Scharry Milne, Joan Armstrong, Rodney Howard and Paul Lassila. To make a contribution to the camp, which is for children who have had transplant surgery, call 734-936-3460.

All Detroit!

The Metro Detroit USBC Association (MDUSBC) has named their All City teams for the 2006-07 season. The teams include men’s, women’s, senior men’s and senior women’s teams based on tournament and league performance from June 1, 2006 through May 31, 2007.

David Ewald of Macomb, Jennifer Bator of Eastpointe, Jerry Owczarski of South Lyon and Carol Davis of Lake Orion are captains of the men’s, women’s, senior men’s and senior women’s teams respectively. Ewald garnered 96 points from his 10th place finish in the MDUSBC Masters, first from MDUSBC in USBC Open Doubles with Nick Wissinger, second from MDUSBC in USBC Open Singles and sixth from MDUSBC in USBC Open All-Events. He earned the maximum 20 points with five 300 games and four 299 games, maximum 20 points for seven 800 series including a high series of 834 and 20 points for a high average of 244. His appearance on the team marks his seventh All-City selection. Rounding out the men’s first team are Mark Moore of Macomb with 80 points, Jeffrey Austreng of Waterford Township (69), Gregory Brown of Southfield (60) and Jeffrey Grego of Waterford Township (60). Brown is making his initial appearance, while the others are veterans. Moore earned points through his second place finish in MDUSBC Doubles with Jay Lang, first from MDUSBC in Michigan State Singles, first from MDUSBC and first overall in Michigan State All-Events. He had three 800 series with a high of 824 and a high average of 231. This also is Moore’s seventh All-City appearance. Austreng won the MDUSBC Masters, recorded five 300 games, one 299 game and two 800 series with a high series of 816. Along with his high average of 232 Austreng marks his third appearance on the prestigious team. Brown finished seventh in MDUSBC All-Events, had eight 300 games, one 299 game, five 800 series with a high of 835 and a high average of 235 in making his rookie appearance. Grego marks his fifth All-City selection with a second place finish in the MDUSBC Singles, seven 300 games, one 299 game, three 800 series with a high of 825 and a high average of 236. John Nolen of Waterford Township (59), Mason Brantley of Detroit (56), Michael Busch of Waterford Township (56), Jeremy Thomas of Detroit (56) and Nick Wissinger of Utica (56) were named to the second team men’s All-City. Newcomer Thomas joins Nolen, Brantley, Busch and Wissinger who are veterans from previous years.

Jennifer Bator of Eastpointe had a tremendous tournament year with a fifth place finish in the MDUSBC Women’s All-Events, first from MDUSBC and first overall in the Michigan State Women’s Doubles with Nicole Idziak-Owsley, second from MDUSBC and second overall in the Michigan State Women’s All-Events, first from MDUSBC in USBC Women’s Doubles with Jami Selden, second from MDUSBC in USBC Women’s Singles and first from MDUSBC in USBC Women’s All-Events. Her high games were 299, 289, 279 and 279. Her high series was 801 and she recorded 14 other series over 700 and had a high average of 220. This marks her first All-City selection with her 132 points.. Nicole Idziak-Owsley of Washington (101), Michelle Ewald of Clinton Township (100), Kristy Hatcher of Clinton Township (84) and Virginia Austin of Detroit (57) joined Bator on the women’s first team. Idziak-Owsley finished fifth in the MDUSBC Women’s Doubles with Alicia Himmler, sixth in MDUSBC Women’s Singles, first from MDUSBC and first overall in the Michigan State Women’s Doubles with Bator, sixth from MDUSBC in Michigan State Women’s All-Events and third from MDUSBC in USBC Women’s All-Events. Her year included three 300 games, 290 and 279. A high series of 791 and 13 other 700 series along with a high average of 223 put her on the team for the second time. Ewald won the MDUSBC Women’s Doubles with Kristy Hatcher, won the MDUSBC Women’s All-Events, second from MDUSBC and second overall in the Michigan State Women’s Doubles with Kristy Hatcher and fourth from MDUSBC in Michigan State Women’s All-Events. She had two 300 games, a high series of 792, 14 other 700 series and a high average of 226. This is her sixth All-City selection.
Hatcher earned her first All-City honor on the strength of winning the MDUSBC Women’s Doubles with Michelle Ewald, second in MDUSBC Women’s Singles, eighth in MDUSBC Women’s All-Events, second from MDUSBC and second overall in the Michigan State Women’s Doubles with Michelle Ewald. One 300 game, a high series of 744, five other series over 700 and a high average of 212 completed her resume. Austin is appearing for the fourth time. She won the MDUSBC Women’s Singles, 10th in the MDUSBC Women’s Doubles with Yvonne Jones and 10th place in the MDUSBC Women’s All-Events. She had high games of 300, 298, 290, 290, 289, 279 and 279. A high series of 837, eight others over 700 and a high average of 212 put her on the team. Sonja Butler of Detroit (47), Jennifer Heyman of Macomb (46), Teri White of St. Clair Shores (46), Nicole Aleo of Shelby Township (29) and Melissa Lynch of Macomb (29) rounded out the women’s second team. Butler was appearing for the second time, while the others appear for the first time.

Jerry Owczarski of South Lyon, 71 points, marked his second appearance with a sixth place finish in the MDUSBC Senior Masters, 31st in the MDUSBC Masters, 10th among seniors in MDUSBC Doubles with Jeffrey Austreng, seventh among seniors in the MDUSBC Singles, winning the MDUSBC All-Events and placing fourth among MDUSBC seniors in the Michigan State Singles. He recorded two 300 games, three 299 games, one 800 series and a high average of 222. The senior men’s first team was completed with George (Mike) Lee of Dearborn (62), Mitchell Jabczenski Sr. of Novi (58), Lee Snow of Wixom (47) and Edwin Austreng of Waterford Township (44½). Lee finished second in the MDUSBC Senior Masters, 20th in the MDUSBC Masters, ninth among seniors in the MDUSBC Doubles with Charles Morris, first among seniors in MDUSBC Singles and sixth among seniors in MDUSBC All-Events. Two 300 games and a high average of 210 completed his resume while appearing for the second time. Jabczenski is making his fourth appearance after finishing third in MDUSBC Senior Masters and second among MDUSBC seniors in Michigan State Singles. Three 300 games, a high series of 801 and a high average of 221 finishes his accomplishments. Snow won the MDUSBC Senior Masters and was second among MDUSBC seniors in Michigan State Doubles with Nunzio Marino. He also recorded two 300 games while making the team for the fifth time. Austreng joins the team for the second time after finishing 17th in the MDUSBC Senior Masters, seventh among seniors in MDUSBC Doubles with Scott Glenday, fourth among seniors in MDUSBC Singles and fifth among seniors in MDUSBC All-Events. One 300 game, two 299 games and a high average of 229 also garnered points. Richard Eiermann of Garden City (40), Terry Hockstad of Utica (37), Leo Scantamburlo of Riverview (37), Jimmy Magolan of Shelby Township (36½) and Charles Graddick Jr. of Detroit (35) rounded out the senior men’s second team. Carol Davis of Lake Orion, with 54 points, was third among seniors in the MDUSBC Women’s Doubles with Betty Trimper, third among seniors in the MDUSBC Women’s All-Events, first among MDUSBC seniors in Michigan State Women’s Singles, first among MDUSBC seniors in Michigan State Women’s All-Events and had a high average of 203. Debra Dickerson of Detroit (44), Yvonne Ogburn of Detroit (30), JoAnn Carter of Detroit (27) and Gwendolyn Finley of Detroit (26) completed the senior women’s first team. Dickerson was first among seniors in MDUSBC Women’s Doubles with Sheryl Tillmon, fifth among seniors in MDUSBC Women’s Singles and second among seniors in the MDUSBC Women’s All-Events. She had one 300 game, a high series of 729 and high average of 209. Ogburn was third among seniors in the MDUSBC Women’s Singles and first among seniors in the MDUSBC Women’s All-Events. A high series of 700 and high average of 204 completed her resume. Carter was second among MDUSBC seniors in the Michigan State Women’s Doubles with Rowena Flonoury and fourth among MDUSBC seniors in the Michigan State Women’s All-Events. She had a high series of 736 and a high average of 206. Finley was first among seniors in MDUSBC Women’s Singles and 10th among seniors in MDUSBC Women’s Doubles with Sheila Temple. Her high game was 279, high series 721 and high average 210. Susan Szachta of Warren (25), Sheryl McMahan of Commerce Township (18), Carol Roberts of Ferndale (18), Carrol Sheridan of Rochester Hills (17) and Leona Obuchowski of Ferndale (16) achieved senior women’s second team status. This marks the first time the senior women’s teams have been named. Points are tabulated on performance in the local, state and national tournaments; honor scores and league averages.

The Metro Detroit USBC Association, formed on May 1, 2006, is the largest local association of the United States Bowling Congress with over 70,000 adult and over 6,000 youth members.

'Vloggers' alert!

Pick up your video cameras and your spares this summer for the first Sport Bowling Video Contest. All bowlers nationwide competing in summer USBC Sport Bowling leagues are eligible to display their creative side to the world by producing short videos for the chance to win the top prize, a visit from USBC Sport Bowling spokesperson and Denny's Professional Bowlers Association Tour star Chris Barnes. Bowlers have from June 4 to July 6 to submit to USBC videos of up to three minutes in length that relate in some way to their PBA Experience or other Sport Bowling leagues. For ideas, Sport Bowlers are invited to view Barnes' video blogs - or "vlogs" - that chronicled his week-to-week life on the Denny's PBA Tour and are featured exclusively in the Sport Bowling section of bowl.com. The person or team submitting the grand prize winning video as judged by USBC will win a visit from Barnes for their Sport Bowling league later this summer. The Sport league will have exclusive access to Barnes, who will visit the center to present a special coaching clinic and exhibition. Three runner-up videos to be determined by online voting July 9-20 will be featured on bowl.com. All runners-up will receive a complimentary 2007-08 USBC Sport Bowling membership upgrade and a Sport Bowling polo shirt. All winners will be announced July 23 on bowl.com. Visit the Sport Bowling section of bowl.com for complete contest rules. "This is a fun and unique contest that allows USBC Sport Bowlers to use their imaginations and show the world what their Sport Bowling or PBA Experience leagues mean to them," said Director of USBC Sport Bowling Steve Wunderlich. "I had fun shooting my vlogs this past season to give bowl.com viewers a glimpse at life on the Denny's PBA Tour," Barnes said. "They were like shooting home movies. I can't wait to watch all the videos on bowl.com and have a fun bowling event to celebrate with the grand prize winner." Sport Bowlers across the country are flocking to the lanes in PBA Experience leagues this spring and summer. Thanks to the PBA Experience, a part of the USBC Sport Bowling program, Sport Bowling is realizing explosive growth this season. About 500 Sport Bowling leagues - mostly PBA Experience leagues - have registered for spring and summer competition with USBC. Unprecedented bowler and proprietor interest in the PBA Experience means that Sport Bowling leagues now are available in approximately 13 percent of bowling centers (780) across the U.S. In PBA Experience leagues, bowlers compete on the same oil patterns used on the Denny's PBA Tour. The patterns - named Chameleon, Cheetah, Scorpion, Shark and Viper - comply with USBC Sport Bowling guidelines which allow a maximum of three times as much oil on the inside boards versus the outside boards. This oil application typically is described as a ratio, in this case 3:1. For more information about Sport Bowling and the PBA Experience, visit the Sport Bowling section of bowl.com.

The 'new' Bowling Center

The common belief, especially among young male bowlers, is that the greater the speed of the bowling ball, the more pins will ultimately fall. Why then, can a 5-year-old stand at the foul line, roll the bowling ball with two hands at a speed slower than a crawl and knock down about as many pins? "Fast is macho, but it doesn't knock down pins," said Karen Pullman, owner of Karen Pullman's Pro Shop/Bowling Center in Sandy. "Bowling is a game of angles. "Most of the time you see recreational players choose a bowling ball that's too light because they want to throw it down the alley at 20 miles per hour." For the ball to turn the corner, for that little hook into the pocket and into a perfect strike, it needs to decelerate between 3 to 3 1/2 mph, she said. A bowling ball thrown too fast can't decelerate, thereby missing the perfect spot. While the game of bowling itself hasn't changed much over the past century, how it's played has changed starting with the scoring table. There are no more pencils and scoring sheets, only buttons and a computer program that can add scores, show standing pins and, with the option on, advise the bowler where best to stand and release to pick up remaining pins. "In most cases, bowlers don't want to be bothered with the computer giving them advise, so we shut that part off," Pullman said. Computer scoring also makes it impossible to get in those few extra practice rolls before starting the game. "No, once I turn on the lane, the first roll counts. The game starts from the get-go and ends with the last player rolling the last ball in the 10th frame," she added. Some of the biggest changes are in the bowling ball itself. Once made of hard rubber, new balls are made of polyester, a harder more aggressive product. This has caused a rash of changes, not only in the delivery, but also in the number of bowling balls high-scoring bowlers may take with them. "The old bowling balls wouldn't do a whole lot, only what the bowler was able to do. New bowling balls are harder and have all kinds of things added to the surface, like glass bubbles and microchips. It's like added studs to snow tires. Now the bowling balls can do all kinds of different things." At issue is not so much the bowling balls but lane preparation. The oils put down on the lanes determine how a ball responds. Too much oil will mean the ball slides instead of grips; too little oil means the ball may grip too soon. "A proprietor can either make you a good bowler or a bad bowler, depending on how much oil is put on the lanes. A proprietor can open a lane up for a righty or lefty or close it. That's why bowling will never be in the Olympics. Proprietors have learned how to manipulate the lanes," she said. The introduction of the more aggressive bowling balls has also resulted in how the game is taught. High scores are no longer the main objective. "Now we teach, especially young bowlers, to knock down pins and have fun. We're no longer worried about high scores. That will come," she said. "If they learn this when they're young, then it carries over when they get older, and we've found they'll stay with the game longer and won't drop out. This is especially so since there is now bowling in high school and college. Over the long run we may lose them for four or five years when they start young families, but when they can they come back." As for today's bowlers, Pullman said league play has slumped off but open play has picked up, especially among the younger generation. "We're getting a lot more families out, and also teens out on a date. They'll sometimes come bowling before or after a prom," she said. One thing that has helped young players is the addition of the bumpers or gutter guards. The old "gutter ball" has been eliminated. The bumpers keep the ball in the alley, albeit not necessarily on a direct path. What it means is that pins fall on almost every roll. And being able to keep the ball rolling in the alley without the bumpers is the goal of every young bowler, she added. What Pullman has found, too, is that older bowlers approach the game with some built-in bad habits, the main one being aim. The old method, passed down from bowler to bowler, is to hold the ball in front of the nose and aim for the pocket, thinking that the ball will follow the nose rather than the arm. "But the nose doesn't deliver the ball, the shoulder does. Sure, the nose should be in line with the pocket, but if the shoulder isn't, you won't knock down pins ... especially spares," she said. "You start with the shoulder in line. It's the shoulder that delivers the ball and the thumb that guides it." The objective, too, is to have a loose arm swing straight back and then straight forward and a smooth follow through. As far as the weight of the bowling ball goes, the move is toward slightly lighter bowling balls. Almost gone are the 16-pound bowling balls. Most of those sold today for adults are in the range of 14 to 15 pounds. But gone from a shop's inventory are the old $19.99 rubber bowling balls. The introductory bowling ball is now around $61.95. As to whether it pays to own rather than use house bowling balls, Pullman said if someone bowls two or three times a year, then owning is not necessary. Sonix night runs from 8:30 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The new bowling experience is accompanied by strobe, neon and black lights, as well as amplified music. It is especially popular with teenagers and other young bowlers. "But for someone who bowls two or three times a month, then, yes, I would suggest they look into purchasing. When you buy a bowling ball, that ball is made to fit the bowler. For starters, they don't need to walk around trying to find one that fits," she said. For those who want to improve their game, the bowling business now uses video to help pinpoint problems. Pullman also has two lanes set up with a computer system that tracks a bowler's delivery. The computer analysis is $25 and the videotaping is also $25. Something new bowling lanes are doing what Pullman calls "Sonix." Every Friday and Saturday evening from 8:30 to midnight, the main lighting system is turned off and bowlers roll in darkened conditions, illuminated only by strobe, neon and black lights, all done to the sound of amplified music. She said this evening experience is extremely popular, especially with the younger bowlers. At one point, bowling was the No. 1 participant sport in the country. It lost a little ground, but in recent years has been recovering. Computers, better bowling balls, bumper guards for the kids and a little friendly competition are all playing their part in bowling regaining its popularity.

It's not your Fathers bowling alley...

CHICAGO — The music is loud and pulsating, the air oozes with hipness. The bar is packed with stylishly dressed young professionals drinking martinis and surveying the scene. Take away their ugly three-toned shoes and the 24 spit-polished lanes and this would be just another trendy joint. After two decades of decline, bowling is rolling with a polished new look. Laverne and Shirley, cigarette smoke choking the air, and bad polyester shirts that's so 1980. The number of traditional alleys and weekly bowlers may be dropping, but "bowling centers" have made the sport more popular than ever and are generating some serious cash. What once was mostly a patchwork of mom-and-pop operations has ballooned into a $10 billion industry. "It's definitely attracting a different market than it used to," said Grant DePorter, president of Harry Caray's Restaurant Group, which owns 10pin, an upscale bowling center in downtown Chicago. "The atmosphere is a giant paradigm shift. It's not their father's bowling alley." And in what might be the ultimate seal of approval, there's even bowling with the stars. Chris Paul, the NBA rookie of the year last year, recently signed on as spokesman for the U.S. Bowling Congress. LeBron James not only has his own ball, he's putting a couple of lanes in the swanky new house he's building. "We're optimistic in the fact we're putting in place a lot of programs that are going to turn it around eventually. But we know it's going to take some time," said Mark Miller of the USBC. "It's in the next five, 10 years that it's going to take off," Miller added. "It took 20-something years to get to this point, it's going to take some time to get back." There were about nine million regular bowlers those who bowl once a week in 1979-80. Now, there are only 2.7 million, according to USBC figures. "If you go back 15, 20 years, league play would account for 70 percent of revenues. These days, league play is well under 50 percent," said Sandy Hansell, a financial adviser who sells and appraises bowling centers. "It used to be a lot of bowling leagues were built around organizations and companies: the Elks Club, Kiwanis Club, the sisterhood of your church or temple. A lot of that has gone by the wayside. People spent their whole careers with one company, now they don't," Hansell said. "All these societal factors have shrunk the number of people who are willing to bowl in traditional leagues. So the bowling proprietors have had to react." When Mark Iverson bought the Diversey River Bowl in Chicago in 1986, the alley was a microcosm of what was wrong with bowling: The building was rundown, the machines and lanes were outdated and there was little else to entice people to visit. Iverson upgraded the lanes, installed disco-esque light shows and mounted monster speakers to give the place a throbbing beat. The regulars weren't too crazy about the facelift, but others were. "The younger people came out and said, `Oh wow, cool.' That's how we got to be known as the Diversey Rock 'N Bowl," Iverson said. "That's how we got the young people in." Soon, alleys across the country were restyling themselves as entertainment centers. There are 5,500 bowling alleys in the United States now, half the number that existed in the 1960s. But many of the new ones are gigantic _ a quarter have 32 lanes or more and offer as much to do as an amusement park. Flat-screen TVs, rock-climbing walls and laser tag are just some of the added attractions. In Las Vegas, Red Rock Lanes at the Red Rock Casino has 72 lanes open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There's a video wall of projection screens hanging above the end of the lanes, and those who don't want to bowl can check out the pool tables, shuffle board or darts. A wait staff serves food and drinks; there are VIP lanes for private parties. "That smoke-filled, beer-swilling, potbellied bowler? That image is long gone," said Hansell, the financial adviser. In many parts of the country, refurbished centers are making bowling more of a base rather than the main attraction. The lone Pac-Man machine has been replaced by a full video arcade, the bar was expanded into a lounge complete with karaoke. Frozen pizzas were replaced by full menus. After years of catering to regulars, the industry began focusing on the casual bowler and families. Lane bumpers and smaller balls were introduced to make the game more kid-friendly, and enough neon was splashed around to keep places aglow. "It is coming back," said Melinda Metzger, whose daughter, Emma, had her 8th birthday party at 10pin. "For a while, bowling was really down and out. Now, if it's a rainy day, we'll say, `Let's go to the bowling alley.'" That doesn't mean those old-time alleys have disappeared. The USBC's Miller estimates that about a third of all bowling centers are still small operations, with the oldest being the Holler House on the south side of Milwaukee. Two old-school lanes are tucked away in the basement, and look virtually the same way they did when the place opened in 1908. The wood is original, and a pin boy still tends the lanes. Scoring is done on white sheets of paper that hang on the walls on either side of the lanes. "They used to bowl by gaslight down here," owner Marcy Skowronski said. "Those guys, smoking their big cigars, I'm surprised they didn't blow themselves up." Upstairs, a sign advertises mixed drinks for 15 cents and there's an icebox behind the bar. The tin ceiling is covered with bras left behind by first-time visitors, a tradition dating back some 40 years. "You can't get bored in this place," Skowronski said. Still, she doesn't begrudge the industry's makeover. "They've got to do something to get people in," she said. Though the days of league play and the numbers of regular bowlers are dwindling, industry officials are determined to rebuild the sport itself. The PBA Tour is televised on ESPN, drawing about 1 million viewers despite going up against football and basketball. High school bowling has taken off, and now there are 18 states where it's a varsity sport, triple the number from 10 years ago. "I hope other people will start to enjoy it and understand that it is a sport. It's tough," said Paul, who got hooked on bowling as a kid when he and his brother tagged along with their father. "You can go with a lot of friends and have it be a social event. Or you can go with people who bowl a lot and be competitive." At his "Chris Paul Winston-Salem Weekend" charity fundraiser last year, the highlight was the celebrity bowling tournament, which drew an All-Star crowd with James, Wade and Carmelo Anthony. The event was such a rousing success, invites for this year's event in September are already in demand.

Lets do it again!

There's a lull between the winter and summer leagues at Rip Van Winkle Lanes, so its time to take a look at the national bowling scene.Kelly Kulick will have the opportunity to repeat as U.S. Women's Open champion - four years after her last title. After a four-year absence, the Women's Open will be held again after the United State Bowling Congress was granted the rights to the name by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America.The event will be staged Aug.13-18 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev. A qualifying event will determine 16 finalists who will compete in four separate four-player elimination rounds. The winner of each round earns a spot in the final bracket which will determine the champion.The elimination rounds will be broadcast on tape-delay in the weeks prior to the final which will be telecast live."This is a tremendous and overdue opportunity to both provide elite women bowlers with another major championship to compete in and to support USBC's vision of growing the sport through greater visibility," USBA CEO Roger Dalks said.As part of its growing partnership with the PBA, players entering the Women's Open will have the option of paying an additional entry fee to have their qualifying scores count toward the PBA Women's Tour Trials.A year ago, Kulick became the first woman to earn a full-time exemption on the Denny's Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Last week, she defeated Diandra Asbaty, 192-143, to win the United States Bowling Congress Queens title. She took home $30,000.The USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships came to an end with Tim Pfeifer and Elysia Current winning titles.Pfeifer, a Robert Morris sophomore who joined Junior Team USA last summer, defeated Penn State's Jason Weaver, 3-2, in the final. He had games of 152-184-179-189 in the four matches.Current, who transfered from Fairleigh Dickinson to Wichita State, led the Shockers to the team title and then added the women's individual championship.Competition continued in the Bobby Snell Doubles Handicap Tournament. Nicole LaValle moved into first place in singles handicap with 552 and she and Dale Patston shot 1086, three pins behind the leaders.Patston is now second in singles scratch with 494 while Frank Billowitz had high scratch game of 290.

Brew Crew!

MILWAUKEE -- Bowling pro Danny Wiseman first learned how to bowl when he was 5, but he didn't spend much time in bowling alleys as a child. Instead, Wiseman loved putting on his cleats and heading out to the baseball fields in his hometown of Baltimore for Little League games. He was a switch-hitter and also played some third base, but other kids knew him because of his fastball. Wiseman said by the time he was 9, he could throw the ball 50 mph -- as hard as boys three years his senior. "Some of the guys that I played with back home, they said, 'Man, everybody was scared of you because you threw it so hard,'" Wiseman said. "Baseball was my first love and bowling second." Wiseman fulfilled his childhood dream of playing in a big-league ballpark -- kind of -- when he won the United States Bowling Congress Masters tournament at Miller Park in October 2004. It was the first time a baseball stadium had ever hosted a Professional Bowlers Association event. The Masters finals will return to Miller Park this year on Sunday, Oct. 28, the Brewers announced in a press conference Thursday. Four lanes will be installed along the infield dirt from first to second base for the nationally televised event, said Rick Schlesinger, Brewers executive vice president of business operations. USBC chief executive officer Roger Dalkin, PBA Tour director Kirk von Krueger and Wiseman also attended the press conference. "Hopefully, I will still be the only pro bowler to have won in a baseball stadium," Wiseman said. "That's my goal. I've got to defend." The Masters, one of the PBA's four major events, will feature an expected field of more than 500 of the world's top professional and amateur bowlers and total prize money of more than $350,000. The event will also include Bowlfest, a festival that will allow fans to mingle with bowlers and watch the installation of the lanes. The Brewers have a contingency plan in place, though, in case the team makes it to the World Series and has to play Game 4 at Miller Park that day. The AMF Bowlero Lanes in Wauwatosa, Wis., will be the alternate site for the finals. "Frankly, as a Milwaukee resident, I hope we have to work with our contingency plan," Dalkin said. More than 4,300 spectators showed up to watch the event in 2004. Dalkin said the first-base and right-field stands can hold up to 12,000 fans, and he expects a large turnout for the 2007 Masters finals because the Green Bay Packers don't play that Sunday. Instead, the Packers take on the Denver Broncos in a Monday Night Football showdown the following night. The PBA held the 2005 Masters finals in U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee, and last year's finals took place at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at the State Fair Park in the city's suburbs. Dalkin said the USBC chose to move the Masters back to Miller Park so people would more likely consider bowling a sport, instead of just a recreational activity. "Bowling is a sport, just like baseball, just like football, basketball," Dalkin said. "This is a sporting venue where people know athletes compete, and what better place to showcase our athletes than a venue such as this?" But bowling in a ballpark takes some getting used to. The temperature hovered around a chilly 55 degrees in Miller Park during the 2004 event, Wiseman said. He ended up liking it, though, because he was sick of glaring lights in bowling alleys getting him sweaty in front of television cameras. The real adjustment for Wiseman came when he made his first few warmup tosses. The ballpark's high roof played tricks on his eyes and made the ball look like it was rolling more slowly than usual.
"It was very, very harrowing," Wiseman said, laughing. "It just felt like the ball took forever to get down the lane." The 17-year veteran adjusted well enough, though, capturing his 11th career title and the $100,000 cash prize. Wiseman called the 2004 win an unforgettable moment in his career and ranked it right up there along with winning his first career title in front of family and friends in Baltimore in 1990. "People identify with that, 'Oh, you're the guy that won inside a baseball stadium,'" Wiseman said. "I get so many questions even to this day in bowling pro-ams: 'How was it bowling inside that baseball stadium?'" And to top it all, the event gave 39-year-old the thrill of playing in a Major League ballpark. Wiseman still rues the day when he walked away from baseball as a 13-year-old. It rained persistently that spring day, causing the pitcher's mound to disintegrate. Wiseman kept slipping and sliding and pleaded with his coach to add dirt to the mound, he said. But his coach refused and instead substituted his son into the game to take Wiseman's spot. The son quickly complained about the mound, and Wiseman's coach immediately added dirt to it. Wiseman can't remember or wouldn't give the names of the parties involved, but he said he never felt the same about baseball again and poured his heart into bowling after that. Wiseman remains an Orioles fan and occasionally visits a batting cage, but he has no complaints about the way his life turned out. "I wouldn't change a thing, being that I've been around the world throwing a bowling ball," he said. "If I would have stuck with [baseball], who knows? I might not be standing here right now because of bowling. Things happen for a reason." Fans can purchase tickets for the 2007 Masters finals beginning June 11 from the Brewers ticket office at (414) 902-4000 or on Brewers.com. Ticket prices range from $10-$75.

Olympic Bowling?

Roger Dalkin is optimistic that bowling will become an Olympic sport, possibly by 2016. The United States Bowling Congress CEO said his organization would push the world governing body to drop its amateur-only rule in meetings in Monterrey, Mexico, in August. That's important because the International Olympic Committee has mandated that Olympic sports must include the best athletes in the world. "One of the biggest stumbling blocks we have is that the World Tenpin Bowling Association has an amateur-only rule on the international stage," Dalkin said. In 2004, an amendment to eliminate the amateur-only rule lost by one vote. "We're going to make it extremely clear again - and there are a lot of countries that support us - that the WTBA needs to open up the program," Dalkin said. "(PBA Tour stars) Norm Duke and Walter Ray Williams may not try out for Team USA, but we have to make that an option for the IOC to even talk to us." For years before the 2004 merger that created the USBC, USA Bowling lobbied the IOC to be included in the Summer Games to no avail. "We did everything above board and below board," Dalkin said. "We were getting frustrated and we finally said, 'Tell us what you're looking for.' So the IOC came out with a 35-point list of things. "Sift through everything and it comes down to three things: Either you have to have very high TV ratings worldwide, you can fill huge stadiums with tons of people or you bring huge sponsorship to the Olympic Games. Bowling does none of those three. We can't meet the IOC's requirements, so we said, 'OK, we understand. That's not us.' "So then they took out baseball and softball because of political issues and they came back to us and said, 'Are you still interested?' " Though bowling doesn't meet some of the IOC's criteria it does satisfy others: 50-50 participation among men and women; the sport is scored and not judged; and it is not dominated internationally by the United States. "The IOC said, 'We'd like you to consider coming back. Pitch us,' " Dalkin said. "If the WTBA votes to eliminate the amateur-only rule, we've cleared the first hurdle."
The United States Olympic Committee chose Chicago, long a bowling hotbed, as its bid city for the 2016 Summer Games. If Chicago gets the Games, Dalkin said, bowling has a chance to be included. "If it happens," Dalkin said, "I should be long retired and enjoying it as a spectator."

Hey coach...

USBC Coaching is pleased to announce an upcoming Bronze coach certification conference in Bowling Green, OH. If you or someone you know is interested in this conference, please see the attached flyer with registration form. The attached form is in the Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have ability to view files in this format, you can download the Adobe Acrobat
reader for free by clicking here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Uncle Sam strikes again!

The Michigan House of Representatives may vote on a taxation bill today (Thursday, May 24, 2007) which will extend sales tax to certain services and entertainment in Michigan. This would include bowling. What this would mean is that bowling would be subject to the 6% sales tax that we pay on products in the state. Even league contracts would be subject to the tax, which will mean an increase in league lineage costs.

Obviously this is only the first step in this becoming law. If this bill is passed by the Michigan House of Representatives then it will be sent to the Michigan Senate for their action. If the bill passes both bodies then it would require the governor's signature to be enacted.

Now is the time to become informed and weigh in on the subject with your local Representative.

To find your local representative e-mail address or telephone number use one of the following links:

Oakland County representatives: http://www.house.michigan.gov/RepList.asp?lstCounty=Oakland&txtDistrict=&txtZip=

Macomb County representatives: http://www.house.michigan.gov/RepList.asp?lstCounty=Macomb&txtDistrict=&txtZip=

Wayne County representatives: http://www.house.michigan.gov/RepList.asp?lstCounty=Wayne&txtDistrict=&txtZip=

Royal Treatment?

Wichita city staff revealed no new secrets as to what happened to make the U.S. Bowling Congress cancel its 2011 tournament during the City Council meeting today. City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf and City Manager George Kolb said the congress cited the same three reasons: failure to guarantee long-term maintenance of Century II, lack of binding arbitration and dealing with two entities. The two laid out the time line of contact with the USBC but said they didn't realize negotiations had reached logjam. They thought the remaining issues were small and could be resolved and told the USBC so. They said they are still mystified as to what happened. "There are still some unanswered questions," Kolb said. "But we can't talk to the USBC to answer them." To cut through some of the bowlers' objections, Kolb recommended that in the future that the Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau, rather than city staff, handle all convention negotiations. That would allow a maintenance guarantee and would simplify negotiations. Members of the City Council asked pointed questions of Kolb and Rebenstorf. "At what point were you going to come to us?" Brewer asked. "When it became obvious that things had reached an impasse," Kolb said. "In our opinion, it had not got there yet." For more on this story, look in Wednesday's Eagle or come back to Kansas.com.

Queen for a day...

If you missed the live broadcast of the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Queens, catch it again this Sunday at 1:00 EDT. Watch five of the world's best women bowlers - Wendy Macpherson, Shannon O'Keefe, Kristal Scott, Diandra Asbaty and Kelly Kulick - vie for the $30,000 first prize along with the Queens tiara, pendant and crystal trophy.
Next up in the televised bowling bonanza is the final match of the $250,000 Bowling Shootout from The Orleans in Las Vegas, to be aired 2:30-3:30 p.m. See USBC Sport Bowling spokesperson Chris Barnes and USBC Hall of Famer Pete Weber try to take away $150,000 in cash and up to $50,000 in prizes from amateurs Joe German Sr. of Powder Springs, Ga., and Sim Dysart of Hancock, Maine. German and Dysart survived four rounds of qualifiers against nearly 300 bowlers from 38 states in the national finals. (www.bowl.com )

'D' place to bowl in 08!

Three major youth events, including the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships, will be conducted in the Detroit metropolitan area in July of 2008. The USBC Junior Gold Championships is the nation's premier competition for high-average youth bowlers and will be conducted for the 11th consecutive year. The event is expected to draw more than 1,700 athletes and their families to the Detroit area.

Two other events will also be conducted in Detroit - the Pepsi USBC Youth Championships, which features a select number of players in all average levels, and the USBC Youth Open Championships, open to any USBC Youth member. "The Metroit Detroit USBC Association has the second most youth members in the country, so these events are a great fit for that area," USBC Chief Officer for Tournaments and Events Roseann Kuhn said. "The Detroit area is also well-known as a strong bowling community, and I'm sure they'll welcome our bowlers with open arms."

The USBC Junior Gold Championships, which will be held July 5-11, 2008, will be conducted in three bowling centers - Century Bowl in Waterford, Sterling Lanes in Sterling Heights and Sunnybrook Bowl in Sterling Heights. The annual adult/youth tournament will be conducted at Taylor Lanes in Taylor, Mich. The USBC Youth Open Championships will be conducted from July 7-15, 2008 at Skore Lanes in Taylor, while the Pepsi USBC Youth Championships will be held from July 14-16, 2008 at Sunnybrook Bowl.

Also in 2008, the Detroit area will host another major event - the USBC Women's Championships, the world's largest participatory sporting event for women. The Women's Championships will be conducted from April 10-July 6 and will be held at Super Bowl in Canton, Mich. All three youth events are being conducted in Buffalo, N.Y., in July this year. (www.bowl.com)

Very Special...

Special Olympics-Macomb will be holding a fundraiser on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 at Sunnybrook Lanes in Sterling Heights. The event is for adults only at a cost of $25. The price includes 3 games of no-tap bowling, shoe rental, two pieces of pizza, salad, soda and a door prize ticket. There will be various raffles, strike ball and 50/50. Please consider supporting this very worthy cause.

Proud Papa!

Sorry I've been away for awhile, my Wife Kathy gave birth to another little girl, Madeline Marie born April 21st. I now have my own bowling team!

Hey Coach!

USBC Coaching is pleased to announce an upcoming Level I coach certification class in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday June 24th at 11am. If you or someone you know is interested in this class, please call Mayflower Lanes for more information. The telephone number is 313-937-8420, Happy Coaching!

You got skills?

The PBA released air dates for the 2007 PBA Skills Challenge which will run throughout the summer on ESPN and ESPN2. The first airing of the PBA Skills Challenge takes place this Sunday, April 15 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. This year’s PBA Skills Challenge, which took place throughout the 2006-07 Denny’s PBA Tour season, marked the third consecutive season of the event. After two years as a singles event, Chris Barnes and Norm Duke won the first two competitions, this year’s Skills Challenge took on a new format with bowlers competing as doubles teams. The 2007 PBA Skills Challenge featured the following teams of Denny’s PBA Tour stars with a “Legends vs. Young Guns” theme. Legends Norm Duke and Brian Voss, Parker Bohn III and Jason Couch, Danny Wiseman and Doug Kent, Chris Barnes and Del Ballard Jr. Young Guns Tommy Jones and Kelly Kulick, Bill O’Neill and Sean Rash, Mike Machuga and Tony Reyes, Wes Malott and Chris Johnson.

Thomas the Tank!

When two titles are considered a down year, it can only mean the bar has been raised to an unbelievably high level. Tommy Jones has raised the bar higher than any bowler in Denny’s PBA Tour history, capturing his 10th career title and second Major Sunday with a 257-222 win over Tony Reyes to win the 2007 PBA Tournament of Champions at Mohegan Sun Arena. Jones won his 10 titles in two years, six months and seven days, breaking the PBA record for shortest time between first and 10 titles by four days. PBA legend Dick Weber held the record for 45 years until Jones salvaged what was considered a down year for the 28-year-old. “It feels great. I haven’t been bowling very well this season, but I worked with Del Ballard recently and I have to thank him for getting me back here,” said Jones, the 2005-06 PBA Player of the Year, of the 12-time titlist. “Next year I’m going to be back and ready to go again. I’m ready to win another Player of the Year.” Jones earned $60,000 for the win. Reyes took home $20,000 for second, while Chris Barnes and Norm Duke earned $10,000 each for third and fourth, respectively. The Tournament of Champions wraps up the 2006-07 Denny’s PBA Tour season. Next week, six bowlers will compete in a special winner-take-all event, the 2007 Motel 6 Roll to Riches at Sequoia Pro Bowl in Columbus, Ohio. The Major winners from this season (Doug Kent, Jones and Pete Weber), PBA World Point Rankings leader (Wes Malott) and two bowlers from an on-line fan vote (Duke, Walter Ray Williams Jr.) will compete for the $150,000 top prize.

Superman!

It’s not how you start, but how you finish. Although a great start and a great finish are okay too, as Doug Kent can attest to. Kent became the sixth bowler in Denny’s PBA Tour history to win two Majors in one season, defeating Chris Barnes, 237-216, Sunday to win the 2007 Denny’s World Championship at DeVos Place. Kent won the season-opening USBC Masters for his second career Major title, then captured his second career World Championship in the season’s second-to-last event. He is the first bowler since Walter Ray Williams Jr. in 2002-03 to win two Majors in a season and the eighth bowler all-time to win multiple World Championships.“This one really feels great, to win two in a season is very rare and just to be in this position is a great feeling,” Kent said. Though he’s been fairly quiet in the second half of the season, with two Majors under his belt Kent threw his name in an already crowded Player of the Year race with one event and the final Major – remaining. Barnes advanced to the title match with a 246-226 win over Tony Reyes.Kent earned $50,000 and a four-season Denny’s PBA Tour exemption through the 2010-11 season with the win. Barnes took home $25,000 for second, Wiseman earned $13,000 for third and Reyes earned $10,000 for fourth. Next week the Denny’s PBA Tour season wraps up with the 2007 PBA Tournament of Champions, March 29-April 1. The live ESPN-televised finals take place Sunday, April 1 at 1 p.m. EST at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Sunday Showdown All Set!

Wes Malott and Tony Reyes faced off in the Round of 8 in the 2007 Denny’s World Championship for the right to be the lone finalist without a Denny’s PBA Tour Major title. After six games of best-of-seven match play, Reyes advanced with a 4-2 win over Malott at Spectrum Lanes. Reyes will face No. 6 Chris Barnes, the only bowler to go undefeated in match play. Barnes rolled through his two rounds of match play going 8-0 in defeating Mike Edwards in the Round of Super 16 and Tim Criss in the Round of 8. Doug Kent and Danny Wiseman both advanced with 4-1 victories over Brad Angelo and Jeff Lizzi, respectively. The four bowlers advance to tomorrow's live ESPN televised finals at 2 p.m. EST at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Mich. The winner will take home $50,000 and a four-season exemption through the 2010-11 Denny’s PBA Tour season.

Video Bowling Excercise...

By Lisa Baertlein Reuters, Fri Mar 23, 11:33 AM ET
Until two weeks ago, Ruth Ebert never had the slightest interest in the video games favored by her one and only granddaughter. "I'm 82 years old, so I missed that part of our culture. Soap operas, yes. Video games, no," chirped Ebert, who recently started playing a tennis game on Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS) new Wii video game console at the Virginia retirement community she calls home. "It was funny, because normally I would not be someone who would do that," said Ebert, who picked up the console's motion-sensing Wiimote and challenged the machine to a match. While she took the early on-court lead, the Wii beat her in the end. Still, it hurt less than her real-world losses: "I didn't mind losing to a video game. It couldn't rub it in."
UNDERDOG DELIVERS
Japan's Nintendo has been on a mission to expand the $30 billion global video game market far beyond the children and young males who make up its core consumers. And the company, a former underdog best known for fun, high-quality games based on off-beat characters like plumbers -- think Mario Bros. -- has sent shock waves through game industry with the unexpected and runaway success of the Wii. That $250 console has been stealing the show from Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s (6758.T)(NYSE:SNE - news) PlayStation 3, higher-powered consoles that are much more expensive than the Wii. While those rivals focused on cutting-edge graphics and high-tech bells and whistles, Nintendo focused on making game play easier, more intuitive and more appealing to a mass market. That bet paid off. The Wii outsold the new Microsoft and Sony consoles in January and February and is generating its own buzz with everyone from nuns to cancer patients to toddlers. There are Wii parties and Wii bowling contests. Players, who often look quite silly and occasionally injure themselves in fits of overzealous play, upload video of their Wii antics to a variety of technology Web sites like GameTrailers.com and Google's (Nasdaq:GOOG - news) YouTube. "I thought it was tremendous," said Ted Campbell, 77. Last week he played the Wii for the first time at Springfield, Virginia's Greenspring Retirement Community, where Ebert is also a resident. The community hasn't yet decided where to keep the Wii, although Ebert has volunteered her one-bedroom apartment, with its big-screen TV.
WII WAVE
Flora Dierbach, 72, chairs the entertainment committee at a sister facility owned by Erickson Retirement Communities in Chicago and helped arrange a Wii bowling tournament -- the latest Wii craze. "It's a very social thing and it's good exercise ... and you don't have to throw a 16-pound (7.25-kg) bowling ball to get results," said Dierbach, who added the competition had people who hardly knew each other cheering and hugging in the span of a few hours. "We just had a ball with it. You think it's your grandkids' game and it's not," she said, noting that Erickson paid for the Wiis in its facilities. Greenspring resident and long-time bowler Sim Taylor said his grandchildren are also great fans of video games. "I never could understand it," said Taylor, who at 81 has surprised himself by adding video games to his list of hobbies. That isn't the case with Millicent, his wife of 55 years. "She sticks with bridge," Taylor said.

Join in...

This week’s 2007 Denny’s World Championship at Spectrum Lanes and DeVos Place features a 150-bowler field bowling three rounds of qualifying before the field is cut to the top 50. An additional nine game qualifying block will take place Thursday for the cashers, after which the field will be cut to the top 40 for single elimination match play. The top eight after qualifying receive byes into the Round of Super 16. Best-of-seven games match play begins Thursday night with the Round of 32. The Round of 16 takes place Friday with the winners advancing to take on the top eight from qualifying in the Round of Super 16. The Round of 8 takes place Friday night to determine the final four for Sunday’s live ESPN televised finals. PBA Pro-Ams and Fan Day take place Saturday, March 24 at Spectrum Lanes at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, action shifts to DeVos Place where the final four will bowl live on ESPN at 2 p.m. EST with the winner taking home $50,000 and a four-season exemption through the 2010-11 season.

Back to Michigan!

The third of four Majors on the Denny’s PBA Tour takes place this week, the 2007 Denny’s World Championship at Spectrum Lanes in Wyoming, Mich., with the finals taking place Sunday, March 25 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. A lot is at stake this week as this will be the final event of the season which awards points, as next week’s season-ending PBA Tournament of Champions is an invitational event. Exemptions will be handed out this week, and the PBA Player of the Year race could be decided.Walter Ray Williams Jr. will look to win back-to-back Denny’s World Championships as he won his seventh career Major and record-tying 41st career Denny’s PBA Tour title in last season’s event at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis. Last year at Spectrum Lanes, Patrick Allen captured his second title of the season in the final standard event of 2005-06, which also saw Dale Traber earn the final exemption for 2006-07 through the PBA World Point Rankings. Since this year’s finals are in DeVos Place, Allen won’t get a chance to defend the title in Spectrum Lanes should he reach the finals, but he will look for his fourth career title in the state of Michigan.

Classic TV...

Danny Wiseman’s title in the 2001 Johnny Petraglia Open and Steve Hoskins’ win in the 1997 Bayer/Brunswick TPC kick off this week’s lineup of PBA action on ESPN Classic. Action switches gears on Tuesday with Walter Ray Williams Jr.’s win in the 2001 Greater Cincinnati Classic and Pete Weber’s title in the 1998 PBA National Championship. Tommy Delutz Jr.’s win in the 2001 Long Island Open and Brian Voss’ title in the 1998 National Finance Championship are featured on Wednesday. Thursday will see Weber’s win in the 2001 Greater Louisville Open and Bryan Goebel’s victory in the 1998 Brunswick World Tournament of Champions. Ricky Ward’s title in the 2002 Medford Open and Brian Himmler’s 1998 Albuquerque Open title on Friday lead into the weekend which features Steve Cook and Mike Aulby’s title in the 1986 Show Boat Doubles on Saturday followed by Norm Duke’s win in the 2007 Pepsi Championship on Sunday.

Stormin Norman!

Norm Duke knows all too well the feeling of firing a 300 game in a national TV semifinal only to lose in the title match. That’s why Duke showed no mercy in Sunday’s 2007 Pepsi Championship title match. After third-seeded Ryan Shafer fired the 18th nationally televised 300 game in Denny’s PBA Tour history in the semifinals, the top-seeded Duke showed why he dominated the tournament from start to finish, defeating Shafer 235-219 to win his third title of the season and the 26th of his career. Duke fired a 300 game in the semifinals of the 2003 GEICO Earl Anthony Classic against Walter Ray Williams Jr. only to lose to Mike DeVaney in the title match, who was also in this week’s championship round. Shafer could never get on track in the title match. After striking in the first two frames to run his string of strikes to 18 in a row, he failed to strike again until the 8th frame while Duke struck six consecutive times after an open in the 1st. It was the fourth time in his career and the second time this season Duke defeated Shafer in a title match, and it pushed Duke’s record overall against Shafer on TV to 6-1. Duke also defeated Shafer in the title match of the 2006 Columbia 300 Classic, his second of three titles this season.The win capped a huge comeback for the 25-year veteran who withdrew from the first seven events of the second half after breaking a toe in January. He finished 11th in the Bayer Classic and fifth in the 64th U.S. Open in his first two events back before putting himself back in the PBA Player of the Year race with his third win. Duke took home $25,000 for the win, while Shafer earned $13,000 for second, plus a $10,000 bonus for the 300 game. Carter took home $6,500 for third, Reyes earned $5,500 for fourth while DeVaney earned $5,000 for fifth. The Denny’s PBA Tour heads to Wyoming, MI next week for the 2007 Denny’s World Championship at Spectrum Lanes, March 18-25, the third of four Majors of the 2006-07 schedule. The live ESPN televised finals take place at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Mi. Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m. EST.