Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Bowling Bytes--6/30/10

It's an all-PBA day of links as I return from a brief blogging hiatus.

~ Six Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Stars to represent United States in WTBA World Championships -- "Six Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour stars will compose the 2010 version of bowling's Dream Team, carrying the United States’ hopes for a third consecutive team gold medal in the 2010 World Tenpin Bowling Association World Men's Championships. Selected to compete for Team USA are Chris Barnes, Wes Malott, Bill O'Neill, Tommy Jones, Rhino Page and Patrick Allen. The World Men's Championships will take place Aug. 12-21 at Dream Bowl Palace in Munich, Germany...In 2008, Team USA won four gold: team, doubles (Page and Allen), singles and Masters, won by Walter Ray Williams Jr. Williams withdrew his name for consideration for the 2010 World Championships..."

~ PBA Spare Shots: Mitchell Spoils a Chris Vs. Lynda Barnes Title Match in Wichita Regional Event -- "Lynda Barnes needed one more win to set up the first husband vs. wife title match in PBA history Sunday, June 20, at Thunderbird Lanes in Wichita, Kan., but top qualifier Kevin Mitchell (left) of Tulsa, Okla., spoiled the fun when he eliminated Mrs. Barnes in the semifinal round, 224-180...Lynda Barnes made it interesting when she swept Wichita’s Sean Rash in their best-of-five-game Round of 16 match, 229-207, 202-193 and 235-227 in their first “re-match” since Lynda Barnes defeated Rash in the title match of USBC’s nationally-televised 2008 Clash of Champions in Kansas City, Mo., 258-237. Lynda Barnes then defeated 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour competitor George Lambert IV in their best-of-three, Round of 8 match, 217-178 and 220-124, to advance to the semifinal round..."

~ Another Bohn in Contention? -- "Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., finished third in the PBA East Region’s Howell (N.J.) Lanes Open – won by Brian LeClair – on Sunday, June 20, but it was another player named “Andrew Bohn” who attracted special attention. The answer is, yes, the Bohns are related. Andrew, a 19-year-old right-hander, is the son of Parker’s uncle, Eddie Bohn of Freehold, N.J. Andrew, bowling as a guest, finished 38th and cashed for $400..."

~ PBA's Social Networking Reach Continues Fast Growth Pace -- "The Professional Bowlers Association is riding the wave of online digital media in expanding the way sports information is disseminated to an information-hungry society. In addition to its documented growth of pba.com visitors and Xtra Frame subscribers, the PBA is rapidly expanding its social networking exposure...Speaking of YouTube, PBA video highlights have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times led this year by Osku Palermaa's incredible two-handed over-the-bar-stool trick shot (over 147,000 views) during the 2009 World Series of Bowling and Brian Voss' amazing 7-10 conversion in the position round of the Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles (over 94,000 views).

~ Williams to Take a Horseshoe Break Before Senior Tour Wrap-Up -- "Walter Ray Williams Jr. is taking a mid-summer break from bowling to pursue his other passion, horseshoe pitching. The six-time World Horseshoe Pitching Champion and member of the National Horseshoe Pitching Hall of Fame will compete in a tournament in Danville, Ill., July 10-11, before heading to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where – uncharacteristically – he questions whether or not he can win..."

~ Brunswick Takes Early Lead in GEICO PBA Team Shootout -- "With help from the unique “endless 10th frame” and the only woman in the competition, Brunswick took the lead in the Manufacturers’ Cup standings after the first two rounds of competition in the GEICO PBA Team Shootout hosted by Six Flags. The first four of 12 Baker scoring system round-robin team matches aired Sunday on ESPN. In Baker team bowling, each member of a five-player team bowls two frames to complete a full game. In the GEICO Team Shootout, the “endless 10th frame” allows a team to extend its 10th frame as long as it can continue to throw strikes. The entire series, consisting of six head-to-head matches between each team plus a three-match stepladder final, was conducted outdoors on specially-constructed lanes on the grounds of one of the Atlantic Coast region’s most popular theme parks...After the opening series of telecasts, Brunswick held a 2-0 edge in the Manufacturers’ Cup. Storm and 900 Global had 1-1 records while Ebonite was 0-2. The won-lost records at the conclusion of the round-robin matches will determine the seeding positions for the championship round. Ties will be broken by actual pinfall totals, not including “endless 10th frame” bonus pins.GEICO Team Shootout telecasts will continue on ESPN on Saturday, July 3, at 2 p.m.; Sunday, July 4, at 1 p.m., and Sunday, July 11, at 1:30 p.m. All times are Eastern..."

~ The 11th Frame: Is it wrong to love the GEICO Team Shootout? -- "I know people who refuse to watch the GEICO PBA Team Shootout because they deem it not worthy of the attention of true bowling fans. It's outdoors, it's got a gimmicky format, the players aren't serious enough, blah, blah, blah. It's a nauseating cliché, but, hey, it is what it is. And I enjoy it..."

~ Kulick, O'Neil, Williams Nominated for "Best Bowler" ESPY; Fan Voting is Now Underway -- "PBA Tournament of Champions winner Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J.; U.S. Open champion Bill O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., and 2009-10 PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., have been nominated for ESPN’s “Best Bowler ESPY” for 2010...Kulick, who also won the 2009 PBA Women’s World Championship and 2010 USBC Queens and U.S. Women’s Open, has been nominated for the first time. O’Neill, who also won the PBA Chameleon Championship and finished second to Williams in the PBA points race, also is a first-time nominee. Williams, who raised his all-time PBA Tour title total to a record 47 with two more victories last season – including the 2010 USBC Masters – is a six-time “Best Bowler” ESPY winner..."

~ MIKE J. LANESIDE: Summer Means No Rest for Xtra Frame -- "The new, improved presentation of PBA.com’s Xtra Frame was introduced at the 2009 PBA World Series of Bowling – more cameras, better camera angles, camera operators, bonus qualifying coverage, live social interaction via PBA’s Facebook fan page during match play and much more. Fans of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour responded during the 2009-10 season by increasing subscriptions to Xtra Frame by a whopping 120%. Following the end of the PBA Tour season, fans asked: is my subscription to Xtra Frame worth having in the Spring and Summer months before the national Tour starts up again?As Marv Albert would say, the answer is a resounding, YES!...June 30 & July 1 – 2010 International Bowl Expo from Las Vegas, Nev....July 27-30 - 2010 Teen Masters from Reno, Nev....“The Bowling Doctor” Jeff Mark returns to the road starting on Aug. 1 covering PBA Senior Tour and PBA Regional Tour events. Each event will be presented live where local Internet connections allow. In the event live coverage is not available, the content will be archived as soon as possible for on demand viewing...Xtra Frame, the Official Streaming Video Service of the PBA is available 24/7 for just $7.99 a month or $64.99 for a one-year subscription. Subscribe now at http://xtraframe.pba.com/..."

~ The 11th Frame: Kenosha's Yanel wins first PBA title on day grandmother dies -- "No one ever forgets their first time. That old saying applies to PBA titles as much as anything else. But you can be sure that Ryan Yanel of Kenosha will never forget his first PBA title, as it came against a PBA Tour champion in a one ball roll-off, and -- in a bittersweet twist -- on the day his grandmother died.As if all that wasn't enough, Yanel swept Kenosha legend Lennie Boresch Jr. in the Round of 8 with a 300 in the final game. It all may sound like the screenplay for a Hollywood movie, but it happened in real life Sunday..."

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