In case you haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of PBA.com's subscription service Xtra Frame. If you've been reading my blogposts, you know that I mention it just about every chance I get. The reason I do is simple. Xtra Frame gives the bowling fan tremendous value in bowling entertainment and information. For just $7.99 a month or $64.99 a year, you can watch the finest bowlers in the world bowl live in qualifying and match play.
You may think that the televised finals on ESPN tell the story of a week's tournament, but Sunday's program is only the final chapter of an epic novel of bowling challenge, struggle, defeat and triumph, and intrigue. Just as reading the last chapter of a novel alone isn't nearly as rewarding as reading the entire book, watching the televised finals of a PBA tournament is much more exciting and rewarding if you've been following on Xtra Frame the bowlers, matches, lead changes, and expert commentary on all of the above that led up to Sunday's program.
And when I say "expert commentary," I'm talking about people with awe-inspiring insider knowledge of the bowlers, bowling industry, the PBA tour, lane conditions, ball layouts and surfaces, bowling techniques and strategies, and on and on. In the past two weeks alone, subscribers to Xtra Frame have been treated to the prodigious knowledge and insights of the likes of PBA Deputy Commissioner Tom Clark, Paul F. from Ebonite International, John Jowdy, Rhino Page, Barry Asher, Stuart Williams, Ritchie Allen, and Mark Baker as they sat in with Xtra Frame announcer Mike Jakubowsky and genius analyst Jeff Mark during the match play rounds and not only commented on what they saw happening on the lanes but also answered questions from Xtra Frame viewers posting on Facebook's PBA page. That's right, you can ask questions about every aspect of bowling and get immediate answers from the Xtra Frame commentators during match play. I've already had three of my questions answered.
And in case you miss any of this live or you want to see some or all of it again, you can call it up from the archives on demand for no additional cost as well as do the same with the archived PBA telecasts, interviews, and Xtra Frame productions such as their "39X60" program. Not only that, but the more subscribers they get, the better equipment they can use and the better coverage they can provide of the action.
For instance, during last week's One a Day Dick Weber Open, they miked and followed bowling writer and former professional bowler Jason Thomas around as he competed in the qualifying rounds. and they're planning to do the same with some big name exempt bowlers in order to provide Xtra Frame subscribers an unprecedented bird's eye view of tournament play. I'm really looking forward to this.
But for those of you who aren't convinced by my glowing recommendation, you are cordially invited to check out Xtra Frame yourself for free during their coverage of next week's venerable USBC Masters tournament in Reno. You can follow all the live action subscribers can, although you won't be able to access the archives. If you're a real bowling fan, you're going to love Xtra Frame and want to subscribe.
In my next post, I'll recap some of the highlights of last week's Xtra Frame coverage.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Mike Fagan Wins, Bill Simmons Loses
Walter Ray Williams has been my favorite bowler since he began to dominate the PBA Tour in the 1980's, and he's been my favorite bowler ever since. So naturally I wanted to see him win the One a Day Dick Weber Open Sunday and extend his record title total to 47. And if Walter Ray couldn't win it, I wanted to see Pete win it in honor of his father after whom the tournament was named.
Having said that, I'm not at all unhappy with who did win the tournament. I watched the qualifying and match play rounds on Xtra Frame and was very impressed by how well Mike Fagan bowled all week on lanes that looked really, really tough for almost everyone else but not for him. He led the tournament almost the whole way and more than earned his first singles title.
The aptly nicknamed "King of Swing" looks to me to be on his way to bowling stardom if not superstardom with that uniquely loose but powerful armswing of his coupled with an expanding versatility that makes him able to adapt to whatever's out there. The bowlers say that the lanes this week were as tough as the U.S. Open pattern, and they certainly looked that way to me. Ryan Shafer missed just a little right in match play and took out only the 6-10 for a two count after, as I recall, opening the game with a six-bagger. Others missed just a little left on their strikeballs and either knocked down only the 7 pin or ended up in the left gutter. You had to be on your game with the right ball rotation, the right speed, the right equipment, and the right line(s) or you were screwed. Mike Fagan was "on" in every way and roundly earned his victory 241-213 over Walter Ray in the title match after Walter Ray continued his televised dominance over Pete Weber 234-178 in the previous match.
However, I have to say that, as much as I enjoyed the tournament, I think I would have enjoyed it even more if ESPN.com's "Sports Guy" Bill Simmons had been somewhere else during the telecast. He sat in with Randy and Rob and tried to make up for his lack of bowling knowledge with irreverent humor that, for me at least, detracted from the intensity of the matches.
To my way of thinking, bowling doesn't get enough respect as it is, and to put a clueless guy like Simmons on to make light of the competition is the worst thing you can do to honor the sport or appeal to fans. By contrast, it was very interesting listening to PGA champion and semi-serious bowler Woody Austin talk substantively a few telecasts ago about the parallels between professional golf and bowling. I'd like to see knowledgeable, articulate people like that who respect the game come on with Rob and Randy. I'd love to see Carmen Salvino do it sometime. He's always back there watching anyway. Or how about another pro bowler, a great coach like Mark Baker, a ball rep, or "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark?
Who would you like to see join Randy and Rob for a telecast?
Having said that, I'm not at all unhappy with who did win the tournament. I watched the qualifying and match play rounds on Xtra Frame and was very impressed by how well Mike Fagan bowled all week on lanes that looked really, really tough for almost everyone else but not for him. He led the tournament almost the whole way and more than earned his first singles title.
The aptly nicknamed "King of Swing" looks to me to be on his way to bowling stardom if not superstardom with that uniquely loose but powerful armswing of his coupled with an expanding versatility that makes him able to adapt to whatever's out there. The bowlers say that the lanes this week were as tough as the U.S. Open pattern, and they certainly looked that way to me. Ryan Shafer missed just a little right in match play and took out only the 6-10 for a two count after, as I recall, opening the game with a six-bagger. Others missed just a little left on their strikeballs and either knocked down only the 7 pin or ended up in the left gutter. You had to be on your game with the right ball rotation, the right speed, the right equipment, and the right line(s) or you were screwed. Mike Fagan was "on" in every way and roundly earned his victory 241-213 over Walter Ray in the title match after Walter Ray continued his televised dominance over Pete Weber 234-178 in the previous match.
However, I have to say that, as much as I enjoyed the tournament, I think I would have enjoyed it even more if ESPN.com's "Sports Guy" Bill Simmons had been somewhere else during the telecast. He sat in with Randy and Rob and tried to make up for his lack of bowling knowledge with irreverent humor that, for me at least, detracted from the intensity of the matches.
To my way of thinking, bowling doesn't get enough respect as it is, and to put a clueless guy like Simmons on to make light of the competition is the worst thing you can do to honor the sport or appeal to fans. By contrast, it was very interesting listening to PGA champion and semi-serious bowler Woody Austin talk substantively a few telecasts ago about the parallels between professional golf and bowling. I'd like to see knowledgeable, articulate people like that who respect the game come on with Rob and Randy. I'd love to see Carmen Salvino do it sometime. He's always back there watching anyway. Or how about another pro bowler, a great coach like Mark Baker, a ball rep, or "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark?
Who would you like to see join Randy and Rob for a telecast?
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Is Bowling a Sport?
I had never heard of David Whitley until today. But professional bowler and PBA.com columnist Andy Morton has definitely brought this self-professed "male chauvinist pig" onto my radar screen with his article today attacking a piece Whitely wrote at fanhouse.com that disparages bowling as a sport.
Whitely's article, "Chris Barnes: The Guy Who Lost to a Girl," essentially argues, if I'm not being too charitable in calling it an argument, that while Kelly Kulick is to be commended for beating the world's best male bowler, even if hardly anyone had ever heard of Barnes before Kulick beat him last Sunday, we shouldn't make too big a deal out of it since bowling, after all, is not a real sport. Why not? Because any contest in which an adult human female can beat an adult human male doesn't rise to the exalted level of sport and doesn't deserve to be honored as such. Not only that, but it's ludicrous that the NCAA acknowledges it as a sport and hands out national bowling titles to schools. Whitely concedes that bowling may require "flexibility, strength, concentration and years of personal sacrifice," yet "So does ballroom dancing, but you don't see the NCAA handing out championship trophies in that." Whitely concludes by sarcastically stating that he hopes millions of girls will now "get off their duffs" and aspire to be NCAA bowling champions and to compete with men at just about everything.
I think Whitley is full of it. I don't think he understands the first thing about how demanding and athletic bowling is on a physical and mental level when you reach the rarified heights of amateur and professional competition. But I guess he speaks for most people. Most people have no idea of what bowling is all about at the stratospheric altitude of a Kelly Kulick or Chris Barnes. If they did, they would never say the kinds of things Whitley says in his article.
What do you think? I know that if you're reading this, you're probably biased in favor of bowling, but do you think that bowling is or is not worthy of being called a sport? How do you define "sport"? One dictionary definition I read is: "an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively." Do you agree with this definition, and does bowling meet it?
Whitely's article, "Chris Barnes: The Guy Who Lost to a Girl," essentially argues, if I'm not being too charitable in calling it an argument, that while Kelly Kulick is to be commended for beating the world's best male bowler, even if hardly anyone had ever heard of Barnes before Kulick beat him last Sunday, we shouldn't make too big a deal out of it since bowling, after all, is not a real sport. Why not? Because any contest in which an adult human female can beat an adult human male doesn't rise to the exalted level of sport and doesn't deserve to be honored as such. Not only that, but it's ludicrous that the NCAA acknowledges it as a sport and hands out national bowling titles to schools. Whitely concedes that bowling may require "flexibility, strength, concentration and years of personal sacrifice," yet "So does ballroom dancing, but you don't see the NCAA handing out championship trophies in that." Whitely concludes by sarcastically stating that he hopes millions of girls will now "get off their duffs" and aspire to be NCAA bowling champions and to compete with men at just about everything.
I think Whitley is full of it. I don't think he understands the first thing about how demanding and athletic bowling is on a physical and mental level when you reach the rarified heights of amateur and professional competition. But I guess he speaks for most people. Most people have no idea of what bowling is all about at the stratospheric altitude of a Kelly Kulick or Chris Barnes. If they did, they would never say the kinds of things Whitley says in his article.
What do you think? I know that if you're reading this, you're probably biased in favor of bowling, but do you think that bowling is or is not worthy of being called a sport? How do you define "sport"? One dictionary definition I read is: "an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively." Do you agree with this definition, and does bowling meet it?
The One a Day Dick Weber Open Finals Field
Well, it looks as though Xtra Frame's "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark and recurring guest Stuart Williams made pretty good guesses Thursday night about who would make it to the televised finals tomorrow. Each was off by only one pick in his predictions. Sunday's five-man stepladder finals will begin with up and coming Bill O'Neill taking on perennially underrated Ryan Shafer. The winner will face the one and only Pete Weber who, as PBA.com reports, would love to win the tournament named after his late father, Dick Weber, as much or more than he would any major. He qualified third last year. The winner of that match will go up against the amazing Walter Ray Williams, who is still showing those young whippersnappers a thing or two about how to bowl on very demanding conditions. And the winner of that match will face Mike Fagan, who has pretty much dominated the tournament all week long, for the title. It's a great field, and we could very well see some great matches.
Don't forget that it airs this Sunday, 1/31 on ESPN2 (and not ESPN) at 10 AM PST or 1 PM EST.
Don't forget that it airs this Sunday, 1/31 on ESPN2 (and not ESPN) at 10 AM PST or 1 PM EST.
Friday, January 29, 2010
First Round of Match Play Recap at Dick Weber Open
Mike Fagan led qualifying in the One a Day Dick Weber Open, and he still leads the field after the first round of match play that took place last night. Hot on his heels is a star-studded cast headed by, in descending order, Walter Ray Williams, Tommy Jones, Ryan Shafer, Amleto Monacelli, Pete Weber, Robert Smith, and Bill O'Neill. And not far behind them in 13th place is defending champion Norm Duke.
This is a good, old-fashioned round-robin match play, top five advance to the televised stepladder finals kind of tournament, the kind I'd like to see a lot more of from now on. But take note that this week's finals will be broadcast live at 11 AM PST on ESPN2 rather than the usual ESPN. I hope that everyone who gets ESPN on their cable or satellite system also gets ESPN2, and if some don't who want to watch Sunday's tournament, they can catch it later on PBA Xtra Frame on demand. I should also mention that ESPN.com's popular Bill Simmons, "The Sports Guy," will be sitting in the ESPN broadcast booth this Sunday with announcer Rob Stone and bowling analyst Rany Pedersen.
On Xtra Frame's coverage of match play last night, British bowler Stuart Williams sat in with the boys for awhile giving his always entertaining and perceptive view of the action. He predicted that the TV finalists would be Mike Fagan, Walter Ray, Tommy Jones, Bill O'Neill, and Ryan Shafer. "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark predicted that Mike Fagan, Walter Ray, Bill O'Neill, Norm Duke, and Pete Weber would make the finals. By the way, Stuart Williams competed in this week's tournament, along with an international contingent of male and female stars, and finished a very respectable 30th. Jeff Mark claims that Williams has one of the heaviest ball rolls and most potent strike balls he's ever seen or heard. It hits the pins with an impressively unique sound.
Ritchie Allen dropped in for a few minutes before getting into a disagreement with Jeff Mark and leaving prematurely. Allen and Mark were talking about practice strategy on an easy pattern. Mark contended that when the conditions are easy, you should make them difficult by moving your line to where you have to be very precise to hit the pocket and carry. "Practice where it's hard, play where it's easy," he advises. Allen, on the other hand, advocated always practicing on the easiest part of the lane for strikes, because that's what you do when you're bowling leagues and tournaments. Mark countered by telling Allen that if he'd practiced the right way, he might have made the cut, and Allen promptly took off. Allen just missed the top 24 by four pins, coming in 25th.
But this raises a good question. What IS the best way to practice? Ritchie Allen's or Jeff Mark's? How do YOU practice? I try to play different lines from the easiest to the toughest. But I admit that I spend more time practicing where it's easy than where it's tough. What do you think?
This is a good, old-fashioned round-robin match play, top five advance to the televised stepladder finals kind of tournament, the kind I'd like to see a lot more of from now on. But take note that this week's finals will be broadcast live at 11 AM PST on ESPN2 rather than the usual ESPN. I hope that everyone who gets ESPN on their cable or satellite system also gets ESPN2, and if some don't who want to watch Sunday's tournament, they can catch it later on PBA Xtra Frame on demand. I should also mention that ESPN.com's popular Bill Simmons, "The Sports Guy," will be sitting in the ESPN broadcast booth this Sunday with announcer Rob Stone and bowling analyst Rany Pedersen.
On Xtra Frame's coverage of match play last night, British bowler Stuart Williams sat in with the boys for awhile giving his always entertaining and perceptive view of the action. He predicted that the TV finalists would be Mike Fagan, Walter Ray, Tommy Jones, Bill O'Neill, and Ryan Shafer. "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark predicted that Mike Fagan, Walter Ray, Bill O'Neill, Norm Duke, and Pete Weber would make the finals. By the way, Stuart Williams competed in this week's tournament, along with an international contingent of male and female stars, and finished a very respectable 30th. Jeff Mark claims that Williams has one of the heaviest ball rolls and most potent strike balls he's ever seen or heard. It hits the pins with an impressively unique sound.
Ritchie Allen dropped in for a few minutes before getting into a disagreement with Jeff Mark and leaving prematurely. Allen and Mark were talking about practice strategy on an easy pattern. Mark contended that when the conditions are easy, you should make them difficult by moving your line to where you have to be very precise to hit the pocket and carry. "Practice where it's hard, play where it's easy," he advises. Allen, on the other hand, advocated always practicing on the easiest part of the lane for strikes, because that's what you do when you're bowling leagues and tournaments. Mark countered by telling Allen that if he'd practiced the right way, he might have made the cut, and Allen promptly took off. Allen just missed the top 24 by four pins, coming in 25th.
But this raises a good question. What IS the best way to practice? Ritchie Allen's or Jeff Mark's? How do YOU practice? I try to play different lines from the easiest to the toughest. But I admit that I spend more time practicing where it's easy than where it's tough. What do you think?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Top Qualifiers in the Dick Weber Open
Mike Fagan led the qualifying round of the One a Day Dick Weber Open in Fountain Valley, California. The top 24 is filled with big names including Walter Ray Williams, Amleto Monacelli, Tommy Jones, Bill O'Neill, Robert Smith, Pete Weber, Ryan Shafer, defending champion Norm Duke, who seems to have recovered sufficiently from his ankle injury that forced him out of the TOC, and Mike Machuga. And I'm happy to see Bryon Smith back in the hunt at #20. I was always impressed with Smith's stylishly smooth game but haven't seen or heard from him in several years. Notably, Chris Barnes finished in 50th place. I hope this has nothing to do with what happened last Sunday. Barnes bowled brilliantly to make it as far as he did in the TOC and has nothing to get down on himself about.
In watching some of the qualifying today on Xtra Frame, the lanes looked really tough even if Mike Fagan didn't think so. I saw guys like Brian Voss and Mika Koivuniemi struggling like mad just to hit the pocket. They and a lot of other guys and a few gals were going high and crossing over constantly, and when they tried to adjust for this, they often ended up with washouts.
The first round of round robin match play is about to begin, and I'm going to be watching and reporting on it in my next post.
In watching some of the qualifying today on Xtra Frame, the lanes looked really tough even if Mike Fagan didn't think so. I saw guys like Brian Voss and Mika Koivuniemi struggling like mad just to hit the pocket. They and a lot of other guys and a few gals were going high and crossing over constantly, and when they tried to adjust for this, they often ended up with washouts.
The first round of round robin match play is about to begin, and I'm going to be watching and reporting on it in my next post.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
TOC Aftermath
I'm pleasantly surprised. Of course, I got as swept away as anyone by the excitement among hardcore bowling fans immediately after Kelly Kulick's historic TOC title, and I very much wanted to believe that "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark was right when he gushingly predicted an onrushing media tidal wave of publicity that would almost singlehandedly transform bowling into a sport of great national and international prominence and respect. And then reality set in.
I began searching online for media reactions to Kulick's achievement and saw a demoralizingly small number of mostly brief and tepid articles about it apparently penned by writers obligatorily going through the motions of reporting a story they cared nothing about. The real kicker was what someone scornfully wrote in the comments section of one of these lackadaisical articles. A close paraphrase of his comment is: "Kelly, how do you feel winning an insignificant championship in a sport nobody cares anything about?" My heart sank when I read this. Then I got angry. Then I realized that this person probably spoke for the majority of this football (both kinds) obsessed country and beyond and probably always would and that there was absolutely nothing I or Kelly Kulick could do about it.
But then I read this morning that Terrell Owens had tweeted about Kulick's victory. I never cared much for TO and his prima donnish ways, but his stock rose about a thousand points in my eyes after this. And pba.com reports that TO's tweet was followed by a groundswell of stories and Kulick interviews in the mega-media of print, television, and radio turning Kulick's victory into "the hottest story in the wide world of sports," overwhelming Kulick's e-mail account, flooding her Facebook page, and bringing a record number of hits to the PBA website.
I don't know what this all means for the sport of bowling. Is it just a proverbial flash in the pan, or is it the rapid swelling of a bowling tsunami that will engulf the nation and world? I hope it's the latter. My guess is that it will be something in between an ephemeral flash and a raging tsunami. Stay tuned as we follow this together.
Below are quotes from bowling legends along with excerpts extracted from the print media, all courtesy of pba.com, about Kelly Kulick's achievement. And below that are two interviews she did, first with Harry Smith of CBS' "The Early Show," and then an outstanding interview with Jason Page of ESPN Radio's "The Back Page," and, finally, here is an interview she did with Jay Crawford of ESPN TV. I continue to be impressed by what a great spokesperson she is for bowling.
I began searching online for media reactions to Kulick's achievement and saw a demoralizingly small number of mostly brief and tepid articles about it apparently penned by writers obligatorily going through the motions of reporting a story they cared nothing about. The real kicker was what someone scornfully wrote in the comments section of one of these lackadaisical articles. A close paraphrase of his comment is: "Kelly, how do you feel winning an insignificant championship in a sport nobody cares anything about?" My heart sank when I read this. Then I got angry. Then I realized that this person probably spoke for the majority of this football (both kinds) obsessed country and beyond and probably always would and that there was absolutely nothing I or Kelly Kulick could do about it.
But then I read this morning that Terrell Owens had tweeted about Kulick's victory. I never cared much for TO and his prima donnish ways, but his stock rose about a thousand points in my eyes after this. And pba.com reports that TO's tweet was followed by a groundswell of stories and Kulick interviews in the mega-media of print, television, and radio turning Kulick's victory into "the hottest story in the wide world of sports," overwhelming Kulick's e-mail account, flooding her Facebook page, and bringing a record number of hits to the PBA website.
I don't know what this all means for the sport of bowling. Is it just a proverbial flash in the pan, or is it the rapid swelling of a bowling tsunami that will engulf the nation and world? I hope it's the latter. My guess is that it will be something in between an ephemeral flash and a raging tsunami. Stay tuned as we follow this together.
Below are quotes from bowling legends along with excerpts extracted from the print media, all courtesy of pba.com, about Kelly Kulick's achievement. And below that are two interviews she did, first with Harry Smith of CBS' "The Early Show," and then an outstanding interview with Jason Page of ESPN Radio's "The Back Page," and, finally, here is an interview she did with Jay Crawford of ESPN TV. I continue to be impressed by what a great spokesperson she is for bowling.
Randy Pedersen, 13-time PBA Tour champion and ESPN color analyst: “What I witnessed on Sunday, given the circumstances, could possibly be the best performance I have ever witnessed in professional bowling, Nobody gave Kelly a chance, yet she performed magnificently. Under the most extreme pressure our sport can provide she managed her game flawlessly. People need to understand just how spectacular this accomplishment is.”
Nelson Burton Jr., PBA Hall of Famer and long-time ABC-TV color analyst: “She truly bowled with as much determination and heart as I have ever seen.”
Don and Paula Carter, bowling hall of famers: “What a great show Sunday! We enjoyed every aspect of the telecast.”
Associated Press: “Kelly Kulick left all the guys in the gutter.”
Matt Fiorito, Detroit Free-Press: “Annika Sorenstam couldn't do it, nor could Michelle Wie, although they got tons of publicity in their failed attempts. But on Sunday, Kelly Kulick proved to the world that in precision sports at least, women can compete with men.”
Jeff Wolf, Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Kelly Kulick used a 15-pound bowling ball to smash a 52-year barrier when she became the first woman to win a PBA Tour tournament.”
Andy Hutchings, The Sporting Blog, sportingnews.com: “I'm too young to remember it ever being truly popular, but I think it's fair to say bowling has become a bit of a niche sport of late…Today, Kelly Kulick might have changed that.”
Entertainment&showbiz.com: “It can’t get bigger than this for 32-year old Kelly Kulick. The American Professional bowler becomes the first women to win the prestigious PBA title last Sunday in Las Vegas….Kelly Kulick is also known to have been a part of Spider-Man’s comic book. She was featured as friend and former girlfriend of Flash Thompson, starting with Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man issue no.20. She was included into the comics after participating in a bowling pro-am event with the daughter of one of the Spider-Man writers.”
Philadelphia Inquirer: “Kelly Kulick left all the guys in the gutter yesterday when she became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title, beating Chris Barnes in the final of the 45th Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.”
Dave Poe, Parkersburg News and Sentinel: “The best sports story on Sunday? It wasn't Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts coming back from an 11-point deficit to defeat the upstart New York Jets and advance to the Super Bowl. Nor was it the New Orleans Saints' dramatic overtime victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Rather, Sunday belonged to Kelly Kulick. Who in the heck, many of you are wondering, is Kelly Kulick? She's a professional bowler. She's arguably the best female bowler in the world. On Sunday, she was the best bowler in the world - period.”
Sportsexaminer.com: “You might say that the announcers were breathless by comparing Kulick to Billie Jean King as a pioneer in women's professional sports. But you can't deny she accomplished something no other woman has. Golfers Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam failed to reach those heights when they competed on the men's golf tour.”
Mason Lerner, Sports Chat, The Faster Times: “Kelly Kulick made history and added a new twist on throwing like a girl when she became the first woman to ever win a PBA major at the Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.”
All Headline News: “Kelly Kulick pounded 10 strikes at the final of the 45th Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions Sunday at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, becoming the first woman to capture a title in a male-dominated sport.”
Francine King, Jacksonville Times-Union: “Terrell Owens tweeted about it. Facebook pages filled with it. Bowling communities are buzzing about it. On Sunday, Kelly Kulick achieved what no woman had accomplished before her: a victory on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour — and in one of its most prestigious tournaments.”
Stephen Haynes, Newsday.com: “The call Joanne Byrne received from her husband on Sunday informing her that Kelly Kulick had become the first woman to win a PBA Tour title didn't elicit much surprise. No, for the Levittown Division girls bowling coach, there was just pride and a little I-told-you-so.”
Fort Worth Star Telegram: “Lynda Barnes, a pro bowler whose husband, Chris Barnes, suffered the 265-195 loss to Kulick, said she had no hard feelings. ‘He got run over — it’s a simple as that,’ Barnes said as she hugged friends at the International Research and Testing Center (Monday during the opening ceremonies for the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas). "But you can’t help but be happy for Kelly."
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