PBA Finals To Air At 1 p.m. Sunday On ESPN

Norm Duke called his 31st career Professional Bowlers Association title the easiest Ive ever won and that was because he and partner Liz Johnson were nearly perfect in running away with the Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.
Johnson, the first and only woman to advance to the title match in a Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour event, and Duke defeated Jennifer Petrick of Canton, Ohio, and Steve Harman of Indianapolis, 274-180, in the title match to split the $50,000 first prize.
In the Baker Format stepladder finals, where teammates bowled alternate frames, Johnson threw strikes on all five of her shots and Duke had four to build a string of nine team strikes heading into the 10th frame.
Liz did everything you could ask a partner to do for two days, Duke said. He and his Cheektowaga, N.Y., teammate wound up paired together because they were respective top qualifiers in the mens and womens preliminary rounds.
With four games to go in qualifying, I looked up at the leader board and saw Liz was pulling away from the field, Duke continued. I was leading the men and I said to myself, I cant let anyone else have that gal to bowl with. Shes that good.
When we got to the TV show, the newly-inducted PBA Hall of Famer from Clermont, Fla., said, we were considering throwing our opponents a curveball by having Liz bowl anchor. But we didnt and we started with nine strikes. And then I miss the headpin in the 10th frame. It was embarrassing.
It also was a victory that moved Duke into fifth place on the all-time PBA Tour titles list.
The PBA tour continues this week with the Denny's Dick Weber Open from Fountain Valley, CA. ESPN finals are Sunday at 1 p.m. ET