Thursday, June 18, 2009

GEICO PBA Team Shootout Series
Gets Underway Sunday on ESPN

Three of the greatest bowling teams ever
assembled do battle at Six Flags Great Adventure

Bowling fans will be able to watch three of the greatest bowling teams ever assembled do battle when ESPN airs 15 tape-delayed shows of the GEICO PBA Team Shootout hosted by Six Flags beginning Sunday and continuing the next three Sundays.

Eighteen of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour’s top competitors tested their skills at “outdoor bowling” in a unique round-robin team competition contested on lanes constructed at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., June 11-13.

Among the stars competing included 2008-09 Player of the Year Wes Malott, two-handed Australian sensation and Rookie of the Year Jason Belmonte, and Hall of Famers Parker Bohn III, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Pete Weber and Norm Duke.

This Sunday ESPN will telecast two half hour shows - 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eastern - which will feature Baker Scoring System round-robin qualifying matches. The Baker system requires each member of a five-player team to bowl two frames in one game to combine for one score.

An innovation in televised bowling will also debut in Sunday’s matches. One player on each team will have an earpiece giving announcers the ability to ask the player questions during actual competition.

The players qualified for the event through their performances in PBA’s 2008-09 Extreme Swing, Versatility Swing and Grand Slam point lists as well as five wild card selections, and teams were assembled based upon the ages of players. Team Bayer includes the six youngest players in the group – the “young guns” of the PBA. Team Lumber Liquidators features the six oldest, most experienced and most decorated players on Tour. Team GEICO is the “middle-aged” group, and arguably the most competitive group of players in PBA Tour competition today. Team rosters are:

Team Bayer – Jason Belmonte, Mike Fagan, Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill, Rhino Page and Sean Rash.

Team GEICO – Patrick Allen, Brad Angelo, Chris Barnes, Mika Koivuniemi, Wes Malott and Mike Wolfe.

Team Lumber Liquidators – Parker Bohn III, Norm Duke, Steve Jaros, Mike Scroggins, Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr.


GEICO PBA TEAM SHOOTOUT ESPN TV AIR DATE SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern. Viewers are encouraged to check their local listings for air times in their area.)

June 21 (two shows)
1:30 – 2 p.m. – Show 1 (Team Bayer vs. Team GEICO)
4:30 — 5 p.m. – Show 2 (Team GEICO vs. Team Lumber Liquidators)

June 28 (four shows)
1—1:30 p.m. – Show 3
1:30—2 p.m. – Show 4
2—2:30 p.m. – Show 5
2:30—3 p.m. – Show 6

July 5 (five shows)
1—1:30 p.m. – Show 7
1:30—2 p.m. – Show 8
2 p.m.—2:30 p.m. – Show 9
2:30 p.m.—3 p.m. – Show 10
3 p.m.—3:30 p.m. – Show 11

July 12 (four shows)
1—1:30 p.m. – Show 12
1:30—2 p.m. – Show 13
2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Show 14
2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. – Show 15

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