PBA SPARE SHOTS

PBA Spare Shots

2018 PBA LEAGUE DRAFT MOVES TO SATURDAY, FEB. 17, IN INDIANAPOLIS

The 2018 PBA League draft, originally scheduled for Monday, Feb. 12, is moving to Saturday, Feb. 17 at 10:30 a.m. at Woodland Bowl. The draft, which will fill vacancies on all eight PBA League teams, will be live streamed on PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel.

Here’s a revised summary of how the 2018 PBA League draft will work:

i.                                ● Each team manager will protect up-to three players from their 2017 roster according to the following deadlines. Protected players for each team will be announced on the following Monday: the Dallas Strikers (manager Norm Duke) and Portland Lumberjacks (Tim Mack) will select their protected players by Sunday; Silver Lake Atom Splitters (Mark Baker) and Philadelphia Hitmen (Jason Couch) by Jan. 14; LA X (Andrew Cain) and NYC Kingpins (Carolyn Dorin-Ballard) by Jan. 21 and the Motown Muscle (Del Ballard Jr.) and Brooklyn Styles (Johnny Petraglia) by Jan. 28.

ii.                                                 

iii.                                ● The final roster spots will be filled during the 2018 PBA League draft on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis, site of the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic. Xtra Frame will cover the draft live.

iv.                                 

v.                                ● The draft order will be in reverse order of finishing positions in 2017 for both rounds (No. 8 Brooklyn will select first followed by Motown, NYC, L.A., Philadelphia, Silver Lake, Portland and Dallas. There will not be a “serpentine” reverse order this year.

vi.                                 

● Players eligible to be drafted will consist of the top 75 PBA players on the PBA Tour/WBT earnings list for 2017 plus 2018 events through the PBA Tournament of Champions, which ends Feb. 11. Note that players from 2017 teams left off the protected list will not be automatically eligible; they must be on the top 75 earnings list to be eligible. The eligibility list will be published on Monday, Feb. 12, and those players must then declare for the draft by Thursday, Feb. 15.

PBA STAR DANNY WISEMAN ELECTED TO USBC HALL OF FAME

Baltimore’s Danny Wiseman, a 12-time PBA Tour champion and 2013 PBA Hall of Fame inductee, has been elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame along with former PWBA star Tennelle Milligan.

Wiseman, 50, won his only major title in the 2004 USBC Masters which was contested on specially-constructed lanes in the infield of Miller Park in Milwaukee. It was the first championship bowling event ever held in a major league baseball stadium. He will be inducted during ceremonies as part of the USBC Annual Meeting at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev., on April 25.

PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: REGIONAL PROGRAM RETURNS JAN. 19-21

PBA’s Regional tournament program is taking a break over the holidays, returning to action in the PBA Central Region over the Jan. 19-21 weekend with the PBA/PBA50 Don Vay Memorial Central Classic at Legend Lanes in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

● The PBA South Region returns to action in February with the PBA and PBA50 Break Point Alley Challenge events, both open to players who have not won a PBA title. Break Point Alley in Tavares, Fla., will host the doubleheader over the Feb. 9-11 weekend.

● The PBA South Region’s second weekend of competition includes the PBA50 Dave Edwards Toyota Spartanburg South Open at Paradise Lanes in Spartanburg, S.C., over the Feb. 16-18 weekend.

● For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, visit pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on PBA Regional Tours to find the event(s) in your area…and remember, you can follow “live scoring” for all PBA Regional events on pba.com (easily accessible for Apple device users using the new PBA app).

QUICK NOTES

● Three-time PBA Regional champion Missy Parkin and husband Drew are the elated parents of their first child, Drew Steven Parkin Jr., who arrived on Dec. 30 at 6:41 a.m., weighing in at 8 lbs., 6 oz., and measuring 19 inches long.

● Former PBA member Jack Horner of Belpre, Ohio, died Dec. 30 at the age of 87. Horner, who was a PBA member from 1972 to 2001, owned one PBA regional title. He competed on the PBA50 Tour for several years compiling 11 match play appearances and 37 cashes in 129 tournaments. He was a member of the Parkersburg and West Virginia Bowling Halls of Fame.

● Neil Gahl of Wilton, N.Y., is the winner of a new high-performance ball from DV8; Allen Pankow of Lonsdale, Minn., will receive a new high-performance ball from MOTIV, and Kelly Lake of East Palatka, Fla., wins a new Brunswick ball as December sweepstakes winners for subscribing to Xtra Frame. The monthly sweepstakes is sponsored by the respective PBA Product Registered partners. Monthly winners are selected from among new Xtra Frame subscribers, who are automatically entered when they enroll as a monthly or Xtra Frame Season Ticket (full year) subscriber.

● Brian Knauer is the December winner of a $200 HotelPlanner.com certificate, redeemable for future lodging expenses, compliments of PBA’s official travel partner. The monthly sweepstakes is open to anyone who books a hotel through the HotelPlanner.com link on pba.com. Those who book through HotelPlanner.com are automatically entered.