Friday, May 17, 2019

PBA Spare Shots

BJI FEATURES PBA “SIDELINE REPORTER” KIMBERLY PRESSLER IN PODCAST
Kimberly Pressler, the cover subject for the May issue of Bowlers Journal International, has been a mainstay on the sidelines of Go Bowling! PBA Tour telecasts now for nine years. The dawn of the PBA Tour’s FOX Sports era this season saw her role expand with that network as she now serves up scoops for viewers about adjustments and storylines the audience would not know about if Pressler were not down in the trenches with the players and tour reps.

But Pressler had been doing TV long before her arrival in the pro bowling world. She covered a range of sports including Motocross, snocross, truck racing, X Games events and much more for major networks such as MTV, NBC and ABC. As you will hear in her conversation with BJI Editor Gianmarc Manzione in a Bowlers Journal Podcast, some of those prior TV gigs made for some pretty hair-raising experiences that Pressler never will forget.

The conversation covers a broad range of topics, including the 20th anniversary of Pressler's win in the 1999 Miss USA pageant, what it was like to subsequently work for Donald Trump and live in Trump Tower as the first Miss USA since his acquisition of the Miss Universe Organization, and what it was like to dine with Trump and his then-girlfriend Melania (now First Lady Melania Trump) after Pressler arrived in New York City following her Miss USA win.

To listen to the conversation, visit: https://soundcloud.com/user-658733792/kimberlyeditfinal

Zach Doty of Campbellsville, Ky. defeated Graham Fach of Urbana, Ohio, 208-202, to win his first PBA Regional title in the PBA Baldo Campana Memorial/Ohio Lottery Central Open presented by DV8 at Rebman Recreation in Lorain, Ohio Saturday while Brian Kretzer of Kettering, Ohio won the “senior” half of the doubleheader.

Doty, a 24-year-old PBA rookie, earned $2,000 along with his first title. He downed Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio, 231-200, while Fach edged Mike Clark Jr. of Cleveland, Ohio, 199-168, in the semifinal round to set up the championship match.

Kretzer defeated non-PBA member Chuck Tompkins of Reynoldsburg, Ohio by 62 pins to win the PBA50 Baldo Campana Memorial/Ohio Lottery Central/Midwest Open title, presented by MOTIV.

Kretzer finished with a 6-4 match play record and a total of 4,283 pins for 18 games, including match play bonus pins, to win the $1,500 first prize, his 12th career PBA50 regional title and his fourth PBA50 regional title of 2019.

• Darren Tang of Las Vegas; Henry Dawson of Elma, Wash., and Danaka Heekin of Woodinville, Wash., were victorious in a PBA Northwest Region tripleheader at Daffodil Bowl at Puyallup, Wash., Sunday.

Tang posted a 5-7 match play record and a 20-game total of 4,836 pins, including match play bonus pins, to win Sunday’s PBA FiX Auto of Puyallup Open, a standard PBA Northwest Regional event, by 47 pins overJordan Jung of Canada. The win was worth $2,000 first prize and his fifth regional title.

Dawson won the PBA50 portion of the tripleheader with a 5-3 match play record and 3,354 total pins, beating Rob Rice of Sunnyside, Wash., by two pins for the $1,500 first prize and his first PBA50 Regional title.

Heekin had a 5-2 match play record and knocked down 3,081 total pins for her 14 games to top non-PBA member Correen Lieber of Phoenix, Ariz. in the PBA special women’s event to earn the $800 first prize.

 Over the May 17-19 weekend, the PBA Midwest Region returns to Glo Bowl in Marengo, Ill., for the Glo Bowl Midwest Open presented by 900 Global. Also scheduled are the PBA50 Cherokee Lanes South Open presented by Roto Grip in Canton, Ga., and the Waxahachie Southwest Challenge for non-titlists at Hilltop Lanes in Waxahachie, Texas.

 PBA Regionals over the Memorial Day weekend (May 24-25) will include the Colony Park Lanes Challenge for non-titlists, presented by Columbia 300, in York, Pa., and the annual Celeste Walker Midwest/Central Open presented by Track at Strike N Spare II in Lockport, Ill.


• The 17th Pioneers Tournament for PBA membership in China this week in Shanghai qualified three more bowlers for PBA membership eligibility. They join 97 players who qualified in previous Pioneers Tournaments conducted by Frank Zhao since 2014, bringing the total number of Chinese bowlers who have qualified for PBA membership to 100. Since the program began, Pioneers Tournaments have been held throughout China with hundreds of bowlers from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan and The Philippines participating.

• Kai Strothers, the 10-year-old Maplewood boy who became the youngest New Jersey bowler to roll a certified 300 game and later rolled the ceremonial first ball at the PBA Tournament of Champions at the PBA’s invitation, was recognized as part of the annual "Essex County Celebrates Youth" Program at the Hall of Records in Newark recently. The annual event acknowledges outstanding young people throughout Essex County for their notable achievements.

Strothers, who is passionate and knowledgeable about bowling, bears the nickname "Popcorn" because while bowling he was snacking on popcorn and it was said the secret was in the popcorn.

 The latest Playoffs In Brief episode covering last week’s telecast is now available at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsfecmEdxbs



No comments: