PBA Spare Shots

BOWLERO ELITE SERIES FINALE SET TO AIR ON NBC SUNDAY AT 1 P.M. EST

The semifinalists are set for the Bowlero Elite Series finale that will air Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. The professional side of the unique pro-am competition at Bowlero Jupiter in Florida has been culled down to newly-elected PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte and recently-elected PBA Hall of Famer Tommy Jones.

The two PBA stars will bowl a one-game match with the winner taking on the survivor of the Bowlero league bowler side of the bracket that will include former Saginaw Valley State collegiate bowler Garrett Shovan vs. Illinois’ Luis Gonzalez, who won the first event in the three-event Bowlero Elite Series competition. The winner of the Jupiter tournament will receive $100,000.

Leading up to the semifinals, PBA titlist Kyle Troup eliminated PWBA champion Clara Guerrero, 248-246, before losing to Belmonte in the quarterfinal round, 247-246. Belmonte knocked out fellow two-hander Anthony Simonsen, 263-257, in his first match. In the lower half of the pro bracket, Jones defeated PWBA Bowler of the Year Shannon O’Keefe, 226-196, and Marshall Kent, 235-218, to reach the semifinals. Kent ousted Kyle Sherman, 257-197, in his first-round match.

On the amateur side of the match play elimination bracket, Douglas Herron defeated Greg Thompson, 230-172, before losing to Shovan, 179-161. In the lower half of the amateur bracket, Jay Nephew eliminated Elizabeth Jones, 204-191, before losing to Gonzalez, 243-216. In the other first round matches, Shovan knocked out Mike Ewing, 199-167, while Gonzalez topped Amy Brehm, 226-175.

Gonzalez won the inaugural Bowlero Elite Series tournament in suburban Chicago, defeating Troup in the final match, 237-226. Simonsen won the second event in New Jersey, eliminating Brehm in the final match, 259-220.

HALL OF FAMER PETE WEBER HELPS ROOKIE MYKEL HOLLIMAN WIN FIRST TITLE

With a little Hall-of-Fame help from Pete Weber, 2019 PBA Rookie of the Year Mykel Holliman of Collierville, Tenn., won his first PBA title Sunday in the PBA/PBA50 Houston Emerald Bowl Doubles in Houston, Texas.

Holliman, PBA’s top rookie in 2019, finished second in the USBC Masters but had yet to capture his first PBA title. Weber, on the other hand, is one of two players in PBA history to win 100 titles at all levels of PBA competition. He has won 37 PBA Tour titles (including 10 majors); 11 PBA50 Tour titles, 47 standard PBA Regionals and six PBA50 Regionals, including his win at Emerald Bowl in Houston, for a total of 101 – 14  behind all-time leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. The duo split a $7,000 first prize.

The winning duo finished the eight-game qualifying portion of the event in third place. After winning only four of their first nine matches in the 10-game round robin finals, they were still stalking the leaders in third place going into the final position round match. The father-son duo of Deo Benard from Henderson, Nev., and Rick Benard, now living in Keller, Texas, had just assumed a slim lead over WRW and his PBA Tour champion partner Dick Allen from Lexington, S.C. With only 73 pins separating the top three teams, Williams and Allen combined for a 420 team game to top the Benards’ final game of 404, while Weber and Holliman handily defeated the team of Paul McCordic of Sugar Land, Texas, and Justin Bui from Terrytown, La., 468-422. Earning 50 match bonus pins, Weber and Holliman overtook Williams and Allen by 11 pins, 8,539-8,528, in 18-game total pinfall to claim the title.

PBA PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE RETURNS WITH KRIS PRATHER INTERVIEW ON JAN. 7

The PBA Player’s Perspective interview series, featuring PBA title winners reflecting on their victories, will return to YouTube in early January when Kris Prather will chat about winning his first PBA Tour title in the 2019 PBA Scorpion Championship during World Series of Bowling X. The Prather perspective will debut on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

To view all of the PBA Player’s Perspective episodes, visit the PBA’s YouTube channel and click on the PBA Player’s Perspective play list. The weekly series includes a new perspective released every Tuesday on the PBA’s YouTube channel. The following players will provide personal play-by-play reflections in the weeks ahead:

  • Jan. 14 – Bill O’Neill talks about his victory in the 2019 PBA Hall of Fame Classic, a win that made him title-eligible for PBA Hall of Fame consideration in the future.

  • Jan. 21 – Jakob Butturff made the PBA Oklahoma Open a part of his “career year.”  He’ll share insights about his 2019 win in Shawnee, Okla.

  • Jan. 28 – Sean Rash will take a look into his past, revealing what he experienced in winning the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.

Player’s Perspectives currently in the archives on YouTube include:

  • Norm Duke’s stunning 2011 U.S. Open win (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ0cGzRfnBk).

  • Kris Prather’s historic PBA Playoffs victory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISjw3KmGCk).

  • Anthony Simonsen’s  win in the 2019 Bear Open (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2k25WKNzQ).

  • Sean Rash’s 2019 Wolf Open title (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNxO2WdaZo).

  • EJ Tackett’s Barbasol PBA Tour Finals victory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVuLOuU8btQ).

  • Bill O’Neill’s 2019 Harry O’Neale Chesapeake Open win (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSwE3YYFjso).

  • Jason Belmonte’s historic 11th major title victory in the 2019 PBA World Championship (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4QqbkRPirM).

  • Jakob Butturff’s 2019 USBC Masters win (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cuYcXxfXXs).

  • EJ Tackett’s 2017 DHC PBA Japan Invitational victory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91yoFd7nd8g).

Fans can follow all of the latest video clips and more by enrolling as a subscriber to PBA’s YouTube channel. It’s easy and it’s free. Visit YouTube.com/PBABowling and click on the “subscribe” button.

PBA BOWLING CHALLENGE HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT ENDS FRIDAY

Last call for PBA Bowling Challenge for mobile devices players: the Holiday Tournament ends at 1 a.m. Eastern on Friday. The game calls for players to bowl a 245 or higher game. Each qualifying game will count as an entry. At the conclusion of the tournament, three entries will be randomly selected to receive a bowling pin signed by PBA stars along with 5,000 Gold Pins within the PBA Bowling Challenge game.

To enter, Download PBA Bowling Challenge http://bit.ly/Download-PBA and start playing. There is no cost to enter. Participants must be 18 or older.

PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: 2020 SEASON BEGINS IN NORTH CAROLINA, CALIFORNIA

The 2020 PBA Regional season gets underway over the Jan. 17-19 weekend with a pair of tournaments in North Carolina and California for PBA50 competitors. Westview Lanes in Wilson, N.C., will host the PBA50 Richie’s Automotive South Open and Tracy Bowl in Tracy, Calif., will host the PBA50 Patton Amusement West Regional.

•  Next up (Jan. 29-30) will be the PBA Japan Region’s Ikyo Cup Wolf Open at Ikyo Bowl Inzai in Inzai, Japan.

• The PBA Central Region kicks off its 2020 schedule over the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 weekend with the PBA/PBA50 Don Vay Memorial Doubles Classic at Legend Lanes in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

• For complete PBA Regional schedules including 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. Whether you are a competitor or a fan, you can follow “live scoring” for all PBA Regional events on pba.com (easily accessible for Apple and Android device users using the PBA app).

QUICK NOTES

• The five best PBA moments of 2019? Check the PBA Channel on YouTube for this summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=565AySMex8A 

Syracuse Mets Proclaim Themselves the 26th Thing That Makes Syracuse Great

Fireworks, giveaways, baseball, and more make the Syracuse Mets a great asset to Syracuse

SYRACUSE, NY - The Syracuse Mets have enjoyed reading Syracuse.com’s wonderful commentary on the 25 Things that Make Syracuse Great series.  While the Syracuse Mets were briefly mentioned in the “So Much to Do” edition, the good people of Syracuse.com must have mistakenly overlooked the Syracuse Mets as a standalone element of our community that helps make Syracuse great.  So, with that in mind and tongue planted firmly in cheek, the Syracuse Mets do hereby proclaim themselves to be the 26th thing that makes Syracuse great!

Baseball season marks the return of warm weather in Syracuse, that’s something everyone can look forward to after a long Syracuse winter. With more than 20 nights of fireworks, dozens of giveaways, and endless promotions, every night is an event at historic NBT Bank Stadium. Each game, fans are treated to t-shirts shot into the crowd, fans are invited on the field to participate in contests, and six of the seven days of the week offer some form of food and beverage discounts.

Having a professional baseball team in Syracuse at the Triple-A level, allows the community to see current and future major leaguers up close. Last year’s Syracuse Mets team featured two-time World Series Champion Grégor Blanco, two-time All-Star Carlos Gómez, World Series runner-up Rajai Davis, and former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. Popular major leaguers like Robinson Canó, Brandon Nimmo, and Matt Kemp also played in Syracuse in 2019, giving fans easy access to see some of the best players in the game.

The fun promotions, attractions, and high-level of baseball draw fans from the community and attract visitors from out of town. The Syracuse Mets are the second-most attended sporting attraction in Central New York, second only to Syracuse University Men’s basketball. Last season, 327,478 people watched the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium.

“Professional Baseball goes all the way back to 1876 here in Syracuse, and for 140 plus years and counting, families have been going to baseball games in our community,” said Syracuse Mets General Manager Jason Smorol. “When I see families exiting the stadium with smiles on their faces hand in hand, I know we did our job.”

The Syracuse Mets always celebrate Central New York and everything that makes it great with $1 Hofmann hot dogs and $2 draft Saranac and 1911 hard ciders on Dollar Thursday, the return of the Syracuse Salt Potatoes, celebrating Syracuse’s diverse community on Latino Night, Irish Night, and Pride Night, and more. The 2020 season will also feature fan favorites like Bark in the Park, Armed Forces Day, Fourth of July fireworks, the ZOOperstars, Kids Eat Free Sunday, Craft Beer Friday, and the list goes on.

The Syracuse Mets also take great pride in supporting the local community and donate to more than 150 local organizations throughout the year.  Whether the Syracuse Mets have been called the Stars, the Chiefs, the SkyChiefs, the Chiefs (again), or the Mets, the organization has been a major source of fun, enjoyment, and civic pride for well more than 140 years and counting.

Upgrades to NBT Bank Stadium are underway, and fans will be able to experience the affordable family fun that a Syracuse Mets game provides with a fresh look for the 2020 season and beyond. Fans can check out the upgrades on Opening Day, April 17^th, 2020 at 2:05 p.m. against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

2020 Season Tickets and Flex Plan ticket packages are available by visiting the Onondaga Coach Ticket Office at NBT Bank Stadium or calling 315-474-7833 during regular office hours (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or by visiting SyracuseMets.com anytime.

VALLONES PURCHASE TWIN VILLAGE GOLF COURSE

 

  New life and a breath of fresh air will be going into the purchase and operation of the Roscoe Twin Village Golf Course (TVGC) by entrepreneur and prominent Roscoe residents Phil Vallone and his wife Donna who see's "that the course has a tremendous upside potential."

  Vallone, the founder, vice president of Vallo Transportation in Queens, the founder, president and CEO of Rolling V. Bus Corporation in Sullivan County and he has acquired the assets of Supertans, a lower Westchester based student transportation company. He is also associated with the Roscoe Beer Company owned by wife Donna and family members.

   In announcing the purchase of the golf course Vallone said that his, "strong business mission is to operate prompt, professional personalized companies and  to provide meaningful employment, give back to the community and to create economic opportunity for the township."

  Donna Vallone recently sold her cabin business after operating them for 20 plus years but she still owns and operates the Creekside's Town Inn (formerly known as the Creekside's B&B and indicated she plans to be more hands on at the brewery. 

  Well known in the Roscoe and Sullivan County area since their permanent move to this area in 1990 Donna noted that she was a summer resident of Roscoe from the day she was born and stayed at her grandparents property on Dutch Hill Road.

  After meeting Phil and traveling back and forth to Roscoe every weekend and becoming married in 1985 they settled into the county and raised their two sons here. Both Phil Jr. and Nicholas attended and graduated from Livingston Manor Central School. 

  Phil Jr. after college enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served five years and is now working with Rolling V. Nicholas started working at the bus company immediately after college and now runs Super Trans in Yonkers.

  Nick has a great love for the game of golf and actually grew up on the Twin Village Golf Course with his grandfather Ken Knudsen. He played many other golf courses in Sullivan County and he and Shannon "Birdie" Bowers-Feeney (who now works for the Roscoe Beer Company as their marketing manager) were on the same Catskill Junior tour back in the 90's.

  The 9-hole TVGC was developed originally by the Roscoe-Rockland Commercial Club in 1925 at the instigation of a club member from Scotland. Land was purchased from a Joseph Taylor and described as "a strip of flat land and gently sloping hillside situated at Rockland opposite the Rockland House."

  TVGC was financed by selling stock at $25 per share and construction began in the summer of 1925. Some of the older members remember  their grandfathers telling stories about digging large rocks out of the field during the construction.

  This golf course has been a historical part of the community as the present clubhouse was originally School District # 9 on the 1875 map of the town of Westfield Flats.

  The club has been managed by the Twin  Village Board of Governors and certificate members were actually the owners of the golf course. The school was in operation until the late 1930's

  The club house manager and Monday Night Men's league chairman for the past number of years was Chuck Husson III who put a lot of his time and effort into the TVGC operations. 

  The economy, finances and making sure the budgets stayed in the black became major management topics among owners of the course in 2012 and prompted the Board of Governors to explore a $188,500 conservation easement offer which was later accepted from the Open Space Institute and the club opted to receive payments per year for five years which helped the club purchase needed maintenance equipment, add additional golf carts and be financially sound for a number of years.

  Lacking marketing ability or manpower to get the golf course back to where it was in the 80's and 90's the Board of Governors and certificate members at their annual October meeting voted to accept the offer made by the Vallone's to purchase the Twin Village Golf Course which is directly across the street from their Roscoe  Beer Company operations. 

  The sale was approved almost unanimously by the use of written ballet by TVGC certificate members.

  Twin Village Golf Club President Chuck Husson IV in commenting about the sale of the golf course said, "as much as I would like to continue the running of Twin Village as it, it has become a constant struggle. We have outdated equipment  , a declining membership,lack of funds to pay someone to run the clubhouse along with the lack of funds and manpower to promote and advertise. The Board of Governors saw the sale to the Vallone family as an excellent way to bring in someone new that has already done so much for Roscoe."

  "They (the Vallone's) have many new and exciting ideas while planning to preserve the legacy on which Twin Village was originally founded and I have absolute confidence that we are making the correct choice  at the correct time to sell to the Vallone's, "Husson added.

  The president of the Board of Governors noted, "we had overwhelming support from our membership to move forward with this and this shows that the excellent reputation the Vallone's have created around Roscoe is so very welcomed and I look forward to the new and exciting future of TVGC."

  Located just one mile from the hamlet of Roscoe this nine-hole par 32 executive style course is located in a valley between two mountains. The fairways are open, the small sized greens are protected by traps so don't be fooled as this little course will challenge you. A pond on No.  1 and the ninth fairway and a stream in the back of holes three, five and eight will become the home for any errant shots. What it lacks in length requires golfers to be on top of their game. Accurate shots are a must.

  The shortest hole is uphill and plays 133 yards from tee to green. The longest hole number nine plays 335 yards from tee to green.  

  The TVGC became famous in the year 2000 when three top Sullivan County golfers made a few "easy-small-course remarks" about the nine-hole 2,045 yard long Roscoe course and it was immediately challenged from several prominent TVGC members who "said put your money where you mouth is" and when is was all over those outside golfers learned a lesson  that will never be forgotten.

  The end result was that the Sullivan County hot-shots got their butts kicked by the TVGC golfers who knew all the secrets of their Twin Village course.

  The future of the TVGC looks very bright as we discussed plans that the Vallone's are charting out following the sale closing agreement which will be finalized in January.

  The name of the golf course will remain Twin Village Golf Club and the additional name of Twin Village Winter Park to be added to include winter sports activities on the golf course grounds.

  There will be an upgrade of the golf carts with 20 carts to be available for golfers.

  Plans will be discussed on adding a Par 3 Executive Course within the boundaries of the existing course allowing golfers to play the regular course or the Par 3 course.

  Strong support will be offered to the existing Monday Men's and Tuesday Ladies leagues with plans for a possible mixed league in the future. 

  Plans are being studied for adding indoor golf simulators for winter golf and winter golf leagues. 

  The Vallone's plan to hire a full-time greens keeper but has not named who that will be at this time.

  Repairs and upgrades will be made to the cart paths and construction plans include improvements to the lower half of hole No. 8. 

  Plans are also being made for the growing of hops on non-playing portions of the golf course that will be used at The Roscoe Beer Company.

  Food and beer will also be offered at the clubhouse which is due to be possibly enlarged and modifications and improvements will also take place in the clubhouse. 

  Shannon "Birdie" Bowers-Feeney who is the marketing representative for the Roscoe Beer Company will also do the marketing for the golf course and plans are being made for the return of the popular Memorial Golf Tournament and the addition of other golf tournaments including a number of "fun" tournaments.

  Possible lights on the greens could be added in the future Phil Vallone noted.

  Membership fees along with greens and cart fees are expected to be about the same as last year and the Vallone's intend to reach out to the new ownership of the Liberty Sullivan County Golf & Country Club to see if the unique same playing agreement can be continued. This agreement  was that each course will honor the memberships of the others for no additional cost with golf fees being charged except for the paying of cart fees.

Philip and Donna Vallone will soon become the new owners and operators of the Roscoe Twin Village Golf Club.

Closing on the sale of the golf course will take place in January. Sharing the photo with the Vallone's is Shannon "Birdie" Bowers-Feeney who is the Marketing Manager of the Roscoe Beer Company and will take on the marketing duties of the golf course. 

  The present Roscoe Twin Village Golf Club clubhouse may very well be enlarged and will definitely be modernized under the new ownership of the Vallone family from Roscoe.

 Two prominent Roscoe golfers have been active for many years in the leadership and operations of the Twin Village Golf Course under the former Board of Governors. Chuck Husson III, left, managed the club house activity and also served as treasurer and chairman of the 18-team Monday Night Men's league. His son,Chuck Husson IV, right, recently has served as president of the Board of Governors. 

  The fairway approaching the par 4 (324 yard) seventh hole at the Roscoe Twin Village Golf Course.

K&K BOWLING SERVICES WILL BE OFFICIAL PRO SHOP FOR THE USBC WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS

ARLINGTON, Texas – K&K Bowling Services will be the official pro shop for the 2020 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships, part of a three-year agreement that includes having the company also manage the pro shop for the 2022 and 2023 events.

The 2020 Women’s Championships will be held at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas from April 18 through July 6. The 60-lane venue also served as host of the 2016 Women’s Championships.

Founded in 2000, K&K Bowling Services operates pro shops in four locations in Las Vegas –Gold Coast Bowling Center, The Orleans Bowling Center, Sam’s Town Bowling Center and Suncoast Bowling Center. The company was awarded the opportunity at the Women’s Championships as part of an open bid process.

“The chance to assist the competitors at the Women’s Championships is an exciting opportunity for K&K Bowling Services,” said Executive Director Ken Keegan, who also is executive director at Logo Infusion, the official jersey provider of the Junior Gold Championships as well as official uniform sponsor of the Team USA program and USBC events. “This is the premier national event for women bowlers and we are eager to showcase the outstanding services K&K Bowling Services are able to provide bowlers.”

The 2022 and 2023 Women’s Championships will take place in Reno, Nevada, and Las Vegas, respectively.

“It is important to offer our competitors the highest quality of services when they compete at our events and we know Ken Keegan’s staff at K&K Bowling Services has the expertise to assist the bowlers,” said USBC Managing Director of Marketing Roger Noordhoek. “We look forward to working with the K&K Bowling Services team at these three events.”

The USBC Women’s Championships is the world's largest annual participatory sporting event for women. Visit BOWL.com/WomensChamp to learn more.

United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women's Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 1,638 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.

DIRUPO, ALLEN ELECTED TO USBC HALL OF FAME

ARLINGTON, Texas – Marianne DiRupo of Succasunna, New Jersey, and Patrick Allen of Garfield, New Jersey, have been elected to the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame for Superior Performance.

DiRupo and Allen were on the ballot of six men and two women voted on by a national panel of USBC Hall of Fame members, veteran bowling writers and USBC board members. Though each fell short of the required 70 percent of the votes cast, the USBC Hall of Fame Committee selected the two candidates for induction.

The selection of DiRupo and Allen completes the six-member 2020 USBC Hall of Fame class. Patrick Healey Jr. (USBC Outstanding Performance), Bob Learn Jr. (Veterans), and Andrew Cain and Jim Zebehazy (both in Meritorious Service) were elected by the USBC Hall of Fame committee in late October.

The 2020 USBC Hall of Fame Class will be inducted April 29, during the USBC Convention at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

DiRupo, 52, joined the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour in 1992 and was the rookie of the year that season. She won the first of her eight career titles at the 1993 Ebonite Three Rivers Open at Princess Lanes in Pittsburgh.

She won the first of her three major titles at the 1997 Hammer Players Championship in Rockford, Illinois, beating Wendy Macpherson in the title match. She also won the Miller High Life National Players Championship in 2002 and the USBC Queens in 2004.

DiRupo owns a USBC Women’s Championships title, teaming with Timi McCorvey to win doubles in 1999, and also has eight other top-10 finishes at the event. She earned Bowlers Journal All-American first-team honors in 1996, 1997 and 1999.

Prior to her stellar bowling career, she was on the South Carolina softball team from 1986-1989, leading the team in RBIs in her senior season. She was a four-time National Softball Coaches Association All-Region selection and earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America second team in 1989.

Allen, 49, is the owner of 13 Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) titles.

He captured his first PBA title at the 2001 Greater Detroit Open, winning in his first TV appearance. He had multiple wins in 2005, 2007 and 2009, and earned his second major title at the 2009 H&R Block Tournament of Champions.

Allen had his best season in 2004-2005, winning three titles, including his first major at the 2005 Denny’s World Championship, and finishing in the top five of the other three major events to earn PBA Player of the Year honors.

The 13 titles in the 2000s tied Allen with Parker Bohn III for most PBA Tour victories by a left-hander.

Allen was No. 44 on the list of the 50 Greatest Players in PBA History, released in 2009 as part of the PBA’s 50th anniversary, and was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2019.

Allen also was a Team USA member from 2008-2012.

He was part of the “Dream Team” selected for the 2008 World Bowling Men’s Championships in Bangkok, after the world governing body decided to allow professional athletes compete in international events. He won gold in doubles and team and a bronze in trios and captured two more golds (trios, team) and a bronze (trios) at the 2010 event in Munich.

In addition to Allen, the men’s national ballot included Bryan Goebel of Shawnee, Kansas; Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas; Randy Pedersen of Orlando, Florida; Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, and Mark Williams of Beaumont, Texas.

The women’s national ballot also had Tammy Turner of West Palm Beach, Florida.

Through 2019, there are 432 members of the USBC Hall of Fame – 223 in Superior Performance, 120 in Meritorious Service, 51 in Veterans, 22 in Pioneer and 16 in Outstanding USBC Performance.

The USBC Hall of Fame was created in 2005 by merging the former American Bowling Congress and Women’s International Bowling Congress Halls of Fame.

Visit BOWL.com/HallofFame for more information on the USBC Hall of Fame.

United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women's Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 1,638 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.

PBA Spare Shots

NEW “WORST BREAKS OF 2019” VIDEO CLIP FEATURED ON PBA’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Newly posted on PBA’s YouTube channel is a segment called “Friday Five – the worst breaks of 2019.” If you’d like to re-live an emotionally painful collection of five of the most heart-breaking tough luck shots of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEnpOd9CHaI.

The “what might have been…” clip illustrates how unfair the Bowling Gods can be at times, and features game-changing shots made by Marshall Kent, Rhino Page, Dom Barrett and Sean Rash - all in the PBA Playoffs – and PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte in the title match of the PBA Players Championship. 

This clip, produced by PBA video productions manager Jef Goodger, is one of thousands of video clips that have attracted more than 157,000 subscribers to PBA’s YouTube channel – more than twice the viewership base of any other bowling channel on YouTube. PBA’s content on YouTube has produced more than 92 million views since its inception, and currently is averaging right at two million views per month.

If you are a bowling fan who is looking for new or “throwback” telecasts of PBA events, or highlights, interviews, bowling tips, behind-the-scenes insights and more, sign on as a PBA YouTube subscriber. It’s free, and it’s easy.

PBA PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE: JAKOB BUTTURFF DISCUSSES USBC MASTERS VICTORY

The PBA Player’s Perspective interview series, featuring PBA title winners reflecting on their victories, will turn to Jakob Butturff’s experiences in capturing his first major title in the 2019 USBC Masters, a big moment in the young lefthander’s most successful season so far. Butturff’s perspective debuted Tuesday on the PBA’s YouTube channel.

To view all of the PBA Player’s Perspective episodes, visit the PBA’s YouTube channel and click on the PBA Player’s Perspective play list. The weekly series includes a new perspective released every Tuesday on the PBA’s YouTube channel. The following players will provide personal play-by-play reflections in the weeks ahead:

  • Dec. 24 – On Christmas Eve day, EJ Tackett will take fans across the Pacific Ocean to talk about his victory in the DHC PBA Japan Invitational to kick off the 2017 season.

  • Jan. 7 – Kris Prather will explain what was going through his mind in winning his first PBA Tour title in the 2019 PBA Scorpion Championship during World Series of Bowling X.

  • Jan. 14 – Bill O’Neill talks about his victory in the 2019 PBA Hall of Fame Classic, a win that made him title-eligible for PBA Hall of Fame consideration in the future.

  • Jan. 21 – Jakob Butturff made the PBA Oklahoma Open a part of his “career year.”  He’ll share insights about his 2019 win in Shawnee, Okla.

  • Jan. 28 – Sean Rash will take a look into his past, revealing what he experienced in winning the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.

Player’s Perspectives currently in the archives on YouTube include:

  • Norm Duke’s stunning 2011 U.S. Open win (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ0cGzRfnBk).

  • Kris Prather’s historic PBA Playoffs victory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISjw3KmGCk).

  • Anthony Simonsen’s  win in the 2019 Bear Open (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2k25WKNzQ).

  • Sean Rash’s 2019 Wolf Open title (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNxO2WdaZo).

  • EJ Tackett’s Barbasol PBA Tour Finals victory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVuLOuU8btQ).

  • Bill O’Neill’s 2019 Harry O’Neale Chesapeake Open win (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSwE3YYFjso).

  • Jason Belmonte’s historic 11th major title victory in the 2019 PBA World Championship (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4QqbkRPirM).

PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: GRAYWACZ, CURRY WIN FIRST PBA REGIONAL TITLES

Ryan Graywacz of Canastota, N.Y., defeated Rich Reynolds of Plantsville, Conn., 250-188, to win the PBA MJK Pro Shop/Knob Hill Eastern Challenge presented by Brunswick at Knob Hill Country Lanes in Manalapan, N.J., on Saturday.

PBA Challenge events are open to any member or non-member who has never won a PBA event.

Graywacz, a five-year member, had a runner-up finish earlier this season in Yonkers, N.Y. He started the qualifying round slowly, averaging 181 for the first three games before exploding with a 239 average for the final seven games of qualifying. He posted 6-1 record throughout the match play finals to claim the $1,500 first prize along with his first PBA title. Reynolds earned $1,000 for his runner-up finish. 

In the semifinal matches, Graywacz topped Conrad Chapple of West Pittston, Pa., 196-181, and Reynolds defeated Scott Kinkaid of Elizabethtown, Pa., 163-152.

• Chris Curry of Beech Grove, Ind., defeated Dick Gran of Hartville, Ohio, 214-211, to win his first PBA Regional title in the Warren Harley-Davidson Central Challenge at Freeway Lanes of Warren, Ohio, on Sunday.

Curry, who earned $1,500, blanked Brent Boho of Colgate, Wis., 2-0, and Gran topped non-PBA member James Cheff of Austintown, Ohio, 2-1, in the best-of-three-game semifinal round matches to set up the championship match.

• The PBA Regional program concludes its 2019 season with PBA/PBA50 Houston Emerald Bowl Doubles Dec. 20-22 in Houston, Texas. The Southwest Region event is projected to pay $7,000 for first place.

• 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 and Android device users using the PBA app).

QUICK NOTES

• Denise Roth, wife of PBA legend Mark Roth, has confirmed that Mark has suffered another stroke which necessitated placement in a New York long-term care facility. Fans are invited to send best wishes to Mark through his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mark.roth.374? Cards or letter can be sent to Mark Roth, 821 Forest Ave., Fulton NY 13069.

Denise Roth’s most recent Facebook message noted, “We have had so many inquiries on Mark's progress since his stroke last month. Mark is having a battle and all prayers are so very appreciated and needed. We can't thank Family, Friends and his Fans enough for your beautiful messages and support. I read your messages to Mark and he lights up with a huge smile.”

• If you missed the 2019 PBA awards presentations livestreamed by FloBowling, FloBowling subscribers can watch the show on demand by visiting FloBowling.com (https://www.flobowling.com/articles/6611262-belmo-wins-fifth-pba-poy-award).