PROFESSIONAL BOWLING SPARE SHOTS

PBA Spare Shots

RACE FOR XTRA FRAME PBA TOUR BONUS RESUMES NEXT WEEK IN DELAWARE

The chase for a special $10,000 winner-take-all prize in the Xtra Frame PBA Tour Series points race resumes Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21, when Mid-County Lanes in Middletown, Del., hosts the PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic. Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, N.Y., who won the 2015 Delaware title to end a 12-year PBA Tour title drought, will be back to try to defend his title.

The Delaware tournament will be the fifth in a modified schedule of eight Xtra Frame Tour points events. Other events to come include the Xtra Frame Parkside Lanes Open in Aurora, Ill., Oct. 1-2; the Xtra Frame Reality Check Classic from Sawgrass Lanes in Tamarac, Fla., Oct. 8-9, and the Xtra Frame Las Vegas Open from South Point Bowling Plaza, Oct. 29-30. The previously-scheduled Billy Hardwick Memorial planned for Memphis, Tenn., in November has been postponed. XF Series points were not awarded for the PBA-PWBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles event.

Heading into Delaware, the Xtra Frame Series points leaders are: EJ Tackett 53; Tommy Jones 46, Ryan Ciminelli and Sean Rash 44, Shawn Maldonado 36, Anthony Simonsen 31, Jakob Butturff 25, Kyle Troup 23, Gary Faulkner 21 and Mitch Beasley 20. In Xtra Frame Series events, the winner earns 25 points, second place earns 19 and points decline by one for each place through 20th.

PBA BOWLING CHALLENGE MOBILE GAME SEEKS HELP FROM PLAYERS

Concrete Software’s PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile game is asking for help from its fans.

PBA Bowling Challenge users are asked to vote on what new Product Registered balls they would like to see introduced into the game over the next two months.  The wildly-popular game for mobile devices will regularly post a survey asking fans to choose one ball from a specific company’s newest line of equipment. The “winning” ball based on fan input will be available in the game within the week along with a code to purchase the ball for 50% off (the code will only be available on the specific companies’ social media pages). In addition, each company will have a flashback weekend where all its previous balls will be available for that weekend only.

This week fans can vote on the Track ball they’d like to see added to the PBA Bowling Challenge. To take the survey, click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LP79BNP.

SIMONSEN, PBA STARS LEAD TEAM USA INTO PABCON CHAMPIONSHIPS

Anthony Simonsen, the PBA’s teenage two-handed star, will be among the PBA stars who will compete for Team USA in the upcoming Pan American Bowling Confederation Championships Sept. 12-23 in Cali, Colombia.

Simonsen, who had earned a spot on Junior Team USA, was added to the adult Team USA roster earlier in the year. In addition to winning his first PBA Tour title in the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship with partner Connor Pickford in January, the Austin, Texas resident won the USBC Masters for his first major, and made his Junior Team USA debut at the World Bowling Youth Championships in Lincoln, Neb., in early August, winning gold medals in doubles, team and masters competitions.

"If you would've told me a year ago this is how my year would've gone, I wouldn't have believed you until I saw it," Simonsen said. "Even now, I don't think it all has sunk in.  A lot of amazing things have happened, and I definitely have the confidence going into PABCON. I feel mentally strong and know I can compete alongside these guys, but I'm still looking forward to new experiences and the chance to learn even more."

Joining Simonsen on the PABCON men’s team will be PBA Tour champions Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash.; Ronnie Russell of Marion, Ind., and Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., along with PBA members John Szczerbinski of North Tonawanda, N.Y., and collegiate star AJ Chapman of Manchester, Iowa.

The Team USA women will be PWBA-PBA champions Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Ill.; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio; Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, Calif., and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., along with Josie Earnest of Nashville, Tenn., and Bryanna Cote of Red Rock, Ariz.

Team USA has been dominant at past PABCON events, winning 258 total medals, 150 more than Mexico, which is second on the medal table with 108. The PABCON Championships will include six disciplines - singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters.

NEXT UP ON XTRA FRAME: PBA50 TOUR SET FOR SEASON-FINALE IN ELKHART

The PBA50 Tour will conclude its 2016 season early next week with the final major of the year. Exclusive Xtra Frame coverage of the inaugural PBA50 National Championship to benefit Riley Hospital for Children is set for Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 15-17, from Signature Lanes in Elkhart, Ind.

In the meantime, PBA players ages 60 and older are wrapping up an Xtra Frame doubleheader in Ft. Wayne, Ind., today, Friday and Saturday at Pro Bowl West which is hosting the PBA60 Dick Weber Championship presented by Hammer. On Tuesday, Xtra Frame fans got to watch PBA50 rookie Eddie Graham of Centerville, Ohio, win his first PBA50 title in the DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite.

Xtra Frame’s coverage of the 2016 PWBA Tour also will conclude Sept. 2-3 with coverage of the preliminary rounds of the Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship from Uptown Alley in Midlothian Va. The PWBA Tour Championship finals will air live on CBS Sport Network on Sunday, Sept. 4.

Three-day ($3.99), 30-day ($7.99) and Xtra Frame Season Ticket (a full-year’s coverage at an average cost of $1.25 per week) subscriptions are available by clicking on the Xtra Frame link on pba.com. New monthly or Season Ticket subscribers also are automatically entered into monthly sweepstakes where they have chances to win a new high-performance bowling ball from Brunswick, DV8 or MOTIV.

QUBICA AMF PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: SCROGGINS DENIES WRW’S BID FOR 100TH TITLE

Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas denied PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. his 100th PBA title Wednesday, defeating the Oxford, Fla., star, 246-186, to win the PBA50 Ft. Wayne Central/Midwest Shootout at Pro Bowl West.

The title was Scroggins’ 45th in QubicaAMF PBA Regional competition, including standard and PBA50 events. He also earned $2,000.

Scroggins downed Ron Mohr of Las Vegas, 235-215, and Williams topped Kevin Foley of Reno, Nev., 247-226, in the semifinal round to set up the championship match.

The one-day, reduced entry fee event – sandwiched between the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Open and PBA60 Dick Weber Super Senior Classic – drew a field of 66 bowlers.

● Darren Tang of San Francisco and his non-member partner Zack Hattori of Las Vegas, posted a 7-3 match play record and a combined 18-game total of 8,699 pins Sunday to win the PBA Tony Reyes Memorial Member/Non-Member Doubles at 4^th Street Bowl in San Jose, Calif.

Tang and Hattori defeated Dan Long of Bakersfield, Calif. and non-member Anthony Thompson of Redding, Calif., who had a 7-3 match play record and 8,677 pins. Tang and Hattori shared the $4,000 first prize. Long and Thompson earned $3,000.

The Tony Reyes Memorial, which is named in honor of the late PBA Tour champion who died in 2012, was part of the QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour.

● Brian LeClair of Delmar, N.Y. defeated Harry Sullins of Chesterfield Twp. Mich., 244-188, to win the PBA50 Progressive/Gerdeman Insurance/Al Smith Jeep Central/Midwest Classic at Al-Mar Lanes in Bowling Green, Ohio, Saturday.

The title was LeClair’s 22nd overall PBA Regional title. He also earned $3,500.

LeClair defeated Brian Kretzer of Dayton, Ohio, 246-229, to advance to the championship match. In the first stepladder match, Kretzer downed Sam Maccarone of Blackwood, N.J., 214-180.

● Jason Sterner of Cocoa, Fla., captured the inaugural PBA AMF Western Branch South Open presented by Hammer title Sunday at AMF Western Branch Lanes in Chesapeake, Va., by defeating hometown favorite and top qualifier Tyler Zogg, 210-204.

Sterner, the no. 2 qualifier going into the stepladder finals, received $2,600 for his 10th QubicaAMF PBA Regional win while the 18-year-old Zogg, who is planning to attend Webber International University in Lake Wales, Fla., earned $1,400 in scholarship money for his SMART account.

In the first stepladder match, non-member Trevor Roberts of Crystal River, Fla., disposed of Tom Daugherty from Riverview, Fla., 204-157. Sterner then eliminated Roberts, 248-155, to advance to the championship match.

● Thomas Coco Jr. of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., defeated Brad Angelo of Lockport, N.Y., 221-187, to win the PBA Bowlers Supply/Storm Eastern Open presented by Roto-Grip at Colony Park Lanes North in York, Pa., Sunday for his first QubicaAMF PBA Regional title.

Coco, a second-year PBA member, just missed his first title in the May non-champions event held at the same center, when he lost in the title match to fellow lefty Gary Haines of West Babylon, N.Y. With his win, Coco became eligible to enter the 2017 FireLake PBA Tournament of Champions.

Coco qualified second, three pins behind multi-PBA Tour titlist Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y. In the match play elimination rounds, he then ousted Rusty Thomsen of Carteret, N.J., 3-1, in the best-of-five-game Round of 16 and David Knight Jr. of Glassboro, N.J., 2-1, in the best-of-three game Round of 8 before beating Anthony Pepe of Elmhurst, N.Y., 232-201, in his semifinal round match. Angelo eliminated Ciminelli, 233-220, in the other semifinal match.

● Over the Aug. 12-14 weekend, QubicaAMF PBA Regional action will include the Poplar Creek Midwest Open in Hoffman Estates, Ill.; the Killeen Southwest Open at Hallmark Lanes in Killeen, Texas; the Lefeld Implement Central Classic at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, Ohio, and the PBA Japan Region’s DHC Women’s Chameleon Open and Chameleon Open, both in Syama, Japan.

● The Aug. 19-21 weekend will be headlined by the PBA Gene Carter Pro Shop Classic, presented by Xtra Frame, at Mid-County Bowling and Entertainment Center in Middletown, Del. The PBA Xtra Frame Tour event is projecting a $15,000 first prize along with a PBA Tour title. Also over the Aug. 19-21 weekend, the QubicaAMF PBA Regional schedule includes the Emerald Bowl Southwest Challenge for non-champions and the PWBA-PBA Emerald Bowl Open for women. Both events in Houston, Texas, will be presented by Hammer.  Also on tap is the Dave Husted Northwest Open presented by 900 Global at Milwaukie Bowl in Milwaukie, Ore.

● Concluding the August schedule of QubicaAMF PBA Regional events over the Aug. 26-28 weekend will be the Fayetteville South Open presented by MOTIV along with the PWBA-PBA Fayetteville South Open – a women’s only event - at Lafayette Lanes in Fayetteville, N.C.; the AMF Garland Lanes Southwest Open, presented by Classic Products & Ultimate Bowling Products, in Garland, Texas, and the Aquimo West Open at Mesa East Bowl in Mesa, Ariz.

● Looking ahead to Labor Day weekend, the QubicaAMF PBA Regional calendar includes the PBA60 Wilson & Sons Pest Control South Open followed by the PBA50 Budweiser Open presented by Mooresville Ford and Columbia 300 at George Pappas’ Victory Lanes in Mooresville, N.C.; the PBA50 Strike Zone Open presented by Columbia 300 in Pottsville, Pa., and the PBA Japan Region’s Viper Open presented by Ebonite in Iruma, Japan.

● For complete QubicaAMF PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, visit pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on QubicaAMF Regional Tours to find the event(s) in your area. For more information about QubicaAMF, visit www.qubicaamf.com or, for social media posts, visit http://bit.ly/QAMFSponsorship1.

QUICK NOTES

● The European team of England’s Dom Barrett and Stu Williams, Sweden’s Martin Larsen and Jesper Svensson defeated an American team composed of Parker Bohn III, Marshall Kent, Kyle Troup and Wes Malott, 19-11, to win its fourth consecutive Weber Cup. The invitational team event, featuring a roster of PBA stars, was held at EventCity in Manchester, England.

● Joycelyn Jakubowski, mother of PBA’s ESPN and Xtra Frame lead announcer Mike Jakubowski, died Monday at her Milwaukee area home after a lengthy struggle against cancer. She was 73.