PBA SPARE SHOTS

PBA Spare Shots

PBA STARS TACKETT, RASH, MALOTT VISIT WHITE HOUSE LANES

Thanks to more than a little help from a PBA member with government insider connections, PBA stars EJ Tackett, Sean Rash and Wes Malott got a chance to bowl on the Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley in the White House complex recently.

PBA member Chris Holmes, who works for the U.S. Department of the Interior, was asked by another government friend if Holmes would show his staff what “real bowling” looks like…so Holmes figured that would be a great chance to get some real bowlers to lend a hand. After getting appropriate approvals, Holmes invited Tackett through MOTIV, Rash and tour rep Chuck Gardnerthrough Brunswick and Malott through Roto Grip to visit the White House lanes.

Under the condition that the players’ visit would remain confidential until after the fact, the players got a chance to bowl and discuss the sport with a few members of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy while Holmes shot some video and recorded some interviews. Some of Holmes’ content aired on WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. Each of the players also will have access to some of the content for their own social media outlets.

JULY OFFERS BUSY AND VARIED XTRA FRAME SCHEDULE

Xtra Frame’s exclusive video streaming action continues this week with the Nationwide PWBA Rochester (N.Y.) Open, Friday and Saturday, and then the PBA50 Tour begins the final leg of its 2017 season in the South Shore Open from Hammond, Ind., July 25-27; the XF Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles from Copperfield Bowl in Houston, Texas, July 28-30, which will award PBA and PWBA Tour titles; and the PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic from Anderson, Ind., July 30-Aug. 1.

The PBA Xtra Frame Storm Cup will become August’s focal point when the final three events in the 2017 series are on the calendar: the Xtra Frame Chesapeake Open from AMF Western Branch in Chesapeake, Va., Aug. 12-13; the Xtra Frame Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic from Mid-County Bowling and Entertainment in Middletown, Del., Aug. 19-20, and the series finale, the Xtra Frame Lefeld Implement Central Classic from Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, Ohio, Aug. 26-27.

For broadcast time and other details, check under the “schedules” tab on pba.com. Xtra Frame subscription packages are available for three days, 30 days and a full year. To sign up, visit xtraframe.tv for details.

PBA fans also can follow real-time results for PBA50, PBA Xtra Frame Tour and all PBA Regional events by visiting the “live scoring” feature on pba.com. PWBA live scoring is available on pwba.com.

PBA SOUTHWEST MANAGER PETE McCORDIC STILL HAS SOME BOWLING SKILLS
All of the PBA Regional managers have demonstrated some bowling skills over the years, but they all have set their PBA aspirations aside and no longer compete in PBA competition to avoid any conflicts of interest. But when opportunities outside of the PBA are available, some of them still like to lace up their shoes and get their competitive juices flowing, like PBA Southwest Region Pete McCordic of Katy, Texas, did in the Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC earlier this week.

McCordic, a two-time PBA Tour titlist who bowled a nationally-televised 300 game during his peak playing days, returned to South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas Monday and claimed the lead in Senior Singles Tuesday with an 812 series. The 63-year-old right-hander rolled games of 279, 290 and 243 to take the lead from Bo Goergen of Stanford, Mich., who previously led with a 769 effort. McCordic and partner Les Shirwindt also missed taking the Senior Doubles lead by a single pin. McCordic had a 745 series and Shirwindt 670 for a 1,415 total, one pin shy of the 1,416 rolled earlier by Robert Brown of Cody, Wyo., and Billy Langford of Lone Grove, Okla.

The “BJ” and the USBC Open Championships end Saturday.

MASSACHUSETTS, OHIO TEENS WIN TEEN MASTERS TITLES

Tom Hankey, 17, of Great Barrington, Mass., and Allie Leiendecker, 16, of Wooster, Ohio, won the boys’ and girls’ Teen Masters titles Friday in Mechanicsville, Va. The final three days of the event were streamed live on Xtra Frame.

Hankey, who posted a 9-6-2 match play record and a 9,092 pinfall total for 42 games, defeated Wyatt Smith of Cape Coral, Fla., 278-170, in his final match to lockup his $6,000 scholarship. The final game dropped Smith into third place behind runner-up Hunter Kempton of Buzzards Bay, Mass. Tyler Gromlovits of Junction City, Kan., finished fourth and Roscoe Pretlow of Chesapeake, Va., was fifth in the boys’ division.

Leiendecker ran away with the girls’ title, winning her division and a $6,000 scholarship by 221 pins over Crystal Elliott of Melbourne, Fla. After 24 qualifying games, Leiendecker was in fourth place, 121 pins behind leader Natalie Koprowitz of Girard, Ill., but she closed her first match play round with a 279 game and then rolled games of 300 (the first perfect game ever by a girl in Teen Masters competition), 233, 220, 168, 200 and 200 to establish a huge lead. She finished the event with a 13-5 match play record and 8,867 total pins. Mabel Cummins of Elburn, Ill., the 2016 U14 winner, finished third; Koprowitz was fourth and Adrianna Stacy of Sebring, Fla., rounded out the top five.

PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: RED-HOT RAY EDWARDS WINS 22ND REGIONAL TITLE

Ray Edwards of Middle Island, N.Y., concluded the PBA50 Cecil Raymond Memorial presented by Columbia 300 with an 877 series Sunday at 30 Strikes, defeating Jay Davis of Silver Spring, Md., 279-231, in the final match for his 22nd overall PBA Regional title.

Edwards, the reigning PBA50 East Region Player of the Year, averaged 259 during the Sunday’s finals, throwing games of 298, 300 and 279 to conclude the day and spoil Davis’s bid for his first PBA title. Edwards, who won $1,500, eliminated Howard Snyder of Hunt Valley, Md., 300-188, in the semifinal round while Davis defeated Steve Jones of Berlin, Md., 238-236.

The Cecil Raymond tournament, which began in 2004, was renamed in 2014 to honor Raymond after he passed away in January 2014. Raymond was the 2013 recipient of the East Region’s Pat Patterson Award for outstanding contributions to the region.

● July 14-16 weekend activity for PBA Regional players includes the Albany Strikers South Open in Albany, Ga., and the St. Charles Lanes Midwest Open presented by Storm in St. Charles, Mo. The PBA Central Region will conduct a mid-week event, the PBA50 Fairborn Central Classic at Bowl 10 Fairborn in Fairborn, Ohio, July 18-20.

● On the busy July 21-22 PBA Regional calendar are the PBA50 Parkway Lanes Open and the PWBA/PBA Parkway Lanes Open in Elmwood Park, N.J.; the Angola Central/Midwest Open at Angola Bowl in Angola, Ind.; the PBA50 Beverly Lanes Midwest/Central Open presented by Roto Grip in Arlington Heights, Ill.; the Spring Hill South Open at Spring Hill Lanes in Spring Hill, Fla.; the Fort Sill Southwest Open at Twins Oaks Bowling Center in Fort Sill, Okla., and the Secoma Lanes Northwest/West Open, PBA50 Northwest/West Open and PWBA/PBA Open, all presented by Storm, in Federal Way, Wash.

● Also in July are the PBA Japan Region’s first events of 2017, the PBA Chameleon Open on July 23 followed by the Women’s Chameleon Championship on July 30, both at Shinsayama Grand Bowl in Sayama.

● 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.

QUICK NOTES:

● On Tuesday, one day after entries opened for the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, set for Nov. 7-19 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, reservations have already been received from eight countries, including the U.S. Entries, or intentions-to-enter, have been received so far from Norway, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Bahrain and Colombia. WSOB IX is presented by Eldorado Resorts Reno properties (Eldorado Resort Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno) in cooperation with Reno Tahoe USA.

● Long-time Brunswick executive Milt Rudo, the first bowling manufacturers’ representative granted PBA Honorary Membership in 1979, died on July 4 at age 98. Rudo, who got his start in bowling as a laborer constructing lanes in 1938, advanced through the ranks to become president of the Brunswick Bowling Division in 1965 and spearheaded the introduction of Brunswick’s first automatic scoring system two years later.