News of the Lumber Liquidator Professional Bowlers Association “World Series of Bowling” in Detroit next August has prompted plenty of discussion on the organization’s web site.
Many are in favor of the change to holding seven tournaments over a five-week span in one location and the subsequent videotaping of the final rounds for telecast from October to December if this is what needs to be done to save the PBA.
Others, including yours truly, have their doubts, and believe that national interest will wane as the PBA Tour becomes the “PBA Stationary” and that fewer people will watch if they already know the outcome.
I had heard that Matt Fiorito, a longtime bowling writer with the Detroit Free Press, broke the story before the PBA actually announced it, so I emailed Matt to get the scoop. He promptly emailed back, and we proceeded to talk on the phone about these startling developments.
Fiorito said he also did not like the idea of taped shows, but cited PBA statistics that indicate there was no difference in TV ratings between live and taped telecasts. He said that about 400,000 to 500,000 U.S. households watch the PBA Tour on Sunday afternoons.
In my opinion, the ratings could be higher if the PBA wasn’t going up against the National Football League. In fact, about 900,000 households watched the USBC Masters which aired two weeks after the Super Bowl.
When I asked Matt why the PBA has to bowl its championship round on Sunday afternoons, he said that ESPN owns about 30 percent of the PBA Tour and wants the show on at that time because nothing else could get those ratings. I’d love to see how the PBA would do with a live telecast on a Wednesday night, for example, at 9 o’clock. With proper marketing and promotion (something lacking at this time), I really think the PBA could generate a considerable following.
Matt and I also talked about the obvious: PBA ownership, tired of losing money every year, will save a ton of money by having several events at one time in one city. Production costs will decrease, as will bowlers’ travel expenses.
“By saving money on the first half of the season, the PBA is hoping to be able to put more oomph into the second half, which includes three Major tournaments,” Fiorito said. “I don’t think the PBA could go on much longer in the present format. They’ve already gone a few years beyond what they originally said they would do.”
Fiorito said it remains to be seen whether some of the money saved in the first half will go back into the prize fund, which also has decreased in recent years. Furthermore, if the Detroit experiment works, maybe they can move the World Series to other cities, he said, like Buffalo or Rochester.
Western New York definitely has the bowling base to support the series, but do fans really want to spend some of their August days and/or nights inside a bowling center? We don’t have many warm months as it is.
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CLINE WINS IN PERRY FOR 3RD TIME
For the third time in five seasons, Brian Cline of Lockport, who is part of the tournament scene in the GLOW region, has won the Perry Bowling Center Scratch Open.
Cline turned back fellow left-hander Tom Rohl of Le Roy, 249-195, Sunday to take the $900 first prize in the tournament, which drew 68 entries. Rohl earned $450 for placing second.
Prior to facing Rohl, Cline edged two other southpaws -- Ricky Mussell of Lockport, 198-191, and Ken Muscato of Canandaigua, 226-224. Rohl reached the final match by topping Mike Zarcone of Rochester, 246-224.
Cline was the event’s second-high qualifier, posting 918 for four games on the Sunday morning squad. Other high qualifiers by squad were Muscato, 903 on Saturday at 12:30; Curtis Foss of Medina, 946 on Saturday at 3:30, and Matt LaGeorge of Leicester, 899 on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Muscato and Zarcone each won $220 for reaching the semifinals. Others cashing were Matt LaGeorge (Leicester), Foss, Mussell and Jerry Brunette Jr. (Rochester), $120 each; Steve Santini (Mount Morris), Justin LaGeorge (Leicester), Brian Weber (Perry) and Mike Donovan (Painted Post), $105 each; last year’s champ Erik Reynolds (Brockport), Pat Donaghue (Honeoye Falls), Dan Keenan (Rochester) and Ricky Zinone (Rochester), $85 each.
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GRAY SR. RED-HOT IN ABT
On several occasions this season, my bowling buddy Kevin Gray Sr. of Warsaw has been telling me about the Amateur Bowlers Tour of Western New York, a Buffalo-based tournament with ties to a nationwide organization.
He talked about the big prize funds it offered and the fact that gave handicap based on a top average of 225 (which meant that he was getting pins). The ABT bowls on just about every Sunday, with squads at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Well, last week Gray finally cashed at an ABT stop after several tries. Not only did he cash, but he won the whole shooting match – and a $1,700 first place check to go with it!
Bowling at Manor Lanes II in Amherst, Gray outscored 84 other entrants for the grand prize by averaging 226 scratch for eight games. He defeated Russell Priola of South Wales, 246-226, in the title match.
Gray received 21 pins per game based on the 198 average he has compiled in previous ABT events, but really didn’t need the help in the stepladder finals as he won 237-200 and 248-221 before facing Priola.
A frequent flyer when it comes to tournaments, the 55-year-old right-hander said he will be using the winnings “to bowl in more tournaments.” He said he especially likes the ABT format because “it works well and everyone has a chance to win.”
A dental lab technician at the University of Rochester, Gray used an Ebonite Magic drilled by Mark DiSanto at Bowlers World Pro Shop in Rochester. He bowls in two leagues – a PBA Experience League at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia and in a league at Mount Morris Lanes. His son, Kevin Jr., is an avid bowler.
The ABT travels to Broadway Sports Center this Sunday. It is coordinated by Ed and Lorraine Mousseau of Getzville, who have been affiliated with the ABT since 1987. They ran successful ABT ventures in St. Louis, Albany and Chicago before moving to Western New York in 2007.
For more information about the ABT, call Mousseau at 716-636-1383 or log on to the tour's web site -- abtwesternnewyork.com.
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LOCALS PLACE 1ST IN LE ROY
A team led by LeRoyans Tom Rohl and Mickey Hyde led the way in the 8th annual Ron Riggi Memorial 4-person handicap tournament over the past two weekends at Legion Lanes in Le Roy.
Rohl and Hyde joined forces with Brian Weber of Perry and Justin LaGeorge of Leicester to record a 2,819 score – good for a 48-pin victory over runners-up Rob Sease, Scott Allis, Ray LeChase Jr. and Norm Bialuski. First place paid $1,300 while second place was half of that.
LeRoyans Fred Mathers, Sam Steffenella, Jerry Blair and Tim Thomas took third at 2,716, and won $400. Sease, Bialuski, Mike Johnson and Mark Brown placed fourth at 2,707 and won $320.
A score of 2,592 was low to cash, earning $200. Fifty-eight teams competed. Proceeds will go toward two scholarships – one for a Le Roy junior bowler and one for a junior bowler at Clover Lanes in Rochester – in memory of the late Ron Riggi, a well-known bowler from Le Roy.
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FOSS, GIBSON ROLL 300 GAMES
Foss came back home after an attempt to qualify at the PBA Tour event in Columbus, Ohio, last week and promptly rolled his seventh certified 300 game in the Sunday morning scratch league at Scopano’s Lanes in Oakfield.
The 21-year-old right-hander started with the perfect game and added 193-226 for a 719 series. He said he got a break in the fifth frame when he tripped the 2-pin on a light hit, but was in the 1-3 pocket the rest of the way.
In the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Buckeye State Eliminator, Foss averaged about 190 for his eight games in the qualifier, well off the pace to advance into the 64-bowler field. He said he will try again at the GoRVing Match Play Championship in Connecticut next week and at the U.S. Open in North Brunswick, N.J., at the end of the month.
In the County Line Stone/Le Roy Motors League at Scopano’s Lanes last Wednesday night, Scott Gibson finished with a 300 game in a 761 series.
(Mike Pettinella’s Pin Points bowling column appears every Thursday during the bowling season. If you have an item of interest for his column, please contact him at mikepett2002@yahoo.com or at 343-3736 or by mail at 55 Edgewood Drive, Batavia).