The 2012-13 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year winner will be announced live on PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, Xtra Frame, on Friday, Jan. 17, at 5 p.m. ET.
The live Xtra Frame show from Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., will follow the announcement on Jan. 14 of the Harry Golden Rookie of the Year, Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award and inaugural first Tony Reyes Community Service Award winners. The top three vote-getters in the Player of the Year balloting, which is currently underway, also will be announced on Jan. 14.
The special Xtra Frame broadcast on Jan. 17 will include the Player of the Year announcement and will include presentation of awards to the Rookie of the Year, Nagy and Reyes award winners.
The PBA Player of the Year competition spans a 14-month period, beginning with the 2012 PBA World Series of Bowling IV and continuing through Dec. 31, 2013, and is expected to rival the 2011-12 competition, which was won by Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., over Australia’s Jason Belmonte in the closest voting margin in PBA history. The 2012-13 Player of the Year ballot includes 13 candidates: Chris Barnes, Dom Barrett, Jason Belmonte, Parker Bohn III, Mike Fagan, Tommy Jones, Mika Koivuniemi, Chris Loschetter, Wes Malott, Scott Norton, Bill O’Neill, Sean Rash and Pete Weber.
In addition to the Player of the Year program, Xtra Frame will provide live coverage of all qualifying and match play rounds of the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions from Thunderbowl Lanes, Saturday, Jan. 18 through Tuesday, Jan. 21. To subscribe to Xtra Frame, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame link.
WEBER TOPS YEAR-END SUMMARY OF TOP REGIONAL WINNERS
As of Dec. 31, 2013, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., remains the most successful PBA Regional player in history, in addition to his extensive portfolio of PBA Tour successes. Weber, who still holds the record as the youngest player ever to win a PBA Regional title (age 17 in 1979), is the leader in standard Regional titles with 48 and has added three PBA50 Regional titles since turning 50 in 2012.
Weber shares the lead in combined Regional titles (51) with Dale Traber of Cedarburg, Wis., who has won 40 standard and 11 PBA50 titles. Weber’s 48 standard titles are six ahead of Steve Jaros of Yorkville, Ill., and Chris Warren of Grants Pass, Ore. The leader in PBA50 Regional wins is another PBA Hall of Famer, George Pappas of Charlotte, N.C., with 16. Pappas is three ahead of fellow PBA South Region competitors Tom Baker and Guppy Troup along with West Region veteran Ron Winger, each with 13 PBA50 titles.
All-Time Top 10, Combined PBA Regional Titles
1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 51.
Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 51.
3, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 42.
Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 42.
Ross Packard, San Jose, Calif., 42.
Guppy Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 42.
7, Sam Zurich, Grant, Fla., 40
8, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 39.
9, Hugh Miller, Mercer Island, Wash., 36.
Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 36.
All-Time Top 10, Standard PBA Regional titles
1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 48.
2, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 42.
Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 42.
4, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 40.
5, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 39.
6, Sam Zurich, Grant, Fla., 38.
7, Ross Packard, San Jose, Calif., 33.
8, Hugh Miller, Mercer Island, Wash., 32.
9, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 31.
10, Dennis Horan Jr., Oakley, Calif., 30.
All-Time Top 10, PBA50 Regional Titles
1, George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C., 16.
2, Guppy Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 13.
Tom Baker, King, N.C., 13.
Ron Winger, Las Vegas, 13.
5, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 11.
Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 11.
Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 11.
Bob Glass, Lawrence, Kan., 11.
Dale Eagle, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 11.
Tim Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 11.
Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 11.
“THE BOWLING CENTER” RECAPS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, PREVIEWS WBT FINALS
Episode Six of “The Bowling Center,” featuring PBA Xtra Frame personalities Jason (The Bowling Guy) Thomas and Jef Goodger is now available on YouTube, featuring a recap of the PBA World Championship telecast on ESPN and a preview of next Sunday’s WBT Men's and Women's Finals.
This week's show also features a behind-the-scenes look at the PBA World Championship, a Mike J. Laneside interview with Ryan Shafer, a three-game match between Goodger and Thomas using the Storm Byte bowling ball and another “Troll Bowling” segment.
To watch Episode Six, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1C4Zo5fpf4
To find the weekly shows – which are available at no cost – visit youtube.com and enter The Bowling Center in the search bar. New shows will debut on Mondays, with a one-week break on January 13.
PBA REGIONAL ROUNDUP: PBA WEST/NORTHWEST RETURNS TO RENO
Following the holiday break, PBA Regional activity resumes Jan. 11-12 with the PBA and PBA50 Sands Regency Winter Classic doubleheader presented by Motiv at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. The event also includes a Winter Challenge for non-title winners on Friday, Jan. 10.
The only other January event will be the PBA Legend Lanes Regular/Senior Central Doubles Classic in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, over the Jan. 24-26 weekend.
For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, visit pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on Regional Tours to find the event(s) in your area.
QUICK NOTES
● Entries are now being accepted for the 2013 United States Bowling Congress Masters, Feb. 16-23 at Brunswick Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick, N.J. To enter, go to bowl.com/masters.
● Pro-am entries and television tickets for the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions and PBA League quarterfinal and semifinal rounds at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., Jan. 25-27, also are available on pba.com. Click on the “tickets” link for complete details.