PBA fans are invited to vote on the best bowling trick shots ever in a special poll now underway on pba.com. The “contest” features four great trick shots: Norm Duke’s “spinning ball spare,” Chris Barnes’ “Flying Eagle,” Osku Palermaa’s “over the chair strike” and the late Andy Varipapa’s “three-ball split conversion.”
Voting on pba.com will close on Friday, March 20 at 8 p.m. ET. The results will be revealed on ESPN telecasts of PBA League competition from Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, beginning with the No. 4 video on the Sunday, March 29, coverage of PBA League quarterfinal round 1; No. 3 on the April 5 coverage of PBAL quarterfinal round 2, the two finalists will be shown on the April 12 PBAL semifinal telecast for another “best of all-time” fan vote, and the winner will be revealed during the PBA League Elias Cup finals telecast on Sunday, April 19.
To vote, visit pba.com and click on the Trick Shot Poll link (http://www.pba.com/Vote/).
“L.A. X” PBA LEAGUE VIRTUAL BOWLING BALL DEBUTS THIS WEEK
Number six in the continuing series, Concrete Software will debut the “virtual” L.A. X PBA League team ball into the PBA Bowling Challenge game on Thursday (March 12). PBA League-logoed team balls for gaming play currently available to PBA Bowling Challenge players include the Dallas Strikers, GEICO New York WTT KingPins, Silver Lake Atom Splitters, Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits and Motown Muscle. The two remaining PBA League balls will be added to the PBA Bowling Challenge arsenal, one a week, leading up to the PBA League Elias Cup competition March 28-29 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine.
PBA League-logoed balls can be used by more than 12 million people who play PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game on a regular basis. The PBA Bowling Challenge by Concrete Software app is available on Google Play, Apple iOS, Amazon App Store and Nook.
PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: WEBER OVERCOMES ACCIDENTAL BALL SWITCH TO WIN
Overcoming an accidental ball switch, Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., defeated Toby Contreras of Lee’s Summit, Mo., 223-177, to win the PBA50 Thunderbowl Midwest Open at Thunderbowl in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sunday.
Weber had just defeated Greg Shields of Independence, Mo., in the semifinal round, 2-0 in a best-of-three-game contest and was preparing for the title match when he discovered that Shields had accidentally taken the wrong ball off the ball return, and had immediately left the building. The ball included a removable thumb insert that Weber had used all day, but he picked up another ball and used a different thumb insert to win his fourth PBA50 regional title.
● Dale Csuhta of Wadsworth, Ohio, defeated Tom Baker of King, N.C. by 70 pins to win the PBA50 Victory Lanes Central Open presented by 900 Global at Victory Lanes in Galion, Ohio, Sunday.
Csuhta finished with a 7-5 match play record and a total of 4,893 pins for 20 games, including match play bonus pins. The title was Csuhta’s first of the year in the PBA Central Region and his ninth overall PBA Regional title. He also earned $1,500.
● Amateur Darren Tang of San Francisco posted a 7-2-1 match play record and a 18-game total of 4,589 pins Sunday to win the PBA Sands Regency Winter Classic, capping a weekend tripleheader of PBA regional competition presented by Storm.
Tang, who won the standard regional event by 167 pins over Brad Bufkin of Citrus Heights, Calif., earned $2,000 but because he is an amateur, he does not receive a PBA title.
In the companion PBA50 Sands Regency Winter Classic, amateur Chip Aki of Grand Prairie, Texas went 8-2 and knocked down 4,619 total pins for 18 games. Aki earned $1,500 for his 84-pin victory over Ron Mohr of Las Vegas in an event for players 50 and older.
Leading into the weekend tripleheader, Hernan Ramirez of Venezuela defeated Don Cosper of Reno, Nev., 257-225, to win Friday’s Sands Regency Challenge Winter Classic. The Challenge was open to players who had never won a PBA title. Ramirez earned $1,500 along with his first PBA title.
● The March 13-15 PBA Regional schedule includes only one event – the joint PBA50 Showtime Lanes Midwest/Central Open presented by Track in Virden, Ill.
● A heavy slate of PBA Regional action is on tap over the March 20-22 weekend, including the PBA50 Fayetteville (N.C.) Open at Lafayette Lanes; the PBA50 Rossi Lanes Open in Elmira, N.Y.; the joint PBA Trumbull County Tourism Bureau Central/East Open presented by DV8 at Bell-Wick Bowl in Hubbard, Ohio; the PBA Odessa (Texas) Southwest Open at Astro Bowl; the PBA50 Boys & Girls Club Midwest/Central Open presented by MOTIV at Liberty Lanes in Carpentersville, Ill., and the PBA Caveman Bowl Northwest/West Open in Grants Pass, Ore.
● Wrapping up the March PBA Regional schedule over the 27-28 weekend will be the PBA50 Tony Grigat Allstate Midwest/Central Open presented by DV8 at Willowbrook Lanes in Willowbrook, Ill.
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
● PBA Charter Member Fred Riccilli of Seal Beach, Calif., died on Monday, March 2, at age 93. The long-time proprietor of Champion Lanes in Orange County, Calif., never won PBA title, but he did win the 1952 Petersen Classic in Chicago and was the first player drafted in the short-lived National Bowling League in 1960.
● Former PBA member Chuck Lammlein of Camden, Mo., died on March 3 at age 90. An accomplished bowler and long-time proprietor of Coachlite Lanes in Rolla, Mo., Lammlein was credited with participating in the sponsorship of PBA events held at Dick Weber Lanes in St. Louis, and as an innovator in promoting bowling on outdoor lanes which led to Weber’s appearance on several “Late Night with David Letterman” shows.
● Jerod Hromek, the son of retired three-time PBA Tour champion Justin Hromek, won his second straight Kansas state high school singles title and led Wichita Circle High to its first Class 5-1A team title at Northrock Lanes in Wichita on March 5. Jerod, a junior, became the first bowler in the 11-year history of Kansas’ state high school bowling championships to win two state titles. He won the individual title behind games of 298, 207 and 247 for a 752 series.
● With 2015 PBA League competition set for the last weekend of March, PBA League fans are invited to purchase special PBA League-logoed t-shirts to support their favorite team(s). Visit “shop” at pba.com for details. The entire PBA League “Maine Event” will air on four consecutive weekends on ESPN beginning Sunday, March 29, at .
● PBA fans can earn a discount on an Xtra Frame Season Ticket subscription with the purchase of a new bowling ball through a special limited-time arrangement with Bowling Infinity Group. Visit http://offthetrailer.com/ for details on how to earn a $25 discount and free shipping on the bowling ball-Xtra Frame Season Ticket package now through April 30.
● Reminder: Every month, HotelPlanner.com, the official travel partner of the PBA, is awarding a $200 lodging gift certificate to a lucky person who books a hotel room through HotelPlanner.com. Use the “Book Hotel” link on pba.com before the last day of the month, and you will be automatically entered. The $200 gift certificate will be valid for hotel room and tax only. February’s HotelPlanner.com sweepstakes winner was Kerry Davis from Atlanta.