Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Players from around the country traveled to Coldwater, Ohio on Thursday, August 12th to play in the PBA Celebrity Softball Tournament against the Eldora Speedway Drivers and the American Red Cross team. This event kicked off the 3rd Annual Lefeld Implement Classic PBA Regional. Well over $1,000 was raised from this event to benefit the MDA.
PBA Players included Parker Bohn III, Steve Jaros, Brian Kretzer, Jeff Fehr, Derek Sapp, Jeff Carter, Hank Boomershine (Storm/Roto Grip), Chris Sand, Ronnie Russell, Ryan Shafer, Eddie Graham, Doug Davidson, Bo Goergen, Brian Himmler, Marc Massie, Brian Waliczek, Bobby Jakel (Central Region Manager), Pete Weber (unable to play), Anthony Lacaze, Chris Loschetter, John Nolen, Rick Hartings (Pla-Mor Lanes Proprietor), Mike Machuga and Todd Book.
August 10, 2010 – The Professional Bowlers Association, the professional league for the sport of ten-pin bowling, and NeuLion, Inc. (TSX:NLN), an end-to-end IPTV service provider of live and on-demand international, sports and variety programming delivered via broadband, today announced a new online video streaming service available for America’s number one recreational sport – bowling.
The new digital service will continue under the Xtra Frame brand, but will take advantage of NeuLion’s industry leadership in sports video delivery. Bowling fans will enjoy a new online experience that offers enhancements in video quality plus interactive features that give fans a chance to follow the sport more closely through pause and rewind of live streams, highlights, chat and exclusive content 24/7.
PBA’s effort to enhance its digital business stemmed from the need to unlock the social potential of the sport for the casual and avid fan. The official website, PBA.com, is the launch pad for all interaction to the bowling community around the world.
“Partnering with an established industry leader such as NeuLion is another step in the rapid, continual growth in quality, scope and viewership of Xtra Frame. Our fans are going to love the added features and benefits and will feel closer to PBA action than ever before,” said Tom Clark, COO and Deputy Commissioner of PBA. “We selected NeuLion since it gave us a single solution provider and their experience in the sports marketplace was important to us.”
As bowling is also a leading recreational sport in Japan, Xtra Frame will be available for fans in Japan. NeuLion will implement its multi-language support services to offer landing pages, sign up promotions and order flow in Japanese.
The NeuLion Platform also provides PBA with new opportunities to expand digital revenue with a video syndication player that will be offered to website providers targeting bowling fans. In addition to premium and subscription services, the Platform offers PBA new ways to attract and activate fans.
“The NeuLion Platform will offer the PBA additional features in the future for e-commerce, auction and mobile video. As we partner with PBA and build their digital business, bowling fans will find more and more available to them from the partnership,” said Chris Wagner, Executive Vice President of NeuLion.
The new PBA video service launches this September, in time for the PBA World Series of Bowling which will stream live on the new service starting October 24, 2010.
Interested in helping sponsor the PBA Player Jerseys for the PBA Celebrity Softball Game benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association? Contact Rick Hartings via email- rick@plamorlanes.net or contact Doug Davidson at sales@bowlerstore.com. Sponsorship cost: Full Color Logo: $100, Company or Organization Name: $50
On August 12th, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. in Coldwater, Ohio, some of the PBA’s greatest Exempt Bowlers will be lacing up their shoes. Not bowling shoes… Softball Cleats. This event will kickoff almost a week long of activities around the 3rd Annual Lefeld Implement Classic PBA Regional in Coldwater, Ohio.
We would like to provide our PBA Professionals with some really nice, high quality softball jerseys. The jersey listed above is a sample jersey showing sponsor logos and names. Each jersey will also be customized with the player name and number. Since the Sponsor of the PBA Regional is Lefeld Implement (John Deere Dealer), we want to make the colors of the Jersey John Deere colors. Even if you do not own a company or business and you would like to make a donation, contact one of the people above. ALL DONATIONS COLLECTED AFTER THE JERSEY ARE PAID FOR WILL BE DONATED TO THE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION. Jerseys will be produced by TigerSportsGear.com.
EL PASO, Texas – Kelly Kulick proved she could beat the men earlier this year and Wednesday she came out on top against a field of the top women bowlers in the world, earning her second United States Bowling Congress Queens title.
The Union, N.J., native climbed the five-player stepladder, winning four consecutive matches, and defeating top seed Tennelle Milligan of Arlington, Texas, 232-188, to win the Queens at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center.
Kulick, the No. 4 seed, made sports history when she became the first woman to win a title on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour in January by defeating Chris Barnes, 265-195, to win the PBA Tournament of Champions. On Wednesday, she added her third career major women’s title to her resume.
“I feel like I’ve been carrying a four-leaf clover in my pocket and have had luck on my side lately,” said Kulick, who earned $25,000 for the victory. “This has been the ride of a lifetime. The only way it gets better at this point is if in three months I’m driving a Lexus and have a million dollar endorsement deal.”
The 2007 Queens champion and 2003 U.S. Women’s Open champion, Kulick got ahead early in the match and never looked back against Milligan. Kulick threw four consecutive strikes from the fourth to the seventh frame, while Milligan failed to double in that stretch.
“It’s heartbreaking for Tennelle because I know what a stellar performance she had all week,” said Kulick, who was the runner-up to Liz Johnson at the 2009 Queens. “I just had a good performance all week long as well and it was just about getting to the show and seeing what would happen.”
Milligan, the 2005 Queens and 2000 U.S. Women’s Open champion, said she was pleased with her performance this week despite losing in the title match.
“I was excited, nervous, pumped up and ready to go out there and put on a good show,” said Milligan, who earned $15,000 for second. “I just went out there and overthrew the ball. Once I calmed down, everything fell into place, but when you are bowling a game on TV, it’s the fastest game of your life.”
In reaching the title match, Kulick took out USBC Hall of Famer Anne Marie Duggan of Edmond, Okla., 226-176. With the third place finish and a $10,000 prize, Duggan became the fifth woman to earn $1 million in her career, joining Wendy Macpherson, Tish Johnson, Aleta Sill and Leanne Barrette-Hulsenberg.
Kulick escaped with a victory over Missy Bellinder of Fullerton, Calif., 220-212, in the match before when Bellinder left a pocket 7-10 split in the final frame. Kulick threw the last five strikes to force Bellinder to mark in the 10th frame, which she failed to do.
“I made an adjustment on that lane after I had the messenger take out the 10 pin on the previous shot,” Bellinder said. “I moved a little bit right and squared up. Off my hand I thought I threw it perfect, and that’s all you can really do.”
To open the championship round, Kulick defeated Michelle Feldman of Auburn, N.Y., 186-170. After Kulick left the 4-7-10 split in the ninth frame and spared in the 10th, Feldman had a chance to throw two strikes and a five count to win, but left a 10 pin on her first shot.
The Queens, which will be rebroadcast on ESPN2 on Sunday, May 2 at 3:30 p.m. EDT, featured a field of 201 of the top female bowlers in the world competing for a total prize fund of $166,750. Storm Bowling Products is the official ball company of the 2010 USBC Queens.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Match 1: Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., def. Michelle Feldman, Auburn, N.Y., 186-170. (Feldman finishes fifth, earns $6,000.)
Match 2: Kulick def. Missy Bellinder, Fullerton, Calif., 220-212. (Bellinder finishes fourth, earns $8,000.)
Match 3: Kulick def. Anne Marie Duggan, Edmond, Okla., 226-176. (Duggan finishes third, earns $10,000.)
Match 4: Kulick def. Tennelle Milligan, Arlington, Texas, 232-188. (Milligan finishes second, earns $15,000; Kulick finishes first, earns $25,000.)
Reigning U.S. Open champion Bill O’Neill joins former PBA Players of the Year Chris Barnes and Tommy Jones to offer three days of intensive instruction on a broad range of topics, including lane play, physical mechanics, ball motion, drilling layouts and much more.
Coordinating the camp is renowned coach Mark Baker, whom Bill O’Neill describes as “the Hank Haney of professional bowling.”
“I know that in my case, I was kind of a middle-of-the-road guy on tour for a while, but after working with Mark Baker a little bit, I have been in the top five on the PBA points list the past two seasons,” O’Neill explains.
“He’s really become the coach of the pros out there,” says Chris Barnes, who made the Tournament of Champions telecast on the heels of a coaching session with Baker this season. “He does a lot of the video analysis at this camp; he gets bowlers to come down to the lanes, gets them on video, and identifies areas in their games to work on. He has a great eye.”
The sheer star power the Bowlers Dream Camp offers is one of several factors that sets it apart from other bowling camp experiences, with three-time Tournament of Champions winner Jason Couch, former Player of the Year Doug Kent, and PBA exempt player Dino Castillo joining O’Neill, Barnes, Jones and Baker as coaches.
“When I was a kid, if I had a chance of going to a camp with guys like John Jowdy, Mark Roth, Marshall Holman, Dave Husted and Mike Aulby all at the same time, I would have found any way I could to go,” Barnes said. “I can’t imagine having guys like that all at the same camp, and hopefully people who attend this camp will feel the same way.”
For coach Mark Baker, the Bowlers Dream Camp distinguishes itself by affording students the opportunity to work with bowlers who do not just have great reputations in PBA history, but who are active stars on the PBA Tour.
“It’s probably the only camp that has current stars in their sport sharing their secrets on how to break down certain lane patterns and offering their expertise in bowling on the flatter patterns,” Baker says. “These are the guys who are currently making a living out on tour; it doesn’t get any better than that.”
The Bowlers Dream Camp curriculum focuses in large part on lane play and how to break down challenging patterns, a particularly beneficial opportunity for youth bowlers planning to compete at the USBC Junior Gold events scheduled just weeks after the camp concludes.
In addition to hands-on experience with challenging lane patterns, including all of the PBA “animal” patterns, this year’s camp will feature more physical instruction than ever before as well as tips and education on some of the more technical aspects of today’s sport such as RG potential, axis rotation and axis tilt, pin positions and how to lay out arsenals for a variety of competitive situations, and more.
“We’ll share all of our experience on how we try to break down various lane patterns on tour,” says 12-time PBA titlist Tommy Jones. “We’ll help students learn how to break the lanes down to improve their scores. Basically, we will share everything that we do on a weekly basis on tour.”
In addition to video analysis and hands-on instruction, students of the camp will receive free bowling balls, and breakfast and lunch will be provided each day. Students also will be able to take home materials from throughout the week, including video analysis of their games as well as notes from camp coaches, to help them retain what they learn.
Dino Bidwell, father of youth bowler Devin Bidwell, who attended the Bowlers Dream Camp last year, remains impressed with the extent to which camp coaches demonstrated a personal investment in his son’s success.
“We’re going again this year, they break everything down for you perfectly,” Bidwell says. “Tommy Jones and Jason Couch took my son under their wing. A few days after the camp, we had Junior Gold and there was a practice session before competition started. Jason asked my son when he would be at the lanes and we told him what time. When we showed up, Jason took two of my son’s bowling balls and resurfaced them himself and sat there for half an hour working with him. That was just phenomenal.”
Bowlers looking to learn more about the Bowlers Dream Camp should visit www.bowlersdreamcamp.com, or contact coach Mark Baker at info@bowlersdreamcamp.com (Article Supplied by Gianmarc Manzione- USBC Communications)
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Brunswick Regional Staff member Anthony Fabre won his first national title at the 2009
French National Championships held in the Bowling Du Languedoc in Montpellier, France.
Fabre dominated the competition posting an average of 207.05 over the 20-game
tournament. The win qualifies the young, raising star for the European Champions Cup to be
held in Greece in September 2009.
After his great performance Anthony was ecstatic talking about the Brunswick balls he used
during the tournament, especially the soon to be released “Siege”: “I played with the
Rattler™ and the Siege. I used the Rattler at the start and when the carry-down got too
much I used my Siege, which was amazing. So aggressive and so predictable! Throughout
the entire tournament this ball allowed me to read the lanes perfectly and make the right
choices. I was really “blown away” by the impact of this ball.”
Anthony
