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Adjustments For Your Bowling Game
We may never get the right combination every time we bowl, but I'm pretty sure we'll be increasing our chances to shoot better than someone who doesn't try anything. Maybe not this time, but overall.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art175158.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations
Professional Bowlers Association | 719 Second Avenue, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98104

PBA Spare Shots
SERIES OF POSITIVE ACTIVITIES GET PBA'S NEW YEAR OFF TO A STRONG START
A frenzy of activity in January got the Professional Bowlers Association¡¯s new year off to a strong start, and it was the kind of activity that is having positive repercussions throughout the bowling industry:

¡ñ The PBA¡¯s January ESPN ratings for the Petraglia Division finals of the PBA World Championship followed by the PBA World Championship finals both exceeded audience records for PBA World Series of Bowling telecasts, only to be topped by the live finals of the Alka-Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels USBC Masters telecast on January 29, which reached an audience of 1.1 million viewers ¨C the largest in two years.

¡ñ During the USBC Masters, PBA and World Tenpin Bowling Association leaders put their heads together and formed an historic alliance that will create the first true global bowling tour, awarding PBA Tour titles at a series of World Bowling Tour tournaments in 2012. At the close of the year, the top three men and top three women in WBT points will bowl for increased prize funds in the WBT Finals presented by the PBA during the 2012 PBA World Series of Bowling in Las Vegas.

¡ñ Bowlers from around the world can start planning for the 2012-13 season, which will get underway with the fourth annual PBA World Series of Bowling Nov. 2-11 at South Point Casino, Hotel and Bowling Center. The 2012 World Series will feature four ¡°animal pattern¡± championships, the PBA World Championship and the WTBA World Bowling Tour men¡¯s and women¡¯s finals presented by the PBA. Details will be forthcoming.

¡ñ The PBA has reached agreement with Killer B Promotions to conduct a series of Teen Masters qualifying tournaments in conjunction with PBA Regional events across the country in the months ahead. The Teen Masters finals will be conducted in Cleveland, Ohio, in July.

¡ñ The inaugural Xtra Frame Tour Cheetah Open presented by Ebonite, the first PBA Tour event broadcast exclusively over the Internet, drew a field of 143 players to Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, Calif. Eugene McCune successfully defended his Cheetah Open title.

¡ñ The PBA unveiled a new membership program that included a low-cost PBA24 membership package exclusively designed for young bowlers just entering the PBA ranks, a new International membership to grant specific privileges to international players who want to experience PBA competition, internationally and within the U.S., and a membership renewal program that provides amnesty for back dues while waiving initiation fees for many former members.

¡ñ The Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational, which aired on ESPN in front of the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, also introduced ¡°Sheets¡± as a new corporate sponsor. Sheets is a new fast-absorbing energy strip.

¡ñ The celebrity aspect of the Chris Paul event creates staggering media exposure for the PBA. As a group, celebrity participants Paul, Michael Strahan, Ciara, Jesse Williams, Jerry Ferrar, Kevin Hart, Blake Griffin, Reggie Bush, Drew Carey, Mindless Behavior, the L.A. Clippers and the NBA have a combined total of more than 100 million Twitter and Facebook followers. Sports Illustrated¡¯s website, si.com, has posted a special ¡°Athletes in the Bowling Alley¡± photo gallery using photos from this year¡¯s (and earlier) events, and Kevin Hart and PBA West Region competitor J.T. (Action) Jackson, a Los Angeles-based actor, made a brief appearance on ¡°TMZ¡± to discuss bowling as a sport (you can easily links to the si.com gallery and TMZ clip by clicking on the ¡°In the News¡± tab on pba.com).

PBA TOUR STARS SHINE IN WTBA EVENTS FOLLOWING USBC MASTERS
Immediately following the Alka-Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels USBC Masters at Sunset Station in Las Vegas, Liz Johnson, Chris Barnes and Walter Ray Williams Jr. earned berths in the stepladder finals of the inaugural World Tenpin Bowling Association International Open, which will be held in conjunction with the Brunswick Euro Challenge in suburban Paris in March.

The WTBA International Open, the first tournament exclusively owned and operated by the WTBA, was part of a special three-event ¡°bonus¡± series held at Sunset Station. Johnson, a two-time PBA Women¡¯s Series titlist and 12-time Professional Women¡¯s Bowling Association winner, took advantage of the six handicap pins per game awarded to women in many WTBA events to lead all qualifiers with a 1,418 total. Barnes was second with 1,367 pins and Williams qualified third, four pins behind Barnes.

The inaugural WTBA International Open drew a field of 132 players (123 men and nine women), including 36 PBA Tour exempt players. Other top PBA Tour finishers included Mika Koivuniemi, fourth for $6,000; Pete Weber, fifth for $4,500; Cheetah Open winner Eugene McCune, sixth for $3,000; Stuart Williams, eighth for $2,000, Masters champion Mike Fagan, ninth for $1,500, and PBA South Region competitor Scott Newell, 10th for $1,500.

Former PBA exempt player DJ Archer averaged over 240 in the qualifying rounds of the USBC Masters, WTBA International Open and the International Mini to win the $10,000 top prize for combined pinfall for 20 game in all three events. Chris Barnes was second with 4,766 pins for $5,000 with Mike Fagan was third with 4,727 pins for $2,500.

Canadian citizen Dan MacLelland earned $30,000 as International Mini champion. As the Gold Division representative, MacLelland bowled against the Silver and Bronze Division representatives in the finals, posting a 203 to top Darrin Remiticado, Stockton, Calif., who had a 187 game including handicap for $15,000, and Willie Wells, Herriman, Utah, who rolled a 182 with handicap for a $10,000 prize.

Ildemaro Ruiz and Mika Koivuniemi each won $2,000 by reaching round five in the gold division while Chris Barnes, Martin Larsen and Mike Fagan each earned $1,500 by advancing to round four.

XTRA FRAME TOUR HEADS TO COLUMBUS, OHIO
The second of four Xtra Frame Tour events, the Ricart Ford Open presented by Columbia 300, is set for Sequoia Pro Bowl in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 16-19. At stakes is a $10,000 first prize, a PBA Tour title, an automatic berth in the Round of 36 for the PBA Tournament of Champions, and valuable points for players trying to qualify for both the Dick Weber PBA Playoffs and the 2012 Japan Cup.

The tournament will not only feature a specifically created 45-foot lane conditioning pattern named in honor of the late PBA Hall of Famer Don Johnson, a long-time Columbus resident, but also will include a Thursday night fundraiser in Johnson¡¯s honor to benefit Nationwide Children¡¯s Hospital of Columbus and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The Xtra Frame Ricart Ford Open presented by Columbia 300 will be webcast live, exclusively on the PBA¡¯s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame, beginning with Saturday¡¯s qualifying squads at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. All of Sunday¡¯s match play competition will be webcast with squads at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. leading up to the four-player stepladder finals at 6 p.m. Full-year and monthly subscriptions to Xtra Frame are available on pba.com.

GREG THOMPSON JR. WINS WEST REGION TITLE IN SUTTER CREEK
Greg Thompson Jr. of Dublin, Calif., posted a 9-3 match play record and a 20-game total of 4,957 pins to win the PBA West Region Jackson Rancheria Classic on Sunday, Feb. 5, at Gold Country Lanes in Sutter Creek, Calif. Thompson, who earned $2,400, defeated Robby Porter of Rancho Cordova, Calif., by 118 pins for his second PBA Regional title.

The Sutter Creek tournament again included a fundraising effort to benefit the people of Haiti who are still recovering from the devastating earthquake that rocked their nation in 2010. One of the survivors of the earthquake is 8-year-old Claire Bryditzki, the adopted daughter of Scott and Debbie Bryditzki of Auburn, Calif., who are actively involved in the fundraising effort.

In other PBA Regional activity, Marc Lineberry of Camanche, Iowa, defeated Dave Doane of Buffalo, Iowa, 201-179, to win the joint PBA Midwest/Central Region Sparetime Lanes Senior Open sponsored by Allstate Insurance in Decatur, Ill., on Sunday. The title was Lineberry¡¯s sixth in PBA Regional competition. He also earned $1,600.

In Houston, Texas, Carlos Gonzalez from Houston defeated fellow amateur Steve Wright of Cypress, Texas, 209-206, to win the second annual PBA Southwest Region Carol ¡°Stormin¡± Norman Pro Shop U Can Bowl 2 Houston Open at Del-Mar Lanes. Because Gonzalez isn¡¯t a PBA member, he doesn¡¯t receive credit for a PBA title.

This weekend¡¯s calendar includes the inaugural Regional Players Doubles Championship presented by Hammer Feb. 10-12 at The Orleans in Las Vegas. The field will be limited to 70 teams on a first-come basis. For complete Regional tournament schedules and entry information, visit pba.com and click on ¡°Regional Tour¡± under the ¡°Schedules¡± drop-down tab.

QUICK NOTES:
PBA Tour member Dan MacLelland , Windsor, Ontario, has been named Canada¡¯s Male Bowler of the Year for 2010. MacLelland was the men¡¯s gold medalist at the Canadian National Championships and won the Masters gold medal in the 2010 Pan American Games.

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