Here's the latest article from the Bowling site at BellaOnline.com.

What's Going On While Bowling?
Can you imagine what the Pros are doing? Compare that to what you're doing. The difference between your average compared to higher average bowlers encompasses many factors in the modern sport of bowling. This is one of the keys to taking your game to the "next level," whatever that may be to you.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art175473.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations
Professional Bowlers Association
719 Second Avenue, Suite 701
Seattle, WA 98104
>
> PBA Spare Shots
>
> PBA TOUR COMPETITORS STAND OUT IN U.S. OPEN
> With few exceptions, you can ask every player who bowled in the 2012 U.S. Open how difficult the challenge was, and they¡¯ll likely tell you ¡°you have no idea how tough it is until you do it.¡±
>
> The statistics tell the story of what happened during the 69th U.S. Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J.:
>
> ¡ñ Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, N.Y., was the qualifying leader, averaging 223.89 for the first 18 games.
> ¡ñ The entire field of 394 bowlers averaged a composite 185.16, 38.73 pins-per-game behind Shafer.
> ¡ñ The 46 PBA Tour exempt players in the field as a group averaged 204.10.
> ¡ñ The 205 PBA members ¨C national and regional ¨C as a group averaged 190.21.
> ¡ñ The 189 amateurs in the field averaged 179.69.
> ¡ñ 38 of the 46 PBA exempt players in the event cashed (finished among the top 98).
> ¡ñ Two of the eight women in the field (Missy Parkin and Kelly Kulick) cashed.
> ¡ñ Three of the 189 amateurs (Ron Nelson, Bridgeview, Ill.; USBC Team USA member John Janawicz, Winter Haven, Fla., and Junior Team USA member Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash.) qualified for match play (top 24).
>
> WEBER¡¯S U.S. OPEN VICTORY WILL BE AN ¡°INSTANT CLASSIC¡± ON ESPN CLASSIC
> Pete Weber¡¯s dramatic 215-214 victory over Mike Fagan to win a record fifth U.S. Open title Sunday at Brunswick Zone-Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J. ¨C not to mention his nail-biter come-from-behind wins over Ryan Shafer and Jason Belmonte in his preliminary matches ¨C is an ¡°instant classic.¡± ESPN Classic will re-air the 69th U.S. Open telecast Monday, March 5, at 11:30 p.m. ET.
>
> Other intriguing PBA Tour events that will re-air on ESPN Classic in the weeks ahead include the 2011 PBA World Championship (won by Chris Barnes) on Monday, March 19, at 11:30 p.m. ET and the 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions (won by Mika Koivuniemi) on Monday, March 26, at 11:30 p.m. ET.
>
> CHRIS PAUL ON PETE WEBER; PRESIDENT OBAMA ON CHRIS PAUL
> Among the fans who witnessed Pete Weber¡¯s emotional display in the wake of his historic U.S. Open victory was Los Angeles Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who has gotten to know Weber well during the past three Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational events where Weber has been a participant.
>
> A post-U.S. Open column by Association Press columnist Jim Litke noted, ¡°View the highlights for yourself on YouTube, as well as Weber¡¯s choked-up, post-match tribute to his dad. By midday Tuesday, more than a half-million people already had, including NBA star and bowling aficionado Chris Paul.
>
> ¡°That¡¯s him. I wasn¡¯t expecting anything less,¡± said Paul, who hosts an annual celebrity pro-am tournament to benefit his CP3 Foundation and has known Weber for years. He saw how competitive Weber can be up close when his team dethroned Paul¡¯s two-time defending champs this year. ¡°He reacts that way because he¡¯s excited,¡± Paul added, ¡°and because he loves what he does.¡±
>
> And speaking of Chris Paul: President Barack Obama is a Chris Paul fan. In friendly banter with grantland.com¡¯s Bill Simmons this week, Simmons asked, ¡°Is it true that you blocked the Chris Paul trade because you didn¡¯t want him to go to the Lakers?¡±
>
> President Obama laughed and said, ¡°I love Chris Paul. He¡¯s a great guy. He¡¯s on my Presidential Fitness Council¡­¡±
>
> KOIVUNIEMI, KULICK LEAD WORLD BOWLING TOUR STANDINGS AFTER U.S. OPEN
> Mika Koivuniemi¡¯s once overwhelming lead in the WTBA¡¯s World Bowling Tour points list is shrinking, thanks to Mike Fagan¡¯s second-place finish in the U.S. Open on the heels of his victory in the Alka-Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels USBC Masters ¨C both WBT events. And Kelly Kulick has claimed the lead in the women¡¯s points race.
>
> With his tie-for-34th finish in the U.S. Open, Koivuniemi added four points to his two-year composite total for 312 points. Fagan earned 40 for his runner-up finish, boosting his points total to 277. Third is Chris Barnes with 218 followed by Jason Belmonte at 176, Sean Rash at 170 and Dan MacLelland at 159.
>
> Among the women in the U.S. Open, Kulick added 40 points to bring her total to 207. Missy Parkin, who recorded the highest finish ever by a women in the U.S. Open (21st), earned 50 points to move into second place on the WBT women¡¯s list with 195 points. Liz Johnson, third among women in the U.S. Open, is third with 190 points followed by Carolyn Dorin-Ballard at 186, Sweden¡¯s Sandra Andersson at 151 and Sweden¡¯s Nina Flack at 135.
>
> Next up on the new PBA-WTBA schedule is the 9th Kuwait International Open, March 15-19 at Cozmo Bowling Center, Kuwait City, Kuwait. The Kuwait Open will be the first event in the series to award a PBA Tour title in addition to WBT points.
>
> Following the Kuwait Open is the Brunswick Euro Challenge in St. Maximin, France, March 16-25. The seventh event on the 2012 WBT schedule will be a PBA Tour title event. It also will host the stepladder finals of the WTBA International Open where No. 1 Liz Johnson, No. 2 Chris Barnes and No. 3 Walter Ray Williams Jr. ¨C who qualified in Las Vegas following the Masters ¨C will compete for the title.
>
> NEXT UP FOR XTRA FRAME FANS: DETROIT OPEN PRESENTED BY TRACK
> The PBA¡¯s new Xtra Frame Tour, and its growing roster of exclusive programming on Xtra Frame, appears to be building momentum. During the month of February, thanks to exclusive live coverage of the Xtra Frame Tour Ricart Ford Open presented by Columbia 300 and the preliminary rounds of the U.S. Open, Xtra Frame added 865 new viewers, building its total audience to nearly 5,000 ¨C its highest total ever.
>
> The subscriber base is expected to continue growing with two exclusive Xtra Frame Tour events on the schedule in March.
>
> The Xtra Frame Tour Detroit Open presented by Track is set for March 9-11 at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., and the final Xtra Frame Tour event of the season, the Dick Weber PBA Playoffs presented by Hammer, is set for March 31-April 1 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.
>
> PBA fans can watch both events for the monthly rate of $7.99 or they can watch a full year¡¯s worth of PBA tournament action, interviews, product introductions, coaching tips and more for $64.99. To subscribe, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame logo.
>
> The Detroit Open presented by Track will offer a $10,000 first prize, a PBA Tour title and an automatic berth in the Round of 36 for the end-of-season PBA Tournament of Champions. The tournament will pay a total prize fund of $66,000, based on 130 entries. The entry fee is $350 for PBA members or $400 for non-members. To enter, go to pba.com, click on ¡°PBA Tour¡± under the Schedules drop-down menu and look for PBA Detroit Open.
>
> The nine-game qualifying round will be conducted in two sessions Saturday at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. The top 24 will advance to round robin match play on Sunday. Following a six-game round at 9 a.m. and a seven-game round at 1:30 p.m., the top four will bowl in the stepladder finals at 6 p.m. All rounds will air live on Xtra Frame.
>
> The Xtra Frame Dick Weber PBA Playoffs will feature 16 players from six PBA Regional programs (East, South, Central, Midwest, Southwest and West/Northwest), the top 66 players from the 2011-12 PBA Tour points list and the top 11 PBA Senior Tour players based on their 2011 points list. The field of 173 will bowl elimination rounds within their respective regional groups leading up to Regional, Conference and Championship rounds.
>
> REMINDER: PAST PBA CHAMPIONS HAVE UNTIL APRIL 1 TO REGAIN TOC ELIGIBILITY
> Reminder: PBA tournament winners at all levels who have not yet renewed their memberships have until April 1 to re-join and become eligible to bowl in the PBA Tournament of Champions under the recently-announced ¡°no-penalty renewal program.¡± Reinstatement and/or initiation fees will be waived for those who restore full and standard memberships ¨C a savings of $99 ¨C and an amnesty program will waive up to three months of dues owed for 2010 and/or 2011.
>
> Additional new membership opportunities are available. For complete details, visit pba.com and click on the ¡°Join PBA¡± link in the upper right-hand corner.
>
> REGIONAL ROUNDUP: FIRST TEEN MASTERS QUALIFIERS SET FOR THIS WEEKEND
> The first in a series of Teen Masters qualifying tournaments to be held in conjunction with PBA Regional tournaments will take place this weekend. The Pla Mor Lanes Open presented by Brunswick will take place in Muscatine, Iowa, and the Etonic Open will be hosted by Freedom Lanes, Duncan, Okla., Friday through Sunday.
>
> For entry and additional schedule information visit teenmastersbowling.com. There are four qualifying divisions: boys and girls 14 under, and boys and girls high school. Teen Masters competitors will not bowl on the same lanes with PBA Regional players, but will bowl on adjoining lanes and will compete on the same lane conditions as the regional players. The Teen Masters is scheduled for July 9-12 at Freeway Lanes Wickliffe in Cleveland, Ohio, with the grand finals returning to Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal in New York City Aug. 5-8.
>
> In the final weekend of qualifying for the Xtra Frame Tour Dick Weber PBA Playoffs presented by Hammer, Jeff Zaffino of Warren, Pa., defeated David Williams Jr. of Omaha by 222 pins to win the PBA Central/Midwest Region Eastown Recreation Open presented by Hammer in Jasper, Ind., on Sunday, Feb. 26. Zaffino finished with an 11-1 match play record and 5,104 pins for 20 games, including match play bonus pins, to claim his 16th PBA Regional title and the $2,000 top prize.
>
> Bryan Goebel of Shawnee, Kan., defeated Harry Sullins of Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 256-201, to win the PBA Midwest/Central Region Showtime Lanes Senior Open sponsored by Allstate Insurance at Showtime Lanes in Virden, Ill., Sunday. The Senior Regional title was the first for Goebel, a 10-year PBA Tour titlist who turned 50 in October. He also earned $1,500.
>
> For complete Regional tournament schedules and entry information, visit pba.com and click on ¡°Regional Tour¡± under the ¡°Schedules¡± drop-down tab.
>
> QUICK NOTES:
> Four-time PBA Tour titlist and Syracuse, N.Y., bowling legend Marty Piraino died on Feb. 28 after a short illness. He was 88. Piraino, a 5-foot-6 left-hander, won his first PBA title in 1963 when he defeated Dick Weber to win the Coca-Cola PBA Open in Warren, Ohio. He also finished third in the 1971 Firestone Tournament of Champions at age 47.
>
> Piraino is survived by two children, daughter Mary Jean and son Jay. Funeral arrangements are pending at Farone & Son Funeral Home (faroneandson.com), 1500 Park St., Syracuse.
>
> "Marty Piraino was a hero to anyone who grew up bowling in upstate New York,¡± said PBA Commissioner Tom Clark, a Syracuse native.¡±He was a great bowler and, more importantly, the greatest ambassador for the game to young bowlers that I ever knew." (Piraino hosted a youth bowling TV show in Syracuse for many years).
>
> In the final weekend of qualifying for the Xtra Frame Tour Dick Weber PBA Playoffs presented by Hammer, Jeff Zaffino of Warren, Pa., defeated David Williams Jr. of Omaha by 222 pins to win the PBA Central/Midwest Region Eastown Recreation Open presented by Hammer in Jasper, Ind., on Sunday, Feb. 26. Zaffino finished with an 11-1 match play record and 5,104 pins for 20 games, including match play bonus pins, to claim his 16th PBA Regional title and the $2,000 top prize.

Please visit Bowling.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Bowling.

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Bowling located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=145

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Clyde Higa, Bowling Editor
http://Bowling.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com