Janawicz and Edwards Win in Team USA Trials
John Janawicz became a Team USA member for the third time by winning in the Team Trials this year. Janawicz had a 100+ pin lead going into the final two games of the tournament. He shot 159 and 183 to finish out the tournament with a final 36-game score of 8168 (+968, 226.8 Average). Mike Fagan made a late run to try to take over the lead, but left a 7-pin in the tenth to fall three pins short. This years team will include Janawicz (1st), Fagan (2nd), Craig Hanson (3rd), Cassidy Schaub (Selection), and John Szczerbinski (Selection).
Over on the women’s side things weren’t quite as close. Brenda Edwards finished with a 36-game score of 7890 (+690, 219.1 Average) to make the team for her third time. Edwards led the field by 169 pins with Kendra Gaines finishing in second. This years team will include Edwards (1st), Gaines (2nd), Emily Maier (3rd), Tennelle Milligan (Selection), and Diandra Asbaty (Selection).
Heading into the Team USA Trials, 13 players had already secured spots by virtue of their selection earlier this year. Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes, Wes Malott, Tommy Jones, Patrick Allen, Rhino Page and Bill O’Neill make up the remainder of the men’s team. On the women’s side, Stefanie Nation, Shannon O’Keefe, Shannon Pluhowsky, Liz Johnson, Kelly Kulick and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard were selected.
The full results can be found on bowl.com
Article from Herald Tribune about USBC Ignorance
With some help from a friend, I found a very nice article about the ignorance of the USBC. The full article can be found on the Herald Tribune’s website at HeraldTribune.com.
Here are some strong points of the article. I encourage you to read the full article to inform yourself of exactly how the USBC feels about constructive criticism.
USBC displays little tolerance for negative opinions
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 8:56 p.m.
QUESTION: When is a bowling discussion forum not a bowling discussion forum?
ANSWER: As of the time the United States Bowling Congress unveiled its all-new forums on Aug. 3.
USBC obviously has the right to monitor its own forums and establish “terms” regarding its use. But why even have discussion forums if all posts are held for moderation and subject to strict censorship?
‘Negatives’ deleted
………..
Mark Miller, one of 41 USBC forum moderators, has stated the following policy: “Anything deemed to be negative toward USBC or the sport of bowling will be deleted.”
By the same token, one frequent poster was told that one of his posts was censored “due to the fact it had absolutely nothing to do with any positive aspect of bowling … (and) as the rules state when you sign up, we are here to promote bowling in a positive way.”
………..
Not long ago, USBC’s vice president of media, Pete Tredwell, ventured into the PBA.com Web site.
In starting a new thread, Tredwell said, in part: “I’m trying to learn what people see as the most important things we do, so that we can better serve our customers … I’d like to hear what this group thinks … (and I’m) hoping people take this seriously, and don’t use it as a platform to make jokes.”
……..
After many negative posts, a PBA.com moderator, Bruce Falcon, posted the following, in part:
“This thread has been very educational. I have learned that USBC has a lot of time to spend in PBA message boards. I have learned that the USBC has no vision … I have learned that the USBC has no communication from top to bottom … I have learned that the USBC is in danger of going bankrupt … I have learned that bowl.com was really bad before, and (they) just simply had to change because it was old and sucked and there were no employees working on it … I have learned that the national governing body of bowling is not real good and nobody has a clue. The USBC better get it together or it won’t really matter in 5 years. They better start changing their thinking quick.”
Tredwell responded to Falcon: “Congratulations, your post was the tipping point. After this post, I am done with this thread. What you wrote was inflammatory and hurtful to the entire industry. Hope you are proud.” And Tredwell left the thread amidst a sea of negative responses.
Mike Scroggins Wins Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open
The Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by USBC was created to show bowlers the differences between PBA oil patterns and typical house oil patterns. This tournament used different patterns, with the “red” pattern being the easiest and highest scoring and the “blue” pattern being the toughest. The Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open did a good job of showing exactly how easy these patterns are. There were lots of high scores this week, with several bowlers averaging well over 250 on the red pattern.
Patrick Allen led all bowlers for the week, finishing in first after 48 games, with a total score of 12,308 (+2708, 247.67 Average). The cut to the top 6 was 12,138 (+2538, 243.5 Average). In the round of 4 (Bowlers #3 – #6), Walter Ray Williams, Jr. defeated Mike Machuga, 257-244, and Mike Scroggins defeated Michael Fagan, 218-183. Scroggins went on to bowl against tournament leader Patrick Allen. Scroggins won the match, 227-215. In the other semifinal match, Wayne Garber took on Walter Ray Williams, Jr. The two tied with a score of 237. Garber won the rolloff with a score of 19 to Williams’ 17.
Scroggins and Garber went on to face each other in the finals. Scroggins started the game off great and didn’t look back. He ran the front nine strikes and had a nine-spare-nine in the tenth for a 278 game to beat Garber’s 229 Game. Congratulations to Mike Scroggins!
See which equipment the bowlers were using at MyBowlingBlog.com/InTheBag.
Tom Smallwood Wins PBA World Championship
Tom Smallwood won the PBA World Championship by defeating Wes Malott in the finals, 244-228. Malott beat Rhino Page in the semifinals, 203-191, to move on to bowl against Smallwood. Smallwood defeated Bill O’Neill, 211-159, to move on to the finals. The PBA World Championship is Smallwood’s first PBA Tour title, coming after a third place finish in the Scorpion Championship earlier this season.
The PBA World Championship was bowled on the PBA World Championship pattern, which is a modified version of the 41′ pattern D from the 2002-2003 season. Tom was throwing the Columbia 300 Pure Swing to win the World Championship. You can pre-order the full swing from BowlingBall.com. For the full list of equipment used in the PBA World Championship, see InTheBag.
Congrats to Tom Smallwood!
Derek Hartnell Wins Chris Barnes Challenge
Derek Hartnell took on Chris Barnes in the Chris Barnes Challenge this afternoon. Hartnell is a collegiate bowler and All-American at Newman University. Newman University is located in Wichita, Kansas, the same city as college bowling rival Wichita State University, where Chris Barnes excelled as a collegiate bowler. Each bowler put down $1600 of their own money in the challenge. The Chris Barnes challenge came after Barnes was the only bowler to put down the $5000 entry fee to bowl in the All-In Sweeper. Barnes started the challenge to see if he could get someone to put down the money. Hartnell was the highest bidder at $1600.
Chris Barnes started out the 3-game series with games of 248 and 289 to take a 77-pin lead over Hartnell and his 232 and 229 games. Hartnell came back strong the third game with a 258 game to finish with a 719 series. Meanwhile, Barnes struggled and threw a few splits to finish with a 161 game and 698 series. By defeating Barnes, Hartnell won the $3200 pot.
Hartnell is having a successful year so far, finishing in the top 25 in all four of his college tournaments. He has finished in first in two of the four tournaments this year.
Congratulations to Derek and good luck to both bowlers throughout their seasons.
Derek Hartnell is Winning Bidder for Chris Barnes Challenge
Derek Hartnell ended up being the highest bidder for the Chris Barnes Challenge, which will take place this weekend on Saturday, December 13, at 3:00. Hartnell’s winning bid was $1600, well short of the $5000 that Barnes was willing to put on the table. The Chris Barnes challenge came after the PBA announced the All-In Action Sweeper. Chris Barnes was the only bowler to put up the $5000 entry fee. Barnes started this challenge this week, putting his own $5000 on the table, saying he’ll take on whoever is willing to put up the most money, up to $5000. There were a few bids earlier this week, one being Mika Koivuniemi with $1500. Derek Hartnell ended up beating Mika’s bid with $1600. Hartnell is a current collegiate bowler for Newman University. He is a 1st team All-American. This should be a good match, as Barnes was a successful collegiate bowler at Wichita State University. The two Wichita area bowlers will face each other on Saturday and the match will be aired on Xtra Frame. The Chris Barnes Challenge is being sponsored by Columbia 300. Good luck to both bowlers!
2009 ISYL Leatherneck Classic Results
Lindenwood University took home the men’s title in the 2009 ISYL Leatherneck Classic. Lindenwood’s B team won the tournament with a final score of 9751 (6464 Team + 3287 Baker), while their A team finished in sixth place. Lindenwood B was led by Kimani Smith (1st, 1363, +163, 227.17 Average). Wichita State University finished the tournament in second with a score of 9674 and Newman University finished in third with a score of 9432. Other All-Tournament Team members included Newman University’s Derek Hartnell (2nd, 1343), Lindenwood A’s Steve Miller (3rd, 1326), Wisconsin – Whitewater‘s Kyle VanderLoop (4th, 1321), and Mikey Hill (5th, 1310) from Robert Morris University. In other notes, Lindenwood’s Zach Hunter had a 300 game in the tournament.
Webber International University continued their strong season with a first place finish with a score of 8609. Wichita State University led the tournament with a score of 8709 (5810 Team + 2199 Baker), but it was WIU who ended up winning it all. Wichita State was led by Jessica Baker (1st, 1237, +37, 206.17 Average). Robert Morris University finished in third with a score of 8555. RMU was led by Samantha Kelly’s score of 1236 (2nd, +36, 206 Average). Other All-Tournament Team members included St. Ambrose University‘s Kelly Granzow (3rd, 1195), Lindenwood University’s Jillian McBride (4th, 1185), and Newman University‘s Desiree Lee (5th, 1172).
The full team and top 25 individual results can be found on the CollegeBowling.com forums.
DV8 Hell Raiser