Backwards Bowler
This is the video of Jim Cripps, the “backwards bowler.” Jim manages to be fairly successful with this unusual style.
Bill O’Neill Wins U.S. Open
The opening match of the U.S. Open TV finals had Tommy Jones up against Jason Couch. Jones started off on fire, running the front six strikes to jump out to a big lead. Tommy’s lead was too big for Couch to make up. Tommy Jones won the match 245-192, making the Ebonite Mission look great, just like everyone else has done since its release. Match #2 had Tommy Jones Taking on Bill O’Neill. Jones started to lose his carry toward the end of his first match and made a ball change. Tommy Jones was not able to get his reaction back. Bill O’Neill had to grind out the beginning of the match, but was able to find a good reaction and finally string a few strikes together, winning the match 203-152. O’Neill went on to face Mike Scroggins in the final match. O’Neill caught fire in the middle of the match and jumped out to a huge lead. Scroggins tried to make a come back, but it was too late as Bill O’Neill finished striking out from the third frame to win 267-207. O’Neill won the tournament using a Hammer Black Widow Sting. See the equipment used by all of the pros in the TV finals on my InTheBag page for the U.S. Open.
U.S. Open TV Finals are set
Mike Scroggins made a great run during matchplay to move from 15th place all the way to the #1 spot for the TV stepladder finals of the U.S. Open. Bill O’Neill ended up getting the #2 seed, while Tommy Jones and Jason Couch took the #3 and #4 seeds. Couch and Jones will face off in the opening match of the stepladder finals. The winner of that match will face O’Neill in the semifinals. The winner of the semifinal match will go on to bowl Scroggins in the finals. Mike Scroggins averaged 216.80 and had a 16-8-0 record to earn the top position with a final score of 11537 (+1337, total pins + matchplay bonus points). The cut score ended up at 11282 (+1082, total pins + matchplay bonus points). A few bowlers came very close to making the TV finals, but fell just short. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. missed the cut by 2 pins, while Jason Belmonte couldn’t hold on to his lead and missed the show by 5 pins.
The U.S. Open TV finals will air live on ESPN at 12:30 PM tomorrow, Sunday, February 28, 2010.
Jason Belmonte Retains Lead in U.S. Open
Jason Belmonte used his 9 game score of 1934 (+134) to bring his total to 6051 (+651, 224.11 Average) and keep his lead in the U.S. Open. Belmonte will lead all bowlers going into match play this afternoon. Belmonte currently has an 85 pin lead on the second place bowler Andres Gomez’s score of 5966. Other bowlers currently in the top five include Bill O’Neill (5958), Jason Couch (5866), and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (5850). The field will now be cut to the top 24 bowlers with a cut score of 5637 (+237, 208.78 Average). Matchplay will begin this afternoon and continue throughout the day tomorrow.
Jason Belmonte Takes Over Lead in U.S. Open
Jason Belmonte had a huge score of 1493 (+293, 248.83 Average) to take over the lead in the third round of qualifying in the U.S. Open. Belmonte’s final qualifying score was 4117 (+517, 228.72 Average). Qualifying second was David Beres with a score of 3939. Rounding out the top five were Andres Gomez (3920), Chris Barnes (3915), and Bill O’Neill (3914). The field will now be cut to the top 88 bowlers (25% of field) with the cut score being 3594 (-6, 199.67 Average)
The remaining bowlers will bowl 9 games on Friday and cut to the top 24. After cutting to the top 24 bowlers, the remaining bowlers will bowl 24 games of match play Friday night and Saturday.
Jack Jurek Leads after Round 2 of U.S. Open
Jack Jurek used a 1298 (+98) score in the second round of the U.S. Open to bring his 12 game total to 2672 (+272, 222.67 Average), which leads Amleto Monacelli’s 2659. Other bowlers rounding out the top five are David Beres (2656), Jason Wojnar (2652), and Robert Smith (2650). Bill O’Neill had the high score for the day of 1457, but currently sits in 13th place. As of right now, the cut score (top 25%, 88/352 bowlers) is at 2396 (-4, 199.67 Average). Today bowlers are bowling 6 more games, then the cut will be made to the top 88 of the 352 bowler field. Those who make the cut will come back on Friday for 9 more games, before cutting to the top 24. Then matchplay begins on Friday night and will continue throughout the day on Saturday.
Bill Scheid Rants About Chris Barnes
Apparently Ebonite International president Bill Scheid is not very happy with how Columbia 300’s biggest name bowler, Chris Barnes, has been bowling once he makes the TV finals. As we all know, Barnes bowls well in almost every event, but has a history of not being able to finish out a tournament once he reaches the finals. Here is a video that someone made showing how Bill reacted to the situation. FYI – This is not a real video of Bill Scheid, but it is one of the funniest videos that I have seen in a long time.
Update (2/25/10): Unfortunately, this video has been removed from YouTube. (Possibly under pressure from Ebonite International, who knows…)
Update (2/28/10): The video has been re-posted. The video was edited to remove some parts that were seen as “very insulting.”
Brian Voss Covers 7-10 Split in PBA Mixed Doubles
Brian Voss left a pocket 7-10 split at a crucial point in a match during the PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles event. Voss ended up needing to make the spare to win the match and advance to the TV Finals of the tournament. This is definitely one to see.
Hoosier Classic Final Results
This weekend college bowlers participated in the final tier 1 tournament of the season. The Backhaul Direct Hoosier Classic took place in Indianapolis, IN. This is the last chance for college teams to earn power points to make it into the USBC Collegiate Sectionals tournaments.
Webber International University took home the title in the men’s division and the University of Central Florida took home to women’s title. Andro Simounet of Webber led the men with a final 9 game score of 2064 (+264, 229.3 Average). Jenn Boisselle from UCF led the women with a final 9 game score of 1943 (+143, 215.9 Average).
Webber took out McKendree University while Robert Morris University beat Fresno State in the semifinals. Webber beat RMU in the finals, 3 games to 0. Over on the women’s side UCF beat Wichita State University while Webber took out Pikeville College. UCF beat Webber in the finals, 3 games to 1.
Other All-Tournament team members included John Szczerbinski (2054, Wichita State), Michael Fujita (2048, UC Davis), Marcelo Suartz (2036, Webber), and Josh Blanchard (2029, Wichita). The women’s All-Tournament team members included Kaidee Sutphin (1899, UCF), Nicole Burke (1887, Pikeville), Josie Earnest ( 1847, Vanderbilt), and Jessica Earnest (1800, Vanderbilt)
Voss/Asbaty Win in PBA Mixed Doubles
Brian Voss and Diandra Asbaty came from the final qualifying position to run the ladder and win the PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles tournament. Voss and Asbaty took on Tom Smallwood and Jodi Woessner in their first match, winning by a score of 276-224. The went on to face Rhino Page and Shannon Pluhowsky in the second match. Voss and Asbaty threw another big 276 game to beat their opponents’ 227 to go on and face Wes Malott and Shannon O’Keefe. Voss and Asbaty won the match 224-202 to earn their spot in the championship match against Jason Belmonte and Michelle Feldman. Voss and Asbaty were victorious, winning the match 234-212. See the equipment used by the pros on my InTheBag page for the PBA Don and Paula Johnson Mixed Doubles event.
In winning this tournament, Brian and Diandra won the first place prize of $50,000. This coming week, bowlers are headed to Indianapolis, Indiana for the U.S. Open. Good luck to everyone this week!
