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Page 2 | Thursday, March 8, 2012 | THE BOWLING NEWS
Random Thoughts
A busy week in the bowling
world and my random thought
generator is in overdrive. First
I would like to congratulate DJ
Archer and Shannon O’Keefe
for their victories in the USBC
Texas Masters and Bluebonnet
Queens respectively. DJ led
qualifying and led just about
every game in match-play.
He bowled really great on a
lane condition that was brutal
from lane to lane. O’Keefe
had a great battle with Javon
Blankenfeld of San Antonio,
as they traded first-place back
and forth all day. In the end
it was O’Keefe who reeled off
the front 9 and shot 279 in
the deciding position round
game for the title, her second
in a row. It was the first time
I had seen Blankenfeld bowl,
and to say she throws it good
is an understatement, and she
bowled great. But O’Keefe was
dead locked in and just about
never threw a bad shot, very
impressive. I think I heard her
say that she’s only lost one
game total in match-play the
last two years at the Queens,
wow. I heard Stefanie Nation
say that O’Keefe is HUGE deal,
I agree.
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I have a few thoughts on
the US Open. First there’s the
“youth movement”. The PBA
said that they had 11 bowlers
ages 17 and under entered in
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609 N.E. 3rd St.
Tulia, Texas 79088
Call (806) 995-4018
Fax (806) 995-4767
Tony Franklin, Publisher
the US Open. 14-yr-old Kamron
Doyle made national headlines
by cashing and finishing 61st,
and I absolutely can’t stand
that we allow youth bowlers to
bowl in professional events. I
just don’t see the upside, and
I don’t believe there is one.
People might say that it’s great
to compete against the best
competition, you learn more,
it’s invaluable experience, you
can earn scholarship money,
etc. I disagree on all fronts.
Earn scholarship money, nope
it’s called gambling and it’s not
healthy for a 14-yr-old. If you
think the money is a non-issue,
then why did I read about
“the $1340 he made going to
his SMART account” in every
article written about the kid?
Bowl against the best to be the
best, well I’m quite sure that
there’s plenty of competition
in the 14-20 age bracket that
he’s not conquered yet. Invaluable
experience, come on, you
think that the other players are
pulling him aside and discussing
lane breakdown and rev
rate with him? I highly doubt
it, my guess is that they’re very
impressed with his accomplishment,
but also know that he’s
14-yrs old and he needs to
climb the ladder to play on this
field. Ultimately that’s what my
issue is, from 14-18 an awful
lot happens to a teenager, and I
don’t believe in skipping steps,
Bowling Parts, Inc.
P.O. Box 801
Tulia, Texas 79088
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email: daryl@tuckerbowling.com
www.tuckerbowling.com
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Note: Opinions expressed by our independent columnists and feature writers are
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hit every rung on the ladder
and enjoy the ride. But could I
have cashed in the US Open at
14, no chance….good bowling
kid.
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I watched a lot of PBA
Xtra Frame during the US
Open and the guys had lots of
interesting guest stars make
an appearance. Mark Roth was
solid, Dave Wodka was great,
Del Ballard was awesome as
always, but the best was none
other than Chris Barnes. He
is by far the most insightful
and expressive bowler with a
microphone there is. He hopped
on right after he finished his
first 8 games of matchplay. He
mentioned the change in angles
the bowlers were playing, what
his strategy was, who had the
best look and other fun facts.
You listen to Barney and you
feel like you’re there, he has no
peer in this area.
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The US Open finals, what
a show they put on. Twitter
was ablaze with comments on
Pete Weber, Mike Fagan and
the rest. My personal stance,
I love watching PDW bowl,
he is a little bit crazy, and
he has a monster chip on his
shoulder because he knows
he’s the greatest ever (I think
he is too), but he sure does put
on a show. Both he and Fagan
bowled phenomenal games on
a challenging lane condition,
they weren’t super tough on
the show, but they both had
to make great adjustments to
get the strikes. I’ve been really
impressed with Fagan and
the way he’s performed on TV
lately, and he just might be
the Player of the Year. As for
Weber, it was US Open #5, but
what I will remember most is
“Who do you think you are, I
am”, I have no idea what that
means, but I will own a shirt
with that phrase written on it!
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On a PDW side note I’ve
been dying to know what
exactly caught the ire of Mr.
Weber. I had heard that it was
someone talking some smack
against him that got his attention
and also people moving
around. I confirmed from a
source, very, very close to the
action that it was in fact a lady
that was moving in her seat a
lot, just past the foul line that
started getting him riled up.
He wanted her to sit still but
she was just too restless. Then
in the last game against Fagan,
there were several people who
had signs up with “pro-Fagan”
messages on them. Like that’s
against the law right? Well, if
you didn’t already know, Pete
loves to be hated, and loves
some drama so he used those
very minor incidents to ultimately
spur him to the win. All
of the reports of people openly
rooting against and making
comments against PDW…..not
true. Just a case of Pete being
Pete.
Krol’s big bid on Luby painting helps
Salute To Bowling raise nearly $30,000
ARLINGTON, Texas –
Thanks to the work of one
artist and generosity of one
bidder, the 2012 Salute to Bowling
proved most fruitful to the
International Bowling Museum
and Hall of Fame.
The 23rd Salute was held
Jan. 23 during the 2012 Bowling
Proprietors’ Association of
America Bowling Summit at
the Meritage Resort in Napa
Valley, Calif. It featured free
admission courtesy of joint
presenters Brunswick and Qubica/AMF,
a wine and cheese
party, cocktails and beverage,
50/50 raffle and silent and live
auctions of items donated for
the event.
Overall, the evening raised
nearly $30,000 for the IBM/HF.
“The Salute was a tremendous
success,” said IBM/HF
Managing Director Eric Kearney.
“It was very well attended
and very well received.”
The biggest donated item
was a 30” by 40” oil painting of
bowling pioneer Joe Thum by
retired Bowlers Journal International
Publisher Mort Luby.
Hans Krol of Bowltech International
B.V. headquartered in
Made, The Netherlands, walked
away with Luby’s work with a
$20,000 bid.
“We are indebted to Mr.
Luby for his generosity of such
a fine painting and to Hans
Krol for his winning bid,”
Salute chairperson Mike Aulby
said. “It was unbelievable.”
The other big prize was a
travel package at the Makena
Beach & Golf Resort on Maui,
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Hawaii, which Colorado proprietors
Tom and Icel Haynes
won with a $4,200 bid. Krol
also came away with an
autographed portrait of bowling
legends Dick Weber, Bill Lilliard,
Don Carter and Ray Bluth
while BPAA Executive Director
Steve Johnson’s bid earned him
an Earl Anthony-autographed
poster.
“We want to thank the
BPAA leadership and staff for
allowing the Museum and Hall
of Fame to be a significant part
of the Summit,” said IBM/HF
chairman Keith Hamilton, “And
we want to thank Qubica/AMF
and Brunswick for coming
together to sponsor the evening.
We are looking forward
to Bowl Expo.”
The IBM/HF will have a
distinct presence June 25-28
at International Bowl Expo
in Reno, Nev. There will be a
50/50 raffle with a guaranteed
$5,000 top prize and silent
auction including the Bowling
Pin Car now on display at the
National Bowling Stadium.
Salute to Bowling helps fund
operations at the IBM/HF in
Arlington, Texas. It originally
was called Salute to Champions
in 1990 as the brainchild of
former Brunswick executive
Jim Bennett. It started as
black-tie affair to honor those
who had helped the industry.
In 2002, the event moved to
International Bowl Expo and
changed format from a black-tie
sit down to an auction/cocktail
format that resumed this year.
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