Norm Duke is GEICO PBA Summer Swing Event Winner

Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Hall of Famer Norm Duke successfully concluded the GEICO PBA Summer Swing with a clutch 10th-frame performance for a bittersweet 222-213 victory over Chris Barnes in the GEICO King of the Swing special event.

 

It was the kind of performance that has made Duke one of the PBA’s most popular players.

 

The final event in the GEICO PBA Summer Swing presented by Lucas Oil telecasts aired Tuesday on CBS Sports Network.

 

Duke, a 49-year-old Clermont, FL, resident, defeated four Summer Swing event

champions in impressive style after earning his way into the King of the Swing field as the “wild card,” the highest point-getter without a title.

 

As the No. 5 qualifier for the stepladder finals, Duke began his climb up the stepladder by defeating Badger Open titlist Jake Peters of Decatur, IL, 220-190; Bear Open winner Jason Belmonte of Australia, 258-226, and Wolf Open champ Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio, 207-205. Those victories set up a championship re-match against Barnes, who had defeated Duke, 246-237, in the title match of the Milwaukee Open earlier in the Summer Swing.

 

Bowling on the same Badger lane condition Barnes had selected for the Milwaukee Open finals – a right the Double Oak, Texas, resident had earned as Summer Swing points leader - Duke successfully turned the tables on Barnes.

 

In the Milwaukee Open, Barnes won when he threw two strikes in the 10th, surviving to claim his 15th career title when Duke struck on his first shot in the 10th, but left a 10 pin on his second attempt.

 

In the King of the Swing finale, Barnes’ string of four strikes ended when the 9 pin stood on his second shot in the 10th frame. Duke, working on a double heading into his 10th frame, needed two more strikes to win, and he got what he needed.

 

“I realize it’s not a PBA Tour title, but it still feels good,” Duke said. “I’ll go home without a title, and that’s disappointing because I’m here to win titles, but I did win an event."

 

“I needed to spend some time on TV. I haven’t been on TV in a while, and when I got there and didn’t perform the way I wanted in the Wolf and Milwaukee Opens, it was just because we haven’t had any tournaments for a while,” Duke continued. “It takes a little time just to get comfortable. In the Wolf Open, I was scared and nervous, but today was a walk in the park.”

 

Duke was unhappy with a couple of shots he made in the previous events that, in his mind, probably cost him titles. But converting the 1-2-4-10 washout after making a bad shot in the 10th frame against Peters in the opening match of the King of the Swing finals was a key moment.

 

“When you bowl a lot of games on TV, there are going to be some shots you’re not real proud of, but I was about 90 percent happy with the shots I made today,” he said. “I had to make that washout against Jake Peters to win, and I did it.”

 

He also was happy to beat Barnes on the Badger pattern, a lane condition he wouldn’t have picked if he had the choice.

 

“I’d have picked the Wolf pattern,” Duke said. “I’ll bowl all day on the Wolf against those high-rev guys, but my job is to not have a favorite pattern. When you have a favorite, you also have a least-favorite pattern and that’s a problem; it’s conceding you have a weakness and I don’t like to say that out loud."

 

“In my mind, this was Barnes’ place,” he added. “Barnes led (the Summer Swing). He won the Milwaukee Open, which was the most important one, I believe. I’d love to have that shot back (10 pin in 10th frame of title match), but he’d love to have a couple of shots back as well. He earned it."

 

”When I get home and reflect on the Summer Swing, one of the things I’ll probably congratulate myself on was my ability to keep a strong focus on what I needed to do. I feel pretty good about that.”

 

To find CBS Sports Network in your home market, visit: http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder. CBSSN will air “encore” presentations of the Summer King of the Swing telecast on Tuesday, July 9, at 10 p.m.; Saturday, July 13, at 5 p.m., and Tuesday, July 16, at 7 p.m. – all times are Eastern.

 

GEICO PBA KING OF THE SWING presented by Lucas Oil

AMF Bowlero, Wauwatosa, Wis. (non-title special event)

 

Final Standings: 1, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., $10,000. 2, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, $6,000. 3, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, $4,000. 4, Jason Belmonte, Australia, $3,000. 5, Jake Peters, Decatur, Ill., $2,000.

 

Stepladder Results: Match One – Duke def. Peters, 220-190. Match Two – Duke def. Belmonte, 258-226. Semifinal Match – Duke def. Loschetter, 207-205. Championship – Duke def. Barnes, 222-213.

ESPN and the Professional Bowlers Association Sign Five-Year Deal

ESPN announced that it will expand its relationship with the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) under a new five-year deal that will see the network’s previous coverage of the PBA Tour and the PBA League grow from 25.2 hours per year to 36. The deal becomes effective with the 2013 World Series of Bowling, which will debut on ESPN on Sunday, December 1, 2013.  

The new deal follows a successful inaugural season of the PBA League, which features eight celebrity team owners, including stars Chris Paul, Kevin Hart, Terrell Owens and Billie Jean King.   

The second season of The PBA League will debut on ESPN on Sunday January 5, 2014.

The deal ensures that the PBA will remain on ESPN and marks the continuation of a partnership that dates back to 1979.

 

"We are thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with the PBA, which dates back to 1979, ESPN's inaugural year. Bowling makes for compelling television, and with last year's addition of the PBA League, it has the potential for appealing to a broader audience,” said Jason Bernstein, ESPN Senior Director, Programming.

Chris Paul, one of the league’s founding owners, said, “I’m excited to be part of the PBA League’s second season and back on ESPN. When the League starts in January, I'm confident my guys will come out strong this year.”

“ESPN’s renewed and expanded commitment will help us grow our sport and build on the successful launch of the PBA League.  I’m thrilled that our fans will continue to see the world’s greatest bowlers on ESPN for many years,” said PBA CEO Geoff Reiss.   

PBA League Teams and Celebrity Owners

• L.A. X  (Chris Paul)
• Philadelphia Hitmen (Kevin Hart)
• New York City WTT Kingpins (Billie Jean King)
• Silver Lake Atom Splitters (Chris Hardwick)
• Dallas Strikers (Terrell Owens)
• BROOKLYN STyLES (Jesse Williams)
• Detroit Motown Muscle (Jerome Bettis)
• Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits (LaMarr Woodley)

Two New From DV8

Loschetter Wins First PBA National Title at Lucas Oil PBA Wolf Open

Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio, ended his nine-year quest for a Professional Bowlers Association Tour title when he defeated four-time PBA Tour winner Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, PA, 264-231, to win the Lucas Oil PBA Wolf Open at AMF Bowlero. 

The second of five GEICO PBA Summer Swing presented by Lucas Oil telecasts aired Tuesday on CBS Sports Network. 

Loschetter, 33, who had finished second four times during a PBA Tour career that began in 2003 and included 153 previous events, followed a pair of poor shots in the third and fourth frames with a near-perfect finish to run away from O’Neill for the win. 

Loschetter entered the Wolf Open finals as the top qualifier, claiming that honor in the preliminary rounds at AMF West by two pins over PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke of Clermont, FL. 

“I’ve put in thousands of hours in this game and to finally win is what matters to me,” Loschetter said. “To say I’m a champion is amazing. I didn’t think for a long time that was ever going to happen. It finally did.” 

Loschetter admitted it was increasingly disappointing to know that O’Neill and Mike Fagan, among others – guys who started their careers about the same time he did – had titles while he was left behind. 

“Bill’s an amazing bowler,” Loschetter said. “I got to see him and Fagan and all the guys coming up with me win, and it’s been very hard. I’ve been very happy for them because they’re great guys in addition to being great bowlers. But it’s been very hard to watch."

“I had a lot of people telling me to get that first win,” he added. “They mean well and I appreciated it, but it’s hard to keep hearing. I had to deal with all of those thoughts going through my head. I woke up at 7 this morning and I was thinking all of the crazy things that could happen. I had to let it go. I didn’t know if I could, but I did. Finally. I finally have a title. It’s my lifelong dream.” 

Along with his first title, Loschetter qualified for the PBA Tournament of Champions for the first time and he secured a berth in the GEICO Summer King of the Swing special event, the concluding event of the Summer Swing. 

O’Neill, who entered the finals as the No. 5 qualifier, nipped PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO, 222-221, in the opening match. He then spoiled the PBA television debut of 20-year-old rookie E.J. Tackett of Huntington, IN, 234-204, and used a string of six consecutive strikes to rally past Duke in the semifinal match, 233-206. 

The Wolf Open was contested on a 32-foot lane conditioning pattern – the shortest in the PBA’s series of eight animal patterns. The finals of the Lucas Oil Bear Open, the third event in the GEICO PBA Summer Swing series, will air next Tuesday, June 25, at 7 p.m. ET. 

The preliminary rounds of the Bear Open were contested on a flat 40-foot lane condition pattern – similar to the demanding pattern used in the U.S. Open – at AMF Bowlero. 

Advancing to the Bear Open finals were top qualifier Jason Belmonte, Australia; Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas; Loschetter; Dan MacLelland of Canada, and Tom Hess of Urbandale, Iowa. 

To find CBS Sports Network in your home market, visit: http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder. 

LUCAS OIL WOLF OPEN AMF Bowlero, Wauwatosa, WI
Final Standings: 1, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, $8,000. 2, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, PA, $5,000. 3, Norm Duke, Clermont, FL, $4,000. 4, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, IN, $3,000. 5, Pete Weber, St. Ann, MO, $2,000. 

PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, Jack Link’s, Lucas Oil, MOTIV, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com>.

Sports Spotlight on Bowling

AT &T U-verse sports special on the PBA Tournament of Champions and Professional Bowling in general. http://uverseonline.att.net/tv/show/pba-tournament-of-champions#play=dk___dk_exc_sp0607_jun13.mp4

Monacelli Joins Elite Group as Third Two-Time PBA Senior U.S. OPEN Winner

 

In winning his second consecutive PBA Senior U.S. Open title, Venezuela’s Amleto Monacelli joins Tom Baker and Wayne Webb as the third two-time winner of the event. All three are PBA Hall of Famers and all three have won the PBA50 Tour major in back-to-back years.

 

Baker won the Senior U.S. Open in 2005 and ’06, Webb won in 2008 and ’09 and Monacelli in 2012 and ’13.

 

● The Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open, presented by Storm, featured challenging lane conditions and failed to produce a 300 game. The high game in the tournament was 299, shot by Monacelli in qualifying and Tulsa’s Mike Edwards in match play.

 

● Among the match play finalists, Monacelli led the field with 218.2 average for the tournament, nearly seven pins more than Walter Ray Williams Jr., who had the second best average of 211.92. Ron Winger was the top super senior in the field, at age 71, making match play and finishing 24th. Robin Romeo was the top woman, finishing among the 53 cashers in 49th place.

 

MOTIV Reveals Their New Red Ball

More details will be released soon, but the "Red Ball" (#redball on twitter) people are talking about from the PBA Summer Swing is the new Primal Rage from MOTIV.  Motiv reports "This is a very special ball with incredible continuation. It is the most angular ball we have EVER made!  It is truly impressive."
 

The Primal Rage coverstock is called Fusion™ Pearl Reactive in Lava Red Pearl finished to 1500 Grit and Polished. The inner core is the Impulse™ V2. # RG: 2.55, Diff: .050

Look for the Motiv Primal Rage on July 18^th, 2013, the World Wide Release Date.