Liz Johnson Among Four Players Advancing to PBA Chameleon Championship Finals

by JSchneider  |  Wednesday, November 15, 3:43 PM

RENO, Nev. -- Liz Johnson, Wes Malott, Anthony Pepe and Tom Smallwood swept their respective best-of-three Round of 8 matches to advance to Saturday’s finals of the PBA Chameleon Championship presented by Reno Tahoe Wednesday afternoon that will be taped by ESPN at noon PST and streamed live on ESPN3.

The finals telecasts will use a format where the four finalists simultaneously bowl one game on the same pair of lanes with the top two scorers advancing to a head-to-head final match. The Chameleon finals will air on ESPN Sunday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. ET.

The Chameleon Championship is part of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Reno Resorts Properties and the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

Johnson, a USBC Hall of Famer and three-time reigning Professional Women’s Bowling Association Player of the Year, beat Josh Blanchard of Mesa, Ariz. 2-0 (239-224, 228-214) to advance to the finals.

Johnson, a native of western New York who now lives in Palatine, Ill., is a two-time PBA regional champion and has a best PBA Tour finish of second which came in the 2005 Banquet Open. She also owns a record 10 PWBA Tour major titles. She will be hoping to join Kelly Kulick, the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions winner, as the only women to win a PBA Tour title.

Malott, of Pflugerville, Texas, a 10-time Tour winner, made his first TV final at the National Bowling Stadium by beating Swedish two-hander and PBA World Championship top qualifier Jesper Svensson 2-0 (279-258, 255-214).

Pepe, of Elmhurst, N.Y., whose first PBA Tour title came in the 2014 Cheetah Championship, will be trying for his second PBA Tour title advancing to the finals by beating Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., 2-0 (202-202 won roll-off 20-19, 279-233).

Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., advanced to the finals with a 2-0 (249-178, 231-225) win over Thailand’s Yannaphon Larpapharat. Smallwood, the 2009 PBA World Championship winner, will be trying for his third PBA Tour title.

Elimination rounds for the Shark Championship presented by Xtra Frame continue this afternoon beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT. All competition will be covered by PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame.

Two Tour Winners and Two Players Making Their First PBA Tour Telecast Advance to PBA Shark Championship Final

by JSchneider  |  Wednesday, November 15, 9:04 PM

RENO, Nev. – Two PBA Tour champions and two players making their first PBA Tour telecasts won best-of-three Round of 8 matches Wednesday evening to advance to the PBA Shark Championship presented by Xtra Frame finals which will be taped Saturday by ESPN at 2:30 p.m. PST and live streamed on ESPN3.

Four-time PBA Tour winner Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., and two-time winner Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Fla., both swept their best-of-three matches. Kent defeated PBA World Championship top qualifier Jesper Svensson of Sweden, 2-0 (233-215, 248-226), while Daugherty beat Thomas Larsen of Denmark, 2-0 (234-225, 216-215).



Charlie Brown Jr., a 36-year-old rookie bowling in his first PBA Tour event, swept Shota Kawazoe of Japan, 2-0, to make his first PBA Tour telecast. Brown, of Grandville, Mich., had to win a three-frame roll-off, 29-27, in the first game after a 257-257 tie and then in the second game narrowly beat Kawazoe 248-244.

Bowling in his fourth World Series of Bowling, England’s Richie Teece finally broke through to make his first Tour telecast by beating Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., 2-1 (212-243, 257-215, 226-212).

The finals telecasts will use a format where the four finalists simultaneously bowl one game on the same pair of lanes with the top two scorers advancing to a head-to-head final match. The Shark finals will air on ESPN Sunday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. ET.

The Shark Championship is part of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Reno Resorts Properties and the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

Kent, the 2014 PBA Rookie of the Year, will be trying for his third win of the season having won the Oklahoma Open and Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open last summer.

Daugherty, who will be trying for his first win of the season, has a seventh and three ninth-place finishes this season. His last PBA Tour win came in the 2016 Wolf Open.

Elimination Rounds for the PBA Cheetah Championship presented by PBA Challenge Mobile Game and Pepsi PBA Scorpion Championship presented by Go Bowling! continue Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. PST. All competition will be covered by PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame.

ESPN's Sport Science Looks at The Forces Of Bowling

Sean Rash on Sports Science

Charitable giving and Storm.

Storm loves to give back.

That means to the sport of bowling and to causes alike. Sometimes the two collide and some magic happens. With October rolling around we wanted to do something great!

And a little different.

This year they are producing 300 Pink Hy-Roads that will only be available for purchase on the Storm website. Each ball will sell for $300 and we will be donating a minimum of 50 % to our Paint the Lanes Pink charities.

Below are the important details about this special project. 

• 300 Pink Hy-Roads will be available for purchase

• Promotion starts at noon (M.S.T.) on September 5, 2017

• Promotion ends once 300 Pink Hy-Roads have been sold

• Pink Hy-Roads will be built and shipped directly to the customer

• A minimum of 50 % of total sales will go to our Paint the Lanes Pink charity

2017 Ushers in New Balls from Columbia 300

New Columbia 300 performance Side Swipe solid features Orange/Red/Gray Bend-It Solid veneer wrapped around the Side Swipe core. With a 500/1000/3000 Abralon® finish, the Side Swipe solid is designed for medium oil, but look for a longer stronger backend reaction from the Side Swipe core shape and cover preparation. January 24th will be the worldwide release date. 


The high performance Columbia 300 Tyrant pearl, with Black/Blue/Silver Reflex Pearl HST should provide a tool for medium to heavy oil patterns, depending on your skills and ball speed. The low Radius of Gyration (RG) and high RG Differential creates a strong "engine" for this new pearl which is finished 500/1000 Abralon® then polished w/ Powerhouse Factory Finish. The predisposition to read the lane provided by the strong Differential, and 1K cover prep should help bowlers get a good read of the mid-lane even though this is a pearl. Look for the Tyrant pearl February 14th. 

New From Track Bowling

Track Mako – The Mako core follows the highly successful i-Core 2.0, found in the Paradox series and represents the second generation of dual density core design. This design allows Track to better manipulate and control Radius of Gyration (RG) and RG differential numbers. The Mako core is dual density and asymmetric. 

The Track Mako is Blue/Purple/Black QR-10 Solid Coverstock, finished to 500/2000 Abralon, designed for Heavy oil lane conditions. World wide release date is January 27th, 2017.

The extremely popular Kinetic series is back. With the modified Kinetic core wrapped in the all new emerald/black DR-6 Hybrid cover, this new Kinetic is at an all new price point, making it the most engine for your money. 

The new DR-6 Hybrid coverstock offers Track’s strongest down lane motion in the mid performance category. Its angular characteristics are perfect for any medium oil condition or broken down lane pattern.

The Modified Kinetic core is back by popular demand. This low RG, medium differential and low Mass Bias core stores energy longer and uses it quicker than Track’s other mid performance cores. You won't find an asymmetric core for this price anywhere!

Track Kinetic worldwide release date is February 14th 2017.

2016 Chicago Sun Times Beat the Champs