KOIVUNIEMI’S “SPECIAL” JERSEY GOES ON AUCTION BLOCK

The colorful competition jersey Chris Barnes designed for his close friend Mika Koivuniemi after defeating the Finnish-American star in the 2012 Bayer Advanced Aspirin World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the PBA is going on the auction block to raise money for Strike Out Diabetes, a charity Barnes and his wife Lynda have created in cooperation with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Dallas.

One of the Barnes’ twin sons, Troy, is afflicted with juvenile diabetes.

The one-of-a-kind Gemini jersey was created as part of an on-going wager between Barnes and Koivuniemi. Whomever wins a head-to-head match on television gets to provide colorful attire for his victim to wear the next time he appears on TV. After Barnes won the WBT match, 244-228, he created a pink jersey with unicorns, rainbows, a Swedish flag (Koivuniemi is Finnish…), a phonetic spelling of Koivuniemi’s name and more. Koivuniemi then wore the jersey during the ESPN-televised finals of the USBC Masters.

All proceeds from the sale of the special jersey, and a number of other donated items, will go to the Strike Out Diabetes charity event being held on April 27 in Lewisville, Texas. Click here for more information. To bid on any of the donated items, please send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) including your name, contact telephone number and bid amount. The deadline for all bids is April 15.

WEBER WINS BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, ADDS TO HISTORY

INDIANAPOLIS (March 31, 2013) – Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., wrote another chapter in bowling history Sunday when he defeated Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte, 224-179, to win the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions at Woodland Bowl.

The victory made Weber the first player to complete the PBA Triple Crown for a second time and tied bowling legend Earl Anthony for most major PBA titles with 10.

Weber, who was considered one of the professional tour’s power players when he won his first PBA Tournament of Champions with his unique high back swing back in 1978, is now 50 – the oldest player ever to win the Tournament of Champions – and affectionately called “Gramps” by his younger opponents.

He won his second TOC title to go along with five U.S. Open titles and two PBA World Championships to complete the PBA’s Triple Crown a second time, a feat no other bowler has accomplished. He also owns a PBA Touring Players Championship for his other major. His win Sunday was his 37th, tying him for third place on the PBA all-time titles list with Norm Duke, behind Walter Ray Williams Jr. (47) and Anthony (43).

“I don’t know what it is,” Weber said. “I get up for the majors, but there’s one eluding me and the Weber family – the USBC Masters. I really want that one, and I’m not done yet. I’m not slowing down. I have no plans to retire.”

Weber won Sunday with three doubles, four spares and help from Belmonte, who left the 4-10 split three times – failing to convert it twice.

“I woke up today and said my dream would be to bowl Pete and win by a pin,” Belmonte said. “I got half of it right. I bowled Pete, but I lost by 60.

“Pete is the most talented bowler the world has ever seen, and may ever see,” Belmonte added. “To bowl him in the finals and see him break records like he has broken is really special. If I could achieve half of what he has done by the time my career is over, I’ll be ecstatic.”

Belmonte eliminated defending champion Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., 229-171, in the semifinal match. Belmonte started with five strikes while Rash threw only one strike in his first six frames. When Belmonte left the 1-2-4-6-10 in the eighth frame and failed to convert, he gave Rash a glimmer of hope, but Rash was unable to close the gap.

In the second match, Rash followed a first-frame spare with five strikes to build a 34-pin lead over Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., after Jones left and failed to convert the 3-4-6-7-10 split in his second frame. Despite striking on eight of his last nine shot, Jones was unable to overcome his early mistake against Rash’s error-free game.

Jones started the stepladder finals with a 217-189 victory over Finland’s two-handed star, Osku Palermaa. Jones had a double in the second and third frames which gave him the lead and Palermaa, unable to double the entire game, couldn’t catch up.

The PBA Tour’s winter season ends next Sunday (April 7) when the finals of the Elias Cup, the concluding event of the inaugural PBA League season, airs on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET. The New York City WTT KingPins, owned by women’s sports legend Billie Jean King, is the top-qualifying team for the finals. Other finalists include the Motown Muscle, owned by former Pittsburgh Steelers star Jerome Bettis; the BROOKLYN STyLES, owned by Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams, and the Dallas Strikers, owned by former NFL great Terrell Owens.

BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Sunday

Final Standings
1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., $50,000.
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, $25,000.
3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., $15,000.
4, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., $12,000.
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, $10,000.

Stepladder Results
Match One: Jones def. Palermaa, 217-189.
Match Two: Rash def. Jones, 247-233.
Semifinal Match: Belmonte def. Rash, 229-171.
Championship: Weber def. Belmonte, 224-179.

About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,200 of the best bowlers from 17 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional and PBA50 Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands around the world watch PBA activities on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, Jack Link’s, MOTIV, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to http://www.pba.com.

PALERMAA, BELMONTE ADVANCE IN PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

INDIANAPOLIS (March 28, 2013) – Finland’s Osku Palermaa and Australia’s Jason Belmonte, the top two-handed bowlers in the world, led the field of 24 finalists into the opening round of match play in the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions Thursday at Woodland Bowl.

Palermaa, a three-time PBA Tour champion and winner of the 2011 PBA World Championship, averaged 244.88 for his 24 qualifying games, finishing with a total of 5,877 pins to lead Belmonte by 146 pins. Belmonte, who entered the final qualifying round in eighth place, averaged 265.87 for his first seven games in round three before finishing with a 169 game, but he held onto second place with a 5,731 total, 15 pins ahead of Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo.

“I felt tired this morning, but I started well anyway,” Palermaa said. “I left a 7-10 split in my first frame and converted it, and that’s the way it started. To be honest, I’ve probably converted the 7-10 more times than I have bowled 300 games - and I have a few of those – but it was a good way to start the day.

“Scores were high today, but I made the right guesses,” Palermaa continued. “I felt like I bowled better physically yesterday, but I scored better today. Yesterday I made the right moves, but I didn’t make big enough moves. Today the moves were smaller, but I made them pair to pair and I stayed right on top of things.”

Weber, who is trying for a record-tying 10th major championship, had 5,716 pins for third place. He was followed by reigning PBA Player of the Year Sean Rash in fourth with a 5,599 total and Stuart Williams of England with 5,570 pins.

All-time PBA titles leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., kept his hopes for a 48th title alive, advancing to match play in 19th place. Williams needs to win the Tournament of Champions to become the eighth player to complete the PBA Triple Crown (Tournament of Champions, U.S. Open and PBA World Championship) and the third to complete the Grand Slam (Triple Crown plus USBC Masters).

The Tournament of Champions continues Thursday night when the top 24 players bowl the first of three eight-game round of match play. The final two match play rounds will be held Friday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. After 48 games, the top five players will advance to Sunday’s live ESPN stepladder finals at 2:30 p.m. ET.

All match play rounds of the Tournament of Champions (and the PBA Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday night) will be covered live, exclusively on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. For subscription information, visit pba.com.

BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Thursday

Round Three (after 24 qualifying games; top 24 advance to round robin match play)
1, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 5,877.
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 5,731.
3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 5,716.
4, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 5,599.
5, Stuart Williams, England, 5,570.
6, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 5,556.
7, Mike DeVaney, Hemet, Calif., 5,552.
8, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 5,522.
9, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 5,493.
10, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 5,478.
11, Dom Barrett, England, 5,449.
12, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 5,446.
13, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 5,443.
14, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 5,424.
15, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 5,403.
16, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 5,401.
17, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 5,394.
18, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 5,393.
19, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 5,368.
20, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 5,344.
21, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 5,334.
22, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 5,322.
23, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 5,320.
24, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 5,317.
Other Cashers (after 24 games):
25, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 5,315, $2,800.
26, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 5,313, $2,700.
27, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 5,299, $2,600.
28, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 5,291, $2,500.
29, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 5,290, $2,400.
30, Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 5,268, $2,350.
31, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 5,262, $2,300.
32, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 5,260, $2,250.
33, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 5,257, $2,200.
34, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 5,251, $2,150.
35, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 5,247, $2,200.
36, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 5,245, $2,050.
37, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 5,237, $2,000.
38 (tie), Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, and Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 5,220, $1,925.
40, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 5,215, $1,850.
41, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 5,201, $1,800.
42, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 5,175, $1,750.
43, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 5,133, $1,700.
44, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 5,097, $1,650.
45, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 5,079, $1,600.
46, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 5,071, $1,550.
47, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 5,064, $1,500.
48, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 5,063, $1,450.
49, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 5,056, $1,400.
50, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 5,019, $1,400.
51, George Branham III, Indianapolis, 4,857, $1,400.
52, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, withdrew, $1,400.
53, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, withdrew, $1,400.

300 Games: Jason Belmonte.

About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,200 of the best bowlers from 17 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional and PBA50 Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands around the world watch PBA activities on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, Jack Link’s, MOTIV, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to http://www.pba.com.

SCOTT NORTON AVERAGES 252 FOR FIRST ROUND LEAD IN BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

INDIANAPOLIS (March 27, 2013) – Scott Norton of Mission Viejo, Calif., threw back-to-back games of 300 and 296, and averaged 252.25 for eight games to take the first round lead in the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions lead Wednesday at Woodland Bowl.

Norton, who is trying for his third title of the 2012-13 season, and his first major win, said “my pin carry today was ridiculous. It wasn’t a case of the conditions favoring left-handers. It was a matter of, if I hit the 1-2 pocket, I got a strike. It didn’t matter if I was high in the pocket, light or whatever, the pins fell.

“But if you’re going to win out here, you have to have days like that. Lord knows I’ve had enough of the other kind.”

Norton finished the opening round of qualifying with a total of 2,018 pins for a 37-pin lead over the all-time PBA Tour titles leader, Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla. Williams, a 47-time titlist, has never won win the Tournament of Champions. If he can win this week, he’ll become the eighth player in PBA history to complete the “Triple Crown” (Tournament of Champions, U.S. Open and PBA World Championship), and the third ever to complete the “Grand Slam” (Triple Crown plus USBC Masters).

Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., was in third place with 9,159 pins followed by Osku Palermaa of Finland with a 1,940 total and Dick Allen of Columbia, S.C., in fifth place with 1,932 pins.

The 2013 continues with the second of three eight-round qualifying squads today at 5 p.m. ET. After a third eight-game qualifying round Thursday at 10 a.m., the top 24 players based on 24-game pinfall totals will advance to round-robin match play. Match play rounds will be held Thursday at 5 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. After a total of 48 games, the top five players will advance to Sunday’s live ESPN stepladder finals at 2:30 p.m. ET.

All qualifying and match play rounds of the Tournament of Champions (and the PBA Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday night) will be covered live, exclusively on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. For subscription information, visit pba.com.

BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Wednesday

Round One (after 8 qualifying games)
1, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 2,018.
2, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,981.
3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,959.
4, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,940.
5, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,932.
6, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,918.
7, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,891.
8, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,884.
9, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,881.
10, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,876.
11, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,875.
12, Mike DeVaney, Hemet, Calif., 1,874.
13 (tie), Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., and Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 1,867.
15, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 1,847.
16, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,838.
17 (tie), Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,837.
19, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,836.
20, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,829.
21 (tie), Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., and Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,820.
23, Dom Barrett, England, 1,812.
24, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 1,811.
25, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 1,808.
26, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,807.
27, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 1,788.
28, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,787.
29, Stuart Williams, England, 1,786.
30, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 1,783.
31, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 1,777.
32, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,774.
33, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,771.
34, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,770.
35, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,768.
36, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 1,758.
37, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 1,756.
38, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,755.
39, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,746.
40, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,745.
41, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 1,743.
42 (tie), Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, and Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,726.
44 (tie), George Branham III, Indianapolis, and Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 1,712.
46, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,703.
47, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,699.
48, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,692.
49, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,673.
50, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 1,654.
51, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 1,645.
52, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,642.
53, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, withdrew, injury.

300 Games: Mike Scroggins, Scott Norton, Scott Newell.