Hopefully a Grand time to be had...

By Gary BondThe Grand Rapids Press
The 1993 Professional Bowler's Association tour season will always be special to Walter Ray Williams Jr. It was the second time the Ocala, Fla., native was named the PBA player of the year and one of the seven tournament wins Williams rolled that season was the inaugural Great Grand Rapids Open, renamed the Great Lakes Classic a few seasons ago.
"Grand Rapids is a good bowling area and Spectrum Lanes has an excellent restaurant," Williams said. Even though Williams failed to reach the ESPN-broadcast finals of the CLR Windy City Classic in Vernon Hills, Ill., last Sunday, he will be closely eyed this week in Grand Rapids.
Williams, 48, has made three television appearances this season and has captured one title, the Motor City Classic, making him the first bowler in PBA history to win a title in 15 consecutive seasons.
"I'm bowling well this season and felt good last week, that's why I'm disappointed I didn't bowl better," Williams said. "The PBA Tour is kind of a grind, and every week is a new week, and I'm looking forward to getting back on track."
When asked what meant more to him, winning tournaments or being named the player of the year, Williams said the two go together.
"Player of the year honor means more, but you're not going to be the player of the year if you don't win a few tournaments," he said. "Bowling is a (lane) condition sport, and this week we'll be bowling on the cheetah (short oil) pattern, which typically provides high scoring."
Williams, who is currently first in points and fourth in money earned this season ($60,900), is averaging a tournament-best 232.18 per game. Chris Barnes (Flower Mound, TX) is second with a 228.16 average. Sean Rash (Wichita, Kan.), who won the USBC Master in Milwaukee, Wis., the first major of the season, won $100,000 for the victory and is the tour's current money leader having earned $112,700.
Last year's Great Lake Classic winner, Doug Kent (Newark, N.Y.), is averaging 219.89 per game (22nd on tour) and has earned $10,100 in prize money.
FACT SHEET
PBA Tour in Wyoming
What: The Denny's Professional Bowler's Association Tour Great Lakes Classic.
Where: Spectrum Lanes, 5656 Clyde Park Ave. SW, Wyoming.
When: Wednesday-Sunday.
TV: 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
Tickets: $10-$75
For more information: Spectrumlanes.com or pbatour.com.

Calling all Queens...

The Metro Detroit USBC Association (MDUSBC) will host the 2nd Annual Queens Tournament on Dec. 2 at Beech Lanes in Redford.

The event is open to any female member of the MDUSBC for the scratch event. The maximum field of 64 entries has been reached and is now officially a sell out.

Qualifying will be contested with each bowler bowling a four-game qualifier.

The top 16 players will compete in match play in a single-game single-elimination format.

First place will pay $1,000 plus a tiara pendent with 16th place paying $100.

Defending champion Michelle Ewald of Clinton Township will return to defend her title.

Other notable entrants are 2006 Queens runner-up and 2007 Detroit Bowling Hall of Fame inductee Carol Davis of Lake Orion, Detroit Bowling Hall of Famers Carmeletha Allen of Highland Park, Janet Dimmer of Eastpointe, Sandra Schultz of Macomb and Crystal Trombley of St. Clair Shores. Michigan Women’s Hall of Famer Betty Trimper of Redford will also compete. Allen and Schultz are also members of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

The event is sponsored by Turbo 2-N-1 Grips and Ahee Jewelers.

For more information on the event contact the MDUSBC office at (248) 443-2695 ext. 105.

We're #1!

Numbers released by the United States Bowling Congress show that Michigan is still No. 1 in bowler membership. The USBC had an overall adult/youth membership of 2,608,279 for the 2006-07 season (2,303,191 adults, 305,088 youth). They bowled on 924,580 teams in 83,731 leagues. Michigan again had the largest state membership with 225,177 members overall (204,149 adult, 21,028 youth), and Detroit had the largest local association with 80,683 members (74,530 adult, 6,153 youth).
Ohio ranked No. 2 for overall state membership with 179,734 (158,577 adult, 21,157 youth), and Chicago was second in local associations with 36,410 members (34,996 adults, 1,414 youth). The only place Michigan lagged was in the number of bowling centers. Pennsylvania led with 388, with Michigan third at 357, but Michigan had the most lanes, 8,172. Nationwide there are 5,571 bowling centers with 115,197 lanes. Thanks to Matt Fiorito of the Freep for the story.

Get rollin kids!

The high school bowling season is under way. Practices have begun at most schools, and competition will start Nov. 24 in the Upper Peninsula and Dec. 1 in the Lower. There's still time for schools that don't have bowling to get it started. Information is available from the Michigan High School Athletic Association or through the coaches' Web site -- www.mhsibca.com. If you are a high school coach, you can further support the sport by joining the coaches association. Thanks to Matt Fiorito of the Freep for the story.

Rollin' to the Hall!

The Detroit Bowling Hall of Fame Committee, a committee of the Metro Detroit USBC Association (MDUSBC), has elected six new members to its Hall of Fame and named three others for special awards.

Virginia Austin of Detroit, Carol Davis of Lake Orion, Quintin Greene of Dearborn Heights, George (Mike) Lee of Dearborn Heights, Alvin Harrison of Southfield and George Zainea of Grosse Pointe Woods earned entrance into the hall and Joe Guotana of New Boston, Dave Beachnau of Allen Park and Randall Shank of Sterling Heights will receive special awards. Congrats to all!

Salute!

A Caribbean vacation package, tickets to the 2008 Super Bowl, a Professional Bowlers Association tour event exemption and a Mort Luby painting featuring bowling legend Andy Varipapa were among the intriguing auction items that helped generate approximately $100,000 for the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame at the 2007 Salute to Bowling. The annual fundraiser, held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in conjunction with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America International Bowl Expo, also saw the induction of former major league baseball pitcher Tom Candiotti into the Celebrity wing of the Bowling Hall of Fame. "We're thrilled with the money generated from this year's event," Salute chairperson Keith Hamilton said, "and we appreciate the generosity of the more than 400 bowling enthusiasts who attended. "We also recognized that all was not perfect at the 2007 Salute," Hamilton continued. "We were especially disappointed with the food presentation and the auction checkout procedures, and the committee already is working to significantly improve these areas for Salute 2008." Candiotti, whose nearly impossible-to-hit knuckleball carried him through 16 seasons in the major leagues, was recognized for his continued promotion of bowling through mainstream media. Candiotti, a radio analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks, also is an accomplished bowler, carrying a 200+ average and boasting a certified 300 game in March of this year. The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame collects and preserves the rich history of bowling, and uses that information to help promote the sport worldwide. For more information about the Museum or its Salute fundraiser, call (800) 966-2695.

Hey Coach!

USBC Coaching is pleased to announce an upcoming Silver coach certification conference in Flint, MI. If you or someone you know is interested in this conference, please see the attached flyer with registration form.

The attached form is in the Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have ability to view files in this format, you can download the Adobe Acrobat reader for free by clicking here http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html