January 30, 2020 Sports Reporter
January 30, 2020 Sports Reporter
Sports Reporter
Our 80th
Anniversary
Year
The Nation's Leading Bowling Tournament Newspaper Since 1940
Vol. 80 No. 48 January 30, 2020 25 cents
Tommy Jones Caps Fairytale Week with Historic Championship Match Win in PBA Hall of Fame Classic
In first tournament of the season, Jones beats Darren Tang 300-237 in title match for 20th career Go Bowling PBA Tour title
By Jerry Schneider tour win came in the 2019 PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic.
ARLINGTON, Texas – After his induction into the “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to top this.
Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame, Tommy “When I got the strike in the ninth frame, it actually took
Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina, didn’t need any fur- some pressure off for the 10th frame because I had already
ther validation of his place in bowling history, but the 41- won the match,” he added. “At that point I felt like I was in
year-old right-hander effectively put an exclamation point good shape to take a victory lap.”
on that honor with a historic title match win in the PBA Hall Jones also joined three other PBA greats who made a tour
of Fame Classic at the International Training and Research telecast in the same week that they were inducted into the
Center. Hall of Fame: Earl Anthony in 1981, Mike Durbin, who
As the No. 2 seed for the stepladder finals televised live won his third PBA Tournament of Champions in 1984, and
on FS1, Jones won the first tournament of the 2020 Go Mark Roth in 1987.
Bowling PBA Tour season for his 20th career PBA Tour For everyone, including Jones, his 300 game was certain-
PBA photo
title by beating top seed Darren Tang of Las Vegas, 300- Champion Tommy Jones ly unexpected after grinding out a 190-169 semifinal match
237, in the championship match. win against No. 5 seed fellow Hall of Famer Chris Barnes
It was the 27th televised perfect game bowled in PBA the 1988 PBA Quaker State Open and Aulby beat David of nearby Double Oak, Texas, who also was trying for his
Tour history and only the third in a title match. Bob Benoit Ozio 300-279 to win the 1993 PBA Wichita Open. 20th career win.
and Mike Aulby were the others to bowl 300 games in a tel- “I don’t even know what to think right now – it’s been a
evised title match. Benoit beat Mark Roth 300-225 to win crazy week and an even crazier day,” said Jones, whose last See Jones page 2
PBA Star Tommy Jones, Former Ownership Partners Mike Slade, Rob Glaser
Inducted Into PBA Hall of Fame
By Jerry Schneider “Even though it’s been a couple of
ARLINGTON, Texas – Nineteen- months since I received the news
time Professional Bowlers that I was elected I knew it was
Association title winner Tommy going to be very emotional to
Jones of Simpsonville, South receive this honor here,” Jones said,
Carolina, and former PBA owner- “It’s still going to take some time for
ship partners Mike Slade and Rob it to sink in.
Glaser were inducted into the PBA “Getting paid to throw a bowling
Hall of Fame during ceremonies at ball was my dream and I have to
the Arlington Hilton as part of the thank everyone who has supported
PBA Hall of Fame Classic tourna- me during my career that made it
ment week. possible for me to be here today,” he
Jones was unanimously elected for added. “I consider myself to be very
superior performance by an elite fortunate to be a Hall of Famer and
panel of veteran bowling writers and still be competitive but I have a job
PBA Hall of Famers. Slade and to do. I want to get 25 titles.”
PBA photo
Glaser were elected for meritorious The 41-year-old power player
PBA Hall of Fame Inductees Rob Glaser, Mike Slade and Tommy Jones
service by the PBA Hall of Fame hopes to add to his list of career
Board. the top five in 47 of the 326 PBA Tour tournaments he milestones when he tries for his 20th
Jones is one of five PBA players to win both PBA Rookie entered, cashing in a remarkable 80.3 percent of those career tour win as the No. 2 seed for the PBA Hall of Fame
(2001-02) and Player of the Year (2005-06) honors. During events. Classic finals. Jones counted his major titles and selection
his 20-year career, Jones won 17 standard PBA Tour titles Jones also has been on winning teams in PBA League to the top 50 players in PBA history as defining moments in
plus two majors: the 2006 U.S. Open and 2007 PBA Elias Cup competition three times and was the recipient of his career.
Tournament of Champions. He has finished in the top 10 in the PBA League Mark Roth Most Valuable Player Award in
annual PBA Tour earnings nine times and has finished in 2017. See Hall of Fame Page 4
2 SPORTS REPORTER January 30, 2020
Jones Continued from Page 1 USBC Board of Directors Extends Chad Murphy
“We both had trouble with the (lane condition) transition and it was Contract as Executive Director
just a matter of who could get to the finish line first,” said Jones. “If you
would have told me that I could have bowled 225 after that, it would By Matt Cannizzaro
have been a stretch. ARLINGTON, Texas -
“I used the same ball on the left lane but with a little more surface and Chad Murphy has agreed to
changed to a ball that would hook earlier on the right lane,” Jones added. a contract extension to con-
“I felt very comfortable with that change but still never could have pre- tinue as Executive Director
dicted a 300.” of the United States
All competition during the tournament was conducted on a dual lane Bowling Congress (USBC).
condition – PBA’s 45-foot Dick Weber condition on the left lane and 39- The agreement extends
foot Mike Aulby condition on the right lane. Murphy's tenure as execu-
For the 26-year-old Tang, a three-time All-American at San Jose State tive director through the end
in his fourth season on tour, it was his third runner-up finish. of 2024. He first was named
In the opening stepladder match Barnes, who was also trying for his executive director in June of
20th career title, defeated 2019 Hall of Fame Classic runner-up seven- 2014.
time tour winner Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona, 258-223. "Through Chad Murphy's USBC photo
In the second match Barnes beat five-time PBA Tour winner two-han- leadership, USBC has con- USBC Director Chad Murphy
der Osku Palermaa of Finland, who was trying for his first tour win in tinued to deliver more new initiatives and Association to have the USBC Masters and U.S.
almost five years, 254-249, to advance to the semifinal against Jones. greater value for our members," USBC President Open included with the PBA Tour's FOX Sports
Karl Kielich said. "I am especially proud of the package through 2022.
PBA HALL OF FAME CLASSIC stronger relationships developed between USBC * A 17-event CBS Sports Network package
(a 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour event) and our association leaders, as well as the bowl- * Launch of the BowlTV.com video streaming
International Training and Research Center, Arlington, Texas. ing industry. The USBC Board of Directors has platform
great confidence in the staff, and this extension * Technology advancements, including a cus-
Final Standings shows our desire to continue this positive trajec- tom registration system for USBC tournaments
1, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., $30,000 tory for years to come." * USBC Association Leadership Academy,
2, Darren Tang, Las Vegas, $15,000 Reporting to the USBC Board of Directors, the which provides education opportunities to
3, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, $9,000 USBC Executive Director serves as an officer of USBC associations
4, Osku Palermaa, Finland, $7,000 the corporation and has overall operational * Merger of USBC state and local associations
5, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., $5,000 responsibility for staff, programs, finance and * Forward looking changes to bowling ball
Jones also earned a $10,000 bonus for bowling a televised perfect game. execution of the strategic plan. specification and lane inspection standards
During Murphy's tenure, USBC has delivered * Gold medals for Team USA in the World
major new initiatives including: Championships, Pan American Games and
* Record participation in Junior Gold and QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.
USBC Collegiate programs Murphy first joined the International Bowling
* USA Bowling Youth Championships Campus (IBC) in 2010 as Director of Youth for
* A successful structure change and growth for the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America
the USBC Open Championships (BPAA). He became IBC Director of Youth
* New host cities for the USBC Championship Development in 2011, at which time he also
Tournaments, including Chicago and Cincinnati assumed management of USBC's youth programs.
for the Women's Championships and Houston He is a former member of Team USA, and his
for the Open Championships playing honors include a silver medal at the 1998
* Growth across elite level USBC World Tenpin Team Cup in Amsterdam. He also
Championship tournaments was part of the Ebonite Nitro/R's team that won
* Relaunch of the Professional Women's two Grand Championships in the Brunswick
Bowling Association Tour and introduction of World Team Challenge Series in 1994 and 1996.
the PWBA regional program For more information about USBC, visit
* Partnership with the Professional Bowlers BOWL.com.
MOOKIE BETTS CONTINUES TO IMPRESS IN RETURN Hall of Fame Continued from Page 1
TO PBA TOUR COMPETITION “The U.S. Open title was big and being selected No. 30 among the top 50
players in PBA history (in 2009) as the youngest one (age 30) also was pretty
cool for me,” Jones said. “The U.S. Open was defining because I bowled so bad
the previous year. The Tournament of Champions also was a great win because
that’s the one title every PBA member wants to win.”
Slade and Glaser joined their original PBA ownership partner, Chris Peters,
in the PBA Hall of Fame. All three were former Microsoft executives who com-
bined resources to purchase the PBA in 2000, pulling the organization back
from the brink of bankruptcy, and providing the organization with leadership
from their board of directors positions and the financial support necessary to
remain viable until its recent sale to Bowlero Corp.
Slade's creativity and contacts at ESPN and with leaders in sports media were
key assets in advancing the PBA brand and opening doors with new partners
including FOX Sports.
Slade began his career at Microsoft in 1983 and spent seven years there in a
variety of product marketing roles. In 1993 he was hired as CEO of Starwave,
Paul Allen's trailblazing venture into the Internet and multimedia where he
By Bill Vint launched ESPN.com, NBA.com, NFL.com, NASCAR.com, ABCNews.com and
Boston Red Sox star Mookie Betts, in his first appearance in PBA Tour competition since the the Go.com network. He retired as Chairman and CEO of Starwave following
2017 PBA World Series of Bowling, continued to impress his fellow competitors with his prom- its sale to the Walt Disney Corp. in 1998.
ise as a bowling talent.
After later serving as strategic advisor for Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs,
A feature story by Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Jeff Wilson (https://www.star-
and as a strategic consultant for ESPN, NBA.com, NFL.com, Starbucks, Real
telegram.com/sports/article239305808.html) includes high praise for Betts’ bowling skills
Networks, Disney, and various Paul Allen companies, Slade co-founded the
while competing at the highest level of the sport in the PBA Hall of Fame Classic in Arlington,
Texas. The first tournament of the 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour season gave Betts a chance to
venture capital firm Second Avenue Partners in 2000 and became a co-owner
bowl at an elite level before reporting to spring training with the Red Sox. and board member of the PBA.
Bowling on a PBA Commissioner’s Exemption, Betts had no expectation of winning the tour- “When you’re around people who are the best it’s really inspiring,” Slade said
nament against a field of 55 PBA members, 40 of whom are PBA Tour champions. during his acceptance speech. “It’s an honor to be around the best as we cele-
“The No. 1 thing is don’t come in last,” Betts said. “After that, it’s still competition and mak- brate excellence here tonight and I’m so grateful and humbled by this honor.
ing sure you enjoy yourself. Obviously, I’ll do a lot of learning, so when I go back home I can “Some things we did went well and others didn’t,” Slade continued. “We
take these things and apply them.” learned a lot and had good people helping us get it done. When you’re an
Bowling on a challenging scoring environment involving different lane conditions applied to underdog you have to be scrappy and try things and that’s what we did.”
the right and left lanes across the bowling center, Betts hoped to finish “even,” which is bowl- Glaser, a New York City native, was the PBA's principle investor financially,
ing parlance means a 200 average for his 12 qualifying games. He just missed, averaging largely funding the early 2000's efforts to boost prize funds, regulate TV expo-
198.58, but he accomplished goal No. 1, finishing in 48th place in the field of 56 – outscoring sure and further explore arena settings. After a 10-year career in a variety of
six PBA title winners. positions with Microsoft, Glaser founded RealNetworks in 1994, a company
that produces RealAudio, RealVideo, RealPlayer, and Helix, among other prod-
AT PARKWAY AT MONTVALE ucts and services. A Yale graduate with degrees in Computer Science and
Economics, Glaser has also been a major donor supporting a wide range of
Jay Floyd 279 Craig Slawinski 288 humanitarian causes throughout his career.
ELMWOOD PARK NY - In the Art Polzer MONTVALE, NJ - Craig “I believe the most rewarding part of our involvement with PBA was getting
II League Jay Floyd fired 279, Larry Slawinski fired a high game of 288 it to a point where it could stand on its own, build on the success we were able
Norris 265, and Walt William Jr 259. int the Friday Night 4Man League. to achieve and then pass it on to a new generation,” Glaser said. “Twenty years
Ron Vrandenburg hit 279, and after we started it is stunning to me that I’m here to receive this honor.
Elvio Tavares 258 Rich Naclero and Anthony “My good friend Chris Peters got me involved in what he called an effort to
ELMWOOD PARK, NJ - Elvio Tavares Mirabelli 259. save the PBA,” Glaser added. “I got involved in bowling at a young age,
rolled 258, Lenny Marrero 256, Anibal became a lifelong bowler and the love of bowling never left me so I was happy
Villanueva, Fernando Dastano and Ramon Jun Dollopac 285 to get involved.”
Rodriguez 244 in the CDC League. MONTVALE, NJ - Jun Dollopac Also recognized during the ceremonies were 2019 award winners including
topped the scoring in the Monday Australia’s Jason Belmonte, who earned his fifth Chris Schenkel PBA Player of
Benny Perez 290 Night Mixed League blasting a the Year award; Harry Golden Rookie of the Year Mykel Holliman of
ELMWOOD PARK, NJ - Benny Perez high game of 285 and a high series Collierville, Tennessee; Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winner Martin
fired a high game of 290 in the Thursday of 747. Larsen of Sweden, who became the first international player to win the award
Night 4Man Parkway League. Donald Barba hit 269, Albert twice, and Tony Reyes Community Service Award winner Chuck Gardner of
Gabe Tineo hit 288, and Robert Boehm Bisel 259, and Jacquery Breitenbac Charlotte, North Carolina.
279. 203.
January 30, 2020 SPORTS REPORTER 5
AT MAJESTIC
Michael Bower 790 Chris Schenck 773 Don Anione 728
HOPELAWN, NJ - Michael Bower topped the scoring in HOPELAWN, NJ - Chris Schenck topped the scoring in the HOPELAWN, NJ - Don Anione led the scoring in the
the Premiere Pro Shop Sunday Trios League blasting games Strike Nation League blasting games of 226-289-258 for a Friday Night Mixed League rolling games of 257-246-225
of 268-255-267 for a high series of 790. high series of 773. for a high series of 728.
William Bailey III rolled 263-248-278-789, John Havel Wright III rolled 267-213-276-756, Chris L Schenck Salvatore Angotti shot 265-214-223-702, Dave Rezes
Fylypczuk 249-268-269-786, Chris Aponte 279-265-207- Jr 256-242-229-727, Al-Wadir Samuel 288-243-706, 243-220-645, Michael Kelly 216-204-224-644, Douglas
751, Pablo Ramirez 258-267-222-747, Salvatore Antrone Clemons 257, and Jordan A Marangelli 248-255. Jewell 267, and Edward Patri 244.
Ciaravalloti 249-257-234-740, Andrew Polidura 256-278- In the Iselin AA League JJ Corley rolled 234, Tommy Richard Galasso 721
728, Brandon Micewicz 205-266-256-727, Kevin Bitler Cohen 224 and Rolando Vazquez 218. HOPELAWN, NJ - Richard Galasso led the scoring in the
236-267-213-716, and Alex Luyando 267-265-714. Monday Night Mixed League firing games of 223-249-
249 for a high sereis of 721.
Dave Henderson rolled 217-216-241-674, John
Baginsky, Jr 221-246-653, and Andrew Sova 244.
Al Tadeo 649
HOPELAWN, NJ - Al Tadeo paced the scoring in the ICC
& Friends League rolling a high game of 280 and a high
series of 649.
Doug Jewell rolled 228, Bill Walsh 223, and Mike Ramer
and Sharon Ramer 211.
In the Wednesday Earlybirds League Charlene Martino
rolled 191-201, Sue Ragas 186, and Carolyn Esposito
181-171
AT JERSEY LANES
Carl Clory 299 Gene Perez, Sr 258
LINDEN, NJ Carl Clory led the scoring in the Old LINDEN, NJ - Gene Perez, Sr rolled 258, Sean
Timers 1 League firing a high game of 299 and a high Williams 255, and ErwinLuna 242 in the Latinos
series of 741. Unidos League.
Tim Mack and Lenny Farmer each rolled 279. In the Hawthorne Avenue League Rebecca Porter
shot 248, Chris Jones 236, Sahib Peterson and Dave
Joe Bross Jr 289 Zeigler 233, and Theresa McKnight 224.
LINDEN, NJ - Joe Bross led the scoring in the
UnionCounty Mixed League firing a high gameof James Middleton 256
289. LINDEN, NJ - James Middleton rolled 256, Xavier
Lorenzo Chapotin rolled 277, John Miller 258, and Torres 244, and Allen Potta 237 in the UC HS
Rodney Godfrey 247. Watchung League.