The Denny's PBA Tour rolls into Omaha, Neb., this week for the 2008 Pepsi Championship, Feb. 13-17 at brand new Thunder-Alley. This week's event marks the first time Omaha has hosted a Denny's PBA Tour stop since 1967 when Dave Davis won the Nebraska Central Open. The Tour did stop in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 2003, '05 and '07, with Denny's PBA Tour exempt bowlers Robert Smith, Mike Machuga and Patrick Allen winning those three events, respectively.

While Allen is not technically the defending champion because of the different city and the new bowling center, he will look to win for the second consecutive year in the area although he and the rest of the field won't be bowling on the same Chameleon oil pattern that was used last season in Council Bluffs which was the same pattern Allen won on four times in five events in one stretch. He did, however, win his lone title this season on the Scorpion back in December in the Lumber Liquidators Championship.

Machuga, a former All-American at the University Nebraska, will look to win his second title in an area that has been very special to him. He captured his first and only Denny's PBA Tour title at Thunderbowl back in 2005, celebrating the victory with his famous "Machuga Flop" in which he hurls himself down the lane while still holding onto the ball.

One exempt bowler – Michael Haugen Jr. – has withdrawn from this week's event while Ted Baer has been awarded a Commissioner's Exemption giving nine PBA members a spot in Thursday's Round of 64 via Wednesday's Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round.

It was only a matter of time before Chris Barnes finally broke his recent string of bad luck on television and fortunately for him he wasted no time in proving he's arguably the best bowler on the Denny's PBA Tour.

Just two weeks after one of the most heartbreaking losses of his career, Barnes bounced back to make his fourth consecutive championship round and his Tour-leading eighth of the season and went on to defeat Tommy Jones, 241-158, to win the 2008 Bayer Classic at Oasis Lanes.

After knocking off his Tour roommate Mika Koivuniemi, 240-198, in a semifinal rematch of the 2007 Sun City Classic title match at Oasis Lanes, Barnes faced a tall task in going up against 2005-06 PBA Player of the Year Tommy Jones, the most successful bowler on TV in PBA history who came in 11-2 in his career in title matches. Barnes, meanwhile, came in just 8-18 in title matches, including 0-2 in 2007-08.

Barnes, however, took a risk and played the outside part of the lane while the other three finalists had been playing inside, as usually is the case on the Shark pattern. Barnes' move paid off, as he started the match with three consecutive strikes and after three spares, he rebounded with strikes in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames to capture his ninth career title and, more importantly, taking over the lead in the 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year race.

The 2008 Pepsi Championship at Thunder-Alley in Omaha, Neb., features a round robin match play format with five bowlers battling it out for the title Sunday, Feb. 17 at 12:30 p.m. EST live on ESPN.

The event begins Wednesday with the Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round followed by the official PBA Practice Session. The top nine PBA members and top amateur will advance to Thursday's Round of 64 which features two seven-game qualifying blocks. The top 32 will then advance to match play Friday which features two nine-game blocks of round robin match play.

Saturday is a day for the fans with PBA Pro-Ams and Fan Day taking place at Thunder-Alley at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The live ESPN-televised finals take place at 12:30 p.m. EST with the winner taking home $25,000 and an exemption for the 2008-09 season.

With his loss to Chris Barnes in the semifinals of the 2008 Bayer Classic, Mika Koivuniemi (left) has now lost three matches in a row on television, the first time that's happened in his career.

One of the most successful bowlers on TV of all-time – his 31-17 record ranks eighth all-time – Koivuniemi had only three previous times lost two consecutive matches on TV. Prior to his three-game losing streak, Koivuniemi was 22-4 in his first match in 22 career TV appearances but he's now lost the first match in three straight appearances.

PBA Commissioner and CEO Fred Schreyer announced Ted Baer, one of four owners of Thunderbowl in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Thunder-Alley in Omaha, Neb., has been given an exemption to bowl in this week's 2008 Pepsi Championship.

Baer won the exemption as part of an auction held at Bowl Expo last summer. The PBA auctioned off a spot in a Denny's PBA Tor event on behalf of the Bowling Hall of Fame and the Omaha, Neb., resident won the spot. Baer, a PBA member since 2000, has been part owner of Thunderbowl since 1997 and is one of the trustees for the Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum.

Baer is a member of three Halls of Fame – the Council Bluffs Bowling Hall of Fame, the Omaha Bowling Hall of Fame and the State of Nebraska Hall of Fame. He competed in the 2005 Greater Omaha Classic Tour Qualifying Round where he finished just five spots shy of advancing to the Rd. of 64. Baer was also the Commissioner's Exemption in last season's Go RVing Classic at Thunderbowl where he finished 59th.

Chris Barnes took a big step toward earning his first PBA Player of the Year award by winning last week's Bayer Classic at Oasis Lanes in El Paso, Texas. Barnes, who has made a Tour-leading eight championship round appearances and is No. 2 in the PBA World Point Rankings, finally overtook Walter Ray Williams Jr., who had held the lead for 13 weeks.

Williams dropped down to second, followed by H&R Block Tournament of Champions winner Michael Haugen Jr.

PBA Player of the Year Point Rankings
1. Chris Barnes, 48
2. Walter Ray Williams Jr., 44
3. Michael Haugen Jr., 40
4. Patrick Allen, 38
5. Wes Malott, 34

With his first title of the season last Sunday, Chris Barnes has now won at least one title in seven consecutive season, equaling Wayne Webb with the seventh-longest streak of all-time. Barnes won two titles in 1999 and after not winning in 2000 despite making 12 championship round appearances, he's won one title in each of the last seven Denny's PBA Tour campaigns.

Barnes, whose mother-in-law, on a side note, promised she'd give up smoking if he won this year, isn't even halfway to the record currently held by Walter Ray Williams Jr., who has captured a title in 15 consecutive seasons. Williams broke Earl Anthony's record earlier this season when he won the 2007 Motor City Classic.

With his win Sunday, Chris Barnes also went over the $100,000 mark in season earnings, the ninth consecutive season he's gone over that mark. Barnes is now one season shy of the all-time record for consecutive seasons over $100,000 held by Parker Bohn III, who accomplished the feat in 10 straight seasons from 1992 until 2001-02.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. went over the mark this season for the eighth consecutive season. Had it not been for a 1999 season when he came up just shy with $90,215, this season would have marked Williams' 14th consecutive season with 100K.

Overall, Barnes is sixth all-time with nine seasons over $100,000, trailing Williams (18), Pete Weber (15), Bohn (13), Norm Duke (11) and Brian Voss (10).

Last week marked the third time in his career Barnes has made four consecutive championship rounds. That mark moved him into second behind Walter Ray Williams Jr., who has made four-in-a-row on four occasions.

This week Barnes will look to tie Williams as the only bowlers ever to make five consecutive shows twice. Just five bowlers have accomplished the feat once (Williams, Barnes, Earl Anthony, Jason Couch and Don Johnson). Barnes made five shows in a row in 2000 but went just 1-5 and was unable to win a title in that span. Williams and Couch both accomplished the feat in 2001-02.

Tommy Jones, who has been virtually unstoppable on TV throughout his career, suffered his worst game under the lights in 39 career games last Sunday, managing just a 158 in the title match against Chris Barnes. Jones – who still holds a Tour-record .795 winning percentage on TV (31-8) – had shot under 200 in just seven of his previous 37 matches on TV.

In fact, following his 216-135 win over Mike DeVaney in the semifinals, Jones had shot 200 or better in 13 consecutive matches on TV since what was then a career-worst 167 in a loss to Pete Weber in the 2005 BowlersParadise.com Classic. That loss snapped his 15-game TV winning streak which was one shy of the Tour record.

Following wins in last season's Ace Hardware Championship and PBA Tournament of Champions and a win in this season's ConstructionJobs.com Championship, Jones had built up a six-game winning streak which he extended to seven with his win over DeVaney. While the odds looked to be in his favor based on his 11-2 title-match record to Barnes' 8-18 record, Jones suffered two big splits in the match and doubled just once to suffer the worst loss of his young career.

It's only a matter of time before Tommy Jones becomes the PBA's 38th millionaire, but what he won't have is the distinction of being the fastest player in history to reach the milestone. Had he won last week's Bayer Classic, Jones would have gone over the $1 million mark, but it would have come in his 221st career event, which would have fallen one event shy of the record.

The man who denied Jones the victory Sunday also holds the record he won't surpass. Chris Barnes reached $1 million in 220 career events, including Denny's PBA Tour and PBA Regional Tour events. With $990,138 in career earnings, Jones will reach the milestone before the season ends.

Mike DeVaney got off to a slow start in the semifinals of the 2008 Bayer Classic with a 2-4-6-8-10 split in the first frame and unfortunately for the Denny's PBA Tour titlist things never got better. In his match against Tommy Jones, DeVaney struck just once, left four splits and missed a single-pin conversion on his way to a 135 game which ranks as the fifth-lowest score on TV of all-time.

Steve Jaros holds the record with a 129 in 1992, followed by Roy Buckley's 131 in 1975. Four players have shot 133 on TV, most recently Bryon Smith in 1997. Marshall Holman and Norm Meyers each shot 134 while DeVaney joined Tom Baker and Dave Husted as bowlers who have shot 135 on TV.

Denny's PBA Tour players have combined to miss 10 single-pin conversions in 14 championship rounds this season (not incl. Japan Cup) the most in a season since the PBA began tracking the stat in the 2003-04 season.

Last season, players missed nine single pins in 21 events while seven were missed in 22 events in 2005-06. The 2004-05 season also saw seven attempts missed in 21 events while just five were missed in 21 events in 2003-04.

Over those four seasons bowlers averaged close to 98% in their single pin conversions but the percentage is way down this season. Bowlers have converted 96.53 percent of their single pins (278-288) with Mike DeVaney, who missed a single-pin conversion in last week's Bayer Classic, missing three conversions this season.

Last week, Rhino Page (l.) and Edward VanDaniker Jr. continued their assault on the Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round record books with Page tying Dino Castillo's single-season record by qualifying for the ninth time while he made match play for the seventh time as a qualifier, tying Castillo's record set last season.

VanDaniker, meanwhile, has quietly put up a strong season of his own, qualifying for the seventh time last week. He advanced out of the TQR for the fourth consecutive week, which tied a record shared by Castillo and Troy Wollenbecker.

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Point Leaders
1, Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla., 170,812.5
2. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 169,140.2
3. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 149,482
4. Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 138,633.5
5. Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 121,877.5
6. Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 121,01
7. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 120,102.5
8. Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 120,026.5
9. Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 113,592
10. Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 112,370.5

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Earnings Leaders
1. Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan. $136,390
2. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla. $106,800
3. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, $103,100
4. Michael Haugen Jr. Cave Creek, Ariz. $101,820
5. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla. $96,000
6. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. $90,970
7. Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind. $79,736
8. Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill. $78,755
9. Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, $77,400
10. Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C. $65,555

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Average Leaders
1. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla., 228.50
2. Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 226.49
3. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 226.03
4. Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 224.76
5. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 224.70
6. Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 223.30
7. Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 222.88
8. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 221.69
9. Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 221.12
10. Michael Haugen Jr. Cave Creek, Ariz., 220.89

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Match Play Appearances
1. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 14
2. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla., 13
3. Tommy Delutz Jr. Flushing, N.Y., 12
4. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 11
(tie) Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 11
(tie) Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 11
(tie) Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 11
(tie) Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 11
(tie) Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 11
10. Five Tied with, 10

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Championship Round Appearances
1. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 8
2. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla. 5
(tie) Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla. 5
4. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. 4
(tie) Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 4
(tie) Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 4
7. Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3
(tie) Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3
(tie) Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan, 3
(tie) Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 3

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Player of the Year Rankings
1. Chris Barnes, 48
2. Walter Ray Williams, 44
3. Michael Haugen Jr. 40
4. Patrick Allen, 38
5. Wes Malott, 34
6. Mike Wolfe, 26
(tie) Parker Bohn III, 26
(tie) Mika Koivuniemi, 26
9. Sean Rash, 24
(tie) Tommy Jones, 24
11. Mike Scroggins, 23
12. Danny Wiseman, 20
13. Rhino Page, 17
14. Robert Smith, 16
(tie) Michael Fagan, 16
16. Steve Jaros, 12
17. Ryan Shafer, 10
(tie) Mike DeVaney, 10
19. Eugene McCune, 8
(tie) Brad Angelo, 8
(tie) Chris Loschetter, 8
(tie) Joe Ciccone, 8
(tie) Ronnie Russell, 8
24. Pete Weber, 5
25. Jack Jurek, 4
(tie) Bill O'Neill, 4
27. Tommy Delutz Jr., 3
28. Jeff Lizzi, 2
(tie) Todd Book, 2
(tie) Billy Oatman, 2
31. Ritchie Allen, 1
(tie) Mike Edwards, 1