For the past six months, the PBA has engaged in an extensive research project to try to identify “The 60 Most Memorable Moments in PBA History” with the help of past players, veteran bowling writers, industry representatives, etc.

The list that began with twice as many contending memories has been culled down to the 60 most memorable moments, and the top 10 will be revealed to the viewing public during Sunday’s live ESPN coverage of the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic…and Xtra Frame viewers will get a sneak peak at the top 10 during coverage of Saturday night’s PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration dinner.

The remaining 50 moments will be revealed systematically in the weeks ahead, as part of the PBA’s year-long celebration of its first 60 years.

“It isn’t a list of the best moments, or the most historic,” said PBA Vice President of Marketing Janay Haggerty, who coordinated the project. “It boils down to the moments that made for the greatest memories, and as any PBA fan knows, there are hundreds of great memories to choose from. It’ll be fun to hear the reaction of fans as we reveal the moments our panel of experts selected.”

The 60 Most Memorable Moments in PBA History will be revealed on all of the PBA Network’s media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, pba.com, etc. in the weeks ahead. To make sure you don’t miss out, follow the PBA on Facebook or Instagram (pbatour), subscribe to the PBA channel on YouTube (PBABowling) and tweet along on Twitter (@pbatour).

Field of eligible candidates set for Saturday’s PBA League Draft

The list of eligible players for the 2018 PBA League Draft that takes place Saturday in Indianapolis has been confirmed. Each of the eight PBA League managers will select two players from the eligibility list beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET at Woodland Bowl. The draft will be lived streamed on PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel.

The eligibility list consists of PBA members who are in the top 75 PBA on the National Tour/WBT earnings list for 2017 plus 2018 events through the just-completed PBA Tournament of Champions. No new names were added based on TOC results, but two players – Bryon Smith and Chris Warren – voluntarily withdrew their names from consideration.

The draft order will be reverse order of finish from last year, beginning with No. 8 Brooklyn followed by Motown, NYC, LA, Philadelphia, Silver Lake, Portland and Dallas.

The complete list of players who are already on team rosters includes the following:

• Shipyard Dallas Strikers: Player-manager Norm Duke, Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill
• Port Property Portland Lumberjacks: Ryan Ciminelli, Wes Malott, Kyle Troup
• Go Bowling! Silver Lake Atom Splitters: Chris Barnes, Jesper Svensson, Tom Daugherty
• Sysco Philadelphia Hitmen: Dom Barrett, Tom Smallwood, Ronnie Russell
• bowlingball.com L.A. X: Jason Belmonte, Stuart Williams, Martin Larsen
• GEICO NYC WTT KingPins: Pete Weber, Marshall Kent, Sam Cooley
• Barbasol Motown Muscle: EJ Tackett, Francois Lavoie, Anthony Simonsen
• Brooklyn Styles: Parker Bohn III, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Sean Rash

Only 16 of the eligible players listed below (in alphabetical order) will be drafted, so it’s a certainty that a number of deserving players will have to wait another year: Dick Allen, Andrew Anderson, Pontus Andersson, Brad Angelo, DJ Archer, Zeke Bayt, Josh Blanchard, Kim Bolleby, Charlie Brown, Jakob Butturff, AJ Chapman, Jeff Evans, Graham Fach, Trey Ford, Daniel Fransson, Andres Gomez, Rafiq Ismail, Liz Johnson, AJ Johnson, Shota Kawazoe, Nick Kruml, Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thomas Larsen, Brian LeClair, Chris Loschetter, Francois Louw, Shawn Maldonado, Danielle McEwan, Matthew McNiel, Brad Miller, BJ Moore, Brandon Novak, Matthew O’Grady, Greg Ostrander, Rhino Page, Osku Palermaa, Anthony Pepe, Connor Pickford, Kristopher Prather, Matthew Sanders, Kyle Sherman, Jason Sterner, John Szczerbinski, Darren Tang, Richie Teece, Chris Via, Cameron Weier, Zacharay Wilkins, and Dave Wodka.

The PBA League will return to Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, in April. After the PBA Xtra Frame Maine Shootout April 17-18 (a PBA Tour title event), all PBAL teams will bowl an eight-game Baker “seeding tournament” on April 20.

The PBAL quarterfinals will take place on April 21 with the No. 1 seeded team vs. No. 8 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 on the first ESPN show that airs on April 22, followed by team No. 2 vs. No. 7, and No. 3 vs. No. 6 in the show that will air on April 29. Semifinal and Elias Cup final matches will be contested on April 22 to air on ESPN on May 6 and 13, respectively.

Even at 84, Carmen Salvino isn’t pleased with level of performance

At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, PBA Hall of Famer Carmen Salvino made history again, throwing a ball in Professional Bowlers Association competition at age 84 to become the oldest player ever to compete in a PBA Tour event. He got nine pins on his first shot, converted his spare and completed game one with a respectable 204.

The only person in the field who also bowled in the first PBA tournament ever held (1959, Albany, N.Y.), Salvino had a mixed day. He followed his 204 with games of 146, 135, 152, 169, and just when you might think he was tired or ready to throw in the towel, he had a 205 followed by a 258 before closing with a 131.

For his 16 qualifying games, he averaged a modest 178, disappointing by personal standards he set in a 17-title career spanning all 60 years of the PBA’s existence, but he partly blamed himself. The biggest issue, he noted, was his recent lack of bowling in a competitive environment to get ready for the tournament.

“You can’t practice for PBA Tour lane conditions at home. When you get out here, moving from one pair of lanes to the next, things change so much it’s like bowling one game in this center and the next game in a completely different center,” he said, offering sound advice for any would-be PBA competitor. “You can’t practice for this level of competition by bowling in league play back home.”

Salvino concluded his tournament by bowling his final qualifying round Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET. Only the top 37 after 16 games advance to Thursday’s cashers round, remaining in contention for Sunday’s 1 p.m. live ESPN stepladder finals.

But he won’t concede this is his final PBA Tour event. “I bowled in the 50th anniversary event. I bowled in the 60th anniversary event and I’ll probably bowl in the 70th anniversary tournament,” he said. “I just hope the news media is still around to cover it when I do.”

Visit “In the News” on pba.com later in the week for links to newspaper and television features about Salvino’s historic appearance in Indianapolis.

“Beat the 60th Anniversary Classic” Champion Challenge begins Monday

In honor of Go Bowling! PBA Tour’s 60th Anniversary season, the PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game is offering players a PBA 60th Anniversary tournament inside the new Anniversary venue.

To enter, download PBA Bowling Challenge and start bowling on Monday, Feb. 19 at noon. Beat the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic winner’s score, and you’ll be eligible to win the sweepstakes.

The Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic finals air Sunday at 1 p.m. EST on ESPN. Each tournament score that beats the winner’s score will count as an entry. One entry will be randomly selected as the winner and will receive a bowling pin signed by the winner plus 5,000 Gold Pins! Players can enter scores as often as they wish between 1 p.m. EST on Feb. 19 and 12:59 a.m. EST on Feb. 26. Here is a link to the official rules.

Everyone with a mobile device is invited to join the fun. The PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game app is a free download at Google Play and Apple App stores.

Marshall Kent provides his “Perspective” on 2017 Oklahoma Open victory

Marshall Kent (pictured above) reveals personal insights into his 2017 victory over Chris Barnes to win the Grand Hotel Casino & Resort PBA Oklahoma Open in Shawnee, Okla., in the newest edition of PBA Player’s Perspective on Xtra Frame. The feature debuts today.

The Xtra Frame Player’s Perspective series presents a new inside look at PBA competition every Thursday, followed a week later by availability of the exclusive interview on PBA’s YouTube channel.

Recent Perspective’s include Pete Weber (2012 U.S. Open). Rhino Page (2017 PBA Xtra Frame Kenn-Feld Group Classic); Chris Barnes (2015 DHC PBA Japan Invitational); Tom Daugherty (2016 Wolf Open) and EJ Tackett/Tommy Jones (2017 FireLake Tournament of Champions). Additional perspectives will be announced in the coming weeks.

Xtra Frame subscription packages are offered for three days, a full month or a 12-month Xtra Frame Season Ticket. For subscription and schedule information click here.

PBA Regional Update: Amateurs win in “Challenge” Doubleheader

Amateurs Justin Mandell of Orlando, Fla., and Hector Valenzuela of Whitsett, N.C., were victorious in Sunday’s PBA and PBA50 BreakPoint Alley Challenge events in Tavares, Fla. Both tournaments, presented by DV8, were open to bowlers who had not previously won a PBA title.

Mandell defeated Anthony Coats of Pflugerville, Texas, 203-191, to win the standard challenge event and $1,600. Valenzuela defeated Craig Auerbach of Sunrise, Fla., 186-171, in the PBA50 event for a $1,500 payday. Neither player earned credit for a PBA title because they were not PBA members at the time they won.

The PBA South Region’s second weekend of competition includes the PBA50 Dave Edwards Toyota Spartanburg South Open at Paradise Lanes in Spartanburg, S.C., over the Feb. 16-18 weekend.

For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, click here to find the event(s) in your area.

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