The hard fall of rookie Josh Blanchard (pictured left) in last week's PBA World Championship Mike Aulby Division Final seen on ESPN has attracted a lot of national media attention.

He has been featured on ESPN SportsCenter, ESPN Around the Horn, ESPN Pardon the Interruption, ESPNews, LIVE with Kelly Ripa, the Howard Stern Show and numerous other local sportscasts.

His misfortune has also become a YouTube hit, among other internet blog sites, with hundreds of thousands of views.

 

PTI's Tony Kornheiser accepted a challenge from Blanchard and as a result plans are in the works to schedule a match at Tony's hometown lanes of Strike Bethesda (Md.) sometime in the future.

"I would have never dreamed in a million years that it would have gotten this much attention," said the former Wichita State bowler. "Everything happens for a reason and I'm actually having a lot of fun with it. I'm looking at it as an opportunity to turn it into a positive for the sport."

"Josh is a future star of the sport and we know one day soon he will be able to turn his rough debut on TV into a great story of perseverance," added PBA Commissioner Tom Clark.

Jason Belmonte won the Mike Aulby Division final with a 300 game during the show. He will be featured with Osku Palermaa, Sean Rash and Ryan Shafer in the PBA World Championship final telecast Sunday on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET.

 

Sean Rash to fulfill "wish" for young cancer victim

Sean Rash (left) will fulfill the "wish" of 16-year-old Benjamin Doyle of Casper, Wyo., providing the young cancer victim with a personal visit and a bowling lesson during the Alka-Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels USBC Masters.

Rash will meet with Doyle, who is suffering from brain cancer, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, at Strike Zone inside Sunset Station Hotel/Casino in Henderson, Nev., in response to a request from the Make A Wish Foundation.

Doyle and his family also will be invited to attend the live ESPN coverage of the USBC Masters finals on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. PT as guests of the PBA and USBC.

 

PBA REGIONAL UPDATE

Thanks to an 8-0 match play record, Dale Traber (left) of Cedarburg, Wis., won the T-Byrd Lanes Senior Open regional in Rochelle, Ill., Jan. 8 for his ninth Senior regional title to go along with his 38 regular regional titles.

In the title match, he defeated Robert Flaws of Chicago Ridge, Ill., 226-179, to take home the $1,500 first prize

PBA Regional activity continues for Midwest and Central senior players with the Lynwood Bowl Senior Open in Lynwood, Ill., Jan. 20-22, and the Sparetime Lanes Senior Open, Feb. 3-5, in Decatur, Ill. Both events are sponsored by Allstate Insurance.

The PBA Central Region also will conduct the Legend Lanes Regular/Senior Doubles Classic in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Jan. 27-29. February's highlight for non-senior players include the new Regional Players Doubles Championship presented by Hammer Feb. 10-12 at The Orleans in Las Vegas.

For complete Regional tournament schedules and entry information, click here.

 

XTRA Frame free pre-game show previews PBA World Championship finals telecast

Xtra Frame, PBA's official online bowling channel, continues its free pre- and post-game shows this week with the PBA World Championship finals, beginning with a pre-game introduction that is currently available on pba.com.

Sunday's ESPN telecast of the 2011-12 season's first major championship will be a contest between international two-handed stars Osku Palermaa (left) of Finland and Jason Belmonte (right) of Australia along with American veterans Ryan Shafer (below left) of Horseheads, N.Y., and Sean Rash (below right) of Montgomery, Ill.

At stake is a $50,000 first prize, a major title and an automatic berth in the Round of 36 for the end-of-season PBA Tournament of Champions.

Pre-game shows for all PBA Tour events debut on Wednesday afternoon preceding each Sunday telecast. A post-game show, featuring an interview with the tournament champion and a discussion of equipment used during the finals, will be posted immediately after the telecast.

Xtra Frame subscribers also can access the archives within Xtra Frame for a recap of all tournaments previously aired on ESPN.

 

International Update

After a grueling final day of competition, 13-time PBA Tour winner and 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year Chris Barnes (left) topped 18-year-old, and hometown favorite Magnus Johnson Jr., to win the 32nd AIK International Tournament in Stockholm, Sweden.

With a 70-pin lead heading into the final game, Barnes held off a challenge from Johnson to win the event by 15 pins, finishing with a 4,794 20-game pinfall (with bonus) to Johnson's 4,779.

Several other PBA Tour players are competing in the Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Helsinki, Finland this week including Tommy Jones and PBA World Championship finalists Sean Rash and Osku Palermaa.

 

Related Articles

2012 PBA Spare Shots #1 - Jan. 5, 2012
2011 PBA Spare Shots