The American Forces Network, a non-commercial television service made available by the U.S. Department of Defense, will continue to air PBA telecasts to more than a half million active duty, uniformed personnel based in 175 locations around the world, thanks to the renewal of an ongoing agreement with the PBA.

PBA programming will be provided to AFN at no cost, PBA Commissioner Tom Clark announced. The subscription-free cable and satellite television service and can be viewed by U.S. military personnel located on U.S. bases and installations outside of the U.S., including on ships at sea.

"Without the ongoing support of the PBA, other sport leagues and various contributors of televised content in all genres, our nation's troops would not be able to watch quality programming from home while serving their nation abroad," said AFN spokesman Andy Scott.

 

Svensson, McNeil and Allen win World Series Regional events

Part of the tradition of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling is a pair of PBA Regional tournaments conducted by PBA West Region manager Gary Mage: the South Point All-Regions Open and the PBA West Region's South Point Member/Non-Member Doubles.

In the All-Regions Open, Jesper Svensson (pictured; photo by Randy Gulley) of Sweden, a two-hander who bowls from the left side, defeated two-time PBA Tour winner Thomas Larsen of Denmark, 259-214, in the championship match to win his first PBA Regional title, a $3,000 first prize and eligibility to enter the 50th anniversary Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions Feb. 10-15 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.

In the semifinals, Svensson, who went 7-0 in match play, defeated Kim Bolleby of Sweden, 300-228, to advance to the championship match and Larsen defeated five-time PBA Tour winner Eric Forkel of Las Vegas, 209-192.

In the doubles championship match, non-member Matt McNeil of Prior Lake, Minn., teamed up with 13-time Tour winner Patrick Allen of Baltimore to defeat non-member Terry Rohrer of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Tour winner Jason Sterner of Riverdale, Ga., 382-376. The winners also went undefeated in match play (7-0) and split the $4,000 first prize.

The tournaments, held on the closing weekend of WSOB VI, drew a singles field of 146 players and doubles field of 59 teams.

 

Team of PBA All-Stars to represent Team USA in World Men's Championships

An all-star team of PBA stars will represent the United States in the World Men's Bowling Championships Dec. 6-14 at Zayed Sports City in UAE.

Players selected by Team USA head coach Rod Ross (pictured left) and staff are Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas; Mike Fagan, Fort Worth, Texas; Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C.; Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash.; Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., and Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill.

The World Bowling men's championships, held every fourth year, will include teams from 52 countries bowling for Singles, Doubles, Trios, five-player Team, All-Events and Masters medals. A number of PBA International members also will compete, representing their home countries.

The U.S. led the last Men's World Championships medal harvest, winning three gold, two silver and three bronze medals.

 

Nominations due November 26 for Tony Reyes Community Service Award

A reminder: nominations for the 2014 Tony Reyes Community Service award are due soon. The award will be presented to a PBA member in good standing, based upon the extraordinary community service, charitable and/or educational contributions the nominee has made during the 2014 calendar year.

The postmark deadline for nominations will be Wednesday, Nov. 26. Nominees must be current PBA members in good standing. The winner will be selected by a PBA committee and announced along with the 2014 PBA Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winners early in 2015. Nominations may be submitted by anyone.

The nomination form is available here.

 

Everybody's a winner in GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling selfie promotion

During the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VI, the High 5 Gear Selfie contest produced five lucky winners who accumulated the most re-tweets from "selfie" photos taken during the World Series.

Each winner had the opportunity to bowl against a PBA star in a one-ball showdown as part of WSOB telecasts, which will be seen on ESPN in the weeks ahead. To avoid spoiling the outcomes in advance, you're invited to watch the WSOB finals on ESPN on five consecutive Sundays, beginning Dec. 14 at 1 p.m. ET

 

Eddie Elias Tournament rewards Akron students with scholarships

Three students earned $7,000 in scholarships in the fifth annual Edward G. Elias Bowling Tournament held at the University of Akron Student Union Game Room, honoring the late PBA founder.

The annual event, created by Elias' widow Peggy, is a tribute to the former University of Akron graduate who lettered in basketball, baseball and served as student council president during his college years.

 

PBA Regional Summary: Back to action for regional players

With PBA WSOB VI over, PBA Regional activity will be back into full-speed action in November, beginning with a Nov. 7-9 schedule that includes the PBA Village Lanes South Open in Gloucester, Va.; the PBA50 Victory Lanes Midwest/Central Open in Kankakee, Ill.; the Colorado Springs Harmony Bowl Southwest Open presented by Budweiser; Doug Kent's Upstate New York Over/Under Doubles at Rose Bowl Lanes in Newark, N.Y., and the PBA Japan Women's and Scorpion Opens at Higashiyamato Grand Bowl.

The Nov. 14-16 schedule includes the PBA50 Liberty Lanes South Open in Gastonia, N.C.; the Go Bowl Northwest Doubles (a reduced entry fee tournament) in Pasco, Wash., and the Pro Bowl West Central/Midwest Cheetah Classic (a one-day reduced entry fee event) in Ft. Wayne, Ind.

On the Nov. 21-23 schedule are the PBA50 Bryan's Bowling Center Eastern Open presented by The Insurance Market in Laurel, Del.; the PBA50 Dick's Pro Shop Northwest/West Open at Linn Lanes in Lebanon, Ore.; the Dallas Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons Southwest Open at Brunswick Zone in Watauga, Texas, and the PBA50 Shore Lanes Merritt Island Open presented by Storm and Sill's Pro Shop at Shore Lanes in Merritt Island, Fla.

Thanksgiving weekend includes the Beaumont Southwest Open at Crossroads Bowling Center in Beaumont, Texas, and the La-Z-Boy/Monroe Sport Center Central Challenge for non-titlists in Monroe, Mich.

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

 

Quick Notes

PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber (pictured left) was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in St. Charles, Mo., joining his legendary father Dick Weber among the elite Missouri sports figures who share the honor. It's third major hall of fame, including the PBA and USBC halls, to honor the father-son duo.

Detroit's Aleta Sill (pictured with Michelle Feldman, right), the first career millionaire in women's professional bowling, will be inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on February 12 in Detroit along with newly-retired New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and Michigan coaching legend Tom Izzo.

Other stars who will be inducted the same night include ex-Detroit Red Wings hockey stars Mike Modano and Sergei Fedorov, former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, Olympic swimming gold medalist Sheila Taormina, and ex-Detroit Lions defensive tackle Doug English.

PBA television broadcasting legend Chris Schenkel will be inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame on Sunday, Dec. 16, at the New York Hilton.

 

Related Articles

2014 PBA Spare Shots #39 - October 23, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #38 - October 16, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #37 - October 11, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #36 - October 3, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #35 - September 25, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #34 - September 18, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #33 - September 13, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #32 - September 6, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #31 - August 29, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #30 - August 22, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #29 - August 15, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #28 - August 7, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #27 - August 1, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #26 - July 24, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #25 - July 19, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #24 - July 10, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #23 - July 3, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #22 - June 28, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #21 - June 20, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #20 - June 13, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #19 - May 31, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #18 - May 22, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #17 - May 15, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #16 - May 10, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #15 - April 30, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #14 - April 25, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #13 - April 19, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #12 - April 10, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #11 - April 5, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #10 - March 27, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #09 - March 20, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #08 - March 14, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #07 - March 5, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #06 - February 20, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #05 - February 13, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #04 - January 31, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #03 - January 16, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #02 - January 10, 2014
2014 PBA Spare Shots #01 - January 4, 2014
2013 PBA Spare Shots