Wednesday May 16, 2012
Today, the PBA Tour announced the first two end-of-season awards as well as the three finalists for the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Award. There are no surprises here, and that's good, because it means the right people are winning the awards.
Josh Blanchard was named the 2012 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year, and it would have been a travesty had anyone other than Blanchard won that award. He was far and away the most successful rookie this past season (he led all rookies in average, earnings and points), even finding a way to permeate the national news media with his infamous fall into the gutter.
Martin Larsen was voted by his peers as the 2012 Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winner. Larsen is only the second international player ever to win the award.
The three finalists for the Player of the Year Award are the three everyone expected, and deservedly so: Sean Rash, Jason Belmonte and Mike Fagan. The winner will be announced on May 28 during the PBA Summer Shootout in Chicago.
Monday May 14, 2012
Three events into the 2012 PBA Senior Tour, we've yet to see a non-Junior win a tournament. Lennie Boresch, Jr. won the Senior Sun Bowl, followed by Walter Ray Williams, Jr. winning the Don Carter Open and then Bob Learn, Jr. taking the Senior Moorseville Classic.
Does this mean anything? Of course not. It's merely a semi-interesting coincidence. For now, though, every bowler on the Senior Tour should beware of anyone with a "Jr." behind his name.
The fourth event of the season, the Senior Dayton Classic gets underway tomorrow and will be broadcast on the PBA's subscription channel, Xtra Frame.
Event Recaps
Wednesday May 2, 2012
The voting is underway to determine the 2011-2012 PBA Player of the Year, and in my mind (and the minds of most who've weighed in), there are two possible winners: Jason Belmonte and Sean Rash.
Going into the Tournament of Champions, there was a three-way race between Belmonte, Mike Fagan and Norm Duke, but Rash's victory in the TOC knocked Fagan and Duke out of the conversation and left the voters with two valid cases for Player of the Year: Rash and Belmonte. I could see Fagan still being in the running, but I would be surprised if anyone other than Belmonte or Rash wins the award.
Here, in these articles, I attempt to make the case for both Belmonte and Rash:
Who's your pick? Who deserves to be Player of the Year?
Thursday April 19, 2012
The 2012 PBA Senior Tour gets underway Saturday with practice and pro-ams, and the actual competition begins Sunday in the PBA Senior Sun Bowl at Spanish Spring Lanes in The Villages, Florida. The first champion of the season will be crowned Tuesday night.
If this season is anything like last season, Ron Mohr will either win or nearly win this event. Coming off one of the most impressive individual seasons ever, will Mohr be able to continue his dominance?
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