Bowlers Journal International - February 2008 - (Page 36) COVER STORY BY DENNIS BERGENDORF THE ROAD MORE TRAVELED The route to the Denny's Tour can involve cheap motel rooms, fast food and lots of gasoline. For some, however, it's a small price to pay for bowling Nirvana. THEY PLY THE NATION'S HIGHWAYS, odometers swelling by hundreds of miles a pop, in an often futile quest for bowling immortality. They hit as many as 30 tournaments in a nine or 10-month span, in towns large and small, from Las Vegas and Chicago to Mission, Texas (on the banks of the Rio Grande, not far from Brownsville). In the world of professional bowling, they perform what could be called surgical attacks on the pins, rolling as few as eight games, then leaving with little fanfare, sometimes under the cover of darkness. When they score well and are invited back for Sunday’s elimination match play, they often play to sparse crowds of wives, girlfriends and the curious. They are the weekend warriors. The unsung heroes of the PBA. Men and women whose dream of one day bowling under the ESPN lights cannot be quashed by a seemingly endless strip of asphalt, quirky conditions and fast food. They do it month in and month out because the carrot at the end of the stick is a ticket to the Denny’s Tour, with its guaranteed $1,800 paychecks, a possible contract with a bowling ball company that can double the winnings, autograph seekers and big (relatively speaking) crowds. Gaining an exemption, becoming a genuine professional bowler, is “what I’ve wanted to do since I started watching bowling as a teenager,” says Chet Rogers, who is in the fight of his young life for the points title in the Northwest region. With one tournament left this season, the 27-year-old leads an even younger Cory Husted by a mere 10,727 points. With a title worth 25,000 points, both Rogers and Husted understand what's at stake. If the latter name rings a bell, it’s because Cory is the son of PBA Hall of Famer Dave Husted. Regarded by some as a prodigy, Cory is confident that he’ll soon be on Tour, even if he fails to pass Rogers this time out. “I want to win it, but I know I’ll be out Chris Warren (center) had his pro career resurrected by the Regional Tour. Ken Simard (right) is happy to be on the Denny's Tour, but often feels like he's a step behind the established pros. David Leverage (left) says he enjoys the competition, but dislikes the lifestyle on the road. 36 bowlers journal international FEBRUARY 2008 ROY MUSITELLI
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