Bowlers Journal International - March 2008 - (Page 28)

PROBOWLING P.A. & LIZ: BOWLERS OF THE CALENDAR YEAR Allen and Johnson are honored for their on-lanes performances from January thru December 2007. IT DIDN'T TURN OUT AS CLOSE AS many political elections, but when members of the Bowling Writers Association of America cast their ballots for 2007 Male and Female Bowlers of the Year, the result was far from a foregone conclusion. Case in point No. 1: Patrick Allen neither led the Denny’s PBA Tour in earnings, nor had the most championship round appearances for the 21 events conducted between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007. Case in point No. 2: Liz Johnson did not win a title in the four PBA Women’s Series events, and finished in a disappointing 17th-place tie in the WIBC Queens, the highest paying women’s tournament of the year. Nevertheless, Allen and Johnson were judged to have performed the best overall in 2007, duplicating the Bowler of the Year designation each earned in 2005. The highlight of Allen’s calendar year record: three Denny's PBA Tour titles, one more than Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Sean Rash. Williams, with eight TV finals appearances, had one more than Allen, while Pete Weber was the year’s leading money winner with $189,130. When the ballots were counted, Allen came away with 46 first-place votes and 269 overall points. A 53-1 point system was used, as voters named their top three choices. Williams, who holds the record with seven Bowler of the Year awards, earned runner-up honors this time, collecting 24 first-place votes and 208 points. The others on the ballot — Rash (134 points), Chris Barnes (114) and Weber (60) — also received some first-place support. On the women’s side, Johnson’s margin was slightly more convincing as she picked up 46 first-place votes and 292 points. Diandra Asbaty was next, garnering 20 first-place votes and 173 points, followed by Carolyn 28 bowlers journal international Dorin-Ballard (156), Kelly Kulick (132) and Wendy Macpherson (28). Just as with the men’s ballot, all five of the women listed received some firstplace votes. Johnson won the USBC-revived U.S. Women's Open for her biggest victory of the year. The remainder of her season’s highlights came in competition with or against men. PRO-POURRI WINNING A TITLE ON THE PBA Tour is not easy. Just ask Brian LeClair. Among exempt players, he has bowled in more events than anyone without notching a title: 267 (through the Exempt Doubles Classic in late January). The No. 2 spot on that list belongs to one of the two runners-up in the Exempt Doubles, Joe Ciccone, with 149 starts and no titles. MISSING IN ACTION: THROUGH the Exempt Doubles, reigning Player of the Year Doug Kent had not made an ESPN telecast in 2007-08. CHRIS BARNES DID NOT HAVE a great day in Las Vegas on January 27. First, he suffered that crushing defeat in the title match of the H&R Block Tournament of Champions on live TV, then he had to come back soon thereafter to bowl in the first match of the taped Exempt Doubles finals — which he also lost. The only good thing that happened that day: Barnes moved into 15th place on the PBA's all-time earnings list, passing Earl Anthony. With senior pro Roger Kossert, Johnson won the PBA’s Ladies and Legends event. She also placed higher in the USBC Masters than she did in the Queens, finishing in a tie for 13th that included an 843 three-game set in one of her matches. Johnson also finished 12th in the PBA Tour Trails and, although she didn’t win a Women’s Series event, there were no finishes lower than fifth on her record in the four events on the schedule. There was some controversy on the women’s side, caused by the inadvertent omission on the ballot's stats sheet of a title Asbaty won late in the year — an open entry tournament in Panama that paid $20,000. As it was, as a Team USA representative, she won the World Ranking Masters tournament, Doubles and All-Events gold medals in the Pan American Games, and a Masters gold medal in the WTBA Women’s World Championship. A second-place finish in the USBC Queens and an opportunistic victory in the PBA Women’s Series event in Wyoming, Mich., when she got into the tournament as the second alternate, capped off Asbaty's outstanding — but apparently not outstanding enough — season. Further complicating the voting on the women’s ballot was the fact Asbaty collected medals and titles competing in events not available to the four others on the Bowler of the Year ballot. With Team USA embracing professionals beginning this year, it’s one issue that should, thankfully, go away. Asbaty appears to be a cinch for BWAA’s Woman Amateur Bowler of the Year award, to go along with the similar honor she earned from BJI. The BWAA has selected the top male bowler on a calendar year basis since 1942, and the top woman since 1948. — Lyle Zikes MARCH 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Bowlers Journal International - March 2008

Bowlers Journal International - March 2008 Contents Leading Off Letters Bowlitically Incorrect Par Bowling The Coach Calendar Inside Line Tournaments The Truth Be Bowled Pro Bowling Back On Track Weber Tales Spares Do Matter Cover Story Up Close USBC Women's Time Capsule Flashback Strategy Session Guest Column Regional Roundup Team USA Trials Military Salute Global Guide No Holes Barred Marketplace Bowling Summit Museum Update Hall Marks Advertisers' Index Rememberance Classified Advertising Intelligencer Business Calendar Business People Strikes Me

Bowlers Journal International - March 2008

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