Bowlers Journal International - March 2008 - (Page 37)

BY BOB JOHNSON TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS THE MOST IMPROBABLE OF COMEBACKS Down by 52 pins with four frames to go, Michael Haugen Jr. refused to give up. If you've watched even one PBA Tour telecast this season, you are aware that Walter Ray Williams Jr. has a TV commercial contract with Denny's. We've always known what a great bowler and horseshoe pitcher "Deadeye" is, but his hand-eye coordination has proven to be a bit lacking when it comes to getting a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth. Practice apparently does not make perfect in egg eating because, time after time, Walter Ray's eggs fall just short of his lips and plummet to his plate. No wonder the guy's so thin. Lots of bowlers have endorsement deals with companies in the bowling industry. Just check out the logos on their shirts. However, a deal with an outside company — even an outside company that is involved with bowling, such as Denny's — is rare. But we've come up with the perfect bowler-company pairing. It would be a marriage made in endorsement heaven. Better than Michael Jordan and Hanes. Bigger than Tiger Woods and Nike. Are you ready for it? Chris Barnes and Avis. You know, the company that came up with the "We Try Harder" slogan as a way of making its perennial ranking as the No. 2 car rental company seem not so, well, un-No. 1. Think about it: Through the 2008 H&R Block Tournament of Champions, Barnes had finished second (i.e., lost) in 15 more televised PBA matches than he'd finished first (i.e., won). And in title matches, he had finished second 10 more times than he'd finished first. Like Avis, this guy knows what it's like to be No. 2. But here's the ironic part. While Avis tries harder because it's No. 2, Barnes is No. 2 because he tries harder. That's the opinion of several fellow exempt players, all of whom agree that nobody on the Denny's PBA Tour wants to win more than Chris Barnes. And that desire, they suspect, is what sometimes makes Barnes become very un-Barnes-like when the TV lights are turned on and a title is on the line. He wants it so much — perhaps too much. He even has described himself as a "control freak," meaning that he wants to throw every ball perfectly. Good luck on that one. The latest beneficiary of an ill-timed Barnes blunder: Michael Haugen Jr., a self-described journeyman player who qualified for the 2008 Tournament of Champions just eight events prior to its run at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas. Had the Red Rock book posted odds on the Barnes-Haugen title match, Barnes would have been the prohibitive favorite. A bigger favorite than the Patriots were over the Giants in the following Sunday’s Super Bowl. But just as the Pats would blow their perfect season in the game that meant the most, Barnes found a way to lose a match he should have had no trouble winning in one of the PBA Tour’s most prestigious tournaments. Through six frames, Barnes was coasting. He’d started the game with a turkey, converted a 2-pin in the 4th frame, and then doubled. Haugen, meanwhile, needed a GPS to find the pocket as a pair of splits (the 4-6-7 in the 2nd frame and the 4-7-10 in the 5th) had left him 52 pins in arrears. All Barnes needed to do was "fill" his final four frames, and the $50,000 title would be his. But in the 7th frame, the momentum bowlers journal international 37 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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