Bowlers Journal International - November 2008 - (Page 26) Inside Line News, Notes And Perspective 267-238. Koivuniemi was able to keep the match from getting out of hand, however, as he piled on the strikes to beat Mack, 287-211. Just like that, the U.S. lead was back down to one point, 9-8. The Europeans reverted to their dismal Baker record of old, however, and got trounced, 269-178. So it was back to a two-point lead for the U.S., 10-8. “I got the guys together and told them to step on the gas,” Mack said of his pep talk before the final day of action. “I told Tommy to turn it on like Tommy Jones can; I told Jason that if he could notch a win against Osku, we could get some momentum going.” The renewed intensity was needed as Palermaa/Barrett gave Barnes/Jones everything they could handle. The crowd was treated to a 289-286 victory by the Americans in a More than 600 spectators packed the Barnsley Metrodome for each session of the Weber Cup. match that, for a while, looked like it could end up 300-300. There were glum faces on the European side when Couch clobbered Koivuniemi, 252-192, giving the U.S. a 12-8 lead. The squads then started alternating victories — Moor/ Torgersen over Weber/Mack, 279-201 Jones over Palermaa 224-218 Koivuniemi/ Barrett over Barnes/Weber, WEBER CUP CLIPPINGS • Considering the tournament is named after his father, it may seem surprising that it took nine editions of the event before Pete Weber was included on the American team for the Weber Cup. So what kept PDW away? Had he simply not been asked to bowl on the U.S. squad? “I’ve been invited to play in this event several times,” Weber says. “Before, it was always right up against the USBC Masters — that’s a title I’ve always wanted. (This season) the calendar has changed, and I’m honored to play an event dedicated to the memory of my father.” Last year, the Masters kicked off the PBA Tour season. In 2008-09, it has been moved to the season’s second half. • Weber was one of two players on the U.S. squad who did not take part last year. The other: Jason Couch. They took the places of Doug Kent and Bill Hoffman. • Tomas Leandersson turned over the captaincy of the European team to Osku Palermaa, who filled out his squad with fellow Finn Mika Koivuniemi, England’s Paul Moor and Dominic Barrett, and Norway’s Tore Torgersen. • The event, produced by England’s Matchroom Sport, was aired live Oct. 3-5, and also taped for worldwide distribution as a series of 18 one-hour programs. • If history repeats, look for the European team to win the Weber Cup in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The U.S. won the first three Cup championships (2000-02), Europe won the next three (2003-05), and now the U.S. has again won three straight (2006-08). • View frame-by-frame recaps of the 2008 matches in the “Tournaments” section online at bowlersjournal.com. 279-218 and then a U.S. win in the Baker game, 213-206. With one session remaining, the U.S. led, 14-10. There was rapturous applause for Palermaa as he defeated Barnes, 268-248, narrowing the gap to 14-11. It got even tighter when Koivuniemi beat Weber, 257-221. But then Couch downed Moor, 226-206, and when Jones beat Barrett, 258-227, the U.S. moved to within one point of victory. Torgersen kept Europe’s hopes alive with a 227-184 win over Mack, but in the next Baker team game, the U.S. rolled to an easy 258185 victory, and it was all over. The final score: 17-13. “The points don’t show how close it really was,” Mack commented afterward. “So many matches went down to the 10th frame, but my guys were great today. We won it in the Baker (games) again when we pulled together and bowled really well.” 26 Bowlers Journal International | November 2008 www.bowlersjournal.com http://www.bowlersjournal.com http://www.bowlersjournal.com
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