Josh Hyde From: Bill Vint [[email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 8:15 PM Subject: PBA NEWS: PBA Fans Rank "Weber Wins Record Fifth U.S. Open" as Top PBA Story of 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations Professional Bowlers Association | 615 Second Avenue, Suite 680 | Seattle, WA 98104 [email protected] | cell: 414.339.0404 Fans Rank “Weber Wins Record Fifth U.S. Open” as Top PBA Story of 2012 More than 2.3 million unique fans visit PBA’s official website SEATTLE (Dec. 31, 2012) – More than 2.3 million fans visited pba.com, the official website of the Professional Bowlers Association, during 2012 and based upon the number of visits, ranked Pete Weber’s historic fifth U.S. Open title as the year’s top story. According to statistics gathered pertaining to pba.com, PBA fans visited the website just over 6.1 million times, with 2,354,715 unique visits. A total of more than 20.3 million pages were viewed during the course of the year. The most-frequented pages, in order, were the home page, PBA Regional Tours page, PBA Player Profiles page, and PBA Tour tournament information page. The most-visited news stories on pba.com for the year were: 1) Pete Weber’s fifth U.S. Open title to surpass the record he shared with his late father Dick Weber and his late father’s famous Budweiser teammate, Don Carter. Pete Weber’s post-victory exclamation, “Who do you think you are? I am,” also added to the legacy of his record title. 2) Former PBA Tour competitor Tony Reyes’ tragic death after an automobile accident in late September. 3) The PBA’s announcement of its “super-sized” 2012-13 season, expanding the PBA Tour season to 14 months to allow the PBA to return to calendar year scheduling effective Jan. 1, 2014. 4) Rhino Page’s selection as the No. 1 player picked in the inaugural PBA League Draft. 5) Kamron Doyle locking up a “cashing” finish in the U.S. Open at age 14, making him the youngest player ever to cash in a PBA Tour event (his earnings were deposited in his scholarship account). 6) Mike Fagan secures the top rung for the U.S. Open stepladder finals over Australia’s Jason Belmonte, Ryan Shafer and Pete Weber. 7) The media coverage surrounding the U.S. Open, reaching millions of newspaper readers, internet followers and social media fans, became one of the year’s biggest stories. 8) Chris Barnes earning the top berth for the Alka Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels USBC Masters finals. 9) Norm Duke wins PBA Detroit Open for his 35th career title. 10) Eugene McCune successfully defending his PBA Cheetah Open title. 11) Historic team bowling concept to debut with 2013 PBA League. 12) Chris Barnes bowls 300 one game too early as Jason Belmonte wins Shark Open. 13) Mike Fagan defeats Chris Barnes to win first major title in Alka Seltzer Plus Liquid Gels USBC Masters. 14) Sean Rash ends five-year title drought in winning PBA Tournament of Champions. 15) Ryan Shafer leads U.S. Open; Missy Parking becomes first woman to make match play finals. 16) Two-handed stars Jason Belmonte, Osku Palermaa eliminated in Dick Weber PBA Playoffs. 17) Mike Wolfe averages 253 to earn top berth for Cheetah Championship finals. 1 18) Jason Belmonte keeps PBA World Series of Bowling IV “three-peat” hopes alive as top qualifier for PBA World Championship. 19) Comedian/podcast star Chris Hardwick joins lineup of PBA League celebrity owners. 20) Original PBA superstar Don Carter dies at age 85. More detailed insight into the year’s top PBA stories will be provided by blogger Jason Thomas, “The Bowling Guy,” on pba.com. About the PBA The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,200 of the best bowlers from 17 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional and PBA50 Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands around the world watch PBA activities on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive video streaming service. PBA sponsors include Alka Seltzer Plus, Bayer, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, Jack Link’s, MOTIV, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com . # # # 2 Josh Hyde From: Bill Vint [[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2012 2:23 PM Subject: PBA NEWS: Angelo Ends Four-Year Title Slump with PBA Viper Championship Victory FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Dec. 23, 2012) Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations Professional Bowlers Association | 719 Second Avenue, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98104 [email protected] | cell: 414.339.0404 Angelo Ends Four-Year Title Slump with PBA Viper Championship Victory Two clutch strikes, eight-count in 10th frame lock up second career title LAS VEGAS – Brad Angelo of Lockport, N.Y, with two strikes and an eight-count in the 10th frame, ended four years of frustration with a 233-232 victory over Finland’s Mika Koivuniemi to win the Professional Bowlers Association Viper Championship at South Point Hotel and Casino. Angelo, who won his only PBA Tour title in the 2008 Viper Championship in Omaha, Neb., came into the Viper Championship finals as the top qualifier, but got help from Koivuniemi in the final frame before pulling off his clutch victory. The Viper Championship, the second of five PBA Tour events held as part of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IV at South Point, aired Sunday on ESPN. “The finals are airing on my birthday, and I guarantee there will be an absolute blow-out Christmas party, slash birthday party, slash victory number two party at Brad Angelo Lanes,” the now 43-year-old Angelo said. Koivuniemi started the title match with a 4-10 split and an open frame. Angelo returned the favor in the third frame when he left a 4-6-7 split and opened. Neither bowler missed the pocket after those errors, although each left and converted a single-pin spare. The contest came down to the 10th frame where Koivuniemi, working on a string of four strikes, added a fifth on his first shot. Needing nine pins and a spare to lock up the title, Koivuniemi left the 3-6-9-10 to give Angelo a chance to win with a double and eight pins, and that’s exactly what the 11-year PBA Tour veteran got. “Mika gave me a chance, but I feel for him,” Angelo said. “I’ve bowled against him for 25 years and he’s about as classy as they come. He made some great shots to virtually shut me out, and the next thing I know, he got six (pins). “All you ever want is a chance. That’s what I kept saying to myself, give me a chance,” Angelo continued. “I thought I needed nine pins to win. I guess it didn’t register that he got six pins, not seven, but I didn’t look at the score. That’s the first time in my career I didn’t look to see what I really needed; I just got up and tried to make three quality shots.” The victory was redemption for four years of extreme frustration for Angelo. 3 “My slow years were certainly not for lack of effort,” he said. “I dealt with the evolution of the sport. Bowling with so much friction on the lanes here in Las Vegas, a guy like me without the speed and rev rate some of the power guys have, is pretty much nullified. “Some of these guys – and they’re great players – have an advantage over guys like me. My weak 10 pin is their messenger 10-pin strike. My 2-10 split could be another strike for them because they can send the headpin off the wall. “It’s been a struggle, but today I feel great. Great,” he said with a grin. “Hopefully I’ve silenced some of the people who decided that my career is over. Hopefully I’ve shoved that right in their mouths.” Koivuniemi advanced to the title match with a 214-150 victory over Mike Fagan of Dallas in the first match, and a 258-180 win over reigning PBA Player of the Year Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., in the semifinal match. The GEICO World Series of Bowling continues on ESPN next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with the finals of the Chameleon Championship. Finalists will include Bahrain’s Fawaz Abdulla, the first Middle Eastern player to reach the nationally-televised finals of a PBA Tour event; 2010-11 PBA Rookie of the Year Scott Norton of Costa Mesa, Calif.; PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr., of Ocala, Fla., the winningest player in PBA history with 47 PBA Tour titles, and top qualifier Jason Belmonte of Australia, a two-handed player who won three titles during World Series of Bowling III in 2011. Pre- and post-telecast shows for all PBA-ESPN telecasts will be available on Xtra Frame, PBA’s online bowling channel. VIPER CHAMPIONSHIP South Point Exhibition Hall, Las Vegas Final Standings: 1, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., $20,000. 2, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, $10, 000. 3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., $7,000. 4, Mike Fagan, Dallas, $5,000. Stepladder Results: Match One – Koivuniemi def. Fagan, 214-150. Semifinal Match – Koivuniemi def. Rash, 258-180. Championship – Angelo def. Koivuniemi, 233-232. About the PBA The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,200 of the best bowlers from 17 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional and PBA50 Tour events.