Josh Hyde From: Bill Vint [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 11:36 AM Subject: PBA NEWS: Rash Heads Field for Sunday's PBA World Championship Johnny Petraglia Division Finals FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Dec. 27, 2011) Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations Professional Bowlers Association | 719 Second Avenue, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98104 [email protected] | cell: 414.339.0404 Rash Tops Field for PBA World Championship Petraglia Division Finals Hall of Famer Weber, young players advance to third of four ESPN eliminator battles on Sunday LAS VEGAS – Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., after a dominating performance in the qualifying rounds of the Pr ofessional Bowlers Association’s World Series of Bowling, will head a mixed field of four experienced and youthful players in Sunday’s Johnny Petraglia Division finals of the PBA World Championship which will air at 1 p.m. ET in high-definition on ESPN. The Petraglia Division is the third of four eliminator rounds that will reduce a field of 16 PBA World Championship finalists down to four for the Sunday, Jan. 15, showdown for the $50,000 first prize, the Earl Anthony Trophy and the PBA Tour’s first major title of the 2011-12 season. All World Championship competition will be conducted on a pair of lanes specially installed in an exhibit hall at South Point Hotel and Casino. Rash, 29, dominated the 40-game qualifying portion of the PBA World Championship, averaging 234.03 on five different lane conditions and topping No. 2 qualifier Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., by 296 pins. As the top qualifier in the Petraglia Division, Rash has selected the PBA’s Scorpion lane condition as the scoring environment for Sunday’s round. Rash’s competition will include PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo.; third-year player Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., and non-titlist Nathan Bohr of Wichita, Kan., who will be making his PBA television debut. The Petraglia Division is the only group in the World Championship elimination rounds without an international player. Rash is a four-time PBA Tour champion, but he has not won a title since the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Masters. Ciminelli won his only title in the 2011 One A Day Earl Anthony Memorial. Weber, on the other hand, is a 35-time PBA Tour title-winner with eight majors. The rest of the PBA World Championship field has won a combined 17 titles including two majors. In the eliminator round, all four players will bowl a one-game match. The player with the lowest score will be eliminated. The three survivors will bowl another game, with the low man knocked out. The two finalists will bowl a final game with the survivor advancing to the World Championship finals. The four World Championship divisional finals have been named for PBA superstars who excelled in the event during their careers. Finland’s Osku Palermaa won the Don Carter Division berth and Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, N.Y., captured the Billy Ha rdwick Division title. The Mike Aulby Division finals will conclude the preliminary rounds on ESPN on Jan. 8. Aulby Division competitors will be Jason Belmonte, Australia; Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio; Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., and Mike Fagan, Dallas. 1 The PBA World Championship trophy is named in honor of Anthony, the only player ever to win the event six times. A preview of the Petraglia Division finals will be webcast on pba.com’s Xtra Frame beginning Wednesday, and a post-game show will be presented on Xtra Frame immediately following Sunday’s ESPN finals. About the PBA The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,800 of the best bowlers from 13 countries who compete in PBA Tour, Regional and Senior Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands watch PBA activities online by using PBA’s video streaming service, Xtra Frame. PBA sponsors include Bayer, Brunswick, Budweiser, GEICO, One A Day Men’s 50+ Multivitamin, Pepsi-Cola 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: Friday, December 16, 2011 12:27 PM Subject: PBA NEWS: PBA Tour Returns to Action with Inaugural Xtra Frame Tour Event Jan. 20-22 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations Professional Bowlers Association | 719 Second Avenue, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98104 [email protected] | cell: 414.339.0404 PBA Tour Returns to Action with Inaugural Xtra Frame Tour Event Fountain Bowl to host PBA Cheetah Open presented by Ebonite for exclusive international online event SEATTLE (Dec. 16, 2011) – The Professional Bowlers Association will break new ground Jan. 20-22 when it conducts its first Xtra Frame Tour event, a PBA Tour championship tournament that will be webcast exclusively live, online to an international audience of bowling fans. The PBA Cheetah Open presented by Ebonite will be conducted at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, Calif., and will offer a $10,000 first prize along with a guaranteed berth in the final field of 36 players for the end-of-season PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. The Cheetah Open is open to all comers with a $350 entry fee for PBA members and a $400 fee for non- members. It will pay a prize fund of $66,000 based on a field of 130, with one in three players cashing. The tournament is the first of four Xtra Frame Tour events scheduled during the second half of the PBA’s 2011-12 season. Additional Xtra Frame events, which also will be webcast in their entirety on the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, include the Ricart Ford Open presented by Columbia 300 at Sequoia Lanes in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 18-19; the Detroit Open presented by Track at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., March 9-11; and the Dick Weber PBA Playoffs presented by Hammer at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis, March 31-April 1. PBA Tour titles, along with top 36 berths in the Tournament of Champions, will be awarded in all four events. The Cheetah Open begins with a practice and pro-am program on Friday, along with a special $5,000 “All In” winner-take-all showdown event. On Saturday, all tournament players will bowl nine qualifying games with the top 24 advancing to the match play finals on Sunday. Xtra Frame will w ebcast all tournament action live to its international subscribers. For information on how to subscribe to Xtra Frame, visit pba.com and look for the Xtra Frame logo. Full-season subscriptions, which include pre-television coverage of all other PBA Tour events, interviews, coaching tips, a vast archive of previous telecasts, and much more, are $64.99. Eugene McCune of Munster, Ind., is the defending Cheetah Open champion. McCune won his title during the 2010 PBA World Series of Bowling, nipping 2009 Cheetah Open champion Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla., 238-237. Entries for the Cheetah Open and all other remaining PBA Tour events can be made by visiting pba.com and clicking on “PBA Tour” under the Schedules tab. Players can click on the appropriate event and f ollow instructions on how to enter. 3 XTRA FRAME TOUR CHEETAH OPEN PRESENTED BY EBONITE Fountain Bowl, Fountain Valley, Calif., Jan. 20-22 FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 2012 10 a.m. - A Squad practice 1 p.m. - B Squad practice 2:30 p.m. - $5,000 PBA All-In Shoot Out 5 p.m. - FAB 5 Pro-Am squad 8 p.m. - Pro-am squad SATURDAY, JAN. 21 9 a.m. - A Squad, 9 qualifying games 4 p.m. - B Squad, 9 qualifying games Top 24 advance to Sunday’s match play finals SUNDAY, JAN. 22 9 a.m. – Top 24, 6 match play games 1:30 p.m. – Top 24, 7 match play games Top 4 advance to Xtra Frame stepladder finals 6 p.m. - Xtra Frame stepladder finals About the PBA The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,800 of the best bowlers from 13 countries who compete in PBA Tour, Regional and Senior Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands watch PBA activities online by using PBA’s video streaming service, Xtra Frame. PBA sponsors include Bayer, Brunswick, Budweiser, GEICO, One A Day Men’s 50+ Multivitamin, Pepsi-Cola and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com. # # # 4 Josh Hyde From: Bill Vint [[email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 2:42 PM Subject: PBA NEWS: Smallwood Heads Field for Sunday's PBA World Championship Billy Hardwick Division Finals FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Dec. 12, 2011) Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations Professional Bowlers Association | 719 Second Avenue, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98104 [email protected] | cell: 414.339.0404 Smallwood Heads Field for PBA World Championship Hardwick Division Finals Shafer, South American stars advance to second of four ESPN eliminator battles on Sunday LAS VEGAS – Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., who won his only Professional Bowlers Associati on title in the 2009 PBA World Championship, heads the field of four players who will do battle in the Billy Hardwick Division finals of the PBA World Championship Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in high-definition on ESPN. The Hardwick Division is the second of four eliminator rounds that will trim the PBA World Championship field of 16 finalists down to four for a Sunday, Jan.