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Author Topic: the future of the pba ?  (Read 2306 times)

DON DRAPER

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the future of the pba ?
« on: June 16, 2005, 04:19:54 PM »
this month's bowlers journal international featured an article on how chris barnes won the $200,000 winner takes all contest sponsored by motel 6. the article was very ordinary in many ways---husband and wife happy that their childrens education is paid for, who beat who, chris barnes using a different ball on each lane, etc., etc., etc. however, what really caught my attention was the reply patrick allen made when he was asked about how he enjoyed the event. patrick allen basically stated that it was great to have a chance to bowl for so much money but he's afraid if this type of event becomes too popular a pba tournament as we know it would no longer exist. he's afraid the pba will change from a regular tournament to a one shot, winner takes all short format like the mega-sweepers. what does everyone think about this ?

 

TheIronMan

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #16 on: June 19, 2005, 03:40:17 PM »
Charlest, the reason I said it was a terrible answer is because if I were Motel 6 and had just put up $200,000 in prize money and bought TV time, then one of the players (PBA BOY) who bowled said that they hope that events like that didn't become too popular, I  wouldn't be running that event again next year and if I did, I sure wouldn't invite PA. The PBA, Strike Ten and others are bustin their butts to get corporations to invest in bowling. When one of them does jump, he and all of the pros should be supportive, thankful and cultivating future events, regardless of the format or circumstances. I don't think the PBA viewed this event as competition and neither should Patrick.

DON DRAPER

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #17 on: June 19, 2005, 07:45:57 PM »
theironman, you bring up a good point. randy lightfoot won a pba tournament sponsored by burger king in 1978. when asked what he was going to do that evening he put his foot in his mouth and said on national tv that he wasn't eating at burger king----since then, burger king has not sponsored a pba tournament. as a player you have to be thankful for any sponsor who cared enough to help out even a little.

LuckyLefty

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #18 on: June 20, 2005, 08:33:23 AM »
Boy...that was dumb!

REgards,

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J_L_B

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #19 on: June 21, 2005, 01:44:41 AM »
I think the reason PA said those things is because he doesn't like the fact that the PBA only gave 6 bowlers the chance to bowl the $200k .

We have an exempt field with 64 guys trying to earn a living. Out of those 64, I'd guess barely half are above the break even level after expenses, and bills back home are paid for.

I think PA would have rather seen that money used towards adding a few more stops throughout the year and allow the guys to earn more cash in the long run instead of the one-hit wonder kind of tournaments.
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ozsweet

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #20 on: June 21, 2005, 07:38:16 AM »
quote:
andy lightfoot won a pba tournament sponsored by burger king in 1978. when asked what he was going to do that evening he put his foot in his mouth and said on national tv that he wasn't eating at burger king----since then, burger king has not sponsored a pba tournament. as a player you have to be thankful for any sponsor who cared enough to help out even a little.


so, should Barnes have said "I'm picking up a hooker and going to Motel 6"?

In all seriousness, I'd love to see more money on tour for these guys. I'm certain there are great bowlers out there that make much more doing something else, so they don't bowl. However, 6 frames is not a game of bowling, so I had a hard time watching that event.
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TheIronMan

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #21 on: June 21, 2005, 09:20:27 AM »
We all know it wasn't a true test of skill. We all know that the money would have been better spent getting spread around more. We all know that PA was justified in his thinking. The point is that he shouldn't have made a public statement about how he hopes events like that don't catch on too much! I'm sure the tournament wasn't the PBA's brainstorm, it was Motel 6's. He should have just been gracious for the opportunity to bowl and encouraged Motel 6 to continue their support of the PBA. He's a professional now and he will learn to be more careful of what he says in public, because every word will find its way on here or some other website. Unfortunately, none of his words will find their way onto TV or in the newspapers.
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janderson

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #22 on: June 22, 2005, 02:06:45 PM »
Then again, I know if some company offered me a chance to bowl six frames and win $200,000, I would be the first person to say "boy, I hope they don't do that again"

[/sarcasm]

quote:
so, should Barnes have said "I'm picking up a hooker and going to Motel 6"


(laugh) while I would have laughed, I don't think Motel 6 would have.  Perhaps it would have been better for Patrick Allen to say something along the lines of "This  is a great once-per-season event.  It's nice to be able to take a short break from the stress and fierce competition of competing to earn an exemption and simply bowl a big money pot game for a change."

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qstick777

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Re: the future of the pba ?
« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2005, 09:09:27 PM »
quote:
Then again, I know if some company offered me a chance to bowl six frames and win $200,000, I would be the first person to say "boy, I hope they don't do that again"


If I remember correctly the event was televised on 2 days - the first was the qualifying rounds, and they had 1 ball roll-offs to eliminate people.  Yes, I just checked the pba site and:
quote:
The event started with the Challenge Round, where bowlers participated in one-ball roll offs with the lowest score after each frame moving into the first elimination round.


Maybe that is what PA was referring to - the one shot to determine the elimination rounds or the qualifying.  At least in qualifying you get have a chance to improve on your scores.  1 shot is pretty ridiculous.