BallReviews
General Category => PBA => Topic started by: DON DRAPER on June 16, 2005, 04:19:54 PM
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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 ?
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Doubt they could keep TV interest for long. If it came to that, you would probably see the birth of an "alternative" Tour. Money would probably suck, but it could grow.
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Allen was right. They need to nix the Motel 6 event after 1 time. Concentrate on sprucing up the real tour so some people will actually watch.
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The tour screwed up when they went to match play. They might as well give it a chance and see where it leads.
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What I meant was brackets.
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I think it was a terrible answer by PA. He should have been thankful for the opportunity to bowl for that kind of money. Only 6 were, if memory serves, though many more would have liked to have had the chance. I think Motel 6 could spread the money around and get a lot more done with it however. Glad to see Chris win, but they should be bowling for that and more every week.
www.buildanarsenal.com
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the response by patrick allen is just one reason why he's not my favorite player. he may have had a great year bowling( pba player of the year ) but other than that he doesn't impress me. as a pba member i would have been thrilled to be able to have a chance to bowl for money like that.
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The pro tour is getting better because there was some decent money!
However for the bowlers and as a carreer it sucks!
It looks like the bastion of the single guy or those living with their mother!
Imagine we go back to 1968 or 1969 and apply the same rules!
Would Earl Anthony even try?
Married with family to support and knowledge that no lefties have made it through tour qualifying school in two years. Jason couch.
Could Patrick Allen make it through qualifying school?
You see qualifying on 9 game blocks on a nine game block with harsh transitions is the bastion of the righty(I've discussed this before).
Qualifying on a blended condition is the bastion of the lefty!(I've discussed thsi before).
BUT once they get to match play a bad shot is relatively equal!
Thus Patrick Allen's considerable skill and match play are great.
If he started to try to make it on tour I question his success in qualifying school.
Imagine a bowler saying I'm one of the top 10 lefty bowlers in the world and I can't even try to make a living at it!
Did someone say there are 8 lefties on tour? I know 30 million righties who feel that is too many!
Only 57 righties.
This is a sad profession for both sides of the alley!
It will change and modifications will naturally happen.
In the mean time ... young talents, stay away from woman, move in with your mother and hone your righty game. Lefties... take up golf!
REgards,
Lcukylefty
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quote:
the response by patrick allen is just one reason why he's not my favorite player. he may have had a great year bowling( pba player of the year ) but other than that he doesn't impress me. as a pba member i would have been thrilled to be able to have a chance to bowl for money like that.
Greg,
You're antagonism towards Allen is letting you lose sight of the essence of what he said. This (what he indicated) has already happened in another sport very similar to bowling in its audience and in its professionals - billiards.
On TV now, all you see are games aimed at the shortened attention span of the younger audience - 7 ball and 9 ball. Bang! Bam! Thank you, Ma'm.
You have seen its beginnings in the new tournament formats of the PBA - No more qualifying blocks of even a miniscule 24 games. In the 50s, there used to be REAL qualifying - 100 games! Everything now is 3 games and eliminate the next guy. Bang! Bam!
Hell's Bell's, even the sudden death on TV is no longer 9th and 10th frames, but 1 DAMNED ball!
Yes, as I type about this, I get madder and madder, not just angrier.
Pretty soon, we'll have 3 frame games and 1 game matches.
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Just like hand grenades and horse shoes, in bowling you only have to get close ...
CharlesT
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I think it was a terrible answer by PA. He should have been thankful for the opportunity to bowl for that kind of money. Only 6 were, if memory serves, though many more would have liked to have had the chance. I think Motel 6 could spread the money around and get a lot more done with it however. Glad to see Chris win, but they should be bowling for that and more every week.
Mr. King,
Shame on you also.
Patrick said he liked it and was glad to be there. You've been in this "game"/business long enough to know exactly what he implied and what will be happening more and more as the future unfolds. See my reply above to Greg Hoppe. The future is NOT rosy and people in position of power like you should not be criticising others, but helping the industry, through BTM's audience, to return to its position of strength, not mourning its demise.
Without the industry to be the backbone of this sport, it will soon no longer be a "sport", not a game.
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Just like hand grenades and horse shoes, in bowling you only have to get close ...
CharlesT
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TV want "fast sports". It shall go quik to name the winner.
It´s the same thing in archery. On ths Olympic games they just have shot offs.
But it´s what the audience wanna see...
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quote:
TV want "fast sports". It shall go quik to name the winner.
It´s the same thing in archery. On ths Olympic games they just have shot offs.
But it´s what the audience wanna see...
No, It's NOT.
It's the interpretation that the producers put on what happens when audiences change the channels too fast, like during commercials. People's attention spans haven't changed; they are just bored and more uneducated than ever before.
When people know and appreciate the intricacies of any sport, they are always more interested. They do want to see examples of how different athletes perform those details and they appreciate the better performers winning, EVEN IF IT DOES TAKE TIME.
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Just like hand grenades and horse shoes, in bowling you only have to get close ...
CharlesT
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i don't look at the pba like the average fan or espn does. i see a pba tournament for what it is: a bowling tournament for those who are the best in the world at what they do. the best players in the world bowl on the pba tour. everyone who wants to be the best strives to make it to that level and win. look no farther than junichi yajima. this man comes over from japan to bowl pba senior events because he wants the recognition of being a pba champion. the last time i spoke with marshall holman at the tournament of champions he told me that mr. yajima was a 7-time jpba player of the year and had won over 35 jpba titles. he is considered the earl anthony of bowling in japan. marshall holman also stated that if he had done his profeesional bowling in this country that he would have won many pba titles. marshall holman also stated that mr. yajima would have given up all his jpba titles for a pba title. i don't really care what the average fan wants to see when they turn on bowling on the tv. leave this sport to those who know what they're watching. i agree, i wish the pba would go back to the old format of running a tournament: the entire field would bowl 18 games of qualifying and the top 24 advanced to match play with the top 5 making it to the telecast. most of the better players( williams, jr., duke, voss, bohn III ) would prefer this as well. oh, and by the way, i don't have any antaganism towards patrick allen. i know he can bowl( and very well ). i just don't like him as a person. i save my real antaganism for pete weber, but that's another story.
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Greg and evry1..To send a entiere tournament would take some time..and thats whats the problem in the world today. Time. People don´t have time to see a tournament for (just guessing) 5-6H+.
I´d rater see the entire competition than just the matchplay.
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I don't care what will happen with the future PBA format just as long as I'm in it.lol. just kidding. I could hope though.
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***SLAYER***
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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.
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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.
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Boy...that was dumb!
REgards,
Luckylefty
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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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Jon Brandon
Columbia Regional Staff
2003 PBA West Region Rookie of the Year
"You win some, you lose most"
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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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Just bowl!
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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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www.buildanarsenal.com
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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"
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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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J.J. "Waterola Kid" Anderson, the bLowling King : Kill the back row
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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.