Bowling

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Four-time PBA Tour winner Bill O’Neill averaged 252 and opened with a 300 game to take the first round lead in the GEICO PBA Summer Swing Badger Open at Waukesha Lanes today. Competing on PBA’s new 52-foot Badger lane conditioning pattern on a wood surface, O’Neill had a 1,262 five-game pinfall total with games of 300, 279, 223, 212 and 248. “Bowling on a wood surface, which is something we never do, it makes you think and I like that,” O’Neill said. “I grew up bowling on wood surfaces so I know what to expect. “For me bowling on wood lanes means you have to make your adjustments faster than on a wood surface. Every game I was having to move three or four boards to the left but I was still able to throw hard which is what I like to do.” O’Neill is trying for his second win of the season having won the Alka Seltzer Plus Cold Cheetah Championship at the World Series of Bowling. “I’ve had my ups and downs this season but overall I’m bowing well,” said the 2010 U.S. Open winner. “I felt like I really had only one bad event in the (USBC) Masters but other than that it’s been pretty good this year.” Rounding out the top five are reigning PBA Player of the Year Sean Rash, 1,228; four-time titlist Mike Fagan, 1,185; Ryan Ciminelli, 1,172 and Jake Peters, 1,170. Qualifying for the Badger Open continues this afternoon with the second round at 5 p.m. After Monday’s qualifying the field will be cut to the top 24 for match play on Tuesday. Following the Badger Open will be the Wolf Open May 22-24 at AMF West Lanes, the Bear Open May 26-28 at AMF Bowlero and the Milwaukee Open May 29-30 also at AMF Bowlero. The top 28 qualifiers based upon 30 games, total pinfall from the three animal pattern events, will advance to the Milwaukee Open. Stepladder finals will be taped over two days by the CBS Sports Network June 1-2 at Bowlero for airing on five consecutive Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET beginning June 11. The GEICO Summer King of the Swing special event featuring the four Summer Swing event champions plus the next highest points leader will compete in a five-player, $25,000 stepladder final for a $10,000 first prize to conclude the summer series on June 2. PBA BADGER OPEN AMF Waukesha, Waukesha, Wis., Tuesday First Round (after 5 games; top 24 after 10 games advance to round robin match play Wednesday) 1, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,262. 2, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,228. 3, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 1,185. 4, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,172. 5, Jake Peters, Decatur, Ill., 1,170. 6, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,167. 7, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,161. 8, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,155. 9, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,154. 10, Quinton Bohlen, Decorah, Iowa, 1,151. 11, Mike Dole, Loves Park, Ill., 1,135. 12, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,131. 13, Erik Gulbrandson, Superior, Wis., 1,128. 14, Patrick Girard, Canada, 1,123. 15, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 1,121. 16, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 1,120. 17, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,118. 18, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 1,116. 19, Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,114. 20, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,113. 21, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,112. 22, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 1,110. 23, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,108. 24, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,107. 25, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 1,098. 26, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 1,094. 27, Brian Gunn, Chicago, 1,092. 28, Jon VanHees, Charlestown, R.I., 1,090. 29, Brad Miller, St. Charles, Mo., 1,083. 30, Greg Thomas, Oak Creek, Wis., 1,081. 31, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 1,079. 32, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,077. 33, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,075. 34, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,073. 35, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,071. 36, T.P. Peterson, Evergreen Park, Ill., 1,070. 36, Tom Hess, Ur

To paraphrase an old Thin Lizzy song, at the Holler House in Milwaukee, the bras are back in town. Milwaukee has long been known for the “three Bs” — beer, brats and bowling. At the Holler House, home to what are believed to be the oldest certified bowling lanes in the world — there has long been a fourth “B”: bras. Specifically, bras hanging from the ceiling of the bar. The Holler House opened in 1908, then known as Skowronski’s. When the founder’s son, Gene, got married in 1952, it was renamed Gene and Marcy’s. During the mid-1970s, it became known as the Holler House when a German woman used the phrase in commenting about the noise emanating from therein. It was about that same time that Marcy Skowronski and some friends “got bombed… and just decided to take our bras off and hang them up.” Before long, it became common practice for first-time visitors to the bar to do the same — whether “bombed” or not. In the decades to follow, the Holler House became almost as well known for the hanging bras as for its historic lanes. Every so often, as bras became frayed, Skowronski would take them down to make room for a new batch. Through the years, the Holler House was inspected numerous times by the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services. The bras never were an issue. Last month, however, a new inspector visited the Holler House — a woman. It was her opinion that the bras represented a fire hazard, and informed Skowronski that they had to be taken down. The written order noted: “Curtains, draperies, hangings and other decorative materials suspended from walls or ceilings shall meet the flame propagation performance criteria of NFPA 701.” NFPA is short for National Fire Protection Association, considered the authority on fire, electrical and building safety. NFPA 701 outlines the standard methods of fire tests for flame propagation of textiles and films. It is not known whether the inspector considered the bras to be “hangings,” “decorative materials” or both. Whatever the interpretation, it was her opinion and order that the bras had to go. “Either she had a bad day or she didn’t like me,” Skowronski theorized in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story. Marcy Skowronski stands about 5 feet tall. She is 87 years old. She has worked at the Holler House for 59 years. In all that time, even back in the days when virtually every customer smoked, there never has been a fire at the bar. Given all that, you might imagine Skowornski did not take the bra ban well. So she called a local reporter, and before long, news of “Brassiere-gate” was sweeping not only Milwaukee, but the entire country. At that point, Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan stepped in, urging that the written order be rescinded. On May 16, that’s exactly what happened. No doubt seeking to save face, the Department of Neighborhood Services said it had dismissed the order because the Holler House had a smaller maximum occupancy than first believed, and thus a less stringent fire code applied. Apparently, if you tried to hang bras from the ceiling of, say, a Hooters restaurant, that would not be in compliance with NFPA 701. (That may also explain why, according to the store locator function on the Hooters website, there is no Hooters restaurant within Milwaukee’s city limits. But we digress…) “Oh, my goodness, we won,” Skowronski enthused in Jim Stingl’s follow-up report in the Journal Sentinel. “We’re going to have a party to throw the bras back up.” To paraphrase Thin Lizzy’s 1976 hit… Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed bras that had been away Haven’t changed, haven’t much to say But, man, I still think them bras are crazy The bras are back in town The bras are back in town

2013 Southwest Region Player’s Invitational Highlights $26,500 Prize Fund (based on 48 entries) $6,000 1st place + Free WSOB Entry Champions advance to ESPN finals (taped at WSOB) (ESPN Telecast Winner Receives 2014 TOC Berth) (PBA Tour Champion Holding PBA Touring Status Moves to Top of TOC Eligibility List) Live Xtra Frame Webcast Pay Ratio: 1:2 2013 Regional Player’s Invitational Points (September 1, 2012 – July 15, 2013) Pos. Name - Hometown #Events Points 1. Bohr, Nathan - Wichita, Kan. 8 115,059 2. Lavery-Spahr, Sean - Denton, Texas 9 95,512 3. Hibbitts, Chris - Keller, Texas 8 90,631 4. Jensen, Tyler - Ft. Worth, Texas 5 74,791 5. Findling, Joe - Mesquite, Texas 8 72,511 6. Patterson, Andy - Tyler, Texas 6 70,408 7. Bailey, Mike - Allen, Texas 8 66,312 8. Edwards, Mike (s) - Tulsa, Okla. 5 63,789 9. Archer, D.J. - Friendswood, Texas 5 59,751 10. Anthony, David - Austin, Texas 6 57,362 11. Futrell, Jay - Derby, Kan. 6 56,132 12. Dacy, Clint - Fort Worth, Texas 6 51,377 13. Mills, Charlie - Pasadena, Texas 6 46,116 14. McBride, Robert - Plano, Texas 10 44,790 15. Scroggins, Mike - Amarillo, Texas 3 42,367 16. Scroggins, Mark - Canyon, Texas 4 39,643 17. Castillo, Dino - Carrollton, Texas 2 37,112 18. Laughlin, Ben - Chandler, Ariz. 2 36,581 19. Hess, Tom - Urbandale, Iowa 2 32,346 20. Gulbrandson, Erik - Superior, Wis. 3 32,194 21. Weiss, Randy M. - Columbia, S.C. 3 30,358 22. Boroff, Ryan - Fort Worth, Texas 5 29,569 23. Pittsinger, Justin - Garland, Texas 5 27,991 24. Alexander, Bill (s) - San Angelo, Texas 4 27,742 25. Tullos, David - Spring, Texas 6 26,207 26. Williams, Mark (s) - Beaumont, Texas 3 26,113 27. Stanton, Steve - Fort Smith, Ark. 4 25,333 28. Powell, Casey - Dallas 5 25,291 29. Klann, Robert - San Antonio, Texas 2 25,207 30. Dias, Mike (s) - Lafayette, Colo. 2 25,028 31. Guerrero, Clara - Colombia 1 25,000 32. Barnes, Chris S. - Double Oak, Texas 1 25,000 33. Fagan, Mike - Dallas 2 24,000 34. Koeltzow, Kris - Wheat Ridge, Colo. 3 21,644 35. Gengelbach, Kurt (s) - Carrollton, Texas 5 20,715 36. Anderson, Chuck - Bedford, Texas 6 19,431 37. Andes, Kevin - Wichita, Kan. 4 19,361 38. Wodka, Dave - Henderson, Nev. 1 19,249 39. White, Lee - Odessa, Texas 6 19,064 40. Boroff, Ron (s) - Mansfield, Texas 5 18,738 41. Lawrence, Robert (s) - Austin, Texas 4 18,598 42. Starr, Blake - Oklahoma City 2 18,350 43. Mincey, Scott (s) - Norman, Okla. 6 17,920 44. Cooper, Brett R - Newburyport, Mass. 4 17,850 45. Wilson, Shayne - Caddo Mills, Texas 3 16,547 46. Krol, David - Nixa, Mo. 4 16,244 47. Martinez, Kyle - Broken Arrow, Okla. 4 15,882 48. Merriman, Jonathan - Cypress, Texas 5 15,202 49. Williams, Marvin L. (s) - Colorado Springs 2 15,077 50. Gutierrez, Jorge S. (s) - Las Cruces, N.M. 5 14,840 51. Cicero, John - Colorado Springs, Colo. 1 14,143 52. Patton, Thomas (s) - Olathe, Kan. 1 14,143 53. Ward, Terry - San Angelo, Texas 5 13,645 54. Burkett, Brian - Amarillo, TX 3 13,097 55. Guccione, Frank - Castle Rock, Colo. 1 13,097 56. Ramsden, Aaron - Pleasant Valley, Mo. 3 13,025 57. Campbell, Jeff - Amarillo, Texas 2 12,819 58. Viator, Bryan J. - Friendswood, Texas 3 12,538 59. Keily, Mi

Welt-Keglerturnier (Berlin, Germany) Held at the time of the 1936 Olympics, this event included American tenpins, as well as various European styles of bowling.

“X Factors” did indeed split 4-4 (eight point league) with “Rose and Thorns”, so the tie is for 7th place with five other teams. Two teams won all eight points in the first week: “Wyld Stallyns” and Team 18.

I was hoping to post last night, but the place where we were didn’t have wifi, and I’m kind of shy about using the 3G connection on my phone. About the only thing different this year was that there was a large enough prize fund so that every team got a team prize apart from point money, and my team was awarded 2nd high handicap game, which we shot 1,110 for. My individual prize was men’s “B” high scratch series, which was my 648 of the “Turkey Shoot” night. No photo of the champion team coming, as they were missing a member at the banquet, but I will recognize them by name here: Courtney Harris, Durell Gomes, Dwayne Gomes, Dana Gomes, and Ed Godino III.

Derek Acuff and Talon Hendrickson win in exciting action at Texas Station. Below is the list of qualifiers for tomorrow's INvitational. Updated scratch, handicap, and girls points are already on the website. Congrats to all qualifiers! Please check in no later than 9 AM for the 9:30 start time. $1,000 for first- BE THERE! MOJAVE Acuff, Derek Adler, Greg Ailport, Lindsey Alo, Daryus Andrews, Kennison Andrews, Kyle Atkin, Alexis Berg, Rachael Bouder, Zahn Butturff, Jakob Butz, Michael Camacho, Jacob Campbell, Zachary Canfield, Ben Cardines, Cerell Cardines, Jeremy Carlson, Megan Carnate, Lanndyn Carr, Savannah Chan, Oscar Chui, Kirk Corwin, Jozef Criss, Cameron Crowell, Perry IV Dang, Anthony Dempsey, Riley Dempsey, Tessa Duffy, Brandon Duster, Kyle Dvorak, Rance Esquerra, Jared Evans, Marguerite Finkler, Kevin Franz, Josh Fung, Keith Galvan, David Glazer, Leah Gonzalez, Danyella Gonzalez, Jhared Grupe, Brian Guba, Andrew Handley, Dee Hanuscin, Nathan Harwell, Kayla Hatchett, Eric Hedges, Tyler Hendrickson, Talon Ishikawa, Blaizen Jordan, John Kruml, Nick LaPrell, Megan Lee, Kristen Leong, Dallas Lewandowski, Joe Lewandowski, Zach Lieber, Correen Lindeman, Curtis Lindsey, Brendan Low, Wesley Lucente, Teddy Lusher, Donovin Maler, Ethan Manier, Steven Martinez, KJ Mette, Kevin Moss, Skyler Nagamine, Casey Nute, Thomas Pappas, Jason Pasimio, Ethan Patalina, Devyn Peyton, Jamison Pineda, Crystal Pollak, Nick Potts, Jacob Purdy, Alayna Pursell, Erica Reyes, Sabrina Rock, TJ Rose, Tony Russom, Brandon Satter, Tyler Schenck, Cortez Schleidt, Austin Signoretti, Austin Singleton, Breana Smale, Teagan Smith, Cameron Speiler, Randi Stever, Marina Thompson, Austin Thompson, Trevor Turner, Gabie Watanabe, Alex Watkins, Aaron Weis, Gabriella Yamamoto, Aaron

My practice session started slow, with a 155 game, but I really had an “Aha!” moment in the 10th frame and, while not striking out to end it, I started the next game well, went a clean 237, then ended with a 224 that might have been in the 240s if not for a couple of single-pin misses. All told, it was a 616 series, which was even better than last week. I’m happy I’ve been practicing well…just need to bring that to league now. My league’s banquet is tonight, and I will have my phone with me, so I’m hoping I can post from the site (maybe including a photo or two).

Remember, if you're one of the 282 bowlers who bowled Saturday JBT events from 4/6-5/3, you earned a $40 discount into the east coast JBT's Las Vegas Open, August 2-4, right after TPC. Take advantage- if you bowl LVO, it's like you bowled that JBT event for free!