10
– JUNE 2013
Idle Bowling Thoughts
By Chuck Pezzano
Schedule
Jun 22-23 Diablo Valley Bowl
Jun 29-30 Kentwig Lanes
July 3-7 Summer Nationals @ Sam’s Town
Jul 13-14 AMF Mission Lanes
Jul 20-21 AMF Pinole Lanes
Jul 27-28 AMF Southshore Lanes
(925) 945-1204
bay.abtbowling.com
there, and when I missed a little right, it rolled enough to where it would
fade into the pocket nicely."
When Bayt stepped up for his final frame of singles, he needed just five
pins on his first ball to secure a tie for the lead, and anything more would
propel him past Szczerbinski. Bayt got seven, leaving the 3, 6 and 10 pins
on his initial offering. With the lead in hand, the spare would've given him
a chance at the third 800 series of the 2013 tournament, but he missed all
three pins.
"It was upsetting to end that way, but at the same time, I have to be very
thankful to be in position to take over the lead," Bayt said. "Everything was
bad. I didn't look at my target, and my timing was off. It was a bad spare
shot. At the same time, I just shot 795 at Nationals, and that feels amaz-
ing."
Bayt nearly missed out on the 2013 event, but was asked to fill in with a
group that included four-time Professional Bowlers Association titlist Mike
Wolfe and collegiate standout Chris Hester after bowling with them in a
tournament in Ohio.
"They actually picked me up in a Baker tournament in Columbus," Bayt
said. "Dean Billings ended up putting us together. They asked me if I was
bowling Nationals, and I wasn't at the time. They asked me to bowl, and
there's no way I was going saying no to Wolfe, Hester and (Brian)
Hatcher, so I felt lucky to be out here. They helped me out a bunch. It was
very good bowling with them, and I had a lot of fun."
Bayt added 647 in team and 611 in doubles for a 2,053 all-events total.
Szczerbinski leads Regular All-Events with 2,228, while Billings, who
rolled a 300 game on the way to the first 800 series of this year's Open
Championships (813 in team), is second with 2,214.
With the 2013 event winding down July 7, Bayt has less than three
weeks to wait to see if he will claim his first Open Championships title.
"It would be huge," Bayt said. "It would be the biggest thing I've ever
done. I've always wanted to prove myself in the bowling world, and if I was
to do this and get the eagle, it would be something I could be proud of. I
put two and two together for a day."
Earlier in the evening, Bayt's teammate Brett Shepherd of Louisville,
Ky., and companion team member Craig Nidiffer of Trenton, Mich., found
success at the nearby
as they snuck into the Open Doubles lead with a 1,474 total.
The two used a 524 final game to move past Henry Dawson of Elma,
Wash., and Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion Brian
Himmler of Cincinnati, who previously held the lead with 1,464. Nidiffer led
the charge with a 741 series, while Shepherd contributed 733.
The bowlers also took advantage of the opportunity to bowl doubles with
two people at one time.
Shepherd and Greg Thompson of Cupertino, Calif., moved into fourth
place in Open Doubles with a 1,446 effort, and Nidiffer teamed with Joe
Navarra of Patchogue, N.Y., for a 1,427 total, which is sixth overall.
The Bowlers Journal Championships is being held in conjunction with
the Open Championships for the 67th year, but this marks the first time
the two events have been under the same roof. The Open Championships
is being held on the first 64 lanes of the 78-lane NBS, while the BJ is be-
ing contested on lanes 69-78.
Presenting sponsors for the 2013 USBC Open Championships include
Circus Circus Reno, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Re-
sort Casino Reno.
(Continued from page 6)
Ohio Bowler
Bowling has been a sport rich in award giving and if you don’t win an
award it seems as though someone will give you a trophy for never hav-
ing won a trophy.
Not quite.
But bowling trophies have intrigued bowlers and those involved in bowl-
ing for a long time longer than a century and draw great interest at na-
tional and local exhibition sites at halls of fame sites and tournament
presentations.
Bowling trophies and awards show great imagination, fine and classic
beauty at times, but also some blatant commercialism. They come in all
sizes, shapes and materials and can cost for next to nothing to next to a
fortune. They come as small as a thimble to as large as a bowler. They
are constructed from materials as paper and cardboard to the most pre-
cious of metals and best of gems or stones.
I’ve seen totem poles carved from a single log and stone carvings,
bronzed mufflers, silver replicas or products, the finest blown glass, and
the least expensive plastics.
Every top bowler has or had a collection, not to mention a huge assort-
ment of rings, pen sets, watch fobs and chains, belt buckles.
Few top bowlers have ever had to buy any rings or watches because
their awards kept them fully supplied. They also have barometers, ther-
mometers, bracelets, pins, and dozens of personal or household items.
Medals have made a big comeback now that there are more and more
major international events catering to both amateur and pro events.
The most beautiful and probably among the most expensive awards I
recall were made of the finest see through material in the shape of a cyl-
inder. Inside was suspended the replica of a tobacco leaf of gold. The
gold leaf seemed suspended in the air, floating on its own and it took the
work of master craftsmen with plenty of talent and patience to complete
the artistic work.
These days, though trophies are not as numerous as they once were,
there are no bounds, so trophy and award builders let their flair for a fan-
tasy world go wild. Any junior bowler worth his salt has dozens of awards
and all the major stars have hundreds, many exhibited in different bowling
settings.
Minimum 1st
Place
$3,000.00
Plus MEGA POT
Must bowl 3 squads from
Jun 1,2013 -
Aug 26, 2013
See website for more info.
August 31st,
September 1-2, 2013
AMF Pinole Lanes
