The PBA and travel website HotelPlanner.com have entered into a sponsorship agreement which makes HotelPlanner.com the organization’s official travel partner.
“Our partnership with HotelPlanner.com is a natural because, like other sports tours, most of our members who compete on our PBA, PBA International, PBA50 and PBA Regional Tours travel extensively,” said PBA Commissioner Tom Clark. “As a sports organization that is involved in staging approximately 220 tournaments around the world during the year, economic travel is something that benefits our members, our legion of loyal fans, and all facets of our business operations.”
HotelPlanner.com is a leading provider of online services to the global group hotel sales market. Its technology ensures the lowest rates by allowing customers to receive quotes online directly from hotel group sales managers. HotelPlanner.com’s promise is, “We guarantee the lowest group rates or we'll pay for your hotel room.”
To book your travel needs through HotelPlanner.com, click here: http://pba.hotelplanner.com/
HotelPlanner.com helps clients select the right property by combining technology with a highly experienced staff of professionals. HotelPlanner’s event planners review all hotel offers on a group by group basis to find the best hotel for each group that is then provided for individual travelers.
HotelPlanner.com prides itself on providing the best group hotel rates for all clients. The company provides group travel services to a number of world class organizations, including the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League, Professional Bull Riders, a number of universities and colleges and corporations and government entities. For more information, visit: http://www.hotelplanner.com/AboutUs.cfm
RASH, KOIVUNIEMI, FAGAN TOP LATEST WORLD BOWLING TOUR POINTS LIST
After three December tournament in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), PBA stars Sean Rash and Kelly Kulick retained their leads in the two-year rolling World Bowling Tour points standings.
Despite not competing in the Abu Dhabi WBT, Qatar Open and 7th Kingdom International Open, Rash (with 663 points) retained his lead over Finland's Mika Koivuniemi (637 points), who did bowl in all three events. Mike Fagan, who competed in the UAE and Qatar, is third with 603 points followed by Kingdom International Open winner Tommy Jones, who won the event in Saudi Arabia, with 570 points.
There was no change among the top four women because none of the American players competed in the GCC Swing. Kulick leads with 747 points followed by Missy Parkin (609), Liz Johnson (555) and Diandra Asbaty (365).
The World Bowling Tour is made up of World Bowling/PBA International Tour events held around the world. Players earn points based on how they finish in each event. The next WBT event is the Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Helsinki, Finland, Jan. 3-12.
“THE BOWLING CENTER” EPISODE FOUR RECAPS CHAMELEON, PREVIEWS SCORPION
The fourth episode of “The Bowling Center,” featuring PBA Xtra Frame personalities Jason (The Bowling Guy) Thomas and Jef Goodger is now available on YouTube, featuring a recap of last Sunday’s Chameleon Championship telecast on ESPN and including a preview of next Sunday’s Scorpion Championship.
This week's show features a “player warm-up” segment, a Mike J. Laneside interview with Dom Barrett, a three-game match between Goodger and Thomas, another “Troll Bowling” segment and a Scorpion Championship preview.
To watch Episode Four, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Naghope2cvU&feature=c4-overview&list=UUy-taFzDCV-XcpTBa3pF68w
To find the weekly shows – which are available at no cost – visit youtube.com and enter The Bowling Center in the search bar. New shows will debut on Mondays, with a one-week break on January 13.
PBA REGIONAL ROUNDUP: HAGGERTY WINS SEVENTH TITLE IN TRI REGIONS OPEN
● PJ Haggerty of Roseville, Calif., posted a 10-6 match play record and a 28-game total of 7,050 pins Sunday to win his seventh career PBA Regional title in the Sands Regency Tri Regions Open presented by Radical. Haggerty, who earned $2,200, defeated Blaine Weninger of Happy Valley, Ore., by 212 pins.
In the companion PBA50 Open, Joe Goldstein Sr. of Hayward, Calif., went 8-4 and knocked down 5,883 total pins for 24 games to top Kevin Croucher of Grants Pass, Ore., for his second PBA50 West Region title and $1,500.
Leading into the weekend doubleheader, Robby Porter of Rancho Cordova, Calif., defeated Scott Hansell of Stockton, Calif., 300-216, to win Friday’s Sands Regency Challenge presented by Radical. The Challenge was open to players who had never won a PBA title.
● Dick Allen of Columbia, S.C., and Carl Breaman of Greer, S.C., defeated the son-father team of Kyle and Guppy Troup of Taylorsville, N.C., to win the PBA South Region’s Decker Appraisal Over/Under Doubles presented by Hammer at Wayne Lanes in Waynesboro, Va., Sunday.
Allen and Breaman swept the best-of three-game title match, 426-419 and 442-412, to give Breaman his first PBA title and Allen his 16th in PBA Regional competition. Each earned $1,700. Breaman had previously won a PBA South Region tournament in 1999, but didn’t earn a title because he was a non-member at the time.
● The final pre-Christmas tournament will be the PBA/PBA50 Bowling Dynamix Southwest Doubles presented by Hammer at Emerald Bowl in Houston over the Dec. 20-22 weekend.
For complete schedules, rules and entry information, visit pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on Regional Tours to find the event(s) in your area.
QUICK NOTES
● England’s Stuart Williams, the 2011 Bayer Viper Open champion, and former Texas A&M collegiate bowling star Tina Stickney were married Saturday in Las Vegas. The newlyweds will take up residence in Stickey’s native Arizona.
● Entries are now being accepted for the 2014 United States Bowling Congress Masters, Feb. 16-23 at Brunswick Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick, N.J. To enter, go to bowl.com/masters.
● Pro-am entries and television tickets for the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions and PBA League quarterfinal and semifinal rounds at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., Jan. 25-27, also are available on pba.com. Click on the “tickets” link for complete details.
● Reminder: Sunday’s ESPN telecast of the PBA Scorpion Championship has been changed to a 3:30 p.m. ET start time. It was originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
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