Wednesday May 2, 2012
The voting is underway to determine the 2011-2012 PBA Player of the Year, and in my mind (and the minds of most who've weighed in), there are two possible winners: Jason Belmonte and Sean Rash.
Going into the Tournament of Champions, there was a three-way race between Belmonte, Mike Fagan and Norm Duke, but Rash's victory in the TOC knocked Fagan and Duke out of the conversation and left the voters with two valid cases for Player of the Year: Rash and Belmonte. I could see Fagan still being in the running, but I would be surprised if anyone other than Belmonte or Rash wins the award.
Here, in these articles, I attempt to make the case for both Belmonte and Rash:
Who's your pick? Who deserves to be Player of the Year?
Thursday April 19, 2012
The 2012 PBA Senior Tour gets underway Saturday with practice and pro-ams, and the actual competition begins Sunday in the PBA Senior Sun Bowl at Spanish Spring Lanes in The Villages, Florida. The first champion of the season will be crowned Tuesday night.
If this season is anything like last season, Ron Mohr will either win or nearly win this event. Coming off one of the most impressive individual seasons ever, will Mohr be able to continue his dominance?
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Sunday April 15, 2012
All the talk coming into the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions was who would win the Player of the Year Award. There were three favorites: Norm Duke, Jason Belmonte and Mike Fagan. In the TOC, Duke missed the cut during the round of 36, ending his chances before match play. Fagan couldn't put anything together in his opening match on TV, and Belmonte suffered the same fate as Fagan.
All three of the favorites fell to the man who was just outside the discussion, Sean Rash. Due to his consistent high finishes throughout the season, Rash is worthy of consideration, and this major title will make sure he gets his due.
Most likely, the award will go to Belmonte, but today, the tournament went to Rash. It was his first title in five years, and the combination of jubilation and relief were all over his face when he threw his clinching shot. This was a well earned and well deserved victory.
View the complete recap of the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions.
Thursday April 12, 2012
The PBA Tournament of Champions finals will air Sunday on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET, but there are still 36 games to be bowled by 36 bowlers to determine which four will compete on television.
Today, the 11 bowlers who've won tournaments this season and thus earned byes to the round of 36 finally join the field of 25 who already survived two cuts to make it this far. Sean Rash leads those 25 coming into today, with Tom Smallwood a close second. However, the scores from previous rounds will be wiped out prior to today's competition, so the 336-pin lead Rash held over 25th-place Mika Koivuniemi is gone.
All 25 qualifiers, plus this season's winners will take to the lanes at 1 p.m. ET today. The four who find themselves on top of the leaderboard after 36 games through today and tomorrow will compete for the title Sunday.
Who's your pick for the title? Rash and Smallwood have looked good all week. Major Mika earned that nickname for a reason. Ryan Shafer, although he's yet to win a major, is always in the hunt.
When it comes to people we haven't seen yet this week, Norm Duke and Jason Belmonte have won three titles apiece this season and are looking for the Player of the Year title. Mike Fagan won the USBC Masters and was runner up (by one pin) at the U.S. Open to Pete Weber.
I would not be surprised to see Rash continue to bowl well. He's been close so many times this season, it looks like he doesn't want to let another tournament slip away. Duke has been better than everybody else lately, and I expect that to continue. Fagan will make a push, as will Dan MacLelland and Rhino Page. Who will ultimately win the title?
