Is The PBA All-Star Weekend Doomed?

by Dave Williams

After watching the most recent NBA All-Star Weekend on television, I cannot help but wonder if the PBA All-Star Weekend, an obvious copy of the basketball event, is doomed to fail? The NBA event, complete with neon flooring, making it almost impossible to follow the basketball, set a near record low this year. Only last year’s total of 4.8 million households was lower in the past 20 years. By comparison,10.8 million households tuned in for the 2003 basketball event.

Is this really something that the PBA wants to emulate? The only redeeming value was the three point challenge between Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu in the first ever challenge between the NBA and WNBA. Curry won out with a total of 29 points, to Sabrina’s score of 26, which tied the best of the male competitors in the “regular” 3-point contest. I wonder if any NBA team will draft Sabrina next season?

The All-Star game itself was a non-event, with the east beating the west by a final score of 211 to 186. Has anyone heard of defense? Larry Bird, in typical fashion, cut directly to the heart of the problem with ratings for the NBA All-Star Weekend when he said, “You’ve got to play hard, and you’ve got to compete.”

The PBA All-Star Weekend will include three days of activity, just like the NBA. The suggestion from the PBA is that the debut of this weekend program will demonstrate the organization’s goal to employ new and exciting initiatives for fans and players alike. Did I miss something? What’s wrong with the PBA? Maybe they’re looking for higher scores, like the failed NBA east vs. west showdown, or lanes that change color every frame?

PBA All-Star Skills Showdown

All the action gets underway on Friday, March 15, at 6PM, with the Skills Showdown. I hope this isn’t a repeat of the “throwing a bowling ball over a chair halfway down the lane” trick shot from many years ago. Proprietors are still cringing at that spectacle. A news release from the PBA states, “Three teams of professional bowlers, including Kyle Troup, Packy Hanrahan, E.J. Tackett and more, will represent top bowling product manufacturers, such as Storm, Brunswick and Motiv as they showcase their striking prowess, spare-shooting expertise and trick-shot creativity.”

Following the lead of the NBA in their record 211-186 shootout (with no defense), I wonder if we will see a 300 game tie by all of the entrants? And on fluorescent lanes? I’m beginning to wonder if lane conditioning has always been the defense, or the competition in bowling that Larry Bird described?

PBA Legacy Cup: Legends and Rising Stars

On Saturday, March 16, at 1PM, we have an event that could really provide a few memories, because some of the greatest players in the history of the game (Pete Weber, Norm Duke, Parker Bohn III and Walter Ray Williams Jr.) will be combining forces with rising stars like Cortez Schenck, Anthony Neuer, and other players determined by a fan vote.

Voting for those “other players” is now underway. You can actually cast your vote now at:

https://www.pba.com/all-star-weekend

Finally, to close the night, Mike Aulby will take part in a shoot-out competition with a special guest. In keeping with the NBA format (Curry vs. Ionescu), I wonder if the special guest will be PWBA newcomer Karsyn Lukosius from New Jersey? Or perhaps Liz Johnson, the all-time everything among PWBA bowlers? Shannon Pluhowsky, a lefty like Aulby, would also make an interesting selection.

Go Bowling PBA NASCAR Invitational

The bowling version of All-Star Weekend concludes on March 17, at 1PM, on FOX (the other events are on FS1). This contest will feature four doubles teams, each pairing one PBA or PWBA player with one NASCAR driver. According to the PBA news release, “Defending champions Kyle Troup and Aric Almirola will face off against competitors like the PBA’s Darren Tang, NASCAR’s Chase Briscoe and the PWBA’s Daria Pajak and Lindsay Boomershine.”

There’s also a special “Checkered Flag Clash,” where NASCAR talent will compete in a single elimination format. Hmm, I wonder what that could be? Let’s hope they don’t bring in miniature race cars to compete on the lanes…

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PIN? — The Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame in Arlington, Texas, have asked for our assistance in locating the origin and dating of this bowling pin. Any of you that have spent a lifetime in the game of bowling will immediately notice the elongated neck of this pin. My personal opinion is that the unusual shape was designed to assist pin boys when they were setting the pins by hand.

The elongated neck would make it easier to hold multiple pins in each hand. If you have any information or thoughts on the design of this pin, write to us in care of this publication. We will hopefully have some answers in an upcoming issue.