Bowling on CBS

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Bowling on CBS is the de facto title for CBS Sports' professional ten-pin bowling television coverage.

Contents

History

CBS Bowling Classic (1964)

In 1964, the Professional Bowlers Association held 31 tournaments worth $1,200,000. Along the way, the PBA put another telecast on the air (after the Winter Tour finals went on the air for the first time on ABC just two years prior), the two-man bestball on CBS. [1] [2] Baseball legend Pee Wee Reese served as the play-by-play announcer while the color analyst was bowling great Billy Welu.

As part of the CBS Sports Spectacular (1979, 1998–99, 2008–09)

In 1979, [3] CBS Sports Spectacular broadcast a ten match tournament [4] during the PBA's Summer [5] schedule. Frank Glieber [6] and Ken Squier [7] served as the play-by-play announcers with Dave Davis working on color commentary.

After ABC televised their final Professional Bowlers Tour event on June 21, 1997, CBS started airing a few events during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. [8] [9] The new network contract with CBS Sports guaranteed nine one-hour telecasts. It was reported in newspapers that Chris Schenkel did not intend to retire after the series ended, even though he was in his seventies by 1997, as he wanted to earn more money to pay for his grandchildren to go to college.

When CBS picked up the PBA Tour in 1998, there was talk of Schenkel moving to that network, but it never materialized. Gary Seibel [10] [11] (play-by-play) and Marshall Holman (color) got the jobs instead. When the PBA Tour moved to CBS in 1998, a two-match format was adopted. Again going to four bowlers, the #2, #3, and #4 players bowled in one "shootout" match, with the winner facing the tournament's #1 qualifier for the championship. From 1998 to 2000, also, the PBA used gold-colored pins with black stripes or crowns (depending on if Brunswick or AMF was involved in the alley) for their televised finals. The pins returned to regular white in 2001.

In 2008, Bo Burton served as an analyst alongside Bill Macatee, Michelle Hunter and Lynn Swann for the Bowling's Clash of Champions, [12] [13] [14] a contest that pitted men against women. In this event, a historic first time that a woman ever beat a man in a TV final occurred in the $50,000 title match, when Lynda Barnes, wife of professional bowler Chris Barnes, defeated Sean Rash to take the title.

CBS would broadcast the Bowling's Clash of Champions again in 2009. [15]

CBS Sports Network's coverage (2012–present)

ESPN featured bowling from 2000 to 2018 on Sunday afternoons, with CBS Sports Network [16] [17] [18] [19] also airing a smaller number of bowling tournaments by 2013. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

Dave Ryan called PBA bowling events on the network alongside color analyst Randy Pedersen [25] from 2002–2007. The Motel 6 Roll To Riches event marked Ryan's final PBA event. Ryan would be replaced the following season by Rob Stone. Ryan returned to PBA bowling broadcasts in June–July, 2013, when CBS Sports Network covered five events in the PBA Tour's "Summer Swing." [26] [27]

Other announcers that CBS Sports Network have utilized include Dave LaMont [28] (play-by-play) and Chris Barnes (color commentary). From 2016 to 2018, LaMont was the lead play-by-play broadcaster for PBA Tour events on ESPN. [29] Since the PBA's move to Fox Sports in 2019, LaMont has occasionally filled in for the current lead broadcaster Rob Stone when he is not available. Starting in 2016, Kelly Kulick has provided color commentary for CBS Sports Network broadcasts of the PWBA Tour, except in tournaments where she qualifies for the televised finals.

In April 2017, the PBA announced the first-ever Main Event PBA Finals, held May 18–20 in Orlando, Florida and broadcast for five consecutive Tuesdays on CBS Sports Network, starting May 30. This is an invitational event that serves as a type of bowling "playoffs", similar to The Chase for the Cup in NASCAR or the FedEx Cup in PGA golf. The event featured the top eight players in PBA Tour earnings, from the start of the 2015 season through this year's USBC Masters. Players were seeded 1–8 based on earnings, and split into Group 1 (1, 4, 5 and 8 seeds) and Group 2 (2, 3, 6 and 7 seeds). The groups bowled a mixed roundrobin match play session of four matches each, which made up the first two broadcasts. Players were then re-seeded within their groups, based on total pinfall plus a 50 pin bonus for every match win. Group 1 and Group 2 stepladder matches were held next, and were broadcast in the third and fourth weeks. The Group 1 and Group 2 winners then faced off in the fifth and final broadcast in a three-game, total pinfall head-to-head match to determine the PBA Finals champion. [30]

Also beginning in 2017, CBS Sports Network carried the PBA Tour Finals. The 2019 edition took place July 20 and 21 in Las Vegas. (PBA Commissioner Tom Clark later announced an agreement with CBS Sports Network to cover the PBA Tour finals through the 2022 PBA season. [31] ) The tournament retained a similar format as in 2018, with eight top players seeded into two groups of four. The main difference for 2019 is that the eight players were determined based on Tour points ranking since the beginning of the 2018 season. (In previous PBA Tour Finals, the eight bowlers were chosen and seeded based on Tour earnings, not points.) [32] CBS Sports Network broadcast an unprecedented nine hours of live coverage over the two days. [33]

USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships (2004–09)

Back when CBS Sports Network was known as College Sports Television , they showcased the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships. [34] Beginning in 2004, [35] CSTV aired the women's and men's national championship matches in early June. Chris Lincoln, Brian Webber, [36] and Mike Jakubowski served as the play-by-play announcers with Chris and Lynda Barnes, and Kelly Kulick [37] on color commentary. CBS would air the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships through 2009, [38] when ESPN [39] took over the rights for the next two years.

Professional Women's Bowling Association (2015-present)

In 2015, the U.S. Women's open finals (September 6) and PWBA Tour Championship finals (September 13) were broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. [40]

In 2016 however, CBS Sports Network aired the final round of all standard PWBA Tour events this season on a tape-delay basis. The final round for the major tournaments aired live or on same-day delay. TV tapings of the non-major stepladder finals were conducted in conjunction with first three major tournaments on May 26 (USBC Queens), June 26 (PWBA Players Championship) and August 7 (U.S. Women's Open). This was also the case a year later as TV tapings of the non-major stepladder finals were conducted in conjunction with first three major tournaments on May 23 (USBC Queens), June 25 (PWBA Players Championship) and August 6 (U.S. Women's Open).

Beginning in 2018, CBS Sports Network aired the final round of the three Elite Field standard tournaments and all major tournaments live. [41]

Related Research Articles

Perfect game (bowling)

A perfect game is the highest score possible in a game of bowling, achieved by striking in every frame. In bowling games that use 10 pins, such as ten-pin bowling, candlepin bowling, and duckpin bowling, the highest possible score is 300, achieved by bowling 12 strikes in a row in a traditional single game: one strike in each of the first nine frames, and three more in the tenth frame.

United States Bowling Congress

The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress — the original codifier of all tenpin bowling standards, rules and regulations from 1895 onwards; the Women's International Bowling Congress — founded in 1916, as the female bowlers' counterpart to the then all-male ABC; the Young American Bowling Alliance, and USA Bowling. The USBC's headquarters are located in Arlington, Texas, after having moved from the Milwaukee suburb of Greendale, Wisconsin in November 2008. The move enabled the USBC to combine its operations with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA).

Chris Barnes (bowler) American professional bowler

Chris Barnes is an American professional bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), who currently competes on both the PBA Tour and PBA50 Tour. He has also competed internationally as a member of Team USA.

Kelly Kulick is an American professional bowler and sportscaster. She has won ten professional women's bowling titles, one PBA Tour title and a professional mixed doubles title. Kulick is the first woman ever to win a regular Professional Bowlers Association tour title and the only woman to win a major PBA Tour tournament. She is a 14-time member of Team USA. Kulick is currently a pro staff member for Storm Bowling, Vise grips and High 5 gear.

Professional Womens Bowling Association

The Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) organizes and oversees a series of annual tournaments for the top competitive women ten-pin bowlers. The series is often referred to as the "women's tour" of bowling. The PWBA was formed in 1960 but ceased operations in 2003. The PWBA Tour was re-launched in 2015 by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) with a three-year funding commitment. In addition, through a new partnership with the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), the PBA began conducting PWBA Regional (women-only) events and PWBA members are now allowed to bowl all PBA events.

The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional professionals, a small percentage of the bowling membership competes at the national and international level, forming the PBA Tour.

Nelson "Bo" Burton Jr. is a professional ten-pin bowler, PBA Hall of Famer, and former longtime analyst for the Professional Bowlers Tour on ABC Television. He is the son of Nelson Burton, Sr., who himself was a successful bowler in his day, competing with the likes of Glenn Allison and Billy Welu. Bo compiled 18 titles on the PBA Tour, including two major championships, and earned $763,782 (USD).

Elizabeth Ann Johnson is an American professional bowler. She first became known as an 11-time winner on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, which included the first of her six U.S. Women's Open titles in 1996, before that organization suspended operations in 2003.

Shannon O'Keefe is an American female professional bowler and bowling coach now living in Shiloh, Illinois, who has competed in the United States and internationally. She is a 15-time member of Team USA (2005–present) and an eight-time World Champion. O'Keefe has 14 titles on the PWBA Tour, including three major championships, and was named PWBA Player of the Year in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Since 2014, she has also been the women's bowling coach at McKendree University.

2014 is the 55th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour and the sixth straight season in which all of the North American fall events are condensed into the PBA World Series of Bowling (WSOB). The 2014 season consisted of 20 individual title events plus a "PBA League" team title event. The 2014 season is the first season since 2000 to follow a calendar year schedule.

The 56th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour was played in 2015. There were 27 singles title events, three doubles title events, and two team events on the 2015 schedule.

2016 is the 57th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. There were 26 singles title events, two doubles title events, and two team events on the 2016 schedule.

2017 is the 58th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. The 2017 schedule includes 24 singles title events, two doubles title events, and one non-title team event.

The Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour returned from a 12-year hiatus in 2015, thanks to a three-year funding commitment from the USBC and BPAA. The 2015 tour had ten stops, running from May 13 to September 13. Major tour stops included the following:

The 2018 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour retains a similar schedule to the 2017 season, with nine standard tournaments and four majors, but includes two changes. First, the final round of each standard tournament will now be contested in the bowling center where the qualifying rounds occurred. Second, the final three standard events of the year will feature an “Elite Field” of 24 bowlers, based on season-to-date points list, that are automatically placed into the top 32 for match play. The remaining players will bowl a qualifying round for the other eight spots in match play.

The 2019 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour retained a similar schedule to the 2018 season, with ten standard tournaments and four majors.

The 2019 PBA Tour season, the 60th season of play for the U.S. Professional Bowlers Association's ten-pin bowling tour, began in January 2019 with the PBA Hall of Fame Classic in Arlington, Texas. The season schedule had 27 singles title events, two doubles title events, and two non-title team events.

PBA on Fox is the branding used for Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) broadcasts produced by Fox Sports and airing on the Fox broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 (FS1). On March 21, 2018, the PBA announced that Fox Sports signed a multi-year agreement to acquire the television rights to its events beginning in 2019 and running through at least 2022. Most events will be carried by FS1, but at least four events per season will air on the Fox broadcast network.

PBA on ESPN is the branding used for Professional Bowlers Association broadcasts on the ESPN cable television network. ESPN's relationship with bowling began in 1985, when ESPN aired the 12 Summer Tour events. By 2001, ESPN would provide exclusive coverage of 20 regular-season events and four to six summer telecasts, all on Sundays or Tuesdays.

The 2020 PBA Tour season, the 61st season of play for the U.S. Professional Bowlers Association's ten-pin bowling tour, began on January 14, 2020 with the PBA Hall of Fame Classic in Arlington, Texas, and concluded with the final round of the PBA Tour Playoffs on October 12 in Centreville, Virginia.

References

  1. ↑ CBS Bowling Classic (Best Ball doubles match) on YouTube
  2. ↑ "CBS Bowling Classic". Facebook. September 27, 2016.
  3. ↑ 1979 PBA Houston Open) on YouTube
  4. ↑ "PBA History". Professional Bowlers Association.
  5. ↑ PBA Summer Tour - 1979 Seattle Open - final match on YouTube
  6. ↑ PBA Summer Tour - 1979 Seattle Open - final match on YouTube
  7. ↑ PBA Summer Tour - 1979 Fresno Open - title match (Part 1 of 2) on YouTube
  8. ↑ Perfect 300 game - 1999 masters (Bob Hanson) on YouTube
  9. ↑ 1999 PBA National Bowling Stadium Open Whole Telecast 2016 PWBA Lexington Open Match #3 - on YouTube
  10. ↑ 1998 PBA Bayer Brunswick Touring Players Championship Full Telecast on YouTube
  11. ↑ 1999 PBA National Bowling Stadium Open Whole Telecast on YouTube
  12. ↑ CBS Bowling PKG on YouTube
  13. ↑ "CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR PRESENTS "BOWLING'S CLASH OF CHAMPIONS" ON SATURDAY". CBS Press Express. May 7, 2009.
  14. ↑ Bowling's Clash of Champions Finals (Part 1) - May 11, 2008 on YouTube
  15. ↑ "2009 Bowling's Clash of Champions". mrbowling300.net. May 7, 2009.
  16. ↑ Bigham, Terry (March 25, 2019). "CBS SPORTS NETWORK TO TELEVISE 19 BOWLING SHOWS IN 2019". Bowl.com.
  17. ↑ Johnson, Bob (March 15, 2017). "CBS Sports Network to Air 23 Bowling Events". Bowlers Journal International.
  18. ↑ "CBS SPORTS NETWORK AND USBC REACH TWO-YEAR DEAL TO TELEVISE MAJOR BOWLING EVENTS". Professional Women's Bowling Association. October 25, 2017.
  19. ↑ "CBS SPORTS NETWORK TO TELEVISE 23 BOWLING EVENTS IN 2017". BOWLINGDIGITAL.COM. March 15, 2017.
  20. ↑ 2012 USBC ITC: Mens Team Event: Webber Int'l vs Wichita State part 2 on YouTube
  21. ↑ 2013 Lucas Oil PBA Wolf Open Finals on YouTube
  22. ↑ 2013 Lucas Oil PBA King of the Swing Finals on YouTube
  23. ↑ 2013 Lucas Oil PBA Badger Open Finals on YouTube
  24. ↑ 2013 Lucas Oil PBA Bear Open Finals on YouTube
  25. ↑ PBA Bowling Barbasol Tour Finals Part 1 07 20 2019 (HD) on YouTube
  26. ↑ 2014 PBA Summer Swing Wrap-up on YouTube
  27. ↑ PBA to Debut on CBS Sports Network Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET with Lucas Oil Badger Open Finals Vint, Bill at pba.com on June 6, 2013.
  28. ↑ "CBS Sports Network To Air Team And Singles Championships". CollegeBowling.com. March 7, 2012.
  29. ↑ "News | Veteran Broadcaster Dave LaMont Tabbed as New Play-By-Play Announcer for PBA Tour Telecasts". PBA.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  30. ↑ Vint, Bill (May 28, 2017). "Tuesday on CBS Sports Network: PBA Unveils Open Round of New Main Event PBA Tour Finals". pba.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Tournament Details - Barbasol PBA Tour Finals". pba.com. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  32. ↑ Schneider, Jerry (December 26, 2018). "PBA Tour Finals Returns in 2019 With CBS Sports Network Live Coverage July 20-21 From Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas". pba.com. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  33. ↑ Schneider, Jerry (July 12, 2019). "Go Bowling! PBA Tour's Top Performers Over Two Years Take Center Stage in Barbasol PBA Tour Finals". pba.com.
  34. ↑ "Telecasts set for 2008 USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships". BowlingDigital.com. May 8, 2008.
  35. ↑ 2004 Intercollegiate Bowling Championships Women's Match Pikeville vs Wichita State on YouTube
  36. ↑ 2005 Intercollegiate Bowling Championships Men's Show: Lindenwood vs Fresno State on YouTube
  37. ↑ University of Pikeville 2008 ITC Championship Match on YouTube
  38. ↑ Joe W. Steiner Striking at the 2009 USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships on YouTube
  39. ↑ 2010 Intercollegiate Team Championships: Mens Match: Wichita State vs Calumet Game 2 part 1 on YouTube
  40. ↑ "CBS Sports Network to televise major bowling events in 2015, highlighted by U.S. Open". bowlingdigital.com. April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  41. ↑ "CBS Sports Network and USBC Reach Two-Year Deal to Televise Major Bowling Events". PWBA.com. October 25, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
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