What's life like on the
Denny's Professional Bowlers Association Tour?

Find out firsthand from six-time PBA champion and USBC Sport Bowling spokesperson Chris Barnes as he chronicles the ups and downs of life on the Tour during the 2005-06 season in the "Barnes Blog" which will run on a regular basis on Sportbowling.com.

Week:
20 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 & 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 6 & 7 | 5 | 4 | 1

Week 20 - Great Lakes Classic (Wyoming, Mich.)

In what would seem to be a down week, there sure was a lot of excitement! This was the last week that points counted. There are basically three races that kept more than a few players' nerves on edge. The first is the overall points race. With the World Championship over, the race to four does not matter, but there still is the team sponsor race which pays the top 16 players on a sponsored team. In addition, Norm and Tommy were locked up in a battle to be the points leader that Norm held on to as Tommy looked like he needed and took a week off mentally.

The second is the race to be in the top 16 for the Japan Cup. This is the one I have been chasing since I came back from my injury and I need to move up a spot to get there. There were six players vying for two spots going into this week with Robert Smith taking the week off, Fagan in 16th, me in 17th, Healey, Voss and Loschetter. Tough group!

The last and most important is the race to 40 to stay exempt. There were as many as six guys whose fortunes could change in this week in addition to anyone who might win. By virtue of his great performance down the stretch, my friend and idol Rick Steelsmith locked up a place in next year's field. I couldn't be happier for him as he epitomizes the term "professional." His unbelievable talent and his abundance of class is something we all strive for. On the down side, another friend and former USBC Team USA member, Paul Fleming, finished just out of the top 40 as he left a 4-7-9 in Game 6 to lose to Danny Wiseman. He will go to tour trials and there is a good chance he will make it through and prove himself once again on tour. It was a tough year for the Texas contingent as DJ Archer, Chris Johnson, Dino Castillo and Rick Lawrence all were on the wrong side of the exempt number. All four had injury issues and/or illnesses that significantly affected performance, including Lawrence who had disc problems. All four will be tough to beat at Hammond this year.

As for me, my back was to the wall. I had to pick up 4,000 points on Fagan or finish fifth or higher to pass Robert which would lock me in for Japan. For the first time all year, I felt really good about my level of execution and decided that I would set my goal for the show and that way I would not have to hope for help from the other guys. I was fortunate in that I bowled pretty well but my draw was much less than fortunate.

After beating a mentally tired Tommy Jones in the first round, I faced off against hall of famer Amleto Monacelli. We have bowled each other a few times and I pretty much know he is going to hook it. He also poses some problems though because if you break the lanes down to the right for him, he can just thrash you. He has always been an amazing feel player and when he is hot he can still be nearly unbeatable even at this stage of his career. Against him, I decided to play even further right so as not to help him much. I had used a similar strategy against Tommy and it worked for a few games until I had to move in and join Tommy. Against Monacelli, the middle of the lane turned very ugly, and I stayed on the edge playing 1-2 board and just kept throwing it harder with less on it to stay there. My carry was not very good after Game 2, but my reaction to the pocket was good. Understanding the scoring pace is key to making adjustments - and in this case 210 was going to be enough - I stayed put and won 4-1.

Should get easier from there right? Wrong. Walter Ray Williams Jr. awaited in the Round of 8 and no one was hotter than him. He pummeled me a few weeks ago in Akron, but I had learned a few things in that match and was better prepared this time. As opposed to the other matches, this one was very high scoring with both of us breaking down the lanes to the right but this time I was able to get inside of him and use this to my advantage. We traded every game and fortunately I was odds. I took Game 1 279 -206 and then we went back and forth. After Game 5, I easily had the better ball reaction but Walter proved once again why he is so great. He somehow shot 275 and I left a ringing 10 pin and a stone 8 pin to shoot 258 and off we go to Game 7. The only good news so far is that by making it to Game 7, I was assured of fifth place and qualifying for the Japan Cup. But I had also promised my boys before I left home to bowl that week that I would say "hi" to them on TV that week. I had never done anything like that before and after looking at the bracket I couldn't help but think "me and my big mouth..." This time I was not out of bullets. I put together another big game, Walter's reaction caught up to him and his carry suffered in a 268-214 win for me.

The TV show awaited but that was where the excitement ended that week. I got to say hi to Ryan and Troy but with 90 seconds until air, my shot on the gutter went away on the right lane. I did not prepare well and didn't have a ball down there that hooked enough to move left of Healey nor enough time to get lined up from there. As it had been all week, the gutter was good out there for about two games and then got worse. I should have thrown a few balls out there and left it alone. Instead I continued to practice and tried to make them better. I ended up making them easier for Healey and deteriorated my own reaction in the process. A rookie mistake that I should never make with the number of shows I have been on. Nonetheless, it was been a great week on a couple of fronts and I took that experience on to the Tournament of Champions!

Week 19– Denny’s World Championship (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Three weeks to go and two majors left. Sounds like a great time to start a winning streak! The first of the three is the Denny’s World Championship in Indianapolis, one of four PBA major tournaments.

Woodland Bowl is a great 80-lane center, a perfect venue for large event like this. This is the best-paying prize fund of the four majors with all of the cashers making more than at any other (although the winner is VERY happy at any of them for 100 grand!). The oil pattern is predictably tough and the goal is to make the top four and earn a bye to the top 16.

I was in decent shape after the first day, third place, as there were many bowlers struggling. It seemed like the best place to play this 41-foot Sport Bowling lane pattern was around 12 to 8 for me for the first few games, then moving left a zone about every two games to keep the angles pretty much at the 3-pin. I got in trouble every time I went away from the headpin to try and get better ball reaction.

I was finally bowling better. The way I could tell was that during the few games I was really lined up, I seemed to shoot 250 every time, including the eighth and ninth games for a plus 203 total. It was the first time all season I pulled a “Houdini” like that to save a block.

I struggled the second day for plus 60, but I was still within about 60 pins of the top four. The secondary issue for me was that I was 17th in the points race and the top 16 qualify for the Japan Cup and a possible skins game this summer. The guys directly ahead of me were Brad Angelo, Michael Fagan, Pete Weber and Mike Machuga. This week and next at Grand Rapids were the last two that counted for points (the Tournament of Champions doesn't count).

The third day I started slow and was never really a factor for the top four, finishing 10th. Unfortunately, Mike and Pete made the top four, making it very tough to catch them the next week. Michael missed the second cut and it turned out I bowled Brad in the first round, so I had some control of the situation.

Brad and I have had some very good matches and this one was no exception. Two weeks ago, we bowled a seven-game match that I was able to pull out with a 258 final game. This time was just as difficult with some crazy twists. In Game 1, Brad needed a mark to shut me out and went 2-4-8-10 to shoot 180. I had to fill 18. I promptly left the 2-8, made it and threw it flush (the only time that game) to win by one stick. In Game 2, I left the 2-4-5 and needed to make it to win. It shouldn't have mattered that the 5-pin was off spot a little, but I chopped the 2-4 and left the 5 using my plastic ball up 25. Brad, of course, doubled to win. In Game 3, he needed a mark in the 10th, left a ringing 10-pin and missed it. I needed to double and throw a good one. The second shot was a bird dog that hit the BACK SIDE of the 10-pin which fell forward to give me Game 3. In Game 4, I left a 3-10 in the 10th and made it (whew) which forced him to double, which, of course, he did. In Game 5, Brad struck out for 235. I only needed a mark and I could have struck out for 258. I moved a precautionary half-board left and left the Big 4 to lose. Murphy's Law was alive and well in this match!

Game 6 returned to a normal PBA match as opposed to the disaster we were putting on so far. A tight game throughout, I struck out in the ninth and 10th frames to shut him out 228-225 to move to another Game 7. This was another close one, but this time I was on the short end as Brad struck out in the ninth and 10th frames for 247 and shut me out.

This was not a good time to lose one as Brad went on to make the show and lock himself into the top 16 as did Pete with his second place showing. Mike's fifth place finish was enough to put him way in. Now I have Michael 3,000 points ahead of me and Robert Smith at 12,000 points ahead but not bowling due to injury. I will have to finish in fifth to stay close to him, but now I also have Patrick Healey Jr., Brian Voss and Chris Loschetter all close with one week to go in the points race.

Week 17 – Pepsi Championship (Fairlawn, Ohio)

I was back to getting my slide leg out in front and I managed to make the round of eight before losing to Walter Ray Williams Jr. at the Pepsi Championship. This was a much more solid performance because I had to do several different things from hooking the ball to playing straight and varying my rev rate. This was possibly the most satisfying performance of the year from a consistency standpoint and I hope to carry this momentum into the last four tournaments (including two majors) of the year.

Week 16 – Buffalo Classic (Cheektowaga, N.Y.)

We moved on to the Buffalo Classic and back to the 35-foot Cheetah pattern which is supposed to hook off the gutter a lot. It did not this week. The preferred angle was almost right to left with lower rev rates and, for some reason, I could not get that accomplished. The "hitch in my giddyup" was still there. I had too much grab in my swing and couldn’t be "nice" and let the ball roll off my hand at the release. The result: 53rd place. That was about as bad as I could bowl and still slide on the correct foot.

After a lot of practice, I figured out the crux of the problem. To protect my back about six weeks ago, I started sliding a little more stiff legged, keeping my sliding foot more underneath my hip. This made my back feel better, but it also made my timing earlier so when I tried to hook the ball, I had to grab the heck out of it. When I tried to play straighter, I had multiple misses left each game as my hand would try and collapse earlier to make up for the lack of fluidity.

Week 15 – 63rd U.S. Open (North Brunswick, N.J.)

The U.S. Open was next. This is the tournament I have been looking forward to all year. There are almost 500 entries and the lane condition is a 40-foot USBC Sport Bowling pattern with an oil ratio of a bit less than 2:1. In addition to that challenge, the bowling center has 82 lanes with 48 in one "bay" and the last 34 down in the other bay. The lanes in each section do not play very similarly. Qualifying is a mess as people are playing everywhere on the lanes. It always is a struggle, but I have been fortunate to have a big block in the first couple of rounds the last two years and get off to a good start. Not this year. Constantly around the 24 number, I make the first cut to the top 25 percent of the field and slog my way along through the next nine games before the cut to the top 24.With one game to go, I was 15 pins behind the cut number and didn’t have much momentum. I changed to the Columbia 300 Power Drive Sanded in the eighth frame and rolled strikes in the eighth, ninth and first ball in the 10th for 216. I made the cut by just 12 pins. Whew!

That night we started round-robin match play and I was in 21st place. We earned 30 bonus pins for every win and I become a big benefactor by winning 17 matches and making a strong run in rounds 1 and 2. There seemed to be more oil in the front part of the lane. I used an Action Packed that was doing most of the right things. I still was not repeating shots as well as I would have liked, but with one round to go I was in fourth place and in contention.

The evening block was a different story. There was less oil on the heads that made the ball look weak down the lane. Instead of playing around 15 board for a couple of games, the guys sliding in the left gutter were making a run. It wasn’t a big deal. I missed the move for a game or two but was still around. I needed to repeat much better as the ball reaction was not as good. That is where my lack of sharpness showed up. It's difficult to beat the best players anyway, and I was throwing it everywhere that night. I still had a chance with three frames to go in the tournament. I had 280 left and that would most likely be enough, but I “crowbar” another one, bowl a solid game and end up a satisfying, but disappointing, sixth place.

Weeks 13 and 14 – Bayer Atlanta Classic (Norcross, Ga.) and West Virginia Championship (Parkersburg, W. Va.)

The next couple of weeks are more of a struggle. Something has been a little off and I figure the lack of practice has showed up. Some people are able to practice little and still compete at a high level, but I am not one of them. I qualified for match play at the Bayer Atlanta Classic and the West Virginia Championship but got crushed by Doug Kent in the round of 32 and beaten by Pat Healey Jr. (who made the TV show) in the round of 16. Things seemed better and I shot 826 at Wilson for the last three games with our new Columbia 300 ball the "Action Packed.” It looks like we have a winner there.

Week 12 – Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Classic (Trussville, Ala.)

It has been a typically hectic month out here on the PBA tour. I started with a good week in the Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Classic. We bowled on the "Cheetah" pattern, which is the easiest of our five lane patterns. I made the first show of the year on the Cheetah pattern and have had my fair share of success on it. This was the first TV show I’ve made since my back injury and it is nice to know that I’m getting closer to bowling well again. Unfortunately, I bowled 240 and lost to Steve Wilson on TV.

Week 10 - Dick Weber Open (Fountain Valley, Calif.)

The weather couldn't be nicer in the Los Angeles area as it was 72 degrees and sunny. We bowled a retro tournament this week in which we bowled three blocks of five games, cut to the top 24 and then bowled round-robin match play. The tournament was named in honor of the late, great Dick Weber and there is a tribute to him inside the center. We are bowling on a unique pattern called "strips" but has been nicknamed the "rake." It is 45 feet which makes the right side of the lane. There are out-of-bounds areas and there are roller coaster-type humps starting with dry at the seven through nine boards (unplayable), a hump and then dry at 15-17, again at 22-24 and then the largest amount of oil from 25-28 followed by the most hook from 29-32. I'm not claiming to be the most educated about lane dressing, but it seems that the giant shim on the left should have been left for Earl Anthony's tournament. But we will see.

As it turns out, it is indeed favorable on the left side. Parker Bohn III shoots 300 pins over for the first five games to take the lead while the scoring pace is surprisingly high overall. The left plays 12 to seven board all day and the right starts at about 13 or 14 to 10 and then has to jump over the strips and ends up around 45-50 lofting the gutter cap. I am fortunate and close out my three Game 5s with 258, 260 and 257 to make the cut by 20. In a confidence-building final game, I struck out in the ninth and 10th to make it despite my lack of games recently.

I finally figured out the fresh oil pattern and started bowling a little better, but then get confused by the transition. My game is getting sharper, but I am missing the moves and getting behind. Not a good idea if you want to beat the best players. I have some ups and downs and get around the top 10 a couple of times, but cannot put together a long enough run to get in serious contention. I finished in an encouraging, but mediocre, 13th place.

Next week we are off to the Motel 6 Phoenix Classic and will bowl at the center that hosted the U.S. Open which Robert Smith won in 2000.

Week 9 - Earl Anthony Medford Classic (Medford, Ore.)

The holidays are over and it is time to get back to what I love second only to the holidays. After sharing Christmas with my 3-year-old twin boys, I know there is not much that matches their enthusiasm. I am really excited and a little nervous about getting back out on the lanes to compete again.

At the Earl Anthony Medford Classic in Medford, Ore., we started on the 43-foot pattern. We knew that meant we would be playing fairly deep and throwing it pretty slow that week. The host center, Lava Lanes, is one of the favorite stops on tour. Host Ric Donnelly caters in food for us, has excellent massage therapists on hand (which came in very handy) and his center has one of the nicest sports bars in the country. We tend to spend a lot of time in this center.

Practice went well and I was able to do so for about an hour and a half with no side effects. I iced afterwards and then did more stretching later. On qualifying day, I got off to a good start and was able to alleviate a little stress by figuring things out early and coasting trough qualifying in sixth place. I threw a Columbia 300 Action all 14 games of qualifying and it seemed to have a little something that the other guys didn't. Unfortunately, the run ended quickly. I bowled local favorite Blaise Bedolla in match play and made some poor strategic decisions that got me in trouble. Blaise struggled in qualifying and barely made it. I decided not to make the lanes easier and played further left in anticipation of his ball reaction staying a little poor and an occasional missed spare on his part. I figured it would give me an extra 10 to 15 pins a game.

I was wrong. My scores came down, but he actually bowled better so every game was a fight. He made all of his spares and forced me to out-strike him. Not being very sharp, I was unable to put enough pressure on him in Game 7 and he threw a late three-bagger to win the match. It didn't take long to get refreshed on the importance of good shot-making AND good decision-making. I won't practice much between stops so I can minimize inflammation to my back.

Weeks 6 and 7 – BowlersParadise.com Classic (Hammond, Ind.) and
Keystone State Championship (Mechanicsburg, Pa.)

With Ryan Shafer and Norm Duke going nose to nose, it might have been entertaining to be there. Having heard the story from a couple of sources, I am only surprised that there has not been more of this sooner. We have many ultra competitive guys out here and gamesmanship is starting to become part of the deal now. The crowd predictably backed Norm after the encounter, but he has been bowling great and his gamesmanship has been at its peak as well. He has many tricks in his bag and not all of them involve throwing a ball. He plays with tape, changes the pace of a match, burns up parts of the lane he is not playing, and in this case, accused a player (wrongly) of cheating by using coaching, which is illegal in the Professional Bowlers Association.

I don't really have a problem with any of this with the exception of the accusation. It is part of it and in some cases the more entertaining part. Besides, I think Norm doesn't feel like he can compete as well left of the 10 board so this is his equalizer.

During this time, I spent less entertaining days visiting more doctors, getting a couple of MRI's but getting some good news. There is no disc or nerve damage; it is strictly a muscular issue that will heal. Multiple physical therapy sessions later, I feel good and might try and bowl in Albany, N.Y., and try and salvage a little of this first half. Maybe I can help stop the onslaught that the lefties have been putting on the tour this year.

Week 5 – Chicago Classic (Vernon Hills, Ill.)

After three visits to the chiropractor and two shiatsu massage therapy sessions, I was able to put my socks on by myself again and I attempted to bowl the tournament. It felt better but I was unable to finish in a strong position again after a couple of games.

Instead of spending Thanksgiving with my family, I was fighting spasms and 8 degree temperatures. I was no factor, and with my back continuing to get tighter, I withdrew to prevent further injury. Another day I would prefer to forget.

Week 4 – USBC Masters (Milwaukee)

This is the week we all look forward to in the first half of the year. The United States Bowling Congress Masters is the only major in the first half and a chance to get a jump on Player of the Year. Before the tournament, I had an opportunity to be a part of ESPN's Super Bowl commercial. Unfortunately, I came across this chance by bowling so poorly in Omaha that I was available to fly to Los Angeles on Friday while the good bowlers were still bowling match play. After throwing shots on a sidewalk for about three hours I was done and came back to Milwaukee to get ready for the USBC Masters.

It seems that the "sidewalk bowling" had more impact than I thought. My back seemed weak as I practiced and so I bowled a sweeper (in which Mike Scroggins shot 856 and lefties were 1-2-3, a common theme for the week) and two additional practice sessions trying to feel right. It didn't seem to help as my back continued to get tighter on the first day of qualifying. Then on the second day it was so tight I was unable to finish in any sort of strong position. By game 3 I was unable to shoot spares at all and I suffered back spasms with each step. I was forced to withdraw from a tournament for the first time in my career. It was one of the lowest moments I can remember.

Week 1 - Tulsa Championship (Tulsa)

The opening week of the 2005-06 Professional Bowlers Association tour started a little earlier than most weeks. Instead of the usual Wednesday, we all got together on Monday evening in Tulsa , Oklahoma , with a welcome dinner for all the exempt players. After a short state of the union speech by Fred Schreyer, (PBA President and Chief Executive Officer), we all dined on barbecue and get reacquainted. Tuesday was a day full of meetings, pictures, feature video shoots and just generally getting everyone up to speed as to what will happen this year and what is expected of all the players. The Wednesday session lasted two hours. Once we were done, Matt Miller (head of lane maintenance) stripped and oiled the lanes for the seven game PTQ (pre-tournament qualifier) event which started at noon . After that there was a pro am and then an optional practice session from 10 p.m. to midnight . Thursday is when everything began. This week we bowled on the "Cheetah" lane pattern, which has 35 feet of oil and the highest scoring of our patterns. However, we are starting this year with a new lane machine by Brunswick which does not have the same technology as the previous Kegel machine. We were warned that because it would be difficult to translate the patterns exactly, we shouldn’t be surprised when the shot is a little different than in previous years. This 35-foot pattern is the slickest one we have seen in recent memory. They are still relatively high scoring, though. After a very slow start, I shot 700 for my last three games to end up plus 125 for the first seven and am right around 32nd place which is the cut to match play. Fortunately, I made some correct adjustments and bowled a very solid block with several 230 and 240 games and qualified 16th for Friday and the round of 32. In the first round I bowled Jim Tomek. He is very talented and hooks it more than I do with as powerful a strike ball as there is. I got off to a very quick start and quickly took a 3-0 lead. However, I relaxed a bit too much and suddenly found myself in Game 7 as Jim beat me three straight. In Game 7 though, I switched to an EPX and shot 258 to advance to the round of 16. From there I beat rookie Chris Loschetter, who upset qualifying leader Parker Bohn III in the first round but seemed to have ran out of bullets and I advanced with a 4-0 victory. In the match for "the show,” I bowled one of the most respected players on tour in Norm Duke. We had a seesaw battle and I dodged a bullet when I forced him to strike out in Game 5 for 259 to win and he got two strikes and eight to give me a one-pin win and a 3-2 lead. The match came down to Game 7 and I am trailed again. I managed to strike out in the 10th frame for 246 which forced Norm to strike on the first ball in the 10th. He left a four pin and I sneaked onto the first TV show of the season!

The TV show moved to an arena which is always exciting. A different surface, but the lanes are pretty similar. I choose to play straighter. That turned out to be a mistake as both Tommy Jones and Wes Malott both decided to hook it more and they both won their matches and bowled for the title. Tommy won his fourth tournament in the last seven events to cement his status as the hottest bowler on tour.