ABC Hall of Fame member Dick Weber didn't do as well as he hoped at the ABC Tournament Saturday, but he still enjoyed the experience ... again.
Weber started his 57th consecutive ABC Tournament at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., with 604 in team competition. He followed with 547 in doubles and 577 in singles for a 1,728 all-events score. That total moved him into second on the career pinfall leaders board with 109,745.
Weber still gets goosebumps when he walks down center aisle. "It's always special to walk down that aisle," he said. "It still gives me a thrill. It's a fun tournament, but a tough tournament at times."
For the second straight year, Weber, 74, bowled with his son Rich and grandsons Nick Weber and Troy Goettel. Dick's other son, Pete, joined him in the PBA Hall of Fame in 1998, the only father-son inductees. Pete was the fastest player to earn $1-million on the PBA tour in 1989 after 253 tournaments and surpassed Dick in total tour wins with 30.
JAROS WINS: Steve Jaros improved his odds of winning PBA player of the year by defeating Dave D'Entremont 257-195 at the Uniroyal Tire Classic at Indianapolis on Sunday, his third title this season.
D'Entremont spared twice and struck to lead early. Jaros struck on his next eight shots while D'Entremont missed sparing the 10-pin in a seventh-frame shot.
"The key was making sure I stayed up on how the lanes were changing," said Jaros, who earned $40,000. "Right now, I have to think I'm the favorite for player of the year." He's the only player with three titles this season.
In the first semifinal, Jaros defeated Michael Haugen Jr. 248-223 and D'Entremont defeated Jeff Zaffino 233-186. In the wild-card match, D'Entremont ousted Chris Barnes 233-186. D'Entremont won $20,000, Haugen and Zaffino $10,000 each and Barnes $9,000.
Ricky Ward of North Fort Myers lost to Zaffino 4-0, and Jaros defeated Christopher Loschetter of West Melbourne 4-1 in the round of eight. Jaros ousted Fort Lauderdale's Randy Pedersen, Barnes eliminated Clermont's Norm Duke and Mika Koivuniemi bounced Steve Wilson of Lake Worth in the round of 16.
Other Florida players missing cuts were Ocala's Walter Ray Williams Jr., Tampa's Tom Daugherty and Palm Harbor's Steve Hoskins. Clermont's Jason Couch, Orlando's Chris Hayden, Ocala's Roger Bowker and Boynton Beach's Jimmy Keeth missed the first-round cut.
The tour's final stop this season, the PBA World Championship, opened Monday at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich. The finals will be aired live on ESPN 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday.
TRIALS SET: The PBA's first tour trial is June 1-6 at Stardust Bowl II in Merrillville, Ind. The new trials will determine the final eight spots for season-long exemption on the 2004-05 tour. The list of exempt players is at www.pba.com
The five-day competition is a daily tournament with two squads each bowling nine games. After the final day, the top eight bowlers with the highest cumulative pinfall will receive the exemption and guaranteed earnings of at least $32,000.
The trials are open to any PBA member who has participated in at least five PBA events (PBA tour, PBA Senior tour, PBA regional tour) between Aug. 11, 2003, and May 31. The trials in 2005 will become invitation only.
MORE DATA ONLINE: A new Bowling Online Pressroom has been launched by the ABC at www.bowl.com that offers a broad range of information, and the PBA Web site has a new interface. The site contains 24-hour access to general information, statistics, records, histories and more.
