Professional Bowlers Association

And now, "Not So Deep Thoughts" by Randy Pedersen.

Well, last week we were in Indianapolis. What a great town. My buddy, Jeff Schroeder, runs the Brick Yard Crossing. It’s a golf course not far from the airport. Four of the holes are in the infield of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What an awesome place. Justin Hromek, Rick Steelsmith and myself played there a couple of years ago with Jeff. It was mid-March and about 41 degrees. We froze our jewels off but we didn’t care.

I stopped in to see Jeff when I landed and loaded up on some BrickYard goods and met up with him and his fiancé for a nice steak dinner later that night. We went to Ruth’s Chris and I ordered half a cow. Man, was it good. Then it was off to the lanes to watch some action. How about that guy from Down Under? I know he didn’t fare well on the show but what an accomplishment just getting there. I met Andrew Frawley some years back and he is a SUPER guy. Later that night I ran into an old friend. For those of you who are wondering what ever happened to George Branham III, well he’s alive and doing just fine. He bowled the tournament and damn near made match play. Way to go GB3. We spent a couple of hours together reminiscing and talking about old times. It was great to see him again.

The next night we had interviews with the players who made the telecast and then it was off to dinner with the production crew. Where did we eat you ask? That’s right, Ruth’s Chris. Two nights in a row of some serious cow and I was ready for a blood transfusion and an enema. My cholesterol went from 200 to 600. I’m going to lay off the red meat for a while but man, was it good.

Indy is a great bowling town with great fans. I was fortunate to win there in 1999. In the sports bar at the high end of the center there are banners and pictures of all the past champions. It sure is nice to go back and see that year after year.

Congrats to my buddy Norm Duke for snapping off the biggest win of his career. When so much was on the line he backed down from nothing or no one. Way to go, Norm, and congrats on # 27. Well, that’s all for now, I have a party to go to. My little girl is turning 12. See ya.

By Randy Pedersen

Hi, everyone, and welcome to another installment of “Not So Deep Thoughts.” Well, the Tour had back-to-back tournaments in Las Vegas or Lost Wages as I like to call it. What a spectacular venue the Red Rock is. The hotel is pretty nice and the bowling center is second to none, especially the VIP bowling area. We, as players, got to use this exclusive area for a locker room and warm-up area. It was a great place to work on your game, try new equipment, or just have some quite time to reflect on that next royal flush on a poker machine. Dennis Matthews is the Director of Operations and a close friend and he and his staff put on quite the spread for the guys. Thanks very much, Dennis.

As far as the tournaments, well I’ll just say that there were some bazaar endings to say the least. First, there was this Pedersen guy who was leading the Tournament of Champions at one point. The touring guys must have been saying, “What the hell is this guy doing?” I’ve gotta tell ya, I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun bowling a tournament. I got to bowl with two-time T of C winner Mark Williams and PBA Hall of Famer Dave Soutar. To my left were Dave Husted and “The Big Nasty,” Wes Malott. To my right was the legend, Mark Roth. It was like the good old days, minus Malott of course, he’s way too young.

Wes said something to me I’ll never forget, he said “Man, this is soooo cool. I’m bowling with guys I never thought I’d ever bowl with.” I could tell just how much it meant to him. Wes Malott pushed me the whole tournament. He was sincerely in my corner and wanted me to do well. I can’t tell you how much respect I have for him. Forget about the fact that he’s an awesome bowler; he’s also a class act. Anyway, I started the tournament 237- 268,-300. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!!!!! I started thinking crazy thoughts like making the show and winning. Then I bowled match play. The boys reminded me quickly why they are the greatest in the world. A 10th-place finish and it was back to the booth for me. I want to thank some of the guys who gave me the thumbs up for the week: Parker Bohn III, Wes, Jason Couch, Mike Scroggins, Sean Rash, Mark Roth. If I forgot anyone let me know and I’ll get you in the blog next week. Sorry.

Now back to the T of C show. It’s hard not to feel for Chris Barnes. I spoke to him shortly after the show. He was obviously dejected. Michael Haugen Jr. stepped up and did what he needed to do and came away with a stunning upset. You’ve got to give him credit.

Then the doubles tourney was on. Poor Joe Ciccone. It was obvious that the pressure got to him. It’s really easy for those who have never been in that situation to criticize these guys but let me tell you, it takes a special kind of person to be able to perform under that kind of pressure. If it were easy, anyone could do it. I hope that Joe can rebound from this. He not only let himself down but also his partner Ronnie Russell. With the exception of one shot, he bowled great on the show.

As for Barnes, we had a long talk and I think Chris is going to go on a winning streak on TV. That’s right, I said TV winning streak. Congrats to Fagan and Wiseman for winning the doubles event.

Now it’s off to El Paso for some bowling and great Mexican food. I’ll pack the Gas-X.

See ya.


Read more "Not So Deep Thoughts" by Randy Pedersen:

Dydo Japan Cup

USBC Masters

Motor City Classic

Etonic Championship

Lake County Indiana Classic

Great Lakes Classic

Lumber Liquidators Championship

ConstructionJobs.com Championship/a>

By Randy Pedersen

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and I wish the most prosperous New Year to you all.

We had a great Christmas… well, at least the kids did and isn’t it all about the kids? Yes it is. And I’m the biggest kid on the planet, that’s why I can’t stop playing the Nintendo Wii my kids got. We’ve played bowling and baseball and then the kids opened the Guitar Hero III. OH MY GOD!!!!!! Let me just say that growing up, I was the biggest air guitar freak on the planet. Well, not anymore. Not when I can play Guitar Heroooooooo! Let me just say that I can flat out JAM!!!.

My kids get mad when I hog the game but so what! I’m a rock star. What a great game. I got some nice gifts as well. Lots of golf stuff. I also got some new equipment from Storm. Since I’m going to be bowling the Tournament of Champions, I figured I better start practicing. I don’t want to embarrass myself. I do enough of that on Sundays.

Now let’s segue to a new movie I saw on Sunday entitled, “Carolina Jones and the Temple of Pin Carry”. I know Tommy Jones has struggled this season. He says his pin carry has been crappy but not on Sunday it wasn’t! My God. I remember him doing this last season at the Tournament of Champions. That’s what power, speed and a boat-load of talent will do for ya. Congrats Mr. Jones. We all love watching you bowl on TV.

Until next week bowling fans, stay safe, and I’m out of here.

Read more "Not So Deep Thoughts" by Randy Pedersen:

Dydo Japan Cup

USBC Masters

Motor City Classic

Etonic Championship

Lake County Indiana Classic

Great Lakes Classic

Lumber Liquidators Championship

By Randy Pedersen

WOW, what a show last week. I don’t know about you, but that four-man match was awesome. What a performance by Chris Barnes, Chris Warren and Mike DeVaney. Sorry Walter Ray, you can’t win every week. Kudos to DeVaney for a great comeback and a wonderful tournament. Mike finally showed some of that great personality. And for a guy who looks like he could give Kobayashi a run for his money in a hotdog eating contest, DeVaney also showed that he’s one of the best bowlers on Tour. I think Mike will win again before the season ends. Great bowling, MD.

The feel good story of the year has to go to Chris Warren. He made his first show in 12 years. This guy’s been through hell and back, admittedly from his own doing. He showed this past Sunday that he still has mad skills. It’s nice to see him bowling well again after so much adversity. Keep it going Chris.

Well, last week I pointed out some young guns to watch for and, lo and behold, Rhino Page makes the show. Oh, by the way, he made it out of the TQR again this week, then leads the Round of 64 and is the No. 1 seed heading into match play. Could we be seeing the next great player on the Denny’s PBA Tour? It’s hard to argue with some of the numbers this kid has been putting up week after week.

Now, getting back to last week’s telecast when I asked Rob Stone for a nickname. Remember he called me P-Man on the air, and then followed it up with Princess? Well, for all you RP fans I just wanted you to know that I kicked him in the balls after the show. Ok, I didn’t really. Rob is great and a lot of fun to work with. Give him some time to learn our sport. Remember, he came in not knowing ANYTHING about bowling.

If you must know my last nickname on Tour while I was competing full-time was SPIKE. I know, I know, SPIKE? My old roommates Ron Palombi Jr. and Sam Maccarone named me that. I have no idea why. I’m sure my friends in the chat rooms came up with some good ones; it’s too bad we can’t print them. If any of you out there has a legitimate new nickname for me, send it to the PBA and if we like it I’ll mention it on the air along with the person who came up with it.

See ya next week. Be safe!


Read more "Not So Deep Thoughts" by Randy Pedersen:

Dydo Japan Cup

USBC Masters

Motor City Classic

Etonic Championship

Lake County Indiana Classic

Great Lakes Classic

By Randy Pedersen

Well, after a week hiatus, RP is back with some more “Not So Deep Thoughts.”

Let me start by congratulating Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Robert Smith, with Williams proving once again that he is the undisputed “King of the Hardwood.” That makes 44 titles for him. How many of you out there think the 48-year-old will get to 50 before its all said and done (titles, that is)?

And how about Robert Smith? Maximum Bob put on a show like no other when he showed all of us at home something we can’t do: loft it over the gutter cap, play sixth arrow and win a Denny’s PBA Tour title. I can only think of two other guys on Tour who can do what Robert did: Tommy Jones and Wes Malott. If I missed someone, I apologize. It’s nice to see Robert back after spending the entire 2006-07 season on IR.

Speaking of the Injured Reserve list, I thought I would give you an update on the M*A*S*H unit.

Sean Rash – He has a knee injury, although it doesn’t appear to be affecting him too much. He finished sixth last week, losing to eventual runner-up Chris Loschetter in seven games in the Round of 8.

Brad Angelo – He has a bad back which sidelined him for two weeks including the Buffalo stop in his hometown. Brad finished second a couple of weeks ago, but he says his back is a day-to-day thing.

Norm Duke – He’s been out for three weeks with a calf injury. If he could only stay healthy for the whole season… Those damn door jams!

Jason Couch – He had season-ending knee surgery and has received a deferment of his exemption until next season. Jay thought he would be back in time for the start, I said he had no shot. Remember, I had similar knee surgery back in 1991 and I was out eight months.

Tony Reyes – He’s got a quadriceps tear and is out for the season. He’s just waiting to hear back on whether he’s received an injury deferment.

Jeff Carter – Jeff had surgery on his middle finger. He sent me a picture on my cell phone. I told him how cool it looked. When I hung up the phone I puked. Deferred.

Patrick Healey Jr. – He’s been sick and has also filed for a deferment.

What is going on with all these injuries? Is it steroids, or lack thereof? Is it global warming? Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, I can’t remember this many injuries. In fact, the last injury I can remember was Guppy Troup having a couple too many and then slipping on the ice and breaking his leg. That was in Peoria at the True Value Open a few years back. Well, in any event we all wish the guys speedy recoveries. For those of you who would like to send gifts or cash just send it to me and I’ll make sure they get it. I swear.

Now let’s segue into something a little more uplifting. I’ve been watching a few rookies on the Tour this season. I’ve got to tell ya, I can’t remember seeing this much talent in a LONG time. I’m talking about the guys you haven’t seen on the tube… YET. These rookies can be seen performing every Wednesday on Tour bowling the Tour Qualifying Rounds, or rabbit squads for you hardcore fans. Let me give you three names to watch for: Rhino Page, P.J. Haggerty and David O’Sullivan. Keep an eye out for these up-and-comers. I expect these three to be big stars someday on the Denny’s PBA Tour.

SEE YA!


Read more "Not So Deep Thoughts" by Randy Pedersen:

Dydo Japan Cup

USBC Masters

Motor City Classic

Etonic Championship

Lake County Indiana Classic