Well, my voice is still on the fritz, so this week's episode (focusing on Sunday's season-opening ESPN telecast) is a written-only affair. I'm hoping that with proper diet, exercise and no more all-night booze sessions, I'll make a full recovery and be ready to resume my duties again next week. In the meantime, here is what I would have said had I been able to deliver this week's show:
Hello Bowling fans and welcome to The Bowling Show. I’m PB Atkinson.
1
Our top story, and only story this week, is Sunday’s season-opening telecast on ESPN at 1pm ET. The show will include the finals of the Senior World Championship and Women’s World Championship, as well as the Trick Shot Invitational, which features six of the PBA Tour’s top stars. Hopefully, none of the women or seniors will be confused by the format and attempt to throw a ball behind-the-back or between-the-legs at a key point in their title match.
2
ESPN unveiled a new promotional campaign last week to promote the start of the season, with a series of commercials titled “In Their Shoes” (watch one of the spots below). The 30-second spots move away from the trend of using comedy to promote the Tour, and treats the players in a more realistic fashion through interview clips and archived tournament and behind-the-scenes footage. To make up for this, ESPN’s promotion for the upcoming NBA season will now involve Lebron James and Chris Paul attempting to hula-hoop while playing a game of H-O-R-S-E.
3
The PBA and Xtra Frame will be launching a great deal of additional content surrounding the upcoming World Series of Bowling telecasts, including a new PBA: 39x60 Pre-Game Show on pba.com, and Post-Game coverage on Xtra Frame. The shows will give fans more insight into the players’ strategies through interviews with the players’ manufacturer reps, as well as greater detail on the players’ thoughts coming out of their performances on TV. The line was drawn, however, when the suggestion was made to provide CATS data of the players’ brains.
4
PBA Tour exempt player Ryan Shafer ruffled some feathers when he recently suggested that the PBA was making a mistake by showcasing the Women’s and Senior Tours in the first telecast of the new season. Shafer made his comments in the PBA Message Boards, where he wrote, “It just seems like they're throwing that show on first (even though it has nothing to do with what is supposed to be the main focus of the PBA) because there's nowhere else to put it.” After those comments, I’m sure fans of the ladies and seniors will now be able to tell Mr. Shafer where he can put any telecast he makes in the future.
5
And our last story is just a reminder to watch the first telecast of the 2009-2010 Tour season on ESPN this Sunday at 1PM ET. Bowling is back on the air and this week’s telecast provides a great opportunity for you to introduce friends and family to our sport, especially with the fun and entertainment of the Trick Shot Invitational. If you don’t. I will find you. I know I’m just a cartoon character who can’t even change my expression, but it doesn’t matter. You mess with bowling and you mess with me!
And that’s all the time we have for our show. Thanks so much for joining us. I’m PB Atkinson reminding you to join us Monday for our Motor City Open preview and again next Friday for another new episode of The Bowling Show.