(Editor's note: This will become my true weekly feature on blogspot, which is a look at bowling reviewing the previous week on the PBA tour as well as a look at local and collegiate bowling news. The reason for college: I have rooting interest as you will soon find out.)
Defining Duke
Whether or not fans of Wichita like to hear this, but your hometown heroes got owned yesterday. Let's properly put into context what Norm Duke has accomplished the last 8 months of his bowling career on the Big Wood PBA Tour. In February of this calendar year, Duke was ranked 51st in the PBA point rankings putting him out of the exempt line for the current 2008-09 season. His career-whether or not anyone thought it-was truly in the balance. Injuries has offset the great talent and the brilliant match play mind that occupied his body (again) and just when he finally got healthy enough to bowl without pain, he became ill again with the flu. It could have been a simple fold the tent week for Duke and try and rally for the rest of the season to earn his tour card, but this was no normal week back in February of 2008...this was the World Championship. A major championship that he could not pass up given that he could will his way through match play and hold off enough bowlers to at the least save his career in terms of points was enough motivation. What Norm Duke did was will himself into the championship round and then took down the legendary Walter Ray Williams, Jr. and Ryan Shafer to win the World Championship and earn a 4 year exemption.
Encore...?
Duke then rolls into the US Open in March and wins the only major he has never won, doing it running the ladder to firmly cement his legacy in PBA lore by being the second player to ever win the career Grand Slam, joining Mike Aulby as the only other bowler alive to have laid claim to the Masters, Tournament of Champions, National/World Championship, and US Open.
Encore...encore..?
Once again, the World Championships came calling and Stormin' Norman came a-callin'. Healthy, happy, and almost free of any distractions surrounding him just went out and assaulted Chris Barnes in the title match to win his third consecutive major: a feat never accomplished in this history of this great sport.
The truth behind the victories lies the simple fact then when he's right, Norm Duke is the best player in the world when the money is on the line. I alluded to it yesterday that he is the sport's most popular player since Earl Anthony and the amount of respect he gets, even in what was considered a hometown mosh pit for Sean Rash and Barnes yesterday, the one chant that still prevailed was "DUUUUKKKKEEEEEE!!!"
Take away the small stature and the oversized elf ears and the balding spot on top of his head and there is still the bowler, Norm Duke: one of the 10 greatest players of all time, maybe one of the 5 best in PBA Tour history, and a future Hall of Famer in January. He is one of 5 players to win the Triple Crown (Aulby, Pete Weber, Billy Hardwick, and Johnny Petraglia), one of two players to win the Grand Slam, and now the only player to win 3 straight majors. He has won two Player of the Year awards (and was easily denied one in either of the last two years based on politics or new formats), has shot on of the 19 televised 300 games in PBA history, and lost in yesterday's victory he joins Williams, Anthony, Mark Roth, Weber, and Parker Bohn III with at least 30 PBA titles in his career. He now has 6 majors and its hard to think that even at 44 years of age he won't get another one or two before his great career comes to a rest. He has truly become one of the all-time great ambassadors and good guys in bowling. His resume is far from done and there is one more stat worth noting: in the last two plus seasons (this win included) Duke has won 7 titles and was healthy for pretty much less than half of the events he bowled in. Simply amazing...
College
Anyone got their watches ready?? The NCAA bowling season is about to get rolling with the season's first marquee tournament, the FDU Invitational October 31-November 2. Women's bowling has really taken gigantic strides in the last few years and women's collegiate bowling has been right at the apex of this rebirth. Not that the ladies are getting televised in the college game as they are in the pro level, but they are the future of the game and the talent of these players is exceptional. The tournament will be held at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, New Jersey just off of Route 46 East. If you enjoy watching bowling and for a reasonable price (free) get your fannies to the newly renovated Parkway Lanes. Andohbytheway, have a grilled cheese sandwich while you are there at their snackbar...it is to die for (almost literally).
Michelle Peloquin
"The better bowler in this relationship is NOT the author."Local
No local news to report so far because I really wasn't around locally last week visiting my girlfriend (Michelle Peloquin, Senior, Vanderbilt, ranked #2 in the nation, hence my rooting interest) while she was on her mid-semester break. My objective for this-and I have no idea how to do this-but I will try to feature a league per week in this feature for the local leagues in the Long Island area. If i can't...then you will have to deal with my weekly barbs Monday night at the newly renovated Patchouge Lanes (Bowl Long Island).
About the Editor: Tommy Scherrer (that's me) is one of the night managers-a far more fancier term for 'Shift Leader'-at AMF Syosset Lanes. A former student at William Paterson in Wayne, NJ as well as a member of the Pioneer bowling team for 4 years, he is a regular contributor to the pockets of many great players and on occasion, will actually make his money back generally in marathon tournaments.
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