"Bowling Blind"

PBA Tour
Rhi"no"-TOC

When legendary ABC announcer Jim McKay used to open up Saturday's "Wide World of Sports" with the classic line, "The thrill of victory...and the agony of defeat" showing the famous by accident clip of Yugoslavian ski jumper Vinko Bogataj skidding off the ramp and careening into the snow and mass of humanity, it showed you the truest form of losing in pain. For so many years (36 to be exact), Chris Schenkel would be there at 3:30 PM every Saturday on ABC giving bowling fans the finest in athletic competition and sometimes, you would see the "Thrill of victory...and the agony of defeat". Yesterday afternoon, for the PBA Tournament of Champions, we saw the thrill and the agony reflected in one subtle moment when Patrick Allen defeated tour roommate and friend Rhino Page 267-263. The pictures above are more a reflection of relief from Allen and utter pain from Page as he had the match in his hands, similar to that of Walter Ray Williams Jr. two weeks ago in Reno. However, this was not 8-10 again...this was 1-3-4-7-9-10, or as it will be known as in some circles as "The Whiff".

(All fans of ABC's bowling telecasts will remember the best "Agony of defeat" moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vyxr-i1JyA)

A phrase much shorter than gigantic washout or not the 8-10 or whatever you want to call it, it can also be called "Shot Clock-Gate". To further explain things, Page needed strike, 9, spare in the 10th to shoot 268 and win his first career major over Allen and after getting the first strike and showing remarkable composure throughout the entire telecast and then something strange happened:

(dialogue by Page to Tournament Director Kirk von Kruger):

Page: "Shot clock's already started...I just got pins."

And Rhino Page never...EVER thought about putting the ball down. Whether it was a Prison Shot (all 3 fingers come out of the ball like a bar of soap to clarify and by now, you know what they do with soap in jail) by Page or a total distraction looking at the shot clock, Rhino Page never seemed ready to embrace this moment. Strange for a player who has had so much success in the last few years winning major international events would stare to his right and stare at a shot clock violation that would have meant nothing had he struck or had even gone 9, spare. It is not like Page needed to flush all 10 to win...he just needed 9, spare to win and he got 4 the hard way. He completely fanned the shot left and Patrick Allen found another way to salvage the "Thrill of victory" while Page sustained the "Agony of defeat".

I often wondered why the PBA Tour would utilize a shot clock violation for only one day in a 4 or 5 day tournament when the answer is apparent: they are trying to condense the show into 90 minutes as safely as they can so they do not run over the slot time. It made even more sense when Allen was there holding the trophy and at such an historic tournament (a MAJOR, by God), you would like to think the PBA could have the winner do a little wrap-up interview with Randy Pedersen, who has experienced the "Agony of Defeat" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSOTzi67jYQ) before. With that being said, the PBA always seems to ruin a one car funeral. The last two PA wins were with him sitting on the bench, the product of bad luck (WRW) and bad mental patience (Page) and with the way Allen can be chirpy, it would have been nice to hear what he had to say after two shocking wins.


Did Allen deserve to win both times...? That answer is debatable but he certainly forced both players to make shots to win which is far more than what other great players of this generation have done to other players when they had them beaten or when they had to perform. Allen now has 12 titles and two majors to his ledger, and is now a US Open shy of joining the ranks of the Triple Crown with the likes of Hardwick, Petraglia, Aulby, Weber, and Duke which puts him into legendary status in the history of the sport. As for Rhino Page...one will think that he will rebound from this because he is that type of player. He has found a way in a season to where he is trying to round out his overall game, make two finals and win one tournament where he had nothing and lose a major championship where he probably had the best reaction of anyone on the show. However, Page suffered Agony while Allen obtained Thrill...fans will remember Page's ski jump for a long time.