Sure, times have changed since the Professional Bowlers Association was last on the ABC network. For one, Disney now owns both ABC and ESPN. So, it seems very easy for the PBA to be on ABC if it is the big brother of ESPN. The show seemed much like an ESPN telecast except for one huge difference; HIGH DEFINITION.
I believe that was the first time professional or serious bowling has been televised in HD. It was incredible. The PBA can be seen on your ESPN HD channel, but the show is not broadcast in HD. You see the same 4:3 aspect ratio in HD as you do on the standard definition channel. The picture quality was incredible. I have seen HD shows for years, and PBA bowling for decades before that. Maybe that is why the picture seemed that much more incredible as I am used to a certain quality in bowling programming. Hey, I thought the Weather Channel was cool the first time I saw it in HD. Can the PBA afford to broadcast in HD in the future? I hope so. As I have reported before, I usually drift to sleep in the middle of the show after I know who is on and what equipment they are throwing. With a superior quality product, I did stay awake this time.
I was disappointed that the commercials were the same as the ones on ESPN. Even on ABC, there seemed to be no commercial bonanza of new sponsors. Even with a large prize fund and $250,000 first prize, SportsCenter exposure, and news headlines around the country of the semi-final match, there was not any new sponsors. To me, this still does not bode well for the PBA.
Would you bowl a 100 game for millions to watch for your 15 minutes of fame? Wayne Garber did. I am positive he did not do it on purpose. He bowled a great tournament. Remember, he received $50,000 for his placement. He may have bowled a 100, but a 279 would have given him the same result; a loss to eventual winner, Mika Koivuniemi. Mika's 299 made SportsCenter's top plays of the day. Wayne also received a Commissioner's Exemption for the Earl Anthony Memorial PBA tournament. I don't think he would have received the possibility to bowl in the next tournament stop with a 200 game in the semi-final match.
UPDATE: Tom Daugherty can appreciate my post as I totally misattributed his new PBA record to former exempt player Wayne Garber. Tom can hope he can still have some sense of anonymity. I blew that completely. At least I did not say confuse him with former American Idol contestant, Chris Daughtry. Thanks to the reader who corrected me with his comment.
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Correction to your story, it was Tom Daugherty who rolled the 100 game against Mika Koivuniemi in the semi-final match of the TOC, not Wayne Garber. You are correct that Wayne Garber did receive the Commissioner's exemption though, but it was probably because he is a former exempt player from Modesto,Ca which is less than 60 miles from the tournament site of Dublin,Ca.
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