What’s this? Bowling on network television? Yes! ABC has coverage of the $1 million PBA Tournament of Champions, the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour’s signature event, from Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas. The PBA is making its first appearance on ABC since 1997 as part of a new deal extension that now includes more than 20 PBA telecasts on the network per year through 2013. Last year’s Tournament of Champions produced a historic moment as Kelly Kulick became the first woman to win a PBA Tour event. Here’s the press release with coverage details from ESPN:
PBA Tournament of Champions Live in HD on ABC
The 46th annual Tournament of Champions final round will air live on ABC, in high definition for the first time, Saturday, Jan. 22, at 2:30 p.m. from Las Vegas. Rob Stone and analyst Randy Pedersen will be in the booth calling the match with reporter Kimberly Pressler. Pedersen, a 13-time titlist on the PBA Tour, will be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame later that evening. In addition, PBA Hall of Famer Nelson Burton Jr., who called the PBA on ABC for 23 seasons (1975-1997), will appear in the opening segment and featured in vignettes where he describes some of his favorite Tournament of Champions moments. Kelly Kulick, the first woman to ever win a PBA Tour event, will return to defend her title, along with Walter Ray Williams Jr., Jason Couch, Norm Duke, Pete Weber and many more. At stake is a $250,000 top prize and a total purse of $1 million, the largest in PBA history. The band “Bowling for Soup” will also perform their new single, “Saturday Night,” from the lanes.
Photo: Credit: PBA