HAMMER NEWS

STEELERS LINEBACKER LAMARR WOODLEY BECOMES FIFTH PBA LEAGUE OWNER

12/11/2012

SEATTLE (Dec. 11, 2012) - All-Pro Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley has become the fifth team owner in the new PBA League, the Professional Bowlers Association announced today.

Woodley, currently in his sixth season in the NFL with the Steelers, joins Los Angeles Clippers star guard Chris Paul, former Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, former NFL all-pro receiver Terrell Owens and actor/comedian Kevin Hart as owners in the PBA League which debuts as part of the PBA Detroit Winter Swing Jan. 19-27 at Thunderbowl Lanes in the Detroit suburb of Allen Park, Mich.

“Bowling is a personal pastime for me,” said Woodley, a native of Saginaw, Mich. “I grew up bowling in my hometown of Saginaw and now I go with my teammates and friends in Pittsburgh. I was introduced to the PBA when I played in Chris Paul’s charity event and got a firsthand look at how incredibly talented these athletes are, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a celebrity owner in the first ever PBA League.”

Woodley will be owner of the Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits which is made up of franchise player Osku Palermaa, Martin Larsen, former Saginaw Valley State All-American Dan MacLelland, Thomas Larsen, Patrick Allen and supplemental pick Anthony LaCaze.

Woodley was a member of the 2008 Steelers’ Super Bowl championship team and was also an All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year at the University of Michigan before being drafted by the Steelers in 2007.

“LaMarr is a proven winner and we are glad to have him on our side,” said PBA Commissioner Tom Clark. “There are some natural rivalries within the PBA League forming fast, including LaMarr’s Pittsburgh team and Jerome Bettis’ Motown squad. Plus, who in their right mind will dare make the ridiculous statement ‘bowling isn’t a sport’ to Mr. Woodley?”

Woodley is also active in many charitable initiatives. The LaMarr Woodley Foundation –
http://www.lamarrwoodleyfoundation.com – is a non-profit organization designed to give underprivileged and underserved youth and adults an opportunity to overcome unfortunate situations and their environment.

The eight teams that will make up the PBA League were determined through a draft that was conducted during the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling in November.

ESPN will televise five weeks of PBA League competition beginning Sunday, Jan. 27, plus the PBA League Elias Cup finals in April. The celebrity owners will not compete on the lanes as part of official PBA League competition.

During the first four days of the Detroit Winter Swing, the PBA will conduct a series of open-field tournaments (the Carmen Salvino Classic, Mark Roth Classic, Don Carter Classic and Earl Anthony Players Championship). Those four events will award individual PBA Tour titles and the qualifying scores posted by each PBAL team member will be combined to produce the team qualifying scores for the ESPN telecasts. All PBAL matches on ESPN will be Baker Format matches, where each team member will bowl two frames in each game.

For a Detroit Winter Swing schedule click on PBA Tour schedule

The list of PBA League teams with owners is as follows:

Dallas Strikers (owner Terrell Owens)
1. Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla.
2, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla.
3, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela.
4, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore.
5, Mike Machuga, Erie, Pa.
Supplemental pick: Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind.

Philadelphia Hitmen (owner Kevin Hart)
1, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa.
2, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland.
3, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio.
4, Mike DeVaney, Hemet, Calif.
5, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C.
Supplemental pick: Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas.

Motown Muscle (owner Jerome Bettis)
1, Mike Fagan, Dallas.
2, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich.
3, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas.
4, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind.
5, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill.
Supplemental pick: Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J.

Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits (owner LaMarr Woodley)
1, Osku Palermaa, Finland.
2, Martin Larsen, Sweden.
3, Dan MacLelland, Canada.
4, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla.
5, Thomas Larsen, Denmark.
Supplemental pick: Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill.

Team name to be announced (owner Chris Paul)
1, Jason Belmonte, Australia.
2, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas.
3, Andres Gomez, Colombia.
4, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J.
5, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev.
Supplemental pick: Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela.

Team name, owner to be announced
1, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill.
2, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y.
3, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y.
4, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla.
5, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga.
Supplemental pick: Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa.

Team name, owner to be announced
1, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas.
2, Dom Barrett, England.
3, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz.
4, Stuart Williams, England.
5, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan.
Supplemental pick: Jon VanHees, Charlestown, R.I.

Team name, owner to be announced
1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo.
2, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C.
3, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif.
4, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y.
5, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y.
Supplemental pick: Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y.

About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,200 of the best bowlers from 17 countries who compete in PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional and PBA50 Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands around the world watch PBA activities on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive video streaming service. PBA sponsors include Alka Seltzer Plus, Bayer, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, Jack Link’s, MOTIV, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to http://www.pba.com

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12/11/2012
STEELERS LINEBACKER LAMARR WOODLEY BECOMES FIFTH PBA LEAGUE OWNER
SEATTLE (Dec. 11, 2012) - All-Pro Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley has become the