Spoiler Alert Cheetah Championship

[kakcpa]

By PERRY A. FARRELL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Norm Duke showed metro Detroit why he is a Hall of Famer.

Down, 1-0, in the best-of-seven Cheetah Championship at Thunderbowl on Thursday, Duke trailed lefty Ryan Ciminelli by 42 pins in the second game.

“How many pins?” Duke asked after the announcer blared his deficit. “That’s a lot.”

But Duke recovered and threw the next six strikes to win, 236-228. He then steamrolled Ciminelli, 257-213, 236-193 and 258-205, to claim the title, $25,000 and a one-year exemption on the PBA Tour. Duke, 45, is fifth on the all-time career list with 33 titles.

“The lanes are changing every shot we throw, so you try to keep up with it,” Duke said. “Sometimes you’re too slow; sometimes you’re too quick. You just can’t sit there on the same board throwing the same shot. I was a little slow at that point keeping up with the breakdown. I elected to keep my speed down a bit and stay behind the ball a little more.

“Honestly, when he announced that I was 42 down, I was embarrassed. I don’t care who it is, and I kind of got a charge out of that. Could you tell? That’s a momentum-changer right there, because if he goes up, 2-0, he’s the winner of this tournament more than likely.”

Ciminelli, 23, collected $13,000 for second place. He was dominant during the week and hadn’t lost at Thunderbowl, but was plagued by seven pins on Lane 9. He also was hampered by an untimely split to start the third game and one in the fourth.

“It was the same pair that I bowled the Friday night sweeper on, and in the semifinals, I caught that pair,” Ciminelli said.

“I tried to do everything I could to get rid of them (seven pins). When I broke off the four-bagger to start the second game, I knew he was going to strike out.”

Contact PERRY A. FARRELL: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com.


RECAP WHAT HAPPENED: Hall of Famer Norm Duke gained a one-year exemption and pocketed $25,000 by wining the best-of-seven match, 4-1, against 23-year-old Ryan Ciminelli of Buffalo, N.Y.
CLASSIC NORM: Duke was asked last week about spending a month in Michigan: “It will seem like Groundhog Day. We will wake up every day in the same place doing the same thing.”

HOW THEY GOT TO THE FINAL: Duke defeated Stevie Weber in the semifinals, 4-1 (247-234, 269-223, 226-236, 217-204 and 237-215). Ciminelli advanced by beating Derek Sapp, 4-1 (269-263, 258-238, 213-287, 255-190 and 209-206).

TWO CENTS WORTH: The Motor City Open will be taped at Thunderbowl on Sept. 5. Chris Barnes, who finished second in qualifying at Taylor Lanes, has an automatic spot in the semifinals, but at a different house.

“As far as having the advantage of being the top qualifier. … Some of that has gone,” Barnes said. “You will want to be 1 against 2 when you’re bowling the best players.” Walter Ray Williams Jr. qualified first for the Motor City Open, beating Barnes in the last position round.

LOCAL STAR: Christine Bator of Warren was the top qualifier after seven games for the Chameleon Championship Women’s Series with 1,527 points and a 218.14 average. Lindsay Baker of Waterford was fourth (1,468) and Cheryl Daniels seventh (1,367). Said Bator: “I had a few nerves, but I enjoy competing with bowlers who are better than me because that’s the only way you’re going to get better.”


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[JAnderson]

Everyone - could you please refrain from posting winner announcements in post titles? Choose a different title starting with SPOILER ALERT so that readers that want to wait until the taped telecasts are shown to find out who one.

Thanks!

[JaxBowlingGuy]

That is a very good suggestion JAnderson.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

I edited the title... but on a flip side, I had duke in fantasy bowling...lol

[onefrombills]

Great point and I think I may have done one in here too ...Im sorry If i upset anyone

[kev3inp]

Jay has a good point. Except for the King of Bowling thing we really haven't had to deal with this. It's not tough for anyone who wants to know the results to do so, but some people do like the "surprise," and we owe it to them . But don't you find yourself drawn to those threads? It doesn't matter to me, but to those that care it's a small courtesy we can give. Where should the policy be posted, if we're in agreement? FAQ? Rules? (oh, I heard the echo.)

[JAnderson]

btw - I'm not one of those who wants to wait. I'm just trying to solicit some help for those that do

[onefrombills]

If I had my way Jay would win the WSOB

[JAnderson]

hahaha - those guys are much better than I am, though if I could get the time to shoe up against them, I'd give it my all!