Ex-Hubbard resident gets ESPN date

Pat Thomson voted for Bill and John Bassetti voted for Bill.

Did you vote for Bill?

Don’t worry, it’s not Bill Clinton, but former Hubbard resident Bill Matovina, who was the top vote-getter in a PBA Experience Sport bowling contest that ended recently.

Out of 18 bowlers, Matovina received 30,359 check marks next to his name via cyber-ballot fashion.

Matovina will bowl on ESPN on April 11 at the International bowling campus in Arlington Texas.

Bill now lives in Clearwater, Fla.

Once it came to my attention that Matovina was a candidate, I became curious and clicked around the bowl.com Web site and voted a few times.

I’m not one to get aroused about much, especially bowlers, but as the March 1 deadline approached and Matovina was about a hundred votes shy of the ballot leader with just hours remaining before the polls closed, I became emotionally involved.

Since voting was limited to one per day, I was helpless as a cyber-supporter. As I stared at the computer monitor, I frantically tried rubbing the pixels on the screen in hopes of increasing Bill’s number total.

Before my face flopped onto the keyboard and I dozed off to sleep that night, I figured that Bill would be No. 2 in the count when I woke up in the morning.

What started as a humanitarian gesture turned out to be a draining ordeal of colossal proportions.

I’ll never get hooked on a bowl poll again.

Who is Pat Thomson?

He works at Dave’s Super Tire in Hubbard and happened to get my flat tire repaired in a pinch.

Why stop now. Keep the ball rolling. Vote for Pat.

Tracie Robinson was Chaney High’s first-year coach of a boys team that finished 13-4.

The team consisted of five seniors, three juniors and a sophomore.

Seniors were Billy Heckathorn, Rich Mauro, Scott Renda, Jake Seamons and Kyle Staton. Juniors were Kyle Kovach, Malcolm Parker and Anthony Rosenberg and sophomore Brandon Miller.

High games were registered by Rosenberg (245), Mauro (244) and Staton (243).

The Cowboys were runner-up in the Ed Zitnik Tournament at Bell-Wick Bowl this season.

Mauro and Staton advanced to the district level. At the sectional, Mauro rolled 785 and Staton a 691.

Earlier last week, in the 78th annual city bowling tournament which wraps up today, Kay Lanes won the proprietor squad with Mike Lepor, Lance Koss, Tom Olesky, Rich Thompson Jr. and Adam Barta.

One pin behind was Bowladrome Lanes with Dan Simerlink, Joe Marstellar, Joe Sefcik Jr., Robert Harvischak and John Marstellar Jr.

Jim DeMain had 803 in Wed. Men at Holiday on Feb. 24, when Josh Calabrette had 300 and Tim DeMain 298.

Bob’s Bail Bonding at Wedgewood produced a 300-767 by James Tinker and 715 by Monica Scherich on Feb. 15.

Teri Haefke’s 278-735 led Thursday Matchplay Ladies at Amron on Feb. 25.

In Friday Senior Ladies at Holiday, Wanda Smith had 188-488 and also picked up the 5-7 split.

From the AP Sportlight desk comes this fact compiled By Paul Montella: On March 5, 1924, Frank Carauna, of Buffalo, N.Y., became the first to bowl two straight perfect 300 games. Carauna threw five strikes to open his third game, giving him 29 straight strikes.