INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Warren's Jeff Zaffino was 12th in the East Region on Wednesday after the first 10 of 15 games in the opening round of the Dick Weber PBA Playoffs at Western Bowl.
It's a longshot to the end, but it's a shot.
The PBA Playoffs feature six independent regional groups bowling elimination rounds within their respective regions. The first round concludes Thursday morning with a final five-game session. After 15 games, the top nine from each Region will advance to the second round Thursday evening where they will be joined by six Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour players who finished 13th through 18th in 2010-11 competition points.
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Jeff Zaffino
That list includes: Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind.; Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo.; Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla.; Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y.; Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y.
Elimination rounds will continue Friday when 12 more seeded Exempt Tour players will enter the competition.
On Sunday, the three survivors in each Region will advance to two Regional Championship and one Conference Championship television shows. The television shows at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Eastern will be taped for delayed telecast on ESPN on Sunday, March 27, at 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 3, at 1 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday, April 10, at 1 p.m. Eastern, respectively.
The six Conference Championship survivors will return to Indianapolis on Sunday, April 17, for the final live telecast of the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season. ESPN will air the finals at 1 p.m. Eastern. First prize in the event is $50,000.
All of the elimination rounds Thursday and Friday are being video streamed live on Xtra Frame, pba.com's exclusive online video streaming service. To subscribe, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame logo.
All rounds also are being covered via special brackets on pba.com.
While Zaffino is out of the top nine in his region he is just 40 pins off the pace, averaging a 210 over ten games with 2,105 pins.
Zaffino has cashed twice over nine PBA Tour events in the 2010-11 season, with winnings of $7,000, according to pba.com. It's the most he's earned since his first PBA Tour season of 2004-05.
Lumber Liquidators PBA-Dick Weber Standings - By AP
Wednesday
Indianapolis
First Round
(After 10-of-15 games; final 5 games Thursday morning; top 9 per region advance to Round Two)
East Region
1, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 2,471. 2, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 2,315. 3, Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 2,266. 4, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 2,260. 5, Jeffrey Voght, Canojaharie, N.Y., 2,220. 6, Tom Sorce, Blasdell, N.Y., 2,190. 7, John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., 2,187. 8, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 2,155.
9, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 2,145. 10, Terry Miller, York, Pa., 2,130. 11, Jason Stadtler, Cherry Hill, N.J., 2,109. 12, Jeff Zaffino, Warren, Pa., 2,105. 13, David Beres, Waukesha, Wis., 2,089. 14, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 2,083. 15, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 2,081. 16, Jim Tomek Jr., Camp Hill, Pa., 2,019.
17, Kevin Cartier, Beverly, N.J., 2,014. 18, Jason Weaver, Denver, Pa., 2,012. 19, Stephen Haas, Enola, Pa., 2,001. 20, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,985. 21, Tommy Gollick, Oberlin, Pa., 1,969. 22, John Furey, East Windsor, N.J., 1,962. 23, Charles Anderson, Sloatsburg, N.Y., 1,941. 24, Michael Tweed Sr., Camp Hill, Pa., 1,838.