Danny Wiseman is used to the ups and downs associated with life as a professional bowler. But the Baltimore native admits the last two years for him have been a bit extreme.
Wiseman kicked off the 2004-05 Professional Bowlers Association season by winning his first career masters title when he placed first in the 2004 Miller High Life Masters. He finished that season with three television finals appearances and was third in the point rankings while earning $186,050.
Last year, injuries took its toll on Wiseman, who failed to make a television appearance for the first time since 1994 and plummeted to 44th in the rankings while earning $48,975.
Today, Wiseman is hoping some home cooking helps complete his comeback this season as the PBA Tour invades Baltimore next week for its first event here in a decade. Wiseman will be one of 64 bowlers vying to win the Beltway Classic, which will take place Wednesday through Sunday at Country Club Lanes in Baltimore County?s Middle River.
“Baltimore is a great bowling town, and it?s great to see they finally found a way to get an event back on the schedule there,” said Wiseman, 39, who joined the PBA in 1987.
Wiseman, who captured the first of his 11 tour titles in Baltimore in 1990, will have to get past practically all of the top bowlers in the world if he wants to reach the final four of the Beltway Classic, which will be televised live at 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN. One of those opponents will be fellow Maryland native Tim Criss.
Criss, 40, overcame a slow start last year to finish 26th in the point rankings. That season also included his first championship round appearance since January 2003, when he placed fourth in the Earl Anthony Medford Classic. He lost to eventual champion Brian Himmler, 259-242, in the semifinal. His $56,575 in earnings also represented his highest single-year total since the 2001-02 season.
For Criss, who lives in Bel Air, getting the chance to win a title in his hometown would be a dream come true.
“I?ve gotten off to a sluggish start this season,” said Criss, who started touring full-time in 1993. “Getting to bowl at home in front of friends and family will be great. But there is also more pressure to perform because you don?t want to disappoint them.”
BELTWAY CLASSIC
» What: PBA Tour stop
» Where: AMF Country Club Lanes, 9020 Pulaski Highway
» When: Wednesday-Sunday
» Tickets: $10-$35 during the qualifying rounds; $25-$75 for the championship Sunday
» Did you know? Among those bowlers scheduled to compete are player of the year Tommy Jones, all-time PBA Tour title-holder Walter Ray Williams Jr., and 33-time PBA Tour titleist Pete Weber.
