A total of 16 professional athletes, including Packers tight end Bubba Franks and several other players from the NBA, NFL and NHL, will trade their sneakers and cleats for bowling shoes when ESPN Bowling Night debuts Tuesday, April 12 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Taped at Strike Miami in Florida, the competitive tournament will pit the athletes against each other for prize money totaling $80,000. The hour-long program was produced by ESPN Original Entertainment.
ESPN Radio's Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg (co-hosts of Mike & Mike in the Morning) will host ESPN Bowling Night with PBA champion Norm Duke. The elimination-style tournament will unfold over the course of six episodes (Tuesdays at 8 p.m.). In each of the first four episodes, four athletes will compete against each other by bowling two complete games. The highest scoring contestant from each of these shows will win $10,000 and advance to the fifth show. Those four bowlers will be joined by a wildcard player (contestant with the highest score who was eliminated in the first four shows). All five will compete in two games, with three bowlers earning $5,000 each and advancing to the finale. The winner will earn $20,000.
"Our goal is to make this event as competitive and authentic as possible," said Mike Antinoro, executive producer, EOE. "We hope this show will appeal to both the large audience that consistently tunes in to our PBA telecasts and to general sports fans interested in watching their favorite athletes compete."
ESPN Bowling Night roster:
Dave Mirra (BMX rider)
Bubba Franks (Green Bay Packers)
Cobi Jones (MLS L.A. Galaxy)
Terrell Owens (Philadelphia Eagles)
Willis McGahee (Buffalo Bills)
Ephraim Salaam (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Alana Beard (Washington Mystics)
Brandi Chastain (Gold Medal Olympic soccer player)
Damon Jones (Miami Heat)
Ashley Lelie (Denver Broncos)
Laila Ali (champion boxer)
Paul Mara (Phoenix Coyotes)
Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City Chiefs)
Ruth Riley (Detroit Shock)
Roy Williams (Detroit Lions)
