The Butler County Bowling Association has announced tournament dates and sites:

• The County Championship with Senior Singles will be held on Nov. 7-8, and 14-15 at Bon Aire Bowl. Squad times are at 2 p.m. Nov. 7 and 14, and 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Nov. 8 and 15.

• The County Mixed Tournament will be held at Meridian Lanes Jan. 23-24 and 30-31 at Meridian Lanes. Squad times will be at 2 p.m. Jan. 23 and 30, and 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Jan. 24 and 30.

• Bruin Lanes will be the site for the annual adult-youth singles event March 6-7 and 13-14. Squad times are at 3 p.m. March 6 and 13, and at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. March 7 and 14. The March 13 and 14 3 p.m. squads times are for youth only.

Look for entry forms at county bowling centers.

PBA starts SundayThe Professional Bowlers Tour will begin its broadcasts on ESPN Sunday with the inaugural PBA Women's Championship.Shannon Pluhowsky will meet Kelly Kulick in the title match, with the winner receiving the first birth into the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions.The second event of the broadcast will be a PBA Senior World championship match between Harry Sullins and Hugh Miller.The final event will be the PBA Trick Shot Invitational featuring Chris Barnes, Parker Bohn III, Norm Duke, Oksu Palermaa, Sean Rash and Brian Voss.The PBA tournaments begin Nov. 1 with the Motor City Open. Each week, there will be a special match involving the various lane conditioning patterns.Rob Stone and Randy Pedersen will be the commentators for the third season in a row.

Trivia questionBefore the 300 game and 900 series became a reality, Allie Brandt's score of 886 was the top score in the nation. What year did Brandt bowl this remarkable series? Bonus points if you can come up with two things about Brandt that made this score even more remarkable. Answer at the end of the column.

Tip of the WeekThis week's tip is simple: keep it simple. Many bowlers bought new balls and are determined to make them work no matter the lane condition.If you are struggling, have tried every possible line to the pocket and can't get there, sometimes it pays to go to a ball that you are familiar with. Every bowler has a go-to ball, so do just that: go to it.

Bowlers neededThe Connoquenessing Indians, a men's handicap league, need bowlers. The league made the switch to Sherwood Lanes at 6:30 p.m. It is a men's handicap league. Visit Sherwood Lanes for information.

Top scorers•

Armco C: Bob Jarecki 289 (711), Greg Loverick 257 (714), Wally Dunkle 247 (698)•

Buckhorn League: Jeff Suchonic 275 (691), Wayne Dunkle 258 (683), Dave Miller 256 (670)•

Tri-Co. Men's League: Danny Wolfe 268 (756), Eric Hagen 267 (717), J. Brown 279 (762)•

Coins League: Prudy Juran 202 game•

Butler City Tenpin: Ron Lehman 278 (766), Rick McKain 279 (714).

Trivia answerAllie Brandt rolled his 886 in 1939 in Lockport, N.Y., Brandt rolled games of 297, 289 and 300. Brandt had a couple of distinguishing characteristics to his game; he used a three-step delivery and he used a ball with only two holes in it.

Ron Willison is the bowling columnist for the Butler Eagle.