The Professional Bowlers Tour is on a two-week holiday break.

The tour will resume Jan. 2 with the 2008 Constructionjobs.com Championship at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada. ESPN will televise the finals on Jan. 6 at 1 p.m.

PBA notes: Four players have been given injury deferments of the 2007-2008 exemptions until the 2008-2009 seasons. Jeff Carter, Jason Couch, Patrick Healey, Jr. and Tony Reyes each will miss the rest of the 2007-08 season due to injury. In Healey's case, he will miss because of an undisclosed illness ... Walter Ray Williams, Jr. leads the points standings with 131,283 points. Chris Barnes is second with 100,899 ... Sean Rash leads the earnings race with $121,600. Williams is second with $92,250, followed by Mika Koivunieme at $74,340.

If you were a good boy or girl and received new bowling equipment from Santa, keep in mind a few things.If you received a new bowling ball that is not drilled, be sure to take it to an area pro shop for a proper fitting. Pro shops are located in most local bowling centers and are operated by individuals who have been trained to properly drill bowling balls.If you received a new pair of bowling shoes, be sure to take a few practice slides while holding your bowling ball to get the feel of the shoes on the approach. Most bowling shoes have a rubber sole on the non-sliding foot and a leather sole on the slide foot, which may take some getting used to if you had shoes that had leather on the soles of both shoes.

The United States Bowling Congress national tournament has now grown to 12,293 teams. That's over 60,000 bowlers, folks.As it stands right now, the tournament in Albuquerque is the third largest tourney ever held outside of Reno, Nevada and the National Bowling Stadium. Entries will be accepted through Jan. 18.The tournament runs from Feb. 16 through July 7, 2008. Check out bowl.com for more details.Speaking of bowl.com., there is a great feature on the site called bowlTV. It is a video presentation of everything from classic matches to tips and interviews.

Congratulations to Rich Warheit, the secretary of the Fox's Pizza Den League on rolling his first 300 game. Warheit finished the night with a 748 series. Also bowling well were Bob Eppinger with a 238 game and 661 series and Tim Connell with a 254 game and 661 seriesDan Manning led all bowlers in the Kelly Automotive League with a 279/736. Kevin Kniess rolled a 259 game and 720 series, and Dave Schrecongost tossed a 279 game and 699 series.Gary Swidzinski led all bowlers in the Automotive League with a 268 game and 710 series. Don Clark, 258/651 and Terry Zitzman, Sr., 635 series, also bowled well.

I want to send out a Happy New Year to all who contribute to my column and to all of those who bowl. I also want to thank those who have taken the time to say how much they enjoy the column.Remember, submissions may be made by e-mailing me at wiseguyrondo@zoominternet.net.