Last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Lady Gaga, for whom even the Bowling Hall of Fame figures among her many illustrious awards, will absolutely not rent bowling shoes. Her decision is not an issue of hygiene but rather her colossal devotion to her little monsters … and her image. Plus: The female stars of music really run the late-night world in this compilation; Beyoncé, off of a powerful performance of “Best Thing I Never Had,” tells Jimmy Kimmel she ran across the Great Wall of China; Kirstie Alley, having caught the dancing bug, shows David Letterman how to dance in New York City clubs, causing discomfort for the host during some especially intimate moments; and Glee’s Jayma Mays performs the old “sip ‘n smile” in a coffee commercial that has percolated into her gleeful acting career. Watch our compilation to see what you missed.

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By William Wilkerson

wwilkerson@star-telegram.com

ARLINGTON — All of the intrigue of seeing one of the five finalists walk away with $1 million at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, which was the award for a perfect game, was cut short after one frame of the final match at Cowboys Stadium.

But that didn’t take away from the atmosphere and bowling in front of some 6,000 fans, which came up short of breaking the world record for a bowling event of 7,212.

No. 2 seed Leanne Hulsenberg, of Roseville, Calif., defeated defending champion and top-seeded Kelly Kulick, of Union, N.J., 218-183 in the final match to win the event. It was Kulick’s lowest score of the tournament.

“I can’t believe this happened,” Hulsenberg said. “It means something very personal to me, because my husband had never seen me win a tournament because we met after I stopped bowling full time. It is a very special day. It is the perfect day.”

Hulsenberg, who took home a winner’s check for $50,000, mounted a furious rally to reach the finals in a 247-246 victory over Double Oak’s Lynda Barnes. Barnes, the No. 5 seed, needed three strikes on her 10th frame to win. She got the first two but left the No. 6 and No. 10 pins high on her last throw.

That wasn’t the only tense moment for Barnes. She was also the closest one to winning the $1 million prize for a perfect game by throwing strikes on her first seven frames in her win over Liz Johnson, the No. 3 seed.

“I was like ‘we are way too early [for the perfect game],” said Barnes of the bid for perfection in her second match. “It was fun. With this amount of talent the idea is to get as many as you can as quick as you can.”

Bowling took place on two lanes set up on each side of the blue star at the 50-yard line, and was broadcast live on the stadium video board. Roughly 100 fans from Ebonite International, the official sponsor of the event, sat near the right lanes where play was held. A few hundred more sat just in front of the lanes on bleachers. The rest sat in the stands that took up most of the seats in the first two levels on what would be the side of the visiting bench during Cowboys games.

The five finalists were introduced to the crowd in similar fashion as the Cowboys. Each competitor ran out of a tunnel behind the visiting bench, through two lines formed by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and then up a ramp onto the playing platform.

They then took position on the five points of the blue start and were surrounded by the cheerleaders as country music star Neil McCoy sang the national anthem.

The first match between Barnes and Arlington’s Shannon O’Keefe started shortly after a brief introduction video showed the women getting out of a limousine just in front of the stadium.

The crowd was energetic before play began, looking skyward most of the time with hopes of finding their face on the stadium’s video board. But once play began between the two Texans they fell into a hushed mode, which is customary at bowling events.

There were seven breaks in play, excluding those between matches, which acted as television commercial breaks for ESPN2’s coverage of the event at 5 p.m. on Saturday. That’s when the music turned up and the fans made use of the blow-up sticks they were given upon entry. T-shirts were thrown into the crowd, and the cheerleaders performed a few routines.

Kulick and Hulsenberg watched from chairs in front of the left two lanes as the first two matches took place. They stayed loose by bowling during commercial breaks.

To the right of the lanes were 58 cocktail tables and a buffet for VIP guests, who stayed around after the event for a concert from McCoy. He performed from a stage set up in the corner of one of the end zones.

“I could see it from my hotel and it still looked big,” Kulick said. “You can’t fathom the sheer size of it. I just felt like a little person in this big, big place.”

William Wilkerson, 817-390-7760

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/06/30/3192740/bowling-at-cowboys-stadium-no.html#ixzz1Qt2oMLlN

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By Lucas Wiseman
USBC Communications

EULESS, Texas – Defending champion Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., went 6-2 in the opening round of match play Tuesday night as she maintained her lead at the 2011 Bowling’s U.S. Women’s Open.

Kulick has a 40-game total of 9,812, including 30 bonus pins for each victory, to lead the final 16 bowlers in the field at AMF Euless Lanes. The top five players for Thursday’s championship round will be determined in the final eight games of match play starting Wednesday morning.

“I didn’t score as well as well on the fresh today as I did yesterday,” Kulick said. “I’m trying to pull away from the field, but everyone is bowling well behind me. I think if I focus on repeating shots, I’ll be in position to make the show tomorrow.”

The Team USA member, who won the 2003 and 2010 U.S. Women’s Open, turned it on down the stretch, closing with games of 249, 257, 228 and 232 to lead by 247 pins. Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., is second with 9,565.

Leanne Hulsenberg of Roseville, Calif., who was one of two bowlers to shoot 300 Tuesday night, is in third place with 9,551. Lynda Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, is fourth with 9,487, while Rachel Perez of Maumelle, Ark., is fifth with 9,440.

The finals of the U.S. Women’s Open will take place at Cowboys Stadium and be broadcast on Saturday, July 2 at 6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2. If a bowler throws a 300 game in the championship match, she will win $1 million. The champion will earn $50,000.

The 2011 U.S. Women’s Open has already broken one record with 286 participants, which tops the previous record of 267 set in 2003. A total of 17 countries are represented in the field.

For more information Bowling’s U.S. Women’s Open, visit bowlingsuswomensopen.com. For complete coverage of the event, including stories and videos, visit BOWL.com.

About International Bowling Campus
The International Bowling Campus (IBC) is the headquarters for the bowling industry and directly serves the more than 71 million bowlers in the United States. The IBC houses the resources of the United States Bowling Congress, the governing body and membership organization for the sport; the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America, representing the business interests of bowling centers; Strike Ten Entertainment, the marketing arm for the industry; the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame; The Bowling Foundation; the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association; the Bowling Writers Association of America; the Bowling News Network; the Billiard and Bowling Institute of America; and the International Training and Research Center.

http://www.bowl.com/news/xmlburner.jsp?xa=./webapps/ROOT/news/main/data/062811USWO4.xml

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