September 10, 2024 Nolan Hughes

The Go Bowling Dallas Strikers coulda-shoulda-woulda been among the top teams this season in the PBA Elite League presented by Snickers. Dallas went 4-10 on the campaign, finishing one game (plus a potential tiebreaker) behind Lucky Strike L.A. X for the final playoff berth.

Untimely mistakes, bad luck and unsustained effort are the reasons the Strikers will find themselves watching the festivities in Portland from their couch.

Let’s unpack Dallas’ season from hell.

Roster

Manager: Norm Duke
Protected players: Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill
Draft picks: Shawn Maldonado, Jake Peters, Jakob Butturff, Frank Snodgrass

With a Hall of Famer, a soon-to-be Hall of Famer, and stable veterans, Duke compiled an impressive collection of talent and grit.

Low Point: Rounds 1-4

While most stories in this series will begin with each team’s climax, it makes more sense to begin with Dallas’ low point.

The Strikers averaged more than 217 for the first four rounds of the season — third best in the league — and lost every single game. All eight of them.

Their opponents averaged more than 238. Even considering the small sample size, it’s an incomprehensible hand to be dealt.

  • Round 1: 213-184 and 244-215 losses to L.A. X
  • Round 2: 278-237 and 248-232 losses to Las Vegas
  • Round 3: 232-225 and 215-213 losses to New Jersey
  • Round 4: 243-223 and 235-209 losses to Portland

High Point: Rounds 5-6

After a demoralizing start, the Strikers responded with a perfect evening in Missouri. They raised their team average to a league-best 218.75, while notching four game-wins for a clean sweep.

It appeared Dallas had persevered through the early-season onslaught and was back on a playoff trajectory.

Turning Point: Rounds 7-8

Remember when the Strikers righted the ship in Missouri? I just wrote about it like two sentences ago. It’s probably still on your screen.

Well in Indiana, their opponents averaged a blistering 243.5. Their opponents didn't even need to knock down all 10 pins to strike. Dallas lost both matches and slipped into a five-match losing streak.

Through Round 8, the Strikers averaged 217.81, basically tied with Portland for the best mark in the league. But a league-high 226.56 opponent average — more than 10 pins higher than any other team and nearly 16 pins above league average — bled the team’s tenacity reservoir dry.

Over the final six rounds, Dallas averaged a league-worst 197.92.

Biggest Strength: Talent

It’s hard to dispute that this roster was playoff caliber. 

O’Neill and Jones are irrefutable; Butturff is a force of nature when he’s on and Peters is among the tour’s feistiest bulldogs.  Maldonado and Snodgrass may have struggled during the tour season, but they proved their mettle last year in Portland.

Biggest Weakness: Resilience

In a monumental Round 12 match against Waco, which felt like a win-or-go-home affair, O’Neill did not bowl. There were extenuating circumstances — O’Neill had to bowl in the taped Roth/Holman Doubles show later that day — but that inaction said it all:

Dallas may not have given up, but they had grown apathetic.

Non-Bowling Team Comparison: 2010 San Diego Chargers

There were many possible comparisons for the 2024 Strikers, but perhaps none is more apropos than the 2010 Chargers, a uniquely comical season even by Chargers standards.

Led by MVP-caliber quarterback Phillip Rivers, the Chargers led the NFL in total offense. With Pro Bowl linebacker Shaun Phillips at the helm, the Chargers led the NFL in total defense.

The Chargers ranked dead last in special teams, finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.