Jaros to replace Barnes for men's target scores

Steve Jaros is finally getting his chance to bowl the targetscores for Beat The Champions. The area's top pro bowler willsubstitute for Chris Barnes, who withdrew Tuesday because of ongoingback woes.

Bowling of the target scores for the 45th BTC will air on ComcastSportsNet at 11 a.m. Christmas Day. The Christmas tradition ofwatching the BTC target scores is something Jaros doesn't miss.

"I always entered it through the league [when possible]," saidJaros, who lives in Yorkville with his wife, June, and their 6-year-old twins, Evan and Hannah.

BTC has raised $2,413,917.17 for charity in the first 44 years ithas been co-sponsored by the Sun-Times and the Chicagoland BowlingProprietors.

Of course, BTC is also about receiving. The men's and women'schampions win a 2006 Ford Focus from the Chicagoland Ford Dealers.

Jaros knows. Bowling has been his life since he graduated fromBolingbrook High School. He had his Professional Bowlers Associationcard at 18 and has been bowling the PBA Tour since 1984.

With his local roots, he understands the subtle nuances of bowlingthe target scores.

"I don't necessarily want to shoot an 890, but I want to performas well as I can and still have a good time," he said.

Tennelle Milligan will roll the women's target scores while Jarosbowls the men's targets at Mardi Gras Lanes in DeKalb.

"She's a good bowler," Jaros said. "It is a shame she doesn't haveanything to bowl right now." The women's tour folded.

League bowlers who entered contest week, which ended Saturday, andtop the target score with handicap added earn an "I Beat the Champ"bag tag.

"It is kind of a fun event under the television lights but not alot of intensity," Jaros said.

Traditionally, BTC invites the U.S. Open champion (Barnes, thisyear) to roll the target scores. But Barnes' back has acted up formonths. He withdrew from the Chicago Open on Nov. 24 and missed thenext PBA event in Hammond, Ind.

Jaros was the logical substitute because of his local connectionand because he won the 2005 Dexter Tournament of Champions. It washis seventh PBA title and first major.

He was on his way to bowl in Mechanicsburg, Pa., for the next PBAevent when the call came Tuesday. And he answered like a champion.