Bo-Fish Bowling News: the Positive Source for Bowling Worldwide

Wright In The Heart Of Texas
by Don Wright

Article Archive #3

October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
It's Travel Time!
April 2005
Friendship
February 2005
January 2005

October 2005

Throughout my 46-year military and government career I have been fortunate enough to meet some very influential and powerful people. Suffice it to say, I am not easily impressed. But, every now and then someone comes along that catches my attention and darned if I am not impressed.

In 1997 the Killeen-Fort Hood Bowling Associations hosted the Texas State YABA Championship and I got to see a youth bowler that really impressed me. I camped out behind his lanes and watched the young man strike over and over. When he didn’t strike he left single pins and rarely did he miss a spare.

While watching him, I also noticed that he was quite unassuming. He didn’t show any arrogance, or do a lot of posturing on the lanes; he just bowled and bowled well.

I mentioned to several of the spectators there that I thought the young man had an excellent game and attitude and would make a quality collegiate bowler.

In 1998 he was selected as the Texas Youth Bowler of the Year and he went on to have an outstanding collegiate career at Wichita State where he was a member of Wichita State’s Collegiate National Championship team in 2003. His name is Nathan Bohr.

Bohr has many awards accumulated in a short period of time and I predict this young man is the next super star. Bowling has seen its share of super stars, Don Carter, Dick Weber, Pete Weber, Mark Roth, Earl Anthony, and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. I predict that Bohr is next in line for that recognition.

The 25-year old from Austin, now living in Wichita has the complete package, game, attitude, experience and exemption. His 2004-05 Southwest Region statistics are outstanding and he recently captured the Killeen Open defeating the bowler Bohr considers the best, Chris Barnes.

Bohr is anxious for the PBA National Tour to begin with the Tulsa Championship and this writer is anxious to see how the seemingly unflappable youngster handles the pressure. I’m betting he’ll do just fine.

One of the things I have always enjoyed is bowling with my family, especially my children and now the grandchildren. One of my biggest thrills was in 1981 when my son, Mark and I went to Washington D.C. representing Texas in the National Family Tournament. My biggest disappointment was the next year when I competed with my daughter. I wanted so much to win for her. She bowled really well and I bowled really badly. It made me physically ill. We laugh about it today and nearly everyone in my family bowls.

I have a 13-year old grandson named Jackson. I call him Big Foot because at six foot-one inch in height the boy has a size 15 hoof!

Last Christmas I bought him a bowling ball and because he lives in Red Oak, Texas I told his Mom which pro shop to use to have the ball drilled for him. Well due to a lot of circumstances the ball didn’t get drilled and Jackson was coming to Killeen for the Southwest Region PBA tournament. I told him to bring his ball and we would have it drilled while he watched the tournament.

It was Jackson’s first opportunity to see professional bowlers and he was really impressed. He especially liked Bohr and Chris Barnes.

I took Jackson into the C & W Pro Shop inside Hallmark Lanes and Tom Christie, co-owner and a certified silver level coach measured him and drilled him his first finger-tip grip.

Immediately after Bohr was presented his trophy for winning the Killeen Open, Jackson wanted to try his ball. He bowled a couple of games and it was a learning experience for him. He was happy, packed up his equipment and headed home. Before reaching Red Oak he convinced his mother to stop at Hilltop Lanes in Waxahachie, the center where he bowls league and travel league. He called me that night to tell me his scores and he was a happy kid.

Well, about one month after we drilled the ball the phone rang about 9:30 p.m. and it was Jackson. He wanted to tell me his bowling scores. He had been open bowling at Hilltop Lanes and the conversation went like this…”Opa, I bowled a 180 my first game. I messed up my first shot in the second game by throwing a gutter ball. I spared it and then rolled eleven strikes in a row for a 290.” You had to hear the excitement in his voice. He rolled his third game for 224 and had a three game series of 694. He rolled two more games of 182 and 152 finishing with a five game average of 205. He was one happy kid.

Since the highest game I or his Oma has ever bowled is 287 he was especially happy. Darned if I wasn’t impressed!

Do you ever think about what rules you would change if you had the authority to do so? Every time I watch a sporting event I think, man I’d change that rule.

I’m an avid sports fan, but here are a few sports rules, including bowling, I would change.

Baseball – I’d raise the pitchers mound back to 15 inches and give the pitchers an even chance against the batter of today. If the batter can use performance enhancing drugs, the pitcher should be able to equalize it with a higher mound.

Relief pitchers warm up in the bullpen. They don’t need seven more pitches when they enter the game. Come on in and pitch. A new second baseman doesn’t get seven ground balls when he enters a game. A pinch hitter doesn’t get to hit seven balls before he comes to bat.

Get rid of the pitcher throwing four pitches for an intentional walk. Just tell the umpire we’re walking him and send him to first base. When was the last time you saw a wild pitch or a batter hitting a pitch when the intentional walk was put on? It simply is a waste of time.

Basketball – Raise the net to 12 feet. When ten feet was established the average center was six foot tall. Now they stand flatfooted and drop the ball into the net.

Reduce the number of timeouts in a game. The last two minutes of basketball takes half an hour.

Football – Eliminate “In the grasp,” and roughing the kicker penalties. The quarterback is a football player. In fact he’s a back and in fact some are more running backs than quarterbacks. Make them play football or put ‘em in skirts. The kicker should be fair game. He doesn’t do anything all week, hit him. Let him know it’s football.

First, no more than four balls at any tournament. It clogs the scale room at Nationals; they make moving about in a tournament a chore, especially if you change lanes for doubles and singles. If you need more than four balls to be competitive you probably should have stayed home.

While on the subject of doubles and singles, don’t make us change lanes. Bowlers don’t all finish at the same time and to have to sit and wait because a lane broke down, or the bowlers are simply slow is a waste of time. There is no unfair advantage bowling all six games on the same set.

Do random ball checks at the scale room at Nationals. It takes too long, especially with the number of balls allowed, to go through that drill. The WIBC eliminated the requirement long ago. If you are checked in the scale room for team and pass you should get a card with the serial numbers of your balls. When you arrive for doubles and singles show the card, verify the serial numbers and move on. Doing every ball over again is a waste of time.

All league bowlers should start the new season using their highest book average from the previous year, regardless of the number of games. It would eliminate sandbagging.

Eliminate “highest average based on 21 games.” Too many bowlers roll, or sub for 18 games and stop. You bowl, you average, and you live with it.

Eliminate the two lane courtesy. What a waste of time and confusion. If the professional bowlers want to do it, fine. But, they too drag out an event with something that is really silly. They bowl league, they bowl Pro-Am’s, sweepers, and practice and never use a two lane courtesy until the event starts. Then they need two lanes and complete silence. Give me a break.

Women vs. Men vs. Women – If women are allowed to enter into a men’s tournament than men should be allowed to enter the women’s events.

I keep hearing how bowling is the only sport where men and women compete on an equal basis. I hear, “bowling is a Unisex sport.” I don’t necessarily agree with that. Yes the rules are the same. The playing field is the same. The equipment is the same. But, that’s about where it ends in my mind.

Someone once told me that the reason ABC went away was they feared a law suit by a woman wanting to compete with the men.

I wonder when some guy with nothing better to do than test the water challenges the women for excluding him from bowling in their city tournament.

I doubt that many men would want to enter a woman’s tournament, but if I was the Czar of All Sports I would give him the opportunity.

Some people bowl all year, but I’m one of those guys who takes the summer off. I know, you coaches, proprietors, and others believe that I am disloyal to my sport and should bowl if for no other reason than practice. But, you’ll get over it.

I take the summer off for a lot of reasons, but as I get older it’s the time of the year I use to mend. Aches and pains from the winter leagues, tournaments, and travel seem to melt away during the summer. I get the opportunity to work in the yard and let the sun warm and sooth the old bones. The pool and a few water aerobics help the arthritis and by fall I am ready for the thirty-six week leagues.

Yes, we still have 36-week leagues and I enjoy them. I don’t like split seasons and I don’t like short leagues. If I want to do that I can open bowl.

As long as I can remember I have bowled 36-week leagues and I am not big on making changes. I like things they way they were.

One of the things I enjoy most about bowling is competing in the ABC Nationals, soon to be known as the USBC Open. In 2006 we will bowl in Corpus Christi, Texas and that’s where I started bowling that tournament.

In 1992, the 89th Annual ABC Nationals was held in Corpus Christi and I took one team consisting of myself, Bill Munro, Harvey Parish, Owen Saiki and Jerry Northrop. I was hooked. Jerry and I have made every tournament since then and I now take two teams every year. I have ten bowlers, myself, Jack Pilkey, Don Miller, Verl Lantz, Garry McNiesh, Larry O’Keeffee, Bud Herron, Don Walker, Jerry Northrop, and Hugh Lovett, all retired military, with more than 250 years of military service who stay packed and ready for the national event. We may not bowl well all the time, but we have the prettiest cheering section since most of the wives accompany us.

Occasionally we bowl well. In fact I bowled my first 700 series (709) in 1993 at the Tulsa tournament. I had another 714 in the 1997 event in Huntsville, Alabama. This past event in Baton Rouge, Lantz rolled a 277 game and a 711 series. So, every now and then we do more than eat and have a good time.

I have my confirmed dates for Corpus and my guys are ready to roll. I know we’ll have a good time and we know many great restaurants there.

Another tournament I enjoy is our state tournament. I take the same ten guys and once again the spouses join us and we eat well and have a good time.

Everyone is wondering what our state associations are going to do with regard to the USBC and what impact merging will have on our state tournament.

I, for one, hope both our state and national events remain the same as they have been.

In a recent column by Andy Rooney he wrote that there is little fan loyalty to teams anymore and he went on to explain what sports he felt made good television and bad. He said baseball was bad television – too slow. He said the best game to watch on television is football. He concluded his column with, “I’ll talk about the excitement of bowling as a spectator sport on television some other time.”

I thought about that statement and the telecast I watched of the Motel 6 Roll to Riches. I was actually at the event that lasted nearly six hours and I have to tell you, the televised version was pretty dull compared to what actually took place. The interaction of the bowlers to the spectators was amazing. The work it takes to put something together was also amazing. There were power outages, wardrobe changes, and emotions shown at the event that never were on camera for the televised event.

So, I tried watching “Bowling Night.” Athletes, no matter how good they are at their sport, if they bowl bad it’s bad television. Bowlers don’t want to watch bad bowling. I’m not sure who the audience is that they are trying to get to, but I know it isn’t bowlers and I found myself agreeing with Mr. Rooney.

We want bowling to get away from the “Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome,” and earn respect within the sports field. To do that we have to depict it as a serious sport. Some dude with his hat on backwards and his jeans half falling off throwing gutterballs won’t accomplish that goal.

Come Fall it will be two years since we had a PWBA and I don’t see any relief in the near future.

Will bowling and bowlers be better off five years from now under the USBC, or should they have left well enough alone?

There are three things to ponder and you can send your answers to me at the e-mail listed below.

I’m doing a lot of traveling these days, most of it due to bowling, and because I don’t yet have a laptop computer, I tend to write columns in advance to cover my days on the road. Usually those columns are some of my musings and things to ponder and are a lot of fun for me to write. What you’re writing about isn’t very timely when you write a column to meet a deadline. However, we ponder things all the time. Here are a few things to ponder.

· Will we ever see another PWBA? If the answer is yes, will the former athletes of the PWBA support it? I believe that the longer the PWBA stays in limbo the less likelihood of the greats of the sport returning. I think too much emphasis is placed on a television contract. Forget the television, get the Tour started. Out of sight, out of mind.

· There has been a lot of talk and a lot written about Liz Johnson and I agree she bowled remarkably well. But, she didn’t win and she’s not exempt for next year finishing 24th in the PBA Tour Trials. Kelly Kulick was 28th and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard was 30th. Another writer I know told me, “There are too many lane patters for the women. Some women can hook the ball, but can’t go straight. Some can go straight, but can’t hook the ball. That won’t get it done against the men.” Something to ponder.

· According to the Smoking and Health Action Foundation the lowest price for a carton of cigarettes is $43.59 in Kentucky. In New York the price is $79.56. That should be incentive enough for anyone to quit. Do you know how many games of bowling that would pay for?

· At the ABC Championship Tournament, soon to be the USBC Open, they play both the Canadian national anthem and ours. The Canadian anthem is harder to sing than ours. Also, in all the times I have bowled in the ABC Tournament there has never been a Canadian team competing on my shift, yet they play their anthem anyway. Why is that?

· One of our local bowlers has rolled several 300 games. I don’t call them perfect games anymore because most of them aren’t. Recently he was bowling at my center and he had a strike in the first frame and the desk clerk made the following announcement.”…is on his way to another 300.” I remember when a 300 wasn’t a joke.

· I got an e-mail from an out of state friend the other day and he said he had a chance to read some of my columns on the Internet. He and I bowled together while in the Army and because of health he can no longer bowl. He closed his e-mail by writing, “I really miss bowling.” I know that if I could not bowl I would really miss it, too.

· While talking to some bowlers recently I said I would like to see a one ball tournament. One guy said, “Why would you want to do that?” I expected some response to my comment, but not that one.

· If you are not listening to the Phantom on the Internet you are missing out on some good dialog. Here are a few people I would like to hear on the Phantom – Chuck Pezzano, (Future of the BWAA), Pete Weber, (Plans for the future), Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, (High School Bowling), Tish Johnson, (Ability of women to compete on the PBA and what she thinks the future holds for the PWBA), and finally, Dick Evans, (Writers role in bowling, who should the BWAA align with, and will a writer be inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame?)

· My wife loves to crochet and usually when we travel she has some project in her hands while I drive. She’s making a baby gift for a friend, or she’s making something just to give to an old friend. While she’s counting stitches, I get to ponder a lot.

· I got to see my first ABC Tournament in 1956. It was held in the War Memorial in Rochester, New York. The War Memorial is now called the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. More corporate take over. I don’t remember much about the tournament except it was four years after my Dad passed away and I was told his bowling team was competing. I don’t recall seeing them, but I remember thinking to myself that some day I would bowl in that event. Thirty-six years later in Corpus Christi, Texas I did it and I was hooked. Every time I walk down the center isle I think of my Dad.

At writing time I have just returned from Tulsa and the Women’s Championships at Riverlanes. What a huge bowling center and what a huge crowd.

The 80 lane center was booming. The pro shop was full of customers, the snack bar did a fantastic job and the food was great. The bar, although small had three televisions all showing a different sport, from auto racing to basketball to baseball. The beer was cold and the service was great.

I have to admit that although I have a fairly broad butt, I am not prone to long sessions in the bleachers. Riverlanes had installed bleachers for the spectators and there was ample seating, but darned uncomfortable.

Riverlanes is a smoke free bowling center. Unfortunately, they allow smoking right outside the door. This not only made the entrance congested, it was like walking through a burning building to get in, or out. And, I gotta tell ya, more women smoke than men.

First, if you are going to have a dress code, enforce it, or do away with it. While sitting in the snack bar enjoying a hot dog I heard many of the women complaining that the dress code was not being adhered to and it was obvious to this casual observer.

Second, the 10:30 p.m. shift needs to be eliminated. To begin with it never starts on time. But it ends way too late and many of those women travel alone and it’s a dangerous time to be leaving a bowling center, driving, parking and walking to a motel. It would seem to me that eliminating that shift might mean extending the tournament another week, but I would rather see that than run the risk of an incident. Now I am sure someone will say, “In all the years we have never had a single incident…” Believe me, it will only take one.

Kudos to the WIBC for posting direction signs all over Tulsa. It makes it so much easier to find your way around. Maybe now that the women are part of the USBC the men will let them post the same signs for the ABC tournaments. Remember, men don’t ask directions so please post signs.

Kudos to Tulsa. What a beautiful city. ESPN’S BOWLING NIGHT- I want to see more bowling on television. I have even written to ESPN and asked that they include old PBA telecasts on their ESPN Classic program. I don’t know if they can do that because I don’t know who has the rights to those old shows. But, Bowling Night is bad. Watching a bunch of athletes who know very little about our sport roll games of 115 isn’t a good TV sports night.

Now, having said that…Norm Duke is great. I listen to Duke and have heard Voss in the booth and I ask the question, “Why is Randy Pedersen still doing his thing?”

THINGS TO PONDER – Maybe it was just the weekend I was in Tulsa, but I couldn’t help but notice that the WIBC Championship is starting to show its age. I did not see a lot of young women bowling. When I was in Baton Rouge for the BWAA convention I saw the same thing at the ABC tournament. You have to wonder what will happen to both of those events in just a few years.

Sitting in the snack bar at River Lanes I overheard a lot of conversations. I heard a lot of women say they didn’t like going to Reno every three years. I have to say I agree with them. Reno is a very expensive trip. It cost me as much to fly to Reno as it does to fly to Europe. I don’t gamble and Reno has very few shows on the dates I bowl. Plus it’s back to back for me. I go to Reno and the next year my wife goes to Reno. That’s a lot of money to bowl nine games.

I am a big fan of Bowlers Journal International and one of the reasons is the Par Bowling column written by Tom Kouros. What a great writer. His column “Lessons from the Slow Lane,” in the May edition is a must read.

I like to lurk on the PBA message board on PBA.com. Most of the messages are pretty lame, but it lit up when Brian Voss posted his thoughts on “ball sanding.” I don’t think that incident is what caused Voss so much gas, but personally, I think the PBA needs to address that type of activity and I don’t think ball reps have a place on the lanes.

I bowled in a senior league for the first time this year. I haven’t decided if I want to do that again. It’s different to say the least.

Our local association is going to go to a four person team event for the city tournament. Personally, I prefer a five person team. Actually, I prefer a 5-man, 5-woman team concept and a two man, two woman team in a mixed event. I’d like to know your thoughts on tournament team configuration. E-mail me at wrightdk@hot.rr.com.

Well, I expect my editor will be upset with me; I’m late on this column. But, I have a good excuse – I’ve been bowling!

It’s travel time once again. Now is the start of tournament season and bowling travels. We begin with the Bowling Writer Association of America convention, then the men’s state tournament, women’s state tournament, WIBC Nationals and ABC Nationals closes it down for us around the end of June.

I look forward to each of those trips. This year the BWAA convention was rather historic because they have always held their convention in conjunction with the ABC Hall of Fame induction. Since this marked the end of ABC the BWAA is looking toward the future and Baton Rouge was probably the last time they will align themselves with anyone on a permanent basis. The association delegates voted to move the organization’s annual convention on a one-year trial to Bowl Expo in Las Vegas, Nev. in June 2006.

It’s always fun to be around the writers and listen to the tales as well as the history surrounding our sport. Attendance was great this year and Charles Dunaway, our Cajun host did a wonderful job ensuring all our needs were met.

Our next stop was the men’s state tournament in Plano and Dallas.I love our state tournament (except for one city) and look forward to taking four teams each year. We have made the state tournament every year for the past twelve years. Prior to that it was difficult for us to always make the event since all of us were in the military. Now, 19 of the 20 bowlers are retired from the Army and Navy and we look forward to state and nationals.

I’m pretty sure the restaurants in the area like to see us, too. When all the bowlers and their spouses roll into the restaurant that fifteen percent gratuity added to the bill is pretty exciting.

The next stop is the women’s state tournament. This year it will be held in Austin, a short 60 mile ride for us. Sweetie always takes a team and her friend Wilma Stuart also takes a team and they team together for doubles. Most of the women have been bowling together in state and nationals for 30 years. It’s more about fellowship, sorority, and friendship than competition.

The Texas State Women’s Bowling Association always does such a great job with tournaments and it’s a pleasure to be part of it.

Next on the travel trail is WIBC Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We have been to Tulsa before so no vacation is planned this year. Usually, Sweetie and I and our two best friends, Dee and Jerry Northrop, plan a vacation around either the WIBC or ABC National events. This year, it’s strictly bowling. But, once again, the WIBC does such a great job with tournaments it’s always a fun time.

I know WIBC and ABC are, rather have, gone away. But, I’m old school and there will always be an ABC and WIBC as far as I am concerned.

WIBC is like state to Sweetie. She takes her team and Wilma takes hers and they team up for doubles. All the women are wives of retired military personnel so it’s not uncommon for the spouses to sit in the back and offer some small tip. We’re not coaching; we are simply offering a few tips…

For the past two years our daughter, Vikki has been a member of Sweetie’s team and that has been very special. Vikki was always there during her mother’s fight with cancer and encouraged her to continue bowling as soon as she was strong enough to do so. That encouragement and bowling were therapy for Sweetie and now that Vikki can travel with her Mom it’s really special. Isn’t bowling wonderful!

Finally, there is ABC nationals. Back to Baton Rouge and some of the best food in the world. Okay, there’s bowling, too.

We have been to Baton Rouge so many times that we opted not to vacation after ABC. However, there is a restaurant is Gulfport, Mississippi that we have driven 500 miles out of our way to eat there. It’s called Chappy’s and I am sure when we complete the tournament Dee and Jerry will follow the Volvo to Chappy’s.

ABC nationals are special. There is something about the entrance down the center isle that just can’t be explained. I’m sure that professional athletes and maybe some semi-professional athletes have something they take for granted. It’s expected because of their status. For me, and thousands of other true amateurs, the ABC makes us feel special and I can’t thank them enough.

Ain’t bowlin’ great? Sweetie and I get to bowl with our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. We get to travel to some great places and see some wonderful parts of our great country. We enjoy good food and drink with our favorite people, friends and bowlers.

It’s not competition that keeps us on the road. It those photo albums filled with team pictures, restaurants, and beautiful America. It CD’s and tapes of our favorite music. It’s laughter at the jokes, tears for those difficult times, and the planning for the future.

It’s true anyone can bowl. But, there is more to bowling than rolling a ball, or being on a league. There are those life long friendships. Watching the kids grow up. For those military spouses it’s watching your spouse leave for war, or some place you can’t go and having that bowling support group to keep you from going completely nuts.

Robert Seltzer, former writer and copy editor at the El Paso Times, once wrote, “Sportsmanship is not dying; it is dead and buried. The optimists among us can only hope for a resurrection.”

Well, Mr. Seltzer should have been with me on March 5 for the Region IV, Texas High School Bowling Tournament and I am sure he would say that sportsmanship is alive and well.

It all began when the host center, Hallmark Lanes, played a traditional version of the National Anthem. As I stood in the back I watched kids remove their hats without being told and watched them as they stood at attention with their hands over their hearts.

Hallmark Lanes had a packed house and spirits were high and the competition was outstanding. The teams bowled seven games, changing lanes after each game and then had a position round. The Shoemaker Grey Wolves, a local high school, captured first place in both the boys and girls team play. But, in my mind all of the athletes were winners and the coaches and parents can be very proud of the kids and the manner in which they conducted themselves and how they represented their schools.

In the position round Shoemaker was seeded first and cross-town rival Killeen High School was second. The anchor bowlers on each team consisted of two of the best youth bowlers in the area, Brian Wallace of SHS and Josh Herrick of KHS. Herrick rolled two strikes in the tenth frame and Wallace, the current Youth Bowler of the Year, rolled one strike and a spare giving the Roos the final match 221-183. The tournament was decided by total pins and the Grey Wolves topped the Roos by 68 pins taking first place overall.

At the end of that hard fought match Wallace and Herrick shook hands as did all the bowlers. No trash talking, no in-your-face attitudes, no whining, just great sportsmanship. That was the attitude throughout the entire tournament by all the teams. When it was all over the kids hung out together inside and outside Hallmark Lanes. It was just another day of bowling to them and they were all looking forward to the state finals in Dallas, Apr. 2-3.

There are 15 states offering bowling as a championship sport at the high school varsity level, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington (girls only). Texas is one of 20 states offer bowling at an interscholastic club level.

On the High School Bowling web site they report - According to the 2003-04 High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations, 2,998 schools offered bowling either at the varsity or club level last season with more than 34,000 students competing. Bowling had the greatest increase in the number of schools in 2003-04 as an additional 291 schools, including 196 at the varsity level, offered the sport.

High school bowling got its start in Texas in 2001 and has had a steady growth. Currently there are 7 Regions, 24 Districts and 109 schools competing in 40 bowling centers throughout the state. That’s a great start, but according to the Texas Education Agency for the school year 2003-2004 there were 1,674 high school campuses in the state.

Additionally, according to the United States Bowling Congress there are 52 YABA associations in Texas. So, it seems to me we are just scratching the surface with only 109 teams. YABA should be the training ground for high school bowling starting with bantams and preps. It should be a YABA coach’s goal to get his kids into high school bowling.

In my mind high school bowling is the future of our sport and the training ground for collegiate bowling, Olympic hopefuls, and the professional ranks. But more importantly, I think it’s the only future for league bowling as we know it today.

I can only speak for my particular community, but I am seeing very few YABA bowlers going into adult leagues when they complete YABA. In my area the vast majority of league bowlers are from my generation and, I have written before that we may be the last generation to form and compete in leagues.

I challenge the YABA, parents of youth bowlers, and coaches to get with their bowling proprietors and support this great program. I urge those who already participate in high school bowling to work diligently to make it a varsity sport. The student athletes I have seen work hard, practice and are quality athletes. They buy their own equipment and the cost to the school is minimal, at $75. per athlete (Most, if not all, is earned through fund-raisers). The school on the other hand benefits from their professional attitude and sportsmanship.

I was a youth coach for seven years and watching those high school kids made me realize once again why I did it.

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines friend as, “A person whom one knows well and is fond of.”

I thought about that and realized that I have friends I know well, and I have friends I don’t know so well, but I am fond of them and consider them friends.

It bothers me to think that as we get involved in our little rut in life’s road that we don’t see our good friends as often as we once did. The same applies to those we may not know as well, but are fond of whom we may never see.

I received a phone call the other day from Jack Lien. Jack is the owner of Treasure Software in Great Falls, Montana. I have never met Jack face to face, but my wife used his product, Perfect Secretary, for many years and I have written a column for his web site for almost ten years. Over those years we have talked on the phone many times and Jack and his wife were aware of my wife being ill and my heart surgery and Jack had called to see how we were doing. We must have talked an hour about our families. Jack has a daughter in college and I have a grandson, who at the time was in Iraq, and that dominated the conversation. Talking to Jack is easy and I feel like I have known him a very long time.

I had hoped to meet Jack and his wife when the ABC tournament was held in Billings. I normally take my teams in June, but that year the grandson that was serving in Iraq, graduated from high school and I passed on the Billings event.

I’m saddened to think I may never meet Jack and his wife.

Joe Gennaro is the owner and publisher of the Dallas based The Bowling News and, once again a friend I don’t get to see very often.

I have known Joe for about fifteen years and have written a monthly column for him all during that time. Joe is a native New Yorker and all of my family lives in Upstate New York so we seem to understand each other.

Over the years we have become telephone friends. I’ll call Joe, or he will call me and we chat about everything from the Yankees to bowling.

Lately our conversations have been more about health issues and he called often to check on my wife and me. After my wife and I were on the mend, Joe had a bout with cancer. He seemed to be recovering well when he fell down a flight of stairs sending him to the hospital. Now, recuperating at home, he is the Joe of old with a great sense of humor, and a great outlook on life.

This year our state tournament is in Plano and Dallas and I hope that my wife and I will be able to meet Joe and Sandra on Saturday night and find a great Italian restaurant and enjoy a good bottle of wine.

John Slanina and his lovely wife Fran live in Rapid City, South Dakota. We were stationed together in Frankfurt, Germany in the late 60s. We lived in the same government housing area, our kids were about the same age and John and I bowled on the El CID team at Hansa Alley. The team named was derived from Criminal Investigation Division (CID), which was our unit. We had a great team and had a great time.

John was a heck of a bowler, averaging nearly 200, back when that meant something. Fran and my wife were close friends and although the Slanina’s left Germany before we did, we remained close over the years. We wrote, phoned and stayed abreast of the good and bad things that happen to people over a span of nearly forty years.

When the WIBC nationals were held in Bismarck-Mandan we made a trip to Rapid City and spent a few days with John and Fran and shared a few laughs and tears.

Prior to John being in the Army he served in the Navy and he remains close to that service and attends his old Navy reunions each year. Unfortunately, he hasn’t made it to Texas yet, but we are hoping that occurs soon. In the mean time we continue to stay in touch through e-mail and Ma Bell.

We may not see each other, but I know they are just a phone call away.

The basis for these friendships are quite varied, but have one common denominator – bowling.

Certainly, a friendship made in the military service has a special meaning because we are such a close fraternity. But, the friendships I have made with Jack and Joe are no less special.

There are many, many more friends that G.G. and I wish we could see more often. But, happenings within our lives simply don’t coincide. It doesn’t diminish the friendship, it simply keeps us apart.

A friend once told me that he would never own a computer; he screened his calls, and only corresponded at Christmas time. I think that’s sad.

There’s a scene in the movie Tombstone (the best western ever made), in which Doc Holiday says, “Wyatt is my friend.” The character says, “Wyatt has a lot of friends.” Doc responds by saying, “Well, I don’t.”

We should hold our friends close.

After being a bit fried on college football I was glad to kick back in my recliner and see the PBA GEICO Open. I look forward to the PBA on ESPN and miss it when they take time off. I understand the PBA doesn’t have a year long schedule, but I would be perfectly happy to see the PBA Senior Tour, or the return of the PWBA and have year round professional bowling.

I think the owners of the PBA are doing a great job and I think ESPN has improved camera angles and the overall television product. Having said that, Dave Ryan doesn’t get any better. During the GEICO Open Mika left the 2-4-5 and Ryan said, “How many times have you seen Mika leave the head pin?” Randy Pedersen and his crocodile Randy accent is getting a bit lame, too.

Although my wife likes the Skills Challenge, I don’t. And, I don’t care for those six silly questions that Pedersen asks the professionals. Who cares what exotic animal the bowler would like as a pet? I would like to see them replace the skills challenge with equipment information. What ball are they using, drilling patterns, and what they expect from their equipment on the show. Instead of the six goofy questions by Pedersen, do a segment like they did with Walter Ray Williams, Jr. when they went to his house. Make it a more up close and personal view of the pro.

I thought the scoring at El Paso was obscene and it fuels the fires of those who think bowling is strictly recreational. When an amateur rolls 869 for three games and comes back in the fourth game with a 290 the PBA quite simply looks foolish.

I hope they make some changes in the telecast, but regardless, I’ll watch with one finger on the mute button and another on the fast forward.

I, like many others hope Dick Weber lives forever and he continues to travel and be our sports Ambassador. But, if and when the time comes to pass that torch I don’t think there is anyone better than Norm Duke to carry it.

In 1972 I bowled on a league that consisted of twenty-four, five man teams. It was the most competitive league in my area at the time and it was so popular that we had a team, not individual, waiting list. We couldn’t have more than twenty-four teams because that was the size of the center. The league was extremely popular for more than twenty years. Then something happened and the league began to lose bowlers and the decline was like a cancer reducing the most prestigious men’s league to just a skeleton of what it once was. At the beginning of league season this year the league had maybe a handful of teams consisting of three bowlers each. Last week they held a meeting and decided to open the all male league to women. They have a few now, but the league really didn’t grow and it will never be what it once was.

It’s really sad because the old-timers that bowled on that league back in the 70s and 80s remember the great bowlers of the era. It was a time when 200 averages were something special. The bowling center was open for twenty years before the first 300 game was rolled. Conditions weren’t soft and the competition was tough. Most of the teams had a sponsor and proudly wore their shirts and were fined if they failed to wear it. Long before brackets, we had a bowler with a clipboard running the league “pot.” Other individual pots went on between bowlers for as little as a penny a pin for the entire season.

· The Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame should be moved to Reno and be part of the bowling stadium. With the men and women alternating on a three year schedule, more people will pass through there than St. Louis.

· There are a lot of good African-American bowlers in league play, but few in the professional ranks. Why?

Well, another year has come and gone and while I sit here nursing a miserable cold I thought I would look back on a few things from 2004.

The interview of Mark Roth in the October issue of Bowlers Journal International sounded like a lot of sour grapes to me. Roth complains, “What I did with my hand and ability, you can now buy out of the box.” Really? All I need is today’s bowling ball to become a 34-time titlist, PBA Hall of Famer and earn over a million dollars?

He went on to say, “The game changed and we had to change with it.” No kidding? Lot’s of people made the change and seem to be doing quite well both on the PBA Tour and the Senior bowlers. Gary Dickinson, Dick Weber, Tom Baker, David Ozio, Dale Eagle, and Johnny Petraglia, to name a few, were able to make the change.

I agree the money isn’t huge, but if Roth wants “Legends respect,” maybe he needs to toss the cigarettes, change his attitude, get back into the game and act like a legend.

Statistics! As Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly says, “49.2 percent are misleading.” I agree and say that you can do anything you want with statistics.

Compare Barry Bonds with Babe Ruth (No comparison, really). Ruth hit a homer in 8.5 percent of his at bats and the first four years of his career he was a pitcher. Bonds averages a homer every 7.4 percent of at bats. And, Ruth did it with skill and hot dogs.

If people don’t like statistics, they adjust them by adding an asterisk, or something to differentiate between individuals, or eras.

That brings me to the hype over Earl Anthony and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. By the time you read this column Walter Ray may have tied, or passed Anthony’s career totals, but in my humble opinion it’s over hyped. We could get into many areas in which statheads would talk about short oil, new technology, stiffer competition, and even the exempt field. The facts are Anthony had an amazing career and Walter Ray still has a lot of bowling in him.

The best title an athlete can have is to call him, “The only man.” At this writing, Anthony is the only man to have 41 titles. Williams is the only man to win more than $3 Million in a career. Soon, Williams might be the only man to have won 50 titles. Now that’s a statistic. But, it won’t diminish what Anthony did.

Remember when we had sportscasters like Mel Allen, Jack Buck, Dizzy Dean, Chris Schenkel, and Denny Schreiner. What happened to knowledgeable, articulate sportscasters? Now days we have Tom Arnold, you remember him he was made famous by Roseanne. Now he’s a talking head expert in the sports field.

Another “sports reader,” a beautiful woman, has such qualifications as Playboy Playmate of the Year and interior decorator for a restaurant chain. And, another listed as a correspondent has quite a sports background having worked as a Hooters waitress, model for Fredericks of Hollywood and Playboy model.

Call me old fashioned, but I like announcers and sports show hosts who can not only read a teleprompter, but know the difference between a washout and a split and that three strikes in a row is a turkey, not a triple.

I think high school bowling is a great program and in my community, thanks to the efforts of Dick Atkinson, a local proprietor, the program has steadily grown.

Yet we have schools and bowling centers that have shown no interest in the program and I just don’t get it. It costs the school nothing, no equipment, no stadium, no field house, not a dollar out of their pockets. It enhances their athletic programs by simply allowing more student athletes the opportunity to compete.

Okay, proprietors are not going to make a lot of money off this program. In fact one proprietor told me it was about a break even situation for him by the time he paid the coach. “I was contemplating if I was going to support it again this year,” he said. “But, my daughter’s team made the state finals and I went to see it. The level of competition made me think about when I was a kid and wished I had the program available to me.” Once again he is supporting the program.

The future of our sport hinges on our youth. Hopefully, our high school bowlers will go on to compete at the collegiate level, or become league bowlers and coaches themselves.

2004 – the birth of the USBC. Will we be better off than before? Will we see increased membership? Can the same leadership bring new ideas to a new organization? Only time will tell.

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