Bowling, The Wright Way - January 26, 1998 by Don Wright
What do you think?

Okay, it's time to stimulate some dialog and find out what you think about some things that have been buggin' me.

First, let's start with Pete Weber. Weber will have to sit out the first three PBA stops on the tour for opting not to appeal the suspension for "conduct unbecoming a professional." It seems Pete made some remarks about lane conditions during an interview with media following his second-place finish in the Ebonite Challenge in Windsor Locks, Conn, Oct. 8. Weber missed the Brentwood Classic and will miss the Long John Silver's Classic and the Columbia 300 Open in Austin, TX. He is expected to compete in the Peoria (Illinoisl) Open.

It's time people got off Pete's case. Sure he has had his share of problems, some he deserved, but suspending one of bowling's top professionals for comments about lane conditions seems a bit severe to me. If everyone who complained about lane conditions was suspended or kicked off leagues you could just about shut down the sport. In a time when lane conditions have severely tainted the integrity of the game maybe the PBA should have let Pete talk. One only has to look at the 1996 fiasco in Erie, PA to realize that lane conditions are a joke. But, to suspend the man who ranks second on the PBA's all-time earnings list is like suspending Arnold Palmer for complaining about the height of the grass.

The PBA needs to be promoting their super stars, not suspending them for comments made during an interview following the heat of battle. Some of these bean counters need to buy a ball and shoes and get it on.

I taped the first ESPN telecast of the season while I bowled on Super Bowl Sunday and thought I would make a few comments. First, I like the noise and the fan involvement. I never understood the hush-hush. All week long the bowler's compete in noise and then on TV day we make it like a funeral home.

The broadcast team of Marshall Holman and Mike Bush. Where do they get these guys? Bush doesn't know much about the sport and that was obvious by his commentary. Holman referred to the 9-pin as the 8-pin. Called the 2-10 the 2-8 and a turkey he called a triple. The Tip of the Week was poorly done, but worse yet the tip was terrible. I liked Holman with Durbin and Durbin's tips made sense. Wasn't it ESPN that hired an Olympic swimmer to work with Leila Wagner? Geez, when will they learn?

Okay, I like to surf the net and see what's going on with bowling and I found a guy named Kevin Mahler who is a sports writer for Sportsviews Interactive - Forum - The Mining Company. He has an e-mail address of sportsviews.guide@miningco.com. He says that in order for a sport to actually be a sport it has to meet three criteria which I will condense, but you'll still get the idea.

1. Decided by objective scoring. Anything with judges makes it competition, not sports.
2. The competition must be based primarily on human athletic accomplishments.
3. In defining athletic it's about more than just skill. He states for example that golf is not a sport, but a skill and relates that many out of shape, non-athletic golfers master the skills to play the game.

Okay, you're ahead of me. He says bowling is not a sport. As far as he is concerned it is a skill-based competition, not athletic competition.

Now a lot of folks have written to Mahler because he also said that Archery, auto racing, boat racing, boxing, bullfighting, cheerleading, dog racing, figure skating, horse racing, and many others did not meet his criteria as a sport. He is undecided about baseball, softball and the martial arts.

My Websters New World Dictionary defines "sport" as any activity or experience that gives enjoyment or recreation; pastime; diversion. It goes on to say "such an activity requiring more or less vigorous bodily exertion and carried on according to some traditional form or set of rules, whether outdoors, as football, hunting, golf, racing, etc., or indoors, as basketball, bowling, squash, etc."

Personally, I would like to see Mahler try the PBA for two tournaments and see what kind of "athletic" abilities he has. But, more importantly, I want to hear from you. What do you think? When you send your comments to me (wrightdk@vvm.com), sent a copy (cc) to Mahler (sportsviews.guide@miningco.com), too.

In the mean time, as Jim Dressel would say, may the bowling God's be with you.