THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505050226
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bill Leffler
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Did you ever wonder who are the smartest athletes?
A researcher recently completed a four-year study of 58,000 athletes in the United States, involving virtually every sport.
And guess what he has concluded?
America's smartest athletes are bowlers.
The researcher, William Daley, says bowlers averaged 129 on a series of standard I.Q. tests.
Some other average scores included 109 for tennis players, 105 for basketball players, 103 for football players, 101 for baseball players and 97 for golfers.
Daley himself expressed a little shock at the findings. ``Quite frankly,'' he said, ``this wasn't what we expected to find. But we can't ignore the overwhelming evidence. When you look at bowlers on an individual level, you discover a whopping 88 percent of them have above-average intelligence.''
Now maybe Daley can conduct another survey among bowlers only.
Are the best bowlers in that above-average 88 percent or in the other 12 percent? Many contend they ``think'' themselves out of consistent strike pitches or converting spares.
One of the sport's finest, pro Mike Aulby, believes ``building the mental game'' enables bowlers to better their performance on the lanes. He contends that the mental game is as important as actual practice.
Says Aulby: ``You are limiting your potential if you spend all your time working on your physical game.''
So, let's draw upon our superior intelligence and see if our bowling scores go up.
Bowler of the Week honors go to Philip Penny.
The No. 6 pin refused to fall on his last pitch, costing Penny a 300 in the Sunday Nite Mixed Tenpin League at Pinboy's of Norfolk. Penny's 299 was a league record.
A steady shooter in the high 180s, Penny chalked up a 713 series. He followed his 299 with games of 198 and 216.
TENPIN TOPICS: Remember the days when a 700 series was guaranteed a high spot in the Top Ten of the week? The past week there were 28 series reported over 700 and a 735 didn't even crack into the 10 best. This week scores tapered off and, for only the third time this season, no 300 games were registered. . . . Ed Pitcavage smacked a 298 game, leaving the 6-10 on his last pitch, en route to a 716 series in the Saturday Nite Live League at Plaza Bowl. . . . Oliver Edwards fired a pair of 279 games after an opening 178 for a 736 series in the Tidewater Men's Masters at the Naval Base. . . . Other gems of the week: Steve Boesdorfer's 290 in the Lucky Strikers League at Plaza Bowl; Mike Starling's 285 in the Federal Mixed League at Pinboy's of Norfolk; Danny McDermott's 279 in the Monday Scratch Doubles League at Pinboy's of Chesapeake; Sam Lanier's 278 in the Playmates League at the same center; Robbie Smith's 277 in the Pioneer Mixed at Pinboy's at the Beach; Roosevelt Clark's 276 in the PA Keglers League at Pinboy's of Military; and Gary Viens' 275 in the Tuesday Nite Mixed League at Pinboy's of Chesapeake. . . . Debbie Odyke had the thrill of hitting her first 200 with 201 in the Ladies Night Out loop at Pinboy's of Chesapeake. . . . Youth bowler Kristi Richards backed up games of 171, 266 and 202 for 639 in the Big/Little League at Indian River. In the same league Mike Dupew, who averages 155, rolled a 581 series. . . . The Virginia state qualifying for the National Amateur Bowling Championships will be held July 15-16 at Fredericksburg. Each state will qualify one male and one female for the finals at Reno, Nev. Aug. 27-Sept. 1. and all qualifiers will receive expenses-paid trips to Reno. . . . Area youth bowlers might be interested in applying for a free copy of the YABA Scholarship Listing. More than $1 million in scholarships are given each year and the listing provides scholarship amounts and contact numbers. To get a copy, call YABA Scholarship Coordinator Ed Gocha at (414) 423-3343.
DUCKPIN DATA: George Smith finished in second place in the men's division of the $15,000 Duckpin Classic, losing out to Richmond's Bruce Mabe. Linda Amaral of Rhode Island won the women's title. Local bowlers Martha Rush and Lynette Narciso finished 11th and 24th, respectively. . . . Donnie Long has posted 496 series for two weeks in a row in the Tidewater Pro League. . . . Johnnie Colley tiptoed down the ladder with 111, 110 and 109 in the Industrial League. . . . Joe Koon had the thrill of hitting his first 400 series in the Sunday School League, pounding out games of 161, 130 and 127 for 418. . . . For the second year in a row Henry Neal has won the Mary Crabtree Memorial Singles League championship. He defeated Denny Jackson in the rolloff of division winners. . . . Ronnie Sult had the game-of-the-week 188 in the Tuesday Major Trio League and came back with 184 in the Industrial League. . . said duckpins are on the way out? A 30-lane center with automatic scoring and synthetic lanes is under construction in Glen Burnie, Md. MEMO: Next week will conclude the Top Ten rankings in The Virginian-Pilot and
The Ledger-Star and will be the final regular Around the Alleyways
column of the season. The annual All-Metro teams will be announced the
following week. by CNB