In one of the most historic decisions in bowling history, the Board of Directors of the United States Bowling Congress announced its intentions to relocate the organization's headquarters to Arlington, Texas, where it will reside with the Bowling Proprietors Association of America. This dramatic move was the topic of my last column. Writing bowling columns have become second nature to me…. except for this one. Tuesday, March 22, I was informed that my great friend and adopted brother,
Joe Lyou, passed away in his sleep in Santa Paula, Ca.
Labor Day is a big holiday for tennis, football and bowling. Most Americans can't wait for the football season to kickoff right around Labor Day every year. Tennis players get charged up for U.S. Open with the final major tournament held each year during the Labor Day holiday and featuring saturation TV coverage for 13 days. But few people realize that with the arrival of Labor Day more than three million Americans head for bowling centers across the country for the start of the new league season. They still will be involved in league play long after the U.S. Open and football season are concluded.
The astronomical price of gas is impacting virtually every walk or life and industry in America today. If you donut believe it, ask one of the exempt players on the PBA tour who drives to 20 bowling stops a year and may cover seven thousand miles. Or ask Fred Schreyer, Commissioner and CEO of the PBA. The PBA made a small profit last season, its first since three former Microsoft executives purchased the floundering organization in 2000. That minuscule profit margin could be erased just by the exploding price of diesel fuel that it will take to move the PBA's four 18-wheelers across the country during the 20-stop tour starting in October.
The playing environment of bowling today may be as complex, unpredictable and chaotic as any time in the history of the game. We're not talking about the weekly league or club game where the participants just want to have fun. We're talking about professionally maintained and controlled tournament environments where bowling sports people compete. This is the second in a series of articles that will try to shed some light on many of the variables in the current game of bowling. 
The PBA was an annual event for 40 consecutive years in Las Vegas, all at the dearly departed Showboat. After a brief stint at The Orleans (both events won by Ryan Shafer), we locals gasped at the thought of the PBA not coming back. Thanks to former Fountain Bowl manager Dennis Matthews, who was hired by Station Casinos to run the Strike Zone in Henderson, we were once again treated to a week of professional bowling and a national telecast.