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Each year nearly 70 million Americans hit the lanes, making bowling the most popular participatory sport in the U.S. But for serious players with the latest equipment, it's a whole new game Bowling has come a long way since Edward III of England banned the sport in 1366 because it was distracting his soldiers from archery practice. Bowling dates back at least to the Pharaohs, although for the first few thousand years, the game remained pretty much unchanged. You rolled a ball made of stone or wood or rubber at a bunch of pins and hoped for the best. Over...

A bowler collapsed and died at a bowling alley shortly after rolling the third perfect game of his life. Ed Lorenz, 69, bowled a 300 on Wednesday in his first league game of the night at Airway Lanes. When the retiree got up to bowl in the fifth frame of his second game, he clutched his chest and fell over, and efforts to revive him failed. The cause of death wasn't immediately known. "If he could have written a way to go out, this would be it," said Johnny D Masters, who was bowling with Lorenz.

Mich. Man Bowls 3rd 300th Game, Then Dies 56 minutes ago PORTAGE, Mich. - A bowler collapsed and died at a bowling alley shortly after rolling the third perfect game of his life. Ed Lorenz, 69, bowled a 300 Wednesday in his first league game of the night at Airway Lanes. When the retiree got up to bowl in the fifth frame of his second game, he clutched his chest and fell over, and efforts to revive him failed. "If he could have written a way to go out, this would be it," said Johnny D Masters, who was bowling...

16 states now recognize bowling as a varsity sport, a fourfold increase since 1999. Beyond becoming more accessible, bowling is growing more acceptable - even cool...... It's practice time, and the high school students vying for a spot on the varsity squad aren't at the gym. The action is down at the Bowl-O-Rama. The boys and girls from Twin Valley High School in southeastern Pennsylvania set up at their usual lanes, surrounded by teams from rival schools. This is a family bowling center, but the students have taken it over, scattering the pins in a series of loud, clattering crashes....

My name is Bob. Let me relate how I handled the situation with my wife, Peacebaby. When I took "early retirement" last year, it became necessary for Peacebaby to get a full-time job, both for extra income and for the health benefits that we needed. Shortly after she started working I noticed she was beginning to show her age. I usually get home from the Golf Course about the same time she gets home from work. Although she knows how hungry I am, she almost always says she has to rest for half an hour or so before she starts...

The bowling community has supported the military from World War II to the present day. And the latest effort has supplied bowling lanes to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Bowlers to Veterans Link has teamed up with the United States Bowling Congress and the Bowling Proprietors Association of America to send 200 "mini-bowling centers" to the troops. The kits include one 40-inch by 26-foot color carpet bowling lane, one set of 10 rubber bowling pins, a five-pound rubber bowling ball, score sheets and instructions. They can be easily set up and packed away as the soldiers' schedules allow....

ESPN gets less sports-centered Cabler to broaden its field with more series, telepix By JOHN DEMPSEY Less hockey and baseball. More original movies and series. That's one big equation on the mind of Mark Shapiro, executive VP of programming and production for ESPN, who's gung ho about broadening the audience for ESPN by reaching beyond the stereotypical potbellied sports nut, stretched out in his undershirt on a Barcalounger with a can of beer in one hand and a remote in the other. ESPN and ESPN2 aimed the National Hockey League games it carried from 1999 through 2004 squarely at this...

Bowling lane owners send shoes to lawmakers May 21, 2005, 6:54 PM EDT TRENTON, N.J. -- A bowling alley industry group has sent a single bowling shoe to each member of the state Legislature as a reminder of why they oppose a proposed indoor smoking ban. The Bowling Proprietors' Association of North Jersey and Southern New Jersey said it sent the shoes to highlight how the special leather-soled shoes slip easily on wet surfacing. The group claims an indoor smoking ban would raise their insurance rates because smokers going outside to smoke on a rainy day would bring water back...

Southern heritage buffs vow to use the Virginia gubernatorial election as a platform for designating April as Confederate History and Heritage Month. The four candidates have differing views on the Confederacy, an issue that has been debated for years in the commonwealth. "We're not just a few people making a lot of noise," said Brag Bowling, a spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the oldest hereditary organization for male descendents of Confederate soldiers. "This is not a racial thing; it is good for Virginia. We're going to keep pushing this until we get it." Each candidate recently shared his...

Four Of A Kind For Jones Wyoming, Mich. - March 20, 2005 History was made on the PBA Tour Sunday as Liz Johnson became the first woman to advance to the title match of a PBA Tour event. Johnson lost the match to Tommy Jones, 219-192, but made history when she defeated Wes Malott, 235-228, in the semifinals of the 2005 PBA Banquet Open at Spectrum Lanes. Jones’ victory marked his 4th title of the season and his career. He becomes the first bowler to win as many as four titles in a season since Parker Bohn III in 2001-02....

ST. LOUIS — Dick Weber (search), considered by many to be among the greatest bowlers ever and a three-time bowler of the year, has died. He was 75. Weber died in his sleep Sunday night at his home in the St. Louis area, said Steve James, retired executive director of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame (search). A cause of death was not known. Weber had just returned from the opening of the congress' championships in Baton Rouge, La. James spent Sunday morning with Weber, who gave no indication he was ill. "He was a lot bigger than the...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Dick Weber, one of bowling's first national stars and a three-time bowler of the year, died. He was 75. Weber died Sunday night in his sleep at his home in the St. Louis area, said Steve James, retired executive director of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. A cause of death was not immediately known. Weber had just returned from the opening of the congress' championships in Baton Rouge, La. James said he spent Sunday morning with Weber, who gave no indication he was ill. In an e-mail to the Bowlers Journal, Weber's wife, Juanita,...

I have always had a secret yearning to have someone request a dossier about me, and not just to reveal "favorite food" or "best vacation." I always liked the final question of the dossiers that the Post-Gazette ran for many years. It was: "What would surprise most people about you?" And I would say, "I think most people would be surprised to know I used to bowl in duckpin leagues three times a week."

Fellow Republicans, > As you may have heard Michael Moore; ya Michael Moore--the man who has denigrated our troops and continues to lie about our President will be speaking at the University of Nevada-Reno Campus on Wednesday, October 13th.  > The University of Nevada-Reno College Republicans are organizing one of the largest protests in the history of Reno, NV.  They would appreciate your attendance at this most worthy protest--to show our fellow citizens that we don't support a propaganda artist!!  On top of that--the students at UNR are extremely disappointed at the fact that the student government at the ASUN...

ok... i'm hoping you guys have heard about this. if not, allow me to enlighten you. =D there is a film releasing to DVD, on october 5th called, fahrenhype 9/11. it seems to not only refute moore's confused movie of lies, but also holds interviews with ann coulter, zell miller, david hardy and jason clarke, ed koch, dick morris, peter king, frank gaffney, and many many more. they are also offering a companion book with the DVD. you can view the trailer, as well as a 'clip of the week' at the link above. i hope y'all look forward to...

Carnegie Mellon University robotics researchers, in conjunction with the US Marine Corps' Warfighting Laboratory, have developed a small, throwable, remote-controlled prototype robot designed for surveillance in urban settings. Several of the robots are being sent to Iraq for testing. The robot, known as Dragon Runner, has the ability to see around corners and deliver information to Marines while keeping them out of danger in urban settings where human access is impractical, dangerous or unsustainable. The Dragon Runner project is managed and funded by the Warfighting Laboratory, Quantico, Virginia, which is part of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. The system...

Wednesday, April 14th, 2004 Heads Up... from Michael Moore Friends, I have never seen a head so far up a Presidential ass (pardon my Falluja) than the one I saw last night at the "news conference" given by George W. Bush. He's still talking about finding "weapons of mass destruction" -- this time on Saddam's "turkey farm." Turkey indeed. Clearly the White House believes there are enough idiots in the 17 swing states who will buy this. I think they are in for a rude awakening. I've been holed up for weeks in the editing room finishing my film...

PBA to Open Membership to Women Seattle, WA - March 29, 2004 In what may be a first in professional sports, the PBA will allow women to join its membership beginning immediately. The women will need to meet the same requirements for membership as the men, namely, maintaining a 200 average or greater for two consecutive 66 game league seasons. “We have had requests from women over the past year to participate in our regional tournaments,” said PBA Commissioner Fred Schreyer. “We thought about it for a long time and concluded, why not? We currently allow non-members to participate in...

Senator John Kerry bowled with oranges on his campaign airplane on Thursday shortly after takeoff from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Girlfriend leans out from bathroom to beam a smile. Meanwhile, media and campaign aides fastened their seatbelts as Kerry freaked out.

<p>February 8, 2004 -- MICHAEL Moore should be forced to give back the Oscar he won for "Bowling for Columbine" because he totally ignored the real reason why two high-school students went on a rampage that left 15 dead — prescription drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil. "These kids went off the rails after they were put on medication," said a source who worked on "The Drugging of Our Children," a documentary being produced by Gary Null. The health expert went to Columbine and talked to some of the same people Moore had interviewed. "They had told Moore repeatedly about the meds — he didn't use any of it," our source said. "When his documentary came out, it was all about the guns. He got an Academy Award for something that was a lie." Null refused to comment.</p>