The most agonizing concern for bowling purists is the proliferation of high scores. The bogus, fraudulent numbers being posted have turned bowling into a sham and relegated the game to pro wrestling status. The only distinction between the two is that professional wrestling is generally accepted for what it really is—a staged exhibition—whereas bowling's hierarchy envisions the game as a sport worthy of Olympic status.

FIQ President Jerry Koenig, together with a gallant group of ABC and WIBC officials, has worked feverishly for acceptance of bowling as a medal sport in the Olympics.

Kudos also are due the Brunswick Corporation, particularly the tireless and noble attempts made by former Chairman of the Board/CEO Jack Reichert for placing bowling into the Olympics.

To date, the game has achieved an initial goal in the Olympic arena—acceptance as an exhibition sport.

And what a coincidence—an exhibition sport! Don't we consider pro wrestling an exhibition? Does this have a familiar ring?

Purists shudder at the thought of appraising bowling as an exhibition. How would this affect legends like Joe Norris, Andy Varipapa, Bill Lillard, Billy Welu, Harry Smith, Don Carter, Ray Bluth, Dick Weber, Don Johnson, Mark Roth, Marshall Holman, Earl Anthony, and all the superstars who brought glory to bowling and established it as a game of skill and talent?

It doesn't require a rocket science mentality to differentiate current scoring from that posted prior to the 1980s. No one can dispute the fact that all modern athletes are better-conditioned and enjoy the luxury of sophisticated equipment. Although bowling balls, like modern golf clubs, have been offensively enhanced, lane conditioning (blocking) has been the primary factor in the mad scramble for skyrocket scoring.

In the professional ranks, a premium is placed on quality shots. Lane conditions vary weekly, and players are forced to overcome changing patterns caused by continuous play, day by day, from one squad to another.

In the professional ranks, it is relative: The better athletes continue to maintain their superiority, regardless of the sport. Proof of the pudding in bowling on the professional level is attested by the fact that countless number of 220 to 240 league average players attempt to exercise their sorcery on tough PBA conditions, only to humbly return to their friendly confines, content to be big fish in a small pond.

It doesn't require a rocket science mentality
to differentiate current scoring
from that posted prior to the 1980s.

No one can blame these unfortunate souls for their misconceptions and discord. They simply are victims of the environment. They have been spoiled and weaned on soft conditions. Proprietors have been obsessed with high scores that attract bowlers. Consequently, they block the lanes.

Is this a logical tactic? Doesn't this force competitors to retaliate and do the same? And hasn't this led to phony lane conditions in practically 98 percent of bowling centers around the country?

Isn't it a fact that high-average bowlers are less than 10 percent of a proprietor's business?

Isn't it a fact that the average bowler cannot recognize a block if you painted it red?

Why are proprietors catering to 10 percent of their clientele? Is it any wonder that they have relegated bowling to a recreation rather than a sport?

Proprietors and members of the bowling family should become concerned with the absurdity of league scores that tend to diminish the talents of genuine stars on the PBA Tour. Thousands of bowling fans around the country are unaware of the fraudulence and impropriety of scores posted by amateurs.

How can non-bowlers make a distinction?

* * * *

Roger Dalkin, executive director of the American Bowling Congress, is on record to present a plan to place bowling in tiered divisions. The proposal would distinguish recreational bowlers from those who prefer to regard bowling as a sport.

This is the soundest and most innovative plan that has been presented to bowling in over 20 years. This is the one and only answer to proprietors who seemingly prefer to classify bowling as a recreation.

The problem remains: How will some proprietors accept this proposal? I'm not certain what steps will be taken for the proposed tiers, but it is reasonable to expect the distinction will be based on the pins that would vary in weight, base structure, or center of gravity.

At any rate, this promises to be one of the most essential ingredients for restoring sanity into the game. And why not?

Dalkin's decision to take this bold move stems from his experience as a former world-class bowler who appreciates and recognizes the skill and talent necessary for attaining high marks in the sport.

Although ABC and WIBC in recent years have demonstrated a lax attitude regarding high scores, it is no secret that they have tried to avoid further conflict with proprietors who threatened to withdraw from the governing organizations several years ago.

Will the proprietors be receptive to such radical requests?

Will they relent to ABC suggestions whereby they are coerced into things that may require increased costs or labor?

Golf classifies courses and places emphasis on the skill required to meet the standards of the playing field. They are graded in various manners, depending on the length and width of the fairways, the placement of the sand traps, trees, water hazards, and the geological formations surrounding the course.

And doesn't golf afford three or four choices for those who want to play the shortest or longest part of the game?

If we want to continue to debate the virtues of golf and bowling and make comparisons, it is absolutely critical that Dalkin's plan be implemented. It may be the savior of a sport that's slowly fading because it is being relegated to recreational status.

Our sport has witnessed scores that harbor on perfection, a sacred word reserved for very few in the athletic world, but one that has turned our game into a travesty. For example, results of the 1996-97 season scoring leaders released by ABC/WIBC read thus:

Men's Division

· Individual series: Jeremy Sonnefeld (900), absolutely perfect; Steve Lewis (899), one pin off perfection; Kevin Lickers (898), two pins off perfection.

· Doubles game: a 597, a 595, a 590—three, five, and 10 pins off perfection.

· Five-man game: 1,387, 1,359, 1,354—averages of 277, 272, and 271, respectively, per man.

· Five-man series: 3,785, 3,777, 3,776—averages of 252, 251, and 251, respectively, per man.

Women's Division

· Individual series: Kathy McNeill (856), a 285 average; Tamica Glenn (853), 284; Angie Harp (846), 282.

· Doubles game: 565, 554, 538—averages of 282, 277, and 269, respectively, per bowler.

· Five-lady game: 1,231, 1,222, 1,215—averages of 246, 244, and 243.

· Five-lady series: 3,446, 3,440, 3,426—averages of 239, 235, and 229.

YABA — YABA scores reveal the following—and these are junior bowlers!

· Boys' series: Joseph York and Rory Kalanquin, 858 (285 average) and Todd Schraetzer, 857 (285 average).

· Girls' series: Lisa McCurdy, 825 (275 average); Amie Willett, 814 (271 average); and Marie Hollingsworth, 804 (268 average).

Friends, these are scores that are being posted on today's conditions. Perfect games, once an accomplished feat, are being registered at such a ridiculous pace they are no longer heralded.

Series of 800 or higher were sacred cows before the scoring madness took hold. Whereas 800s were posted about two or three times a year throughout the country, they currently are scored once or twice a night in every city across America.

Lest I be lumped with old fogies who pine for the ideal old days, I stand solidly behind modern athletes. I staunchly believe that today's athletes have progressed through greater conditioning methods and superior equipment. They certainly have taken advantage of early training and have had the opportunity to study bowling stars through television.

I also believe that modern stars would have achieved equal stardom in the 1950s and 60s and contend that older stars would have more than held their own on modern conditions.

Talent is a God-given virtue.

Gifts of ability prevail in any tournament.

PBA Hall of Famer John Jowdy is a past president of the Bowling Writers Association of America.