The following are notes by BOWL Magazine Editor Bob Cosgrove along with some of the comments made by 1998 AMF Gold Cup winner Dana Miller-Mackie:

Age 42 / 17 years / came out on tour after college

basketball and field hockey

secondary ed. degree to teach, but tired of school / but I liked sports and was a tomboy

Mom: "You never gave bowling a fair chance." … in leagues since age 12 / went to WIBC Tourney

My mom had a love for bowling and seemed to enjoy it.

It was hard for me to adjust mentally to the individual aspect of bowling compared to the other sports. You have to be a lot more selfish, and that isn’t really me. But I had to learn it if I wanted to be competitive. I miss the camaraderie. You still have it here in bowling, it’s just in a different way.

Most people will tell you that at my age, this is not the norm. I’ll say this about bowling: It’s a very gracious sport, similar perhaps to golf. I feel smarter lane-wise now than I was in my 20s and 30s. I’m much sharper on balls, equipment, and where to move. My game is much better. I’m way more versatile than I used to be. I can hook the ball when I need to—when my wrist is well. I wasn’t always able to do that.

The downside to that is all the games and years on your body take a toll. I notice that I have to make sure that I really have to work hard at stretching and icing down. When you’re in your 20s and 30s, these girls—Michelle Feldman cover a zillion boards and is only 21 or 22 years old, and I never see her with an ice bag, probably because she doesn’t hurt! She goes out of here with her check and is driving right now. If I did that, you’d have to lift me out and pry my hands off the steering wheel. But that’s just the age factor—your body takes longer to recuperate.

I don’t know if this will be my swan song. I don’t want to be out here just hanging with the girls—that isn’t my deal. I either want to feel competitive and able to win—it’s too expensive, for one thing, to be out here hanging out.

I feel my husband’s been very gracious. We’ve been trying to get pregnant all this time. We got pregnant once, but I had a miscarriage. And then I went on fertility pills, and he got called away to an AMF thing. I thought, This is classic! Right on! OK! It’s going to happen on my own here!

So I think it would be very hard to compete and take that for a whole other year, but I’ll make that decision when I get to the end of this year. I’m going to pray about it, and I want to make the right decision, but I will always be involved in bowling—probably still bowl part-time and I hope I can be a blessing to our sport. I think our sport needs more people who are willing to give back and are willing to be good role models.

When you’re spending more time at the ice machine than you are bowling finals, that is a definite sign that your time is expiring!

Wrist problems before Pittsburgh—took week off before. Poor execution in Pittsburgh, but I got through it. … I think I can do this, as long as I don’t put a lot of stress on my wrist. That was my goal coming in here, and especially I wanted to not have to withdraw. AMF has been so good with the women’s tour this year … and I wanted to have a good performance.

I think my forté maybe is with teaching or coaching, but I just wanted them not to go, "Maybe she’s past her prime." But I just wanted a good performance—make a fair showing.

I can look at somebody and access his game pretty well because I’ve been in it so long. I think I’m a good teacher. I've got good eyes, and that’s due to being around my brother—he’s very analytical and a great teacher and coach. I was always relying on my feel.

It’s so important to know your equipment—your balls and surfaces—that you have to be smart about it. You can’t just say, Get any one out of the bag, it’ll work.

I’ve had little sponsors, and I’m thankful for them. But I spent a lot of years without that extra set of eyes behind me. Those other set of eyes is valuable. You’ve got your concourse coaches, but they don’t really know. These ball reps make your head spin with what they know. I just say, "Really? OK." They’re smart.

Before, I thought that I have to beat two people—both of them. Something’s wrong with this picture. And that’s how some of the players feel. And so, I think I’m sensitive to that. Up and coming players who need help and could use help.

I do as much as I can to see that our ball reps offer them balls and welcome them.

I’m thinking: Is this real? You’re seeing it, but your brain is not computing the event. Sort of like you’re in a time warp.

* * * *

I don’t know why people think because you’ve been out here so long that you shouldn’t be nervous. I think I get more nervous now because you know how hard it is.

The crowd was behind me, and it thrilled me. I would use the crowd like Tish, but usually, if I talk to somebody, the next shot I’m not focused and I leave a washout or something. So I’m not able to do that. … Popularity maybe due to clinics Voss and I gave her earlier this year.

I think it’s great to be an athlete and know you finished well. There’s a proverb in the bible—I’m a Christian, and I feel that God has allowed me to enjoy this for a long period of time. I hope I’ve been able to share that with many people. I hope they’ve enjoyed the bowling and other aspects of what we’ve done. We have a Bible study out here, and that’s been one of the most enjoyable things to me. That was really hard to get going. A lot of girls felt threatened by that. We’ve got quite a few regulars who now come, and it’s very informal and very non-threatening. That’s a joy to me, and I hope it continues even after I retire.

I think I’ll always be in bowling—I’ll be coaching or helping and giving back in some way or other. I like that. I’ll probably compete part-time because I’ve been in competition since I was three, so I’m sure I’ll miss that.

I think there’s a real joy in going out well like Michael Jordan. It’s sad when you see athletes who’ve been really good and they don’t know when to retire. It’s a shame.

I want to go out and say "That was great!" I want to say to other bowlers, "Look, if you take care of your health and treat your body well, you’ll have longevity in our sport." I hope to leave that legacy for these other bowlers who are out there.

* * * *

Wrist problem is bone spurs or bone chips—docs can’t decide. I was told: You’re hurting so much because you’re grabbing it on the downswing—maybe that’s what started this anyway. Pitches changed from 0 to 3/8" forward and pain was eliminated. If it’s forward, you can relax your hand in the ball.

I know it sounds kind of trite, and I don’t mean it to be, but with God you can’t ever rule anything out. I don’t think it’s all that realistic, honestly, but it wouldn’t be a disappointment to me because I think I’ve received a lot out of bowling. … I’ve been blessed.

* * * *

That’s why I like the Bible so much because it helps you pull back and focus on the bigger picture. That helps me in my bowling than going, Well, we’ve got to have this for the baby—this is a "little guy" thing. Pete Weber says he has to have that—that’s the way he’s bowled well. I guess for some players that’s well, but I don’t know, it’s not my thing.

Next year, I think Michelle’s mental is catching up to her physical. She’s going to have to go straighter with it; she already can hook the lane. As long as her body holds up doing that style, I think she’ll be tough to beat. She’s going to be tough. She’s getting more mature every day, and she’s young—she’s only like 20!

Gianotti / Turner has cleanest release / Cameron has strong mental game

No. The lane conditions fit my game, which is more down-and-in—straighter. I can play in—I like to play in—but I’m not able to do what Dede does to the ball. It was a good condition for me to take advantage of. This doesn’t come along all that often.

Expect lanes to be different; you’ll save yourself some grief.