Bowling Ball

Kirk Janney, born and raised in Harford County, began bowling tenpins as a teen-ager; now 22, he carries a 208 average in three leagues -- Monday and Tuesday at Bel Air Bowl, Thursday at Fair Lanes Edgewood.Last month he had a night to remember."I wasn't doing anything different that night," Janney said. "My first game wasn't even up to my average."That first game was a 198; his last game of the three-game set was a 215. But that middle game was a beauty.Twelve strikes for his third career perfect game.

Reno, Nev. -- This ain't no bowling alley.With 78 lanes and 1,500 seats, this is the National Bowling Stadium. That's right, stadium. The first in the world -- a $46 million glittering temple for America's bowling faithful.It takes up a city block in downtown Reno. It's five stories high and 368,000 square feet of space -- slightly less than the Astrodome in Houston. There's a grandstand, press box, skyboxes, a lobby with marble floors and mirrored walls, a 1940s-style diner, and a 166-seat IMAX theater shaped like a bowling ball.

Roger Barnes of Edgewood won't be 21 until June, but he's already posted tenpin scores that bowlers double his agehaven't attained.The Edgewood High School graduate began his tenpin career when he was 3."If I could find someone to sponsor me I'd be on tour in a minute," Barnes said. "I think I'm ready."He's averaging 206 in the Sunday Gutterbusters, 208 in the Thursday Major Men's at Fair Lanes Edgewood and 209 at Brunswick Crown lanes in Middle River in the Friday Industrial league.He's shot two 800 sets and recently added a seventh perfect game to his string of 300s.

The problem with winter sports is that -- follow me closelyhere -- they generally take place in winter. Winter is both cold and slippery, which means that if you engage in a typical winter sport such as skiing, you could easily wind up freezing in some Godforsaken snowbank, unable to move because one or more of your knees have been converted into ligament gumbo.Fact: Last year, 17 percent of all recreational skiers were eaten by wolves.This is why leading health experts recommend that you spend the entire winter in a heated, TV-equipped environment eating Cheez-Its directly from the box. But for those of you who insist on leading an active lifestyle year-round, I'm pleased to report that there is a new winter sport on the scene.

Perry Coppersmith, bowling "for at least eight years," lives in Manchester and bowls Tuesday and Friday nights at Hampstead Bowling Center. Last month, he set a house duckpin record.In the Tuesday Men's Commercial League, he's on the same team with his dad, Harry, and brother Randy."Perry is bowling real good this year," Harry said. "His average is usually about 125, but this year it's over 130. The week before he tied the record. He shot a 200 game on the nose."Perry agreed: "I don't have a reason for it, but I'm bowling better this year."

The Young American Bowling Alliance welcomes all boys and girls 21 years of age and under to join a sanctioned bowling league.Trained coaches are available and YABA members compete on a team with children in their own age group: Bantams (8 and under), Junior (9-11), Major (15-18) and Senior (18-21).Both centers in Howard County -- Brunswick Columbia and Brunswick Normandy -- have YABA Saturday morning programs.At Brunswick Normandy in Division I, Justin Ross was Star of the Week for Week 4 and Tina Mortensen was Star for Week 5.Division II saw Theresa Rose capture Star of the Week for Week 4 and Nicola Liskovec became Star of the Week for Week 5.Mortensen, 11, lives in West Friendship.

When teams gather next July in Reno for the finals of the Brunswick World Bowling Team Challenge and a crack at the $25,000 first-place prize, Harford County will be represented by three members on the five-man team called Team Champion.Karl Schmidt of Bel Air, Brian Bever of Belcamp and Bruce Hollen of Upper Falls, will join teammates Lee Brosius of Anne Arundel County, and Mike Wheeler of Dundalk, to try to continue their winning ways."We've been bowling together for a while," said Hollen, anchor on the team and the only left-hander.

On a day when the pins stop falling, a friend can help your game and with just a tiny bit of advice, get your game back on track.For Cindy Bellin, that help came from Artis Booker Sr.Bellin bowls in two leagues at Brunswick Normandy, the Thursday mixed league and the Sunday Colts and Fillies."

"I can do it all," Roberta King said. "I'll work the snack bar, the control counter, take care of the leagues. I've even been in back of the lanes with the machinery. Didn't really know what I was doing, but I was there."And she bowls. Tenpins and duckpins."I started bowling when I first came to work here at Hampstead [Bowling Center]," she said. "That was five or six years ago."King lives in Hampstead, just minutes from the bowling center. She's an employee of the Department of Aging for Baltimore County, and now, with Ginny Blackowicz moving on to other pursuits, she's donned another hat. She'll be more involved with the youth bowling programs on Saturday mornings at the Main Street bowling center.

It's special when a county can send one athlete to a national tournament with a chance to represent the United States in international competition. It's almost unbelievable that the same county can send two athletes.Kendra Cameron and Debra Riefflin were in Minneapolis Aug. 20-26 trying to earn a place on Team USA. Cameron won a spot on the team while Riefflin bowled well but came up short.Riefflin learned about the tenpin game in the youth program in her hometown of Missoula, Mont.A major in the U.S. Army field artillery stationed at Fort Meade, Riefflin was a member of the University of Montana team that won the national collegiate title in 1979.