I would like to take this time to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year. I have some wishes for the rest of the bowling season. Here's a few of them:

• The PBA continues to prosper. It's good to see that the Professional Bowler's Tour continues to have strong sponsor support and good exposure on ESPN. The bowlers continue to be some of the hardest working athletes in sports today.

• I hope Eagle sports editor John Enrietto finally bags that elusive perfect game. John is a big supporter of bowling and travels to Allegheny County to bowl with family and friends in a league every week. That's impressive, based on his schedule.

• That all leagues will take a hard look at their setups and try to include as many teams in the playoffs as possible. Yes, most folks bowl for the fun of it and might not care if they make a playoff, but it's even more fun if you're bowling for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

• I hope that more people continue to discover a sport that absolutely everyone can do, no matter your ability, handicap, age or size.

The Seven-Up team of St. Louis holds the USBC record for greatest game-to-game decrease in league play. They opened a night in 1950 with a 1,238 team scratch series. How many pins to you think they dropped in the second game? Answer at the end of the column.

The arrows and dots on the lanes are commonly referred to as targets. If you find that rolling the ball at them is a bit too challenging, try rolling at an area on the lane instead.Pick out a two- to three- board area just beyond the arrows or the dots and roll the ball to the area. You can still use the dots or arrows as a guide, but rolling the ball to an area that's two or three boards wide might not seem quite as daunting compared to hitting an arrow on one particular board.

There were plenty of great scores in the last couple of weeks. Here's this week's roundup:• <B>Coins League:</B> Linda Smith took high game (214) and high series (587) recently.• <B>Firearms League:</B> Chris Switzer, 256 (668), Wayne Dunlke, 236 (621), Sharon Hilliard, 198 (520), Mike Hilliard, 279 (689), Greg Reen, 278 (688), Beth Ozella, 225 (572)• <B>Armco C League:</B> Bob Gardner, 290 (714), Scott Emmel, 267 (680), Bill Schultz, 259 game, Tim Hoffman, 245 (656), Trent Slater, 270 (721), Chuck Dight, 264 (652)• <B>Mike Kelly Automotive: </B>Dan Manning, 268 (687), Kevin Pritts, 265 game, Kurt Weaver, 246 (681), John Boozel II, 226 (670).

The Butler County Bowling Association's annual mixed doubles tournament is coming up on Jan. 19, 20, 26, and 27 at Slippery Rock Lanes. Squad times are at 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and at 9 a.m. and noon on Sundays. Applications are available at area county centers or online at butlercountybowling.org.

The Seven-Up team started out on fire with a 1,238 team game, but fell to an 808 team game in the second game of the set, a decrease of 430 pins, a USBC record.Ron Willison is a bowling columnist for the Butler Eagle.