Lucky shirt not so good

It was navy, with his name in cursive on the back — and about 30 years old.

His sister bought it for him when he joined the PBA, of which he remained a member for 21 years before dropping his card and opening a pro shop in Scottsdale.

The shirt couldn't carry him into the Round of 8 Wednesday at the PBA Senior Tucson Open at Golden Pin Lanes.

"This morning, I thought it was lucky," he said with a laugh. "Now I'm gonna go home and burn it."

Maresca lost the best-of-five set in four games. In the third, he took a perfect game into the 10th frame but failed to convert a strike. Right before the shot, he noticed the rubber lining in his thumbhole had cracked.

The southpaw tried to put a piece on tape in the hole for the fourth game, but "it didn't feel right," he said.

Maresca made $1,300 in the tournament. Not bad for a 57-year-old amateur.

"It's not a matter of making money; it's a matter of bowling well," he said.

A lifer

Want to bowl as long as Bill DeHaven? Take up the sport tomorrow, and stop in 2078.

DeHaven, who lives in Tucson, bowled his first game at age 16 in Dayton, Ohio. The 87-year-old bowls three times a week in the winter — and once a week or so in the summer.

DeHaven served as a scorekeeper this week. His average is still pretty good.

"One-sixty-four," he said, smiling.

Flag day

Twenty-two years ago, after winning a PBA tour stop in St. Louis, David Ozio had a decision to make.

The PBA creates pennants for every bowler who wins an event, and the flag follows the bowler to every tournament throughout his career. Bowlers get to pick the colors; Ozio went with navy blue and white.

"Blue was my favorite color and I needed something light for a background," he said. "A lot of guys have their favorite football team colors or the color of their cars or something like that."

Oily

What's the difference between this year's tournament and last year's?

The oil.

Last year, bowlers complained that their shots hooked too much, said Mark Sabatine, the PBA's lane technician.

This year, the PBA is applying oil to the lanes in a "cheetah pattern," which puts more oil in the middle of the lanes to create less friction. Oiling machines run between every round.

"It's like going into sudden death in golf," bowler David Ozio said. "You finish and you have to go play 16, 17, 18 again — except they change the pin placement."

Smoke-free

Arizona's smoking ban has left Golden Pin Lanes smelling, well, a little fresher.

Smoke-free alleys are a good idea, bowler Terry Leong said.

"It's a kick that the sport needed to bring the families back, to bring mom and dad and junior and Nancy back in on a Sunday morning," he said.

Amateur Tony Maresca noticed the change a few years ago, when his hometown of Mesa became smoke-free.

"When I got home at night, I'd take my shirt off, and notice it didn't smell like a cigarette," he said.

Prize money

1. $8,000

2. $4,500

3-4. $3,000

5-8. $1,700

9-16. $1,300

17-24. $1,100

25-32. $1,000

33-39. $800

Senior discount

The Senior PBA rewards its most senior members, so to speak.

The 50-and-over league rewards the top 10 "super seniors" — bowlers 60 and older — who otherwise would finish out of the money with $600.