I met Norm Duke for the 1st time today at the Famly Bowling Championships here in Baton Rouge. It was an amazing event. He was here with Mike Machuga for a exibition, as he has been at each of the tournaments for the last 7 or 8 years. Although the airline lost his luggage and it did not arrive until the demo was started, I must say the presence of the man is amazing. It took no time until he had the crowd in his hand. I did manage to get my picture taken with him and it's going up on my office wall as soon as I get back to work. The Duke is to me the most versatile bowler on tour.

To top it off, I came home, turned on the TV, started a bowling rerun on my TIVO from ESPN Classic and it turned out the be the 1998 Rochester CLassic which Norm won with 2 strikes in the 10th over Haskins after struggling through most of the match. That's what makes a champion - the ability to overcome.