Construction on the 48 bowling lanes to be used for the
2005 American Bowling Congress Tournament at the
Baton Rouge River Center had not been completed, but
vandals struck on January 8, causing thousands of
dollars in damage. The damage was discovered on
Monday morning at the River Center complex, and
crews went to work immediately to clean up the mess.

The vandals emptied fire extinguishers on some of the
lanes being built for the 102nd edition of the
Tournament. The good news is that damage was
minor —— estimated at around $5,000 —— and
should not impact the Tournament's opening,
scheduled for February 11.

"It's early enough that we're able to fix [the damage],"
Tournament spokesman Chris Chartier told WBRZ-TV.
He added that had the incident occurred two or three
weeks later, a number of lanes may not have been
ready for the Tournament's opening. More good news:
A surveillance tape reportedly caught the vandals in the
act, and that tape was turned over to local police.
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Duke Harding

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I'd Rather be Lucky than Good.