Celebrity bowlers help raise money for charity, displaying a serious side while kidding around

By Scott Sexton, Journal Columnist | September 17, 2006

If you think Chris Paul competes hard on the basketball court, you should see him when he slides into his bowling shoes. "I tell people all the time that basketball is just a hobby. Bowling is what I really do," Paul said last night a few minutes before he stepped onto the other hardwood.

As part of Chris Paul's Winston-Salem Weekend, the former Wake Forest and current NBA star led a celebrity bowling tournament at the AMF Winston-Salem Lanes on Jonestown Road with the goal of raising money for his charitable foundation.

That's a fine and noble thing for a 21-year-old kid to be doing for his hometown. But when it came time to bowl, Paul was all business. The fun and games ended when he pulled his customized bowling ball out.

Ever hear pro athletes talk about their competitive streaks? Like when an NBA player says he would get worked up over a game of tiddly winks? Or when a football player says he would sit for hours playing Nintendo until he wins?

Believe every word. They are not lying. Paul said he recently played in a celebrity bowling tournament held by Ray Lewis (the Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker), finished a respectable second and still seemed disappointed that he didn't win.

"Tell you the truth, I'm a little nervous tonight," Paul said. "I really hope I don't choke, this being my own tournament and all."

The competitive nature

It's not hard to see where Paul comes by his mile-wide competitive streak.

While the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Josh Howard and Dwyane Wade were milling around trying to squeeze into enormous bowling shoes, Charles Paul (Chris' father) was psyching himself up to play and giving Howard a bit of a hard time.

"I told Josh he better watch out and not talk any junk," the elder Paul said. "And we'll see if Chris cracks under the pressure. Bowling is serious business."

"I'm not taking this serious at all," Howard countered. "I don't bowl. At all."

The competitive nature of the night didn't end with bowling. While Paul was standing in a VIP area set aside for Toyota employees and their guests - he signed a monster expansion of his sponsorship deal with the automaker that was announced last night - Wade drifted past and did a double take when he got a look at Paul's jeans.

No clue about what the appeal of the pants was. They weren't your daddy's Levi's, though, and came complete with what appeared to be a hand-painted design on each of the back pockets.

"Man, I was going to get those," Wade said in mock horror.

Fashion, bowling or basketball, it's no wonder that these guys compete so hard. You don't get to the top of your profession - any profession - without wanting to beat your opponent. It's the American way, and it's a good thing.

"You have to remember the time and energy it took for them to get to the top," Richard Lustberg, a well-known sports psychologist who works in Manhattan, said in a telephone interview. "They all have a compulsive aspect to their personality. You have to in order to hit 500 or 1,000 baseballs a day or shoot 1,000 jumpshots a day. They're perfectionists."

Verbal harassment

That competitiveness spills over in other ways, too.

High-level athletes have been known to talk trash to each other. Part of it comes from a desire to distract their opponents, part of it comes from wanting to make the opposition fear them and part of it is just plain fun.

Athletes, Americans in particular, have been verbally harassing each other since the first ball was rolled out and scores started being kept. Babe Ruth was a notorious bench jockey and so was Ty Cobb.

It wouldn't be all that shocking to someday uncover an ancient manuscript written in Greek discussing the insults wrestlers tossed at each other in the first Olympiad.

"You got to," said Paul when asked if he would be talking to his opponents last night. "Got to. All these guys talk a good game, but until you see what they can do, you really don't know."

All joking and smack-talk aside, there was serious business to tend to last night, and everyone present knew it. That list includes LeBron James and four members of the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

"I haven't been many places in North Carolina outside Raleigh," said Mike Commodore, the Hurricanes' defenseman who may have garned more recognition for his mountainous red afro and bathrobe than his stickwork. "It's a good cause, and we're glad we could be here."

By the time Paul's weekend ends, he will have raised a pile of cash that extends well into six figures to help his hometown. By the time the event rolls around next year - and there will be a next year - Winston-Salem will be on the map for a bigger audience.

That's worth at least as much as any bowling trophy and far more than those ugly shoes.