Perfect games and pace

Pitching a no-hitter in baseball.

Scoring a hat trick or recording a shutout in hockey or soccer.

Posting a triple-double in basketball.

All are impressive athletic feats. Yet, not to take away from those amazing accomplishments, but none are really individual performances. Teammates play a big role in each.

Recently, though, a few athletes with local ties turned in some truly incredible individual athletic performances.

Say what you will about the athletic merits of bowling, but you can’t argue against the fact that the mental aspect of the game ranks it as one of the toughest.

The focus and concentration of throwing a perfect 300 game in bowling could be compared to that of pitching a no-hitter in baseball.

Sure, no one is standing at the end of the lane with a bat trying to make contact with the bowling ball before it reaches the pins (more on that later). But the bowler, unlike a pitcher, stands alone. There is no defense behind them on the lane.

So you can only imagine the mental pressure a pair of local high school bowlers felt as they watched their opponent throw strike after strike after strike.

In the end, Dan Pollak of Utica Eisenhower and Brad Burgess of Utica Stevenson both turned in perfect 300 games in head-to-head action Feb. 6 at Shelby Lanes during Macomb Area Conference Red Division play.

And if you want pure, raw athleticism in terms of impressive performances, look no further than what Shane Knoll recently accomplished.

The Michigan State University junior runner, a Warren Mott graduate, ran a sub-four minute mile Feb. 9 at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind.

For those unfamiliar with running, breaking four minutes in a mile competition has become the invisible barrier that separates good runners from truly great ones, and it doesn't happen all that often.

The pace a runner must push themselves at for that length of distance is remarkable. Breaking the mark also requires mental focus and courage.

Last year, Forbes.com compiled and published a list of the greatest athletic accomplishments of the past 150 years. Roger Bannister breaking four minutes in the mile for the first time May 6, 1954 ranked No. 1.

So while you take time to reflect on those impressive achievements, I’m going to go shopping for an oversized super-titanium baseball bat.

I might be on to something there. Creating a new sport might be the only way me and many others could ever achieve similar sports success. What sounds better, baseling or bowlball?

Because the only way I’m ever going to record a perfect game in regular bowling is if I stand in front of the pins and swing away with a bat (hybrid metal or wood, either could work.) And as for running a four-minute mile? Two words: Rocket skates.