A YEAR OR SO AGO, we wrote about the revived interest by hip bars in bowling iconography (balls, pins, shirts, trophies).

But a revival of bowling images, we warned, didn't necessarily mean a revival of bowling.

In the past 15 years or so, the Seattle area's lost the Green Lake Bowl, the Lake City Bowl, Village Lanes, and Bellevue Lanes (now a Barnes and Noble!). The DV8 dance club and the Alley minimall on Broadway also stand where lanes and pinsetters once ruled.

While entertainment complexes of all shapes and sizes have sprouted around here lately, real bowling hasn't been part of any of them.

One oft-cited reason: Those Kids Today aren't supposed to be interested in the kegler's art; and adults are finding it harder to keep league-bowling commitments.

A more plausible reason: Entertainment-center developers simply felt bowling couldn't provide income-per-square-foot at the rates of, say, video games or water slides.

But now, the Jillian's yuppie pool-hall chain wants to build Seattle's first new bowling alley in decades. The proposed 16-lane alley would be built next door to the existing Seattle branch of Jillian's on south Lake Union. That building now houses an outlet of the Video Only big-box retail chain, central Seattle's only remaining consumer video-electronics store. But that joint could easily move, maybe to one of the many new retail developments downtown.

Knowing Jillian's pool schtick, you can expect a Jillian's bowling alley to be all fancy-schmancy and costlier than your average suburban pin palace. But as long as it's not too gussied-up, it'd be a great step toward bringing back one of America's greatest pastimes.

Now, if only Fox Sports Net would bring back the women's bowling matches that had been a weekly staple of its predecessor channel Prime Sports.

Speaking of the grace of the female form in motion, clueless mass-media people went mildly agog last week when a member of the victorious U.S. Women's World Cup team took off her jersey at the end of the match, revealing a new-model Nike sports bra that's far more modest than what beach-volleyball women wear. For one thing, end-of-match shirt-doffing is a long tradition in men's soccer. For another thing, I dunno about that particular player but women's soccer has this rep of attracting women who enjoy other women's physiques. In other words, what's the big deal here? (The obvious answer: A lot if you're Nike and you'd like lotsa free publicity for your new garment.)

TOMORROW: The end of Seafirst Bank as we know it?

HELP ME!: The third annual Misc. World Midsummer Reading List is coming soon. Nominate your favorite warm-weather reads by email or at our luscious Misc. Talk discussion boards.

ELSEWHERE: Thanks to nubbin.com, here are some English-language instructions on Japanese-model Pokemon character model kits:

"Our Company motto is 'Give safe and enjoyable toys and dreams to children'. That is why we research & improve out produets all the time. This might create out toys to be slightly different from each other amony same iteu depending. On the diffarent lots. As for as out product quality is concerned we pay extre affention... "It is advised not to take off all the parts because you may may be confused. Tske off and assemble one by one according. Some parts are point so please take care not to be hart."

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