What we see: Bowlers go from worst to first in one night

On the back of their generic black T-shirts are the words "Box of Milk Duds," printed in white helvetica letters. The four buddies, including a home builder, an account representative, a hydrologist and a real estate executive, get ready for their final league night of the season at Emerald Lanes on the Bench in Boise.

With bragging rights on the line and a little prize money to be won, the Duds have been bowling together in the league for the last five years and are ready for another night on the lanes. The Duds and 19 other teams were paired up according to their overall standings. The Duds were in a battle to stay out of last place.

Emerald Lanes owner Dale Dreiling runs the league, of which there are two, one on Tuesdays and the other on Thursdays. The teams - made up of men and women - roll three games head to head over the course of a couple hours. The Duds started off slow and lost the first two games of their match, and by the fifth frame of the third game, the overhead monitor next to the television showing an old Cindy Lauper video had the Duds trailing by quite a few pins.

"It's not all about winning, it's about having fun," joked Rob Truax, 36, of Boise as he stepped onto the lane holding his Cincinnati Bengals bowling ball. Truax has seen defeat before.

Near the end of the third game, the standings had all but been decided, and Dreiling walked from one lane to the next handing each team its prize money.

The last-place payout was a thin stack of fives adding up to $60 wrapped in a rubber band. Dreiling smiled and handed the cash to Duds teammate Ryan Hedrick, 35, of Meridian.

"We finished dead last," Aaron Peterson, 37, of Boise, said with a laugh. He has "Milkbone" printed on the front of his black T-shirt.

Peterson added with a wink in a loud voice, "That's OK, because at Emerald Lanes everyone's a winner."

You can tell Peterson is in sales.

The guys split up the cash and were about to leave when Truax remembered that on the final league night there was one last chance to win some extra money.

"It's time for the horse races," Truax shouted over the Billy Idol video playing in the background. "This is my favorite part."

The rules of horse races are simple - a member of each team is required to knock down a minimum number of pins with that number increasing with each round. The Duds sent Truax to the line to knock down at least six pins, and the home builder delivered a strike right down the middle. This process went on for a few more rounds until all the teams were eliminated except two.

Box of Milk Duds was still alive, and team anchor Jim Guidry, 35, of Boise stepped up to the line. After two-and-a-half hours of knocking down pins, Guidry needed to throw one more ball in a sudden-death situation. Guidry flung the ball and it took one bounce on the way to knocking down eight pins. The pressure turned to the other team, and all anyone remembers for sure is that it came up short.

Box of Milk Duds had won the final contest of the year. Going from worst to first in one night, the 30-something Duds looked more like the Little Rascals as they jumped up and down hugging each other, giving out a few high fives and then yelling their trademark team cheer, "CHIPS AND SALSA!"

Once again, Dreiling delivered the prize money. This time the payout was a mere $10 per person, but to these guys it easily could have been a handshake and a pat on the back. To these four guys, like most of the other teams, it's about getting together on league night, telling a few jokes, sharing a couple pitchers of beer, knocking down a few pins and leaving their troubles at the door of the Emerald Lanes Bowling Alley.

Shawn Raecke: 377-6469