Best Racquet Boss 2005 | Yanick DullensUniversity of Denver Women's Tennis | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Racquet Boss

Yanick Dullens
University of Denver Women's Tennis

For decades, hardly anyone knew the University of Denver even had a women's tennis team. But when coach Dana Young's charges unexpectedly won the Sun Belt Conference title last spring and earned an NCAA tournament berth, even the Williams sisters couldn't have caused a bigger stir on campus. The team's number-one singles player, then and now, is a steady blond slugger named Yanick Dullens from Susteren, Netherlands, who went 26-7 in matches last year and continues to lead the Pioneers, whose 8-2 mark this season promises another NCAA appearance. A senior who also plays number-one doubles, Dullens is 16-8 in singles matches and 20-9 in doubles this year.

Best Argument for Wing-Tips

Niketown during All-Star Weekend

In a rush for the honor of being first to shell out 120 bucks for the new Michael Jordan sneakers at Niketown, visitors to February's NBA All-Star festivities shoved, jostled and exchanged harsh words with each other on the 16th Street Mall. No one was shot, knifed or clubbed, but by the time happy consumers laced up their new Jordans and returned to the pavement outside, the real motivation behind NBA marketing became clear: Sell brand-name products, and lots of them.

Best Argument for Wing-Tips

Niketown during All-Star Weekend

In a rush for the honor of being first to shell out 120 bucks for the new Michael Jordan sneakers at Niketown, visitors to February's NBA All-Star festivities shoved, jostled and exchanged harsh words with each other on the 16th Street Mall. No one was shot, knifed or clubbed, but by the time happy consumers laced up their new Jordans and returned to the pavement outside, the real motivation behind NBA marketing became clear: Sell brand-name products, and lots of them.

Best NBA Moment

The All-Star Jam

Who cares that the All-Star Jam, which the NBA unleashes annually, was crassly commercial when it arrived here? The Jam had more product endorsements than an infomercial, but there were several flashes of inspiration among the sellabration of all things bling. One took place on the day before the actual All-Star Game, when Shaq Daddy himself played a little one-on-one with some local kids, including a few from the Montbello High School boys' team. And even though Shaq was surrounded by security and ads for a candy bar, it was one of the few occasions when fans met the big names.

Best NBA Moment

The All-Star Jam

Who cares that the All-Star Jam, which the NBA unleashes annually, was crassly commercial when it arrived here? The Jam had more product endorsements than an infomercial, but there were several flashes of inspiration among the sellabration of all things bling. One took place on the day before the actual All-Star Game, when Shaq Daddy himself played a little one-on-one with some local kids, including a few from the Montbello High School boys' team. And even though Shaq was surrounded by security and ads for a candy bar, it was one of the few occasions when fans met the big names.

Best Bowling Alley

Holiday Bowling

Clean, well-kept and well-maintained, these thirty lanes are where some of the city's best bowlers congregate. Owner Dave Allen has been in the game for nearly as long as people have been rolling heavy spheres down shiny wooden floors at a pyramid of pins, and his experience shows. The lanes are always consistently and meticulously oiled -- conditions conducive to high rolling. The result is no surprise: According to the Denver Bowling Association, more 300 games and 800 series are recorded at Holiday than at any other local lanes.

Best Bowling Alley

Holiday Bowling

Clean, well-kept and well-maintained, these thirty lanes are where some of the city's best bowlers congregate. Owner Dave Allen has been in the game for nearly as long as people have been rolling heavy spheres down shiny wooden floors at a pyramid of pins, and his experience shows. The lanes are always consistently and meticulously oiled -- conditions conducive to high rolling. The result is no surprise: According to the Denver Bowling Association, more 300 games and 800 series are recorded at Holiday than at any other local lanes.

Best Tom Waits Bowling Alley

Golden Bowl

Sometimes bowling in a clean, well-lit, family-friendly alley just isn't what you're after. You want the chipped-linoleum bathroom, the dissolute attendant with the half-inch of ash hanging off his cigarette, the scarred and oddly colored balls that never fit your fingers quite right, the heavy-metal jukebox, the attached bar serving only urine-colored beer and barely heated frozen food. In other words, a bowling alley in the mold of Rocky's meat locker. Enter Golden Bowl, where there never seems to be a wait for a lane and the pencils are always sharp for that "old-time" scoring (you remember how to score a spare, right?). Besides, you haven't really bowled until you've hit Monday's "dollar night": kamikazes and bowling for a buck each. Now, that's entertainment.

Best Tom Waits Bowling Alley

Golden Bowl

Sometimes bowling in a clean, well-lit, family-friendly alley just isn't what you're after. You want the chipped-linoleum bathroom, the dissolute attendant with the half-inch of ash hanging off his cigarette, the scarred and oddly colored balls that never fit your fingers quite right, the heavy-metal jukebox, the attached bar serving only urine-colored beer and barely heated frozen food. In other words, a bowling alley in the mold of Rocky's meat locker. Enter Golden Bowl, where there never seems to be a wait for a lane and the pencils are always sharp for that "old-time" scoring (you remember how to score a spare, right?). Besides, you haven't really bowled until you've hit Monday's "dollar night": kamikazes and bowling for a buck each. Now, that's entertainment.

Best Place to Pick Up a Spare

Elitch Lanes

Northwest Denver is blooming around Tennyson Street, with new restaurants and chichi shops turning the already eclectic enclave into a hipster oasis. But Elitch Lanes, one of the area's most enduring attractions, remains pleasantly stuck in the past: Every night of the week, it's just balls, bad shoes and devoted bowlers knockin' 'em down the well-waxed pine lanes. Elitch's prices, and the grandpa's-basement interior, recall an earlier time, too: During Quarter Mania on Tuesday and Thursday nights, games, shoe rental and hot dogs run 25 cents a pop (with a $4 cover); College Night takes over on Wednesdays, with dollar games, shoes and beer. It's an inexpensive and fun way to check somebody out: After a few hours on the lanes, you'll have a good sense of whether you're rolling strikes or gutter balls.

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