Miller Park will become a huge bowling alley next week. No, soon-to-be Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has not moved the team. And, no, you leftover opponents of the ballpark have not finally gotten your way.

Instead, the top bowlers in the world are coming to the park for the Miller High Life Masters, presented by the American Bowling Congress.

The event starts Sunday and Tuesday with a pro-am. The pros will hold practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Competition starts Wednesday. After Thursday's round, the field will be cut to the top 25 percent of the scores. After Friday, that field will be further cut to the top 63 bowlers.

Those bowlers will fight it out Saturday, until there are only four standing. Those four will then battle it out on ESPN Sunday, Oct. 31, in what will be a real trick or treat for bowling fans.

Pro-am and preliminary rounds of the tournament will be held at AMF Bowlero Lanes in Wauwatosa. The finals will move to specially-installed lanes in right field of Miller Park Oct. 31. ESPN coverage of those finals starts at noon.

The 55th annual Masters will be the first professional bowling event to ever be held inside a baseball stadium. The ABC has released additional $75 tickets, as the first batch has sold out, and plenty of seats with great views are still available.

"We expect to have one of the largest crowds to ever see televised bowling," said Ed Baur, ABC group executive for tournaments, communications and marketing. "Ticket sales are moving along and entries for the pro-ams and the Masters itself have been strong. In all, this is shaping up to be one of the most impressive Masters in history."

A total of 576 bowlers will compete for $350,000 in prize money. Walter Ray Williams Jr. will try to defend his title against top bowlers like Pete Weber, Parker Bohn III, Chris Barnes, Norm Duke and Mika Koivuniemi.

"I think my chances of repeating are as good anyone's," Williams said. "When it comes right down to it, there are going to be 64 players who are fairly equal. I think I am a better player than the average person, so I think my odds are about one in 20 or 30 of repeating."

At Reno last year, Williams beat Koivuniemi of Finland, 237-213, in the semis and Barnes, 268-239, in the finals for the championship.

Only two bowlers in Masters history have won back-to-back titles. Dick Hoover did it in 1956-57 and Billy Welu in 1964-65. Both are members of the ABC Hall of Fame. Ironically, Williams' Masters victory came in his 20th tournament making him eligible for the ABC Hall. He's a shoe-in to be inducted in his first year of eligibility.

For information about remaining tickets to the tournament, visit bowl.com.

No Admirals deal

It looks like the Denver investor's attempt to buy the Admirals has failed for a variety of reasons. Bill Stewart, a former minor league hockey player and former owner of a Central Hockey League franchise, said recently it didn't look like the deal would happen. That's been confirmed by Admirals' sources.

Does that put the Admirals back to square one? The Pettits' trust fund, which currently owns the franchise, will operate the team for this season, but fund officials have made it clear they don't want to stay in the hockey business much longer.

Craig Leipold, the owner of the Nashville Predators, gave out the American Hockey League championship awards to the Admirals at their opener last weekend. He could still end up buying the team, although the NHL lockout has interjected a great deal of uncertainty into the entire hockey industry.

The Admirals are definitely worth saving. They have a long history in Milwaukee sports, going back to the days when they were a virtual semi-pro team playing at Wilson Park. The team has been excellent on the ice in recent seasons. It should not be allowed to just melt away.

Gar's Success

It's great to see Phil Garner having the success he's had as manager of the Houston Astros. With the exception of 1992, Gar never had much talent in Milwaukee, and had even less in Detroit. He made the most of it, however, and always was a classy guy - one of my favorites in more than three decades of covering sports.

He inherited a veteran, but underachieving, team in Houston around mid-season and now has the Astros on the brink of the World Series.

His wife, Carol, has stuck with him through the thin years and now can be seen waving an Astros' towel and screaming at the top of her lungs in Houston. They both richly deserve this great ride.

Hot Tix

The Packers hope to keep the momentum going after their win in Detroit. They also hope to win their first game at Lambeau Field this season when the Dallas Cowboys invade at 3:15 p.m. Sunday.

In college football, the UW Badgers, coming off huge wins at Ohio State and Purdue, return to Camp Randall to meet Northwestern Saturday. Bucky has moved to No. 6 in the all-important BCS ratings that determine bowl bids. Fans are talking Rose Bowl.

Probably the top small college football game in the state features Ripon at St. Norbert Saturday. St. Norb's is 6-1, 6-0 in the Midwest Conference, and seems headed for another NCAA Div. III playoff appearance.

Surprising Carthage, 5-1, heads to North Park in Illinois Saturday. UW-La Crosse will try to recover from a tough WIAC loss to Eau Claire last week in a home game against Platteville Saturday. Eau Claire plays a non-conference game against Gustavus Adolphus in Minnesota, and Whitewater, tied with E.C. for the WIAC lead, is idle.

The Bucks play the annual MACC Fund pre-season game at the Bradley Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Their opponents will be the Dallas Mavericks. Get an advance look at the Bucks in next week's Sports Buzz column.

While the Bucks are still in pre-season, the Admirals and Wave are into the regular season. Both teams are in Chicago Saturday. The Wave game against the Storm is the regular season opener.