SIDELINES : PBA Cleared in Bowling Ball Suit

A federal court has dismissed a multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit filed by a bowling ball manufacturer against the Professional Bowlers Assn.

The suit was filed in 1988 by EurekaUrethane Inc. of St. Louis after the PBA did not clear for use in its tournaments a bowling ball the firm produced that carried a beer company’s product name and logo.

In his ruling last week, Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh said the PBA’s actions in refusing to sanction the ball were “neither unreasonable nor anti-competitive” and were “a sound exercise of business judgment calculated to preserve their ability to serve the interests of professional bowlers.”