1980_09 The Daily Collegian September 1980

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THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Tennising anyone ?
Pronin invents game
"Let's go Tennising" will become a common phrase among tennis
buffs in the near future if Alexander Pronin, CSUF professor of Russia
Area Studies, sees his dream come true.
Pronin hopes to change the vernacular of tennis with Tennising, a
new game he has invented and is marketing internationally.
"My goal is to establish Tennising internationally as the monopoly
of tennis," he said
It took Pronin three years to develop the game, which is housed in a
container identical to a tennis ball can. He hopes the years he has
spent refining it will pay off eventually. His Fresno-based TSP Co., a
limited partnership, has produced 10,000Tennising games.
The game is played with a Dice-Ball, which is designed to resemble
half a tennis ball, and a plastic "playing board* that serves as a tennis
court There is also a true and false test for beginners and one for
intermediate players compiled by Jack Frost, former United States
Davis Cup Team player and ranked No 9 by the US Tennis Associa¬
tion in 1%1
The game is designed to teach the beginner the basics of tennis and
the intermediate player sophisticated rules and strategies^ And it has
advantages over other forms of learning th* tennis.
"People don't like to read books for sports. Coaches don't like to ex¬
plain rules for half a day," said Pronin.
Even if the game is only played two or three times it Is well worth it,
according to Pronin, with tennis lessons costing about $25 an hour.
That does not mean the game is a substitute for tennis lessons, how¬
ever. It is simply supposed to orientate people with tennis.
The dice in the Dice-Ball (a patented name) designates the dif¬
ferent moves to be taken. A flip of the dice will provide one of the
following six instructions:
-S or C-the serve is good but playable by the receiver and the
server gets another go -N-the ball has hit the net. -O—the ball is
out of court. —C—the server gets to draw a card from the terver's
deck and the information on the card will determine the outcome of the
'And the cards are built to tell you what transpires during the
game," said Pronin. GomR through every one of the 25 server and 25
receiver cards is equivalent to reading an entire tennis book, he
added
The game was tested for two summers at the Carmel Valley Racquet
Club, one of the mott popular tennis camps in the country, where
Frost is an instructor.
The younger students were thrilled by one of the questions on the
true and false test: "If you hit a low-flying bird with a ball, are you con¬
sidered an ace?" They would constantly ask new students if they were
But the game is also appealing to older people, according to Pronin.
He hopes it will familiarize members of tennis playing families who
don't play the game and those nonplayers who watch the game on
television with the sport.
Pronin hopes to eventually have Tennising tournaments for the eld¬
erly, operated in the tame manner as monopoly tournaments, with
Pronin was inspired to develop the game by Alex KaJistratov, Fres¬
no City College professor of Russian Area Studies, who told him at a
cocktail party that inventing a game is the way to become wealthy.
Pronin pondering the idea of inventing a game for six months before
he came up with Tennising, realizing that no other tennis oriented
games existed He hopes the business will be lucrative enough to pro¬
vide him with more time and money to write books. He has written a
number of books on Russian history and culture already, one of which
he co-authored with his wife Barbara, an editor for Mayfkld Publish¬
ing Co. of Palo Alto
Although he has played tennis for a number of years, Pronin calls
himself 'an average player* who plays for exercise and social reasons.
Pronin has developed Tennising slowly, maintaining that many in¬
ventions fail because their creators rush them.
Finally a satisfactory design was developed with the aid ot Ara
Dolarian, CSUF art professor.
The 10,000 cans were produced In Korea because no company In the
United SUtes . could produce such a small number economically.
Pronin is looking at potential markets on the East Coast, in Japan
Sweden, S^ritortand, Canada, Cermany , and Poland. International
interest in the game was created when it was displayed at the National
Tennis Show m Las Vegas and the U.S. Open Tourrvament.
Pronin exrjectt Ceimand for the game to be greater outside of Cali¬
fornia vvher* tamnis paaTytrt« is more limited by the vve«ther. In a yejav,
he said, he will know whether Tennising will be prof itable.
The game is available at the bookstore for $11 95.
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
The Old Spaghetti Factory
Photo by George Aguirre
BEN AND WENDY PULSIFER DISCUSS FUTURE
Inunifornijrtilrartd-na'arn
Campus newlyweds
plan military future
ALEXANDER PRONIN SHOWS HOW TO PLAY TENNISING
Enjoying Van Halen
A concert review of LA.'s bad boys
ByGregHeym
"You people in Fresno haven't
changed a goddamn bit," yelled
David Lee Roth, lead singer for Van
Halen at last Thursday night's con¬
cert at Selland Arena.
And judging by the crowd's reac¬
tion to the show, it doesn't look like��they ever will. The group came out for
four screaming encores.
The group, all dressed in colorful
skin-thighs put on quite a show. They
performed most of their hits from all
three of their albums. Included were,
'Outa Love Again,' extended ver¬
sions of 'Bottoms Up,' 'Beautiful
Cirls,' and 'Dance the Night Away.'
It was tongs from the first album
that I enjoyed the most. Long versions
of 'tee Cream Man,' and 'Running
from the Devil,' and a few others
1 drove the crowd wild.
side of the stage on top of the huge
speakers and play, while Roth is per¬
forming  his usual wild antics  on
During Jamie's Cryin' Roth
paused for a momen and said, 'Shit,
man, I forgot the words.* The aud¬
ience didn't seem to care though as
Roth continued to leap and Jump all
over the stage. *You people Just kick
ass,' he would sometimes say.
This is one group that you know has
a good time on stage. All four of them
smile and look like they enjoy them¬
selves while they're rjerformlng. The
bass player, Michael Anthony, and
Edward Van Halen, the lead guitarist,
bounce around sometimes with Roth.
And Alex Van Halen is definitely
pounding cheerfully on the drums.
Toward the end of the concert Alex
set part of his drums and drumsticks
on fire, which was soon mysteriously
extinguished.
Van Halen will continue its concert
tour In the United SUtes for a few
more months before hitting the studio
again to record another album.
•You know, we've been all over the
workl, but it is damn good to be back
to Southern Callfomla,* Roth shout-
it was damn good to have them
ByLorriOleen
Wendy and Ben PulshV are not
your average newfywed couple. The
two, who were -ras-rled July 19, are
just another couple when they are
dressed in their *dwies.*
But in uniform, they salute each
other and call each other 'ma'am*
and *slr.*
They are CSUF's first married
couple in ROTC together, and both
will serve In the Air Force when they
graduate.
The two met white living in Marys-
ville and attending Yuba College.
They planned to get married after
graduating from CSUF, but pushed
the date up a little and were married
this summer. Both are juniors here.
Wendy said it was her husband's
idea to join ROTC, but she had grown
up in an Air Force family and liked the
Idea.
•Since he was going In, I decided I
would go In, too.' she said. 'As a girl
in the Air Force, I can make more
money than at some dull off ke job.'
' Ben, who will be going to pilot
training school when he graduates,
will probably remain In the service ror
sometime.
But Wendy, who is obligated to
serve for four years, isn't sure If she
will stay in or not.
Both agree that It would be worth it
to stay in until they retire.
*You can go for twenty years and
then retire,* Wendy said. 'Ben would
be 44 and I'd be 43. That's pretty
good. You can start tomethlng else at
that age.'
There It a possibility that the two
might get transferred to different
locations, but the Air Force tries to
accommodate Its married couples.
-They want to because they don't
have enough women officers,' Wendy
said. 'Some women get transferred
away and then get out. *
Wendy, an art major, doesn 't know
what area she will end up working in
in the service.
They train you to do what they
need * she said. That might be in
supply, personnel, or another area
•It's no worse than any office job,'
shesaid.
Rank could be a touchy subject for
the two, if one were promoted before
the other.
*We'll try to get commissioned at
the tame time so no one will be a
higher rank,'Ben said.
Wendy will actually be going Into
the service before Ban does, they
said. Pilots must wait 6 months to
one will find un ,
some of the tastiest spaghetti dishes
manufactured in the city.
The Factory Is a specialty restau¬
rant, offering 11 different combina¬
tions of spaghetti sauces. Each
dinner, priced reasonably from $2.95
to $5.75, Is accompanied by a salad,
beverage (excluding liquor and beer),
spumonl ice cream and all the bread
you can eat.
For the first-timer eating at the
Factory the best choke Is the Potpour¬
ri (at $3.95), giving the patron a
sampling of meat, mushroom, Miz-
ithra cheese and dam sauces. Those
looking for a different flavor can try
the spaghetti and sausage at $4.25.
A glass of Coors or Miller Lite beer
costs $.50 with a pitcher running at
$1.35. Wine by the glass Is $.75, with
a decanter for two cost! ng $1.75.
Besides having student budget-
priced dishes the Spaghetti Factory Is
decorated with beautiful and unusual
antiques, bringing an earfy-20th
century atmosphere to the restaurant.
Diners can sip their spaghetti while
sitting In an old streetcar, built in
1920 for the Los Angeles Transit Line,
or relax in a 'bedbooth," an old brass
bed converted to a dinette.
All of the lamps in the Factory are
turn-of-the-century Tiffany-and-
fringe style. The stained glass
windows were preserved from a Port¬
land church. Oriental rugs cover the
wooden planked floor.
TheS|   -*■-
the old
house which served as a fruit packing
facility In the early days of Fresno.
The factory Is located In 'Hobo Al¬
ley,* near Birdie McTweet's and
dose to the Fresno Convention
Center.
The resUurant is popular In Fres¬
no, whkh means It can be a very noisy
place at times. The waiters and wait¬
resses are very pleasant and qukk to
'    i fresh loaf of hot sourdough
Ktt'
The Factory will be even more pop¬
ular since the CSUF Bulldogs won the
See Spaghetti page 10 |
See ROTC page 15
, Ury
PIPES
SavinelU
G.B.D.
Jobey
Joti
Calabash
1 stop
2re* SempU o/ Our Cuthm Xfenr/eJ Uolmoeo
Cram'* Pipe Racks
Tobacco
Pouches
Humidors
Me**-    %£-
375 W. Shaw (At Maroa) ■
iht West of Blackstone 227-6045
i
Panhellenic    Welcomes
Delta Zeta
To
California State
University Fresno
We invite you to take a look at
AZ
If interested Call
224-4040 Ext 135