The passing of the millennium, while a joyous time for partygoers, tends to cause angst in the mindsets of millions. By breaking the millennium barrier on Monday night, Aaron Pawloski certainly caused his opponents some anxiety. But it was the ringing 10-pin he left on his 12th shot in the third game that kept the partygoers from popping the champagne in the Scratch Draft Trios League at Harvest Park Bowl in Brentwood.

Nonetheless, the millennial effort put forth by Pawloski on Monday night served as a warning to the baby boomers and Gen Xers in the league that the millennial generation is poised to overthrow the old guard.

The passing of the millennium several years back caused widespread concern, if not downright panic. While I understand that the millennium didn't actually officially change over until Jan. 1 2001, let's get past the semantics - the Y2K bug scared the heck out of a ton of people. My parents, for instance, stashed about three pallets of bottled water in the garage and enough canned goods in the pantry to keep a small market stocked for a month. Likewise, when Pawloski broke through the millennial barrier on Monday night, a certain uneasiness was detected emanating from the league.

Pawloski, captain and anchor of Team 6, got lined up early on Monday, shooting 255 out of the gates against Kinder's Meats. Despite losing his second singles match 246-253 to Clark Walmer, Pawloski was able hoist Team 6 to an 18-10 set victory over the former league champs.

After switching pairs for the second set, things got even more intense. Only a ringing

10-pin kept Pawloski from shooting 300, but the 299 was still enough for an 800 three-game series. Finishing with a 234 in game four, Pawloski recorded a league-best 1034 set. Only a whiffed corner pin kept Pawloski from firing the highest league series in the past two years. Team 1's Ron Case shot 1040 last year, while Don Sylvia fired a 1050 the year before.

Despite the failed assault on the record books, the 28-point sweep of Team 9 sent Pawloski and crew up six spots in the standings and into fourth place. It also sent a message to the old guard that the next generation is well on its way. On the women's side of the lanes, Xan Halog, leadoff bowler for Team 4, shot games of 255, 167, 211 and 213 for a league-best 846 series.

So with an eye to the future, keep a lookout for the emergence of the millennial generation on the lanes. As Pawloski showed on Monday, it might be closer than you think. And start stocking up water and canned goods for the next computer-glitch scare, only just around the corner, in the year 10,000.