A gimpy knee, along with work commitments over the next month, kept Benny Appleby out of The Citizen Masters last weekend.

Despite his conspicuous absence from the leader board, Appleby quietly made his presence felt. During the three days of qualifying at Rainbow Lanes, Appleby coached and rooted on his friends in the tournament. His wife, Patty Wright, stood by his side much of the time.

Though it didn't show outwardly, Appleby missed the competition.

“It's very difficult just watching and not being out there,” he said between squads Sunday. “There's nothing like this tournament. I enjoy it more than any other.#”

He has good reason to feel that way. He owns two Masters titles, with victories in 1979 and #'82. No man has won the event three times.

At age 50, it's something he still thinks about.

“Oh, it motivates me, high end,” he said. “It would mean a lot to win it again, but I'm not getting any younger.”

Appleby, though modest, has maintained his elite game. And he has teamed up with other talented bowlers along the way. They include Greg Spinelli, who also has won a pair of Masters, and Steve Suslik, often thought of as the top shooter in the association.

As a group they offer each other tips, or compare notes on lane conditions. Appleby, through his knowledge and experience, can recognize flaws in one's game or read dicey oil patterns. And that's how he spent his weekend.

He tried to will Suslik, his longtime bowling partner, toward qualification on Sunday. They even critiqued shots between frames, just like in league play, but to no avail. Suslik, by his own admission, “didn't throw enough strikes” and missed the cut by 21 pins.

But there was elation, as well. Left-hander Lee Burnett, Appleby's most recent understudy and clearly a bowler on the rise, fired strike after strike to finish as high qualifier with 768.

“Benny has helped me so much,” Burnett said after that match. “He thinks I'm a good student of the game because I'm immediately able to execute the things he tells me to do.”

When Appleby wasn't helping others, he focused on the players' releases. He said a consistent release is “the most important part of the game” once a bowler has mastered the fundamentals.

“I look for how well they repeat shots,” he said. “That will tell me what level they're at.”

For now, Appleby is hoping to get a read on his own status. He'll return to league play this week (he hasn't bowled since Dec. 20) if tests show no serious damage to his knee. He injured it trying to jump a snow bank while walking his dog.

And he'll be watching more of The Citizen Masters. Appleby even offered his selections to win it all. He thought Mike Ryan was bowling well now, and Burnett was indeed impressive Sunday. Other contenders, he said, could be former champion Lou Tabone, for his simple game and quiet confidence, or Jeff Lumb, who has worked hard to get to a higher standard.