Bridge Blog 938: Roaring January Start

What happened to everybody else in January? The ACBL has posted the master point races for the first month of 2017 and the figures for Unite 116 (Buffalo only) are pathetic. At least for the Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) in the Ace of Clubs race (club play only).

Mike Silverman leads us Ruby Life Masters with 22.59 points and is first overall in Unit 116. I'm second with 19.20 points, third overall. The only other players in double digits are Dorothy May, 12.42; Gene Finton, who's down in Florida, 10.46; and Fred Yellen, 10.45. Ken Meier, who's seventh with 5.39, should be among the leaders, but he was on vacation for a couple weeks.

Among all Unit 116 players, the unsinkable Meg Klamp is second with 20.57, and she's also down in Florida. The rest of the top ten include Tom Koralewski, 18.80; Art Matthies, 13.39; Liz Clark, 13.13; Dottie May, 12.42; Mike Ryan, 11.13;  and Joe Rooney, 11.10. Also worth mentioning are Sharon Benz, 11.09; and David Heussler, 11.01. Gene Finton is 17th. Fred Yellen is 18th.

Onward to the Mini-McKenney race, which counts all points earned everywhere. Among the Ruby Life Masters, I'm on top (!) with 25.17, thanks to the Buffalo Winter Sectional, but only 13th overall. Mike Silverman is second with 23.53, 15th overall.

Then come Fred Yellen, 20.30, 17th; Ken Meier, 16.76, 28th; Dorothy May, 13.72, 33rd; Bill Rushmore, 12.76, 36th; and Gene Finton, 10.46, 47th. That's the end of the Ruby Life Masters in double digits. Clearly the action is in the other point divisions.

Leading all Unit 116 players is Christy Kellogg, who has 45.18. Then it's David Hemmer, 43.12; Christy's frequent partner Bert Hargeshimer, 41.87; Tom Koralewski, 39.32; David Heussler, 37.58; Mike Ryan, 37.55; John Ziemer, 34.47; Liz Clark, 33.10; Linda Burroughsford, 30.25; and Bud Seidenberg, 29.05.

The Cleveland Rock and Roll Regional rocketed most of these folks to the top, with the exception of Liz Clark, the point queen of the Buffalo Winter Sectional, and Bud Seidenberg, who also did well in the sectional.

David Hemmer got 33.42 in Cleveland. Bert Hargeshimer and Christy Kellogg each earned 20.74. Davis Heussler and Linda Burroughsford each got 18.76. Tom Koralewski, Mike Ryan and John Ziemer brought home 17.68 apiece.

Now let's look at the District 5 level, which includes Cleveland and Pittsburgh, as well as Buffalo. Among Ruby Life Masters in the Ace of Clubs race, Mike Silverman and I are still 1-2. Dorothy May is fourth, behind William Lindgren of Slippery Rock, Pa., who has 13.39; and ahead of John Bernhard of Sewickley, Pa., with 11.28, and Doris Kirsch of East Springfield, Pa., with 10.81. Gene Finton is seventh and Fred Yellen is eighth.

Mike and I are fourth and ninth, respectively, in the overall District 5 Ace of Clubs race. Leader here is the semi-anonymous D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W. Va., with 28.79, followed by Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 27.26; Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 22.99; Mike Silverman, 22.59; Patricia Katz and S. Ruskin, both of Pittsburgh, with 22.44 and 21.67, respectively; W. Tordella of Bemus Point (!) with 21.61; Meg Klamp with 20.57; me with 19.20 and Tom Koralewski with 18.80. Art Matthies is in a three-way tie for 15th. Liz Clark is 20th.

Different story over in the District 5 Mini-McKenney races. Leading the Ruby Life Masters is a familiar face, Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, who's way out in front with 105.25, of which 35.35 came from the Cleveland Regional.

Then it's Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh with 54.55; John Bacon of Shaker Heights, Ohio, 33.73; Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with 32.66; and me and Mike Silverman with 25.17 and 23.53. Fred Yellen is ninth with 20.30.

Among all District 5 players, Sue Lan Ma is second, I'm 53rd and Mike is 57th. Overall leader is Mary Chilcote of Cleveland with 123.32. She earned 42.88 in the regional.

After Sue Lan Ma's 105.25 are Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 56.46, all earned in the regional; Susan Stark of Pepper Pike, Ohio, 56.39, 51.36 in the regional; Bernie Fudor of Murrysville, Pa., 54.78, all from the regional; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh with 54.55, 50.95 in the regional; Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, both with 54.20, 46.85 in the regional; Mary Paulone Carns of Trafford, Pa., 53.27, 48.42 in the regional; and Jan Assini of Pittsburgh, formerly of Cleveland, with 51.59, 45.40 in the regional.

Note to self: To be a District 5 contender, a trip to Cleveland is mandatory.

Do we make a ripple nationwide? Let's check it out.

In the Ace of Clubs race for Ruby Life Masters, the leader is Mohan Ball of Columbia, S.C., with 40.38, more than twice my total. Next are Carole Maeder of Bonita Springs, Fla., 35.51; Mary Bray of Atlanta, 34.43; Barry Nish of Little Neck, L.I., 34.31; Roger Hendrick of Western Springs, Ill., with 31.97; and Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., with 31.49. Mike Silverman is 51st. I'm 114th. Dorothy May is at the bottom of the list, tied for 500th with Carole Everitt of Hockessin, Del.

Among all Ace of Clubs players, the leader is Mason Barge of Atlanta with 66.21; followed by Judy Zhu of Romeoville, Ill, 58.75; Jeff Koltenuk of The Villages, Fla., 56.62; Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta, 56.48; and Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., 53.03. Ruby Life Master leader Mohan Ball is 26th. District 5 and Unit 116 leader Mike Silverman is 380th. Me? I'm off the charts. The list ends at 20.84.

The figures are even steeper in the Mini-McKinney races. Leading the Ruby Life Masters is Gillian Minter of New York City with 166.23. District 5's Sue Lan Ma is second with 105.25. They're the only ones in triple figures. Then it's Patti Martin of Richmond, Va., with 84.99; Steve Vaughn of Humble, Texas, with 82.95; and Linda King of Crossville, Tenn., with 80.42. 

I'm in 380th place on this list, ahead of Ken Hardcastle, our sometime visitor from Decatur, Ga., who's 383rd with 25.15. Mike Silverman is tied for 442nd with Larry Anfinson of Waterloo, Iowa.

Neither Mike nor I appear on the big overall list of 500. Neither does anyone else from Unit 116. 

There the leader is Chris Compton of Dallas with 403.57, followed by Billy Miller of Las Vegas, 360.65; Mike Passell of Plano, Texas, 333.14; Ron Smith of Chicago, 310.30; and John Kranyak of Las Vegas, 291.25. Compton and Kranyak each earned only 42.88 in the Cleveland Regional. They struck it rich elsewhere. 

For Compton, there were 79.53 in Monterey, Calif.; 123.73 in Albuquerque, N.M.; and 74.35 in Destin, Fla. He and Kranyak followed that up last weekend in Indianapolis with 80.44 apiece.