Bridge Blog 1000: November Song

Club points for the year through Nov. 30: 124.97.

Mired even more deeply into fourth place in the Ace of Clubs race (club play only) among Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) in ACBL Unit 116 (Buffalo only).

Here's the Top 10: Mike Silverman, 177.39, again first among all Unit 116 players in club play; Ken Meier, 152.33, fifth in the unit; Allen Beroza right on his heels with 151.20, sixth in the unit; me, 124.97, down to 16th after two wretched months in a row. Last of the Rubies in triple figures, Fred Yellen, is fifth with 115.59 and is 18th overall.

Then it’s Dorothy May, 89.82, 27th; and Gene Finton, 79.57, 35th; and a big step down to Art Morth with 44.46, 77th overall; followed by Carolyn Siracuse, 40.27, 92nd overall; and Claire Garelek, 33.88, 105th overall. Gone from the list and gone from the tables forever is Chuck Schorr, who had 31.54 before he died.

Among all Unit 116 players in the Ace of Clubs race, the Top 10 looks like this: Mike Silverman, 177.39; John Ziemer, 169.47; Denise Slattery, 162.07; the late Jerry Geiger, who died Nov. 5 but still on the list with 153.42, which is what he had at the end of September; Ken Meier, 152.33; Allen Beroza, 151.20; Judi Marshall, 147.88; Liz Clark, 146.27; Meg Klamp, who’s permanently moved to Florida, I believe, 136.40; and Ron Henrikson, in 10th with 136.11.

Close behind are Martha and John Welte, both 133.90; Bud Seidenberg, 129.85; Martin Pieterse, 129.58; Mike Ryan, 127.91; then me and my 124.97. Now there are 22 players in the unit above the century mark, including Gene Nowatniak and Marilyn Wortzman.

Overall points for the year, as of Nov. 30: 162.49, up a mere 6.75 since October. Holding onto fifth place in this here Mini-McKenney race (all points earned everywhere) among Ruby Life Masters in Unit 116, I’m 28th among all players in the unit.  

Here's how the leaders look: Ken Meier, 277.66 (still eighth among all Unit 116 players); Fred Yellen, 189.05 (16th overall); Mike Silverman, 186.92 (17th); Allen Beroza, 179.39 (20th), me, 162.49 (28th); Gene Finton, 111.14 (44th); Dorothy May, 96.81 (54th); Chongmin Zhang, 79.81 (63rd) Art Morth, 78.82 (64th); and Bill Rushmore, 62.59 (87th).

 Three of the overall Unit 116 Mini-McKenney leaders are above the 300-point mark and the leaders stand a good chance of exceeding 400. Martha and John Welte, tied for first place, both have 373.20. (Heck, today,  Dec. 15, they came in first at the Airport Bridge Club and earned another 2.19.) The other tricentarian is Davis Heussler with 340.63.

Then it’s Mike Ryan, 296.70; Jay Levy, 290.54; John Ziemer, 285.96; Chris Urbanek, 285.46; Ken Meier, 277.66; Saleh Fetouh, 277.13; Linda Burroughsford, 250.24; Bud Seidenberg, 248.74; and the last guy in double figures, Dian Petrov with 201.53.

District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs. Ruby Life Masters. We Buffalo players occupy the top five rungs on the ladder.

Mike Silverman is the leader with 177.39 and he’s sixth among all District 5 Mini-McKenney players. Second is Ken Meier, 152.33 (14th overall); then Allen Beroza, 151.20 (15th); me, 124.97 (39th); and Fred Yellen, 115.59 (48th). Next Unit 116 player, Dorothy May, who has 89.82 points, is tied for 12th place with Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio.

District 5 Ace of Clubs overall.  Arlene Port of Pittsburgh (221.70) continues on top, followed by Asim Ulke of Monroeville, Pa., with 203.56. Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, is next with 192.01, followed by Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., with 187.93; Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh, 177.80; and Unit 116 leader Mike Silverman, 177.39. John Ziemer is ninth with his 169.47 and Denise Slattery is tenth with 162.07.

District 5 Mini-McKenney. Ruby Life Masters.  Nobody’s going to catch Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio. Her 814.93 points are nearly double the total earned by second-place Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, who has 442.94. She’s also first in the district. He’s tenth overall. 

The rest of the Top 10: William Lindgren of Slippery Rock, Pa., still third with 330.05 (19th); Ken Meier, 277.66 (34th); Russell Sheldon of Pittsburgh, 221.65 (56th); Charles Ladiha of Vermillion, Ohio, 207.48 (63rd); Fred Yellen, 189.05 (76th); Mike Silverman, 186.92 (78th); Allen Beroza, 179.39 (81st); and me! 162.49 (104th overall).

         District 5 Mini-McKenney overall. No Unit 116 players in the Top 10 here. It’s Sue Lan Ma, 814.93; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 667.19; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 586.85; and Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 539.11.

Then it's Robert and Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 529.17 and 512.60, respectively; Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 500.06; followed by Kathleen and Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with 496.23 and 470.68; and Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 442.94. The Unit 116 leaders, Martha and John Welte, are tied for 13th with 373.20.

Nationwide. Ace of Clubs. Ruby Life Masters. Thomas Roberg, of Raleigh, N.C., stays on top with 321.74, and he’s 54th among all Ace of Clubs players in the country. He’s followed by Ben Franz, of Edgewood, N.M., with 316.25; and Barry Nish of Little Neck, L.I., 310.57. 

Mike Silverman is 100th. Ken Meier is 203rd. Allen Beroza is nearby at 208th. I'm way down in 430th place. The list cuts off at 120.48.

Nationwide. Ace of Clubs overall. Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta (653.01) stays on top. Gail Wells of Dallas (579.16) remains second, ahead of Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (554.56).

Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y. (510.31) stays in fourth place, followed by Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass. (495.30); Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore. (479.34); and Marion Gebhardt of Richardson, Texas (439.98).

No Unit 116 players here and only two from District 5 – Arlene Port is 323rd and Asim Ulke is 469th. The list cuts off at 200.13.  

Nationwide. Mini-McKenney. Ruby Life Masters. Gillian Miniter, of New York City, is back on top and has broken into quadruple digits. 1,031.60. Ready to go to four figures is runner-up Sudhakar Divakaruni, of Scottsdale, Ariz., with 988.27.

District 5's Sue Lan Ma, 814.93, continues in third, followed by Jeff Edelstein of Riverview, Fla., 713.74; and Mark Blanchard of Bay Shore, L.I., 671.66. Unit 116's Ken Meier is 147th and he’s the only one here from Buffalo. The list cuts off at 193.70.

Nationwide. Mini-McKenney overall.  Eleven players over the double-millennium mark now, with Chris Compton of Dallas continuing in the lead with 2,622.06. Then it's Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., 2,523.34; Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., who we played against in Niagara Falls, Ont., 2,378.20; Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., 2,209.30; and Greg Hinze of San Antonio, Texas, 2,192.58.

Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge is 25th, with 1,556.26. Sue Lan Ma is 126th. Reanette Frobouck is 217th. Philip Goulding is 297th. Phillip Becker is 364th. Eight District 5 players make the list before it ends at 483.33.