Bridge Blog 1089: May's fading glories

May was my first 20+ point month in more than a year. Did it boost me in the ACBL master point races? Couldn’t wait to see them.

       But they weren’t posted on the evening of June 6, as one might expect. Then I got busy. Then I got pneumonia. Now I’m revived and June is gone. Let’s gather last month’s rosebuds while they’re still available online. 

       Aha! My Ace of Clubs total stood at 64.68 at the end of May, up 22.63 points for the month. As for Mini-McKenney, all points everywhere, it’s 66.45, up 23.10. How does that plug into the standings? Let’s see.

Ace of Clubs (club play only). Unit 116 (Buffalo only). Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points).

Didn’t overtake any of the high-flying Top Three. David Millward continues in the lead with 95.86. He’s third overall in the Unit. Martin Pieterse snatches second place from Linda Burroughsford. His 83.52 makes him fourth in the unit. Linda, with 78.78, is sixth in the unit.

So I’m still fourth, kind of in a division of my own with 64.68. I’m 14 points behind Linda, 14 points ahead of fifth-place Davis Heussler, who has 49.82. The improvement is in my overall rank in the unit. I’m 11th, up from 19th a month ago. Being sick half of June, however, I’m sure to plummet back down.

The rest of the leaderboard: Davis Heussler, 49.82 (21st); Gene Finton, 48.35 (22nd); Dorothy May, 43.75 (30th); John Sinclair, 43.20 (31st); Ken Meier, 42 even (34th); and Fred Yellen, 41.65 (36th).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Nobody’s going to catch Alan Greer. He added another 44.44 points in May for a total of 175.95. Nancy Wolstoncroft regains second with a 19.66-point month to reach 99.80, moving ahead of David Millward with 95.86.

The rest of the Top 10: Martin Pieterse, 83.52; Gay Simpson, 81.50; Linda Burroughsford, 78.78; John Welte, 75.76; Barbara Libby, 72.30; Martha Welte, 71.70; and John Ziemer, 66.64. Did I mention that I was 11th? Look for Bill Boardman, 62.06; Mike Silverman, 61.91; Bud Seidenberg, 60.67; and Chris Urbanek, 59.16, to pass me in June.

Mini-McKenney (all points earned everywhere). Unit 116. Ruby Life Masters.

No Gatlinburg in May, but Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler had Cleveland. They’ve now passed the double-century mark. With a 55.15-point month, Linda leads with 222.38. Davis added 51.20 to hit 205.16. They’re one-two among all Unit 116 players, too.

Way back in a distant third is David Millward with 108.85. He’s 12th overall. Then it’s Ken Meier, 98.94 (14th); Martin Pieterse, 86.64 (17th); and a big step down to sixth place for me at 66.45. That’s up from eighth in April. It’s also 28th in the unit, up from 40th.

The rest of the Top 10: Two guys who are sure to overtake me in June – Fred Yellen, 62.29 (32nd); and John Sinclair, 61.15 (34th); and then Gene Finton, 48.35 (46th); and Dorothy May, 45.20 (50th).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

The Cleveland regional catapulted Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler into the top spots in the unit with 222.38 and 205.16, respectively, but they weren’t the only players who found Cleveland copacetic.

John Welte now sits third with 193.91, while his wife Martha is fourth with 189.85. Then comes Alan Greer with 175.95.

April leader Glenn Milgrim added no points at all in May, standing pat at 174.56. Mike Ryan sits seventh with 174.24, followed by John Ziemer, 146.58; Chris Urbanek, 138.42; and Saleh Fetouh, 118.47.

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters. Buffalo players hold the top four spots and six of the Top 11.

The favored four are David Millward, 95.86 (fourth among all District 5 players; Martin Pieterse, 83.52 (sixth); Linda Burroughsfod, 78.78 (ninth); and myself, 64.68 (22nd, up from 48th).

Then it’s W. Tordella (full name William) of Bemus Point, 61.60 (30th); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 56.12 (45th); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 50.51 (59th); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 49.91 (60th); David Heussler, 49.82 (65th); James Wheeler, 49.19 (65th); and Gene Finton, 48.35 (69th).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Buffalonians hold seven of the Top 10 places, led by Alan Greer with 175.95. He’s followed by perennial Pittsburgh champ Reanette Frobouck, who fell further behind despite a 23.65-point month. She has 124.65. Everyone else is below 100:

Nancy Wolstoncroft, 99.80; David Millward, 95.86; Allen Selling of Erie, Pa., 89.23; Martin Pieterse, 83.52; Gay Simpson, 81.50; D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W. Va., 78.98; Linda Burroughsford, 78.78; and John Welte, 75.76. Martha Welte is 16th.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler continue one-two – Linda with 222.38; Davis with 205.16. But they didn’t move up among all District 5 players. Linda dropped back to 14th from 12th, which Davis stood pat at 15th.

David Millward, with 108.65, slips from third to fourth (and down to 53th from 39th overall), behind Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with 111.03 (51st overall).

Then come James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 105.87 (59th); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 102.02 (63rd); Ken Meier, 98.94 (68th); Robert Zimmerman of Pittsburgh, 97.20 (69th); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 93.08 (75th); and Michael Drozhinskiy of Solon, Ohio, 88.37 (87th).

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Perennial leader Sue Lan Ma did not regain top spot in May, despite a 107.56-point month. It wasn’t enough to overtake Bernie Greenspan, who did even better with a 120.48-point month. Here’s the Top 10:

Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 413.79; Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, 393.88; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 307.24; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 300.51; Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 292.53; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 270.67; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh, 260.62; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 245.89; and Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, 245.07.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., with a 34.90-point month, pads the lead he reclaimed last month from Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., who debuted on the Top 10 in first place in April. Loffree did not much better than I did, adding 23.76 to reach 167.78.

Gaining on him is Mason Barge of Atlanta, who followed a 44.54-point month in April with a 37.58-point month in May. He has 159.35.

Rounding out the Top 10 are Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., with 151.75; newcomer Sidney Perutz of Dallas, 138.71; Mark Haberman of Boca Raton, Fla., 128.91; Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 125.25; Eileen Boal of Albany, Ore., 124.75; Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., 124.55; and Jo England of Dallas, 123.45.

Unit 116’s David Millward is 45th, down from 21st. Martin Pieterse is 78th, up from 128th; Linda Burroughsford is 106th, up from 115th. And hey, there I am at 282nd. That’s all for us Buffalo Rubies. The list cuts off at 54.02.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., had her second straight 60-point month – 62.47, to be exact – to reach 260.94.

Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta jumps from fourth to second with 233.85 after earning 64 points even. Too much for April leader Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who slips to third with 224.40 after a mere 43.30-point month.

Debuting in the Top 10 in fourth place is Jack Borenstein of Dallas, 221.12; followed by En Xie of St. Louis, 205.90; Ruby leader Russ Pearly, down from third to sixth with his 204.75; Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., 201.11; Shiv Arora of Boca Raton, Fla., 197.96; Marion Gebhardt of Richardson, Texas, 193.55; and David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., 193.47.

Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer is 22nd, up from 30th. Nancy Wolstoncroft is 378th, down from 364th. David Millward is 447th, down from 263rd. The list cuts off at 92.71.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

A month ago, 15 players had reached the double-century mark. Now it’s 29. Four of them have hit triple-century.

Thomas Rush of Houston continues on top with 350.56. Jumping from sixth to second is Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., with 320.78, followed by Dolores Aquino of Houston, 304.17; Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 301.76; Ruby Ace of Clubs leader Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 290.69; Jay Lucas, 278.90; Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 278.65; Murali Nair of Phoenix, 273.51; Arjun Dhir of Johns Creek, Ga., 266.43; and Matthew Weingarten of Safety Harbor, Fla., 255.80.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford advances to 20th from 29th with her 222.38. Davis Heussler ascends to 24th from 43rd with his 205.16. David Millward is 273rd, down from 179th, with 108.65. Ken Meier joins Top 500 at 360th with 98.94 The list stops at 88.99.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

The legendary Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., breaks the millennium mark and takes first place with a herculean 340.58-point month. His total, 1,090.23, puts a little daylight between him and second-place Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., with 994.10.

Joe Grue of New York City jumps to third from ninth, thanks to a 312.51-point month, with 984.28. Then it’s Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., 929.01; Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 919.12; last month’s leader Curtis Cheek of Las Vegas, 917.95; Geoff Hampson, 916.65; John Hurd of New York City, 903.06; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 845.55; and Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 833.27, down from second place to tenth after a mere 38.13-point month.

District 5 leader Bernie Greenspan is 74th. Sue Lan Ma is 92nd. Unit 116 leader Linda Burroughsford joins the list at 452nd. Does Davis Heussler make it, too? Nope. He has just 205. The list cuts off at 213.08.

P.S.: Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, who now plays out of Astoria, Queens, is up to 18th place from 39th with 729.65, having had a 294.27-point month.

Bridge Blog 1088: STaC lookback

       Buffalo area players nailed three of the top six spots in District 5. After Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, tied in first place with 40.34, third position belonged to Alan Greer with 26.47, fourth went to Linda Burroughsford with 19.75 and Mike Silverman took sixth with 18.22. Art Matthies was next among Buffalo players with 15.01 (and 17th overall). At least I didn’t impede him.

       Early-week play, when I was still relatively hale, if not hearty, netted me 5.42 points, good for 97th place overall. Not my worst STaC, despite the tailspin ending. Wait’ll the next one in December.

Bridge Blog 1087: STaCollapse

        I said I was sick. I knew I was sick. I pressed on.

       Thursday the 13th I shrugged off the morning game with Gay Simpson. We just didn’t connect. At least our 42.50% wasn’t last. Would I connect with Marietta Kalman in the afternoon game? Not really. 46.02%. Nevertheless, I was able to do a hair appointment later and go to my astrological twin Jack Dumpert’s daughter’s book signing.

       Friday – the restorative air of Canada, which I reached via BMW courtesy car while the dealer got rid of the check engine light for me. A STaC break and a trip to St. Catharines would do me good. Well, not enough good. Tied for ninth North-south in a 16-table game with 48.46%. Partner Selina Volpatti this week tells me she also has pneumonia.

       Wednesday partner June Feuerstein comes in to give me a hand at the Airport Club on Saturday and when I arrive I discover I have triple-booked the day. I expected to play with Selina, who bowed out at mid-week because of her grandson’s high school graduation. And long ago I promised Art Matthies I would play at least one game with him. June was a late arrangement, but no arrangement could save me. We’re 43.92% in the morning. Art Matthies plays with club manager Bill Finkelstein in the p.m. and gets a silver point for coming in second. 

      I left before the afternoon scores were posted, had to get to work. Never saw how we did, but I knew it wasn't good. That night in the office, I began to realize how low things had sunken – and not just mentally. I prepped to take the next few days off. And the bridge tables have not seen me since then. Too sick.

Bridge Blog 1086: Bottom of the STaC

That was me and June Feuerstein Wednesday morning, when nothing seemed to go right at our table. Fortunately, June is bright-spirited, even in defeat. How bad was it? I was surprised we did as well as 39% even.

June promised a better afternoon and we could tell all along that it was. I couldn’t stick around for the final results, but the preliminary tabulation showed us over 50%, third among 10 pairs in a five-table Howell game.

Meanwhile, woke up to find my cold returned. Back to the decongestants. Got to the game on time, though, early enough to check Tuesday afternoon’s results. Dotty May and I had a 57.77% game, second only to Nancy Wolstoncroft and the unbeatable Alan Greer, first in the B strat. 1.32 points.

But wait! Make that 2.11. District results were posted while we were playing Wednesday and since the Airport Club was the only one playing an open game Tuesday afternoon, our points got bumped up on the district level.

Looks like 4.48 for the week so far, without even counting Wednesday afternoon. What’s my best STaC recently? Let’s look back a few years:

Dec. 2018 – 2.52.

June 2018 – 1.07.

Dec. 2017 – 2.99.

June 2017 – 8.07.

Dec. 2016 – 9.74.

June 2016 – 11.57.
Dec. 2015 – 7.77.

***

Postscript: At a mid-evening, all the Wednesday STaC results came through in a pair of e-mails. How did we do? Turns out we stayed third overall, second in B. 56.02%. 0.94 of a point. 5.42 for the week. 

Bridge Blog 1085: STaC 'Em High

Mike Silverman and Art Matthies got the big STaC game I always dream about on Tuesday morning at the Airport Bridge Club. 71.93%. 12.38 silver points. Dotty May and I trailed badly with 48.72%, though we could have topped 50% if I hadn’t persisted in a sacrifice bid in the final round. Nevertheless, we were second in B east-west. 0.80 of a silver point.

Though club manager Bill Finkelstein called the afternoon session to a halt at 4:30, I needed to dash out to arrive at work before 5, so I have no idea whether our 50-plus percent score after 14 boards held up at the end.

Meanwhile, to my great relief, my cold has almost dissipated (until that sneeze just now). A day without  decongestants. To speed myself out the door in the morning, I set up my snacks for the game and the office the night before. Phone alarm? 10 minutes earlier. Had I not heard the houseplants gasping for water, I would have made it to the game on time. Wednesday will be better.

Bridge Blog 1084: Keep On STaCking

I usually look forward to the STaC (Sectional Tournament at the Clubs), but not this time.

First of all, for us working stiffs, it’s a brutal schedule. Up before 8:30 a.m. to make the 10 a.m. start on time at the Airport Bridge Club (missed it by a minute Monday morning and paid a $1 penalty). Head straight to work afterward, arriving an hour past my scheduled 4 p.m. start on Monday. Repeat Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I get a break. I’m off work.

And then I come down with a cold Sunday night and start pumping decongestants. Am I still blowing my nose anyway? Am I groggy around the edges? Am I miserable? Yes, yes, and yes.

This doesn’t even take into consideration that it’s a late spring and there’s gardening to do. No chance of that at all till next Sunday. Only consolation is that it’s going to rain most of the week.

So I’m in no shape to take up the challenge Monday with Judie Bailey, who didn’t realize it started at 10 a.m. and arrives late. Somehow, we scrape together a 49.58% game, which miraculously gives us second place in the B strat North-South, 0.69 of a silver point.

In the afternoon, I’m flagging, I’m anxious because the game is running late and Judie is bailing out at 3 p.m. for a medical appointment. However, in walks the estimable Tom Fraas, freshly back from many months in Florida. He sits down across from me halfway through the game.

We get crappy cards, though, in this six-table Howell movement and we seem to be playing dismally, although we do manage to bid and make a 6 Spade slam. Imagine my surprise to hear our names announced at the end. It’s 55.73%, fourth overall, second in B, 0.88 of a silver point. Already I’ve doubled my winnings for the month. Guess I’ll take some more decongestants and set my alarm a few minutes earlier for Tuesday.