Bridge Blog 1106: Obliterated in September (now complete)

I missed a bunch of September. A big wedding in New York City consumed the first week. Bronchitis and heaven knows what else had me down and out in the middle of the month. Back at play, I was still pretty sick and worthless. How bad was it? I have collected more points in two weeks of October than I did in all of September.

So let’s see. As of Sept. 30, my Ace of Clubs total for points earned in club play stood at 98.26, up only 0.89 from August. Wait a minute! That’s just my St. Catharines winnings. My paltry collection of points from the Airport Bridge Club, 5 or 6 of them, weren’t sent in. That’s going to diminish not just me, but everyone who plays at the Airport Club in this month’s standings.

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

Linda Burroughsford, 134.42 (fourth among all players in Unit 116); Martin Pieterse, 130.27 (fifth); Fred Yellen, 127.85 (seventh); moi, 98.26 (#18); Ken Meier, 90.31 (#21); David Heussler, 84.93 (#24); Gene Finton, 84.22 (#25); John Sinclair, 81.55 (#28); Dorothy May, 74.52 (#34); Art Matthies, 62.17 (#48).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Yep, Alan Greer on top, unchanged at 307.92. Then it’s Nancy Wolstoncroft, 194.05; John Welte, 143.37; Linda Burroughsford, 134.42; Martin Pieterse, 130.27; Martha Welte, 129.61; Fred Yellen, 127.85; Gay Simpson, 123.68; Bud Seidenberg, 120.86; Barbara Libby, 118.58; and #11 – Mike Silverman 118.39. David Millward, who had 124.64 a month ago, has vanished.

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

Play elsewhere bumped up numbers in this division. A month ago, I had 104.58. Now I’ve transposed a few numbers – 108.54.

Linda Burroughsford, 380.26, still first among all Unit 116 players; Davis Heussler, 359.28, still second overall; Ken Meier, 190.53 (#14); Fred Yellen, 161.68 (#19); Martin Pieterse, 144.31 (#24); John Sinclair, 118.66 (#32); moi, 108.54 (#35); Gene Finton, 103.45 (#41); Art Matthies, 84.71 (#48); and Dorothy May, 83.70 (#50).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Still on top is Linda Burroughsford with 380.26, up 25.06 for the month. Davis Heussler is back in second with 359.28, adding 26.22 for the month.

Then it’s Saleh Fetouh, 349.26; John Welte, 348.28; Martha Welte, 334.52; Alan Greer, 334.39; Mike Ryan, 321.08; Glenn Milgrim, 240.25; Dian Pietrov, 240.24; and John Ziemer, 230.24.

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters.

Three Buffalo players lead the list, with six of us in the Top 11 and nine in the Top 20.

Linda Burroughsford, 134.42 (#11 among all players in District 5); Martin Pieterse, 130.27 (#13); Fred Yellen, 127.85 (#16); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 110.98 (#35); Judith Shapiro, 105.01 (#43); Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio, 99.80 (#50); moi, 98.26 (#53); James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., 96.04 (#55); Ken Meier, 90.31 (#62) and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 88.71 (#68).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Even without the Airport Bridge Club reporting, Buffalonians hold the top two spots and seven of the Top 20.

It’s Alan Greer, 307.92; Nancy Wolstoncroft, 194.05; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 188.73; Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 155.82; Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 155.11 and 154.53, respectively; Constance Hoechstetter of Moon Township, Pa., 147.37; Bruce Cahoon of Akron, Ohio., 145.80; and John Welte, 143.37.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler continue one-two – Linda with 380.26; Davis with 359.28. Among all District 5 players, Linda is #14 and Davis is #15.

After that, it’s James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 196,13 (#51); Ken Meier, 190.53 (#57); Robert Zimmerman of Pittsburgh, 190.24 (#58); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 169.50 (#69); Fred Yellen, 161.68 (#80); Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohiom, 155.38 (#83); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 149.87; and Elena Steingraf of North Canton, Ohio, 147.95.

Me? I’m #23 among the Rubies, #163 overall.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Still on top is Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio. After an 83.25-point month, she has 758.06. New Number Two is Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with 525.38 after 162.27-point month. Here’s rest of the Top 10:

Bernie Greenspan, 521.12; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 503.75; Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 497.50; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 464.01; Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 459.96 and 459.38, respectively; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh, 450.68; and Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 449.82.

Resuming the roundup on Oct. 17 ...

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

The May leader, Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., has reclaimed the lead. All it took was a 34.46-point month. He now has 276.47. He supplants last month’s Ace king, Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., who stood pat at 270.42 (or maybe his club missed the reporting deadline, too). August leader Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., is third with 268.58 after a 17.30-point month.

Rest of the Top 10: Mason Barge of Atlanta, 262.17; Mark Crumrine of Ocala, Fla., 252.52; John Miller of Chicago, 236.44; Sidney Perutz of Dallas, 236.43; Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 229.35; Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 228.86; and Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., 224.97. Not far behind are Louis Vanos of Ocean Springs, Miss., 224.71; Aivars Lapins of Cambria, Calif., 224.49; and Eileen Boal of Albany, Ore., 223.24.

Here’s where we find out what happened to the missing David Millward. He’s considered to be back in Vero Beach, Fla., tied for #195 with 126.04 points. Wonder if he’s shy a few points from Buffalo like I am. The list this month stops at 99.11 points. I should be on it, but I’m not.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Still Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta with 546.15, thanks to a 78.17-point month in the clubs (!). He extends his margin over April leader Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who has 435.51 after a mere 53.75-point September.

After that, it’s En Xie of St. Louis with 405.19, advancing from fourth to third with a 53.03-point effort. David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., with 394.54, jumping from sixth to fourth with a 53.90-point month.

The rest? Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., 392.88; Jeff Edelstein of Tampa, Fla., 379.97; Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., 373.35; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 368.32; Shiv Arora of Boca Raton, 364.40; and Robert Epstein of Atlanta, 351.52.

April-May leader Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., fifth in August and ninth last month, plummets to #15 with 325.62 after a 10.98-point September. Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer free falls even further, from #12 to #22, his 307.92 points unchanged from a month earlier, thanks to late reporting. Last person on the Top 500 list has 168.91.

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

Still only two players above 600 points. Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., who took the lead in August, had a 46.56-point month and stands at 694.73. Thomas Rush of Houston, the man he displaced, is still second with 650.54 after a 50.34-point effort.

Dolores Aquino of Houston sits third, overtaking Ruby leader Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark. She has 566.84 after earning 58 points even. Lucas has 543.26.

Then it’s Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 476.41; Murali Nair of Phoenix, 437.90; Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., 472.05; Samuel Amer of New York City, 445.55; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 415.55; and Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 412.73. The list cuts off at 159.19.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Apparently a low month on the high end of the tournament circuit, low meaning less than universal triple-figure winnings.

Leader Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., who has 1,880.06 points, only accumulated 91.87 more.

Moving up from fourth to second is Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., with 1,858 even. He found 218.38 points out there. Joe Grue of New York City advanced, too, from fifth to third with 1,775.75, thanks to an additional 189.14.

July leader Shan Huang, also from Melbourne, Fla., slipped from second to fourth with 1,775.58 (73.95-point month). And Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., descended from third to fifth with 1,750.74 (92.93-point month).

Then it’s Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 1,680.72 (240.50 more points); Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 1,499.04 (130.39 more); John Hurd of New York City, 1,477.24 (113.13); Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, 1,431.07 (none at all); and Eric Rodwell of Clearwater, Fla., 1,417.67 (94.16).

Native Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, has changed his home city from Astoria, Queens, to Jackson Heights, but stays in place at #14 with 1,333.31 after an 88.96-point month. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma (who I just saw in the hallway at the Buffalo Regional) is up to #76 from #84 in August. The list cuts off at 378.47. No Unit 116 players are on it.