Bridge Blog 1126: What's missing from May?

The master points I earned on OKBridge during the month, that’s what. The ACBL has them now – I looked, they’re there – but it doesn’t look like the ACBL had them on June 6, when they were compiling the lists for master point races. Another one of my grievances against OKBridge, but let’s just get on with the real matter at hand.

Ace of Clubs. (Club play only). Unit 116 (Just Buffalo). Gold Life Masters (2,500 to 3,500 points).

If the ACBL had received the 12.72 points I won in May on OKBridge, I would be in first place here. But they just got the points I earned at Bridge Base Online, where I played less frequently and where partner Selina Volpatti and I did not fare very well against our friends from the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, Ont. Enough about me. Here’s the list.

David Millward, still first with 52.02, eighth among all players in Unit 116, down from fifth overall. Allen Boroza, still second and standing pat with 43.63, #13 overall, down from eighth. Ken Meier, notching 10.42 points in May, snatches third place from me with 41.61 points, #15 overall, up from #34). I’m credited with 41.16, thanks to those 2.71 points won on BBP, #16 overall, down from #13.

Sitting fifth is Fred Yellen, still at 37.67 (#19, down from #14). Mike Silverman, still at 34.67 (#25, down from #17). Art Morth, 25.19 (#40, down from #34). John Sinclair, 17.56 (#54, down from #52). And in ninth place, Bill Rushmore, 12.79 (#86, down from #84).

Standing pat in May are Chongmin Zhang, still with 3.51 (#201, down from #184), and Pat Rasmus, 2.79 for the fourth month in a row (#215, down from #194).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

With Alan Greer out of action while face-to-face play is suspended, those 100.85 points he amassed in January, February and March have finally been surpassed.

The surpassers are Martha and John Welte, who have advanced to a first-place tie with 116.99 points, 49.76 of them collected in May. Alan Greer now rests in third place. Also motionless is Nancy Wolstoncroft in fourth with 72.31.

Bud Seidenberg had a less spectacular month than the Weltes, but he still picked up 21.91 points and sits fifth, up from #12 with 62.53. Saleh Fetouh, richer by 20.75 points, is sixth with 55.42. Larry Abate has 52.31 and still holds seventh (Gripe, grumble … I would be seventh if OKB wasn’t slow on the draw). David Millward is eighth with 52.02. Then Mike Ryan, still with 50.43, is ninth. Barbara Libby rounds out the Top Ten with 50.32,

Then we have Sharon Benz, 49.91; Davis Heussler, 47.19; Allen Beroza, 43.63; John Ziemer, 43.41; Ken Meier, 41.61; me, 41.16; Bob Sommerstein, 41.07; Linda Burroughsford, 38.65; Fred Yellen, 37.67; John Bava at #20 with 37.23; and Gay Simpson, 37.05.

Mini-McKenney (All points earned everywhere). Unit 116. Gold Life Masters.

Give me my 12.72 OKB points and I’d be first here, too. But, no, I’m fifth. Here’s the lineup:

John Sinclair picked up 1.68 points somewhere and reclaimed the lead with 57 points even, while slipping to #16 among all Unit 116 players from #14 a month ago. That was enough to push him past David Millward, who added just 0.68 of a point. He’s #17 overall, down from #13.

After that, it’s Fred Yellen, still holding 53.07 (#19 overall, down from #15); and Allen Beroza, still 49.80 (#22, down from #18).

Then it’s me with 45.71 (#25 overall, down from #24); Ken Meier, 44.28 (#27, up from #33); Mike Silverman, 40.13 (#33, down from #25); Art Morth, 30.49 (#44, down from #41); Bill Rushmore, 18.63 (#67, down from #65); and Chongmin Zhang, still 5.87 (#163, down from #147). Still trailing is Pat Rasmus, who’s still 2.79 (#220, down from #200).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Saleh Fetouh still tops the list with 145.28 after a 20.75 point month. Coming up fast are the Weltes, John and Martha, with 144.17, thanks to their 49.76 point month together.

Davis Heussler, second a month ago, is fourth with 128.74 following a 13.68 point month. Frequent partner Linda Burroughsford is next with 110.89, having collected only 1.05 points. Alan Greer is sixth with his self-same 100.85.

Bud Seidenberg claims seventh with 84.67, having added 21.91.  Nancy Wolstoncroft, still sitting out, has 72.95. Larry Abate holds ninth with 67.72, bringing in another 7.05.

David Colligan catches tenth place with 63.16 after a 4.25 point month, not a lot, but enough to pass Mike Ryan, who’s still holding 61.01. Bob Sommerstein is #12 with 60.02, a whisker ahead of Chris Urbanek, who has 60 even. I would be #14 with my OKB points in hand.

(more to come) (and now on July 1, it's here)

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

Buffalo holds half the spots in the Top 10. With those OKBridge points, I’d be on top of the district, too. Instead, I’m sixth. Here’s the list:

David Millward, 52.02 (#26 among all district players, down from ninth); Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 49.54 (#33 overall, down from #25); Kenneth Eichler tied with our Allen Beroza, 43.63 (both #44 overall, Eichler down from #30, Beroza, who is unchanged since March, down from #14); and Ken Meier, debuting with 41.61 (#53 overall).

Then it’s me, 41.16 (#56, down from #29); Brenda Merkich of Cortland, Ohio, 40.58 (#59, down from #36); Allen Selling of Erie, Pa., unchanged with 40.11 (#62, down from #24); Jayne Stahr of Stow, Ohio, debuting with 39.46 (#63); and our Fred Yellen, unchanged with 37.67 (#70 overall, down from #32).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Alan Greer’s inaction finally toppled him from the top. He fell all the way to sixth place.

First among those rushing past him is Paul Holmes of Wadsworth, Ohio, with 130.70, racking up an amazing 74.94 points in May. Holmes even passed the redoubtable Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, who has 120.55 after a 29.30 point month.

Jointly holding third are Buffalonians – the  Weltes, John and Martha – with 116.99. Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., rounds out the front five with 102.76. Then there’s Mr. Greer, with 100.85.  

The rest trail behind at a distance. There’s Erin Gonzalez of Mars, Pa., with 79.06; Richard Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with 72.52; Buffalo’s Nancy Wolstoncroft, also inactive with 72.31; and Jeffrey Weiss of Novelty (Novelty??? Really???), Ohio, 66.95.

Buffalo’s Bud Seidenberg is #12 with 62.53. Saleh Fetouh is #19 with 55.42. They weren’t in the second tier last month. Five other Unit 116ers were there instead.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Here it’s Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh all the way. She has 248.09, of them accumulated in May. Second is Sue Lan Ma, who’s usually on top. She registers 178.47 and still stands pat.

Rounding out the front five are Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 161.77; last month’s leader Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 161.40; and Paul Holmes of Wadsworth, Ohio, 150.07.

Then the Buffalonians arrive. Saleh Fetouh is sixth with 145.28, down from fifth. John and Martha Welte with 144.17. Ninth is Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 135.71, followed by Buffalo’s Davis Heussler, 128.74, down from seventh.

Linda Burroughsford, eighth last month, is #12 with 110.89. Unchanged Alan Greer is #16 with 100.85.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

It’s still Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., with 223.23 after a 75.86 point month. Dolores Aquino stays second with 189.22, thanks to a 56.68 point May.

David Morse of New Minas, Nova Scotia, must be mining points in the Maritimes. With a 72.31 point month, he’s taken over third place with 186.82. He’s displaced Mason Barge of Atlanta, who had just 55.89 points in May and now had 179.86.

After that, it’s Wendy Lee of East Hanover, N.J., 163.72; Yacob “Jacob” Rubinstein of Holland, Pa., 141.94; Lynn Leisy of Amelia Island, Fla., 132.66; Steve Vaughn of Kingwood, Texas, 128.84; and two more guys from The Villages, Jonathan Williams with 126.43 and Alex Booke with 121.93. Hope none of them were setting off that outrage by yelling “White Power” from their golf carts a few weeks ago.

Buffalo snowbird David Millward is #233. Allen Beroza is tied for #391. Ken Meier is #437. And hey, there I am at #444. (Give me my missing points and I’d be tied for #209!) The list stops at 38.90.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. All players.

Gold Life Master leader Russ Pearly is tenth on this list of 500. Here are the folks in front of him:

Gillian Miniter of New York City, 296.67; Stephen Garreffa of Randolph, N.J., 268.56; Jack Jones of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 261.67; Milton Neher of Richardson, Texas, 261.66; Robert Kent and Ellen Kent of Chicago, 248.29 and 242.90; Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, 242.37; Ann McClelland of The Villages, Fla., 238.99; and Mel Norton of Burlington, Ont., 225.10. Pearly has 223.33.

District 5 leader Paul Holmes is #91 with 130.70. Buffalo’s John and Martha Welte are tied for #147 with 116.99. Alan Greer is #246 with 100.85. Nancy Wolstoncroft has fallen off this list. It stops at 82.17.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

Dolores Aquino of Houston is still on top of the nation with 296.89. Still second is the woman she supplanted in April, Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., falling further behind with 260.08 after a 35.72 point month.

More mostly familiar names follow: Mason Barge of Atlanta, 253.94; Lynn Leisy of Ameila Island, Fla., 250.58; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 246.56; Daniel Jablonski of Stoneham, Mass., 223.74; David Morse of New Minas, Nova Scotia, 207.25; Wendy Lee of East Hanover, N.J., 192.54; Anne LeCour of Georgetown, Texas, 186.20; and Peter Martin of Kennesaw, Ga., 185.70. No Unit 116 players here. The list stops at 56.02. Even with my missing points, I’d fall short.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. All players.

Robert McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., found a way to fatten his lead, adding 62.09 points to reach 751.18. Holding second and looking like he’s standing still is Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., with 670.23 after an 11.82 point May.

Gillian Minter of New York City takes over third place from another New Yorker, Joe Grue. She has 635.10, courtesy of a 127.46 point month. Grue had 626.87 after a 66.65 point effort.

Still another New Yorker sits fifth – John Hurd with 519.84 after a 46.62 point month. He’s up from eighth. Standing pat with 515.85 is James Melville of Springfield, Ill., slipping from fourth to sixth.

Last year’s all-around champ, Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., has 502.73, followed by Alex Hudson of Morrisville, N.C., with 495.11; and two folks from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – Shan Huang unchanged with 481.21 and Kevin Bathurst with 457.94.  

District 5 leader Reanette Frobouck is #100 with 248.09, not far behind former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge, who’s now hailing from Jackson Heights, Queens. He’s #94 with 252.87.

Speaking of Buffalonians, there’s Saleh Fetouh sitting at #434 with 145.28 and John and Martha Welte at #444 with their jointly-held 144.17.

And, OMG, there’s a guy I recognize from online bridge – Roland Laframboise of Thunder Bay, Ont., whose handle abbreviates the English translation of his name – razzberry. He’s #487 with 139.09. The list stops at 137.80.