Bridge Blog 1020: March Is All Amiss

     The listings for the ACBL master point races are screwed up. When I ask for unit or district races, there’s no category for Ruby Life Masters like myself, just a general 1,000 to 2,500 category, the old Silver Life Master. And then there's no list of leaders. When I go to the nationwide list and ask for Unit 116, it offers the proper categories, but only lists the top three players.

     Nevertheless, for Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) in Unit 116 (Buffalo only), there’s good news for me in those top three places in the Ace of Clubs competition, which is for points earned in club play only. My 32.74 points have landed me in first place. 

     Tied for second and snapping at my heels are Allen Beroza and Mike Silverman, both of whom have 32.35. In the nationwide scheme of things, I’m 444th among Ruby Life Masters. Allen and Mike are tied for 469th. What a difference 3/8ths of a point makes.

     In the Mini-McKenney, points earned everywhere, for Ruby Life Masters, there’s only one Unit 116 name – Davis Heussler, with 104.44.

     Go to District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) and there are six names in the Ruby Life Master Ace of Clubs listing – we three Buffalonians, who are third, fourth and fifth, along with Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., on top with 47.79; Susan Konig of Bridgeville, Pa., second with 41.28; and Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., sixth with 32.34.

     Davis Heussler leads the Mini-McKenney race on the district level in our division, followed by Philip Goulding with 93.38; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh far behind with 56.82 and Barbara Greenspan of Beechwood, Ohio, with 55.54. And that’s all they give us.

     So to find out how many points I’ve won overall this year, a sign-on to MyACBL is necessary. Pain in the ass. OK, there it is – 46.28. And there’s that career total – 2,367.60. Lessee now, to reach Gold Life Master, I need 132.40. Nine months averaging 15 points a month, that just might get me there by Christmas.

Bridge Blog 1019: Spring Awakening

What a difference an equinox makes! Before March 20, the doldrums were as deep as the snow that wouldn't melt. At the tables, I was equally barren, mustering a meager 1.26 master points, despite playing almost every day. Night was better on St. Patty's Day in St. Catharines, Ont. That wine-fueled session added 0.63.

Then the season changed and, by coincidence, the Airport Bridge Club started awarding extra points again. On the first day of spring, Dotty May and I caught an updraft to 61.57%, second overall, 2.19 points.

Sick for the next couple days, I slumped, but things looked brighter in St. Catharines on Friday. Selina Volpatti and I sailed in fourth overall with 52.40%, collecting 0.46 of a point.

Saturday partner Denise Slattery, my comrade in winning those 1.26 points earlier in the month, proved to be good luck again. Our 53.70% earned us 1.07 point.

Back from Florida, Judie Bailey and I renewed our collaboration on Monday to the tune of 52.68%, third in the B strat, 0.80 of a point.

Certainly my fortunes would fail with Usha Khurana on Tuesday. Our last venture in February netted 40.77%. This time we could do hardly anything wrong. 60.12%. First overall. 2.63 points.

Ditto with my Wednesday partner June Feuerstein. Our record this month – 44.91%, 47.50%, 42.26%. Not this time. 57.87%. Third overall, second in the B strat. 1.36 points.

Could the heat wave continue Thursday with Gay Simpson, with whom I'd bottomed out at 37.82% a week ago? It did. Until I found a couple scoring errors, we were first East-West. Even with corrections dropping us to second, we remained first in the B strat with 55.83% and our point award was unchanged at 1.93.

What's been happening, someone asked at the end of the game, when Gay and I still were on top of the standings. My partners, I said, are getting better.

So is the outlook for the master point races. A week ago, my 15-point-per-month goal seemed like the impossible dream. Now, suddenly, I can almost touch it.

Bridge Blog 1018: The Long and Short of Feb.

A miserable month in the clubs. My resolution to have no games below 40% was broken repeatedly. On one occasion, it was twice in a single day.

The only thing saving me from a total flame-out was a pair of 54.17% games on successive days at the end of the month, at a time when the Airport Bridge Club resumed extra-point games. Final club total: Just 4.89.

The only thing keeping my average above 15 points a month was the St. Catharines Sectional, which added 6.66 to the total, making 11.55 for the month.

So let’s have a look at the ACBL master point races as of Feb. 28.

Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). Last month I was first in the unit. This month I’ve plunged. Here are the top 10:

Ken Meier, 23.35, up from fourth, sixth overall in the unit; Allen Beroza, 23.27, still second, seventh in the unit; Mike Silverman, 20.35, up from fifth, 10th in the unit; Martin Pieterse, 20.03, down from third, 12th in the unit; then me, 19.18, 13th in the unit.

The rest of the Top 10: Fred Yellen, 17.25 (16th overall); Gene Finton, 16.01 (still Delray Beach, Fla., 21st overall); Dorothy May, 15.93 (22nd); Sue Bergman, 9.94 (45th) and a tie for 10th, Davis Heussler and Elaine Kurasiewicz, 9.83 (46th).

Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. John Ziemer has more than doubled his January total to take a commanding lead with 49.17. Judi Marshall takes over second place with 27.66, supplanting Barbara Libby, who slips to third with 26.75. Jay Levy jumps from eighth to fourth with 26.66, while Liz Clark drops from third to fifth with 25.34.

Then it’s Ken Meier, 23.35; Allen Beroza, 23.27; Jim Easton, 22.09; Gay Simpson, 20.79; Mike Silverman, 20.35; Bud Seidenberg, 20.12; Martin Pieterse, 20.03; me, 19.18; and the Weltes, Martha and John, tied with 19.11.

Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I’m still third among Ruby Life Masters with 32.72, up 11.55 from January.

Leader continues to be Davis Heussler, with 83.73, adding less than seven points to last month’s 76.82 points.

Holding steady in the next four places are Ken Meier, 41.33 (still 13th overall); me, 32.72 (falling from 15th to 21st); Allen Beroza, 24.16 (down from 29th to 33rd); and Fred Yellen, 23.58 (still 34th).

Then Martin Pieterse moves up a notch with 21.40 (up from 39th to 37th); Mike Silverman, 20.35 (up from 53rd to 38th); Gene Finton, 16.01 (up from 59th to 44th); Dorothy May breaking into the top 10 with 15.93 (45th overall); and last month’s sixth place holder, Chongmin Zhang, 14.37, adding less than a point 13.41 (falling from 36th to 52nd). Elaine Kurasiewicz slips from ninth to 11th with 13.34 (down from 55th to 57th overall).

Leaders among all players in Unit 116 go like this: Davis Heussler, 83.73; his frequent tournament partner Linda Burroughsford, 76.81; Sandi England, 69.20; John Ziemer, up from ninth to fourth with 62.38; Bert Hargeshimer entering the list with 47.65, just ahead of the Weltes, who both have 47.41; Shakeel Ahmad and Manju Ceylony, last month’s fourth place tie, are this month’s eighth place tie, both at 46.27; and Christy Kellogg rounds out the leaders with 45.54.

Now let’s widen our horizons.

District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. Here I’ve slipped from third to ninth.

Leader continues to be Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 33.65. He’s eighth among all players in the district. Then it’s Buffalonians Ken Meier, 23.35 (24th) and Allen Beroza, 23.27 (25th); followed by John Ferry of North Parkersburg, W. Va., 23.19 (26th); last month’s No. 2, Pauline Sostarich of Hermitage, Pa., 22.63 (28th overall); Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio, 21.09 (34th); Mike Silverman, 20.35 (37th); Martin Pieterse, 20.03 (39th); me, 19.18 (down from 15th to 44th); and Ami Elis from Pittsburgh, 18.23 (51st).

Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this: Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., still on top, now with 60.29; Unit 116’s John Ziemer is second with 49.17, bumping Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh to third with 48.75.

Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh moves up to fourth with 46.98, followed by a bunch of single initial people – D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W. Va., with 42.12; S. Ruskin of Pittsburgh with 41.70; and W. Tordella of Bemus Point with 35.94.  

Next is Ruby Life Master leader Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 33.65; Judy Haffner of Pittsburgh, 32.77; and Gladys Martin of Hudson, Ohio, 28.47. Buffalo’s Judi Marshall is 12th with 27.66.

Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. Here the leader continues to be our own David Heussler with 83.73. However, he’s dropped from second to eighth among all players in the district.

The other leaders include: Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 60.60 (down from 13th overall to 19th); Barbara Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 53.07 (23rd); Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 50 even (25th); Leroy Hackenburg II of Pittsburgh, 42.18 (falling from 28th to 46th); Unit 116’s Ken Meier, 41.33 (47th); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 40.49 (down from 32nd to 49th); then me, up from tenth to eighth with 32.72, but down from 58th overall to 74th. Then it’s David Norris of Rocky River, Ohio, 32.71 (down from 53rd to 75th); and Patrick Slaven of Mogador, Ohio, 32.02 (77th).

Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players continues to be Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, now with 193.04. Then it’s Kathleen and Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with 155.88 and 134.77, respectively; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 116.60; Robert and Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 111.85 and 99.08, respectively; with Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, between them with 102.29.

Then it’s our lone Unit 116 entry in the Top 10 – Davis Heussler, 83.73; Gladys Martin of Hudson, Ohio, 83.16; and Richard Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 77.87. Our Linda Burroughford is 11th with 76.81. Sandi England is 16th with 69.20 and John Ziemer is 18th with 62.38.

Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla., adds almost 32 points for the month for a total of 72.73, bumping Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., who got only 20 and now has 68.61.

Then it’s Michelle Mataillet of Miami, 66.37; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 59.15; and M. Gregory Goggin of Naples, Fla., 56.67; David Morse of New Minas, Nova Scotia, 55.33; Jim Loffree of Naples, 51.77; Michael Rosen of Freehold, N.J., 50.32; Stephen Blau of Larchmont, N.Y., 49.90; and Gary Waldron of Laguna Beach, Calif., 49.52.  

Only Unit 116 entries here are Ken Meier, tied for 402nd, and Allen Beroza, 407th. I was 353rd on this list last month. This month it cuts off at 21.70 and I’m out.

Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. Top three remain the same. Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta, continues in the lead with 102.52; followed by Robert Epstein, also of Atlanta, with 95.78; then it’s Roberta Trayman of Naples, Fla., 93.15; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., and Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, tied at 88.66; Jack Snyder of Naperville, Ill., 87.59; Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., 87.49; Joe Degaetano of Delray Beach, Fla., 83.72; Sandy McCay of Naples, Fla., 81.76; and James Rhoden of St. Augustine, Fla., 81.57. Unit 116’s John Ziemer is 188th. This list of 500 names cuts off at 38.07.

Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Still way out in front is Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., with 355.35. Moving into second place is someone we’ve played against, Joel Wooldridge’s sometimes partner Junko Hemus of Windermere, Fla., with 200.02. Then it’s Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, 181.02; Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 166.23; and last month’s No. 2, Kevin Rosenberg of Cupertino, Calif., with 152.70. Then it’s Alex Khakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, 149.09; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 146.29; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 137.78; Sherry Spalding Fardie of Port Orange, Fla., 128.68; and Joann Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., 120.35.

Unit 116’s Davis Heussler, who was in ninth place last month, is now 41st with his 83.73. Ken Meier’s 41.33 makes him 427th. The list ends at 38.75. My 32.72 falls very short.

And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.

Last month’s top dog, Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, stands pat with 404.04 and falls to 10th. New boss is last month’s runner-up, Joe Grue of New York City, with 620.31. Then it’s Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., with 564.88; Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 552.38; Shan Huang, also of Melbourne, 463.29; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 462.37; John Hurd of New York City, 418.53; Daniel Korbel of Las Vegas, 414.94; Bruce Ferguson of Palm Springs, Calif., 410.13; Brad Moss of Denver, 408.54; and the aforementioned Geoff Hampson..

Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge is down from 19th to 28th with 271.64. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is 77th with her 193.04. No Unit 116 people here. This list cuts off at 88.90.

Bridge Blog 1017: St. Catharines Sectional Recap

Maybe it’s time to become a tournament hound. On the heels of my second-best Buffalo Sectional last month comes the best-ever St. Catharines Sectional – 6.66 points – which also is my third-best sectional of all time.

A couple Buffalo players topped the list of winners in St. Catharines. Partners Christy Kellogg and Bert Hargeshimer corralled 27.46 points each. Bert and Christy piled up their points in the Friday afternoon open pairs (third place for 7.35), the Friday evening open pairs (first for 8.25) and third in the all-day Saturday open pairs (third again, this time for 11.22). The remaining fraction came from their play in the Swiss teams game on Sunday, where they were not among the leaders.

You have to look down to 21st place to find the next Buffalo representatives – Donna Steffan and Jay Costello. They each had 12.93, their reward for being part of the winning Swiss team on Sunday.

Then there’s Saleh Fetouh in 30th place with 9.43 and me in 44th place with my 6.66, between Amir Fasoud (6.86) and Selina Volpatti’s Friday partner, Rev. Christopher Kulig (6.51). Selina, meanwhile, was 34th with 8.48 points, thanks to our performance together in the Swiss teams.

Other Buffalonians in the Top 100 included John Bava and Ed Morgan, tied for 53 rd with 5.08; my Saturday partner Denise Slattery, 58 th with 4.69; and the Buffalo player with the most master points of all, Dan Gerstman, tied for 82 nd with 3.12.

In all, 280 players earned points and there were 252 tables. At the club game in St. Catharines on Friday, word was that the tournament lost money. Let’s break down previous years’ totals, for Swiss and total tables.

2018 – 40 Swiss, 252 total tables.

2017 – 49 Swiss, 355 tables.

2016 – 51 Swiss, 342 tables.

2015 – 54 Swiss, 356 tables.

2014 – 60 Swiss, 366 tables.

2013 – 46 Swiss, 311 tables.

2012 – 49 Swiss, 303 tables.

2011 – 54 Swiss, 347 tables.

2010 – 39 Swiss, 343 tables.

2009 – 59 Swiss, 343 tables.

2008 – 48 Swiss, 294 tables.

And now let’s review my performances, year by year.

2018 – 6.66.

2017 – 0.52.

2016 – 0.51.

2015 – 0.34.

2014 – 1.79.

2013 – 0.36.

2012 – none.

2011 – 1.81.

2010 – 3.85, thanks to winning Bracket 3 in the Swiss team game with Helen Panza, Paula Kotowski and John Kirsits.

2009 – 0.72.

None before 2009.

Bridge Blog 1016-A: St. Catharines Sectional, Part I

I never think about the Greater Niagara Sectional Tournament in St. Catharines, Ont., without thinking about the weather. More than once, because the expressways were just too treacherous, I’ve threaded my way home on local streets through heavy snow and ice.

       The 2018 edition was no exception. I was glad my tentative plans evaporated Friday, when a steady drizzle-like flurry piled up all day long. Getting out to the Airport Bridge Club and back was miserable enough. Thrown together at the last minute with Bill Boardman, our results were  miserable too (sub 40%), but at least we had a lot of fun getting there, starting on our first two hands with back-to-back slam attempts that crashed and burned.

       For Saturday in St. Catharines, I enlisted my usual Saturday partner at the Airport Club – Denise Slattery – and fortunately, the snows of Friday had slipped away. It was clear sailing all the way to the Holiday Inn & Suites, Parkway Conference Centre, a few short blocks away from the Queen Elizabeth Way.

       Since Denise has just 200-plus master points, I had hoped that the tournament would average us down into the B stratification, but nooooo. Nobody with more than 2,000 points can play in the B/C/D strat game. We went into the A/X unlimited game instead (a two-session game, all that was available at that level). We were X players, the ones with fewer than 3,000 points.

       Nevertheless, we were up against the A players, the savviest people in the Merlot Ballroom. Vera Carpenter and Rashid Khan from Toronto. Jerry Smee and John Mackay from St. Catharines. Christy Kellogg and Bert Hargeshimer from Buffalo. We got to all of them during the double session.

       Afternoon highlight was a score I never registered before – plus 1,600 – 3 Spades down three. Redoubled. Vulnerable. The victim was Barbara Sims, partnered with Bev Ross, who has been a director at other Niagara District tournaments.

We were bidding up to 4 Heart game, not vulnerable, when Barbara intervened, thinking her six-card Spade suit and void in Hearts would thwart us. Holding A-J-10-2 in Spades, A-9 in Hearts and A-Q-6-5 in Clubs, I could have done the sensible thing and raised Denise to game after she rebid her Heart suit. Instead, I doubled. Barbara redoubled. Disaster ensued.

Despite that top board, our afternoon score was not especially notable – 53.37%. Fifth overall among North-Souths. But first in X – 1.38 master points. We planned to celebrate by searching out a Thai restaurant that was recommended to us, but seeing a fresh blanket of snow in the parking lot, we opted for the company of a couple Buffalo guys – John Bava and Ed Morgan – and a fajita platter in the Holiday Inn’s restaurant.

We ground out a 51.55% game in the evening and were happy with that, considering the opposition. This time we were second in the X strat, but our combined afternoon-evening total held up. Although we were eighth overall, behind seven A pairs, but we were first among the Xes – 4.69 silver points for the day.

Bridge Blog 1016-B: St. Catharines Sectional, Part II

From left, Miro, me, Selina and Ana

Sunday’s forecast was fearsome. Winter weather advisory. Snow, sleet and freezing rain from morning till 7 p.m. I set my cell phone alarm early and got up before it even went off.

Yet nobody was using windshield wipers in front of my house on Richmond Avenue. Nothing worse than a foggy haze all the way to St. Catharines.

Our pickup teammates – Miro and Ana Kovacevic, immigrants to Canada from Serbia whom I’d met in the A/X game Saturday (we started both sessions from the same table) – proved to be very agreeable. Selina and Ana promised to exchange e-mails. We got a group photo together, taken by their 14-year-old son, who was working as a caddie in the Swiss team game.

We had confidence in each other as players as well, a feeling bolstered by the first round, when we beat our opponents by 6 International Match Points. Losing the second round to a Hamilton team by 6 IMPs did not discourage us. We went on to trounce our next opponents by more than 30 IMPs.

After the lunch break, we were beaten back again, losing by 9 IMPs to Peter Petruzzellis and Adam Weiss-Margules, whom I’d encountered Saturday. (Teamed with Buffalonians Donna Steffan  and Jay Costello, they went on to win the day.) Distress deepened with a 17 IMP loss in Round 5, 12 of those IMPs on one hand where Selina went down at 3 No Trump and the opponents made an overtrick.

Round 6 pitted us against two familiar folks from St. Catharines – genial John Mackay and long tall Jane Jennings. We fought each other to a 6-6 IMP tie.

Which unfortunates would we face in the seventh and final round? None other than two of the best players in Buffalo – Mike Ryan and John Ziemer – who, since they were playing us, clearly were down on their luck. It didn’t change. We posted our biggest triumph of the day against them – 40-5 IMPs.

With 3½ winning rounds, worth 0.32 point per round, we were guaranteed at least 1+ silver point for our efforts. But it was better than that. We tied for third in the X strat – 1.97 points. (No, not a tie, now that I see the final results online. The folks we were tied with, the John Mackay-Jane Jennings-Jerry Smee-Clyde Paul team, turn out to be an A team.) Miro and Ana declared that we should team up again at another tournament. Selina and I heartily agreed.

Meanwhile, this was my best-ever effort in the St. Catharines Sectional – 6.66 points. Best previous was 3.85 in 2010, when I was on a Swiss team with Helen Panza, Paula Kotowski and John Kirsits and we finished first in the third bracket.

My luck continued outside the Holiday Inn. It was raining, but the temperature hadn’t plunged. It hung in just above freezing all the way home. No sleet. No ice.

Bridge Blog 1015: January Jam

Who’da thunk it? The first ACBL master point race tabulations for 2018 are out and I’m on top of the Ace of Clubs list for Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) in Unit 116 (Buffalo only). My glow of satisfaction isn't very brilliant, though. Last year’s champ, Mike Silverman, was on a tropical vacation for half the month. Here’s the Top 10:

Me, 14.29; Allen Beroza, 13.69; Martin Pieterse, 11.10; Ken Meier, 10.04; Mike Silverman, 8.74; Gene Finton (listed in Delray Beach, Fla.), 8.33; Fred Yellen, 7.36; Dorothy May, 5.87; Elaine Kurasiewicz, 5.22; and Davis Heussler, 2.92.

I’m fourth overall among all Unit 116 members in Ace of Clubs play, which counts club games only, not tournaments. Here the leader is John Ziemer with 21.31, followed by Barbara Libby, 16.01; Liz Clark, 14.70; me, 14.29; Gay Simpson, 14.25; Jim Easton, 13.78; Allen Beroza, 13.69; Jay Levy, 12.99; Marilyn Wortzman, 12.90; and Ed Morgan, 12.09.  

In all, 18 players in the unit are in double digits for the month and all but Jay Levy are regulars at the Airport Bridge Club, where extra points were awarded at every game. February is a different story. Folks from the other clubs are going to catch up.

Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I’m third among Ruby Life Masters with 21.17 points.

Leader is Davis Heussler, with 76.82 points, half of which came from the regional tournament in Cleveland (31.71 points) and the Buffalo Buffalo Winter Sectional (8.47). He’s first among all players in the unit.

Then it’s Ken Meier, 28.02 (13th overall); me, 21.17 (15th); Allen Beroza, 14.58 (29th); Fred Yellen, 13.69 (34th); Chongmin Zhang, 13.41 (36th); Martin Pieterse, 12.47 (39th); Mike Silverman, 8.74 (53rd); Elaine Kurasiewicz, 8.73 (55th); and Gene Finton down in Florida, 8.33 (59th).

Leaders among all players in Unit 116 go like this: Davis Heussler, 76.82; his frequent tournament partner Linda Burroughsford, 75.93; Sandi England, 63.15; Shakeel Ahmad and Manju Ceylony, both at 41.98; Penny and Peter Shui, both at 39.73; David Hemmer, 39.41; John and Martha Welte, 36.49; John Ziemer, 34.20; and Dian Petrov, 28.27.

Now let’s widen our horizons.

District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. Here I’m third.

Leader is Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 19.86. He’s seventh among all players in the district. Then it’s Pauline Sostarich of Hermitage, Pa., 15.56 (13th overall); me, 14.29 (15th); Allen Beroza, 13.69 (20th); John Ferry of North Parkersburg, W. Va., 13.37 (22nd); Joane D’Antonio of Sewickley, Pa., 11.12 (36th); Martin Pieterse, 11.10 (37th); Barbara Shidlowski of Kent, Ohio, 11 even (39th); Ken Meier, 10.04 (52nd) and Jack Hawthorne of Valencia, Pa., 9.90 (55th).

Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this: Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 36.30; Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh, 32.72; just S. Ruskin of Pittsburgh, 29.64; John Ziemer, 21.31; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 20.44; just D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W. Va., 19.90; Ruby Life Master leader Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 19.86; just W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 19.42; Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 18.57; and Shirley Irish of Waterford, Pa., 16.20. Buffalo’s Barbara Libby is 11th with 16.01.

Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. Here the leader our own David Heussler by a wide margin. His 76.82 also makes him second among all players in the district.

The other leaders include: Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 46.81 (13th overall); Leroy Hackenburg II of Pittsburgh, 34.20 (28th); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 33.10 (32nd); Unit 116’s Ken Meier, 28.02 (38th); Frank Scali of North Ridgeville, Ohio; 27.75 (39th); Douglas Henderson of Rocky River, Ohio, 24.66 (46th); John Bacon of Shaker Heights, Ohio; 22.28 (52nd); David Norris, also of Rocky River, 22.25 (53rd); and moi! Tenth place with my 21.17 (58th overall).

Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players once again is Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, with 84.91. Then it’s Davis Heussler, 76.82; Linda Burroughford, 75.93; Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio., 64.85; Stephanie and Robert Alexander, both of Mentor, Ohio, both with 64.19; Sandi England, 63.15, tied with Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg; Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 62.90; and Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, and Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, both at 61.95.

Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., 48.97 (eighth among all players overall); Mason Barge (is this a man or a watercraft?) of Atlanta, 43.87 (19th); Kitty Wong of Pearland, Texas, 43.25 (24th); Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla., 40.89 (33rd); David Morse of New Minas, Nova Scotia, 40.81 (34th); M. Gregory Goggin of Naples, Fla., 38.99 (45th); Russ Pearly, also of The Villages, Fla., 35.60 (78th); Michelle Mataillet of Miami, 32.23 (102nd); Dolores Aquino of Houston, 31.59 (112th); and Elizabeth Black of Dunedin, Fla., 31.07 (122nd).

I’m 353rd on this list.

Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. One of the usual suspects, Bill Kulbersh of Atlanda, is on top with 72.49; followed by Robert Epstein, also of Atlanta, with 68.56; then it’s Roberta Trayman of Naples, Fla., 64.63; Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 54.92; Charles Trayman of Naples, Fla., 54.64; and Sandy McCay and Gail Goggin, both of Naples, Fla., with 49.40 and 49 even, respectively. This list of 500 names cuts off at 22.20.

Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Leader here is Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., with 241.30, almost twice as many as second-place Kevin Rosenberg of Cupertino, Calif., with 129.53. Then it’s Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, 119.07; Alex Khakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, 96.07; Joann Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., 84.31; Marianne Claysmith of St. Augustine, Fla., 79.44; Steve Wallis of Wesley Chapel, Fla., 78.58; Karen Hoffner of Galloway, N.J., 77.68; Unit 116’s Davis Heussler in ninth place with his 76.82; and Kitty Wong of Pearland, Texas, 75.85. The list ends at 21.39. My 21.17 falls just short.

And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.

Guy on top is a new face (to me) – Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, who has 404.04; then it’s Joe Grue of New York City, 383.60; Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 364.84; Daniel Korbel of Las Vegas, 297.69; Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., 293.24; Kevin Dwyer, also of Melbourne, 291.85; Gillian Minter of New York City, 269.01; Justin Lall of Charlotte, N.C., 265.96; Sylvia Shi of Las Vegas, 265.83; and Bruce Ferguson of Palm Springs, 265.82.

Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge is 19th with 216.24. Unit 116 leader Davis Heussler is 216th. Linda Burroughsford in 226th. And Jacqueline Chang, Sharon Chang’s daughter, has 52.10, tied for 486th. This list cuts off at 51.29.