Bridge Blog 1022-A: Buffalo Spring Sectional Day 1

Friday the 13th. How bad could it be?

Well, first bad, I’m relegated to playing in the side game because I’ll have to pick up my other half from the airport after the morning session ends at 2 p.m. or so.

Not so bad, though. It fulfills the Art Matthies strategy. Play against the less experienced pairs in the single-session side game and have a better chance of winning than you will in the big double-session open pairs game.

But wait, bad again. They have a half table in the side game and a half table the big game. Director Brian Meyer comes to me and Denise Slattery and asks if we’d play the big game. We acquiesce. We’re up against the big guys.

But not so bad. We have what seems like a pretty decent round. Seems even more decent when the electronic scoring devices show us in fourth place with 53% after we finish the last hand.

The final tally is better yet. 56.64%. First in the B strat, third overall, 2.01 master points. I feel lucky enough not to fret about not playing the afternoon game.

Bridge Blog 1022-B: Buffalo Spring Sectional Day 2

     Partner Judie Bailey and I have had our share of tournament bonanzas. Notably that Rochester Regional in 2015 when we won on the B level in the knock-outs. But Saturday does not add another happy chapter to our history.

     Playing in the big game, the double session pairs, we have a semi-respectable morning – 49.02% – although it falls three percentage points short of a payoff.

     We falter badly in the afternoon, however. I’m ready to take Judie to task for failing to cash out a long Diamond suit in the dummy on a hand where she goes down one, but it turns out that it’s only one bump in a whole stretch of bad road. 41.2%.

Bridge Blog 1022-C: Buffalo Spring Sectional Day 3

     The ice storm warning went into effect before the game ended Saturday. Before we left, director Brian Meyer announced that the Swiss team game would be played as planned on Sunday, no matter how many people showed up.

     A travel advisory is posted for Erie and Niagara counties, plus the Niagara Region across the river in Ontario, and partner Selina Volpatti heeds it. While I’m still asleep, she texts me. She’s not going to risk it.

     I will, though. I’ll take local streets, like I did coming home in the freezing rain Saturday night. But, hey, the pavement is just wet, but not slippery. I hit the expressways and arrive early. Given the travel situation, however, I may wind up needing a whole new team.

     But no. Waiting inside the front door of social hall at the Main-Transit Fire Hall is the rest of our foursome. John Marksell and Joan Soifert have made it over from Canada. Selina should have called them, they said. Their number is in the St. Catharines bridge club’s member directory.

     Live and learn. Meanwhile, I impart my dilemma to partnership chairman Dian Petrov. Why don’t you call David Colligan, he says. He won yesterday. Here’s his number.

     David was going to work outdoors – cleaning up his maple sugar operation for the season down in Colden – but it’s too cold to rinse out the lines that bring the sap from the trees. He rolls in 15 minutes after the game starts, we settle in quickly and finish the first round with Bob Kaprove and Paula Kotowski on time.

     It’s wild. It’s wooly. And we win it! 40-21 International Match Points. Thanks to some fabulously good hands – a failed slam and a make-up slam – and despite some early uncertainty.

     We’re even more successful in the second round, a 26 IMP win, then run into Bert Hargeshimer and Christy Kellogg. They edge us out by 3 IMPs, setting us up for the guys from Rochester in Team 4.

     David identifies them as the big winners in the Rochester sectional last week. They stuff us, 27-4, and go on to finish first for the day, collecting 9.73 points.

     So at the lunch break, we’re 2-2, slightly better than 50%. We discover that although Joan and I are above 2,000 career points, our partners are well under that number. We’re not in the A strat. We’re B. We stand a chance.

     Fifth round pits us against another A-strat team. Barry Passer and Elaine Kurasiewicz make a couple mistakes, but we make our own luck with a 6 NT slam and win by 15 IMPs.

     Our fortunes sink again in the sixth round against A strat players Howard Foster and Mike Ryan, who dispatch us 17-4, but only because Joan and John have a minus 1,100 hand.       So it’s a must-win finale. I wait for the last-round assignments with Ken Meier, who also is anticipating a must-win finale. And dontcha know, we’re paired against each other. At our table, we play Shakeel Ahmad and Manju Ceylony, formidable at any time. The margin of victory turns out to be the very first hand we play, a 4 Spade contract. We defeat it. Our teammates make it. We win by 16 IMPs.

     Our Victory Point total: 125. We’re sixth overall out of 25 teams, third in the B strat. Our reward – a handsome 2.91 silver points. David Colligan is pleased. It makes him fifth overall in the tournament. Me? 4.92 points for the weekend. 38th overall. 159 players earn points.

Bridge Blog 1021: March Made Whole

     Looks like the folks at ACBL HQ came back from the weekend and straightened out the Master Point Race listings. So here we go.

     Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). In January, I was first. In February, I slipped to fifth. Now I'm back on top by a hair, the hair that race car drivers call an RCH. Here are the top 10:

     Me, 32.74, up from fifth in this division, and sixth overall in the unit, up from 13th.

     Allen Beroza, 32.35, still second, down one to eighth in the unit, and tied with Mike Silverman, up from third last month and up from tenth in the unit.

     Martin Pieterse, 29.61, is still fourth, but down one in the unit to 13th.

     Fred Yellen, sixth last month, climbs into fifth with 26.36, and 18th in the unit. Ken Meier, last month's leader, slips to sixth with 26.26, and is down from sixth in the unit to 19th.

     Then comes Dorothy May with 25.95, up from eighth to seventh, up from 22nd in the unit to 20th. She passed Gene Finton, with 23.07 (27th). Last month's tenth-place tie rounds out the Top Ten – Davis Heussler with 17.11 (42nd) and Elaine Kurasiewicz with 15.90 (46th).

     Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. John Ziemer maintains his commanding lead with 61.33. Barbara Libby, third last month, bounces to second place with 38.38. Bud Seidenberg, 12th last month, jumps to third with 35.97. Jay Levy continues in fourth with 35.93. Judi Marshall, with 33.92, slips from second to fifth.

     Then it’s Jim Easton, up from eighth place, 33.49; me, 32.74; the tie at 32.35 between Allen Beroza and Mike Silverman; and another tie in tenth place with John and Martha Welte, 31.49.

     Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I have 46.28 points, up 13.56 from February. That also boosts me from third to second among Ruby Life Masters in Unit 116.

     Continuing way out in front is Davis Heussler, adding another 20 points. He now tops the century mark with 104.44. He's second among all Unit 116 players. I'm 19th overall, up from 21st.

     Then it's Ken Meier, slipping from second to third with 44.24 (down from 13th to 20th overall); Allen Beroza, 33.24 (34th); Fred Yellen, 32.69 (35th); Mike Silverman, 32.35 (36th); Martin Pieterse, 30.98 (38th); Elaine Kurasiewicz, 30.35 (39th); and Dorothy May, 25.95 (43rd).  

     The new leader among all players in Unit 116 is Saleh Fetouh, with 104.73, passing Davis Heussler's 104.44. Linda Burroughsford holds third with 81.34, then it's couples. Shakeel Ahman and Manju Ceylony are tied for fourth with 78.94, and John and Martha Welte are tied for sixth with 78.85. Rounding out the top ten are John Ziemer, 76.83, down from fourth to eighth; Sandi England, 75.50, down from third to ninth; and David Hemmer, 62.60.

     Now let’s widen our horizons.

     District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. Here I’ve returned from ninth place in February back to third place, which is where I stood in January.

     Leader continues to be Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 47.79. He also maintains himself in eighth place among all players in the district. Susan Konig of Bridgeville, Pa., leaps into second place with 41.28 (11th in the district). Then it’s three Buffalonians – me, 32.74 (28th), and the Allen Beroza-Mike Silverman tie at 32.35 (30th).

     Next are Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., 32.34 (32nd); Pauline Sostarich of Hermitage, Pa., 31.36 (38th); Unit 116's Martin Pieterse, 29.61 (43rd); John Ferry of North Parkersburg, W. Va., 27.68 (55th); and Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio, 26.43 (63rd). Buffalonian Fred Yellen is 11th, 64th in the district, with 26.36; and Ken Meier is tied for 12th, 65th in the district, with 26.26.

     Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this: Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., still on top, now with 68.58. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh advances from fourth to second with 64.07. Unit 116’s John Ziemer slips one notch to third with 61.33, while Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh also slips one rung to fourth with 55.50.

     Next are those single initial people – D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W. Va., with 55.20; and W. Tordella of Bemus Point with 52.20. Then come a bunch of Pennsylvanians – Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 48.80; Philip Goulding of Wexford, 47.79; and Barbara Belardi and S. Ruskin, both of Pittsburgh, with 46.98 and 46.35, respectively. 

     Only other Unit 116 player in the Top 20 is Barbara Libby, 18th with 38.38. There's a gang of us, however, between 21st and 30th.   

     Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. Here the leader continues to be our own David Heussler with 104.44. However, he’s dropped from eighth to tenth among all players in the district.

     The other leaders include: Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 93.38 (up from 19th to 13th overall); Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 56.82 (41st); Barbara Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 55.54 (down from 23rd to 44th); Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 51.87 (down from 25th to 55th); Leroy Hackenburg II of Pittsburgh, 51.01 (falling 46th to 60th); Susan Konig of Bridgeville, Pa., 50.33 (63rd); Jack Hawthorne of Valencia, Pa., 48.17 (69th); Ami Elis of Pittsburgh, 47,84 (71st); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 46.67 (down from 32nd to 74th); then me in 11th place with 46.28, down from eighth. Overall, I'm also down from 74th to 76th. Ken Meier is 12th with 44.24 and 83rd among all District 5 players.

     Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players continues to be my jolly acquaintance Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, now with 233.99.           Then it’s Kathleen and Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, second and fourth with 172 even and 140.27, respectively. Between them is Bernie Greenspan of Beechwood, Ohio, with 143.46.

     Fifth place belongs to Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 138.02; followed by Robert and Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 122.53 and 106.17, respectively; with Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., between them with 112.63.

     This time Unit 116 holds the last two spots in the Top 10 – Saleh Fetouh with 104.73 and Davis Heussler, 104.44. That's the end of players in triple digits.

     Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

     Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., adds 32 points for the month and jumps from fourth to first with 91.80. Michael Rosen of Freehold, N.J., adds 35 and jumps from eighth to second with 85.30. Paul Hassett, also of the Villages, returns to third place with 80.12.

     After that, it's Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., with 76.99; David Mors of New Minas, Nova Scotia, with 76.08; Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla., with 75.40; Michael Boreson of Kalispell, Mont., with 74.56; Michael Fishman of Great Neck, N.Y., with 72.96; and Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., with 69.95.

     Unit 116 entries here are myself, tied for 444th place with Robert Rose of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Mike Silverman and Allen Beroza, tied with each other for 469th. The list cuts off at 31.83.

     Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. Top three remain the same. Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta continues in the lead, virtually doubling his point total in March to 200.20. Maintaining their runner-up spots are Robert Epstein, also of Atlanta, with 134.61, and Roberta Trayman of Naples, Fla., with 133.01.

     Then it's Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., 129.59; Jack Snyder of Naperville, Ill., 123.34; En Xie of St. Louis, 122.77; Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, 121.67; Pierre Daigneault of Montreal, 118.51; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 117.23; and Harry Kaufmann of North Redington Beach, Fla., with 116.05; fractionally ahead of Diane and Edgar Hurt Jr. of Laguna Woods, Calif., tied for 11th with 116.03.

     Unit 116’s John Ziemer is 336th, down from 188th. This list of 500 names cuts off at 55.15.

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

     Still way out in front is Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., with 570.09. Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, advances from fourth to second place with 243.70. Kevin Castner of Kentfield, Calif., breaks into the Top Ten in third place with 225.33. Sitting fourth, down from second, is someone we’ve played against, Joel Wooldridge’s sometimes partner Junko Hemus of Windermere, Fla., with 224.97.

     Then it’s Alex Khrakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, 212.51; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 193.80; Sherry Spalding Fardie of Port Orange, Fla., 190.77; Ann Buchholz of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 177.95; Karen Hoffner of Galloway, N.J., 173.16; and Scott Nason of Dallas, 171.79;

Unit 116’s Davis Heussler, who was 41st last month, is now 51st with his 104.44. The list ends at 53.85. My 46.28 doesn't cut it.

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

     Last month’s top dog, Joe Grue of New York City, has broken into four figures. He has 1,134.43. Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., moves from third to second with 960.19. Then January leader Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas rebounds from tenth to third with 864.61.

     He pushes last month's No. 2, Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., back to fourth with 862.38. Then it's Brad Moss of Denver, up to fifth place from ninth with 846.10; John Hurd of New York City, 728.55; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 597.05; Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., 570.09; Oren Kriegel of Chicago, 561.27; and Justin Lall of Charlotte, N.C., 556.52.

     Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge slips from 28th to 30th with 431.03. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is down from 77th to 131st with her 233.99. No Unit 116 people here. This list cuts off at 135.56.

        

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.