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Colonials take inaugural Siam Challenge Cup
Laem Chabang, Green Valley,
Phoenix - Sept. 12th, 13th & 21st
This event was initiated as an alternative to the Siam Ryder Cup which is
now in its 15th year. The original idea came about when a number of
Pattaya-based golfers indicated a desire to play for the European side.
Because the Siam Ryder Cup was kicked off as a Bangkok-based affair and the
European team is still ‘Bangkok-organized’, this was not possible even
though the American team base has moved to Pattaya where nearly all the team
now reside.
 British
Isles co-captain Tony Oakes presents the trophy to Colonials co-captains
Dennis Willett and Gerry Carpenter
To add a different perspective to the Siam Challenge Cup it was decided that
the opposing teams would be the British Isles drawn from England, Scotland,
Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland versus the former colonies of America,
Canada and Australia. We all know this is not politically or historically
correct but the point was purely to create an interesting three-day event,
which would generate team camaraderie and friendship among all players of
both sides.
First and foremost is that the event would be friendly and not encumbered by
constant disputes over handicaps and the like. The teams would originally
comprise of sixteen players plus two alternates. However, this initially
proved to be an unattainable goal so it was slimmed down to twelve per side
with fairly free-wheeling substitution allowed.
Day one would be four ball better ball followed by a two-man scramble and
singles for the final day resulting in a modified Ryder format. That was
achieved and the kick off began on day one at Laem Chabang International
County Club, probably the most auspicious and best maintained golf course on
the Eastern Seaboard.
Day one resulted with a surprising lead for the Colonials of 5 points to 1.
Most of the matches were down to the very last hole resulting in two halves
and two wins with the other wins being recorded a little earlier.
Day two was held at Green Valley Rayong, always a challenging venue and none
the less so on this day. The course had suffered somewhat by recent rains
but remained very playable although rain just before tee off time caused the
organizers to dictate a lift, clean and place rule for the day but only for
the closely mowed area. A near complete score turnaround was seen with the
British Isles team recording a four points to two result, putting the
Colonials in the lead by seven points to five entering the final day.
As it happened, extreme weather at Phoenix Golf and Country Club and massive
flooding in Pattaya caused the final day postponement for a week. The
weather cleared and, although still wet underfoot, Phoenix was in good
condition for the singles day. Again, many matches were decided on the final
hole. The end result of the singles was six and a half points won by the
Colonials versus five and a half for the British Isles. This put the final
score at thirteen and a half for the Colonials and ten and a half for the
British Isles. In essence, a fairly close score for the first year of play.
A big thank you goes out to all the organizers and participants who made
this such a great event. Here’s to next year being equally successful!
Raimon Land AFL Grand Final - 2006
Peter Cummins
To translate the above, AFL means the Australian Football League and the
Grand Final is the climax of some eight months of intense Australian Rules
football played every weekend, between 16 teams of gigantic players from all
across Australia.
Of course, Raimon Land needs no further elucidation, being one of the
Kingdom’s most prolific land developers. The only difference here is that
this is the first time the company has contracted the naming rights for
Australia’s biggest sporting event.
Raimon Land, however, is also a staunch supporter of yacht racing and marine
sports, regarding these as a part of the company’s philosophy: developing a
better environment.
The Grand Final, the 110th, to be contested at the home of ‘Aussie Rules” –
the Melbourne Cricket Ground - is expected to be played out in front of a
crowd exceeding 90,000 fans.
Each week, during the season, upwards of one quarter of a million spectators
cram into the stadiums, to watch their favourites slog it out, each team
numbering 18 players with four reserves.
One of the problems with this spectacular sport is that, apart from various
exhibition games and the biennial challenge against Ireland, the stadiums
overseas are just not big enough to accommodate this fast paced and
long-kicking, game.
The 2006 Grand Final is a ‘re-run’ of the Sydney Swans against West
Australian Eagles show-down from last year, when Sydney won by a
heart-stopping four points. Some 4,000 kilometers of this huge country
separates Perth from Sydney, but this contest in Melbourne on Saturday will
reduce the geography to a field measuring just 180m by 140m. Sydney have
just beaten West Coast in the preliminary final last week, with the West
Coast as the competition leaders, given a “second chance” to defeat Adelaide
and, now, for the second time to challenge Sydney, the reigning premiers in
the final.
It is almost a “High Noon” face off (no guns, but huge fists poised in the
air) when two gigantic “ruck-men” (average height 2m, weight 90 kg) fit,
well-muscled athletes stalk each other, waiting for the field-umpire to
bounce the ball in the center of the enormous playing field, to start a game
of Australian Rules football. (The commentators estimate that the average
ruck-man - who follows the game all over the field, from central bounce
after a goal is scored, to a boundary throw-in, to a defending team’s
kick-in after a point is scored – covers upwards of 25km per game – at
speed.)
Already, only a few seconds into the play, which will last at least 100
minutes of non-stop speed, long kicking and high marking, each team shoots
goal-wards to two big posts and two smaller side posts and the crowd,
anything upwards of 50,000 roars.
Although these men wear no protective clothing, only shorts, pullovers and
specially-designed non-skid boots, physical clashes are fast and furious,
each team being allowed a four replacement “bench.” The crowd roars as a
player takes possession of the ball and with a mighty kick, sends it
goal-ward, as a massive pack of big men fly for possession.
Long-kicking, high marking (catching) and incredible accuracy keep the crowd
for a league match at fever-pitch. The record Grand Final crowd was 121,600
in 1970.
Mooted as the oldest football game in the world, the Australian Football
League, consisting of 16 teams from all corners of the vast continent,
celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1996. Introduced in 1858, well before
anybody had ever heard of the English soccer league, Aussie Rules is a blend
of exquisite skills, brute strength and speed. As one chronicler recalled at
the 100th anniversary, “A scrappy, 40-a-side game on a ridiculously large
playing-field, has evolved throughout the years, into a slick,
lightning-fast spectacle regularly attracting crowds of more than eighty
thousand (to each of the eight games played on a weekend) and rarely less
than 30,000 to any game.
A Grand Final, as witnessed this weekend in Melbourne, draws upwards of
100,000, and there is virtually no crowd violence.
“It’s a game” continues the chronicler, “which demands players who are
heavily muscled but can run like gazelles. This national Australian
obsession, actually started in August 1858 with some 80 students fighting
and yelling, dodging trees, chasing a piece of oval leather across the park.
The game was chaos, with young men running in all directions and with the
opposing goals so far apart, a player could barely see both ends.”
By the 100th anniversary in 1996, this game had transformed from 12
Melbourne suburban teams of the Victorian Football League into what is now a
16 team countrywide competition known as the Australian Football League. It
happened that in the same year, a famous American comedian, along with the
AFL, turned 100 and, George Burns, cancelled every other celebration for his
centenary to promoting a game he “knew nothing about”.
Curiously, when I left Australia’s shores as a wretched young, gullible –
and almost penniless - traveler in 1956, intent upon seeing at least some of
the world, I did not take too much “Aussie baggage” with me. My major love
was classical music and opera, beer, women and friends. Thus, apart from the
obvious wrench of leaving family and friends, I was able to duplicate these
other predilections almost anywhere else. So, there was not any cultural or
historic burden - except of course “Aussie Rules”, which, in itself, was
very hard to find overseas, but which still extended an umbilical cord –
albeit a spider-web slim one to the Brown Continent.
Over the years, I have tried to fathom American football with the players
dressed in armour and looking ready to roam the terrorist traps of Iraq. I
also sat through 90 scoreless minutes of a game in the soccer World Cup, and
I have watched the gorillas of rugby bashing each other up. As the French
say it so well, “Chacun a son gout”. These games left me bored stiff.
Then came last year’s Aussie Rules Grand Final. My secret “vice” had
survived and I was back to my first love: the game that is an eclectic
development of soccer, gaelic football, basketball, rugby and almost any
other ball – dominated sport one could conjure up: except Grid Iron.
Aussie Rules is not for everybody, granted! But as Sydney and the West Coast
get set to slog it out again for the 2006 honours, my own 50 years of
travel, trying to adapt to other boring forms of football, will be reduced
to that magic 100 minutes.
Now, thanks to my kind sponsors, Raimon Land, I shall not be ensconced at
the Melbourne Cricket Ground but, rather among the some 2,000 people
gathered at the Royal Orchid Sheraton for the transmission of the game,
downing Aussie beer and wine and the odd meat pie, to enter truly into the
cultural festival of Aussie Rules.
Even if I were in Melbourne, I would have had to reserve a place last April
for the final. There is a West Coast fan who went out looking to charter two
747s to bring his WA friends to Melbourne this Saturday. He had to settle
for four A-300 Airbuses.
And what’s my prediction: Sydney by a “few points”.
Brian & Phil strike
up a winning tandem
IPGC golf with The Caddy Shack
Tuesday, September 19,
Pattaya C.C., 2-Man Scramble
Our first outing of the week and we decided to hold a 2-Man Scramble event
with the usual 20% combined handicap and 6 drives apiece.
This is always a popular format and when the scores came in we had in third
place Matt Anderson & Dave Edwards with a net 69, in second spot came Dave
Smith & Don Francis with net 68.4, and the winning pair was the team of
Brian Jacks & Phil Smith on 64.2.
Near Pins were won by Dave Smith, Don Francis and Matt Anderson with nobody
hitting the difficult 16th.
At the presentation, players were able to watch themselves on TV as they had
been videoed on the golf course by our roving cameraman.
Friday, September 22,
The Emerald, Stableford
Friday turned out to be a very hot day and on this challenging
course good scores were hard to come by. In joint second place with 29
points came Bill Hewitt, Dave Edwards and Brian Jacks, whilst the winner was
none other than Mr. Loy with 37 points. The “twos” were taken by Brian Jacks
and Bill Hewitt.
All in a day’s work for the unsung hero
The PSC 62nd Monthly Tournament
Friday, September 22, Eastern Star
Once upon a time, on a small Island far, far away, where it seemed to rain
every day and people were forever miserable with their lot, there lived a
bright young spirit. This spirit spent every day trying to brighten the
lives of those around him by smiling, telling jokes and singing happy songs.
He could even have joined the ‘Seven’ but Snow White said Grumpy didn’t like
him because he was too ‘Happy’ and threw him out of the clan.
The winners minus B & C
Flights who disappeared: L to R, Vince, Trudy, Mike (Golf Chairman), Tewin &
William
This caused our happy soul to look around, and he heard
tales of a fabulous land across the sea, where the maidens were beautiful,
the golf courses magnificent and the fishing was great. Unable to help
himself, our ‘hero’ sailed into the sunset, and was soon happy in paradise,
with wine, women, song, fishing, golf, sun. How happy was he.
All was well until he met the disciples of the Anti Christ, and as they do,
they whispered into his ear that he should not be happy, but should try to
make things better whether he wanted to or not. So it was that Mike Gerrard
entered into the position of Golf Chairman and became the man we all love to
hate. So be kind to him.
So it was that the very same Mike was out early on the course booking people
in. When you are in charge you cannot stop in bed. The booking-in went fine
and soon over 108 people were under way, on the 1st and 10th, while the
people at the desk relaxed.
Out on the course things were fine, except that it had been raining all week
and the fairways were wet and the greens, early on, slow. This being the
case, Mike made the decision that it was to be ‘winter’ rules, and not a bad
decision as, particularly early on, it helped to speed up play.
Still, the course was extremely long and it was obvious that the scores
would not be exceptional. Indeed most people I talked to said they took up
to ten shots more than normal. This was a tough day.
One of the good things as far as the long drive was concerned, was that on
A4, the B Flight was won by Derek Brook with a massive drive that was up by
the end of the lake and 50 yards ahead of everyone else. This was balanced
by him not breaking 100, just to show how tough the course was and how bad
he really played. I have to report on this because it is expected.
Day over, it was into the fine clubhouse where the team of Tony Oakes and
Vincent Smyth were hard at work taking in the scores and tabulating the
results. As Mike said in his address later, with many of his team
unavailable it was nice to see some step in and help. Also putting time in
was Herb Schwieterman, Nigel Cannon and Bernie Tuppin, and of course the
Singa girls who provided the cheap beer. Thanks to them all.
The restaurant here is a fine facility, and the players were sat feasting
whilst a quick set of results were being prepared. Mike, as is his wont,
stood at the microphone and did his thing and thanked all his sponsors,
mainly Tropical Bert’s, Shennanigens, McAllisters, Diana Group, Harley Bar,
Bowling Green and the P.S.C. Mike then handed the microphone over to Nigel
Cannon to do the presentation whilst he handed out the prizes.
On this particular day there were many more ladies, so it was decided to
have two flights, and in the A Flight the winner was Trudy Chadbourn with 36
points ahead of Susi Lawton in second place. In the B Division, the victor
was that perennial winner Tewin Lamthong with 37 points, ahead of Amphun
Dhasd in second with 32 points.
One of the similarities in the C & D Flights, both Stableford, was that the
winners were equally spaced. So in the D Flight the winner was William
Mooney with 39 points ahead of David Headington in second with 36 points and
Nick Reiter in third with 33 points.
In the C Flight the winner was Paul Smets with 40 points, with Kenny Mau in
second on 38 points and Jay Perrin third with 36 points.
In the top two flights the players played Stroke, so the scores tended to be
not as good. The winner of the B Flight was Jean Paul Michiels with a net 71
ahead of Roger Moore in second with net 72 and Kaneta Masashi in third with
a net 74.
So finally to the ‘Big Boys’ in the A Flight where the winner was Vincent
Smyth with a net 69 ahead of Perry McNeely in second with a net 73 on count
back over Fergus Brennan in third.
Presentation over, the Golf Chairman called the night to a close, but not
before he expressed his dissatisfaction that the B & C Flight winners had
not remained for the presentation, nor informed him they were leaving. It
seems good golf does not go with good manners sometimes.
This was a really good day that was well organised and leads into the next
month’s tournament very nicely.
T.T.F.N.
Long Drive: (A) Anders Pederson, (B) Derek Brook, (C), Ian Halfpenny,
(D) John Dennis, (L) Dasa Amphon
Long Put: Derek Brook, Graham Ramsey, Hamilton Wilson, Nigel Cannon
Near Pin: Hamilton Wilson, Derek Eastham, Herb Schwieterman, Ploy
Thongpen
Vincent Smyth, Rodney Bennett, Chris Knapp (2), Gordon McKnight
Jeff Wylie, Mashi Kaneta (2), Lowell Adams, Mam Trayling
Fergus Brennan, Jorma Lilla, Chris Patten Suzi Lawbon
The Comeback Kid, pipped at the post
PSC golf from The Oohsa Bar
A small field of 11 players made the trip up to one of
the best value for money venues in all of Golfdom, Noble Place to play the C
& A layout. Despite wet conditions from heavy overnight rains the course
overall was in fine shape. To avoid the occasional squelchy lie we had lift,
clean & place on the fairway, this also did away with any contentious casual
water drops.
In a closely fought contest, Jeff (6M) squeaked past Keith (28) on a count
back, both players managing 34 points off the white tees. The technicals
were picked up by Barry Jones with a Near Pin & Long Putt, while Jeff &
Danny each secured a Near Pin, but no 2s on this day.
Fine food was again in the offing upon our return washed down with a cold
drink, mmm ... I wonder what the rich people were doing then. If you would
like to join the party for a game of golf, make your way up Soi Khao Talo
for an 8am start on Tuesdays. Keith & Malcolm will be happy to see you.
Samuel who?
IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, September 18, Mountain Shadow, 2 Man Scramble
1st Trevor Schirmer & B.J. Smith, 50 pts
2nd Paul Taylor & Graham Hiskett, 49 pts
3rd Chris Stewart & Martin Todd, 45 pts c/b 24
4th Roar Berger & Randy Haupt, 45 pts c/b 22
It is always a pleasure to play Mountain Shadow. Especially when it’s in
a team format that allows some respite, and a few second chances to save
the scorecard from the hardships of the notorious greens and the devious
pin placements thought up by the sadistic green keeper. With a fifty
percent handicap allowance and the requirement to take only seven tee
shots, the scales were slightly tipped in favour of the middle & high
handicap combination, providing that the team took care on the greens.
In the event Trevor Schirmer found his partner B.J. Smith to be in top
form with the short stick, as he rolled in almost as many putts as the
Europeans did in the Ryder Cup at the end of the week. It was just a
little too much for Graham Hiskett and Paul Taylor who must have been
counting the chickens if not the cash, after amassing a very useful
round of 13 under.
Chris Stewart & Martin Todd showed good form, even though their category
one handicaps did not help the cause, in tying up third place on
countback ahead of Randy Haupt & Roar Berger’s fine effort.
Due to the days format the “twos” competitions were suspended.
Before presenting the prizes Richard Livingston, the resident PGA
teaching professional, welcomed new members Brian Tower, Chris Stewart
and Martin Todd and also welcomed back Paul Taylor and Jens Gunnarsson.
Wednesday,September 20,Eastern Star,Stableford
1st Dave Stockman, 41 pts
2d John Teague, 40 pts
3rd Graham Hiskett, 37 pts c/b 22
4th Mikael Andersson, 37 pts c/b 19
5th Frank Hughes, 37pts c/b 18
Eastern Star is now nearly back to its very best following seemingly
months of reparations to the course, and it certainly helped a large
number of the field to enjoy a rare opportunity to break their
handicaps. This following the recent weeks of tough golf, due to the
incessant rain and subsequent drenched fairways that made scoring
difficult.
Dave Stockman took full advantage of his vast local knowledge to card an
excellent gross 73 and take the days honours by a shot from John Teague,
who made sure of a double mention on the day, and although he could not
emulate last week’s triple in the prizes, he ensured a further reduction
in his handicap for when he next returns.
Graham Hiskett led a group of three, who had to be separated by count
back, with a very fine last nine 4-under to hold out Mikael Andersson by
three and Frank Hughes by four.
There were no “twos” in the Second Division but the First Division pot
was shared between Graham Hiskett, Frank Hughes, Trevor Schirmer, Mikael
Andersson and Dave Stockman. It would have been quicker to report that
Arthur Hancock, Peter Fall, Barry Traynor and Nigel Burnett did not get
one.
Prior to the prize giving Richard welcomed back Barry McIntosh and Peter
Fall. He also said bye-bye to John Teague.
Friday, September 22, Green Valley, Stableford
1st Roy Thornton, 37 pts
2nd Russell Exley, 34 pts c/b 21
3rd Serge Straeten, 34 pts c/b 19
4th Trevor Schirmer, 33 pts
Roy Thornton made what is now a rare appearance to sweep the day’s
hopefuls under the carpet, as he stroked it round his home course in one
under without the help of his caddy, who seemed more interested in
acting as a palmist for the rest of the group’s caddies. Despite playing
the course ‘solo’, he still managed to take top spot by three clear
shots and only had to throw one provisional club in the process. An
outstanding effort after all was said and done.
Russell Exley is just beginning to show signs that he will soon be back
on the winning track as he put together 21 points over the back nine to
win the count back from Serge Straeten, now refreshed and encouraged
after his visit to the national white flag factory just outside of
Paris. Trevor Schirmer filled out the last tier of the podium with a
fairly quiet round following the fireworks of Monday’s outing.
Following Wednesday’s excursion, when nearly all of the First Division
slipped in a “two”, this time there were none in the top flight but
Serge Straeten celebrated his return with the only one in the Second
Division to scoop the pot. Back at The Haven Richard welcomed back Ken
Lill and Serge Straeten and said farewell to Brian Tower, Nigel Burnett,
Ian Hendry, Robert Kelly, Ole Svenningsen and Henrik Brahe.
The Beautiful Game?: Bung investigation comes up short
Riz Taylor
In between football matches last weekend I took great pleasure watching
Europe take on the USA in the Ryder Cup, the bi-annual competition that
supposedly shows which golfing superpower is the best. It was great
entertainment, particularly from a European perspective, but what struck
me more than anything was the sporting nature in which the competition
was played. Smiles, handshakes and genuine warmth between the players
makes this peculiar competition what it is, and doesn’t it all come as a
refreshing change after reading story after story of scandal and
corruption in football?
Over the last week or so the football world has been in a spin after a
BBC probe into the murky underworld of the so-called beautiful game. The
investigative series ‘Panorama’ trumpeted their programme, entitled
“Undercover: Football’s Dirty Secrets”, as an ultimate insider’s view
into the dodgy world of bung-taking in football today, with a few
amazing revelations thrown into the mixer.
As Pattaya residents you’ll have no idea what I mean when I discuss
either scandal or corruption. Nothing like that occurs out here of
course, but let me assure you that in ‘Third World’ countries such as
England this kind of practice is rife, and seemingly nowhere more so
than the world of football. Or at least that’s what the BBC’s marketing
department would have you believe.
The publicity seemed to work, as a record five million viewers tuned in
for the results. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp and Bolton’s Sam
Allardyce will have been among them after a week of speculation in which
the pair were labelled as potential victims of the undercover cameras.
Was the Premiership about to be shaken to its core by the BBC?
In a word, no. A year’s worth of investigation, however detailed, failed
to land the kind of big fish that the programme makers were looking for.
Instead viewers were treated to Chelsea’s Frank Arnesen telling an agent
that he’d be interested in signing Middlesbrough youth player Nathan
Porritt, but moments earlier Arnesen had been told by the boy’s agent
that the player was “99.9%” certain to be leaving his club in the
summer. Middlesbrough were furious as this amounts to “tapping up” their
player, but surely their fury would be better placed towards the agent
than to Chelsea. Who can blame Arnesen for expressing an interest in a
decent young player who is almost certain to be leaving his club?
However anti-Chelsea you are, and it’s something that seems to be on the
up, expressing interest in good players is surely the duty of anyone in
Arnesen’s position.
That is where it becomes muddy. “Tapping up” is not to be confused with
taking a “bung”, which in effect is best described as a manager
pocketing a sum from an agent in exchange for taking on a certain
player. Bung-taking is an obvious criminal offence that cheats the fans,
but tapping-up? In what other industry is it illegal to approach another
organisation’s employee to offer them a better deal? This kind of thing
has always gone on in football, just as it always will.
Far from catching Harry Redknapp accepting brown envelopes stuffed full
of cash, the only fallout from the undercover reporter’s finding is the
sacking by Newcastle of Kevin Bond on Tuesday. At the time of the
investigation Bond was employed as Redknapp’s number two at Pompey, and
is alleged to have been taped discussing the possibility of illegal
payments.
“Rather than waiting for this and the outcome of any FA investigation,
NUFC have made their decision solely on the basis of a few sentences
carefully selected and edited by Panorama. I intend to pursue all legal
avenues to vindicate my reputation and restore my career and
livelihood,” he said.
Let’s not speculate on Bond’s alleged guilt until it’s proven. The point
is that the programme failed to get anyone to accept a bung and instead
spent much of the time centering on “tapping up”. But so what? There are
much more worrying issues in the game that need addressing, such as
dodgy foreign billionaires snapping up Premiership clubs as their
playthings, the increase of diving and cheating, the ridiculous prices
for the average fan, silly kick off times, Newcastle’s continued
employment of Titus Bramble….the list goes on.
Football is changing, and changing so fast that the authorities that
police the game are unable to keep up. I’m not denying that they should
be looking out for managers pocketing cash sums to take certain players
on board, but in the FA’s case how much can one organisation do to stop
this? The Association already lists numerous competitions, the national
team, Wembley, disciplinary matters, the women’s game and grassroots
football as just a few of its responsibilities, and so policing the
greasy world of agents will take manpower that the organisation doesn’t
have.
All the FA can do is act upon information it is given, and if the
biggest revelations are that Harry Redknapp fancies signing Blackburn
defender Andy Todd, that Sam Allardyce’s son thinks he’s a Billy
Big-Time or that Chelsea are interested in a player they’ve been told is
99.9% certain of leaving his club, this is hardly the biggest scandal
ever to hit the game. If there is corruption in Premiership transfer
dealings, and let’s suggest for a moment that there might be, it’s up to
the journalists to expose it. In this case it seems Panorama has come up
short. But then “no news is good news”, surely?
Coleman talks his way to trouble.
Fulham boss Chris Coleman is likely to find himself in hot
water with the Football Association in the coming weeks after he called
for referee Mark Halsey to be denied involvement in any future Fulham
matches.
Coleman suggested that Halsey was biased towards the bigger clubs
following Fulham’s home defeat to Chelsea last weekend. He said he hoped
Halsey would not be appointed again, “against Arsenal, Manchester
United, Liverpool or Chelsea”, adding that “for his sake and ours, he
shouldn’t be here.”
The FA have been under pressure to attack excessive criticism of
officials and are expected to come down hard on Coleman. In reality
“coming down hard” probably means watching a few games from the stand
and a fine that would barely cover a Tuesday night bar crawl along
Second Road.
Of more concern to Coleman will be his side recent dip in form after a
promising start. The Cottagers were dumped out of the League Cup by
fourth-tier Wycombe Wanderers last week before Saturday’s loss to their
friends across West London.
‘Men Only’
In the increasingly politically-correct Western world it’s
always nice to see someone buck the trend, and this week look no further
than Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest, who banned women from buying
tickets for its derby against arch rivals and neighbours Steaua
Bucharest last week amid concerns the ladies were infiltrators from the
opposition fans.
According to a Reuters report Dinamo explained that they feared male
Steaua fans had sent their wives and girlfriends to buy extra tickets
for the derby. Police also intervened to stop a fight when a mobile
telephone belonging to someone in the ticket queue at Dinamo played the
Steaua anthem as its ringtone. Priceless.
Morientes
Former Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes has also been
climbing aboard the ref-bashing bandwagon this week, this time blaming
referees for his inability to find the net during his time at Anfield.
Morientes, who was sold to Valencia in the summer despite notching a
phenomenal 12 goals in 61 appearances for the Reds, also complained of
being bullied by the other boys. “I didn’t like the physical nature of
the game in England or the referees who let more things go and who blow
for fewer fouls than they do here,” he said.
“A striker isn’t protected from rival defences there, and they gave me a
really hard time.”
Bless.
EU (and Oz) come back to tie the Ryder Cup
IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s
Sunday, September 17,
Green Valley - White Tees, Stableford
A Flight:
1st Joe Mooneyham, 37 points
2nd Jack Spencer, 36 points
3rd Jim Wickstrom, 36 points - c/b Gareth and Don Lehmer
B Flight:
1st Frank Pilkigton, 42 points
2nd Roy Thornton, 39 points
3rd Ray Dell, 39 points
C Flight:
1st Peter Ring, 42 points
2nd Sugar Ray Handford, 40 points
3rd Roger Koehler, 38 points
Near Pins: #2: Ray Dell; #9: Mike Shrosbree, #12: Kris
Kritsanajootha; #16: Peter Ring
2’s: Jack Spencer, Kris Kritsanajootha, Don Lehmer, Roy Thornton
(2), Ray Dell (2), Rick Brand (2), Ian Grout, John Hillier, Eddy Beilby,
Peter Ring (2), Nat Meesuk, Trudy Chadbourn, Col Rees
Non-Counting 2: Klaus Schackt
In an effort to show that last week was not a fluke, but rather a
trend, Peter “Lord of the” Ring followed up with a MoM tying 42 points.
He also went a couple better than the week before by getting two 2’s and
a Near Pin. Congrats to the red-hot player from the Old Sod! Peter’s 42
overshadowed a fine effort by Sugar Ray whose 40 points would have
netted him C Flight gold most other weeks. Good Roger had an even to SSS
38 points to round off the Junior Flight.
That other 42 points of which I eluded belonged to another Irishman,
Frankie the Pilk. Frank’s fine effort led the interim flight by three
points over Roy Thornton, MBE, and Ray Dell, “Farmer in the”. Ray
yielded second place to Roy, ever cognizant of the Crown’s recognition.
The Groom, as he did two weeks ago, took the Premier Flight, this time
with a modest 37 points, but it was enough to edge the quartet of Gen
Black Jack, Dudley Do-Right, GiGi and The Lady’s Man. Jack and Jim left
with a jingle in their pockets, whilst Gareth’s and Don’s made nary a
sound.
The 2nd Ryder Cup
It was the week that the Big Guys were going to lock it up
for the 36th Ryder Cup, so it seemed apropos that the Society schedule
its second such event. The only divergences were that Greensomes were
substituted for Foursomes to add a few more swings for everybody and
rather than having twelve a side it was attempted to accommodate
everyone. Greensomes only differs from Foursomes in that both players
hit drives in the former and then alternate shots, while the drives are
alternated as well in the latter. 48 players and a couple reserves put
their name down for the three-day commitment so it is safe to say that
the concept was well received.
Oh yeah! One more problem. What to do with the six Australians? This was
a question that England faced a few hundred years ago. Their answer was
to send all the Australians off to some large island DownUnder. They
were kind enough to name it after them. The capable admin staff, in
conjunction with the two team captains, Jack Spencer (USA) and Colin
Davis (EU) used Solomonesque wisdom and chopped ‘em in half. With the
ravishing Marlene Prudden, the dashing Brian Prudden and the Martin
Todd/Todd Martin (one is a golfer/one is a tennis player, The Scribe is
continually confused) going to the Stars and Stripes and with Chris
Stewart, Sugar Ray and Bruce McAdam going the way of “The Ring” of
Stars.
Tuesday September 5,
Khao Kheow - Yellow Tees, Greensomes
Yanks (plus Oz) 71/2 to EU (plus Oz) 41/2
The First Day started out at Khao Kheow with the USA (with Oz
accompaniment) having the better of it, winning 7 1/2 to the Europeans 4
1/2, six matches being won by the Yanks and three won by the Euros, with
three All Square.
Wednesday, September 20, Burapha - C & D - Blue Tees,
4-Person Better Ball Match Play
Yanks (plus Oz) 6 1/2 to EU (plus Oz) 5 1/2
On Day Two it was off to Burapha and its Crystal and Dune courses. The
same two-man teams that played Greensomes were maintained, but the
pairing were altered. Again the USA (with Oz accompaniment) had the
better of it, wining six and losing 5, with one All Square.
There were heroes and goats, stories of what was and what could have
been. Certainly the heroes were those teams that went 2-0, namely, the
European (with Oz accompaniment) teams of Nick Strasshine/Gareth Gill
and Chris Stewart/Sugar Ray, and the USA (with Oz accompaniment) teams
of Don Lehmer/Kevin Moraghan and Dave Shelling/Marlene Prudden.
It might as well be mentioned, ‘cause they will bring it up anyway, that
three of the six Aussies were presented in the list of heroes. The
goats, well they know who they are. But how does one categorize the EU
team of Nick Payne/Harvey Samuel? They were 0-0-2!
Friday, September 22,
Mountain Shadow - Blue Tees, Singles Match Play
EU (plus Oz) 14 to Yanks, (Plus Oz) 10
Judgment day arrived and the Society Euros were in the same position as
the Big Boy Yanks would find themselves, two days hence, four points
down. The Americans (with Oz accompaniment) took four of the first
seven. Euros down by 5 points, with 17 matches left. But no sooner had
victory for the R,W&B looked assured, then bang!, Euros come back with
five straight victories, three by 1 up! It is tied. The Colonials with
two, but the Euros come back with four. Are they gonna take it? They’re
two up. The next five, are three US victories, and two All Square. US
goes 1 up. Match 24 goes the way of the Old Country and with it 3 days
of golf, 48 matches end up level at 24-24. Are you kidding me? Talk
about kissing your sister and finding out she’s a katoey.
Totals: Yanks 24 - EU 24
So it was back to Lewiinskis’ for a sumptuous buffet and some
good-natured (well kinda good-natured) kibitzing on the play of the Big
Guys. Although the convivial occasion was not to be disrupted by the
facts, a search of the archives, encouraged by The President, re-kindled
the rum-soaked mind of The Scribe that the 2004 version of the
Lewiinski’s Ryder Cup was won by the Yanks (this time with no Aussies)
to a 131/2 to 101/2 victory. Therefore, the Yanks retain! Just like the
Euros would have if the Big Boys had have gone 8-4 on last Sunday, which
they didn’t.
Even though there is no “I” in team, the only players to contribute 3
points to their side were Gareth Gill (EU) and Dave Schelling (US).
Harvey Samuel spice up his resume with a win in the singles to end an
asterisk- ridden, undefeated 1-0-2. Nick Payne, (0-0-2) was the only
injury of the week, remarkable in this aged group. He was capably
substituted for by Mark Wood who served with distinction and made the
tandem also 1-0-2.
Who knows, when it is time for the Big Boys to play again in 2008, the
Society’s EU side may be able to have Society members from Russia,
Romania, Croatia, Turkey and Macedonia, all candidates for admission to
“The Ring” of Stars.
The sand lady strikes again
Jomtien Golf with the I.P.G.C.
Monday, September 18,
Khao Kheow Stableford
Another 20 plus turn out for our monthly visit to Khao Kheow, where we
played the C and A courses again. The front nine holes were played for all
of us as planned, until we then reached the tenth hole where we met three
3-balls, all waiting to join the order of play. So it was no surprise that
after a five and a half hour round, our disgruntled players came in
complaining they could not keep it going after all the waiting time, and the
scores said it all.
In Division 1 Derek Eastham, playing off 13 now, took the honours with 34
points. There was a count back for second place between Ben Findon and Geoff
Stubbs, both on 31, but Geoff took it with an advantage of 18/13.
Miss Nom, who was allowed the day out to play before moving into her new
house, secured first place in Div 2 with 33 points. Mike Wing and Alan
Duckett tied on 31 for the second prize, but another count back saw Mike
picking up the prize, this time with a superior 15/13 score.
We could not believe afterwards, sitting in the clubhouse discussing the
days play with that there were no Div1 nearest the pins on the 3rd and 12th
holes. The eighth hole for Div 2 was likewise unclaimed, but Russell Benson
won the only bottle of the day on the 14th. He then doubled his prize back
at the bar, by winning the ladies tipple for not scoring one Stableford
point in the first seven holes. There will be a super rollover soon for all
the missed prizes over the last two months.
The Rich Man Poor Man freshly baked pizza free meal draw, always awarded to
a non winner of the days events went to Mark Brenton.
Wednesday, September 20, Plutaluang Stableford
Only one division today, and a different format than normal, we
played for front nine, back nine and overall Stableford points for the three
prizes.
Glyn Evans won the front nine with 20 points, Bruce Lawrence also had 20 on
the back nine, and with his 37 points in total he took the overall prize as
well.
Commiserations go to Ben Findon, also finishing on 37 points, but with no
prize to show for the day on either the count back, or the two nines.
Jomtiem Golf Society meets every Monday and Wednesday at Paweenas on Soi 5
Jomtien Beach Road and departs at 9.15am for a 10.30 tee off time. Club hire
and transport are available from the bar, please sign up or contact Glyn on
068375464
Rick hits form in first game back
PSC golf from The Café Kronborg
Monday,
September 18,
Bangpra, Stableford
Bangpra Golf Resort was host to a Stableford competition in two flights, 0
to 17 & 18 upwards. The course remains in fine condition, with the monkey
cheering section stationed at the fifth Tee.
Club Handicap Secretary, Tony Oakes, took the A Flight with 39 points ahead
of the ever-present Ebrahim in second with 36 points and Ted Morris in third
with 32 points, on count back from Bill Plath. John Swanson took the B
Flight, with 37 points from Richard Kubicki in second with 36 points and
Wayne Koch in third with 34 points.
Thursday,
September 21,
Pattaya Country Club, Monthly Mug - Stroke
One of the things that has been noted in the Monthly Mug is that
the winner is usually one of the higher handicappers, and is usually someone
that we know is playing well and know can shoot a good score, net wise. On
this day, like a bolt from the blue, one of the real ‘play golf for pleasure
and practice as much as possible players’ came through.
Bjarne, left, presents the ‘Monthly Mug’ to Rick Evans.
The day started out at the Cafe Kronborg, with rain in the air. I had been
advised the day before that Pattaya Country Club was soggy and wet, and that
the bunkers were washed out and in terrible condition. This was found to be
true when I got there, so for the first time in years we declared ‘winter’
rules. I do not like this situation and only declared it as a very last
resort.
As I said, the course was sodden and the bunkers washed out, but the weather
was great, cool and just a bit of sun. Sometimes the most forbidding of days
turn out to be the best. Mind, finding a dry patch was sometimes difficult.
They say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and I played
with Bill Plath. Straight down the middle Bill, on the green, two puts and
write the Par score on the card. Being in the rough when it is wet is not
funny. With a net 66 on a day like this he had to be a shoo-in.
Back in the restaurant the scores started to come in. Quite frankly they
were much better than I expected, and this kept me amused while I kept
trying to get some food.
Scores in and back to the Cafe Kronborg. Here I have to say that Bill Plath
did not win the Mug, but he did win his Flight. Second to Bill was Wayne
Koch with a net 68 on count back from Kevin Dinan in third. In fourth was
the ubiquitous Ebrahim with a net 69 and still playing well.
And so to the winner, and in his first game for a month, having just got
back from the rig, Rick Evans shot a gross 71, his best for a long time,
which equated out to a net 63. It is nice to see such a genuine low handicap
player win an open net prize. Well done Rick and enjoy playing off 6
handicap again.
T.T.F.N.
Apple and Pairs - a winning combination
PSC golf from The Peacock
Monday, September 18, Eastern Star,
Stableford
The weather on this morning was glorious ... glorious for golf that is. A
little cloud cover was present with the promise of a dry but not too hot a
day. Our schedule had been planned for Eastern Star golf club and our group
met at The Peacock Place as usual at around 8am.
Because the numbers lent themselves to it, we decided to ring the changes
and play a four-ball better ball Stableford competition. It’s nice sometimes
to have team events. It bonds people together. In the event some very good
scores were returned and even the lower scores were by no means
unreasonable.
Apple and Eddy Blackwell picked up the first spot with 46 points and Rich
Murphy and Su Muangmatcha came second with 45 points. Great golf guys. Bob
Philp, our esteemed Captain seems to be getting into the habit of scoring
2’s and he collected two more of them with Jim Wickstrom, the pro at Eastern
Star collecting the third.
Our group returned to the Peacock at the end of play and most took the short
cut through Bangchang Village to enjoy another great buffet prepared by
Dao’s staff.
Thursday September 22, The Emerald, Stableford
The night before our Thursday outing it rained incessantly and we
took the precaution of ringing the course in the morning to confirm it was
open and ask if our less able members could still hire buggies. No problem
was the reply. I must say we were all rather skeptical as to whether the
person on the other end of the line was being less than generous with the
truth.
In the event we were pleasantly surprised and the course was dry, the greens
lightening fast and a great day was had by all.
Flight A was won by that frequent visitor to the prize podium Brian Jacks
with 38 points and second was Eddie Blackwell with 37 points. Flight B was
won by Brendan Dougal (Dougie) with 41 points and second was Apple Katchiana
with 37 points.
Nobody managed to score a ‘2’ so there will be a roll-over until the next
meeting. The buffet prepared by the chef at The Peacock Place was greatly
appreciated.
If you’re looking for a game of golf with a friendly group, join us on
Mondays and Thursdays at The Peacock Place Hotel, opposite Mabprachan
Reservoir. We leave around 9am; or call us on 087 928 7859 for more details.
Thomas finds ‘new zeal’ and wins
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral
On a heavily overcast day, Thursday, September 21, the
Pattaya Golf Society chose Sri Racha International as the venue for its
weekly Stableford event, which was also to be the month’s Order of Merit
(Stableford) round.
The field was cut at fifteen and under and the course was in good condition
with the heavy recent rains softening and greening up the fairways and
greens. The layout therefore was playing long and those in the second flight
struggled manfully to make an impression on the day’s events.
Len Jones and Tony Kitchen managed better than most and shared the win with
32 points each. The top flight saw some excellent golf with Mikael Andersson
posting his second 37 point score in two days to take second place.
But no-one could touch New Zealander David Thomas. Having just recently
returned from a trip to his native isles he has found his game reinvigorated
and this renaissance has boosted his game remarkably. So much so, that his
round here was his best ever in Thailand. Recording a gross 73 he amassed a
total of 43 points to savage the rest of the field. But it could have been
even better as three or four putts from within a yard all lipped out! It was
an incredible performance and one he will remember for a long while.
There was only one birdie “two” and Mikael Andersson accepted the bulging
rolled-over pot with joy. For visitor Steve Chapman however the day was
memorable for another reason. Playing off twelve he found his first round in
the Kingdom a disaster and the thirteen points he scored almost matched the
number of beers he had consumed the evening before, and which were the cause
of his downfall. For David Thomas however the celebrations were just
beginning.
Editors Note: We apologise that due to technical reasons we were
unable to publish Tuesday’s report from the OK Corral this week.
Demon Derek dominates at Sri Racha
PSC Golf from the Bowling Green
Winners (L-R): Saturday – Gordon & Derek, Thursday
– Tom, Derek, Mike & Tewin, Tuesday – Tewin & Phil.
Saturday, September 16, Sri Racha, Stableford
A Flight:
1st Derek Eastham (16), 45 pts
2nd Mashi Kaneta (15), 35 pts
3rd Marcus Mattsson (18), 34 pts – c/b Bob St. Aubin)
B Flight:
1st Gordon Everingham (23), 45 pts
2nd Mark Brenton (36), 44 pts
3rd Mark Reuben (23), 41 pts
Derek Eastham decided that this was the day he would set his own personal
best at Sri Racha and went ahead and shot an outstanding gross 79, his first
ever score in the 70s. Thank goodness Derek is not always a man of his word!
He had stated that he would quit when he reached the magic 70s’. Derek we
are happy that you decided to keep on playing and we were all happy to see
that you set your new personal best.
To show his pleasure and happiness Derek treated all the golfers to a very
welcomed round of drinks. Cheers Derek. Matching Derek on 45 points was
Gordon Everingham, which was also a personal best for Gordon.
Closest to the pins were won by Marcus Mattsson, Derek Eastham (2) and
Gordon Everingham
There were no 2s this week so carried over to next Saturday.
The now infamous yellow hat was won by John Dennis, hope you wear with pride
and try to pass it on Tuesday. Reg and staff again put on a great meal and
we all enjoyed a beer or two on our return.
Tuesday,September 18,The Emerald, Stableford
A Flight:
1st Phil Dwyer (18), 35 pts
2nd Fergus Brennan (13), 34 pts – c/b
3rd Nile Sheehan (15), 34 pts
B Flight
1st Tewin Lamthong (29), 37 pts
2nd Peter Harris (22), 33 pts
3rd Nigel Cannon (23), 29 pts – c/b Reg Rawding
Phil and Tewin both had good games, as the Emerald played hard for us and
only one player managed to break par for the day. We were a little
disappointed at the new green fees. They are charging top rates for a course
that still cannot boast first class facilities. It might be a while till we
return.
Closest to the pins were won by Tewin Lamthong, Bob St.Aubin, Frank Kelly
and Phil Dwyer.
No 2s this week so carried over to next Tuesday.
John Dennis won the now infamous yellow hat yet again. Try to pass it on
Thursday John.
It was also good to see our host Reg Rawding joining us for a game and we
all appreciated his presence and look forward to many more games with him
Thursday,September 21,Phoenix Country Club, Stableford
1st Tewin Lamthong (29), 41 pts
2nd Tom Herringhton (17), 39 pts
3rd Derek Eastham (13), 35 pts
4th Mike Withers (16), 32 pts – c/b
Thai Tigress Tewin played another stellar game today and came in with a very
well played 41 pts, beating Tom by just 2 pts. Both had to be on their game
to have these scores as Phoenix was in great condition, the fairways were
lush and the greens were all in grand shape. Nice to see after all the rain
we have had recently.
Closest to the pins were won by Mike Withers, Bob St.Aubin, Tom Herrington
and Gordon Everingham.
This was the third Thursday for a carry over pot in the 2’s and ‘Slim’ Derek
Eastman managed to take it with an incredible 40-foot chip from off the
green. Way to go Derek!
The yellow hat was passed on today from John Dennis to Dennis Stepura ...
well earned I may say. Wear it with pride Dennis.
Reg today had a great new pasta dish waiting for us when we got back. The
Bowling Green is always giving us the best in food and service. Thanks to
the serving staff and cooks.
If any one is interested in golfing with the Bowling Green we play every
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We meet at Bowling Green at 7.45am for
breakfast and transportation, and new players are always made to feel
welcome. Call Reg on 087-136-5681
Derek battles the monkeys and the field,
and still prevails
PSC golf from Tropical Berts
Tuesday, September 19, Bangpra, Stableford
This is a great course, one of the first to be built here and it has had
plenty of time to mature, plus the wildlife on the course is probably as
good as any, if a little annoying at times.
Today we all gathered at Bert’s for breakfast and noticed that Tim was
missing. He had slipped back to U.K. to sort out a new visa.
When we got to Bangpra the course was found to be in pretty good condition;
space could be found either side of the casual water and plugged balls could
usually be found. Despite this, the greens were difficult, as usual, and if
you got on the wrong side of the hole you could be made to look a fool.
One thing that was noticeable was the fact that the monkeys are back in
large numbers. This can be a problem as you have to leave someone to protect
the bags. Despite all precautions the monkeys still managed to out maneuver
the watchers. Clever devils!
Some of the winners of late have been cut, manually, so for them to win they
would have to have a top round, and in fact on the day one of the usual
suspects had a great fight with Eric O’Brien and the result would go to
count back.
Back at Bert’s the food was ready and the results were announced. As
previously mentioned, the winner was decided on count back and in an
exciting tussle between Derek Brook and Eric, the former just managed to
hold out and now is favourite for the Alan Bolton Monthly Winner’s award.
Perhaps the result of the day was Chris Youngman who came in third. Never
before has Chris played to his handicap, but on this day and for the first
time, he shot 36 points. Now whilst this may not be outstanding for a 36
handicapper, it only proves that if you stick at something you can improve.
This single handicap fisherman, may be a 36 handicap golfer but watch this
space T.T.F.N.
The Square Ring
by Howie Reed
‘What’s that Noi? Jeeves on the phone? Well yes
Jeeves nice to hear from you. You’re at the TQ with Monkey House? Of
course I forgot it’s Tuesday night, which means ‘Old Geezers on the
prowl night’. I see, of course you’re welcome to return to work. Your
room? Well there does seem to be a slight problem there. Noi, Toy and
son/brother staged a coup d’etat while you were gone and moved in lock,
stock and barrel. Told me you approved. They what? Oh, they were
supposed to wait till you returned, I see. Well no Jeeves you just can’t
come back. We have to be democratic about this. We’ll have a vote. Mmm,
ok, Noi, I’m afraid that you may have to vacate Jeeves’ room. What?
You’ve found an England man, will get married and be going to England?
Oh, and you’re taking your Mom and son with you. I though he was your
brother?’ “Yes, This Is Thailand”’
The ‘King of Second Road’, professional boxer Dave Stewart gets back in
the old square circle on October 20 at the York Hall, Bethnal Green. The
problem is that he’s not sure who he’ll be boxing that night: “Don’t
know how many rounds it’ll be or what kind of fight. A 10-rounder or
some kind of eliminator would be nice but I’ll just have to wait and
see.”
This will be Stewart’s first fight since he lost to stable mate Lee
Meager in May. A loss is a loss is a loss. Dave’s 18-1 with a heck of a
lot more upside than down. Stay tuned.
While Jeeves was out sowing his wild oats, The Lord of the Manor was at
it 24/7. Pattaya boxing expert O.R. Cross checked in on the
Barrera-Juarez dance. He called Barrera’s win a tactical achievement.
The 10,000 plus in attendance called it ‘boring’.
Following this fight, O.R asked if I knew any fight commentators better
than Dave Bomtempo and Bob Sheridan? They aren’t my pint of lager but I
admit they’re very good. I prefer Barry Tompkins, Tim Ryan, Al Michaels
and former NFL great, Benny “I Keek a Touchdown” Ricardo.
O.R. had a couple more questions that come up whenever boxing folk watch
a fight or get together to watch ‘nekked’ ladies do what ‘nekked’ ladies
do.
“How is the decision made whether or not a fight has the three knockdown
rule, the standing eight count and the saved by the bell scenario?”
This all depends on what rules the local commission uses. Rules differ
slightly from state to state. Some commissions use the Unified Rules,
which were adopted by the Association of Boxing Commissioners. Unified
Rules have a three knockdown clause. Unified and New York have a
standing 8 and Nevada doesn’t. The same with the “saved by the bell”
scenario, except that most have a rule that you cannot be saved at the
end of any round. There are some exceptions that exclude the “final
round of a bout” from the saved by the bell rule.
I could and have argued both sides. I personally feel that you should be
saved by the bell in the last round as the fight’s already over. By not
allowing the bell to save a fighter, especially in a 12 round fight,
you’ve now changed the rules for the fight to be 12 rounds and 5
seconds. Others will argue that a fighter should be saved in NO round
because the damage was done before the bell rang.
O.R’s. final question was, “how are the judges paid and who foots the
airfare if they come to Las Vegas from Thailand or some other far away
land?”
Depends. Usually, (99% of the time), the judges are appointed by the
sanctioning organization which means either the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF or
some other organization with the approval of the local commission. In
most cases the judges are paid by the promoter for air travel, lodging
and many times “incidentals.”
Some promoters, (i.e. Don King) sometime get favorable treatment from
judges because they, the judges, are treated very good at a Don King
promotion. The sanctioning organization sets the price, (usually).
For instance let’s say that my pal Tony Castillano gets a fight in
Japan. He gets air fare for him and his wife, three days lodging in
Japan, $4,000 for judging the fight and the promoter in Japan may have
him and his wife judge a couple of other fights while he’s there for
extra money.
German gigs are the big payers, as the promoters there always have a
“little something extra” for the judges ... in cash!
The WBC and WBA usually use judges who they deem “good”. The same is
usually true for referees. That’s why sanctioning organizations’
conventions are always filled with judges and referees. Good time for
placing lips on the backside
With all that’s going on in the Kingdom at the moment, not really sure
if Somsak Sithchatchawal (46-1-1) will defend his WBA jr. flyweight
title against Celestino Caballero (24-2) on Wednesday in Bangkok. This
will be Sithchatchawal’s first defense of the crown he won with a 10
round TKO over Mahuar Monshipour last March in France. How good is
Somsak? Since 1998 he is 36-0-1. Not too Chablis. Odds are good for the
fight actually taking place as last Friday, super bantamweight Fahsung 3
K Battery (54-8-1) KO’d Sherwyn Manatad (3-15) of the Philippines in
seven. Of course he should have. About 3 K one could and will write,
“he’s fought and lost to some of the best ... including Manny Pacquiao
in 2004.”
One of the true underrated boxers is IBF middleweight champ Arthur
Abraham who made it 22 wins on the trot with a 12 round UD (114-109,
115-109, 116-109) over Edison Miranda (26-1) last Sunday morning in
Wetzlar Germany. American Referee and former heavyweight contender Randy
Neuman had his hands full in what was called, “an unbelievably vicious
fight.”
For instance in the 5th, Miranda landed a crushing punch, breaking
Abraham’s jaw and then later in the same round landed an “intentional
head butt”, causing blood to shoot from the champ’s mouth like Old
Faithful. The ring doctor ruled that because of the bleeding Abraham
couldn’t continue. However, referee Randy Neumann ruled that the cut was
not caused by the head butt and that Abraham had to continue the fight
or lose by TKO.
Bleeding heavily, Abraham chose to continue to fight. At various times
in the latter rounds it looked like Neuman was going to stop the
contest. In the 11th Miranda landed yet another low blow and lost a
point after previously losing 2 points in round 7. Hell of a Pier 9ers
in the Land of Brats, Beer and Bodacious Ta Ta’s.
Meanwhile in Hidalgo, Texas, Jorge Arce (45-3-1) served notice that the
115lb weight class will be his. He had no trouble dispatching Hawk
Makepula, (28-5) at the 1-minute mark of the 4th round. Arce, called the
‘Mexican Cowboy’, was strong from the opening bell, scoring the first of
two knockdowns in the 3rd round. The second dispatch to the canvas,
early in round 4 convinced referee Vic Drakulich that the fight should
be stopped.
For Jorge Arce that’s his 8th straight KO and might set up a fight with
WBC super fly champ Masamori Tokuyama.
“Jeeves? JEEVES? Where has he gone now? Whoops here’s a note: ‘Your
Lordship - feeling a little peaked. Have taken to my bed for the night.
Beer in fridge, cigar in humidor and dinner in the over. I must have
gotten a touch of something while I was visiting Mr. Brook at the Island
Lager Bar in Patong.’”
I’ll bet he did.
Match-play resumes at The Bowling Green
Freak wind frightens the life out of Friday league players
by Barry Hooper
League play in division two on Friday was briefly disrupted by a freak
tornado style gust of wind which suddenly arose around the green and
resulted in toppling the large pylon that carries one set of the night
play lighting and the advertising signs for the club.
A freak wind toppled the
Bowling Green lighting pylon
Fortunately
serious damage to either people or property was averted by the presence
of a large tree and the gate to the club where the pylon ended up
precariously balanced.
I am very happy to report that full match play has now resumed at the
Bowling Green.
It has been a very frustrating few weeks for both the regular and casual
bowlers and the management alike, during the time that the green has
been out of action.
But as previously reported the programme of work to upgrade the green
which is now in phase two has taken much longer than originally planned
but as they say, “Rome was not built in a day.”
The management wishes to offer its sincere thanks for the patience of
the players.
Here is an up to date Report on the two divisions of “Lawn Bowls”
Match Results week 22nd September and top three positions of each league
are as follows:
Division 1
1. Dream Team 14 (79)
2. Sweethearts 12 (74)
3. Cunning Stunts 10 (42)
Results: Dream Team 17 - 16 Cunning Stunts, Sweethearts 17 - 12
HMP Slade, Chaplins 19 - 10 Eagles, Pot Hunters - Irish Eyes DNP
Division 2
1. West Eagles 12 (69)
2. Golfers 10 (27)
3. Yingyangs 9 (66)
Results: West Eagles 28 - 9Celtic Warriors, Thanidas 12 - 12
Yingyangs, Georges Boys 16 - 11Pacesetters, Cyclones - Golfers DNP
Domicil moves into a tie for first
Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League
200 Bowlers - Dang, Nok, La,
Ooy, Barry, Somrak and Nual.
Domicil took three points from Shenanigans and moved
into a tie for first with Café Kronborg who only managed to win two
points from Café Ole. VFW Post 9876 is tied for third place as they won
two points from Three Sisters. Montana won three points from Jack & Tar
and Mai’s Thai Restaurant got three from House of the Golden Coin.
Diamond Shop split their match with Brother D with each team getting two
points.
|
League Table (week 2)
|
|
Team
|
Points |
Standings |
|
Café Kronborg
|
2 - 2 |
6 - 2 |
|
Domicil
|
3 - 1 |
6 - 2 |
|
VFW Post 9876
|
2 - 2 |
5 - 3 |
|
Montana
|
3 - 1 |
5 - 3 |
|
House of the Golden Coin
|
1 - 3 |
4 - 4 |
|
Mai’s Thai Restaurant
|
3 - 1 |
4 - 4 |
|
Shenanigans
|
1 - 3 |
4 - 4 |
|
Brother D
|
2 - 2 |
4 - 4 |
|
Café Ole
|
2 - 2 |
3 - 5 |
|
Diamond Shop
|
2 - 2 |
3 - 5 |
|
Three Sisters
|
2 - 2 |
3 - 5 |
|
Jack & Tar
|
1 - 3 |
1 - 7 |
|
