Mashi fires top round at Treasure Hill

PSC golf from The Bunker

Monday, January 15, Treasure Hill, Stableford
The first Stableford competition of the week was played at Treasure Hill and we saw Mashi Kaneta win the A Flight with 37 points, which was the best score of the day ahead of Bernie Stevens 35 points and Tony Scambler 33 points.

Mashi Kaneta - A Flight winner at Treasure Hill.

In the B Flight there was a tie for third place between Mick Ramshaw and Dave Keats, both players scoring 29 points each, in second place came big Dougy Landsborough with 31 points and the winner with 32 points was Jack Robinson.
Jan Van Spellen and PJ Redmond won a near pin prize and Bernie Stevens won the other two to make it a profitable day for him.
Wednesday, January 17, Bang Pakong, Medal
A smaller field than normal made the relatively long journey to Bang Pakong for a Medal competition and with just a single flight, Alan Sullivan took the honours coming into the clubhouse with a two-under par net 70, ahead of Geoff Parker one shot back on net 71. Third place went to Jim Treen a further shot back with a level par net 72.
Geoff Parker won one of the near pin prizes along with Geoff Hart, Tony Scambler and Jan Van Spellen.
Friday, January 19, Plutaluang, Stableford
Cancelled due to over booking.

John Teague wins twice

IPGC golf the Haven

Monday, January 15, The Emerald, Stableford
Division 1
1st Kenny Moss, 39pts
2nd Rainer Helling, 35pts
3rd Peter Tucker, 34pts
Division 2
1st John Teague, 35pts
2nd Roar Berger, 33pts
3rd Samantha Taylor, 31pts
It is not often that Kenny Moss is found on the podium, but on this day he eclipsed the First Division with an outstanding round of three-under to easily take the top spot ahead of Rainer Helling who was four shots further back.
It was also Rainer’s first visit to the podium this trip and he now looks forward to better things in the near future. Peter Tucker, always steady, took third place.
In the Second Division John Teague didn’t manage to equal his handicap, but his round proved good enough to lead the rest of the hopefuls by a couple from Roar Berger, with Samantha Taylor another two further back.
Alan Hanlon had the only ‘2’ in the First Division whilst Lynn Ward, Brian Kelly and Roar Berger shared the Second Division pot.
Before presenting the prizes Richard Livingston, the resident PGA teaching professional, welcomed back Sakari Finne, Walt Straub together with Kevin and Samantha Taylor.
Wednesday, January 17, Mountain Shadow, 2-Person Scramble - Stableford
1st Alan Keith & Alan Hanlon 46 cb 22 cb6 17
2nd John Teague & Tony Quaid 46 cb 22 cb6 14
3rd Derrick Ball & Cliff Hornsby 45
4th Russell Exley & Alan Griffiths 44
Twenty teams of two teed up at the notoriously difficult Mountain Shadow on Wednesday. This course, it seems, was built for 15 handicappers and below and whilst it is certainly not too challenging on the length, the greens are perhaps the trickiest in the area with sometimes several levels to negotiate.
It was therefore somewhat surprising to find two teams at ten-under, after handicap, with the two Alans taking the honours with a gross 68, which netted them 46 points and included a splendid 17 on the back 6. It was enough to relegate John and Tony into second place.
Derrick and Cliff introduced themselves to each other on the first tee but gelled so well that they were only a shot off the leaders in third ahead of the dynamic duo of Russell and Alan.
With each team playing from an allowance of 40% of their combined handicaps, and having to play at least 7 tee shots each, the scoring was very commendable with 70 % of the teams finishing within 5 strokes of the winners.
The 2’s competitions were suspended due to the format of the day.
In the absence of Richard, “The Doc” stood in or rather crouched in at the presentation. He was still recovering from playing for the first time for several months and was a little stiff for which Lumyai was no doubt grateful later in the evening.
Between groans he welcomed new members Derek Ball, Jeppe Jensen and Robert McCarthy and also welcomed back Sakari Finne, Brian Wilkinson, Claus Nielsen and Jens Nilsson, after which he slumped into a corner dreaming of easier times.
Friday, January 19, Crystal Bay, Stableford
Division 1
1st Jack Spencer 39pts - c/b 23
2nd Tony Barritt 39pts - c/b 22, 1 3
3rd Alan Hanlon 39pts - c/b 22, 1 2
Division 2
1st John Teague 42pts
2nd Alan Griffiths 40pts
3rd Roar Berger 34pts
Jack Spencer made another lightning raid to claim the First Division spoils with a terrific countback of 23 points after a fairly mediocre front nine. This was to the disappointment of Tony Barritt, who thought three-under and 22 on the back would be good enough to clean up, on a day when all his usual wagering chums were having a days rest. In the event he only just pipped the in-form, Alan Hanlon on count back on the last hole, for second place.
John Teague, with a marvelous six-under, was again at the top of his division for the second time in the week and was left ruing the narrow defeat on Wednesday that caused him to miss out on the three wins in the week.
Alan Griffiths was as surprised as Tony to find that his score was not quite good enough and had to be content with second place, some six ahead of Roar Berger in third spot.
In the First Division Chris Voller and Jack Spencer shared the 2’s pool whilst Walt Straub and Mike Maw did so in the Second Division.
Back at the Haven, Richard, now happily recovered, welcomed new member Ivan Poulsen and also welcomed back Steen and Birthe Ostergaard, Peter Cerny, Vic Barton, Mike Maw, and Ole Svenningsen.

Nigel & Doug - 2-ball masters

PSC golf from The Peacock Place Hotel

Monday, January 15, Bangpra, Stableford
Bangpra Golf Club is my favourite venue and that’s where we were booked to play on Monday 15th January. There had been talk a month or so ago of them closing half of the course for renovation but apparently they have decided now to reschedule the work for later in the year during the low season.

Better-ball stroke winners Nigel Cannon and Doug Chalkley celebrate with Captain Bob (center).

The only start time we could get, when we booked it, was 11.42am and that made for a very long day, however the course was in nice condition and the greens as always lightening fast: downhill puts particularly were a nightmare and required a touch like a feather.
We had twenty six players in the field which we split into two flights. A flight (0 to 13) was won by ‘Tiger’ Vinai Jumpornit (that’s why we call him Tiger), with a resounding 40 points. Second with 37 points was J.J. Harvey on a count-back from Bob Wighton.
The B flight was won by David Evans with 38 points, with Harvey Samuel second 34 points and in third place was Matt Anderson with 33 points.
David Evans, Bob Wighton and Nick Collins all recorded 2’s.
Wednesday,
January 17,
Eastern Star,
Better-Ball Stroke
On Wednesday we played at Eastern Star and with the numbers standing at 27, Captain Bob announced that we would play a better-ball stroke play competition. “What about the three-ball group?” somebody asked. The lower handicap player in the group would have two games going was the prompt reply.
The greens were not at their best and the course is in urgent need of watering, thus the fairways were also a little fiery.
In spite of this, the winners of the competition, Nigel Cannon and Doug Chalkley managed a magnificent net 61. They were streets ahead of the next pairing which was David Evans and Marty Allred who managed a net 66, closely followed by Dave Maynard and Marty Allred one shot further back. Yes you guessed it; Marty and the two Davids were the three-ball.
Only one ‘2’ was recorded and that was by Frank Frawley at the third hole.
A bottle of scotch was donated by Frank Waterhouse, better known as Paco for nearest the pin at the thirteenth hole. Paco said he wanted to thank The Peacock Place GS for its kindness to him during his stay in Pattaya. Bob Wighton picked up this prize.
Come and join us if you would like a game of golf with a friendly society. We meet on Mondays and Wednesdays and our schedule appears in The Pattaya Mail. If you would like further information, telephone David on 087 928 7859 or Bob on 087 941 2474.

Benda on form at Pattaya Country Club

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

The year started with Joe St. Laurent wining the first comp of 2007 with 37 points. Bob Benda was just on his heels with 36pts and Sus Ige following with 35pts. With the cool weather in place it was great to be out on the course.
The second week, January 9, found Bob Benda coming out on top with 42 big points. He was warned that the axe was out for the chop. Sus was again up there with 40 points - it seemed that this week was easier than the previous one as the scores had improved.
January 16, the scores tumbled again as the hangovers set in. Paul Kraft managed 34 points to win the day as 4 others came in with 33 points; namely Bill Key, Bill Gibson, Herb Ishinaga, and Sus Ige. Sus took a no count on the last hole to blow his chances.
Now for the good news - The Three Sisters will be changing their golfing venue in March. Arrangements have been made at Siam Country Club to have our first tournament there on Tuesday, March 6th (Monday is a holiday). We will thereafter switch back to Mondays. The course is looking great!

Elder cops a double at Plutaluang

Jomtien Golf with the I.P.G.C.

Monday, January 15, Plutaluang, Stableford
There was a five-game rollover in the 2’s today for the Second Division, and even with a capped prize it was still worth winning. Pete Elder’s birdie on the elevated 5th hole on the East course was the only one recorded which started a rewarding day for him. John Mcloone and Joop Medze both had 2’s in the First Division.
Amazingly, with eight players under a sixteen handicap, there was only one bottle won today for the nearest the pins in both divisions and we were all still baffled back at the bar later, as to the handicap ratings on the two par threes on the south course; the 146yd 4th hole has a rating of 13 while the 7th, a 207yd drive rates as 15.
Pete Elder’s fine day continued and his 38 points gave him first place in Division Two. Jim Connelly and Ben Findon both scored 33 points with Ben edging the count back for second. John Mcloones booked himself an appointment with the handicap man with his 41 points, the highest score for some time, which took top position in the premier flight. Joop Medze’s 39 points gave him second spot.
Wednesday,
January 17,
Pattaya Country Club, Stableford
There were only 24 starters today on a very dry and bone hard golf course.
Paddy Wilson, John McLoone and Glyn Evans won ‘near pin’ bottles whilst Paddy’s birdie on the fifth was also the only ‘2’ recorded on the day.
Gradually improving over the past few months, the sand lady, Miss Nom won the Second Division with 36 points. She was closely followed by the ‘Windmills’ Alan Duckett, one point in arrears.
Bruce Lee’s 35 points also recorded a runner up prize, but with 36 points, the sandbagger himself, John McLoone took first prize in the top flight.
Friday, January 19, Eastern Star, Stableford
The newly formed ‘Star Society’, who meet every Friday, teed off on a very busy Eastern Star course. It was a no frills day, just two divisions fighting for the highest Stableford points.
Rick Newman’s 37 points had the heads turning, especially if you had played with him. We haven’t seen golf like that for a long time. The sand lady’s old man, Ken Foster came in second one point behind.
Paddy Wilson’s 37 points took first place in Division Two, while Benny finished second on 36 points.
The Jomtien Golf Society meets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around 9.00am at Paweenas Bar, Soi 5, Jomtien Beach Rd. for a tee off time of 10.30. Transport can be arranged, please just sign up in the bar or ring Glyn on 086 837 5464.

The mouse roars at Treasure Hill

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral

Thursday, January 18, the Pattaya Golf Society chose Treasure Hill as the venue for its monthly golfing diversion, in the form of a four-person scramble. The tournament was to be slightly different as the society is experimenting with a number of different formulae in an effort to find the ultimate team handicapping system.
A system popular in Canada was chosen for this event and the nine teams looked forward to trying things out, albeit on the beastly track at Treasure Hill. This surely would be a test of “equity”.
As usual all participants enjoyed the event and by the end of a very long day, due to an excessively slow five-ball in front, the competition closed with the team of Ian Hart, John Wassall, Steve Cranston and Keith Barr coming third after a creditable performance in which they put together a score of net 57.8. One full shot ahead was the blend of experience and wisdom in the shape of Uwe Schroder, John Mason, Jim Proctor and Denis Smith, who, on the day, had shown a perfect gel.
The winning team, bearing the day’s highest handicap, was the highly unfancied trio of Len Jones, Ray Underwood and Carl Lovatt who had somehow found themselves augmented by the current scourge of the PGS, Andy Parkinson. This combination of “duffers” and “devastation” proved to be too much and they ran away with the win recording a score of net 55.6.
The best team gross of the day, a fine 67, was recorded by John Cunningham, David Thomas, Chris Voller and Rob Dolan and they were unlucky to find themselves only 0.2 of a shot off the podium. Four teams managed birdie 2’s and the sight of the two gentle giants, Bob Martin and Liam Horgan trying to share a buggy was one of the more amusing cameos of the day.
But their 520lbs of finely honed athleticism being shoe-horned into a chariot was eclipsed by the duo of Syd Harrison and Lloyd Lewis, who bravely entered the event at the last minute, desperate for a round of golf and played as a pair against all odds. This was the true spirit of golf and their consolation was the ‘Booby Bevy’.
The day and the experiment had been a success and all are eagerly anticipating the next scramble in a few weeks time.

Barry Quirk wins at Plutaluang

PSC golf from the Oohsa Bar

A large group of well-fed, happy golfers left Oohsa Bar on Tues Jan 16 to do battle at Plutaluang Golf Course.
With the weather beginning to warm up again, we found the course to be in excellent condition with the greens slick and the fairways good as usual. All those playing found it to be a real test of golfing ability, with the course generally coming out on top.
Barry Quirk came in first with a score of 36 points off h/cap 16, followed by Ed Horrocks 33 (31), Roger Yabsley 31 (16), Terry Morris 30 (14), Jeff Wylie 30 (7) and in sixth place Pal Smylie with 29 off h/cap of 24.
Our ‘nearest the pin’ winners were Keith Hodges, Jeff Moodie, Jeff Wylie and Roger Yabsley. The ‘long putt’ award went to Ed Horrocks. Another great game of killer pool was won by Rich Murpy which rounded the day off nicely.
The next trip will be to Century, Chonburi and all those wishing to join us should call Keith Hodges on 087 916 7171 or call into the Oohsa Bar on Soi Kao Talo where you will be made welcome.

Rainer & Joel triumph at Eastern Star

PSC golf form Tropical Berts’

Tuesday,
January 17,
Eastern Star
Just another day in Paradise, that was until the calls started to come in from those too sick to get out of bed, for them it was the other place.
Still for the rest it was business as usual, and we were soon down at Eastern Star, all booked in and stood on the first tee and ready to go. The groups ahead were slow for the first nine holes and then got a move on, and we were able to get around in just over 4 hours.
As said in previous reports, the course is in fine condition, but on this day the greens had not been cut and thus the puts were very slow. It was also noticed that the bunkers were not raked correctly, and if you got in one you had hard work getting out.
Apart from that, a fine day out on a fine golf course with good changing rooms and a fine restaurant to boot. Well worth a visit.
Then back to Bert’s, where the scores on the doors were totaled and we discovered only one player had managed to break his handicap. So the winner of the A Div, (0-17), was Rainer Helling with Perry McNeely in second, Robin Lennon in third and Rick Evans in fourth. In the B Div the winner was Joel Flor with Bill Knight in second, Steve Gassaux in third and Charlie Shepard in fourth.
TTFN.
Near Pin: Koji Yamada, Dick Warberg, Frank Pilkington, Vincent Smyth, Colin Bavington, Steve Gassaux, John Allcock.
Long Putt: Robin Lennon, Hans Collett, John Allcock.

Another year - just another ‘Mug’ for Mark

PSC golf from the Café Kronborg

Monday, January 15,
Royal Lakeside, Stroke
With the Admiral in dry dock for another week getting his sea legs back, it was once again the job of the ‘stand ins’ to keep everything shipshape for this Mondays competition.

Dave (left) presents the Monthly Mug to Mark Brunton.

After a ‘minor’ unplanned detour, we arrived at Royal Lakeside, and what an excellent layout this course is. The fine condition of the greens and fairways makes it well worth the extra traveling.
With the added pressure of stroke play taking its toll, the scoring in general was not spectacular but with one notable exception, as Rolf Hoffman produced a sizzling 64 net to take the ‘B’ flight by five clear shots. Koji Yamada (69 net) came in second place on count back from Einer Utoft (69 net) in third and the consistent Jan Lovgreen (71 net) taking fourth.
The ‘A’ flight was a somewhat closer affair with Johan Reynisson’s creditable 69 net turning out to be good enough to take the honors from Steinder Eidson in second place with a net 70 and Jerry Kurtz just taking third place on count back from Erik Hanson in fourth, both carding net 71’s.
Longest Putts: #9 Jan Lovgreen, #18 Rob Brown.
Near Pins: #3 John Thornber, #6 Bob Nelson, #12 Brian Wilkinson, #15 Jerry Kutz.
Thursday, January 18, Pattaya Country Club, ‘Monthly Mug’ (Stroke)
It’s that day again, comes around every month and is looked forward to by all the players at The Cafe Kronborg. So on this day the list was full and we had a large number of golfers climbing aboard the buses for the short trip to the course.
Onto the first tee, and off we went into a stiff breeze. Suffice to say the course was dry and hard, a ball in a bunker meant it was in a hole and the rough was really ‘rough’.
So did we have a bad day? No way. Despite the aforementioned problems, we moved around pretty well and most of the players quite like the course, so a good day was had by most.
Back at the Kronborg, much later, the players gathered to hear the results. In the A Flight (0-19), the winner with a net 68 was Frank Pilkington, ahead of in second Lars Peterson with a net 69. In third was Oddur Olfsson with a net 70 and in fourth was Derek Brook with a net 71.
In the B Flight (20-up), the winner was Wayne Koch with a fine net 66, ahead of Arthur Bailey in second on count back; Jay Perrin in third with a net 70 and in fourth was Einar Utoft with a net 71.
So to the winner of the first Monthly Mug for 2007, and it turned out to be the last winner of 2006. With a net 65 the delighted recipient of the award, for the second month in a row was Mark Brunton.
TTFN.
Near Pin: Kevin Dinan, Saku Hartikainen, Oddur Olafsson, Jay Perrin.
Long Put: Bert Mjoenerup, Mike Winfield.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

‘Jeeves, I want you to make a note that the next time the Lord of Pattaya is in residence - that would be Stefan Lord the aging darts champion - ask him what the heck is going on with Sweden’s attempt to get back professional boxing.’
The country had banned boxing some 36 years ago but geared itself up for a return this weekend. The headliner was supposed to be former world champion Armand Krajnc (29-3), but that’s now gone by the wayside.
Krajn was born in Sweden but fought all of his professional fights in either Germany or Denmark. His last bout was against Sven Ottke for the IBF and WBA Super middleweight title. Krajnc lost a lopsided decision (120-110, 120-108, 119-109). Ottke retired after the fight and now Krajnc has also.
The Swedish boxing Board spokesman Bjorn Rosengren said: “We were forced to take this decision due to the medical background of Armand, although we would have loved to have him perform in a Swedish ring as we have waited more than 30 years for this moment, and nothing would have been nicer than to have him on the card, but our backs were against the wall.”
With Krajnc out, the card will now feature Swedish female super-middle Asa Sandell (4-3-1, 2 KOs) against 30-year-old Scroller Carrington (7-2-1, 4 KOs) of Trinidad & Tobago. Also on the card from the The Scandanavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden is Giovanni Alvarez (15-2) vs. Christian Leal (13-3-2) and Johan Thorbjornsson (11-1) vs. Daniil Peretyatko (6-5).
‘Your Lordship, the news from America is that Mike Tyson has been indicted by the Arizona Grand Jury on two counts of drug possession and two counts of driving under the influence of drugs. The prosecutor has gone on record as saying that he’ll try and put Tyson behind bars. If the prosecutor is successful Tyson will spend 7 and one-half years behind bars with the Old Nick.
‘I know your Lordship how you are always having a go at the referees and judges but you actually may have been correct once. I remember you called American referee Laurence Cole “The Clown.” Well, he’s got himself in a right smart spot. He’s been suspended by the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulations for three months and must pay a $500 dollar fine.
‘I recall you mentioned that during the Juan Manuel Marquez-Jimrex Jaca fight, Cole told Marquez that he was ahead after a head butt opened a cut on his head. If Marquez had not wanted to continue, the bout would have gone to the scorecards and Marquez knowing he was ahead really had no reason to fight on. Marquez ignored Cole, fought on and KO’d Jaca. My Lord you are vindicated.’
‘You should have mentioned Jeeves that Laurence’s daddy, Dickie, is the top boxing official in Texas. If it weren’t for Daddy, Laurence would have to learn to say, “Would you like that super sized” to make a living.’
One that has been very successful in boxing is Floyd Mayweather Sr. who had a professional career that spanned 16 years. While a title eluded him, he did have 29 wins against 6 loses and 1 draw. It’s as a trainer, however, that he’s “made his bones.” Anyone that has ever engaged Floyd Sr. socially knows it’s possible to spend an hour in his company and not have a clue as to what he’s talking about. His speech is as rapid as his hands were in the ring.
Recently he’s been in the news as the trainer of Oscar De La Hoya among others. It’s been reported that Floyd always maintained that he would never train Oscar against his son Floyd Jr. With money on the line, however, he’s now changed his tune. He wants $2 million dollars to train Oscar for the May 5th encounter.
“I told him my figure and he said he’d get back to me,” Mayweather Sr. told USA Today. “I haven’t heard from him yet, but soon it’s going to be time to step up or step off.” Floyd Sr. also stated: “What I’m asking for is nowhere near what he’s going to make. There’s too much money for me to take chits and bits.”
Chances of Floyd Sr. getting $2 million? Try slim and none. Another case of “don’t call us we’ll call you.”
Tickets for De La Hoya-Mayweather Jr. start at $150 and go up to $2,000. This scale of pricing could bring in $18 million, which would smash the Nevada on site record of $16.8 million from Lewis vs. Holyfield II in 1999. Only 3, 000 seats will be available for sale to the general public as the casinos and sponsors have got the other 15,000 in their own pockets. The pay-per-view will be gigantic.
Ricky “the Hitman” Hatton (42-0) made his debut in Las Vegas a winning effort with a relative easy 119-109 win on all cards over Juan Urango (17-1-1). The Square Ring had it 118-111 for Hatton on the theory that if you show up you should win two rounds ‘just because’.
Urango showed some signs in the 5th of being in the fight when he unleashed a good body attack to win the round. That was really his only show of life, as he was out quickened, out punched and out scored.
Hatton wasn’t as impressive as he might have been though. One excuse for this is the new Nevada State Commission rule that all fighters above 136 pounds have to use 10-ounce gloves. It’s a safety measure that probably does nothing but makes the Commission think it’s doing something about safety.
In the co- feature, Jose Luis Castillo (55-7-1) got a majority decision over unknown Herman Ngoudjo (15-1) to set up a Hatton fight this summer. Two judges had it 115-113 for Castillo while Judge Chuck Giampa (115-113) and the Square Ring (116-114) actually watched the fight and scored it for Ngoudjo. With 63 fights under his belt Castillo may be headed down hill - fast. If Hatton-Castillo takes place in Nevada, the 10-ounce gloves will definitely affect the power of Castillo.
At the St. Jakob Halle in Basel, Switzerland, Nikolai Valuev improved his record to 46-0 by doing what any heavyweight that breaths can do, and that is beat Jameel McCline now (38-7-3). The encounter lasted three rounds. Not much happened in the first, Valuev landed a right in the second while in the third McCline landed some combinations. It was at that point that McCline’s knee buckled and the bout was over.
Next up in the parade of “Tomato Cans” for Valuev is Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagaev (22-0-1). With two more in the win column Valuev would equal the record of the great Rocky Marciano. “I want to break the record of Rocky Marciano (49-0). That is my stated aim. If an unbelievable record stands in front of me, I want to break it. However I will not box against weak opponents. If Wladimir Klitschko wants to fight me before I have broken the record, I am ready for him any time.”
Time-Out here! Rocky Marciano fought the best around while Valuev has faced more stiffs than a service girl when the fleets in town.
‘Your Lordship, did you ever get to meet Rocky Marciano or see him fight?’
‘As a matter of fact I did Jeeves. Met him with my dad while he was training for the fight with Don Cockell in San Franciso. But I don’t want to bore you with the story.’
‘Thank God.’
‘What did you say Jeeves?’
‘I was merely mentioning that Lordship’s lager has achieved the proper temperature, your favorite cigar is ready, Lorie Morgan is getting ready to sing “Walk away, Wait a minute” on the music machine and another column is on it’s way to the Hall of Fame.’
‘Jeeves you are a treasure ... and a sellout!’

VFW Post 9876 close up on second place

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

200 Bowlers – Rich, Tien, Mai, Bill, Mio, Kran, Sven, La, Antero, Tui & Leen

VFW Post 9876 won three points from Café Kronborg and moved into third place. First place Montana took three points from House of the Golden Coin and second place Diamond Shop got two points from Domicil. Three Sisters took all four points from Mai’s Thai Restaurant and Jack & Tar won four from Brother D. Café Ole defeated Shenanigans and walked away with three points.
Rich Montana bowling for Café Ole had the best series of the day with games of 170, 202 and 238 for a 610 series. Mio, House of the Golden Coin, had a 594 series and La, Three Sisters, bowled a 580.

The Road to the Super Bowl - Part 4

And then there were two

Howie Reed
Monday, February 5 at about 6:26am, the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts will kick off in Super Bowl XLI. For the Bears it’s been an absence of 21 years; for the Indianapolis Colts it’s their first trip since they moved from Baltimore. Both were favored going in last Monday’s championship games, which probably proves that sometimes the wise guys do get it right.
As the Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots game came to an end, you may have heard a very loud screeching sound. You probably covered your ears yelling, “What the hell is that sound?” It was like the screech of a cat as it’s getting its’ tail caught under a rocking chair. The sound? At the 59 minute mark of the AFC Championship football game that sound was the monkey flying off the back of Peyton Manning.
The monkey was sent into orbit when ‘Rookie’ Joseph Addai went up the middle on a 3rd and 3 for the go ahead touchdown. It was the first time in the game that the Colts led but as the wise man says, “It’s not who leads first, but who leads last.” At one time in the 2nd quarter, the Colts were down 21-3, which included a Peyton Manning interception by Asante Samuel that had the home crowd gazing despondently in their adult beverages of choice moaning, “No, no not again.”
Down 21-6 the Colts drove 76 yards on 14 plays to edge a little closer at 21-13 early in the 3rd quarter. The Colts defense, that had been like tissue paper in the first half, suddenly turned stout. The Colts then drove 76 yards to knot the score at 21, which included a 2-point conversion circus catch by Marvin Harrison. The TD pass was a 1-yarder to defense lineman Dan Klecko, the son of Big Joe Klecko who played with the New York Jets.
The Pat’s Ellis Hobbs took the kick off back 71 yards to the Colts 21, which put Brady and company back in business. The Pat’s re-took the lead at 28-21 on a Brady to Mathis 6-yard TD strike. What had been a rather dull “oh heck not this again game” had turned into what a heavyweight championship fight use to be. Like the gladiators of old each team got knocked down but kept getting up.
Indy came back following the kickoff with Manning hitting on all three passes. From the Pat’s 2, Manning attempted to hand off to RB Dominic Rhodes. The ball got loose, was kicked around and landed in the end zone in the clutches of Colts center Jeff Saturday for the score. As everyone knows the center is the heart of any team.
With the score tied at 28 the teams traded field goals. As it was New England’s turn next they of course went ahead 34-31 leaving a very manageable 3:49 on the clock. Indy did nothing, going ‘three and out’ which the Pat’s mimicked themselves upon getting the ball back.
From their own 20 the Colts would begin their version of “The Drive” - 80-yards to go and 2:17 seconds to get there. As the Bandit said, “They got a long way to go and a short time to get there.”
Manning threw 11 yards to Reggie Wayne, 32 yards to Bryan Fletcher and 11 more to Wayne up the middle that bounced around and was up for grabs. New England got flagged on the play for roughing the passer, which took the ball to the 11. Then it was Addai for 5, then Addai for 3 and finally Addai for 3 and the score. Bye-Bye monkey.
Anyone that follows the NFL knows that the New England Patriots and QB Tom Brady always win coming from behind. With 54 seconds left Brady and the Pats started on their own 21. Brady hit tight-end Ben Watson for 19 yards and a first down. On the Colt sideline Peyton Manning sat on the bench not looking at anything but the underside of his Colts ball cap. Then Brady hit Heath Evans for 15 yards and a first down at the Indy 45.
“Brady out of the shotgun, he’s got Ben Watson open over the middle, he throws ... It’s intercepted by Marvin Jackson at the 35 ... The Colts Win ... The Colts Win! Get that Monkey out of here!” It’s off to Florida.
With the snow coming in over Chicago’s soldiers on little cat’s feet, the Super Bowl hopes of the New Orleans Saints landed with a dull 39-14 “Kurplop”.
“This game is an upset waiting to happen,” was written in these spaces last week. The upset was there to be had but the Saints couldn’t overcome 4 turnovers, a silly intentional grounding for a safety and a fourth quarter tsunami that yielded 21 unanswered Bear points.
The Saints started fast but turned the ball over three times which allowed the Bears great opportunities, including first and goal twice. The opportunities were squandered as the Bears settled for 9 points on three Robbie Gold field goals.
Just before the half Chicago had the ball on their own 31. Running Back Thomas Jones carried on 8 straight plays, covered 69 yards and gave the Bears a 16 -0 lead. New Orleans QB Drew Brees answered with a drive of 73 yards with the payoff pitch of 13 yards to Marques Colston: 16-6 at the half.
Early in the third period the Saints would get within 2 points after Drew Brees hit Reggie Bush on a little swing pass which Bush turned into an 88 yard TD scamper. At 16-14 the Saints were backed up in their own end zone when Breese tossed the ball away. At first no yellow linen hit the ground until the guys in stripped shirts were urged to make the call by Bear Brian Urlacher.
The officials responded giving the Bears a 2-point safety and the ball. It was downhill for the Saints from there. Both defenses played well with the Saints DB’s, except for Fred Thomas, containing the Bears big receivers. Thomas got lit up like a Christmas Tree, especially on one drive where he got hit for 58 yards and a TD of an 85 yard scoring drive.
Once in front the Bears ran the ball well, especially Thomas Jones who got 123 yards on 10 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Was Bears QB Rex Grossman great? Nope but he did complete 11 of 26 for 144 yards and no interceptions.
The Saints were never able to rush the ball on a field that had the consistency of oatmeal. Saints QB Drew Breese was 27/49 and 354 yards with 2 TD’s. Nice stats but a win would have been better. Ex Fresno State Star Bernard Berrian had 5 catches for 85 yards and a TD for the Bears.
Wonder if the Bears have updated the “Super Bowl Shuffle”?