Riz Taylor
Hello sports fans, and welcome to the start of the 2007/2008 football season. Glad you could make it.
It’s been several weeks since this column has appeared in Pattaya’s favourite newspaper, and I don’t know about you but I’ve enjoyed the break. It seems football is permanently finding ways to serve up non-stop action for the connoisseur, but frankly a breather was necessary.
With all respect to the Gold Cup (won by the USA), the Copa America (Brazil) and assorted other random tournaments that have taken place in recent weeks, you can keep them. Just as managers blame the long season for tired muscles in their players at the end of the season, it’s also possible for us followers to overdo it too.
That said, you can’t help but feel that football can push boundaries that politics never could, and Iraq’s stunning Asian Cup victory was a feelgood story that only the beautiful game could provide. Thailand were disappointing, pre-tournament favourites Australia poor, but for a hodge-podge mix of expatriates made up from various sections of the Iraqi peoples to scoop the trophy was something to remember. Fans took to the streets to celebrate across Iraq - in Kurdish areas to the north, Shi’ite holy cities to the south and several neighbourhoods in the capital of Baghdad. Fabulous.
So from that story of amateur players busting their lungs to bring glory to their struggling nation, we move on to preview the English Premiership, probably the complete opposite but clearly the world’s favourite division.
Travelling away from Europe, as us hardy travellers know all about, allows us to see for ourselves just how enormous the league is becoming. Replica shirts are everywhere (their authenticity doesn’t matter), the locals crowd around TV sets to watch matches and across the globe the world is getting excited about the imminent start to the season that begins this weekend.
Over dinner tonight households from Norway to Nigeria will be discussing Derby County’s prospects for staying up this season and whether Lawrie Sanchez really is the right choice for Fulham. To put things into perspective the Asian Cup games attracted fans of just a few thousand at times whilst Manchester United against Japan’s Urawa Reds brought out 60,000 curious Japanese for what was essentially a meaningless friendly. Who needs David Beckham?
United’s huge amount of friendly matches seem to have paid dividends on Sunday as they managed to overcome Chelsea to take the Community Shield. That’s fine, but for all these big sides moaning about tired legs as we reach March and April, I refer them to these ridiculous moneymaking tours during the summer. They can’t have it both ways.
I didn’t think it would hold much interest for me, and yet seeing two sides fiercely contest the annual charity event was entertaining for the neutral and sets up the season quite nicely. And given Sunday’s efforts, let’s hope for Chelsea’s sake that they avoid penalty shootouts this season.
The Carlos Tevez saga looks like finally reaching it’s conclusion with his transfer to United set to go through, and quite frankly I am delighted, not only because I’m completely sick of reading about the Argentinean striker’s future and the ongoing legal wrangling between West Ham, Sheffield United and the Premier League, but also because it means United are likely to line up for a number of matches with possibly the world’s most terrifying forward line on looks alone. Tevez and his likely partner Wayne Rooney would struggle to attract ‘handsome man’ calls from Pattaya’s finest in the lowest of the low seasons.
If last season is likely to be remembered as much for the money as for the football, this season will need to dish up some seriously attractive football to compete against the business news to stay in the headlines. Clubs continue to be snapped up by foreign investors - some of whom have extremely suspicious backgrounds - and owning a Premiership side is now seen as the ultimate accessory for today’s billionaire-about-town.
But why the sudden interest? Is owning a Premiership outfit merely a fad that the inflated egos of the business world feel they must have to impress the neighbours, or is it all slightly more sinister than that?
My gut feeling is the latter. Apologies for the boring paragraph ahead, but the business history of many of these new investors suggests that it’s less to do with bragging rights at the Tennis Club and more about making huge amounts of money from our beloved game. This is nothing new, but whilst we’ve been used to bungling British chairmen frittering their cash away with the odd financial success story in recent years you can bet that the current crop have a lot more riding on the Premiership’s success.
One story over the summer that slipped away unnoticed is that of the Premiership’s increasing number of foreign owners already pressing the league’s administrators to replace current secretary Richard Scudamore. His replacement will likely be a foreigner more adept in making commercial success from sport. Foreigners are welcome in the English game of course, but could we be headed on the road to disaster if the game’s administrators aren’t “football people”?
On to the football. You’ll be pleased to hear that I have absolutely no idea who’ll win the Premiership, which is just as it should be. Chelsea and Manchester United look like the early favourites but Liverpool have spent heavily over the summer and perhaps finally they’ll get off to a decent start and challenge last season’s top two all the way. Frankly I don’t really care as long as they’re not as boring to watch as they were last season.
Even though Premiership sides have shelled our some monstrous sums for players this season, it has been a departure from British shores that has been the off seasons talking point. Losing a player of the calibre of Thierry Henry would harm any side’s chances, and for all Arsenal’s promising young players you’d expect any sane Gunners fan to accept a top four spot this year, along with a decent European and cup run.
Given Arsenal’s potential struggles it looks like a perfect time for someone to step up and break the established top four. A number of sides will fancy their chances, but it’s Spurs who will be under pressure to rise above the pack and finally give the White Hart Lane faithful something to cheer about. They start at home to Roy Keane’s Sunderland on Saturday, another side likely to cover a few inches here this season.
There’s plenty of time to preview the chances of other sides in the coming weeks, but for now let’s enjoy the start of another long and winding Premiership road, beginning with that intriguing Spurs versus Sunderland fixture in Saturday’s early evening kick-off, Pattaya time.

Riz’s wish list for 2007/2008 - Sunderland and Newcastle to bring back a proper North East rivalry - The Premiership won by an attacking side - West Ham to draw Sheffield United in the FA Cup 3rd Round (at Bramall Lane) - Somebody – anybody - to break into the top four - The FA Cup Final to feature two sides outside that top four. - Liverpool banned from being the first TV match on Saturdays. And Chelsea - Diving not noticed at the time to be heavily punished - Less business news Predictions for 2007/2008 Riz: Premiership – Manchester United. FA Cup – Villa. SPL – Celtic. Champions League – Barcelona

Farewell to an old friend

Paul E. Donahue, PSC Public Relations Chairman

Gerry Carpenter: 8 June 1936 - 1 Aug 2007 (R.I.P.)

“Pattaya Sports Club regrets to advise his many friends that Gerald (Gerry) Carpenter died of cancer on Wednesday, August 1, 2007 in the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. Gerry had been a resident of Thailand for over twenty-five years working for a large American Company in Bangkok.
After retiring in 1997 he moved to Pattaya, residing at the Phoenix Golf and Country Club. Gerry was an avid golfer and past President of the Pattaya Sports Club as well as being active in other local community activities.
Gerry is survived by a son and two daughters living in the United States. He was cremated at Wat Chai Monkon on August 5th with a large number of his friends in attendance. Gerry will be missed by his family and his many friends. Condolences are extended to his family.”

Oakes is top of the tree at Burapha

PSC golf from The Peacock Place

Wednesday, July 25,
Burapha, Stableford
Burapha was the venue for the 52 golfers this day and we played the C & D courses in a single stableford event.
The winner in Division A was Tony Oakes (12) with 43 points, a distant second was Bob Philp (8) with 36 points and third was Jack Moseley (10) on 34 points on a count back over Steve Murray.
B Division was won by Ian Covill (18) with 37 points, whilst coming in second was Frank O’Neill (18) with 36 points on a 3-way count back over Peter Harris (21) in third and Paul Crosland (20) in fourth.
Top C Division honours went to the lovely Orowan Sodot (38) with a fine display of golf and 39 points. In second place was Danny Dyke (29) with 37 points, third was Mark Brenton (28) with 37 points and fourth came John Morel (24) with 36 points.
There were six 2’s recorded in the premier flight by John Hillier, Bill Hewitt, Jack Moseley, Dave Christian, Neil Hughes and Tony Oakes whilst Barry Chadbourn and Paul Crosland upheld the honour of the second tier.
The ‘Ice Maiden’ Mrs. Khan was a proud recipient of ‘ The Hat’ for her 18-point effort and a second ‘Hat’ was awarded to Bob McPhail for drowning a ball whilst practicing on the first tee.
Monday, July 30,
Century Chonburi, Stableford
Twelve of us went to Century Chonburi, and even though the group was smaller than usual we had a great time playing as two 6-balls. Not surprisingly, when we got to the course we were put behind 2 five-balls and a six ball, so we just followed suit.
The winner on the day was Bob Philp (8) with 36 points, in second was Paul Crosland (20) with 35 points and in third was Theo Smith (21) with 34 points on a count back over Dave Christianson and John Low.
‘The Hat’ meanwhile went to Jim Moreton who complained too much about his knee.
Wednesday, August 1,
Greenwood, Stableford
Greenwood was the venue and we played a single stableford event on the C and D courses. It was the most pleasant day we have had weather wise for a long time with sunny skies, a light breeze and just right for good scoring.
The winner in A Division was Bob Philp (8) with 42 points, now playing off his new handicap of 6. In second place came Wayne Farrell (13) with 37 points and coming in third was Ken Little (15) with 36 points.
B Division was won by Brendon Dougall (22) with 39 points and second was Nigel Cannon (24) with 36 points on a count back over Peter Harris.
There was a rollover in the 2’s from Monday and Ken Little and Jack the 2’s specialist Moseley bagged the prize.
The Hat was awarded to the lovely Phaeng Van Mol just for having to put up with her husband and Doug and Wayne as her playing partners.
Don’t forget this month’s trip is to Kiarti Thanee on Monday August 27. The time sheet is on the board in The Peacock Place if you would like to come along or give Bob a call on 087 941 2474.

Geoff secures monthly title at Emerald

PSC golf from The Bunker

Monday, July 30,
The Emerald,
Stableford
William Macey’s late charge for the golfer of the month trophy fizzled away on the last game of the month at The Emerald.

Geoff Parker with the golfer of the month trophy for July.

Playing Stableford format neither Geoff Parker nor William Macey could get enough points to make any difference to the standings, which left Geoff top of the league and golfer of the month for July.
The winner on the day was John Graham with 38 points, second came Peter Habgood with 35 points and Paul Smith got third with 34 points.
Near pin prizes went to Clarke Alexander, Geoff Parker and two went to Glen Cunningham.
Wednesday, August 1, Mountain Shadow, Medal
Mountain Shadow was the venue for The Bunker Boy’s first Medal comp of the month and Paul Smith got off to a cracking start by winning with a one over par net 73. Paul was two ahead of William Macey, who shook off the disappointment of losing the golfer of the month title to Geoff Parker by coming second with a net 75, while John Graham claimed third place with a net 76.
Paul Smith won two near pin prizes and the other two went to Art Berlossi and Glen Cunningham.
Friday, August 3, Khao Kheow, Stableford
With a big field and the cut at handicap 14 and under, we had close games in both the A Flight and the B Flight at Khao Kheow on Friday.
Playing Stableford format again, William Macey got back to winning ways by taking the A Flight over Glen Cunningham on a count back, both finishing with 36 points. Paul Smith was third only one point behind with 35 points.
In the B Flight John Hughes won with 31 points, one ahead of Geoff Parker who himself was only one point ahead of third placed Peter Habgood.
Bob Turner made a rare appearance visiting from Bangkok to win one of the near pin prizes along with Glen Cunningham and the other two went to Tony Robbins.

This space for let

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday, July 29, Green Valley -
White Tees,
Stableford
A Flight
1st Phil Mitchell (5) 40pts
2nd Rick Holmes (8) 39pts
3rd Jack Grindvold (6) 39pts
B Flight
1st Colin Davis (13) 40pts
2nd Ian Rippey (15) 37pts
3rd Seamus Cotter (13) 37pts
C Flight
1st Pierre Bietry (21) 39pts
2nd Barry Chadbourn (20) 37pts
3rd Fred Theobald (25) 36pts
Near Pins: #2: Terry Phur; #9: Bob Van Mol, #12: Frank Pilkington; #16: Frank Pilkington
2’s: Doug Lynch (2), Steve Smith, Bob St. Aubin, Colin Davis, Seamus Cotter, Frank Pilkington (2), Mike Craighead, Trudy Chadbourn, Toy Theobald
One can’t overlook the fact that this low season is the lowest of low seasons in recent memory. However, the golfing numbers are still sufficiently robust that a glowing performance should be out there every week. Alas, it doesn’t seem that such was the case this week (save a two-podium appearance by Monsieur Pierre).
So in this era of the almighty baht (no longer the almighty $, given current exchange rates) this Scribe, is in a manner consistent with the stadiums throughout the U.S. and the front of every football (U.S. read “soccer”) jersey, will be putting the title spot on any week of uninspired play up for lease to the highest bidder.
Well, enough of that diatribe, now on to the golf. Flipper shot a fine medalist-winning gross 73 to amass 40 points and win A Flight and co-MoM honors. He was closely pursued by Mr. Rick and Wacko Jacko, with the former having the better of the count back.
The Donkey shared those co-MoM honors and took B Flight over another count back coupled duet, in the person of Ian “The Ripper” Rippey (current IPGC champion) and ’Tis Himself, Seamus Cotter. The Rip had the better of the count back.
The aforementioned Monsieur Pierre topped Chad by a couple of points to take the junior flight. Uncle Fred tidied up the day’s last podium step.
Wednesday, August 1, Bangpra - White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Ray Dell (12) 37pts
2nd Matt Cronin (11) 37pts
B Flight
1st George Jackson (15) 35pts
2nd Pierre Bietry (21) 35pts
2’s: Matt Cronin, Steve Mascari, Mark Wood, Steve Smith
Both two-man flights were left to the perils of count back. “The Farmer In The” edged Matty Cronin on the inward side, whilst One Ball did the same to Le Monsieur.
Friday, August 3, The Emerald -
White Tees,
2-Person Better Ball Stableford
1st Geoff Kubas (18/14) & Dave Palmer (7/5) - 41pts
2nd Mark Wood (6/5) & Jez Lees (16/12) - 40pts
It was Casual Friday again, as the boys and gals kicked back for a little team comp.
Geoff Kubas and a fellow the Scribe accompanied on his first visit to the Extreme City, David Palmer, topped the day, one point ahead of the two couplets of The Pride of Aberdeen and The Principal and the Hester Household. The all male contingent had the better of the count back over the mixed doubles. Guys were always better at Math.

Wylie marches on as the search for a challenger continues

PSC golf from The PJ Pool Bar

Tuesday, July 31 was a pseudo holiday for the Emerald golf course, either to mark respect for Buddha or an easy way to have an extra day of increased green fees - up 2 U! Either way 24 intrepid golfers made their way to sleepy Ban Chang to avail themselves of a course in tip top condition, and one that always presents a stern test to all who face the challenge.
The technical prizes were well spread out this week, with Mike Brooke, fresh back from a sojourn to the Old Dart showing his true form, if only for 1 shot. Wayne Farrell grabbed the NTP on #5, while new boys Jim & Ray grabbed the others. Mick Heatley aka #2 sexy man (behind Licky Martin) sank the long putt.
With 24 players we had 2 flights, (0-21) & (22 up). In the high handicap flight, the course was the winner, closely followed by Keith Hodges (24) with 33 pts, Jimmy Fortune (29) 31pts & Geoff Moodie (26) gleefully accepting 3rd place with 30 pts.
The low flight fared a little better with Jeff Wylie (6) scoring 38 pts to lead the group home - practice does pay off obviously. Ray Allison (11) played enough good shots to score 36 pts for second with Barry Quirk (14) picking up third on 33 pts.
Back at PJ Bar, new proud dad, Keith did the official duties after Malcolm & his crew of cheerful helpers provided us all with a very tasty repast. On behalf of all the golfers from PJ Bar congratulations to Keith & Wa on the birth of new addition Andy.
Roger introduces his family: one takes some dough
Nineteen players made their way to Navy N & W on Thursday, August 2, where they found the course in good condition, other than N 8 & 9 which had just been sanded, but same-same for everyone, no problem. Regular PJ Bar golfer Roger Yabsley even brought along a couple of his brothers, more Aussies, gotta be happy with that!
Technical prizes were hard to win, with some real close Near Pins, none closer than N3, The Lighthouse hole, won by Keith Hodges, where from about 2 feet he made the birdie.
Jimmy Fortune & Wayne Farrell shared the N6, don’t ask, get told no lies! West 3 & 8 both went to Swiss visitor Steven Lunt, a 10-handicapper who struck the ball well, while the Long Putt went to Ray Allison.
Even with new players every week, and his handicap dropping, the question on everyone’s lips is “Who is going to beat Jeff?” The answer was nobody on this day, as with 37 points off his 6 handicap he had enough once again to top the podium.
Bob Yabsley (11) picked up second with 34 pts, Keith Hodges (24) made his second trip of the week to the podium with 33 pts, and in fourth place was another relative newcomer, Ian Townsend with 31 pts off his 18 handicap.
There is always next week. Hopefully Neil’s chipping will improve, Paul wants a new handicap, Ed needs a well-behaved driver and Mike’s putter is like a cinder block. Maybe they can put early orders in for Christmas?

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

To the casual boxing fan, the nuts and bolts of the sport aren’t usually apparent. While “cheap-shot” writers and fans love to take potshots at boxing commissions, promoters, ranking organizations and ring officials, they all play a major part in the mosaic that is boxing. Each segment of the fight game has a role that is always changing due to boxing’s endeavor to find itself propelled back into ‘major sport’ status.
While not asked its opinion, ‘The Square Ring’ is never shy about adding a couple of Baht to the pot. Recently in America, the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball League (NBA) have both been rocked by scandals. In the case of the NBA, the gambling charges will drop the game even farther away from mainstream sport after its popularity waned when Michael Jordan waved “bye-bye”.
It’s possible that both sports, NFL and NBA, can trace their problems to embracing the hip-hop (non) culture that turns wealthy young men into ghetto “gangster” bums. Boxing has done that too recently with at least one ranking organization anointing Floyd Mayweather jr. as the savior of boxing. Floyd is the poster boy for ‘hip-hop bums’.
It sometimes happens that the ingredients that must work together in boxing to make the perfect meal don’t. Nowhere is that more apparent than when commissions try to step in during a boxing match to usurp the duties of the referee.
One of the worst offenders of this is New Jersey’s Commission Major Domo Larry Hazzard. When Arturo Gatti came to the end of his career against Alfonso Gomez recently, it wasn’t referee Randy Newman who stopped the fight but Larry Hazzard. Newman began his 10 count but Hazzard took matters into his own hands.
“What prompted me to go in and stop the fight was when I saw Randy start counting,” said Hazzard. “It may very well be that at some point Randy would have stopped it. However, the fact that he started counting made me assume that if Arturo did get up, Randy might allow him to take more punches. And, I certainly didn’t want to see that happen because in my opinion, that could have been very dangerous.”
Of course, in any other jurisdiction Hazzard would be fired or suspended. In Jersey he is God. “And what I did should not be construed or reflect negatively on his (Newman’s) abilities as a referee”, concluded Hazzard. Yeah right!
Tim Wendel is a well-respected sports writer. In a recent editorial in USA Today he included a paragraph called “the fade of boxing.” His thoughts concur with those of ‘The Square Ring’, although they are much better executed.
“Thirty years ago, boxing was on top of the world. Joe Frazer, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali were household names - national heroes”, wrote Wendel. “A Saturday bout was almost certainly water-cooler talk on Monday. Now the sport in which they were once kings has become a shell of its former self.
“It wasn’t just one thing that sent the sport to the canvas,” he continued. “The heavyweight division lost its luster soon after the Ali-Frazier days. These oversized personalities were replaced by a generation of pugilists who became accustomed to big paychecks and bigger egos. The ‘super fights’ migrated to pay-per-view, limiting the potential audience while swelling the purses. Mike Tyson injected energy into boxing in the late ’80s before unraveling in public view with a rape conviction and prison time.”
Mr. Wendel then addressed what he thinks is the root cause. “The steady hum beneath all of this was the question that has haunted the sport for decades: Is the fix in? Too many times what happened in the ring was manipulated - boxers lost fights on purpose; promoters, judges and referees rigged things to favor one party over another. As recently as 1999, officials from the IBF were charged with taking bribes in exchange for ranking fighters to ensure mismatched fights.
“The fix was in long before the opening bell sounded. A subsequent probe by the FBI in 2004 led to accusations of fight-fixing in a high-profile super welterweight bout between Sugar Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya, as well as accusations of medical document fraud and scale tampering against promoter Bob Arum. ‘This is a terrible time for boxing,’ Bert Sugar told The Washington Times then. ‘It seems to be in total decline.’”
Bet you didn’t know that on Sunday in Sacramento California the second boxing World Cup is taking place? Last year it was the Philippines against Thailand. This year it’s the Philippines against Mexico with the county winning the most fights declared the World Cup Champion.
There will be 7 fights with two for WBO titles. Jhonny Gonzalez (34-5) of Mexico will defend his jr. bantam title against Filipino Gerry Penalosa (51-6-2) while Daniel Ponce De Leon (34-5) represents Mexico against Rey Bautista (23-0) for the WBO jr. feather crown.
Those in the Kingdom with HBO can watch the two title matches live at 10am Sunday morning (maybe). The other 5 bouts could be listed but actually no one cares except close family, friends, and promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
Young fighters sometimes choose the wrong ranking organization banner to campaign under. The really great ones go where they please but the beginning fighter sometimes doesn’t have the choice. Not the case with “no weight” (105lb.) PABA king Pornsawan Porpramook (aka. Pornsawan Kratungdaenggym) who got to 20-0 recently with a UD over Benjie Sorolla (21-12-3) at the Porkungpao Rachada Restaurant in Bangkok. Porpramook is ranked in the top 5 by the WBA, WBO and WBC while the IBF has him at #7.
The WBC’s Eagle Kyowa (18-1), a Thai fighting out of Japan, would be a possibility but even more likely would be Filipino Florante Condes (22-3) who annexed the IBF title in July with a 12 round split decision over Muhammad Rachman (61-5-5) in Jakarta.
Note to Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia - if you wonder why your boxers aren’t taken seriously by the rest of the world I’ll give you a couple of examples from “third level” title fights last Saturday in the Philippines. Both bouts matched hometown guys against Thai invaders. Hot prospect Drian Francisco (13-0) KO’d Thai Samransak Singmanassak (31-18-1) in one. Big deal, as the Thai is now 6-9 over his last 15. The other match involved Rexon Flores (18-3-4) beating Terdsak Jandaeng (7-3-1).
Down New Zealand way, Samuel Colomban, a native of the Cameroon but now living in Melbourne, is called a “hot welterweight prospect.” Thailand’s Somchai Nakbalee (9-3) helped build his record by losing in 10 at the Star City Casino in Auckland. Nakbalee, who started with 9 wins in a row, has now lost 3 on the trot. This win by the “hot prospect” may be less than it seems.
All that is right about boxing was displayed in rounds 3 through 6 of the WBC super bantamweight re-match between the now former champion, Rafael Marquez (37-4) and Israel Vazquez (42-4). The fight held in Hidalgo, Texas, before a less than sell out crowd was a classic from the opening bell.
Marquez won the first two rounds and was on his way to winning the third when he got rocked by a left hook. In their first fight Vazquez dropped Marquez in the third so it was almost a case of “de ja vu”. With cuts over both eyes, Vazquez got the better of the fierce action in rounds 4 and 5. Marquez hadn’t escaped unscathed however as he had a cut and swelling under his left eye.
Less than 30 second into the 6th, Marquez was dropped by an “atomic like” left hook. Marquez beat the count of referee Lupe Garcia only to come under a furious assault by Vazquez that had Marquez wobbly-legged on the ropes. Garcia stopped the fight at the 1:16 mark.
As is usual when “Gas Bag” Gary Shaw’s boxers lose, he whined after the fight. “I can tell you this: that referee will never ref another Gary Shaw fight, that I promise you. I’m sorry I’m so passionate about this, but I feel as though my fighter was wronged.”
OK, but you don’t have a vote and you will accept any referee that the sanctioning body and the commission appoint.
In point of fact referee Lupe Garcia did a pretty darn good job. It was especially good when compared to the job that Larry “The Clown” Cole did in the semi main between Celestino Caballero (27-2) and Jorge Lacierva (32-7-6) for the WBA jr. feather title.
Cole, who has been on suspension, didn’t miss a beat as he came back as his same old incompetent bumbling self. He along with the three judges kept Jorge Lacierva from winning the title. Cole took a point away from Lacierva, with no prior warning, for using his head. Caballero used his elbows, pushed, shoved, hit low and yanked down the head of Lacierva with nothing more than 10 or 15 “do that one more time and I’ll take away a point.”
The three blind mice, in this case the judges, had it 116-110, 116-110 and 115-112 for Caballero. Boxing expert Al Bernstien had it 115-113 for Caballero as did the always-right ‘Square Ring’.
“Your Lordship?”
Yes Jeeves
“Your Lordship, I have a ‘man bites dog’ story from Japan. Last Saturday in Japan, Ukrid Sarasas, who is Thai but lives in Japan, was refereeing a bout between Yoshihiro Kamegai and Yasuhiro Kondo. Your friend Joe Koizumi wrote: ‘At 2:40 of the third round Sarasas stepped in to separate the boxers when a vicious left hook of Yasuhiro Kondo caught the face with beautiful precision and Sarasas fell down face first. He barely stood up wobblingly, a judge immediately jumped into the ring to assist the groggy referee. Sarasas, who was unable to walk properly much less continue refereeing, was promptly carried to hospital and later proved to be ok.’
“Also Your Lordship, your pal Kenny Adam is training a fighter named Koji Sato who is now 10-0. The middleweight got a KO in 2 last Saturday night in Japan with cousin Bruce McTavish being the third man in the ring.
“Your Lordship, as the bartender once said to the horse: ‘Why the long face?’”
Jeeves, bring in the chilled pint lager glasses and the extra fine cigars as we bid adios to my Tim Bar Beer black t-shirt, which now has more holes in it than a Tee-lock’s apology. Tis’ the end of a relationship that lasted more than 15 years and never once did it fail to bring me joy and happiness. Brings a tear to my eye. To you my dear old friend - may you bring as much joy in the next life as you did in this one.

Andersson and Stockman flay the field

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

Monday, July 30,
The Emerald - Two-person multiplier
Twenty pairs were out today on probably one of our most popular team games that we play. It was another extravaganza day with a free buffet back at Paweenas for all golfers and their wives/partners and numerous prizes to be won. Apart from the multiplier competition there was also an individual stableford game for two divisions.
An incredible 79 points secured Mikael Andersson and Dave Stockman first place in the mutiplier with Svein and Kjetil, a further 20 points behind, just beating Phil Smith and Emmett White to second place on count back.
In the individual stableford game in division two, Alan Bissell’s 32 points earned him third place; one point better was Burnie Sinclair in second, but with 35 points and winning the day was Lee Roy Huntingdon.
Slightly higher scoring was witnessed in the top flight with Mikael Andersson finishing third on 36 points, Dave Stockman in second with 38 points, and the ever-improving Kjetil taking the premier podium position with 40 points.
In the 2’s competition Ben Findon and Emmet White scored in division one whilst Alan Bissell and Glyn Evans did the same for the second tier boys.
Near pin prizes in the multiplier went to Dannie Larsen & Alan Bissell, Tony Kitchen & Rick Newman, Tom Sathrum & Burnie Sinclair and Dannie Larsen and Miss Porn whilst the Long Drive award went to Alan Duckett and Lee Roy Huntingdon.
Longest Putts were recorded by Rob Heath and T.T., and in the individual events near pins went to T.T. and Burnie Sinclair.
Last but not least, the ‘Ladies Tipple’ (a bottle of strawberry daiquiri) was won for an outstanding multiplier team score of 10 points by Bob Green and Bob Lathwell. Well done fellas!
Wednesday, August 1, Green Valley,
Monthly Medal
The dreaded first Wednesday of the month and the August medal, with greens as fast as we have ever experienced here, but consistent to be fair.
The scores reflected the difficulty as Rick Newman finished second in division two with a net 78, just beaten by Jack Hinchey with his net 77. Two net 76’s were recorded in division one and both players had a net 39.5 on the back nine so we split the prize money down the middle, the two recipients being Mikael Andersson and Grenville Hill.
Bill Hewitt had the only ‘2’ in division one and a triple rollover ensued for division two to the next event.
Ted Morris and Grenville won the nearest the pin prizes in division one and Jack Hinchey and Rick Newman had the honours in division two.
Friday, August 3, Plutaluang, Stableford
Due to the poor condition of the greens at Eastern Star, a switch was made today to the Naval course for our no frills one division stableford competition.
In third place came Peter Bowden with 33 points; two points better was Tony Sawyer in second, but our winner for the day on 37 points was Jack Hinchey.
Jomtien golf meets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Paweenas on Soi 5, Jomtien Beach Rd. at around 8.30am for a 10.00am tee off time. Please sign up in the bar or ring Glyn on 086 837 5464.

Beware the flying monkey

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Monday, July 30,
Plutaluang,
Stableford
We departed on time for the 40-minute drive to Plutaluang, hoping to play the North and West layouts, but due to wet conditions, carts were only allowed on the South and East, which was in fantastic condition. Play was a bit slow with all the carts on these 18 holes but some good scores were had.

Mark Bell was the A Flight winner at Bangpra on Thursday.

Doug Maiko beat everybody, with 39 points ahead of Hugh O’Donnell in second with 36 points, Pete Bowden was in third with 35 points and Kris Helgasson in fourth with 34 points.
Thursday, August 2,
Bangpra,
Stableford
This is always a looked forward to day out, as it is one of the best courses around. Mind, it has been around for quite a few years now but we never tire of playing it.
The book in at Bangpra is pretty slick, so it was not long before we were on the first tee and were quickly away.
The course as usual was in good condition, the play reasonably quick, and most of the time those monster monkeys were out of sight. I say out of sight but we must have become complacent as at the rest stop after the 6th hole, one of them came down from the tree, knocked John Swanson off his chair, stole the bun he was eating and was back up the tree before anyone could react. Fortunately John is an ex Jockey and knows how to fall over. Still quite a shock.
In the A Flight, 0-17, the winner was Mark Bell with 37 points ahead of Dave Richardson in second with 33 points on count back over Ebrahim in third. In the B Flight the winner was Graham Buckingham with 37 points ahead of Daryl Evans in second with 35 points and Brian Noguer in third with 33 points.
T.T.F.N.

No doubting Thomas in July

IPGC at the OK Corral

July 29, the OK Corral golfers traveled to Bangpra for the usual Sunday Stableford and were pleasantly surprised that “holiday pricing” was not in effect for Buddhist Lent.

OK Corral guru Mr. Denis (left) presents the ‘Player of the Month’ award for July to David Thomas (right).

The course has been in fine shape for quite a while now and when the foreboding heavens rent asunder and sent down cascades of rain and lightning, play was delayed for more than an hour.
The course was now thoroughly sodden and errant shots into the rough were heavily penalized, fairways had huge casual water areas, and the bunkers were ankle deep in water. Despite that the greens recovered nicely due to good design and maintenance and were nearly at the legendary Bangpra speed by the end of the round.
Dealing with them in the interim was largely a matter of guesswork, and getting to them a matter of muscle. Guessing best and muscling his way to the top spot was Gilles Akoum who amassed 36 points. Larry Slattery and Tony Kitchen shared the runner-up spot with 33 apiece, and Carl Lovatt and John Rehm were tied for the final podium finish at 32 apiece.
The holiday meant no ‘Booby Bevy’ lest the boys in brown swoop down upon Mr. Denis.
David dazzles at Greenwood
On the last day of July, the OK Corral made the long but welcome hike to Greenwood for a stableford competition. The course was in excellent condition with well- trimmed fairways, demanding rough, and especially good greens; the greens fee + caddy fee, one of the lowest around, included a nice meal in the restaurant after the round.
A threatening thunderstorm thankfully passed by a bit off the course and the scores on the day reflected the good conditions.
Sharing third place were Carl Lovatt and Peter Masters on 35 points while John Rehm sailed into second with 39, normally a winner. The day’s best however was from David Thomas who turned around a recent slump with a masterful display of chipping and putting that saw him record only 24 putts on the day on his way to 42 points, a gross 73.
The ‘Booby Bevy’ had a contingent of candidates, one truly hilarious, but was awarded jointly to Carl Lovatt and Tony Kitchen who will depart our piece of Paradise for “‘Ol’ Blighty” soon ... and without an extradition order! Cheers mates, hope you find the weather pleasant!
Luck of the Irish prevails
Thursday, August 2, the OK Corral visited Emerald golf course for a two-man better-ball stableford tournament. The day was fair and pleasant with a light wind keeping the players cooled off and the course itself in very fine condition.
Only seven teams entered and, it being a single flight event, 4 positions were awarded prizes.
Joint 4th place went to the teams of Tony Kitchen/Peter Masters, and Denis Smith/Alain Postec. In third were David Thomas/Paul Quodomine and second were Mikael Andersson/Saranya Chaiyanont. The top spot by a single point went to Irishmen Philip Moore/Larry Slattery who put together a fine round.
The “buzz” on the day was the large 2’s pot, which, after three rollovers and the day’s entries was 3,900 baht! There was to be no rollover on this day as both Philip Moore and Erik Anttonen birdied par threes and split that inviting pot. Erik had the further distinction of earning the ‘Booby Bevy’ for his team’s last place finish despite his pocketing a substantial gain.
Mr. Denis announced that on August 23 the OK Corral will host a buffet following the 4-man scramble at Green Valley in honor of golf organizer Mr. Len’s (?) anniversary of his 40th birthday!

Dale sneaks in through the backdoor

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

In the middle of the month, Kenny Mau finally broke through for the win. He led the field with 39 points as Sus tried to overtake him but fell short with 38. One shot back were two others also trying for the win. Dale Murphy and Larry Emerson followed with 37 points rounding out the top.
On the 24th of July it was Walt Straub’s turn to lead the group. It was the best game that he has shot so far as he managed 40 points for the win.
Rounding out the month of July for a place on our trophy, the Three Sisters Monthly, was Dale Murphy. Dale was sneaky as no one realized that he was shooting that well. Everyone had their eyes on Kenny and Herb as they battled it out on the front nine. Both had 21 points on the front but faltered on the back. Dale kept plugging along and won with 40 points.
Kenny Mau and Rich Murphy both had 38 points tying for the second position as Herb disappeared when he blanked the last three holes.

Pattaya Archers coach local disabled school in Toxophily

Pattaya Redemptionist School students learn how to shoot the bow.

Eric Hearn
Recently the Redemptionist Vocational School for the Disabled, based in central Pattaya, approached Pattaya Archery Club to seek its assistance in training some disabled students in archery (Toxophily) techniques. There is a large archery tournament for the disabled in southern Thailand, scheduled for late October, and the school wants to send a team of its students to compete in the tournament.

One that got away: the water pipe was later shattered by another stray arrow.
Archery is particularly suitable for disabled people to learn as they can, and do, compete on equal terms with non-disabled archers - one of the few sports where this is possible. Indeed Neroli Fairhall, a disabled archer from New Zealand, won gold medals in both the Commonwealth and Paralympic Games, and was the first-ever wheelchair archer in an Olympic Games. She was New Zealand’s national archery champion and record holder. Thus all is possible for the wheelchair-based archer.
The Redemptionist School specialises in providing vocational training for disabled people, and has a superb facility in central Pattaya that caters for their various needs. The school has been in existence for many years and has established an excellent reputation for the quality of the care and training it provides for the disabled.
However, archery was a subject the school had no experience of, and so it sought local archers to see if they could provide coaching for the forthcoming tournament. Naturally Pattaya Archery Club was only too pleased to help the school, and so a coaching programme was quickly agreed and implemented.
The Redemptionist School has no archery equipment of its own, although that will shortly be remedied, so the archery club used its own training bows, arrows and targets to start the coaching programme off. Four archery club members ? Britons Eric Hearn and Roger Lorton, plus Swiss-born Rudolph Cigler and Thai lady, Kotchakorn Srithawong, are the coaches for the 25 disabled students that want to learn how to use a bow.
The Redemptionist School has a large plot of land within its grounds that is quite suitable for archery and so three targets were erected, and coaching in the basics of recurve archery was given to the group of students ? with Kotchakorn (“Nice”) translating English into Thai. As she is an accomplished archer herself, she was able to give an authorative edge to translating the advice of the other coaches.
Three groups were established, each under one coach, and shooting started on designated targets. The groups were selected according to the bow specification that each coach was using. Although shooting a bow is a difficult technique to initially master, it soon became apparent that the students were extremely keen to learn and they tried very hard to follow the coaches’ advice.
Inevitably many arrows shot by the students missed the targets, necessitating a lot of walking behind the targets looking for lost arrows. However, as time has progressed so have the students’ archery skills, and more time is now spent shooting than looking for missing arrows.
Initially the distance shot by the students was 10 metres, but it quickly became apparent that there are some potentially good archers in the group of students, and so the targets were moved back to 18 metres, which is one of the distances they will have to shoot in the games in October. Later the targets will be moved back to 25 metres, which is the other distance they will have to shoot in the games.
At the moment coaching is provided for two hours a session, twice a week, but by the time the school gets its own archery equipment, student skill levels will be such that they will be able to practice, without the coaches, on as many evenings as they wish. This will help hone their skills and their accuracy.
There were two moments of hilarity during one archery session, firstly when a stray arrow pierced a water pipe that lay across the ground. It caused quite a fountain until someone turned off the water supply. On the same evening, not to be outdone, another student pierced the same water pipe, shattering it completely. Both shots were such that if a challenge had been given for all the archers to aim for the water pipe, it is highly probable that none would have hit the one-inch pipe lying on the ground, however hard they tried. Still, good for a laugh!
As word of the archery coaching has got round the school, so more would-be archers are turning up to have-a-go, thus increasing the demands on the coaches; who go home after a coaching session quite exhausted!
As the amount of time remaining until the tournament is limited, so the challenge of transforming outright beginners into competitive archers in such a short time is quite daunting. Nevertheless, the start has been encouraging and already some natural archers have been identified. So hopefully the coaching provided by the Pattaya Archery Club will enable the students of the Redemptionist School to represent the school in a positive way at the forthcoming tournament.
Pattaya Archery Club shoots on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, beginning at 10.00 am and finishing at about noon or thereafter. Anyone is welcome to come along and find out what it is all about. Coaching and the use of the club’s bows, arrows and other equipment is free for beginners, and so it costs nothing to see if this challenging sport is for you.
For more details visit the club’s website at www. pattaya-archery-club.com, or telephone Eric, the coach, on 089 535 1193

Archery coaches Roger and Nice, and, right, Malai, a Redemptionist School staff member examine the target areas.

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

Results & Standings Aug 3 (week 15)

200 Bowlers: (L-R) Barry, Kran & Bill

Beaver Bar and Grill took three points from first place Café Kronborg behind Bill Key’s 632 series with games of 194, 183 and 255. Kran bowled a 572 series for Café Kronborg.
Barry bowled a 211 game and 557 series to lead Montana to a 3.5-point win over Café Ole and Lada rolled a 520 series for Café Ole. VFW Post 9876 got 3.5 points from Brother D with Tui leading her team to victory with a 521 series.
Mai bowled a 550 series to give Jack & Tar a three point win over Three Sisters. Mai’s Thai Restaurant took all four points from Diamond Shop