Sunday, April 22, 2012

Spring Fling Recap

The 2012 Spring Fling is in the books!  Competitors enjoyed plenty of Scrabble action, good friends, and, courtesy of my lovely and longsuffering wife, bountiful meals (as my Great Grandmother used to say, "If you go home hungry, it's your own fault.")

The tournament paid one place in the Collins division, and three places in the three TWL divisions.  Ancillary prizes in each division ($10 each) included High Win out of the prize money, High Loss out of the prize money, Tuff Luck (awarded to the player out of the prize money with the smallest cumulative spread from their three closest losses), and Best Cuyahoga Words (awarded to the player who played the highest scoring of those words having the most number of letters from CUYAHOGA in them).  Place prize winners were eligible for the Cuyahoga word prize.

Collins Division

The Collins Division was a pitched battle between the three veteran Collins players, Brian Bowman, Chris Lipe, and Marty Gabriel, while first-time Collins contestant Dorcas Alexander had a "character building" tournament. Bowman, Gabriel and Lipe each went into the final round with a record of 8-4, while Alexander was 0-12.  A final game win by Bowman in his match against Alexander would mean that either he or the winner of the Gabriel/Lipe match would win the division, based on cume.  But, Alexander finally was able to post a "W" in that final round, allowing Lipe to secure the win with his win over Gabriel.

Rank/Name : Won-Lost Spread : Old Rating => New Rating (Prize Money)

1 Chris Lipe : 9.0-4.0 +485 : +1860 => 1898  ($200)

2 Marty Gabriel : 8.0-5.0 +321 : 1924 => 1932

3 Brian Bowman : 8.0-5.0 +180 : 1914 => 1922

4 Dorcas Alexander : 1.0-12.0 -67 : 1686 => 1619

Best Cuyahoga Word: Chris Lipe, COURTESY ($10)

High Win out of the money: Marty Gabriel, 521 ($10)

(Chris Lipe, who was ineligible, had wins of 627 and 536)

High Loss out of the money: Dorcas Alexander, 461 ($10)

Tuff Luck: Dorcas Alexander (15 – 22 – 24) ($10)

Division C

Lisa Brown took Division C by storm.  Brown was Gibsonized after round 10, and finished the tournament at 12-1 +1431.  Kristy Zurbrick was also Gibsonized in second place after round 12, and finished at 9-4 -31.

Rank/Name : Won-Lost Spread : Old Rating => New Rating (Prize Money)

1 Lisa Brown : 12.0-1.0  +1431 :  1005 => 1103 ($225)

2 Kristy Zurbrick : 9.0-4.0 -31 : 1039 => 1058 ($125)

3 Joe Miccio : 8.0-5.0 +174 : 1010 => 999 ($100)

4 Joe Roberdeau : 8.0-5.0 -4 : 862 => 896

5 Cecilia Huber : 7.0-6.0 +189 : 1024 => 1000

6 Ruchi Batra : 7.0-6.0 +31 : 459 => 628

7 Greg Graf : 7.0-6.0 -27 : 1021 => 995

8 Mark Garratt : 4.0-9.0 -382 : 0 => 500

9 Pamela Cass : 3.0-10.0 -731 : 923 => 821

Best Cuyahoga Word: Kristy Zurbrick, JAGUAR ($10)

High Win out of the money: Greg Graf, 467 ($10)

(Lisa Brown, who was ineligible, had wins of 571, 503, and 491)

High Loss out of the money: Mark Garratt, 421 ($10)

Tuff Luck: Greg Graf (3 – 6 - 16) ($10)

Division B

Cheryl Melvin was the only other Gibsonized player of the tournament.  She locked up the division with a win in round 12.  Terry Schroeder, Pat Hardwick, Jason Steuber, and Dean Scouloukas were all contenders late in the tournament, and battled it out for the last two place prizes in the final round.

Rank/Name : Won-Lost Spread : Old Rating => New Rating (Prize Money)

1 Cheryl Melvin : 9.5-3.5 +578 : 1280 => 1318 ($300)

2 M W Schroeder : 8.0-5.0 +468 : 1152 => 1185 ($150)

3 Pat Hardwick : 8.0-5.0 + 270 : 1036 => 1094 ($100)

4 Jason Steuber : 7.0-6.0 +168 : 1178 => 1188

5 Dean Scouloukas : 7.0-6.0 -12 : 1256 => 1244

6 Wilma Pitzer : 6.5-6.5 -148 : 1247 => 1226

7 Julia Bogle : 6.0-7.0 -345 : 1032 => 1045

8 Sharon Downey : 5.0-8.0 +12 : 1087 => 1071

9 Joyce Stock : 5.0-8.0 -430 : 1075 => 1061

10 Eileen Popich : 3.0-10.0 -542 : 1194 => 1110

Best Cuyahoga Word: Julia Bogle, HOYA ($10)

High Win out of the money: Jason Steuber, 525 ($10)

High Loss out of the money: Eileen Popich, 436 ($10)

Tuff Luck: Sharon Downey (5 – 23 - 28) ($10)

Division A

Joe South was 2 games down with 2 to play, and battled his way to the top by the end of the tournament.  Doug Szymkowiak was in the lead for much of the tournament, and ended up in the title game with South, but was relegated to second place after a final round loss, although he had 104 ratings points and some place prize money with which to console himself.

Rank/Name : Won-Lost Spread : Old Rating => New Rating (Prize Money)

1 Joe South : 9.0-4.0 +535 : 1595 => 1637 ($500)

2 Doug Szymkowiak : 9.0-4.0 +473 : 1409 => 1513 ($250)

3 Kelly McKenzie : 9.0-4.0 +394 : 1663 => 1705 ($125)

4 Daniel Stock : 8.0-5.0 +214 : 1726 => 1721

5 Jason Idalski : 8.0-5.0 +102 : 1921 => 1893

6 Stephen Debacco : 6.0-7.0 +75 : 1471 => 1486

7 Kit Morehead : 6.0-7.0 -87 : 1482 => 1495

8 Carolyn Easter : 6.0-7.0 -163 : 1533 => 1530

9 Pete Zeigler : 5.0-8.0 +2 : 1651 => 1602

10 Mason Shambach : 4.5-8.5 -205 : 1503 => 1474

11 George Viebranz : 4.5-8.5 -303 : 1518 => 1486

12 Kevin McCarthy Sr : 3.0-10.0 -1037 : 1377 => 1346

Best Cuyahoga Word: Jason Idalski, YOGA ($10)

High Win out of the money: Carolyn Easter, 568 ($10)

High Loss out of the money: Mason Shambach, 466 ($10)

Tuff Luck: Stephen Debacco (3 – 3 – 4) ($10)

Night Bird

The night bird was played in groups of 4, playing round robin and King of the Hill.  Dan Stock won the top division, 4-0 +370.  Wilma Pitzer won the middle division, 3-0 +205.  Julia Bogle won the bottom division, 3-1 +339.  Each of them won $50 for the night bird divisional victory.

I am grateful to all the players who participated in the tournament, to Cecilia Huber, Dan Stock, Joe South, and Pete Zeigler who provided challenge computers, to Pam Cass for donating several Scrabble bags as door prizes (made by one of her club members), and especially to Sue Grogan-Johnson for her hard work as our Executive Chef. 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Dorcas Wins!

With apologies to Brian Bowman for suffering a loss while in contention, I wanted to commend Dorcas Alexander for making good use of her last opportunity to garner a win in the tournament.  Dorcas beat Brian in the last round, 508-360.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

This Blog is Now Collins Compliant

I went back through the old blog posts, and verified that I didn't call out any Collins-only words as TWL acceptable.  For greater clarity, I also added an octothorp to the Collins-only words listed.

Octothorp, of course, is good in either TWL or CSW, but neither lexicon lets you play just the blank and declare it as a "#".

We have another gibsonized player.  Cheryl Melvin, at 9-3, +578, has locked up the victory in Division B.  Congratulations, Cheryl!

Also, in Division C, Kristy Zurbrick is now gibsonized for second place.  For that reason, Lisa Brown and Kristy are playing the final round against each other, while Ruchi Batra, Joe Miccio, Greg Graf, and Joe Roberdeau, all at 7-5, vie for the last money spot in the division.

With Cheryl's status atop Division B assured, the four players at 7-5 (Terry Schroeder, Jason Steuber, Pat Hardwick, and Dean Scouloukas) are battling for the final two money positions in their division.

Doug Szymkowiak (9-3, +491) is in a pitched battle with Joe South (8-4, +517).  Unless they have a whisper-close game, the winner of that game will win the division, while the loser will struggle to hold onto a 3rd place money spot.  Also in contention to finish in the money (with an outside chance to win) are Jason Idalski (8-4, +347) and Kelly McKenzie (8-4, +149).  Dan Stock, at 7-5, +84, would need a lot of things to break his way to get into 3rd place.

The Collins Division is going down to the wire.  Marty Gabriel (8-4, +419) is playing Chris Lipe (8-4, +387), while Brian Bowman (8-4, +328) is matched up against Dorcas Alexander (0-12, -1134).  Brian would need a significant victory to overtake the winner of the Marty-Chris game, but the victory is attainable for any of the 8-4 players.  Dorcas is still seeking that first elusive win.

I wll likely sign off for a few hours now, to enter the last slips, prepare for and hold the prize ceremony, and clean up and vacate the tourney site.  I'll post a recap of the event in a few hours.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Round 12

Play got underway without much incident, so I was able to walk the room.  Before I share some interesting plays, I need to give a shout out to Lisa Brown, who was gibsonized after round 11, and is now enjoying (read: suffering through) a 12th round bye while she relishes her victory.  Lisa could theoretically have been caught by Kristy Zurbrick, who is 2 games back with 2 to play, but her 1124 point lead over Kristy in spread was enough for her to be gibsonized.  Congratulations, Lisa!

Kristy Zurbrick, at 8-3 +80, is a game ahead of Joe Miccio, at 7-4 +173, so the race for second will be tight.  There are three players at 6-5, who are not out of contention for 2nd either.  On the Division C boards, I saw FRUITiNG in a game between Greg Graf and Mark Garratt, adn YAMmERS in a game between Kristy Zurbrick and Cecilia Huber.

Division B has Cheryl Melvin in the lead, at 8-3, +537.  Both Jason Steuber and Dean Scouloukas stand at 7-4, though Cheryl has an edge in spread.  This one could go to the wire.  On the Division B boards I saw MEOUING in a game between Willie Pitzer and Sharon Downey, and OUTSIZED in the Joyce Stock/Eileen Popich match.

Division A has Doug Szymkowiak holding his lead.  He stands at 9-2, +527, a game and spread ahead of Jason Idalski at 8-3, +293.  Joe South and Kelly McKenzie are at 7-4, and could close the gap.  In the Jason Idalski/Kelly McKenzie game, I saw ECOTAGEs, and I saw PNEUMAS in the game between Dan Stock and Stephen Debacco.

Collins continues to be a 3-way race, with Marty Gabriel at 8-3, +481, and 7-4 records for Chris Lipe (+346) and Brian Bowman (+246).  Dorcas Alexander continues to have a tough day.  I just got her round 12 slip in, and she lost by 41 to Chris Lipe, leaving her just one chance left to get a win in this tourney.  In the Gabriel/Bowman game, I saw NASIONS and AxONEMES, which was a creative use of the blank.  In the Lipe/Alexander game, I saw two Collins plays of note: GAZAL# and ROOIBoS#.

I just realized that I don't have an octothorp active in my CSW12 lexicon, so it's possible that some of my earlier posts listed Collins words as TWL.  I will go back through and double check that, but if you saw a word you didn't know, don't rely on this blog to determine that it is not Collins-only.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Round 11

This could be my last trip around the room, as the slips will come in fast and furious in the last 2 rounds, so I tried to make it count.

In Division C, I saw OZONATE in the game between Joe Roberdeau and Greg Graf.

In Division B, SUBARID was played in the Joyce Stock and Eileen Popich game, and, of course, I had to mention that NEWSIEST was played by either Pat Hardwick or Willie Pitzer.  Visions of victory might be dancing in the head of either Sharon Downey or Julia Bogle, as one of them played FINALIST.

Division A had sORPTIVE and JIGGERS in the Jason Idalski, Dan Stock matchup, and OORALis in the game between Kevin McCarthy and Doug Szymkowiak.

I didn't notice any Collins-only words in the CSW games, but I did see HINKIEST and SAFROLE in the Chris Lipe/Marty Gabriel game, and MIsDrEW and JEREED in the Brian Bowman/Dorcas Alexander game.

Lots of slips are coming in for the round, so I will now sign off and enter more data.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Last Session is Underway

Round 11 is underway.  The players will try to shake off their post-meal drowsiness and finish the Spring Fling strong!

In Division A, Doug Szymkowiak continues his ratings romp.  He is up an estimated 128 points after round 10, and leads the field with a record of 8-2, +358.  Just behind him at 7-2 are Kelly McKenzie (+444) and Jason Idalski (+75), while Joe South and Dan Stock both have 6 wins.

Cheryl Melvin and Dean Scouloukas top the field in Division B going into round 11.  Both are at 7-3, while Cheryl's +512 spread gives her an edge over Dean, with +101.  Terry Schroeder and Jason Steuber are both at 6-4.

Lisa Brown is on a tear in Division C.  She stands at 9-1, +1154, and has 2 games and lots of spread on the rest of the field, with only 3 rounds to play.  Only Kristy Zurbrick, at 7-3, -104, has a reasonable chance to catch her.  Four players in that division stand at 6-4, so there will be a battle for the lower place prizes.

Brian Bowman has given up the lead in the Collins Division, and now stands one game back of Chris Lipe (7-3, +472) and Marty Gabriel (7-3, +355).  Dorcas Alexander has had a character building day, and is still looking for that first win.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

What's On the Table?

With a nod to George Viebranz, I bring you this edition of What's on the Table:

Pam Cass - McDonald's McCafe cup, which appears to hold ice water
Cecilia Huber - a fancy water bottle (perhaps Rubbermaid)
Terry Schroeder - Smart Water and a water bottle which looks to hold weak tea, or perhaps an Arnold Palmer
Julia Bogle - a super-sized zippered bag o'pens
Joyce Stock - Diet Vernors
Dan Stock - Diet Mountain Dew
Kevin McCarthy - an Android smart phone
Carolyn Easter - an Arizona travel mug
Pete Zeigler - a bottle of Red Thunder
Chris Lipe - an assortment of pens and highlighters

And, of course . . .

George Viebranz - Altoids