Welcome to the Matrix

Rob showed up as Morpheous from the Matrix today and played with Tim W. and Mark W. They swallowed the red pill, taking a 5 to 13 loss against Jeff, Tee, and Abu.

Temperatures Fall - But Petanque Interest Rises

Michiganders, always avid outdoorsfolk, don't shy away from 55 degree days because we all know that Winter is 6 months long - hence, we need to enjoy every bit of outside while the going is good. Today's games were a nice testiment to this with another win for Buzz, and Tim C. walking away with two wins under his belt. It'll take a whole mess of wins for me to even get close to the top three. With Mike d. moving down South in a week or so, that'll knock him off the board and raise me up a pitch. See you tomorrow!

Fabulous Friday

Another skunking, this time Pat and Rob beat-up Tim C. and Buzz. Pat claims that Rob plays best when he plays on his team - I guess it shows.

My own trio did fine with the first game, but we fell apart in the 2nd - as did my shooting which Mark said was right on, but splintered at the end.

Enjoy the weekend - a tad rainy for Detroit...

Mark and Buzz for the Win

Buzz is on a roll, with 4 wins in his last 5 games. Coupled with Mark, they played a very tight game against Tim W. and Tee-Bomb with plenty of close-to-the border action. Here is Mark (see photo) in his "Karate Kid" stance ready for his shot.

"Even a Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut Now and Then"

Maury was very humble about Hal and his win today over Tee and me. We were see-sawing on points for a time, then Tee and I took a strong lead - but they re-captured and evened it out at 11's ... Finally, they needed 1 point to get to 13, and Maury calmly rolled it in right up to the cochonnet. Perfect.

But not one to claim an easy victory, he told us: "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then."

Buzz Skunks Abu and Tee

Buzz, one of our newest players, has succeeded in skunking (13/0 victory) his opponents. Teamed up with Tim C., the duo went 13 points without giving up a single point to Abu and Tee. Congrats!

New Year Kicks Off with a Pair of Wins for Jeff

Pat's Average OVER 2.0 !

Team Pat/Maury had double wins today catapulting Pat's average to a 2.02

My own game went rather nicely with Nancy rolling in close-point after close-point leaving Mark/Tim/Tee to try shooting out her boule.

Afterwards, we did some pointing/shooting practice. Speaking of practice, Buzz and Tee have their own sets (of 6 boules) and they've been practicing all of the time. It shows!

Mike Gives his Adios Message

VIDEOS:

Mike Says Goodbye

Abu & Buzz Round

More Game Playing


Mike will be leaving us in the next few weeks, off to the sunny climes of Florida. In this short interview (above) he comments on his friends, his prospects, and offers a very sobering parting message for all.

a close one...

Today's game was veddy veddy close - and a good game to boot! We came down to a 12/12 play-off... I love these types of games.

Friday Sizzles

I watched the 2nd game - exciting. Hal was pointing in like the pro he is and Abu tried out some very successful shots (completely atypical for Abu who normally plays a conservative game). Towards tyhe 1 pm hour Tim C. was substituted out for Eric C. but the Abu/Tim W. combo was simply too tough to beat.

My own game, we were playing very tight, with point for point exchanges. Raphael even came through with one of his classic push-pointings. But at the end, our pointing fell off, and it came down to my making a tir-au-fer shot (just grazed it).

Plenty of Petanque

Pat A. bounced back to his 2.00 ranking - to give some context to 2.00; when you win a game, you get 2.00 plus some additional points on the score-spread. On a loss, you get only 1 point. Most people win and lose and so their average falls somewhere in the middle (1.5 to 1.80) range.

Pat has won so many games that his average reflects a player who has won every game at 13/12 (2 points) - not bad!

If Pat's average goes higher than 2.00, it'd mean that overall, he's won all of his games with a spread of 13/11; 13/10 and so on.

Wednesday Brings Twin Triplettes

VIDEO of today.

Nice day today. Fair team composition brought out some great game-play. My own team was shooter heavy while the opposition was Pointer heavy. Pat's excellent shots adding in Maurys great points overwhelmed the opposition.

Note: Mike D. is leaving the decision as to whether or not he should pack up and move to Florida to a vote by the club.

Pat's Team Goes Nuclear

VIDEO

It was a total disaster! Pat; Abu; Tim C. ripped through our defenses and mocked our offenses with round after round of punishing points. Skunked! Then a re-match (7 point) also pushed us into the gutter with a 13/10 win for Pat's team.

Eric did very well indeed, with his victory against Mark & Rob (13/6).

Abu was lending me advice on team composition. But I think almost any team has a chance of winning - as long as luck and strategy are in play. Today, Lady Luck didn't shine upon us.

JAZZ FESTIVAL FRIDAY TO MONDAY... No Petanque Friday (Sept. 4th) - see you Tuesday (Sept. 8th)

Tuesday's Games

So competitive games on Tuesday. Though, yes, the scores were not 13/12, the games were point for point at the beginning, then some lucky breaks to leap ahead of the win.

No Petanque for Wednesday, I have a meeting. But I'll see you on Thursday!