Breakfast of Petanque Champions

Breakfast of petanque champions! Boules et Cochonnet looks like it probably contains all of your daily iron supplements too. I wonder if it comes in different patterns and sizes.

Our Thoughts Are With You

Our sympathy to all of the members of the Detroit Petanque Club for the loss such a good friend.

Chicago Petanque Club

Gene Sanford - Friend, Petanquer, Good Man - Passed Away

Today I received a phone call from Sharon Hunter. She told me that Gene, the love of her life & her best friend, had passed away on Wednesday at 7:43 p.m.





Gene Sanford, 51, had complications from his asthma which necessitated a hospital visit. Shortly thereafter associated difficulties brought on a seizure and heart attack.



I first met Gene and Sharon five years ago. They comprised the core initial group of the Detroit Petanque Club. In those days, it was Gene, Sharon, Tony-T, me, James, and Sharon. We had been playing on the sandy pistes down along the Detroit River (Pre-Detroit Riverwalk). Gene was always with his Sharon, and together they played a very strong petanque team. In a very short time Gene and I became good friends, and we'd talk about all sorts of things while awaiting our throws. I can proudly say that Gene, though constant practice, became an excellent tireur (shooter). When most of the club members were shying away from cold weather playing, I could always count upon Gene to be ready for a good game of boule.

I'll miss him.

Sharon told me that she is in the process of making Gene's funeral arrangements. When she knows more information, I'll be sure to share it with you.

Attached are some (of many) photos I have of Gene over the years:

Chicago's Midwinter FreezerBoule Games

View all photos of The Chicago Petanque Club 2nd Annual Midwinter FreezerBoule Games. Click on the Flickr link below OR cut and paste the code into your browser.Then click on the "SLIDESHOW" button in the upper right of the Flicker website.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1024640@N22/pool/
NEW! Join The Chicago Petanque FLICKR Photo Group (its FREE) to post and share your best petanque shots.
View the Winter Freezer Boule Games slideshow on FLICKR and leave a comment.

Memories of Last Summer

Since we're in the throes of winter, when we can only dream of Sunday afternoons playing pétanque (at least those of us not brave enough to play in sub-freezing temperatures), I thought I'd share some pictures of warmer times last summer, during the Midwest Pétanque Tournament in Chicago. This was my second year of competition, and I'm really looking forward to my third. Enjoy.

Grant Park once again provided a beautiful venue for the tournament.

My partner, Paul Murphy, and me prior to the start of the tournament.

Paul laying in a point.

A pause between games.

During the Consolate round -- The flip of the coin.

The 2008 Midwest Pétanque Tournament competitors.


The Consolate round on Sunday was cut short by a horrendous thunderstorm, but this didn't dampen our spirits in the least. (Taken from Paul's car.)

Because of the rain-out, there was no awards ceremony, so Paul and I had our own. We came in first during the Consolate round. (Sorry, I had to throw this one in.)

Winter Session of Detroit Petanque Club

VIDEO





The weather was favorable towards a little afternoon petanque, so I sent out a "call to arms" and three of us were hardy enough (Tim, Pat, Jeff) to assemble beside the ice rink at Campus Martius Park for a little petanque.



It wasn't a pretty game, with Jeff beating the Honigman fellows - but I'm enthusiastic that we'll have a few more wintertime sessions until the Spring sets up the fulltime schedule.

It is Pat's birthday on Tuesday (12/30/2008) and Mikey's on New Year's Eve! I knew those guys are like twins...

Chicago Petanque WINTER GAMES

To get you in the mood and build up your courage to play outdoors this January 10th in Chicago, click on this link (or cut and paste into browser) to view 30 photos from last winters event.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/938624@N24/pool/

Pierre Dedeyne

The Michigan Petanque Club has lost a former member. Pierre Dedeyne passed away on Wed. 11/21/08, he was 80. Visitation will be at Bagnesco & Calcaterra Funeral Home www.bcfh.com 25800 Harper, St Clair Shores on Sat. 11/22/08 from 2 to 9 p.m. A service will be held on Sunday 12:00 at the funeral home.

Pierre was a founding member of the Petanque Club of Detroit now Michigan Petanque Club when it was organized in the 1970's, and he and his wife Lauraine played petanque until the mid 1990's. Every 14th of July, Bastille day, Pierre and his wife would invite many of their friends and Club members to their home where many hours were enjoyed playing petanque, eating good food and drinking good wine. Those were memorable times and will remain with us forever.

On behalf of the Michigan Petanque Club and sister club Detroit Petanque Club we extend our heartfelt condolences to Pierre's entire family.

Pierre will be missed by all who knew him

Memorial/Guestbook Link

Kevin Tops the Rankings

Pat, Maury, and I were determined to beat Kevin & Tim today as a win would topple Maury from the rankings and king Kevin for the top place. The cold weather was an ally - or so we thought, as each minute made Kevin's shooting hand more and more frigid (and less accurate). Our playing was tough, but the opposition was gaining a point per end (round) - slowly building a lead. Unfortunately for us, the piste was a bit on the short side and so Maury's usual long-shot pointing was tampered with. In the end, Kevin pulled ahead sufficiently to place #1.

I crunched the math: Fortunately, for Maury, all he'd need is to win a game 13/3 or two games 13/6 to be back on top again!

Frozen but Not Daunted

Today's game was especially freezing - our hands became numb to the chilling winds - making for difficult shooting. The ground was laced with snow and ice, and the boule grew colder by the minute...

James/Jeff/Raphael went up against Kevin/Pat/Tim with victory to Kevin's team - 13 to 4 (whew!) but perhaps not completely to Kevin's satisfaction as he is still .00418 below Maury's ranking!

VIDEO from today.

Frigid Tempratures Don't Keep the Polar Bear Petanquers Away

Despite the weather (26 degrees?) the Detroit Petanque Club was out playing on the Cadillac Square piste. Today's triplette: Kevin/Raphael/Deric vs. Maury/Tim/Jeff. Lucky that there was no/little wind - making the playing bearable. Though Kevin seemed a bit cold - but not too cold to take the day with a 13/6 win.

We'll stick with it as long as you can stand it. Maybe there's a world's record for coldest petanque game!

Note: Kevin is just a smidgen away from topping Maury's high rank. We'll see.

Club Moves Back to Cadillac Square

VIDEO

Today the teams were evenly matched: Jeff/Abu/Matt/Pat vs. Maury/Kevin/Tim - but after we moved across the street (they're hanging the holiday lights in the trees at Campus Martius Park) - our opponents got a 5 point round, pushing their score up to 11/6. (Tough to beat when we've been getting merely 1 point per round) The end result... 13/6 Maury/Kevin/Tim

Another close game at Campus Martius

We almost had them!

Jeff/Matt/Maury 11 to Pat/Tim 13

Afterwards Matt and I played a 1 vs. 1 which is almost like a totally different game - at least strategy-wise in that you really need to be both pointer and shooter.

It is healthy - even if you're primarily a pointer, to shoot once in a while; likewise, as a shooter you should practice pointing as well. If the opposition senses that they've depleted all of the shooter's boules they'll play a different strategy - but if your pointer can get in a shot (albeit maybe a close proximity shot) once in a while, that's a good reserve skill for emergencies.

Raise the White Flag - We Surrender!

Pat and Maury are an unbeatable combination. Like yesterday, they cleaned the court with their competition.

I thought with my partners: Tim and Matt (and Pat's less than 100% shooting) that we'd be able to get a win (or two) but nope, nada, nothing...

Instead, we lost both games, the first, a horrible 13/6 and that was after leading the opposition 5 to nothing! They came back with 5 points in a single round, then went on for 5 more rounds where we didn't earn a point.

The second game (played to 7 points) was concluded with a 11/13 loss !

Today's strategy was "cochonnet distance" - Pat and Maury favored the longer 10 meter distance, while my team went with the shorter 6-7 meter distance. Our theory was that Maury would over-throw the short ball, and that Pat was not used to shooting at a close boule.

BUT, since we harldy had the chance to throw the cochonnet - Pat and Maury always went long - and even the fates were against us as the cochonet was moved to our opponent's position quite a few times during the game.

Note: using cochonnet distance is a very good method for controlling the game. If you notice a particular advantage with your team (and/or disadvantage with your opponents) in using a long or short distance - then by all means use that to you gain.

Article 7 of the rules states (in part):

For the thrown jack to be legal, the following conditions apply:

(1) The distance from it to the nearest edge of the circle must be between 6 meters minimum and 10 meters maximum. [~ 19.5 feet to 33 feet)

(2) The nearest edge of the circle must be 1 meter from all obstacles and at least 1 meter inside the boundary of the playing area. (if area is bounded).

(3) The jack must be at least 1 meter minimum from all obstacles and from the boundary of the playing area.

(4) The jack must be visible to the player whose feet are entirely inside the circle and who is standing upright. In cases of dispute, the umpire will decide if the jack is visible and there can be no appeal.

Andonian "The Sniper" Makes Every Shot

Tough day to try and beat Honigman. Raphael/Jeff/Matt did well in the first game against Maury/Pat/Tim 13 to 4 - but by the second game (the Revenge match) the tables were turned as Pat turned on fire with his shooting... making, I'd say 90% of his shots. There was simply no way to shut the Honigman Bros. down as they amassed point after point. I was concerned that they'd do a fanny on us - actually...

But a few lucky breaks, and we got in our three - resulting in a 13/3 victory for Pat/Maury/Tim.

Despite the weather being in the low 30's and a lght dusting of snow on the ground, we played a nice set of games today.

Some Games Before the Cold Weather Drop

This will probably be the last of the "warm" days for the season... at least for this week. We had a mixture of games today, the first being Jeff/Tim vs. Raphael/Mike. mike was way off point today, it must be after all of the time he's taken off the petanque courts this last week. That score was 13 to 3 (!)

The second game; Tim/Mike vs. Abu/Jeff ended with Mikey again losing. It must be on account of Pat not being there for moral support... (or any support for that matter) That game's result: 13/9

Then Abu and Mike played against me, resulting in my losing 13/8 . . .

Tomorrow's forecast is for rain - but... we'll see.

Until then - may your point always be close (but not closer than mine!)

Point of No Return

It was another warm-ish day, and Jeff/Matt/Tim/Raphael went up against the three amigos... Maury/Hitesh/Pat. Let's just say they needed a shovel of good luck - as our team took a commanding lead of 5 to 0, and then made a fairly clean run to a 13/4 conclusion.

VIDEO

Afterward, Matt and I played a 1 vs. 1... the Tete-a-Tete games (1 vs. 1) as the French call them, can be very challenging, as solo player - you're both pointer and shooter. I'd say, if you can't shoot, then playing a strategic pointing and push-pointing role can help you towards victory. Even as a shooter, with only 3 boules per side, you're not going to want to shoot more than 1 time anyhow.

Honigman Gave Us a Shellacking!

Election day is here, but my team is way behind in the petanque polls - the first game: Pat/Kevin/Maury/Abu verses Jeff/Mike/Matt/Tim/Hitesh - a slaughter: 5/13 conclusion! Then things got WORSE... tim left to get more carrots and peppers, leaving it Jeff/Mike/Matt/Hitesh vs. Pat/Kevin/Maury/Abu ... and a 0 to 7 finale... whew!

At least there's always tomorrow...

Pat, Tim and Maury - Washed Out with the Rain

The weather may have played a key factor in the results of today's game as the Honigman players are known for their fair weather skill.

Today, Matt/Raphael/Jeff went up against Pat/Maury/Tim for a full 13 point game. We had some rain delays, but overall, played to the game's conclusion: 13/6

I must say that Maury was the anchor for today's Honigman team. His pointing saved them many a time.

For my own team, my two pointers; Raphael and Matt did things by the book, rolling in all of the necessary boules. Raphael even effectuated a nice ricochet for additional points.

See you tomorrow (election day!)

Jeff Places 2nd Place in Pie Eating Contest (video)

VIDEO (it has sound):

PIEEATINGCONTEST

I came in second place (due more to my having a chocolate-silk pie facial than ingesting it all. What a hilarious circumstance!

I'd better stick to petanque.