Blog

Michael David Back in Fighting Form

1st Michael David had his way with the expert division, finishing 4-0 +314 and not scoring under 400 the whole way.  Displaying a peculiar lack of empathy for his fellow man, he took down Jordan Parker 490-299, unrepentantly slapping down bingos of DOCENTS and FLUSTERS in the process.  That bingo count would be further inflated by a pair of three-bingo games to close out the night: 412-341 versus Lynda Finn (playing GAROTES, RESONATE, and the creepily prophetic phony OUTWINS) and 424-405 versus Andy Bohnsack (playing AMOEBIC, BLUNTED, and UNMATTED).  However, ten bingos in four games was not enough to achieve "bingo king" honors: Andy had twelve in the five games he played.

2nd Thomas Reinke went 3-1 +293, his sole loss attributable to the aforementioned Michael David, 409-442.  He did get two bingos down, HANDLES and UNLIVES (v. UNLIVE, to live so as to atone for past events), but Michael's counterbingos of TWIRLER and OUTFIRE eventually led him to victory.  Peter Schmiedicke did not fare as well; he mostly spectated as Thomas unleashed a quadrumvirate of bingos: SCOOPED, ANERGIA, FLOUTING, and SHITAKE.  That's bullshitake!  For a change of pace, Thomas defeated Barb Besadny 355-249 with no bingos on either side.  Where there are feasts of bingos, there must also be famines of the same.

3rd Charles Reinke's 3-1 +204 record placed him 40 spread points over the other 3-1 finisher, Lynda Finn.  His highest-scoring contest was a 490-350 game against Gail Salm.  RINGERS and ENTWINE were Gail's attempts to stay in the game, but they were outdone by Charles' REMELTED, DESCRIES (v. DESCRY, to discern), and FELLIES.   Another bingo-heavy game was played against Bryan Benwitz, resulting in a high-scoring loss for Bryan, 421-445.  All bingos involved were eight letters long: GRANDSIR, EARSTONE, and CADASTER for Charles; FLOTAGES and GASOLIER for Bryan.  Charles can thank Andy Bohnsack for his one loss, a game that ended 411-428.

Betty Hasselkus got Word of the Week when she played the odd-looking SCEPTRED.  To SCEPTRE means "to invest with royal authority."

Sue Goldstein Reigns in Small Intermediate Group

1st Sue Goldstein finished 2-1 +56.  She took down TWO experts, Betty Hasselkus and Barb Besadny, before dropping a game to June Scott.  Her two bingos in three games (RETRAIN and RELINES) should boost her bingo-per-game average.

Aaron Bader's Fast Start Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

1st Aaron Bader averaged an impressive 478 points per game, going a perfect 3-0 +432 in his second visit to our club.  All of his games featured margins over a hundred points, so none of them could be considered "close", but the closest one was a 464-342 victory over Dave Gilligan.  Dave got down MESSILY; Aaron played ANODIZES and TESTING.  The 500-point theshhold proved elusive as Aaron scored 499 (to Lynda Finn's 328) for his most dominating win of the evening.  Aaron pulled out a trio of high-scoring bingos (NEIGHBOR, LACQUER, and REBODIES), easily overwhelming Lynda's lone bingo of EINKORNS.  As some consolation to Lynda, she did get $4 for the high K word.

2nd Thomas Reinke continued the slow slog to close the winning-percentage gap against his brother, finishing 3-1 +177.  This quest was aided by beating that same brother by a thin margin of 404-398.  His only bingo was CONGEST, countered by Charles' UNLEARNT and DIELDRIN (n. an insecticide).  The bingo faucet flowed more freely against Dave Gilligan, who bore witness to four bingos from his opponent: WRITERS, TOREADOR, OVERBOIL, and BEADING.  This bingo onslaught resulted in a 548-327 final score.  However, Thomas' most noteworthy bingo accomplishment came in his 432-384 win versus Richard Lauder: the ten letter REEXPELLED, played to the already-on-the-board LED! 

3rd Peter Schmiedicke also went 3-1, with his spread of +167 leaving him only ten points out of second place.  His highest-scoring game came against Jordan Parker, 467-282.  Peter monopolized the bingo situation on that board, holding Jordan bingoless while playing three of his own: LUCERNE (another term for alfalfa), RATLINS, and STONIER.  Peter then presented Thomas Reinke with his only loss, winning that one by almost a hundred, 443-345.  Sadly, a perfect record was not to be, as Aaron Bader proved to be too much to handle, prevailing 472-333 in a game where Peter was held to just one bingo of OUTRIDES.

Sue Goldstein Shows No Hospitality

1st Sue Goldstein's 2-1 record was good enough to secure first place despite her spread of -17.  She defeated visiting out-of-towner Gail Gibson 358-343 to set her high-water mark.  June Scott brought her back down to earth with a 306-272 victory in which June played the bingo SORTIES (v. SORTIE, to attack suddenly from a defensive position).

2nd Connie Pearson went 2-2 -125, a strong performance for her first-ever outing at our club.  Along the way she defeated expert Mary Becker 377-351 despite Mary's bingo of INDITERS.  Things were looking great until the final game, when Michael David taught her a lesson in Scrabblenomics, the final score a lopsided 497-292.

Peter leads the HyVee mini-crowd with a 4-1 +460. Peter averaged 2.8 bingos per game and had the high average with 438. Bryan had the high game with a 536. A good time was had by most.