The worm has turned and bitten the cats. Today the dogs posted their fourth win in a row sending the cats reeling. The big guns of the cat kingdom were out in force but were unable to stop the stampede of howling dogs. Leading 8-5 after the first round, the dogs took 9 more in the second. It looked like lights out for kitties when Feraltomcat stopped by to check on the score. 17-9 did not look good. Lorrrobb, (who was supposed to be a neutral sub) watching from the sidelines, called out "Come on all Cats". A loud roar came from deep within the alley, as if a sleeping lion had come awake. One after another reports came in of cat victories. Could they do it? Could they come back from so far down? When the report of a win by Karen_au/AussieCa came in, it was too late for the cats. No matter what the outcome of the rest was, their doom was sealed. What a gallant fight it was. Final score was Dogs 27, Cats 25. The dogs proudly hung their banner and cheered. Next week will be another week with another set of hands. The cats say the worm is about to turn again. The dogs say no way. All that can be sure is another great battle will take place.

Iain sent me a picture of Max's Alley. I put a link to it on the "Welcome" page. It is enormous so it takes a while to load, but I think it is worth the wait. I titled the link "Iain's view of the alley", but that may not be the whole story. A little bird told me that our friend Orla commissioned the drawing while she was in Paris. The priceless work was immediately seized by the French government as a national treasure. Orla, being trained in the art of disguise by the master spy Pob, quickly sprang into action. In true catlike fashion she purrrrsuaded the guards to give her the drawing. Then, disguising Iain as a BEA 727, she sent the now infamous picture back to the safety of the British Isles. So take my advice all you alley lovers. Quickly take a look at the picture before it is swept away from us by the authorities.

For all you tournament fanatics out there, I will be starting up an individual tourney in the near future. Plans are to schedule it for Saturdays at 11:00 EST. This will allow enough time to play the event and still be able to hold the Ryder at 4 EST. I am currently looking for input into which of 2 formats will be used.

The first is a knock-out where teams are made by computer match-ups for the first round. Only the winning pairs advance to the next round (in certain instances the top losing team would also advance). Teams are remade and new partners and opponents are assigned for each round. As it will normally take 4-6 rounds to finish (depending on the number of players), there will be 6 hands each round with a 30 minute time limit.

The second is an individual with no knock-out. All players play 3 rounds as in Ryder. Pairings are random for the first round but for subsequent rounds high score is matched with low score to play next highest, lowest pair. Scores are accumulated just like in party bridge. Scores are tracked to determine order of finish.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think - thanks. [email protected]

Welcome new friends: John_Kennith; Galisis; Snoefte; Upho66; Shane; Rrsansangel; Patden

Seen on the fire escape: Redbird, Julie, lorrrobb, janix, fcot, Ernest_Odell, Shmilyone,Hickadiddle, Rueful_Rabbit, Hbear, Vernc, Catcheerer, Kristina_Mck

Supersubs were: Rueful_Rabbit, Lorrrobb, Twidj

Slams were bid and made by: Kenny_Ha2/Cathugo - 6S and 7D; Snoefte/Upho66 - 7NT; Karen_au/AussieCa - 6S; Rascatfrancylou/Galeb - 6C; Smilodonkiwi/Little_Ladybug - 6NT; AlanMitchell/Lynh_uk - 6S

The trophy for Purrrrrfect 3-0 rounds goes to: Rascatfrancylou/Galeb; Kenny_Ha2/Cathugo; Karen_au/AussieCa; Ksswenson/CoolJoew;

The Dogs were: Semperfidelis/Kalinka; Lorainew/John_Kennith; Galisis/Deltagayl; Jean/Xbrorsen; Snoefte/Upho66; Kenny_Ha2/Cathugo; Glossit/Suegloss; Softfire/Seaweed; JamesGreyWolf/Nonny; Lanaday/Gazettedaily; Karen_au/AussieCa; Ksswenson/CoolJoew; Woo7NT/Harrietcocker

The Cats were: Incognito/Scorpiokirsten; Rascatfrancylou/Galeb; Pob/Orla; Smilodonkiwi/Little_Ladybug; Roblyn/Melkor_Vala; Bobmt/Nanook; AlanMitchell/Lynh_uk; Yadenwise/Kippers; Acastofmany/Poppeye; RzzJohn/Shane(sub Twidj); Catburgled/Cosmarch(sub Lorrrobb); Redwitch/Rrsansangel; Bjbjr/Patden