The cats needed to win today to tie up the event for the year. With a new record 17 tables, and a lead of 10 to 7 after the first round it looked as if they might do it. The score was tied at 17-17 at the end of the second round and it looked like a fitting end to a year of close contests. Another tie was surely a possibility. The dogs, determined to solidify their hold on the annual title, stormed to an astounding 14 victories in the last round. The final score was Dogs 45 - Cats 23.

With that the year 2000 came to an end in the alley. And what a year it was. The millennium came and went without the "Bug", the world seems to have survived, and Florida finally stopped counting. So many new and wonderful friends have been found. There have been good times when we laughed together and bad times when we cried together, but the important point is we did it together.

The alley has seen a lot of changes in the year 2000. For one thing it has grown. We started with 6 people who decided to "give it a try" one Saturday. The original game wasn't the cats versus the dogs nor was it the cats versus the rats. Way back in 1997 I watched a tournament in the advanced lounge using the "Ryder" format. Two wonderful people named Dianne and Pratap came up with the idea. I thought it was a fantastic format as there were no "winners and losers", just team results. When our Social Lounge tournament finished, and with Dianne and Pratap's blessing, I announced one day that we would try to set it up in Social 2. Felden recruited players from Social 1 to come and play and I tried my best to explain the format to those who came. We divided into 2 teams and used the captain of each team as the team's name. Our first captains were Cathugo and BigmojoDaddy. The Cathugo team won the first event. After 2 or 3 weeks, we decided to name the teams and the Cats played against the Rats. Thus the alley was born. There is a little poem about it with a link somewhere on the "Welcome" page for those who have never seen it. Anyway, from those small beginnings in late 1997, the alley population has grown in leaps and bounds. Pretty soon Yahoo will have to open a lounge just to accommodate us.

Another change the alley has seen is our good friend IMDJ1. Iain has stepped forward to help out as a substitute organizer so I could get a break once in a while. Let's not forget Errikos, Dittny, Happilyeverafter and Steve_Burdette who have jumped in when my server went down or other disasters came up. In addition, there are many who help keep the peace and sanity alive as I try to get registrations, results or whatever. The countless times that someone has answered questions about format, timing or partnerships so I didn't get interrupted by Ims. Without so many wonderful people willing to help out, we wouldn't be able to keep the ship afloat.

One of the biggest changes we have seen is the introduction of disguises to the alley. There are so many new names with old faces you need a program to tell who is who. I tried at one point to include all the aliases of my friends on my list but to no avail. Unfortunately Yahoo treats them as separate people and if I have my "Ims from friends only" checked to cut down on the number of interruptions their messages don't get through. It sure is fun trying to figure out who is who. Some of the names are very creative. I sometimes think there is a "name writer" out there thinking up all these names and earning big bucks. Either that or we have a whole bunch of talented people in the alley. Some of my favorites are: Cat_on_a_hot_tin_rueful (Rueful_Rabbit); S_cat_erbrain (IMDJ1); I8cats (Macmarine); and who can forget the prehistoric wonder cat Smilodonkiwi (Donkiwi). There are so many great names. One resolution I will make for the New Year is to try and develop a page listing all the aliases of the players so we can preserve them for posterity.

Added thought - enter this contest

The New Year will see a few changes too. For starters, my room over the alley is going "time-share". Paul_in_uk has agreed to step in every other week and Redwitch has also offered to help out. Iain, of course, will be back too. This will be wonderful for the alley as it will ensure that there is always someone here to keep the ball rolling. Hopefully, there are others out there who will be willing to help out too. I am sure looking forward to getting down into the alley to play a few rounds.

Seen on the fire escape: Julie, Kareyn_au_uk, Hoosang, Paul_in_uk, Mrykath, Ccwaxman, Rrsanangel, Puppycheer, Y2groove_2000, Pivobud

Welcome newcomers: MsHappyMewyear (who rode in on a lorry from Canada); Kittenium (a spinner of fine tunes from across the pond); Sam; Tootji; Old_Yeller; Racing_Grey (who appeared to have seaweed in her hair); Champagne_4_2001 (somebody slipped this one a mickifinn); Albertedward; and Ab_Cd

Welcome back old friends: Girlwonder (who we know better as Meggiebaby); JuanNoTrump;

Supersub was: j_lruh

Slams were bid and made by: Pob/Orla - 6Dx and 6S

The trophy for purrrrfect 3-0 tournament goes to:

The dogs were: Deltagayl(sub-realmusicwife)/Lockupurgirls; Softfire/Flaunce; Jean/Xbrorsen; Tootji/Old_Yeller; Incognito/Racing_Grey; Dixiedeez/CE_Dean; Top_Billing/Understudy; Lorainew/John_Kennith; Catherine/Joelf; Glossit/SueGloss; Rebos2day/Dr_Macoy_bones; Woo7NT/Harrietcocker; Psspill/RzzJohn; BettyBoop/Felden; Champagne/Kippers; Cathugo/Rueful_rabbit; Girlwonder/JuanNoTrump

The cats were: Harlequin_smiles/Scorpiokirsten; Golfnldy/Redbird; Alan_mitchell/Lynh; Sam/Im_rod; Nonny/Nuageman; MsHappyMewyear/Kittenium; Nanook/Bobmt; Catwitch/Chances; Jawall/Albertedward; Pob/Orla; Dittny/Errikos; Killercat/Godzilla; PomTwo/Ab_Cd; Jin/Galeb; Silverwind/Little_LadyBug; Littlegirl_Mary/Xwing_fighter; Jrss1nz/Bobsgirlanne(sub-DonKiwi)