This weekly Ryder tournament is about the most fun thing I've been part of in a long time. I really can't think of a better way for me to spend time with computer friends and get such enjoyment out of it. From the response, I think a lot of the players feel the same which makes it a really worth while event.

There are a couple of personal areas I need to provide a contingency for. First - I find I have painted myself into a time commitment corner with the Ryder stats I have been keeping. I don't know if anyone has looked at them, but there are currently 175 participants in our menagerie. The time spent recording weekly stats is keeping pace with the time spent on the tournament itself. I had originally thought the stats would help in keeping the teams even, but we don't need them. The competition itself and the Yahoo dealer keep the teams even. I am not even sure most of our players know or care about the stats. It is for these reasons you won't be seeing the weekly rankings in future. I have to make a choice, either organize the tournament or keep stats. To me the choice is easy. I have gone off the idea of rankings anyway - we play for fun not glory (well maybe a little glory). If anyone wishes to track your own stats, let me know (I'll bet I get a bunch of replies to that one LOL). Second - Should anyone want to organize a few of these tournaments I will gladly help you get started. It would be great to have back-up just in case. Send me an e-mail if you are interested - [email protected] .

Now for the important stuff -

I guess I have always known that the Ryder is a lot of fun, but I guess I never realized just how much fun. Let me share a story with you from Saturday. We were playing along having a great time spitting and growling as usual. Most of the teams had finished and we were waiting for the last two tables in the first round. I noticed a remark from one of the DOG visitors that was just posted in general - not to anyone in particular. The message was simply "This is a great tournament". A little while later I noticed the same visitor "barking" along with the other DOGS who were howling about their success. Another post from the visitor - "This is the greatest tournament I have ever been in". Hello??? The visitor wasn't in the tournament - or was he? Dottie was here with a new persona - maybe someone changed names while I wasn't looking. I made the announcements of the next round pairings. The visitor posted again "What now Yank? Do you send me to a table or should I get my own?" Opps, did I mess up yet again? I tried to explain that we didn't need any subs just yet and to join any table that said "join". "Great - thanks" was the response. I thought it had ended there, but at the end of round 2, there was the visitor. "What's the score?" followed by barking and cheering when it was announced that the DOGS still led. When it was announced that the DOGS had held off a fantastic CAT comeback to win the match, the visitor cheered along with the rest and said "We won, well done DOGS". The poor visitor, although not playing one game in the tournament, stayed with us, whooped and hollered, barked and howled and even thanked me for a wonderful tournament when he left. I hope he comes back next week and actually gets in the tournament. Final Score DOGS 26 CATS 22.

Slams were reported by: Jean/Dutchie (7 NT); Litedove/Sunny_OR (6 S)

Perfect 3-0 games were played by: Jean/Dutchie; Pob/Orla; Kenny_Ha2/Realbetis

DOGS were: Sadie/Ridd_50; Jean/Dutchie; Macmarine/Loraine; Jamesgreywolf/Elaine; Softfire/Amalekite; Zuktort/Wyatt; Connie/Barbm; Kenny/Realbetis; Nuageman/Salescoach; Alanbolt/Billsgirl; Polly/Happy; Pflydbob/Pom_Two

CATS were: Harlequin_Smiles/Jin; Litedove/Sunny; Dmoen/Cathugo; Myrna/Littleswan; Redbird/Felden; Pob/Orla; Guang/Melkor_Vala; Rueful_Rabbit/Kareyn; Bonniehilliard/Susie; Redrover/Opensesame; Imdj1/Dottie; Rw_Carrol/Kael62 -- AND a big apology to CATS Dittny and Erikkos who I left out of the lineup.