Cats Claw Back

The fame of the Ryder Tournaments is growing thanks to the ongoing battle of the CATS and DOGS. Today as we tried to enter the lounge in preparation of the big event, it was announced that there were already 168 people in Social Lounge #2. There were hardly any in Social #1. They must have all come to the alley to see the weekly fight. Every animal in the zoo seemed to be there and some who the zoos don't even know about. There were kangaroos on every garbage can in the alley. Giraffes towered over the fences to get a look. It was so crowded, the CATS and DOGS had to fight just to get into the alley. It finally got so full, we were asked by local law enforcement to move to another alley. Over to Social #1 was the cry. We'll all meet over there. Some loyal CATS and DOGS remained behind to re-direct any late arrivals. I am sorry to tell you, Social #1 will never be the same. February 5, 2000 will go down as the day all the sane bridge players decided it was time to look for a less frantic lounge.

First scratch went to the speedy CATS Pob/Sunny. "Fastest CATS in the West" was the quote I heard in the lounge. True to CAT tradition, we were off to a typical start. Take an early lead and hang on. Some of the other CATS turned in early wins, but the DOGS were ready for them. They pounced on the CATS and they pounced hard. The DOGS took a 9 to 4 lead into the second round. The speedy pair again finished first and claimed another giant scratch for the CATS. This round saw the DOGS winning by a score of 7 to 6 giving them a seemingly comfortable lead going into round 3. The score was now 16 to 10 DOGS. The final round, worth double victory points was the battle of the unbeaten teams. Loraine/Macmarine of the DOGS were matched with CATS Sunny_OR/POB on the first table. This time the speedy ones hit a speed bump and had to slow down, but managed to win the match. On table 2 it was DOGS Orla/Rueful_Rabbit against CATS Maginolia/Elaine. The score was a squeaker, but the DOGS pulled out the victory. The third unbeaten match-up was DOGS LiteDove/Sadie against Myrna/LittleSwan for the CATS. This was a real battle won by the CATS. Kael/DrAnnaLee, previously unbeaten for the DOGS were beaten by POM_Two/Tis22 while newcomers JPLesnerj/Baja2K won their third straight for the DOGS. Purring and meowing were heard all around as the CATS came scrambling back winning 10 of the last 13 match-ups. This gave the CATS a come from behind win by a final score of 30 to 22.

This trophy is awarded to ORLA who with the help of her partner Rueful Rabbit went undefeated. This event was such a milestone in her bridge career that ORLA requested this trophy to commemorate the occasion, so here it is. The one and only -

 The top 10 and ties this week are: