Dogs howled out challenges and Cats spat back in frustration. The alley was filling up and nobody was there to keep the two sides from an out and out war. Tempers grew hotter with each passing minute. The street department had closed off the end of the alley and the matchmaker couldn't get in. Sure, it was easy to see who was a cat and who was a dog, but who would battle who? You can't just pounce on anyone you see. Without some sort of planning, it would turn into a brawl. Or worse yet, what if they started to drift off? What if some of the nastier ones decided to just prowl the neighborhood and tear up whatever got in the way? Neighbors boarded up their windows. Mothers called the kids in from the streets. Some of the bigger dogs were eyeing the new set of tires on the restaurant truck. Just as things looked like they would explode, a hero stepped up. Like a heroine from a movie, Dittny stepped to the middle of the alley. "I'll organize it", she said with a voice that inspired confidence on both sides. Even the Big Dog was impressed with the bravery shown by his cat adversary, although not enough to stifle the snicker as he thought what a tasty meal she would make. Secret agent Pob joined Dittny in the middle to offer his help. He was after all familiar with both sides and was confident that any trickiness could be spotted and therefore averted. Cheers rang out through the alley and grew louder as the word was passed to the neighborhood. Grateful mothers waved "Dittny for President" signs from their windows and tossed tuna sandwiches into the alley. The spectators on the fire escape applauded and showered the alley with kitty treats. To keep the dogs from getting angry, a large amount of Milk Bone was tossed in as well. Care was of course taken to get the youngsters out of the way before the Milk Bone was thrown. The injuries caused by this practice at several Cleveland Browns games were clearly remembered here. Maybe this demonstration of leadership is what the cats have been searching for. It was obviously one of the reasons for their remarkable comeback after being down 7-5 after round 1. They took 9 of the next 12 matches and with them, a commanding lead of 14-10 going into the last round. The cats won their second straight by a final score of Cats 28 - Dogs 20.

Just a reminder - we are going to be away from the alley starting June 10^th. We return on July 15^th. IMDJ1 and Lorrrobb have said they will try to take over for us and Steve and Happy will also be there to help. Please give them all the help you can and we will see you when we get back.

I have written 2 new programs. The first is a 4 team round robin - Ryder style. Same rules etc. except there 4 teams playing at once. The second is an individual tournament using Yahoo scores. You are assigned a new partner each round much like the format in party bridge. Scores are updated on a "Leader Board". By bookmarking the web page you are able to follow the standings as updated for each round of the tournament. I put a sample in so you can see it and bookmark it for future use - http://www.geocities.com/oldyank1/leaderboard.html . If you are interested in trying either or both of these, send me an e-mail and see if we can set up a day/night to get them going. [email protected]

There were no slams reported this week.

Perfect 3-0 rounds were played by: Novelty/Dpman; Doggotu/Poppeye; Dittny/Errikos; Amuzyka/Nuageman

The Dogs were: Mrykath/Hides; Novelty/Dpman; Nonny/HolyGuy; Deb/JamesGrey Wolf; Softfire/Jean; SandraJoy/Flaunce; Timmothy the Toucan/Ryderpuppy; Kenny/Doghugo; Macmarine/Loraine; RedRover/Qatsmeow; Woo7NT/Doggyvw; Psspll/Deltagryl

The Cats were: Doggotu*(no, I am not kidding)*/Poppeye; Francylou/MeowmixJin; Dittny/Errikos; Amuzyka/Nuageman; Acastofmany/Glossit; Yadenwise/Galeb; Windstarsun/Bearafm; Pob/Orla; Whit1308/Bobmt; Adele UB7/INDJ1; DonKiwi/Scorpiokirsten; Paula_am/Greybeard