The alley will not look the same next week. There will be fewer boxes and crates and a whole lot of players will be missing. The big get together in Palm Springs California will be taking place and at last count there were 65 people scheduled to be there. We will be here at the same time as always and the restaurant will set out the food as usual. The taunting and shouting will take place just as it does every week. Even if there are only 3 boxes set up, we will still have the challenge. Don't be surprised though when you hear the Big Dog cheer on the pack. Even though he will be in California (where it is 73 degrees and sunny today), we will be linked to the live action by computer. Happilyeverafter and Steve_Burdette will be running a Palm Springs Ryder at the same time as ours and we will be adding the scores of both matches to determine the winners. With this innovative transcontinental look we may set a record for tables. We will certainly have less noise though as only one of the Palm Springers will be able to talk at a time. That is probably going to be music to the ears of Paul_in_uk who will be directing for the first time. After this one, Max's Alley may never be the same.

Today's match had 17 tables. It seems we grow every week. The alley buzzes with excitement every week and gets louder and louder as we find more friends. The word must be spreading - this is the place to be on a Saturday afternoon (or a Sunday morning for our friends on the other side of the big blue marble). The more visitors we get, the quicker the chat flies by and the harder it becomes to catch all the registrations and changes posted there. We have a group of wonderful people who help keep an eye on who registers and whether or not I acknowledge them and then type in "did you get so-and-so?". Without them it could be chaos. Yahoo does it's best to make things a little bit harder too. It always seems that I start lagging just about the busiest time of the round. When this happens, the chat flashes past a page or so at a time. Today I got knocked off just as I was announcing the pairings for the last round. What a mess that was. Good thing we have understanding friends.

The dogs jumped out to the lead in the first round and never looked back. Despite a short charge by the cats which tied the match, the dogs were never in doubt. Leading 9-8 after round 1, they pounded out a 10-7 advantage in the second. The deficit was compounded as Poppeye (who usually plays as a cat) let me know that he had reported his win for the wrong side in the first round. This made the score 20-14 dogs at the end of 2. In the 3rd round we had two of the unbeaten teams playing each other ( Dixiedeez/CE_Dean for the dogs and Rrsangel/Catwitch for the cats). The battle raged, fur flew and yelps and hissing was heard. True to the spirit of Max's Alley, the match ended in a tie. Both teams remained unbeaten. Final score was Dogs 39 - Cats 29.

For those of you going to Palm Springs, have a safe and wonderful trip and may all your cards have pictures. May Al the Dealer never find you. Enjoy the fun that has been planned and give our love to the friends you meet.

To those who are not going, Paul and I look forward to another wonderful Saturday with you in the alley.

Please take the time to fill in as many names as you can and send it to me so I can set up a directory.

Who's who in the zoo?

Seen on the fire escape: Julie, Paul_in_uk, Roholte, Mrykath, Jimkat,Pomfrtd, Robinbird, Dmoen, Mom_ox, MarySue

Welcome newcomers: Thelady_and; Thetramp_2; PsychoRyderpuppy (We may have met this puppy before, but now we know her first name); I8cats4dinner; Cooper; Aleyer; Amateoxlo; cat_can_doo (the man with a thousand faces);

Welcome back old friends: Littleswan; Robinbird (who just stopped by to say "Hi", and is anxious to get back to the alley for some action); Papabud; Amuzyka;

Supersubs were: Cave_Draco; Jimkat

Slams were bid and made by: Arzcxy1/Poppeye - 6H & 6H; Littleswan/Seaweed - 6NT; TheLadyand/Thetramp_2 - 6S; Kippers/Pom2 - 6C; Pob/Orla - 6D; Katastrofix/Scorpiokirsten - 6NT; Melkor_Vala/Roblyn - 6NT;

The trophy for purrrrfect 3-0 tournament goes to:

The dogs were: DeltaGayl/Lockupurgirls; Arzcxy1/Poppeye; PsychoRyderpuppy/I8cats4dinner; Dixiedeez/CE_Dean; Kenny_ha2/Cathugo; JamesGreyWolf/Puppyvw; Littleswan/Seaweed; Jean/Xbrorsen; Softfire/Flaunce; Lorainew/Bassman; Suegloss/Ccwaxman; TheLadyand/Thetramp_2; Joelf/Catherine; Papabud/Cooper; Felden/Amuzyka; IM_Rod/Ab_CD; Kippers/Pom2

The cats were: Jrss/Jcrayk; Producer/dr_Macoy_bones; Pob/Orla; rrsangel/Catwitch; Aleyer/Amateoxlo; Katastrofix/Scorpiokirsten; Nuageman/Nonny; Melkor_Vala/Roblyn; Bobmt/Vernc; Dittny/Errikos; cat_can_doo/Harlequin_smiles; Rebos/Sockit2thedogs; Kareyn_au/Twiddjr; LittlegirlMary/Xwing_fighter; Little_Ladybug/Silver_wind; Alan_Mitchell/Lynh_uk; Smilodonkiwi/Lorrrobb;