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NSC 2008 Commentary: Round 8

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Go to: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 16, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24, Round 25, Round 26, Round 27, Round 28, Award Ceremony.

Round 8

John D. Williams, Jr., started us off today. Our 1948 person of note this session is Chuck Armstrong (Saline, MI). Directors of the Year were asked to stand and then the real backbone of the NSA was recognized, all the club directors were asked to stand. The room was packed with them and the applause was great!

Mary Rhoades made a few procedural reminders and asked players without head shots to find me so that I could get one up on their pairings.

Jesse Matthews (Kelowna BC) has a bye this round and he is taking notes for me! yes! Nothing like a division 1 player with nothing to do but turn that brain on observation!

On board 5 in division 5 the word JAUNDICE from the J has been spotted. By whom or when or why is not known, and the Internet reporter, slacker, got there too late for flesh it out.

On a game being played at by Judy Horn (Reading, MA) this round, the word BOOJUM was played.

At table 1 in division 1, Matt Graham (New York, NY) and Trip Payne (Boca Raton, FL) are having a barn- burningly good time. On their board in progress, I see RETOTALS, TOrNADOS, WIFELiER (what does this word mean?), SOCAGERS, and the fun MIKVAH!

The meeting of the Thai titans did not go well for Amnuay Ploysangngam (Thailand). He lost to the former World SCRABBLE champ, Panupol Sujjayakorn (Thailand), 355-523. Amnuay opened with FUME and Panupol slapped down PENDULAR through the U. Panupol's next bingo was SEIZAbLE to the E for 128 from the triple. Amnuay got down sOUPING for 90 and Panupol's final bingo was ENTRIES for 76.

Roy Kamen (Covina, CA) said he started today at 3-4 and felt like he was sitting at the kid's table at a big family dinner. Awww...

Terry Kang Rau (New Britain, CT) vs. Jeff Clark (Linden, MI) featured the beautiful POLYGRAPH. Jeff played GRAPH early on and about 8 turns later put down POLY for 40. Terry got down EDUCAToR and won the game, 421-351.

Elaine Glowniak (Ortonville, MI) vs. Jacqueline Camper (Memphis, TN) catch my attention. Initially, only for the lovely skirt Jacqueline was wearing, but moments later they went to the challenge machine to check out REENJOY. Elaine was challenged, but it is good!

Fred Oswald (Lansing, MI) vs. Charles Reinke (Middleton, WI), one of the famous identical twins. Frank played RIGATOnI for 70 and Charles played SNARLERS for 77, OVERNiCE for 78, and UNDOERS for 75. It was Charles' win, 416-372. While there I asked Charles to tell me the absolute truth about the arresting identicalness he shares with his twin, Thomas, also competing in division 3. He admitted that even his parents have a hard time telling them apart. They do nothing to help, either. They wear their hair the exact same long length, they wear baggy jeans, and their top is uniformly some sort of tie dyed, oversized T-shirt. At their age, they probably do not want to hear this, but they could not be any politer, nicer, or cuter, either!

Will Scott (Versailles, KY) tried his hand at the undefeated Phil Wertheimer (Short Hills, NJ) at table 1 in division 4. Will opened with BANJO for 34 and got away with the fun THINGY* for 42, but it was Phil's win, due to plays like UNSTEADY for 76 and MERRIER for 69.

In division 5, four players went into round 8 with 6-1 records. At table 1, Ron Barker (Boise, ID) faced Aaron Daly (Sioux Falls, SD). I see IsATINE for 71 and OPERABLE for 91 by Aaron and Ron's COWRITES for 64. Aaron's win, 468-325.

The BEST news of the day so far: Division 1's Mark Kenas (Madison, WI) is a new grandfather! His grandson, Mason, was born yesterday at noon. Hearty congrats to Mark and the new family on this new addition! In the process of telling me his good news, he showed me his SCRABBLE gear bag. Known for his overalls proclivity, a friend made him a gear bag out of a pair of overalls. It is unique and terrific! No one is going to leave any tournament with Mark's gear in a case of bag confusion, that is for certain! My favorite of his fashion accessories though? His Sam's Drilling Company hat!

John Chew reports, "Roy Kamen (Covina, CA) thought it would be much fairer if in the last round of the day, players 3-3 on first and seconds, draw for first on the seventh game of the day." John surveyed the event directors who agreed so, John is going to write that into the code later tonight.

The following color was taken down by Jesse Matthews (Kelowna BC) from division 1, who had a bye this round. Profuse thanks to this sweet, Canadian, young man.

Michael Perl (Ithaca, NY) smiles and waves at me; I see he has AEELOST on his rack, but he gave me a shrug, so I dont' know..... aw, shucks, no spot to play it!

Mike Frentz (Seattle, WA) looks at me befuddled as I walk by. I point to the Media badge I'm wearing and he smiles. Hey, if I can't win games, I'll at least write about better ones!

In division 1, Joey Mallick (Cape Elizabeth, ME) vs. Sammy Okosagah (Baltimore, MD). PIEDFORT, ROSETTES through the first S, UNREALIZED, INDUSIAL, and OUTGOING are on the board. Joey's win, 511-424.

Division 2, I watch Conrad Bassett-Bouchard (Moraga, CA) challenge off his opponent's play of JUBEL*. Nice try! I see Conrad's TAMARIND through the N and RENTIERS to the S. His opponent, Charles Smith (Durham, NC), got down SEEDIEST through the second S and also OvERLONG.

At Table 40 in Division 2, Martin Weisskopf (Huntsville, AL) was victorious against David Abolafia (Sarasota, FL), 420-383. Martin says he lucked out on 2 challenges that went his way, and that made it a close game. Martin played STARRIER through the T, ENTITLES through an E, CAnOEIST through an O, and played HAIK for 40. David played DEVEINS and later added UNREELS, hooking the S on CAnOEIST to make CANOEISTS!

In Division 3 at Table 17, Lynda Wise (Toronto ON) sealed her win by playing SMUDGING through the N for 167 in what was otherwise a previously close game. She also played LENIEnT earlier on for 74, and her opponent, Andy Healy (Los Angeles, CA), played RELATED for 72.

I see in Division 4 that Nancy Hanley (Wilmington, DE) and Liz Gottlin (Chapel Hill, NC) have CONNOTATES* on their board! Nancy excitably tells me that at the beginning of the game NO was on the board, and she later extended it to CONNOTATES*, played through her previous play of NO.

Chris Lipe (Rome, NY) and Orry Swift (Waco, TX) have had a barnburner of a game in Division 1. Orry tells me that every time one of them would bingo, the other one would, too! Orry played DEMEANOR through an O for 69, INLACES for 92, and WEIrDOES through a D for 74, while Chris played RAINCOAT through an O for 70, ANISOLE for 75, and THeREOF for 83. It was Orry's win, 463-421.

I see Robert Linn (Potomac, MD) and Lisa Odom (St Louis Park, MN) have BASALTIC through an A, GRADUATED from the G (with the last D added later), OUtRACED to a D, and ATONErS. Lisa won this game, 436-357.