January 23, 2010 -NEWPORT HARBOR LBC HOLDS: Casino Night
By Dr. Robert Vickster
Red bow ties and the pit boss on the prowl…
Certainly one for the ages!
I've been around this special game for 20 years now and have never seen an event like this! Gary Fischer's idea and vision was to have a successful fundraiser for three of Newport's own, Dee McSparran, Michael Siddall and Joe Regan, who are soon off to faraway and exotic lands this spring while representing the USA in Int'l competitions.
I don't think Gary or the three mentioned above had any idea what this special afternoon and night would turn into…One for the ages and hopefully the start of something quite special each year!
The afternoon began with a wonderful game of bowls which included 7-8 rinks of triples with the skips switching teams after every third end…This made for quite a neat twist. On the sidelines was Joe Regan, on the handheld megaphone. He would occasionally announce, in his smooth radio-voice, something quite comical that left the green in stiches. A few classic examples were: "The next person to get a toucher will be awarded $20 in gambling script!" or "the next person who gets a supershot gets" and that was quickly interrupted by Sharon Grady who exclaimed: "Right, we just got a 7 last end!"
Another gem was: "There'll be $20 in script for the next person who drags the jack into the ditch!"" But no doubt, my favorite from Joe was: "I have $20 in script for the next person who runs up to hug me!" Sadly, no one on the green budged, but all of a sudden, Michael Siddall ran down the green towards Joe. The hug looked evident and forthcoming and as we all know, it wouldn't have been pretty. All of a sudden, Michael just kept on running past him to meet his team on the other end! Good times indeed.
As the sun started to set, the kitchen roared into full-action…Like a well-oiled machine, Gary (who's now known as the "Pit Boss") would orchestrate and supervise some very special people as they arranged the sumptuous dishes that included steak, multiple hot pastas with sausage and sauce, hearty salad, wonderful breads and a delicious broccoli soup – compliments of Joe's friends at Spectrum Catering. Some of the real VIPS that gave their valuable time and care throughout the evening, be it at the bar, the kitchen or the gaming tables, were Jan Hargraves, Teddy, "Z", Jim Altobelli, Dale and Patty, Phil Luth, Jerry and Sharon, John and Cathy MacDonald (and her staff of lovely ladies) and Gary's splendid wife Pat. Please forgive me if I've omitted anyone. And yes, all those that made the amazing appetizers are angels!
After dinner, the cozy clubhouse was quickly transformed from an upscale cafeteria to a top-notch casino. The dealers now looked as sharp as ever in their black and white with red-bow ties and green visors. Gary, pit boss himself, was in black and red with a sharp looking vest, which likely held the many thousands in back-up cash, if needed.
Those that dealt the cards were in rare-form! Some of the dealers included Ted (who was my personal favorite – a real player's dealer), Dale & Patty, Ray Norris and the infamous John MacDonald who had quite an evening with the cards - he got called to the security office twice by the pit boss for losing too many hands to the masses and then even put on "probation!" But, like the professional he is, he returned to the table to deal and continued to lose, hand after hand, to the smiling faces fortunate enough to be at his table.
Many thank you John! We hope you'll be dealing again.
As we got into the evening, one thing was apparent…You didn't want any part of the table the lovely Patty Lucas was dealing at. And this should be no surprise to me since I personally said while bowling that day: "Oh I'll be at your table tonight!" Her sly response was: "Great, I'll smile all night while I take all of your money." That she did. I found myself somewhat broke at her table sitting between Dee, Charlie and others. Charlie had just hit it big next to me with a $280 bet against her – On minor miracle! He tossed me eight $20's and said go for it neighbor. I tried to hang in there as long as I could, but 10 hands later at $20 a pop and I was gone. She had sent another down in flames. Before I left her table, I witnessed things getting heated as Patty struck another back to back "21" in front her. Without naming anyone, that yielded the response "you b*****!" All in good fun though…Really funny!
I enjoyed seeing Loren and Nicole Dion down from Santa Barbara for the event as well. In fact, at one point, I saw Loren sitting in dealing for John, and the young fellow was all business.
For much of the night, it appeared that Haliana Groothius was the winner of the evening with more than $1,200 earned from her precision tactics at the table, but all of a sudden Robert Alessi stormed the tower with a total of $1,530 looking like the victor…But, hold on to everything! Come 9pm at the Texas Hold 'em table, in the distance, I witness one Edward and Martha Quo counting up a big pile of money. Like the good writer and reporter I am, I went over to take a closer look. Amazing but true, I watched Ed count up nearly $2,000 dollars in winnings…Simply an amazing accomplishment indeed. He was rewarded the $50 prize, hands down, for the big winner of the night!
In closing, I'd just like to say that the leadership and the seamless work beginning with Gary's vision stemming down to those VIPs who helped was truly inspiring and, quite frankly, astounding. There was no doubt in this writers mind that the 80 to 90 "high rollers" who were present throughout the entire evening were full of a "gambler's spirit" and had a really great and memorable time, yours truly included!
A record amount was raised for the three that are soon to be off to Asia and Australia and after all the expenses were paid, there was $50 in green fees earned and a $200 donation to the club for a total $250. Those who missed it should certainly not the next time around!
It's hoped that there will be another Casino Night in late-Spring or early-Summer for the esteemed players selected to represent the USA at the biennial "North American Challenge" in Milwaukee this September while they take on Canada's best
Until then…and please know that I'm definitely sticking on "13" next time!
****
From your “on the spot” reporter…Dr Robert Vickster
“I
just witnessed the most amazing singles match I've ever seen. Ali Forsyth
(
Other
victories by Michael included those over
The
pairs team of Baer and Brault were set into a very difficult section of some of
bowls superpower countries. They battled away but did not make the Quarters.
Meanwhile the triples team of Bob Schneider, Loren Dion and Michael Siddall had
a tough start beginning 1-2 versus the young
Ali and
his mates from N.Z. were
“on” down the stretch and while we tried hard amidst a tricky
rink, we lost to them. A pity too because getting by them meant a guaranteed
medal. I was close to the action in the triples games and watched Loren and Bob
with Michael playing some wonderful bowls over those seven games. Well, the
main purpose of the team was to re-qualify the
As many of you can imagine, it’s just impossible to catch all the exciting action at an event like this. I can only comment on what I saw during the past few days at the prestigious SW Open tourney. And that was some great bowling and epic matches throughout and especially in the Championship Finals! Santa Anita hosted a wonderful event that included their greens in the best shape in many years…12-13 seconds and sweet.
The title for the pairs final was quite an interesting journey, to say the least! The players were Brian Stewart & Charlie Herbert, fresh from his return from a very impressive So. African campaign where he helped bolster the new American movement, versus Loren Dion and Michael Siddall, who had both been as solid as Pittsburgh steel throughout their previous five games. The battle would begin as Brian and Charlie would have the answers for each and every situation over the first 7 of 18 ends. Before you know it, the score was 10-0 in their favor and even worse at 14-1 after 10 ends. The large crowd was hushed and taking in the interesting dynamics of this potential blowout. This reporter’s assuming that many of the crowd knew Dion and Siddall would turn up their B game to an A and make a run of some kind. Maybe not, but one thing’s for sure…The clouds parted and it happened! All of a sudden things got a little more interesting. A 1 here, a 3 there, and while still in serious trouble, it was obvious that Michael knew this steep mountain could be climbed. Loren caught fire and Michael continued their charge by winning 6 ends in a row to pull within just 2 with two ends to play…Game on!
Lying two lovely shots on the 17th, Charlie played a spectacular reaching bowl to convert two down to one up for he and Brian…A big swing of events there. Coming home down three would be a challenging hurdle for the pair, but now possible. With the crowd enthralled, the foursome continued to glide ever-closer to the prize. With Cathie Herbert and Myrna Chan in the front row on the edge of their seats and so many others looking on, there was a real excitement in the air. The final 16 bowls are a bit blurry, but one thing’s for sure, Loren and Michael were holding three when Charlie played his 3rd wood promoting his own wood in for 3rd shot. Michael had the opportunity to play a swinging forehand to promote his wood or slip underneath for the game, but was just a bit too wide and caught a rare ridge. Game over 15-14 to Brian and Charlie in a wild one filled with multiple momentum changes. The impressive SW Open Pairs title was there’s to enjoy. Well deserved by the duo from Newport.
A couple days later on a balmy Arcadia afternoon, the triples final was underway featuring Merton Isaacman, Joe Regan and Rob Kost, the latter two just bowling for a couple years, but coming on real strong! They’d be matched against Loren Dion, Michael Siddall and their mate Bob Schneider from Milwaukee, who just flew in to bond with the team prior to this same triples team representing us in Malaysia in August at the Asia Pacific Games.
The game started with a shot scored here and there, but one thing was clear…Merton was still “on fire” converting ends and hardly missing on a single shot over the first 7 ends. They were unfortunate to only be up 7-2 as it could’ve been more. Michael was just barely missing tight and not getting any breaks or edges…Joe’s 3rd bowl, 33% of his artillery, was changing the picture dramatically too, end after end. Through about half the game, something needed to change for Michael’s team or this would not turn out the way they’d like. Once again, as if the clock struck the proper time, a big shot was made and Michael gave a very passionate: “Come on, let’s go man!” Message received “loud and clear” by Loren and he told Bob what it meant…”It’s time to make our move mate!” Move they did, winning end after end to reel in the game to a mere couple shot differential with a few to play. While all the players were playing well, Loren was on a different planet…He played A+ bowl after A+ bowl inches from the white…This reporter stated a couple adjectives while witnessing the brilliance: “stunning and ridiculous!” Fast forwarding to the final end with Mert and co. up one, but one down in the head with two seconds. Mert connects on the shot wood to now lye game, forcing Michael to play something pretty special. He chose to try and draw around one bowl and under another on a slower hand due to a funky green patch…Nyyyyyeeeer one foot away, mission accomplished – Shot drawn! Mert missed and Michael had to now play it safer as Mert had a bowl in the draw a mere 2’ in front of the white that he just couldn’t touch.
It was all tied up and we were onto an extra end with Merton’s team gaining the hammer and final bowl. It started out nicely with big Bob Schneider dropping a fantastic wood a mere 3 inches in front of the white on the centerline. All players built the head from there and when the skippers took the mat, the position greatly favored Michael’s team by 9-1 odds the way the tight head was arranged. Therefore, they chose to block Mert’s backhand shot since he was playing it. A “spot on” block was achieved forcing Mert to play the forehand. He had a great effort, but Mert was errant. The team “in position now” chose to block the forehand knowing the best opportunity Mert had was to play a 1-2 yard-on shot to squirt the white over to their bowl. Michael’s block was achieved. A helicopter couldn’t have dropped it any more perfectly. So…It all came down to Mert’s last bowl. He chose a more aggressive line that his opposition were certain the jack would spring forward off the back bowl where their bowls were waiting. The crowd was silent and a pin-drop could be heard. Many present were no doubt nervous as a turkey in early-November. This is what sports is all about…Moments like this! Mert played a “sexy bender” weighted shot just inside MS’ block and connected on his target…As the dust settled, the jack did just what the opposition thought, but didn’t quite move as far forward as suspected. Truly surprising. The next sound that would be heard was that of Rob and Joe exclaiming: “Yes, Whooooo, yeah!!!” The three of them bound together in a group hug in their, interesting neon-yellow shirts (too tightly fitted since Mert accidentally dried them too long in the dryer the night before) as they gave some big whoops and hoorays. “Cinderella’s come to the dance and walked away the prize” was overheard in the crowd. And a well deserved prize at that! Hugs were given all around between the six players and everyone was stoked. Yes, Michael, Loren and Bob would’ve loved Mert to miss, but understood that sometimes it’s better and maybe destined for newer players to win and capture the sweet taste of victory to hook them for many years to come. Afterall, they were real pleased to make it to back to back finals in the event with their mate Bob. In closing, this reporter was touched as he watched tears of joy stream down Joe’s face. Special indeed, but the best laugh was watching them spray a can of Budweiser all over their skipper Mert! This won’t be the last time they do that. It was a special final with some really good guys. Thanks for reading and until next time… Dr. Robert Vickster out.
*****
“COME ON DOWN!”
Bowls Article by Carrie Fossati
Twenty-two lawn bowlers from the Southwest Division, kept their fingers crossed in hopes of hearing the master of ceremonies at The Price Is Right’s CBS Television Studio shout “COME ON DOWN!” on March 30th. Hopeful participants representing eight clubs, came from as far south as San Diego. But the name that was called to “COME ON DOWN!” was Donna Punaro. Donna lives in the neighborhood and belongs to Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Holmby Park Lawn Bowling Clubs. She started bowling last May at the Division-wide Open House. From contestant row, Donna won an exercise bicycle and made her way on stage. Tune to CBS at 10:00 A.M on April 15th to see the exciting results.
The processing, which consists of sign-in, producing ID, getting name tag, filling out form, being photographed, and then the interview to be one of ten possible contestants takes about three hours. The actual taping is close to one-and-a-half hours. In-between there is lots of chatter while meeting others who spent the night in line to obtain an entry number. That was all compensated by guaranteed group seating. Once inside the studio, loud music set the tone for an exhilarating mood. After last minute instructions, the host, Drew Carey, took the stage for one of the most popular and best known audience-participation game shows on television.
It was a full day of fun in Hollywood. Lawn Bowlers representing the Southwest Division were: Donna Punaro of Beverly Hills; Christy Diller, John and Litty McRoberts of Laguna Woods; Isabella Forbes of Long Beach and President of the USLBA; Emily Carpenter, Mary Dooley, Sharon Grady and daughter, Danelle, Terry Heeley, Patty Lucas, Dee McSparran, and Mary Shandy of Newport Harbor; Kottia Spangler of Riverside and friends Susan Lomax and Sandy Harrell; Christine Ludwig and Howard Harris (President of the SW Men’s Division) of San Diego; Joline Beck-Birdzell and daughter, Chris, Wayne Birdzell, Carrie Fossati, Charlyn Moltane, Gloria Montes, and Angie Salgado of Santa Ana; and Theota LeDonne of Sun City.
San Diego, CA
March 7th -8th, 2009
By Dr. Robert Vickster
Newport clean sweep at the inaugural Chef Works Triples!
What a blitzkrieg by the bowlers of NHLBC. Under sunny San Diego skies, they converged on historic Balboa Park to do battle for the first place prize of 10 “Benjamins” or $1,000! Upon completion of the first day of qualifying found the formidable team of Gary Fischer, Jerry Grady (filling in for Ted Farfaglia) and Dee McSparron atop the leader board. Lurking closely behind vying for the ultimate prize were the usual suspects…Mr. Siddall, Mr. Baer, Mr. Herbert and Mr. Quo amongst others.
The final day would commence with action straight away with Fischer’s team rolling to a handy victory. Quo’s team doing the same. Siddall’s team was in a battle with Baer’s team, and was victorious. The Herbert team, unwillingly, took quite a different route. Down 10-0 after roughly half the game to the ever-elusive Bill Kagan, Charlie, Cathie and Joe Regan put on a blistering comeback that was nothing short of amazing! Two 5’s and a handful of multi-shot ends found them up 16-13 coming home. The business was done…The semis were set and the final four were: Fischer vs Quo (playing with Phil Salt & Brenda Wright) and Siddall (playing with Ian Ho & Eva Lee) vs Charlie and Co.
While this reporter didn’t see the play in the Fischer vs Quo match, Fischer was victorious and their impressive five-game winning streak was to be savored. They awaited the winner of the other semi-final, which in this reporter’s humble opinion, would come from THE “match of the entire event.” The game, at least for the players involved, will likely go down in the anals of great bowls games played and will long be remembered! Suffice it to say it had everything…Cordial and friendly camaraderie, brilliant shots by all six members, including Cathie’s three touchers on the 2nd to last end. It was a game that no one deserved to lose. With whipping winds and an elusive rink that had all six members focusing like it was an hour before a collegiate final, it was anyone’s game…Up for grabs! The score was tied as they played the final end. It wasn’t the prettiest of ends, but Michael’s team ended up with the closest shot and moved onto the final.
In the match for 3rd and 4th, Charlie made a bold move, instructing the young, natural-taleted Joe Regan to skip against a very formidable team of Quo and Co., while Charlie moved to lead. Ever the team player, choosing to give Joe valuable experience, not easily gained at this level. The move would prove to be impressive as their team played well and was victorious by several shots. “Joe was magic!” is what this reporter heard from a couple in the crowd (as well as Joe himself!) I’m kidding about that last part.
Tony, Rosa and young Aaron were in fine form and cruised with their ability to capture the impressive 2nd flight.
The final was set between two skippers, who are also good pals, and will actually be playing together in a few weeks defending their 2008 So. Calif. Triples title. “Bowls is a funny game”, as Michael quoted to his mate Gary on the 5th end with the score at 9-0 in his favor. It seemed that everything Gary touched very undeservedly turned sour and just the opposite for Michael. Completely unexplainable. Michael did appear to have the answer for each grim situation and capitalized on the better ones. His female opponent stated that “your expert skills certainly shined through.” It was a very nice tournament with wonderful grounds, perfect hospitality and the Chef Works sponsors themselves playing! It is scheduled to repeat for 2010.
Again, Newport Harbor with an amazing finish sweeping the top five spots with Tibor, Pauline and the timeless Ron Temple finishing nicely in the runner-up position in the 3rd flight to a very powerful team including the legendary Anne Nunes herself.
South Central Open 2009
from On The Spot reporter: MS
So Calif “on fire” in Arizona!
The So Cal men traveled over to the annual So Central Open in Sun City Arizona and competed (and as “hot” as ever!) In the triples, the team of Michael Siddall (Newport Harbor), Loren Dion (MacKenzie Park) and Gordy Fall (from Vancouver) blasted the competition with superb wizardry on the greens. After going 7-0 with a ludicrous 80+ point shot differential, the team was rolling. But speaking of wizardry, it should be noted that a wiley Scottish veteran named Dick Saunders would not succumb easily in the tightly fought final. Michael and Co were cruising nicely until Mr. Saunders played multiple mind-blowing shots with his final bowl in the latter stages of the game that sent the crowd and the 5 others on the rink into a rollicking tizzy. In fact, one was unbelievable….Down 8 tight shots, with the jack a mere yard from the ditch, Dick played a perfect “arriving” wood that touched the white gently to cut it to just 1 down. All tied up coming home, it was an end for the ages…Let’s just say both of Dick’s final woods were merely inches too weighty and found the sand. If not, the Scottish skipper would’ve been throwin’ on his kilt for the evening’s celebration!
The Pairs final would be a mostly So Cal battle with Loren Dion and Gordy Fall versus Charlie Herbert (Newport Harbor) and Ed Quo (Newport Harbor).
It was exciting, but no one could stop the passionate Charlie from connecting on shots of all kinds. It was a “ridiculous display by Charlie” quoted Loren after the final. Speaking of Loren…An amazing run was achieved in the quarter final against the talented Jack Behling and Jim Copeland. Loren and partner found themselves down 4-13 with only 5 to 6 ends to play. With absolutely no momentum at all…it looked more than bleak. All of sudden, Loren, seemingly possessed by some bowls god from another stratosphere, started an epic charge which would climax on the 2nd to last when he drove the jack into the ditch from 20 feet out! Regrettably, one of Behling’s bowls also came to rest on the green just 9 inches away from the white. You guessed it, Loren’s 3rd and 4th bowls drew inside of those 9 inches to score two and tie the game coming home…Stunning shots indeed! Michael Siddall and Gary Fischer (Newport Harbor) (who was under the weather severely) played an extremely tight battle with Len Hitchcock and Frank Souza for 3rd and 4th. All tied up coming home, Michael drew two crackin’ shots within a foot to possibly secure the victory, but the locals would not be denied. Len played a lovely weighted shot to blast the jack back a foot onto the Souza wood. It would remain in that position and 3rd was theirs. So Cal captured 1st, 2nd and 4th in the Championship flight.
Finally the singles and “bowler of the tournament” was up for grabs in the final event! Many stories are not yet known since it’s just ended minutes ago, but here’s a few that are… Some notable players such as Loren Dion and Michael Siddall didn’t play and were off to warmer climes (back to work for Michael and off to the Australian Open to play with some of the world’s best for Loren.) Regardless, the So Cal blaze continued to rage. Bill Brault (San Diego) came over taking friend Tony Baer’s (Newport Harbor) place…You remember them ~ Current U.S. Pairs champs. Bill rolled over the competition until meeting Jurgen Fessler from Canada in the semi-final. He then played the ever-dangerous Jack Behling and won to capture 3rd place. Meanwhile, the man of the hour or should I say the week was definitely…Charlie Herbert. Word has it that mind blowing shots in almost every game were common-place by him. Charlie would continue the dominance by waltzing into the final and capturing it easily over Mr. Fessler 18-9. A rare “double” and a very impressive week by he as well as his So California mates. Congratulations!
Seen on the Green: Ted Farfaglia, Shep Shepperd, Dave Stennes, Brian Stewart, Reine Kramer, Phil Dunn, Bill Hiscock, Ivan Hyland, Jim Olson, Liam Courtney, Dan Christensen, Joe Moletta, Len Wasserman and Floyd Murphy.
There’s this as well: http://www.scdlawnbowls.org/SCDOpenTrips.html