In other action:
Rob Price became
the newest flavor of the week, winning
every other game,
moved
into 2nd
place and made his case as one of “the
Big 3”. Along with Kent Lorence and Bob
Gannon, the trio
continues to impress as perennial board leaders and have combined
for the last 4 championships. Price made his 2004 debut as a
tour winner on the first night of summer with the same stylish,
pragmatic angle shots he practices as the adept graphic artist
he portrays by day.
Lorence took a tainted win in his final game to give him the
5 points he needed to keep just ahead of the snapping jaws of
Price (2pts) and Gannon (4pts). For the first time ever, Lorence
failed to qualify for the winners game and instead was paired
with rookies, Lega and Mergler, in a 3 man game.
Gannon continues to coast, sacrificing the opening game of each
week in favor of arriving at just the right time, impressively
winning 50% (10/20) of the games he has played in. It comes as
no surprise that Gannon leads the league in wins.
Five weeks into the season, the league finds itself in 3 distinct
echelons: small, medium and large. Livin' large are the big 3:
Lorence, Price and Gannon, who are putting plenty of space between
themselves and the rest of the pack. However, there is a dark
horse lurking. Nelson Montgomery is posting crazy numbers, taking
44 points in just 13 games. He bettered his average to 3.38 and
makes the cut as one of the top four.
The “mediums”are a
tight knit group of Bill
Cleary,
David Butler, Carl
Amorosi and Tom Sullivan, where only 4 points
separate them. These four players display the luxury of intermittent
wins and losses that come with being consistent and all have
the tools for a chance at playoff glory.
The “smalls” are in
danger of dropping off the pace and onto a list of endangered
species. Tony
Billoni, Bill Rupp,
Robin Mitchell, Slagor and Mark
Stifter, under the current playoff
format, are all competing for the final two playoff spots. This
division could be decided merely by attendance, as much as anything.
A new hombre burst onto the scene Monday night; Fred
Saia became
the 23rd member of the team roster, but entered the charts at
#18 with a bullet. Saia took a first and a second place in only
the three games he played in, and though he qualified for possible
shot at the tour win, was the only sensible one to go home in
the drizzle.
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