Hail to the Champions - Greg Griffin and Mark Lanty
Mark and Andy Zombek (subbing for Grief) solidly defeated Jeff Klein
and Phil Bohman 24-16 last week to claim the 2008 Sodhoppers Championship.
Congrats, boys.
And the Captain & Mate outing was won by Jim Ligoci and Joe
Peters (thanks for the drink, Jim!). Ohaver/Cardinal and
Condon/Long claimed the other money spots.
Our regular season is now done, so don't show up at Pine Grove on
Wednesday and wonder why I'm not there ...
We'll see everyone at 7:15 AM Saturday September
20, the Links @ Sunset Ridge in Marcellus. Thanks to all
of you that have contacted Manny about bringing prizes for the outing;
we can always use more, of course.
Looking forward to a fun day - see you then!
September 1, 2008 - One Last Week
The National Division reigned supreme in last week's playoff, with Griffin/Lanty besting
Mayne/Reitzel 26-14, and Klein/Bohman coming out on
top of McIndoe/Coakley, also by a 26-14 score. So the championship match
this week will feature Greg and Mark vs. Jeff and Phil. Good luck, guys!
For
the rest of us, it'll be a Captain & Mate outing.
Same mandatory $5 per person, 20 players ($100), 1st place team $60,
2nd place $30, 3rd place $10. Should be a lot of fun.
And don't forget
the year-end-tourney Saturday September
20, Links @ Sunset Ridge in Marcellus, 8 AM shotgun start. If you are
not going to be attending, please arrange for a sub and tell me ASAP.
August 25, 2008 - It's Playoff Time!
After 16 grueling weeks of competition, it's playoff time. The first
place team in the American Division, Tom McIndoe and Chuck
Coakley (335),
will face off against the 2nd place team in the National Division, Jeff
Klein and Phil Bohman (365). The other match features National #1 Greg
Griffin and Mark Lanty (383) against American #2 Scott
Mayne and Mike
Reitzel (329). Congrats and good luck, guys. The winners of these matches
will face off next week for the league title.
For the rest of us, it's
Alternate Shot Tourney time! As a reminder, here's how it's gonna work:
Both players will tee off on each hole, choose the best drive, and alternate
shots the rest of the hole. For example, Bill and I both tee off, we
choose his tee shot, then I hit the 2nd shot, he hits the 3rd, etc. We
both then tee off on the next hole and do it all again. There will be
a mandatory $5 entry per person (we're not doing skins), 16 players,
$80 total - 1st place $60, 2nd place $20. Gross score (no handicaps),
ties are broken by matching cards. I'm not assigning foursomes, so you
can play with whoever you'd like.
And with the end-of-year tourney coming
up soon, please try to come up with donations for prizes, either from
your company or other source. We've had great luck with this in the past,
and we hope you'll continue to come through for us. Manny
is in charge of the outing, so please let him know what you're planning to bring/donate.
August 19, 2008 - Revised Schedule
Just as a reminder, with the rainout last Wednesday, our
schedule will be moved back one week. Our last week of regular season
play will be this week, August 20. Playoffs/alternate shot tourney
happen on August 27, then the finals/captain & mate tourney are
scheduled for September 3.
Year-end tourney at the Links @ Sunset Ridge in Marcellus
is Saturday September 20.
August 6, 2008 - Down to Crunch Time
There are two weeks left in the regular season, and then two playoff
weeks. As a reminder of the playoffs, here's the scoop (by the way, I'll
also post this info on the website).
The
top two teams in each division make the playoffs. American
#1 plays National #2, and National #1 plays American #2 on Wednesday
August 20, with the two winning teams battling for the league championship
on our final week (Aug 27).
For the majority of us that don't make the
playoffs, we're gonna have our own little competition. On August
20, the 8 non-playoff
teams will play an alternate shot tourney. Both players
will tee off on each hole, choose the best drive, and alternate shots
the rest of the hole. For example, Bill and I both tee off, we choose
his tee shot, then I hit the 2nd shot, he hits the 3rd, etc. We both
then tee off on the next hole and do it all again. There will be a mandatory
$5 entry per person (we're not doing skins), 16 players, $80 total -
1st place $60, 2nd place $20. Gross score (no handicaps), ties are broken
by matching cards.
Then on the last week August 27, the
10 teams not involved in the playoffs will play a captain and
mate format.
Same mandatory $5 per person, 20 players ($100), 1st place $60, 2nd place
$30, 3rd place $10. Should be a ton of fun!
As far as the standings, the American
Division is still
completely up for grabs, with Opel/Patrick holding a
tenuous 10 point lead over Reitzel/Mayne, with McIndoe/Coakley only
1 back of them, and Cook/Wadsworth a tiny 8 back of
that. In the National, Griffin/Lanty's
once seemingly insurmountable lead has dwindled to just 1 over Ryan/Huntington,
with Klein/Bohman a do-able 11 back.
And don't forget
our year-end tourney on
September 20 at The Links at Sunset Ridge in Marcellus. If you can't
play, please make arrangements for a sub (they'll only be charged $20
for the day). And talk to Manny about any prizes that you or your company
can donate to the shindig.
June 11, 228 - Stuff about Subs
Just a couple of notes about subs, as I've had a few emails and phone
calls this week about them.
It is your own responsibility to get a sub, but I'll help if I
can.
The sub list on the website is the only
one I have. It's really just meant as a secondary resource, not a
primary one, so I don't pay a lot of attention to it. I know it hasn't
been updated in a while, so some of the info is out of date.
If Bill is going to be out, then I'll arrange for one of my friends
to play with me. If I'm out, then Bill recruits a buddy to play with
him. It's a great opportunity for one of your friends to play golf
with you. So if you're going to be out, it's an opportunity for your
partner to have another friend come join him for the day. That's
the way it works for most guys in the league.
We only ask that subs donate $5 to our year-end-tourney fund. The
money should be given to me. Most of you have been pretty good about
making sure the sub gives me the $5, but I know I haven't gotten
them from everyone. I don't like to chase folks down; just send them
my way. I like to meet all the subs, anyway - we're glad to have
them.
OK, enough whining from me today. Can't wait to get out in this great weather
today. Jeff and Al - you're going down!
With three weeks under our belt, we now start play with handicaps that
you've established so far this year. Check the website to
see your handicap. And with only 8 of our 24 guys in single digits, we're
a pretty sorry bunch.
I've got pictures from most of the new guys now, so
go to the Players
page, then click on a guy's name to see a pop-up window with his
contact info and picture. Use this to get to know all the guys in the
league.
In the National Division, Greg Griffin and Mark
Lanty have
jumped out to a 6-point lead over Jeff Ryan and Al
Huntington.
Over in the American Division, Mike Reitzel and Scott
Mayne hold a 7-point edge over Bill Patrick and me (but
we're closing fast, dammit!). All the info is on the Standings
page.
One last thing - you're all invited to a Happy Hour at
the Blue
Tusk on Thursday night. They're having specials
on Harpoon beer,
so a bunch of us are meeting there after work. We'd love to have you
join us. Below is more info.
About The Event
On Thursday, May 22, The Blue Tusk will be featuring 3 Harpoon beers
on tap with $1 off the regular price from 6 to 8 PM. Plus
there will be giveaways and a special bonus for Friends of Harpoon,
just show your Friend of Harpoon card. The Blue Tusk is located at
165 Walton St in Syracuse (directions ).
Don't forget that beer is best shared with friends, so bring some pals
along with you.
See y'all on Wednesday!
Paul "Pimp Daddy" Opel
May 7, 2008 - Welcome the New Guys!
Dave Brenon and Jeff Manning have
stepped aside this season, and we'll miss 'em. They are now on the
sub list and I'll keep them updated with Sodhoppers news. Hopefully
you guys will have a little more open schedule next summer and can
rejoin us.
In their place, new guy Frank Cook has recruited
a new team: Joe
Ohaver and Thom Cardinal (BTW, do I have
your names and spelling correct? If not, blame Frank). Welcome,
guys! They'll be there tonight, taking the place of Dave and Jeff as
Team 9.
Just a couple of other reminders for you: All subs are
asked to donate $5 per week, with the money going to our year-end tourney/party.
We had 6 subs last week and I only got $20. I'm not going to chase folks
around for the $$, so make sure all subs see me and make their donation.
If
you haven't given Jeff Klein your check for
the league fees, please do so ASAP. He will be there tonight,
though he tells me he won't be early because of a prior commitment.
Just a reminder: make the check payable to "Cadaret Grant," and
the total is $275.
No cash, please.
One quick handicap note - for the first
three weeks of the season, your handicap will be determined by what
you shoot that night. League members receive 80% of your score over
par (ex. shoot 45, par 35 = 10 over par, x 80% = 8 handicap). Subs
get 50% (ex. shoot 45, par 35 = 10 over par, x 50% = 5 handicap). Beginning
with the 4th week of play on May 21, we'll begin to use handicaps that
you have established by your play the first 3 weeks.
May 2, 2008 - Sodhoppers Opening
Great times Wednesday night, lots more fun to come this year. It's
gonna be a great one. I'll work on posting scores later this
weekend, but I wanted to get this note out to everyone right away.
I talked with Dave
Brenon Wednesday afternoon, and he let me
know that although he and Jeff Manning had committed
to playing in the league this year, both their schedules will make it
tough for them to play a lot of the weeks. He said that if we could find
another pair of guys to take over their spot, that would be better for
both of them.
So we have an opportunity for two other guys to join the
league. I know that we turned down Al's friend Mark Lachenauer, and Jeff
Ryan was working on finding someone, too. Maybe some of the guys that
subbed on Wednesday would want to join full time.
Whatever the case, please
see if you can come up with a couple more guys to take over for Dave
and Jeff. We can pro-rate the yearly fee
for them, of course.
April 9, 2008 - We Have a Full Roster
We had a little bit of a mad scramble yesterday,
as we found out about a team that Joe Peters had
recruited a few months back. We had promised them a spot in the
league but then forgot completely about them. Whoops!!
Our deepest
apologies for the confusion, but welcome to the Sodhoppers anyway, Frank
Cook and Kris Wadsworth! You're all
in and signed up as Team 6.
And that means that there are no more openings; all spots have been
filled.
Unfortunately, that means that Mark Lachenauer,
a friend of Al's and the last man to request a spot, gets bumped to
the sub list/waiting list. Sorry, dude. Now in the past,
there has often been an opening right at the beginning of the season,
so it's still possible that a spot will become open for him. So
there's still hope.
The 2008 schedule has
now been posted to the website. For
the new guys, check out the site for lots of info,
including news and rules and photos and other crap.
We begin 3
weeks from tonight, and I'm totally fired
up! It's
gonna be a great season.
April 7, 2008 - Updates
Good news, just got word from Dave Brenon that Jeff
Manning is going to play after all. So there's just
one opening left.
Fees and the cart issue:
League fees will be $275 this year, checks payable to Cadaret Grant
and given to Jeff Klein the first week (Apr. 30).
You will be able to reserve a cart for the season
by paying for the year (to the course) on the first day. From
Reitzel's email on 2/8: "Just got off the phone with Frank, carts
this year “no
problem,” he moved a league to another night, so that frees
up carts. For those that want one for the season, they can,
but must pay upfront $216."
April 7, 2008 - Getting Back In The Swing
Just wanted to pass on the latest news and notes. Firstly, we
have a couple of openings and we need your help to fill
them.
Here's the definite pairing as of the moment:
M. Reitzel/S. Mayne
P. Opel/B. Patrick
J. Klein/P. Bohman
T. McIndoe/C. Coakley
J. Ligoci/J. Peters
F. Kobuszewski/S. Matkoski
G. Griffin/M. Lanty
R. Long/M. Condon
Al Huntington/Jeff Ryan
Dave Blackburn/Warren Gomon (via Scott Mayne)
Dave Brenon/ Open
Mark Lachenauer (via Al H.)/ Open
Looks like we still have some openings. Dave Brenon still
needs a partner, as does Mark L. (a friend of Al's).
Please
put the word out ASAP and let's fill those spots!
Secondly,
we have confirmed that Wednesday April 30 will
be the first night for the league, finishing up on Wednesday
August 27.
