A Snip for the Brylcream Boy

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday April 24,
Mountain Shadow Blue,
Stableford
1st John Desmond, 45 pts.
2nd Joe Miller, 35 pts.
3rd Trevor Schirmer, 34 pts.
John Desmond showed no fear as he tackled the almost unbeatable Mountain Shadow course and with the benefit of a first class caddy that gave him the correct line every time, a good round was always going to be the order of the day. In the final analysis, it was the attention to detail for which the Brylcream Boy had a first class basic training, servicing and repairing the latest multi-million pound/dollar aircraft that saw him home a clear ten shots in front of the rest of the field. Anyone that can get it round this course in level par, no matter what their handicap is going to be difficult to beat, but with a nine handicap, look out.
Joe Miller did well enough, with a very solid round to just keep ahead of Trevor Schirmer in third place.
There were no “twos” in division two and John Desmond and Rick Holmes shared the pool in the first division.
Wednesday April 26,
Burapha C & D,
Strokeplay
1st Roy Thornton, 74 c/b 35
2nd Norman Isherwood, 74 c/b 37.5
3rd Sunny Khanna, 76
White Tees
1st Mark Wood, 71
Roy Thornton took advantage of the Brylcream Boy’s absence through paternal duties to take the days spoils with a two over return that included a good back nine and that proved good enough to see off one of his playing partners, Norman Isherwood, by count back. Sunny Khanna was most surprised to find that four over still got on to the podium but took the accolades with relish washed down by a couple of drinks supplied by Roy, who was set on not leaving the bar until all the winnings were spent.
Due to a slight oversight the last group played from the white tees and so the management magnanimously agreed to place them in a separate fight rather than use the DQ pencil. This resulted in Mark Wood doubling his take for the day with a useful one under to match the CSS off the white tees.
There were no twos in either division as all the pin positions had been placed in extremely difficult areas on the always-tricky greens.
Friday April 28,
Eastern Star,
2 person scramble
1st Al Rolnik & John Teague, 61
2nd Brian Wilkinson & Stan Dismuke, 61.4
3rd Peter Emslie & Trevor Edge, 63.4
4th Barry Traynor & Norman Isherwood, 64.6
5th Joe McArdle & Alec Hoare, 65.6
The new format of seven drives and a handicap allowance of 40% of the combined total without restrictions again proved to make the whole field very competitive with a 100% of the pairings, except Dave and Moe, getting within 6 shots of the winners. It must be said that Dave and Moe would have been well within the six shots were it not for a troubled back nine that saw them drop four double bogeys into the mix. A very good result from the whole competition considering that the handicap spread was twenty strokes.
Al Rolnik and John Teague took the top place on the podium having only got together as a team at the sign up at The Haven with an excellent gross three over which was just enough to see them home ahead of Brian Wilkinson and Stan Dismuke, who had a gross 73, by a fraction of a stroke.
Peter Emslie and Trevor Edge combined to get round in five over but their handicaps were enough to get them placed in third ahead of Barry Traynor and Norman Isherwood whose three over gross suffered from a surprising bogey on the last hole and their subsequent net score just not quite good enough.
Local knowledge helped Joe McArdle and Alec Hoar to fill the final slot as too many shots got away on the closing holes.
Following the previously mentioned surgical procedure, John Desmond was unable to be a great assistance to his partner, Brian Carruthers even losing out to their playing partners, Dabber and “The Doc” neither of whom had played for a while, but both of whom looked decidedly more comfortable in the address position.
Due to the format, the twos pools were suspended until the next competition.

Jacko goes wacko ‘cause Jonathon won’

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday April 23,
Green Valley - White Tees,
Stableford
A Flight
1st Phil Corbin, 38 points
2nd Simon Philbrook, 38 points
3rd Julian Clarke, 37 points
B Flight
1st Dave Tanner, 39 points
2nd Jan Eriksen, 38 points
3rd Mark Bonner, 34 points
C Flight
1st Jonathon Grindvold, 39 points
2nd Mike Craighead, 39 points
3rd George Jackson, 38 points
D Flight
1st Jez Lees, 37 points
2nd Charles Sheppard, 36 points
3rd Tim Williams, 36 points
NP’s: #2 Mike Shrosbree; #9 Gary Balckburne; #12 Charles Sheppard, #16 Jan Eriksen
2’s: Simon Philbrook, Brian “Pen” Carruthers, Bill Gneiting, Jan Eriksen, Jeremy Masse, Paul Young, Jez Lees, Charles Sheppard, Mike Shrosbree
We had a Junior tying a couple of Seniors for MoM honors. Jack Grindvold’s son, Johnathon, edged one on those contenders, The Mechanic, on count back to take the top rung in the penultimate flight. One Ball, never far from the fray, was but a point adrift with 38 points.
The Big Easy was that other sexagenarian (sounds like that title covers every male in Pattaya) of which this scribe referred. David’s 39 points edged ‘The Quiet One’ and Mark “Since nobody got it last week, needs a new nickname” Bonner. In B Flight, Mark, it should be noted edged Joop, who doesn’t need a nickname, unless, of course it was Joop, Joop.
Phil Corbin the Pied Piper of Hawaii edged Simon of Philbrook on the dreaded math in the Premier Flight, whilst the Dispatch Rider tallied the bronze.
In D Flight, The Principal edged “Charlie”, Texas Tim and The Shack’s Loz; the latter three knotted at 36 points. “Charlie” had the best of it and Loz the worst of it.
Tuesday April 25,
Laem Chabang - B & C - Blue or White Tees, Medal/Stroke
Blue Flight
1st Per Aschan, net 72
2nd Gary Blackburne, net 74
3rd Julian Clarke, net 74
4th Brian Wilkinson, net 75
White Flight
1st Terry Wagner, net 70
2nd Joe Mooneyham, net 73
NP’s: (Blues) #B7 Gordon Kerr, (Whites) #B7 Joe Mooneyham
2’s: (Blues) Per Aschan, Claus Birk Thomsen, (Whites) Paul Young
Showing themselves to be either extremely brave or masochistic, but nonetheless silencing many Doubting Thomas’s, two thirds of the field took on the Blues tees of the Valley and Lake Course, arguably Laem Chabang’s most daunting tandem. “Persistent” Aschan showed he was every bit up to the task as he took the Blue Flight Day with a gross 79, yielding a level to handicap net 72. He was followed in by the trio of Nice Guy Gary, Julian and Wireless, the first two having net scores equivalent to the Standard Scratch Score (SSS).
The saner minority that chose to enjoy the day from the Whites were led in by Terry Wagner’s fine net 70 and The Groom’s net 73. This was The Groom’s first wedding gift, as Hawaii’s Ray Crevantes presented Joe the count back
Wednesday, April 26,
Eastern Star - White Tees,
Stableford
A Flight
1st Paul Young, 36 points
2nd Bob Dibben, 36 points
3rd Arthur Hancock, 35 points
B Flight
1st Sugar Ray Handford, 38 points
2nd Norm Robinson, 35 points
3rd Lou Szigligeti, 34 points
NP’s: #17 Paul Young
2’s: Paul Young, John Hillier
Sugar Ray, another of The Scribe’s pre-nicknamed dreams, was Man of the Match and winner of B Flight at Robert Trent Jones, Jr.’s out-of-bounds left, water right, creation. He was trailed up the podium by Stormin’ Norman and The Zigger.
Paul Young, no relation to Loretta, edged one of the sons of Oman, Bob Dibben, on count back for the big loot in A Flight. Ban Chang’s Arthur Hancock tidied up the Flight in an all-too-rare visit to the Society.
Friday, April 28,
Mountain Shadow - Blue Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Phil Groves, 39 points
2nd Phil Corbin, 38 points
3rd Julian Clarke, 38 points
B Flight
1st Mike Craighead, 33 points
2nd Vic Hester, 33 points
3rd Sunny Khanna, 32 points c/b Poo & Lou
NP’s: #17 Gary Blackburne
2’s: Phil Groves, Paul Young, Gary Blackburne, Jim Munns, Loz Shaw
It is always a great day, albeit a tough one, when the gang takes on formidable Mountain Shadow. However, don’t tell that to The Swim Instructor and his 39 points, or for that matter, to the triumvirate that followed him in with 38 points. Of that latter three-pack, the Pied Piper of Punahou had the best inward nine, whilst poor Peter Hynard had the worst of it. Julian calmly sat in the middle... and in third.
Well it weren’t pretty, but it still spends, as The Mechanic topped The Inflictor on count back, and despite a modest 33 points, claimed top spot in B Flight. The distribution of “Bobby Hebb” Khanna’s 32 points edged the First Lady and the Zigger to claim the last spot of the week. You could almost hear Peter Hynard groan.

Sus shows good form at Pattaya CC

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

Tuesday April 25 - The contenders of last week moved up a notch as Sus Ige who was near the top last week took the honours for the day. His game was a model of consistency as he scored 42 stableford points. Driving and putting well, Sus missed getting to a round of 79 by a stroke as he missed a twenty footer on the 18th by a few inches.
The nearest challengers to Sus were Dale Murphy and Bob Benda on 38 and 37 points respectively. They were also both near the top last week and have been in good form for the past few months.
A change of scenery at the bottom this week as John Annison squeaked in with 28 points and ousted Tully from the basement. There were a few others close by but John just managed slip into the cellar position.

The Beautiful Game?: Chelsea clinch title, but at what cost to England?

Riz Taylor
It’s lucky they pay me big bucks here at the Pattaya Mail, because keeping on top of football’s ever-changing landscape can be difficult at the best of times. Take the last two weeks, for example. The news has come thick and fast, so much so that a recap is in order for any of you that may have blinked and missed it. Are you sitting comfortably? Let’s hope so.
Here we go then: Middlesbrough dramatically qualified for the UEFA Cup Final with a last-minute winner against Steaua Bucharest; Arsenal will face Ronaldinho and Barcelona in the Champions League final in eleven days time after yet another shutout in the competition took them through against Villareal; England’s hopeless FA chose Luis Felipe Scolari as their next coach only for the Brazilian to say ‘thanks but no thanks’ and back away from the deal; Sheffield United will play in next year’s Premiership; Portsmouth pulled off yet another win to ensure safety and Michael Owen returned from injury. And that’s just for starters.
To Stamford Bridge first, where Chelsea clinched the Premiership by thumping closest rivals Manchester United by three goals to nil on Saturday. In the end it was a fitting result that demonstrated the Blues’ dominance over the chasing pack, and the victory ensured that they became only the second side to retain the title since its inception.
It always looked a foregone conclusion until a shaky spell in March, where exit from Europe caused a hangover that was to last several weeks and allow United a sniff of victory. But in the end it was right and proper that a dominant Chelsea should scoop their second straight title by trouncing their closest rivals at Stamford Bridge. The side have won 18 of their 19 home games this season with only Charlton scraping a draw.
Fitting, too, that the win was secured by a sublime Joe Cole finish. The man who may be the answer to England’s left-sided problems was lambasted by manager Jose Mourinho 18 months ago, but since then has knuckled down to become a key member of the side. To cap his season Cole produced a moment of Maradona-like quality to twist through three United challenges and plant a screeching effort past Edwin van der Sar. At two nil the result was no longer in doubt.
The title celebrations went on into the night, but the day was marred by devastating news for England fans. Eight minutes from time and with the game lost, Wayne Rooney crashed to the ground in agony after a tangle with Portuguese defender Paulo Ferreira. Sven Goran Eriksson won’t have been the only person with his heart in his mouth as England’s most vital player writhed on the ground clutching the same foot he injured in Euro 2004, ironically after another challenge with a Portuguese player.
Why does it come as no surprise to find that the injury is to the player’s metatarsal bone in his right foot? The fracture will take at least another five weeks to mend, seriously risking Rooney’s participation in the finals next month. Of course, it won’t be the first time that metatarsal bones have affected England in a major tournament. David Beckham played through World Cup 2002 half-fit after the same injury, and Rooney’s own exit in Euro 2004 signalled England’s collapse. This time around Michael Owen is yet to win a fitness battle to recover from the same injury.
It doesn’t look good for Rooney. Why does this keep happening, you might ask, and why to key players at major tournament time? Well perhaps it’s time to analyse the modern football boot, stripped of most of its weight and, more importantly, its protection of the upper foot. There must be a link between these lightweight boots and the upsurge in upper foot and in particular metatarsal injuries. If it’s been a while since you bought a pair of boots, check some out in your nearest sports store and you’ll understand why these breakages are becoming all too common. When I’m in charge everyone will go back to clunky “normal” football boots, available only in black.
Not everyone was upset, though. Portsmouth’s noisy supporters were in raptures after Harry Redknapp inspired another astonishing victory, this time away at Wigan, to ensure Premiership safety and condemn West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City to second-tier football next year.
One of their replacements will be Sheffield United, who have now had two weeks to let the reality of Premiership football sink in for long-suffering fans and lifelong supporter and manager Neil Warnock. “In February everyone said we’d bottled it - and that Warnock always bottles it. That really hurt and so we had to regroup and say, ‘We’ll bloody well show you’,” he told The Guardian last week.
And show them they did, securing the automatic promotion spot behind Championship winners Reading. As other results confirmed the good news, Warnock took wife Sharon for a meal in their village to find everywhere already full. Instead they shared a kebab.
“We got our takeaway and watched Match of the Day. It was the first time I’ve been able to watch that programme and think, ‘Crikey, this is where we’re going to be next season!’ This is the pinnacle. It’s the greatest moment of my career and, apart from the family, my whole life.”
Alan Curbishley announced to Charlton fans shortly before kick-off at The Valley that he’ll be stepping down as manager after 15 years of overachievement with what used to be a small club. The England job wasn’t a factor, he said, preferring to suggest that the time has come for a new challenge.
Talking of new challenges, if Arsenal have managed to win their games in hand by the time you read this, Tottenham will know that they must go to West Ham and win on Sunday to “secure” Champions League football next year. That’s assuming that Arsenal don’t win the competition themselves, in which case Spurs will be kicked out at the Gunners’ expense. Tune in on Sunday to see the outcome of the only remaining battle in the final round of this year’s Premiership season, if indeed it’s still unsettled. Savour the moment, because it’s another few months until the new season kicks off. In the meantime we’ll have to make do with a West Ham and Liverpool FA Cup Final next week, an enthralling Arsenal v Barcelona Champions League Final, Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup Final and the World Cup to follow. It’s a tough life for us football fans. Until next week then. If anyone needs me I’ll be busy worrying about Wayne Rooney’s feet.

Pattaya City organizes ‘Walk-Run’ to honour HM King on Visaka Bucha Day

Piyavadee Suvannahong
Pattaya City and the Walk-Run Club have organized a ‘walking-running’ event on Visakha Bucha Day, May 12 to honor HM King’s 60 years on the Thai throne
This is the 5th consecutive year that the event has been held, and in view of the special nature of the occasion, it is expected that more people than ever will participate. The ‘walking-running’ route; will start from the Pattaya Public Park in front of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and pass by the helicopter ground to Atsachinda Road, TAT Central Region 3 Office, and back around through the tunnel to the starting point. After finishing the running and walking segments, participants will then be invited to join in a parade with the lighting of over 1,000 lanterns. This parade will start from Royal Cliff Beach Resort and proceed to Wat Chai Mongkol in South Pattaya.

More people than ever are expected to participate in this year’s Visaka Bucha Day -’Walk-Run’.
Visakha Bucha Day commemorates the date of birth of the Buddha and the ‘Walk-Run’ will be held in the 76 Provinces of Thailand with the total expected participants numbering some 90,000. As well as commemorating the birth of Buddha, the event is designed with the intention of teaching people about the benefits of exercise and meditation.
The Pattaya Walk-Run is scheduled to begin at 4pm, May 12. Anyone wishing to take part, in either the walking or the running should contact Pattaya City Hall, Tel. 038 371 123

A Pattaya Rugby Festival

The Chris Kays Memorial 10’s

Some great rugby 10’s action can be guaranteed at this weekend’s Chris Kay’s Memorial tournament.

This weekend, May 6 - 7 will see the seventh staging of the Pattaya Rugby 10’s tournament, re-named as the Chris Kays Memorial 10’s to perpetuate the memory of the former Pattaya Panthers captain who was tragically killed in the Bali bombing in October 2002. Concurrently the Pattaya Panties will be hosting a Ladies ‘touch’ tournament.
Once again the competition will be staged at The Horseshoe Point Resort, which must be one of the finest venues for such an event, and this year interest is keener than ever. There will be 16 teams participating in the main 10’s tournament and 6 featuring in the Ladies ‘touch’ tournament, which means there will be more than 20 hours of entertaining rugby action during the two days.
Main sponsors for the event are Jameson’s Irish Pub, which is the spiritual home of rugby on the Eastern Seaboard, Raimon Land and MBMG International.
There is a particularly poignant touch to this year’s tournament as Ray Kays, Chris’ father is bringing a team from Chris’ old club in the UK, Abbey Rugby Club. There will also be some new teams from the Middle East and Taiwan and again there will be strong local representation in this year’s tournament including former champions The Bangkok British Club, who will be determined to add to their collection of silverware. Expect them to be pushed all the way however, by the Southerners and “Youngbloods”, which is basically the Thai National Under 19 squad, who performed very creditably on their debut in the tournament last year.
Other regular participants are our long time friends The Bangkok Japanese and more International flavour will be added by the Singapore Cricket Club, who will be defending the Bowl Trophy that they won last year. Three teams have entered from Hong Kong; Tanner De Wit Nomads, Hong Kong University and the Tequila Mocking Birds. Of course the hosts, the Pattaya Panthers led by Eoin Quirke can be sure of providing stiff opposition on their home territory and they may have a secret weapon up their sleeve in the form of former Springbok hooker Harry Roberts.
The location at The Horsehoe Point Resort is a superb setting for the tournament and the playing areas have been lovingly prepared by Khun Chainarin Srifuengfung and his staff.
“I am sure everybody will love playing or watching the rugby in such attractive surroundings, we have no doubt this will be the best one yet.” Said Chairman of the Pattaya Panthers, Jim Howard. The Panthers and Panties would also like to thank the other tournament sponsors: AG Four Winds Moving, Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Chubb Security, Manpower, K-Tech Construction, and Bluescope Lysaght Steel.
Players and friends will get together for a ‘training session’ at Jameson’s on Friday night, May 5 and disco music will be provided throughout the weekend by popular DJ Russell Jay and his MAD Discotheques. Ray and Lin Kays, Chris’s parents, will be on hand to present the coveted “Player of the Tournament” award at the end of the 2-day competition. The action begins at 9am on Saturday, May 6 and concludes at around 5pm Sunday in what should be a memorable weekend festival of rugby.

The morning after the night before

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Tuesday, April 25, Bangpra, Stableford
This was always going to be a difficult day for many of the players, especially those who had played, and stayed late, the night before at the St George’s Day Scramble. The fun had gone on till late and many were pleased Bert only has one day a year outside Tuesday.
As usual, Tim was in early, good old Tim, and dealt with the masses, until bleary eyed the rest turned up, signed in and tried to eat breakfast. His job over, Tim then went back to bed, whilst the rest stumbled down to Bangpra.
This is a great golf course and the players set out in good humour, till the night before set in, and in our 4 ball, all struggled and three really did not make it... still worth a day out.
Back at Bert’s Tim was in fine fettle and took over the presentation with the gusto of a man who has sat all day with his feet up, and just enjoyed some of Bert’s fine free food. The winner of the A Div was Frank Pilkington with Zod Beloglavic in second, whilst the winner of the B Div was Keith Hodges with Thong Pakdiwan in second.
After the presentations, it was noticeable that most players departed to start practicing the eyes closed position.
T.T.F.N.
Near Pin: Vincent Smyth, Zod Beloglavic, Frank Pilkington, Rick Evans, Su Mongmacha, Maurice Kelly, Rich Murphy (2)
Long Put: Derek Brook, David Thomas, Rich Murphy, Mike Wing

Fifty thousand reasons to celebrate St George’s Day

Tropical Bert’s Inaugural St George’s Day Invitational Tournament 2006

Monday April 24, Burapha
(4 Man Scramble)
They say that from little acorns mighty oaks are grown. Well on the face of it the acorns sown on this inaugural day will be alive and kicking for a long time to come.
The night was early as I called in at Bert’s Bar and slipped onto the seat along side Bert and Gez Tracy. “Hey Derek” said Bert, “What do you think of having a St George’s Day competition on the 24th April? Gez says he will be a major sponsor.” Knowing the answer could be important, because it meant time and effort, we decided to give it 24 hours and see how it went down.

Jock presents the trophy to Derek and his team.
One day later we again met and by this time 12 Tee times had been booked at Burapha, on the A & B layouts, and the basic plan was laid down. We would have a Scramble and all the entry fees would go to The Blind School. A green light was given and off we went.
Sponsors were approached and Clough agreed to be a major sponsor, along with Gez, Diamond Dave and Deborah Services (Thailand), who also provided a large bottle of whisky for a lucky draw. Middy, Phil, Reg and Dot agreed to sponsor two holes each.
The day broke bright and breezy, and the dreaded rain did not make an appearance. The course was in great shape, but we made it a real test by playing the men from the Blue Tees and the ladies from the White Tees, and this I think was a great success, although some of the shorter hitters really struggled. This was probably shown in the results as the winning teams all had a nucleus of long drivers.
On the course we also had a ‘Keg of Bass’, sponsored by The Wine Cellar, and this was a focal point, although all the near pins and long puts had a Mizuno golf bag up for grabs, so the competition was hot. One near the pin however must be mentioned. On A3, off the White Tees, Poo hit the pin and the ball bounced off to overhang the hole but not fall in. Someone was most relieved, as they would have had to buy a round for all.

Thanks for the sponsorship.

Sat in the fine Burapha restaurant and drinking Heineken shandy, it was obvious as the results came in that the first team out had set a hot pace and a score that was to prove too much for the rest, and that the first prize would be going to a good home.
Back at the ‘Ranch’, Bert was busy setting up the food as the ‘Pig on a Spit’ arrived: not one of the sponsors I hasten to add. This was a really fine spread and Bert, Pu and staff are to be congratulated.
Food over we got onto the good stuff as our Emcee for the night, Derek Brook, got onto calling the winners out. The technical winners are listed below, but all won a fine Mizuno golf bag.
Onto the team winners, and in fourth place we had Colin and The Warboys, comprising Colin Cronin, Dick, Mike and Fergus with a net 62.3. In third we had Gez Tracy’s team with Nial, Neal, and Gerry who recorded a net 61.2. In second was the team of Vincent Smyth along with Bob Pearce, John Healy and Tony Oakes with a net 61.1.
And so to the champions, and here the Emcee had to hand over the microphone as the winning team was that of Derek Brook, along with Tim Holt, Kevin Dunne and Rick Evans, who between them shot a great net 58.1. Main sponsor, Jock Watt from Clough, did the presentation of the trophy to the victors. This just goes to show that there is some justice in this world, or so I said after a few celebratory beers.
With regard to the presentation, thanks must go to Tim and to Bob Pearce, who after a short instruction period, whizzed around with my camera taking dozens of shots.
This day proved to be a resounding success and for those taking part, was one of the most enjoyable for many a year. Not only was it a fine day out for the golfers but more importantly, 50,000 baht was raised for the Blind School.
The future hopefully holds many more days like this in the years to come, and the aim of the organisers is that not only will we be here again in 12 months time, but that every effort will be made to surpass this year, particularly in the area of support for the Blind School.
T.T.F.N.
Winners Derek and The Timoteys
2nd Vince and The Hollocks
3rd Gez and The P.I.G.S.
4th Colin and The Warboys
Near Pin: #A3 Poo (the wind could have blown it in), #A6 Bob Pearce, #B3 Clive Bruce, #B8 David Thomas
Long Put: #A9 Middy, #B9 Colin Cronin
Nearest The Keg: Bob Rasmussen (maybe the happiest of all)

League gets tighter as top three teams lose

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

200 Bowlers - Bill Key and Bill Gibson

Café Kronborg were only able to win one point from Jack & Tar but still remain in first place by half a point over House of the Golden Coin, who won three points from Café Ole. Grape Vine dropped from second to third after losing three points to Brother D. Three Sisters moved into a tie for fourth place after winning three points from Domicil and France could only managed to get one and a half points from Montana. Shenanigans beat Friends taking three points in the match and Mai’s Thai Restaurant won three from VFW Post 9876. Bill Gibson, Jack & Tar, had the best series of the day knocking down 551 pins and Morn, House of the Golden Coin, tipped over 550 pins.

Over 1,000 cyclists to compete in Mountain Bike Koh Larn 2006

Vimolrat Singnikorn
April 26 - Mr Niran Watthanasartsathorn, Mayor of Pattaya City presided over a news conference to announce the Mountain Tigers’ Mountain Bike Koh Larn 2006 event which will take place this weekend, 6-7 May 2006 at Had Saen (Saen Beach), Koh Larn.
The event will be divided into two categories, cross-country and downhill and will compete for four Princess Somsawalee Cups. Two of the cups will be presented to the winners of the cross country men’s A Open and the women’s A Open and two for the downhill event in the men’s and women’s open. More than 100,000 bahts worth of prizes will also be up for grabs.
The Mayor pointed out that Koh Larn is currently the target of much investment and is being upgraded as a tourist destination and a protected environment. It is hoped that the mountain biking competition will raise the profile of the island even more.
The event is being held on a new course to make the racing more difficult and spectacular and it is expected that more than 1,000 cyclists will compete over the 2 days of the tournament.
Anyone interested in applying to compete should contact Koh Larn District Office, telephone number 038-434160, Pattaya District Office 038-371123 ext 412, Namchai 038-222018, Racha Bikes 038-770097 or World Bikes Sri Racha 038-312572. Applications are open until May 7

Thailand Rally Championships get underway in Pattaya

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
April 22 - Mr Niran Wattanasartsathorn, Pattaya City Mayor was present at the start of Stage 1 of the Thailand Rally Championships, with the vehicles setting off from Pattaya City Hall. Four international teams are competing in the event namely, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and Thailand. There are two categories: 4-wheel drive with five cars competing and 2-wheel drive, which has 12 cars in for the race.

Pattaya City Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn officiates at the start of the Thailand Rally Championships 2006

The rally has been organized by the Automobile Association of Thailand under Royal patronage with the intention of forging good international relations as well as to promote new talent in Thai rallying and domestic tourism in general.
In all there are fIve stages; Stage 1 Pattaya - Chonburi, Stage 2 Kanchanaburi, Stage 3 Pak Chong / Nakhorn Ratchasima, Stage 4 Chacheongsao and finally Stage 5 in Rayong. Points are accumulated over each stage to decide the overall winner with the champion receiving the Silapacheep Bang Sai Queen Sirikit Cup.
Stage 1 was held over a distance of 551.31 kilometers starting from Pattaya District Office before travelling along the Eastern Seaboard over two days and completing the stage at Phonglamduan School, Rayong. The star of this first stage was Malaysia’s Saladin Masman. Stage 2 will be held in Kanchanburi in June.

Super Seniors score best of the day

Mike Franklin
Super Senior John Hurst scored 42 Stableford points to top the field of thirty-four golfers at Pattaya Country Club in the April Diana Senior & Ladies Open. Kalle Eronen took the runner-up spot with 40 points.

Jack Moseley, Sriripen Hamkam & John Hurst

The Seniors scored almost as well with a back nine count-back on 39 points between Jack Moseley and Johani Pylkannen, Jack winning with 20 points on the back to Johani’s 18 points.
Sriripen Hamkam was the Ladies winner with 37 points and Toy Theobald the runner-up with 33 points. Toy also claimed the near pin on #5; Bob pearce made it a double with the near pin on #7 and the long putt on #9; Jack Moseley was longest on #18 and the other two near pins were claimed by Johani Pylkannen and Peter Ring.
The weather stayed fine and mostly cloudy all day. The course was at its usual standard, but the improved bunkers had suffered due to the recent heavy rain.
At the prize-giving Ray and Im Woodruffe were welcomed back to Thailand after an extended stay in the UK and will no doubt enjoy the warm golf that we are guaranteed here.
The next Diana Seniors & Ladies Open will be held Thursday May 25 at Pattaya Country Club. Hope to see you then, so sign-up at the Green Bottle or at the Diana Garden Resort Driving Range.

The Square Ring

by Howie Reed

Like athletes in most any sport, boxers are usually not candidates for MENSA. They don’t have to be. How many ‘Ladies that walk to Music’ get their IQ’s checked before other vital measurements? Do people show up to watch an IQ or buy a PPV for a meeting of the MENSA Society? Nope. Using that as a given, WBO champion Scott Harrison (25-2) has a funny way of training for his upcoming title defence against Martin Honorio (21-3-1). Got himself in a “spot of trouble” last weekend as he was arrested after a bar fight in Glasgow. Police reportedly used tear gas to subdue him. It is not known at this stage if the incident will affect Harrison’s title defence against Martin Honorio next month in Belfast.”
Last Saturday, heavyweight Samuel Peter (26-1) was back in the ring on national TV in America against 7 foot Julius Long (14-8). From the time of the referee’s instructions onwards, the outcome of the bout was never in question. Part of the attraction for some was waiting to watch the tree-like Long go “Timbeeeer”. Only took 2:35 of the initial stanza.
Fight fans wanted to see if Peter had improved his mobility and gotten his weight down. The answer to both is no. Fact is he came in heavier than against Wlad Klitschko, when he couldn’t move a lick in the latter rounds. New trainer Jesse Reed is not having any more success in making Peter a real fighter than Peter’s previous trainer did. Meet the next David Tua: “Hits like a mule and moves like an aardvark”. Heck you can never teach an elephant to dance in Swan Lake but teaching the Hula isn’t out of the question.
Some local guys have been in action since we last met. In Lampun Province, Pramuansak Posuwan (32-1-1,18 KOs) won a unanimous decision, (119-110, 117-111 twice) over Mbwana Matumla (16-2,10 KOs) to retain his WBO Asia-Pacific 115lb title. Posuwan twice represented Thailand in the Olympics and is moving up in the world of the “play for pay guys.”
Already up there with the best in the world is super bantam Fasang 3K Battery (51-8-1,28 KOs). He wildly dropped Filipino Renato Marco (14-8) three times before he scored a fourth round TKO last Friday at Chaophraya Park Hotel in Bangkok. Light welter Jakkrit Suwannalert (20-3) got a taste of Aussie hospitality when he was taken to the woodshed by world class Lovemore Ndou (42-8-1). Over 12 rounds, title contender Ndou tossed a shut out on one judge’s card (120-109) as he scored a one sided decision.
On deck the next couple of days are some world championship fights. Some will be of interest to someone, somewhere. First up, in Jarkarta Muhammad Rachman (50-7-4) defends his IBF straw title against Omar Soto (14-2-1). In Tokyo, Thai native, Eagle Kyowa (15-1) defends the WBC straw title against Rodel Mayol (22-0). Meanwhile in Dusseldorf, Zsolt Erdei (23-0) defends his WBO light heavyweight belt against Yuri Barashian (19-2) and in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, there’s three titles at stake. The average reader wouldn’t recognize any of the names on that card so it’s mentioned just in passing.
The biggest card by far takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Oscar De La Hoya (37-4) gets back in the ring for the first time in over 18 months to fight Ricardo Mayorga (28-5-1) for the WBC light middleweight title. The fight held on May 6 is part of the ‘Cinco de Mayo’ celebration which means 5th of May. That’s the day that the Mexicans celebrate for beating the French. Little did they know that wasn’t that big a deal.
Many can argue and make the point that boxing in America has been carried on the shoulders of De La Hoya for the last 10 years: it’s hard not to accept the précis, mainly because it’s found in The Square Ring. De La Hoya was last in the ring losing to Bernard Hopkins in a fight he never should have been in. Hopkins was bigger, stronger and faster. Oscar was getting blown out (79-73, 78-74, 77-75) when he got Ko’d in 9. For the record De La Hoya is 1-2 since 2004 with no fights last year.
Mayorga is a strange dude with heavy emphasis on “strange”. For many he came out of nowhere when he KO’d Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis and then followed that up with back-to-back wins over Vernon Forest. Forest had the title of “best pound-for-pound” before the loss to Mayorga. Following some problems with the law in his native Nicaragua he lost to Cory Spinks, fought a tune up and then got KO’d by Felix Trinidad in 8.
Mayorga’s troubles with the law were probably more of a misunderstanding that could happen to almost anyone. ‘She’ either was or was not of legal age and he either did or did not pay the agreed upon fee. Regardless, Mayorga’s been on a slippery slide downhill since his loss to Spinks. He won the WBC light middleweight title with a UD over Michele Piccirill (44-2). One of the judges for that fight was Thailand’s Anek Hongtongkam. He had it (117-108) for Mayorga so that’s the way it was. I’ve got to think that De La Hoya will prevail and then fight one last contest against Felix Trinidad or Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September of this year.
Last week Mayweather Jr. bought out his contract with ‘Buffalo’ Bob Arum for $750,000 USD. As a free agent Mayweather Jr. can now sign with De La Hoya’s ‘Golden Boy Promotions,’ which would set up the fight with Oscar. Mr. Arum and Senor De La Hoya are on the ‘do not invite to the same pool party’ list. De La Hoya once said of Arum, “He thinks he’s the smartest Jew to come out of Harvard.” Oscar later said he was “misquoted”. Losing Mayweather Jr. leaves an August 12 date open for Arum. No problemo, as he now plans to match Hasim Rahman against Oleg Maskaev for the WBC heavyweight title.
Also last week, Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis was back in the news. At one time considered the best welterweight in the world, Lewis was 21-0-1, after a “no contest” with Mayorga in July of 2001, and was the WBA champion. Lewis won the title by destroying James Paige in 5 rounds. Mayorga and Lewis met in a rematch in 2002 with Mayorga getting the KO in 5. The judges had the fight even at the time.
Lewis has always been a little “different”. Yes, he was taken deep with the “goofy” stick. In ’03 Lewis got a WBO title shot against Antonio Margarito, which ended with the expected result - a K0 in 2. Lewis was out of the ring for 22 months when he fought Kenny Dalton (13-5) for the Guyanese light middle title. For some reason that ended in a Technical Draw.
Last week there was a rematch. Lewis was ahead on all three judges’ cards when he shockingly surrendered 37 seconds into round seven. Lewis later revealed to Stabroek Sport, “I just wanted to get out and go to the toilet. I preferred to lose the fight than mess up myself in front of all those people. Everyone saw that I was beating the hell out of Dalton. I was trying to hold in this stuff but in the seventh round I couldn’t no more so I decided to quit.” Lewis blamed his “problem” on a milkshake. As they say, “When you got to go, you got to go.”
Speaking of which, “Jeeves we have reached that point in the week when ‘The Square Ring’ is ready for bed and himself is ready for a tall cool one or 10. Let’s drink to characters like ‘Six Heads’ Lewis. Jeeves, you are a good man.”