Wayne takes the ‘Mug’ as Bob cans an ‘Ace’

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Friday, April 20, Pattaya C.C., Monthly Mug
Arriving at Pattaya Country Club we were soon booked in, and it was noticeable the course was fairly quiet. On the first tee we were able to get away a little early and we soon noticed it was quite windy and the fairways hard and dry. All in all though the course was not too bad; the greens were pretty good, but the bunkers were a real problem. Although raked they looked flattish but a little like turned earth, and it was impossible to get a decent lie as the ball lay well down. Still I suppose that bunkers are supposed to be punishing.

Dave (left) presents the ‘Monthly Mug’ to Wayne.

Bunkers aside, the round went fairly fast, the only problem for our group was that as we were teeing off on one hole, the group behind started to shout loudly and we wondered what was up. Round over we ventured into the restaurant and while we sat there we were joined by the noisy group behind, and found what the whooping had been about. On the par-3 seventh hole, Bob Benda had sunk a hole-in-one. It is his first hole-in-one after many years of playing the game.
Back at the Cafe Kronborg it was time to declare the winners and it was surprising to see only one person beat his handicap, so the day must have been tough.
In the A Flight (0-19) the winner was Derek Brook with a net 72 ahead of Dave Richardson with a net 73 and in third place was Bob Benda with a net 74. In the B Flight the winner was Mark Brenton with Neil Allison in second and Basi Singh in third. No I have not forgotten the scores, but they did enough to win. Enough said.
Finally to the winner of the Monthly Mug, and a very surprised recipient was Wayne Koch with a net 71, but as said above, he did enough to win. Well done Wayne.
T.T.F.N.

The Beautiful Game?: Riz Taylor

And the winner is....

Hello friends, and welcome to another round-up of all things football. Regular readers will be pleased to hear that there’s very little available space for opinion from yours truly this week, as instead title chases and relegation battles across Europe rightly take centre stage. Add a pinch of controversy here and there and you’ve got yourself the climax to one of the most thrilling seasons in recent memory, in many countries at least, but a word of warning - this week’s “Beautiful Game?” is only for those of you with a strong stomach for statistics.
First up in our European tour we head to France, where Olympique Lyonnais (that’s Lyon to most of us) clinched the Ligue 1 championship after nearest challengers Toulouse were defeated away at Rennes. It’s been quite a few months for the club after they became the first French outfit to float on the stock market in February and now find themselves as the first side to win the title six times in the history of the competition.
In fact Lyon are the first side in any of the ‘big’ divisions to scoop the championship six straight times. Amongst the rest, any real football fan reading this article will already be well aware that Latvia’s Skonto Riga hold the European record at 14 back-to-back wins, whilst Rosenborg in Norway have managed 13 in a row.
Not that the result in France was ever in doubt. With five games still remaining Lyon are now 18 points ahead of the rest, but whilst this was a one horse race the remainder of the division is as competitive as could be, with just ten points separating second to thirteenth position, leaving much to be decided over the coming weeks.
Scotland has known its fair share of successive title winners, and Rangers and Celtic hold the record at nine each. That squabble doesn’t look like being beaten in the near future, but the green and white half of Glasgow won’t be worrying about that this week after their Celtic side clinched the Scottish Premier League title.
“The best team won the league,” said manager Gordon Strachan to shocked reporters, before clarifying by adding that “There is a difference between the best individuals and the best team.” Japanese star Shunsuke Nakamura clinched the title with a goal and followed up by later collecting the Scottish Professional Football Association’s Player of the Year award. Across Glasgow city rivals Rangers will look to regroup over the coming months but in the meantime will have to settle for a Champions League place. Aberdeen cling on to a UEFA Cup spot, four points ahead of Hearts.
I know you’re all eager to catch up on what’s been happening in Italy, so let’s head there straight away. Internazionale’s 2-1 win over Siena and second-placed Roma’s defeat at Atalanta means Inter now have an unassailable 16-point lead with five games to go. “It is extraordinary to win five games from the end with a lead of 16 points,” said manager Roberto Mancini before confirming his own five-year contract extension, ending any speculation of a move to Chelsea. “The team showed great character. I’m happy for all Inter fans,” he added. Roma, Lazio and match-fixers AC Milan all look set to finish in the top four.
To Germany now, where the shock news is that Bayern Munich are nowhere to be seen as the Bundesliga goes into its final weeks. Bayern capitulated at Stuttgart on Saturday and are now out of the running, and instead it’s Schalke 04, Werder Bremen and Stuttgart themselves who’ll contest the trophy. Schalke are in pole position after keeping their two-point lead with a win over Cottbus.
Perhaps the most enthralling climax to any season in any country comes in Holland, as three teams go into the final round of matches on equal points. It won’t come as any surprise to hear that serial contenders Ajax and PSV Eindhoven are up there once again on 72 points, but unfashionable AZ head the trio on goal difference alone. AZ simply need a win against 16th placed Excelsior on Sunday to break the duopoly and earn themselves the Eredivisie title.
Anderlecht and Genk will contest the Belgian Jupiler League, whilst Sporting, Porto and Benfica all clamour for glory in Portugal. You’ll also be delighted to hear that FC Copenhagen have got things sewn up in Denmark.
Congratulations if you’re still with us, you earn yourself five bonus points for not falling asleep and your reward is a free trip to Spain, where the race for La Liga is set to reach a thrilling climax. There are still several rounds to go in the championship - seven to be precise - and Barcelona’s dodgy recent form has made things interesting. Barca head the table by just a point from Sevilla, who in turn are one ahead of Real Madrid.
So to England then, and in the Premiership nothing is settled as the key battles still look like heading down to the final day. Both Manchester United and Chelsea could only manage draws against Middlesbrough and Newcastle respectively, leaving things nicely poised for the neutrals among us. West Ham’s unlikely revival continued with a win over Everton whilst Sheffield United and Charlton shared the points with a 1-1 draw. In the Championship it was all change as Birmingham claimed top spot with a late winner against Wolves, whilst Sunderland fluffed their lines by slipping up against playoff hopefuls Colchester United.
Enough for one week, don’t you agree? Next week it’s over to Luxembourg to see how things are developing, but in the meantime get yourself sat down with a beer or six and catch another round of Premiership matches this weekend, followed by the climax to the Champions League semi finals midweek with Liverpool against Chelsea in the wee hours of Wednesday (Pattaya time) with Manchester United and AC Milan 24 hours later.
Euro goes East
Poland and the Ukraine were awarded joint custody of the 2012 European Championship finals last week by beating off competition from Italy and another joint bid from Hungary and Croatia.
Critics pinpointed the lack of infrastructure, poor roads, ageing stadiums and huge distances between matches as reasons to choose somewhere else, but that didn’t stop a beaming Polish Football Association chairman Michal Listkiewicz from basking in his moment of glory. “There are 85 million people now waiting for this big football event,” he said. “The friendship between our nations has a very long history. This big tournament will be an important milestone in the history of our two Slavic nations.”

Robert and Ploy crowned as this year’s PSC champs

2007 Pattaya Sports Club Golf Championship

Trevor Carnahoff
April 5 & 9,
Eastern Star Golf Club, Medal
The PSC Club Championship is a special annual event held over two days. This year the venue was Eastern Star Golf Club, under a special arrangement that included the PSC Annual Charity Classic held at the same course a month or so back. Because of the Friday public holiday there was a three-day break between the two 18 holes giving the competitors more than enough time to contemplate what went so right, or perhaps so wrong on the first day.

PSC Golf Champions for 2007 - Robert Brown and Ploy Nattaporn.
The format was medal play for all flights, which is a significant departure for many of the higher handicap golfers who are perhaps more used to Stableford competition where one can still recover from one or more bad holes.
‘D’ flight winner Terry Curtis, however, was able to prevail despite recording a 12 on the first par 5 on the first day. The golfers are required to concentrate not only on their stroke play but also on adhering strictly to the rules of golf, including recording the correct score on each hole. In spite of this, the play was generally faster than expected, helped along by the excellent cooperation of the Eastern Star management.

Nigel Cannon and Tony Oakes get ready to dole out the prizes.
The course played hot, hard and long on both days with swirling winds adding to the difficulty. This was attested to by the lowest net score recorded for the two days by the field of 115 golfers at 137 or 7 under handicap by both Maurice Bowman and Chant Schwulera.
The Club Champions are rewarded, however, by shooting the lowest gross score over the two days, and this year’s worthy winners were Men’s Champion Robert Brown with a gross score of 159 and Ladies Champion Thongpen (Ploy) Nattaporn with 154 - both playing off a handicap of 8.
Trophies were also presented to the lowest net scores over the two days for flights A, B, C, D, and Ladies with first, second and third prizes together with 56 additional trophies awarded for technical skill over the two days.

Dennis and Apple entertain the gathering at the Town in Town Hotel.
The prize-giving ceremonies were held in Pattaya at the Town in Town Hotel where PSC Social Chairman Doug Powell had performed his usual magic by organizing a full international buffet dinner and a cash bar at bargain prices.
PSC President Dennis Willett made the welcoming remarks before handing over to Golf Chairman Tony Oakes and Nigel Cannon who acted as Master of Ceremonies with professionalism and wit, handing out the 74 trophies organized by Alan Pearce in near record time. That he was able to do so owed much to the hard work of the Golf Committee, and the perennial Bernie Tuppin, who were able to get all of the scoring done and resolve the inevitable hiccups in time to have the proceedings commence on time. The entire committee must be congratulated for the success of the event and contributing to our enjoyment.
To round out a most pleasurable evening Dennis Willett, with the co-opted help of some particularly lovely ladies from the audience, performed impromptu karaoke much to the delight of those who stayed until the close.
More detailed results and a list of our valued sponsors can be found on the Pattaya Sports Club website at www. pattayasports.org.
Technical Prizes:
Long drive hole #9 (All flights): Dave Arrowsmith, Kale Karlberg, Brian Maddox, Keith Johnson, Ploy Nattaporn, M. Matsumoto, Dennis Willett, Peter Ernslie, P. Singh Basi,and Apple Jitchana
Near pin on hole # 2 (A & B flights): Paul Smith and Bill Thompson
Near pin on hole # 8 (C&D flights): Lief Linner and Roy Pimblett
Near pin on hole # 11 (A&B flights): Dave Arrowsmith and M. Matsumoto
Near pin on hole # 12 (A, B &L flights): Doug Chalkley, Initra Goransson, and Per Olan Bali
Near pins on par-3 holes 3, 6, 13 &17 (All flights): Bill Thompson, Seamus Cotter, Staffan Lyrestram, Andy Spense, Siriwan Walden, Mashi Kaneta (2), Brian Orr, Joel Flor (2), Bill Mooney, Pid Overgren (2), John McDonald, Gerry Cooney, Herbie Schweiterman (2), David Johnson (2), Clive Bruce, Geoff King, Stan Everingham, Mikael Andersson (2), Ken Bailey, Mike Wing (2), Ian Spense, Chant Schulera, Eddie Blackwell, Roger Stromstedt, Paul Quodomine (2), Nijole Murtagh, Perry McNeeley (2), Initra Goranss

The ‘dynamic duo’ beaten at last

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, April 2, Pattaya C.C., Stableford
1st Paul Hartley 35pts c/b
2nd Dave Spendley 35pts c/b
3rd B.J. Smith 34pts
4th Walt Straub 33pts
Paul Hartley took his first win out of The Haven for some time with a hard earned 35 points. His round contained a strong back nine that proved good enough to push Dave Spendley into second place.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Mikael Jansson slipped one in for the first division pool.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed new member Dave May and welcomed back Nigel Burnett, Pat Barry, Steve Kennedy and Ian Hendry.
Wednesday, April 4, Mountain Shadow,
2-Person Scramble
1st Peter Aitcheson & Paul Hartley 45pts
2nd Trevor Schirmer & B.J. Smith 44pts
3rd Claus Nilsson & Norman Isherwood 40pts
After seemingly months of domination, the dynamic duo were at last taken off the top of the podium in the monthly two-person scramble at Mountain Shadow. Peter Aitcheson and Paul Hartley combined to amass just enough points to edge them into second place by a point.
Norman Isherwood and Claus Nilsson took a very good third place as generally the field found the course to be playing even harder than usual.
The 2’s competition was suspended due to the format.
Prior to the prize giving The Doc welcomed back Pat Prenderville, Carl Lovatt, Tony Kitchen and Roger Lyons.
Friday, April 6,
The Emerald,
Stableford
1st Chris Davisson 36pts c/b
2nd Peter Aitcheson 36pts c/b
3rd Glynn Nicholas 36pts
4th Brian Kelly 34pts
Chris Davisson, making one of his infrequent visits just managed to scramble to the top of the prize list ahead of the in-form Peter Aitcheson and Glynn Nicholas by virtue of the count back.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division whilst Chris Davisson and John Desmond shared the first division pot.
Back at The Haven, the Doc welcomed back John Desmond, Brian Libby and Alan Griffiths.
Monday, April 9, Green Valley, Stableford
1st Brian Libby 42pts
2nd Trevor Schirmer 40pts
3rd Norman Isherwood 37pts
4th Roger Lyons 35pts
Brian Libby took full advantage of Steve Kennedy’s kind offer of a match which included a wager of some type, to post his best round in competition and elicit a challenge for a rematch.
Trevor Schirmer had to be satisfied with second place with a score that normally would ensure the prize for top dog on most days, with Norman Isherwood in third and Roger Lyons also winning his first podium position.
Peter Biggs and John Desmond shared the 2’s in the first division and Brian Libby and Glynn Nicholas shared the triple roll over in the second division.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed new members Michael Monahan and Peter Bye and welcomed back Peter Biggs and Ian Wilson.
Wednesday, April 11, Eastern Star, Stableford
1st Alan Griffiths 40pts
2nd Peter Davies 37pts
3rd Brian Libby 35pts
4th Peter Aitcheson 34pts c/b
5th Peter Bye 34pts
Alan Griffiths geared up for the upcoming Songkran Tour to the far North and also earned enough to be able to spread a little warmth and happiness amongst the old members eking out an existence organizing golf tours in the hinterlands.
Peter Davies took a well-deserved second place whilst Brian Libby duly recorded the double on Steve on his way to third, with the two Peters rounding out the prize winners.
Peter Bye had the only ‘2’ in the first division and there were none in the second division.
Prior to the prize giving The Doc welcomed back Barry McIntosh, Peter Davies and Moe Bertrand.

Martin Hayes - a clear winner at PCC

PSC golf from The Oohsa Bar

Tuesday, April 17, Pattaya C.C., Stableford
1st Martin Hayes (15) 37pts
2nd Jeff Wylie (7) 34pts
3rd Geoff Moodie (26) 30pts c/b
A field of 14 players entered for our first trip to PCC this year. It isn’t usually on our rota due to heavy traffic and price, but considering the Songkran festivities it was thought best to keep travel to a minimum.

Tuesday winners (L-R): Geoff Moodie, Martin Hayes and Jeff Wylie.

Recent rain had clearly improved the condition of the course. The greens were very firm yet putted well. The only exception was the 14th green which looked more like a WW1 battlefield than a golf course but at least it gave the bad putters an excuse.
Martin Hayes played well, coming in with a fine 37 points and was the only player to better his handicap. Jeff Wylie came close on 34 points but the rest of the field struggled. It was difficult to know why, but the next best was a group of three players on 30 points with Geoff Moodie taking third place on count back from Roger Yabsley and David Gardner.
Nevertheless it was a pleasant day with fast uninterrupted play. Everyone was finished by 2.30pm leaving plenty of time to get back for the presentation at the Oohsa Bar at 5.30pm.
Near Pins: Neil Duncan, Jeff Wylie (2), Roger Yabsley.
Long Putt: Neil Duncan
Thursday, April 19, Plutaluang N & W, Stableford
Thursday’s golf was washed out by torrential rain - the second event cancelled this year. Some of the field completed the round, but it was impractical to continue with the competition. Better luck next time!
Next week we will be at Plutaluang on Thursday May 3, but due to the holiday on 1st May the scheduled competition on Tuesday has been cancelled.

No Moss(y) gathers on Quaid

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday, April 15, Green Valley - White Tees, Monthly Medal
A Flight
1st Mossy Quaid (8) 43 points
2nd Mark Wood (6) 40 points
3rd Peter LeNoury (9) 40 points
B Flight
1st Jim Munns (12) 44 points
2nd Claus Birk Thomsen (10) 38 points
3rd Ian Grout (14) 38 points
C Flight
1st Robbie Bennett (20) 44 points
2nd Geoff Kubas(26) 40 points
3rd Adam Schoenfeld (20) 39 points
Near Pins: #2: Kris Kritsanajootha; #9: Jez Lees, #12: Kris Kritsanajootha; #16: Claus Birk Thomsen
2’s: Rick Holmes, Kris Kritsanajootha, Jim Munns, Claus Birk Thomsen, Eddy Bielby, Geff Ives
In a day of big scores on the Sunday-shortened Green Valley set-up, the Men of the Match were B Flight’s Capt. Fogg and C Flight’s Mr. Robbie, each with 44 points. CBT, The Tile and The Man of Leisure all followed the Good Captain in B Flight with 40 points. CBT counted back to the silver, Ian to the bronze and Eddy to the wooden spoon.
Geoff Kubas also had an excellent 40 points, his in C Flight, but given Robbie’s spectacular 44 it only earned him C Flight second. NY Slim tidied up C Flight with a count back over Monsieur Pierre.
A Flight may not have had the MoM but it had the day’s Medalist as Mossy Quaid had a gross 73 (43 points) to edge Mark Wood’s (gross 74) and Peter LeNoury’s (gross 77) 40 point efforts. Seven players in the premier flight were in the 70’s, gross.
Monday, April 16, Emerald - White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Gary Blackburne (8) 39 points
2nd Mark Grygiel (6) 37 points
B Flight
1st Pierre Bietry (21) 40 points
2nd Chaten Patel (16) 33 points
2’s: Gary Blackburne, Bob Patterson (2)
With the balance of the week fearing Songkran a-comin’ and thinking about golf tours a plannin’, it was a small but spirited field that took to The Emerald. Monsieur Pierre avenged Sunday’s count back loss by taking a 7-point victory over The Rajah. Nice Guy Gary topped BKK’s Mark Grygiel in A Flight.
Tuesday thru Friday, April 17 - 20,
Songkran Get-
Away - Nichigo C.C., Match Play -
Dual Elimination
John Emmerson, in conjunction with his Asia Bound/Pattaya4Golf sidekick, Steve Ellison, hooked the Society up for his annual trip to Nichigo in Kanchanaburi for an always-anticipated Match Play tournament. The revelers found the course in as pristine a condition as ever experienced in Thailand. The Senator overcame his fear of other people’s handicaps (a/k/a “bandititis”) to be the top winner on the tour.

Argentina wins the Carretas Cup

Women’s International Polo

The gauchitas together with some Tiffany’s ‘wannabes’ pose for a team photo prior to the start of the 2-day tournament.

Tom Claytor
April 14-15, Siam Polo Park hosted the first ever Women’s International 2-Day Polo Tournament in Thailand. Teams were invited from Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia, but unfortunately these teams could not come.
The gauchos in Thailand however are always ready to fill in and lend a hand when needed. In this case, they brought out a bag of balloons and instantly transferred all the gauchos into ‘gauchitas’ to fill in the missing members for the Women’s International Polo Tournament.
There were two teams: Argentina, captained by Khun Robin and Thailand, captained by Khun Suzy. The battle was fierce as balloons were bursting all over the place and bouncing across the field in the midst of the tournament. The score was high too, with Argentina pulling out into the lead 10-8 at the end of the first day.
On day 2, Thailand leveled the score to an even draw until the final minute of the last chukka when Marcosina walked the ball into the goal. There was then a blur of speed on the far side of the field as Khun Malinee hit a cracker of a shot from mid-field over Khun Tong’s head, which went wide at the final bell.
It was a stunning victory for Argentina 13-12 at the first playing of the Women’s International Polo Tournament in Thailand. More details of the event together with a roundup of all the local polo news can be found on www.siampolonews.com.

Sakchai races home in charity half-marathon

The runners wait for the start of the half and mini-marathons.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Chonburi resident Sakchai Prachumdaeng, representing the Saucony Team, was the winner of HRH Princess Sirindhorn’s trophy at the Men’s half-marathon held in Pattaya on April 19. The event was organized by the Thai Red Cross with assistance from Chonburi Province to honor the year of HM the King’s 80th birthday celebrations.
The race was split into three distinct categories: a 3km charity walk, a 10.5km mini-marathon and the 21.1km half-marathon. The runners and walkers assembled at 5am to set off from outside the Ambassador City Hotel in Jomtien and the course took them down Sukhumvit Road towards Sattahip before returning via Yanasangwararam Temple, Kha Cheechan and Sattahip Wittauakom School to eventually finish back at the starting point.
Chonburi District Governor, Pracha Taerat, was on hand to set the athletes on their way before joining in himself with the 3km charity walk along with Wittaya Khunplum (President of the Chonburi Sports Club), and a large gathering of the general public. Everyone wore yellow shirts in this activity to pay respect to HM the King.
Sakchai Prachumdaeng used his athletic background to finish clear of the chasing pack in the Men’s half-marathon, whilst Sayamol Phukmit from the Red Cross Club of the Uthai District in Ayutthaya Province crossed the line first in the Women’s category. Petty Officer First Class Kritsada Pinyo from the Water Soldier’s Club and Piyanut Raewong from the Ban Phaew Running Club meanwhile, were the respective winners in the Men’s and Women’s mini-marathon races.
The proceeds from the day’s event will be presented to HRH Princess Sirindhorn (Executive Vice President of the Thai Red Cross Society) for her work with the Thai Red Cross and also to support and promote local sporting activities.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

In the countdown to De La Hoya-Mayweather jr., the Nevada Commission has now named the officials. Referee Kenny Bayless gets the high profile assignment as the only guy in the ring with a blue shirt, black slacks and a tie when the bell rings for round one. The decision will be the well liked by everyone and will be Bayless’s biggest assignment - and probably his biggest pay-day also.
Bayless will have to be at the top of his game because both boxers are seasoned pro’s, know all the tricks in the book and will use them at the sound of the first bell. There’s also a darn good crew of judges with New Jersey’s Tommy Kaczmarek joining Nevada’s Chuck Giampa and Jerry Roth. All three are “elites” as is fitting for this major event.
One boxing “expert” pointed out that Roth is working a De La Hoya fight for the first time since he had Trinidad beating Oscar 115-113 in 1999. Trinidad won the fight by majority decision when Belgium’s Bob Logist also had it for Trinidad 115-114. The other judge in that one, Glen Hamada, had it a draw at 114.
Most who watched that fight thought that Oscar had the contest well in hand until he gave away the final three rounds when he turned from a boxer to a track star. It was much like South Africa’s Retief Goosen who used an iron off the 13th tee in the Masters this year when leading. As Golf commentator David Ferrety said, “What a time to turn into a weenie.”
To get a view of the De La Hoya-Mayweather jr. fight there’s no better person to talk to than J’MO, better know as J. Marie Moore, daughter of all-time great Archie Moore.
“Didn’t know Bayless (who I like) was the ref. I’d say wisdom (age) can have its pros - on the other hand jr. does keep busy. And sometimes being busy keeps you sharp, but does NOTHING when you have bad hands, or any bad extremities for that matter. Speed can frustrate an “old head” - it’s like having a pest you cant get off, not that it hurts; it’s just ‘pesty’, annoying. As we all know patience is not so much a strong point in one that wants to get to the meat and potatoes. And how long can his hands really last? How much cortisone will it take?”
The ‘Lady Mongoose’ continues, “Let’s think back to an aging Archie Moore and a young quick Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). Was the Mongoose affected by Ali’s loud mouth and flashy moves? I think not - so it wasn’t mental. Ali was faster and younger. Archie was older, wiser, but never the less older ... Foreman - Ali? At one point Ali was hurt, but George was psyched out from the gate, yet Ali’s hand speed frustrated the young Foreman (no I am not comparing Floyd to Ali - egads, am I?) I better go look at that fight again.”
Every once in a while boxing actually does something that smacks of being “fair.” WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev will defend his title against Samuel Peter sometime before August. The winner of that fight (Peter) will then defend against Vitali Klitschko. Well maybe.
Peter won two WBC eliminators that did nothing but ‘eliminate’ him from a title fight. Rumors of a US$2.75 million ‘step aside’ fee for Peter were floated but in the end sunk like a broke punter’s jaw. Why? Well according to Maskaev promoter Dennis “Not Ready for Prime Time” Rappaport, the money guys in Russia gave him a bum check. Then he found new money guys but Klitschko wouldn’t sign the contract saying he “needed more time.”
The other “Ethiopian in the Fuel Supply”, to borrow a line from WC Fields, was that the proposed June 2 date already had one heavyweight title fight in Moscow. WBO champ Shannon Briggs was set to defend against Sultan Ibragimov. That one has now been moved to Atlantic City, but still the same date.
The conventional wisdom on Maskaev-Klitschko, which is usually neither, had Maskaev losing to Klitschko for big bucks, then getting a rematch and losing again for big money, then retiring. Maskaev’s promoter, ‘Not Ready For Primetime’ Rappaport was looking for two big pay days. Now he’ll have to settle for one. Poor baby.
Got to give a pat on the back to vanquished heavyweight champ Nikolai Valuev. He lost the belt to Ruslan Chagaev a couple of weeks back. Immediately after he admitted, “I committed too many mistakes. I did not throw enough punches and also had trouble finding my feet.” Ok, little help here from ‘The Square Ring’ - Nikolai, those big old things at the end of your legs are called feet. True fact.
Due to the constraints of space there were a couple of fights on the Pacquiao undercard that got overlooked last week. The Jimmy Olsen like O.R. Cross reports: “Got to see Julio Caeser Chavez, Jr. stay with his unbeaten streak and he looks like he might be in the same class as his ‘old man’ someday.” O.R. refers to the fact that J.C. Chavez jr. got to 31-0 when he demolished Anthony Shulker in two rounds. Chavez is still fighting on his name as he’s yet to beat or even engage a good boxer.
A couple of ex champs have fallen on hard times: “I thought the other underdog, Mijares, was very impressive in taking care of Arce,” wrote O.R. He refers to the fact that the former WBC fly champ Jorge Arce got his butt handed to him when he moved up to face WBC super-fly champ Cristian Mijares. “I fought the fight of my life,” said Mijares. “I beat a great champion. I beat a warrior.”
Arce stated, “No excuses. I don’t know what happened tonight. He was the better man tonight. There’s nothing else to do but accept defeat and prepare myself for the next fight.”
Edgar Sosa (27-5) who was on the dump heap just a few fights ago rallied late to beat former champ Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria for the vacant WBC light fly title. O.R. opines, “Sosa handily took care of Viloria and in Viloria’s corner Joe Goosen kept telling him he was way ahead. Even my tired old eyes could see that he was behind.”
Joe Goosen always tells his fighter he’s ahead. It’s called positive reinforcement, which is ok up to a point. Viloria is fading fast. In his last three he’s lost to Omar Nino Romero, then drew with Romero, except Viloria failed the drug test, and now the loss to Sosa. Bad stuff.
Aussie IBF fly champ Vic Darchinyan is exciting in the ring and no slouch when it comes to “trash talk”. Darchinyan had been hoping for a fight against Jorge Arce. Now with Arce’s loss to Mijares that seems remote.
“I knew he was a fraud from day one which is why I wanted to be the one to beat him, to expose him to the world as a farce of a fighter, he’s a fraud and a complete disappointment to the Mexican boxing fans,” commented Darchinyan.
If this self-serving press release had ended there it would have been fine. Darchinyan’s promoter Gary “Gas Bag” Shaw is to common sense though what durian fruit odor is to Chanel No.5. “Bob [Arum] claims Vic can’t put ass’s on one hundred seats. That may be true, but I guarantee you that Vic can win more rounds against any opponent “Farce” has ever lost to.”
Firstly Gary, never end a sentence with a preposition. More importantly, no fans equals no ass’s in the seats, which equals no money. Dah!
Not a lot on tap this weekend throughout the world of boxing. The one exception is WBO lightweight champ Acelino Freitas (38-1) against WBA champ Juan Diaz (31-0). Freitas looked really bad when he got KO’d by Diego Corrales, and just average when he won the title by beating Zahir Raheem.
The fight will be televised by HBO which “secretly” spread the news that “boxing analyst” Larry Merchant will be given the gate. He’ll be replaced by Max Kellerman who was tossed overboard at ESPN and Fox. At Fox he was made a boxing “analyst” alongside boxing’s best announcer Barry Tompkins. Tomkins used the old bromide, “When someone is making a fool of themselves - let ‘em.” Tompkins did. Kellerman got fired. One Web site asked “Buffalo” Bob Arum to comment: “Merchant is terrible but the guy they’re replacing him with is worse”, said Arum. Two hour’s later the Arum comment was removed. Guess Arum didn’t want to get caught telling the truth.
Got a different take on not showing the ring girls between rounds from Pat Cusick the WBC Muaythai guy in Thailand. “In response to friend Doug, it’s far away better that the cameras show the boxers spitting than focusing on the girls taking a spit, should they feel inclined to do so.” Point well taken.
Love it when some promoter is trying to sell his boxer as the “next best thing.” ‘New’ Thai prospect Kompayak Porpramook (25-3) impressively retained his ABCO light flyweight crown as he stopped IPBC #1 Little Roseman (reportedly 15-6) in round three last Friday at Pattavikorn Market in Bangkok. Sounds good but Roseman is really 2-3, losing his last 3. Nice try though!
Well here’s Jeeves right on time with the necessities of life.
“Your Lordship, I heard while visiting the chaps at the Island Lager Bar that the French are still not giving up on the ideal of taking Lance Armstrong’s 7 Tour de France titles from him. Now they’re apparently saying that Armstrong tested positive for three substances banned in France; soap, deodorant and toothpaste.”
Jeeves you are a treasure!

All golfers invited to take part in Pattaya’s newest ‘Major’ charity golf tournament

Organized by Pattaya Mail Media Group, Pinnacle Jomtien Resort & Spa & Eastern Star Golf Club

The Pattaya Mail Media Group, after many years of reporting local golf in Pattaya Mail and on Pattaya Mail Television, is confirming the commitment to golf by staging its own major tournament on Friday 29th June 2007 at Eastern Star Country Club & Resort. It is the inaugural Pattaya Mail ‘Mike Franklin’ Classic, a charity golf tournament that will herald in the 15th Anniversary of Pattaya Mail.
The proceeds from the tournament will be shared by six beneficiaries, four of them chosen by Mike as they are charities and projects with which he is involved on an ongoing basis. The six charities and projects being namely: the Rotary Foundation’s work with children, Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Water Purification project, Scholarships to Pattaya Schools via Diana Group Foundation, Ban Dorntupab Pattana, primary school Khorat, Pattaya Young PR Ambassador Program and the Camillian Aids Center – Cindy Burbridge project
The proceeds, as they are committed and spent on the six beneficiary projects, will be reported in Pattaya Mail, and on PMTV.
The tournament will receive extensive Press & TV media coverage in Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Blatt, & Chiangmai Mail; on Sophon cable and the Pattaya Mail Television (PMTV) cable network covering Chonburi, Pattaya, Jomtien & Sattahip. The POV Media Group is providing 150 framed A3 poster display sites in prime Bangkok locations, and press conferences are scheduled for Thursday June 7 at the Chaophya Park Hotel, Bangkok, and at the Pinnacle Jomtien Resort & Spa on Thursday June 14, courtesy of Andrew J. Wood and Ingo Raeuber, their respective GMs.
The Pattaya Mail ‘Mike Franklin’ Classic is being organized jointly by the Pattaya Mail Media Group, Pinnacle Jomtien Resort & Spa & Eastern Star Golf Club.
The golf tournament will feature two Shotgun starts at 06.45am and 12.30pm, playing a Four-ball Team Scramble format. Both shotgun starts will be limited to 25 teams of 4 players. Tournament scoring will be by ‘System 36’ that calculates team handicaps on the day, based on performance.
As official player handicaps are not a condition of entry, it will be an open tournament and all golfers are welcome. It is hoped that the many organized golf groups in Pattaya that enjoy the weekly coverage of their competitions in Pattaya Mail will participate and support the event.
There will be performance trophies for the winning teams and technical prizes and trophies to be won on every hole. A perpetual trophy will be kept at Pattaya Mail and inscribed with the names of the Champion team players. The prize-giving ceremony, BBQ buffet dinner, live music & entertainment will take place from sunset by the beach at the Pinnacle Jomtien Resort & Spa.
The Tournament at Eastern Star and the prize-giving party at Pinnacle Jomtien Resort will be covered by Pattaya Mail Television and a souvenir DVD of the televised feature will be given to the sponsors.
As it is a charity event the tournament relies on support in a variety of ways, through donations or sponsorship of specific items such as caps, towels, balls, trophies, and draw prizes. Due accreditation will be given at the event, during the prize-giving ceremony and in Pattaya Mail media.
Complimentary merchandise and services, or cash to purchase, will be used for prizes in the player’s Lucky Draw. Some ‘High value’ items, such as airline tickets, accommodations and top restaurant vouchers will also feature in a special Charity Draw held during the evening. All donors will receive due accreditation in the tournament publicity, media and during the prize-giving party.
Event sponsorship is available in the Platinum (200,000 baht), Gold (100,000 baht), Silver (50,000 baht) and Bronze (25,000 baht) categories, plus hole sponsorship available on every hole at 10,000 baht per hole. All sponsors are invited to have their Web page linked on the Pattaya Mail tournament web page at www. pattayamail.com/golfclassic.
Full details are available at the Organization Office: Pattaya Mail Publishing Co. Ltd., 370/7-8 Moo 9, Pattaya 2nd Road, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi 20150 Thailand. Or contact Mike Franklin: Tel: 08 18618036 - Tony Malhotra: Tel: 08 1514 8584 – Ingo Raeuber Tel: 08 19499433, (Fax: 038 427 596), E-mail: [email protected]
More in next week’s Pattaya Mail.