Riz Taylor
All week I’d been planning to begin this week’s Beautiful Game? by launching into a scathing attack on the media’s obsession with league tables just a few games into the season. Quite frankly it’s ridiculous, I planned to huff, that such a big deal is being made of the league ladder when everyone that knows anything about football realises that it’s not until things have settled down after a dozen or so matches that we can begin to get a picture of what’s what.
Indeed, as recently as a few years ago I don’t even remember seeing the league table until at least five or six games in. But those days have gone. Now, driven by a huge media following and ‘Johnny-come-lately’ supporters for whom statistics mean everything, we’re treated to the league table during week one, before some teams have even kicked a ball!
Yet then, after a little more thought, I realised that resistance to everything new is futile. Not only am I probably guilty of harking back to the ‘good old days’, but ignoring the early form would probably be doing an injustice to a few clubs that have really set tongues wagging at this very early stage of the season.
So then readers, were you aware that if the season were to end today Manchester City would be champions and Wigan would be in the Champions League? And at the bottom of the table it looks as though Birmingham, Derby and Bolton are headed for the drop.
Oh hang on. That was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek take on what we’ve been reading and hearing lately, but those three sides at the foot of the table all look as though they’ll be genuine contenders for relegation come May. Birmingham look short on quality, Derby seem destined to be this season’s Barnsley and bottom side Bolton Wanderers, who you’d have expected to at least manage to avoid a relegation fight in their first season of life after Allardyce, give the impression it’s going to be a long, hard season for the twenty-seven season ticket holders at the Reebok.
On to happier subjects, and given Manchester City’s early form who’s to say that they can’t at least push for a European place this time around? As much as I disliked Sven Goran Eriksson as England manager it’s hard to deny that the Swede certainly knows his stuff at club level.
City were battered for much of the Manchester derby on Sunday yet still managed to scrape a 1-0 victory. This is perhaps an unsurprising result from a manager who made his name in the big time as a manager in Italy. Indeed it was there, with Lazio, that the Swede won the Serie A title. They’re another club in light blue who Eriksson took from the doldrums to outshadow their more illustrious city rivals that play in red. Sound familiar?
OK, so it’s a bit early to suggest that City might be poncing around Manchester in an open-topped bus with the Premier League trophy at the end of the season, but it’s certainly quite a start for a side that could barely manage to pass the ball to each the under Stuart Pearce last year. City took just 43 minutes of their first home game of the season – against Derby – to score the team’s first home goal since New Year’s Day in a 1-0 win, and the same result in the Manchester derby on Sunday took them clear at the top of the table. It’s a different team.
Down the road Manchester United sit in the bottom five, but Chelsea and Liverpool failed to capitalise on the champions slow start by sharing the points at Anfield on Sunday. The home side will feel particularly aggrieved after a woeful decision by referee Rob Styles handed Chelsea a second half penalty which Frank Lampard stuck away to equalise.
Going back to poor home scoring records, did you know that Newcastle haven’t found the net at St. James’ Park since February? I find that statistic quite amazing, and if I’d have known that on Sunday I wouldn’t have stayed up for the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.
But even if the goals aren’t going in at the other end, one thing that’s quite clear about Newcastle is that, under Allardyce, the side already look a lot more organised at the back than in recent years, something any supporter under the age of 40 will find a little disconcerting, having yet to experience this phenomenon in their lifetime.
With Manchester City playing well and Newcastle looking solid, this is not good news for a football columnist who needs stories to fall back on during the bleak winter months when not a lot is happening. Newcastle in particular were always a home banker for a good natter, whether that was down to injury problems, shipping in goals or comedy chairman Freddy Shepperd making another ridiculous statement to add to his bulging collection of blunders. These days they’re owned by a media-shy billionaire and have a respected manager who looks capable of taking the club places.
I know we’re still in August, but already there are some very strange things happening this season.
Footballers: big softies
Sunderland manager Roy Keane has continued his quiet re-entrance to the Premier League by rounding on “soft” footballers whose lives are dominated by their WAGs (wives and girlfriends).
The Black Cats boss believes girl power is responsible for a number of footballers refusing to sign for the club over the summer after their other halves’ protests that Sunderland’s shops aren’t of the required standard for your modern footballer’s partner.
Sunderland, in England’s North East, apparently doesn’t cut the mustard as it only has high street shops commonly found throughout the United Kingdom, and boasts little in the way of exclusive designer labels.
Keane insisted that some players had decided against the club simply because “their wife wants to go shopping in London”.
“Priorities have changed in footballers and they’re being dictated to by their wives and girlfriends - there’s no getting away from that,” Keane said. “This idea of the women running the show concerns me and worries me but it shouldn’t because the players we’re talking about are soft.
“If someone doesn’t want to come to Sunderland then all well and good, but if they don’t want to come to Sunderland because their wife wants to go shopping in London, then it is a sad state of affairs. What is your priority? Your wife and her shopping, money or your football?
“Unfortunately that is what is influencing a lot of footballers’ decisions. Priorities have changed for footballers and they are being dictated to by their wives and girlfriends. I could name three or four big players now and clearly their wives and girlfriends are running their lives. … These so-called big stars, the ones people are supposed to be looking up to, they’re weak, they’re soft.”
Keane, 36, did not specify which players were involved, but we do know that he has been snubbed by Chris Baird, who went to Fulham, David Nugent, now at Portsmouth, and Leighton Baines, who went to Everton, after he had agreed fees for them with their respective clubs.
He said: “I have had a player this summer who didn’t even ring us back because his wife wanted to move to London. And shopping was mentioned. It might astonish many people but it is true. I can understand the attraction of people wanting to go to London if you’re talking about Arsenal or Chelsea or Tottenham, maybe, but there are players going to clubs in London simply because it is London,” he said. “To me that is wrong. It is not a football move, it is a lifestyle move.”
Footballers eh? I’d never let my other half dictate my life like that. Anyway that’s it for another week – amongst the highlights this weekend are Sunderland v Liverpool, Newcastle away at Middlesbrough (so perhaps some goals then) and Manchester United hosting Tottenham on Sunday. Meanwhile I’m off with the missus to Royal Garden…..then Big C….then Carrefour…..

Golfers get settled in at new home

PSC golf from the Travellers Rest

Top: Saturday’s golfers gather for a well-earned drink. Bottom (L-R): Tuesday winners, Bell ringer Michael Brett, and players catching up on the weekly results.

Barry Hooper
Tuesday August 14, Plutaluang N & W, Stableford
A Flight
1st Jay Perrin (21) 39pts
2nd Tom Herrington (17) 37pts c/b
3rd Michael Brett (16) 37pts
B Flight
1st Tony Geeland (22) 37pts
2nd Patrick Poussier (23) 24pts
3rd Bob Short (22) 32pts c/b
4th Alan Evans (27) 32pts
Near Pins: Ito Akitoshi, Bruce Lawrence, Alain Taddei, Ray Bloom
2’s: Fergus Brennan, Ray Bloom, Tony Geeland
Well our golfers have now settled into their new home at The Travellers Rest in Soi LK Metro. Fergus and Tewin have brought things up to speed very quickly and our regular three outings all went of successfully.
Fergus has had a few sleepless nights but all congratulations have to go out to him and Tewin for their hard work this past week.
On Tuesday at Plutaluang, Jay Perrin and Tony Geeland topped the A & B Flights with 39 points and 37 points respectively.
Thursday, August 16, Phoenix M & L, Stableford
A Flight
1st Dick Warburg (24) 37pts
2nd Bernis Seagrave (12) 36pts
3rd Fergus Brennan (14) 35pts c/b
4th Amphan North (27) 35pts
B Flight
1st Pranom Pravarana (25) 35pts c/b
2nd Tony Geeland (17) 35pts
3rd Ann Haranya
4th Joe Kubon
Near Pins: Partick Poussier, Ito Akitoshi, Dick Warburg (2)
2’s: Pranom Pravarana, Alan Evans
Dick Warburg and Pranom Pravarana were the day’s flight winners, Pranom gaining her victory on a count back over Tony Geeland.
Meanwhile a piece of news reached us about one of our regular golfers Mod Chiraksa. She was out at the Emerald the previous weekend and at the fifteenth hole she produced her first ever “Hole in One”. Mod rang the bell at the Travellers Rest on Thursday night as a celebration of the achievement. Congratulations Mod. I also believe that Amphan North followed this up with a bit of bell ringing of her own as well.
Saturday, August 18, Eastern Star, Stableford
1st Mod Chiraksa (24) 36pts
2nd Michael Brett (16) 33pts c/b
3rd David Thomas (8) 33pts
4th Alun Webber (25) 32pts
Near Pins: Les Burns, Erik Antionen, Mod Chiraksa, Fergus Brennan
2’s: Davis Thomas, Bob Short
Just 24hrs before setting off to our Saturday booking at the Emerald we were informed that the course was not going to be available and so Fergus set to and rang around to find an alternative venue.
I am happy to say that “Eastern Star” came up trumps and accommodated us. The course is still under major alterations and not everything was as some golfers would have it, but a good day’s play was still enjoyed by all those who attended.
Mod Chiraksa was ‘Top of the Pops’ with a 36-point round that left her 3 in front of Michael Brett in second.
Michael was also due to leave us soon so as a parting gift he rang the bell after the Saturday outing. See you again soon we hope Michael.
Reminder: If anyone is interested in golfing with the Travellers Rest we play every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and meet at 7:45 am for breakfast and transportation. New players are always made to feel welcome so just call Tewin on 086 056 7019 for further information.

Harris heads the pack at Greenwood

PSC golf from P J Pool Bar

Neil Duncan
Tuesday, August 14, Greenwood A & C, Stableford
1st Peter Harris (21) 40pts
2nd Jeff Wylie (4) 37pts c/b
3rd Barry Quirk (14) 37 pts
4th David Gardner (9) 33pts
Fifteen players made the trip to Greenwood on a very hot and humid day. Shortly after Noon a thunderstorm threatened which gave cause for Greenwood to activate their state of the art lightening warning system, but fortunately the rain held off.

Thursday’s winners: (L-R) David Gardner, Martin Hayes and Ian Campbell with a glamorous PJPB waitress.

Peter Harris (21) took first place with 40 points, a good score indeed. Shrugging off the challenges of his reduced handicap allowance, Jeff Wylie (4) carded no less than five birdies to finish runner-up with 37 points following a count-back. Third spot went to Barry Quirk (14) also with 37 points and newly returned from UK David Gardner (9) completed the prize list with 33 points.
Peter Harris snaffled two ‘near pins’ and Jeff Wylie had one, with nobody reaching the green on the difficult C3. The longest first putt on 18 went to Roy Chapman whilst the average score for the day was 26.87 points.
Yours truly fried his score with a large bag of ghastly chips. Sadly there was worse to come when he was sagely informed that the letters ‘ABS’ on the tail gate of his truck do not actually stand for ‘Automatic Butterfly Stop’ but instead refer to some braking thingy deeply imbedded in the mechanics of his truck! Oh dear, oh dear.
Thursday, August 16, Plutaluang S & E, Stableford
1st Martin Hayes (15) 41pts
2nd Ray Allison (11) 40pts
3rd Ian Campbell (26) 38pts
4th David Gardner (9) 36pts
Every time I go to Plutaluang I am struck by how well the course and the clubhouse are maintained and how the facilities are constantly being improved. On Thursday the course was well watered and playing long, with many of the tee markers at the back of the boxes. It was, therefore, surprising that the fifteen (again) competitors returned a much better than usual average score of 31 points, with Jeff Wylie being right on that average - for a change.
Yours truly had the longest first putt on 18 and one ‘near pin’ with two other ‘near pins’ going to the day’s winner Martin Hayes and third placed Ian Campbell, who narrowly ousted Ray Allison’s very adjacent shot but unlike Ray Ian missed his birdie putt. Myself and David also had 2’s. Thanks for the beers Mal.
If any golfers are seeking to play with our group please visit P J Pool Bar & Restaurant on Soi Watboonsamphan (Soi Kanoi) or phone Neil on 089 511 0575.

Herr Klaus Takes the Medal

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday, August 12, Green Valley - White Tees, Monthly Medal
A Flight
1st Klaus Schackt (10) net 64
2nd Roy Thornton (12) net 69
3rd Gareth Gill (10) net 70
B Flight
1st Andreas Grunenberg (14) net 68
2nd Brian Wilkinson (14) net 71
3rd Tony Cotter (15) net 72
C Flight
1st Yui Duangkaew (32) net 68
2nd Pierre Bietry (19) net 68
3rd Bruce McAdam (24) net 73
Near Pins: Klaus Schackt; Yui Duangkaew, Klaus Schackt; Yui Duangkaew
2’s: Klaus Schackt, Rick Holmes, Nick Payne, Walter Baechli, Barry Copestake, Pierre Beitry
It is difficult to calculate how many hundreds of rounds Klaus has posted to his IPGC handicap, but suffice it to say that the day he had on Sunday was one of his best. His 64 was four clear of a trio of 68’s, any of which would have carried the medal home on many a month.
Klaus becomes the first player, since the dual award was initiated in January 2007, to win the Medal and the Low Gross (74) on the day, outright, in the same month. (Scribe’s Note: The President won the Medal and tied for the Low Gross in May 2007.)
Roy, MBE, shot a creditable net 69 to take the top flight’s silver, while G.G. copped the flight’s bronze.
Yui Duangkaew, the next of the great Thai lady golfers (and can Sim and Nok be far behind?) had one of the aforementioned net 68’s and counted back her chivalrous beau, Monsieur Pierre, for top loot in C Flight. Oz’s Bruce McAdam stayed out of the family squabble and settled for C Flight third with his one over handicap net 73.
Andreas Von Grunenberg had the last of those 68’s and it provided a three-swing margin over Wireless. Tony Cotter upheld the pride of the Irish on the day with an even to handicap net 71 and B flight third.
Tuesday August 14, Phoenix M & L - White Tees,
Stableford
A Flight
1st Steve Mascari (6) 41pts
2nd Dave Mascari (5) 39pts
B Flight
1st Sim Davis (34) 39pts
2nd Serge Straeten (16) 36pts
2’s: Bill Broschart, Colin Davis
It was a family affair in A Flight as the Mascari brothers waged a fine battle off their stingy handicaps. Steve, playing without the jet lag that his brother had to bear up under, had 41 to Dave’s 39 points.
Sim Davis didn’t have the ‘old man’ to kick around in B Flight, although her 39 points would have been more than sufficient to better his 26! It was good enough to hold Monsieur Serge off even though he shot his handicap. (While this Scribe seldom says anything nice about the Donkey it should be noted that he helped the family coffers by splitting the 2’s with Billy Broschart.)
Wednesday August 15, Burapha B & C - White Tees,
Stableford
1st Rick Sharp (13) 40pts
2nd Rick Holmes (13) 39pts
3rd Bob Lindborg (15) 37pts
4th Peter Ring (23) 36pts
2’s: Rick Holmes (2), Bryan Byrne
Great Cesar’s Ghosts! Was that The Hermit atop the podium? Indeed it was as his 40 points bettered Rick Holmes by a single digit. Rick Holmes’ loss was assuaged by having two of the three 2’s on the day.
The Guru of GV came third on the day with 37, one more than the Old Banshee himself, Peter Ring.
Friday, August 17, The Emerald - White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Mossy Quaid (12) 40pts
2nd Dave Mascari (5) 37pts
B Flight
1st Nuanjon Fungniron (24) 41pts
2nd Nick Payne (16) 40pts
2’s: Mossy Quaid, Doug Lynch, Larry Nicholas
Since ‘The President’ and his brother were spending a preparatory night in our Ban Chang sister bar, The Beaver, it was a good day for the Society to bring the Mountain to Mohammed, that is, take the comp to The Emerald. While the Rolling Stone topped the premier flight with 40 points, it was not lost on those that closed the bars Thursday night how good David’s second place 37 points were.
In B Flight, it was Ms. Andrew Byrne’s day in her first outing with The Society. Nuanjon had 41 points to edge the fine 40-point effort of Nick ‘The Stick’ Payne.

Cap’n Chris the Star

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday August 13, The Emerald, Stableford
1st Trevor Schirmer 34pts
2nd Barry Winton 33pts
3rd Russell Exley 32pts c/b
4th Mike Dabanovich 32pts c/b
5th Jorn Finnerup 32pts
A week of extremely tough golf that saw twelve different names on the podium started off at The Emerald, where the greens were found to be about as slow as they have been for several weeks.
Trevor Schirmer didn’t so much stride to the top of the podium, it being more of a shuffle, but by application and that “never say die” Aussie attitude, he just finished ahead of Barry Winton with a rock solid par on the last against Barry’s bogey to take the top spot.
Russell Exley, who continues to improve in spite of the conflicting advice to improve his game, led in a trio of tryers in the form of Mike Dabanovich and Jorn Finnerup by count back over the last six.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Barry Winton had one in the first.
Prior to the prize giving The Doc, still standing in for the ailing Richard Livingston, welcomed new member Alan Gallagher and also welcomed back Jorn Finnerup. There was also a bye-bye to “Anzacs on Tour” in the form of Chris Clerk, Peter Koha, Tony Crocetta and David Harris and “wannabe with them next time” Ross Treacy, who were all returning to OZ for an unearned rest.
Wednesday August 15, Crystal Bay, Stableford
1st Chris Knapp 39pts
2nd Brian Wilkinson 35pts
3rd Mike Dabanovich 32pts c/b
4th Tony Barritt 32pts
5th B.J. Smith 31pts
Since retiring as one of Her Majesty’s Royal Navy Captains, Chris Knapp has assiduously applied himself through various coaches, teachers and swing swamis, together with hours spent slaving over a hot tee, to garner some sort of golf game, and at last he is beginning to see some return for the efforts. And if this day’s result is anything to go by there will likely be more to come in the near future, which is sure to please the crowds at the after match drinkies where he is found to be a hugely benevolent and popular winner.
Brian Wilkinson, who was making a long delayed return to Haven Golf, was almost speechless when he found that he was four shots adrift of the Cap’n, after having played the game of his life. He especially pointed out to those in earshot and some who were in the next room, that after scoring as well as possible in the conditions, he was “surprised”. But lose he did. Brian was still good enough though to lead Mike Dabanovich and Tony Barritt by three, with B.J. getting a mention in fifth a further shot behind.
Whilst there were no 2’s in the first division, Chris Knapp made it a personal gala day as he swept the multi rollover pot in the second division with a fantastic chip-in off a rock, to claim a bigger prize that the one for winning. He of course did “the decent thing”, as he blew the horn for the second time at the post game get together, to celebrate the result of hours of practice of that intricate shot.
Back at The Haven, Neil Ewins and Mark Vickers were welcomed as new members and Brian Wilkinson and his driver together with Fred Ewins as “The Driver” were welcomed back.
Friday August 17, Plutaluang, Stableford
1st Brian Wilkinson 36pts
2nd Al Keith 31pts c/b
3rd Paul Hartley 31pts c/b
4th Russell Exley 30pts
5th Barry Traynor 29pts
After talking a good job following the last outing, Brian Wilkinson came good and actually did it this time with a splendid level par round on a course that showed the lack of cutting recently, which made the greens an almost unfathomable problem for the rest of the day’s contenders.
In the circumstances to win by five was a vindication of his recent protestations “that he should be cut to match his ability”, which has now happened in the normal course of events by the system.
The usually very reliable Al Keith showed just how difficult the day had been with a rare round in eighties. After a very “so-so” front nine, he sprang back into contention and took second by count back from Paul Hartley who could manage only 14 on the back after a pretty good front half.
Russell Exley, although not playing up to his new found ability and handicap, did well enough to take fourth spot ahead of Barry Traynor, who had also found the going particularly hard on the day.
There were no 2’s in the second division, but surprisingly, with the greens so difficult, there were three in the first division by Barry Traynor, Mike Dabanovich and Russell Exley.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back Michael Dinsdale and Tony Hurst.

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

Results & Standings August 17 (week 17)

Barry Hooper
Mai’s Thai Restaurant, who topped the standings as of last week, were beaten by Café Ole with a three to one score line. Rich for Ole put in 235, 200 and 212 games for a 647 series. Very good bowling.

This week’s 200 bowlers: Rich, Barry, Dang and Bill

Brother D maintained form with a four-nil win over bottom of the league Three Sisters: Ooy put in a 514 series to help the Brother D cause but it proved to be the only high score of the match.
Café Kronborg also had a four-nil win over VFW Post 9876 with Kran for Kronborg putting in a fine 557 series to help things along. VFW were a player down and playing with a blind score is never easy.
Fourth placed Beaver Bar & Grill found themselves drawn against Montana and something that I have never seen before in league was that the total handicap (61) and player sub-totals (479) for both teams were identical. So it was basically a scratch shootout.
Barry for Montana came out of the blocks with a 224 first game and followed this with two further games of 182 for a 588 series and backed up by good scores from fellow team players Maliny and Jon secured the first game by some margin. The second game was a much closer affair with only twenty pins separating the teams but still a win for Montana. Beaver BG pushed hard in the third and stole the point by fourteen pins. This result has helped Montana move up the league.
Diamond Shop found some form against Jack & Tar, who also found themselves a player down. Consistent bowling by Nuai,(509) Dang (490) and Aht (457) secured all four points.
Note: With Jim and La being away there is no table this week but we will have an update next time.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

Many fans of Ricky Hatton have contacted ‘The Square Ring’ to inquire about tickets for the up coming December 8th fight against Floyd Mayweather jr. in Las Vegas. The ticket distribution system may be less complicated that Chinese arithmetic and easier to understand, but it’s still complicated.
It’s known at press time that the majority of the tickets will be allocated for the UK and fans of the “Hit Man”. The fight will be held in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which will have seating for about 14,000 to 15,000. That doesn’t mean that many tickets will be available though as the MGM Grand will have first pick, then the two boxers, then other casinos and then the UK. There will be a ticket office in Manchester with an announcement due shortly.
Prices will probably start at US$200 with the high end $2,000 to $5,000. Tickets will go on sale in Las Vegas at 10am on September 10 (6pm UK time) but you can pretty much forget about getting tickets in Vegas as ticket brokers will have their folks in line days before. The best chance for tickets in the UK is the Manchester box office or by using a major credit card and going to www. ticketmaster.com. Expect to pay more through a ticket broker or when a tour from the UK is part of the deal. It’s big money, big business, a big fight ... and probably a big mess.
‘The Square Ring’ likes to point out, whenever possible, the problems that infect boxing. A sport doesn’t go from “major” to “oh by the way” without a lot of help on many levels. Some may remember that at the weigh-in prior to the Hopkins-Wright fight there was a “dust up” after Hopkins said something about Wright’s mother. At the time the Nevada Commission withheld 10% of Hopkins US$3 Million purse. Last Saturday the commission saw fit to fine Hopkins US$200,000. One commission member John Bailey suggested a 25% of purse fine or US$750,000. Good for him.
The day preceding, the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Executive Director, Keith Kizer, was quoted as saying, “This unprofessionalism bothers me. These fighters who think these WWE tactics sell more tickets, I don’t see any proof of that.”
I’m sure there are a lot of other things that Mr. Kizer doesn’t see but that’s a moot point. It’s the same gentleman’s next utterance that should have been a wake up call to all. “The (negative) publicity doesn’t bother me at all. That’s for the promoter to deal with.”
Excuse me Mr. Executive Director? Seems someone has forgotten that he is an employee of the State of Nevada and as such is answerable to “the people”.
Negative publicity for the sport is what’s taken it from the “penthouse” to the “outhouse” in a very short time. It’s up to promoters to deal with the public? Oh really. That’s what happens when a second-level political hack, former assistant attorney general is in over his head. Stevie Wonder could see that boxing doesn’t need negative publicity and rather than leave the problem to someone else, those in charge should actually be in charge. Novel idea that. Las Vegas boxing capital of the world by patootie.
Some in the vast worldwide ‘Square Ring’ audience have taken cheap shots about the “official scoring” of fights by this column. Last week we tossed out the proposition that Jhonny “can’t spell my first name” Gonzales was well on his way to a win when KO’d by Gerry Penalosa. That view has been vindicated after viewing the official scorecards, especially the card of C.J. Ross who had the fight for Gonzales 59-55, which is almost spot-on to ‘The Square Ring’ card. And “almost spot-on” is close enough for this writer’s work.
There was sad news in the world of boxing last week when it was announced that IBF/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko won’t be back in the ring until sometime next year. According to ‘Die Welt’, which could be a newspaper, person or some whacko left-wing blog, this absence has nothing to do with the hand Klitschko hurt against Lemon Brewster on July 7. No, no, the stated reason is a combination of available opponents for big money and the fact that HBO has already used its budget for the year and there is no money. What a load of ****
It’s now official that Felix Trinidad is un-retiring and will fight Roy Jones jr, sometime next year. The announcement was made by Don King who has no venue and no TV deal in place.
“The deal is real. We don’t have no TV. We don’t have a dime nowhere committed to nobody. What we’ve got is a fight and that means an attraction first. Now we have to go out and find the money for this attraction and make this attraction come off, because these two guys are fighting for pride and glory, as well as money,” King said. He made this statement even though Jones hasn’t signed on the dotted line and knowing Jones he’ll either sign or won’t sign when he damn well pleases.
The fight will be at the “catch-weight” of 170lbs. “Catch-weight?” Yeah, they hope to “catch” a lot of suckers that will pay to watch two fighters who in the words of ESPN’s Mitch Wilbon, “would have made an interesting fight 10 years ago.”
Like all sports a lot of boxing news includes reports from the police blotter. Not reported by ‘The Square Ring’ was the release from jail of former two-time world champion Eric Morel (35-2). His career was on the downhill side when he went to jail for sex with an underage female. Also not reported was that Johnny Tapia (56-5) was released yet again from another try at rehab. He lasted 48 hours on the outside before flunking a drug test and he’s back in rehab.
These are two champions who could handle life inside the ring but not out. There’s no argument but that Tapia may have been one of the great champions of all time. Back in 1990 at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Tapia won his first minor title against Roland Gomez with an 11-round KO for the USBA super-fly title. The great referee Miles Lane said to Tapia in the center of the ring, “You are a professional”. No greater accolade from the very best to one of the best.
“Your Lordship?”
Yes Jeeves
“Your Lordship, when Dave Stewart steps in for his shot at the British title on October 5 at the Norwich Ice Rink, he’ll have a 6 inch reach advantage over Jonathan Thaxton. As someone that likes to fight from outside, this should give him a big chance.
“Stewart, a former amateur star at Repton BC, has only one loss and that to stablemate Lee Meager. In that bout Stewart had an early lead but didn’t have an answer when Meager got in close. Meager would later defend the title against Thaxton and lose a not even close decision (119-110, 118-109, 118-110).
“Both Thaxton and Stewart think they can beat the undefeated ‘superboy’ Amir Khan. After Khan’s last outing, a lot of boxers think he seems to have an aversion to power shots. Can’t blame him for that Your Lordship.”
Thanks Jeeves. Any thoughts that Pongsaklek Wongjongkam Kratindaeng-gym (65-2) has of regaining the WBC flyweight title he lost to Daisuke Naito July 28 will have to be placed on hold for the time being. Naito’s first defense will come against 18 year-old Daiki Kameda (10-0) on October 11. That doesn’t bode well for the aging former champion as the sand in the glass picks up speed on the tail end of a career.
From the mind of boxing writer Joe Koizumi, “Daiki is a unique singer/boxer who makes it a rule to play the piano and sing a song after his victories and is tremendously popular among girl fans.” Just what boxing needs - a boxer/singer. He’ll have to go some to beat out the two best boxer/singers in recent memory though.
Last Saturday Arthur Abraham (23-0) went into the defense of his IBF middleweight title against Khoren Gevor (27-2) as the favorite. Fighting in the Max Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, both fighters, being Armenia born Germans, were on home turf. Abraham had just too much firepower though as he scored a brilliant eleventh round KO over the “extremely mandatory challenger” in a grueling fight. What is an “extremely mandatory challenger”? No idea, but maybe should ask Mr. Karl Freitag who penned the term that ‘The Square Ring’ borrowed. Thanks Karl.
David “The Tuaman” Tua is not getting the traction he needs to regain his spot among the top heavyweights. Notice no use of the word “elite” as in today’s heavyweight division there is no “elite”. As Gertie Stein once said about Oakland California, “There is no there, there,” which made a lot of us mad when we found out, as we were from Oakland.
The Tuaman used only 2:15 seconds of the first stanza before getting a KO over Saul “La Cobra” Montana (48-15). This would be a perfect spot to toss in a stupid “cobra-mongoose” line but even ‘The Square Ring’ won’t stoop that low. Well at least not this time.
Last Sunday in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ ... and falling Yen, unbeaten WBA featherweight champ Chris John made the 8th defense of his title a successful one with a win over Zaiki Takemoto. The fight held in Kobe was unusual in that there was no “beef” about the win as John dropped the challenger twice before he retired him in the 9th.
Ah Jeeves, you’ve arrived just in time with refreshments to end this column and another stellar effort of honest, fair and balanced journalism. Tomorrow morning at 10am, I want you to go to the computer and type in www. actionranch.com. If you’re successful you’ll see live boxing from the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas.
“I’ll do my best Your Lordship. By the way, you wrote about the young Japanese chap who’ll have to go some to beat out the two best boxer/singers in recent memory. Who would those singers be Your Lordship?”
Jeeves my good man that’s a no-brainer: Oscar De La Hoya, who in fact won a Grammy for his Spanish Album, and my favorite ‘Smokin Joe Frazier and the Knockouts’. And now that I’ve answered your question Jeeves, the refreshments please ... and let the fun begin.

Bernie blitzes Buraphaa

PSC golf from The Peacock Place

Bob Philp
Monday, August 13, Burapha, Stableford
Monday was a single stableford event at Burapha and as we were only a small group there was only one division.
We played the B and C layouts and the winner was Bernie Segrave (13) with a great 40 points followed by Danny Dyke (29) in second with 39 points, John Morel (25) third with 37 points and coming in fourth was Peter Harris (21) with 36 points.
There was only one ‘2’ on this day and that was won with a magnificent putt (just kidding) by the scribe. The ‘Hat’ also went to this same person for a fine display of golf, scoring a whole 19 points.
Wednesday, August 15, Treasure Hill, Stableford
Wednesday and Treasure Hill was our chosen venue. Now this course has got to be one of the hardest around this area and that was reflected in the scores.
There were 2 divisions, and in the A Flight (0 to 19) the winner was Jack ‘Mr. new clubs’ Spencer (9) with a fine 37 points, second was Ian Covill (17) with 34 points and third was Vincent Smyth (12) with 33 points.
B Flight (20 and up) saw Sugar Ray Handford (21) in first with 35 points, in second came Paul Clarke (25) with 34 points, and coming in third was Barry Rothberg (22) with 32 points. As you can gather from the scores, nobody gave this course a hiding.
There were two 2’s, Yep, Jack Moseley was there again, but today he had to share his spoils with Jeff Wylie. The ‘Hat’ meanwhile went to Frank O’Neill for having the magnificent total of 21 points.
If you are looking for a game with some friendly people come and join us at the Peacock Place or give Bob a call on 087 941 2474.

Larry runs ‘hot’ at Pattaya Country Club

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

The month of August began with a bang and the going was hot and heavy as the scores poured in. With perfect golfing weather, the course was open to the bigger hitters. At first it looked like Bob Benda had the day won with a big 44 points but unpredictable Larry Emerson came through with 46 points to win the day. Larry can run hot or cold and on August 7, he was hot!
Coming in third with a truly good score was Walt Straub. He came in with 42 points which normally would be the winning score, but on this day it was not to be. Running in fourth was Kenny Mau with 39 points but it wasn’t even close.
The following week brought in more reasonable scores. For a change Herb Ishinaga hit his stride as he scored 40 points to win the day. The previous week’s winners faded as Sus Ige came in second with 38 points and Dale Murphy took third with 37 points. Again the weather cooperated as it stayed overcast but no rain - another perfect day!

Kris has a ‘walk-in’ for Monthly Mug

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Monday, August 13, Burapha, Stableford
The Burapha B & C layouts were host to a stableford competition in two flights, A Flight 0 to 18 and B Flight 19 up. The course was in very good condition and we wish to thank the management for a very good ‘value for money’ day.

Bjarne (right) presents the Monthly Mug to Kris.

Brian Wilkinson took the A Flight with an amazing 44 points, ahead of Gennsoo Yoon in second with 40 points and Bob Rasmussen in third with 39 points. In the B Flight the winner was Graham Buckingham with 39 points, ahead of Daryl Evans in second with 36 points and Norman Martin in third on a count back over Henk De Bock, both having 35 points.
Thursday, August 16, Pattaya C.C., Monthly Mug – Medal
Well, here we go again, back to Pattaya Country Club to perform that monthly sadistic ritual, called a Medal Round. There are those who like this form of golf, and I suppose I can be included in their number, until a triple, quadruple or worse appears on the card.
This type of golf is beloved of the better golfers, although it has to be said that in the Monthly Mug the higher handicappers usually come out on top. But what would this day bring?
Well, it brought a large field for this time of the year, a pleasant drive to the course, a quick book in at ‘Sports Day’ prices, an early arrival at the tee, and a quick get away. Oh, and it also brought the wind!
The course was in good condition for this time of the year but the maintenance staff are having to water parts of it very heavily to stop it getting too dry - and there is still the problem of the square holes on the greens. However, all in all it is a fine day out.
Back at the Cafe Kronborg the players awaited the results, as quite a few players had shot in the net 60’s. In the A Flight, 0 to 20, the winner was this scribe with a net 70 ahead of Walter Bachli in second with a net 72 and Gennsoo Yoon in third with a net 73.
In the B Flight we had a three-way count back on net 68, (all fine scores) with Wayne Koch being declared the winner, John Swanson in second and Danny Dyke in third.
So to the winner of the Mug, and I was delighted to see it was an A Flight winner as Kris Helgasson shot an excellent net 63 to walk it.
T.T.F.N.

It’s thumbs up for the ‘Goat Track’

PSC golf from Tropical Berts

Tuesday’s winners pictured with two of Pu’s finest.

Derek Brook
Tuesday, August 14, St, Andrews, Stableford
This is certainly a favourite these days, and after years of not booking it because at the time one of our players described it as a ‘Goat Track’, it is now the first on the list. The change around came when the course management made Tuesday a ‘Sports Day’, and we decided to try it.
The course is now well manicured, with most of the original ‘Gimmicks’, ironed out. The fairways, when hit, are nice and grassy, but the rough is ferocious. The greens are very fast, and on this day the pins were in difficult positions. Of course we had a big wind and one of the drawbacks to this course is the fact that it is very up and down, but as carts are mandatory it is not a big problem.
After last week’s big point scores at Burapha, several severe handicap cuts were in place. Last weeks winner was ‘chopped’ three shots, and the second two shots, and the third three shots, so maybe we would get new winners. Indeed talking to last week’s winner before the start, he told me he never played well on this course.
Back at Bert’s it was on with the presentation to the winners, and surprise, surprise, despite being ‘chopped’, the first and second were the same as last week. So the winner with 39 points was Mick O’Meara, with Frank Pilkington in second with 37 points, and a new third was Hugh O’Donnell with 36 points.
I think we have a new convert to St Andrews in Mick.
T.T.F.N.
Near Pin: Hugh O’Donnell (2), Frank Pilkington, Dick Warberg
Long Put: Gareth Weeks (2)