2003 Team Tournament - The Early Line [Updated July 23rd, 2003]

The entries are nearing the post in the same old way and we've delineated those apt to be disqualified before they start for failure to pre-register or specifiy a team game in the same old way - with red indicating those in danger of disqualification. To move into the black, indicate your choice of events by email to doncon99@toad.net or mail your pre-registration to BPA, 7766 Valley View Court, Hickory, NC 28602. In both cases, corrections or new team entries must be received by July 24th, 2003 ... yes, the track Seward ... the old softy ... has moved the deadline back a few days to accomodate some late arrivals. But don't push your luck any further.

Band of Fools may be the defending Team Champions, but we all have our work cut out for us if we're to beat the favorite. The anchors of Manly Men have once again recruited with a kean awareness of Team scoring. Perhaps spurred on to greater feats by their dismal one-point showing in last year's race, Manly Men have set their sights on the top rung this year. The addition of Likevich and Metzger to Reiff and Gutermuth yields a combination that would have walked away with the championship last year. But as always, repeating event championships is most difficult at WBC, so they may be yesteryear's team, not the Team of Destiny that eludes them every year. If the recruits pull their weight, then the marquee, high-stakes, head-to-head matchup will come in Football Strategy, where another perennial contender (Peripheral Reach) fields Cleary for team points in opposition to Reiff. Meanwhile, the defending Team Champions are taking a different tack, by keeping the same four players, but switching in two events--but make no mistake about it, they will be tough to beat whatever they play. Baby Seals fields some strong firepower in their chosen events; maybe this year they'll snag the points and improve on their team uniform in tandem. Former Champion, MAWS, rounds out the top five of currently registered teams, but is only barely ahead of a pack of midfield contenders.

Another former champion, Me & Three Stiffs, continues to live up to their name by rotating players through the lineup. This handicapper notes some questionable event choices which hamper their chances. I'd steer clear of FTP--has nobody else noticed that James Pei hasn't lost a game of For the People in more than two years? Let's hope he has an event conflict. Or tires of Wood. Ha. Giddings ought to switch before it is too late! Or maybe he has inside information on Pei's leanings elsewhere?

St. Paul's Rejects and Central FL Game Club both field strong teams, but only one will survive their confrontation over 18XX--a popular choice of event, it seems, as the AHIKS guys return to the field under the new name of Europe's Finest with an 18XX two-time champion as anchor.

We have a couple of name changes to note from last year's lineup. Apparently, the former One Point Wonders did too well for that name and now go by Oh, the Humanity!, while the former Da Pretzelboys also have chosen a more, ahem, appropriate name, Circle of Jerks--who, by the way, continue to baffle me with their inability to score team points. My gosh, they've probably been on the playtest teams for more than half of these games!

We're running a bit slow on team registrations. So we are still missing a lot of "known quantities" from the team competition. Expect the odds to lengthen considerably before we close the windows. We certainly expect a slew of GCOM and EPGS teams to show, but as usual, these nearby gaming clubs are slow to complete their entries. Some of the "family" affairs are missing as well, though I note with pleasure that a new team, Possum Gamers, are playing dead no longer after their individual successes last year.

Finally, I note the return of Karsten to those well-clad Beltway Banditos (they must steal their uniforms) and his teammate's switch. After many years of trying to outroll the best of opponents at March Madness, this handicapper is jumping to Win, Place & Show, a multi-player game (shudder), in which the races are often fixed (yikes), but in which he has proven a certain knack for survival. So, if you don't like the odds below, come see what you make of the ones on the program for WPS (Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon heats). But don't ask me to teach you my handicapping tricks.

...... just off the ticker ... 7/13 ...

The odds just got longer, making room among the favorites for two perennial contenders: We Ain't Dead Yet and 4 Guys from Greenville. Will this be the year that our busy convention director and the Sinigaglio gang sweep it all or will the Carolina boys return to glory? One thing's for sure. I detect a considerable amount of youth joining long-time wood-gatherers on legitimate contenders. We may be on the verge of a sea change. Probably not this year, but sometime soon we may see a Team Champion of players barely out of the Juniors events. Of course, there is still time for such a team of youthful champions to band together and register! But hurry, the window closes soon.

... this just in ... 7/20 ...

The last minute addition is in, literally. We have a slew of teams from PA and SC as expected, though one has shed the club name to become Wabbit's Wevenge. The competition stiffened against our early favorite, Manly Men, allowing the second favorite, Greenville Mafia #1, to push into an odds tie for top gun. And in a major upheaval, Central FL Boardgamers has been transformed into PrezCon Team Champs after a valuable personnel trade bringing Ann Cornett to the better team, sending Craig Reece back to the minors, and leaving Doug Galullo as a valuable free agent. Clearly Jeff Cornett is not settling for second this year, having improved his team odds by a considerable amount. We'll see if the addition of the Medici defending champ will give them what it takes to hold two convention team crowns in the same year.

--Stuart, The Handy Handicapper, Tucker

Team Name	Odds	Captain	Member #2	Member #3	Member #4	Total:
1. Me & 3 Stiffs	34 to 1	Mark Giddings|FTP	M. Birnbaum|MRA	Brian Smith|EPB	Keith Wixson|WNW
2. Beltway Banditos	42 to 1	Stuart Tucker|WPS	Kaarin Engelmann|TTA	Karsten Engelmann|BAT	Rebecca Hebner|MRA
3. 3 Lumber Barons + KH	43 to 1	Bruce Monnin|WNW	Jim Jordan|BRI	Paul Risner|FTP	Keith Hunsinger|WSM
4. St. Paul Rejects	40 to 1	Mike Backstrom|UNP	Steve Packwood|776	John Pack|GSR	Anthony Daw|8XX
5. Oh, the Humanity!	110 to 1	Kevin Youells|BAT	James Gundy|SSS	Aaron Silverman|FI5	Craig Reece|8XX
6. Baby Seals	33 to 1	Peter Reese| POG	George Young|WTP	Ewan McNay|BRI	Jason Levine|BAT
7. Kromp-on-Krew	145 to 1	C. Godfrey|FSE	P. McCarthy|HWD	R. Taylor|DIF	P. Rodrigues|SUC
8. Reservoir Dogs	51 to 1	Jim Doughan|BKN	J. R. Tracy|ASL	Phil Barcafer|812	Matt Fagan|DUN
9. MAWS	29 to 1	Dennis Nicholson|MMS	Roberto Sanchez|WNW	Jim Eliason|BKN	Richard Curtin|RSK
10. AREA	90 to 1	Bruno Wolff|TT2	Glenn Petroski|WAS	Robert Hamel|VIP	Bill Thompson|SQL
11. 3 Giants & A Dwarf	250 to 1	Paul Weintraub|TTA	William Burch|B17	Joe Burch|ACS	Wade Fowble|UPF
12. GCOM Express	105to 1	Keith Levy|RA!	Scott Buckwalter|GXY	John Weber|PRO	Michelle Goldstein|CAR
13. Boarding Party	300 to 1	Ben Knight|ACS	Roy Gibson|NW2	Robert Eastman|FDE	Gina Eastman|ELC
14. Polish Lancers	67 to 1	John Poniske|WTP	Paul Gaberson|WNW	Richard Young|HOS	Bruce Wigdor|UPF
15. Circle of Jerks	200 to 1	Andrew Maly|FMR	Mike Stachowski|SCT	Jeff Paull|SET	Greg Courter|UPF
16. The Misery Burdens	105 to 1	Ted Mullally|AOR	Peter Stein|MMS	Mark Mitchell|FDE	Chris Byrd|AMR
17. Europe's Finest	48to 1	Barrington Beavis|8XX	Tom Oleson|ANZ	Andrew Cummins|BKN	Nick Frydas|POG
18. Band of Fools	21 to 1	Gary Dickson|TRC	Steve Dickson|DLW	Ray Freeman|WAS	Tom Gregorio|BTB
19. Old Guard	50 to 1	Forrest Pafenberg|TRC	Phil Evans|BWD	Bob Ryan|ANZ	Randy Heller|B81
20. Manly Men	18 to 1	Bruce Reiff|FBS	Ken Gutermuth|WPS	Steve Likevich|B81	David Metzger|812
21. Late Great Grenadiers	60 to 1	Bill O'Neal|PDT	Bill Peeck|EPB	Bill Place|BCY	Rob Winslow|ACS
22. PrezCon Team Champs	35 to 1	Jeff Cornett|NAP	Scott Cornett|SCT	Ann Cornett|MED	Nicholas Benedict|BRI
23. Possum Gamers	85 to 1	John Elliott|ACS	Joe Collinson|WTP	Rolinda Collinson|HWD	Angela Collinson|TTA
24. Peripheral Reach	25 to 1	Pitt Crandlemire|GSR	Bill Cleary|FBS	Randy Cox|FI5	Rachel McGinley|PRO
25. Peckofpickledpeppers	400 to 1	Peter Perla|NAP	Rich Phares|DIF	Mark HermanINW5	Grant Herman|SET
26. T.E.M.P. Agency	58 to 1	Ed Beach|GC2	Tom Drueding|SOA	Mathew Beach|PRS	Paul Nied|GC3
27. Harbingers	24to 1	Andy Lewis|GXY	Carrie Lewis|MMS	Debbie Gutermuth|EPB	John Coussis|ABN
28. The Campaigners	400 to 1	Ric Manns|DIP	Bill Beswick|SQL	Charles Stucker|GSR	Scott Bowling|RSK
29. Bud's B Team	80 to 1	George Sauer|BCY	Jeff Mullet|AOR	Mike Stanley|CMS	Sean McCulloch|TT2
30. We Ain't Dead Yet!	33 to 1	Bruno Sinigaglio|AFK	Buddy Sinigaglio|QGB	Frank Sinigaglio|CMS	Don Greenwood|BKN
31. Team Delaware X	39 to 1	Tim Hitchings|WAS	Vince Meconi| GBG	Bill Rohrbeck|WSM	Evan Hitchings|B17
32. Lords of the Wood	350 to 1	Michael Johnson|UPF	Michael Rinella|BKN	Keith Schoose|PGG	James Tracy II| AFK
33. Team X	62 to 1	Dan Dolan Sr|ELC	Dan Dolan Jr|FBS	Tim Dolan|WRS	Greg Schmittgens|NW2
34. GCOMedy of Errors	125 to 1	Dan Hoffman|LID	Brian Stallings|UNP	JP Roberts|CAR	Daniel Karp|LST
35. Greenville Mafia #1	13 to 1	Scott Pfeiffer|BRI	John Emery|UPF	Arthur Field|TKL	Bruce Young|UNP
36. Ghosts	54 to 1	Larry Lingle|QGB	Dennis Culhane|WNW	Charles Hickock|SSS	John Wetherill|PRO
37. Erhaltenes Spiel	250 to 1	Fred Minard|UNP	Tom Agostino|ACS	Mario Lanza|MEX	Robert Paul|RSK
38. GCOM Caboose	85 to 1	Rich Shipley|RRY	Jamie Tang|HWD	Stan Hilinski|ELG	Susan Dyer|TJM
39. Koleszar, Lientz Plat	75 to 1	Steve Koleszar|TTN	Like Koleszar|ACQ	Dave Platnick|PRO	Gerald Lientz|SCT
40. Whale Taxidermists	210 to 1	Patrick Beaudoin|PRO	Phil Bradley|ELG	Joe Nemet|E&T	Doug Smith|POF
41. Bad Dice Again!	70 to 1	Jon Shambeda|GXY	Jed Shambeda|TTA	Steve Shambeda|ACQ	Charlie Squibb|ACS
42. Team Prezcon	62 to 1	Justin Thompson|KGM	Scott Stewart|FMR	Bill Alderman|HOS	Robert Lightburn|RSK
43. Beach Bums	105 to 1	Michael Kaye|BKN	Bryan Eshleman|TIM	Lyman Moquin|HOS	Bryan Thompson|POG
44. PanzerBauch Ein	190 to 1	Chris Bauch|MMS	Peter Busch|ACS	Mark Pitcavage|ASL	Chuck Stapp|WAS
45. PanzerBauch Zwei	75 to 1	Terry Coleman|MMS	Dewayne Curry|ACS	Allen Kaplan|GBG	Chris Sasso|FMR
46. Brazilian Exped Force	900 to 1	Fabio Tola|CAR	Lucimara Martins|BCY	Andre Strauss|UPF	Joaao Matsuura|DIF
47. Luck Not Skill	80 to 1	Steve Katz|NW5	Rob Seulowitz|SUC	JayDragonetti|WNW	Kevin Sudy|AOR
48. Cardboard Heroes	130 to 1	Steve Squibb|WTP	Cliff Ackman|TTN	Bill Navolis|RRY	Kathy Stroh|SET
49. MIT SGS	67 to 1	Aaron Fuegi|TTN	David Finberg|TT2	Chuck Krueger|ABN	Marty Sample|ACS
50. Last Minute Additions	100 to 1	Mark Guttag|TJM	Stu Hendrickson|LIB	Dan Broh-Kahn|UNP	Barbara Barry|BCY
51. The Eternal Gamers	105 to 1	Harald Henning|EPB	Inger Henning|RBN	Nick Henning|PRS	Alex Henning|ELC
52. Team Chum	550 to 1	Jeff Gardner|LST	Steve Smith|PRO	Alan Ernstein|MOV	Tim McGarvey|BZA
53. Family Affair	95 to 1	Tom DeMarco|ADV	Anne Norton|POF	Carolyn DeMarco| TYX	Wendy DeMarco|MOV
54. Nest of Spies	46 to 1	James Pei|FTP	David Dockter|BTB	Ananda Gupta|E&T	Bob Heinzmann|ATS
55. 3 Old Farts & Ray	100 to 1	Ken Whitesell|FBS	Chris Villeneuve|PRS	Ray Stakenas|PRO	Ray Stakenas II|UPF
56. EPGS I	1800 to 1	Jim Vroom|FBS	Bob Stribula|EPB	Frank Cunliffe|WAS	Su Hung|MOV
57. EPGS II	220 to 1	Jerry Smolens|ATS	Steve Cameron|FMR	Bob Sohn|ABN	Tom Parauda|TOG
58. Wabbit's Wevenge	67 to 1	Chris Moffa|SET	Eric Freeman|E&T	Greg Thatcher|ELG	Barbara Flaxington|TKL
59. Team 3K0	400 to 1	Bruce Bernard|UNP	Elizabeth Bernard|ADV	Brandon Bernard|QGB	David Vereb|ABN
60. Greenville Mafia #2	240 to 1	Davyd Field|ACQ	Ralph Gleaton|RRY	Ros Jones|SUC	Dave Gantt|BRI
61. Greenville Mafia #3	250 to 1	Bill Beckman|SSB	Josh Githens|CMS	Mike Hazel|ELG	Scott Edwards|UPF
62. Cannon Fodder	300 to 1	Matt Evinger|TYX	Tim Evinger|EIS	Nick Evinger|ACS	Steve Zrinski|BCY
63. GCOM 4 Fun	100 to 1	Paul Haynes|RA!	Ben Foy|ADV	Pierre LeBoeuf|8XX	Jim Sparks|A3R
64. The Five Barons	450 to 1	Richard Fox|HWD	David Fox|SET	Jonathan Fox|RBN	Daniel Fox|ABN
65. WEWAC	135 to 1	Bill Edwards|UPF	Paul Murphy|TKL	Jack Jaeger|MEX	Chris Terrell|PRO
66. Railroad Racers	85 to 1	Steve Okonski|RBN	Paul Van Bloem|EPB	Chuck Foster|MOV	Kim Foster|CAR
67. Jokers Wild	110 to 1	Mike Musko|ACV	Mike Bergt|BCY	Pat Mirk|A&A	John Clarke|WAT
68. The Four Woodies	68 to 1	Dave Ketchum|A5A	Kon Kwiatkowski|8XX	Jim McDanold|PRO	Jim Yerkey|EPB
69.  Nothing Original	900 to 1	Brian Carr|PRO	Gary Carr|VNC	Jason Carr|FDE	Lynne Carr|SET
70. The Players	180 to 1	Tom McCorry|KRM	Katie McCorry|FMR	Katherine McCorry|LST	Scott Fisher|TKL
71. 3 Brits & a Yank	105 to 1	Chris Hancock|SCT	Nick Smith|GSR	Peter Card|GXY	Mark Love|MRA
72. The "S" Team		Ted Simmons|AOR	Steve Simmons|PRO	Laurel Stokes|EPB	Tom Stokes|MOV