GreenMan

:) It was before Phoenix, that big Australian teams event a month or so ago (GNOT?).

I think he was playing with Peter Gill, but I don't trust my memory on that.

On the general subject, Sartaj Hans over at Bridgewinners advocates not making Lightner doubles of 7suit contracts, on the theory that they too often push the opps out of a doomed contract into a better 7NT; he says his partnerships try for a ruff against suit grand slams even in the absence of a double. Shortly after Hans posted an article on the topic, he was on Vugraph in the Lightner-double seat with a void against a suit grand slam. He did not double, partner did not lead his long suit for a ruff, and one of the VG commentators expressed amusement at the whole thing.

So it's off then. Well, judging from tonight's game at the club, we need more practice before prime time anyway. :rolleyes:

Verifying my availability. I'll bug my partner to get in here.

Slate's TV critic said Homeland started downhill midway through season 2 when Brody went from misunderstood bad guy to misunderstood good guy. Once the basic narrative lost its edge, the rest of the seams started to show. It does get funny sometimes. I remember a gun enthusiast who had no problem with the idea of wormhole travel in Stargate SG-1 but complained that it was unrealistic to think the characters would switch from MP5K submachine guns to P90s.

Disproportionately few; even Species 8472 were tetrapods. (And they all had languages that the translator technology could render seamlessly into Earth-speak.)

The median player in ACBL BBO tournaments is pretty good, actually, IME. The ones who are so new they struggle with the Bulletin's not-really-beginner section don't play in the tourneys. Praise at the table can serve a phatic purpose, which shouldn't be discounted. I don't believe that "wdp" or indeed "wdo" should have narrow, literal meanings when they can also improve the atmosphere.

This is the sort of game Meckwell get rich on. If I'm bidding these pushy games regularly, I hope I'm about as good at declarer play as they are. (Of course bidding these games may be a way to become a good declarer. :rolleyes: ) In one of my partnerships, saying "Meckwell would've bid it" after scoring up +150 is how I say "It's a lucky make, we shouldn't make a habit of being in those games." This deal qualifies.

Not a chance.

What barmar said. Duplicate clubs and tournaments aren't denying anyone the opportunity to play bridge, just the opportunity to play in their events if they can't meet some minimum level of competency. Someone with a mental infirmity that prevents them from participating meaningfully in the auction cannot "basically play."

This is a bug, not a feature. Neutral warm-weather sites are a workaround. I'm not saying neutral sites are preferable, but something like "the spirit of the game" is a weak justification for the approach that is more likely to lead to difficulties in both play and attendance. I don't know a lot about the minutiae of college sports recruiting, but I'm having a hard time believing that coaches and their staff use climate as a primary criterion. Can you provide some documentation?

Vibrating pagers are not entirely silent; they'd be noticed in a quiet room. However, I think in-ear wireless receivers have gotten small enough to be effectively invisible unless you're peering in like an otolaryngologist, and of course they could be disguised as hearing aids. In fact I'd be surprised if some players aren't already using such devices. (I don't have anyone specific in mind here, just believe that if the tech is available, inevitably someone will use it.)

I was enjoying the thought of Alabama and Florida teams traveling to Ohio and Wisconsin (and Idaho!) for mid-January games. The NCAA women's basketball tournament uses non-neutral sites for the first few rounds IIRC. The precedent is there. Otherwise a 16-team playoff would require 15 warm-weather stadia every year. Don't forget to factor site selection for the early rounds into the cost mix -- that's a non-negligible task.

1) Pass. I doubt we're making 11 tricks. On a good day on defense we'll get a club and two red-suit tricks, but I'm not confident enough to double. (I assume North has a spade void for his 5♥ bid.) 2) Double. They don't sound confident they'll make 4♠. Meanwhile, partner could have been bidding to make or hoping I had some good cards. I can't tell if I have good cards or not, so I'm taking the money.

Title IX, which requires equality of opportunity, not spending, is already mainly interpreted to require comparable numbers of athletic slots but not equal amounts of money; no one blinks at the football program spending more than the rest of the athletic department combined. Besides, if the football players are actually treated as workers instead of primarily students, Title IX may not come into play. It's murky, true, but I'm confident that there'd be little to no problem in this area.

This is a much underrated factor. Title IX is a minor hurdle at worst. In practice there's nothing besides the NCAA's own rules standing in the way.

I got mine to read journal articles (boring, I know) when away from my desk, so the 10-inch version serves that purpose well. I've heard that the 7-inch size is the optimal combination of screen real estate and portability for most people. But if your phone is meeting your needs then you don't really need a tablet.

Oy, it's worse than I realized. I looked for FCS division records and didn't see them; DII starts playoffs earlier, that's what I was going by. I believe you have the motivations backward. Pros get paid extra for playoff games. College players do not. Some of them may be there just for fun, but most are either relying on scholarships to pay for their education, or hoping to go pro (and in both cases, hoping not to get hurt and lose their scholarship); either way, extra games mean extra work without extra compensation. Just because many of us enjoy watching them play doesn't mean they enjoy playing to the same degree.

Someone said Mandela was the only politician who'll be missed. :D

Warning or PP for the dummy, and an admonition to STFU.

The playoffs involve a small number of teams; regular-season games involve hundreds. Check the TV audience numbers for a start, but also figure in merch and concession sales. As I checked and you apparently didn't, the lower divisions play shorter seasons and start their playoffs in November. Some conferences play longer seasons, so they don't take part in the playoffs. As for the players welcoming the opportunity to play several extra games essentially for free so the TV networks can make more money, I'm only laughing to keep from crying.

This is nice in theory, but either the teams in the final have played 4 games beyond their 12-game regular season (possibly 5 if they play a conference championship), or the playoffs have to start earlier, resulting in a shorter season. The second would never happen, because the games produce too much money for people in suits. The first would mean a greater burden on the actual players, who are already not paid for their work.

Finesse toward your spouse and through your ex-spouse.

Taking this approach would require applying the Law differently depending on the play position at a given moment -- in other words, an identical action sometimes qualifies and sometimes not, according to factors having nothing to do with the action itself. This seems more problematic than useful IMO.