Minnesota Bridge

Bob Huber - 1953-2018

 

 

Forever, I am certain that my most difficult task in the bridge world shall be delivering news about the loss of a member of our bridge family. Now I must share with you the sad news that Robert (Bob) Huber died a day prior to the Gopher Regional, quite unexpectedly.

 

As I did not know any details, Bob's sister, Jeanne Marie Huber Anderson, shared an obituary that Bob himself had prepared - along with a few thoughts of her own.

 

 

 

This is the obituary penned by Bob which I found in one of his folders exactly as scribbled on loose leaf paper:

 

"Upon my death by Robert F. Huber"

 

 

 ...Obit: RBH, aged 64, born 10/15/53, died after a brief illness on May 20, 2018.  Bob is survived by Francis Huber, father, of Belle Plaine; Jeanne Marie Huber Anderson, sister and wife of Paul Anderson of Canby; one fantastic niece, Kirstin, her husband, Brandon Girard, and their three sons. A memorial service will be held at a future date."

 

I am filling in his blanks: Bob died late evening, Sunday, May 20 at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital at age 64. Everything happened so fast during the last week of his life that, in spite of a serious turn for the worse in his health two years ago, none of us was prepared.

 

Additionally, a combination bridge and Facebook friend of Bob's, Normand Pierre Houle of Canada, shared this.

 

Robert (Bob) Huber of Minneapolis passed away on May 20th.

As BBO BH7NT he made many friends, and was a welcome sight at any regional or national he attended,

His patented look made him appear as an alien straight out of “men in black” but he took his bridge (not himself) seriously.

Never one to complain, he always had crazy stories to uplift any teammate’s morale.

I regret not having partnered him in Toronto last year, as now we won’t have the chance to play “that dumb precision stuff you like”.

Besides bridge, food and cats, Bob was a great lover of arts, a family man with an endless supply of cousins and nephews/nieces, a lover of language(s), puns, humour and life.

Bob also knew the truth and was never shy to speak against an injustice.

His silliness hid a great valor and an unequaled set of values.

Now that you are reunited with Mr Snuffles, keep an eye on us from above… It’s not getting better down here, my friend, and we can use an extra guardian angel.

With tears down my cheek, see you soon Bob,

                -Noodz

 

Bob - a whole lot of us are going to miss you here in Minnesota and beyond, too.  Rest in peace, our friend.

Gopher Highlights - and - Final Results!

 

One of our area's super star couples - Bob and Cindy Balderson. Grandkids Louisa and Joseph are not yet to be found at the bridge table. Yet they are both fierce War competitors!  Sure Grandpa and Grandma are going to get 'em ready soon; watch out, world!

 

 

And - a quiet bridge hero. Warren Cedarborg, who joins wife Suzanne along with Sharon and Roger Anderson for many (frequently) successful team games, faced our team one round. Our side claimed down one on a part score hand - and - Warren paused for a bit.  "I think we only took 4 tricks," Warren commented.

We went through the play - and - Warren was correct. Yes, all players are supposed to let the opposition know when a trick goes to their side and yet it is not warranted. But we all know that not all players would speak up.

Kudos to Warren for not only being an excellent player - but - a most ethical one, too!

And now - Gopher 2018 results can be found here. 

Kudos to all who won, who placed, who learned more about our game. Thanks to Mike Cassel for highlighting successes throughout the week in his Bulletins. 

Overall masterpoint winners list shows that again, your webmaster is one of the most fortunate players on the planet.  Big thanks from me to our super father-son duo, Vern and Monte Evans, along with long suffering partner Bill Kent, for dragging me across the finish line with 105 and change.

It was a blast! Let's do it again next year, everyone!  

 

Gopher 2018 - The Wrap Up!

 

Gopher 2018 is now history!  Our triumphs are saved for posterity at ACBL Live; our disasters can be deposited in dust bins. 

"Keep calm and play bridge" is a wise choice for us all!  And - we could not enjoy a fine venue and tourney without the hard work of so many.

 

 

Another big shout out to co-chairs Patti Stuhlman and Sue Jackson for their months of tireless and wonderful efforts with the Gopher.  Yet another super job; applause!

 

 

To Peter Wilke and our other hard working directors - and caddies - thanks for getting the game going and keeping it running smoothly all through the week!

 

 

SO many volunteers that we appreciate!  One shot of a fine group; we thank them and all the others, too!

 

 

A treat, too, to have visitors from near and far!  Thrilled to see Kenji and Ayako, gracing us with their presence, all the way from Tokyo!

 

Below - our final Gopher Bulletin from editor Mike Cassel - and more photos, too**!

We appreciate you all - especially the competitors from near and far!

Gopher 2018 Bulletin - Sunday May 27

 

One final day remaining for the Gopher Regional 2018!  And - one final Gopher Bulletin to share with you.

Mike Cassel has done a superb job of thanking the many people who contributed mightily to having a fine tournament. Big thanks to our tournament chairmen, Patti Stuhlman and Sue Jackson. Of course, without our directing staff, headed by Peter Wilke, our many volunteers and our caddies, the show could not go on!

And - our thanks to all the competitors who played in the Gopher, ranging from new I/N competitors to our long time experts - and - everyone inbetween.  With many tournaments over the holiday week, we are delighted that you chose the Minnesota Gopher to compete and meet with all your friends!

Have a fun last day of the tournament - and a meaningful and fine Memorial Day with friends and family.

Mike's bulletin is below (a final wrap up will appear tomorrow).

See you next year at the Gopher!

Gopher Regional 2018 - Saturday May 26 Bulletin

 

Only two days remaining of Gopher 2018!  Be sure to take advantage of Saturday and Sunday's events.  Bridge at the Gopher will be COOL!  You can avoid mid 90's by being part of the competition!

 

 

Mike Cassel's Saturday Gopher Bulletin features players of whom we are so proud. Above are Carleton College students who have been burning up the turf in competition. University of Minnesota players are pretty darned impressive, too!  Read all about them plus much more in the Bulletin!

Gopher Regional 2018 - Friday May 25 Bulletin

 

We're down to the last 3 days of Gopher 2018. Still plenty of fine events, yummy treats and candy, lessons and free parking!  Avoid the sticky hot weather and play bridge instead!

Mike Cassel's Bulletin today is chock full of interesting stories, bidding tales, useful information and - of course - lots of results. Posted below.

Have fun; see you at the Gopher!

Gopher Regional 2018 - Thursday May 24 Bulletin

 

A hot time in the Twin Cities with temps soaring into the 90's - and - a hot time at the bridge table, too!

Today's Gopher Bulletin is posted below. Congrats to all our winners and those who performed well.  

More events, hospitality and FUN waiting for you on Thursday!  Good luck to all!

Gopher Regional 2018 - Wednesday May 23 Bulletin

 

Two days of Gopher Regional 2018 and lots of great events under our belt! Yet plenty more to come!

Our Wednesday Gopher Bulletin is below - Enjoy!

Good luck to all today - and have a wonderful time!

Gopher Regional 2018 - Tuesday May 22 Bulletin

 

Enjoy a new day of great events and hospitality! And - our Tuesday Daily Bulletin below!

Bridge - A Game for All Seasons

 

In the last few years, we've highlighted the growth of bridge among young people. Our college students in particular are learning the joys of the game - and excelling at it, too!

Yet, our game remains a fabulous pastime and joy for players of all ages!  In particular, we are celebrating the achievements of a long time Minnesota player who just celebrated her 90th birthday:  Genny Rice.

Sue and Rich Greenberg, of the Rochester Bridge Club, share the delightful details.

 

 

 We celebrated Genny's birthday (which was May 15) at our Wednesday game.  There are also 3 or 4 other nonagenarians that play on a regular basis.  Greg Caucutt's words, shared below, were beautifully said as a tribute during the party.  

 

"Remarkably, Genny is a better bridge player now than she was 40 years ago. And this is despite the fact that nobody falls for her "little old lady in tennis shoes" line anymore. She is a self-described party girl, and her out-going personality contributes a lot to the atmosphere of fun at our Rochester club."

 

Genny - congratulations on your BIG 90 birthday!  Here's to more years of competition, friendship and joy with both our game and our people!

Gopher 2018 Bulletin #1 & Regional Info

 

The Gopher Regional 2018 will be here in just five days! We're looking forward to a great tournament and a great turn-out!  If you don't have all your games set, we have a welcoming partnership desk that is ready and able to help.

Daily Bulletin editor Mike Cassel has already produced our first Bulletin; it is posted below. And, Mike has additional information he'd like to share.  (A copy of the Gopher 2018 flyer is also below.)

We are doing all we can to make sure YOU have a super tournament!  Hope to see you Monday afternoon and every day of Gopher 2018!

 

All primetime pair and teams are now morning afternoon with the KOs and 2 session swisses moving from aft./evening.

 

Morning Swiss dwindled... it has been replaced with a pair of 2-session Evening Swiss Teams

Tue Wed and Thu Fri.  Single session team entries will NOT be accommodated.  Folks need to plan to play both sessions... they will be paying for both!!

 

To do so the single session evening Swiss is gone.  The only single session evening team game is a Pair/Team event on Saturday.  That will be the only event in that time slot and gives people two chances to win masterpoints.

 

The evening I/N game has been taken off the schedule.  I/N players up to 499 MPs can play as Flight C in the evening side series. Even better for them, if they score well in two of the side games they can win gold points.

 

The big news regards a new KO format.  With the help of the ACBL we have an event that will NOT be handicapped in one bracket.  The ACBL, with our input, has a KO experiment this year with KO brackets  fewer than 9 teams that don't penalize the overall awards.  There is an information sheet already published on the blog describing the first day complete round-robin qualifying four teams to a KO semifinal.  Semifinal losers will play off for 3/4 overall.  Even a bracket as small as 5 (hopefully we won't have such small ones) will qualify four teams to the semifinal and ALL 4 TEAMS will receive overall awards.

 

The side series have become horizontal during the week:  morning, afternoon, and evening.

A new weekend side series includes two NEW sessions on Sunday.  This series, like the evening series, will have an expanded Flight C up to 500MPs.

 

The last page of Bulletin #1 has a FAQ section describing the changes.

 

        Mike Cassel

 

Gopher Regional - New Knock-Out Format!

 

Steve Gaynor has shared the new format that will be in place for the Gopher Regional this month.  

Thanks for the explanation, Steve!  Good luck to all our team competitors - enjoy and do well!

 

NEW EXCITING KNOCKOUT FORMAT AT 2018 GOPHER REGIONAL

 

The Gopher schedule committee has devised a way to improve the Knockouts by lowering the number of teams in each bracket.   The ACBL has approved it for use in this year’s regional.  Here are some of the new features:

1. Fewer teams per bracket so players have a better field of their peers against whom to compete.
2. Two sessions to qualify for the ‘final four’. More chances to win master points.
3. Higher percentage of teams get to the overalls.
4. Round robin format for the first two sessions means not worrying about a tough draw to start. You play everyone in the bracket.
5. Pair style movement means you play all teams in your bracket, everyone plays the same hands and we can give you hand records at the end of each session.

Ideally there will be 7 teams in each bracket.  You will play six rounds of four boards each in the first session and repeat that in the second session.  That will total 8 boards versus each of the other 6 teams.   Each match will be scored by IMP’s on the 20 victory point scale but use a pair game style movement. 

The top four teams by Victory points will advance to the head to head semi-final session the next day.  All four teams will pay for two sessions.  The winners of that session will play each other for their bracket championship.  The losers will play off for third/fourth place.  This event pays four overall awards.

FAQ:   

            Why 7 teams?

            Based on last year’s entries, this will give us the chance to run at least two brackets.  The movement is very easy with an odd number of teams.   Even numbers are complicated.  

            Why a playoff for 3^rd place?

            One of the points of the experiment is that there would be a playoff for 3^rd/4^th place. 

            Can we still have 5 or 6 player teams?

            Yes.  As long as each player plays at least 50% of all boards each day.  If a player sits out a full session, they must play the entire amount of the next session.  Right now there will be no substitutions during a session.  Either you play the whole session or none of it.

            Will the pair games be playing the same hands?

            Yes.  Compare results with friends in the pair game.  You can discuss the strategic differences playing pairs versus IMP’s.  It may be a great and fun learning experience.

            What if we lose the semi-final and do not want to play for 3^rd place?  Do we get our money back, or can we enter another event?

            No.  However, the difference in payoff for 3^rd place over 4^th will most likely be worth more than you could get in a one session event, and it is for Gold points.

Eleven Days to GOPHER REGIONAL 2018!

 

Spring has sprung - Minnesota is gloriously gorgeous - and - the Gopher Regional will be here before we know it!

A new venue right by the Mall of America! Loads of treats every day!  Free parking!

And... a great schedule with Something for Everyone and fine events!

Don't have all your Gopher plans in place yet?  Be sure to get going as this is a tournament you do not want to miss!

All the details are here!  See you soon!

Grand National Teams District 14 Finals - 2018

 

 

We have our winners! The final District 14 final competition for Grand National Teams to be our representatives at the Summer NABC in Atlanta were held over the past weekend. Four fine teams will compete against other GNT players from around the ACBL.

The winning teams are below - overall results are here.

 

Championship Flight

Cindy Balderson - Bob Balderson - Carole Miner - Paul Meerschaert

 

Flight A

Bruce Boje - Mark Patton - Vern Swing - Joseph Pieper

 

Flight B

Gary Knippenberg - Joseph Koester - Paul Nesvig - Erwin Heisler

 

Flight C

Alexander Frieden - Sean McNally - Jeffrey Boitnott - Thomas Scruggs

 

We are tremendously proud of all the fine players who will be competing in Atlanta. And we are especially excited to see the juniors players who have been entering GNT - and winning, too!

Best of luck to all at the Summer NABC!

Report on GNT District 14 Qualifying from Coordinator Mike Cassel below!

Derby Day Comes to Rochester!

Bridge ladies of Rochester put on their fancy Derby Duds!

Special treats, too!

Health News for A Longstanding Friend

 

 

Terry Lijewski

 

Dear Minnesota Bridge Friends,

Our long time friend, Terry Lijewski recently had a serious health issue. While playing bridge in early April in St Paul, he began to slur his words and they did not make sense.  911 was called and took Terry to Regions Hospital. There a scan revealed a growth on his brain affecting his speech center.  The growth was removed April 23^rd and pathology showed it to be cancerous.  As often happens with brain surgery, all of the tumor could not be removed.  There will be follow-up chemo and radiation.

Terry is still at Regions for acute rehab … physical, occupational and speech, and is making good progress.  His family hopes he will be discharged this week and return home to Hudson.  Treatments will continue at a hospital in Hudson as an out-patient.  You can track his progress on Caring Bridge.

You could visit Terry soon at Regions rehab but be aware he will be going home probably this week. 

Here is Terry’s contact info:

Ph: 651-336-4464

Email:  tlijewski@yahoo.com

Both his speech and his typing have improved greatly over the past week, so please do not be hesitant to make contact with Terry.  He would so appreciate hearing from you!

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Voedisch

651-433-5976

wkvoedisch1@gmail.com