Subterranean By Design...
---Dont Bother Decathalon---
2004-09-14 - 12:33 p.m.
So the boys and I got together back in Muskegon and Grand Haven to have ourselves a good old decathalon. It came right after my qualifying exam, so I had a nice opportunity to get that off my mind, have some fun, and dominate my friends. A player earned five points for a first place finish, three for a second, and one point for finishing third. Here are the results.
Day One: Saturday, September 11
Event One: Miniature Golf - 36 holes at the Bat 'N' Club
1st: Rick
2nd: O'Toole
3rd: Jason
4th: Justin
5th: Gilbert
6th: Brady
I got royally screwed on this event as my ball got stuck on one of the pieces of the course where it was obviously supposed to flow freely. The boys made me take a stroke to dislodge it and I lost to Rick by one putt. Justine had the lead after 27 holes and imploded under the razzing of the boys. It's all about the pressure putts.
Event Two: Bowling - 3 games at Sherman Lanes.
1st: Jason
2nd: Justin
3rd: Rick
4th: Brady
5th: O'Toole
6th: Gilbert
I bowled terribly here, getting myself out of last with a 170 something for my last game. Jason was kicking everyone's ass from Sherman to Northway. You'll notice Jason placing in most events.
Events Three and Four: Ping-pong and Pool at Werner's.
We played these events by splitting up into groups of three and having everyone play the people in their group. The bottom two were dropped (tie-breakers were needed in some cases) and the remaining four played for the top three spots.
Ping Pong
1st: Brady
2nd: Jason
3rd: Justin
4th: O'Toole
DNQ: Rick and Gilbert
The upsets of this event were Jason beating Justin and me beating Rick in the group play. I hung with Jason in the elimination round, but got smoked by Justin and decimated by Brady. Brady must have five Chinese roommates... or else he is Chinese.
Pool
1st: Justin
2nd: O'Toole
3rd: Rick
4th: Gilbert
DNQ: Brady and Jason
Jason was the odds on favorite, but pocketed the 8-ball too soon against both Rick and Gilbert. That's all that happened that was really exciting.
Event Five: Texas Hold 'Em at Grillo's
1st: O'Toole
2nd: Justin
3rd: Jason
4th: Gilbert
5th: Brady
6th: Rick
Rick decided that it was better to be out early, so he went all in on the third hand and lost to Justine. Brady and Gilbo didn't see many good cards, and I was up against the Werners with a short stack. I took Jason down twice with a high pair and two pair once. I had kings early on but couldn't hit it big with 'em. My best flop was hitting two pair with Q 8. I took a huge chunk out of Justin with A 3, and his A 7 was no good. We both hit an ace on the flop and my trey came on the turn. Lo siento, Justin. On the last hand, my 3 8 was enough to stop Justin's A K. Gotta love that. Plus, the true spenders all put ten bucks in the pot, so I raked forty bucks and five points.
Day Two: Sunday, September 12
Event Six: Golf - Nine Holes at Westwind Par Three Course
1st: Justin
2nd: Brady
3rd: Jason
4th: O'Toole
5th: Rick
Disqualified: Gilbert
I played in my first six-some on Sunday as there was nobody behind us. It looked rough from the onset, but I chipped in for bogey, and then nearly chipped in on the second hole. I parred the third, but that was about the end of my good day. It was also the end of Gilbert's round, as he threw in the towel and headed back to his place to rest. He just figured he wouldn't bother with the last six holes (they only cost him four bucks). Justine mopped up the competition, despite Rick trying to distract him with his cell phone. Jason drove into two people's yards and was able to play out of one of them. He just couldn't help showing off his driving abilities.
Lunch at G&L on Sternberg
Events Seven and Eight: Darts and Croquet at Gilbert's.
Darts
1st: Gilbert
2nd: Jason
3rd: Rick
4th: O'Toole
DNQ: Brady and Justin
Jason had an uncharacteristically strong showing on the dartboard, but couldn't compete with Gilbo, who finally got on the board. I blew it on the last game, as Rick went crazy on the bullseyes. See if I ever get him a dartboard at his future weddings.
Croquet
1st: Jason
2nd: Gilbert
3rd: Rick
4th: O'Toole
5th: Justin
6th: Brady
We finished up listening to the Lions game while playing a classy two game set of croquet on the North Lawn of the Gilbert household. I was again screwed out of a point, as the boys made a ridiculous tie-breaker. To determine the standings you added up the places of your finish in each game and the lowest total was the winner. The tie-breaker, which was determined after the first game (of which I had come in first), was best worst finish. So I had a fifth and a first place, while Rick had a fourth and a second. So his worst finish was better than my worst finish, so he got the point, despite the fact that I had won the first game. Absurd indeed, but I played through the adversity. There were a lot of laughs as we spent a good deal of time launching each other across the driveway and into the garden.
Event Nine: HORSE at Pine Park
1st: O'Toole
2nd: Rick
3rd: Jason
4th: Gilbert
5th: Justin
6th: Brady
The order in which we shot was Jason-Brady-Justin-O'Toole-Rick-Gilbo. I think I got a decent draw, seeing that I was far away from Jason who had the hot hand early on. He made short work of "Brady Shot" and then went on the eliminate little brother. I focused on taking short range shots and making what I could. I don't think I made a shot outside of ten feet the whole game, but I was able to stay on the offensive with the granny game. I thought that Jason wouldn't collect a letter, as Gilbert wasn't taking a shot inside twenty feet, but by the time Gilbo was eliminated, we were all at HOR. Rick made some clutch shots, and had me at HORS, but couldn't put me on the verge. I went back to the seven footer that got me there and Rick couldn't match me. I think the reason I won is that I changed into my Job Squad shirt from my senior year at Hillsdale. It still had some magic left in it after all. Or maybe it was that Rick was distracted by the Polish cooking we could smell from the park...
Event Ten: Golden Tee at Buffalo Wild Wings, Sternberg Road
1st: O'Toole
2nd: Gilbert
3rd: Rick
4th: Jason
5th: Justin
6th: Brady
Holy crap, Brady either finished last or failed to qualify in six events. It just shows how terrible he is at pretty much everything. All because he used to bring the football, what a load. I was able to hang onto a three shot lead in the last three holes going bogey-bogey-par, sinking a long put for the win. Rick edged out Werner for third, leaving me in a tie with Jason for the points total. After golf we had some more beers and some chicken wings and called it an event. Here are the final standings.
Jason: 21
O'Toole: 21
Justin: 17
Rick: 13
Gilbert: 11
Brady: 8
We thought about having a tie-breaker, but decided that Jason and I would be co-champions and Justine would get the bronze. We hope to do this event once a summer. All the events will remain the same, with possibly the exception of croquet, golden tee, and HORSE.
It was two days of good times and it was the first time in a long while that the boys had gotten together all at once. I wonder how long it will be until we're too old to play miniature golf?
Two Steps Forward - Two Steps Back
