World Champion Thomas Haver of Columbus, Ohio, is in town this weekend for a Rummikub tournament at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair at Navy Pier. Tonight, we will honor him with a game of Diplomacy at the Red Lion in Lincoln Square. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. and feature the following combatants:
- Thomas Haver, World Champion
- Grant, Haver’s friend and road-trip companion
- Matt Sundstrom, our Bull Weasel
- Sam Bassett, the Pride of Oklahoma
- David St. John, the Patron Saint of Solo Bids
- Mike Esposito, mild-mannered rookie board-topper
- Hunter Koerner, deadly with a sling
The game holds special significance. We received word this morning that our beloved Big Oozy, Haver’s friend and fellow Ohioan Nate Cockerill, is in I.C.U. at Ohio State. He’s on oxygen and a feeding tube to assist with breathing and eating. While these seven are playing the game he loves at the bar he loves, Nate will be fighting a tougher battle. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
If you’d like to keep tabs on Nate’s fight, get on Facebook and ask to join The Nate Cockerill Project, a closed group. If you’d like to watch some Diplomacy and have a drink or two in honor of Thomas and Nate, head over to the Lion tonight. I hope to get there by 10 or so.
