A matter of time

This week’s Red Wednesday at the Red Lion was one of those rare Dip and Drinks nights when we had exactly the right amount of players for the game. And once again, that wasn’t the case the day of.

We were sitting on 10 early Wednesday morning, and I was trying hard to find two others so we could force two boards. One of them, Jason "The Dude" Raynovich, a Founding Weasel, showed up, but instead of 11, he turned out to be No. 7. Two players cancelled and two others didn’t show, so for once, I didn’t have to sit out. I actually got to play.

And wouldn’t you know it, the Blackhawks were playing, too.

Fortunately, all four players bordering my Austria, empathetic people all, conspired to get me a seat in front of the television by the all-important third period. Thanks, fellas.

After the game–the Hawks game, I mean–I stepped out into the pleasant night to check in with my wife. We both have a lot going on at work right now, and I wanted to share my day. When I returned to the game–Game No. 272, I mean–all hell had broken loose.

The players were arguing–some civilly, some not–about a matter of time. Specifically, how strictly we should enforce the order-writing deadline.

By the time I got there, the argument had wound down and the players had agreed to end the game in Spring 1906. The final center counts were:

Austria (Jim O’Kelley): 0; 0.000 points.
England (David Spanos): 4; 7.547 points.
France (Mike Esposito): 4; 7.547 points.
Germany (Matt Sundstrom): 5; 11.792 points.
Italy (Ali Adib): 7; 23.113 points.
Russia (Brian Beck): 9; 38.208 points.
Turkey (Jason Raynovich): 5; 11.792 points.

The supply center chart is here.

The board-top went to first-time Weasel Brian Beck, who may or may not be the same Brian Beck who placed third at Pacificon in 1991. For now, we’ll assume not, but I’ll try to confirm that.

Next up for the Weasels is our premier tournament, Weasel Moot, June 13-14 in the Atrium at UIC, 700 S Halsted. Per the tournament rules, we’ll strictly enforce the deadlines there. But as for our league games, yes, Dip is a competitive game, and yes, it’s even more so here because we score the games and maintain standings, but it’s still a game, and games should be fun.

According to our club house rules, players should police their own boards when it comes to timing. Perhaps moving forward, we ought to establish at the outset how strict the deadlines will be, and then we should stick to that.

Of course, I wasn’t there for most of the argument, so maybe I’m off base. On this night, I missed almost everything.

Except those two third-period goals.