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In case you weren't aware (you really should have been aware, shame on you), the Word Cup is going on right now at the Marriott in Middleton, directed by our very own Lynda Finn. Check out how your friends are doing here.

Charles Reinke's Streak Ends, But He Gets A Good Start On the Next One

1st Charles Reinke had his winning streak halted at 13, but then won three in a row to start the journey anew, going 3-1 +419.  Richard Lauder came away five dollars richer as he soundly defeated the C-Twin 415-330.  Charles successfully got away with the phony SHOALERS (SHOALER is good), but this dishonest bingo was surpassed by Richard's bingos of NOSTRIL and COMEDOS (n. COMEDO, a skin blemish, also COMEDONES).  The drought of bingos was only one game long, however, as Charles got at least three in each of his three remaining games.  He got the highest individual game score of the evening when he defeated Susan Vergeront 577-301, unleashing an avalanche of bingos along the way: CROWNETS (n. CROWNET, a small crown), FOUNTAIN, ANTHESIS, and AMENTIAS.  The 500-point mark again proved easily reachable for Charles as he beat Andy Bohnsack 508-379.  Andy got RECOATS and a double-double CERTAIN, but his scoring attempts where overwhelmed by Charles' CARDOONS, VITIATED, and VINTNER.

2nd Michael David continues to enjoy his summer off, finishing 3-1 +264.  He revealed his true, uncaring nature when he trounced Mary Becker by nearly 200 points, 510-312.  His three bingos of TERRANE, BLONDES, and DENOTES comprised much of the difference.  Michael also improved his lifetime record against Bryan Benwitz to a perfect 2-0 when they battled to a 402-364 finish.  Bryan got down the useful-to-know SANTERA but found Michael's WANTERS and HALOIDS to be insurmountable.  Only Thomas Reinke managed to uncover the secret to beating Michael, doing so in (relatively) low-scoring fashion, 387-332.  Thomas had PALETTE and TOMENTA (n. TOMENTUM, a network of small blood vessels) to Michael's SOUNDED.

3rd Aaron Bader, in the absence of his regular British-dictionary sparring partner, was forced to switch back to our "normal" dictionary for the evening, but still found success, going 3-1 +206 and scoring above 400 in all of his games.  Andy Bohnsack proved to be his foil, with Aaron ending up on the wrong side of a 404-457 final score despite bingos of AGOUTIES and HOLARDS (Andy found RAINOUT and a nine-letter TABORINES through the 'IN').  Aaron's closest victory came against Barb Besadny, 418-370.  Barb had TOPPLES to Aaron's REFLATES and BANDEROL (n. a narrow flag or pennant, usually spelled BANDEROLE).  On the other side of the spectrum, Aaron crushed Thomas Reinke in their first-ever matchup, 466-320.  Thus, he joins the select ranks of players who have a winning record against the T-Twin (including the never seen before or since "Dan Hoffman").

Andy Bohnsack and Mary Becker both went 3-1, but their lower cumulative spreads prevented them from cracking the top three.  Mary Becker played the word of the week, SQUAWKS for 128 points, as part of her 480-351 drubbing of Peter Schmiedicke.

Maybe Somebody Will Beat Charles Reinke Eventually

1st Charles Reinke is on a thirteen-game winning streak after going 4-0 +298, thus making the next person who beats him five dollars richer.  However, given Charles' ever-increasing momentum, the chances of anyone managing to score a win against Charles grow more minute with each passing day.  Andy Bohnsack came closest of Charles' four opponents, losing 409-445 in a contest that saw each player get down three bingos.  When Charles matched up against club second-placer and brother Thomas Reinke, the result was significantly less close, with a final score of 494-351 telling a tale of domination.  Thomas was barred from bingoing as Charles got down two: DRESSAGE and LACTEAN (adj. resembling milk).

2nd Thomas Reinke went 4-1 +387 to improve on his strong ~70% yearly winning percentage.  The grisly details of his singular loss can be found above, but aside from that blemish, Thomas sailed smoothly through the rest of his games.  Total carnage ensued when Thomas met up against Barb Besadny in the first round: 505-293 was the final, and Thomas walked away with four bingos to his name (PLATINIC, LODGERS, SWOONER, and AGMINATE [adj. clustered together]).  Michael David gave him more of a run, but still fell short 407-453, this despite Michael's bingos of INCLINE and (word-of-the-week) ATWITTER. 

3rd Peter Schmiedicke finished another night of strong Scrabble play at 3-1 +51.  He narrowly defeated Susan Vergeront 459-456, the only consolation for Susan being that her score of 456 is her highest losing score this year.  Actually, it was probably also a nice change of pace for her to out-bingo Peter, AKA "The Notorious Bingoer".  She got ICKIEST, INTERNED, and URINOSE to Peter's RUSTLER and DELATION.  Peter followed up that close win with a 420-394 victory over Andy Bohnsack, against whom he has won seven of the last eight.  In that game, Peter was the one doing the bingoing, as he got down three (MESSING, STRAWED, and SORBATE) to Andy's one (THYREOID).