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Due to some Badgers Basketball ticket holder’s desire to attend Thursday night’s game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, this week’s play began on Wednesday when the Jones’s Plumbing Pipe Benders traveled to the Norsk Cowboys. The Pipe Benders started out bending and twisting the Cowboys every which way but loose when Pipe Bender Jerome Krantz decided to call a lone hand with the right and queen of diamonds, two suite aces and a fail card. Keith Legler (a sub for the Cowboys), not having passed that round, took Jerome cross corners. Jerome, with the lead and playing one-on-one now and knowing that he was in trouble, led a suit ace. With 4 trump, Keith was able to trump the ace. Keith then led his off suit, which just happened to match Jerome’s other ace. So they each had one trick in. Jerome then led his fail card and Keith trumped it. With the left and ace of trump left against Jerome’s right and queen, Keith was able to set him and took the 4 points. Randy Schmid and Marvin Thompson added to the Pipe Benders’ pain by corralling 110 points for the Cowboys. The Cowboys went on to win this one by 16.

On Thursday night, the Red Mouse Shufflers traveled to Belleville to challenge the J&M Bar River Rats. Steve Vogt and Mike Doyle shook 113 points out of the Rats while Ernie Sarbacker and Gordie Miller stole 110 points back for the Rats. After leading the entire night, the Shufflers held on to dance their way to a 30-point win.

The Starlight Express quickly forgot their first half playoff loss to the Hay Shakers by rolling past the Red Mouse Mounties 400 to 387. However, Mounties Mary Humphrey and Lavern Maier showed some fight by wrangling in 112 points while conductors Charlie Steinhauer and Opie Taylor loaded 112 points of their own.

In what turned out to be a one-sided match, the Norsk Pranksters outscored the Walk-On Trolls by 70 points. Pranksters Greg Burreson and Devon Handel pulled 111 points out of the hat, while fellow Pranksters Tom Schulenberg and Corey O’Hearn recorded the first perfect score of the second half. Corey was extremely happy, this being his first perfect score and much better than the skunk he recorded in the first half of the season.

Standings: Kleeman’s 1-0; Starlight Express 1-0; Pranksters 1-0; Shufflers 1-0; Cowboys 1-0; Jones Plumbing 0-1; Mounties 0-1; Sportsman’s Bar 0-1; J&M Bar 0-1; Trolls 0-1.

Schedule January 20: Cowboys @ Starlight (7:00); Shufflers @ Jones’ Plumbing (7:00); Kleeman’s @ Pranksters (7:30); J&M Bar @ Mounties (7:00); Walk-On @ Sportsman’s Bar (7:00).