By Bryan Clark
Sports Editor
Jeremy Bridgman and Bryan Clark swept the first three-game series of 2006, winning 16-7 and 16-13 in two games held at the Fairfield Grand Desert Resort. It was the second straight loss in the series for Lee Delaveris and Dustin Torres.
“They really gave us a challenge today, which was a pleasant
surprise,”
Despite a history of dominance by Team Bryamy, Delaveris and
Torres jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead in the second game and stretched the
margin to five with the score 11-6. That’s when
“I should have called timeout sooner,” Torres said. “We
needed to get back inside and confer with our coach, Phil Jackson. They figured
out how to stop the pick-and-roll and
The timeout also might have helped Team Torraveris deal with another major obstacle in Monday’s game: the heat. The outdoor game tipped off around noon, just as temperatures in the Vegas desert climbed into the 100s.
“Honestly? I thought Dustin was going to die,” Delaveris said. “Obviously, that would have bummed me out. First, I’d be down a teammate and there’s no way I could beat these guys by myself. And second, there would be no one left to take out my mom on Saturday nights. I was glad to see him pull through.”
Team doctor Dan McFarlane was too busy playing the Wheel of Fortune slot machine and gawking at Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer to comment on the players’ conditions, but Bridgman seemed to suffer from what is commonly known as “sunburn” while Torres complained of being “really hot.” These are, of course, medical terms.
Bridgman also commented on the heat.
“It was hotter than the hostesses at N9ne out there,” Bridgman said, referring to the good-looking girls at a trendy Vegas steakhouse. “But you know what they say: If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the frickin’ desert. Besides, it’s a dry heat.”
The harsh conditions led to a post-game discussion about the possibility of playing the next installment of the series in a friendlier climate.
“Last time we were wearing stocking caps and sweatshirts on
New Year’s Eve,”
Event organizers had no immediate reaction to this proposal – mainly because they don’t exist – but poor attendance numbers have to be a concern. After drawing a record crowd for December’s match-up, zero spectators attended Monday’s game.
“Certainly it is a concern,” said Bridgman, who also handles public relations for the event. “Maybe next time we should have Third Eye Blind play at halftime. Fans seem to like that sort of thing, and I hear those guys will do pretty much any gig these days.”
Delaveris, who serves as the event’s financial planner, was less worried.
“You have to look at the big picture here,” he said. “We’re in Vegas. The facility cost us $200 for the week. The ball was free. We don’t pay our athletes. Then, I rolled in here and made 100 bucks the first night by ‘investing’ the event money at the blackjack tables. What could go wrong?”
On the court, things went pretty much as expected. Clark and Bridgman dominated the first game, jumping out to a 9-0 lead and never looking back. Team Torraveris made things more interesting in the second game by going to a zone to stifle Team Bryamy’s patented give-and-go attack, but the winning team rallied by shooting well from the perimeter.
“They all want to be like us, but they can’t,” Bridgman said. “They don’t have the mystique… mystique… mystique…”
The date of the next match-up has not been determined… and probably won’t be until, like, the day before.
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