tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:51:37 +0000ContributorsvowelsBrainteaserTournamentslessonsGeneralmemorizationHuntingtonfluffBoardsThis is a group blog about Scrabble in Charleston, West Virginia. The Scrabble club (NASPA Club #620) meets on a regular basis and plays lots of Scrabble. We welcome anyone who would like to play. To learn more about our club, please visit <u><a href="http://www.wvscrabble.com">www.wvscrabble.com</a></u>.http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)Blogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-5937497244155827167Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:42:00 +00002010-08-23T21:19:29.202-04:00After a lengthy hiatus and a sabbatical to Spain, Shelley Schiavone came back to club for the first time in quite awhile this past Saturday. Apparently the time away did her some good: she finished the session with a 3-0, +83 record and first place. We had a healthy turnout on Saturday with eight people, three of whom we hadn't seen in many months.Sometimes it's good to take a break from the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/MtUbxrY-PR8/art-of-getting-away-from-it-all.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2010/08/art-of-getting-away-from-it-all.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-7760556297618848315Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:59:00 +00002010-07-28T19:45:42.673-04:00TournamentsOn Saturday, July 24, we again met our Pittsburgh friends in Clarksburg, WV for the second annual WVA vs. WPA smackdown event. We were each only able to muster five players per team, so we played six games. For the first five games, each team member played everyone from the other team exactly once. The sixth game was a king of the hill final.Here are the results with cash prizes awarded to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/jFOAvRmIiZI/wva-vs-wpa-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2010/07/wva-vs-wpa-ii.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-9114352739744967802Mon, 03 May 2010 00:04:00 +00002010-05-02T21:54:04.621-04:00TournamentsWe just finished our fifth annual tournament, the one I've often called our "big" event. With only 30 people in attendance, it was the smallest "big event" we've ever had. But, we pulled people in from West Virginia and nine surrounding states, gave away 100% of players' main event entry fees as prizes (yes, even in this age of higher operating expenses), and met several people who've never http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/y2mfnZSQeD0/5th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2010/05/5th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-8603964414746555075Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:05:00 +00002010-04-04T11:17:46.717-04:00When my dad retired from his job, one of the gifts he received from coworkers was a high contrast Scrabble set, designed for people who have vision problems. He was a diabetic, and retinopathy made it difficult for him to see much of anything, much less play Scrabble on a regular board.Sadly, my dad's health deteriorated rapidly after he retired, and he never got the chance to use the gift set http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/Md-q9yAO6_c/high-contrast-scrabble-in-need-of-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Deadpan Alley)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2010/04/high-contrast-scrabble-in-need-of-good.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-290043643698367297Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:59:00 +00002010-02-09T16:59:45.962-05:00I thought that this was going to be the 100th post on our Scrabble Club blog so I was trying to save up for a good post. But it turns out that I looked at it incorrectly and this is only post 98. Still, I think this is a good one. This past weekend I attended a funeral for the father of one of my best friends. I actually hadn't met most of his family before so I was surprised on Saturday night http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/tOuUiDGvq8E/scrabble-ambassador.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jedijawa)2http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2010/02/scrabble-ambassador.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-7754762466406909891Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:15:00 +00002010-01-12T14:33:29.854-05:00BoardsYesterday I was browsing the games section at my local Toys R Us and I came across something that caught my eye. I've seen Hasbro come up with strange editions of Scrabble (and many other versions of their games) to capture a new market including variants of Scrabble that were shaped like Shrek or were reworked for Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, this would appear to be the Star Trek version and,http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/WQtecuN1Jo0/pink-and-star-trek-scrabble.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (jedijawa)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2010/01/pink-and-star-trek-scrabble.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-1225857335401772459Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:35:00 +00002009-09-13T20:03:21.559-04:00Congratulations to Lisa Green, who has joined Chris Ross in becoming an apprentice NASPA director at our club. Like Chris, Lisa has chosen me as her mentor and is now authorized to co-direct club and tournament activities under my supervision. When I feel she has learned enough, NASPA will be notified and Lisa will become a director in full.Lisa has already successfully directed her first club http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/5iBMfOWrA0M/and-then-there-were-three.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/09/and-then-there-were-three.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-525775599944838055Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:00:00 +00002009-08-23T17:11:15.760-04:00Congratulations to Chris Ross, who has passed the NASPA director's test and is now an apprentice director at our club. Chris is now authorized to co-direct Scrabble club and tournament activities under supervision of a mentor. When his mentor feels he is ready to fly solo, NASPA will be notified of such and Chris will become a full-fledged director.Chris has chosen me as his mentor. I'm very http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/6XuAjs5wE6U/new-director-in-town.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-director-in-town.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-5912444128568479500Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:30:00 +00002009-07-28T20:07:38.746-04:00Scrabble friends:Our club was officially started on May 24, 2005 with three founding members - my wife Martha Mills, her father Arnold Keaton, and myself as director. Arnold instilled in Martha a love for this game, and she in turn instilled it in me. So had it not been for Arnold, our club probably would not exist.From these humble beginnings, we have met many interesting people, made lots of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/rRlP6VwVwOo/in-memoriam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/07/in-memoriam.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-4959363573608065746Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:13:00 +00002009-07-18T22:24:59.317-04:00TournamentsTwelve players met in Clarksburg, WV today for the first ever WVA vs. WPA Smackdown. West Virginia was represented by six players and Western Pennsylvania was represented by six other players. Over seven rounds, each team member played everyone from the other team once with a king of the hill final.Here are the results with cash prizes awarded to the top three finishers. Dollar amounts won http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/WrTT5GiyWpk/wva-vs-wpa-smackdown-results.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/07/wva-vs-wpa-smackdown-results.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-3374148113178957754Mon, 04 May 2009 03:31:00 +00002009-05-03T23:41:16.986-04:00Here are the money winners, and our website has full results.Division A11.0-1.0 +1126 1545 1741 +196 Daniel Stock (A12) $4208.5-3.5 +515 1823 1844 +21 Brian Bowman (A2) $1958.0-4.0 -225 1629 1686 +57 Kelly McKenzie (A8) $120Oddball prizes in Division AHigh play: AMBIANCE for 158, Marty Gabriel, $10Mystery letter (H): THREATEN for 95, Jeff Cook, $10High loss: 439, George Viebranz, $10Highhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/ibOwtGUVN98/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-final.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/05/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-final.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-621414155523720999Sun, 03 May 2009 15:22:00 +00002009-05-03T11:28:07.874-04:00Things are running smoothly here so I have time for a quick update. Dan Stock is leading Division A. If Stock loses to Jeff Cook and Brian Bowman beats top seed Marty Gabriel, Bowman could catch Stock in the last round. Tyler Hannan is facing Jack Eichenbaum in Division B and looking at a Gibson if he wins it. Divisions C and D are very close races - Justin Bailey is leading C and Jason Luci http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/6ShjccUHv9g/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_7687.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/05/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_7687.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-7315624085596668021Sun, 03 May 2009 13:22:00 +00002009-05-03T09:34:08.451-04:00TournamentsToday is the final day of the tournament and the players are in round 9. We had a few morning announcements, a few show-of-hand votes on our future events, and the revelation of the winners of two of our side contests. Jack Eichenbaum won the Great Gas Giveaway prize of $32.99, which was computed by assuming a 15-gallon tank and this morning's price of $2.199 as reported at the Chevron station http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/GYMb0FfREng/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_03.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/05/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_03.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-7516428995694812539Sat, 02 May 2009 21:52:00 +00002009-05-02T19:20:29.866-04:00TournamentsOfficial play will soon be wrapping up for the evening. Here are a few notable plays I've been asked to take note of over the last couple of rounds.In Division A, Jeff Clark made SUNFLOWERS through OWE. I didn't catch the score. Given the board he was playing on at the time had bright yellow Protiles, not only was it a beautiful play in its own right, it was quite apropos.In Division B, Dave http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/2dCi13nVVEY/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_3859.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)2http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/05/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_3859.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-2050703075584638703Sat, 02 May 2009 19:47:00 +00002009-05-02T16:04:14.515-04:00TournamentsSlight delay in the start of round 6 due to three games being recounted and the milling about of the next opponents patiently waiting for the recounts to conclude. During the lull, Jeff Clark pointed out to me the current high word for both Divisions A and B is the same word - ZOISITES. The score in Division A is 114, and the score for Division B is 104. Just for kicks, I checked the words forhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/L7fh4dtF6DI/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_3896.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/05/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_3896.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-5411182731854251662Sat, 02 May 2009 16:38:00 +00002009-05-02T12:54:38.369-04:00TournamentsA correction to the previous posting - Jack Eichenbaum has turned in a score of over 500. Katya Lezin has not. The score slip received had the players' scores reversed and has been corrected after consulting with the players in question.Round 4 is in progress and some of the result slips have been turned in already. A break for lunch will follow, then games 5 through 8 starting at 2:30 this http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/UAhirmJAP7s/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_02.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/05/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round_02.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-8690552270393192591Sat, 02 May 2009 14:34:00 +00002009-05-02T10:47:40.945-04:00TournamentsRound 1 results are in and the players are hard at it in round 2. Three players - Margaret Yoder, Katya Lezin, and Steve Grob - have already posted scores over 500 and are strong contenders for high win. The tourney is young, however, so anything can happen at this point.George Viebranz is chugging Mountain Dew as he plays Jeff Clark in division A, and caffeine is in abundance this morning withhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/0UpcCsLRdZQ/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/05/4th-annual-wv-scrabble-tournament-round.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-1865852658687458882Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:24:00 +00002009-04-05T10:51:35.562-04:00Followers of this blog - and visitors to our website - may have noticed a few changes starting yesterday. In addition to now being NASPA Club #620, we are now the Kanawha Valley Scrabble Club, a name chosen and voted upon by our club members.(Edit: To clarify, the correct way to pronounce Kanawha is ken-AW-ah. More frequently around here, the last syllable is dropped - so ken-AW is also http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/fUxOs9vr3mE/club-by-any-other-name.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/04/club-by-any-other-name.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-4846221295721776926Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:48:00 +00002009-03-17T22:15:52.035-04:00So I have officially joined the North American Scrabble Players Association, the new organization for tournament and club Scrabble in North America. NASPA is a player-run organization formed as a result of Hasbro no longer funding club and tournament activity, and by extension, a large part of the NSA's responsibilities as we've known them. The NSA's new focus will be on outreach, casual play, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/thOoNWj_i24/naspa-membership.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/03/naspa-membership.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-8643459368458698303Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:26:00 +00002009-02-23T18:34:30.612-05:00A few years ago I found mention of a Scrabble club at WVU. I emailed some of the contact people listed at the time, ran into a lot of dead ends, and finally gave up.Today... Nessie surfaced from the loch as I discovered a link to the famed WVU Scrabble club.No content at the link, unfortunately, but a tantalizing prospect nonetheless. Could somebody please plumb the depths and see what treasurehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/tDQh5gj2eSo/wvu-scrabble-club.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/02/wvu-scrabble-club.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-1735787471603571702Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:38:00 +00002009-02-07T18:08:38.050-05:00HuntingtonFour people showed up at Java Joint for Saturday's meeting of NSA Club 767. Aaron McGuffin was out of town so I acted as guest director.Here are the results:Brad Mills 3-0, +243Leah Gingerich 2-1, +69Shelley Schiavone 1-2, -83Brad Smith 0-3, -229Bingos played were as follows:Brad Mills: SAUNTER (68), LUNATION (59), ASTERIA (79), REASONS (65), SELTZER (89)Leah Gingerich: STORAGE (82), SOUNDED (95http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/XPStl3GcMVs/huntington-meeting-6.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/02/huntington-meeting-6.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-3457605319399740642Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:48:00 +00002009-02-04T22:50:10.089-05:00fluffhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/mYdLNP2DyyI/roflmao-is-not-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Deadpan Alley)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/02/roflmao-is-not-good.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-5600652650831969107Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:28:00 +00002009-02-04T11:29:28.529-05:00Tonight's Scrabble meeting at Los Agaves has been canceled due to the bad weather. It's been snowing nonstop since I got to work this morning and it doesn't look like it's going to quit - the National Weather Service is forecasting up to five more inches.Stay home, stay safe, stay warm. We'll try for another Wednesday meeting later in the month.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/7ZeLxH9LRlw/meeting-canceled-tonight.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)2http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/02/meeting-canceled-tonight.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-270054219772106727Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:34:00 +00002009-01-07T23:33:15.763-05:00HuntingtonBoardsTwo of our local Scrabblers have birthdays today, so before I even get started, happy birthday to Shelley Schiavone and Jim Merrill! If it seems unusual that two people in a group share a birthday, it really isn't. In fact, it only takes 23 people in a group for the chances of this happening to exceed 50% - and only 57 people for the chances to exceed 99%. (I like counterintuitive math http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/JpRQMQ97vPM/let-them-eat-cake.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)0http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2009/01/let-them-eat-cake.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7641114988316336176.post-3055268287992532845Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:56:00 +00002008-12-26T10:17:33.610-05:00From the National Weather Service:WITH TEMPERATURES BELOW FREEZING THIS MORNING AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME LIGHT FREEZING RAIN BETWEEN NOW AND NOON...MOTORIST ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN TRAVELING THIS MORNING...AS ANY PRECIPITATION COULD CAUSE ICY SPOTS TO DEVELOP...ESPECIALLY ON UNTREATED ROADWAYS...BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES.I don't get it. Could someone kindly tell me when it was http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WestVirginiaScrabble/~3/g6VZUT0KVIU/for-linguists-not-linguist.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Brad Mills)1http://wvscrabble.blogspot.com/2008/12/for-linguists-not-linguist.html