Gateway Classic

The fourth Conference NIT of the season was held in St. Louis, MO this past weekend. Resmondo/Specialty Tank/Worth made it two for two in 2008. The sod boys had to do it the hard way again by double dipping Long Haul/Phonemasters/Miken. Resmondo has won two NIT’s in 2008, both by double dips. Resmondo has won a whole lot of NIT’s and world championships over the years by winning the “if” game. I don’t know of any other team that has won by double dipping more than Resmondo. I know this for sure when you say Resmondo, I guarantee you there’s no quit in his teams and players over the years, that’s for sure. I believe if there was going to be any reason for a Resmondo sponsored team to quit, it would of been this weekend. The sod boys were without Jeff Hall because of a personal matter and Jeff Wallace went down early in the tournament with some heart problems. Jeff was taken to a local hospital and kept overnight. Resmondo was left with ten players to finish the tournament. The sod boys played nine games to get the win. Congratulations to Resmondo on a very special win this weekend and good luck in your next one.

Long Haul/Phonemasters/Miken, whom I have said in earlier reports that this team would be a force in 2008 played extremely well throughout the tournament. Long Haul just ran into a determined Resmondo team and came up short. Long Haul who beat Columbus Pipe in the winners bracket final waited to see who would come back through the losers bracket. Resmondo was the one who got back and beat the truckers twice. Long Haul who I have said is kind of caught in between being a super team and the best A team. Long Haul is going to have trouble when the two giants Resmondo and Smith are in the same tournament. On the other hand the good Class A & B teams will have a very hard time beating Long Haul. I do know that any of the lower teams can and will beat the super teams on any given weekend, it happens once in awhile. Long Haul was also short one of the top players on their team, as Denny Crine was struggling with an irregular heart beat and he was also taken to the hospital to be checked. Congratulations to Long Haul on their runner-up finish.

Columbus Pipe/Easton took third place in this one and beat the #1 team in the country early in the tournament. I guarantee you that win will make the season for the pipe boys. Make no mistake, this is a very good B team who have some very good players. Congratulations to Columbus Pipe on a very good NIT, and good luck on a very good season.

Steve’s/Dry Wall/Rope Club/Easton played pretty good in this Major NIT. I like to see teams like this do good in the major tournaments. It’s good for the game. Congratulations on a very good NIT, and good luck throughout the season. Congratulations to all the rest of the teams who participated in this one, and to the people who ran this NIT.