A rasher of Rivals

The parent/child relationship is a complicated one, fraught with debates over who knows best. Over the course of life, the winner of those debates tends to slide from one side to the other, much to the chagrin of whichever side is on the losing end.

This year, we had eleven instances of framing the debate in quantitative terms, and parents took eight (73%): Coach Doc (291) over S Adams (277); D Josephs (265) over M Josephs (242); R Schlegel (272) over L Schlegel (262); P Leach (269) over both Sam Leach (245) and Mad Leach (245); R Wanger (301) over both M Wanger (255) and K Ripley (289); and C Whiteside (262) over J Whiteside (204) (although C Whiteside also lost to daughter B Whiteside (280)). The only parents who didn't taste victory this season were longtime entrants J McAtee (229) and E Leach (259), who despite both playing in every Pre-NCAA contest (or almost every contest -- we didn't actually go back and re-check every season), still couldn't beat out sons M McAtee (260), and P Leach (269), respectively. We'd also note that depending on tonight's result, either S Adams (UNC) or K Ripley (Gonzaga) will come out ahead of her Dad.

In a year where possibly all three winners could be female, it's not surprising that it's the Year of the Sister. Gonzaga or not, K Ripley (289) bested brother M Wanger (255). And B Whiteside (280), despite claiming to have "completed this pool in 5 minutes on Sunday because I wanted to go outside and play," trounced her brother J Whiteside (204), as well as her father. B Whiteside went further in her claims, going on to say that despite spending just a few minutes on her selections, she'd "still do better than most of the contestants," and she did, currently standing in a tie for 15th place. J Whiteside noted that while he might lose this round, he's still seven minutes older and six inches taller. In our only instance of two sisters competing against each other, the competition between Sam Leach (245) and Madison Leach (245) naturally ended in a tie.

Also not surprising is the dominance wives displayed over husbands this year: Da Dye (292) over Do Dye (265); K Sullivan (259) over D'Zuro (251); and the ubiquitous K Ripley (289) over P Ripley (224). The only husband who can apparently claim the pants is B Peloso (288), who trounced his Duke-loving wife M Peloso (213), just one year after losing to his spouse by 50+ points.

B Peloso's fierce rivalry with Sullivan inspired D'Zuro's impassioned plea that, "Even though Democrats and Republicans cannot get along, I fervently hope that Kate Sullivan and Bobby Peloso may achieve pool peace in our lifetime." Well, we hope D'Zuro lives a little longer, because we suspect the trash talk will only escalate after either B Peloso completes his 288 to 259 thrashing of his arch-rival (if UNC wins) or Sullivan ekes out a comeback for the ages (299 to 288, if Gonzaga wins).

Celebrating the 15th anniversary of his own rivalry with Millan, Karlsruher guaranteed victory over the misspelled Italian city. What's more, he backed it up, 259 to 239. Millan (239), in turn, noted that mutual friends T Joseph (254) and Brenner (250) "better step it up this year," and they did, both finishing ahead of him (though neither of them bested Karlsruher (259)). In another group of supposed buddies, Sciarabba (280) easily dispatched Gorenstein (237) and Serri (201).

M Wanger (255) invited two amigos from the Dominican Republic, Tharp (230) and Avila (215), then had the bad form to beat them both. Among readers of DBR, Biebel (248, 227, and 212) finished both ahead of and behind D Kedson (244) and Rubinson (226). Among multiple-entry contestants who have trouble spelling their own names, Naumgarten (299) beat out Baumgarten (287).

Among minor children, B Whiteside (280) took the competition over L Schlegel (262), Mad Leach (245), Sam Leach (245), and J Whiteside (204). Among pets, L Leach (269) put down Surprise Leach (222), though neither beast could best their owner (P Leach (269)).

Of course, we saved the most bitter rivalry until last. C Whiteside (262) may have been unable to beat out his 14-year old daughter, but he had absolutely no problem this year with Booth (175). C Whiteside also slipped past workplace rival Butscher (260). For her part, Booth set her sights on another rival, Mantz, who foiled her efforts neatly by neglecting to enter the contest.