On Friday morning, November
3, 2006, I pointed my S-Type Jaguar up US Route 87, and
rocketed toward the Canadian border. Flashing past lumbering
lorries, slaloming around oblivious SUVs, blaring 1960s
hits, I was what the French call "en bonne forme"
(in good shape). I have a speeding ticket to prove it. I
saw the radar trap, but too late. I hit the brakes hard,
and slowed down to 85 mph before he clocked me. Perhaps
I should have been playing table hockey that morning, instead
of the next.
I was headed to Montreal to
visit with family and friends, to put my NY driver's license
in dire jeopardy, and also to accept a gracious invitation
from Carlo and Gino Bossio to practice table hockey with
them on Saturday, November 4, in preparation for the Sherbrooke
tournament on November 11.
Following October's tournament
in Montreal, it was clear to me (and to everybody else)
that Carlo Bossio is deservedly the top Labelle Coleco player,
and that he is surrounded by other great talents -- including
his brother Gino. As in every sport, the best way to improve
one's game is to play up: win or lose, playing better players
makes one play better. So I was grateful for the chance
to beard these lions in their den; the lions being Carlo
and Gino Bossio, the den being their family home in Montreal
East.
Here is Carlo's account of
what transpired, which he emailed the very next day to table
hockey's inner circles. It is a faithful and also a generous
account, and I reproduce it verbatim below. My post-script
follows.
Carlo Bossio's email summary
of Saturday's events:
"Hello,
if anyone is interested in knowing what went down in MTL
Bossio Home
here goes.
"10 guys in all had
practice with empty pucks to prepare for Sherbrooke.
"From 9am until 12:00.
5 had to leave so at 12, the remaining 5 had a mini
tournament.
"Dany Leclerc managed
to finish not ahead of 1 bossio but ahead of both of
them!!!! He was on fire. Lou had it rough but managed none
the less to
plaster Carlo 6-2.
"4 vs 5 had Lou faceing
off against Pierre Bechard. Lou redeemed himself by
taking him out in 4 of a best of 5.
"1 vs 4 had "HOT"
Dany Leclerc vs Lou. Dany won all 3 games by a score of
4-3
in overtime all 3 games!!!! Incredible series esspecially
game 1.
"Dany was behind 0-3
with about 15 seconds to go before tieing it with
continued 5 minutes games to boot!!!!
"Carlo took Gino in
3 as well all decided by 1 goal and also 1 OT.
"I unfortunately had
to leave so I let my brother take care of the finals.
Take care he did!!!! Winning 3 straight over Dany.
"Well Carlo 4 tournament
wins in 5. Gino 2 wins in 6.
Gino, the only one to take out Carlo. Carlo taking Gino
3 times of his 4
losses!!!!
"Will someone put an
end to it in Sherbrooke? One thing is for sure, you best
all be there. Martin and his boys run an amazing tournament,
the competition
is high and fun at all levels A-B-C divisions, and its the
last one of the
year. BE THERE!!!!!!!!!
"For complete resuts
of our day go to:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/ccth/files/
"Find: Lou Marinoff's
day in MTL ATHL Coleco. Ciao"
Carlo's understatement is
very generous. When he says I "had it rough" he
means I finished a solid 5th out of 5 in the opening triple
round-robin, winning only 1 of 12 games, losing 9 and tieing
2 others.
On the bright side (yes,
there's always a bright side, even with a 1-9-2 record)
I did manage to "plaster " Carlo, and my 6-2 win
over him was a direct result of his own coaching! He had
thoughtfully taken me aside after my first few losses, and
offered me a couple of pointers. They worked -- at least
against him. Carlo also neglects to mention that he more-than-plastered
me in our third round-robin game, 8-1. However, the brightest
note of the day was my overall record against Carlo: 1-9-2
conceals that I went 1-1-1 against him. It is no disgrace
to play .500 table hockey against the number one player.
And my other tie was against his brother, Gino.
Without a doubt, I performed dismally against
Pierre Bechard and Dany Leclerc, going 0-6-0 in round robin-play
against them. Dany did play amazingly well, finishing first
overall in that opening round. He was hot, alright.
I very much like Carlo's choice of word
-- "redeemed" -- in describing my playoff against
Pierre Bechard. Pierre won the first game, but I took the
next three. My redemption may have been deeper than Carlo
intended, for it was none other than Pierre Bechard who
had eliminated me in the Quebec City playoffs of 2002.
But on this day, in the lions' den, Pierre
was certainly justified in muttering to himself that he
had won about 7 games against me that day -- 3 in the first
round, 1 in the playoffs, and about 3 more exhibition games
after that. Yet he was eliminated by my only 3 wins of the
day over him. Well, you have to win when it counts
So I was starting to warm up, while Dany
was starting to cool down. But he was still too hot to handle.
I blew a 3-goal lead in game one, then lost 3 dramatic overtime
games in a row, and
all by identical scores: 4-3. As Carlo says, it was incredible.
Carlo beat Gino in the other semi-final.
At home, they beat each other on a regular basis. I had
the same experience with my late brother, Sid, a great table
hockey player who played a bit worse than me against everyone
else, but who played much better against me than anyone
else. We had been playing table hockey together since we
were little kids, and so we knew each other inside-out.
This is also the case with Carlo and Gino.
Dany was cold enough against Gino, going
down in a straight-game final. But he had played amazing
and incredible table hockey that day, breaking up the Carlo-Gino
tag team on its home turf. Bravo Dany! Save some for Sherbrooke.
Everyone drifted away, except for Gino and
I. So we played an exhibition series. Guess what happened
in the first game? Right! I lost in overtime, 4-3. He took
the next two, and then gave me some really valuable coaching
pointers. Gino is a ferocious player -- like his brother,
a table hockey lion.
Gino Bossio is also a generous coach. He
really gave me a lot to think about, and to practice. I
am just beginning to understand some critical ways in which
the mechanics of offense and defense have evolved since
1981. While my 1970s-style offense and defense are still
good enough to win some 21st-century table hockey games
(and maybe even series) against top players, contemporary
offensive and defensive styles are required to win tournaments
-- on the circuit, as well as in the lions' den.
So on Sunday, I pointed the Jag south. The
panther glided home, under the speed limit, on cruise control,
licking its wounds but savoring the morsels. I had bearded
the lions in their den, met with redemption, and received
invaluable coaching. All in 5 hours. I also learned many
ways to lose 4-3 in overtime. My thanks to Carlo and Gino
for their warm hospitality. Their table hockey skills are
formidable. They are spirited players and worthy champions
of our beloved sport.
See you in Sherbrooke, 11/11/06!
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