Game 39 - Aug. 7, 2009

DECATUR — The final game of Season Two was a nailbiter, as Greg and Nick jockeyed for second place in the final league table. After leading much of the game, Nick fell behind on fourth street, but managed to play such that Scott won the game, preventing Greg from leapfrogging Nick in the table, and sparing Nick the agony of a second successive third-place season.

The season spanned over ten months, and Game 39 tied with Game 2 from that inaugural day, Sept. 20, 2008, as the game with the most hands in Season Two – 13 hands to complete the final game of the season.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 025 Scott 020 Nick 028
06 hands - Greg 053 Scott 052 Nick 062
09 hands - Greg 088 Scott 085 Nick 092
10 hands - Greg 098 Scott 104 Nick 095
11 hands - Greg 110 Scott 109 Nick 099
12 hands - Greg 118 Scott 117 Nick 113
13 hands - Greg 120 Scott 121 Nick 117 Final

League Table - Final
Scott... 15 16 04 04 99 4295
Nick.... 11 13 11 04 71 4227
Greg.... 13 10 09 07 69 4218

Game 38 - July 5, 2009

DECATUR — With Scott's title sealed, the story became the battle for second place in the league in this penultimate game of the season. Nick established a solid lead early in the game and was thereby able to peg strategically in the 11th hand, passing up an opportunity to peg out in order to allow Scott to pull just ahead of Greg first, denying Greg an important two points in the league table.

With one game remaining, Nick led by four points, leaving the following scenarios for the final game:

• If Nick wins or finishes second in Game 39, Nick places second for the season.
• If Greg wins and Nick finishes third in Game 39, Greg places second for the season.
• If Greg places second and Nick finishes third in Game 39, and neither of them or both of them are skunked, Nick places second for the season.
• If, however, Greg places second, Nick finishes third, and only Nick gets skunked, then Greg and Nick will tie on points for the season, and the second-place finisher will be determined by total pegging; Greg would have to outpeg Nick by at least twelve pegs in this scenario. If the peg total ends up tied, then presumably Greg would be awarded second place for the season based on his greater number of wins.
  

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 023 Scott 031 Nick 039
06 hands - Greg 055 Scott 059 Nick 075
09 hands - Greg 085 Scott 088 Nick 109
11 hands - Greg 099 Scott 103 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Scott... 14 16 04 04 94 4174
Nick.... 11 13 10 04 71 4110
Greg.... 13 09 09 07 67 4098

Game 37 - July 5, 2009

DECATUR — As Roger Federer was crowned the greatest tennis player of all time at Wimbledon, Scott was crowned the greatest cribbage player of Season 2, clinching the season despite a second-place finish in Game 37. With only two games remaining, his 25-point lead in the table became mathematically impossible to overcome.

Much like Season 1, the only remaining drama was at the bottom, as Greg leapfrogged Nick in Game 37 to take a one-point and ten-peg lead in second place. Like his fellow Nebraska native, Andy Roddick, Nick found himself at the losing end of a competition on this July day.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 027 Scott 045 Nick 025
06 hands - Greg 060 Scott 075 Nick 055
09 hands - Greg 104 Scott 102 Nick 089
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 112 Nick 095 Final

League Table
Scott... 14 15 04 04 92 4071
Greg.... 13 09 08 07 67 3999
Nick.... 10 13 10 04 66 3989

Game 36 - July 5, 2009

DECATUR — In a game frequently interrupted by watching the Wimbledon men's final, Scott strolled to his 14th win of the season, giving him a daunting 24-point lead atop the table with only three games remaining. Scott's 55-peg start in the first three hands was his best to date in Season 2.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 028 Scott 055 Nick 032
06 hands - Greg 072 Scott 082 Nick 063
09 hands - Greg 097 Scott 111 Nick 091
11 hands - Greg 116 Scott 121 Nick 108 Final

League Table
Scott... 14 14 04 04 90 3959
Nick.... 10 13 09 04 66 3894
Greg.... 12 09 08 07 62 3878

Game 35 - June 20, 2009

DECATUR — It was the closest thing to a "photo finish" in this notoriously slow game. Scott pipped Nick to the finish by one peg, with Greg just two pegs behind Nick in the closest and highest-scoring game of the season. The three-man total of 359 pegs eclipsed the previous season high of 353 pegs in Game 2 on Sept. 20, 2008.

The result left Scott with a formidable 19-point lead in the table with only four games remaining.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 032 Scott 027 Nick 033
06 hands - Greg 060 Scott 064 Nick 057
09 hands - Greg 091 Scott 096 Nick 090
12 hands - Greg 118 Scott 121 Nick 120 Final

League Table
Scott... 13 14 04 04 85 3838
Nick.... 10 13 08 04 66 3786
Greg.... 12 08 08 07 60 3762

Game 34 - June 20, 2009

DECATUR — After being skunked in Game 33, Scott turned the tables and skunked both Greg and Nick, only the second time that two players have been skunked in the same game this season. The previous occurrence was in Game 3 on October 4, 2008, when Nick took the five points in a 121-86-86 affair. Scott's feat re-established his 16-point lead atop the league table.

This was only the sixth game so far this season to be resolved in fewer than 10 hands.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 033 Scott 044 Nick 025
06 hands - Greg 060 Scott 088 Nick 060
09 hands - Greg 083 Scott 121 Nick 090 Final

League Table
Scott... 12 14 04 04 80 3717
Nick.... 10 12 08 04 64 3666
Greg.... 12 08 07 07 60 3644

Game 33 - May 30, 2009

DECATUR — The league standings tightened dramatically with six games remaining, as Nick skunked Scott to close the gap to nine points at the top of the table.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 032 Scott 035 Nick 032
06 hands - Greg 058 Scott 050 Nick 060
09 hands - Greg 092 Scott 081 Nick 098
11 hands - Greg 111 Scott 090 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Scott... 11 14 04 04 75 3596
Nick.... 10 12 08 03 66 3576
Greg.... 12 08 07 06 62 3561

Game 32 - May 30, 2009

DECATUR — Scott pulled out a timely win to expand his league lead to 16 points with seven games remaining in the season. Nick finished second to move back to second in the league. Greg fell to third despite having the most wins (12) so far this season.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 027 Scott 033 Nick 029
06 hands - Greg 056 Scott 071 Nick 058
09 hands - Greg 094 Scott 105 Nick 088
11 hands - Greg 112 Scott 121 Nick 115 Final

League Table
Scott... 11 14 04 03 77 3506
Nick.... 09 12 08 03 61 3455
Greg.... 12 07 07 06 60 3450

Game 31 - May 30, 2009

DECATUR — Greg won his second match in a row to climb into second place, while Scott avoided skunkage by a single peg to hold at his season-high total of 72 points.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 038 Scott 040 Nick 040
06 hands - Greg 072 Scott 064 Nick 063
09 hands - Greg 101 Scott 088 Nick 098
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 091 Nick 102 Final

League Table
Scott... 10 14 04 03 72 3385
Greg.... 12 07 06 06 60 3338
Nick.... 09 11 08 03 59 3340

Game 30 - May 16, 2009

DECATUR — Greg won a closely-contested match to secure his second win in three games, closing to within two points of second place in the league standings.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 031 Scott 042 Nick 028
06 hands - Greg 065 Scott 066 Nick 062
09 hands - Greg 094 Scott 099 Nick 098
11 hands - Greg 121 Scott 106 Nick 114 Final

League Table
Scott... 10 14 03 03 72 3294
Nick.... 09 10 08 03 57 3238
Greg.... 11 07 06 06 55 3217

Game 29 - Mar. 28 and May 16, 2009

DECATUR — For the first time in two seasons and 67 games, we stopped a game mid-match on March 28 as Greg was summoned to brunch with friends visiting from out of town. After pegging 16 in the very first hand in Game 28, Greg managed a mere 12 pegs in the first three hands of Game 29 before rallying in the subsequent cycle. This set a new all-time low for the first three hands of any game this season.

After six hands, Greg was on 55, Scott led on 79, and Nick was on 65 pegs. The seating arrangement was recorded and the game was resumed seven weeks later.

Upon resumption of the match on May 16, Nick rallied from his deficit to take the game and his first win in nine matches.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 012 Scott 053 Nick 046
06 hands - Greg 055 Scott 079 Nick 065
09 hands - Greg 083 Scott 100 Nick 098
12 hands - Greg 105 Scott 117 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Scott... 10 14 02 03 72 3188
Nick.... 09 09 08 03 55 3124
Greg.... 10 07 06 06 50 3096

Game 28 - Mar. 28, 2009

DECATUR — Cribbage League returned to Decatur after a three-week hiatus, and the day got off to a fast start with a collective 28 pegs from pegging alone in the first hand – 16 of those for Greg, with six each for Scott and Nick. Greg went on to an emphatic win, pulling level with Nick on points in the table. Scott's five-game winning streak came to a crashing halt with his third and lowest-pegging skunk of the season, eclipsing his previous low of 86 from Game 3 by one point.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 052 Scott 034 Nick 044
06 hands - Greg 098 Scott 056 Nick 074
09 hands - Greg 121 Scott 085 Nick 113 Final

League Table
Scott... 10 13 02 03 70 3071
Nick.... 08 09 08 03 50 3003
Greg.... 10 07 05 06 50 2991

Game 27 - Mar. 7, 2009

LINDBERGH — Scott's league domination continued with a fifth consecutive win in Saturday's third match. It was the first time one player took all three games in a cycle this season, and only the second time one player took all three games on one day – Nick won all three games on October 11, but those spanned two dealing cycles (the last two of Games 4-6 and the first of Games 7-9).

With Greg and Nick splitting up the leftover points during his winning streak, Scott has been propelled into a 24-point lead in the league table.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 030 Scott 043 Nick 047
06 hands - Greg 068 Scott 077 Nick 078
09 hands - Greg 102 Scott 109 Nick 094
11 hands - Greg 112 Scott 121 Nick 096 Final

League Table
Scott... 10 13 02 02 72 2986
Nick.... 08 08 08 03 48 2890
Greg.... 09 07 05 06 45 2870

Game 26 - Mar. 7, 2009

LINDBERGH — Scott rallied from an early deficit to win his fourth consecutive match, the longest winning streak for any player this season. As a result, his league lead expanded to 19 points, the largest margin to date this season. Meanwhile, Greg went down to his worst defeat of the season, skunked on 76 pegs, shattering his previous low of 86 pegs in Game 3 on October 4, and second only to Nick's miserable 61-peg showing in the season opener on September 20. Greg has now been skunked more times this season than Scott and Nick combined.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 026 Scott 028 Nick 041
06 hands - Greg 051 Scott 071 Nick 079
09 hands - Greg 076 Scott 120 Nick 108
10 hands - Greg 076 Scott 121 Nick 110 Final

League Table
Scott... 09 13 02 02 67 2865
Nick.... 08 08 07 03 48 2794
Greg.... 09 06 05 06 43 2758

Game 25 - Mar. 7, 2009

LINDBERGH — Cribbage League returned to Lindbergh for this Saturday morning session, but the home-field advantage was not enough to give Nick a victory. Scott took his third win in a row in what was generally a closely-contested match. Nick's second-place finish put him back to second in the league table, but now 16 points and 60 pegs behind Scott.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 025 Scott 038 Nick 042
06 hands - Greg 067 Scott 072 Nick 074
09 hands - Greg 095 Scott 119 Nick 111
10 hands - Greg 095 Scott 121 Nick 111 Final

League Table
Scott... 08 13 02 02 62 2744
Nick.... 08 07 07 03 46 2684
Greg.... 09 06 05 05 45 2682

Game 24 - Feb. 28, 2009

DECATUR — A fast-paced game ended with Scott winning in nine hands, the fewest hands since Game 12 on January 10, and only the fourth game to end in nine or fewer hands this season. It was the first such short match without a skunk this season.

Games 23 and 24 marked the first back-to-back victories of the season for Scott, who extended his league to 12 points at the top of the table, with Greg and Nick splitting the second-place points in a draw on 110 pegs.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 037 Scott 046 Nick 033
06 hands - Greg 071 Scott 094 Nick 090
09 hands - Greg 110 Scott 121 Nick 110 Final

League Table
Scott... 07 13 02 02 57 2623
Greg.... 09 06 04 05 45 2587
Nick.... 08 06 07 03 44 2573

Game 23 - Feb. 28, 2009

DECATUR — Scott rolled with ease to his sixth victory of the season, extending his league lead to eight points. Meanwhile, Greg staged a late rally to finish second in the match, and thereby climbing to second in the league on 44 points.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 025 Scott 053 Nick 038
06 hands - Greg 050 Scott 077 Nick 060
09 hands - Greg 082 Scott 108 Nick 087
10 hands - Greg 101 Scott 121 Nick 094 Final

League Table
Scott... 06 13 02 02 52 2502
Greg.... 09 05 04 05 44 2477
Nick.... 08 05 07 03 43 2463

Game 22 - Feb. 28, 2009

DECATUR — For the first time in quite a while, the league table remained unchanged. Scott stayed on top with his 13th second-place finish of the season, while Greg's win put him just one point adrift of second place, and lifted him to second in pegging.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 040 Scott 030 Nick 030
06 hands - Greg 071 Scott 063 Nick 064
09 hands - Greg 099 Scott 088 Nick 088
11 hands - Greg 121 Scott 109 Nick 104 Final

League Table
Scott... 05 13 02 02 47 2381
Nick.... 08 05 06 03 43 2369
Greg.... 09 04 04 05 42 2376

Game 21 - Feb. 14, 2009

DECATUR — The league lead changed for the seventh game in a row, as Scott retook pole position on a second-place finish as previous leader Nick finished third, his first loss in four games. Scott also took the pegging lead for the first time this season, with 2,272 pegs to Nick's 2,265.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 025 Scott 026 Nick 032
06 hands - Greg 053 Scott 054 Nick 051
09 hands - Greg 088 Scott 085 Nick 080
12 hands - Greg 121 Scott 111 Nick 101 Final

League Table
Scott... 05 12 02 02 45 2272
Nick.... 08 05 05 03 43 2265
Greg.... 08 04 04 05 37 2255

Game 20 - Feb. 14, 2009

DECATUR — For the sixth game in a row, the league lead changed hands, as Nick managed a two-peg victory over Scott, the narrowest win for any player this season. Meanwhile, Greg suffered an ignominious fifth skunk on the season, and thereby surrendered the pegging lead he had held for the previous nine games, falling 30 pegs behind Nick.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 041 Scott 034 Nick 037
06 hands - Greg 063 Scott 058 Nick 073
09 hands - Greg 084 Scott 098 Nick 107
10 hands - Greg 086 Scott 108 Nick 120
11 hands - Greg 089 Scott 119 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Nick.... 08 05 04 03 43 2164
Scott... 05 11 02 02 43 2161
Greg.... 07 04 04 05 32 2134

Game 19 - Feb. 14, 2009

DECATUR — The league lead changed for the fifth game in a row as Scott roared back from a steep mid-match deficit to win his fifth of the season. Scott moved to the top of the table despite trailing Greg and Nick narrowly in total pegs. In fact, the "pegging order" after 19 games was upside-down compared to the league standings.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 036 Scott 026 Nick 039
06 hands - Greg 071 Scott 054 Nick 069
09 hands - Greg 096 Scott 106 Nick 103
10 hands - Greg 102 Scott 121 Nick 114 Final

League Table
Scott... 05 10 02 02 41 2042
Nick.... 07 05 04 03 38 2043
Greg.... 07 04 04 04 34 2045

Game 18 - Jan. 31, 2009

DECATUR — Yet another change in the league lead – the fourth in a row! Nick won his seventh game of the season and climbed to 36 points; Scott finished second for the tenth time and also climbed to 36. Had Greg not been skunked, he also would have held at 36 points and would have kept the league lead over Nick on pegging difference; but he fell three pegs short of safety and dropped two points to 34 in the table. This put Greg in the ironic position of being last in the table despite being first in pegging.

After 18 games, there have been nine skunks this season – more than the entirety of Season 1, when there were eight skunks in 38 games.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 038 Scott 023 Nick 038
06 hands - Greg 055 Scott 059 Nick 073
09 hands - Greg 077 Scott 102 Nick 101
10 hands - Greg 088 Scott 111 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Nick.... 07 04 04 03 36 1929
Scott... 04 10 02 02 36 1921
Greg.... 07 04 03 04 34 1943

Game 17 - Jan. 31, 2009

DECATUR — The league lead changed hands for the third consecutive game as Greg's win put him back on top after one of the more competitive games of recent weeks. Game 17 itself was arguably a microcosm of the season, with multiple lead changes and no player ever falling very far behind. The collective total of 332 pegs was the highest-pegging game since Game 10 on November 29 (352 pegs), and the sixth-highest of the season to date.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 046 Scott 033 Nick 033
06 hands - Greg 071 Scott 079 Nick 069
09 hands - Greg 114 Scott 105 Nick 104
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 106 Nick 105 Final

League Table
Greg.... 07 04 03 03 36 1855
Scott... 04 09 02 02 34 1810
Nick.... 06 04 04 03 31 1808

Game 16 - Jan. 31, 2009

DECATUR — Game 16 started as a close contest, but Scott pulled away in the second half of the game to score his fourth victory of the season and pole-vault from last to first in the table. Greg narrowly avoided the skunk in the final hand, counting before dealer Scott pegged out. The result put Greg and Nick exactly equal in the league table, requiring the use of season-to-date pegging totals to break the tie, with Greg leading 1734-1703.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 030 Scott 028 Nick 032
06 hands - Greg 050 Scott 066 Nick 063
09 hands - Greg 082 Scott 114 Nick 096
10 hands - Greg 092 Scott 121 Nick 107 Final

League Table
Scott... 04 08 02 02 32 1704
Greg.... 06 04 03 03 31 1734
Nick.... 06 04 03 03 31 1703

Game 15 - Jan. 17, 2009

DECATUR — After a pair of slow starts, Greg stormed into the lead early in Game 15 and strolled easily to his sixth win of the season, pegging out early in the tenth hand. Scott was unable to reach safety and recorded his first skunk since Game 3, ending his 11-game skunkless spell. The result turned the tight league table upside-down, sending Greg to the top and Scott to the bottom.

This was the first time that the dealer won each game in a full rotation of three games (Games 13-15). It also marked the seventh game in which the second-place finisher was held to fewer than 100 pegs; Greg has won four of those seven games, and Nick has won the other three.

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 048 Scott 028 Nick 035
06 hands - Greg 084 Scott 057 Nick 077
09 hands - Greg 120 Scott 089 Nick 097
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 089 Nick 099 Final

League Table
Greg.... 06 04 02 03 31
Nick.... 06 03 03 03 29
Scott... 03 08 02 02 27

Game 14 - Jan. 17, 2009

DECATUR — Nick began the second trimester of the cribbage season by snapping his four-game winless streak, holding both Scott and Greg to fewer than 100 pegs for the third time this season. Greg rallied from a poor start to finish second, handing Scott his first third-place finish since Game 6 on October 11. Despite having the fewest wins this season, Scott remained top of the league table thanks to his eight second-place finishes and only one skunk — so far.

Dealer: Nick
03 hands - Greg 018 Scott 033 Nick 046
06 hands - Greg 048 Scott 059 Nick 076
09 hands - Greg 083 Scott 088 Nick 109
10 hands - Greg 098 Scott 095 Nick 121 Final

League Table
Scott... 03 08 02 01 29
Nick.... 06 02 03 03 27
Greg.... 05 04 02 03 26

Game 13 - Jan. 17, 2009

DECATUR — Scott vaulted to the top of the league and took sole possession of the summit for the first time since Game 3, prevailing after a see-saw battle with Nick for much of Game 13. Greg rallied after an alarmingly slow start, but couldn't quite muster enough "kojo" (karma + mojo) to avoid being skunked for the first time since Game 5.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 020 Scott 041 Nick 035
06 hands - Greg 041 Scott 076 Nick 082
09 hands - Greg 083 Scott 111 Nick 108
10 hands - Greg 088 Scott 121 Nick 111 Final

League Table
Scott... 03 08 01 01 29
Greg.... 05 03 02 03 24
Nick.... 05 02 03 03 22

Game 12 - Jan. 10, 2009

DECATUR — The second match of 2009 was eerily similar to the first, except that it took nine hands to finish instead of ten. The final score was practically identical, with Greg winning, and Scott and Nick each improving a lone peg from Game 11 — still not good enough for Nick to avoid a second consecutive skunk, the first such misfortune for any player this season.

The outcome turned the league table upside-down, with Greg leaping into first place and Nick crashing to third, while Scott, recording his eighth second-place match result of the season, appropriately remained second in the table while moving up to second in cumulative pegging for the season (Greg 1335, Scott 1278, Nick 1265).

Dealer: Greg
03 hands - Greg 044 Scott 031 Nick 032
06 hands - Greg 077 Scott 070 Nick 061
09 hands - Greg 121 Scott 095 Nick 080 Final

League Table
Greg.... 05 03 02 02 26
Scott... 02 08 01 01 24
Nick.... 05 01 03 03 20

Game 11 - Jan. 10, 2009

DECATUR — After a six-week 'holiday' break, the season resumed with a resounding win for Greg, who skunked Nick and finished 27 pegs ahead of Scott, tying his season-best margin of victory from Game 1. The game practically levelled the league table, with Scott and Nick sharing the points lead.

Dealer: Scott
03 hands - Greg 031 Scott 023 Nick 030
06 hands - Greg 076 Scott 063 Nick 053
09 hands - Greg 112 Scott 089 Nick 077
10 hands - Greg 121 Scott 094 Nick 079 Final

League Table
Nick.... 05 01 03 02 22
Scott... 02 07 01 01 22
Greg.... 04 03 02 02 21