Nut Ridge Six-Handed Bid Euchre

Nut Ridge Six-Handed Bid Euchre was invented by my grandparents in the 40s or 50s in the village of Nut Ridge on the east shore of Cayuga Lake in upstate New York. They devised the game to solve the problem of having too many euchre players at weekend gatherings. According to all who have tried it, Nut Ridge Six-Handed Bid Euchre will make you forget all about it's bland four-handed cousin. The following description assumes you know how to play four-handed. Six handed is not the place to learn euchre, although four experienced six-handed players can have a decent game with two "never-evers" who don't know a bower from a beer nut.

Two teams of three each are seated alternately around a table. Teams start at 21 points and try to get to zero. Teams that successfully take the number of tricks they bid have that number subtracted from their score. Tricks taken in excess of the bid are not counted. A "loner" (playing it "alone") counts 10. If you are unsuccessful in making your bid, your score goes up by the number you bid and your opponents' comes down by that same amount. Euchres are painful, but then, so is under-bidding.

The deck consists of 32 cards - seven through ace. Cards are dealt in groups of three and two so that each player gets five cards. There is a two card kitty, which goes to the person who wins the bid. Bidding proceeds clockwise around the table one time. Each bid must be higher than the preceding. All suits are of equal value. Of course anyone can pass. After discarding the two unwanted cards from the kitty, the bidder leads the first card - almost always a trump.

Bids:
One bid = You have the right bower, little else.
Two bid = You have three trump, but no bower.
Higher bids (3,4, 5 and "alone") = You should have more than a one or two bid unless you're building on a partner's bid ... or you're a certified Nut Ridge lunatic like Betty Jeanne Pratt or the Pafesser. In general, you're bidding the number of tricks you think you and your partners can take. An example of a three bid is a bower and two other trump. A four bid might be a bower, two trump and an outside ace. If you yourself have enough to take five tricks, you should play it "alone", since you get ten points instead of five. Five bids are normally attempted when you are building on a partner AND your opponents have bid four. This is because five bids are hard to make unless you have a real powerhouse yourself , and in that case, you should be playing "alone".

Finer Points of the Game:

• It's OK to cheat fair.
• When one of your partners makes a mistake, even a small one, you should be as vicious as possible in pointing out the screw up. This will not only make them better euchre players but better prepared for life.
• The bidding "rules" are generally just guidelines that are often broken for poor reasons.

List of McDonald's Monopoly Rare Pieces

2008 McDonalds Monopoly Rare Piece List Wondering if you just peeled off that hard-to-find Monopoly piece? Here are the rare game pieces from this year's McDonald's Monopoly game: Lister:Ryan Pratt Category:Fun & Games

NBA Playoffs: 7-Seeds Upsetting 2-Seeds

These are the only times a seven-seed has defeated the No. 2 seed in the NBA Playoffs:

	New York def. Miami, 3-2, 1998 Eastern Conference first round
	Golden State def. San Antonio, 3-1, 1991 Western Conference first round
	Golden State def. Utah, 3-0, 1989 Western Conference first round
	Seattle def. Dallas, 3-1, 1987 Western Conference first round from ListAfterList.com

Are You a Halo 3 General?

Then add your gamertag to this list of all the Halo 3 generals and their gamertags ... aka the best of the best:

	Lt Wasp
	Darkid X
	TDxELErs
	x727x GiZBo
	KMARTCONNECTI0N
	MASTERCHIEF2268
	RoLLN oN 5sTaRz add your gamertag (or any other generals) by clicking here

Michael Vick's List of Screw Ups

This is a big change for Michael Vick, instead of the entire Cincinnati Bengals running after him, he is making a run at the Bengals - that is, at the number of times you can screw up. Here is a list of the all the times Vick has messed up:

	Weed/marijuana hidden in the bottom of a water bottle at the Miami airport.
	Drug raids at a house he owned (which lead to fed finding a... )
	Dog fighting ring and animal cruelty towards 60 dogs in a house he owned.
	Settled a lawsuit filed by a former girlfriend who said he knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease.
	Vick surrounded himself with unsavory associates, two with criminal records for drug trafficking.
	Two friends of Vick pocketed someone's fancy watch at the Atlanta airport, the watch's owner said a Falcons executive offered him money to keep Vick's name out of a police report.
	Lying to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about everything
	Thinking his friends would stick up for him and not rat him out

Michigan vs. Ohio State: Q&A with Stephen A.

Stephen A. Smith is a renowned sports writer and media personality from the borough of Queens in New York City. An area of the nation known for producing candid individuals - tennis great John McEnroe, NBA star Ron Artest, mafia don John Gotti, entrepreneur Donald Trump, etc. - Smith quickly became known for his an outspoken public image. This no limit attitude thrust him into prominence in the world of sports. Over the years, his demeanor and stance on issues has merited the nickname, “Screamin’ A. Smith.”

At 39 years old, Smith swiftly made a name for himself. He attended college at Winston-Salem State. Immediately following graduation, Smith interned at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His career began covering high school sports for the New York Daily News. In 1994, he joined the Philadelphia Inquirer, his current home, where he covers Temple University, the NBA’s 76ers and other sports in his columns. He also hosts his own television show Quite Frankly and frequents other ESPN shows and radio programs.

While visiting Columbus, Smith shares his thoughts with me on Ohio State, Columbus, football, campus, and predicts the score for the showdown on Saturday.

What do you think of Ohio State?

This is my first time here. I had a beautiful experience here. The people are very hospitable, the campus is huge!

The football stadium is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in sports. I love it. You hear a lot about “The Shoe” and the tradition that it entails. To see it up close and personal – it’s little things like that remind you why you got into sports writing. The fact is that I have been a journalist for 13 years and it reminds you of why you get into this industry because you realize that there are moments that you are going to experience that other people aren’t going to get the opportunity to do.

How does OSU compare to Winston-Salem State?

Oh! There is no comparison. Aesthetically speaking, there is no comparison. Winston-Salem State University is not half the size of Ohio State obviously. It’s a university – Ohio State is like a town.

If you are talking about the college experience, I think all college experiences are comparable. You might not have No. 1 going against No. 2 in the nation – that’s a different experience altogether – but for everybody that can say, ‘Well you went to Winston Salem State, how would you know?’ I’d say, ‘Well what about Temple? What about North Carolina? What about Duke?’ They aren’t experiencing this either. So it’s really not about the university, its more about the programs. And Ohio State and Michigan – in terms of college football – is as elite as it gets. But in terms of the college experience – nothing beats college. They say college is the greatest four years of your life and I’m here to tell you that certainly applied to me, even at a small, historically black institution like Winston-Salem State.

Do you think Ohio State v. Michigan is the biggest rivalry in sports?

I think so. When I think about rivalries I think about two things. I think about Ohio State-Michigan football and I think about Duke-North Carolina basketball. Those are the two greatest rivalries in all of sports on any level.

Do you think there is a chance that after Saturday they could meet again in the National Championship?

I think there is a chance and I think there should be. Surprisingly, the Ohio State football players I’ve spoken to along with the people at Michigan say:

‘No, its one and done. You play, that’s the National Championship. You shouldn’t be allowed a second chance in the same season. That’s not how it works because those outcomes shouldn’t be resolved in Arizona or California or any place like that. You’re on one or the other’s home turf – that’s how it should be. If you are going to meet, it should be that one meeting and nothing else.’

I disagree with that. I believe, when you have all these one-loss teams behind them - the USC’s, the California’s - teams like that. When you have a two-loss team like Texas, when you have teams like Florida or Auburn, forget all of that stuff. If this comes down to a nail biter and its decided in the last two minutes – No. 1 versus No. 2 in the country – then they should meet again in the National Championship.

Now if one of them gets blown out, then they should dip in the rankings. But if it’s a nail biter and it comes down to the wire, and its 1 against 2 in the nation, I don’t think anybody else should be in that National Championship.

Who do you think is the Heisman favorite right now?

It has got to be Troy Smith!

I mean obviously Brady Quinn definitely deserves consideration. But when you consider the way Michigan went up and spanked them on their home turf and the way Notre Dame was struggling on too many occasions this season – I don’t know if you can make the decision that Brady Quinn is the guy. I would say that Troy Smith with the year that Ohio State has had, the kind of season that he has had – passing for over 2,000 yards, doing all the things he has been doing, especially if they end up beating Michigan Saturday – I would definitely think that [Troy] deserves the Heisman.

So you think it’s his to lose?

I think it’s his to lose because I think if he performs in a big game – and a game of this magnitude against Michigan – how can you not give it to him?

Now if he doesn’t perform, and he looks like garbage, that is an entirely different ballgame. Now all of sudden you are going to start talking about Brady Quinn all over again.

Will you be at the game Saturday?

I’m not going to be here. I have to work Saturday. But don’t rule it out because I might sneak here anyways. But as of right now it doesn’t look like I will be at this game.

Will you be watching it?

I will not miss it. I am scheduled to work till 3 p.m., but if I can get around it, I will be here.

To put you on the spot, who do you pick on Saturday?

I picked Ohio State 31-21. I like Michigan – I like them a lot. Their front seven is as viscous as it gets. They are going to come at Troy, and they have to do everything they can to stop Troy, but Troy is a bad boy. By that I mean he doesn’t just throw the football, he can run the football. He has had his way with Michigan the last couple of years.

Too many weapons – Teddy Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, Antonio Pittman in the backfield – when you look at the offensive weapons that Troy Smith has at his disposal, as awesome as Michigan’s front seven is I can’t imagine how they will stop Ohio State.

Not to mention the fact that they are coming into Columbus. If this were at Michigan Stadium it could be a ‘pick’em.’ Or you cold even conceive of Michigan winning. But its pretty hard for to believe that Michigan is going to walk into Columbus, Ohio – in front of 105,000 people, with this noise, with this rabid atmosphere, against the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, with the National Championship on the line, against their most-hated rival – I cannot imagine Michigan winning this game. If Michigan wins this game, they deserve the National Championship.