IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

Cal's Pool tour continues today with record entries

Many of the island's top players are slated to contest the fourth leg of the Cal's Manufacturing/Real Vibes Party Wine pool tour which gets under way today and continues tomorrow at the Chelsea Hotel and Sports Bar, 5 Chelsea Avenue, New Kingston.

The tour has been generating a lot of interest and excitement in pool circles since Montego Bay's Noel 'Schoolboy' Blagrove won the first leg at Hot Shots Pool Bar, 103 Constant Spring Road, on August 28 and 29.

The second leg at Upper Level in Mandeville in September was won by Chelsea's Calhoun Melville, while Jody Mullings from May Pen captured the third leg in Montego Bay on October 16 and 17, each receiving $80,000 and trophies.

The runner-up will receive $35,000, third $15,000 and fourth $7,500, while players finishing from fifth to eighth place will each receive $2,500.

Entry and re-entry fees are $1,000 each. When entries for the eight-ball tournament closed on Wednesday night during the weekly mini-tournament at Hot Shots, a record 68 were received. Among the entrants were the three previous winners - Blagrove, Mullings and Melville - as well as the year's top-ranked player, Ewart Hall, and others.

The draw for the first match at noon today pits Jody Mullings against old rival Rhys Chin, both of whom contested the last final in Montego Bay, which saw Mullings eking out a narrow 4-3 win.

Ewart Hall wins Island Delight pool tourney

Ewart Hall, the year's top-ranked player, won the Island Delight Seafood and Restaurant/Wray & Nephew eight-ball pool tournament last weekend at Byndloss Cross Roads in Linstead.

Hall, who hails from Hot Shots, 103 Constant Spring Road, blanked MoBay's top player Noel 'Schoolboy' Blagrove 3-0 in the final to secure the lucrative cash prize and trophy donated by the sponsors. It was sweet revenge for Hall who, back in August, was beaten in the final of the valuable Cal's Manufacturing/Real Vibes Party Wine tournament at Hot Shots.

Hall, who was winning this tournament for the second time in the past year, defeated Jamaica Billiards Association president Nicky Lawrence 3-1 in the semi-final, while Blagrove blanked David Adams 3-0 in the other semi-final to set up the final showdown.

In the play-off for third, Lawrence, the island's top female player, defeated Adams 3-1 to secure cash and a trophy donated by Calhoun Melville, one of the island's top players and a past winner of this tournament.

Eagles whip Waltham in Pattex Cup skittles

Former champions Eagles came from behind to whip Waltham Strikers 8-3 at Chelsea Avenue last Sunday to be unbeaten in two starts in the Henkel-sponsored Pattex Cup skittles competition.

Trailing their opponents 2-3 after five games, Eagles came into their own to win the six remaining games. Their winning players were Everett Melbourne, Dane Jones, Emmanuel Munda, Basil Kelly, Rudolph 'Niah' Mullings, Ralston Robinson, female player Cheryl Donaldson and former singles champion Leslie 'Toothpick' Puranda, who was playing his first match for Eagles.

In the other match at the same venue, home team Rowe's Strikers defeated Mystix 7-4. Defending champions Eastern All-Stars came from way behind to beat their east Kingston rivals Dragon 6-5, after Dragon led 5-1 but ran out of players, at Starliner Skittles Cub, Waltham Park Road. Starliner beat Portmore's The Dip 7-4 at the same venue, while Mercury defeated Olympic Strikers 8-3 at Hangover Sports Club, 3C Mega Way, Portmore, after which home team Hangover lost to Willies Strikers.

The competition continues tomorrow with two matches, both at Mercury Skittles Club in Spanish Town. Olympic Strikers will oppose Hangover in the first match and Mercury vs Mister C in the Spanish Town derby at 4 p.m.

Business House cricket finals rescheduled

With bad weather having an adverse effect on the Business House cricket competition in recent months, the board has rescheduled a number of finals for the following dates, all involving the high-riding LIME.

On Sunday, December 5 LIME will oppose Jamalco in the 30-over Best Dressed Chicken KO final at Chalmers Avenue, while on Sunday, December 12 they will face defending champions Jamaica Broilers in the Digicel Twenty20 final, again at Chalmers Avenue.

Defending champions LIME, with players such as current national representative Horace Miller and former national youth players André McCarthy and Yannick Elliott at their disposal, along with Melbourne all-rounder Damion Jacobs, will meet Broilers again in the Reggae Jammin 50-over league final at Kensington Park on Sunday, December 19, a replay of last year's final at the same venue.

LIME recently won the Noranda Bauxite Partners 35-over KO competition, beating NHT in the final.

JISA/Henriques finals today at UWI

Lannaman's Prep and Hydel will contest the finals of the JISA Henriques Cup KO today at the UWI Bowl. There is also a curtain-raiser where beaten semi-finalists Vaz and Trafalgar will clash in the official third-place play-off.

All four teams today are involved in the league competition - the Alberga Cup.

The Henriques Cup began with 16 teams. In the first round: Lannaman's trounced Morris Knibb 9-0 while Hydel outscored St Andrew Prep 4-2. Trafalgar Prep defeated Alvernia 3-1 while Vaz topped Stella Maris 2-0.

In the quarter-finals played last Saturday, Lannaman's continued their terrific goal-scoring form, blowing away Wolmer's 9-0. Trafalgar got the better of Alpha Boys 4-3 while Vaz edged Quest 2-1 and Hydel achieved the same margin against Mona.

In the semi-finals on Wednesday, Lannaman's, who are yet to concede a goal in this competition, ran over Vaz 2-0, while Hydel stopped Vaz 1-0.

Hydel, Wolmer's lead JISA netball

Hydel and Wolmer's, who won their respective preliminary zones, continued their good form as the second round of the JISA netball league competition started earlier this week.

High-scoring Hydel, who topped Group Four over Dunrobin, and who earlier recorded the highest margin of victory, rolling over Meadowbrook Prep 24-0, began Round Two spanking Mavisville 20-3. Wolmer's, who topped Zone One over Holy Childhood, were in similar form, stomping Sacred Heart 19-4.

Quest, the Zone Two winners, drew 14-14 with Holy Childhood while Dunrobin stopped Our Lady of the Angels Prep 14-4.

Cross host Claro Clarendon KO double-header

The Cross Community football field will host the weekend's double-header in the recently rebranded Claro Clarendon FA knockout competition.

The home side play Sporting Athletics at 1 p.m., while in the feature at 3 p.m. Major League campaigners Original Hazard and York Town clash.

Earlier this week, the early run of Coffals FC, who kicked off the competition ousting them 3-0 on penalties in the second leg, came to an end at the hands of Cockpit, who beat them 3-2. Both teams had shared an exciting 2-2 at half-time before Cockpit secured the clincher through Collis Gordon's 74th-minute strike.

In other matches this week, Comfort drew 0-0 with Gimme-Me-Bit while Sporting Athletics defeated Longwood 2-0, courtesy of goals from Eric Barton (39th) and Davian Williams (76th).

Tigers snatch title

Portmore Lane Tigers are still celebrating their commanding 250-227 victory in the final of the MP Colin Fagan-sponsored South East St Catherine Portmore Domino League at the Garveymeade Sports Club last Sunday.

In a highly competitive match between the two top teams in the competition, Portmore Lane Tigers led the contest by a point (126-125) at half-time. However, a concerted effort by the Tigers saw them pulling away for a memorable victory.

With the win, Portmore Lane Tigers avenged an earlier 250-238 loss to Hangover in the preliminary round.

Meadows, Royal Lakes clash in LIME KO

Super League club Meadows will this afternoon tackle Major League outfit Royal Lakes in the feature match of a LIME-St Catherine Cooperative Credit Union knockout second-round double-header at the Spanish Town Prison Oval, starting at 5:00. The opening game is at 3:00.

In games played last Thursday, Portsmouth defeated Federal 2-0 while Royal Lakes eliminated Christian Pen 3-1, courtesy of a double strike from Kenroy Howell and another strike from Orville Williams.

Portmore/St Catherine Domino League launch

The Portmore/St Catherine Domino League will have its official launch tomorrow at the Garveymeade Sports Club, starting at 1:30 p.m. The league has a new sponsorship deal with Lascelles JB Rum. Some 19 teams have registered to compete, including defending champs Fort International.

The organisers have asked players from all the participating teams to wear their clubs' official jerseys to matches. After the launch, Fort International will oppose an All-Star domino team.

Portmore Division Two league kicks off

The LIME-sponsored Portmore Division Two Football League kicks off tomorrow with a uniform parade and a double-header at the Ferdie Neita Park in Braeton, Portmore, St Catherine.

The uniform parade starts at 12:30 p.m. At 1 p.m., East Portmore Portals take on Hellshire United, and in the feature match Watson Grove oppose Braeton United at 3 p.m.

The league has attracted seven teams, and they will play in a round-robin competition. The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals.