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Blagrove tops Cal's Pool again

Montego Bay's Noel 'Schoolboy' Blagrove confirmed his status as the island's top-rated pool player when he won the sixth and penultimate tournament on the Cal's Spring Water/Real Vibes Party Wine tour, this at Palm Court Bar & Grill in Negril last weekend.

Before a large crowd of pool enthusiasts in the resort town, Blagrove blanked Canadian Ulrich Moeller 5-0 in the final. It was the first time a player ranked as low as 'C' class was reaching the final of a major tournament and in the end, he was outclassed by Blagrove who, being a top-ranked 'A' class player, had to win five games while Moeller only had to win three by virtue of the handicapping.

En route to the final, Blagrove defeated former number-one ranked player Ewart Hall 4-2 in the quarter-finals, a match which had all the makings of a final, while he blanked previous winner Rhys Chen 4-0 in the semi-finals. Chen won the fifth stop of the tour at Island Delight in Linstead last month.

Although outplayed in the final, Moeller impacted on the tournament by beating previous winner Jody Mullings 3-0 in the quarter-finals. He then came from two games down to clip Fernando Ruiz 3-2 in the semis to set up the final showdown.

For his efforts, Blagrove received $80,000 and a trophy. Having won three of the six tournaments, he has totalled a whopping $240,000 in prize money since winning the first stop on the tour at Hot Shots Pool Bar, 103 Constant Spring Road, in August.

Moeler picked up $35,000 and a trophy for second, while Ruiz picked up $15,000 and a trophy for third and Chen $7,500 for fourth following a play-off for third. Players finishing from fifth to eighth place each received $2,500. They were, in order, Ewart Hall, Jody Mullings, Goran Faulkner and Oneil Reid. Trophies and gift baskets to the top four were presented by Nicky Lawrence, president of the Jamaica Billiards Association.

The tour will come to a close on February 26 and 27 with the seventh and final tournament at Mystix Sports Bar, 78 3/4 Hagley Park Road.

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Sistas singles tourney starts today

The opening round of the Henkel-sponsored Sistas singles championship takes place tonight at Mystix Sports Bar, 78 3/4 Hagley Park Road with the defending champion, Winston 'Wimpy' Lyew in action.

Lyew, who plays for Willies' Strikers, has been drawn to meet Simon Edwards of Mister C in one of the eight matches scheduled.

Other interesting pairings are the clash between previous winners Nehemiah 'Fatta' Henry from Eastern All-Stars and Freddie Marsh from Eagles; former champion Everett Melbourne from Eagles vs Paul Latchman of Willies and the highly ranked Dane Jones from Eagles vs Starliner's David 'Shabba' Adams.

Meanwhile, the first set of quarter-final matches in the Pattex Cup league take place tomorrow at Eastern All-Stars Skittles Club, 105 Windward Road, starting at 1 p.m.

The matches on are Zone 'A' winners Mister C from Spanish Town vs Mystix at 1 p.m. and Zone 'C' winners Eagles vs Willies at 4 p.m.

On the following Sunday, Zone 'B' winners Eastern All-Stars will meet Starliner at Hughenden Plaza, while Zone 'C' winners Eastern will oppose Waltham Strikers. Willies' Strikers defeated home team Mercury from Spanish Town 6-4 on Sunday to secure the last quarter final spot.

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Mona make winning start

Defending champions Mona made a winning start in the INSPORTS-sponsored Kingston and St Andrew Primary Schools netball league, defeating St Andrew 17-5 at the Leila Robinson Courts on Tuesday.

Mona led 5-1 in the first quarter and 9-2 in the second en route to a 12-point win, thanks to shooters Toyanna Campbell and Bless-Sade Lindo, ably supported by wing attack Danamaine Cunningham and centre Sadina Wilson.

Also in action were last season's beaten finalists Clan Carthy who registered their second straight win, drubbing St Francis 15-3, while St Benedict also made it two straight, demolishing Tarrant 25-1. Tavares Gardens also whipped Iris Gelly 25-1, New Providence beat Jessie Ripoll 11-1, Alpha crushed Pembroke All 25-3, Mountain View stopped Holy Rosary 12-4, Holy Family beat Rousseau 6-3 while Balmagie got by Seaview Gardens 8-2.

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Rivoli lead South Central Super league

Rivoli are sole leaders of the South Central Super League as the preliminary round reached half-way last weekend.

Rivoli are on 13 points and took over from defending champions Meadows following a 4-0 whipping of New Bowens of Clarendon. Meadows dropped points for the second straight week following their 0-0 draw with Tru Juice. Monymusk and Bodles follow on eight points each, with Naggo Head (7) and Downs (6) completing the top six.

In notable results from last weekend's fifth round: De La Vega drew 0-0 with Mile Gully, Newland and Bodles ended 1-1 while Dwight Byfield's 45th-minute strike was good enough to hand Monymusk 1-0 win over Newell.

The cross-zone stage will begin this weekend with the following matches: Today - Newland vs Monymusk at Cumberland; New Bowens vs Naggo Head; and Rivoli vs Downs. Tomorrow - Mile Gully vs Meadows; De La Vega vs Newell and Bodles vs Tru-Juice

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Clarendon Major League round-up

Unlike the last three weeks, there will be no promotional double-headers when the Claro Clarendon Captain's Bakery Major League resumes this weekend. Instead, action will spread across four venues over two days.

In today's schedule, Rock River will face Free Town at Clarendon College playing field while Woodhall tackles York Town at Turners Oval.

Tomorrow, Milk River attempt to stall Spartan Athletic at Rest Primary while in the likely feature game, Gimme-Me-Bit host Original Hazard.

In last weekend's third-round double-header hosted at Bodles playing field, Original Hazard blanked Milk River 2-0 where the family duo of Ricardo and Romaine Halstead scored. The win moved Original Hazard up the tables to third on seven points. Free Town also carved out a 3-1 win over York Town to move to fifth place on five points.

On Sunday, Spartan Athletic tagged Longwood 3-0, a win which pushed them to nine points and the joint lead with Gimme-Me-Bit.

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Manchester Major league

Kendal, which sprang a giant-killing move to beat leaders Hillstars 2-1, will clash with the unpredictable Comfort in today's feature match of The Captain's Bakery-sponsored Manchester Major league.

Despite Hillstars' Kenroy Mullings opening the score with an eighth-minute strike, Kendal were able to rally for all three points with strikes from Germaine White (21st min) and Teveland Bailey (72nd).

Kendal are now joint third in the standings with George's Valley who featured in a 7-3 thriller against pointless Mandeville United.

Other matches on this weekend are: Today - Mandeville United vs Hillstars at deCarteret College and Young Diamonds vs Porus at Hanbury. Tomorrow: Star Liner vs New Green at NCU field and Comfort vs Kendal.

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Fort's Thomas, Williams cop Ken's Pairs Domino KO

Fort International's duo of Neville Thomas and Junior 'Bad Indian' Williams snatched the Ken's Wildflower Pairs domino knockout competition with a 10-6 win over Right Stuff pair of Jerry Gardner and Clive Gordon in the final at the Ken's Wildflower Restaurant and Bar along Port Henderson Road on Sunday.

Thomas and Williams pocketed $20,000, while runners-up Gordon and Gardner shared $15,000. The event started in the afternoon on Sunday and ended 1:30 Monday morning.

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Westport tackle Braeton UTD

Leaders Wesport (10 points) will tackle lowly Braeton United (three points) in a LIME-sponsored Portmore Division Two football league match at 3 p.m. at the Ferdie Neita Park in Braeton tomorrow.

Westport will push for victory through leading scorers Damion Allen and Christopher Campbell. Both have netted three times in four matches. At Hellshire, Hellshire United square off with Queens Park at 1 p.m., while, in the feature match at 3 p.m., second-place Watson Grove (nine points) take on bottom club, Daytona (one point).

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Big clashes highlight Portmore domino

Two big clashes will highlight the eighth round of the Charley's JB Rum/Supreme Ventures Portmore/ St Catherine Domino League tomorrow.

Top of the list is the battle between unbeaten teams, Masterpiece and Right Stuff. Both clubs have seven wins apiece and are two of three clubs with 100 per cent win record. The other unbeaten club is Caribbean Classic, and they will be tested by defending champions Fort International who have lost once from six games to date. The two meet at Classic's home ground, Portmore Lane. In other matches, Correctional Services host Ken's Wildflower at Prison Oval, Triple X of Old Harbour Bay host Colours Sports Bar, Passagefort United entertain Eagle View at Myrtle Way, Caymanas Track Limited welcome Ackee Pod at Caymanas Track, Village Link await Lime Tree Grove at MegaWay, Portmore Town Centre, North Street United oppose Garveymeade in Old Harbour, while Hurricane are at home against Eradication at Bayside. All games begin at 11:30 a.m.

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Black Lions set for big win

Runaway leaders Black Lion (30 points) are expected to win big as they play lowly placed Cumberland in the LIME St Catherine FA Major League today at Irish Pen. Match time is 3 p.m. In other games, Rodwood host Royal Lakes at Waterford High School, Albion entertain Portsmouth at Albion field, McCook's tackle Dunbeholden at McCook's Pen and Wanderers welcome Police at the Passagefort field.

In games played recently, Black Lions drew 1-1 with mid-season champions Portsmouth, Albion clipped Dunbeholden 1-0, Royal Lakes edged Wanderers 1-0 and Police tagged Rodwood 2-0.