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Volunteers help grow the game

Posted By: Steve Mellen
Date: Saturday, 2 July 2011, at 6:45 a.m.

In Response To: Volunteers help grow the game (Michael Petch)

There are a lot of people doing great things for backgammon right now. Phil does more than many, and I am grateful for his contributions. I think "inflammatory at best" is a pretty amazing characterization of the post you responded to.

There is room for a difference of opinion as to whether the gambling aspects of backgammon will prove to be an obstacle to getting it accepted at the scholastic level. Phil is out there in the trenches, actually getting it done, and he offered two factual observations: the gambling aspect is not a problem with the Dominican sisters and their schools, and the gambling aspect has never been raised as an issue or objection to him in talking with other educators or parents. I don't see how either of those points could be viewed as inflammatory. If you continue to believe Phil will run into problems in the future, and he wants to make the point that he hasn't had any problems yet, more power to him I say.

I completely respect your right to make decisions for yourself and for your children and I would never argue with you about any of that. But I think one of the reasons you have some negative associations when it comes to backgammon is that you are among the 0.1% who have seen the degenerate side of the game. To 99.9% of people, backgammon is that game on the back of the checkers board that you play with dice.

I think Phil may have been there one time when someone pulled a knife on me for volunteering the pip count during the chouette. Be that as it may, I do not infer that by teaching backgammon in the schools he is hoping the kids can grow up to have their own little knife fights someday.

Messages In This Thread

• Volunteers help grow the game
  Phil Simborg -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 1:24 a.m.
  • Volunteers help grow the game
    Michael Petch -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 3:23 a.m.
    • Volunteers help grow the game
      rory -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 3:39 a.m.
      • Volunteers help grow the game
        rory -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 3:41 a.m.
        • Volunteers help grow the game
          Michael Petch -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 3:55 a.m.
          • Volunteers help grow the game
            Rich Munitz -- Sunday, 3 July 2011, at 2:59 p.m.
        • Volunteers help grow the game
          Michael Petch -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 4:32 a.m.
          • Volunteers help grow the game
            Bob Koca -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 4:49 a.m.
            • Volunteers help grow the game
              Michael Petch -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 5:29 a.m.
          • Volunteers help grow the game
            Tom Keith -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 1:20 p.m.
            • Volunteers help grow the game
              Michael Petch -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 10:27 p.m.
              • Volunteers help grow the game
                Joe Russell -- Saturday, 2 July 2011, at 1:52 a.m.
      • Volunteers help grow the game
        Chiva Tafazzoli -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 8:38 a.m.
        • Volunteers help grow the game
          Stick -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 8:45 a.m.
          • Volunteers help grow the game
            Michael Petch -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 8:50 a.m.
          • Volunteers help grow the game
            Chiva Tafazzoli -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 6:42 p.m.
  • Volunteers help grow the game
    Vincent Foley -- Friday, 1 July 2011, at 1:55 p.m.
  • Volunteers help grow the game
    Michael Petch -- Saturday, 2 July 2011, at 4:52 a.m.
    • Volunteers help grow the game
      Steve Mellen -- Saturday, 2 July 2011, at 6:45 a.m.
      • Responded to Privately *NM*
        Michael Petch -- Saturday, 2 July 2011, at 8:26 a.m.
    • Volunteers help grow the game
      Bob Koca -- Saturday, 2 July 2011, at 3:52 p.m.
  • Volunteers help grow the game
    rew -- Saturday, 2 July 2011, at 7:18 p.m.
  • "maybe some gambling"
    mtuhtan -- Monday, 4 July 2011, at 6:42 a.m.