Wow! January 14th & 15th was a weekend many fans of paddleball will long remember. 
The event-that-almost-didn't-happen, did happen as teams from New York, Miami, Orlando and the Locals vied for eight qualifying spots for the WOOOW!! Finals in December 2006. 

Were there surprises in store for spectators and participants? Without a doubt as sponsor Juan Guerra was late to arrive but made up for it with a breath-taking announcement: the WOOOW!! finals purse would be increased from $25,000 to $40,000. More surprises? How about the upsets that occurred both days? Fans packed the bleachers for 2 days chock full of shots, "gits" and saves that had them on their feet hootin' and howlin'!
Drama? Plenty of it, 'specially on day two when the awesome team of Jim & Bob Fiorino from NYC played their hearts out but had to forfeit at 13 points due to Bobby having aggravated an arm injury because of a bad swing. Locals and everyone be warned: The NYC teams of Dave Blatt and Nelson Deidra and the Fiorino Bros mean business- and you know they'll be back! But there's more teams out there that played and served notice to our Local boys and to the Miami and NYC contingent: It ain't gonna be just the "Usual Suspects" out on the courts anymore!

A big glarey hats-off to the tournament officials and refs, in particular to Finals ref Big Al Santiago: He was firm, fair and very professional. We all know how emotional one can get when playing a heated match- in all, players were on their best behavior and are to be commended for their restraint. I, for one, can't wait until the WOOOW III in March

Of course, I was there with my trusty digital camera- and inside it, a big ol' memory card and my laptop to dump the pics to when I filled the card. There's beaucoup pics posted below, so be patient while the thumbnails load! I tried to tell a story, thus the sequence of the pics- from the guys chillin' out on day one before the tournament to the finals and award time. If you've got any pics to add to this virtual collage, by all means, please let me know. You can also request a CD with the original high resolution images (good for up to 8 x 10 prints) by dropping me a quick Email or seeing me on the courts. To see a full-size image below, click on a thumbnail. Click the "Back" button on your browser or hit the back-space key on your keyboard to return to this page. Yeah, baby, yeah!

For a tournament results sheet, click one of the following links: Results.doc  Results.pdf