Howard Pistol [#127] at 2004 National SCRABBLE® Championship

[ Congratulations to the new National Champion, Trey Wright, who defeated David Gibson in three straight games, 365-328, 355-344 and 429-328. Please tune in to ESPN to watch the final games at 1 P.M. ET on Sunday, October 3rd, 2004. We welcome your e-mailed corrections to our web site. ]

On this page, you will find information about Howard Pistol, who is a contestant in Division 1 at the 2004 National SCRABBLE® Championship, held July 31st - August 5th in New Orleans, LA. This page is updated at least hourly between 09:00 A.M. and midnight CDT. Pistol currently has a record of 14-16, -535, and is ranked #114 in Division 1.

Lower on this page, you can find brief self-reported biographical details of the player, statistics on the player's past several years of rated tournament play in North America, a graphic showing the player's ups and downs at this tournament, and a round-by-round report on the player's opponents and games.

Background Information
	Given name(s): Howard Surname(s): Pistol Home: Oakland Park, FL, United States Age: 47 Awards: 2004-05 Tampa Bay, FL Occupation: Finance

Career History

5-year record against other players at this event	87-84 (0.509)
Past 1-12 months	17-15 (0.531)	W L W L WW LLL W L WWWWW LLLLLL W L WWW L W L WW
Past 13-24 months	17-15 (0.531)	WW LLL WWW LL WW LL WWWW L WW LLLL W L WW L W L
Past 25-36 months	18-26 (0.409)	LLL W L W L WW L W LL W L W LL WW L WW LLLLL WW LLLL WW L W LLLL WW
Past 37-48 months	19-14 (0.576)	L WWWW L WWWW LLL WW L WWW L W LL WW LLLL W L WW
Past 49-60 months	16-14 (0.533)	WWW L W L W L W LLL WWW L W L WW LL W L W LLL WW

Rank Diagram

[rank diagram]
See legend

Round-by-Round
High score: 493 Average for: 371 Average against: 390
Round 1		Pistol played #150 Keith Smith (Austin, TX) and won 386 to 319 (a spread of 67) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Smith in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #50. Current record: 1-0, +67.
Round 2		Pistol played #22 Amit Chakrabarti (Hanover, NH) and lost 397 to 558 (a spread of -161) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Chakrabarti in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #106. Current record: 1-1, -94.
Round 3		Pistol played #40 Robert Ellickson (New Haven, CT) and lost 320 to 398 (a spread of -78) . The last time these two played was 2001-12 at: RYE BROOK, NY Pistol's record vs. Ellickson in the 5 years leading up to this event: 1-1 (0.500). Past 1-12 months: no games. Past 13-24 months: no games. Past 25-36 months: WL. Past 37-48 months: no games. Past 49-60 months: no games. Current ranking: #128. Current record: 1-2, -172.
Round 4		Pistol played #6 Peter Armstrong (Baltimore, MD) and won 395 to 343 (a spread of 52) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Armstrong in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #109. Current record: 2-2, -120.
Round 5		Pistol played #18 Jean Carol (Cincinnati, OH) and lost 364 to 458 (a spread of -94) . The last time these two played was 2001-02 at: DANBURY, CT Pistol's record vs. Carol in the 5 years leading up to this event: 0-1 (0.000). Past 1-12 months: no games. Past 13-24 months: no games. Past 25-36 months: no games. Past 37-48 months: L. Past 49-60 months: no games. Current ranking: #130. Current record: 2-3, -214.
Round 6		Pistol played #153 Carl Stocker (Miami, FL) and won 438 to 332 (a spread of 106) . The last time these two played was 2002-08 at: NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP Pistol's record vs. Stocker in the 5 years leading up to this event: 5-6 (0.455). Past 1-12 months: no games. Past 13-24 months: no games. Past 25-36 months: WLLLWL. Past 37-48 months: LW. Past 49-60 months: LWW. Current ranking: #96. Current record: 3-3, -108.
Round 7		Pistol played #101 Mark Miller (Radnor, PA) and lost 363 to 402 (a spread of -39) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Miller in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #115. Current record: 3-4, -147.
Round 8		Pistol recorded a win with a spread of 14 points. Current ranking: #98. Current record: 4-4, -133.
Round 9		Pistol played #161 Ron Tiekert (Indialantic, FL) and lost 283 to 474 (a spread of -191) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Tiekert in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #119. Current record: 4-5, -324.
Round 10		Pistol played #90 John Luebkemann (Pineville, NC) and won 398 to 375 (a spread of 23) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Luebkemann in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #106. Current record: 5-5, -301.
Round 11		Pistol played #62 John Hart (Portland, OR) and won 390 to 332 (a spread of 58) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Hart in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #79. Current record: 6-5, -243.
Round 12		Pistol played #133 Stefan Rau (Pittsburgh, PA) and won 349 to 323 (a spread of 26) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Rau in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #64. Current record: 7-5, -217.
Round 13		Pistol played #29 Lynn Cushman (New York, NY) and lost 313 to 479 (a spread of -166) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Cushman in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #84. Current record: 7-6, -383.
Round 14		Pistol played #103 Avi Moss (Missouri City, TX) and won 493 to 377 (a spread of 116) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Moss in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #69. Current record: 8-6, -267.
Round 15		Pistol played #132 Cynthia Pughsley (Oakland, CA) and lost 390 to 401 (a spread of -11) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Pughsley in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #84. Current record: 8-7, -278.
Round 16		Pistol played #115 Steve Oliger (Holtwood, PA) and lost 340 to 347 (a spread of -7) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Oliger in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #95. Current record: 8-8, -285.
Round 17		Pistol played #74 Robert Kahn (Plantation, FL) and won 319 to 264 (a spread of 55) . The last time these two played was 2004-03 at: STUART, FL Pistol's record vs. Kahn in the 5 years leading up to this event: 9-6 (0.600). Past 1-12 months: WLLWWL. Past 13-24 months: WWL. Past 25-36 months: L. Past 37-48 months: WWW. Past 49-60 months: LW. Current ranking: #82. Current record: 9-8, -230.
Round 18		Pistol played #166 John Van Pelt (Arlington, MA) and lost 379 to 384 (a spread of -5) . The last time these two played was 2000-08 at: NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP Pistol's record vs. Van Pelt in the 5 years leading up to this event: 0-1 (0.000). Past 1-12 months: no games. Past 13-24 months: no games. Past 25-36 months: no games. Past 37-48 months: no games. Past 49-60 months: L. Current ranking: #92. Current record: 9-9, -235.
Round 19		Pistol played #96 Jesse Matthews (Calgary AB) and lost 322 to 369 (a spread of -47) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Matthews in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #108. Current record: 9-10, -282.
Round 20		Pistol played #115 Steve Oliger (Holtwood, PA) and lost 262 to 442 (a spread of -180) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Oliger in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #124. Current record: 9-11, -462.
Round 21		Pistol played #99 Mark Milan (Laguna Niguel, CA) and lost 332 to 407 (a spread of -75) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Milan in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #134. Current record: 9-12, -537.
Round 22		Pistol played #178 Karen Merrill (Portland, OR) and won 447 to 370 (a spread of 77) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Merrill in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #123. Current record: 10-12, -460.
Round 23		Pistol played #47 Jeremy Frank (New York, NY) and lost 371 to 373 (a spread of -2) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Frank in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #131. Current record: 10-13, -462.
Round 24		Pistol played #26 Joanne Cohen (Owings Mills, MD) and lost 344 to 420 (a spread of -76) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Cohen in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #140. Current record: 10-14, -538.
Round 25		Pistol played #117 Kristiina Overton (Thornhill ON) and won 401 to 331 (a spread of 70) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Overton in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #129. Current record: 11-14, -468.
Round 26		Pistol played #134 Carol Ravichandran (Northville, MI) and lost 385 to 509 (a spread of -124) . The last time these two played was 2000-08 at: NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP Pistol's record vs. Ravichandran in the 5 years leading up to this event: 0-1 (0.000). Past 1-12 months: no games. Past 13-24 months: no games. Past 25-36 months: no games. Past 37-48 months: no games. Past 49-60 months: L. Current ranking: #140. Current record: 11-15, -592.
Round 27		Pistol played #165 Cheryl Tyler (Lubbock, TX) and won 446 to 254 (a spread of 192) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Tyler in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #124. Current record: 12-15, -400.
Round 28		Pistol played #173 Martin Weisskopf (Huntsville, AL) and won 403 to 340 (a spread of 63) . Before this event, Pistol had not played Weisskopf in at least 5 years. Current ranking: #112. Current record: 13-15, -337.
Round 29		Pistol played #39 Joel Elkins (West Hollywood, CA) and lost 309 to 529 (a spread of -220) . The last time these two played was 2000-08 at: NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP Pistol's record vs. Elkins in the 5 years leading up to this event: 0-1 (0.000). Past 1-12 months: no games. Past 13-24 months: no games. Past 25-36 months: no games. Past 37-48 months: no games. Past 49-60 months: L. Current ranking: #127. Current record: 13-16, -557.
Round 30		Pistol played #134 Carol Ravichandran (Northville, MI) and won 415 to 393 (a spread of 22) . The last time these two played was 2000-08 at: NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP Pistol's record vs. Ravichandran in the 5 years leading up to this event: 0-1 (0.000). Past 1-12 months: no games. Past 13-24 months: no games. Past 25-36 months: no games. Past 37-48 months: no games. Past 49-60 months: L. Current ranking: #114. Current record: 14-16, -535.

HASBRO is the owner of the registered SCRABBLE^® trademark in the United States and Canada. © 2004 HASBRO. All rights reserved. "SCRABBLE^® Brand Crossword Game" is the proper way to refer to this unique group of word games and related properties marketed by HASBRO. "SCRABBLE^®" is not a generic term. To use it as such is not only misleading but also does injustice to the company responsible for the trademark's longtime popularity. All we ask is that when you mean SCRABBLE^® Brand Crossword Game, you say so.

The SCRABBLE^® trademark is owned by J.W. Spear and Sons, PLC, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. outside of the United States and Canada.

For more information about SCRABBLE^® or the NSA, or to comment on or correct the contents of this page, please e-mail: info@scrabble-assoc.com
To report technical difficulties in reading this page, please contact webmaster John Chew at: jjchew@math.utoronto.ca