Lakewood Croquet Club

TACOMA, WA – Mere moments after Jeff Gepner “staked out” to win the 1998 Champions Cup, his second consecutive, he was assaulted by Cooper with a hurled croquet ball and a flurry of remarks. Fellow competitors were soon standing slackjawed as a wrestling match broke out between the two members of Double X.

“Andy should have known better than to trust Jeff,” stated LCC President Brian S. Johnston III. “I told him that you can’t trust Jeff.”

Johnston added “I certainly didn’t want to see Jeff win the Cup again, but it was pretty entertaining to see that brawl.”

Double X was formed in July by Gepner and Cooper as a response to the Entente between Johnston and Tom Carmony. Gepner and Cooper signed a contract at the time which stated that Gepner was to help Cooper win the Champions Cup this year and that Cooper would return the favor at next year’s event.

In addition, the document stated that should one member of Double X double-cross the other, the individual perpetrating the double-cross would be forced to retire. This raises an interesting point. Did Gepner double-cross Cooper by winning the event, even when Cooper appeared out of contention? If not, was Cooper’s post-match attack of Gepner a double-cross, meaning that he must retire?

All that is clear at this point is that nothing is clear. It is evident that the issue between these two must be settled, but at this time it is unkown exactly what the resulting settlement might be. Both Gepner and Cooper are expected to make statements later in the week concerning the issue.