October is like Christmas for Highpower rifle competitors, when the Ben Avery Shooting Facility north of Phoenix hosts the 2007 Western Civilian Marksmanship Program Games and the Creedmoor Cup matches. This is nine back-to-back days of competitions and clinics designed to satisfy that need to punch little holes in paper from 200 to 600 yards away. If that sounds dumb, you don't know anything about golf...

It's really amazing how dumb some people can be. You've heard of the “Darwin Award,” an unofficial recognition of individuals who die as a result of their own bizarre decision-making. But is there an equivalent award for those who make laughably poor, non-lethal judgments?

This is like an Olympic modern pentathlon for local seniors, but different.

The modern pentathlon is the invention of the same man who founded the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The ancient Olympic pentathlon was intended to showcase the best warrior skills; de Coubertin made it contemporaneous to the early 20^th century cavalry soldier, but added a sort of role-playing twist: the  modern pentathlon demonstrates necessary skills for escaping from behind enemy lines. The five events of the modern pentathlon include riding an unfamiliar horse, running, swimming, fencing and shooting a pistol.