Yesterday’s tournament results were not exactly as I would have hoped for but I feel pretty proud about the way I played overall. I ran a lot of nice racks and played some really smart 8-ball patterns. I feel like I earned the respect of many of my peers and players that I respect.
I lost my first match to Tommy Tokoph from ABQ. He drove out with the Tafoya brothers, Nick & Mark, both champion junior players. I know Tommy from chatting with him at the various pro events over the past couple years, but this was the first time we got to hang out. He’s a total riot!
For being only 22, Tommy plays pretty jam up. I watched him play some at the Open and he must have been nervous then because it wasn’t his best game, but he and Nick ended up winning the two qualifier spots. Nick’s only 17. His cue ball is a little more reckless, but he rarely misses.
I got our streaming up and spent part of the day manning that while playing. Of course, there was still enough time for goofin’ around. [Someone should tell "ATM" that crack is bad. Heehee...]
Here’s Tommy & Nick’s final match:
Free TV : Ustream
I played14 hours of pool yesterday and it’s just about time for a new piece of chalk. The brand new PoolDawg chalk I brought in that morning got plenty of use as well! That’s what a 14 hour old piece of chalk looks like.
There was also some sort of Gum Epidemic yesterday! After the tournament, I somehow managed to lean back in my stool right onto a fresh piece of gum. GROSS! Who sticks their gum on the wall?!??? Miraculously, Brandie (one of the servers there) was able to pick it out with her nails and a few pieces of ice (Brrrr!). Not before saying, “And someone told me I should cut my nails to play pool.” “I think that was me,” I said. Good thing she didn’t listen.
Later on in the evening, Peter came up to show me his gummy hand. He found his on the side of a stool. WTH?!??? I banned all the gum from everyone after that.
After the NCS qualifier, I stayed to play in the weekly 9-ball tournament. I was in no shape to win any money but just wanted to support the tournament and hang out with my out-of-town friends. 14 hours later, I finally went home.
I was happy to see my clinic-attendee, Doug, making a showing at the tournament. And, another clinic-regular Butch (and his wife Martha) also stopped by to say “hello.” Overall, it was a very nice day. Long, but nice.
I took the day off from practicing today since I worked so hard last week. I finally went to the gym this morning which I didn’t even do last week because I didn’t want to be sore on Saturday. I haven’t decided on my practice schedule yet for this week. I have a million and one things to do before I leave for Derby and since I’ll be working there instead of competing, practicing drops to the bottom of the list.
I fly out on Thursday for MSP to drive to Derby with Mike. YAY!
