[Part 1 of ???]

Stranded

I’m currently writing from Minneapolis. After the expo, Mike and I headed to NYC for a couple days for a little play-cation. Mike flew home to MSP Wednesday evening but my DEN flight got canceled due to snow in Denver from the day before. After standing in line for three and a half hours, I finally got up to the front to hear my options.

1. Spend $70 in round trip cab fairs to return and fly to  DEN at 6a.m. by way of a 3 hour layover in Dallas or some not-on-the-way place.
2. Stay another week in NYC and fly to DEN on the next available direct flight on Tuesday.
3. Fly to MSP by way of Milwaukee that night and get in by midnight.

I chose the third option. Maybe it was a rash decision but I was ready to get out of there.

Good news: I got a $200 Frontier travel voucher that will come in handy.

Bad news: The earliest flight back to DEN without costing me my first born is next Thursday.

So, until then, I’m stranded in Minneapolis for the next week. I even tried to get a standby flight courtesy of my United-employee friend but spring-breakers made that an impossible option. The other good news is that there’s a 14.1 tourney this here this weekend. Just lookin’ on the bright side.

The SBE

I spent most of my time at this year’s SBE bouncing between my three show sponsors: Chris Byrne Custom Cues, PoolDawg, and Tiger. I was also doing a photo contest with Frank, along with covering the amateur event for AzBilliards.com.

As a special treat this year, when I wasn’t working or competing, I was planted in the 14.1 Challenge booth run by my new friends Heather & Steve Kurtz, and Charlie Eames.

It’s funny, this was my seventh consecutive year attending this tournament. I’ve only cashed in the thing twice. It’s very far from home and an expensive event to travel to. The tournament format itself is a complete crap shoot and quite honestly, I hate to admit this,  but the payout is not great. But, there is something special about this four-day event that keeps people (myself included) coming back year after year after year.

Perhaps it’s the wonderful people we’ve met over the years. Maybe it’s the way Allen Hopkins greets you and genuinely makes you feel like you’re part of the family every time you see him. Maybe it’s the perfect warm up on 7′ Diamond Smart Tables just two months before Vegas. Or, maybe it’s just, for whatever reason, one of my favorite tournaments of the year. It really is a lot of fun.

I’ve attended this tourney through good times and bad. I was there for the big snow storm a few years ago and this year, the weather was gorgeous. It was so nice in fact that it appeared to be effecting the temperature control downstairs. The heat and humidity on the lower level was unbearable this year! You can only imagine how this effected the way the balls played.

14.1 Challenge

My new BFF’s Charlie, Heather, & Steve were nothing but welcoming every time I stepped into the challenge. There were two pristine newly recovered 9′ Diamond Pro-Ams with fresh balls and your own personal scorekeeper. When Charlie was there, he would even rack for me.

Objective: $25 gets you five attempts starting with ball-in-hand. Highest 8 accumulative score after 5 innings enter into a single-elim bracket.

I won’t mention how many attempts I had this weekend. I am proud of the fact that I didn’t miss a single break shot and only scratched off one. It didn’t matter though. I kept trying not because I felt I even had a remote chance of making it into the top 8, but because, for me:

• It’s such a rare pleasure to run balls on such perfect conditions.
• It was the closest thing to a professional straight pool tournament that I’d ever played in.
• I was playing the best game in the world with the challenges of being in the middle of the room with spectators watching, players walking by, and the 100 degree heat.
• Getting coached by John Schmidt. I would’ve played some scotch with him if there was time.
• How often would I get the chance to play my favorite game alongside some of my favorite players at it?
• Lastly, I love the game so much that I believed every dollar I spent was going toward a good cause. Steve, Heather, and Charlie put this entire thing together with their own money and some donations from others. It wouldn’t have been possible without them. That alone was worth my contribution.

On Saturday morning, after I dogged out of the amateur event, I went downstairs to pout and get the taste out of my mouth. I ran a 29 & some other 10′s. As I sat and sulked, John started on a run. He appeared to be struggling a little with his speed but the next thing you know, he’s at 50, then 100, then 150, then 200. He ran 204 balls before finally narrowly missing a bank shot after getting a little funny.

Watching John run those balls was so inspiring. Even when he got out of line, he just sucked it up and cinched the ball in the hole with good speed. That was the one important thing he shared with me. He said to just cinch the ball and make sure I made it when I got out of line. Don’t try to do too much with the cue ball. Of course I know better, but it was still a nice reminder. He also helped me with my side-pocket break shot (I still prefer the traditional corner-pocket break the best).

I am absolutely IN LOVE with straight pool. I could play nothing but straight pool for days and days…. I love it so much!!! So, after it was all said and done, I only put up two 29′s, only one was during the actual challenge. Both times, I made my third break shot and had a tricky opening shot. I’m so close to making a break through…

I would like to thank everyone that was kind enough to show their support by purchasing an Inspiration Bracelet from me at the tournament!

I have so much more to share, but I will leave you with these photos for now.

2010 Super Billiards Expo [Frank-ventures]

Day 1 of the SBE
Through the eyes of Frank T. Dawg

18 Photos

2010 Super Billiards Expo

March 17-21, 2010
Valley Forge Convention Center
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

28 Photos

2010 Super Billiards Expo [Pool Shirts]

March 17-21, 2010
Valley Forge Convention Center
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

11 Photos

2010 Super Billiards Expo [Frank's Photo Contest]

March 17-21, 2010
Valley Forge Convention Center
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

73 Photos

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