20 Writers. 10 Things.

A collection of the best writing in pool.

Welcome to the 22nd Edition of PoolSynergy!

I’m so thrilled to be hosting this edition! I can’t believe we’re only a couple months away from our two year anniversary.

I hope everyone out there has been enjoying your summer. And speaking of summer, since that’s traditionally off-peak for pool, I wanted to keep this month’s topic pretty simple. As a result, you’re in for a real treat. I love the variety of submissions we got this month!

The theme: “10 Things”

Basically, list 10 things or reasons for something pool-related, e.g. your 10 favorite ???, 10 reasons why you ???, 10 tips on ???, 10 random pool thoughts???, essentially, a list of 10 anything pool-related.

It’s always a good PS month when the number of contributors are in the double digits, especially when we can welcome some newbies. This month, we are treated with 20 talented writers, and some I think you’ll recognize. *Our first seven are first-time PS’ers.

So, without further adieu, here are this month’s contributors…
(click on photo for summary)

1. Mark *

2. Suzanne *

3. Frank *

4. Marc *

5. Tim *

6. Ivan *

7. Jennifer *

8. Ace

9. Jarno

10. Markus

11. Mike

12. Melinda

13. Michael

14. Jake

15. Gail

16. Mike

17. Gary

18. Samm (me)

19. Alison

20. John

1. Mark Greenhaw

Welcome our first new contributor! Mark began playing in Birmingham, Alabama in 2009 and has since also introduced his loving wife of 20+ years to our world. Next will be his daughters. Mark’s been blogging about his experiences since December 2010 at Pool Padawan. “Padawan” is somewhat of a Jedi rookie which makes “Pool Padawan” quite an appropriate title for his blog.

Mark’s 10: Ten Things I’ve Learned Since Beginning

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2. Suzanne Smith

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3. Frank T. Dawg

Let’s welcome our four-legged friend Frank, the PoolDawg mascot. He’s been to more big events than most pool players. Since one of my favorite things to do is eat, Frank joined the bandwagon and listed ten of the places I’ve taken him for grub during our travels.

Frank’s 10: 10 Places Samm’s Taken me for Chow

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4. Marc Vidal Claramunt

My sweet husband came to my rescue this month when one of our writers backed out at the last minute. I suppose I could’ve just changed the title to “19 Writers. 10 Things.” but it just didn’t quite have the same ring to it. Well, when you’re dealing with 19 different lives with 19 different things going on, this sort of thing is bound to happen. Marc threw this quick list together for us and believe me, the man has seen a lot of pool.

Marc’s 10: The Ten Best 9/10-Ball Players in the World Today

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5. Tim “Trick Shot Tim” Chin

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6. Ivan Lee

We’re graced by the presence of the one and only , Mr. Ivan Lee himself. In the 11th hour, I asked Ivan, Man of the Decade and President of Simonis Cloth (my personal cloth of choice), to send me a quick top ten list so I could complete my circle of 20. Within minutes, I had about 15 items. We whittled them down to 10 but it wasn’t easy. Maybe this will help you make a decision the next time you get your table recovered.

Ivan’s 10: 10 Great Reasons to Choose Simonis Cloth

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7. Jennifer Barretta

Another newcomer that requires no introduction is the “9mm” herself, Jennifer Barretta. The uber talented professional player, body builder, model, actress, and mother has graciously agreed to contribute this month with a clever topic. Since 2009, she’s been giving us a little peek into her world through her blog as she cleverly puts it, “eviscerating my soul for your reading pleasure.”

Jen’s 10: 10 Ways to tell the level of a player without ever seeing them hit a ball

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8. Ace Toscano

We are joined once again by our Ace in the hole. As he puts it, “I’m not one of those ‘give me lemons, I’ll give you lemonade’ kind of guys,” so his list of ten is quite appropriate. Though he’s an infrequent contributor, his blog is always up to date and I hope we will be seeing more of him in the future.

Ace’s 10: Ten Poolroom Things That Make Me Grumble

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9. Jarno Virtanen

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10. Markus Hofstatter

Everyone’s favorite Austrian photographer, Markus Hofstatter has attended and photographed just about every big pool event around the world. This month, he’s sharing some of those great memories with us.

Markus’s 10: 10 Most Exciting Pool Moments

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11. Mike Feiman

Mike’s 10: 10 Things I Love / Hate About Pool

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12. Melinda Bailey

We’re so proud to have on board the lovely Melinda Bailey and her BD’s runner-up for Best Blog of 2010. Though I tried to keep the topic light, Melinda admitted that she struggled to decide on something to write about. I like what she ended up going with. I’m sure we could all use a bit of this advice to ourselves.

Melinda’s 10: The Top Ten Things She Wish She Knew 10-15 years ago

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13. Michael Reddick

Michael Reddick, our official BD’s Best Blog of 2010 award winner also went through a few topics before finally deciding on his list for this month. If you’ve been following his journey through his transformation and progress as a player, you’ll understand why his blog received such acclaim.

Michael’s 10: 10 Quick Ways to Improve Your Game

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14. R.A. “Jake” Dyer

No matter how many different takes we get on a particular subject, we can always count on Jake to remind us of where it all came from. This month is no different. He reviews a list of 10 key players from before our times that were each significant in their own way.

Jak’s 10: 10 Important Dead Guys

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15. Gail Glazebrook

I always love Gail’s stylings! Her witty posts keep us entertained and add a certain spice to the synergy pot each month. I’m sure we can all relate to her list of 10 things this month. I know I can!

Gail’s 10: My Top 10 Donkey Moments

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16. Mike Fieldhammer

“I waded through my collection and plucked out 10 good ones that have meaning to me,” said Mike for his post this month.

Mike’s 10: Top 10 Favorite Pool Photographs

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17. Gary Frerking

What the heck do Kung Fu Panda II, Forrest Gump, Eddie Van Halen shredding through the Eruption solo, and Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun have to do with billiards? Find out in Gary’s article. Hope I didn’t give away too much. His posts are always worth reading and this one is no exception. What a great topic!

Gary’s 10: 10 Ways to Quiet the Mind

Gary will also be hosting our special two-year anniversary edition in October, When Sharks Attack. If you’re interested in contributing, let me know.

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18. Samm (Diep) Vidal

I must have an obsession with “10 things.” Find out why in my post.

My 10: 100 Things

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19. Alison Fischer

Alison Fischer, contributor for NYCGrind.com can be seen at many of the big events and works tirelessly with the rest of the staff to cover our world of pool through their eyes. They can all be truly admired for the work they do and would also be considered some great ambassadors for our sport themselves.

Alison’s 10: Top 10 Best Player Ambassadors for the Sport of Pool

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20. John Biddle

John Biddle has had his hands full recently with all the additions to his family so we’re glad whenever he’s able to get away and join us for the synergy. This month, he shows us 10 shots involving the use of throw, caroms, billiards, rail-first, and more. There’s sure to be something to try here.

John’s 10: 10 Useful (and Fun) Shots

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John will also be hosting next month’s edition of PoolSynergy with his theme: Practice: What Works for You? Don’t miss it! If you’d like to contribute, hit me up.

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