Surprisingly, these death rates have been decreasing since 1990 — especially in women under 50. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness. In 2011, there are more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. and this number continues to grow with the efforts of foundations such as Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

A well-respected custom cue maker from Englewood, Colorado is leading a quest of his own to raise money for this organization. Chris Byrne sets his sights high for a cause he believes so strongly in. “Stick it to Breast Cancer” hopes to raise over $10,000 for breast cancer by auctioning high-end custom cues from cue builders all around the country.

About seven years ago, Byrne’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and after his good friend Bob McBride’s wife passed away from the same illness he knew it was time to put his plan to action. “It makes you realize how short life is. I could’ve lost my mom. I feel very blessed that she’s still around. And then with my friend’s wife, she was only in her late 30′s,” Byrne recalls.

Byrne began spreading the word at the 2010 Super Billiards Expo, recruiting his fellow cue makers to build a unique cue for his cause. Many agreed and the response was overwhelming. This exclusive collection includes cues from such notable cue makers as Southwest, Ron Haley, Jacoby, Brent Hartman of BHQ, Eric Crisp of Sugartree Cues, Tony Zinzola, Mike Webb, Murray Tucker, and possibly Bill Schick. “There are actually quite a few more guys that wanted to donate but couldn’t, just because of the time constraints. Some of these guys are on a 10 year waiting list,” explained Byrne.

Among these original designs, Jacoby’s one of a kind cue has a pink coral and red coral ribbon inlay. The Jacoby logo is also in pink and it’s personally hand signed by David Jacoby himself. Southwest cues also engraved the ribbon logo into the joint pin. These auctions will run through the end of the year.

The first two auctions have already raised over $4,300. A new auction will run every 5-10 days for a new collectible custom cue worth anywhere from $500 to $3,500 with 100% of the proceeds going toward Susan G. Koman for the Cure®. In conjunction with the auction, a raffle will also be running through the duration of the fundraiser. Supporters will receive a raffle ticket for every $10 donated. The idea for the raffle was a last minute bonus when Byrne generously contributed an extra cue of his own. “Mine is the raffle cue and I also have one in the auction. I wanted to do something to help out the people that couldn’t afford to bid on the big cues.”

Byrne has been making cues since 1994 and builds about 25 cues a year, focusing on the higher end player cues. Check out his work at cbcues.com. More information on the Stick it to Breast Cancer fundraiser can be found at AzBilliards.com/stickit. See current and past auction listings, make a donation for a chance at the raffle cue, and learn more about breast cancer.

Breast Cancer statistics provided by the nonprofit organization, BreastCancer.org, the leading online resource for breast health and breast cancer information and support, and a dynamic peer support community. Also, learn more about Susan G. Koman for the Cure® at Komen.org, whose mission is to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by advancing research, education, screening, and treatment. Special thanks to Sean Thamrongpradith and Don Posri for their assistance with the “photo shoot.”

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Shot #1

In the semifinals against Alex Pagulayan, Darren runs these final three balls to move ahead 7-6. The most natural path for the cue ball, using some helping right-hand spin, sends it around the table three rails for position on the 8. The option that Darren has is to decide which pocket he wants to shoot the 8 ball.

Option A plays position to shoot the 8 ball in the corner pocket. If he’s able to get perfect on this ball, it’s not a bad choice. However, if he comes up short he could be left with a difficult shot. If he overruns position he will be flirting with the side pocket. Option A leaves a pretty small window for position.

Option B plays position to shoot the 8 ball in the side pocket. This was the option Darren chose. Opting to play the 8 ball in the side pocket affords a much bigger window to still have a good shot. If he comes up short he will send the cue ball around the 9 three rails for position. If he overruns position he can easily go around the table three rails the other direction for the 9 ball. It’s pretty difficult to foil this run out by choosing to play the 8 ball in the side pocket.

Shot #2

In this next example, Darren runs these three balls to advance 4-0 in the finals against Shawn Putnam. Darren is almost straight in on the 6 ball and again, has to decide which pocket he wants to play the 8 ball. I’ve seen many players in this instance just stop the cue ball guaranteeing they will have a shot on the 8. This may be the easier shot but perhaps not the most effective. Take a look at what a professional does.

Option A plays position for the 8 ball in the corner pocket by shooting a stop shot. The benefit to this option is the easier shot on the 6 ball but on the other hand, the position of the 8 ball can make the nearby side pocket seem awfully big if you end up with too much angle.

Option B plays position for the 8 ball in the side pocket by drawing straight back. This was the option Darren chose. The advantage to getting the cue ball to the center of the table is that, again, he has a much bigger window for position on the 8 ball. If he comes up short, he can go around the 9, if he’s straight in he shoots a stop shot, and if he goes too far he goes around the other end of the table; similar to the other example.

There are a couple different schools of thought on this second shot. Some may say the draw shot carries a higher risk of miscuing, which is true. Depending on your style of play, you may prefer less movement on the cue ball. Then, there’s also the rule of “don’t play position when you already have position” which, in this case, could easily apply.

There is one important thing to remember when faced with a situation like this. Of course you always want to select the shot you’re most comfortable shooting but remember, with three balls left on the table you want to be comfortable with all three of them, not just the one. Win more games and have more fun, the way the pros do it!

To purchase the DVD of this match or others like it, go to accu-stats.com and mention this article to receive $5 off.

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It was so nice to be back on the East coast again but it certainly was odd missing the first couple days of the event. This particular tournament holds a lot of sentimental value for us since it was where everything began last year.

Unfortunately, we were unable to arrive until Tuesday morning on day three and Marc had to start his tournament on the b-side.

What else was new from this year?

Ralf Souquet & Danny DiLiberto were inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.

It was my first time ever attending an industry awards banquet of any sort as an actual guest instead of working it as part of the media. That was fun!

Billy has a little fun with Danny

Ralf & me at HOF dinner

I had an entertaining dinner with the commentary gang & the Pat’s (Fleming Jr. & Sr.) where Billy got us stuck on the highway during rush hour while he was on his cell phone and almost gave Danny a coronary while Jim and I were in the back seat doing commentary for the whole thing. It was comical.

When we finally arrived at dinner, Danny showed us his balancing act.

Jerry and I got to try out the new green screen for the AzBtv set. Pretty sweet!

Our green screen "before"

Our green screen "after"

And, as usual, I got to watch some world class pool from my favorite seat in the house, right next to Julian and the Accu-stats crew.

A Peaceful Julian

2011 US Open Finals from the Accu-stats pit

Complete photo gallery:

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

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My long-running free pool clinic is on its sixth year and after a little shuffling, it now has a now home on Monday nights at Felt.

Next Free Pool Clinic

Monday, October 10

7:00p.m. to 8:30p.m.

Felt Billiards (101 W. Floyd Ave. in Englewood)

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This past weekend, my dear friend and student Aimee Peterson won the local preliminary round qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Championships in Florida. I have SO much respect for Aimee because she not only works hard on her game, but she works very hard. She has a super important full time job which occupies much of her time and leaves her very little chance to practice. However, I’ve always said that she has the most beautiful, natural mechanics that I’ve seen.

I am super excited for her to be going to Florida! Thinking about it reminds me of my first US Am in Berlin, Connecticut in 2004. That was actually quite a miserable experience but I will never forget the feeling of being in this new pool room surrounded by so many great players that I’d never met or seen before.

Since then, this was my first of the past four years that I did not compete in or qualify to go to the Championships. The worst part is that there were enough women in the qualifier this year to take TWO! It’s usually Aimee and me in the end and I would have loved to have gone with her this year. Oh well, if I can’t go, she’s definitely deserving of it.

I will just have to settle for following the online updates and pulling for her from home. Go, Aimee!!!

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