Discipline

Focus

Imagine

Integrity

Passion

Strength

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I spent this weekend in the Twin Cities at the annual MCC (Midwest Coin Concepts) Singles-Scotch-Teams event. This was my first year participating and I guess they don’t normally open it to players outside of their league system (in the St. Cloud area). This year, they charged an extra $5 entry for the non-league players to participate.

It wasn’t a bad deal for us since the other option was to drive 3.5 hours to the Northern Lights Casino in Walker to play in the MNACS Singles and have to pay for a hotel and play in pretty small fields (as it turned out). We were happy to stay close to home for this one.

Singles

I flew in Wed night and the singles started Thursday morning for me. I opted to play in the Men’s A since the women’s division didn’t begin until much later and it was a much smaller field anyway. Worst case scenario, if I got knocked out of the A’s I could jump in with the ladies.

Of the 66 players, I cashed, finishing 7-8th. I was pretty proud of my performance considering the tricky equipment adjustments. It was bar table 8-ball on Valley’s (with Flintstones rock cue balls and racks so tight it’s like playing Operation to remove them), a short race to four, loser-breaks format. The two matches that I lost were the only two that went to the hill.

Pros & Cons from this weekend’s event

Scotch Doubles

Scotch Doubles kicked off Friday at noon. Mike and I agreed that we would have fun and be nice to each other first and foremost. I made him promise to stay positive no matter what happened.

There were 32 teams in the scotch and it was handicapped. Races were to 4, 5, or 6 depending on your skill level. We were racing to 6. We only played one other 6 team and a 5 in the finals. Everyone else was getting two games.

We flew through the first four matches giving up only 2 games in 4 matches. At one point, we won 20 consecutive games. That was fun. In the quarter-finals, we drew the 5 team and couldn’t do anything right. They played great against us and we lost.

The next morning, we returned for an 8a.m. match against a 4 team. they had finished their last match at 4:30a.m. and hadn’t gone to bed. The poor team was so delirious, they had a system for time-outs and stripes/solids. Anyway, we beat them and came back to double-dip the 5 team in the finals 6-1, 6-1. It was poetic…

The Confrontation

On a side note, there was a little bit of drama in our first scotch match. We drew a team with the sweetest lady and the guy that knocked me out of the singles. During the third game, I went for a break out that dunked the 8 ball. As it was going in, he yelled, “GET IN THERE!”

I think the more and more I play this game, the harder and harder it has become for me to bite my tongue and not speak up for what I believe in. So, here it starts…

Me: “Seriously? Is that how it’s going to be?”

Him: “What?”

Me: “Well, it’s one thing to root for your partner but it’s another thing to root against your opponent. That’s just a little tacky is all.”

Him: “Well, you missed a foul that cost you the match.”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Him: “Yeah, I fouled and you didn’t even call it.”

Me: “Obviously I didn’t see it and assumed you were honest. And you’re proud of this?”

Him: “Hey, I stood up and walked around the table. I gave you a chance to say something.”

Wow… I was left speechless. After promising Mike that we would have a fun, positive scotch tournament, I made the decision to keep this to myself and not share it with him yet. I would just do my best to beat this guy to bloody pulp (mentally and on the pool table) and deal with it afterward.

There was one point when he had a close hit and I stopped him to call a ref. He looked at me like it wasn’t necessary so I said, “Well, you’ve already admitted that you don’t call fouls on yourself so why wouldn’t I call a ref?”

People like this amaze me. And it was like he was so proud of the fact that he got away with something. That’s so sad. That’s not how I would want to win. I have a conscience and I have integrity. I have never knowingly fouled and not called it on myself, even if it cost me the match. That’s just how it is.

After we beat them, maybe I should’ve refrained but I couldn’t help myself. “Karma’s a b*tch,” I said. So, of course, then I had to explain to Mike what the A-hole said to me. His actions were simply inexcusable.

In fact, I even posed the question here —> http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=179583

Teams

I got the opportunity to play with Mike’s masters team in the handicapped teams division. We were giving up the world in points and cruised through the first match. Unfortunately, one of our players had a prior engagement during the second match so we only had four players. We all knew this going in and still played our hearts out. I won all of my games and had a couple table runs to show for. We ended up losing the second match by only 11 points (the difference of one more table run).

We had a long break and checked out the prime rib buffet as a team and goofed around for another hour or two before we finally got to play again. In our third match, we played a strong team that we were giving 35 points to. Unfortunately, I did not show up at all. I couldn’t get out from anywhere. It was so frustrating! I don’t know what was wrong with. No excuses. I just played horribly! I believe I cost us the match. That was disappointing…

Overall

Though it was a bittersweet weekend, I still had a lot of fun and met some very nice people (for the most part). Of the three events, I cashed in one, won the second, and stunk up the third one. Though many of the Cons were significant, the Pros definitely outweighed them. Overall, it was a good weekend of pool.

I’m looking forward to flying out Wednesday for Valley Forge. YAY!!!

Mismatched balls, drawn on spot, and super tight rack

I was perplexed by the equipment

Mike discovers someone's monster Monster

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This month’s theme, Pool and the Mainstream will be hosted by NYCGrind.com and will be located at:

http://nycgrind.com/?p=9778

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January

Chalk It Up, The Proper Way

Samm’s Cue Tips

Many people do not realize that there is a proper way to chalk the pool cue. When we use this ideal chalking technique, it not only lengthens the life of the chalk, but keeps the cue tip and ferrule healthy as well by minimizing miscues. [continue reading...]

The Complete Athlete: Thorsten “The Hitman” Hohmann

Pro Vision

The Complete Athlete is not training only at the table. He/she is training mentally and physically away from the poolroom as well. The Complete Athlete builds their strength and endurance through exercise, consumption, and a well-balanced life. [continue reading...]

February

The Big ‘Break’ Theory

Samm’s Cue Tips

Who doesn’t want to smash the rack wide open the way the pros do on TV? You don’t need to be a professional to have an effective break. An effective break means maximizing the energy in the cue ball and spreading the object balls widely. [continue reading...]

Sylver Ochoa on Adaptability

Pro Vision

Many top players have a best game. They might be a strong 9-ball player but maybe they don’t have enough patience for one-pocket. Maybe they’re a strong straight pool player but can’t out move you at bar table 8-ball. It’s pretty rare to find a player that has excelled in so many different games against the best in each of those disciplines. 24-year-old Sylver Ochoa has become quite the all-around player, adapting to any game under any circumstance against any player. [continue reading...]

March

The Bridge to Victory

Samm’s Cue Tips

In order to have a winning pool game, you must have a winning bridge. The ever-important bridge is the hand that remains on the table and securely balances the cue while it’s in motion. [continue reading...]

Jennifer Barretta: Balancing Family & Pool

Pro Vision

Before relocating to NYC, Barretta grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania in a small family with only one older brother. Her athletic life began from a young age when she played competitive tennis through her teenage years before moving on to softball and later body building. Always finding ways to improve and excel, Barretta believes, “any kind of competition is good.” [continue reading...]

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The flowers are blooming, tournament season is in full force, and I’m getting ready for the Super Billiards Expo. This will be my 8th consecutive year and though I’m not a huge fan of the race-to-4 / best-2-out-of-3 / single-elim format, there’s something special about this tourney that makes it one of the highly anticipated ones for me. It’s become a staple on tournament calendar.

This year, I will be running around again with PoolDawg’s mascot, Frank. This year, PoolDawg will be offering $25 in Dawg Dough to five lucky winners!

The top five most fun, creative, original photos will receive $25 PoolDawg gift certificates!

So, if you see me with Frank, make sure you come get your photo taken.
[Please try to keep them clean]

Here are some of my favs from last year:

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