Dear Gentle Readers,
Jumpin’ Jehosophat! Don’t you just love Derby?
For any newbies, here’s my very amateurish, and quite possibly imprecise, overview:
Corporate Good Guys: Diamond Billiards and Accu-Stats … helping to keep professional pool on life support in America. (They aren’t the only ones championing pool on a national level, but it’s not a long list, is it, Mark?) In addition, there are sponsors of the event and of the players which are also much appreciated.
So … ace pool tables combined with live streams and follow-up DVDs. Great job guys! And, terrific commentators! (As Don Hewitt told his correspondents when he launched 60 Minutes - - “Tell me a story.” These guys do.)
Location: Elizabeth Indiana, just outside Louisville.
What’s to see?
> One-Pocket, my fave! (Last year’s champ, my sweetie, Efren.)
> 9-ball banks, I’m liking this more and more. (Dennis.)
> 9-ball, a crowd fave. (Shane.)
> All around champion (Master of the Table) determined from, I believe, the one-pocket, banks and 9-ball rankings. (Dennis.)
> The one-pocket Hall of Fame dinner … lift a glass to Mr. Beard … auld lang syne.
> Straight pool, sort of an afterthought … hope it garners more respect.
> Bigfoot 10-ball Challenge … run by a rather sketchy LA grifter. It’s 10-ball on a 10-footer and it kicks off the Derby Classic.
> Banks ring game .. fascinating and fun.
> Some mini tourneys … I’m not sure about them.
> After-hours matches … boy do I miss TAR! I do hope someone else is streaming the action.
> Louie Roberts Action and Entertainment award for … well, action and entertainment. There is a bittersweet aspect this year. Turns out casinos don’t like, and try to disallow, certain off-corporate gambling. Plus, sneaky government gaming boyos have threatened to watchdog the proceedings.
Be careful!
The Derby started, and will continue, with the Bigfoot Challenge. (Interesting that Earl, the lover of big tables isn’t involved.) Banks (375 entrants!) is going on nearby.
Bigfoot began with a rout. Dennis beat Chris 11-1. A lot of camera time for Chris - - sitting in his chair. I guess I understand why this was done, it’s part of the drama of the tournament.
Some comments from the commentators (Danny, Billy and Mark) …
“He’s gonna sleep in the street with that shot.”
“The 10-ball found gravity.”
“The Filipino players find a way to go from ball to ball.”
“Don’t shoot a shot where if you miss it you can lose and if you make it, you can’t win.”
“When you’re scheduled to play next on the table, watch the match, learn what kind of break is working.”
“See ya later. Goodbye.”
“Oh I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.”
On a tight safety: “Oh, that’s a dirty shot.”
“We might never know what he intended because pool players fib when you ask them.”
On a well-played safety: “Rails, distance and barriers.”
“He has the perfect angle to be eliminated.”
“You don’t always have to run balls to run out. You can run balls to play a safety.”
“When you get a player from Manila, you know he’s going to know how to handle the cue ball.”
“He tried to body-English it in.”
“Rodney isn’t known for great safety play.”
On cloth colors: “Blue is my favorite color in a Rolls Royce.”
“His backers just took a drink of whiskey.”
“He’s still eating. He’s got a 7-course meal, that guy behind Mike.”
To himself: “Shut up Diliberto, wait until the ball stops rolling.”
Watching a replay: “He got position again!”
Near the end of a match: “Tuttto finita.”
Derby is my life,
Sunny
P. S. It’s fun to see audience pans during the breaks. It was nice to see that happy, smiling gentleman sitting front and center again this year.
P. P. S. The very first match on the very first day … a viewer disaster for me. Anyone else have freezing problems? I switched from my notebook to my iPad. Same. Desperately (pant pant), I went to my iPhone 6 Plus. Whew! Then, next match, the stream to my laptop was splendid. Overall, the technology is getting better and better, year after year. I’ve learned not to glitch-panic. Mostly.
Jumpin’ Jehosophat! Don’t you just love Derby?
For any newbies, here’s my very amateurish, and quite possibly imprecise, overview:
Corporate Good Guys: Diamond Billiards and Accu-Stats … helping to keep professional pool on life support in America. (They aren’t the only ones championing pool on a national level, but it’s not a long list, is it, Mark?) In addition, there are sponsors of the event and of the players which are also much appreciated.
So … ace pool tables combined with live streams and follow-up DVDs. Great job guys! And, terrific commentators! (As Don Hewitt told his correspondents when he launched 60 Minutes - - “Tell me a story.” These guys do.)
Location: Elizabeth Indiana, just outside Louisville.
What’s to see?
> One-Pocket, my fave! (Last year’s champ, my sweetie, Efren.)
> 9-ball banks, I’m liking this more and more. (Dennis.)
> 9-ball, a crowd fave. (Shane.)
> All around champion (Master of the Table) determined from, I believe, the one-pocket, banks and 9-ball rankings. (Dennis.)
> The one-pocket Hall of Fame dinner … lift a glass to Mr. Beard … auld lang syne.
> Straight pool, sort of an afterthought … hope it garners more respect.
> Bigfoot 10-ball Challenge … run by a rather sketchy LA grifter. It’s 10-ball on a 10-footer and it kicks off the Derby Classic.
> Banks ring game .. fascinating and fun.
> Some mini tourneys … I’m not sure about them.
> After-hours matches … boy do I miss TAR! I do hope someone else is streaming the action.
> Louie Roberts Action and Entertainment award for … well, action and entertainment. There is a bittersweet aspect this year. Turns out casinos don’t like, and try to disallow, certain off-corporate gambling. Plus, sneaky government gaming boyos have threatened to watchdog the proceedings.
Be careful!
The Derby started, and will continue, with the Bigfoot Challenge. (Interesting that Earl, the lover of big tables isn’t involved.) Banks (375 entrants!) is going on nearby.
Bigfoot began with a rout. Dennis beat Chris 11-1. A lot of camera time for Chris - - sitting in his chair. I guess I understand why this was done, it’s part of the drama of the tournament.
Some comments from the commentators (Danny, Billy and Mark) …
“He’s gonna sleep in the street with that shot.”
“The 10-ball found gravity.”
“The Filipino players find a way to go from ball to ball.”
“Don’t shoot a shot where if you miss it you can lose and if you make it, you can’t win.”
“When you’re scheduled to play next on the table, watch the match, learn what kind of break is working.”
“See ya later. Goodbye.”
“Oh I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.”
On a tight safety: “Oh, that’s a dirty shot.”
“We might never know what he intended because pool players fib when you ask them.”
On a well-played safety: “Rails, distance and barriers.”
“He has the perfect angle to be eliminated.”
“You don’t always have to run balls to run out. You can run balls to play a safety.”
“When you get a player from Manila, you know he’s going to know how to handle the cue ball.”
“He tried to body-English it in.”
“Rodney isn’t known for great safety play.”
On cloth colors: “Blue is my favorite color in a Rolls Royce.”
“His backers just took a drink of whiskey.”
“He’s still eating. He’s got a 7-course meal, that guy behind Mike.”
To himself: “Shut up Diliberto, wait until the ball stops rolling.”
Watching a replay: “He got position again!”
Near the end of a match: “Tuttto finita.”
Derby is my life,
Sunny
P. S. It’s fun to see audience pans during the breaks. It was nice to see that happy, smiling gentleman sitting front and center again this year.
P. P. S. The very first match on the very first day … a viewer disaster for me. Anyone else have freezing problems? I switched from my notebook to my iPad. Same. Desperately (pant pant), I went to my iPhone 6 Plus. Whew! Then, next match, the stream to my laptop was splendid. Overall, the technology is getting better and better, year after year. I’ve learned not to glitch-panic. Mostly.
