Once again Earl shows his lack of class, what a disgrace

I'm not so sure that this was showing a lack of class as much as it was showing frustration and disappointment. I would imagine that Earl came in without a doubt of winning another US Open and when he didn't his disappointment came out.

Everyone deals with losing in different ways. With Earl he's not happy just to be there (like I would).....he is there to win.
 
Wedge said:
We will never grow the sport if we continue to have our past champions act like a bunch of cry babies!!! Lets have an Earl vs. Grady "I feel so sorry for myself because I am past my prime" challenge match!
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So if you removed Earl and Grady, two of the all time most beloved men in pool, then you're saying pool would be what, bigger, more popular? The masses are staying away from pool because Earl acts up now and again?
And Grady, who has been black-balled by the BCA and others in the industry for a long time, now feels that at the end of a great career and lifetime in our great sport, he gets NO RESPECT from the powers that run the sport. So he's bitter. And so THAT is ruining pools image in the eyes of Joe Public???

Get real.

By the way, Grady's wife just died 2 months ago after a long battle with cancer. Where's your dignity?

There's a few pro players that I really don't care for. But out of plain respect for what they've accomplished, I don't light into them on a public forum.

What you wrote was, in my opinion, a very tasteless and demeaning post.

There are some real passionate fans of Earl & Grady around the country.
Utter those same remarks in some hardcore poolroom here in the USA and you may not get out without, at least, a WEDGIE!

And you would deserve it.
 
WOW, when Earl was winning, all of the nah say'ers were silent, no "Earl is on a roll", "this is the Earl I know" NOTHING!!!!. Now that he is out, here they come!! I wonder who the real "disgrace" is?:rolleyes:
 
Great post

mikeyfrost said:
He's a hate him or love him kind of guy. Off the table pick 5 players that do more for others...go ahead...I'll wait! Earl practices in the public. You can talk to him all you want when you see him. I've never once seen him be an ass to someone right off the bat for no apparent reason. If you heckle him, don't worry he's got some good come backs. He's a country boy. If you don't or can't understand that, well that's fine but you'll find a long long line of people who will back Earl up in a heart beat. For most of us who have had a chance to see him in gear and happy, you'd know why we root for him so hard.

He's not a mechanical player. He's all heart. He runs out, most of the time people don't agree with his shot selection, but Earl needs to let his stroke out. I doubt ANYONE will even be playing 9-Ball in about 5 years. Earl wears his heart on his sleeve, probably to his detriment in some cases. He jumps full cue and shoots before the cue ball stops rolling. Probably the most natural and pure talent the game has ever seen.

Next time I see any player rake the balls through a fit, whine or complain I'm starting a post. Probably will get to make one during the next Mika Immonen match. If Earl gets looked at on 100x in the microscope so should everyone else.
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Mickey,
You been on a real roll lately with some of your comments. Good job here as well with several really good points.

Mika is one player who really, really pouts when he doesn't get a good roll.
And when he's playing great, he's got a thicker aura of arrogance about him than any player I ever saw. EVER. And he's not like that always either, just sometimes. But because he's not verbal with his behavior, he's more, and I hate to say it, but he's more prissy than most when he's really rolling good, he gets a free pass from fans who may not know some of the stuff he pulls. I concur with what you said...."How come he (or other great players) are not under the 100X microscope?" But for me to get on here and say that Mika, one of the very best players alive today, is bad for pool would make me sound stupid. "I" may not care for him, but he's got plenty of rabid fans. I respect Mika greatly for all that he's accomplished in pool. You'll just never find me rooting for him.

But I would never, ever show anyone such disrespect as to write all types of assorted vulgarities about them like many "fans" have done to Earl.

I'm also agreeing with my buddy SpiderWebbComm...I'm not coming on here and just blanketly ignoring the wrong way Earl may have acted at times, but let's be real. What crime has he committed? There are pro players who've been arrested for drug trafficing, sex offences, etc, etc.

And Earl is public enemy number 1 because he mouths off when he gets agitated?????
 
Terry Ardeno said:
There's a few pro players that I really don't care for. But out of plain respect for what they've accomplished, I don't light into them on a public forum.

What you wrote was, in my opinion, a very tasteless and demeaning post.
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I would take it a step further and say that the original poster's thread topic is tasteless and demeaning. The hyperbolic title alone, "Once again Earl shows his lack of class, what a disgrace" indicates that the original poster is a persistent "Earl basher."

Earl's raking the balls simply means that he's conceding the game. Earl is his own worst critic with extremely high standards and expectations. Since Earl had ball-in-hand and missed making the 2-ball, maybe he felt that he didn't deserve to win.

As for Earl's covering his ears, maybe he was caught off-guard by the announcement and just didn't handle it very well. I don't always approve of Earl's conduct but I'm sure it doesn't justify his being vilified in public forum.
 
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One more thread about Earl, already generating well over 100 posts in just one day. Earl is an enigma, someone we all have an opinion about, whether it be pro or con. There is no one else in pool like him, and may never be. People flock to his matches just to see what he will do next. He is constantly sporting some new gadget or gimmick to help him win again. And we all know he may erupt at any time. It reminds me of racing fans who come to the track hoping to see an accident.

The truth be known, when Earl was winning he didn't need any accessories to help him. He did it the old fashioned way, running out rack after rack. Earl was on top for a good fifteen years, before his inner demons began to take control of him. I can remember directing many tournaments in the 80's and 90's, where I never had the least bit of trouble with Earl. He was the one giving all the trouble to his opponents back then.

All that has changed now. It began about ten or eleven years ago and has only worsened with time. As a tournament director, I must constantly be on my guard when Earl is playing, more so than for any other player. I monitor his matches carefully, hoping to prevent any embarrassing blow ups. I don't have an opinion on the causes for his behavior or a diagnosis for his aliments. I only know that I have a job to do as a tournament director. And part of that job is to see the event run as smoothly as possible. When there is one player who I must single out for attention match after match, that is a problem for me. In this tournament and in others before it, I have handled it the best way I can. I know that Earl has a fragile state of mind and can easily lose control. But I also know that Earl is not insane and he can comprehend what he is doing.

Earl has shown me respect for my job and I try to show him respect for his. It is true we have clashed at times, and may well again. I would say we have a tenuous relationship, but a relationship nonetheless. I accept this as the norm between Earl and I. And as long as he is playing and I am directing we will have to deal with each situation as it comes up.

In my opinion Earl's skills have diminished with time. He is no longer the dominant player he once was. I'm sure this weighs heavily on him because pool is his lifes work. Some can go quietly into the sunset. But Earl Strickland is not one of them. He's going down kicking and screaming. Unfortunately for him and his legacy, it is not always in an appropriate manner.
 
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I saw it. Earl shouldn't have done it but it didn't strike me as all that terrible. Charlie was on the hill and would almost certainly have run out. Earl shook Charlie's hand. It wasn't a typical Earl blowup.

He's kind of like Ted Williams - he gets mad at himself and loses control. At least he didn't spit at the crowd or throw his cue and hit a little old lady on the head, as Ted did once with his bat after a strikeout (he didn't mean for the bat to fly out of his hand, it slipped during the tantrum). Like Ted Williams, he's a very high strung guy and demands perfection from himself, and that must have something to do with his success.

I wouldn't want to be Earl or Williams, despite their great talent, but I do love watching them when they're on their game (past tense for Williams, of course, who's now in a freezer in Arizona). So I cut Earl some slack, just as I did Williams during my boyhood.

Final thought - I think it's in pretty poor taste to speculate on Earl's mental health in a public forum. We, at least the vast majority of us, don't know the man, and those that do probably don't know him all that well. Criticize his behavior all you want, but please stop short of saying he's mentally ill. His public behavior is that of a high strung perfectionist, which you find in all walks of life. Are they all mentally ill?
 
Earl Strickland is the most entertaining player ever who has done the most for pool ratings.

Does anyone think the poker companies are cringing when Phil Hellmuth throws a fit?

Pool needs Earl on the Mosconi cup team or Men's pool may dwindle from tv forever.

Well until someone changes the format to make it watchable for Joe public.
 
The funny thing is, Earl doesnt have to win a bunch of stuff to get on the Mosconi Cup team. I dont know how many times I heard commentators say " it look's like sos and so has secured a spot on the Monsoni Cup team " or " another big win and they will be on the Mosconi Cup team ". Who in their right mind can say the Mosconi Cup would be half as good without him.........Keep it up Earl and keep everyone talking !
 
$TAKE HOR$E said:
The funny thing is, Earl doesnt have to win a bunch of stuff to get on the Mosconi Cup team. I dont know how many times I heard commentators say " it look's like sos and so has secured a spot on the Monsoni Cup team " or " another big win and they will be on the Mosconi Cup team ". Who in their right mind can say the Mosconi Cup would be half as good without him.........Keep it up Earl and keep everyone talking !
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I don't watch the Mosconi Cup BECAUSE of Earl. I don't like watching people act like immature brats. I don't watch Jerry Springer for the same reason. I don't find that sort of immature lack of self control to be entertaining. To the contrary.. I think it's rather sickening and when people erupt into uncontrolled fits I leave and I would never pay to watch them play again.

I'm not bashing Earl Strickland. He is a great player and it would be impossible to agrue that. But... as Jay says, he's just a troublesome person to have around as you can never know when he will have an eruption. So, when it's my money being spent people who have a record of immature lack of self control won't be getting a penny of this fans money and, imo, nobody in their right mind would pay to watch someone act like a undisciplined 2 yr old.

If I were king, Earl wouldn't play in my tournament. He's lost the privilege by breaking the rules of being a gentelman on too many occasions. He loses the privileges accorded to those who control their emotions and act maturely. Golf has rules that govern mens actions. Pool, to it's detriment, does not. Consequently it's up to the players to act according to their conscience. It's not about Earl. It's about being gentelmen and professionals.
 
I just woke up this morning to see this thread balloon to how many pages since yesterday? LOL! :thumbup:

Whether it is positive or negative, the very mention of that name -- EARL -- is going to attract the masses.

You wonder why he's in the Mosconi Cup? Therein lies your answer. :wink:
 
JAM said:
I just woke up this morning to see this thread balloon to how many pages since yesterday? LOL! :thumbup:

Whether it is positive or negative, the very mention of that name -- EARL -- is going to attract the masses.

You wonder why he's in the Mosconi Cup? Therein lies your answer. :wink:
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ta da! In the media, any attention is "good" attention... people tune in to see what happens, just like everyone else here...
 
allen_jr said:
ta da! In the media, any attention is "good" attention... people tune in to see what happens, just like everyone else here...
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And why are you awake this early? You must be a working stiff like me! :wink:
 
Fleece3 said:
WOW, when Earl was winning, all of the nah say'ers were silent, no "Earl is on a roll", "this is the Earl I know" NOTHING!!!!. Now that he is out, here they come!! I wonder who the real "disgrace" is?:rolleyes:
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what do you mean all the naysayers were silent? There were 47 threads about how good Earl was playing and acting. The fact that so many felt the need to comment on how "good" Earl was acting is a testament to the way he usually acts.

I and everyone knows what a legend Earl is on the pool table. There is no debating that he is one of the best pool players to ever live. It's also no debatable that he gets out of line at his "workplace" on a regular basis. I see the argument that he is just frustrated, passionate, etc...

I see those points and I am one of the most competitive people I know. I played college basketball and golf and I'm sure I got out of line several times, but I was 20 years old and also got my ass scolded for it.

This is Earl's job and he does it in front of his fans and national audience repeatedly. If other people acted like he does at their respective workplaces they would not only catch a talking to from their bosses, but most likely get fired. I have no problem with Earl and have interacted with him a few times and talked about golf, etc...and he seems like a genuinely good guy.

However, to overlook his behavior simply because he was once the best at his profession is extremely one sided.

I also see all of the posts about a possible medical condition. If he truly needs the meds then he should see someone and take them. I feel sorry for those experiencing some type of behavior disorder, but I don't feel sorry for the ones that choose not to help themselves.
 
Terry Ardeno said:
I'm REAL LATE into this thread but wow, some of the best and worst posts I can remember in a long while. (dsearcy, yours was not a bad one)

Earl has a great deal of respect for and plays well with Buddy Hall, Shannon Daulton, Nick Varner, Allen Hopkins, Keith McCready, Jim Rempe, Kim Davenport, etc. Most of the guys from "his era". Believe it or not, he's on good terms with Oliver Ortmann.

Earl has had a feud with Corey in the past that's since been patched up nicely and they're golfing buds. He was at Archer's wedding to Melanie, as a groomsman.

He had a long standing battle with Charlie Williams that started over a patch that Earl took off and Charlie, as the head honcho of his own pool tour, banned him. CW also banned Corey Deuel and they'e still not exchanging Christmas cards.

Earl has had tiffs with John Schmidt, but I have no idea how they get on nowadays. Earl does not like Souquet, Peach, Immonen or Neils Feijen. Most probably because of the Mosconi Cup encounters.

And every other pro player has some peers he likes and some he does not like. Just like all us guys here...some members we like, some we don't.

Most every sport is the same. And classroom. And workplace.
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It is so refreshing to read your posts on AzBilliards Discussion Forum. I always know what to expect, and I am always pleasantly satisfied after the read. Thanks for your contributions to this forum, Terry. It is what makes AzBilliards Discussion Forum rock. In fact, if there were more people with your enthusiasm for pool in the American pool culture, pool just might have a chance to advance in the sport ranks. :wink:

I always remembered this quote from my counterpart when he got grumpy after a loss. I'd tell him to let go of it, when I saw him struggling with disgust, anger, disappointment, all of the usual emotions one feels when losing in a tournament.

His retort was always this: Show me a loser who likes to lose, and I'll show you a loser.

I don't know why, but that quote reminds me of this thread! :p
 
mikeyfrost said:
I hope everyone on this board loses with grace...he shook Charlie's hand and looked to say good game or something cuz Charlie didn't react bad. He's old school, wants to win by beating you not cuz you hang an 8 ball. He showed some heart, I woulda threw all the balls off the table while Van Van twirled a 6 on me, JK. Seriously though you guys got him under the microscope because he doesnt lose as well as others sometimes.

Anyone ever see Nevel take a tough loss, yikes!
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You're making it seem like Earl was reacting to a tough loss. Is that how you really read this???

Raking the last game wasn't bad at all, in case anyone thinks it was. He actually didn't rake the balls. After giving up ball-in-hand, he conceded the game. End of story. He did so by hitting an object ball with his cue tip. It was a concession with little fanfare. He directly went to Charlie and shook his hand.

The part that makes him look bad isn't the concession. It was everything else. He complained throughout the match that Charlie was playing slowly and racking slowly. Neither of which were true. Charlie is a notoriously slow player, yet he actually wasn't playing slowly against Earl. And he kept talking to the crowd while Charlie was shooting. And I could hear him while I was on the other side of the table, so it was loud enough to be considered disrespect while the opponent was at the table.

Earl complained when people cheered for him (Earl). "Don't cheer for me. I'm not the type of guy you want to be cheering for," he said.

At the end of the match, he covered his ears when the crowd was cheering for him after Ken Shuman's announcement. Not only did he cover his ears, he closed his eyes tightly, winced while looking like he was holding his breath and squatted in a half fetal position.

Folks, please don't try to make this all sugar coaty and normal. It's not normal. He's one of the greatest players of our time. I desperately want to see him shine without the scuff marks. Surely those of you who consider him a friend would rather that he gets help rather than continue this masquerade that he's fine, misunderstood and acts like any other person would. He needs to get help, in my opinion.

Fred
 
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You can see Earl coming apart. First Earl tries to start a fight with his own self. When self doesn't fight back... he then turns to his opponent. With not much fight there either... he goes for the crowd...big mistake... the crowd has a left hook like Tex Cobb and Earl is down for the count. The crowd remains undefeated against Earl. Earls next match is Self Control who also maintains a winning record over Earl............ Good Luck Earl!
 
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Bigjohn said:
You can see Earl coming apart. First Earl tries to start a fight with his own self. When self doesn't fight back... he then turns to his opponent. With not much fight there either... he goes for the crowd...big mistake... the crowd has a left hook like Tex Cobb and Earl is down for the count. The crowd remains undefeated against Earl. Earls next match is Self Control who also maintains a winning record over Earl............ Good Luck, Earl.
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lol, has anyone seen the movie "Fight Club"? Maybe Earl has the same disorder that Edward Norton had.
 
JAM said:
And why are you awake this early? You must be a working stiff like me! :wink:
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Well, actually I'm cheating... I'm living in France for 3 months, so I'm 6 hours ahead :) But not all my clients know that, so they think I'm up real early... shhh

Its amazing what you can do nowadays with email and skype!
 
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