john schmidt

[ShootingArts]

hard heads make winners at every level

John,

When I felt one of your posts was disrespectful, basically BS wolfing about something you could know nothing about I replied in kind. Although I have never lied about or exaggerated anything I have done in the slightest, we both know that these things are only as big as people think they are. I beat the best in one sport simply because I competed with them 20-25 times a year. I only had to win once to beat a legend of the sport, charter member of the hall of fame, a couple of world champions, and a handful of world record holders. Every dog has his day and I had mine now and then. Just like anyone in pool tournaments, I didn't win a hell of a lot more often than I won.

After I felt I was attacked I did twist some things deliberately particularly in a reply to a PM. I said some other things about John in the PM purely to turn some dials on John not particularly thinking they were fair at the time. I thought it was tit for tat and even funny when I did it. For these things I offer John a sincere apology.

One thing I want to make clear, I don't hate John or anyone else for their successes. Although it may seem strange, I was never angry in our exchange. When I come under fire I respond. Anyone that has read my posts for a few years on any forum knows that. I left the thread multiple times myself and kept getting drawn back into it. I finally unsubscribed so I didn't see any more new posts after a good friend asked me to stand down.

John, looks like I won't be traveling again this year. I seem to be in eternal construction mode around here sapping time and dollars for other things. If you pass through New Orleans or the general area let me know and I'll be the host buying you a beer, supper if you have time. I suspect we will both be pleasantly surprised to meet the other. Most folks that know me face to face figure I'm not a bad guy either.

Hu

im going to make this as simple as i can.i thought about this for the last few days.
i was trying to one up a couple people and say smug things to make them mad etc.i guess it worked.
obviously ive offended half of az.didnt mean too.
basically im going to say i got carried away trying to win argument .
im going to extend an apology to gatz,hu,chewning and anybody else that took things to heart.
im going to stay off az though as im not sure im cut out for forums ,im better at talking and relating to people in person.

i know i said alot of arrogant stuff but seriously if i acted like that all the time i would get beat up twice a week. i said those things to aggravate as a last resort from frustration obviously.

im not pointing fingers i said alot of mean stuff and so did others . but
i say lets all forget it and and remember we all like pool so we all have something in common.a friendship has been built on less before.


ive blown up many times before , have been insulted for about 15 years as a player and sometimes i lose it.

anyway i understand if you guys hate me but one thing i cant stand for long is being mean to people or picking on someone, so for that im sorry to everybody .

arguing is like being drunk you say things you dont mean.
i wont hold a grudge because anything anybody said mean towards me or vice verca was during a heated argument.

im going to ohio tommorrow for a week and wont be on here.i had to set things right before i went though.


you know the fighting and insult threads go on for 10 pages but the apology threads die after 1 page,funny how that works.

i know its more exciting and fun when im going at it with people but i have more serious things to do and so do they so lets try too all get along .


hu,chewning and gatz if i see you at derby i owe you guys all a beer.

happy holidays

 

[Marvel]

I know a lot of "pro" players and they all, to a fault sometimes, are egotistical. They all think they are the shizz and it is all about them. Why is that? I dunno but I think it has something to do with why they are as good as they are. Some hide it better than others but every top level player I know thinks they float the boat.

I think some posters tend to crucify these guys for their cockiness because somewhere deep down they wish they had that in them too. They wish they "knew" they were the best instead of always wishing they were.

JMO

People crucify the cocky ones, but love the humble ones. That's the way it is, has alway been, and will always be. And that's the way it should be.

Or do you guys think if Efren would write on AZ, he would be harrased away out of jealousy?

I guess not, Ralf and many others neither..

 

[Island Drive]

im going to make this as simple as i can.i thought about this for the last few days.
i was trying to one up a couple people and say smug things to make them mad etc.i guess it worked.
obviously ive offended half of az.didnt mean too.
basically im going to say i got carried away trying to win argument .
im going to extend an apology to gatz,hu,chewning and anybody else that took things to heart.
im going to stay off az though as im not sure im cut out for forums ,im better at talking and relating to people in person.

i know i said alot of arrogant stuff but seriously if i acted like that all the time i would get beat up twice a week. i said those things to aggravate as a last resort from frustration obviously.

im not pointing fingers i said alot of mean stuff and so did others . but
i say lets all forget it and and remember we all like pool so we all have something in common.a friendship has been built on less before.


ive blown up many times before , have been insulted for about 15 years as a player and sometimes i lose it.

anyway i understand if you guys hate me but one thing i cant stand for long is being mean to people or picking on someone, so for that im sorry to everybody .

arguing is like being drunk you say things you dont mean.
i wont hold a grudge because anything anybody said mean towards me or vice verca was during a heated argument.

im going to ohio tommorrow for a week and wont be on here.i had to set things right before i went though.


you know the fighting and insult threads go on for 10 pages but the apology threads die after 1 page,funny how that works.

i know its more exciting and fun when im going at it with people but i have more serious things to do and so do they so lets try too all get along .


hu,chewning and gatz if i see you at derby i owe you guys all a beer.

happy holidays

Good post John enjoy your holidays...............
BiL

 

[iba7467]

basically im going to say i got carried away trying to win argument .
...
i know i said alot of arrogant stuff but seriously if i acted like that all the time i would get beat up twice a week. i said those things to aggravate as a last resort from frustration obviously.

im not pointing fingers i said alot of mean stuff and so did others . but
i say lets all forget it and and remember we all like pool so we all have something in common.a friendship has been built on less before.

ive blown up many times before , have been insulted for about 15 years as a player and sometimes i lose it.
...
I had to set things right before i went though.
...
happy holidays

Good job John. Everyone makes mistakes. I am glad you were able to see the other side of the coin on this one. If you are ever near Birmingham, AL or St Louis, MO let me know. I'd like to buy you a couple drinks or put you in action (in Alabama).

 

[Marvel]

Glad to see John come on here and make it right. Tap tap tap. Saying you're sorry is a hard thing. It's even harder to see you have something to be sorry for. John is a good guy and I'm glad he made it right.

There has been way too much tention on here lately. Let's just have fun and enjoy what we have.

But John, you still owe $1,000 to charity? the Andrew Cleary foundation should work!

Yeah, John, wellcome back, we all want you here, but you promised to send 1000$ for charity.

Which one are you going to choose?

 

[JAM]

Yeah, John, wellcome back, we all want you here, but you promised to send 1000$ for charity.

Which one are you going to choose?

At this point, due to the economy and lack of industry sponsors, pool is a charity. I'm pretty sure John will be spending $1,000 in pool in the coming months ahead. :wink:

 

[pt109]

forum-1 - world war three - 0

John
just woke up - this made my day
i bet on you in the '06 open and voted for you for the Mosconi
We need more PGA conduct in this game
Your OVERALL conduct justifies our support
Time to win another major!

 

[donnie hale]

Hats off to John

Way to man up John. Your and awesome individual and a GREAT pool player good to have you back!:smile:

 

[dmgwalsh]

im going to make this as simple as i can.i thought about this for the last few days.
i was trying to one up a couple people and say smug things to make them mad etc.i guess it worked.
obviously ive offended half of az.didnt mean too.
basically im going to say i got carried away trying to win argument .
im going to extend an apology to gatz,hu,chewning and anybody else that took things to heart.
im going to stay off az though as im not sure im cut out for forums ,im better at talking and relating to people in person.

i know i said alot of arrogant stuff but seriously if i acted like that all the time i would get beat up twice a week. i said those things to aggravate as a last resort from frustration obviously.

im not pointing fingers i said alot of mean stuff and so did others . but
i say lets all forget it and and remember we all like pool so we all have something in common.a friendship has been built on less before.


ive blown up many times before , have been insulted for about 15 years as a player and sometimes i lose it.

anyway i understand if you guys hate me but one thing i cant stand for long is being mean to people or picking on someone, so for that im sorry to everybody .

arguing is like being drunk you say things you dont mean.
i wont hold a grudge because anything anybody said mean towards me or vice verca was during a heated argument.

im going to ohio tommorrow for a week and wont be on here.i had to set things right before i went though.


you know the fighting and insult threads go on for 10 pages but the apology threads die after 1 page,funny how that works.

i know its more exciting and fun when im going at it with people but i have more serious things to do and so do they so lets try too all get along .


hu,chewning and gatz if i see you at derby i owe you guys all a beer.

happy holidays

Welcome back.

Don't get drawn into these debates anymore.

There is always someone looking to argue with a champion and try to one up him.

See you at the Derby.

 

[JoeyA]

Schmitty

I am not interested in learning from a pro how to control the cueball.

I like reports from tournaments, their opinion about big events, matches that has been played and perhaps how they practice and stuff like that.

If someone has enough time to post 100 times in 2 weeks during the voting process for the Mosconi Cup, or 10+ times during a few days before the World 14-1, sure they can put in atleast a post or three during a month, don't you think?

You bring up an interesting point as usual Roy.

John Schmidt has graced our forum in good times and bad. His posts have entertained, informed and like many of your posts, aggravated a few but he has been one of the few professionals that get on here and talk about pool. His tell it like it is style is unique and when he gets riled he can say some unusual things. At times it's kind of funny and other times, it's kind of sad.

Professional players don't have the right to denigrate forum members but forum members don't have the right to push their buttons either. This kind of thing happens in forums and probably always will unless the leopard changes its spots and that's not going to happen any time soon.

It really is tough staying on this forum even if you're not a pro. There are anonymous and not so anonymous snipers everywhere and if you don't wear some tactical body armor you are surely going to receive some wounds. If you're a professional pool player, it seems you are a lightning rod for flaming and it doesn't surprise me to see pros come on here for a couple of weeks or months and then disappear forever.

What really bothers me is that when two people start arguing (pros or otherwise), and others are so quick to join in. I like to see two people argue by themselves and the rest of us stay out of it. A little herd mentality is a good thing, a lot of herd mentality is a bad thing. Yeah, I stick my nose in other people's business but normally it's when I see the tag-teaming, wolf behavior popping up.

Hu and John are friends of mine and their exchanges on the forums made me cringe but I try to look at the big picture and know that people, even good people like John and Hu will from time to time not see eye to eye. It's natural and its a way for all of us to continue to learn and expand our ability to make our way through this world.

John continues to prove that he is a champion in more ways than one and that he is able to see things clearly even when his emotions have gotten the better of him. Schmitty has the class to show up and make everything all right and has buried the hatchet. Hu has done the same and extended the olive branch so all is well in AZ Billiards Land.
-----------------------------
But you go and pull the hatchet back out and wave it around. What is it with you Norwegians?

So what if Dennis Hatch only visited the AZ Forum just to get votes for the Mosconi Cup?

So what if AZ Billiard didn't vote for the most prolific Professional Pool Player Poster who can't type worth a damn but still struggles to provide unique perspectives of professional pool players?

So what if AZ Billiards didn't vote for one of the only pros in professional pool who has the gonads to stick it out on these forums?

So what if AZ Billiards didn't vote for the pro player that has probably answered more of your questions via PM and in threads than any other player.

Oh yeah, so what if AZ Billiards didn't reward their most popular posting professional pool player with their Mosconi Cup Vote?

Does that make AZ Billiards all bad?

Thanks for bringing that up Roy.

JoeyA

 

[delta boy]

john schmitt

i can see why john feels this way.john is a great talent for billiards and when people who arent as smart about billiards and that know exactly whats going on even just alittle and john still gets drilled then i see where he is coming from.but when you get on one of these topic boards and post something then you have to take the good with the bad

 

[houmatroy]

So what if Dennis Hatch only visited the AZ Forum just to get votes for the Mosconi Cup?

So what if AZ Billiard didn't vote for the most prolific Professional Pool Player Poster who can't type worth a damn but still struggles to provide unique perspectives of professional pool players?

So what if AZ Billiards didn't vote for one of the only pros in professional pool who has the gonads to stick it out on these forums?

So what if AZ Billiards didn't vote for the pro player that has probably answered more of your questions via PM and in threads than any other player.

Oh yeah, so what if AZ Billiards didn't reward their most popular posting professional pool player with their Mosconi Cup Vote?

Does that make AZ Billiards all bad?



JoeyA

I voted for you Joey for the Mosconi cup if that's any consolation:grin:

And I agree with u Joey..I think John & Hu are both great guys....In person you won't find many better...alot of times on here things get taken out of context or taken wrong...I've personally have taklen offense to things that when later were explained the way it was meant was noway near the way i had taken it....That's why I have stayed out of this thread for the most part cuz I like both John & Hu & consider both to be friends.:happydance:

 

[alstl]

I am not interested in learning from a pro how to control the cueball.

I like reports from tournaments, their opinion about big events, matches that has been played and perhaps how they practice and stuff like that.

If someone has enough time to post 100 times in 2 weeks during the voting process for the Mosconi Cup, or 10+ times during a few days before the World 14-1, sure they can put in atleast a post or three during a month, don't you think?

I agree which is why I voted for John Schmidt for the Mosconi Cup but the last time I checked he wasn't doing well in the voting.

 

[Russ Chewning]

basically im going to say i got carried away trying to win argument .
im going to extend an apology to gatz,hu,chewning and anybody else that took things to heart.im not pointing fingers i said alot of mean stuff and so did others . but
i say lets all forget it and and remember we all like pool so we all have something in common.a friendship has been built on less before.

I take nothing to heart unless someone says it in person, John. I like you a lot, and think you are a fantastic player. People can agree to disagree and leave it at that.

hu,chewning and gatz if i see you at derby i owe you guys all a beer.

happy holidays

Unfortunately, I don't have the money to go to the DCC this year. I spent all my savings from Iraq finishing my degree, and had a hard time finding a job after that.

I'd be happy if you just continued to post here, and maybe contribute to some mental game or "How would you play this?" threads..



Happy Holidays to you too, John.

 

[KoolKat9Lives]

Hey John, thanks for the apology. Everybody gets heated from time to time. I didn't say some of the nicest things myself, so I would like to apologise for some of my crappy remarks.

Don't worry about the drink, I don't drink. I do like OJ though... lol

So you took exception to John, but you like OJ? I'll tell ya, AZB has 'em all.

Good of you Gatz on your response, as well as John and Hu. John surely has some great insulting one liners so if on AZB he can rein himself and his goats in, I'll miss them.

And for a moment, the world is in total harmony.

 

[Holly]

John you are tops and in case you haven't seen the Team CSI pages, including each of the four members, including John's individual page please do. When you read his and the other gentlemen's accomplishments it is an eye opener.

http://playcsipool.com/TeamCSI/tabid/95/Default.aspx

 

[Terry Ardeno]

Jay, unfortunately most of them only take advantage of it when it's suits their short term interests. (ie..garnering votes, asking for stakehorse/sponsor, etc...)

John was one of the ones that contributed not only as a player but as a true forum member and gave his opinions on a lot of topics not limited to playing pool. Chris and Donny post a lot and like to interact and mingle on a basis that isn't limited to pool and rather as equals to everyone else posting.

I'm not interested for the most part in hearing how a pro would run a certain rack or how they would play a certain shot. If I want that information then I'll pay for it.

People argue about the pros not earning enough money, etc...but then want them to interact and talk about the technical side of pool and share their knowledge for free. I don't think that many of the pros want to come on a forum and give their insights into the technical side of pool for free when it's all they do for the most part day and night in their everyday lives.

Having hung out with most of the pros, I'd rather interact with them as friends and not like a student seeking free knowledge.

Now, that's not to say that the pros giving advice, etc...isn't a good thing. I think more of them doing this would garner good support and favors from people in the industry for the future, but I don't think it should be expected from them.

I read Neil's post (#40) and he raised an interesting question...has John Schmidt "offered any advice that would help your game?" Neil is someone I like and respect, and his slant on this made me take some extra time to think about the part of his post that I quoted.

And then I came across Corvette's post, which is quoted in full at the top here. And that's the reason I will miss John Schmidt badly if he indeed stops contributing here.

Personally speaking, I have not hit a ball since March. It will be sometime before I can shoot again, probably months from now. But even if I could still shoot, I don't read John Schmidt's posts for shooting tips. I look forward to reading his, Grady's, Billy's, Jay's, Freddy's, Keith's, Donnie Mills, etc because of their opinions and insights on the people and things of pool.
Other than Billiard's Digest, Pool & Billiard Magazine and Inside Pool, where else can we get the inside scoop from pro players other than on AZB?

Here is another quote from alstl's post #107...."One thing that amuses me about this website is the people who expect a pro to impart some rare secret about pool so they can take their game to pro level."

I agree. I honestly never looked at the pro's who do contribute here as our instructers. I look at the brave ones who do venture here as pool friends who want to share their personal experiences and exploits. THAT interests me way more than another tip on stroke mechanics.

I am not a golfer, but I've looked thru several Golf Digest and Golf Magazine's to have noticed the in-depth interviews they do on a monthly basis with the stars of that sport. They ask some really insightful and revealing questions and you get a sense that you got to know a little about that particular player. We don't have that in pool. The best we get is Mike Gefner's wonderful profile peices he pens in Billiards Digest. And R.A. Dyer's books. And Grady's stories. And Freddy's exploits. And John Schmidt's opinions. Get what I'm trying to say? I'm not interested in squirt and deflection or any of the other instructional tips. I've been shooting pool for almost 40 years now. Any further improvement for me will come from my mental game, i.e., not disrespecting simple shots, etc. All the little nuances that each of has in our own game. What I AM interested in is learning more about these pros as people and not just from some photo or statistic in a magazine.

I really enjoy the top pros sharing their stories, opinions and thoughts with us. And John Schmidt is one who doesn't pull punches, isn't politically correct and is funny to boot.

What more could we ask for?

 

[bfdlad]

John you are tops and in case you haven't seen the Team CSI pages, including each of the four members, including John's individual page please do. When you read his and the other gentlemen's accomplishments it is an eye opener.

http://playcsipool.com/TeamCSI/tabid/95/Default.aspx

When I think about John I just automatically thing straight pool. When I talk to others I also tell them Mr 400 Straight pool genius. Then it comes to me he is a US Open Champion! WTF? If I won the US Open once I would quit playing all together and just say "hey I did it"

Many of you do not know John personally. We all know as does he that he gets too involved and emotional sometimes but that comes from his passion for the game. He does not want anything but whats good for the game and to be able to speak his mind. I have seen it first hand and I could have called Johns I'm sorry post. I have sen him pissed off to no end saying "Thats not right", something about pool usually. 20 mins later, He will come up and say "Oh man, I acted like a dumbass, how can I make it up to them do you think?" He is not unlike many of us and all the way through a good guy who loves pool. He is one of us, a pool fan who loves the game and only wants it to get better. Just so happens he can run 400 and win a US Open. I can't wait to see the BCA rankings when they come out as I think he will be around 3rd. He came 3rd in the last 2 ranking events in florida, Corey did well and so did JA taking them both down. #3 in the US even if its for a day makes his talent unquestionable. Thats all on a ramble, sorry.

 

[grindz]

Reading this thread.....

just makes me think.............................


WHY............... can't we just be nice to each other??


oh, and...... please reread your own posts (if there is anything in there that remotely could offend someone else) before you click on the 'submit
reply' button, and think about whether or not you would like whatever tidbit you are about to submit to the 'cloud' to be associated with you in perpetuity.

Wow, I'm realizing..... that's just too much pressure...:wink:
......... here goes.

td

 

[JoeyA]

just makes me think.............................


WHY............... can't we just be nice to each other??


oh, and...... please reread your own posts (if there is anything in there that remotely could offend someone else) before you click on the 'submit
reply' button, and think about whether or not you would like whatever tidbit you are about to submit to the 'cloud' to be associated with you in perpetuity.

Wow, I'm realizing..... that's just too much pressure...:wink:
......... here goes.

td

There you go, sticking a needle in me.

JoeyA