I agree 100% with you on this.
Snooker World No. 1 John Higgins in betting scandal
- Thread starter Buckster_uk
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I agree 100% with you on this.
The bottom line is that gambling corrupts all sports. Whether it is boxing, baseball (go Black Soxs), pool, or snooker, corruption will happen and it is the most negative aspect of gambling legal or otherwise. A strong organization for the sport can accomplish a lot to control it, but it will never be eliminated at any level of sport. In a sport with weak or non-existent organizing group, forget about it.
Whether it is taking a large amount of money or taking 50 bucks to dump a pool game at your local room it is still corruption and to be equally condemned. Some people will say Higgins was rich which makes it worse than if he didn't know where his next meal was coming from. It doesn't make it worse, it only makes it dumber. Whether we're taking 100K to dump or dumping to control our handicaps in a local APA league it is still corruption and we shouldn't kid ourselves about it.
Whether it is taking a large amount of money or taking 50 bucks to dump a pool game at your local room it is still corruption and to be equally condemned. Some people will say Higgins was rich which makes it worse than if he didn't know where his next meal was coming from. It doesn't make it worse, it only makes it dumber. Whether we're taking 100K to dump or dumping to control our handicaps in a local APA league it is still corruption and we shouldn't kid ourselves about it.
I'd buy a car from him
I don't know if I'd go that far, but I've always liked Earl despite his antics and that little anecdote only goes to raise my opinion of him.
Reminds me of the old story of a guy who offered a woman a million to sleep with him.
Whey she said "Yes", he said now that we know you're a whore we're only negotiating price. A whore is a whore, a scumbag is a scumbag.
Nothing much surprises me in the pool world. during my time in the Uk I have personally witnessed on a few occasions in pro/am and amateur events, draws being rigged and matches being fixed.
But this with Higgins surprised me simply because he never seemed like the type and more importantly the amount of money does not out weigh the risk.
What he stands to lose in future revenue not to mention the shame on him and his family. What does he tell his kids ten years from now ? " I was the best in the world till I got caught taking bribes"
The only thing that comes to mind is stupid or he let his manager talk him into it so he could make some coin.
But this with Higgins surprised me simply because he never seemed like the type and more importantly the amount of money does not out weigh the risk.
What he stands to lose in future revenue not to mention the shame on him and his family. What does he tell his kids ten years from now ? " I was the best in the world till I got caught taking bribes"
The only thing that comes to mind is stupid or he let his manager talk him into it so he could make some coin.
They did not do it to Buddy Hall, they instead put him in the Hall of Fame.
That is the problem with pool, the people in charge turn a blind eye to stuff that in Snooker, Tennis, Golf, or other sports that understand the significance of these kinds of actions give you a lifetime ban.
Earl's emotions get the better of him far too often but there is no doubt that the man has a certain sense of honor and a love for the purity of this sport.
Too many in our sport see the short term gains and not the long term consequences. Why pool has such a hard time finding sponsors.
Yeah but to be fair there's not telling what Earl was thinking. It could easily have been, "Pfft, there's no way any of these lambs can beat me, there ain't no way Ima takin' a dive and letting them screw me out of muh $50,000! No deal!"
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I'd say there is a difference, just like there is a difference if you steel 5 bucks or 500 000 bucks.
But when I say this, I don't mean stealing 5 bucks is ok. It's still stealing, so it's not ok.
And what makes this Higgins thing worse is not the fact that he's rich, but the fact that he was an ambassador of the Major sport, World #1 and highly influential character.
Word 'greediness' comes to mind easily, but I'd say also that the easiness of the sting. Easy Money. "Why not?"
If someone would've offered him 1M to lose the final of WC or if someone would've asked him to lose a match to a much lesser player in TV for 300k, it might've been more difficult. But now, four frames during a year in tour with guys which he'd probably beat anyway, gave him the "why not? easy money, house in the coast of spain, etc..."
They didn't just get to "slide." It caused all of them to miss out on some lucrative opportunities in the future. They paid for it.
Look , I have NO proof of anything. No tapes, no confessions, no nothing. That is why it was never anything more than a rumor. But do I think it happened. YES! This was not what I would call a major tournament. It was a made for TV event, with only eight players. That's why it wasn't hard to alter the outcome. I'm not naming anybody, but they know who they are.
It's long in the past now. So I'm willing to let it be. There is no point in rehashing this event nearly twenty years later. It was a scandal back then, if you were around. What happened was all the talk of the pool world in 1991. But there was no internet, just a lot of word of mouth.
No question he wanted to win the $50,000, and felt like he was the best player. It would have been ironic if he did win. But that was not the case.
Justin has the best line in the whole thread! That really is a "sermon in a sentence".
One more unfortunate consequence, the only time I can remember snooker making a splash in our local newspaper sports section was for this 
the WSC has been going on for two weeks and not a lick then this. Freeking media :angry:
the WSC has been going on for two weeks and not a lick then this. Freeking media :angry: