Earl tossed out of SBE...
- Thread starter alstl
- Start date
CC not joking. But you are 235.95678% correct about PA sports fans though. I gotta admitit, they don't call Eagles fans BooBirds for nothin. But Earl's antics coulda landed him some serious problems around here, no joke.
I finally got through the whole thread. I went to the SBE yesterday. I see there is definatly blame enough to go around. A bad rack, cranky directors, poor sportsmanship (fans definatly included) it is a poor situation. My only comment is if the rack was not working Earl has the right to question it. This must be allowed. But his way of doing so and showing his displeasure was wrong.
I have said it before and will say it again. Earl has a problem. Be it medical or mental. He needs to seek out help. If he could have disspassionatly and calmly disscused the racking problem with the TD. I'm sure it could have been rectified easily. I understand he is vocal and passionate about the game. But there is a line in the sand he just cannot seem to see. He steps over it too often.
I do think playful bantering enhances the game. Earl used to be very good at it. But he has gone way too far the past 10 years or so. I'd like to see the old Earl back.
Mark Shuman
PS: Sitting here thinking a bit. Some background may be in order. The essential Central PA resident is a Slave (Polish, Ukranian, Lithuanian ect) He(or she ) is kind loving and giving. We care deeply about our neighbours and freinds. Kinder people you won't find. However like a coin we have 2 sides. Pride is a real, living thing around here. We are hard working and drinking folk. And good lord we can fight. Maybe too often but that is what it is. In a venue such as this tempers can flair. All it would take is the wrong words or action. I'll give you an example. 'Bout 5-6 years ago a cadre of Skin Heads decided to move in. Thought they could run things. They lasted about 6 months. Found out that running around with Nazi jackets is not a good idea where residents still remember Auswitz and Bergen Belsen. They got tired of having the crap kicked out of them and ending up in the hospital. And it was the younger people round here that took exeption to them. That's why there was cheereing when he was warned. Good or bad pride is the reason I guess.
Just hoping to shed some light. Oh yea the term PennsylTuckey is spot on for around here!!
PPS: CC just noted you're from Texas. We're not much different than an essential Texan. God bless Texas!
I finally got through the whole thread. I went to the SBE yesterday. I see there is definatly blame enough to go around. A bad rack, cranky directors, poor sportsmanship (fans definatly included) it is a poor situation. My only comment is if the rack was not working Earl has the right to question it. This must be allowed. But his way of doing so and showing his displeasure was wrong.
I have said it before and will say it again. Earl has a problem. Be it medical or mental. He needs to seek out help. If he could have disspassionatly and calmly disscused the racking problem with the TD. I'm sure it could have been rectified easily. I understand he is vocal and passionate about the game. But there is a line in the sand he just cannot seem to see. He steps over it too often.
I do think playful bantering enhances the game. Earl used to be very good at it. But he has gone way too far the past 10 years or so. I'd like to see the old Earl back.
Mark Shuman
PS: Sitting here thinking a bit. Some background may be in order. The essential Central PA resident is a Slave (Polish, Ukranian, Lithuanian ect) He(or she ) is kind loving and giving. We care deeply about our neighbours and freinds. Kinder people you won't find. However like a coin we have 2 sides. Pride is a real, living thing around here. We are hard working and drinking folk. And good lord we can fight. Maybe too often but that is what it is. In a venue such as this tempers can flair. All it would take is the wrong words or action. I'll give you an example. 'Bout 5-6 years ago a cadre of Skin Heads decided to move in. Thought they could run things. They lasted about 6 months. Found out that running around with Nazi jackets is not a good idea where residents still remember Auswitz and Bergen Belsen. They got tired of having the crap kicked out of them and ending up in the hospital. And it was the younger people round here that took exeption to them. That's why there was cheereing when he was warned. Good or bad pride is the reason I guess.
Just hoping to shed some light. Oh yea the term PennsylTuckey is spot on for around here!!
PPS: CC just noted you're from Texas. We're not much different than an essential Texan. God bless Texas!
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According to Inside Pool Magazine, here's Frank Del Pizzo's version of what happened with Earl:
http://www.insidepoolmag.com/201103/...-of-story.html
There have been a lot of rumors as to why Earl Strickland was disqualified from the Diamond Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship, so InsidePOOL went to tournament director Frank Del Pizzo and asked for his side of the story.
“There were three separate incidents with Earl,” Del Pizzo began. “He played the match with Jose Parica and he was being loud and sharking other players on other tables, so I had to ask him to stop yelling to the crowd … He’s playing Jose Parica, who’s a gentleman in there. So I asked him to stop talking to the crowd—we’re not allowing it, it’s something we went over in the players’ meeting … I said to him to stop, and he gets up and he says, ‘You’re a fool. You’re a fool. You have no idea what you’re doing.’ I said, ‘You’re warned.’ And then I told him, ‘Don’t ruin your day, Earl. You’re warned.’
Frank Del Pizzo is in the center of controversy after expelling Strickland from the Super Billiards Expo Diamond Professional 10-Ball Championships.
Del Pizzo continued, “And then he got a couple different little things where I had to tell him to calm down, and he made it through the entire set after that … He won, and then playing Alex, he immediately started in on Alex, on the rack. The rack was sideways, so he came over and said, ‘The rack’s sideways.’ So I went over and looked, and it was sideways, so I helped Alex fix it. He racked and then ran out, and then Earl ran out, and then back and forth, and then Alex started to pull away from him and the antics got worse and worse and worse.
“He [Earl] was yelling at the crowd, yelling at Alex, telling Alex not to do certain things, just sharking, constantly sharking. I warned him again, and it got to the point where he was losing at this point now. It was the first shot on the table. It was the one ball, he was going to bank the one so he took the cue and went whack whack whack whack whack on the side pocket like ‘It’s going in here!’ and he was whacking the side of the table.
“I went out and told him [Earl] to stop and that was when he called me a clown,” Del Pizzo recalled. “He said, ‘You’re a clown.’ And I asked him to stop and said, ‘You can either stop or you can go.’ He said, ‘Well, I’ll go then.’ I said, ‘Then go then. You’re all done. Just go.’ And he said, ‘I’ll execute my second option.’ I said, ‘Which is?’ He said, ‘I’ll finish.’ I said, ‘Okay, then keep your mouth shut and finish. There are other players in this poolroom. There are other players in here that are playing. Keep your mouth shut and finish. This is your final warning. That’s it. There will be no other warnings.’
“When it came to his match later in the evening, the matches, because they’re races to ten, they go a little long sometimes. One was about fifteen to twenty minutes late, which is not really bad, if you think about it, considering it went hill-hill. He is standing out [in the hallway] pacing and people wanted to take pictures with him, and I was standing over there by the water, and these people want to take a picture with him. He goes, ‘Why would I want to take a picture with you?’
“These are fans,” Del Pizzo explained. “[Earl says] ‘Why would I want to take a picture with you? What am I, a clown? Am I funny to you? Is that why you want to take a picture?’ He says to the people, ‘Why don’t you take a picture with the tournament director? He’s a fool. Why don’t you take a picture with him?’ So I said, ‘Earl. Don’t come in here like that. Don’t start like that.’
“The table finally cleared off that I could put him on, and I said, ‘Come on Earl.’ He followed me in, and as he’s walking in he’s yelling and talking to the people, and I said, ‘Earl, just knock it off, we’ve got players playing here. Just stop.’ I finally got him down to the table, and he said, ‘Where’s my opponent? He should be here.’ I said, ‘Well, he has fifteen minutes, from the time I call his name, to get here.’
“‘Call him? You gotta call him?’
“‘No, Earl. From the time I call him. You know what, Earl? You’re done. You’re just all done. Winner by default, Hancock. You know what else? Your behavior is unbecoming of a professional. You’re an embarrassment to this tournament and to this business, and you’re done. Winner by default, Hancock. Disqualified. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Earl Strickland on Table Seven. Disqualified.’ And I walked out. He walked out like a mouse and didn’t say a word. Tried to stare me down and I stared right back.
Del Pizzo continued, “I don’t care what you do, but you disrespect this tournament, which is Allen Hopkins’ tournament, you’re disrespecting every player that’s in that room, every fan that’s paid to come in here. You’re disrespecting me, you’re disrespecting Allen who’s worked nineteen years to make this what it is. He is not an ambassador to this sport. It’s really not nice what he does. It’s not right what he does. On the street, I wouldn’t let anyone talk to me like that, and I’m not going to let it happen in there.
Regarding his feelings about Earl, Del Pizzo clarified, “Whatever that man plays—nine-ball, ten-ball, one-pocket, straight pool—he can play it lights out. He truly is very good. Probably one of the best. That gives you no right. I’m a performer. I wouldn’t walk into a room and insult my room, because they’re there to see me, and then insult them because they applaud the person before me because he’s not as funny as I am or I think he might not be as funny as I am. It’s wrong. You thank the people for being there. You show them that you appreciate them being there by being a gentleman to yourself, number one, and number two, to the people that are watching you and to the other people around you. These guys are all performers. This is how they make their living. It’s ridiculous. It’s unheard of. I don’t like it. I don’t allow it. He’s welcome to come back, but if he acts the same way, he’s going home early again.”
http://www.insidepoolmag.com/201103/...-of-story.html
There have been a lot of rumors as to why Earl Strickland was disqualified from the Diamond Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship, so InsidePOOL went to tournament director Frank Del Pizzo and asked for his side of the story.
“There were three separate incidents with Earl,” Del Pizzo began. “He played the match with Jose Parica and he was being loud and sharking other players on other tables, so I had to ask him to stop yelling to the crowd … He’s playing Jose Parica, who’s a gentleman in there. So I asked him to stop talking to the crowd—we’re not allowing it, it’s something we went over in the players’ meeting … I said to him to stop, and he gets up and he says, ‘You’re a fool. You’re a fool. You have no idea what you’re doing.’ I said, ‘You’re warned.’ And then I told him, ‘Don’t ruin your day, Earl. You’re warned.’
Frank Del Pizzo is in the center of controversy after expelling Strickland from the Super Billiards Expo Diamond Professional 10-Ball Championships.
Del Pizzo continued, “And then he got a couple different little things where I had to tell him to calm down, and he made it through the entire set after that … He won, and then playing Alex, he immediately started in on Alex, on the rack. The rack was sideways, so he came over and said, ‘The rack’s sideways.’ So I went over and looked, and it was sideways, so I helped Alex fix it. He racked and then ran out, and then Earl ran out, and then back and forth, and then Alex started to pull away from him and the antics got worse and worse and worse.
“He [Earl] was yelling at the crowd, yelling at Alex, telling Alex not to do certain things, just sharking, constantly sharking. I warned him again, and it got to the point where he was losing at this point now. It was the first shot on the table. It was the one ball, he was going to bank the one so he took the cue and went whack whack whack whack whack on the side pocket like ‘It’s going in here!’ and he was whacking the side of the table.
“I went out and told him [Earl] to stop and that was when he called me a clown,” Del Pizzo recalled. “He said, ‘You’re a clown.’ And I asked him to stop and said, ‘You can either stop or you can go.’ He said, ‘Well, I’ll go then.’ I said, ‘Then go then. You’re all done. Just go.’ And he said, ‘I’ll execute my second option.’ I said, ‘Which is?’ He said, ‘I’ll finish.’ I said, ‘Okay, then keep your mouth shut and finish. There are other players in this poolroom. There are other players in here that are playing. Keep your mouth shut and finish. This is your final warning. That’s it. There will be no other warnings.’
“When it came to his match later in the evening, the matches, because they’re races to ten, they go a little long sometimes. One was about fifteen to twenty minutes late, which is not really bad, if you think about it, considering it went hill-hill. He is standing out [in the hallway] pacing and people wanted to take pictures with him, and I was standing over there by the water, and these people want to take a picture with him. He goes, ‘Why would I want to take a picture with you?’
“These are fans,” Del Pizzo explained. “[Earl says] ‘Why would I want to take a picture with you? What am I, a clown? Am I funny to you? Is that why you want to take a picture?’ He says to the people, ‘Why don’t you take a picture with the tournament director? He’s a fool. Why don’t you take a picture with him?’ So I said, ‘Earl. Don’t come in here like that. Don’t start like that.’
“The table finally cleared off that I could put him on, and I said, ‘Come on Earl.’ He followed me in, and as he’s walking in he’s yelling and talking to the people, and I said, ‘Earl, just knock it off, we’ve got players playing here. Just stop.’ I finally got him down to the table, and he said, ‘Where’s my opponent? He should be here.’ I said, ‘Well, he has fifteen minutes, from the time I call his name, to get here.’
“‘Call him? You gotta call him?’
“‘No, Earl. From the time I call him. You know what, Earl? You’re done. You’re just all done. Winner by default, Hancock. You know what else? Your behavior is unbecoming of a professional. You’re an embarrassment to this tournament and to this business, and you’re done. Winner by default, Hancock. Disqualified. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Earl Strickland on Table Seven. Disqualified.’ And I walked out. He walked out like a mouse and didn’t say a word. Tried to stare me down and I stared right back.
Del Pizzo continued, “I don’t care what you do, but you disrespect this tournament, which is Allen Hopkins’ tournament, you’re disrespecting every player that’s in that room, every fan that’s paid to come in here. You’re disrespecting me, you’re disrespecting Allen who’s worked nineteen years to make this what it is. He is not an ambassador to this sport. It’s really not nice what he does. It’s not right what he does. On the street, I wouldn’t let anyone talk to me like that, and I’m not going to let it happen in there.
Regarding his feelings about Earl, Del Pizzo clarified, “Whatever that man plays—nine-ball, ten-ball, one-pocket, straight pool—he can play it lights out. He truly is very good. Probably one of the best. That gives you no right. I’m a performer. I wouldn’t walk into a room and insult my room, because they’re there to see me, and then insult them because they applaud the person before me because he’s not as funny as I am or I think he might not be as funny as I am. It’s wrong. You thank the people for being there. You show them that you appreciate them being there by being a gentleman to yourself, number one, and number two, to the people that are watching you and to the other people around you. These guys are all performers. This is how they make their living. It’s ridiculous. It’s unheard of. I don’t like it. I don’t allow it. He’s welcome to come back, but if he acts the same way, he’s going home early again.”
When I heard him say that I it seemed obvious that either he doesn't know much about pool or he had it in for Earl.
If Alex is rigging the rack it's his job as the referee to stop that. I'm not sure how that is sharking by Earl to complain about that.
There is a clique including some players and fans which doesn't care for Earl and will do whatever they can to rile him up, and it doesn't take much to get him started. This director is either extremely naive about what is going on or he is part of the problem and was looking for a reason to run Earl. In my opinion the director made a mountain out of a mole hill.
Really???
I wonder how this cat (South Philly), handles HECKLERS!
The perfect choice for TD, A COMEDIAN!!
Sounds like the Comedian from "The Watchmen" to me!:grin-devilish:
Posted that in another "Earl, thread." Seems appropriate here, too!
If anyone really cares about the truth, in Earl's statements, like, "the whole world is against him." Please, re-read the majority of the comments in this thread. There just might be "SOME TRUTH" in why Earl see's it that way!:scratchhead:
I wonder how this cat (South Philly), handles HECKLERS!
The perfect choice for TD, A COMEDIAN!!
Sounds like the Comedian from "The Watchmen" to me!:grin-devilish:
Posted that in another "Earl, thread." Seems appropriate here, too!
If anyone really cares about the truth, in Earl's statements, like, "the whole world is against him." Please, re-read the majority of the comments in this thread. There just might be "SOME TRUTH" in why Earl see's it that way!:scratchhead:
I was watching the stream/chat during this time. The mod did not call you a jacktard. They said something to the effect of, if you want to be angry at someone, be angry at Earl for being a jacktard and getting himself booted.
The mod did tell you to stfu though. You were in the chat when Earl was kicked out and right away you started to defend Earl and said the td was a horrible person and he can't do that and Earl should be given his money back, etc.
I understood the mod to be saying if you're going to be angry at someone about Earl getting booted, you should be angry at Earl for acting the way he did in order to get himself booted.
No one else that was behaving themselves in the tournament got booted. Earl got what every TD should give him when Earl acts up. Earl did something wrong and Earl suffered the consequences (as he should have). Want to be angry at someone, be angry at Earl, he is the only one to blame for his actions. It is called "accountability" and most adults and most children are aware of this.
After reading the bulk of this thread, if Earl was indeed acting this way he should have been booted. And if the TD acted the way as describe he should also be booted. There is no room for ANYONE to act like this if people expect pool to one day climb out of the gutter and be considered legitimate.
It sounds as neither acted professionally, If Earl on any player starts acting childish or unprofessional they should be penalized immediately. That is no excuse for a TD or promoter to do the same and take time to add to the side show and embarrass ANY person. There should be zero tolerance on the players actions and the TD and promoter need to set the example. If half of what I read is true then this was an EPIC FAILURE on both parties involved. JMHO
It sounds as neither acted professionally, If Earl on any player starts acting childish or unprofessional they should be penalized immediately. That is no excuse for a TD or promoter to do the same and take time to add to the side show and embarrass ANY person. There should be zero tolerance on the players actions and the TD and promoter need to set the example. If half of what I read is true then this was an EPIC FAILURE on both parties involved. JMHO
Everyone that's saying Del Taco the TD is dead wrong need to consider something else..... He's been running this tourney for years and like all other TD's wearing kid gloves and playing psychotherapist with Earl every year. Fading it one time is enough but year after year? Cmon.......
Damn Saw, you're on a roll with this. You sure you don't want to hit the road again, but with Earl this time. He could be your numero uno road dog!
And people wonder what's wrong with the world today...... Would Earl have gotten away with his bs in the 60's or even the 80's with tournament directors like Joe Burns or Joe Kerr? Hell no he wouldn't! He would get ejected and have a nice knot on his head if he really showed his *ss!
Hopefully Del Taco has inspired more TD's to do the RIGHT thing in the future.....
Hopefully Del Taco has inspired more TD's to do the RIGHT thing in the future.....
Not!
....I knew Joe Burns well, if you were one of his favorites, he'd teach you what to do to win against better players! Now don't miss this, Burns l-o-v-e-d "Little Earl," he'd have fought loudly and openly, with Joe Kerr over even the thought of throwing Strickland out of one of "his tournaments!":shocked:
Saints actually, raised in Louisiana and while I was in the military I ran into fans of every team. Any New England area or PA fan was twice as obnoxious as any other team.
lol, no hard feelings here. I agree with most of what you said about Earl. I respected, but couldn't stand him until I met him and I do think he has something wrong with him. He's very friendly and pretty funny but he's seems a little paranoid like everyone is out to get him.
I don't think this was all his fault and I'm glad you PA fans didn't go overboard on him.
possible?
Yeah, that might be the case, but then again, Strickland (big Earl) still listens to, and likes, DiLiberto. When Danny talks to Earl, he listens still. With Joe, as long as he was seen as the Alpha male, nothing changed!