BCA -- On the Road to Nowhere

[geno]

Before going off on any tangent about the current BCA I believe everyone needs to understand what the BCA is currently about.

IMO, the current BCA is only about the Trade Show and that is it. Nothing more and nothing less. Therefore any expectations or implied responsibility that anyone has of the BCA promoting the game and/or SPORT of pool/billiards should immediately be dismissed. They are not here for the players at all and they only have a minimal impact on room owners with the programs they currently have.

PERIOD, That's all there is to the BCA.

HOWEVER, the BCA is the NA organization to the WPA. Why I do not know as they really have nothing, nada, zero to do with the sport. I also believe they should no longer be that representative but who else is going to do it?

What the BAA was founded for NO LONGER EXISTS in the eyes of the BCA and they have no plans to go back in that direction ever again.

BUT, somebody needs to do it. Nobody is right now. Many have tried.

 

[justnum]

Before going off on any tangent about the current BCA I believe everyone needs to understand what the BCA is currently about.

IMO, the current BCA is only about the Trade Show and that is it. Nothing more and nothing less. Therefore any expectations or implied responsibility that anyone has of the BCA promoting the game and/or SPORT of pool/billiards should immediately be dismissed. They are not here for the players at all and they only have a minimal impact on room owners with the programs they currently have.

PERIOD, That's all there is to the BCA.

HOWEVER, the BCA is the NA organization to the WPA. Why I do not know as they really have nothing, nada, zero to do with the sport. I also believe they should no longer be that representative but who else is going to do it?

What the BAA was founded for NO LONGER EXISTS in the eyes of the BCA and they have no plans to go back in that direction ever again.

BUT, somebody needs to do it. Nobody is right now. Many have tried.

So what would the problem statement be for the "somebody needs to do it?"

I am reading it as an organization that recruits people interested in investing in pool tournament events, or pool player competitions.

I've always been interested in a skills invent, college and pros sports have systematic tests to measure performance potential. It isn't really related to BCA operations but it would be an event just to help develop a "metric" so that we can eliminate the argument of how much better the men are then the woman or vice versa. I am not taking sides in who is better, I am just saying it would be great to see hard data about the skills disparity. Tournament conditions change player performance but a standard test is a start to rate players based on their performance in laboratory like conditions.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

No it stands for bailout the billiards business.
b + b +b = B

My buddy is a small time Pool Cue, and Billiards Accessory Dealer, he went to the Big BCA Business Expo in Sin City a few years back for the LAST TIME. What he saw was Barbecues, Lawn furniture, Hot tubs, and a lot of NON POOL STUFF, he said he thought the BCA's mission was about Pool, and not stuff to put in your back yard.

 

[Island Drive]

Before going off on any tangent about the current BCA I believe everyone needs to understand what the BCA is currently about.

IMO, the current BCA is only about the Trade Show and that is it. Nothing more and nothing less. Therefore any expectations or implied responsibility that anyone has of the BCA promoting the game and/or SPORT of pool/billiards should immediately be dismissed. They are not here for the players at all and they only have a minimal impact on room owners with the programs they currently have.

PERIOD, That's all there is to the BCA.

HOWEVER, the BCA is the NA organization to the WPA. Why I do not know as they really have nothing, nada, zero to do with the sport. I also believe they should no longer be that representative but who else is going to do it?

What the BAA was founded for NO LONGER EXISTS in the eyes of the BCA and they have no plans to go back in that direction ever again.

BUT, somebody needs to do it. Nobody is right now. Many have tried.

The BCA board of directors can change their course of action at their next board meeting with a majority vote.
During my tenure in office during their move to CO and they chose to divest themselves of player progams and eliminate all the scholarships given out to the Jr. players at their national event every year.
There are allot of smart business people on the board and there are the personal agenda members too.
This economic downturn along with Ivan Lee of Simonis as President could be the catalyst to change course. There has always been a lot of board member talk before/during and after board meetings where majorities can be formed and new policies implemented.
One thing I would like to see when change comes is JAM become the person who writes the artilcles that represent the sport and the players.
I like the way she's able to express herself, she has the give and take needed to be in the hot seat, she could become our own personal AZ Panozzo.

 

[mlalum]

[QUOTE=JAM;2928418]Bravo to Billiards Digest and Mike Panozzo for writing an excellent article about the state of pool in North America and how the BCA is handling it.

I think Mike Panozzo *gets it.* I have not been a fan of much of the billiard fourth estate due to their prejudicial reporting over the years, but, by George, Billiards Digest is telling it like it is, with no fear of any repercussions from the almighty Oz -- I mean BCA. :grin-square:......

The UPA was removed from representing American male pros when they failed. Well, now it's time to say bye-bye to the BCA, IMHO. This is the same BCA that sent Germany's Thorsten Hohmann to the recent WPA-sanctioned tournament overseas. Who is behind the curtain at the BCA making these kinds of decisions?

American pool needs a transparent industry organization, not this kind of activity where decisions are made in secret.

Bravo to Billiards Digest for speaking the truth. I am renewing my subscription to BD today.

..........End Quote

I don't have a dog in this fight, nor do I have any allegiance to any side but here are a few points to consider:

Jen: Have you by any chance contacted Ivan Lee or Jerry Forsyth to find out how Thorsten was invited to the 8 Ball World Championship? I think it's only fair that before being critical, you find out the facts. Maybe you already did. I don't know.

Regarding Panozzo's "article:" It's an editorial and it doesn't have to be factual. It's his opinion about something that went down that he's obviously not happy about. Mike is notorious for using his publication for venting his personal feelings about something, and that doesn't necessarily mean that he speaks the truth. He is giving his opinion.

I was present at the trade show and witnessed Mike's "pitch" for this program. I wasn't impressed. I don't know for sure, but it appears that the BCA abandoned a sinking ship and decided to cut their losses. I do know that a pool room owner in my area told me that his Coke distributor is giving him a better deal than what was offered to him through this special Coke deal that Mike was pitching.

I don't know the facts, but if there's anything I've learned in my 30 years in the business, it's that it is dangerous and unfair to believe something from hearing (or reading) just one side of a story --- that is unless it fits your agenda to do so. Then it makes all the sense in the world.

Fran I have to say I find your contributions to be excellent. You're willing to stand up and call BS to the forum heavyweights who often flail away with pseudofacts and pet hatreds. You often are willing to set things straight and admonish people for jumping to conclusions with little substance to back em up. If I was looking for people to take on the big problems of the pool industry you'd be one of the first people I'd talk to.

The idea that people keep wailing about the BCA as the BIG Bad Guy of pool is redonkulous. Everyone needs to look hard at themselves and their little piece of the industry and make sure of where they stand. One thing I've noticed is the pillars of the pool business don't seem likely to be able to stay in the same room with each other for more than five minutes. Maybe that's a place to start.

 

[FranCrimi]

Fran, I do understand what you are saying. I truly do, but the BCA is not transparent, and neither is the WPA. They make decisions about pool matters, and usually folks find out about these decisions well after the fact.

I don't really know Mike Panozzo. I saw him one time at an IPT King of the Hill event in Orlando. I walked up to him to share a few complimentary words about his magazine, and he was stuck-up and didn't even give me a thank-you in response. Needless to say, I didn't get a very good impression. I was excited to get to speak to him, and I was given the cold shoulder. :sorry:

In fact, I have been disappointed in the coverage of pool by the print media in years gone by. When I read that BD credited Ewa Mataya for the success of "The Color of Money" movie and the boom it took across America, that was, as you so rightly say, Fran, an opinion, one which I definitely did not agree with. :grin-square:

I realize these are opinions written by BD, but so, too, are the threads and posts on AzBilliards Discussion Forum. The BCA had no right to send a German player to the overseas tournament, and that's my opinion. Those spots should be reserved for North Americans, those the BCA is supposedly representing. I smell pool politics in that move allowing a German to take a BCA spot. Why couldn't Thorsten get into that event through the European entity that represents the Germans with the WPA?

When I read that the Simonis guy was nominated as the Pool Person of the Decade, or whatever such award he was given, well, that speaks volumes to me. The BCA should be giving a little attention to the professional players, the existing lot of which in America is dwindling. Does the BCA feel any responsibility to help professional pool, or is it all about helping the Simonis guy be recognized by their award?

There's a caste system in pool now, with the professional players at the lowest rung of the ladder.

I know that you, Fran, were working with the WPA at one time, so you do have the advantage of seeing things a little differently than most. For that, I am thankful to read your words. If the WPA and BCA were a little more transparent instead of acting like a monarchy, maybe things would improve.

I do value your intelligent contribution to this forum, Fran. When you write, I read and digest. What a shame the WPA and BCA can't do the same.

Jen, seriously --- call or write to Jerry Forsyth and ask him to explain to you how Thorsten was invited to play. Please do this. I'm sure he will be happy to explain it to you. I can call him for you but I think you should hear it directly from Jerry.

Next, we keep beating our industry up about all that it's doing wrong but the truth is that pool has fallen out of popularity in this country and I'm just not sure if there is anything we can do about it other than be practical, downsize to stay alive, and try to ride out the storm. I think the worst thing we can do is keep blaming each other as if someone was really to blame for it all. I'm not so sure that anyone was to blame.

I know you don't want to hear this, Jen, but we may have hope for our game due to countries like China and the Arab countries who are taking a real financial interest. I'm not quite sure why China is in the game in such a big way, but for the Arab countries, it makes perfect sense to choose something that can be played indoors --- considering the climate there.

As for the BCA and WPA not being transparent, I have to tell you that in the 4 years that I was a WPA board member, nobody asked me to clarify anything for them that was being discussed on message boards. Nothing. I would have been happy to clear something up if there were any issues that weren't being understood. So, I'm not sure if people just want to rant and rave without going to the source for the actual facts, or if they just were afraid to ask.

I have to tell you that Ivan Lee has been the most player-friendly BCA President in probably a couple of decades --- maybe longer. It just so happens that he's the President during one of their toughest financial times.

And of course, thanks so much for taking me seriously. I really do appreciate it, and I do the same with your posts.

 

[ChazL]

Bravo to both Fran and Jennie

It's really nice to see two people with differing points of view state their cases intelligently, articulately and with mutual consideration and respect.

It is a (rare) pleasure to be able to partake of a civil discussion on these boards!

 

[FranCrimi]

Fran I have to say I find your contributions to be excellent. You're willing to stand up and call BS to the forum heavyweights who often flail away with pseudofacts and pet hatreds. You often are willing to set things straight and admonish people for jumping to conclusions with little substance to back em up. If I was looking for people to take on the big problems of the pool industry you'd be one of the first people I'd talk to.

The idea that people keep wailing about the BCA as the BIG Bad Guy of pool is redonkulous. Everyone needs to look hard at themselves and their little piece of the industry and make sure of where they stand. One thing I've noticed is the pillars of the pool business don't seem likely to be able to stay in the same room with each other for more than five minutes. Maybe that's a place to start.

Thanks very much for your kind words but everybody is frustrated, including posters and industry leaders alike; and when people are frustrated, they fight. These are tough times right now. Maybe the solution isn't to try to desperately create something that may not be possible at this time. It sort of reminds me of playing pool ---- how sometimes at the table we try shots that simply can't work because we're trying to defy the laws of physics. Maybe it's time to just accept a little tougher position and stop trying to get so close to the ball.

 

[mlalum]

Thanks very much for your kind words but everybody is frustrated, including posters and industry leaders alike; and when people are frustrated, they fight. These are tough times right now. Maybe the solution isn't to try to desperately create something that may not be possible at this time. It sort of reminds me of playing pool ---- how sometimes at the table we try shots that simply can't work because we're trying to defy the laws of physics. Maybe it's time to just accept a little tougher position and stop trying to get so close to the ball.

well said.

 

[JAM]

Jen, seriously --- call or write to Jerry Forsyth and ask him to explain to you how Thorsten was invited to play. Please do this. I'm sure he will be happy to explain it to you. I can call him for you but I think you should hear it directly from Jerry.

Next, we keep beating our industry up about all that it's doing wrong but the truth is that pool has fallen out of popularity in this country and I'm just not sure if there is anything we can do about it other than be practical, downsize to stay alive, and try to ride out the storm. I think the worst thing we can do is keep blaming each other as if someone was really to blame for it all. I'm not so sure that anyone was to blame.

I know you don't want to hear this, Jen, but we may have hope for our game due to countries like China and the Arab countries who are taking a real financial interest. I'm not quite sure why China is in the game in such a big way, but for the Arab countries, it makes perfect sense to choose something that can be played indoors --- considering the climate there.

As for the BCA and WPA not being transparent, I have to tell you that in the 4 years that I was a WPA board member, nobody asked me to clarify anything for them that was being discussed on message boards. Nothing. I would have been happy to clear something up if there were any issues that weren't being understood. So, I'm not sure if people just want to rant and rave without going to the source for the actual facts, or if they just were afraid to ask.

I have to tell you that Ivan Lee has been the most player-friendly BCA President in probably a couple of decades --- maybe longer. It just so happens that he's the President during one of their toughest financial times.

And of course, thanks so much for taking me seriously. I really do appreciate it, and I do the same with your posts.

I definitely see your point, Fran, and I do agree with much of what you say for sure.

My point about transparency is that when we -- the pool public -- find out about happenings that seem odd, i.e., Thorsten getting the green light from the BCA, as well as WPA happenings, we read about these after the fact. If the WPA and BCA were more in touch with the public, maybe misunderstandings or misinterpretations could be eliminated.

It is my opinion that the WPA *and* BCA do not give a hoot about what the pool public thinks, to include professional players. It would be advantageous to pool's prosperity if these pool entities were more in touch especially with the professional pool players who do attend their so-called "sanctioned" events.

You're so right on the money -- [pun intended] -- about the countries in the Middle East and the Asian regions of the world and pool. Their countrymen seem to have more interest in pool than mainstream Americans.

I remember Danny "Kid Delicious" Basavich told me that when he was at the World Pool Tournament in Taiwan representing the United States, he went into a McDonald's one morning for a bite to eat. On the McDonald's paper bag, there was a big advertisement for the World Pool Tournament that was currently happening that he was actually competing in. I found that remarkable.

Fran, I love your analogy of maybe we should accept a little tougher position and stop trying to get so close to the ball. That's a good one! :wink:

The main pool strength I see in America today is recreational shooters, social players, leagues, and amateur competitions. I have always said this. Again, the existing lot of American professional players is dwindling. If the BCA is our North American representative to the WPA, they need to look into this matter, much more so than keeping their industry members fat and happy, IMO!

 

[JAM]

Lyn,

I slid JAM a little green because you were unable to. Not to mention I really liked the post. Hope all is well with you. Good luck on the tournament trail sir. Nice finish in Philly.

Thank you, Baby Cakes!

 

[JAM]

And so did I! Nice job, Jen! And nice sentiments relayed by cardiac kid as well -- I echo them!

-Sean

And thank you, too, Sweetie Pie!

 

[JAM]

JAM,
Please forgive me, if this reconstruction of a few of your expressed views, here, in any way misrepresents your thoughtful intentions.

.......does your friend Keith, ever remember a time when the BCA "CARED" about promoting, the real Pool playing that was going on in America? IMHO, it has been a "paper tiger" organization from it's inception. The thing the BCA has always cared about is maintaining the illusion the sport of pool needs them to remain in existence! I further guess, they only care about maintaining that "ILLUSION" because it generates revenue for them!

My bet would be, with money in the bank, their only disappointment is, that money associated with Pool is how it got there!!!
If they could just find a way to eliminate pool, from the formula, and maintain the $$$$$ flow, all would be well in their world.

The one piece of light, in all of this darkness, could be, that the "pool playing world" will wake-up and re-organize itself from within. With an organization founded on an amateur, grass roots level of support, for the professionals level of play. With-out that interest and appreciation, at the grass roots, amateur level, for the professionals, and the way they play this sport, what hope can there "EVER" be, for Professional Pool?

Let's face it, that organization (the BCA) won't be achieving anything like that for this sport, never has, never will, different set of priorities!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$:shocked:

When I talk about these matters with Keith, he's been burned several times by various pool organizations from the past, and he seems to have sort of accepted the current state of affairs. In other words, when tournament organizers don't pay, it's not as shocking to him as it is to most today. He just seems to accept it in stride and looks forward to the next event. Been there and done that, I guess, numerous times.

There have been several attempts at elevating pool in America during the last 40 years that failed, some due to greed and others maybe not a good understanding of how to create the initial platform. The IPT comes to mind. They had the right vision, but they started out too big, resulting in their failure in less than two years.

I believe that professional pool is dying in America, and I do blame the BCA as our North American representative. If the BCA can't cut the mustard and help professional players, then they need to remove themselves from being the authoritative entity that the WPA looks to representing the American interests.

The only way professional players have been able to eke out a living in the States has been to leave tournament play and find another niche, whether it's promoting pool products with their name on it or promoting big events like the Super Billiards Expo. Tournament competition is not economically possible for 95 percent of American players, unless they have a sponsor or are staked. And I can count on one hand how many American players are sponsored.

 

[JAM]

Before going off on any tangent about the current BCA I believe everyone needs to understand what the BCA is currently about.

IMO, the current BCA is only about the Trade Show and that is it. Nothing more and nothing less. Therefore any expectations or implied responsibility that anyone has of the BCA promoting the game and/or SPORT of pool/billiards should immediately be dismissed. They are not here for the players at all and they only have a minimal impact on room owners with the programs they currently have.

PERIOD, That's all there is to the BCA.

HOWEVER, the BCA is the NA organization to the WPA. Why I do not know as they really have nothing, nada, zero to do with the sport. I also believe they should no longer be that representative but who else is going to do it?

What the BAA was founded for NO LONGER EXISTS in the eyes of the BCA and they have no plans to go back in that direction ever again.

BUT, somebody needs to do it. Nobody is right now. Many have tried.

Very interesting view, and one which I think is the truth today. They need to remove themselves from being recognized by the WPA.

 

[JAM]

The BCA board of directors can change their course of action at their next board meeting with a majority vote.
During my tenure in office during their move to CO and they chose to divest themselves of player progams and eliminate all the scholarships given out to the Jr. players at their national event every year.
There are allot of smart business people on the board and there are the personal agenda members too.
This economic downturn along with Ivan Lee of Simonis as President could be the catalyst to change course. There has always been a lot of board member talk before/during and after board meetings where majorities can be formed and new policies implemented.
One thing I would like to see when change comes is JAM become the person who writes the artilcles that represent the sport and the players.
I like the way she's able to express herself, she has the give and take needed to be in the hot seat, she could become our own personal AZ Panozzo.

Thanks for the kind words. I wish I was as good a writer as Jerry Forsyth and others. He'd be the *perfect* one to handle this job, but I realize his pool platter is full with other pool responsibilities.

It would be nice to see the BCA try to connect with the American pool public.

 

[JAM]

...And of course, thanks so much for taking me seriously. I really do appreciate it, and I do the same with your posts.

I would love to discuss this with you offline, so that I can explain my thoughts and ideas. Someday when you have time, shoot me an e-mail at RailbirdJAM-at-AOL-dot-com. I do have some ideas which may be worthy of your time. I'd love to get your input!

 

[JAM]

For the new members who may not know who Fran Crimi is, check out the players in the magazine article below from 1982, from left to right. The captions read as follow: "WPBA President Fran Crimi," "The Immortal Jean Balukas--Always the One to Beat," and "Lori Shampo--An Up-and-Coming Super Star." Fran Crimi is the cutie pie with the beautiful blond locks in the picture on the left-hand side below.

Here's a pretty cool pool video of the "Charlie Rose" show, featuring the Miz, Sigel, Queen Jean, and Fran. If you haven't seen it before, check it out and enjoy, beginning at 03:15, entitled "The Brilliance in Billiards": http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/3758

 

[JB Cases]

the big pool magazines operate using a pay-to-play dynamic. if you buy advertising space, they'll write a friendly article about your business. this is pretty much the complete opposite of basic journalism ethics!!!! this also explains why there's practically never any articles criticising anything in the pool world (although we all know there's plenty of problems). just filler articles that wrote good things about advertisers.

its about time one of the magazines grew some cohones and did some responsible editorial work. muchos kudos to them.

That's pretty much how it is in most magazines. Especially ones that derive the majority of revenue from ads.

Welcome to reality.

Panazzo had always been one to tell it like it is though. In that regard his editorials in BD have called out the BCA plenty of times.

 

[Dartman]

...

Which brings me to BankShot Entertainment. Last year the BCA, realizing it could no longer rely solely on the trade show, engaged the help of Strike Ten Entertainment to create a meaningful benefits program for billiard rooms, while at the same time developing a revenue stream for the BCA. That was BankShot Entertainment. Through STE, the BCA gained national partnerships with Coca-Cola, First Data merchant services and Sysco food services. It was a big-picture idea — increasing room memberships, re-connecting with players, attracting outside-industry business partners, adding bodies and relevance to the Expo — that addressed the association’s mission...and future.

The BCA says it spent $240,000 on BankShot in 2010, and, quite frankly, the results were miserable. I know, because I was part of the BSE effort. The rollout took too long. Expectations were unreasonably high. The cost was high.
...

A similar article/same author was published in Billiard Retailer. BSE was geared primarily towards room owners (Coke/Sysco) which leads me to the question of who had the responsibility to drive the program - BCA or BSE. If the results were miserable (as stated - but who knows what the results were vs. the game plan) it seems to make sense to pull the plug and not throw good money after bad. I'm a little curious as to what services BSE actually provided for $240K (and what portion of that, if any, went to Panozzo).

As for this statement - "Smaller board. Smaller offices. Smaller minds." - the economy dictates doing more with less and save capital where possible. Sounds more like smarter minds IMO.

 

[Celtic]

The BCA has been a useless, irrelevant, and possibly even harmful entity in this sport for decades. The have not only managed to be one of the major powers that oversaw the downfall of the sport from a fairly high level of respect and exposure (relatively speaking to today) from the 1950's to today. They did not seem to be able to grasp onto the absolutely phenomenal and FREE marketing that took place at the release of the Color of Money and use that to gain much needed fans and introduce the sport and it's players to the general public. They have been at best, useless, and at worst they have been harmful because their ineffectiveness is from a place of power and control that extends beyond their own business dealings due to long past former glory of the "BCA" when it was a legit and meaningful organization that controlled a positive sport.

An organization is only as good as the people in charge, their goals, outlook, work ethic, and their skills and abilities to see the sport move forward. It has been a long time since the BCA has had a group of people like that. It is sad.

Truth is I think the BCA is old, tired, and best forgotton. It is like a 100 year old house with termite eaten frame, cracked and eroded foundation, the roof is falling in. It is in a state where fixing it would cost more then simply getting the wrecking ball in, destroying the old structure, and completely rebuilding from scratch. That is both cheaper and will result in a better built house. The BCA needs to be wrote off, we need to build something new to replace it and the power that the BCA which comes from the participants of this sport and its fans needs to move on to something better with more forward thinking people and business models for the sport.

I do not believe for a second that pool could not actually be marketed and presented to the public and find some success. There are alot of hurdles to overcome, the general public knows none of the players, they are not aware when the top players in the world are playing a tournament in that hotel they JUST drove past or in the city they live in. The Only reason I EVER know of a big tournament in my home town is because it is advertised within the pool scene via word of mouth which I recieve because I am a pool player. The only people who take part in this sport are true pool players, not bar hacks who sometimes shoot pool but actual competitive pool players who play the game as a sport, and we are not even close to enough to be the fanbase of a sport. We need to get the casual players, the people who play solely for fun, to notice the sport and realize what is going on. And right now pool in general is a invite only party for those types of people and they are not part of the club.

League helps, but league is a group of largely competitive pool players. The tournaments like the BCA runs during their Nationals in Vegas help, but as a fan of the sport I will tell you flat out, the 9-foot table is boring and it is one of the key things that makes me "NOT" watch the pro event in Vegas. Get a 10-foot table with TIGHT pockets for the pro event and yes, now I am buying a weekend pass. I want to see a challenging sport, not a breaking contest and see whose luck on the break holds up in a coin toss of a match. And then?

Make sure you have some actual production values, get some large projector screens that you can hang high over the tables and some projectors so you can show large views of the pool tables, the projectors are easily set up and tore down just as are the screens. This is an addition to pool viewing that is an absolute must.

And NEVER lower the race in the finals of a tournament at the bequest of TV. Standing firm on the sancity of this sport is paramount, if TV asked the Masters to only play 9 holes on the final day they would be told to stuff it, TV wants the Wimbledon final to be only best of 3 sets in the mens finals because Survivor: California is debuting tonight? Go stuff it. Have the balls to stand firm for the sport and realize that TV to date has done bugger all for this sport. If we build the proper sport TV will be asking pool for the chance to broadcast it, and that will mean the sport is doing something right. If we are begging TV then we are doing something whong and it has nothing to do with the TV so lets fix the actual sport and forget TV until that time.

I could go on and on about this, I could write a bloody book. In exactly 1 year I graduate with a petroleum geology degree and do you know what? I would go work for a small few companies within the billiards world that develop and promote pool if they were serious about actually moving the sport forward, marketing the sport to the general public, getting the sport out there in Exhibition matches done in public venues such as malls, central station, central park on a warm sunny day. Get the sport exposed to non-pool players, get them to know Alex Pagulayan, Darren, players with some personality. And go hit the sponser trail, start scmoozing with big companies about corperate sponsership deals, Coke or Pepsi, find an airline willing to become a part. At the beginning the deals would be smaller as the exposure the sport could give those companies would be smaller, but as time goes on if you market this sport properly things should improve. Part of getting people interested is going to be showing them a tough game played by people with loads of skill. We NEED 10-foot tables and tight pockets. 4 1/2 inch pockets on a 5x10 might be on the large end of things, right now that will test the players but I am thinking 5 years down the road when all of the pros have practiced on the things for years and competed on them for years, they CANNOT get to a point where they are always out on a good break, if that happens then the sport becomes a breaking contest again and it is doomed. The tables need to be tough enough that the pro's are challenged in running out.

Anyhow... I am done, too long to read at this point.