Mosconi cup

I think playing Earl put a weird pressure on the European players. They knew they were the favorites and no one wanted to lose to Earl. Early in each match, Europe made some uncommon mistakes. Earl had them at the ropes, but in the end, he just couldn’t quite get there.

He took us for a wild ride all day long. Watching him battle every demon, each teammate of his giving him all their energy, and him drawing on all his years of experience made for great sport and entertainment.

Today was a treat.
 
Nick8400 said:
He took us for a wild ride all day long. Watching him battle every demon, each teammate of his giving him all their energy, and him drawing on all his years of experience made for great sport and entertainment.
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My absolute favorite moment of the day - Earl had ball-in-hand and was complaining that he couldn't reach the shot. Shane picked up the cue ball and moved it closer to him. Earl looked stunned.
 
Nick8400 said:
I think playing Earl put a weird pressure on the European players. They knew they were the favorites and no one wanted to lose to Earl. Early in each match, Europe made some uncommon mistakes. Earl had them at the ropes, but in the end, he just couldn’t quite get there.

He took us for a wild ride all day long. Watching him battle every demon, each teammate of his giving him all their energy, and him drawing on all his years of experience made for great sport and entertainment.

Today was a treat.
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Agreed, fabulous entertainment.
Lots of really great moments. Picking Earl was brilliant.
 
The_JV said:
I completely agree with you.. Earl was not selected because of his play. He also doesn't attract crowds because of play. You're kidding yourself if you think it has something to do with 'celebrity status'.

I'll also agree that he is a legend. However his legend has been morphing over the years and I personally believe his invite has more do to with the current version rather than his running/gunning ability from years gone by.
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Nick8400 said:
I think playing Earl put a weird pressure on the European players. They knew they were the favorites and no one wanted to lose to Earl. Early in each match, Europe made some uncommon mistakes. Earl had them at the ropes, but in the end, he just couldn’t quite get there.

He took us for a wild ride all day long. Watching him battle every demon, each teammate of his giving him all their energy, and him drawing on all his years of experience made for great sport and entertainment.

Today was a treat.
Click to expand...
I don't approve of all of Earl's antics over the years. He's been quite embarrassing at times. Along this long ride, many fans have been guilty of justifying his behavior one way or another. But...like a struggling relative who's always trying to overcome their shortcomings but just can't quite get there - I root for him. I'm not sure what it is exactly, maybe it's just his continual pursuit of the impossibly perfect game. Constantly reaching out for something that is just barely beyond his reach. I think that alone is worthy of respect at least to some degree.

The part of this whole scenario that I'm not sure anyone thought through is what happens to Earl if he totally comes off the rails here? I know he's done it before, but doing it one last time on this most ultimate stage could be devastating. Hopefully for his sake, he can get through this.
 
Sheldon said:
Agreed, fabulous entertainment.
Lots of really great moments. Picking Earl was brilliant.
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Earl was not selected because of his play???
Earls shotmaking is not what it was in years past...but his strategy and tactics are stellar. Young folks starting to play 9 ball would do themselves good by studying his position play and not his few missed shots.
I agree, he should have been selected for the MC as he was.
 
Swighey said:
Earl adds no value to the modern game. Terrible pick (by USA and/or Matchroom).
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People are talking about him and have been nonstop since last year when he didn't even play. Not sure what game you're talking about that doesn't bring value to. Matchroom seems to know better what they are doing on behalf of pool than most anyone else who's come along in a couple of decades so I for one will wait and see to pass judgement.
Should we bring back bonus ball?
 
the whole.........Earl misses and tells Skyler he misplayed position (was perfect position)
*shakes head*
he's costing all these guys 15k each
 
Everyone is struggling with these pockets, what's really hurting USA is all the dry breaks! Too many!
 
Deruki said:
People are talking about him and have been nonstop since last year when he didn't even play. Not sure what game you're talking about that doesn't bring value to. Matchroom seems to know better what they are doing on behalf of pool than most anyone else who's come along in a couple of decades so I for one will wait and see to pass judgement.
Should we bring back bonus ball?
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This is a bunch of BS. We'd be talking about and enjoying the Mosconi Cup just as much if over the hill Earl weren't playing. He is 1-4 so far so it's not as if guys like Roberts, Chohan, Wolford, Thorpe, or Bergman (if he would deign to leave the state of Missouri) would have done any worse.

We need to give young players a chance. That's what they did with Styer and it has worked. You won't know until you try.
 
All and all Team USA has conducted themselves well, considering the circumstances. Everyone knew we were outgunned going into this conflict, the only question was how bad it was going to be. And here we are after three days trailing only 8-6 and very much alive.

Realistically I don’t like our chances from here but whatever the outcome these guys can hold their heads high. Playing only singles on the final day greatly favors the Euros imo. I know I’ve overused this word but it would truly be a miracle for USA to pull this one
out from here. At least we can dream.

For some reason I’m reminded of a BCA five man team I played on over twenty years ago. We had four very good players and one weak player, who happened to be our Captain. His name was Richard Mikesell (I want to remember him. He was my friend and he loved pool). Richard always organized strong teams and surrounded himself with good players. In a typical match Richard might win one or two games out of five played. The rest of us picked up the slack.

We won the league championship and went to the BCA Nationals here in Vegas, where we won our first three or four matches and were in the final 64 teams. Now we played a strong team from Texas and four of us went 3-2 W/L in games. Alas poor Richard got shut out 0/5 and we were eliminated. That was a major disappointment for all of us and our team disbanded after that year.

Somehow this reminds me of that very scenario, of course on a much higher level. Who knows what might have been with a better qualified player in the 5th spot on the roster? Perhaps the other four players would not have been so inspired to pick up the slack without Earl on board. Despite his shortcomings it is obvious to me the respect his team mates have for him. After all he may have been the greatest American player of all time, and he inspired all those who followed in his footsteps, including Shane.

Perhaps there might have been a better way to recognize Earl’s contributions to our sport, maybe making him an honorary co-captain. It has become pretty clear that the present day Earl does not belong out there with these elite players.

I hope that a miracle happens and he makes me eat my words. That’s what dreams are made of.
 
jay helfert said:
All and all Team USA has conducted themselves well, considering the circumstances. Everyone knew we were outgunned going into this conflict, the only question was how bad it was going to be. And here we are after three days trailing only 8-6 and very much alive.

Realistically I don’t like our chances from here but whatever the outcome these guys can hold their heads high. Playing only singles on the final day greatly favors the Euros imo. I know I’ve overused this word but it would truly be a miracle for USA to pull this one
out from here. At least we can dream.

For some reason I’m reminded of a BCA five man team I played on over twenty years ago. We had four very good players and one weak player, who happened to be our Captain. His name was Richard Mikesell (I want to remember him. He was my friend and he loved pool). Richard always organized strong teams and surrounded himself with good players. In a typical match Richard might win one or two games out of five played. The rest of us picked up the slack.

We won the league championship and went to the BCA Nationals here in Vegas, where we won our first three or four matches and were in the final 64 teams. Now we played a strong team from Texas and four of us went 3-2 W/L in games. Alas poor Richard got shut out 0/5 and we were eliminated. That was a major disappointment for all of us and our team disbanded after that year.

Somehow this reminds me of that very scenario, of course on a much higher level. Who knows what might have been with a better qualified player in the 5th spot on the roster? Perhaps the other four players would not have been so inspired to pick up the slack without Earl on board. Despite his shortcomings it is obvious to me the respect his team mates have for him. After all he may have been the greatest American player of all time, and he inspired all those who followed in his footsteps, including Shane.

Perhaps there might have been a better way to recognize Earl’s contributions to our sport, maybe making him an honorary co-captain. It has become pretty clear that the present day Earl does not belong out there with these elite players.

I hope that a miracle happens and he makes me eat my words. That’s what dreams are made of.
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It definitely favors the Euro team they have the better players! lol
 
jay helfert said:
... Playing only singles on the final day greatly favors the Euros imo. ...
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I think they have one more doubles match -- a fans' choice match. It was SVB and Woodward last year (losing to Shaw and Filler), but it's possible we could see Earl in it this year.
 
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