MOSCONI CUP 2023 AZB Watch Party / Master Thread

We should be able to win with these short races. Hanging out for a few days before the MC doing some practice doubles matches together is not coaching. The coaching we need is not in how to play pool, it is in how to handle the pressure and how to win. The mental side of the game is killing us. We did win when we had a real coach. Hate to say it, but JJ has got to go, there is nothing he can teach these guys.
Agreed! Playing well in the MC is all about being strong mentally. There are definitely things you can say and do to help prepare your player(s) for the contest ahead. Being able to do just that when I was staking a player made all the difference in the world. Plus made me many thousands more!

My favorite story was when Keith played Mike Lebron in the finals of the BC Open back in 1987 I believe. It was 25K for first and only 10K for second. Big money back then. Lebron wanted to make a deal and split the money. Keith called me and asked what he should do. I asked him how he felt and he told me he'd like to play for the whole thing. I told him to go back and tell Lebron exactly that. He did and Lebron got white as a sheet (Keith told me afterward his reaction) to our proposal.

That was all it took. Lebron fell dead and Keith annihilated him 11-2. We got the 25K! The match was over before it started.

There are things (many) I would say to all our players the night before the Cup started, and not one of them has to do with making balls or team strategy. I've been in the trenches with many great players (including Orcollo, Biado, Kiamco, Tang Hoa, Bobby Hunter, Keith, Cliff, Medina, Schmidt, Parica and more) and the right words at the right time did make a difference. You must be able to read your horse (player) and have a feel for what he needs to hear.
 
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What made it hard to watch for me was Shane looked like he was having a good time, even grinning when the crowd was giving it to him.
He knew what to expect and kind of embraced it. Hopefully he can pull it together and help salvage some points today.
I'm with ya here. He got up on the tough 6 ball glued to the rail and kind of gave the crowd a grin before calling his extension and making a tough shot look effortless. Then it all fell apart.
 
No. It wasn’t and he was very straight on 4 inch pockets. There isn’t much wiggle room

this table is his sponsor, he has the same table at home. it was the occasion that caused the miss. topping it in with slow pace like that is not very shane-like
 
Yeah, that 9 ball was bad but then that 7…that was just an unbelievable miss
He shot the ball at the correct angle if he were using a mirror.

I missed a million balls. If I'm missing a 15 degree cut....I'm not missing 15 degrees the other side of center.
 
Agreed! Playing well in the MC is all about being strong mentally. There are definitely things you can say and do to help prepare your player(s) for the contest ahead. Being able to do just that when I was staking a player made all the difference in the world. Plus made me many thousands more!
(player) and have a feel for what he needs to hear.
I nominate you to find our next coach, or be the next coach, lol.

Anyone who has coached a winning Olympic team would be fine by me. JJ doesn't even have to be replaced, he just needs to find these players real help for the mental game.
 
Time for a new captain. Anybody that's paid even a little attention knows SVB does not play well in the Mosconi. Jeremy set the team up for failure running SVB so early. I would have had him ranked 3rd on the team, maybe even 4th as Tyler's B game is getting pretty solid.

The Mosconi has ALWAYS been about your B game, not your A. It's about how poorly you're capable of playing, not how great you can. Shane can play very poorly in the Cup and everybody knows this. I guess except for JJ.
Should have led with Fedor or Sky.

I mean you are worried about overwhelming the guy who choked before.....you don't throw him up first.
 
We should be able to win with these short races. Hanging out for a few days before the MC doing some practice doubles matches together is not coaching. The coaching we need is not in how to play pool, it is in how to handle the pressure and how to win. The mental side of the game is killing us. We did win when we had a real coach. Hate to say it, but JJ has got to go, there is nothing he can teach these guys.
I agree. This time of year, with an occasional exception, I typically wonder if Shane could benefit from some sports psychology of sorts. Something is obviously awry with his thinking when it comes to this event or maybe it's all team competitions. I like to think his mentality is correctable and a coach/therapist more in tune with the mental side of performance could really help. I just don't know how receptive he would be to honest feedback and mental adjustments.

Watching him deliver time and time again under the brightest lights in other tournaments over the many years of excellence it is clear he has immense drive, focus and confidence. He can really rise to the occasion and bring some unreal pool when it counts like few others, excluding Mosconi Cup obviously. That is what makes this so frustrating and confusing. I can't think of a single parallel to his performance issues at MC in other sports.

I'd be pretty surprised if anyone has sat him down with regard to negative body language and its affects on a team. I don't feel his level of negativity (grimacing, slouching, uncommunicativeness, etc., etc.) should be tolerated and somebody should confront him on that though given his status doubt anyone has. Oh well, I still love his game and hope this generational talent figures this (MC performance anxiety) out one day.

Vent over. Let's Go USA!
 
I'd be pretty surprised if anyone has sat him down with regard to negative body language and its affects on a team. I don't feel his level of negativity (grimacing, slouching, uncommunicativeness, etc., etc.) should be tolerated and somebody should confront him on that though given his status doubt anyone has. Oh well, I still love his game and hope this generational talent figures this (MC performance anxiety) out one day.
I'd hate to see his career end before he is able to overcome this final hurdle, and go full Earl instead.
 
I nominate you to find our next coach, or be the next coach, lol.

Anyone who has coached a winning Olympic team would be fine by me. JJ doesn't even have to be replaced, he just needs to find these players real help for the mental game.
Think we could afford Coach Saban's 9 million a year? Here is the halftime speech of an LSU game a couple of years ago. Think our boys would respond? 🤣🤣

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I like Shane and he is truly a great player. By far the best in the USA for a long time now. To watch him self destruct last night was hard to see. I felt for him.

Pool is that kind of game. A sometimes cruel mistress. She will jilt you just when you think all's well. And it's so hard to recover after it happens. Shane couldn't last night.

There were times in my life where I simply forgot how to play, and all of a sudden every shot looked hard and none of the options looked good. That happened to me in my exhibition with Mosconi and in a tournament match with Pete Margo. I will never forget that totally lost feeling. And even Shane is not immune. Sad, that's all.
There is almost certainly no pool player alive that has not experienced exactly this. We've witnessed even pros miss with ball in hand for instance. It happened to SVB yesterday and we will see it time and time again...bet.
 
I agree. This time of year, with an occasional exception, I typically wonder if Shane could benefit from some sports psychology of sorts. Something is obviously awry with his thinking when it comes to this event or maybe it's all team competitions. I like to think his mentality is correctable and a coach/therapist more in tune with the mental side of performance could really help. I just don't know how receptive he would be to honest feedback and mental adjustments.
Sports psychologist is actually the term I was looking for and couldn't recall. Maybe we need to start a gofundme for a team sports psychologist next year.
 
I like JJ but he needs to be in the booth.
He's not a captain imo.
I would rather see him out there advising the players than Shane though.

Also, when Fedor is out there doing his thing, stay in your F'ing chair. He does NOT need help.
All SVB did there was undercut Fedor and show a complete lack of confidence in the guy who could beat him to death on the pool table.
I'm sure he'll ask for an opinion if he is stuck.

The MC team needs a captain like Herb Brooks.
Shane doesn't play well in the cup, doesn't, and should not be an automatic pick, despite how well he plays for himself.
Even though one guy shoots at a time, this is a TEAM event.
Dogging balls and giving away points that should have been in the bag affects the other players on the team.
 
I like JJ but he needs to be in the booth.
He's not a captain imo.
I would rather see him out there advising the players than Shane though.

Also, when Fedor is out there doing his thing, stay in your F'ing chair. He does NOT need help.
All SVB did there was undercut Fedor and show a complete lack of confidence in the guy who could beat him to death on the pool table.
I'm sure he'll ask for an opinion if he is stuck.

The MC team needs a captain like Herb Brooks.
Shane doesn't play well in the cup, doesn't, and should not be an automatic pick, despite how well he plays for himself.
Even though one guy shoots at a time, this is a TEAM event.
Dogging balls and giving away points that should have been in the bag affects the other players on the team.
I agree. Seemed very strange to do that. I also saw it in the European side. Think it was Jason to fsr or fuller! Only really should be Svb giving help to Tyler (because they are friends and have that relationship) or Wilford because he is a level below the others
 
Lots of pressure on Fedor today. Plays both singles and then the first doubles. If he wins all 3 then I think any Americans who didn’t want him will change their mind!!
 
Well, Today's line up is much better than yesterday, at least not trying to mask anyone... have to let'r rip from here on out.. only chance
 
The cultural difference between the two teams can really be summed up in the Jayson/Albin v Shane/Tyler doubles match. When Shane pushed out to a long thin cut on the 2 ball Jayson and Albin have a great exchange where they talk about what options exist, what they think will happen if they give it back, and seem to be settling in on giving it back and letting Shane take the tough cut when Jayson suggests “or maybe we just shoot at it?”. He gives Albin the option if he wants to shoot it (even though Jayson is probably the best on the planet at shots like that) who rightly defers back to Jayson.

Contrast that with the pushout scenario in the 3rd game of that match. The Euro’s both talked about what the right push-out would be and I believe even took their extension to determine what the best angle to leave was going to be. Shane comes up and immediately shoots (had to be within 10 seconds) without so much as even looking at Tyler and ends up scratching in the corner.

Both scenarios ended up in a foul, but the difference in levels of trust and respect for your teammates is stark. This isn’t a JJ thing, this is an SVB thing
 
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