Recent content by Bob Jewett

Soo.... There's a YouTube guy called The Blind Surfer because, well, he's blind and he surfs. In one video he shot some pool. Didn't say what system he used but he did make some shots. It looked to me like there was some kind of pivot going on. 😎

They are taking vendor signups so far. In Oaks again. Ignore the preview, it's really for 2026: https://superbilliardsexpo.com/

I don't recall ever seeing them post.

Nah. I think @Flakeandrun will do better to avoid contact with the irresponsible, confused nit. I suspect that asking for money on the light or someone holding the stake would be interpreted as an insult or worse. Face is a large issue in that pool hall.

Not an unprecedented move. I used to mark my shaft so I could know which way was up. At the start of a match, a pro player complained to the TD that I had an illegal aiming aid. He was told to go play his match. I put a mark next to that player's name on my list.

Maybe the top players have found most of the "secrets" of the game in the last 60 years, and we are seeing the limit of human performance. I think there is some of that. Maybe a little more "oil" has seeped in to the game.

The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards by Mike Shamos shouldn't cost more than $20 delivered to your house. The best place I know of to look for used books is https://www.addall.com/used/ which lists this:

He also finished second in the 1982 National Collegiate Championship while attending Michigan Tech in the UP. He beat me in the semi-finals. https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/acui-9-ball-collegiate-championships-discontinued.518888/#post-6764432

Now I see the ref is operating a beeper thingie which beeps just as the balls stop rolling. No display, though, that I could see. The ref seems to give a warning at 35 and sometimes starts a verbal countdown.

Yes, anyone who has played for a while knows where the pockets are without looking. On the other hand, you do see some top players walk over to the OB line to make sure. The "I can't even see the pocket" demo was a favorite of Hal Houle's.

I hope that is all worked out, but that's not a theme in pool lately. :( I just called Big Dog and they have not settled on dates for the 2026 Midwest Expo yet -- so far as the people there today know.

I think he'll be a good addition if he makes it. I hope they fix the coach/captain thing. Nobody up there can beat him since Bruce Choyce left. (A free pair of Bob Byrne books to the first to explain that obscure pool reference.)

On a related topic, recently I gave a pool lesson in London (during my MC trip), and the room gave us one piece of chalk. When we got to spinning the ball, it was miscues galore. I looked at the chalk and it was stamped "made in China". WTF? About $20 an hour for the table and they give us five...

Three and a half. But the games only took 7 minutes each on average, including commercials. I thought heyball had a game clock. I guess they don't use that or a shot clock in major events. EDIT: The ref operates a shot clock, but there doesn't seem to be a displayed time. One ball off is a...

I can see several posts like #44 from a deleted member. Were there others?