Great match and fun commentary:
Blast from the past: The Miz vs CJ Wiley
- Thread starter Kickin' Chicken
- Start date
CJ looks like he's about 12! 
Great Match
One of my regrets as a 50+ year fan of pro pool is that I never went to the Sands Regency event.
Nice match here between Mizerak, who had already won about 90% of the titles he'd win in his career and the up-and-coming star Wiley, who would gain the number one ranking on the PBT about five years later. Mizerak had as beautiful stroke as I have ever seen. One of his peers described him as "having the perfect mix of power and finesse."
CJs instinctive, yet super impressive, pattern play reminds me a bit of a Jayson Shaw or Chezka Centeno. Some players just seem to see the patterns almost instantly, and they are always fun to watch.
Finally, any match commentated by Incardona is a treat. He is still, in my opinion, the best English language commentator in the history of our sport.
Nice match here between Mizerak, who had already won about 90% of the titles he'd win in his career and the up-and-coming star Wiley, who would gain the number one ranking on the PBT about five years later. Mizerak had as beautiful stroke as I have ever seen. One of his peers described him as "having the perfect mix of power and finesse."
CJs instinctive, yet super impressive, pattern play reminds me a bit of a Jayson Shaw or Chezka Centeno. Some players just seem to see the patterns almost instantly, and they are always fun to watch.
Finally, any match commentated by Incardona is a treat. He is still, in my opinion, the best English language commentator in the history of our sport.
I played in them almost every year till it changed/they always had Gold Crowns stored for the annual event.... I was ahead and Finally getting to the final 8 on the winner side, played Massey.
Mike was shooting the seven in the corner pocket by the foot rail, he clipped the 8.... seven ball went three rails into the corner pocket, and he ran out.
I was on the hill and he now had 9 games.
Bad beat to lose that way.
I got turned on (not literally) too my First, great Vegetarian/hippie type restaurants across the creek from the event with Louie Lemke. One of the best guys I've come across during my playing years.
Ran into em yrs later in Louisiana at a concert outta the blue walking around/with his hippie VW van and a hot lookin' hippie chick. Great man of the Midwest.
Yeah Stu, Rempe was always there. Here's mah fav pic's during that timeframe.
Young lovers.
bm
Mike was shooting the seven in the corner pocket by the foot rail, he clipped the 8.... seven ball went three rails into the corner pocket, and he ran out.
I was on the hill and he now had 9 games.
Bad beat to lose that way.
I got turned on (not literally) too my First, great Vegetarian/hippie type restaurants across the creek from the event with Louie Lemke. One of the best guys I've come across during my playing years.
Ran into em yrs later in Louisiana at a concert outta the blue walking around/with his hippie VW van and a hot lookin' hippie chick. Great man of the Midwest.
Yeah Stu, Rempe was always there. Here's mah fav pic's during that timeframe.
Young lovers.
bm
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One of my favorites.
I'm actually a big CJ fan, but I have more appreciation for matches like this and the stories of his gambling match-ups that make you realize how strong a player he was than the tournament he won in Santa Rosa, CA (that he seems to hang his hat on) and considered some kind of major championship. I was there...didn't feel like a major.
This match in particular pops into my head often due to just how fast he runs out the last rack, at the end of a match, and has top pros just laughing about how he has nerves of steel. The entertainment value of the old Accu-Stats videos can't be replicated today. Even if the play has advanced, the feel is just different.
Some old Bicycle Club matches he was part of in Los Angeles were real fun to watch too...I'm sure people remember the famous Sigel shot from one of those events.
There are MANY players today who I would put the over/under of shooting that rack out at 10x the length of time he took.
I'm actually a big CJ fan, but I have more appreciation for matches like this and the stories of his gambling match-ups that make you realize how strong a player he was than the tournament he won in Santa Rosa, CA (that he seems to hang his hat on) and considered some kind of major championship. I was there...didn't feel like a major.
This match in particular pops into my head often due to just how fast he runs out the last rack, at the end of a match, and has top pros just laughing about how he has nerves of steel. The entertainment value of the old Accu-Stats videos can't be replicated today. Even if the play has advanced, the feel is just different.
Some old Bicycle Club matches he was part of in Los Angeles were real fun to watch too...I'm sure people remember the famous Sigel shot from one of those events.
There are MANY players today who I would put the over/under of shooting that rack out at 10x the length of time he took.
Quote of the match.
Buddy - “ I know one thing he (CJ) won’t have to worry about the shot clock”
Man CJ was just sprinting around the table. This is a quintessential match, players, announcers, location and style. Great post and great match!
Buddy - “ I know one thing he (CJ) won’t have to worry about the shot clock”
Man CJ was just sprinting around the table. This is a quintessential match, players, announcers, location and style. Great post and great match!
As was Medina, when he was lickin' his lips when gamblin'. What few know about Danny, he Never played on nine foot tables in all of his earlier years, and had a Porsche, but when he saw the money was on the Big tables he switched.
Woulda like to of seen these two go at it back then, I know Archer in his prime avoided Danny.
Woulda like to of seen these two go at it back then, I know Archer in his prime avoided Danny.
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Another gem from Buddy when talking about CJ's fearless demeanor and shot making: "He's got the nerves of a high diver."
middleofnowhere
Registered
It was interesting in the beginning CJ was freewheeling around almost mindlessly like he was just practicing by himself . Banking balls with like two strokes and firing balls hardly even looking.
Then he missed a bank and Miz ran out. It sort of snapped him back to reality. Most of the rest of the match he was more cautious. The freewheel was gone.
Then he missed a bank and Miz ran out. It sort of snapped him back to reality. Most of the rest of the match he was more cautious. The freewheel was gone.
Watching Mizerak play 9 ball is like watching Michael Jordan play baseball.
middleofnowhere
Registered
When Miz was young he was a lot like Yapp. While not really robotic once on the ball he was very precision. Sigel also. They played much like today's players as far as execution. You don't win 4 US opens in a row unless you posses something extra. In that match with CJ it was in the 90s. He was not the player he was in the 70s.
His weight was probably a factor.
We had dinner once in Texas during one of the Reds tournaments. He ordered the meatloaf. It came and was a whole small meatloaf enough to feed 2 or 3 people. He ate the whole thing along with all the side dishes, Washing it down with multiple glasses of diet soda.
It was scary to watch.
I was referring to more of a fish out of water kind of thing. He was such a great straight pool player (just a great player period), but 9 ball was not his game.