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Dear Gentle Readers, Headline # 1: WOW! The Efren v. Danny match: Billy, “This is the best one-pocket match I’ve ever seen.” Danny, “Neither player deserves to lose.” Headine # 2: What a Game! Efren came back from trailing by 8 balls: Billy, “Nobody plays that good.” Danny, “One of the...

Dear Gentle Readers, Terrific one-pocket continues. Headline # 1: Efren! Billy, “Efren has better cue ball control than anyone on the planet.” Billy, “Efren leaves his opponents on the rail, on top of a ball, at a distance.” Billy, “That was a very un-Efren-like shot.” Billy, “The...

Dear Gentle Readers, Oh boy! One-pocket. Headline # 1: Efren Resurgent. Efren, looking dead in the water against Scott, made, if memory serves, two late-game, mostly up-table, mini runs. Classic position play. Then, hill-hill, my sweet baboo ran 8-and-out after escaping from a terrific break...

Dear Gentle Readers, I should imagine that the ‘who’ would precede the ‘what.’ Who would you select - - Willie? Efren? Keith? Earl? Each one, and dozens of others, could prove to be fascinating to you deft interrogators. As to what to ask … well, limited to only one question, I’d forego my...

Dear Gentle Readers, Now that one-pocket is in the books, it’s time for me to book. I must bid adieu, adieu, adieu to my virtual Derby … I do have a tamale stand to mind. Thursday’s headline: Alex Caught Another Gear. I lost track of how many games in a row Alex won. I saw him dispatch my...

Dear Gentle Readers, My (personal, yea Efren!) Wednesday headline: My Sweet Patootie Wins Three Straight Against SVB! Subhead: It wasn’t quite three 8-and-outs for Efren, but close. Revisit: Okay, I get that Accu-Stats makes money from DVDs of the individual Big Foot matches. But couldn’t...

Dear Gentle Readers, Tuesday headline: Kentucky Pals Embrace. In the most gentlemanly concession of the Derby, John B. showed genuine affection for his pal, Shannon. The handshake was more than perfunctory, the bro-hug was … well, not overly demonstrative, but sincere. For me - - oh boy! - -...

Aw, Jeffrey. Dear Gentle Readers, Monday headline … SVB: 22 - - Alex and Lee Vann: 4. Shane wasn’t perfect, but I judged his performance to be satisfactory. Query: Why don’t they play for 3rd and 4th? Because they have other matches to play? Comments on the Slayer v. The Killer From Manilla...

Dear Gentle Readers, Well. As tout le monde knows, the Talk of the Town is Jeffrey Ignacio. Those eyes, those oh-so-kissable lips, that chin. Does he speak English? I’m not actually that much older than he is. As it turns out, that 22-year old can play some pool too. Skill? Certainly. But he...

Dear Gentle Readers, To me, Derby is about a couple of things - - streams and dreams. Streams … if live streaming isn’t part of the answer to the problems that beset professional pool in America, it’s the lever to pry open the solution door. Streaming has improved so much in the relatively...

Dear Gentle Readers, Jumpin’ Jehosophat! Don’t you just love Derby? For any newbies, here’s my very amateurish, and quite possibly imprecise, overview: Corporate Good Guys: Diamond Billiards and Accu-Stats … helping to keep professional pool on life support in America. (They aren’t the only...

Dear Gentle Readers, My best wishes to some of the more fascinating peeps on the planet. May you and yours be happy and healthy, secure and prosperous. Or, at least comfortable! It’s a bit early to be spreading seasonal cheer, but I’ll soon be leaving - - and will be out of pocket until next...

Dear Gentle Readers, > The Treasure Moment, for me, came at the end of the tournament when the British fans graciously chanted, “USA!” over and over. Yes, it’s easy to be a good winner, but it’s also easy to be a graceless winner. Those knowledgeable fans consistently applauded skillful shots...

Mosconi Moments … Penultimo Giorno. Dear Gentle Readers, > “I’m playing like a rhino.” Soon followed by, “I’m disgusted.” Those Schmidt comments could well have been echoed by others. On both teams. > Later Schmidt said to Corey, “Just go ahead and make it, I’ll figure something out.” Corey...

Dear Gentle Readers, > SVB finally made a shot. It took him until the last game of the last match Tuesday, but it was a corker! Described as ‘the shot of the tourney.’ > Both SVB and Corey continued to be a bit edgy, a bit off their game. > SVB’s troubles remind me of the Freezer’s in...

Dear Gentle Readers, > It wasn’t - - so far as Team USA is concerned - - a disaster. We’re down one point, 3-2 in a chase to 11. Our two wins, if memory remembers, already equal the American total from last year in Vegas. > This event, in Blackpool (think West Coast, say Oregon), has provided...

Another Angle. Here's an interesting suggestion: Sunny, A game you might try is this: Pick a ball, any ball, place it somewhere in the rack, say the 8 ball position. Scott would need all 15 balls in his pocket and all you would need to do to win is hit the designated ball. Sounds a little...

Way Cool Sweet. Sunny

(If you have a more creative way to structure a matchup than the one I’ve outlined below (in the six numbered points), please share it! Dear Gentle Readers, Is there any way that I - - or any truly neophyte player - - could engage in a competitive wager with one of the greatest one-pocket...

Dear Gentle Readers, What sort of billiards table did Mr. Tarantino include in the Cleopatra Club? I had just a glimpse of the scene (my companion was yap, yap, yap). The table seemed smallish (four feet?), had no pockets, and employed three balls. It had, I think, raised and rounded corners...