Is Earl Strickland in semi-retirement?

westcoast

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I haven't heard much about Earl recently. Last news I heard involved him beating Shane in an exhibition. He doesn't seem to be signed up for any of the west coast swing events or Vegas. I thought he would return to playing in Vegas now that the pro events are back on the 9 footers. I'm planning on attending the us open 8 ball of in late July and was hoping he would sign up.
 

philly

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I haven't heard much about Earl recently. Last news I heard involved him beating Shane in an exhibition. He doesn't seem to be signed up for any of the west coast swing events or Vegas. I thought he would return to playing in Vegas now that the pro events are back on the 9 footers. I'm planning on attending the us open 8 ball of in late July and was hoping he would sign up.

It seems that Earl has moved out of NYC. He has been spending a fair amount of time at Pete Fusco's room, The Spot, in Trevose Pa. from what I hear.
 

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pay his entry and expenses, and he'll show up! :thumbup:

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

I haven't heard much about Earl recently. Last news I heard involved him beating Shane in an exhibition. He doesn't seem to be signed up for any of the west coast swing events or Vegas. I thought he would return to playing in Vegas now that the pro events are back on the 9 footers. I'm planning on attending the us open 8 ball of in late July and was hoping he would sign up.
 

Poolhall60561

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm going to list every pro player that I think legitimately saved enough to retire

Shane
Your probably right and that's to bad.
I read her recently Lassiter died broke, not sure if it was true but if so that's sad.
 

Bobkitty

I said: "Here kitty, kitty". Got this frown.
Gold Member
Silver Member
I haven't heard much about Earl recently. Last news I heard involved him beating Shane in an exhibition. He doesn't seem to be signed up for any of the west coast swing events or Vegas. I thought he would return to playing in Vegas now that the pro events are back on the 9 footers. I'm planning on attending the us open 8 ball of in late July and was hoping he would sign up.

I wonder if we'll see a chain of children's hospitals named after Earl like Jack Nicklaus has done? Don't get too riled up, it's just a notation about the difference in sports. Was jack more talented than Earl? Both top notch athletes in their respective fields?
 

middleofnowhere

Registered
I'm going to list every pro player that I think legitimately saved enough to retire

Shane

Actually many players have done well, while maybe not directly from playing the game but in the industry. Many players had successful pool rooms or supply companies. Some like Miz made money as a result of their celeb. Truth is, at the end of every life people have regrets.

I am not so sure pool players really have that many regrets. They chose the life they lived and probably enjoyed most all of it. As they say, you can't take it with you. I can't tell you how many people I have known who worked their lives away at jobs they hated only to drop dead at 55. Security can be very over rated.
 
Haters! How can you joke about people's financial status? Especially those with talent? I swear there are nothing but dicks on this site. With a few exceptions.

These are not rappers. These are people and players with REAL talent that do not get paid anywhere near what they deserve.

I want to give half a jap slap to half the idiots on this site.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 

M.G.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Haters! How can you joke about people's financial status? Especially those with talent? I swear there are nothing but dicks on this site. With a few exceptions.

These are not rappers. These are people and players with REAL talent that do not get paid anywhere near what they deserve.

I'll have that jap slap now, please, and I couldn't care less about that :D
And yes, I'll join the Strickland "haters" - only I would like to call it a unclouded view.

While this is off topic now - this is something that we can and should objectively argue about.

In comes down to this sentence:
In the end we must accept and believe than pool is not important, not for our lives and not for mankind. Nothing about pool actively contributes to a better life, on absolutely no level. It's pasttime, a hobby, something we do for fun.
(This is also true for Snooker, but they managed to develop the sport into something.)
Hitting balls with a stick... and you really talk about it like it is about curing cancer.
I will also gladly say the same about dancers and the like, and most musicians, with really a few exceptions.

While I strongly believe that work needs to pay well and in a way that you can sustain a normal life I also strongly do not believe that athletes (no matter which sport) should be payed huge sums.
After all, they are not really contributing to the advancement of mankind, they are largely there for entertainment only.
I say largely, because once in a while something tried in sports (for example, motorsports) is brought back for the betterment of daily life. But this is much rarer than one might expect.
Nowadays entertainment is valued quite highly - but the you gotta be entertaining which Strickland currently is not. He just comes off as arrogant, violent and mean, and childish!


Also talent is something that is not objectively quantifyable - and in Strickland's case it no longer is evident for a spectator RIGHT NOW.
It was evident, until around 15 years ago. This is probably something we can all agree.
It might still be evident in lessons for kids or some trick shot shows, but it's not in tournaments.

Now, as somebody already wrote: they knew what was coming, and they chose this route anyway. They had fun, but when you get older competing is harder.
It's better to start building a successful business out of your experience in the sport, for example pool room + lessons, cue and table repair, coaching teams, professional commenting, etc.

I'm not sure if Strickland did this actively. He did lessions in some billard cafe for 1 year or so? I also heard somewhere he has nice real estate in some good area.
But he also made sure Cuetec didn't like him anymore, which really is an extreme dumb move instead of actively developing this partnership into a longrunning one.

So in the end it's about sleeping in the bed you made yourself.
Strickland did a lot in the past 15 years or so to have his perfect bed ruined.

While I give him a certain excuse due to his mental condition this is also something he could've worked on.

Cheers,
M
 
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jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
I wonder if we'll see a chain of children's hospitals named after Earl like Jack Nicklaus has done? Don't get too riled up, it's just a notation about the difference in sports. Was jack more talented than Earl? Both top notch athletes in their respective fields?

Pretty hard to compare Nicklaus with Earl in any way. Jack conducted himself with class throughout his career, even when people screamed at him and called him names when he played against Palmer. He always took the high road and never complained. Jack and his wife Barbara always had concern for children and early on created a foundation to help sick kids. They lived a good honorable life and were rewarded for it. I have a lot of respect for Jack Nicklaus.

On the other hand I watched Earl throw away one opportunity after another with his bad behavior. He had by far the best sponsorship deals in all of pool in the 90's and it was all gone within ten years. Likewise he had opportunities to do some good with his money and he spent it on selfish pursuits. He also has the life he created for himself.

Life is not just about how much talent someone has. More importantly it is about how you conduct your life and how you treat others, particularly those less fortunate than you. This is why I have little sympathy for the highly paid athletes and entertainers who blow all their money and have to resort to bankruptcy.

The greatest lesson I learned long ago was that the more you give, the more you receive! :smile:
 
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us820

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Haters! How can you joke about people's financial status? Especially those with talent? I swear there are nothing but dicks on this site. With a few exceptions.

These are not rappers. These are people and players with REAL talent that do not get paid anywhere near what they deserve.

I want to give half a jap slap to half the idiots on this site.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
If you are directed at me,I love Earl.I wish he retired with millions but that is not the state of pool today.
 

Stones

YEAH, I'M WOOFING AT YOU!
Silver Member
I hope the guy continues to play, but I wouldn't mind it a bit if he retired his mouth.


Stones
 

buckets

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
After all, they are not really contributing to the advancement of mankind, they are largely there for entertainment only.

Play is one of the most important aspects of human life and culture; denying its importance is foolish at best and deadly at worst.

You can sit back and say that entertainment is not important, but there's a reason that big name actors get paid millions. Spoiler alert—it's because we need them.

All work and no play makes Johnny have a heart attack at 53 :thumbup:
 
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