Upa, the players and the US Open

Mike, if I understand you, what you are saying is that one of the stipulations in the Contract that Earl signed with his sponsor is that he must play in the US Open. And one of the stipulations of the US Open being sanctioned by the UPA is that ALL members in the tournament being sanctioned must be members of the UPA. And doesn't Earl get a free guaranteed entry because he won it? And it is very doubtful that the UPA will allow Earl to re-join them since they actually kicked him out. And I doubt that Earl wants to join them anyway. Now Cuetec being a respected company wants Earl to represent them at the US Open because they know that he is good for their image and their company. I received an e-mail last year from that company that sponsors CW informing me that they were not at all interested in the US Open. That was their response to my asking them how can they sponsor someone who was doing so much harm to the US Open. (In my opinion). So Mike, what does Barry say is the reason the US Open is not sanctioned by the UPA. Maybe it is just time for promoters to just say screw the UPA and the players who support it. Here is the tournament, these are the rules you play by. You want to play, come. You don't, stay home. And the rest of us should boycot CW's sponsors if CW continues with this fiasco. Jake

Harry, I am also interested in what you mean by "money grabbing scheme"

Bob Romano, Promoter of the Windy City Open

Gremlin said:

Face it. No one in there right mind outside the pool industry is going to put a nickel into people who are all on there own little money grabbing scheme.

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Like the promoters?

AzHousePro said:

Harry, I am real curious what you mean with this comment. Who is involved in money grabbing schemes?

Mike

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mike, my take on H's statement was that he meant pool is splintered with indivisual tournaments around the country,,,,no unity of effort to see the industry grow.

rather, like players,,, the promoters are shortsighted and only looking to promote their own little effort(money grabbing schemes).

SLIGHTLY over the top statement, maybe, but look at the problems williams is facing and will face when trying to get organizers to agree to his/players terms. one organizer is fighting back (who do you think YOU are to tell us what to do), in order to keep things his way.

I have to agree with Mike that if promoters were making a killing on events, there would be an event held every week.

How many time have we seen a "First Annual..." event, but never see another?

Harry, if it's so easy to make a living promoting events, I suggest you try it and then come back to this board and talk about how much money you've walked away with.

Everyone needs to work together to make pool better. Not just the promoters, but the fans, the players, the pool organization, the billiard industry in general.

I have to agree with the last post...I don't believe the events make lots of money either....they ARE for the players. I believe pool has gotten more publicity in the past year then ever before because of the televised events. Oh and Gremlin, it doesn't matter who you cheer for.....the women the men, they are all key factors in the sport. We all have our favorites, the difference is that we don't plug the boards with updates on them.

For the record, I practice quite often and feel I have a strong game coming your way one day soon.....it is my dream to play professionally as well.....the only pool player I will be sponsoring is myself......I have played in events with Ms. Ellerby and although thought she had a strong game, her personality has lots to be desired.....I wish you both the best.....

Aw Harry, that ain't entirely true. I think you will be doing a little bit of supporting men's pool this weekend.

Barry Berhman will have completed his sentence (serving on the weekends) by my calculations, one week prior to the start of the US Open.

The US Open ticket sales started May 1st. Looks like there have already been some sales so far, according to the seating chart. BTW, I already ordered my tickets.

If the UPA and Barry Berhman do not work together to get this tournament sanctioned, who's loss would it be? How many pros will not show up? If last year was any indication, some fans were referring to the tournament as the US Open Lite. (for the lack of a lot of CW's buddies not showing up)

I don't think the UPA will be strong enough by September to make any great impact on the attendance of the US Open. Only Barry Berhman will be able to influence this year's events success. Barry will need more help than ever. Maybe this year he will have to cut back on a lot of extras and eat a little piece of HUMBLE pie.

My opinion..

If you read my post it said I have played in events WITH her not AGAINST her....and in pool you don't play the person anyway, you play the table.....you of course have your opinion as do I, so we will call it a draw......as it seems both of us are quite hard headed......also, I did not attack anyone, simply stated what I have witnessed. Thank you for the information about the Hunter, but I am quite aware of the players, the event and others just like it.

In order to make sure that ALL of the best players in 9-ball are at the US Open, Karen Corr and Allison Fisher need to be added to the roster. Come on Barry, do the right thing.

Harry,
Perhaps this is off the topic, but you are very wrong about the Capital City Classic. I am not from Philadelphia, but I have stayed in several hotels throughout the city and the Adam's Mark is by no means a "fleabag hotel". I believe that it is actually a four star hotel with a four-star restaurant on the top floor. I imagine that $120 is a pretty reasonable price for the accomodations. Perhaps you don't have the money to spend for the hotel, but I would hope that you will
refrain from spreading the falsehoods about the host hotel. If you want to stay in a hotel that charges both nightly AND hourly, be my guest...

Joe Mama

Tom In Cincy said:

[If the UPA and Barry Berhman do not work together to get this tournament sanctioned, who's loss would it be? How many pros will not show up? If last year was any indication, some fans were referring to the tournament as the US Open Lite. (for the lack of a lot of CW's buddies not showing up)

I don't think the UPA will be strong enough by September to make any great impact on the attendance of the US Open. Only Barry Berhman will be able to influence this year's events success. .

My opinion.. [/B]

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It seems that the US Open and the UPA got themselves into a catch-22.

To be sanctioned ALL players must be members of the UPA.

Earl Strickland is not a member of the UPA and most likely the UPA will not allow him to re-join.

Since Earl Strickland is a former winner of the US Open he gets a paid entry to the US Open.

Earl is committed, by contract with his sponsor, to play in the US Open.

Will the UPA relent and give Barry an exception in Earl's case?

Will Earl make an attempt to re-join the UPA?

Will the UPA allow Earl to re-join?

Or, is there some other reason that the US Open is not sanctioned? Neither Barry nor Charlie seem to want to explain why it is not sanctioned.

All in all it is just another black eye for pool.

Stay tuned for further episodes of the battle of the egos.

Jake