Thank you Fran and same to you. As far as I'm concerned, letting the players make the rules is like letting the inmates run the asylum. I've already seen what a mess the players can make of a good thing. What they have accomplished with the new Ten Ball rules is to make the game far more boring. You and I both know this is all about giving a greater advantage to the top players. Whatever chance a second echelon player had of pulling an upset is out the window now. These new rules will only further discourage them from competing in professional tournaments. And we need these lesser players to fill out the fields and increase the prize funds.
Yes Fran my blood pressure does begin to boil when I see a good game turned sour, when it doesn't have to be. Of course no one is asking me, since I'm still the new kid on the block. I've only worked 200+ major tournaments over the last thirty years! How do you like the new rule that if a player shoots and misses, leaving his opponent hooked, he can be made to shoot again? One more bad joke imo.
A little luck is actually good for the game! It adds another element to the potential outcome of a shot, and has made for some exciting situations over the years. I remember Efren kicking his way out of trouble more than a few times, and he never complained about an unlucky roll. I've seen the crowd on the edge of their seats when everything stood in the balance due to a weird roll of the balls. These are the things that have made pool exciting for so many years and now we want to outlaw them. A very bad move imo.
There is luck in every sport, be it tennis (net ball), golf (kick off a tree) and poker (a lucky card falls). It's not necessarily a bad thing. The fans love it when stuff like that happens. If we continue on this path, eventually the pool players will be playing to an empty arena. Who wants to watch an over officiated match, with rule violations coming up shot after shot?
I have made my feelings known to all parties in the pool world and so far the response has been lukewarm at best. This is really the only forum I have for my voice to be heard. We are going down the wrong road with all the new rules. That is my opinion! Matchroom events, the U.S. Open and Derby City remain among the best events in the pool world, with good old lucky 9-Ball! Does that tell you anything?
I began to lose faith in the BCA rules committee when they decided that you no longer win the game when the Eight Ball is made on the break. First of all this is a rare occurrence, which may happen once in a hundred breaks. So why take it out of the game? Not only is it one of the most important rules in Eight Ball, it was played that way EVERYWHERE forever! And Eight Ball is a game that has had many different sets of rules, depending on your locale. The one universal rule is now gone, thanks to a "rules committee." Enough said.
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anyway here is the third sentence from the old rule: