JAY, i too am one that respects many of your opinions ,but i have to say that i have been behind the scenes of this on again off again romance and on the frontline during the times when Shane,Rodney,Corey,Johnny,etc were trying to get there checks and this you know to be a fact! And to be told by Shannon to see Barry then doors slammed in your face will eventually leave a bad taste in many players mouths because in the last ten years that i have been close too and able to call these players my friends this is wat they have been dealing with! Its tough to listen to one of Barrys sheraids in the arena about marching out the money and medals and jackets and rings when knowing you are being lied too! And they are feed up!! Jay i love the open and would hate to see it go,but i also loved a girl that was grabbing me for a chunk and lying to me while she did it and ive learned to get on with life!!! For the players to be asking for the money that a player is owed after they are bounced from the open after they have shelled out their entry to be turned into THE PROS BULLYING BARRY is a f cken joke POINT blank!!!
My response to the above:
Barry is not always the easiest person to deal with, that much we know. Is his heart in the right place as far as pro pool goes, ABSOLUTELY! As others have said, ALL the players know going in what to expect from Barry in terms of payments at the Open. All but the top players will be paid immediately, and the top finishers will receive monthly payments. This is a given and has been for years. Last year in fact, the top finishers were paid in a more timely fashion than in previous years. Darren received his final $10,000 payment at DCC, about three months after the conclusion of the Open. He had already gotten over $20,000! Much more prompt payments than when he won the World Ten Ball two years earlier to cite one example.
Knowing this the players have the option to play or not play. But to take a stand collectively may be their undoing. How does that old saying go, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your own face." Well, something like that. I hope you get my point, being why withdraw from one of the few major tournaments in North America. One that offers substantial prize money that has ALWAYS been paid for thirty five years. Especially so considering the lack of big money pool tournaments in this hemisphere. I have to think that underneath all this posturing is some personal vendetta. Otherwise it just makes no sense to take this stand now. Professional pool in America has so few MAJOR tournaments for the players, why would they want to jeopardize one that happens to offer the largest purse every year? Too much pride can be costly.
I'm all for the players and the sport, and have intervened several times on their behalf at the Open, among other events. Rather than boycott the Open, why not offer more help to Barry in promoting it? Make yourself available to local TV stations, do interviews with the local media, appear in local malls, visit the area poolrooms, visit local children's hospitals, etc. etc. There is so much more they could be doing to help make the Open an even bigger event and perhaps make it easier for Barry to pay everyone on time. I'm sure he would feel different if he had that kind of support from the ABP players. And not a group of players squeezing him for money when he is fighting a losing battle. In case anyone didn't know, Barry puts on the U.S. Open every year because he loves doing it. If he can break even, he is one happy camper.
I guess I've just about worn out this thread. I'm not taking sides here, just trying to point out what is obvious to me. I hope for the best conclusion to all this, because I would like to see the top players at the Open and also representing the USA in the Mosconi Cup.[/QUOTE]
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Jay,
I especially like what you had to say in the text above highlighted in blue.
Each person has to ask themselves, what can they do to improve the situation.
I would like to see the top players when they are eliminated from these type of tournaments to stay around and support the U.S. Open 9 Ball Championships by mixing with the fans, being on hand to sign autographs, take photos, perhaps even putting on a clinic, interviews, or doing some pool instruction and in essence, PROMOTING POOL.
The top players should realize that they can be of assistance to the promoters and everyone can pull in the same direction.
Personally, I think this stand has some benefit. This promoter and other promoters see that these players mean business. That means that their number one goal is to get paid when they complete their part of the bargain. Hopefully, the ABP will see the benefit of helping Barry make the U.S. Open 9 Ball Championships more popular than ever and will make positive contributions that will help Barry make more money so that they can be paid in a timely manner. I think the ABP should offer some helpful concessions that will allow Barry to still put on one of the greatest pool shows on earth. I think the U.S. Open 9 Ball Championships is evolving and the payment situation is improving, not getting worse as others have hinted and accused.
No event can afford to have the players pulling one direction and the promoter pulling the other way.
Let's hear some concessions on both parties part.
Pointing fingers isn't getting the job done and if the ABP doesn't want to negotiate then so be it; just continue the same stone-walling. Hell, we still don't know who is making the ABP posts and the ABP members don't seem to be kept in the loop as to what is being said and done.
If Barry can't come up with a budget and plan that allows the players to be paid in a fair and timely manner, then just plan on a smaller, elite crowd than usual.
Maybe NEXT year the ABP and Barry can plan and work together to make this significant, "professional", American pool event even more successful.
Something positive has to happen NOW and not later.
Barry needs to ask himself, what can the ABP do to help him budget enough money to have the players paid on time.
This weekend, I watched a professional LiveStreamed pool tournament in Nicaragua, a not-so-rich country, hosting an event that paid $20,000.00 for first place and $10,000.00 for second place with professional players traveling long distances to be there. It was a great event and I saw the pro players hanging around for the ceremony afterwards. It was in a crowded little poolroom but everyone seemed to be having a great time.
An American player by the name of Shane Van Boening won it and I would like to see all of our American pro players not only playing in the U.S. Open 9 Ball Championships, but supporting this event, not boycotting it.
The ABP has made their point, now let's reconcile and work to find a solution to making this event successful.
ABP, put some VALUABLE offerings on the table.
Barry, find a way to make it tolerable and fair to the players to get paid ON TIME. Discuss and discuss some more until there is a fair resolution to this. The players do deserve to get paid in a timely manner.
Oh yeah, I wouldn't mind Mark Griffin being in a position to help these two parties out.
