Anyone ever attended Mike Sigel's Bootcamp in Florida?

Nope. And I won't ever attend it, either.

Neither will I ever buy a product endorsed or sold by Mike Sigel.

Nor will I ever attend an event promoted by him.

Mike Sigel burned his bridges in the industry, as far as I am concerned..

Russ
 
I missed the scandal. Did he get arrested for doing coke? Is that what has you so disgusted with him Russ?

I hope not, because that seems like an overreaction... it doesn't make him an evil person or a cheater or anything less than a world-class pool player. I think this fella said it best already...
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=255906&postcount=28

During the 70's and 80's, when sigel ruled, people didn't know the dangers of coke. I won't say it was as common as pot but people looked at it the same way, as no big deal. It wasn't considered a 'hard' drug like it is today.

I'm not saying I agree with that attitude... I think it's a dangerous drug and people would be foolish to get into it. Still, I have friends and relatives who did coke and turned out just fine. They aren't bad people. It's just something people did back then, it wasn't just junkies and bums and dumb kids and deviants, it was doctors and lawyers and parents too.

One of the big differences world class players like mike and strong shortstops is just knowledge. In fact I'd say brains outweigh execution in Mike's forte, straight pool. So mike clearly has those brains and is therefore someone I'd want to learn from. I would cheerfully attend any pool school he teaches. I'd buy the products he endorses too if they're good products. The value of a product doesn't change because someone I don't like happens to use it (or gets paid to pretend to use it).
 
jimmy-leggs said:
How can he teach pool? Would'nt it be hard to stroke a cue when your stroking K.T.s ____.:eek: :D
I just shot coffee out of my nose.....thanks a lot!!! :) :) :)
 
And if it's about the IPT instead of drugs, that's also ridiculous. Mike wanted it to succeed just as much as anyone else. It wasn't his fault KT screwed up.
 
CreeDo said:
I missed the scandal. Did he get arrested for doing coke? Is that what has you so disgusted with him Russ?

Nope. It was that Mike Sigel is the one who brought Kevin Trudeau the scam artist into the midst of pro pool. Right now, the pros are still waiting to be paid in full a year later, and Kevin is still making money off selling IPT merchandise. Kevin Trudeau is a millionaire. he ought to just pay the ****ing bill and get it over with.

Kevin Trudeau's involvement in pool has so demoralized some pros, that they just up and quit the game. Never mind the fact that Kevin Trudeau has yet to refund the qualifier fees for those people who never had a chance at any money.

And our own Mike Sigel brought him into our circle. Mike's name is dirt in the community.

One of the big differences world class players like mike and strong shortstops is just knowledge. In fact I'd say brains outweigh execution in Mike's forte, straight pool.

If that were true, then Grady Matthews would have a chance to beat Efren even at One Pocket. But he doesn't. No chance. Big fat 0 chance.

Not a knock against Grady, it's just that that's the way it is. You have to execute. You can know what the right shot is, but if you can't execute it, that knowledge is useless.

I said it before, I'll say it again. The only difference between shortstops and champions is utter confidence in one's self, and absolute drive to win. Always. That's the difference.

Anyone can learn the shots. Not everyone can make the shots off the rail, in the finals of a tournament, hill-hill. Horrible person that he is, Mike had that ability. That's why he was a winner.

Russ
 
Say your Prayers! The world may be coming to an end :eek:

Russ Chewning said:
Nope. And I won't ever attend it, either.

Neither will I ever buy a product endorsed or sold by Mike Sigel.

Nor will I ever attend an event promoted by him.

Mike Sigel burned his bridges in the industry, as far as I am concerned..

Russ


I can't believe it. I actually agree with something Russ stated.
 
Takumi4G63 said:
And if it's about the IPT instead of drugs, that's also ridiculous. Mike wanted it to succeed just as much as anyone else. It wasn't his fault KT screwed up.

To this day, I don't think anyone has heard Mike speak out in the press against Kevin's treatment of the monies owed. In my opinion, that speaks volumes.

Russ
 
CreeDo said:
I missed the scandal. Did he get arrested for doing coke? Is that what has you so disgusted with him Russ?

I hope not, because that seems like an overreaction... it doesn't make him an evil person or a cheater or anything less than a world-class pool player. I think this fella said it best already...
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=255906&postcount=28

During the 70's and 80's, when sigel ruled, people didn't know the dangers of coke. I won't say it was as common as pot but people looked at it the same way, as no big deal. It wasn't considered a 'hard' drug like it is today.

I'm not saying I agree with that attitude... I think it's a dangerous drug and people would be foolish to get into it. Still, I have friends and relatives who did coke and turned out just fine. They aren't bad people. It's just something people did back then, it wasn't just junkies and bums and dumb kids and deviants, it was doctors and lawyers and parents too.

One of the big differences world class players like mike and strong shortstops is just knowledge. In fact I'd say brains outweigh execution in Mike's forte, straight pool. So mike clearly has those brains and is therefore someone I'd want to learn from. I would cheerfully attend any pool school he teaches. I'd buy the products he endorses too if they're good products. The value of a product doesn't change because someone I don't like happens to use it (or gets paid to pretend to use it).

Most of the people want nothing to do with him because of the IPT fiasco.
Mike was the guiding light for that organization, the entire concept of the IPT was mikes, from the type of play to the cloth. Most people also think Mike is as responsible as KT, and since he isn't talking most also assume that he was not shorted any money like all the other players were when the IPT fell apart.

So, support who you wish to, I personally think their are others I would choose, just remember don't bend over to shot with him behind you:eek: , people who deal with Mike have a way of getting screwed.;)

By the way, good luck with your lessons, and take some KY jelly with you just in case!!!!!!!!;) :D :D
 
people were aware of coke being a bad drug long ago, long before the 70's or the 60's. Mike played better all geeked up and he knew damn good and well what he was doing, Brunswick dropped him years ago for his image, sure he is a great player but that dosent make him a great person. I'm a marketer like KT-except I dont break the law etc. I like to sleep at night and Mike would have been near the bottom of the list of choices for me if I was going to put together a tour, KT didnt do his homework. They are both POS's to me. They are both great at what they do-so let them go do somethinf elsewhere, I dont buy the story that it ruined some pros, hell forget about it it was a dream and move on, we all take knocks in life that aint no excuse to quit.
 
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Isn't it pretty clear that, even if trudeau turned out to be a sleazy guy, Mike loves pool and competing and probably had good intentions? He wanted to do something good for the sport and f'ed up. That sucks but he's human, try to forgive him. Trudeau's supposed to be a world class scammer, maybe mike simply got duped like the rest of us. I don't think it's fair to make him out like he's dirt because he backed the wrong horse. Or maybe more accurately picked the wrong horse to back pool. This analogy is starting to suck. But you know what I mean?

Also, are all pros on the same page about this? I had the impression some are still hoping trudeau will end up having a positive impact. You and J.Schmidt argued about that, right?
 
Russ Chewning said:
To this day, I don't think anyone has heard Mike speak out in the press against Kevin's treatment of the monies owed. In my opinion, that speaks volumes.

Russ

His silence is deafening. And damning.
 
Pretty high standards around here, I'd say. Bunch of angels.

Fatboy said:
people were aware of coke being a bad drug long ago, long before the 70's or the 60's. Mike played better all geeked up and he knew damn good and well what he was doing, Brunswick dropped him years ago for his image, sure he is a great player but that dosent make him a great person.

No one here has ever sampled any "illegal" substances? No one here ever took someone else's prescription pain killers? Never broke any of man's or God's laws? Carried concealed weapons without a permit?

If Sigel had a problem with cocaine, I think the best thing to say is that he's lucky it didn't cause him to completely ruin his life or his health. Those days, it was everywhere, and possibly more widely accepted than now—the "Party Drug" of choice. I knew many people who tried to dance with "The Lady" and couldn't let go.

With regard to Sigel and the IPT...

It was a horrendous burn on the pool community, although I don't feel it was intentional. Someone always gets hurt when businesses don't pan out as anticipated, but I think Ol' K.T. gave it a pretty good go for a while. I was really pulling for the whole thing to succeed, and I think most concerned pool players were as well. I am truly disappointed that it failed, and I think a lot of observers are shifting that disappointment to anger. I hear about some players getting checks, I hope that continues. Unfortunately, there were many dashed hopes, lost monies, and other negative effects that cannot ever be made right.

There is no doubt that K.T. is a self-promoting hustler, and he was doing this as much or more for himself as for "pool", but who cares? The point is that the IPT could possibly have worked, and if it had, the pool players of the world wouldn't give a damn about his shortcomings in other areas, or what strings he had to pull in order to make it happen, as long as it kept happening. That's human nature, and it's playing out predictably. How many players refused to enter the first qualifiers and events because they had moral issues with K.T.?

Russ Chewning said:
To this day, I don't think anyone has heard Mike speak out in the press against Kevin's treatment of the monies owed. In my opinion, that speaks volumes.

How many high-ranking members of the armed forces do you see expressing negative opinions to the press about this war?

Mike Sigel was doing his part as a loyal soldier and advisor. Whether or not he is also a co-conspirator is yet to be seen - I don't know anything about his relationship with KT. It's not Sigel's place to do any differently now. Someday, when the dust settles from this, some may look back and call that a good thing. Perhaps at that point he will be able to speak freely. I'm sure he has a lot of internal conflict about the whole mess, and I don't envy the position he's in. It's hard for any person to say what they'd do in a situation until they are actually in it. The roles are different on the other side.

Ken
"Cocaine is a helluva drug"
—Rick James
 
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CreeDo said:
Isn't it pretty clear that, even if trudeau turned out to be a sleazy guy, Mike loves pool and competing and probably had good intentions? He wanted to do something good for the sport and f'ed up. That sucks but he's human, try to forgive him. Trudeau's supposed to be a world class scammer, maybe mike simply got duped like the rest of us. I don't think it's fair to make him out like he's dirt because he backed the wrong horse. Or maybe more accurately picked the wrong horse to back pool. This analogy is starting to suck. But you know what I mean?

Also, are all pros on the same page about this? I had the impression some are still hoping trudeau will end up having a positive impact. You and J.Schmidt argued about that, right?


Number one, Mike wanted to do something good for MIKE! And he did, or didn't you see the first two episodes of the Mike and Kevin show.
 
Slider said:
The point is that the IPT could possibly have worked

I beg to differ. Many people questioned the viability of the plan from the start, and were promptly labeled "naysayers". See, the thing is.. Those "naysayers" happened to know the current pool world, and can do math. The IPT never had a realistic chance. The only chance it had of succeeding in paying out those huge purses tournament after tournament was to have an "angel investor" who loved pool, and was willing to take a hit in the wallet to support it.

Oh.. Wait a minute.. That's exactly what KT said he was when this fiasco started, huh? Then, when things got rough. He changed his mind. Some "angel".


How many high-ranking members of the armed forces do you see expressing negative opinions to the press about this war?

Have you been watching the news???????? There have been many voicing their negative opinions of the war. One would assume this almost assures their careers will end, but guess what? Sometimes standing up for what you believe has consequences.

Mike Sigel chooses to hedge his bets for the future instead of speaking out against this shoddy treatment by KT. He is looking after his own interests, and not those of the pool world. Pardon me if I think little of him.

I'm sure he has a lot of internal conflict about the whole mess,

Why? What has convinced you of that? He hasn't voiced this view. His "buddy" KT screwed the pool world, and Mike was the one to invite KT to the party. He has a RESPONSIBILITY to speak up and say SOMETHING. Even if it's to say "I got my money beehawtches, sorry you didn't get yours.. Thems the breaks!", well at least we would know where he stands.

He invited the scumbag to the party. If he is now keeping silent, that is implicit approval of what KT did.

It's hard for any person to say what they'd do in a situation until they are actually in it.

Speak for yourself. I can say EXACTLY what I would have done if I introduced KT to the pool world, and then everything would have went to ****. I would have apologized for everyone's hardships. If that soured my relationship with KT, then SO BE IT.

Russ
 
I personally lost whatever respect I ever had for Sigel when I first heard him spouting the ipt crap. You don't really think he actually believed the stuff he was saying about 8 ball, etc. do you?? And I agree with Jay, his not commenting and accepting some of the blame is damning.
 
CreeDo said:
Trudeau's supposed to be a world class scammer, maybe mike simply got duped like the rest of us.

Also, are all pros on the same page about this? I had the impression some are still hoping trudeau will end up having a positive impact. You and J.Schmidt argued about that, right?

It's more like "birds of a feather flock together". Mike was banking on a big score, if he could make it through the first year or two (as a figurehead)...obviously he couldn't pack it anymore! :eek: :rolleyes: getting drilled by Efren, and then drilled twice more, in the next two tournaments, by the general pool population.

The IPT is a dead horse....regardless of what propaganda KT continues to spout. :( By far, the feelings of the overal IPT player group, they feel that they were betrayed, by both Mike and KT...and that they will either not get paid, or it will take years. That's the consensus of the groupl...imo.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
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