Border Battle - Canada vs. USA

  • Thread starter Thread starter H. Danielson
  • Start date Start date
H

H. Danielson

Guest
The Border Battle between Canada and the USA kicks off this week. Canada is represented by Alex Pagulayan, Cliff Thorburn, John Horsfall and Alain Martel....the USA is represented by Johnny Archer, Earl Strickland Corey Deuel and Nick Varner. The action will be taking place at Le Skratch in Montreal, Quebec. Just wondering if the matches will be covered by AZ Billiards?:cool:
 
Harold, why do you figure Cliff is taken over a player like Edwin Montal or Potier. I would say either of those players would have a good edge against Cliff in 9-ball and would make the team for Canada stronger if either of them replaced him. I would venture to guess that Edwin is in fact Canada's second strongest player atm behind Alex. How much pool has Alain been playing lately as well, is he still playing as strong as when he got 3rd in the Worlds?
 
maybe they wanted to copy the Euros like how they have Davis on their team. But i think we would be alot stronger without Thorburn and put some other players in, like maybe Potier or someone else.
 
I played Horsfall in a tournament in vancouver on sunday. It was a handicapped tournament but he wasnt playing very well... I hope he can pull it together for the Border battle.
 
I think the only reason they put Cliff in the Border Battle is because he is a member of the Canadian sports hall of fame.
He is the most reconizable shooter Canada has that people(non pool playing) can identify with.

I agree there are a couple other shooters i would rather see than Cliff.Give me Raymond Cruz over Cliff anyday.

No offense Cliff.;)
 
Although Cliff and Pagulayan do make a great team though...i don't think they've lost yet together in the scotch doubles....i heard they won again today.

THen Cliff won against Varner which is a pay back from last year.
 
Celtic said:
Harold, why do you figure Cliff is taken over a player like Edwin Montal or Potier. I would say either of those players would have a good edge against Cliff in 9-ball and would make the team for Canada stronger if either of them replaced him. I would venture to guess that Edwin is in fact Canada's second strongest player atm behind Alex. How much pool has Alain been playing lately as well, is he still playing as strong as when he got 3rd in the Worlds?

This event is a made for TV production and of course you want not only your most recognizable players but you also want players who will be competitive. Cliff is in the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Order of Canada. He plays the game well and is real solid in front of the TV cameras. I agree that Edwin Montal is one of Canada's best players but he wouldn't have the viewer appeal that Cliff has. I don't think Alain Martel has been playing much lately but I hear that since La Scratch is the major sponsor of the tournament they insisted their Montreal house pro play in the event. Such is the politics of the game..you make some good points Celtic.:cool:
 
Montal, Potier, and Cruz are three players that all play better than Cliff, despite all of his remarkable accomplishments Cliff is on the downside of his playing career and doesn't play as good as he did in his younger years. The Canadians are getting embarassed at this years event (5-1 last I heard) and something should be done about it so that this doesn't happen next year.
 
Team Canada was constituted in order to attract spectators but that was imo a bad choice. Cliff surely doesn't belong there and although Alain Martel has always been ignored of these kind of events in the past, for once he does not necessarily deserve to be there. Alain has been experiencing personnal and health problems for the past two years that threw off his game completely. He just doesn't have the energy to fight anymore but tries to keep playing because playing pool is the only thing he's been doing all his life. Alain is my best friend and I really hope to see him back on track in the months to come because it's real hard to see him like this especially knowing what kind of player he has been for the past 20 years.
Some names come to mind when building the best Canadian team possible. Montal in the west is definitely an interetsing choice, Jeff white in Ontario and Danny Hewitt in Quebec. Danny has been dominating the East (after Alex of course) the last year and is the most proeminent Canadian on the US scene. Also working for the Skratch I would have hope to see him on the Team. Maybe next year.

Thierry Layani
www.layanicues.com
 
I just wanted to say that I don't think there are any combination of players in Canada that could consistently beat Archer, Varner, Deuel and Strickland playing 9 ball. Alex is a fabulous player but he can't do it alone and face it, everybody else on the Canadian team is an underdog every time they play against these guys. Alex is the only one I would THINK about betting on in a money game against the Americans, everybody else needs a ball or two.

Just my opinion................Marc Swisher
 
Back
Top