Yeah, I know it's a little premature to initiate a thread about concluding thoughts, but with all of our American thoroughbreds out of the race, it is what it is, a battle between the two hometown champs. I kind of want Wu to win, a 16-year-old with a whole lot of heart to even be in the pit with the top guns of today. Makes for a happy ending to a magnificant World Pool Championship in Taiwan. 
I've been reading the threads about "tight pockets," how they must have hindered the capabilities of the American players. Personally, the players I know who compete professionally and enjoy games of stake would most definitely prefer tight pockets.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a pool room where there is that one special table with double- and triple-shimmed pockets, the local trap. I believe that American pro players, if given a choice, would choose "tight pockets" for a battlefield. Maybe a plea should be given to the industry members and promoters. In reality, they're the decision-makers on what the playing field is, not the players.
The coverage of the WPC website was incredibly fast and furious with the news. The article written about Efren Reyes leaving the arena was one of the best I have ever read. The Live Scoring feature and brackets were kept up to date for the inquiring minds around the world, actually the best pool coverage I've ever seen.
It was very interesting to read the WPC 9-Ball Forum, quite Philippino-populated. Replacing top Philippino Efren Reyes' name in the headlines was Marlon Manalo. Unlike AzB, reading the posts over there was quite enlightening. There ain't too much praise for the American players, and after the London bombing, one poster even labeled the U.S. as the real terrorist of the world. That caught American Patriot Ted Harris' eye, to which he responded.
Of course, with the Asian-restricted tours, some of our Asian-Pacific Islander friends do not have a familiarity with our players, and visa versa, I don't know too many of them. I hope to see some of the top Asian-Pacific Islander stars come to the States in the future, but with the lucrative nationality-restricted tours on their home turf, I can't see them venturing over here to win 10- or $15,000, the average money purse in the U.S. for very high-profile events. Remember when the Philippinos traversed the United States? Seeing one at an American event is a novelty these days. They're happy campers back home.
There was some WPC scuttlebutt, Schmidt unscrewing his stick mid match with Marcus Chamat, the usual Earl Strickland under-the-microscope comments, Danny Basavich taking the heat by numerous posters from around the world for his slow play, and the environmental conditions at this venue site, unlike most that our American players are accustomed to, the lack of air-conditioning, non-English-speaking referees, and lodging facilities which were undesirable.
It was interesting to read LadyRef's response about the WPC rules, how John Schmidt should have spoken up about the questionable foul call, if only he had known the WPC rules. A few years ago, I remember the similar occurrence happening with Alex Pagulayan, Charlie Williams, and Rodney Morris in Calgary (I think), with each of them not being familiar with the WPC rules and having a foul called on them during their matches. In the future, the Americans should have the rules on hand BEFORE the commencement of the WPC and go over every single one of those rules as a group. One foul could make the difference of a win or loss in this venue.
Well, off my soap box for this morning, I'm off to see the finals through the eyes of other posters. Pool has come a long way, I must admit, and I see good things up ahead for the game/sport. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed my WPC experience right here in the cockpit at home. We sure are a diverse group of folk. With language barriers and cultural differences, however, we are all members of the Tribal Nation of Pool.
JAM
I've been reading the threads about "tight pockets," how they must have hindered the capabilities of the American players. Personally, the players I know who compete professionally and enjoy games of stake would most definitely prefer tight pockets.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a pool room where there is that one special table with double- and triple-shimmed pockets, the local trap. I believe that American pro players, if given a choice, would choose "tight pockets" for a battlefield. Maybe a plea should be given to the industry members and promoters. In reality, they're the decision-makers on what the playing field is, not the players.
The coverage of the WPC website was incredibly fast and furious with the news. The article written about Efren Reyes leaving the arena was one of the best I have ever read. The Live Scoring feature and brackets were kept up to date for the inquiring minds around the world, actually the best pool coverage I've ever seen.
It was very interesting to read the WPC 9-Ball Forum, quite Philippino-populated. Replacing top Philippino Efren Reyes' name in the headlines was Marlon Manalo. Unlike AzB, reading the posts over there was quite enlightening. There ain't too much praise for the American players, and after the London bombing, one poster even labeled the U.S. as the real terrorist of the world. That caught American Patriot Ted Harris' eye, to which he responded.
Of course, with the Asian-restricted tours, some of our Asian-Pacific Islander friends do not have a familiarity with our players, and visa versa, I don't know too many of them. I hope to see some of the top Asian-Pacific Islander stars come to the States in the future, but with the lucrative nationality-restricted tours on their home turf, I can't see them venturing over here to win 10- or $15,000, the average money purse in the U.S. for very high-profile events. Remember when the Philippinos traversed the United States? Seeing one at an American event is a novelty these days. They're happy campers back home.
There was some WPC scuttlebutt, Schmidt unscrewing his stick mid match with Marcus Chamat, the usual Earl Strickland under-the-microscope comments, Danny Basavich taking the heat by numerous posters from around the world for his slow play, and the environmental conditions at this venue site, unlike most that our American players are accustomed to, the lack of air-conditioning, non-English-speaking referees, and lodging facilities which were undesirable.
It was interesting to read LadyRef's response about the WPC rules, how John Schmidt should have spoken up about the questionable foul call, if only he had known the WPC rules. A few years ago, I remember the similar occurrence happening with Alex Pagulayan, Charlie Williams, and Rodney Morris in Calgary (I think), with each of them not being familiar with the WPC rules and having a foul called on them during their matches. In the future, the Americans should have the rules on hand BEFORE the commencement of the WPC and go over every single one of those rules as a group. One foul could make the difference of a win or loss in this venue.
Well, off my soap box for this morning, I'm off to see the finals through the eyes of other posters. Pool has come a long way, I must admit, and I see good things up ahead for the game/sport. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed my WPC experience right here in the cockpit at home. We sure are a diverse group of folk. With language barriers and cultural differences, however, we are all members of the Tribal Nation of Pool.
JAM
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