CSI Podcast 6: Thursday, May 29, 6:00pm PST / 9:00pm EST

[CSI - Ozzy]

If there are specific comments or suggestions that you would like us to address, please post them here. Thanks!

 

[iba7467]

The upcoming invitational events should get prime coverage. These look outstanding.

1. I would love to hear that all players are confirmed.
2. Will the single elimination events be seeded based on the round robin results?
3. Further discussion on format would be nice also.

 

[krychekrowe]

Get a caliper, scale and shoot some photos of the players cues. I'd pay to get some info, I miss the What's in the case videos. But I want it more specific, like a well described cue in the wanted/for sale section .






Best regards

 

[Bella Don't Cry]

Hi guys,

After learning how CSI started and the reason behind the name, do you think that Cue Sports International will seek to promote other cue sports to the American public? For example Snooker. Giving the fact that known pro pool players Alex Pagulayan, Chris Melling and Corey Deuel have all recently chanced their arm in an attempt to gain pro Snooker status. With Chris Melling proving to be successful. Do you think this will be a growing trend?

Thank you for your time :thumb up:

 

[SJDinPHX]

The upcoming invitational events should get prime coverage. These look outstanding.

1. I would love to hear that all players are confirmed.
2. Will the single elimination events be seeded based on the round robin results?
3. Further discussion on format would be nice also.

All good questions iba !....I would also like to ask, will there be any flexibility on the number of invited players...I understand your position on shelving the 'Open's' for now, but could we possibly see the number of invitee's increase ? (ie; 24 or 32 in one pocket) ....Also, will the high limit at 8/10 ball, always remain at 16 ?...Doesn't that leave a lot of good player's, with no chance to compete ? Surely there are a lot more than 16 player's, who are competitive enough, and play well enough to win, at ANY discipline ?

It looks to me, as though inviting ONLY "elite world beaters", may work short term...But, in a very few years this will almost guarantee a huge shortage of elite player's !..I know if I were a young improving player, I would be very discouraged by never getting to compete !...Smaller tournaments. and local tour stops, offer a very poor way of 'climbing the ladder', pointwise....Also, using those, as a method of 'player rating' seems VERY hit and miss !

SJD[/B]

 

[lfigueroa]

All good questions iba !....I would also like to ask, will there be any flexibility on the number of invited players...I understand your position on shelving the 'Open's' for now, but could we possibly see the number of invitee's increase ? (ie; 24 or 32 in one pocket) ....Also, will the high limit at 8/10 ball, always remain at 16 ?...Doesn't that leave a lot of good player's, with no chance to compete ? Surely there are a lot more than 16 player's, who are competitive enough, and play well enough to win, at ANY discipline ?

It looks to me, as though inviting ONLY "elite world beaters", may work short term...But, in a very few years this will almost guarantee a huge shortage of elite player's !..I know if I were a young improving player, I would be very discouraged by never getting to compete !...Smaller tournaments. and local tour stops, offer a very poor way of 'climbing the ladder', pointwise....Also, using those, as a method of 'player rating' seems VERY hit and miss !

SJD[/B]

I would have to agree with Dick on his last point. I get the invitational thing but long term I'm not sure it's a wise strategy for the overall health of the game.

Pool has always been a participant sport. Yes, watching the pros is cool but even many hardcore fans and players would rather be actually playing than watching. (In that regard I guess pool is a little like sex Maybe it's because traditionally it's one of the few sports in which an amateur can compete side-by-side with the pros. And in that regard we take it as a given that there is something inherently unfair about excluding players of different ranks. The equitable nature of our sport has meant that open tournaments have been our AA and AAA farm system for growing players into the next generation of champions.

Like I said, I get the invitational thing. However, rather than invite a few maybe it would be better to bar a few, if a promoter feels that particular players conduct themselves in a manner they don't like.

Lou Figueroa

 

[Celtic]

There is a recent thread mentioning the lack of promotion for professional pool events and comparing pools paltry viewership to the supposed 330 million viewers that the world snooker finals received.

Given CSI is moving to increase interest in pool are there any plans CSI has to market pool beyond the confines of AZBilliards and get the awareness of it's existence out to the masses and general public? What are you doing to not only get pool playing fans and league players aware of the upcoming CSI 10-ball and 8-Ball events, but the overall masses?

Is CSI marketing the two events in China/Taiwan and the Philippines to increase viewership in those two areas given that both of those areas of the world are well represented in the events or is it just hoping word of mouth through the pool circuit and the people there that read AZB will be enough to get a few viewers from over there to log in?

Does CSI see any way, or have any plans to move pool from being a niche sport with a small isolated following and more into the mainstream public eye? It would seem pool is now more then ever out of the public eye and streaming taking the place of TV has further acted to remove main stream marketing of pool to the general public and make the sport have far more of a niche following. Much of the marketing for streamed events seems to never get past the confines of this very forum and few if any of the general public stumble their way into here.

 

[iba7467]

Like I said, I get the invitational thing. However, rather than invite a few maybe it would be better to bar a few, if a promoter feels that particular players conduct themselves in a manner they don't like.

Lou Figueroa

In no successful sport can you compete in the same event as a professional. You or I cannot compete in the US Open of golf or schedule a bout with Floyd Mayweather, but I do agree with the concept you and Dick are discussing. I believe these could grow to allow qualifiers and some league method of entering these tournaments. Remember that all of this is new and the old way certainly isn't working..

To compare to something more similar in its roots to pool; Nascar and did not start as overnight successes. They started as locally sponsored essentially open events. After a number of failures, they changed to a limited field invitational and finally made money. This method is obviously still working today.

 

[cleary]

A topic that I'd like to hear discussed is dress codes in pool. I recently played in the amateur Ginky Memorial tournament and we were required to wear dress shirt, slacks and dress shoes, no sneakers.. because they wanted us to look "professional". First of all, I'm not a professional... but most of all, what exactly is professional? What does "dressing professional" really mean? I understand you wouldn't want players to look like they sleep in their car... but we need some standards and the common idea of "professional" is 20 years behind.

Some tournaments are more extreme than others... For instance, the world 14.1 or the Ultimate 10ball required people to wear a vest. A VEST!!!!! Is this a wedding reception? Are you a butler? I personally don't find this to be comfortable attire to preform anything other than a best man speech and I don't find it to look any more professional thank golf clothes.

Also, players cannot wear sneakers. What's not professional about this?

Comfortable shoes mean a lot when you're on your feet for long periods of time.

There really is no standard for dress, rules, etc in pool... I get that, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this...

 

[cleary]

In no successful sport can you compete in the same event as a professional.

The difference is, these other sports can fill the field with top players. If the US Open of golf were really "open" to anyone, they'd have thousands waiting in line to take their shot. The US Open 9ball is open to anyone and they still cannot fill the field. That's the difference.

 

[iba7467]

The difference is, these other sports can fill the field with top players. If the US Open of golf were really "open" to anyone, they'd have thousands waiting in line to take their shot. The US Open 9ball is open to anyone and they still cannot fill the field. That's the difference.

I agree today, but I do not believe that would have been the case for the first one. You have to grow to that point. The first PGA Championship was an invitational event in New York.

 

[RonMason]

I have been a member of the BCA for many years now. I play out of NYC and have played on BCA team 9 ball team, NAPL team 8 ball, 10 ball and their 9 ball singles leagues. These are all BCA sanctioned.

It has come to attention that we are now required to register with the BCA ($15) for every league we join. So for example, I want to play in Tony Robles NAPL (BCA sanctioned) leagues, 3 of them to be exact. I am expected to register and pay 3 separate times? I also play in the Amsterdam Billiards team 9 ball league which is run by John Leyman. That's another $15?

If the cause of this is league operators not collecting or turning in fees in a timely manner, then maybe they should be punished for it. If it is for administrative purposes, then maybe you should use the current electronic signup processes you already have in place for the BCAPL.

I am not sure what the reason is behind this, but the idea of this is not good.

If there is no way around not charging us for every league we play in, then maybe I can suggest a tier structure of payments. If you play in one league, $15. If you play in two leagues, $25, etc.,

NOTE: I don not know if what I wrote above is accurate or not. It's just what has been mentioned around the leagues. I am just wanting to know what is accurate and what is not. Thank you kindly for your future response.


Thank you,

Ron Mason

 

[CSI - Ozzy]

League Sanction Fees

I have been a member of the BCA for many years now. I play out of NYC and have played on BCA team 9 ball team, NAPL team 8 ball, 10 ball and their 9 ball singles leagues. These are all BCA sanctioned.

It has come to attention that we are now required to register with the BCA ($15) for every league we join. So for example, I want to play in Tony Robles NAPL (BCA sanctioned) leagues, 3 of them to be exact. I am expected to register and pay 3 separate times? I also play in the Amsterdam Billiards team 9 ball league which is run by John Leyman. That's another $15?

If the cause of this is league operators not collecting or turning in fees in a timely manner, then maybe they should be punished for it. If it is for administrative purposes, then maybe you should use the current electronic signup processes you already have in place for the BCAPL.

I am not sure what the reason is behind this, but the idea of this is not good.

If there is no way around not charging us for every league we play in, then maybe I can suggest a tier structure of payments. If you play in one league, $15. If you play in teo leagues, $25, etc.,

Thank you,

Ron Mason

Mr. Mason,

First, I would like to thank you for bringing this up in a completely respectful way. We will address this in detail during the Podcast tomorrow but I do want to share one thought with you on this thread. If a single League Operator runs multiple leagues with different league numbers, he or she can combine them to form a single league with multiple divisions. This would allow everyone to sanction at the same time with one sanction fee regardless of how many divisions they play. This method saves everyone a lot of time and work. I have spoken to Tony and I am under the impression that he plans to do this.

However, if you also decide to play in John Leyman's league, that is a completely different league and would require another sanction fee because we have to perform all of the same functions to sanction and support that league regardless of whether the players are new or existing. There are also several other reasons which we will discuss further tomorrow night.

Please feel free to call us anytime if you have further questions and again, thanks for addressing this in a very respectful way.

 

[lfigueroa]

In no successful sport can you compete in the same event as a professional. You or I cannot compete in the US Open of golf or schedule a bout with Floyd Mayweather, but I do agree with the concept you and Dick are discussing. I believe these could grow to allow qualifiers and some league method of entering these tournaments. Remember that all of this is new and the old way certainly isn't working..

To compare to something more similar in its roots to pool; Nascar and did not start as overnight successes. They started as locally sponsored essentially open events. After a number of failures, they changed to a limited field invitational and finally made money. This method is obviously still working today.

Pool is different. Some events, even with an Open field, you cannot get 64 players much less 64 pros. Arguably, the most successful events in pool are the big league tournaments populated by amateurs and those that are "Open" to amateurs like the DCC. IMO going to small invitationals will hurt more than help the sport at large over the long haul.

Lou Figueroa

 

[RonMason]

Mr. Mason,

First, I would like to thank you for bringing this up in a completely respectful way. We will address this in detail during the Podcast tomorrow but I do want to share one thought with you on this thread. If a single League Operator runs multiple leagues with different league numbers, he or she can combine them to form a single league with multiple divisions. This would allow everyone to sanction at the same time with one sanction fee regardless of how many divisions they play. This method saves everyone a lot of time and work. I have spoken to Tony and I am under the impression that he plans to do this.

However, if you also decide to play in John Leyman's league, that is a completely different league and would require another sanction fee because we have to perform all of the same functions to sanction and support that league regardless of whether the players are new or existing. There are also several other reasons which we will discuss further tomorrow night.

Please feel free to call us anytime if you have further questions and again, thanks for addressing this in a very respectful way.

Thank you for such a prompt response Ozzy. I look forward to tomorrow nights podcast.

Have a great day!

Ron

 

[StraightPoolIU]

Can you talk a little bit about the new Darren Appleton instructional dvd that Justin and Cleary have been working on since the trailer was just released today? Also, I like listening to Mark and Ozzy, but I miss hearing Justin's opinions from time to time so it would be cool if we got to hear from him on a topic or two if he wants to talk.

 

[Banikane]

1) Any plans for CSI to take the lead and start a Pro tour? At any point in the last 6 months have you contacted any of the other big tournaments to consider joining forces? Seems to me if a few of the big dogs would combine what they already do under one umbrella(kind of like the NFL did in the beginning) there are almost enough tournaments to start a tour. Your thoughts?

2) Any thoughts on trying to bring pool as a competitive sport to the college/ high school level? If not, who do you think would be the best person for the job?

3) Mark when you were in Alaska, did you do any gold mining?

 

[bmsclayton]

on air

Is this still happening? looks like off air?

 

[Gunn_Slinger]

lol must have been 9pm vegas time

 

[itsfroze]

You know what I can't stand, it's when in big tournaments a link is posted for the brackets, -----------> Then don't fill them in.