Cuetec Fires Strickland

[TheFish]

You're right, Cuetec was the pimp and used Earl like a prostitute. When he hit his forties, Cuetec decided to kick him out by the wayside and didn't give a hoot about the 17 years he helped to put Cuetec on the map.

Now Earl Strickland is free to shoot with a professional cue.

He gave Cuetec 17 years of his professional career, at a time when he was on top of the world, and in return, they sucker-punched him in public. Cuetec stinks. I'm glad Earl doesn't have to shoot with it anymore.

JAM

I am sorry, but i have to just say that is absolutely bullshit. It is obvious you are in support of Earl here, and that is fine. But noone put a gun to Earl's head to take Cuetec's sponsorship. Let's clarify something, Earl might have given his best 17 yrs, but the paycheck he got in return from cuetec might have been more than his sacrificed earnings by using those "inferior" cuetec cues. If Earl was getting screwed he wouldn't have been in the contract for 17 yrs, instead, he would have been in the driver's seat about the decision to end the contract. Not cuetec. but since it was cuetec that made the decision, its safe to say that Cuetec found him less valuable as a partner that vice versa.

 

[MVPCues]

Of course I would pick ten cues with varying weights.

Then you have introduced a variable that statistically voids the test. If you declared someone could not tell the difference between 5 different types of tomatoes despite claims some tomatoes taste better, and you provided 5 different types, some were refrigerator cold, some were lukewarm, some were frozen popsicles etc, someone who likes frozen tomatoes will say that is the best regardless of which one it is, someone who likes lukewarm will pick that one. If you offer the wager but throw in additional variables that don't put all of the cues on equal footing regarding a very basic cue characteristic that people use to determine cue performace (at least for them in part), it is a worthless and pointless offer.
Kelly

 

[JAM]

Don't get me wrong, I think Earl has his good and bad, but its just ironic how some people blindly go running around saying how bad Cuetec is while others are blindly going around doing the same about Earl. Put things into perspective, Earl got paid for 1X years for his work. So is this the thanks he gets? No, it is not. The thanks he gets is in his paycheck. And his value has been used up.

Read the thread, Pal. The key word is "USED." Earl Strickland put Cuetec on the map. Cuetec showed no class in the way they decided to end their 17-year-old business relationship with him.

This is a business proposition and one side thinks the rate is not useful anymore. Earl isn't a baseball hall-of-famer that endeared fans and have warranted special treatment by the club. He is a good pool player that has had so-so results in the recent years with a notable attitude..and similar to his stature (like most pro athletes), he got dumped after his usefulness...but because pool is not as big as pro sports, free agents don't get traded around to different clubs or sponsors.

"Dumped" and "used," yeah, you got it right. Cuetec used Earl, and after 17 years, they dumped him like a piece of trash.

Try to understand this. It is not that Cuetec ended the business relationship that is bad, but it is the way Cuetec went about it.

Pool isn't big as pro sports because of people like you, Fish man.

JAM

 

[John Barton]

I was in a great cuemakers shop once. I'll leave his name off of this, but at the time I saw a few cues hanging that were very cheap. This cuemaker only works on his cues and legendary cuemakers, so I asked why was this chinese cheapy cue hanging here. He said, "Oh thats XXXXXX cue (pro player). Im making shafts for him." According to this cuemaker, most of the sponsored players you see that are using cues that are ...well kinda crappy...have the cues sent to their favorite custom cue shop where new shafts are made and more. This cuemaker told me he has even had to cut down and totally rebuild one of these chinese made factory cues and totally redo it for a player. So on the outside you have a $200 production cue, and on the inside its a cue made by one of the top cuemakers in the world.

Earl has dug a big hole here. With his parting shots about Cuetec, future cue sponsors will hesistate even more than they normally would have (considering Earl's antics) in offering a contract to him.

This is true. A lot of pros have their cues modified. Now, we can argue the morality of that all day. I don't think a total rebuild or even a different shaft is ethical. But a lot of pro players cheat their sponsors this way.

Changing tips, ferrules, wraps and weight all fits within the realm of normal changes that most players are likely to do to their cues so those things are fine with me.

Perhaps if more pro players offered to work with the sponsors to get them to make cues that appealed more to their needs then there would be "better" cues all across the board. Perhaps if more sponsors were willing to put in the work to do this it then it could happen.

This is why the whole thing about giving the cue credit or blame is so silly.

There is no doubt that when a player feels truly confident in his cue that he is that much freer to perform at his best.

And this is the idea behind some players modifying their cues.

A consumer can never be truly sure that that the cue being played with is "stock" or not. The sponsor can't ever be truly sure.

However, whether or not the player is using a stock cue or a modified on e or a rebuilt one, the only thing that a company wants is for you to TRY the brand. If, at the point you try it it doesn't work you then it doesn't work for you. That's all. No matter what the brand of cue if it doesn't suit the BUYER then it's no sale no matter how many world championships the sponsored player has won while sponsored with that brand.

If I were to sponsor a player then it would be in their contract what they were allowed to modify and what they weren't. But also, if I ever sponsor a player then I hope to be able to tune the cue to their liking as well in my shop rather than have them go to someone else.

 

[JAM]

I am sorry, but i have to just say that is absolutely bullshit. It is obvious you are in support of Earl here, and that is fine. But noone put a gun to Earl's head to take Cuetec's sponsorship. Let's clarify something, Earl might have given his best 17 yrs, but the paycheck he got in return from cuetec might have been more than his sacrificed earnings by using those "inferior" cuetec cues. If Earl was getting screwed he wouldn't have been in the contract for 17 yrs, instead, he would have been in the driver's seat about the decision to end the contract. Not cuetec. but since it was cuetec that made the decision, its safe to say that Cuetec found him less valuable as a partner that vice versa.

Try this one on for size. Cuetech sucks, and Earl Strickland is a champion.

JAM

 

[Rasta]

Au contraire. The playground bullies are the American culture critics.

Have another puff, puff, Rasta, and look in the mirror.

Earl Strickland is an American champion. To kick him when he's down from getting sucker-punched by Cuetec is not my cup of tea.

When Earl gets a REAL cue in his hands, he will finally be capable of providing his best performance.

Go shoot with a metal rod and see how well you do in a professional tournament against players who have American-made custom cues.

JAM

What am I wrong about? That everyone loves to hate Earl? Or that he all too often fails to conduct himself in a professional manner?

You're missing the point, like you have missed the fact that Cuetecs are not metal.

You could give me a Szamboti, Mottey or Searing (or any one of many fine cues) and I will still lose a pro tournament. I don't claim to be a pro. Nor am I claiming Cuetecs are top quality cues.

Earl deserved what he got. Why? He conducts himself like an a$$hat. There are many other pro players far more deserving of a lucrative sponsorship deal.

The sooner Earl retires, the better off American pool will be. The guy is a first class clown. He's not a champ, he's a chump.

Good Rolls,
Rasta

 

[oceanweb]

Then you have introduced a variable that statistically voids the test. If you declared someone could not tell the difference between 5 different types of tomatoes despite claims some tomatoes taste better, and you provided 5 different types, some were refrigerator cold, some were lukewarm, some were frozen popsicles etc, someone who likes frozen tomatoes will say that is the best regardless of which one it is, someone who likes lukewarm will pick that one. If you offer the wager but throw in additional variables that don't put all of the cues on equal footing regarding a very basic cue characteristic that people use to determine cue performace (at least for them in part), it is a worthless and pointless offer.
Kelly

I never did understand the part about painting the shafts black. It would be a lot less trouble to use a blindfold.

 

[JAM]

You're missing the point, like you have missed the fact that Cuetecs are not metal.

You could give me a Szamboti, Mottey or Searing (or any one of many fine cues) and I will still lose a pro tournament. I don't claim to be a pro. Nor am I claiming Cuetecs are top quality cues.

Earl deserved what he got. Why? He conducts himself like an a$$hat. There are many other pro players far more deserving of a lucrative sponsorship deal.

The sooner Earl retires, the better off American pool will be. The guy is a first class clown.

Good Rolls,
Rasta

Well, I think you're a first-class something with a sig line of "puff, puff."

Earl ain't going nowhere. He has achieved more in his lifetime than most players could ever dream of. The only clown is the one who makes such an assine remark about one of American's greatest champions.

Put that in your proverbial pipe and smoke it, Rasta.

JAM

 

[TheFish]

Read the thread, Pal. The key word is "USED." Earl Strickland put Cuetec on the map. Cuetec showed no class in the way they decided to end their 17-year-old business relationship with him.



"Dumped" and "used," yeah, you got it right. Cuetec used Earl, and after 17 years, they dumped him like a piece of trash.

Try to understand this. It is not that Cuetec ended the business relationship that is bad, but it is the way Cuetec went about it.

Pool isn't big as pro sports because of people like you, Fish man.

JAM

Dumped and used? You didn't answer my question. Did Earl have a gun to his head? Pimp and prostitute? How so? Earl found enough value in his Cuetec paycheck to keep the relationship as long as Cuetec offered it.

Please explain to me why Pool isn't big as a pro sport because of me. Please, I like to see you logically explain that. Do you actually have a concept of business or pro sports? do you understand the million variables that work in concert for a business or pro sport to succeed.


Lets get down to who I am to the pool community. I am a guy that sucks in pool that spends shitloads on pool cues. And yeh, some of the pro guys might hate guys like me cuz we buy all these cues and don't "love" the sport as much as the "purists", but I don't see myself putting a gun to any cuemaker's head when they sell me a cue. You love pool, and that's perfectly fine. You love it and you see it as a passion and worth the sacrifice of many things. I don't take your view, but I have invested a lot of time and money into pool, so, please, don't judge me just because i haven't somehow earned the "stripes" that you have through your sacrifices or contribution to the pool community. It's "Fish men" like me that make cue makering a profitable business. I would be willing to lay down all the money you want, that of all the top cuemaker's cues Tascarella, Mottey, Southwest and etc, over 50% or more are owned by non-professional or if semi-pro level pool players. If it weren't, the professional pool community couldn't support the myriad cuemakers out there.

As for dumping Earl? Did NBA dump Sprewell? Did NFL dump Terrell Owens? No. Owens got paid shitloads, acted like an asshole and caused more damage to the team than his seemingly infinite potential.

Earl brought it upon himself his demise in this Cuetec relationship as much as Cuetec brought it on. I don't see Cuetec picking fights with Fisher. So what's the reasoning for that? Earl didn't perform to his money's worth.

And one last thing. Please stop saying "used" and "dumped" like you know some secret about how he was forced to sign the contracts. He got PAID for SEVENTEEN YEARS! If he didn't like it and it was NOT BENEFICIAL to him, he wouldn't have re-signed the contract numerous times. Obviously the length of his service indicates there were numerous contract extensions. So, again, like i said. Your post is BULLSHIT...because while i may somehow bring down the sport of pool, you have less of a concept of business. And by the way, yes, people like me might bring down pool from that of pro sports for this very reason, because i look at it from the business side..while you look at it from the passion side. Passionate people make great advocates, but tend to also be horrible managers.

 

[Rasta]

Well, I think you're a first-class something with a sig line of "puff, puff."

Earl ain't going nowhere. He has achieved more in his lifetime than most players could ever dream of. The only clown is the one who makes such an assine remark about one of American's greatest champions.

Put that in your proverbial pipe and smoke it, Rasta.

JAM

It's too bad you are unable to address posts instead of attacking posters.

Earl is American pool's greatest chump, not champ. He may be able to play, but he can't act like an adult. It's sad, really, but he brought it all on himself.

Good Rolls,
Rasta

 

[John Barton]

Then you have introduced a variable that statistically voids the test. If you declared someone could not tell the difference between 5 different types of tomatoes despite claims some tomatoes taste better, and you provided 5 different types, some were refrigerator cold, some were lukewarm, some were frozen popsicles etc, someone who likes frozen tomatoes will say that is the best regardless of which one it is, someone who likes lukewarm will pick that one. If you offer the wager but throw in additional variables that don't put all of the cues on equal footing regarding a very basic cue characteristic that people use to determine cue performace (at least for them in part), it is a worthless and pointless offer.
Kelly

I don't get it. If the cues are so easily distinguished then what does weight matter? Are you trying to say that a 19oz Cuetec might feel like wood where a 21oz might not? The only question on the table is for the testers to choose between two choices? Wood or Not Wood. That's it. But if you think that making all the cues the same weight will make a difference in the results then you got it. All the cues will be within one ounce of each other in weight.

When do you want to show up at my warehouse for this test? Bring $1000 to wager with and I will have the cues ready and numbered for you.

 

[DelaWho???]

I don't think I'd like the feel of the black paint....

McCue Banger McCue

 

[JAM]

Dumped and used? You didn't answer my question. Did Earl have a gun to his head? Pimp and prostitute? How so? Earl found enough value in his Cuetec paycheck to keep the relationship as long as Cuetec offered it.

Please explain to me why Pool isn't big as a pro sport because of me. Please, I like to see you logically explain that. Do you actually have a concept of business or pro sports? do you understand the million variables that work in concert for a business or pro sport to succeed.


Lets get down to who I am to the pool community. I am a guy that sucks in pool that spends shitloads on pool cues. And yeh, some of the pro guys might hate guys like me cuz we buy all these cues and don't "love" the sport as much as the "purists", but I don't see myself putting a gun to any cuemaker's head when they sell me a cue. You love pool, and that's perfectly fine. You love it and you see it as a passion and worth the sacrifice of many things. I don't take your view, but I have invested a lot of time and money into pool, so, please, don't judge me just because i haven't somehow earned the "stripes" that you have through your sacrifices or contribution to the pool community. It's "Fish men" like me that make cue makering a profitable business. I would be willing to lay down all the money you want, that of all the top cuemaker's cues Tascarella, Mottey, Southwest and etc, over 50% or more are owned by non-professional or if semi-pro level pool players. If it weren't, the professional pool community couldn't support the myriad cuemakers out there.

As for dumping Earl? Did NBA dump Sprewell? Did NFL dump Terrell Owens? No. Owens got paid shitloads, acted like an asshole and caused more damage to the team than his seemingly infinite potential.

Earl brought it upon himself his demise in this Cuetec relationship as much as Cuetec brought it on. I don't see Cuetec picking fights with Fisher. So what's the reasoning for that? Earl didn't perform to his money's worth.

And one last thing. Please stop saying "used" and "dumped" like you know some secret about how he was forced to sign the contracts. He got PAID for SEVENTEEN YEARS! If he didn't like it and it was NOT BENEFICIAL to him, he wouldn't have re-signed the contract numerous times. Obviously the length of his service indicates there were numerous contract extensions. So, again, like i said. Your post is BULLSHIT...because while i may somehow bring down the sport of pool, you have less of a concept of business. And by the way, yes, people like me might bring down pool from that of pro sports for this very reason, because i look at it from the business side..while you look at it from the passion side. Passionate people make great advocates, but tend to also be horrible managers.

You, Fish, are barking up the wrong tree. Quite frankly, as evidenced by your recent uninformed remarks, I will refrain from responding to a fish anymore. I do have bigger fish to fry at the homefront, as do most folk.

However, I feel very strongly that Cuetec did Earl Strickland wrong.

BTW, I am very passionate, and I am one of the best managers in the country when it comes to MY industry, so maybe you should go fishing for another Big Kahuna.

JAM

 

[John Barton]

I never did understand the part about painting the shafts black. It would be a lot less trouble to use a blindfold.

That is to allow you the chance to shoot balls in. The point is that you cannot visually distinguish any of the cues from each other and must rely on your feel to identify which are wood and which are composites.

If I were to blindfold you you would have even less chance.

 

[JAM]

It's too bad you are unable to address posts instead of attacking posters.

I am addressing posts, Rasta, that are attacking Earl Strickland because I feel very strongly that Cuetec is in the wrong.

If you feel as if you area being attacked, then maybe that is because you are the attacker and think everybody acts in this manner.

Earl is American pool's greatest chump, not champ. He may be able to play, but he can't act like an adult. It's sad, really, but he brought it all on himself.

I hope you eat those words someday, and I will pull this thread and lay it out for you in black and white when you will. Bon appetite!

JAM

 

[teambizy]

It's too bad you are unable to address posts instead of attacking posters.

Earl is American pool's greatest chump, not champ. He may be able to play, but he can't act like an adult. It's sad, really, but he brought it all on himself.

Good Rolls,
Rasta

I guess you think your the judge and jury of how adults act. If you can't agree that Earl is nothing but a total champion in pool without allowing what he may say to get in the way then its quite sad. I guess you would be just another one of the masses that allows the television to watch your kids and then you get outraged when one of your kids role models does not "act like an adult" Get with the program..

 

[John Barton]

You've got a bet...where and when?

March 24th at the Sterling Gaming warehouse. It's at 3372 Smith Farm Road in Matthews NC. 28104.

There will be ten cues prepared in such a way as to not signifigantly alter their feel but rendering them impossible to identify by brand or composition. Each cue will have a number on it. You may play with each cue for 60 seconds. At the end of the ten minutes you must write down beside each number whether the cue is wood or not wood.

Please acknowledge that you accept this bet. You may choose a person that we can both agree on to send the stake money to. If you do not show up the money is forfeited. The loser pays all their own expenses and bank fees.

 

[MVPCues]

I don't get it. If the cues are so easily distinguished then what does weight matter? Are you trying to say that a 19oz Cuetec might feel like wood where a 21oz might not? The only question on the table is for the testers to choose between two choices? Wood or Not Wood. That's it. But if you think that making all the cues the same weight will make a difference in the results then you got it. All the cues will be within one ounce of each other in weight.

When do you want to show up at my warehouse for this test? Bring $1000 to wager with and I will have the cues ready and numbered for you.

If you don't get it, you just don't get and I can't help you.

I have no interest in your wager, what part of my post led you to that conclusion? I was pointing out your offer was not a valid test of the hypothesis. I made the point ealier, it is not simply they are not wood. It is the performance or lack thereof the cues have, and not being wood is part of that. The hypothesis is the cues suck (perform poorly when compared to the brand production cues in the quality range I listed earlier). And if you want to make a fair blind "taste" test of performance of the cues, they have to be "normalized" as much as possible for the test to be statistically valid.

Are you going to tell me you can kick my ass on the pool table with a cuetech now because I chose to point out I think your offer is flawed and pointless? I have not even made a statement of whether I think cuetechs suck ass, play great, or somewhere in the middle, only made statements about the validity of your blind test. Focus on the last part of the previous sentence.

Kelly

 

[Rasta]

I am addressing posts, Rasta, that are attacking Earl Strickland because I feel very strongly that Cuetec is in the wrong.

If you feel as if you area being attacked, then maybe that is because you are the attacker and think everybody acts in this manner.



I hope you eat those words someday, and I will pull this thread and lay it out for you in black and white when you will. Bon appetite!

JAM

Please, show us where you have addressed a post. All I've read from you is a bunch of whining and personal attacks. You're acting like Earl, showing everybody exactly what caused him to get fired by the company that supplied the cue for all those championships he won.

If Earl were able to conduct himself professionally, he would very likely still have his lucrative sponsorship. If you feel he has conducted himself professionally, you should sponsor him. After all, you claim to be one of the best managers in the country in your industry. It shouldn't be too hard for someone as talented as you to figure out a way to finance a lucrative sponsorship.

BTW, do you really believe Mr. Madden would be building a lesser cue if he built them in, say, Canada? Madden's cues are great because they are built by Madden, not because they are made in the USA. It's easy enough to find American made crap, also.

Good Rolls,
Rasta

 

[Southpaw]

There are figures like Earl in EVERY sport. In football you have T.O. In basketball you had Barkley. In tennis, McEnroe. Hell even in poker you have Helmuth. But, what you have to look at is their accomplishments. Earl has won 6 U.S. Open titles (not to mention his other major tourney wins). No one out there today will ever break this record. Whether you love him or hate him, the guy has had some major accomplishments in his career. I think it is a good time for Earl and Cuetec to part. Cuetec can move on and try and get another player representative and Earl can move on to another sponsor while he still has plenty of time left to add credentials to an already outstanding career.

Southpaw