Day One

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
The venue is absolutely gorgeous. The amply spaced 16 Diamond tables are adorned with blue simonis, and the pockets look to me to be DOUBLE-shimmed! :eek:

All matches are scheduled with times, which is GREAT. Keith ends up pulling our hometown friend, Joey Ryan, for their first round at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

First rounds start at 4:00 p.m. Earl Strickland plays Mike Davis opening round. The Joss Tour rules are such that you must break from the D, and there are no jump cues allowed.

It's kind of a festive mood here at the Turning Stone. The environment is high class, and everybody seems to be in awe of the Exhibition Hall. The elevated seating is comfortable, providing a nice view for all spectators and railbirds. There are two concession stands, and the prices of very reasonable. Free bottled water for all, too!

The vendors are setting up, and there are several cue makers sporting their wares. Michael Webb of Webb Custom Cues is providing cue maintenance and repair. Keith got a new hard Moori tip put on for 35 bucks. I don't know why it is he waits until we get to the actual tournament to tweak with his cue.

Mike Massey is wonderful. He writes songs, and he actually sang one of his originals, four verses. I happen to be a big fan of blue grass music, and Mike and me like the same music! :)

Just a few snippets of the festivities so far! :p

JAM
 
JAM said:
All matches are scheduled with times, which is GREAT. Keith ends up pulling our hometown friend, Joey Ryan, for their first round at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

First rounds start at 4:00 p.m. Earl Strickland plays Mike Davis opening round.

Keith got a new hard Moori tip put on for 35 bucks. I don't know why it is he waits until we get to the actual tournament to tweak with his cue.

Just a few snippets of the festivities so far! :p

JAM

I saw the brackets and definitely looked for Joey & Keith....and look at that- together. How special!

Oh, tell Keith that he should never get his eyebrows waxed the day of prom. That's just crazy! :D :eek: :confused:

Looking forward to hearing more from NY!
 
Looks like Corey and Neils will be meeting in round 2. Tough matchup so early in the tournament.

Looking forward to arriving tomorrow afternoon.

Koop
 
Greg Sullivan, DCC promoter and Diamond man, was taken to the hosipital with chest pains yesterday. His wife flew in from their home to be with him. I have not heard anything further at the time of this writing.

Lots of hill-hills on these double-shimmed Diamond tables. Mike Davis and Earl Strickland went all the way to the wire, with Earl coming out the winner. Spanish Pete and Ronnie Wiseman's match really took the cake. Spanish Pete missed a straight-in 9-ball on the hill. Ronnie Wiseman gets up and missed the 9 as well. Spanish Pete won the match, this time making it.

At 8:00 p.m., Kim Davenport plays Mike Lebron. Mike told Keith he's been hitting 'em lately and feels good. This should be a feature match with two old-school combatants.

Keith told me he's played pool just about everywhere in this country the past 30 years, and he has never seen a venue as exquisite as this auditorium at the Turning Stone Casino. It really is beautiful.

That's a few more tidbits for now. We're preparing for battle at 8:00.

JAM
 
Joss Finale...

JAM,

Tell Keith to kick some ass in that tourney. It sounds like you guys are loving it already. I wish I could have gone. :( I miss Danny soooo much already. He's only been gone for 1 day. Also its a lot of fun to just hang with you guys in between matches. This sucks. Do me a favor and give him a hug for me and tell him I love him. Tell Keith I said good luck. Have a great time.

Danielle
 
MsDelish said:
JAM,

Tell Keith to kick some ass in that tourney. It sounds like you guys are loving it already. I wish I could have gone. :( I miss Danny soooo much already. He's only been gone for 1 day. Also its a lot of fun to just hang with you guys in between matches. This sucks. Do me a favor and give him a hug for me and tell him I love him. Tell Keith I said good luck. Have a great time.

Danielle

Great screen name and I hope Danny does really well too.

Regards,
Dave
 
MsDelish said:
JAM,

Tell Keith to kick some ass in that tourney. It sounds like you guys are loving it already. I wish I could have gone. :( I miss Danny soooo much already. He's only been gone for 1 day. Also its a lot of fun to just hang with you guys in between matches. This sucks. Do me a favor and give him a hug for me and tell him I love him. Tell Keith I said good luck. Have a great time.

Danielle

Hi, Danielle. Danny looks great, and he said he feels strong. Wish you were here, too.

Keith won his first match against Joey Ryan, 9 to 5. Dennis Hatch beat Gerry Slivka.

We don't have to play until 4:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Just a short update.

JAM
 
Thanks for the updates! I can't wait to see the pics!

I'm going to have to make it to one of the Joss tourneys one of these days. Turning Stone sounds great!
 
Last matches for tonight just ended. Ryan "Genie Man' McCreesh won his match.

Now the casino game room is filled with pool players. We had a couple of good runs on the craps tables. Most of the pool players are in the poker room.

Jose Parica is sporting a nice-looking navy blue jacket with bright gold letters on the back which read: Jose Parica Sponsored by Nova Cues.

Karen Corr and Julie Kelly lost their first matches. Karen had a whole crowd of onlookers surrounding her table, cheering her in. They are both crowd favorites.

Well, back to the casino for now. Matches begin tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

JAM
 
Thanks for the updates JAM...Please keep us updated as to Kim Davenports progress...We are all rooting for him here in Modesto. ......... Marc
 
Playsome said:
Thanks for the updates JAM...Please keep us updated as to Kim Davenports progress...We are all rooting for him here in Modesto. ......... Marc

Kim Davenport looks GREAT. He was chatting with a few of us, and Keith asked him about his family. He said he is very happy and is now a grandfather.

Internet hookup at Turning Stone is interesting. There is ONE local access number for AOL, and it only costs 25 cents for each local call. Others though have to pay long distance charges. There is a Business Center with two computers and NORMAL keyboards where one can use the Internet for $1 per minute. It is high-speed hookup and works great.

Diana Hoppe took some EXCELLENT shots of the players on and off the table. Check out the AzBilliards Photo Gallery when it gets posted up. There are quite a few good shots of Kim Davenport.

Diana e-mailed me a couple of photos she took of Keith and me. Here is a great shot of Earl Strickland and Keith. Earl is in great spirits and likes this venue. Matter of fact, all the players are happy campers here at Turning Stone.

JAM
 

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Whoops, wrong picture. This is a topical view of the Exhibition Hall that Diana Hoppe took. The electric blue Simonis cloth is striking, almost looking like a Kincade painting the way the felt shines. This place is gorgeous.

Here's a shot of Earl and Keith, I hope. Diana e-mailed a few of the photos she took and maybe this will be the right one I selected this time. Typing on my laptop keyboard is difficult for me.

JAM
 

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Mike Zuglan, the Joss Tour TD, created this wonderful event, and the tournament is being very well received by all.

A young boy was going around asking every player for their autograph. He was so cute waiting patiently to get a few seconds to exchange words with many of the super stars. When he left, he was smiling from ear to ear, and his dad and him were having a ball.

I can't wait for tomorrow's matches. Mike Zuglan is known in Upstate New York as a straight pool champion, and today he still packs a mean punch on a field of green. This is my favorite event of the year to date. They're talking about having a few more pool tournaments here, and if things go well, this will be a regular event on the tournament trail, thanks to Mike Zuglan for making it happen.

JAM
 

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On the way soon!

Heading south fron Ontario soon.............hope to meet some AZ'ers. Hoping to get ther before the 4 oclock mathes are over.................If there are any cue builders there , I am going to bring a sample of shaft wood I recently aquired here in Ontario...........would like to hear your comments..........cya all soon~!........Reid
 
Hey Jam,

Just got home an hour ago (2 hour drive). Left Turning Stone about 2pm today. Great matches. Saw Efrin beat Dennis 9-7. Efrin was down 2-7. Also Ralf won.

Hey did you notice Kid D. was playing fast? Anyway there were some ausome matches.

Pete
 
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