Earl is a disgrace!

[FranCrimi]

Your point is meaningless because IT WAS A DIFFERENT TIME.. You weren't competing against a zillion other forms of entertainment. Golf is already poplar...people love it. Pool halls are closing up every where..golf courses aren't. That tells me more people play golf then pool. Not to mention Tiger woods. Check the ratings when tiger plays as when he doesn't. If tiger doesn't make the cut they They dump. No one cares. If tiger finishes 10th in a tournament they will show his shots and then barely mention who won.

The fact is there is SO much entertainment competing for your time and entertainment dollar that you have to have something grab peoples attention. Stop thinking about you and I who love the game and will watch it no matter what. The people on here love the sweet science of the game and that's enough. If you want it to be successful you need to get people who aren't head over heals in love with the game to tune in. That's the challenge.

So basically you're saying that we should encourage over the top behavior that is downright embarrassing to our sport so that more people will tune in and want to play pool.

Wow, what a wonderful gene pool we'd be attracting, huh? ---- Would you want your daughter to date one of those types?

We have two choices: We can lower our standards and appeal to all the low-lifes out there, or we can stand tall and show the world that we are a respectable and legitimate sport that encourages fair play and good sportsmanship.

 

[Ken_4fun]

So basically you're saying that we should encourage over the top behavior that is downright embarrassing to our sport so that more people will tune in and want to play pool.

Wow, what a wonderful gene pool we'd be attracting, huh? ---- Would you want your daughter to date one of those types?

We have two choices: We can lower our standards and appeal to all the low-lifes out there, or we can stand tall and show the world that we are a respectable and legitimate sport that encourages fair play and good sportsmanship.

Fran -

That has been my position from the beginning. I have said this was missed opportunity to showcase the USA young and upcoming talent.

I offered that Landon, Skyler, Justin Hall, etc would have been a great opportunity for these players.

But instead we went with "Jerry Springer" Earl, and a couple guys that when to "school" for a period of time and appeared to not give a $hit, when they were playing.

These younger players couldn't have done any worse, and could have presented the US and pool in a positive light.

Best of rolls,

Ken

 

[Island Drive]

Player Conduct Meeting FIRST

I just posted a thread where I mentioned that this should be the First matter brought to the attention of ALL players in match play....secondary, Rules of Play. If any player steps outta line, immediately ban that person and substitute the team Captain. Simple, effective. They use a similar method in Soccer, seems to communicate effectively.

 

[justadub]

It was the 20th Anniversary. Matchroom wanted some history to promote it, and had the tie in with the Earl doc.

Notice Mika was included? He hasn't exactly been beating a great host of the Euro's, including many that weren't on the team this year. History.

And before everyone gets all would up in who "we" should have on Team USA, don't forget that this is not "our" choice. This is Barry Hearns TV show, and he's gonna get what he wants, to drive ratings. That is the entire point.

A bunch of young guys that people in the US don't even really know certainly isn't gonna help them promote their big TV event. Whether "we" like it, or not.

 

[SakuJack]

.........

OK, I'll throw my 2 cents in, which is a rare occurance Barry Hearn knew what the outcome would be if Earl was on the team, to think other-wise is to be uneducated of the facts...putting it mildly
I'll give a reason I haven't seen discussed, weight the outcome in a certain direction, for whatever reason. Hearn's a businessman and not American. Whatever happened is Hearn's fault, not Earl's.

lol

 

[(((Satori)))]

Fran -

That has been my position from the beginning. I have said this was missed opportunity to showcase the USA young and upcoming talent.

I offered that Landon, Skyler, Justin Hall, etc would have been a great opportunity for these players.

But instead we went with "Jerry Springer" Earl, and a couple guys that when to "school" for a period of time and appeared to not give a $hit, when they were playing.

These younger players couldn't have done any worse, and could have presented the US and pool in a positive light.

Best of rolls,

Ken

Can you imagine the criticism that would be given right now if they had done that?

 

[Mikjary]

Earl has a short fuse and vents when he competes. The audience knew that going in. That's one of the reasons why Earl was there. I knew there was going to be fireworks before the match even got started. Anyone who didn't know or suspect some confrontation at the Mosconi Cup is full of dog crap.

If you get a "Jerry Springer" Earl, you get a "Jerry Springer" audience. Earl was constantly being distracted and talking to the "EEEUUUUURUP" part of the crowd. They're a part of the Cup and antagonize the players. Nothing wrong with it. Most sporting events have their hecklers.

The American audience needs to step up their participation and put the coals to Team Europe. They don't play under the same pressure the Americans do. A bunch of loud drunks chanting "UUUUUUUUUUSAAAAAAAAAaaaay" between shots causing the ref to silence the crowd is what's needed. Start laughing and cheering when they make a mistake like their crowd does. Every shot is put to public ridicule and your misses get highlighted by an approving audience.

Sharking them in their seats and giving them a good sideline back and forth would bring out the tension quite nicely. Team Europe can act like professionals when they have their dirty work done by the crowd. They can sit back and chuckle at the American meltdowns. Their feet need to be put in the fire and see who jumps.

This post is not meant to make excuses for Earl's results, but he was on tilt going into the match. He was expected to fight with the crowd and he did. Our crowd sat like professionals and forced the team to do the fighting. We weren't the 12th man in the stands. Hell, it was at our home turf and all I could hear was "EEEUUUUURUP!"

Best,
Mike

 

[JAM]

Earl has a short fuse and vents when he competes. The audience knew that going in. That's one of the reasons why Earl was there. I knew there was going to be fireworks before the match even got started. Anyone who didn't know or suspect some confrontation at the Mosconi Cup is full of dog crap.

If you get a "Jerry Springer" Earl, you get a "Jerry Springer" audience. Earl was constantly being distracted and talking to the "EEEUUUUURUP" part of the crowd. They're a part of the Cup and antagonize the players. Nothing wrong with it. Most sporting events have their hecklers.

The American audience needs to step up their participation and put the coals to Team Europe. They don't play under the same pressure the Americans do. A bunch of loud drunks chanting "UUUUUUUUUUSAAAAAAAAAaaaay" between shots causing the ref to silence the crowd is what's needed. Start laughing and cheering when they make a mistake like their crowd does. Every shot is put to public ridicule and your misses get highlighted by an approving audience.

Sharking them in their seats and giving them a good sideline back and forth would bring out the tension quite nicely. Team Europe can act like professionals when they have their dirty work done by the crowd. They can sit back and chuckle at the American meltdowns. Their feet need to be put in the fire and see who jumps.

This post is not meant to make excuses for Earl's results, but he was on tilt going into the match. He was expected to fight with the crowd and he did. Our crowd sat like professionals and forced the team to do the fighting. We weren't the 12th man in the stands. Hell, it was at our home turf and all I could hear was "EEEUUUUURUP!"

Best,
Mike

^^^^^LIKE^^^^^

Now we're talking turkey! :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:

 

[kwakaa]

Greatest Disgrace ever???

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[trob]

Good lord. Lol it's not that we want it. People like us who sit on pool web sites all day love the game and will watch it no matter what. But we aren't going to supply enough viewers to attract the big advertisers. It's not rocket science. Some basic observation skills will show you what America wants to watch. So yea we can hold a high moral ground .. Which again is rediculous considering pools history of scumbag hustlers and gamblers we glorify .. And watch pool continue to flounder or we can change with the times.

Fran -

That has been my position from the beginning. I have said this was missed opportunity to showcase the USA young and upcoming talent.

I offered that Landon, Skyler, Justin Hall, etc would have been a great opportunity for these players.

But instead we went with "Jerry Springer" Earl, and a couple guys that when to "school" for a period of time and appeared to not give a $hit, when they were playing.

These younger players couldn't have done any worse, and could have presented the US and pool in a positive light.

Best of rolls,

Ken

 

[corvette1340]

Earl has a short fuse and vents when he competes. The audience knew that going in. That's one of the reasons why Earl was there. I knew there was going to be fireworks before the match even got started. Anyone who didn't know or suspect some confrontation at the Mosconi Cup is full of dog crap.

If you get a "Jerry Springer" Earl, you get a "Jerry Springer" audience. Earl was constantly being distracted and talking to the "EEEUUUUURUP" part of the crowd. They're a part of the Cup and antagonize the players. Nothing wrong with it. Most sporting events have their hecklers.

The American audience needs to step up their participation and put the coals to Team Europe. They don't play under the same pressure the Americans do. A bunch of loud drunks chanting "UUUUUUUUUUSAAAAAAAAAaaaay" between shots causing the ref to silence the crowd is what's needed. Start laughing and cheering when they make a mistake like their crowd does. Every shot is put to public ridicule and your misses get highlighted by an approving audience.

Sharking them in their seats and giving them a good sideline back and forth would bring out the tension quite nicely. Team Europe can act like professionals when they have their dirty work done by the crowd. They can sit back and chuckle at the American meltdowns. Their feet need to be put in the fire and see who jumps.

This post is not meant to make excuses for Earl's results, but he was on tilt going into the match. He was expected to fight with the crowd and he did. Our crowd sat like professionals and forced the team to do the fighting. We weren't the 12th man in the stands. Hell, it was at our home turf and all I could hear was "EEEUUUUURUP!"

Best,
Mike

this may be the single dumbest post in all 27 pages of this thread, and that's saying a lot because there are a lot of idiotic posts from a lot of people defending Earl's behavior which was like a 3 year old.

The American crowd was great. I have no idea what telecast your were watching. Chants of USA dominated on the first and second days and European fans were barely an afterthought. It was only on the third day that the UrrrrrOppp yells were really heard.

And as I said before, it's fine for Earl to act like a moron and do stupid shit on the side if he is acting out about his own play, good or bad. However, it is in no way ok when he talks when the other team is shooting or when he talks down to his opponents, berates them, or throws his own teammates under the bus. He also DID use the F bomb several times during the stream along with the others.

It just astonishes me that people with any kind of a brain can defend his behavior. Amazing.

And yes, I know Barry wanted Earl to be Earl for the ratings. I get it. He also wanted Earl to disrupt team America as he knew he would. All of that is fine and dandy, but for anyone to excuse Earl's behavior is just stupid.

I like watching Earl too. Hell, part of the reason anyone even turned it on the third day was to see an epic meltdown. I know I want to be tuned in when he finally goes Columbine on a spectator or pulls a Petroni and bashes his own head on the end rail. But it's akin to rubber necking to see a car wreck. Barry would do just as good by putting a pool shooting monkey on team USA, except it might be better for team unity. All the "Earl Monkey" that was on there did was fling poo at everyone.

 

[row21097]

ordinarily I only comment on things I feel are important. I am going to make an exception in this case

 

[Mikjary]

this may be the single dumbest post in all 27 pages of this thread, and that's saying a lot because there are a lot of idiotic posts from a lot of people defending Earl's behavior which was like a 3 year old.

The American crowd was great. I have no idea what telecast your were watching. Chants of USA dominated on the first and second days and European fans were barely an afterthought. It was only on the third day that the UrrrrrOppp yells were really heard.

And as I said before, it's fine for Earl to act like a moron and do stupid shit on the side if he is acting out about his own play, good or bad. However, it is in no way ok when he talks when the other team is shooting or when he talks down to his opponents, berates them, or throws his own teammates under the bus. He also DID use the F bomb several times during the stream along with the others.

It just astonishes me that people with any kind of a brain can defend his behavior. Amazing.
And yes, I know Barry wanted Earl to be Earl for the ratings. I get it. He also wanted Earl to disrupt team America as he knew he would. All of that is fine and dandy, but for anyone to excuse Earl's behavior is just stupid.

I like watching Earl too. Hell, part of the reason anyone even turned it on the third day was to see an epic meltdown. I know I want to be tuned in when he finally goes Columbine on a spectator or pulls a Petroni and bashes his own head on the end rail. But it's akin to rubber necking to see a car wreck. Barry would do just as good by putting a pool shooting monkey on team USA, except it might be better for team unity. All the "Earl Monkey" that was on there did was fling poo at everyone.

Please reread my, "dumbest post." Especially the part about not making excuses for Earl's behavior. Reading comprehension means understanding that part. And, while you're at it, reread this post, too, and check it out for, "dumbest post."

Best,
Mike

 

[Petros Andrikop]

I too was sceptical about the European crowd before I was there last year.
You have to be there to understand it, there are some occasions where things get out of line but only a few times, mostly it's about English humor, the atmosphere is great.

It's true the European players have never played against such a crowd, but they are most likely to adapt under pressure without interacting with anybody but each other. CJ and JA had to advice too many times their players last year not to argue with the crowd.

Regarding the other issues coming into consideration in this thread, things are not quite simple:
Earl definitely had the desire to win and his color of money like behaviour was conscious part of his effort, where the line is drawn it's up to the organizers. Perhaps something that should be considered more it's also the kind of handshake at the end, this is something that may cause trauma to a player's hands and even if she/he gets legal compensation for it she/he may be off the game for good if she/he stays out of it for eg 6 months..

Besides that I have already commented about team selection which is also a tough thing since it's not only about abilities and team spirit but also chemistry between players. There was a period when Real Madrit Soccer team was something like "Euro team", with all the best individuals in every position, they did not perform as expected. Earl is difficult to blend into a team mainly due to his style of play, there is certainly no lack of abilities and team spirit was not entirely absent.

If you ever want pool to reach Snooker standards you know what you have to do, if you want to keep pool legacy it's not an easy way since sharking is part of it regardless of anybody liking it or not.

Snooker established quite early strict rules and applies them with no exceptions, even the great Alex Higgings did not escape serious penalties just for showing up without proper dress code once.

It's true player's actions affect the game, and most of pool pros are not pros in a way Snooker pros are.
So it's not easy to approach the subject without having mixed feelings, it finally depends on what we want to do with sport, we need to understand people which fight for their living through it and at the same time the need to preserve the game or even advance it to another kind of level.

So this should be taken primarily to the industry factors, the organizations and the players (top first) for a serious discussion..

 

[Ken_4fun]

Can you imagine the criticism that would be given right now if they had done that?

Yep, it would have been a hell storm.

But, doing what's right is not always easy.

I am not a JFK fan, but he was like Obama and made some great speeches. In one of them he challenges the US to put a man on the moon.

"Not because it is easy, but because it is hard"

CJ Wiley, either influenced or lead us to believe he influenced the selection with the help of Johnny Archer.

And for the person who noted my suggestion for these young players, I ask you how many people do you think knew ANY of the European players.

Ken

 

[Philthepockets]

Earl has a short fuse and vents when he competes. The audience knew that going in. That's one of the reasons why Earl was there. I knew there was going to be fireworks before the match even got started. Anyone who didn't know or suspect some confrontation at the Mosconi Cup is full of dog crap.

If you get a "Jerry Springer" Earl, you get a "Jerry Springer" audience. Earl was constantly being distracted and talking to the "EEEUUUUURUP" part of the crowd. They're a part of the Cup and antagonize the players. Nothing wrong with it. Most sporting events have their hecklers.

The American audience needs to step up their participation and put the coals to Team Europe. They don't play under the same pressure the Americans do. A bunch of loud drunks chanting "UUUUUUUUUUSAAAAAAAAAaaaay" between shots causing the ref to silence the crowd is what's needed. Start laughing and cheering when they make a mistake like their crowd does. Every shot is put to public ridicule and your misses get highlighted by an approving audience.

Sharking them in their seats and giving them a good sideline back and forth would bring out the tension quite nicely. Team Europe can act like professionals when they have their dirty work done by the crowd. They can sit back and chuckle at the American meltdowns. Their feet need to be put in the fire and see who jumps.

This post is not meant to make excuses for Earl's results, but he was on tilt going into the match. He was expected to fight with the crowd and he did. Our crowd sat like professionals and forced the team to do the fighting. We weren't the 12th man in the stands. Hell, it was at our home turf and all I could hear was "EEEUUUUURUP!"

Best,
Mike

Now it's the crowds fault :rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:
Maybe we need an official list of USA excuses then you can just tick the boxes that you feel apply and mail it in.

 

[YubaCushion]

this may be the single dumbest post in all 27 pages of this thread, and that's saying a lot because there are a lot of idiotic posts from a lot of people defending Earl's behavior which was like a 3 year old.

The American crowd was great. I have no idea what telecast your were watching. Chants of USA dominated on the first and second days and European fans were barely an afterthought. It was only on the third day that the UrrrrrOppp yells were really heard.

And as I said before, it's fine for Earl to act like a moron and do stupid shit on the side if he is acting out about his own play, good or bad. However, it is in no way ok when he talks when the other team is shooting or when he talks down to his opponents, berates them, or throws his own teammates under the bus. He also DID use the F bomb several times during the stream along with the others.

It just astonishes me that people with any kind of a brain can defend his behavior. Amazing.

And yes, I know Barry wanted Earl to be Earl for the ratings. I get it. He also wanted Earl to disrupt team America as he knew he would. All of that is fine and dandy, but for anyone to excuse Earl's behavior is just stupid.

I like watching Earl too. Hell, part of the reason anyone even turned it on the third day was to see an epic meltdown. I know I want to be tuned in when he finally goes Columbine on a spectator or pulls a Petroni and bashes his own head on the end rail. But it's akin to rubber necking to see a car wreck. Barry would do just as good by putting a pool shooting monkey on team USA, except it might be better for team unity. All the "Earl Monkey" that was on there did was fling poo at everyone.

No, it's this post. Team Europe has soccer crowds at their MC. It's not the crowds fault it the players, but we need a bunch of college football fans for ours. As soon as team USA started loosing, the crowd went dead. Leave Earl alone. They wanted the Earl, they got the Earl.I wouldn't be be surprised if someone there didn't ask him to kick it up a notch. Here's the point you call someone a troll for not agreeing with you because in your mind you think your opinion is superior.

 

[HawaiianEye]

Wow, what a wonderful gene pool we'd be attracting, huh? ---- Would you want your daughter to date one of those types?
.

Had you rather your daughter date a rapper, basketball, baseball, or football thug then?

 

[Mikjary]

Now it's the crowds fault :rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:
Maybe we need an official list of USA excuses then you can just tick the boxes that you feel apply and mail it in.

Didn't say it's a fault. Since when's cheering for your team a problem? We stand up when there's two outs and two strikes at a baseball game. And what about fourth down and short yardage late in the game? Ever see the QB call time out because of crowd noise?

It's not a fault unless you're scared to do it. You obviously can't or you would've understood how these things work. It's pressure, perceived and handled on different levels. It doesn't matter who processes it. Whether it's you, Earl, or me. It's there and in the MC, it's the norm.

I triple enjoyed the antics from the crowd last year in Europe's home court. It was exciting to watch the drama unfold. This year was a fight in the sandbox. The only thing missing was the tears.

The crowd's part of the match in the Mosconi Cup. I'm not condoning any player's antics, but what draws the crowds is participation on many different levels by the audience either live, or on the monitor. I like to be a part of what I'm watching. I don't consider it a "fault."

Best,
Mike

 

[Pathetic Shark]

He has a strong psychological need for attention.

Lol.

........