earl spanked 5-0 in local tourney

jay helfert said:
I do not attribute his mental state or his playing ability to any of the above. Nearly every pro player has personal demons to deal with, and some have NO sponsor. And yet they manage to play at their highest level. Pool is a no excuse game.
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my feelings exactly. pool is like everything else in life. you have to set your issues aside and behave like a professional if you're to be respected like one. earl was ok at the beginning but started to become a jerk as the set rolled on. a professional has a responsibility to the audience. there's no excuse, no justification for earl's poor behavior.

nobody denies he is/was a great player. the simple fact is he's losing his mind. maybe the best thing for the sport is for folks who believe in earl to back him against the best players so he can play without the pressure and find himself again.

i personally believe he has no chance against someone like joey "k" who is used to big money games and isn't afraid to lose...and is quite capable of stepping up his game to match his opponent. he's young, and full of energy. earl appears old, tired and frustrated. maybe the daemon he's fighting is old age?

don
 
poolmouse said:
my feelings exactly. pool is like everything else in life. you have to set your issues aside and behave like a professional if you're to be respected like one. earl was ok at the beginning but started to become a jerk as the set rolled on. a professional has a responsibility to the audience. there's no excuse, no justification for earl's poor behavior.

nobody denies he is/was a great player. the simple fact is he's losing his mind. maybe the best thing for the sport is for folks who believe in earl to back him against the best players so he can play without the pressure and find himself again.

i personally believe he has no chance against someone like joey "k" who is used to big money games and isn't afraid to lose...and is quite capable of stepping up his game to match his opponent. he's young, and full of energy. earl appears old, tired and frustrated. maybe the daemon he's fighting is old age?

don
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poolmouse,
That was well written and nicely said.
I must admit that when I 1st read your posts in this thread, I mistook you for someone who just wanted to bash Strickland and was backing JK against him as just hyperbole. Nobody on this forum has to ever explain themselves but you took the time to do so and I very much respect you now. Although I disagree with you that Earl has "no chance" against these younger players,your opinion matters just as much and is just as valid as mine, and I personally am intested in what our fellow posters think.
I still love Strickland, I really hope (and think) that JK will soon be an elite player and I appreciate your thoughts that you shared with us.
Your friend,
Terry
 
Mental illness is caused by chemical imbalance in the brain. These imbalances occur for many reasons and in some cases are reversable and in some cases can be brought back into balance by medications. But, these medications also have side effects which then cause other problems.

It seems that Earl used to behave like a pretty decent guy and that his behavior has been getting steadily worse for the last several years so we can assume that something is going on. It's pretty typical for these illness's to get progressively worse as the brain ages. We have no idea what is going on with the physiology of Earl's brain but the bottom line is that these uncontrollable chemical changes cause changes in thinking that are also uncontrollable and consequently cause changes in behavior that are uncontrollable.

Many times the person looks back over something that happened just a few minutes previous and wonders how they could have acted so badly. When this occurs time and time again they can become so upset with their own behavior that they grow to hate themselves so much that they contemplate suicide.

Whatever it is that has caused Earl to go from being a decent guy to a guy that causes others to often call him names you can bet that it is out of his control. That's not an excuse, just a fact.

For any of us to lash out at him is just meanness. There is no excuse for that either. Saying that he deserves to be kicked around is just an excuse for being mean. Jay said it.. it's a no excuse game. If you are mean to someone then you are guilty of being mean. Period. No excuses. It's on you.

I'm not saying anyone is guilty of being mean... not accusing anyone of anything. I'm just saying it has to stop somewhere so why not just be quiet and hope he will be able to find a way to stop his suffering... and believe me he is suffering. Imagine how it would feel to go home and see in retrospect how badly you acted that night. Not to mention having to reflect on playing poorly... which causes most of us to have really down days.
 
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3 racks ran, 1 combo, one 2 inning game.

Earl missed one shot. Maybe he was hooked? I dont know.
There is nothing a player can do if he doesn't shoot.

This supports the idea that a race to 5 is too short.
Good shooting for the young gun!
 
I've seen Earl lose in local tournaments down here. It's obvious that he doesn't take these little outings seriously. And I'm sure he's not losing any sleep over it. :)
 
poolmouse said:
the disrespectful tone propagates the poolroom when earl loses it. earl could have shown some class. he chose to be rude, condescending and disrespectful. for that, he gets the same in return. i lost my respect for (the once great) earl the pearl strickland today. i'm not sure he'll ever get it back.

poolmouse
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If you choose to be rude, condescending and disrespectful you should do in the pool room and to Earl's face. This coming to AZB and posting like this for all the world to get involved is ridiculous. Did you man up and say this crap to his face or are you just another keyboard warrior after the fact?

A race to 5 loss to another good player who runs three racks, makes a 9ball combo and has a 2 inning game in the remaining game, hardly warrants you coming to the boards and characterizing it as a "humiliating defeat". Losing to Joey Korsiak carries with it no shame or stigma either. That guy plays jamup and in a race to 4 could beat anyone in the world.
 
Jorge is a giant killa.. franky, kiamco and now earl. the combined score would be 14-1 or somthing. the only game coming from kiamco lol..

but earl shouldnt feel bad tho. a lot of pros pass by this tourney and got beat. mika, lining.. they both also got beat 5-0. only harriman, feijen, chavez and park didnt lose when they got to this tournament. parks seems unbeatable there..
 
JimS said:
Mental illness is caused by chemical imbalance in the brain. These imbalances occur for many reasons and in some cases are reversable and in some cases can be brought back into balance by medications. But, these medications also have side effects which then cause other problems.

It seems that Earl used to behave like a pretty decent guy and that his behavior has been getting steadily worse for the last several years so we can assume that something is going on. It's pretty typical for these illness's to get progressively worse as the brain ages. We have no idea what is going on with the physiology of Earl's brain but the bottom line is that these uncontrollable chemical changes cause changes in thinking that are also uncontrollable and consequently cause changes in behavior that are uncontrollable.

Many times the person looks back over something that happened just a few minutes previous and wonders how they could have acted so badly. When this occurs time and time again they can become so upset with their own behavior that they grow to hate themselves so much that they contemplate suicide.

Whatever it is that has caused Earl to go from being a decent guy to a guy that causes others to often call him names you can bet that it is out of his control. That's not an excuse, just a fact.

For any of us to lash out at him is just meanness. There is no excuse for that either. Saying that he deserves to be kicked around is just an excuse for being mean. Jay said it.. it's a no excuse game. If you are mean to someone then you are guilty of being mean. Period. No excuses. It's on you.

I'm not saying anyone is guilty of being mean... not accusing anyone of anything. I'm just saying it has to stop somewhere so why not just be quiet and hope he will be able to find a way to stop his suffering... and believe me he is suffering. Imagine how it would feel to go home and see in retrospect how badly you acted that night. Not to mention having to reflect on playing poorly... which causes most of us to have really down days.
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BINGO.....you hit the nail on the head.

Best post I have seen in a long time.

Thanks!

Rick S.
 
JimS said:
Mental illness is caused by chemical imbalance in the brain. These imbalances occur for many reasons and in some cases are reversable and in some cases can be brought back into balance by medications. But, these medications also have side effects which then cause other problems.

It seems that Earl used to behave like a pretty decent guy and that his behavior has been getting steadily worse for the last several years so we can assume that something is going on. It's pretty typical for these illness's to get progressively worse as the brain ages. We have no idea what is going on with the physiology of Earl's brain but the bottom line is that these uncontrollable chemical changes cause changes in thinking that are also uncontrollable and consequently cause changes in behavior that are uncontrollable.

Many times the person looks back over something that happened just a few minutes previous and wonders how they could have acted so badly. When this occurs time and time again they can become so upset with their own behavior that they grow to hate themselves so much that they contemplate suicide.

Whatever it is that has caused Earl to go from being a decent guy to a guy that causes others to often call him names you can bet that it is out of his control. That's not an excuse, just a fact.

For any of us to lash out at him is just meanness. There is no excuse for that either. Saying that he deserves to be kicked around is just an excuse for being mean. Jay said it.. it's a no excuse game. If you are mean to someone then you are guilty of being mean. Period. No excuses. It's on you.

I'm not saying anyone is guilty of being mean... not accusing anyone of anything. I'm just saying it has to stop somewhere so why not just be quiet and hope he will be able to find a way to stop his suffering... and believe me he is suffering. Imagine how it would feel to go home and see in retrospect how badly you acted that night. Not to mention having to reflect on playing poorly... which causes most of us to have really down days.
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I agree with Rick S...best post in a long time.
Most people know that I'm a Strickland fan. But, let's just say for the sake of trying to get this point across that his game IS slipping and he IS suffering with some issues. Why would that give anyone the right to start bashing him or anybody else in that situation? Is that how we want to treat the greats of our sport? Once they've served what we percieve as their usefulness, we "discard" them as people and diminish or forget their great accomplishments. In most sports, the old time greats are venerated. Sadly, I don't see that as often with pool. I think we should show more respect and appreciation to the greats and soon to be past greats. My beef with poolmouse is over. This is directed at the other "haters", not just of Earl but the other greats as well. I also think this bad attitude is what keeps more pros from posting here. They get run off by a minority. Sorry this was long winded.
 
Jims was right, even though his post was probably more speculation than anything else. At the very least, it was incredibly astute.

2 years ago at the mosconi cup (perhaps 3, it was in europe) a female writer sat down with earl to interview him. The beggining of their conversation started "off the record" and in very close proximity to a handful of other participating players. The writer had just asked earl how he was feeling, and earl answered as if the two where on a deserted island, all but forgetting his surroundings. He answered that he was feeling better after a recent change in his medications from his doctor, stating that he was being treated for bi-polar disorder. The player who recounted the story told me that the comments were made in all seriousness.

Anyone who has any exposure at all to how mental illnesses affect people, can easily see how some of earl's behaviors can be attributed to this. I have spoken with earl many times, and have always sensed that he is paranoid and can vacilate to radical extremes quickly, between being the "charming" earl or the "protective, defensive and aggresive" earl.

I am no defender of earl, nor his friend, but as a human being, I feel compelled to show this fellow human, dignity and grace, even at times when it is beyond his ability to do the same.

rg
 
NYC cue dude said:
Jims was right, even though his post was probably more speculation than anything else. At the very least, it was incredibly astute.

2 years ago at the mosconi cup (perhaps 3, it was in europe) a female writer sat down with earl to interview him. The beggining of their conversation started "off the record" and in very close proximity to a handful of other participating players. The writer had just asked earl how he was feeling, and earl answered as if the two where on a deserted island, all but forgetting his surroundings. He answered that he was feeling better after a recent change in his medications from his doctor, stating that he was being treated for bi-polar disorder. The player who recounted the story told me that the comments were made in all seriousness.

Anyone who has any exposure at all to how mental illnesses affect people, can easily see how some of earl's behaviors can be attributed to this. I have spoken with earl many times, and have always sensed that he is paranoid and can vacilate to radical extremes quickly, between being the "charming" earl or the "protective, defensive and aggresive" earl.

I am no defender of earl, nor his friend, but as a human being, I feel compelled to show this fellow human, dignity and grace, even at times when it is beyond his ability to do the same.

rg
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I think this post pretty much puts the nail in the coffin of this thread.

After reading this post, the other by JimS, it would seem to me that any additional piling on by ANY poster would be mean-spirited and would not be respected by any rational member of this forum.

Thanks for your valuable information. I don't ever recall hearing this information before.

Hopefully, we can all continue to grow as human beings by showing tolerance and respect for this truly great player.

RG, your post and final sentence was one of the best that I have ever read on this forum.

JoeyA
 
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Those who advocate sympathy for Earl IMHO, are right on the money.

Another great American figure adversely affected by mental illness was Bobby Fischer, the chess player. He was the best chess player to come out of America since Paul Morphy, bar none.

The man just had a genius for the game. He had always been a little "off" socially, even in his childhood. He began to get worse as his successes grew in stature. He began to see conspiracies in the Russian teams to throw games to defeat him, wear him out. (Which could very well have been true. This was during the Cold War.)

After winning the World Championship and single handedly getting a whole generation of Americans interested in the game, he withdrew from the game. He ended up a madman making anti-Semitic rants on Phillipine radio.

A lot of people look in horror at what Bobby says on radio programs, and think he is a disgusting human being.

I personally think he was one of a rare few geniuses who was SO consumed by has craft, that it unbalanced his psyche, and threw him into insanity.

I think Earl may be the same type of personality. He is the type of person that so badly wants to win that it completely controls his life. Now that he has suffered some blows to his confidence, he feels his grip on reality slipping.

If we can find it in our hearts, perhaps we should strive to treat Earl like the great American sports figure he was to us in the 80's/early 90's.

Turn the other cheek, and all that. He may be on the edge of insanity, and may not be playing so well anymore, but he still has a lot to offer the game.

Russ
 
I believe this has been a very informative thread. As fans of the sport, we all wonder what has happened to this icon of the game, the mighty Earl. We would like to think there is an answer and one day he will wake up and be the old Earl again.

Sadly that may never be the case, unless Earl gets the treatment he so obviously needs. My personal feeling is that Earl has been given every possible break and then some, mainly due to the fact of his former greatness. Maybe a little tough love is called for, where he has to answer for his outbursts. Perhaps when he is banned (I know it has already happened) from playing, he will seek out and listen to the people qualified to help him.

Earl is definitely a damaged human being, as much as any alcoholic or drug addict. Should he be allowed to participate in professional events in his condition. I for one, think not. It is not fair to subject his opponents and the audience to his anti-social behavior.
 
jay helfert said:
I believe this has been a very informative thread. As fans of the sport, we all wonder what has happened to this icon of the game, the mighty Earl. We would like to think there is an answer and one day he will wake up and be the old Earl again.

Sadly that may never be the case, unless Earl gets the treatment he so obviously needs. My personal feeling is that Earl has been given every possible break and then some, mainly due to the fact of his former greatness. Maybe a little tough love is called for, where he has to answer for his outbursts. Perhaps when he is banned (I know it has already happened) from playing, he will seek out and listen to the people qualified to help him.

Earl is definitely a damaged human being, as much as any alcoholic or drug addict. Should he be allowed to participate in professional events in his condition. I for one, think not. It is not fair to subject his opponents and the audience to his anti-social behavior.
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I definately agree with JOEYA and RUSS (I know its hard to believe):p about having some compassion for earls situation BUT I also agree with jay.Maybe Earl should be forced in someway to get the help he needs before he can continue to play.
 
Russ Chewning said:
If we can find it in our hearts, perhaps we should strive to treat Earl like the great American sports figure he was to us in the 80's/early 90's.

Russ
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RC,
I certainly agree with most of your "take." The only thing I would disagree with is selected above. I remember seeing Earl for the first time in the mid-80's. He was rude, boorish, loud, and a very poor sport. He made Mike Sigel look like an introverted gentleman. He played great; but not in any way an admirable personality. Offhand I can think of no way in which he has improved the game.
 
Earl is the most fluid player I have seen. He is beautiful to watch playing the game. Phsically and mechanically sound. I think that his problems are mental or chemical. Everyone knows pool is a state of mind.
 
Williebetmore said:
RC,
I certainly agree with most of your "take." The only thing I would disagree with is selected above. I remember seeing Earl for the first time in the mid-80's. He was rude, boorish, loud, and a very poor sport. He made Mike Sigel look like an introverted gentleman. He played great; but not in any way an admirable personality. Offhand I can think of no way in which he has improved the game.
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I wonder what breakup thinks of Earl? :D :D :D

Russ
 
So what's up with Earl hanging around NYC, anyway? He shopping for a sponsor, a shrink? Not looking to take a leap off the Empire State Bldg., I trust.

So maybe he turns up tonight down at Skyline in Brooklyn? And they're touting him at Blaze in L.I. on Sunday. Hell, I'm going to have to check out ABC tourney tomorrow at noon to see whether he makes an appearance.
 
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