Earl Strickland's antics at the Mosconi Cup...

[Peer]

When Mr. Strickland, in the middle of the match, calls the most senior player in the history of the Mosconi Cup, Ralf Souquet, "more lucky than good", and telling us that Tony Drago (who has won most games) is the weakest player in the cup, etc, etc -- I got curious what people here on AzB think of him.

-- peer

 

[RED LITE]

Earl - no pearl

Earl is either a 14K a$$hole, or dumb enough to believe someone who told him his tournament B.S. is what fans want.

It's too bad, really, because he had talent.

Putting him into the Hall of Fame, unfortunately, validated his act, and made it a terminal affliction. That's my 2-cents.

Happy Holidays, all.

RL

 

[ajrack]

Earl again?

Every sport needs someone with the John McInroe personality. Too bad Earl is ours.

 

[smokeandapancak]

I didnt get to see anything that went down yesterday.. but from what I am hearing it seemd kinda bad... then again folks could be getting it out of proportion....

But from what I seen the first few matches .. the less than stellar play looked like it was getting to him... guess it just came to a head yesterday.

 

[COLLECTION GURU]

The Guru Is Puzzled

When Mr. Strickland, in the middle of the match, calls the most senior player in the history of the Mosconi Cup, Ralf Souquet, "more lucky than good", and telling us that Tony Drago (who has won most games) is the weakest player in the cup, etc, etc -- I got curious what people here on AzB think of him.

-- peer

I AM AT THE CUP AND EARL HAS BEEN PRETTY WELL BEHAVED UNTIL TODAY AND THIS COMING FROM A CRITIC OF MUCH OF HIS PAST BAD BEHAVIOR SINCE HE WAS 19. TODAY I WATCHED EARL BE TAUNTED BY THE INSECURE EUROPEANS WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE UNLESS THEY ARE ALONE WHEN THEY ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHEN IN A MOB; THIS COMING FROM A GUY WHO HAS LIVED IN ENGLAND AND HAS MANY GOOD FRIENDS FROM THERE BUT RECOGNIZE THEIR SOCIALISTIC TENDANCIES. BACK TO POOL, EARL WAS HASSLED BY THE MOB AS THEY KNEW IT WOULD PISS HIM OFF AND THE EURO CAPTAIN EITHER GOT LUCKY OR WAS SMART TO PUT RALF VS EARL AS YOU KNOW RALF WON'T LOSE IT. I SENT RALF A NOTE LAST NIGHT SAYING I FOUND IT WEIRD THAT I WAS PULLING FOR EARL AS I AM USA FIRST ALWAYS.

EARL PLAYFULLY REJECTED THE HANDSHAKE FROM RALF WHICH CAUSED THE "KAISER" TO LAUGH IT OFF AS IT WAS JUST EARL AND WAS TO THE MOB NOT HERR SOUQUET. HOWEVER, THE "MOB" GOT ON EARL AND DRAGO YELLED TO EARL, "WISH YOU WOULD TRY THAT TO ME" IN A THREATENING TONE. I LATER RODE THE ELEVATOR WITH EARL AS WE RETURNED TO OUR ROOMS AND I ASKED HIM IF HE HEARD DRAGO AND HE DIDN'T. I TOLD HIM WHAT HE SAID AND EARL RESPONDED THAT THE JELLY BELLY THREATENING ME? HE LAUGHED IT OFF. HELL THE GURU IS 62 YEARS OLD AND GUARANTEE I COULD WHIP DRAGO ALL THE WAY BACK TO MALTA. I AM NOT AVOCATING EARL RESPOND AND FIGHT ANYONE BUT IN THIS CASE, I FEEL FOR EARL AND A SMALL PART OF ME WISH EARL WOULD HAVE HEARD THE ROUND MOUND OF MALTA. LEFT EARL SUGGESTING HE LET IT GO AND USE HIS TALENT TO HELP THE USA CLOSE THIS THING OUT; WE AIN'T DEAD YET BUT CAN'T GIVE ANYMORE AWAY.

TOMORROW WILL BE FUN AND I WILL BE AT THE 15TH NEXT YEAR FOR SURE.


U S A!!!!!

 

[smokeandapancak]

Too bad that the lot of that mob was the crowd booing Earl...

The crowd at an American venue... booing an American player..in an international event... kinda says alot , dont ya think?


Who would want to scuff with Earl... I mean if that dude drops "The People's Elbow" on yah with that freaking 5lb pad ..then your done .. out cold !!!!

 

[COLLECTION GURU]

Mein Deutsch Ist Nicht Sehr Gut Uber........

Too bad that the lot of that mob was the crowd booing Earl...

The crowd at an American venue... booing an American player..in an international event... kinda says alot , dont ya think?


Who would want to scuff with Earl... I mean if that dude drops "The People's Elbow" on yah with that freaking 5lb pad ..then your done .. out cold !!!!

EARTH TO MOON; THEY WERE EUROPEAN FANS!!!!!! NICHT GUT!!!!!

 

[Peer]

COLLECTION GURU wrote:
> TODAY I WATCHED EARL BE TAUNTED BY THE INSECURE EUROPEANS
> WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE UNLESS THEY ARE ALONE WHEN
> THEY ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHEN IN A MOB

I'm a European, and I don't know "how to behave" even when alone -- maybe you could teach me, (and in return, perhaps I could show you where the caps-lock key is located).

> I SENT RALF A NOTE LAST NIGHT SAYING I FOUND IT WEIRD
> THAT I WAS PULLING FOR EARL AS I AM USA FIRST ALWAYS.

Hum, I'm sorry that I don't understand what you're saying here (probably because I'm a foreigner and hence my English isn't very prolific), but isn't Earl from the US..?

> HELL THE GURU IS 62 YEARS OLD AND GUARANTEE I COULD WHIP DRAGO
> ALL THE WAY BACK TO MALTA. I AM NOT AVOCATING EARL RESPOND AND
> FIGHT ANYONE BUT IN THIS CASE, I FEEL FOR EARL AND A SMALL PART
> OF ME WISH EARL WOULD HAVE HEARD THE ROUND MOUND OF MALTA.

Classy, very classy.

-- peer

 

[shinobi]

Had to chuckle when Earl called a foul on Drago on day 1. Then when shown the replay multiple times and it was so clearly not a foul, he wouldn't give in.

 

[JAM]

I am disappionted to read that there are not as many Americans in the audience rooting for the home team.

A little birdie told me that one member of Team USA is not even staying at the host hotel. He is MIA at some practice sesssions with the rest of Team USA. The spirit as a team seems to not be there this year, IMHO.

About Earl, during the Ralph Souquet match, they took a commercial break, which gave the players an opportunity to go to the bathroom or just relax for a few minutes. During this very heated match-up between Earl and Ralph, the Sky sports people then decided to broadcast snippets of Earlisms on every single TV in the venue, right during Earl's match, while he was playing against Ralph. To do this during his match with Ralph is terrible, IMHO. Let the man play his game without being taunted by the media, especially during the time he is in competition.

Then, at the end of the Ralph versus Earl match, when Earl was accepting defeat, somebody in the audience threw out a baby pacifier at Earl, hitting him with it, and then it fell to the floor. I personally don't think they should allow audience members to throw things at the players. Nobody said or did anything about it either.

Before and after Earl's match, he was approached by numerous fans and pool enthusiasts requesting an autograph and/or having their picture taken with Earl, to which he complied, as he always does. Then during his match on the TV table, some of these same autograph hounds and picture seekers were in the audience yelling out obscenities to Earl and pulling against him. How tragic that must be for a player to see the very fans he tried to accommodate do an about-face and root loudly against him minutes later.

So Earl may continue to be everyone's punching bag, but he went to the Mosconi Cup as a team player. Shane Van Boening is there as a team player. Team USA as a whole, however, doesn't seem to be making a strong effort by working together as one unit in this very high-profile competition, as the Team Europe is doing. Why each and every Team USA member is not present in the audience when their fellow member is trying to win leaves me curious. Usually, in an environment like this, one would like to see a strong team spirit exhibited. The end results so far of the Mosconi Cup say it all.

JAM

Edited after reading Jerry Forsyth's thread!

 

[gopi-1]

I AM AT THE CUP AND EARL HAS BEEN PRETTY WELL BEHAVED UNTIL TODAY AND THIS COMING FROM A CRITIC OF MUCH OF HIS PAST BAD BEHAVIOR SINCE HE WAS 19. TODAY I WATCHED EARL BE TAUNTED BY THE INSECURE EUROPEANS WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE UNLESS THEY ARE ALONE WHEN THEY ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHEN IN A MOB; THIS COMING FROM A GUY WHO HAS LIVED IN ENGLAND AND HAS MANY GOOD FRIENDS FROM THERE BUT RECOGNIZE THEIR SOCIALISTIC TENDANCIES. BACK TO POOL, EARL WAS HASSLED BY THE MOB AS THEY KNEW IT WOULD PISS HIM OFF AND THE EURO CAPTAIN EITHER GOT LUCKY OR WAS SMART TO PUT RALF VS EARL AS YOU KNOW RALF WON'T LOSE IT. I SENT RALF A NOTE LAST NIGHT SAYING I FOUND IT WEIRD THAT I WAS PULLING FOR EARL AS I AM USA FIRST ALWAYS.

EARL PLAYFULLY REJECTED THE HANDSHAKE FROM RALF WHICH CAUSED THE "KAISER" TO LAUGH IT OFF AS IT WAS JUST EARL AND WAS TO THE MOB NOT HERR SOUQUET. HOWEVER, THE "MOB" GOT ON EARL AND DRAGO YELLED TO EARL, "WISH YOU WOULD TRY THAT TO ME" IN A THREATENING TONE. I LATER RODE THE ELEVATOR WITH EARL AS WE RETURNED TO OUR ROOMS AND I ASKED HIM IF HE HEARD DRAGO AND HE DIDN'T. I TOLD HIM WHAT HE SAID AND EARL RESPONDED THAT THE JELLY BELLY THREATENING ME? HE LAUGHED IT OFF. HELL THE GURU IS 62 YEARS OLD AND GUARANTEE I COULD WHIP DRAGO ALL THE WAY BACK TO MALTA. I AM NOT AVOCATING EARL RESPOND AND FIGHT ANYONE BUT IN THIS CASE, I FEEL FOR EARL AND A SMALL PART OF ME WISH EARL WOULD HAVE HEARD THE ROUND MOUND OF MALTA. LEFT EARL SUGGESTING HE LET IT GO AND USE HIS TALENT TO HELP THE USA CLOSE THIS THING OUT; WE AIN'T DEAD YET BUT CAN'T GIVE ANYMORE AWAY.

TOMORROW WILL BE FUN AND I WILL BE AT THE 15TH NEXT YEAR FOR SURE.


U S A!!!!!

It didn't occur to you that Earl could've heard it but since it was Tony "The
Mound" Drago speaking, he denied it in your face? BTW, your Caps Lock button
is broken...

 

[gopi-1]

Had to chuckle when Earl called a foul on Drago on day 1. Then when shown the replay multiple times and it was so clearly not a foul, he wouldn't give in.

It would've been a shocker if Earl had a change of heart, he even denied he fouled
in his match with Charlie Williams, video, audience, commentators and all.

 

[Newton]

I AM AT THE CUP AND EARL HAS BEEN PRETTY WELL BEHAVED UNTIL TODAY AND THIS COMING FROM A CRITIC OF MUCH OF HIS PAST BAD BEHAVIOR SINCE HE WAS 19. TODAY I WATCHED EARL BE TAUNTED BY THE INSECURE EUROPEANS WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE UNLESS THEY ARE ALONE WHEN THEY ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHEN IN A MOB; THIS COMING FROM A GUY WHO HAS LIVED IN ENGLAND AND HAS MANY GOOD FRIENDS FROM THERE BUT RECOGNIZE THEIR SOCIALISTIC TENDANCIES. BACK TO POOL, EARL WAS HASSLED BY THE MOB AS THEY KNEW IT WOULD PISS HIM OFF AND THE EURO CAPTAIN EITHER GOT LUCKY OR WAS SMART TO PUT RALF VS EARL AS YOU KNOW RALF WON'T LOSE IT. I SENT RALF A NOTE LAST NIGHT SAYING I FOUND IT WEIRD THAT I WAS PULLING FOR EARL AS I AM USA FIRST ALWAYS.

EARL PLAYFULLY REJECTED THE HANDSHAKE FROM RALF WHICH CAUSED THE "KAISER" TO LAUGH IT OFF AS IT WAS JUST EARL AND WAS TO THE MOB NOT HERR SOUQUET. HOWEVER, THE "MOB" GOT ON EARL AND DRAGO YELLED TO EARL, "WISH YOU WOULD TRY THAT TO ME" IN A THREATENING TONE. I LATER RODE THE ELEVATOR WITH EARL AS WE RETURNED TO OUR ROOMS AND I ASKED HIM IF HE HEARD DRAGO AND HE DIDN'T. I TOLD HIM WHAT HE SAID AND EARL RESPONDED THAT THE JELLY BELLY THREATENING ME? HE LAUGHED IT OFF. HELL THE GURU IS 62 YEARS OLD AND GUARANTEE I COULD WHIP DRAGO ALL THE WAY BACK TO MALTA. I AM NOT AVOCATING EARL RESPOND AND FIGHT ANYONE BUT IN THIS CASE, I FEEL FOR EARL AND A SMALL PART OF ME WISH EARL WOULD HAVE HEARD THE ROUND MOUND OF MALTA. LEFT EARL SUGGESTING HE LET IT GO AND USE HIS TALENT TO HELP THE USA CLOSE THIS THING OUT; WE AIN'T DEAD YET BUT CAN'T GIVE ANYMORE AWAY.

TOMORROW WILL BE FUN AND I WILL BE AT THE 15TH NEXT YEAR FOR SURE.


U S A!!!!!

"You wished that Earl had heard Drago"....... !!!!! What where you hoping for?? A wrestling fight on top of the pool table!!!! That tells me more about YOU'R way of thinking than you could have done in a 1000 words! Last comment from me in this discussion, since I appreciated people respecting each other, shaking hands and behave. Since you know so much about English, how many times have you seen people like Earl in a snooker match!!!!? Yeah, "go USA" ...

 

[smokeandapancak]

"You wished that Earl had heard Drago"....... !!!!! What where you hoping for?? A wrestling fight on top of the pool table!!!! That tells me more about YOU'R way of thinking than you could have done in a 1000 words! Last comment from me in this discussion, since I appreciated people respecting each other, shaking hands and behave. Since you know so much about English, how many times have you seen people like Earl in a snooker match!!!!? Yeah, "go USA" ...

well now.....I am not the biggest fan of Earl .. but Snooker has had it's share of nutt jobs... andwe all know that nutt job English folks are waaaaayyyyy nuttier that their AMerican counterparts....

 

[sad_clown0306]

EARL PLAYFULLY REJECTED THE HANDSHAKE FROM RALF

Whatever "playfully" means !!!

I think Earl is either a bad loser or he can?t behave at all.
At least we europeans can behave when we are alone

And Earl "overheard" Tony Dragos comment. Boy is Drago lucky
Drago is a mountain of a man. He would have stomped all over Strickland. You better "overhear" his comment and act like you didn?t heard him.

I think the USA Team doesn?t have that Team Atmosphere. It is a group of individual Top World Billard Players but as a Team they dont have that bound. Looks like they became to egoistic and boastful.
They just have to simply accept the fact that USA is not the best Billard Nation anymore.

Asian and European Players are equally good and it looks like they improve more and more.

P.S.
Your Caps button is locked

 

[Dazza]

There is ALOT of pressure in the Mosconi Cup, and at the time Earl had a must win match, was losing, and when the defeat did come, he went over the top. In the heat of battle people say and do things they wouldnt normally do, BUT, his comments about Ralf were out of line, and his hand shake fiasco has me wound up.

COME ON EUROPE....BRING IT HOME BOYS!!

 

[ugotda8]

Earl Stickland is one of the greatest players to ever pick up a cue.

I have spent just a little time with him, and from what I have seen on a personal level, he is as nice and accomodating as any person should be expected to be.

It's when the competitive juice start flowing and the fans get on his back that things go south with him.

Look at it this way...when you are one of the greatest at any sport, folks are always gunning for you and you know it. We all have our off days and there is not a one of us that can say a mistake doesn't bother us. You combine the pressure, the fan taunting, the reputation build (mostly by the fans) and more importantly the self expecatations to perform... the pressure cooker can get real hot real fast and eventually it's gonna explode. I think what we see from Earl today is exactly what we have built him up to be.

I just love how we (The fans) light the fuse on the dynomite and then complain or act suprized because it exploded.

I have seen some really great players show discontent, dissapointment or sheer anger with body language, facial expressions and even by throwing their cue on the floor while the other player was playing, over what they thought was a lucky break.

Yet, I never see it written about at the level that Earl's outward expressions are. I have to admit that Earl can get way out there sometimes. But, I would submit that there is no one person who can determine the limits on how far our emotions will carry us. But, many can push and push and push until we have what we have today.

I once watched Johnny Archer (Who is undeniably a great man) drop his cue into the floor with a groan over what was clearly a lucky shot against him. Everyone there, including his opponent, saw and heard it. And, we also knew he was right; it was a very lucky shot.

Had Earl done this same thing, the article would have read "Earl Strickland throws cue at opponent, nearly killing him".

Common folks. It's not like he's out there Robbing Banks or Totally Funding Dog Fights while claiming there was no profit in it for him.

I would be willing to bet that if the fans would get off the horses back that he would eventually quit bucking so hard.

But hey, if that happens...we lose the opportunity to bash him and we know we don't want that to happen.

Just my two pennies on this. I am pretty sure I will get bashed a little for this one, but I am okay with that too. I wouldn't have posted if I wasn't prepared for that.

Go easy on me though, okay?

 

[9 ball]

I don't care whether Earl is a hall of famer or not what he done to Souqet last night inexcusable, I mean what gives him the right to act like an ass just because he got beat i'll tell you what NOTHING.

The americans deserve to lose this, why? because when you can't keep a lose cannon like earl under control then he shouldn't be in the team much less be in a pressure situation where it is more than likely he will lose when the chips are down.

Just my opinion.

 

[smokeandapancak]

Earl Stickland is one of the greatest players to ever pick up a cue.
NO Doubt
. I think what we see from Earl today is exactly what we have built him up to be.
chicken or the egg.....We have built him b/c ofthe way he acts

I once watched Johnny Archer (Who is undeniably a great man) drop his cue into the floor with a groan over what was clearly a lucky shot against him. Everyone there, including his opponent, saw and heard it. And, we also knew he was right; it was a very lucky shot.

Had Earl done this same thing, the article would have read "Earl Strickland throws cue at opponent, nearly killing him".

The reason headlines werent wrriten to that effect is b/c Archer simply isnt that kind of guy....emotions force reactions out of folks ....normal stuff.. but when you cant control them .. then problems like Earl's arise.

Go easy on me though, okay?
that wasnt so bad ... was it ?

..........

 

[JAM]

I think Earl is probably one of the most misunderstood players on the face of the earth. For the media to play video clips of Earl misbehaving on every single TV at the venue while Earl is playing against Ralf Souquet on the TV table stinks. For the audience members to throw things at Earl Strickland at the conclusion of his match with Ralf Souquet, with not a referee or anyone stepping in to stop it, also stinks. You have commentators who, by their own admission, do not like Earl Strickland. You got Earl Strickland practicing in the players' practice room getting harassed by media members, saying nasty things to him, while he is trying to concentrate.

I think a better name for this thread would be "Antics Against Earl Strickland at the Mosconi Cup."

That said, I believe that this year's Team USA unfortunately does lack in team spirit, and I am going to put it out there as to why I think so.

You got one American player staying off site, not spending as much time with his team members as he could be.

You got a couple other players spending quite a bit of time enjoying the amenities of Vegas, amenities that seem to be prevalent in Vegas more so than elsewhere in the world, when they should be practicing together as a team, like Team Europe is doing.

Then there is one American who's affected by pain and must pop pain pills on a frequent basis, and the pain pills have affected his personality.

Then you have Shane Van Boening, America's great hope, who's proud to be representing the United States in this high-profile event. It is a shame that his team members are not united strongly as Team Europe is.

And there you have it. That is my story, and I am sticking with it! Team Europe seems more deserving of the win than Team USA for the reasons I have stated above. If you don't give it your all, then losing is inevitable. One member of the team can't do it all. The team needs to be united.

JAM