Has Earl always been as volatile as he almost always is? Did he act like this when he was a young player in the 70's and 80's? If not, when did he start acting like the way he does now?
Earl The Pearl
- Thread starter cuetechasaurus
- Start date
Apparently got lots worse after D_I_V_O_R_C_E must need someone to help keep his stuff together
Just saw him on the IPT I have recorded, and he seems to have some metal health issues.
He was taking issue with people in the stands, Van Denberg (sp.) and seemed anxious and irritated.
I don't think anybody should take it personal, because he seems to do it to everyone.
It's hard to compete at a high level when your head isn't straight, but he seems to have talent to spare.
Like many athletes, their metal capacity seem seems to limit their on the field or table talents.
He was taking issue with people in the stands, Van Denberg (sp.) and seemed anxious and irritated.
I don't think anybody should take it personal, because he seems to do it to everyone.
It's hard to compete at a high level when your head isn't straight, but he seems to have talent to spare.
Like many athletes, their metal capacity seem seems to limit their on the field or table talents.
I've seen him play on ESPN Classic from the 90's through 2002. Back then, he was nowhere near as temperamental as he is today.cuetechasaurus said:
I would guess that sometime since 2003 his temper just got out of control.
Yeah, he was respected then though, probably because it was before sawed off cues, hockey tape wrapped cues, sports glasses, finger extenders and a glove on both hands.PoolSharkAllen said:
He started to lose my respect when he told an entire country that they suck.
WTF is his problem????
I watched/taped this match off of the Versus channel yesterday evening. I had intended to watch it a few times but I taped over the whole show today with the women's Enjoypool.com Open 9-ball championship. I couldn't bear to watch it again. IMO, the whole thing is an embarrassment and a black mark on the game of pool. There oughta be rules against this kind of surly behavior. I mean, how's poor 'ol Nick Van Den Berg gonna concentrate on his game when good 'ol boy and hothead extraordinaire Earl "the Squirrel" Strickland is laying into his family and calling them a bunch of fools??? For cryin' out loud, they're from Europe. How's that for billiard public relations? The man has no class. It shouldn't be allowed, period!!!
Have you ever noticed that when he goes off on someone, it's always some little "pencil thin" geeky-looking guy??? I'd like to see him try this crap with Rodney Morris or Danny "Kid Delicious" Bassavich or some other player with a little size or girth. He's liable to be taken to task out in the parking lot by one of them (If he pulled that crap on ME, I would have challenged him to "square-off" right then and there, to hell with the tournament). Sad thing is, I used to think he was the best, and talent-wise he was. He's still one of the best players out there. He's just a rude a$$hole with some kind of anger-management problems that badly need to be addressed for the good of the game.
Maniac
I watched/taped this match off of the Versus channel yesterday evening. I had intended to watch it a few times but I taped over the whole show today with the women's Enjoypool.com Open 9-ball championship. I couldn't bear to watch it again. IMO, the whole thing is an embarrassment and a black mark on the game of pool. There oughta be rules against this kind of surly behavior. I mean, how's poor 'ol Nick Van Den Berg gonna concentrate on his game when good 'ol boy and hothead extraordinaire Earl "the Squirrel" Strickland is laying into his family and calling them a bunch of fools??? For cryin' out loud, they're from Europe. How's that for billiard public relations? The man has no class. It shouldn't be allowed, period!!!
Have you ever noticed that when he goes off on someone, it's always some little "pencil thin" geeky-looking guy??? I'd like to see him try this crap with Rodney Morris or Danny "Kid Delicious" Bassavich or some other player with a little size or girth. He's liable to be taken to task out in the parking lot by one of them (If he pulled that crap on ME, I would have challenged him to "square-off" right then and there, to hell with the tournament). Sad thing is, I used to think he was the best, and talent-wise he was. He's still one of the best players out there. He's just a rude a$$hole with some kind of anger-management problems that badly need to be addressed for the good of the game.
Maniac
I think it just comes with the territory when you have been single minded and obsessed with one thing for most of your life. Being single minded is a recipe for a wide range of mental illness and/or social maladjustment. Earl is a great talent he just needs to broaden his horizons.
Icon of Sin said:
haha, oh snap!
poolcuemaster said:
cuetechasaurus said:
Earl didn't come on the scene until the early 80's, starting with his big win over Steve Mizerak at Caesar's Tahoe. I was working a lot of tournaments back then and Earl was not a particular problem, until well into the 90's. His earliest tantrums I can remember were directed at the filipino players, questioning their right to play (and win) on U.S. soil. This was in the early and mid 90's.
At first I thought he was kidding, but when I realized he was serious, I knew he was a little cuckoo. What began as a desire to be the best tournament player (and he was along with Mike Sigel), slowly dissolved into an obsession, bordering on mania. Earl was already exhibiting signs of erratic and troubled behavior during the PBT in the 90's. No one can forget when he walked out during the Finals against Corey Deuel in Milwaukee.
It was a packed house, and a major Camel Tour event. Earl didn't like the way Scott Smith was racking the balls and just quit in the middle of the match. This one act, more than any other, spelled the end of Camel's involvement with professional pool. His strange behavior only worsened from there, including one famous episode in Cardiff in 1999 at the World Pool Championships. Earl was loudly castigating an opponent who had just undergone stomach surgery prior to the tournament. He was admonishing him for playing slow (he was in pain).
The crowd turned against Earl and then he unleashed his fury at the audience. I was the TV commentator at the time and used the words "embarassment" and "disgrace" to describe Earl's behavior. At the conclusion of the match Earl burst into the pressroom and lashed into me, screaming epitaths and vindictives. Naturally the British press made this outburst the headlines in their reports about the tournament the following day. "American Cue Star In Row With Television Commentator" was the headline.
During this same time frame in the late 90's, Earl began to regularly chastise the audience for not applauding at the appropriate moments, and worse yet, horror of horrors, rooting for his opponent. His behavior has deteriorated in the ensuing years. It's impossible to predict what he will do next, but it probably won't be good. Earl is totally unpredictable and could self destruct at any time. Fans come to watch him now, just to see what will happen. Like racing fans waiting for a crash. And he rarely disappoints them.
Ah Earl?
Earl always did match up good whether its pool or selling wolf tickets. Earl is a very intense dominating individual. When things don't go his way he goes off if you can't take the heat you're meat. Believe me Earl knows exactly what he doing. You might not like him but he's been a force for about 18 years. If you ever get a chance to play Earl an you get him down heat is on the way. I don't like everything Earl does but when he's in high cog I sure do like to watch him play.
Pinocchio
Earl always did match up good whether its pool or selling wolf tickets. Earl is a very intense dominating individual. When things don't go his way he goes off if you can't take the heat you're meat. Believe me Earl knows exactly what he doing. You might not like him but he's been a force for about 18 years. If you ever get a chance to play Earl an you get him down heat is on the way. I don't like everything Earl does but when he's in high cog I sure do like to watch him play.
Pinocchio
cueball1950 said:
cueball1950 said:
if i had to guess i'd say he knows he's achieved a level of play that has not been matched by many, thought that as regular and now is seeing the effects of father time that is turning his dead stroke into a one that's not as automatic. he's probably reached the peak and is now slowly going down the other side of the mountain. if that's the case i'd think the worst part for him is knowing it. he just isn't dealing with it well. is he still a great player? of course. can he put it on automatic anymore? we'll have to wait and see.
Somehow I believe drugs are involved...
Something is a miss. I cant believe that he isnt on some kind of drugs, or has had some OD or similiar.
Or he truely, sadly, has a real mental problem.
I hope I am wrong and he just needs the $hit, kicked out of him.
Ken
jay helfert said:
Something is a miss. I cant believe that he isnt on some kind of drugs, or has had some OD or similiar.
Or he truely, sadly, has a real mental problem.
I hope I am wrong and he just needs the $hit, kicked out of him.
Ken
I didn't say it.mszelis said:
I made a mistake when I wrote that. It wasn't an entire country. It was just one of the major cities in that country.
To Quote Earl Strickland:
This was at last year's mosconi cup.Earl Strickland said: