I've heard Earl opine that they should take out the side pockets. He launched a classic Earl-tirade at the Mosconi Cup in 2014 about it. I just stumbled across a match on YouTube that was just posted a couple weeks ago. It looks like they've finally built one. Earl and Darren playing 10-Ball without side pockets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAyMsYrj0Nk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAyMsYrj0Nk