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Johnnyt said:
http://www.azbilliards.com/news/stories/12276-does-team-usa-need-help/

From the AZB home page. "Does the U.S team need help"?

The only thing we need is more countries to draw from like Europe has. Give us Canada at least. Johnnyt
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The help we need is here at home. We need to develop the young talent in America, first and foremost by going young at the Mosconi and giving the young guys the competitive seasoning they need. It is time to stop sending the likes of Deuel, Schmidt, Archer, Morris, Hatch, Strickland, and some others who are over 35 and playing well below where they did at their best. These players, all extremely accomplished, are not role models or leaders.

For once, let's go young and let the young improving guys get the seasoning they need. The inclusion of twenty somethings like Hall and Bergman last year was a good start. Hall was America's best player at last year's Mosconi, and has a chance to be the same this year if he's on the squad. Twenty somethings like Mike Dechaine and Skyler Woodward and a few others need to be in the mix.

Will America go young, or will we repeat the mistake of including some veterans who just don't compete nearly as well as the once did. Maybe this will be the year we begin building for the future.

Inclusion on the Mosconi Team can't be a lifetime achievement award. It certainly isn't on the European side.

If we're not going to go young and persist with the strategy of including players on the downside of their careers, I'd favor adding Canada, and I' start with the young and most impressive sharpshooter John Morra, one of the world's most dedicated and conscientious players, fifth in the recently completed World 9-ball Championships. I'd rather have John than either of Pagulayan or Klatt, fine players both of them.

With a nucleus of SVB, Dechaine and Morra, we'd be a dangerous squad. Throw in the two Justins and you'd have a young improving dangerous team.

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That said, there's more to this than number of countries. English posters have noted that only about 1,000 people in England play nine ball, and yet a Team England of Appleton, Boyes, Peach, Melling and Gray would be at least the equal of the 2014 Team USA.
 
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nfuids said:
It should be Team America vs Team Europe
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By America, I assume you mean North America. That would include, of course, Canada, Mexico, and 22 other countries along with dozens of possessions and territories.
If we broadened our horizons and said the Americas, then we could throw all of South America, Central America, and the West Indies, into the mix.
Surely we ought to come up with at least a fairly good team from that pool of talent, don't you think? :smile:
 
Nothing is going to change this situation. Pool in America is dead. 100 people in Asia are as good as anybody we've got except SVB and Appleton has his number at the Mosconi Cup. The fact is that the Mosconi Cup should be Europe vs. Asia as that would be much more competitive. Pool in America is played on 7ft tables in bars mostly by drunks. That's the problem. Why pour money into a rabbit hole.
 
Johnnyt said:
The only thing we need is more countries to draw from like Europe has. Give us Canada at least. Johnnyt
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Bad argument. I have no doubt you have more active pool players than Europe does.

There are maybe a couple of hundred regular American pool players in the UK. I'd pick a UK only team to beat a US team in a Mosconi style format.
 
SakuJack said:
Bad argument. I have no doubt you have more active pool players than Europe does.

There are maybe a couple of hundred regular American pool players in the UK. I'd pick a UK only team to beat a US team in a Mosconi style format.
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I'd probably bet UK Vs U.S. Johnnyt
 
Jeezus I hate this argument. Yeah we're losing so let's change the rules of the tournament.

How about we do what Amerucuh does best: We'll drone strike Europe's pool rooms and imprison their top players.

{edit OK wow. Yeah so I guess I'm in a bad mood this morning.}
 
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The Philippines was a U.S. territory until 1946. They are still close friends of ours.

I believe the world needs to place more value on friendship....

...so Philipino players should be able to play on the U.S. team.

The world would be a better place.
 
I didn't really get the point of the article and found it a bit confusing.

Anyway...

I think there are several myths surrounding the Mosconi Cup. One of the biggest myths is that the European team is somehow REALLY a team that gets together and holds team practices and completes team building exercises and such. I don't think this is really true at all. Last year, Mark Wilson took this idea and ran with it, hoping to create a quasi-National pool team. That's not what the Mosconi Cup ever was and it never will be.

The Mosconi Cup Team is NOT a national team. It's an All-Star team. They are totally different animals and it's a waste of time to try and turn this team into something it was never intended to be.

The reason why the U.S. team keeps losing isn't because we don't have enough fan support. It's not because we don't have enough sponsorship dollars. It's not because we don't have government backing. It's not because we are lacking team camaraderie. It’s not because we don't have enough countries to pick from. Well, I suppose you could say we need more countries to pick from but we really do have more players in the U.S than they have in probably all of Europe combined. We just don't have enough serious players. The reason we keep losing is because Europe's All-Star team is better than ours.

Now why is Europe better? Or more specifically why does the U.K. produce more top level talent than all of the U.S. combined?

I think there are two reasons: Access to good coaching and access to the game. All serious pool players that come out of the U.K. are influenced by the snooker world's strict adherence to fundamentals -- that's even if they don't play the game. There's a trickle-down effect. So they can produce players that may not have all the tools in their bag that a player such as Shane Van Boening may have but because of their rock solid fundamentals they can compete with such players. I think Daryl Peach fits this description perfectly.

The other reason they produce the players they do is because they see the game being played in an exciting atmosphere and on live TV in front of millions. You really only need to reel in a handful of pool zealots and once you get them you can turn them into great players. They get exposed to a lot of live cue sports overseas. When you consider all the snooker events that are aired live together with the very exciting pool events that Matchroom produces, how can that not entice a few young viewers? I'm certain it does. Meanwhile, here in the states about the only thing that can entice the young players to play here is watching Jim Bob beat up on Lefty down at the local watering hole. So even when we do get a few young players interested in the game -- they aren't really getting interested in THE GAME. Many of them are being introduced to a very watered down version of pool and most of them will spend the first ten years of their pool playing lives aspiring to be able to run out a rack of eight ball on a bar table. It's a different world.



***Edit***
I reread the article and didn't find it confusing at all the 2nd time through. Not sure what I was reading the first time.
 
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I can't understand really myself, btw are those chalk holders they have for sale?
 
Johnnyt said:
http://www.azbilliards.com/news/stories/12276-does-team-usa-need-help/

From the AZB home page. "Does the U.S team need help"?
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Roger you've expressed some good intentions, but honestly I think you've also approached the subject a little sideways. It's almost as if you are saying that it's the fans fault that our team cant win. No support = no money= sucky team. Is that about right?

I hate to pee in your cheerios, but one does not garner millions of adoring fans by being a loser, or losing team as the case may be. To have supporters, one must be doing something worthy of support.

And- this is not a sport like golf where a pro needs 10k worth of equipment to play the game properly - ie we're not too " poor" to play high quality pool.

When the players get out there and really bust their asses, and perform (and act) like true professionals, they WILL indeed have all the fans they need, but as it is right now, what five players from the u.s. can you stand behind with 100% confidence ?

A couple of years back at Mosconi Cup we had an American player who took his paid trip to Vegas and turned it into a family vacation, so while his team, OUR team, was focused on meetings and preparations for the cup, he was focused on taking his family to the grand canyon.

How many chalk holders are gonna fix that shit Roger?

How many Mosconi Cup posters and T-shirts are gonna make the players work harder Roger?

How are Facebook fan pages, radio interviews, and publicity going to keep our team from betting against themselves and dumping Roger?

Now don't get me wrong people.
I AM one of the most patriotic and supportive people that I know, especially when it comes to the Mosconi Cup. I can go dig up a hundred " GO USA " comments from my past posts, which is exactly why I'm so passionate about this subject, I want to see them win as much as anyone, but please don't try to suggest that the team cant win because of a lack of funding.
 
bdorman said:
The Philippines was a U.S. territory until 1946. They are still close friends of ours.
I believe the world needs to place more value on friendship....
...so Philipino players should be able to play on the U.S. team.
The world would be a better place.
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Yeah, funny how that works.
Many years ago, when I was a mere child, I did a couple of years with the U.S. Navy.
On board our ship were a few Filipinos. They were called Stewards, heir job was to take care of the officers. Serve them their meals, make their beds, clean their staterooms, do their laundry, and shine their shoes. None of the rest of us knew who they were. They stayed in officer's country and didn't associate.
How close do you think we really are? :rolleyes:
 
BRussell said:
Jeezus I hate this argument. Yeah we're losing so let's change the rules of the tournament.

How about we do what Amerucuh does best: We'll drone strike Europe's pool rooms and imprison their top players.

{edit OK wow. Yeah so I guess I'm in a bad mood this morning.}
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Ditto. America has way more pool players than Europe but needs to find its way out of the woods.

Step one on the road to success is going young so that the stars of tomorrow get the seasoning they need.

Obviously, America now has two players who posted top ten finishes at the World 9-ball Championships in SVB (runnerup) and Dechaine (tied 9th) but there are twenty somethings who are shining bright including a) Justin Hall, by far the best player on Team USA at the 2014 Mosconi Cup, 7th in the 2014 US Open and 2nd in the 2015 US Open 10-ball, and b) Justin Bergman who just beat Jayson Shaw in a long challenge match. Skyler Woodward is also coming strong, and among his accomplishments this year was a win over Dechaine en route to a top ten at the Derby City 9-ball. Other young players should get a look, too.

Build for the future. The veteran players who don't play nearly as well as they used to need to get out of the way and allow the emergence of America's young stars. Mark Wilson is a symbol of emerging youth in American pool, but a year ago he chose not to go young. This year, I'm hoping he shows a little more confidence in America's young players.

.... but as you note, the solution is not to make the Mosconi easier for America. It's to answer the bell and find a way to win.
 
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Did Justin beat Jayson in a challenge match? I thought that wasn't for a few weeks still. I heard Teachers made Berg their house pro. I think Teachers deserves a round of applause for what they've been doing.
 
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