Does Brandon Ashcraft(sp?) still play? He came thru Tulsa yrs ago. Played really sporty. Kirkwood still at it?? Saw him gamble 24/7 at Derby back in '07.
Has the Parade Passed By
- Thread starter lfigueroa
- Start date
Ashcraft's name has been heard the last few years. Last year he played in the inaugural Ohio vs Michigan Mosconi style event. I don't think he was on the team this year. As for Kirkwood, he's still doing his thing. I used to lament that he could have been but wasn't a top US professional. Maybe he saw the light early on (or it was other things) and has just stuck to being a barbox bandit of sorts. I still love watching him play when I get the chance. I tracked his play just a few years back as I was on an 8 ball team with him. In 25 racks of 8 ball, he missed 1 ball and made 1 positional error. I know...I know....it's bar table some would say -- but that's about as good as anyone can do. The parade hasn't quite passed him by yet.
At DCC in '07 Kirkwood never left the action room other than to hose off and take a quik nap. He was in action the whole week.
MON quite accurately said:
And why shouldn't it be true -- because for any contemporary players in almost any sport -- in any era -- they logically and fortunately have:
-- Skilled previous role models to emulate and exceed; superior visual and printed instructionals; advanced equipment; increasingly qualified coaches; better nutritional options & advice; better physical therapy insights & options/remedies; and not least: the stimulation of an always-widening field of eager and simultaneously improving national- and world-class competitors to learn from & measure the rate and extent of their own progress against.
Arnaldo
And that's ideally what we want for any sport.
And why shouldn't it be true -- because for any contemporary players in almost any sport -- in any era -- they logically and fortunately have:
-- Skilled previous role models to emulate and exceed; superior visual and printed instructionals; advanced equipment; increasingly qualified coaches; better nutritional options & advice; better physical therapy insights & options/remedies; and not least: the stimulation of an always-widening field of eager and simultaneously improving national- and world-class competitors to learn from & measure the rate and extent of their own progress against.
Arnaldo
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These guys are also destroying players that where on top of the pool world 20 or so years ago. As much as a health nut and disciplined player as he is, guys like Thorsten are probably never going to win another major tournament again. Same with Mika and Neils.
I agree with this statement. the other day I watched a 9 ball match- Albin Oushan vs. Josh Roberts. - Albin was so dominating against a really, really good player. I don't remember anyone in the 1960s/70s/80s. etc. who had such perfect form, could execute shots so consistently, could move the CB so perfectly, all on a pro cut table!
No doubt the top pros today are the best that ever played the game - it is at a much higher level now- and I think the reason why most of the guys who "retired" never tried serious comeback attempts,even in their 50s - of course the lack of money in the sport also had a lot to do with those decisions.
great post. i've tried to make the same points to the nostalgiacs for years, to no avail. same in snooker, they cling onto alex higgins and steve davis like it's a religion. i like the good ole times too, but i am also a realist.
and to the "diet" factor mentioned above we can add alcohol habits. if you want to keep up with practice beasts like shane or fedor you simply can't be partying all night. that kind of lifestyle just wont get you there.
steve would have been a champion in any era. not so sure about the king of burning the candle at both ends. alex could play no doubt but his style is from another time.
Life is full of highs and lows for all of us.
It must be tough for these mid tier guys to keep pushing. Twenty years ago you were Americas next greatest up and comer, full of potential. Now 20 years later you haven't won a thing, or anything that mattered, while Wu wins 2 World Championships at 16 years old. That's enough to make you want to sit on your cue with a 95mm shaft, unchalked, and rotate.
Watching all these great young players winning world championships and big events must be hard to swallow for these guys.
I give them a lot of credit to continue on and follow a dream. Those brief moments of playing perfect pool are highly addictive. At what point do you answer that wake up call?
They don't always play their best game. I see Billy Thorpe tied with about 30 guys for 51st at DCC 9 ball. Several names I don't recognize higher are on the list. I'm guessing some pros didn't even get that far.
Finding a backer might be difficult but you could win a match or two.
Serena (of 2017) probably could beat Arthur Ash (mid 1960s) when both were in their primes.
Parade might have passed but there is still alot of candy to pick up off the street.
I I know a lot more about playing pool than I did 60 years ago but that knowledge has been compromised with age. the information one can gather just from the internet was not available in my youth.
I was just one of many short stops in the N.Y.-N.J.-Philly area at that time in the 80's.
He played me straight pool 100 to 80.
We played many 14.1 games but the best one we ever played was he broke and I ran 53 and missed and said "Take that Joe".
He ran 100 and out, when he was right he was a monster.
RIP Joe.
He passed a couple years ago Alzheimer or Dementia or maybe it was both.
oh, I've knocked off a champ or two, but now the current crop is almost impossible to get passed
Lou Figueroa
THAT is a different story : -)
I love playing all these guys who have watched Frost and Cohan games and think they can execute that way. Their shots go kabulee and it's easy pickins.
Lou Figueroa
Damn! I can't t even sleep for 20 hours without taking a break.
Not only does the spread between the short stop and pro seem further than ever but there's more pro's these days. Or at least it seems that way partially due to the amount of information available with the internet.
The parade missed me by three states. Scott Frost told me I played "ok" once, I could barely get my head through the pool room door, for a week.