Here comes a dead horse. SVB talk.

The only ball I recall that Shane missed was that side pocket shot early on in the match.

Shane's mistakes were as follows:

Game 2 -- Missed a cut on the 7-ball to the side pocket. Dennis ran out.

Game 10 -- Missed a 1/9 carom, but slopped in the 1-ball (might have been a 2-way shot). Shane ran out.

Game 12 -- Scratched on the break. Dennis ran out.

Game 13 -- Slopped in the 3-ball and 4-ball and snookered himself. He hit the 5-ball on a kick, but Dennis ran out.
 
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In addition to that, I had a discussion with a very knowledgeable chap - Neil Nida (sp?). He may work for Diamond. He said that the 2 ball was "settling" in a bit, and by leaving a little gap, you can make the wing ball easier. And that Neils had the same issue with Dennis O the night before. So, perhaps Alex learned of this?

The match between the Terminator and Orcullo is where it started. Neils complained that the 2 ball was not settling in and the ball next to the 2 ball was going in, NOT THE WING BALL. I was in the stands watching and heard all of the comments. Neils even pointed to the ball next to the 2 ball and said that this ball is dead every time with a loose 2 ball.
 
racking problems

The 2-ball may have been loose but they kept removing the rack and then pushing the one ball trying to freeze it and then they started tapping balls and it was a problem. Note when the Philapino players played each other there was no cheching the rack. They accepted the rack
 
The match between the Terminator and Orcullo is where it started. Neils complained that the 2 ball was not settling in and the ball next to the 2 ball was going in, NOT THE WING BALL. I was in the stands watching and heard all of the comments. Neils even pointed to the ball next to the 2 ball and said that this ball is dead every time with a loose 2 ball.

Interesting. Was it going straight in the corner?

This is such a maddening problem. With all the technology and experience we have, why can't we find a stinkin answer?? :mad:

What about making a precision milled titanium insert under the rack? Obviously slate gets pitted. But how the heck does a brand new state of the art table, with brand new balls not rack tight?
 
This is such a maddening problem. With all the technology and experience we have, why can't we find a stinkin answer?? :mad:

There is already an answer. Problem is, not many would agree to play by it.

Have a referee/neutral person rack the balls. Make the rule be that the breaker may inspect the rack (to see which position/side of the kitchen they may wish to break from) but cannot comment on the rack nor ask for a re-rack. Maybe give them ONE re-rack option per match maximum. If breaker asks for his/her re-rack, they must accept the rack as is once the rack is again removed from the balls.

End of boring racking disputes!!!

Maniac
 
The match between the Terminator and Orcullo is where it started. Neils complained that the 2 ball was not settling in and the ball next to the 2 ball was going in, NOT THE WING BALL. I was in the stands watching and heard all of the comments. Neils even pointed to the ball next to the 2 ball and said that this ball is dead every time with a loose 2 ball.

By my notes, the discussion occurred after Game 3. Orcollo had broken only twice -- Games 2 and 3. In both games he made the wing 3 ball (and nothing else) and ran out.
 
No disrespect to Alex, but does some of the general public still believe that Alex can hang with shane in a long rotation set? It's not even close.
 
I watched a Tourney a while back where they were using a Magic Rack and racking the 9 ball on the spot. It was much more difficult to make a ball and run out. I really like that and it made watching much more fun.
 
Most of you guys are not knowledgeable enough to rate who currently is the worlds best player. You are unaware of the monsters that live away from the US or don't attend events regularly in the US. The same monsters that have stopped Shane from ever winning an international event. There is no doubt that he is ONE of the best players in the world and IS the best player by far in the US, however to call him the best player on the planet is just far fetched.
Btw I love Shane and rate him very highly so don't think I'm a hater.
 
But, he's not the best straight pool player; he's not the best banker; he's not the best one-pocket player; he's not the best 8-ball player.

Would I bet against SVB in ANY match against ANY opponent right now? Yes, if he played 14.1 against John Schmidt or one-pocket against Efren. But even in these situations, it wouldn't surprise me if SVB beat them.
If you think Schmidt and Efren are the best straight pool and one pocket players who do you feel is the best at banks and eight ball? Just curious.

Most of you guys are not knowledgeable enough to rate who currently is the worlds best player. You are unaware of the monsters that live away from the US or don't attend events regularly in the US. The same monsters that have stopped Shane from ever winning an international event. There is no doubt that he is ONE of the best players in the world and IS the best player by far in the US, however to call him the best player on the planet is just far fetched.
Btw I love Shane and rate him very highly so don't think I'm a hater.

Topics about the best current player, or best player of all time for that matter come up a lot but no one will ever be able to give a definitive answer to the question. There are players out there that 99% of the pool world will never hear of that play as good as the top players we see day in and day out. Shane plays in as many if not more tournaments that just about anyone, in the US and abroad so his track record speaks for itself. Like most have said, hes obviously the best American player and he has to rank very high on an international level as well. Since there is no way to determine who is the top player, domestic and internationally, it only makes sense to go off of a known current players documented accomplishments. Thus making Shane the #1 right now........ :)
 
Ray...But, but, but wait! How can that be? CJ says that Alex "tears the bark off of trees"! LOL I happen to agree with your assessment of Shane, btw.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

By the way, I need to mention something in case someone else didn't talk about Alex complaining about Shane's break. Basically, Alex interviened before Shane broke that where Shane was shooting from it was impossible to make the wing ball all the time, that Shane's racking must be faulty. The ref looked at him after inspecting the rack and said it looked all right to him. Alex then said: "you mean I can rack them like Shane does" and the ref said yes. Alex then asked the ref again if he could seriously rack like that. The next time Alex got to break he tried breaking from the same spot that Shane was breaking from without making the wing ball. My theory - his little puny arms didn't have the power to make that wing ball. :grin: I like Alex, but this time his was in my opinion trying to interupt Shane's game out of pure frustration.
 
Most of you guys are not knowledgeable enough to rate who currently is the worlds best player. You are unaware of the monsters that live away from the US or don't attend events regularly in the US. The same monsters that have stopped Shane from ever winning an international event. There is no doubt that he is ONE of the best players in the world and IS the best player by far in the US, however to call him the best player on the planet is just far fetched.
Btw I love Shane and rate him very highly so don't think I'm a hater.


I know there are a lot of good players out there that have beaten him here and there. If you've got to send one player into a match to get you the money, who you gonna send other than Shane right now? Longevity we'll see, only time will tell. I think the kid is setting up to make a Johnny/Earl kind of long haul for a decade or two.

Kudo's to the kid. The best part is, HE'S ONLY GETTING BETTER!!!! :shocked::shocked::shocked::shocked::shocked:
 
I think Shane is the best American without question. I also think if you ask him he would tell you he is not the best in the world. ...but he would be happy to play whoever that may be.
 
I think SVB is the best American and one of the top world players. Until he can get a World Championship under his belt, I will consider him one of the prime candidates for the best player that have yet to win one. Bustamante just overcame that hurdle recently. Of his immediate peers, Alex, Darren and Ronnie have won world championships.

I do think he's the best all around player at the moment.
 
There are a few Americans that "could" be right there with Shane in playing ability, but pool being what it is right now, many players are just not focused on their game like Shane is. In no way is that a rip on Shane. He is a MONSTER by any right, and anywhere! If there were a way to make really good money playing pool here in America, I think he'd have some REAL challengers! Hopefully we can find out someday, but for now, the lack of incentive brings on the lack on interest in putting in the necessary time to too many a player :frown:
 
There are a few Americans that "could" be right there with Shane in playing ability, but pool being what it is right now, many players are just not focused on their game like Shane is. In no way is that a rip on Shane. He is a MONSTER by any right, and anywhere! If there were a way to make really good money playing pool here in America, I think he'd have some REAL challengers! Hopefully we can find out someday, but for now, the lack of incentive brings on the lack on interest in putting in the necessary time to too many a player :frown:

True. If Earl could get a brain transplant to replace his emotional meltdowns, he would beat Shane. His talent is still at that level. The last time they played in the TAR 9 ball, Earl was out playing him until he melted down relatively late in the match. I think he was up by a few racks at that time and then just totally went off kilter- basically forfeited.

As far as the world goes- I think Orcollo and Bustie have proven they can hang with him. Archer also beat him in their TAR match up. Corteza would also probably pose a significant challenge. Why didn't Corteza play in the US Open?

It should be mentioned that Orcollo was on a tear earlier this year- he won the Hard Times 10 ball and then the US Open 10 ball (which is a more challenging tournament presently than the US Open 9 ball in my opinion)
 
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