I don't believe you, Randy

[Johnson]

getting pool into high schools would be a lot tougher than u guys realize, that's assuming that the administrations would even want pool tables at their schools which i'd ASSume a lot wouldn't(and this is assuming u could get the tables donated because i doubt they'd pay a red cent for them), i coach tennis at a local 5a high school and the way they support tennis is a JOKE, the first 3 weeks we practiced with mainly dead balls until we had some matches, we had an away match last night and 1 of the kids went to the trainer and asked for cups for the water jug and she said that we couldn't have cups for away matches, one of the parents got tired of the crappy uniforms we had and went out an spent $600 of their own money on uniforms for the varsity


1 thing that i was surprised to hear is that they have a bowling team and i believe they said that the indiana high school athletic association is gonna sanction bowling as a sport this year or next year, the only way pool would work is if u could find a good environment for them to play in (bowling alley?), also you'd need someone to donate a lot of their time to it, i know back in the 60's a lot of kids learned to play pool through the boys clubs, that could be another option, if u are gonna count on schools to help pool u are wasting your time, most don't care about 2/3 of the sports they already have
________

 

[crosseyedjoe]

I think the reason you brought up One Pocket was just to annoy me. Let's see if you're serious and really a lover of the cue sports. First of all, forget the invitationals. Do you think I'd tell a Keith he couldn't play in an event.
If you put up $20,000 for One Pocket, I'll raise that much and we'll have a $30,000 added One Pocket World Championship. I'll find the site and make the arrangements and I'll get Accu-stats to come.
Again, no quality player should ever have to sit at home while lesser individuals play in events. Although if you do decide to do an invitational, against my solid advice I don't to see how anybody can justify Charlie being invited. Politics just shouldn't play a role in pool.

Hmm, diplomacy . . .

 

[Grady]

I'm trying

I have stated more than once that I would be willing to work with, even sanction my events with the UPA, under two conditions:
1. One Pocket, 14.1 and Bank Pool receive the same rankings points as 9 Ball.
2. Men like Jimmy Fusco, Keith McCready and I occasionally get some work, like a good paying exhibition,an endorsement or some commentary jobs on TV, out of the UPA office.
Seems reasonable to me.

 

[Shawn Armstrong]

This won't work. Not that I don't think that your ideas don't have merit, but here is the flaw in the thinking:

You can't give the same amount of points out for 1P, 14.1 and Banks becuase of the depth of the fields. To win points at 9-ball, you may be on a board of 64 players or more in a tourney. You won't have nearly that same turnout for the other games, so I'd have to argue against that due to depth of field. It also appears that you're trying to stack the deck in your favour by giving equal points to games you know that you can compete at, because you know the young guys are passing you at 9-ball (again, no insult intended).

 

[punter]

Grady, pm sent.

Rg

Of course people have a right to keep whatever they want private, but this ending reminds me of the last episode of the Sopranos.

 

[uwate]

A 30k added world 1p tournament? Open field and Accustats filming?

I need to go change my pants now...

 

[Ky Boy]

Does anyone know of or where to find how many colleges and the names of which that have pool as a collegiate sport? I would appreciate this info.

John Schmidt, you and I had an issue long ago and now is water under the bridge. I commend you on coming here and giving very good information to this forum. You are a stand up guy, sir. And I enjoy watching you play. You have a steak dinner coming your way at DCC. Thanks agin!!

Gary

 

[mattman]

I think the reason you brought up One Pocket was just to annoy me. Let's see if you're serious and really a lover of the cue sports. First of all, forget the invitationals. Do you think I'd tell a Keith he couldn't play in an event.
If you put up $20,000 for One Pocket, I'll raise that much and we'll have a $30,000 added One Pocket World Championship. I'll find the site and make the arrangements and I'll get Accu-stats to come.
Again, no quality player should ever have to sit at home while lesser individuals play in events. Although if you do decide to do an invitational, against my solid advice I don't to see how anybody can justify Charlie being invited. Politics just shouldn't play a role in pool.

Good Lord.....if you have a beef with somebody this much, why not just call him and confront him? You are using this forum like it is an email.

Mattman

 

[jay helfert]

JS,
Well said.

I have always said that as soon as you can get a letter for pool in high school; the game (and sales of equipment) will skyrocket.

In addition, let's get pool tables and serious competition into the country clubs....nothing wrong with introducing the game to a bunch of well-to-do men who like to gamble already.

This is an area where the BCA (back in the day when it was at least pretending to be the conservator of the game) really let down the sport. They should have been striving to get the game into the schools and country clubs....THAT would have been a worthy goal; and all the promotional dollars that were squandered over the years would have been better directed to those goals.

HEAR HEAR for Betmore! I've been saying this for years. POOL should be a high school sport. The BCA has put all their efforts into making it an Olympic sport for many years with no results.

Kids love pool. It's that simple. And it is an easy sport to fund. Put a couple of tables in one empty classroom and you have your playing field. No expensive equipment for the players either. They can wear street clothes and play with inexpensive cues that they furnish themself, just like on the golf and tennis teams. Four to six players on a team is fine.

I've only heard of this in Pennslvania (thanks to the Birbeck twins) and in Texas and in Sacramento thanks to Bart Mahoney. We should have high school Pool all over the USA. Then the sport would enjoy it's next big boom. HELLO BCA!!!

 

[jay helfert]

These are two good ideas, but I think it would be a huge challenge getting pool into high schools. No matter what people say and try to do for the sport, pool will always have a certain stigma surrounding it. No matter how often it is shown on T.V. or how many people play leagues, most people will still associate pool with gambling. Willie, even you allude to it in your second paragraph. Once again, great ideas, but I think the first school to implement pool will be facing an up-hill battle.

I for one don't buy that negative stigma crap. There have been upscale poolrooms in every city for years. And you see pool on TV all the time in commercials and as give away items on game shows. And one thing women's pool on TV has done is make it everyone's game. ESPN does show a lot of pool, even if the shows are poorly produced. Pool has a positive image on television today in this country and the BCA should be capitalizing on that, instead of trying to figure out why no one wants to go to their trade show.

Put pool in the high schools, and all those BCA companies will be very happy campers. This is what we call in poker a "laydown" or a "lock" in pool.

 

[Shawn Armstrong]

I for one don't buy that negative stigma crap. There have been upscale poolrooms in every city for years. And you see pool on TV all the time in commercials and as give away items on game shows. And one thing women's pool on TV has done is make it everyone's game. ESPN does show a lot of pool, even if the shows are poorly produced. Pool has a positive image on television today in this country and the BCA should be capitalizing on that, instead of trying to figure out why no one wants to go to their trade show.

Put pool in the high schools, and all those BCA companies will be very happy campers. This is what we call in poker a "laydown" or a "lock" in pool.

The quickest way to make the sport "popular" is to get kids to do it. My nieces love the fact that I play pool. My son, who is 3, was watching a videotape of the WPC between Chao and Deuel (Helfert doing commentary) and said "Daddy, they have your pool table on TV", and wants to go downstairs and play on it (one of the cutest things I get to see). If you take the "shadiness" away from the game, and get parents involved and accepting pool as a sport or pasttime, you get kids with cues, and youth leagues, and all of a sudden, the game is taken seriously.

 

[vagabond]

Does anyone know of or where to find how many colleges and the names of which that have pool as a collegiate sport? I would appreciate this info.



Gary

i do not the answer to your question.but I know that a WPBA player Mrs.Belinda calhoun teaches pool in a university college near Austin.it is in their academic curriculum.She has been doing that for few years.

 

[dmgwalsh]

High Cchool pool at the IBC

Dawn Hopkins is working with a billiard education non-profit that does just that. There are two or three Chicago high schools that have an inter-school pool league, not unlike their football or basketball programs.

There are schools out there... just not many.

I know that St. Rita's Catholic high school has had pool teams for years. St. Lawrence may have one, too. The teacher for St. Rita's, Stan Kastelic was in our 14.1 league a few sessions ago at the Illinois Billiards Club. Jim Parker has been donating space for years to these high school endeavors. I don't know the extent, but last school year if we came in early, they'd be still playing on 4 or 5 of the tables.

Another of our members, Bob Stark, started his pool playing at St. Rita's many years ago. I think he may be in his 30s now.

 

[!Smorgass Bored]

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Things are looking up.... imo
I am pretty confident in saying that Grady has slept with (had sex with) Randi on MORE than one occasion......
Doug
( and I hope it's NOT in his next book )

 

[dimes33]

Things are looking up.... imo
I am pretty confident in saying that Grady has slept with (had sex with) Randi on MORE than one occasion......
Doug
( and I hope it's NOT in his next book )

um....wth?

 

[punter]

Pool in Schools

Not sure this will work:

Mom, I need to go to the poolroom to practice pool, I have an exam tomorrow.

 

[ribdoner]

Things are looking up.... imo
I am pretty confident in saying that Grady has slept with (had sex with) Randi on MORE than one occasion......
Doug
( and I hope it's NOT in his next book )

That's going over lot's of heads unless you do some splainin

 

[punter]

That's going over lot's of heads unless you do some splainin

Randi = Grady's wife

 

[!Smorgass Bored]

I Jes Tell 'Em, I Dont Splain 'Em

Originally Posted by Smorgass Bored
Things are looking up.... imo
I am pretty confident in saying that Grady has slept with (had sex with) Randi on MORE than one occasion......
Doug
( and I hope it's NOT in his next book )

That's going over lot's of heads unless you do some splainin

LOL, you already know the answer to that.....
Doug
( a laid man is a happy man )

 

[bruin70]

randy and grady will never get together.

WHY?
because each starts his own thread to reply to the other's thread!

how stupid and ego-driven is that? it's like two people living together and communicating by posting notes on the fridge.
it takes two to make an argument. this is but a microcosm of what's wrong with pool. one side says one thing, the other side says another, people takes sides, all in the name of pool, and nothing gets done.