trustyrusty said:
wow, I can't believe the majority here. I'm w/Smokey...and BTW, I'd have turned in Pete Rose, Lyle Alzado, Barry Bonds, or whomever if I'd have witnessed it firsthand. Cheaters will continue to cheat if never caught, and just "staying out of others peoples business" might sound like a good concept, but if the guy wasn't called on it he might end up trying it on the WRONG person in the future (and it could turn out much worse that way).
I played in a golf league with a guy known for cheating that nobody ever called on it (he was a BAD player too). So, one hole I asked him what his score was and he said, "5" which would've tied me off (with the stroke I had to give him on each hole). I asked him if that included the foot wedge he used to get clear of a tree?. He was ticked, but who cares. I told him the kick would cost him a stroke but if he wanted to lie about it I'd play by the rules and make him go back a place the ball where it was, add a stroke, and play the hole out from there - his choice.... He just took the stroke, and everytime he played in my group from then on his scores were much more accurate!!!
Oh, and as for the possibility of a fight....I would ask rather loudly, "You want to fight me because you clearly cheated while your opponent wasn't watching???" "Alright then, let's GO!!". Screw him.
Well, the difference here is that the golf cheater was playing against YOU and you saw him do it. In the pool scenario the opponent didn't see it happen.
Golf is a little different too in that in a tournament, you are playing against EVERYBODY in the field, not just one person, so if you catch someone shaving strokes, taking an illegal drop, etc., you are obligated to call his attention to it in order to protect not just yourself, but the entire field as well.
Anyway, I have to agree with Fatboy, ETAL on this one - based on past experience.
Once at a nine-ball tournament there was a novice player playing against a guy who had a tendency to shark.
The novice player makes the 8 and has a pretty easy shot on the nine in the side, when the shark walks over and starts taking balls out of the pockets. The novice guy, although distracted, goes ahead and shoots the nine ball and misses. The other guy promptly makes the nine ball and now the novice player is mad at himself for missing an easy shot.
He racks the balls and came over to where me and a couple of other guys are sitting, saying something like "I can't believe I missed that shot."
I tell him he should not have shot it in the first place, because once the other guy started taking the balls out of the pockets, that is considered concession of the game. But since he went ahead and shot it, then his shot counts.
Well, now the shark has broken and made a ball and is going about his next shot, when the novice player jumps up and walks over to him and claims the previous game - because I told him that his opponent had conceded the game!! Now I'm in the middle of a big argument when I was just trying to educate the novice player for future reference.
So I learned my lesson that night.
Regarding the original scenario - if you knew the guy getting cheated, or someone that knew him, you could tell them to make sure to pay attention while the other guy is shooting (but anyone playing for $20 a rack should know this, right?)
If you had no vested interest in the guy - keep silent - he sounds like an easy mark!
