Mika's under-the-breath mutterings not very sportsmanlike
I watched Mika play at the 14.1 tournament in Comet billiards. I think he acted in a very professional manner at all times. Even when he lost the final match, he was very dissappointed, but he continued to be very professional and polite.
He believe he is a good representative for the sport.
kaznj:
Sorry to disagree, but I watched Mika play at the Predator 14.1 World Championships at Comet Billiards as well, and I saw an entirely different Mika. Mika didn't conduct himself in a professional manner "at all times" as you describe. Most demonstrative of his other-than-professional manner was during his semi-final match with Oliver Ortmann, where Mika was a motor mouth, constantly muttering things under his breath that only Oliver and the Accu-Stats crew sitting behind Mika can hear. A couple of times, Oliver would be down on a shot, and it was like someone stuck a hatpin in his rear end or something; something only Oliver could hear was heard, and Oliver sprang up off the table, turned around, and glared with fiery eyes over in Mika's direction. He held that glare for more than a comfortable period of time, then, not saying anything, he'd get back down on his shot and continue on.
The folks sitting next to me in the front row, and I myself, did happen to catch a couple of these commential mutterings by Mika, and, at least the mutterings *we* heard, were whines about Oliver getting lucky rolls and why he (Mika) is not still up at the table is because of balls skidding. (I.e. it goes back to what another poster said about Mika's "it's everyone else's / everything else's fault but my own" thing.) There could've been other topics those "Mika mutterings" could've covered that we did not hear, but one thing was for sure that day -- the bad blood between Oliver and Mika dripped in buckets. After the match, when Oliver went outside to take a much-needed break, my commute partner met Oliver in the parking lot and chatted him up a bit. My commute partner made a comment about a herculean effort it must've been to fade those "Mika mutterings," and Oliver replied, shaking his head and with a very stern look, "Tell me about it."
I'd seen Mika play several times before then, e.g. Super Billiards Expo and Turning Stone, which, I admit, subsequently jaded me about him before even stepping foot into the Accu-Stats arena for the Mika/Oliver match. The under-the-breath,-just-loud-enough-so-your-opponent-can-hear mutterings were chugging along full steam from Mika, and it took his opponent all the control he can muster not to explode at/onto Mika.
There is a such thing as "passion" for the sport -- we all have it in varying degrees of overtness. There's quite another when it kangaroo-vaults into the unsportsmanlike category.
-Sean
Just my opinion.
