I watched this and Earl actually did call the two ball. When Jayson went and said he called the cue Earl went and broke his stick......not because Jayson got up and called the foul, because he knew Jayson was correct. There are a ton of videos on youtube of that shot from an alternate angle that has Earl calling the two ball. While the refs made the call based on what they had, Earl got away with cheating.
So why did Jayson say Earl called the cue? When he clearly called the two, not the cue? Oh, wait, you just mis-spoke there, nevermind, carry on. (hint, hint)
Here's another scenario for you, one I believe to be more likely- Earl is in the heat of the match, no more mistakes allowed at this point. He has to get out here. He knows the shot is the ten ball. Shooting the other ball into the side while jacked up is a losing proposition.
But, it's not a shot he really wants to shoot. He is second-guessing himself. Looking for something else. He sees the possible carom shot, and thinks in his head that Efren would probably call that. He says that soley out of respect for Efren, knowing that Earl himself would never call that carom.
Since the ten in the corner is the obvious choice to shoot, he isn't even going to bother calling it. At the last second, his mind says "call it just to be safe, want no shenanigans at this point". His mind sees the blue on the ten, and quickly blurts out "two ball" with no real conscious thought involved in it.
Then, when Jayson jumped up and said he called the wrong ball, Earl instantly knew that he had previously done so, took Jayson at his word, and was furious with himself for making such a stupid mistake again. Then, since Earl had called it basically using his subconscious, and not his conscious, he really had no memory of even calling the shot. So, he then stated that he didn't call anything. In his mind, he hadn't called anything because there was no conscious thought involved with calling the ball.
So, was Earl even lying about not calling the two? I don't think he was lying at all. He simply had no memory of consciously calling the ball. At this point, Earl is all confused on just what is happening. Why is Jayson getting all bent out shape, why did he even say that he called the wrong ball. What is going on? He was on the verge of winning another "world title" (term to be used very loosely), and now all this crap going on. And, in his mind, he was being careful to do everything right!
Actually, I think Earl showed great restraint this time. Usually, he is the one causing problems, and he knows it. This time, Jayson, seeing that he was about to be eliminated, grasped at any straw available, and called Earl on a mis-spoke. Willing to reach to any depth to get another chance to win. And, in so doing, he personified what is wrong with the game today. Those kind of actions are rampant in the league divisions. They have no place in the profession divisions of the sport. He was being a sore loser, period.
