Earl is great for the game
A few years ago my wife attended a BCA trade show with me as we owned LOuisiana's biggest pool room. She knows nothing about pool, has no idea who Earl Strickland is, but he struck up a conversation with her that lasted two hours. When it finally ended she said "That's one of the nicest young men I ever met, does he sell pool tables or something ?" I said no, he's one of the world's greatest players and everyone is always saying he's bad for the game. What a joke, a pool tournament without Earl Strickland in the field should not ever be considered a sanctioned event. Charlie Williams and his group were trying to ban Earl recently and he should be embarrassed as Earl can give him the six gambling.
A few years ago my wife attended a BCA trade show with me as we owned LOuisiana's biggest pool room. She knows nothing about pool, has no idea who Earl Strickland is, but he struck up a conversation with her that lasted two hours. When it finally ended she said "That's one of the nicest young men I ever met, does he sell pool tables or something ?" I said no, he's one of the world's greatest players and everyone is always saying he's bad for the game. What a joke, a pool tournament without Earl Strickland in the field should not ever be considered a sanctioned event. Charlie Williams and his group were trying to ban Earl recently and he should be embarrassed as Earl can give him the six gambling.
If someone was from Canada like that i would be embarass to be a Canadian. WAell if he was from Canada, would you be still defending him or attacking him. Probably be attacking him.Tom In Cincy said:
I am still confused as to why people keep giving excuses to this man and it makes it look like what he's doing is right. Is it because he's American? Or is it because he won alot of championship?. I am not Anti American, i got relatives there, nor do i wish Earl should be banned. I just think that the things he does are inappropriate, he should act like a profesional isn't that what he is a 'Professional" Pool Player. I'm sure he's a nice guy but come on, why does he keep giving himself a bad rep. Complains about this and that, jumpstick etc. and yet he's the one with all thses gadgets, is there a rule on ringer extensions?
Comeone, playing in another country it's bound to happen that the crowd will not cheer for you but their hero (Davis) a living legen in snooker there. You go to philipines same thing will happen, here in Canada same thing will happen, they will cheer for their country man. Why does Earl have to cry all the time, does he need love? Or does he just crave for attention.
I would be thrilled, but i wont be rubbing it on the guys face, it's just not right. The opposite happened to me in a local tourny where i was winning 4-1 and ended up losing 5-4. Now when i was on the nine when it was 4-4 i told the guy i hope i don't choke, and the guy said that was his style not mine. But i choked and he ended up winning the guy, i said good comback and good game. The guy was thrilled but he wasn't shouting or anything like that. Just shook my hand and calmly told his friends that he made a comback. Now i was pissed really pissed, ended up drinking alot of beers, and in my mind I was saying to myself to the guy "You lucky fat bastard, you're soo damn lucky and I could have sent you home packing chubby" But i didn't i gave him a smile and praised him for his comeback.jjinfla said:
Now how would people like it if i just start complaining in this forum at things that i don't like....i don't think i will make alot of friends here. What if i told Mike that i'm not satisfied with the site, the pics from tourneys takes long to comeup or posted up, sometimes it's too slow. What would mike tell me. After that wut if i tell him to shut up.
Earl is not the best 9-Ball player of the last 25yrs. There are several players that could fit that profile (Archer, Reyes, Varner, etc...).
To call one the best would be a very hard task. And now we have way to many players rankings and they all vary quite a bit. That goes to needing 1 good tour and the UPA isn't even close to that. I like the idea of unifying select tours and electing a board of not-eligable to play people to oversee it.
Earls attitude does suck, but it's 50% of his game. Without it he would never have gotten half as far as he has.
To call one the best would be a very hard task. And now we have way to many players rankings and they all vary quite a bit. That goes to needing 1 good tour and the UPA isn't even close to that. I like the idea of unifying select tours and electing a board of not-eligable to play people to oversee it.
Earls attitude does suck, but it's 50% of his game. Without it he would never have gotten half as far as he has.
As much as I respect Earl and his incredible talents, I must say he disgraced the world of billiards when he told Michela to "shut up" on live T.V.
How can people support him for doing this? do you think it was right? give me a break, Earl is a grown man and needs to act a little more mature and responsible than he did during his match with Davis.
P.S.
I was glad to see a Canadian advance further than Earl did in the WPC.
How can people support him for doing this? do you think it was right? give me a break, Earl is a grown man and needs to act a little more mature and responsible than he did during his match with Davis.
P.S.
I was glad to see a Canadian advance further than Earl did in the WPC.
Exactly...who the hecks tells a foxy lady like Michael to shut up, poor sexy ladysniper said:
And i how come i don't hear anything about Drago bitchin about his foul against Pagulay where he supposedly didn't touch the ball. Now that's class act. What would Earl have done.
Lousy Attitiude, Great Talent
Hi Gabber,
Your right, Dale was a great talent! However, please answer this question. Ever driven in a professionally prepared and funded race car and been booted out of the lead? Dale earned his "Intimidator" handle by doing just that. Race after race he got away with it because of who he was. Any other driver would have been fined and/or disqualified. The choice of Dale to compliment Earl (another "good old boy") was PERFECT!
Ruthless said:
Hi Gabber,
Your right, Dale was a great talent! However, please answer this question. Ever driven in a professionally prepared and funded race car and been booted out of the lead? Dale earned his "Intimidator" handle by doing just that. Race after race he got away with it because of who he was. Any other driver would have been fined and/or disqualified. The choice of Dale to compliment Earl (another "good old boy") was PERFECT!
F
fti
Guest
Heya gabber. Where do you play in the Netherlands?
I think there are some very valid things being said here. I just ask everyone to remember that Earl is a user on these forums.
While he is a public figure in our world, he still deserves the respect of being part of our little community.
As far as the issue with Michaela, we will most likely have some comments from Earl about that whole issue soon.
Mike
While he is a public figure in our world, he still deserves the respect of being part of our little community.
As far as the issue with Michaela, we will most likely have some comments from Earl about that whole issue soon.
Mike
That was exactly why I have not responded on this post again, Mike. My point is this:
How would you react if this thread was about you? Chances are you would come across a bit defensive. I appreciate Earl's participation on this forum, and I believe that this "poll" was started to discourage his participation. Everybody has their own opinion of Earl and his actions. I choose to focus on his accomplishments and his talent as a player,despite the way he deals with these public situations. Some of the things I have seen other players do over the past 30 years would dim in comparison to anything Earl has done in or out of public view.
Many of the situations I have witnessed between Earl and the fans have been a 50-50 split in the blame department. It takes two to tango (counting the fans as 1) and from what I have seen, very little is ever done to tone this down BEFORE it gets out of hand. I have actually seen tournament officials smirking before the powder keg explodes (ie a tournament back in 1994 when fans started chanting "Rack Boy" to Earl as he played a hometown favorite). That situation could have been avoided if the tournament officials had admonished the fans from the onset, but they let the situation build, and in my opinion they were humored and/or entertained by the interaction between Earl and the crowd. I believe the recent situation that occurred is no different. If the officials really cared about this, they would try to prevent it. For all we know, Earl could have done this on purpose to build up the Mosconi Cup rivalry. Who knows? After what happened last week, who would want to miss the re-match?
How would you react if this thread was about you? Chances are you would come across a bit defensive. I appreciate Earl's participation on this forum, and I believe that this "poll" was started to discourage his participation. Everybody has their own opinion of Earl and his actions. I choose to focus on his accomplishments and his talent as a player,despite the way he deals with these public situations. Some of the things I have seen other players do over the past 30 years would dim in comparison to anything Earl has done in or out of public view.
Many of the situations I have witnessed between Earl and the fans have been a 50-50 split in the blame department. It takes two to tango (counting the fans as 1) and from what I have seen, very little is ever done to tone this down BEFORE it gets out of hand. I have actually seen tournament officials smirking before the powder keg explodes (ie a tournament back in 1994 when fans started chanting "Rack Boy" to Earl as he played a hometown favorite). That situation could have been avoided if the tournament officials had admonished the fans from the onset, but they let the situation build, and in my opinion they were humored and/or entertained by the interaction between Earl and the crowd. I believe the recent situation that occurred is no different. If the officials really cared about this, they would try to prevent it. For all we know, Earl could have done this on purpose to build up the Mosconi Cup rivalry. Who knows? After what happened last week, who would want to miss the re-match?
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Without colorful characters that are loved by the fans no sport will flourish. I believe Earl likes to play to the crowd and is building more fanfare for pool. That can't be bad. Wait and see how popular tennis is in America once Agassi retires now that Sampras, Chang and Courrier are gone