This weekend was the 8th Annual Larry Liscotti Memorial Tournament at Cue & Brew in Branford CT.
Local hotshot, Steve Mack, took it down beating Mike Dechaine in the final. Mike was on the one loss side courtesy of a great match played by Phil Davis early on Saturday, Phil winning that one 7-4. Mike dipped Steve once in the final but couldn't double him.
Yours truly, the kickin' chicken, bought Mr. Davis for a c-note in the calcutta and was feeling real good about it with Phil besting two powerhouses in a row, right out of the gate, those being Chucky Altamare & then Mr. Dechaine. the excitement was somewhat short lived, however, with Phil losing twice before the afternoon was over, one, a rematch with MD finding Phil on the wrong side of a 7-0 final score. An fyi, MD went for $250 in the calcutta.
It was a great time there, saw lots of friends, even got to meet Lance Liscotti, the son of the legend in whose honor this event was held. Lance looks like his dad. :smile:
Rail action was very enthusiastic.
Some small but spirited wagering on table #1 between Davis, Dechaine and myself on 5 rail kicks, razor cuts and power drawshots with whitey dead-frozen on the cushion.
A break contest with a Greg Kucharski (sp?) cue as top prize was also the source of much entertainment. I saw one of MD's cue balls smack the rack so hard the cue ball went straight up in the air high enough to flirt with the table light.
The forecast was calling for 4-5 inches of snow late Saturday night and Mike and his girl, "Sam", stayed at my house.
We had a great time hitting some balls, he was gracious enough to dissect the mechanics of his thunderous break for me, and he seemed especially keen on checking out the various cues I have.
Worth noting is that while he was looking over some sticks, Sam was getting real close to running the table *a few* times. Definitely not just a pretty face. :thumbup:
I had the chance to cover some ground with Mike on topics ranging from his start in pool, family, Mosconi Cup, his recent TAR match with Shane, and, of course, his allegedly being "the most loathed player in the history of pool."
I think it's safe to say that Jennifer's question to Mike about that was way over the top (if not, out of bounds). Most of us can quickly come up with the names of quite a few players who can give MD the rainbow in the "loathed" department. :wink:
Mike has achieved a level of excellence in pool that few others have, or will. Is he brash or cocky? I'd say hell yes, he is. And to my mind, it's not a bad thing.
Has he made some mistakes along the way, maybe spouted off some when he shouldn't have? You betcha! And he'd be the first to admit that he did.
MD wears his emotions on his shirt sleeve. Clearly. IMO, there's plenty of room in our sport for emotion and even brashness, as long as they run alongside respectfulness.
Okay, some specific topic quotes:
Regarding Mosconi Cup 2012:
"An experience like no other"
"The pressure there was unbelievable"
"My play was like a 3 out of 10"
"I felt like I let my team and my country down"
Please note that it appears Mike possesses some humility.
Regarding the SVB TAR Match:
"Shane broke like God, it was too tough to fade"
Mike thought he'd like that game better on a tighter-pocketed table.
Finishing up, I'd like to add that on a personal note, I think Mike is a fine young man and I can only imagine how I might have handled being back in my twenties, with even half the talent he has.
Mike really does care (a lot) for how he is perceived by people everywhere, even us here on az. :wink: It matters to him.
While talking about his start in pool, he lit up when speaking about the influence and guidance his dad provided. Being a dad with two grown boys, I liked that.
All in all, I'd say Mike is a work in progress with a very bright future ahead. He is a thinker, someone who is examining a number of ways that he can do well in our sport, while making pool better, at the same time.
Yes, Mike wears his emotions on his shirtsleeve, which is precisely where more sponsors should be interested in displaying their companies' names.
I like Mike!
best,
brian kc
p.s. md knew and was fine with my plan to post pics and my impressions here on az.
Local hotshot, Steve Mack, took it down beating Mike Dechaine in the final. Mike was on the one loss side courtesy of a great match played by Phil Davis early on Saturday, Phil winning that one 7-4. Mike dipped Steve once in the final but couldn't double him.
Yours truly, the kickin' chicken, bought Mr. Davis for a c-note in the calcutta and was feeling real good about it with Phil besting two powerhouses in a row, right out of the gate, those being Chucky Altamare & then Mr. Dechaine. the excitement was somewhat short lived, however, with Phil losing twice before the afternoon was over, one, a rematch with MD finding Phil on the wrong side of a 7-0 final score. An fyi, MD went for $250 in the calcutta.
It was a great time there, saw lots of friends, even got to meet Lance Liscotti, the son of the legend in whose honor this event was held. Lance looks like his dad. :smile:
Rail action was very enthusiastic.
Some small but spirited wagering on table #1 between Davis, Dechaine and myself on 5 rail kicks, razor cuts and power drawshots with whitey dead-frozen on the cushion.
A break contest with a Greg Kucharski (sp?) cue as top prize was also the source of much entertainment. I saw one of MD's cue balls smack the rack so hard the cue ball went straight up in the air high enough to flirt with the table light.
The forecast was calling for 4-5 inches of snow late Saturday night and Mike and his girl, "Sam", stayed at my house.
We had a great time hitting some balls, he was gracious enough to dissect the mechanics of his thunderous break for me, and he seemed especially keen on checking out the various cues I have.
Worth noting is that while he was looking over some sticks, Sam was getting real close to running the table *a few* times. Definitely not just a pretty face. :thumbup:
I had the chance to cover some ground with Mike on topics ranging from his start in pool, family, Mosconi Cup, his recent TAR match with Shane, and, of course, his allegedly being "the most loathed player in the history of pool."
I think it's safe to say that Jennifer's question to Mike about that was way over the top (if not, out of bounds). Most of us can quickly come up with the names of quite a few players who can give MD the rainbow in the "loathed" department. :wink:
Mike has achieved a level of excellence in pool that few others have, or will. Is he brash or cocky? I'd say hell yes, he is. And to my mind, it's not a bad thing.
Has he made some mistakes along the way, maybe spouted off some when he shouldn't have? You betcha! And he'd be the first to admit that he did.
MD wears his emotions on his shirt sleeve. Clearly. IMO, there's plenty of room in our sport for emotion and even brashness, as long as they run alongside respectfulness.
Okay, some specific topic quotes:
Regarding Mosconi Cup 2012:
"An experience like no other"
"The pressure there was unbelievable"
"My play was like a 3 out of 10"
"I felt like I let my team and my country down"
Please note that it appears Mike possesses some humility.
Regarding the SVB TAR Match:
"Shane broke like God, it was too tough to fade"
Mike thought he'd like that game better on a tighter-pocketed table.
Finishing up, I'd like to add that on a personal note, I think Mike is a fine young man and I can only imagine how I might have handled being back in my twenties, with even half the talent he has.
Mike really does care (a lot) for how he is perceived by people everywhere, even us here on az. :wink: It matters to him.
While talking about his start in pool, he lit up when speaking about the influence and guidance his dad provided. Being a dad with two grown boys, I liked that.
All in all, I'd say Mike is a work in progress with a very bright future ahead. He is a thinker, someone who is examining a number of ways that he can do well in our sport, while making pool better, at the same time.
Yes, Mike wears his emotions on his shirtsleeve, which is precisely where more sponsors should be interested in displaying their companies' names.
I like Mike!
best,
brian kc
p.s. md knew and was fine with my plan to post pics and my impressions here on az.
Attachments
Last edited:
