Out of curiosity (since you brought it up and I haven't seen any mention of it in the various threads), has there been any discussion of this record by any of the HOF'ers? Do you happen to know what any world champions have to say about the record? I'd be interested to know what folks like Sigel, Varner, Hopkins, etc have to say about the record (or have said). When the news broke, I saw a few "congrats" type tweets/FB posts from players, but since then, I have not seen any reference to any HOF'er taking a position on the record (likely because I don't pay attention to those news feeds). In my mind, this is either tacit agreement, or silent objection. In either case, it appears the net result is the same.
Separately: I do have a question as to why Bob Jewett's interpretation isn't given more weight by the pool playing community. Although he is not a HOF 14.1 player, in terms of people that "qualify" as knowing the game, he would surely be one of them. He has written pool articles for decades (including on straight pool), he has contributed to pool knowledge in numerous ways (including highly technical information), he is an accomplished player (including 14.1 (he beat SVB in straight pool on the TV table!)), and he was a significant contributor to the World Standardized Pool rules (chief editor). Personally, I would give his assessment significant weight as an expert in this field. Granted, no one would have "papal infallibility" - but I think his report should be considered credible. In any event, at bottom, his credentials far exceed the BCA "overseers" who have also validated the report.
-td