No Predictions or thoughts on each team??
Ok I'll Start....
As a Canadian i'm not sure who i'm "supposed" to cheer for, being the fact that we are so close to USA I guess it would make sense to cheer for them, however being so close to the USA means that Canada and the USA have quite the rivalry in almost anything sports related, and to be honest I can't bring myself to cheer for the USA in anything. ;-) So Go Europe!!!! I have friends on both teams competing and many friends and business partners in the USA but I can't physically bring myself to cheer for them. Sorry American friends.:wink:
Here's my Breakdown of the Match-Up
1. Rodney Morris (at his 2010 form) is an upgrade from Oscar Dominguez. Not only in skill and experience but team energizing and mentoring (Although Rodney and Hatch do not like each other much but may be able to put that aside for something this big)
2. Nick Van Denberg is the wild card. Obviously he is a great player and has had a really good year on the Eurotour, but this is the Mosconi Cup!! From what I have seen from him he is pretty much calm and collected at all times but I am not sold on him yet, Infact I think if Darren hadn't won the US Open you would have seen Daryl Peach in this spot, but the Idea of having 3 Brits on a "European" team was not an option.
3. Hatch will have a hard time playing with the crowd against him. Lets face it, Dennis Hatch is going to be the new Earl when he gets into this atmosphere. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is as talented as they come but... I personally think he will have a tough time focusing with the torment he is going to take from the crowd, and Dennis off his game can tend to be very sloppy.
4. A Healthy Mika is going to make a big difference. Mika was admittedly tired and sick during last years Mosconi, he is currently not far off the form he was at during the 2nd half of 2008 and all of 2009.....look out.
5. Corey Deuel is going to be more of a factor this year. He is playing much better pool than he was at this time last year, if he is in his high gear look out...But........
6. Corey and Darren will be hampered by the 3 balls past the head string rule. They both "Soft" broke there way through the US Open this year, (Don't get me wrong, they both played amazing and completely deserved there placings, but the game of 9 ball changes as the breaking rules change.)
7. Homefield advantage will be huge, I recently watched the entire 2008 Mosconi Cup again on You Tube and... It was very obvious that team Europe played much better with the crowd behind them and as far as I've heard this year will have the most loud ruckus crowd yet.
8. Karl Boyes will be fine under the pressure. I think the most pressure on a single player is on Karl this year, that being said I think it will be a more motivating factor than anything, this guy has been on the World stage before and he has a game that few can match.
Either Way....I am looking forward to this soo much.
Prediction.... Europe 11 USA 9
Sorry for such a long post.....
Ok I'll Start....
As a Canadian i'm not sure who i'm "supposed" to cheer for, being the fact that we are so close to USA I guess it would make sense to cheer for them, however being so close to the USA means that Canada and the USA have quite the rivalry in almost anything sports related, and to be honest I can't bring myself to cheer for the USA in anything. ;-) So Go Europe!!!! I have friends on both teams competing and many friends and business partners in the USA but I can't physically bring myself to cheer for them. Sorry American friends.:wink:
Here's my Breakdown of the Match-Up
1. Rodney Morris (at his 2010 form) is an upgrade from Oscar Dominguez. Not only in skill and experience but team energizing and mentoring (Although Rodney and Hatch do not like each other much but may be able to put that aside for something this big)
2. Nick Van Denberg is the wild card. Obviously he is a great player and has had a really good year on the Eurotour, but this is the Mosconi Cup!! From what I have seen from him he is pretty much calm and collected at all times but I am not sold on him yet, Infact I think if Darren hadn't won the US Open you would have seen Daryl Peach in this spot, but the Idea of having 3 Brits on a "European" team was not an option.
3. Hatch will have a hard time playing with the crowd against him. Lets face it, Dennis Hatch is going to be the new Earl when he gets into this atmosphere. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is as talented as they come but... I personally think he will have a tough time focusing with the torment he is going to take from the crowd, and Dennis off his game can tend to be very sloppy.
4. A Healthy Mika is going to make a big difference. Mika was admittedly tired and sick during last years Mosconi, he is currently not far off the form he was at during the 2nd half of 2008 and all of 2009.....look out.
5. Corey Deuel is going to be more of a factor this year. He is playing much better pool than he was at this time last year, if he is in his high gear look out...But........
6. Corey and Darren will be hampered by the 3 balls past the head string rule. They both "Soft" broke there way through the US Open this year, (Don't get me wrong, they both played amazing and completely deserved there placings, but the game of 9 ball changes as the breaking rules change.)
7. Homefield advantage will be huge, I recently watched the entire 2008 Mosconi Cup again on You Tube and... It was very obvious that team Europe played much better with the crowd behind them and as far as I've heard this year will have the most loud ruckus crowd yet.
8. Karl Boyes will be fine under the pressure. I think the most pressure on a single player is on Karl this year, that being said I think it will be a more motivating factor than anything, this guy has been on the World stage before and he has a game that few can match.
Either Way....I am looking forward to this soo much.
Prediction.... Europe 11 USA 9
Sorry for such a long post.....
