My opinion about Earl and what he is doing to pool...

[Jaden]

They don't fine them because of integrity lol.....

Here is one big difference between these other sports and pool. If you act like a jack off you get fined or suspended. The leagues do not allow you to continue to act that way. i agree there are situations like tiger and Daily acting up, but lets also look at how those organizations have fined and suspended players. Most of those guys know the game is bigger then them, not the other way around. In a sport that for the most part has nothing to do with you missing or making a wide open shot and when you miss you get all pissed with your opponent is stupid. It's a gentleman's game, so act like one.

And yes, i'd quit. When one guy acts like a chump, cheats and such it teaches others, and the next thing you know people at the pool room and in leagues are acting like chumps. I'd rather move on.

I do appreciate everyone opinion and i knew not all would agree with me, but I've been putting up with Earl for years, and this weekend has proven to me that if no one puts an end to how he acts we are only going to see more people acting like him.

If we want pool to grow, want the best from the sport, we need $$. Investors are not going to dump money into a sport any longer when the best of the best are turds.

They are praying for them to act up, it increases the ratings dramatically when they do. They fine them because of FCC pressure and for PR reasons.

Then they can say "See, we aren't going to put up with this", but they're secretly saying "Hell yes, another 3 point spike...."

forget about pool growing in it's current state. Right now pool is in a catch 22, or a zen riddle.

It needs an injection of capital to be a success, and it needs success to get an injection of capital.

If someone were to come along and actually advertise a series of tournaments via print, radio etc.. and get people in seats to watch it with an actual marketing campaign, you might be surprised how quickly corporate sponsorship and network interest comes along.

That's the way that ALL successful sports did it. With butts in seats. Once they got butts in seats the network and corporate sponsors were chomping at the bit to get the rights.

Pool has been going about it all bassackwards. Focus on getting seating filled at events with a proper marketing scheme and advertising and the other part will follow.

All that getting it on TV will do is showcase a lack of interest.

There are no shortcuts. The Earl's of sports are what draws interest.

Is it good for the perception of the game? probably not, but a negative perception of the game isn't what's stopping corporate sponsorship and network interest. It is the lack of a viable market to make money. Get a valid marketing scheme and showcase that there is a market and the corporate sponsorship and network interest will come.

Buying TV air time listed as Paid advertising obviously isn't the route to go.

Characters like Earl on TV will get what makes other sports popular, personal interest. You'll have people that will route against him and people that will route for him and it's the personal interest that will make people want to watch. That's one reason why the mosconi cup is so successful, personal interest.

USA'ers want to see the US win and Europeans want to see Europe win.

Jaden

 

[JAM]

Don't attack me Jam. You don't know me at all. I'm not a kid. I shoot at a high level, you may have seen me in some tournaments that Keith played in way back. Ever visit Chelsea billiards in the early 90's. I used to bang them around with a young phenom named George. I learned a lot from that young man, on and off the felt. Have something to say about that too?

Yeah, I have something to say about that, too.

So what if you visited Chelsea Billiards in the early '90s? What does that make you? Does it give you the right to make a comment about Keith McCready, a player from California, whom you never had the privilege to see shoot pool in his prime? You place Ginky on a high pedestal. Well, I can guarantee you George wouldn't approve of your comments about his friend Keith one bit.

You sound like a Yankee salamander.

 

[NewStroke]

You sound like a Yankee salamander.

LOL a Yankee salamader????

 

[Nostroke]

Interesting, as the same time i read this I watching ESPN running the women's 9 ball on TV. Why are they there and not the men? Maybe they was the two genders handle themselves?

Not sure....

The women pay all the espn production costs. If the men do that, im sure they will get on too. The women did it to get people interested and create a demand for their product. I guess it worked for a while but clearly not at the moment.

 

[one stroke]

Really Jay? The greatest 9-baller we've ever produced here in the USA and that's your take on him? Interesting. I wonder what your reputation is on these forums. Because that statement is pure ignorance.

As far as his antics, like I said before, people love it or hate it. I happen to love it. You're in the minority there for sure.

I'm a McCready fan, very entertaining. Great player too, but Keith has never been a world beater.

This is why I love Earl:
He has that swagger. His confidence is unmatched. He's scary intimidating (recall Efren's meltdown in the US Open final vs Earl).

There's a buzz when he arrives. The energy is palpable. Then he plays 9ball to near perfection... for 30+ years.
He moves around the table so quickly, effortlessly. Nobody plays at his pace, it's awesome n refreshing. I love Archer, but his pace is too slow.

Try finding a seat when the Pearl plays. He's the biggest draw, interest in the sport, for a very long time. Only Reyes is comparable in this dept.

He's unpredictable, controversial, entertaining, and crazy!
I happen to like that!!! Would you prefer Souquet??

Jay, you're going to compare Keith to Earl?? That's embarrassing.

OP... you're an idiot.
Charlie

well u had credibility till ur last statement , Keith at top speed could play with anyone ask any top player and thats what they would tell u,,, I think it was buddy hall who said if Kieth was drinking coffee instead of beer every body would be playing for second,,,

 

[ccshrimper]

Charliscene, JAM is Keith's significant other and takes great offense to anything she perceives as a slight against him. Next time just try to give credit to Earl without taking any away from Keith and you won't have any problems. Just a little newbie help if you want it.

 

[Roadking]

I wouldn't try and start a pool war with Jay Helfert!
He wrote the f$cking book on "POOL WARS"
love your stories Jay

 

[JAM]

Here ya go...Jam!! Here are my 2 comments I made toward your beloved Keith McCready:

#1- "I'm a McCready fan, very entertaining. Great player too, but Keith has never been a world beater."
#2- "you're going to compare Keith to Earl?? That's embarrassing."

Were you offended by the word "embarrassing"? They are accurate statements. Show us Keith's lifetime results vs Earl's. This should be fun...
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Keith wasn't a tournament solidier, never was. To compare him to one reveals just how much pool knowledge you have, Smart Guy.

Keith's defeated a lot of so-called world beaters in my presence: Alex Pagulayan, Shane Van Boening, Ronnie Alcano, Niels Feijen, Mika Immonen. And those are just the ones I can come up with off the top of my head at the time of this writing. A tournament is a short race.

One thing for sure, Earl is a tournament champion, Keith is a well-known money player, and you're still nothing more than a Yankee salamandar at the end of the day.

 

[Scott Lee]

Charliescene...You say you're not a kid, and talk about being around Ginky 20 yrs ago. You also state that Keith was never a worldbeater. That's just plain false, and there is plenty of old pool press to confirm it. 25-35 years ago Keith beat anyone and everyone as a gambler! He won a few tournaments too. If you cannot remember that, you're just too young. Did Keith win several US Open 9 Ball and WPA 9 ball tournaments, like Earl? Nope...but neither has anybody else. That puts Earl in a class by himself. But even if you ask Earl, he will tell you that Keith was a monster player (and probably could still be, if he wanted to). Keith is immortalized in his rendition of Grady Seasons, in one of the best pool movies ever. That puts him in a class by himself too. I think you owe Keith (and JAM) an apology.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I said he was a great player, just not Earl Strickland caliber. Fact.

 

[JAM]

Charliscene, JAM is Keith's significant other and takes great offense to anything she perceives as a slight against him. Next time just try to give credit to Earl without taking any away from Keith and you won't have any problems. Just a little newbie help if you want it.

I do take offense at opinions that are based on ignorance. True dat! :thumbup:

This Charliescene doesn't seem to understand pool as much as he claims he does, though he's trying to build himself up on this forum that he's a pool aficionado. More like a pool ignoramus, if you ask me.

Nobody with any pool wisdom compares tournament soliders to road warriors. Two different animals.

 

[Roadking]

I don't know Jay but I'll bet he knows more about pool & pool players than most two people put together. (with the exception of that guy that calls himself the beard)

 

[Koop]

Ok, let's get this back on track.
I say let the guy and his buddies quit pool, what's the big deal?

Koop - first dibs on any equipment for sale

 

[JAM]

Oh shove it Jam! Wow, he beat all those guys!! Unbelievable!!
We all know the Keith McCready story....he was/is a degenerate gambler who hasn't a pot to piss in. Maybe if he was sober ever, he could have booked a few wins.

Yes, he did defeat those players in my presence in a tournament setting. It's documented and in the record books. Sorry to say, but this is "believable," not unbelievable, because it happened.

He's got a pot to piss in today, he's enjoyed many wins, and he's been sober since September 2006. He might not be your cup of tea, Yankee Salamander, but when he's playing pool in the center of the ring, entertaining the entire house, you'll be sitting in the corner with a thumb stuck in your mouth.

You're entitled to label him a "degenerate gambler." At least you got the gambler part right this time.

 

[ccshrimper]

Oh shove it Jam! Wow, he beat all those guys!! Unbelievable!!
We all know the Keith McCready story....he was/is a degenerate gambler who hasn't a pot to piss in. Maybe if he was sober ever, he could have booked a few wins.

Be careful Charliescene, you're probably going to get banned with comments like that. You started off good by paying tribute to Ginky but like I said, no reason to insult Keith especially because you and JAM are having an argument. It's also my understanding that Keith is doing well for himself these days so you're probably offbase here. The "degenerate gamble who hasn't a pot to piss in" comment was probably true of almost road warriors back in the day because they shipped it all in without fear.

 

[watchez]

Hi JAM - hope all is well with you and yours.

Lots of new schoolers on the site these days. Makes me think of starting a thread.

 

[Itsnotme]

Pool is a beautiful game played by ugly people

 

[JAM]

Hi JAM - hope all is well with you and yours.

Lots of new schoolers on the site these days. Makes me think of starting a thread.

They don't enforce the rules anymore, Watchez. We've got multiple-identitied trolls and banned members posting under aliases these days.

Hope you're doing well, too. I know it may be hard for you to believe this, but I kind of miss seein' you around the forum.

 

[JAM]

To deter my son from ever choosing pool as a profession, I will take him to a Keith McCready exhibition. Slam dunk

Good. He might learn something from a man like Keith instead of a nobody trying to be somebody on a pool forum. Keith succeeded in his chosen endeavor and has risen to heights that see beyond your gaze. You can shoot thousands of balls every day for the rest of your left and you'll never have one-tenth of the talent that your so-called "world beaters" have.

Your pool credentials on this pool forum is that you played in a pool room named Chelsea in the '90s. Whoopeeee!

 

[ccshrimper]

She started the fight, Go back and re-read. She's a jerk.

Ok, if she insults you she's fair game but not Keith. I personally never like to see the pros getting slammed on here when they can't defend themselves to anonymous posters even if they did read the forums.

 

[JAM]

She started the fight, Go back and re-read. She's a jerk.

Coming from you, I take that as a compliment. I like being a jerk to megalomaniacs. Thank you!