My Thoughts on Earl and TAR 22

[Celtic]

Earl probably is sick I dont really know. It is interesting how he gets sicker the more games he is down.

If only that were true, he went off the bloody deep end when he was UP 65-64 right after winning 6 games in a row. You could actually watch the switch in his head flip when he decided to self destruct and stop trying to win. It was one of the lamest most chickenshit moments I have ever seen in pool.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Don't beat yourself up over it Justin.
You could no more predict the outcome of this event, any more than you can predict when the next tornado will hit a town in the south and how much damage will be wrought.

You took all the precautionary measures possible and kept your fingers crossed.

I will never be an Earl hater. In fact, my wife and I are skipping the VNEA for the BCAPL this year so we can watch the pros. Secretly, my main goal is to be able to shake Earls hand and have a short conversation with him.

I wish sometime, there would be a small spark and Earl would see it and return to the old Earl that we all love. I know he always had his moments but they are getting worse with time. Its sad.

Anyhow, keep up the great work and best of luck in future events.

 

[Bank2Win]

Earl's biggest complaint

One of the main complaints that Earl had all three days while playing this last weekend was the pace of play. If Earl had it his way, players would be running around the table. Earl constantly was complaining about how long Shane took to Rack the Balls, Break the Balls, and especially how long it took to shoot a shot.

So I got to thinking towards the end of play on the third day and decided it wouldn't be too difficult to add another button onto my database that records time intervals. So while they were playing, and i was keeping stats i wrote some code to do the following.

When player either starts to pull the balls out of the table or grabs the rack first i press the button to start timer, when player returns the rack to its kept place i stop the timer.

When player sets the cue ball behind the head string on the felt i start the timer, and when player strikes the cue ball on the break i stop the timer.

and lastly when the cue ball and or object balls stop moving i start the timer, and when player strikes the cue ball to play their shot i stop the timer.

This actually worked fairly well, so by the time i finished my code i was only able to record the last 14 games of play... Here are the results

All times are in seconds


Player Racking Breaking Shooting
Shane 29.82s 13.54s 15.57s
Earl 17.66s 15.00s 10.10s

Shane actually broke the balls quicker on average than Earl did, but definitely took longer to rack the balls, and in shooting 5 seconds was all the separated the two of them....and that is basically what was driving Earl crazy.

I am going to fine tune this new stat and have it ready for the next TAR Match with Oscar and Raj.

JB

 

[Johnnyt]

If nobody wants to watch Earl anymore why are there more threads about Earl on this forum than any other player, and why do his matches draw the biggest crowds in tournaments? One thing about Earl, he is 100% pure and that's a little too strong for some people.

If you had money on him and lost, it's called gambling for a reason.

Anyone that puts money on Earl is mad at thier money. I bet SVB -7 with a few people. It didn't come up in these bets but when someone asks that it be no bet if Earl walks I say no. Johnnyt

 

[Majic]

We put this match together based on the reaction to the 10 foot table match. That was one of our top sellers ever but I swore after that match I would never put myself through that again and so did Shane. But time passing has a way of smoothing the edges and it seemed like an interesting idea for these two to get together again and Shane was down for it.

I thought "If it does similar numbers it could be worth it." Well it didnt and it really wasn't. We spent a lot of money on this match. Thanks to the die hard TAR supporters we didnt go in the tank but when I see people I know have bought everything we have done saying "Not this time" because of one reason I pay attention.

I thought the TAR Studio atmosphere would mitigate some of Earl's antics and compared to what happened in Ohio it did. Day two and three of TAR 22 were still not something I want to be remembered for. Earl is awesome right up until he isn't then it just goes from entertaining and a bit wacky to just plain hateful and mean. I really thought this match would not have that mean edge to it. He was getting a guaranteed payday and all expenses paid with a chance to make a nice score for the weekend if he won. I know he respects Shane. I honestly thought he would do all the wacky shit he always does but without the really nasty tone he displayed in Ohio and the final two days of this match. I was wrong about pretty much everything.

What I feel worst about is the people who paid a serious amount of money to be in the TAR Studio for this match. I apologize to them. Several traveled great distances at substantial cost to be there to see this match. They were not treated with the respect they deserved and that is, in the end, my fault. After the match was over one person walked up to Earl and tried to shake his hand. Earl turned his back on him. The man turned his head and saw I was watching..showing a lot of class he just kind of smiled, shrugged his shoulders and walked out the door. I felt like the biggest asshole in the world because this guy paid to come watch supposedly professional players I put together and this was the last experience he had walking out of our place that we built to represent us. It's unacceptable.

Earl is a tremendous talent and absolutely hilarious. Everyone in that studio this weekend wanted to see him do well. I even think Shane wants him to play great just so he can test himself against one of his idols from childhood. It really hurts me that such a talented and entertaining person can become so hateful and disrespectful towards people who wish him nothing but the best. I admit I probably rationalized some of Earl's past behavior because I wanted to see a great match and I wanted to produce a successful event. I gave Earl the benefit of the doubt because I know what he is capable of on the pool table and his drawing power. I did what I think many in the past have done to put pool where it is today: I did the easy thing instead of the hard thing.

People will say "Why didnt you stop the antics or say something?" To that I can only respond that several people ,who know Earl better than me, did say something to him. It had no effect. The reason I didn't say anything to Earl during the match is because if I did he would of probably quit in the middle or I would of gotten mad and threw him out. Maybe thats a cop out, I don't feel good about not standing up for the people in the studio and for Shane who I know was seething inside but wouldn't let it show to Earl. It's something I will think about for a long time. Integrity means a lot to me. Backing up what you believe in with action is important. I believe people should be treated with respect. Customers who pay your salary deserve respect. That didn't happen this weekend and I apologize to everyone who paid their money to watch a match and got a sideshow instead.

It won't ever happen again.

Yup, Had you said something to Earl he would have walked out on you. He has no respect for the hand that feeds him or his peers. Every time I have seen him play, it's the same crapola over and over.

 

[efirkey]

and Earl wonders why they don't pick him for the Mosconi Cup

 

[mdavis228]

No need to apologize, Justin. No win situation - not your fault. I bought the last 2 days of the stream knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to watch any of it live. Can't tell you how much I appreciated the loop feed - I enjoyed what I got to see of that.
I'm a buyer for the dvd when available... but I'm not clear about why, other than curiosity.

 

["CaliRed".]

One of the main complaints that Earl had all three days while playing this last weekend was the pace of play. If Earl had it his way, players would be running around the table. Earl constantly was complaining about how long Shane took to Rack the Balls, Break the Balls, and especially how long it took to shoot a shot.

So I got to thinking towards the end of play on the third day and decided it wouldn't be too difficult to add another button onto my database that records time intervals. So while they were playing, and i was keeping stats i wrote some code to do the following.

When player either starts to pull the balls out of the table or grabs the rack first i press the button to start timer, when player returns the rack to its kept place i stop the timer.

When player sets the cue ball behind the head string on the felt i start the timer, and when player strikes the cue ball on the break i stop the timer.

and lastly when the cue ball and or object balls stop moving i start the timer, and when player strikes the cue ball to play their shot i stop the timer.

This actually worked fairly well, so by the time i finished my code i was only able to record the last 14 games of play... Here are the results

All times are in seconds


Player Racking Breaking Shooting
Shane 29.82s 13.54s 15.57s
Earl 17.66s 15.00s 10.10s

Shane actually broke the balls quicker on average than Earl did, but definitely took longer to rack the balls, and in shooting 5 seconds was all the separated the two of them....and that is basically what was driving Earl crazy.

I am going to fine tune this new stat and have it ready for the next TAR Match with Oscar and Raj.

JB

You could have just measured by how many lines of code you got written instead of seconds. Would have been more fun

Thanks for your hard work you put in doing that.

 

[cmbwsu]

✯✯TAR 22 is in the books✯✯
✪ Shane VanBoening 75 vs Earl Strickland 67 (9-Ball)
✪ On to TAR 23: Oscar Dominguez vs Raj Hundal (10-Ball)
With $20,000 in the middle, these two warriors will be play a Race to 25 on Friday (Dec 9, starting at 10PM EST/7PM PST) and another set Saturday (Dec 10). If they split these sets they will settle things on Sunday.

✪ Justin Collett said it best: "One man walks away with $20,000 and one goes home with a sad story."

✪ http://www.theactionreport.com/home.html

Copy and paste on Facebook -- 'nuff said!

 

[$TAKE HOR$E]

I thought "If it does similar numbers it could be worth it." Well it didnt and it really wasn't. We spent a lot of money on this match. Thanks to the die hard TAR supporters we didnt go in the tank but when I see people I know have bought everything we have done saying "Not this time" because of one reason I pay attention.

It won't ever happen again.

After only reading the first post it seems as though all the drama and typical Earl antics is true. Coming from JCIN instead of 100s of "Earl did this or that" related threads makes it clear. I didnt watch the stream but not because Earl was playing, just didnt have time. In fact, I believe the majoirty of die hard stream viewers would still tune in when he plays, I would. He is nothing short of a one of a kind but its a real shame his demeanor and psychological state surpass his talent. Everyone wants to see him do well but there is also that little part that wants to see what kind of off the wall thing he will do next, to a certain extent. Its a know fact that Earl will go off the deep end if he starts to fall behind. That being said, why not make a stipulation in the begining that clearly states he will forfeit his match if he does not stay under control. There is obviously a fine line there and distinguishing it might be tough but at some point it becomes obvious.

 

[Holly]

Poor ol' Earl is, sadly, a solipsist and actually does suffer from solipsism. It is a symptom of his illness.

Ya made me pull out my Webster's J

 

["CaliRed".]

it seems there seems to be several degrees of opinions here, so I don't want myself lumped in with many that I disagree with. Like anyone cares anyway

There seems to be many different groups here when it comes to Earl.

1. Hard core Earl fans, doesn't matter what he does, he's the man! Everyone else is a hater. He beat that old lady over the head with his 70 incher... she was asking for it

2. Earl fans that are tied into his accomplishments. They admire him for all the titles.. he will be forever the greatest pool player ever. Any talk of anything other then pool related Earl, has no bearing on anything.

3. Earl fans that love him for his craziness. The crazier the better. They cant' wait until he flips his lid. They scream with delight. C'mon Earl...go off like a rocket!!! Yippee! They would pay to see him.. not for his play but to see what spectacle he can make. Different group then #4, these guys just like to watch.

4. Earl button pushers - These are the guys that love egging him on, hoping he'll snap. They feed off of others like them. They laugh and clank their bottles together and conspire to figure out ways to get him to go off. After all, it is a game.. Let's get drunk and get Earl to go the f&(k off!

5. Earl sympathizers - these guys understand that he has some medical issues, they understand he's one of the greatest players to ever play the game, they respect that but they don't give him a free ride to do whatever he pleases. Yes, he's earned their respect for his accomplishments, but he still is held to the same standard as everyone else as a person.

6. Earl friends - They understand that he has some issues. They too are saddened that they won't take his meds, but they believe that he believes that he can't take them and be who he wants to be on the table. They don't speak up often, because they get nowhere trying to tell people there are different sides of Earl. It appears that even friends of Earl have difficulty getting thru to him.

7. Earl haters - Doesn't matter what he does, they hate him. He sucks, he's a ahole. A dirtbag, piece of crap, always has been, always will. Some of them have never even met him one on one. They just hate him from what they see or what they hear.

8. Earl apologists - This group is a splinter group of others here, they're main focus is to find excuses for everything he does wrong. This group gets in some serious overtime. Earl threw the cueball at Shane? Well, no he was trying to set it down on the table and it slipped out of his hands. Earl yelled at the little kid asking for a autograph and the kid started bawling? Surely there was a reason, did anyone ever consider the possibility that the kid said f*(*k off to Earl? You know, maybe his parents put him up to it.. to make Earl look bad.

9. Lastly, the group that has nothing against Earl personally, they're just firm believers that everyone should act within reason. Don't tell me about medical issues, don't tell me about money issues, don't tell me about being abused as a child or the fact that someone gave you a atomic wedgie in 8th grade... There are no excuses for anyone acting anything other then normal. End of Story.

So what we have here, is a snapshot of society. You could delete Earls name and put about any other person that has become somewhat of a known figure and has some issues, from the star basketball player in podunk, TN, to Mike Tyson. Doesn't matter who it is, there will always be these types of groups out there. You got worshipers, haters, lovers, apolgizers, enablers and a few in between.

I don't hate Earl. I don't claim to know Earl. I know what I see, read and hear. I hung around Earl away from the pool table when he was guest at a strangers house and he was calm and polite, almost shy. Around a pool table in that same atmosphere, he became more animated but still respectful and did not need to be the center of attention. I also interviewed Earl for a short time and he was lucid, thoughtful, even keeled and respectful.

I've lived with someone that was bipolar, twice. (different people, not same person but both sides of them) I know about there being two sides to a person. It ain't easy, let me tell you. You spend half your time trying to figure out how they went from that to that in the space of a few minutes. Or how they went from that person to that person for the next few months. I know all about how it might take 15 different meds to experiment with, each with their own side effects, to finally find something that is something that you can deal with. You might grow a hairy appendage from your skull in the process, but hey if that's the worst of it.......

So, I am in the Group 5. I respect him in his pool career, but he's a person like all the rest of us and he has to fit in with society. If he's been diagnosed with something, he needs to continue to experiment with different meds to find the one that works the best for him. It's going to take awhile. It's got to build up in your system. If you lose 2 balls off your game because of it, so be it. Therein lies where you become responsible. He needs to understand that he can't sacrifice him being a a$$hole just so he can play better. They make a lot of generics meds in that area, so there should be plenty to choose from to see how they work.

But he has choices. I for one, hope he makes a good one. Because I don't' condone what he does. I am saddened and disappointed by his choices so far. It may take him hitting rock bottom in order to change.

But many of those groups listed above, have nothing to contribute here except for their own pleasure. There's many ways to say you don't approve of something. There are also many ways that you do not say you don't approve of something.

Because everyone is held to the same standard, no matter which side of the fence you are on this.

Think about it

Peace

 

[robsnotes4u]

Thanks for the stream. Remember it is about the pool, the shots. What upsets me is everyone making excuses for Earl. People say he is sick, has a disease. Why do we all need to label people. Has anyone seen anything from a doctor stating the facts? Maybe he is just an asshole. You tell someone Something enough times their subconscious will believe it, it becomes reality

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[Ghosst]

Justin,

No one thinks you did anything bad from what I have read off-and-on today. I have the same opinion, you guys did great and I'd stay for TAR 23 but I'm getting too far behind at work. I had a great time, even with the stupidity, and it was a great way to spend my birthday. Hats off (toques, eh) to TAR. I'll be spreading the word with the players around home so you get more publicity. You and Mark are two of the only people around doing something positive for the sport.

Out of curiosity Justin (not that it matters because that is definitely over the top), but did the gentleman say something to set him off?

Not. A. Single. Word.

When it comes to Earl Strickland, whether you love him or hate him, he generates pool interest from around the world.

Actually, between his antics and a few posters who said we should let him get away with murder because, "it's just Earl being Earl", I'm now debating pool as a whole. I'm not the only one either, there was some discussion in peron where his tirades have put people completely off the sport.

...playing Earl under these kind of surroundings, having to play Shane Van Boening with all the railbirds carrying on, it's not much fun to him.

Oh really? None of that happened, you're now the second person to straight-out lie about me. The other was Earl. I see the company you keep and raise you one ounce of respect. Oh wait, you just lost it with your post. Disregard.

Secretly, my main goal is to be able to shake Earls hand and have a short conversation with him.

Good luck with that, maybe you'll catch him on a good hour. I did when we went to dinner where he was offensive and racist, but at least funny. After that, well ... don't expect Canadian behaviour.

 

[Ktown D]

it seems there seems to be several degrees of opinions here, so I don't want myself lumped in with many that I disagree with. Like anyone cares anyway

There seems to be many different groups here when it comes to Earl.

1. Hard core Earl fans, doesn't matter what he does, he's the man! Everyone else is a hater. He beat that old lady over the head with his 70 incher... she was asking for it

2. Earl fans that are tied into his accomplishments. They admire him for all the titles.. he will be forever the greatest pool player ever. Any talk of anything other then pool related Earl, has no bearing on anything.

3. Earl fans that love him for his craziness. The crazier the better. They cant' wait until he flips his lid. They scream with delight. C'mon Earl...go off like a rocket!!! Yippee! They would pay to see him.. not for his play but to see what spectacle he can make. Different group then #4, these guys just like to watch.

4. Earl button pushers - These are the guys that love egging him on, hoping he'll snap. They feed off of others like them. They laugh and clank their bottles together and conspire to figure out ways to get him to go off. After all, it is a game.. Let's get drunk and get Earl to go the f&(k off!

5. Earl sympathizers - these guys understand that he has some medical issues, they understand he's one of the greatest players to ever play the game, they respect that but they don't give him a free ride to do whatever he pleases. Yes, he's earned their respect for his accomplishments, but he still is held to the same standard as everyone else as a person.

6. Earl friends - They understand that he has some issues. They too are saddened that they won't take his meds, but they believe that he believes that he can't take them and be who he wants to be on the table. They don't speak up often, because they get nowhere trying to tell people there are different sides of Earl. It appears that even friends of Earl have difficulty getting thru to him.

7. Earl haters - Doesn't matter what he does, they hate him. He sucks, he's a ahole. A dirtbag, piece of crap, always has been, always will. Some of them have never even met him one on one. They just hate him from what they see or what they hear.

8. Earl apologists - This group is a splinter group of others here, they're main focus is to find excuses for everything he does wrong. This group gets in some serious overtime. Earl threw the cueball at Shane? Well, no he was trying to set it down on the table and it slipped out of his hands. Earl yelled at the little kid asking for a autograph and the kid started bawling? Surely there was a reason, did anyone ever consider the possibility that the kid said f*(*k off to Earl? You know, maybe his parents put him up to it.. to make Earl look bad.

9. Lastly, the group that has nothing against Earl personally, they're just firm believers that everyone should act within reason. Don't tell me about medical issues, don't tell me about money issues, don't tell me about being abused as a child or the fact that someone gave you a atomic wedgie in 8th grade... There are no excuses for anyone acting anything other then normal. End of Story.

So what we have here, is a snapshot of society. You could delete Earls name and put about any other person that has become somewhat of a known figure and has some issues, from the star basketball player in podunk, TN, to Mike Tyson. Doesn't matter who it is, there will always be these types of groups out there. You got worshipers, haters, lovers, apolgizers, enablers and a few in between.

I don't hate Earl. I don't claim to know Earl. I know what I see, read and hear. I hung around Earl away from the pool table when he was guest at a strangers house and he was calm and polite, almost shy. Around a pool table in that same atmosphere, he became more animated but still respectful and did not need to be the center of attention. I also interviewed Earl for a short time and he was lucid, thoughtful, even keeled and respectful.

I've lived with someone that was bipolar, twice. (different people, not same person but both sides of them) I know about there being two sides to a person. It ain't easy, let me tell you. You spend half your time trying to figure out how they went from that to that in the space of a few minutes. Or how they went from that person to that person for the next few months. I know all about how it might take 15 different meds to experiment with, each with their own side effects, to finally find something that is something that you can deal with. You might grow a hairy appendage from your skull in the process, but hey if that's the worst of it.......

So, I am in the Group 5. I respect him in his pool career, but he's a person like all the rest of us and he has to fit in with society. If he's been diagnosed with something, he needs to continue to experiment with different meds to find the one that works the best for him. It's going to take awhile. It's got to build up in your system. If you lose 2 balls off your game because of it, so be it. Therein lies where you become responsible. He needs to understand that he can't sacrifice him being a a$$hole just so he can play better. They make a lot of generics meds in that area, so there should be plenty to choose from to see how they work.

But he has choices. I for one, hope he makes a good one. Because I don't' condone what he does. I am saddened and disappointed by his choices so far. It may take him hitting rock bottom in order to change.

But many of those groups listed above, have nothing to contribute here except for their own pleasure. There's many ways to say you don't approve of something. There are also many ways that you do not say you don't approve of something.

Because everyone is held to the same standard, no matter which side of the fence you are on this.

Think about it

Peace

I only have one question...... what the hell you got against Podunk, TN?????


J/K, that was a seriously insightful post that pretty much spans the spectrum of responses.

 

[pt109]

All I can do is laugh at all of the comments about why Earl is bad for pool....

I would also like to caution Justin about listening to the guys on here saying "I didn't buy it because it was Earl"... Umm no you didn't buy it likely because you don't always buy TAR matches and after the fact it is very easy to say anything about why you didn't buy it.... The fact that it's Christmas and you have to begrudgingly buy gifts doesn't sound or feel nearly as good as Bashing Earl and Justin......

I paid for the entire weekend... Justin can look it up and see for himself... TheRenfro paid his $35.... I enjoyed the entire weekend... I was very much interested to see how well Earl and Shane played on the tight pockets and I was rewarded by getting to watch what I felt was a fantastic match....

Now come next weekend I won't be buying the product.... I just don't have interest in seeing Oscar vs Raj... I also will bet that the threads and posts on here will be a drop in the bucket compared to what was generated this weekend....

I paid for Shane/Alex.... I loved that match but there was nothing polarizing for anyone to really talk about.... None of the anonymous masses could get on a bashing wagon and feel like they were part of it because they could say their little piece......

I respect Earl for his talent on the pool table... I could care less about the antics.... I do understand some people are more concerned with talking about how he acted than the match... To quote Eleanor Roosevelt Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

One of the things that could have been done to help the perception from the viewers would have been to have moved the player's chairs to the foot of the table. That way the players were not always visible to camera 1... I almost think that the chairs were placed where they were so we could get exactly what we saw which was some of Earl's antics....

I also think that if you want to allow the people in the room to come down and talk to a player after the match you almost have to have the timing planned and have the players prepped for that happening and have someone standing there and doing introductions.....

There were several things that could have been done a little differently that would have defused some of the things that happened.....

I also think that the commentators should have done their part... Justin needed to pull a Fleming and have instructed them to get off that horse and get back to Shane and what was going on at the table... You don't want to feed into the drama which is what Ken and Mark did... They did what all of us would have done which is to talk about exactly what was on their minds at that exact moment.... The booth should be for match commentating.. You wouldn't ever discuss a miss thru the following rack... So why would you discuss the fact that Earl hasn't banged his cue in 10racks?????

Without villains you have no heros... Without darkness there is no light..... You have to have the drama of a struggle... of a battle before people get truly emotionally vested in watching something... be it on TV, at the movies, or on the internet....

Everyone knows the good guys on a TV Western because the bad guys wear black hats... If you watch wrestling you know who the good guys and bad guys are by their names, by the theme music and with a little help from the commentators.... Now think about snooker....

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-...the-top-ten-snooker-bad-boys-115875-20390671/

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/article553149.ece

Earl is and will be Earl... Go ahead and root against him if you want.. We all get to chooses who to root for or against... I personally will root for him because I want to see him overcome adversity... The external which all players fight against and the internal which is his own fight..

This post, imo, balances Justin's excellent opening post...both valid
points of view.

I had a friend who was bi-polar (manic-depressive it was called then).
He, like Earl, was very intelligent and fought it with the power of thought.
I hate the modern opinion that meds will cure anything. When my friend
was really having a bad day, he would come to visit 'cause I could always
make him laugh.
A few very talented people have this problem but use it rather than have
it take them over. Frank Sinatra was one...he was a perfectionist...like
Earl.

an aside
I like the race to 75 format...it fits the 3 days play well.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

He Did It His Way.

 

[chelseagrinder]

Time to face the sad truth

Earl is damaged. Why? Doesn't really matter. This is not an intentionally hurtful message. Many of us loved Earl's game of yesteryear. But it is Time to face the truth. Earl is threw

 

[JB Cases]

For all those down on Earl, I don't want to get into long ordeal, but I know another side of Earl.

To be honest, in my opinion, he hates pool, hates the game he has to play to survive, hates the people around it. Very few people he likes. He would have much rather been a professional golfer or a professional tennis player. He had to get STUCK in pool, and I believe that is why he carries on the way he does.

I've played him a million times when he was in his prime. I was there to see it all and know how he plays firsthand. He used to hit everybody with packages at all times. It's hard for any player to admit they don't play as good as they used to, and Earl, as you probably know, would never do that. Earl could be struggling with that.

On the other hand, playing Earl under these kind of surroundings, having to play Shane Van Boening with all the railbirds carrying on, it's not much fun to him. And it comes out in his anger, but he is by far probably the best 9-ball player that I ever played. He still has a couple, few gears today, but nothing, nothing like he used to, and I believe some type of demons have set in for a while now.

When he was running packages all the time, he never saw nobody, never heard nobody, didn't care who was sitting on the rail. He was focused on one thing and one thing only: keeping that opponent as far away from the table as possible.

I wish Earl well, and these naysayers on these websites got nothing else better to do but to pick on somebody that is obviously very sick and very distraught. And it's like I said before, he don't like nobody in the pool world, and he never will. Everybody is a statue to him.

Earthquake out.

Thanks Keith. It's nice to hear the perspective from someone who has been there in the arena with Earl so many times. Don't sweat the haters. People criticize everything that they didn't build. It's human nature to be a knocker. Biologically. It takes great willpower to resist the urge to knock and find the good in people.

It's too bad that Earl is suffering. I think that everyone here would rather see him healthy and happy. Most people don't know that Luther Lassiter and Willie Mosconi also resented pool and the pool world.

When I am around Kelly Fisher the last thing she wants to do is play any pool. She feels like it's her job at this point and when she is at work, she works, when she is off she doesn't want to do the same thing.

I guess the only thing I can say about is that Earl has choices. Even now. He doesn't have to continue to play pool. Other high level players got out and made successes of themselves in other areas of life. The only thing holding Earl back is Earl. Yes, he has issues but he knows that he does and he knows that he can take steps to control it.

Or.

Just continue to be himself. I mean he can play and deal with the fallout when and if it happens. If he is over the line then he will get dq'ed but if not then he will play and finish where he finishes. We all have to do what we have to do and be who we can be.

Worked for Steve Jobs.

 

[Put_upor_shutup]

Coming from the gambling world I have no problem with th Earls antics and the way he carries himself..Every person has to live for themselves..I wished all ppl acted like that when I played them(as long as not while im shooting).I find it entertaining as ever..However I fully understand that Justin has to cut Earl loose..Some of those pl in that Tar room just wanted to watch good pool and paid for that..To be talked down or disrespected by a player u paid money to watch(and that player possibly made money off of that) is out of line..So I would pay to watch Earl again but can fully see why The Action Report may have to cut back..Keep doing what yall do .We appreciate it..