Perfect Earl Strickland Photo

worriedbeef said:
i'm a bigger earl fan than anybody so if this thread was bashing him i would be the first to moan. but matt didn't start the thread to ash him. he just posted a photo which he felt showed Earl at his most typical when things aren't going right for him. and his follow up posts were just gentle teasing with JAM in jest that's all. he did end his first post with LONG LIVE THE MIGHTY EARL...
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Thanks! My friend VARick and I just love watching Earl. His intensity and expressions are priceless. In that match he made three of the most amazing shots you've ever seen....almost up there with the Reyes "Z" kick against Earl in the finals. I mean...his level of play was just phenomenal and he swept that US Open undefeated.

Basically, anytime he wasn't shooting he was upset. That is textbook Earl. Earl doesn't think he is supposed to make any mistakes and also expects to win, everytime (at least the Earl of old - I'm not sure if that is true anymore). That intensity he had was contagious! I have another US open finals I'm about to watch today where Earl plays the great Tony Ellin (RIP)...and that is also a great match.

If more players had the intensity (I don't mean being rude, or making a negative spectacle of yourself) of an Earl in his prime...it could have brought pool into a more interesting light for the television audience. When Earl makes a great shot in these days, he will yell, shake his arm, pretend to stab the table (my favorite)....I mean, its great. When something bad happens, he looks really upset and you can't help it. It is a lot of fun to watch. He'll look so upset, then get an opportunity, and get up and run 4 racks.

Say what you will - but when Earl is on FIRE, there is no one more interesting to watch! The most PURE 9 Ball you've ever seen. Big breaks, great shotmaking, etc. Man, good stuff.

I was laughing, because after Earl wins that 2000 US OPEN - we're watching where the fans come up and talk to Earl, and they do the presentations, etc...but at one point you see Corey Deuel come up to Earl and he's shaking his hand and saying something, and Earl nods, and says something back. As we were watching that I was dubbing Corey D's voice saying "Yeah Earl, I'm going to f*ck you up with the soft break next year and sweep the U.S. Open." and Earl replied, "Ok, sounds good." Guess - you had to be there but it was pretty funny.

Ok, just wanted to spout a bit more. Read my posts...there is no bashing at all!
 
Redfsh said:
I am so sick of the Earl bashing threads on AZ billiards. Mr. Wilson you suck to let this continue. Mr. Strickland has a great desire to win, some-thing you non-playing jerks will never understand because you can't drive a ball to a rail and never will.
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Where has ANYONE bashed Earl in this thread??
 
Matt_24 said:
Say what you will - but when Earl is on FIRE, there is no one more interesting to watch! The most PURE 9 Ball you've ever seen. Big breaks, great shotmaking, etc. Man, good stuff.
QUOTE]

Echo.... I have enjoyed Earl since he first came onto the seen some years back. I played him once on a "Camel sponsored tour" to my favorite place to haunt at night. The crowed has changed quite a bit, but my memory of Earl sitting at my favorite table sipping a coke and smoking a camel. He got up and said who was next, I said me? I dropped the ball and made a nine ball rack and that was it, for he broke and ran the table on me. Who's next, he said?

I hope Earl gets well soon. As Matt, I miss seeing Earl and is classic presents around the game and hope the TV coverage of our sport is more than just the WPBA of now and in the future. Or we will all be playing classic ESPN VHS/DVD's from the past to get our fix.

Bugs
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The CliffsNotes version: Earl's ok and I like him anyway.

I was just watching him in the WPC '05 and he had a pretty typical earl exchange where oliver ortmann is fidgeting and earl jokingly says something like 'hold on, sit still... I know you want to win but I'm at the table'... apparently he also could overhear the commentators at times too and tossed them a dirty look. Then he started mumbling to himself about how they should have a big glass tube that descends from the ceiling and encases the sitting player when someone's up to shoot.

I think he was just trying to be funny, and some of his comments are a way of trying to show people he can laugh at his own 'fussiness'. Or maybe it's just to let off steam by doing some minor bítching instead of something more harmful. The commentators (one of whom I hate, the english guy who keeps using snooker terms) said some pretty negative stuff about it.

The more I watch earl the more I find myself sympathizing. He complains about the other guy fidgeting, and the commentator says something like 'and you can hear the fans showing their support for him. They support him and yet he treats them like dirt'... 'he's a well balanced player, he's got a huge chip on both shoulders'. That's asinine... someone who doesn't understand what it's like being sharked during an important match will sit there and nod their head in agreement because the commentator more or less said 'earl sure is an ass, isn't he?'

He's bothered by the same stuff that bothers all of us, he just can't shut up about it like the rest of us. I think he has a very stiff and formal definition of how players should act when in a serious match... which is ironic - Earl's so hung up on other people being polite that if they offend him, he comes back with ten times the rudeness. Kinda like Hannibal Lecter???

lol.
 
Thanks! My friend VARick and I just love watching Earl. His intensity and expressions are priceless. In that match he made three of the most amazing shots you've ever seen....almost up there with the Reyes "Z" kick against Earl in the finals. I mean...his level of play was just phenomenal and he swept that US Open undefeated.

Basically, anytime he wasn't shooting he was upset. That is textbook Earl. Earl doesn't think he is supposed to make any mistakes and also expects to win, everytime (at least the Earl of old - I'm not sure if that is true anymore). That intensity he had was contagious! I have another US open finals I'm about to watch today where Earl plays the great Tony Ellin (RIP)...and that is also a great match.

If more players had the intensity (I don't mean being rude, or making a negative spectacle of yourself) of an Earl in his prime...it could have brought pool into a more interesting light for the television audience. When Earl makes a great shot in these days, he will yell, shake his arm, pretend to stab the table (my favorite)....I mean, its great. When something bad happens, he looks really upset and you can't help it. It is a lot of fun to watch. He'll look so upset, then get an opportunity, and get up and run 4 racks.

Say what you will - but when Earl is on FIRE, there is no one more interesting to watch! The most PURE 9 Ball you've ever seen. Big breaks, great shotmaking, etc. Man, good stuff.

I was laughing, because after Earl wins that 2000 US OPEN - we're watching where the fans come up and talk to Earl, and they do the presentations, etc...but at one point you see Corey Deuel come up to Earl and he's shaking his hand and saying something, and Earl nods, and says something back. As we were watching that I was dubbing Corey D's voice saying "Yeah Earl, I'm going to f*ck you up with the soft break next year and sweep the U.S. Open." and Earl replied, "Ok, sounds good." Guess - you had to be there but it was pretty funny.

Ok, just wanted to spout a bit more. Read my posts...there is no bashing at all!
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i love watching earl because he's so inspirational. the most pure 9-ball is a perfect description, but i also love him as a character as well. i make no bones about it i love seeing him slump in his chair in a bad mood because he's unhappy about something. obviously i'm not happy he's unhappy so to speak, it's just it's a huge part of who he is. as fa as i'm concerned he's the most gifted person to ever pick up a cue and because of him being that i enjoy watching all aspects of his personality. i just hope he sorts himself out because as far as i'm concerned pool is a mental game. in theory earl is a better player now than when he was in his prime, you don't 'lose' ability. so hopefully he sorts his demons out and resolves his health problems and starts kicking ass again one day. and the pool world will be better for it.

now, formalities over, going back to the original point of this thread, how about a picture?

pearlgettinsqueezedon3.jpg
 
worriedbeef said:
i love watching earl because he's so inspirational. the most pure 9-ball is a perfect description, but i also love him as a character as well. i make no bones about it i love seeing him slump in his chair in a bad mood because he's unhappy about something. obviously i'm not happy he's unhappy so to speak, it's just it's a huge part of who he is. as fa as i'm concerned he's the most gifted person to ever pick up a cue and because of him being that i enjoy watching all aspects of his personality. i just hope he sorts himself out because as far as i'm concerned pool is a mental game. in theory earl is a better player now than when he was in his prime, you don't 'lose' ability. so hopefully he sorts his demons out and resolves his health problems and starts kicking ass again one day. and the pool world will be better for it.

now, formalities over, going back to the original point of this thread, how about a picture?

pearlgettinsqueezedon3.jpg
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Ah, two of the lovelies from Fast Eddie's in Goldsboro, North Carolina, home of the Carolina Open, posing with the Pearl. :p

JAM
 
I always get a chuckle out of this picture of Earl enjoying himself at the Joss Tour Season Finale held in Maine. Earl's got a great sense of humor. Keith and Earl always have a blast when they play together. It just goes to show you that Earl can have fun.

In this picture, Earl is hitting some balls, practicing, getting ready to take on Karen Corr. I don't think he wasn't looking forward to playing her either. :D

[Picture by Diana Hoppe of PoolPics by Hoppe]

JAM
 

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JAM said:
And then there's this, World-Class Champion Earl Strickland accepting his 2006 Hall of Fame Award from the Billiards Congress of America (BCA), wearing the traditional green jacket only worn by champions.

(Picture taken by Diana Hoppe by Poolpics by Hoppe)

JAM
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the plaque drawing of earl looks like dickie smothers.
 
JAM nice pic of earl and keith, i like earl i awalys have, i feel bad for him when he loses it, i thnk he needs some counsling and possibly meds, nothing to be ashmed of or a knock, i went through a tough period of life years ago and did that for a short while and have been fine ever since, my issues were just stress related, earls might be different, but there is alot more good earl days than bad.
 
JAM said:
I always get a chuckle out of this picture of Earl enjoying himself at the Joss Tour Season Finale held in Maine. Earl's got a great sense of humor. Keith and Earl always have a blast when they play together. It just goes to show you that Earl can have fun.

In this picture, Earl is hitting some balls, practicing, getting ready to take on Karen Corr. I don't think he wasn't looking forward to playing her either. :D

[Picture by Diana Hoppe of PoolPics by Hoppe]

JAM
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Consider the source. Keith can make anyone laugh. I've seen him take a shot at the most sour pusses in the world and get them to chuckling. If you're breathing, Keith will get a laugh out of you.
 
In my experiences with Earl he was always nice and interesting. He has some good stories to. But the last couple of years his antics have been somewhat; well the only way to say it is “down right nutty”. He might just need to take a year off from pool completely. Just go live in the Keys or Mexico play golf and fish everyday. Then once all that stress from years of playing competition pool has subsided, comeback.
 
He might just need to take a year off from pool completely. Just go live in the Keys or Mexico play golf and fish everyday. Then once all that stress from years of playing competition pool has subsided, comeback.
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Easier said than done i would say. i for one wouldn't be able to give up pool for a whole year! doubt Earl could. whatever his problems, i doubt pool is one of them. so IMO it would be the wrong thing to give up.
 
Redfsh said:
I am so sick of the Earl bashing threads on AZ billiards. Mr. Wilson you suck to let this continue. Mr. Strickland has a great desire to win, some-thing you non-playing jerks will never understand because you can't drive a ball to a rail and never will.
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I am a playing jerk who drives balls into the rails all the time (just don't call me Russ, OK ?) , so I'll tell you if you don't like the talk about pro pool players around here, perhaps it's time to log on to a golf forum and watch the Rory Sabatini bashing ... or a hockey forum and watch the Bertuzzi bashing ... or a basketball forum and watch the Kobe bashing ... I hope you get my point.

Dave
 
Hey Jam,

I am a big Earl Strickland and Keith Mcready fan! Is it possible for you to e mail me a copy of this photo? This is a great pic! Thanks, David
 
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