Random Derby Thoughts

Nice showing, Lou! Thanks for handing out a coupla clubbings on behalf of all us baby seals.

pj
chgo


Tanks, PJ.

Here's to baby seals!

A police officer sees a man driving around with a pickup truck full of baby seals.

He pulls the guy over and says... "You can't drive around with baby seals in this town! Take them to the zoo immediately." The guy says "OK"... and drives away.

The next day, the officer sees the guy still driving around with the truck full of baby seals, and they're all wearing sun glasses. He pulls the guy over and demands... "I thought I told you to take these baby seals to the zoo yesterday?" The guy replies... "I did . . . today I'm taking them to the beach!"

Lou Figueroa
bada
bing
 
Lou loses 3-1...

But I did run a very crispy 8-and-out the first game with him needing one so I consider it a moral victory for baby seals everywhere.

Lou Figueroa
won the lag too, lol

That is so very cool. Many worse ways to get knocked out of a tournament that to lose to him. Sounds like quite an experience. Congratulations
 
When I actually laugh out loud, I just can’t simply type the overused “lol” because it might imply I really didn’t since it is used so many times...but I really did at this line of advice on how to navigate the DCC.

:thumbup::D:thumbup::D
Try FOTL!!!
I checked many "dictionaries" and Google before I gave it to the world.
"Fell Off The Toilet Laughing" (Where most texting / posting gets done for sure!)
Hee hee!
 
That is so very cool. Many worse ways to get knocked out of a tournament that to lose to him. Sounds like quite an experience. Congratulations


Yes, it was fantastic, dub.

So here's one udder thing that happened and I am not saying *in any way* that it would have changed the final outcome but here it is:

I believe it was the second game and after several safety exchanges, Francisco screws up and leaves me a shot. I'm shooting to the right pocket.

So I get up and start to run balls and its pretty wide open. I run four and am down on number five in the run. Now, at this point I will confess to being totally locked in in terms of concentration and the table. After all, I am playing Francisco Bustamonte, in the sixth round of the DCC, in the main tournament room, and I have a chance to run out and win a second game to go 2-0. I am down on the eleven ball by his side pocket and all I have to do is make the ball and draw back to the right some six to eight inches to get on the sixth ball which will automatically lead to the last two balls I need.

And I am down on the shot and as I'm about to pull the trigger I hear from one of the players behind me on the adjoining table (a white guy wearing a black doo-wop rag, whom I believe may be from Chicago) say something like, "I just don't want to wait 15 minutes to shoot my next shot" and some another unhappy comments.

I was mid-trigger when it entered my brain stem and I should have just stood up and apologized for monopolizing that side of the table and told the guy to go ahead and shoot. But I didn't and made the shot but dogged the draw, with the ball barely coming back an inch and left myself no shot.

Afterwards the guy's opponent came up to me and sort of apologized and said, "He totally sharked you -- you were running out, playing perfect position before that." Me, I always thought the guy on a run got priority for table position anywhos. In any case I was so locked in I was totally unaware the guy wanted to shoot from that side of his table.

So, that's tournament life. I blame myself and should have just stood up.

Lou Figueroa
but I didn't
 
Try FOTL!!!
I checked many "dictionaries" and Google before I gave it to the world.
"Fell Off The Toilet Laughing" (Where most texting / posting gets done for sure!)
Hee hee!


lol, you watch some of these matches, with guys just getting in to the tournament just to give it a twirl and they get matched up with a monster and it really is baby seals getting clubbed.

Lou Figueroa
 
Lou loses 3-1...

But I did run a very crispy 8-and-out the first game with him needing one so I consider it a moral victory for baby seals everywhere.

Lou Figueroa
won the lag too, lol

Well done, sir! Always nice to see AZers take on titans. Thanks for the updates.
 
Yes, it was fantastic, dub.

So here's one udder thing that happened and I am not saying *in any way* that it would have changed the final outcome but here it is:

I believe it was the second game and after several safety exchanges, Francisco screws up and leaves me a shot. I'm shooting to the right pocket.

So I get up and start to run balls and its pretty wide open. I run four and am down on number five in the run. Now, at this point I will confess to being totally locked in in terms of concentration and the table. After all, I am playing Francisco Bustamonte, in the sixth round of the DCC, in the main tournament room, and I have a chance to run out and win a second game to go 2-0. I am down on the eleven ball by his side pocket and all I have to do is make the ball and draw back to the right some six to eight inches to get on the sixth ball which will automatically lead to the last two balls I need.

And I am down on the shot and as I'm about to pull the trigger I hear from one of the players behind me on the adjoining table (a white guy wearing a black doo-wop rag, whom I believe may be from Chicago) say something like, "I just don't want to wait 15 minutes to shoot my next shot" and some another unhappy comments.

I was mid-trigger when it entered my brain stem and I should have just stood up and apologized for monopolizing that side of the table and told the guy to go ahead and shoot. But I didn't and made the shot but dogged the draw, with the ball barely coming back an inch and left myself no shot.

Afterwards the guy's opponent came up to me and sort of apologized and said, "He totally sharked you -- you were running out, playing perfect position before that." Me, I always thought the guy on a run got priority for table position anywhos. In any case I was so locked in I was totally unaware the guy wanted to shoot from that side of his table.

So, that's tournament life. I blame myself and should have just stood up.

Lou Figueroa
but I didn't

Thats a brutal roll Lou

Congrats on a well played tourney
And sweet 8 and out
Larry
 
Kind of reminds me of my last attempt to imitate a One Pocket player. I played in one of the big tourneys held last year at California Billiards and drew T-Rex in the first round. I knew I was dead meat, but just decided to put up as much opposition as I could. I won the flip and got to break first. I laid down a good break and Tony went for a flyer and missed. The balls were open and I ran four and ducked. One more flyer by Big T and I got three more. Then I managed to push the balls up table and he banked a couple of them in and we began to play back and forth on the one ball still out in the open.

Finally he left me a long table backwards cut on the ball and I thought why not. It was a chance for me to win, and I knew that if I kept sparring with him he could easily come back and win the game. I cut that dirty little ball in the pocket and I was ahead 1-0. That's when Tony lowered the boom on me. It must have taken him all of twenty minutes to win the next three games.

My other highlight from last year (which in all likelihood is my last gasp as a pool player), I played the illustrious Frank the Barber in the AZB tournament, also held at California Billiards. Another first round match. Somehow, some way I was the unlikely winner of our match, mostly thanks to a long three rail bank shot that swished my pocket and left me open to run out. That was the key game in our match. It had taken me only forty years to finally win a match from my long time nemesis, the Barber!
 
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Kind of reminds me of my last attempt to imitate a One Pocket player. I played in one of the big tourneys held last year at California Billiards and drew T-Rex in the first round. I knew I was dead meat, but just decided to put up as much opposition as I could. I won the flip and got to break first. I laid down a good break and Tony went for a flyer and missed. The balls were open and I ran four and ducked. One more flyer by Big T and I got three more. Then I managed to push the balls up table and he banked a couple of them in and we began to play back and forth on the one ball still out in the open.

Finally he left me a long table backwards cut on the ball and I thought why not. It was a chance for me to win, and I knew that if I kept sparring with him he could easily come back and win the game. I cut that dirty little ball in the pocket and I was ahead 1-0. That's when Tony lowered the boom on me. It must have taken him all of twenty minutes to win the next three games.

My other highlight from last year (which in all likelihood is my last gasp as a pool player), I played the illustrious Frank the Barber in the AZB tournament, also held at California Billiards. Another first round match. Somehow, some way I was the unlikely winner of our match, mostly thanks to a long three rail bank shot that swished my pocket and left me open to run out. That was the key game in our match. It had taken me only forty years to finally win a match from my long time nemesis, the Barber!


Playing against monsters is a difficult endeavor and when you can snatch away a small moment of victory it is especially sweet.

During our match Francisco left me with a situation where there were two ball lined up, with a small gap between them, near the side rail very near his pocket.

Being the part time 3C player I am I thought I might -- possibly -- get away with a double tickie behind them. I shot it and it worked out perfectly, leaving the CB on the end rail frozen to one of the balls.

Francisco got out of the chair and said, and I quote, "Good shot."

..now I don't know about the rest of you, but in my world, that kind of comment, from that kind of player, does not come along every day, and I cherish it.

Lou Figueroa
 
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Playing against monsters is a difficult endeavor and when you can snatch away a small moment of victory it is especially sweet.

During our match Francisco left me with a situation where there were two ball lined up, with a small gap between them, near the side rail very near his pocket.

Being the part time 3C player I am I thought I might -- possibly -- get away with a double tickie behind them. I shot it and it worked out perfectly, leaving the CB on the end rail frozen to one of the balls.

Francisco got out of the chair and said, and I quote, "Good shot."

..now I don't know about the rest of you, but in my world, that kind of comment, from that kind of player, does not come along every day, and I cherish it.

Lou Figueroa

I hear you there Lou. A compliment from a top player means the world to us lesser players. One time I was playing Filipino Alex (not Pags) who owns a big poolroom in the Los Angeles area. He is very close friends with Efren, who often stays with him when he is in town. This Alex is a good undercover player and rarely books a loser. This was several years ago and I could still play a little. So me and Alex are going at it tooth and nail and Alex puts me on the end rail and sticks a couple of balls above his pocket. I was in a jam and it looked like there was no way out. I had a moment of inspiration and shot the cue ball two rails out of the corner and into the bottom of the pack (ala Ronnie). The cue ball stuck in the pack and sent a couple of balls in front of my hole. Alex just shook his head in disbelief.

Here comes the good part. Efren had been sitting there by the table watching us play, and hadn't uttered a word for at least an hour. As I walked to the sidelines, Efren piped up in a loud voice, "Quit showing off Jay!". That made my day!
 
I hear you there Lou. A compliment from a top player means the world to us lesser players. One time I was playing Filipino Alex (not Pags) who owns a big poolroom in the Los Angeles area. He is very close friends with Efren, who often stays with him when he is in town. This Alex is a good undercover player and rarely books a loser. This was several years ago and I could still play a little. So me and Alex are going at it tooth and nail and Alex puts me on the end rail and sticks a couple of balls above his pocket. I was in a jam and it looked like there was no way out. I had a moment of inspiration and shot the cue ball two rails out of the corner and into the bottom of the pack (ala Ronnie). The cue ball stuck in the pack and sent a couple of balls in front of my hole. Alex just shook his head in disbelief.

Here comes the good part. Efren had been sitting there by the table watching us play, and hadn't uttered a word for at least an hour. As I walked to the sidelines, Efren piped up in a loud voice, "Quit showing off Jay!". That made my day!


lol.

Very cool, Jay.

Lou Figueroa
 
Yes, it was fantastic, dub.

So here's one udder thing that happened and I am not saying *in any way* that it would have changed the final outcome but here it is:

I believe it was the second game and after several safety exchanges, Francisco screws up and leaves me a shot. I'm shooting to the right pocket.

So I get up and start to run balls and its pretty wide open. I run four and am down on number five in the run. Now, at this point I will confess to being totally locked in in terms of concentration and the table. After all, I am playing Francisco Bustamonte, in the sixth round of the DCC, in the main tournament room, and I have a chance to run out and win a second game to go 2-0. I am down on the eleven ball by his side pocket and all I have to do is make the ball and draw back to the right some six to eight inches to get on the sixth ball which will automatically lead to the last two balls I need.

And I am down on the shot and as I'm about to pull the trigger I hear from one of the players behind me on the adjoining table (a white guy wearing a black doo-wop rag, whom I believe may be from Chicago) say something like, "I just don't want to wait 15 minutes to shoot my next shot" and some another unhappy comments.

I was mid-trigger when it entered my brain stem and I should have just stood up and apologized for monopolizing that side of the table and told the guy to go ahead and shoot. But I didn't and made the shot but dogged the draw, with the ball barely coming back an inch and left myself no shot.

Afterwards the guy's opponent came up to me and sort of apologized and said, "He totally sharked you -- you were running out, playing perfect position before that." Me, I always thought the guy on a run got priority for table position anywhos. In any case I was so locked in I was totally unaware the guy wanted to shoot from that side of his table.

So, that's tournament life. I blame myself and should have just stood up.

Lou Figueroa
but I didn't
Mark Jarvis?
 
Yes, it was fantastic, dub.

So here's one udder thing that happened and I am not saying *in any way* that it would have changed the final outcome but here it is:

I believe it was the second game and after several safety exchanges, Francisco screws up and leaves me a shot. I'm shooting to the right pocket.

So I get up and start to run balls and its pretty wide open. I run four and am down on number five in the run. Now, at this point I will confess to being totally locked in in terms of concentration and the table. After all, I am playing Francisco Bustamonte, in the sixth round of the DCC, in the main tournament room, and I have a chance to run out and win a second game to go 2-0. I am down on the eleven ball by his side pocket and all I have to do is make the ball and draw back to the right some six to eight inches to get on the sixth ball which will automatically lead to the last two balls I need.

And I am down on the shot and as I'm about to pull the trigger I hear from one of the players behind me on the adjoining table (a white guy wearing a black doo-wop rag, whom I believe may be from Chicago) say something like, "I just don't want to wait 15 minutes to shoot my next shot" and some another unhappy comments.

I was mid-trigger when it entered my brain stem and I should have just stood up and apologized for monopolizing that side of the table and told the guy to go ahead and shoot. But I didn't and made the shot but dogged the draw, with the ball barely coming back an inch and left myself no shot.

Afterwards the guy's opponent came up to me and sort of apologized and said, "He totally sharked you -- you were running out, playing perfect position before that." Me, I always thought the guy on a run got priority for table position anywhos. In any case I was so locked in I was totally unaware the guy wanted to shoot from that side of his table.

So, that's tournament life. I blame myself and should have just stood up.

Lou Figueroa
but I didn't

I still remember a scotch doubles tournament when I'm down and midshot on a ball
that would be very difficult to miss. My partner decides to shout a comment to me, I
can't remember exactly... something like .. 'just make the ball'. You can guess the
result. That was Many years ago, and some insignificant local tourney.

I feel your pain. At Least, it was to one of the nice guys.:wink:

td
 
Thanks for the stories Lou and Jay... keep going. I think it's safe to say, most of us here on the board will be rooting for you guys !! :clapping:

This is really a great sport when you think about it.
 
I still remember a scotch doubles tournament when I'm down and midshot on a ball
that would be very difficult to miss. My partner decides to shout a comment to me, I
can't remember exactly... something like .. 'just make the ball'. You can guess the
result. That was Many years ago, and some insignificant local tourney.

I feel your pain. At Least, it was to one of the nice guys.:wink:

td


Thank you, td.

Yeah, it happens sooner or later to all of us.

Lou Figueroa
saylayvee
 
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