Rumour: Jones and Strickland complete Team America for Mosconi Cup

StevenPWaldon said:
Seeing as how Earl has the best record of any competitor in the history of the Mosconi Cup, I think it's a legitimate decision to put him on the team.
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Bingo - we have a winner
 
How do you think Jeremy will fair against the relatively short shot clock? From what I have seen he is fairly slow.

-don
 
akaTrigger said:
Earl has said that he really enjoys playing with Jeremy and it's one of the best doubles teams he's ever played on. I hope JJ is on the team with him this year!
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Yeah I asked Earl if he knew if JJ was on or not and he didn't know but said he hoped so.
 
Thecoats said:
How do you think Jeremy will fair against the relatively short shot clock? From what I have seen he is fairly slow.

-don
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I don't think he is as slow as Johnny. Johnny playes well in Mosconi.
 
Bigdogbret said:
Whoever is responsible for putting Earl on the team over Corey should be shot! How can anyone think that Earl gives the USA a better chance of winning? Sounds like a TV ploy for ratings. More people will watch to see if Earl embarasses himself and his country like he did last year!
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Earl is one of the only characters left in the sport right now. If he gets pissed off and wears his heart on his sleeve thats Earl. I know that Earl has done and said some things in the past that were probably not the right choices. I love pool, I love Archer, I love Hillbilly but I watched the final of the Carolina Open and I could hardly stand to watch as it was so boring and slow. I know that both the players would agree with me that it was not fun to watch. But if Earl had been playing would it have been more exciting?
 
Jones & Strickland IN

Credit Matchroom Sport:

MOSCONI Cup legend Earl Strickland is one of the final two American players to be picked for the 2008 event.

Strickland, along with Jeremy Jones, complete the US side that will be vying against Europe's best later this year in pool's most prestigious team competition.

Taking place at the Hilton Hotel, Portomaso, St Julians, Malta from December 11 to 14, the event features two five-man teams playing a series of singles and doubles matches over four days.

Strickland, 47, is playing in his 13th consecutive Mosconi Cup, a record for the event, and has won a fantastic 37 points from 56 matches.

'The Pearl' insists he will be back to his imperious best come December, having put the health issues that dogged him a few years ago very much behind him.

"I'm not just a pool player, I’m an athlete,” said an ebullient Strickland. “I’m running four miles every morning, doing 500 sit ups a day and practicing seven to eight hours a day.

"I'm a more intelligent player than most of these guys, I’m working hard and I think I’m close to being back to my very best.

"The Mosconi Cup is my kind of tournament and I’m looking forward to doing my best for the USA in Malta."

Despite his well-documented bust-ups at the Mosconi Cup, Strickland’s record in the event is the best of the 61 players who have participated in the competition in its 14 year history.

Joining Strickland, Johnny Archer, Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris will be Jeremy Jones, who, at 36, will be making his seventh Mosconi Cup appearance. ‘Double J’ sports an impressive 16 wins from 28 starts and made his debut back in 1999 when the USA won 12-7 at the York Hall in London.

Jones has enjoyed a revival this year with a third place finish at the Predator International 10 Ball Championship back in May. Then in June, he followed that up with a long-awaited victory in the Generationpool.com Open in Charlotte.

These results and others were enough to propel the likeable Texan up to fourth in the BCA Points List and secure his Mosconi Cup spot.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said: "In all the sports I have promoted over the years, aside from the boxer Chris Eubank, there has been no other sportsman who has got the public going more than Earl Strickland.

"Some love him, plenty hate him but he is one of the greatest players to have ever held a cue stick and when it comes to entertainment, he has few rivals.

"The Mosconi Cup has always been Earl’s playground – he won MVP honours in Las Vegas in 2005 – and when he’s on form, the Europeans will know all about it.

"Jeremy Jones has a great record in the event and it is gratifying to see him play his way back into contention. He completes a very strong looking American side and I am expecting a fierce battle in December."

This year will see the 15th running of pool’s answer to the Ryder Cup and the current score stands at 10.5-3.5 to the Americans, although they have not won the Mosconi Cup outright for the first time since 2005.
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I hope Earl plays the other game well

Hopefully, the US team mates will prep Earl on the psych-baiting that may come with the Europeans in the stands.....it almost seems inevitable....although it doesn't seem to affect his pool-playing, it certainly causes embarrassing reactions sometimes, to say the least.....

But on second thought, I'm not sure what would be the proper response to those hecklers anyway.....seems like a no-win situation....
 
Deuel is out? This is the best America can have? SVB and Scorpion, my fav, are the only legitimate monster players this year, o and Morris the rest of the team, I don't know.
 
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parvus1202 said:
Deuel is out? This is the best America can have? SVB and Scorpion, my fav, are the only legitimate monster players this year, o and Morris the rest of the team, I don't know.
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You are right "YOU DON'T KNOW" I am from England and I know that the Euros have a strong team but you can't take anything away from this USA team.
 
The team has a very good captian in Nick Varner. Saw him at my local pool hall wed. night and he is looking forward to the Cup. He thinks if Earl is on his game the U.S. should win.
 
suckershot said:
A ploy for TV ratings??? That might make sense if, relatively speaking, anyone watched pool. ...
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In some parts of the world the Mosconi Cup is carried live for the whole event. Evidently there are enough people watching to pay for the production of a very entertaining competition. I think TV in the US is broken.
 
I am a very big Earl fan and have seen him play live a bunch of times, and I hope his teamates and captain can talk him out of the extra gloves and weights. But if he is practicing that way every day he will need to play with his pile of crap. I can remember also that Barry Hearn has always bet alot of money on Earl to win in the tournaments he ran, and it is likely him responsible for Earl being invited this year.--Leonard
 
stikapos said:
I smell another crunch of the US team. Earl has been working out, which means one of two things: 1) he's ready to play or 2) he's going to pop Tony Drago. With Niels about, I wouldn't think the latter was such a good idea.

tim
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Earl isn't going to take a pop at anybody. He may cry them to death.
 
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