Some facts

[yobagua]

You are comparing two sports that don't compare in this case. We all talk about how pool is a sport where age has no bearing. And Efren Reyes and Wu Chia Ching prove it. Cowboy Jimmy Moore used to reportedly run a hundred balls a day in his eighties.

The point Grady was making is that politics should be suspended in order to get the best players. Especially IF you are going to have a World Championship event.

Earl complains about everything at the Matchroom events. Still they invite him because they like the draw he provides and because he IS a 3 time World Champion in that discipline.

It was a travesty and an affront to Grady's status to not have invited him. That remains a fact pure and simple. It was an insult to make him have to try and qualify for an event that players who will never have a tenth of his credentials were invited to. That sort of deliberate slap in the face does nothing, as we see here, to unite pool.

Charlie Williams is getting a lot of praise for doing a lot for pool in Korea. He is well spoken and has found a place on Earth where he can make something happen with corporate sponsors who will listen to him. But what does he do for pool in the USA? Some for sure, by putting on some tournaments. But being deliberately divisive is not the example of greatness.

And that goes for you too Grady. Don't live in the past. Practice for the discipline you love and win the qualifier and then win the tournament. That is the best answer to the insult that the tournament organizers gave you. Let your discontent motivate you.

Martina N, Billie Jean, Jimmie Connors, many tennis players played well into their years. What I'm saying is that status and past performance doesnt get people invited. And even if they dont get invited they dont act like spoiled children and throw temper tantrums. All of us get slapped in the face every day when we dont get the respect we feel we earned. At our Jobs, Our homes, our clubs, etc. We choose how to deal with it. I'm not going to back someone who goes name calling and starts throwing fits.I'll back the one who tries to prove people wrong through performance, tenacity, and prespiratation.
I dont know Charlie Williams. But I do know he has only gone about his way trying to put on events that I like to attend. He doesnt have to. But puts his time and energy into creating events for the pool community. Of course there could be criticism but he is the one putting his time, money , and effort. So if anyone feels he can do better they should. But why not give him the respect that others demand. And notice he doesnt respond to criticism in a negative manner.
All in all history will absolve the one who deserves it.

 

[JohnPT]

Grady, do whatever it takes to get in the tournament and then win it. You'll be invited back the following year.

 

[John Barton]

He played a qualifier but didn't make it?

Yes he did and I wouldn't doubt that it was in his head that he shouldn't need to be playing the qualifier when one looks at the list of invited players. Players who do not have and are likely to never have a fraction of Grady's accomplishments.

Whether or not Grady should be able to win a qualifier to get into the main event is irrelevant - he shouldn't have to.

At least in my opinion.

 

[crosseyedjoe]

Yes he did and I wouldn't doubt that it was in his head that he shouldn't need to be playing the qualifier when one looks at the list of invited players. Players who do not have and are likely to never have a fraction of Grady's accomplishments.

Whether or not Grady should be able to win a qualifier to get into the main event is irrelevant - he shouldn't have to.

At least in my opinion.

However, the invitees are not by whim of the promoter like what most people are hinting. Randy got his list of American players from the BCA, who listed players according to UPA ranking system.

Why Grady is not part of the BCA-UPA list is another question.

 

[Southpaw]

However, the invitees are not by whim of the promoter like what most people are hinting. Randy got his list of American players from the BCA, who listed players according to UPA ranking system.

Why Grady is not part of the BCA-UPA list is another question.

Its probably because the BCA-UPA has ruffled his feathers somehow in the past and he is holding a grudge with them and not playing in any of those events to earn current ranking points. JMO.

Southpaw