Sportmanship at US Open

Sometimes, I wonder whether the "A" in AZB stands for apologist, for every time a pro pool player commits an indisretion in conduct, the outpouring in defense of that player is boundless.

Whether it's Earl insulting a fan, Charlie Bryant competing in overalls at Derby City, Alex showing up drunk and boisterous to play in the DCC Straight Pool Final, or Nevel breaking his stick into pieces on a streamed match, the fact is that every time one of these incidents occurs, I always hope that no potential corporate sponsor is watching.

AZ apologists are always abundant when it comes to defending the very actions that will serve to scare away any possible corporate sponsor that might be in attendance. At other times, the very same posters wonder out loud why pool garners such minimal corporate attention and sponsorship.

Let's not confuse shows of emotion, which potential sponsors like, for blatantly inappropriate behavior, which reinforces pool's unfortunate reputation as being fit primarily for the unrefined. There are reasons why the demographic groups that interest major corporate sponsors are turned off by pool, and, although there is an abundance of apologists for professionals that make our sport look bad, there shouldn't be.

Golfers in the 1950's made next to nothing, and the Demaret's and the Snead's had to hustle on the side to make ends meet. It wasn't until Arnold Palmer convinced his fellow pros that they needed to clean up their acts that corporate America began to invest heavily in golf.

Who will be pool's Arnold Palmer? One thing's for certain. It won't be Larry Nevel.

This is one of the best posts i've ever seen on AZ billiards.
 
Give the sport 10 Earl Stricklands and toss in a few Nevels that had a great run in a spot a lot say he shouldn't be there and show me the ticket count. Then give me 10 Souquets and toss in a couple Appeltons, no disrespect to Souquet or Applelton "obviously great players". Then let's tally up the count. There may be a reason pool don't fill seats when so many think this should be a sport of gentlemen that put their coat over a puddle for the lady but preach rebuilding, image, blah blah to the sport. Fact is however many play the game few understand it isn't a game of trick shots at the bar beered up. So with a mass audience wanted ballet dancers don't fill seats, character does. Sh** happens, welcome to competition and an imperfect world of gentlemen.


Maybe we can look forward to the day when a frustrated pool player with character busts his pool cue on the noggin of his opponent instead of the carpet or table. Shoot, you're right: shee-at happens. Maybe the next time Larry can just jump up on the table and take a crap right on the old Simonis. Just think of the great exposure for pool that would be, in an imperfect world, of course.

Lou Figueroa
probably go viral
on YouTube
 
I'm late to the party but based on the video I saw it looked like he kind of smacked the shaft on the ground and it caught then snapped. Personally I would of preferred the full Mark McGuire hip turn and swing with the shaft cracking in half as it broke the sound barrier. If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.

Bonus would of been if shaft shrapnel ended up sticking out of one or more people I can think of.

As it happened it was not even that amusing and doesn't really rank that high on my outrage scale. Hopefully whoever is next up on the "Reason pool sucks" outrage list puts a little more effort into it. I kind of like the way Lou is thinking.
 
One can deny the reality and keep dreaming. Nothing wrong in dreaming.
Tuxedos by men pros did not bring the Non Billiard industry sponsors.
Pretty faces, cocktail dresses,pleasant demeanor of WPBA players did not elevate the status of the game and except in few instances did not bring the Non industry sponsors.
Yes, more than 200-300 years ago kings and queens played the game and it does not make every body that plays pool a king or queen and one should not expect pool players to act like kings and queens. Get real.:cool:
 
God bless him and his clean pee then. The sacrifices one must make in the noble pursuit...:rolleyes:

i have known larry for a few years now,and know larry really does not like it when he gets like that. he does have an anger problem sometimes in the heat of battle,doesnt mean he is not a good guy. i have that problem sometimes also,i have snapped a few myself and i am nowhere near the caliber larry is. no excuses but larry is a straight guy,no drugs.i have been around pool a long time, and i can tell you that a lot of the pros are taking something all the time when they are in tough matches,pain killers etc. larry does nothing. once larry realizes that he can be the best player on the planet and can self control just a little better he will be there.knowing he is playing on the square,which most all pros are not,its ok for a temper tantrum sometimes. maybe a lot of you would like it better if he took tabs and zannex to control his temper. not me.
 
Judges

Next time Earl has one of his disgusting tirades, will all be on AZ the next day demeaning him? Is there anyone on this thread that has ever gone as far in the Open as he did? Let them judge.
Its hypocritical of someone to criticize poor sportsmanship in a game that is epitomized by gambling.
 
One can deny the reality and keep dreaming. Nothing wrong in dreaming.
Tuxedos by men pros did not bring the Non Billiard industry sponsors.
Pretty faces, cocktail dresses,pleasant demeanor of WPBA players did not elevate the status of the game and except in few instances did not bring the Non industry sponsors.
Yes, more than 200-300 years ago kings and queens played the game and it does not make every body that plays pool a king or queen and one should not expect pool players to act like kings and queens. Get real.:cool:

I always have a chuckle when a poster suggests that a call for the eliimination of unrefined conduct means the reintroduction of tuxedos as playing attire. That's a different matter entirely, although it should be noted that professional three cushion billiard pros and professional snooker players always compete in tuxedos and have done far better than pool in solicitation of sponsorship. Still, that's not the subject of this thread.

Most of the men players present and conduct themselves appropriately. The few who don't, though, make pool less attractive to corporate sponsors. If you feel that this is a permanent situaiton and pool can never garner any corporate attention, then pool will always be small time and most pro pool players will always struggle to live above the poverty line, in which case their conduct is, as you suggest, unworthy of our attention.

Guess I'm one of those that believe that the pro pool proudct can be good enough to attract the right sponsorship under the right circumstances, but that its unfortunate image as a game for chain smoking, unrefined, predators not only places it below three cushion billiards and snooker but also explains why fewer and fewer young people are found in America's poolrooms.

If that makes me a dreamer, so be it.
 
Next time Earl has one of his disgusting tirades, will all be on AZ the next day demeaning him? Many will Is there anyone on this thread that has ever gone as far in the Open as he did? Let them judge. Daz? Schmidt? Never heard of either making same choice.
Its hypocritical of someone to criticize poor sportsmanship in a game that is epitomized by gambling. Is it also a shame to criticize cheating or assault where poor sportsmanship is tolerated?
Gotta draw the line somewhere, and it should be before any 'wrong' is committed.
 
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There were 250 players in the U.S. Open.
249 of those players ended up losers.
Out of the 249, 248 of them took their losses like grown men and women.
1 player acted like a little kid and broke his shaft.

I think the majority of players represent the game well and we could do without the 1 who didn't.
 
Its hypocritical of someone to criticize poor sportsmanship in a game that is epitomized by gambling.

Gambling? Really? All of the players that act okay during tournaments, act okay gambling.

Larry Nevel? When was the last time you heard of someone gambling with him? Kind of hard to remember, huh? Thats because most players won't gamble with him because he acts like a jack*ss, just like he did at the open....

Gambling is not the bad guy, guys like Larry and his/their demeanor at the table are the bad guys.... Time bombs like Larry and Earl are the black eyes on pool, not gambling.
 
Gambling? Really? All of the players that act okay during tournaments, act okay gambling.

Larry Nevel? When was the last time you heard of someone gambling with him? Kind of hard to remember, huh? Thats because most players won't gamble with him because he acts like a jack*ss, just like he did at the open....

Gambling is not the bad guy, guys like Larry and his/their demeanor at the table are the bad guys.... Time bombs like Larry and Earl are the black eyes on pool, not gambling.

Nice post. And I will add, the more one delves into the gambling world in pool, the more one meets very reasonable and sporty folks, perhaps like our own "fatboy" for example.
 
kings and queens playing

One can deny the reality and keep dreaming. Nothing wrong in dreaming.
Tuxedos by men pros did not bring the Non Billiard industry sponsors.
Pretty faces, cocktail dresses,pleasant demeanor of WPBA players did not elevate the status of the game and except in few instances did not bring the Non industry sponsors.
Yes, more than 200-300 years ago kings and queens played the game and it does not make every body that plays pool a king or queen and one should not expect pool players to act like kings and queens. Get real.:cool:


We still have queens playing pool in fat city and down in the french quarter, doesn't seem to be drawing any corporate interest though!

Hu
 
The funny thing is Larry is at the open and finished in the top 4 and the ones who think it's a perfect world are ridiculing behind a computer screen. Congrats to Larry on a great finish and to the ones who think emotions don't belong in sports should try the show at the opera.

I don't care what place he finished, sweeping the balls and breaking your cue are poor sportsmanship.

I've been hot under the collar many times and have never found the need to break my equipment or sweep the balls.

It astounded me when I heard of Earl doing this a couple of years ago, I thought it was poor form then and every body that jumped on Earl for it back then should have the same opinion now with Larry.

People making excuses for Larry should look at the behavior they are condoning and ask themselves if they would want to be known for doing that themselves.
 
I don't care what place he finished, sweeping the balls and breaking your cue are poor sportsmanship.

I've been hot under the collar many times and have never found the need to break my equipment or sweep the balls.

It astounded me when I heard of Earl doing this a couple of years ago, I thought it was poor form then and every body that jumped on Earl for it back then should have the same opinion now with Larry.

People making excuses for Larry should look at the behavior they are condoning and ask themselves if they would want to be known for doing that themselves.

Passive sweeping could be considered ''throwin' in the towel'' agressive sweeping and cue breaking are on the same level.
 
Larry definitely broke his shaft out of frustration, on purpose.

He left the 6 ball in a very make-able spot near the side pocket. When walking back to his seat, he pointed his stick/tip into the carpet, stuck it in, and kept pushing, while walking, til the shaft snapped. A large chunk of shaft flipped onto the table surface. This is the way it looked, sitting in my seat, 5 feet behind Larry. I had as good a vantage point as anyone could.

That said, I don't feel much about it either way, good or bad.


Eric
 
who gives an ef? you guys say it's a sport, right? shouldn't a guy have some room to express his competitive spirit? it happens in hockey several times a game (ie breaking stick) and you don't see them losing sponsorship over it. and you act like pool has some kind of great reputation to uphold. what a joke

Is this the kind of behavior you want to see in your opponents? Do you really like to see people come unhinged?

Situation: you're playing someone in a tournament and they come unglued, snap their cue, sweep the balls off the table. How do you think you're going to play next match?

Do you think you can fade it? Maybe, maybe not, but why should you have too fade it in the first place.

There's no room for poor sports in our sport or any others.
 
Is this the kind of behavior you want to see in your opponents? Do you really like to see people come unhinged?

Situation: you're playing someone in a tournament and they come unglued, snap their cue, sweep the balls off the table. How do you think you're going to play next match?

Do you think you can fade it? Maybe, maybe not, but why should you have too fade it in the first place.

There's no room for poor sports in our sport or any others.

Exactly.... How would they like playing in the Open and losing to Earl because he is straight sharking them the entire match? They might have a different opinion then.
 
Gambling? Really? All of the players that act okay during tournaments, act okay gambling.

Larry Nevel? When was the last time you heard of someone gambling with him? Kind of hard to remember, huh? Thats because most players won't gamble with him because he acts like a jack*ss, just like he did at the open....

Gambling is not the bad guy, guys like Larry and his/their demeanor at the table are the bad guys.... Time bombs like Larry and Earl are the black eyes on pool, not gambling.

The last time i remember anyone gambling with Nevel was Archer. Not really sure if thats gambling because Archer heisted him.
 
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