Stories of meeting the Pros

thrasher789

thrasher789

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Well I never get the chance to meet any pro's but I watch them on TV and read about them in magazines all day so I can't help but wonder what they are like in real life. Give your stories about run-in's with pro's and how they acted because I'm curious as to who is worth supporting and who are the massive *****s.

From what I've seen Corey Deuel, Johnny Archer, and Thorsten come off as pretty freindly people and I think it would be cool to chill with them. Of course Earl is a whole other story (for my exact feelings on him check this months BD :cool: ) but further than that I don't know much; I'm interested to hear you guys' stories.
 
Robles looks like he used to run a crew out of Bx.
 
Luc Salvas is a heck of a nice guy. He sat and chatted with me for almost 20 minutes.

Another pro you might not have seen on tv recently is Jeff White. Again another cool guy, every time I see him he shows me trick shots and tells stories about the pool scene.
 
Yeah Luc seems real chill; I bet he would be cool to talk to. I'm kicking myself in the head right now for missing DCC this year and missing the WPBA competition only an hour away from me as we speak because of prior commitments :(
 
I got a chance to meet Buddy Hall down in Tampa, FL when I came home for Winter Break. Nice guy overall and had some good stories.
 
thrasher789 said:
Well I never get the chance to meet any pro's but I watch them on TV and read about them in magazines all day so I can't help but wonder what they are like in real life. Give your stories about run-in's with pro's and how they acted because I'm curious as to who is worth supporting and who are the massive *****s.

From what I've seen Corey Deuel, Johnny Archer, and Thorsten come off as pretty freindly people and I think it would be cool to chill with them. Of course Earl is a whole other story (for my exact feelings on him check this months BD :cool: ) but further than that I don't know much; I'm interested to hear you guys' stories.
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I've met many of the pro's - some funny stories, some inside jokes that some will know about.

I have never had a negative experience with Earl Strickland.

John Schmidt is a class act at and away from the table. He's a genuinely nice person and represents our sport well. He's a good golfer also - I watched John toss his new putter into the pond at the 18th hole at Windsor Parke in Jacksonville. It didn't float.

Jeanette Lee talks to all of her fans, signs every autograph that is requested, and interacts with everybody she comes in contact with.

Jenn Barretta is one of my favorite people to hang out with at the WPBA events. Her mom is one of my favorite people to hang out with. Is Matzo Ball Soup a meal? Jenn and I disagree on that topic.

Alice Rim is a very nice lady, very friendly, and upbeat. I enjoyed meeting her this past year.

Melissa Herndon is as sweet as she is beautiful.

Francisco Bustamante can go for hours without saying a word. One time a group of us traveled from Munich to Nurnburg and he never said a word for the entire trip and he was awake the whole time.

Next time you see Jose Parica ask him to say "french fries". lol.

Efren Reyes coughs every 2 minutes. There was a thread about why he plays toothless. Now you know.

Mika Immonen thinks I'm a mob boss for some reason - lol. I think that has something to do with me trying to get him the money that Brady Behrman owed him and several players. Mika also thinks I am Marissa's father - that's a long story and one Mika should be ashamed of. Marissa was dusted for prints.

Luc Salvas is always great to talk to, as is Paul Potier. Paul is one of my favorite people to sweat a match with because his insights into the game are incredible to listen to. Paul's mind works on a different level than most folks.

Ralf Souquet is my favorite pro to pick on. That bald head is there and I never let him forget that.

A lot of people don't know that Thorsten is a very funny person. He is also what I would call the "consummate professional" - a true gentleman and a role model. His taste in bed linen is a very strange - just ask Mike Davis.

Johnny Archer is a great pool player and IMO, a great all around athlete. He threw a football to me when I had a plate of food in my hands - I was unable to even make an attempt to catch it when out of nowhere Charlie Williams saved my life and got between me and the football.

Charlie Williams is my hero. lol

My favorite "pro player mode of transportation" belongs to Tommy Kennedy. If you know what I mean, you are smiling right now.

Great people to talk to and share a few laughs - Charlie Bryant - John DiToro - Wade Crane - Rob Saez - Tony Crosby - Shane Van Boening.

Miscellaneous facts:

Ga Young Kim and Hsin Huang have the heaviest luggage of any of the WPBA players. For tiny women they sure do drag around a lot of crap. :confused:

The award for "most fun to hang out with" - Tie - Ellen Van Buren & Carol Clark. No contest.

Jay Calhoun is still a Christian even though he hangs out in Casinos with pool players (Jay will get it).

Dryest pool player on a hot afternoon in Florida - Danny Basavich.

Funniest thing I have ever seen - Debbie Schjodt scratched, got the cue ball out of the pocket and held it above her head so that Anna Kostanian couldn't get it for ball in hand (I guess you had to be there)

Debbie Schjodt is EXACTLY twice as tall as Anna Kostanian.

I think that Crystal McCormick is the best player that has YET TO WIN on the Ladies Spirit Tour.

George Breedlove does not answer to "Mr. Lee".

Julie Kelly Vs Sarah Ellerby is my favorite match to watch.

The cutest pool player I have ever seen - Xiaoting Pan.
Honorable mention - Nesli O'Hare.

Best walk in pool - Ga Young Kim.

Coolest accent - Helena Thornfeldt.

Coolest everything - Ewa Mataya

Coolest eveything honorable mention - Miyuki Sakai

Worst juggler - Allison Fisher.

I have made 4 proposals of marriage to Ga Young Kim. I have never gotten an answer for any of them. She laughs so hard that she has to run to the ladies room. :confused:

The calmest person I have ever met in my life - Tony Robles.

Most hyper person I have ever met in my life - Steve Lillis.

The second most hyper person I have ever met in my life - Cindy Lee.

Evan Broxmeyer and Shrek are NOT related (as far as we know).

My favorite pro player is TONY ROBLES. Tony's personality has to be experienced for you to understand just how down to earth and friendly that he is. If we had 100 Tony Robles' on the pro tour we would not have any problem attracting major sponsors.

There are also some Az-ers that I like hanging out with at the events too such as Nostroke, Timberly, Eydie, Marissa, Thoffen, Bobroberts, SusieQ, Vader, progr, VooDooDaddy, are all cool people and great to hang out with.
 
thrasher789 said:
Well I never get the chance to meet any pro's but I watch them on TV and read about them in magazines all day so I can't help but wonder what they are like in real life. Give your stories about run-in's with pro's and how they acted because I'm curious as to who is worth supporting and who are the massive *****s.

From what I've seen Corey Deuel, Johnny Archer, and Thorsten come off as pretty freindly people and I think it would be cool to chill with them. Of course Earl is a whole other story (for my exact feelings on him check this months BD :cool: ) but further than that I don't know much; I'm interested to hear you guys' stories.
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I have been to a lot of places where I could have met Pro's but generally don't say anything to them because I know they are generally busy.

However, I did meet Sarah Rousey a couple of years ago at Valley Forge. She was phenomenal. Great person to meet.

Another great person that I met was Max Eberle. I saw and talked to him at several tournaments. Truly a very nice person.
 
Earl Strickland was really nice at the end of a demonstration tournament that was put on near my place. Even gave his playing cue at the end to my bud that talked to him at the end. Signed it too. Class act during that tournament.
 
We are both form Owensboro, Ky. We both grew up playing pool at the Rack-N-Que that Nick's father owned. We have known Nick just about all all our lives. Kim and I met playing pool at another pool hall and we got to talking and I found out that she was best friends with Nick's wife Toni. Kim is a pediatric nurse and she takes care of their son, Nicholas, aka, turkey. Nick is one of the greatest persons we have ever met. He is as down to earth as anyone. Nick is a friendly guy that will cut up with you as well as anyone. He is a goodhearted guy that will do his best to help people out. This forum had someone say some things about him before that made me make my first post here. After I found out that others supported me on my reply, I knew that other people felt the same way that I do. Nick Varner is a great guy and a great friend in my book.

So my post is for Nick Varner on this thread.
 
I've only met one pro pool player & that was Jim Rempe. He struck me as a decent guy & very friendly, maybe whupping me helped there!

I have met a few snooker pros, mostly at the World Masters in Birmingham, England in 1993 I think it was. Some were good to talk to, others not so. Steve Davis was fine until a buddy of mine made a sarcastic remark that seemed to piss him off a little, I think nowadays Steve would probably laugh about it but he was 100% serious then.

Terry Griffiths did an exhibition night at our local snooker hall & was more than happy to help me play a trick on someone!

The best of all would have to be Eddie Charlton. He'd just been knocked out of the tournament when I bumped into him but he stood & chatted for a good 15 minutes. Hell of a nice guy. I was sad to hear of his passing a couple of years ago.
 
Who have I met or do I know...

Brady Gollan: Former Canadian snooker champion who always has time for the kids.

Cliff Thorburn: Gives a very entertaining exhibition show. He always stays and signs autographs and tells stories. Still has a genuine love for the game.

Paul Potier: Has never given a free piece of advise in his life. He's the best player on the planet. Just ask him.

John Horsfall: A hell of a player but boring as hell to watch.

Alain "Frenchie" Boutin. A hell of a player who is one of the most entertaining people to watch I have ever seen. I consider him a friend.

Stan Tourangeau: One of the nicest people who has ever played. I have never seen him pull a move on anyone. He just flat out beats you. He always has time for the little guy.

John Bear: Recently passed away. He was the best player I ever saw live. I would bet my house on him no matter who he played. He was that good.
 
Blackjack said:
I've met many of the pro's - some funny stories, some inside jokes that some will know about.

I have never had a negative experience with Earl Strickland.

John Schmidt is a class act at and away from the table. He's a genuinely nice person and represents our sport well. He's a good golfer also - I watched John toss his new putter into the pond at the 18th hole at Windsor Parke in Jacksonville. It didn't float.

Jeanette Lee talks to all of her fans, signs every autograph that is requested, and interacts with everybody she comes in contact with.

Jenn Barretta is one of my favorite people to hang out with at the WPBA events. Her mom is one of my favorite people to hang out with. Is Matzo Ball Soup a meal? Jenn and I disagree on that topic.

Alice Rim is a very nice lady, very friendly, and upbeat. I enjoyed meeting her this past year.

Melissa Herndon is as sweet as she is beautiful.

Francisco Bustamante can go for hours without saying a word. One time a group of us traveled from Munich to Nurnburg and he never said a word for the entire trip and he was awake the whole time.

Next time you see Jose Parica ask him to say "french fries". lol.

Efren Reyes coughs every 2 minutes. There was a thread about why he plays toothless. Now you know.

Mika Immonen thinks I'm a mob boss for some reason - lol. I think that has something to do with me trying to get him the money that Brady Behrman owed him and several players. Mika also thinks I am Marissa's father - that's a long story and one Mika should be ashamed of. Marissa was dusted for prints.

Luc Salvas is always great to talk to, as is Paul Potier. Paul is one of my favorite people to sweat a match with because his insights into the game are incredible to listen to. Paul's mind works on a different level than most folks.

Ralf Souquet is my favorite pro to pick on. That bald head is there and I never let him forget that.

A lot of people don't know that Thorsten is a very funny person. He is also what I would call the "consummate professional" - a true gentleman and a role model. His taste in bed linen is a very strange - just ask Mike Davis.

Johnny Archer is a great pool player and IMO, a great all around athlete. He threw a football to me when I had a plate of food in my hands - I was unable to even make an attempt to catch it when out of nowhere Charlie Williams saved my life and got between me and the football.

Charlie Williams is my hero. lol

My favorite "pro player mode of transportation" belongs to Tommy Kennedy. If you know what I mean, you are smiling right now.

Great people to talk to and share a few laughs - Charlie Bryant - John DiToro - Wade Crane - Rob Saez - Tony Crosby - Shane Van Boening.

Miscellaneous facts:

Ga Young Kim and Hsin Huang have the heaviest luggage of any of the WPBA players. For tiny women they sure do drag around a lot of crap. :confused:

The award for "most fun to hang out with" - Tie - Ellen Van Buren & Carol Clark. No contest.

Jay Calhoun is still a Christian even though he hangs out in Casinos with pool players (Jay will get it).

Dryest pool player on a hot afternoon in Florida - Danny Basavich.

Funniest thing I have ever seen - Debbie Schjodt scratched, got the cue ball out of the pocket and held it above her head so that Anna Kostanian couldn't get it for ball in hand (I guess you had to be there)

Debbie Schjodt is EXACTLY twice as tall as Anna Kostanian.

I think that Crystal McCormick is the best player that has YET TO WIN on the Ladies Spirit Tour.

George Breedlove does not answer to "Mr. Lee".

Julie Kelly Vs Sarah Ellerby is my favorite match to watch.

The cutest pool player I have ever seen - Xiaoting Pan.
Honorable mention - Nesli O'Hare.

Best walk in pool - Ga Young Kim.

Coolest accent - Helena Thornfeldt.

Coolest everything - Ewa Mataya

Coolest eveything honorable mention - Miyuki Sakai

Worst juggler - Allison Fisher.

I have made 4 proposals of marriage to Ga Young Kim. I have never gotten an answer for any of them. She laughs so hard that she has to run to the ladies room. :confused:

The calmest person I have ever met in my life - Tony Robles.

Most hyper person I have ever met in my life - Steve Lillis.

The second most hyper person I have ever met in my life - Cindy Lee.

Evan Broxmeyer and Shrek are NOT related (as far as we know).

My favorite pro player is TONY ROBLES. Tony's personality has to be experienced for you to understand just how down to earth and friendly that he is. If we had 100 Tony Robles' on the pro tour we would not have any problem attracting major sponsors.

There are also some Az-ers that I like hanging out with at the events too such as Nostroke, Timberly, Eydie, Marissa, Thoffen, Bobroberts, SusieQ, Vader, progr, VooDooDaddy, are all cool people and great to hang out with.
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Awww, such a great post and exactly what I was looking for, real stories and information, thanks. You do understand why I don't care for Earl though right? Granted he may be a very niec person off the table he is very distractive and negative if he gets in a bad mood, the stories I read and hear are even somewhat embarrassing though I love to watch him play when he's on. Most of what you said I kinda had a feeling about, thorsten especially, he just seems like a great guy and he's my favorite player right now (besides that fact that he dosne't gamble :cool: ; but even that is respectable I guess) and that mika story is funny.
 
I have noticed that most of the posts only talk about the nice players. Many of those mentioned (mostly the Canadians) I know and I agree many are great people. To the nice guy list I would add Gerry Watson. Gerry "the Ghost" is the kind of guy that is always asking how you made that last shot...even though he can make it wrong hand one hand.
Other noteable Canadians:

Alain Martel: if you speak french he is hilarious.
Dany Hewitt: catch him when he is winning and he is great.When he is losing he is pretty quite.
Nick Guimond: great guy and is a class act at all times.
Bob Chaperon: fun guy and is awesome to watch play.
Alex Pagulayan: quite possibly the funniest human I have ever met. I watched a match between Alex and Gerry Watson. They played on a 9' around the back the whole time. Everyone was killing themselves laughing when Alex was mocking Gerry before the match....unfortunately he ran out of things to say after he lost two matches.
Mario Morra: just ask him about his son John and you will be hearing some great stories for at least a few drinks.

Canadians to avoid:

Just one in my books, Martin Daigle.

Quite possibly the biggest A*****E I have ever met that didn't result in a trip to the alley. No professionalism. Never shuts up (especially when it is your turn). Speaks English but will force non-french speaking people to struggle trying to speak french. All in all, excellent player...overshadowed by his lack of character.
 
I've met and or played alot of pros. Some good stories, some bad. One of the good ones:

Mika Immonen: I played in the U.S. Open once. Late night on the third day, the 11:00 PM matches had started, so I went to the practice room. It was empty. So I went to the back table and started hitting balls. Mika (who I've never met) walks in, right past the two other empty tables and asks me if I'd like to practice for awhile. "Sure", I said. So for the next 2.5 hours we played in silence. It was incredible. When he was done, he offered some great advice. Then he shook my hand and left. The follow-up to this story is that the next May in Vegas at the Riviera, he was standing at the Splash bar with Cory Deuel. As I was walking by, he yells out "Hey Robert! Want a beer?". I was stunned. I politley drank my beer and listened to them talk about golf for 15 minutes. :) Anyway, I think Mika is a great guy.
 
Corey

One year in Vegas Corey was in the room next to the Splash bar playing race to 3 for $20 (drinking money) with a bunch of us. One of our local players who can make a ball from anywhere Sean Clarke was a little shall we say "tipsy". He started mocking the shots Corey was shooting not realizing Corey had agreed that in that set to bank every ball. Corey and Sean had a little chat. The topic got onto sports. Corey and Sean battled about college basketball. To everyone's surprise Sean seemingly knows nearly everything about the players and teams. Corey was quite shocked and as he pocketed the 8 to win the race with Sean made a comment that it was a good thing he didn't know as much about pool as he did basketball. That got the crowd, and Sean, who now realizes who he is playing, laughing in hystarics.
 
Mike Zimmerman: Always a little aloof, but a nice enough guy. You could tell he liked to win, but never went to extremes to get an edge.

J.D. (Yes, the J.D. from "Playing off the Rail"): A really nice guy with a hustler's mentality. Has a lot of knowledge about the game, and is not afraid to tell another pro when he is feeding someone a line of bulls**t. Brad Gowan was mentioning how it's impossible to get the ball to position X with inside english, and J.D. says "I'll bet you I can get it 2 feet up the rail further than point X". Brad didn't take the bet, then J.D. demonstrated the shot for free for us hacks who were watching. Then taught us how to do it! Like I said, he'll bet it up, but is a great person, so you don't mind losing to him. He told us great stories about running around California with Tang Hoa and a few other players.

John Horsfall: A professional's professional. I watched maybe 7 or 8 matches of his in person, and he never once complained about anything. Stays positive about everything in his life. Started out trying to be a tennis professional. Had a lot of talent, but couldn't control his anger when he lost. Told me he took up snooker to learn to calm down, and the rest is history.

Stan Torangeau: The coolest pool player I have ever met. Has more heart than anyone I have ever met. This man would not give up being 10 down in a race to 11. Another one who will give out free advice on both mechanics and mental game. A lot of people haven't heard of him, because he stays out of pro level events to maintain his status in some league systems.

Barry Emerson: He won the U.S. Bar Table Championship one year. He came through Tacoma one time visting his family. "Hustled" me at $5.00 a game 9 ball, even though I knew who he was. :D Loves to play pool for money. Won't necessarily show full speed unless he has to. Then again, he ran 6 racks on some guy for fun in that same hall. Didn't win the weekly 9 ball tournament. Mike Zimmerman did. :D

Tony Crosby: A fun loving guy. Makes me think of the typical go-go party boy young Brit stereotype. That's when he's off the pool table. As soon as he steps up, his focus is apparent. Seems to find it hard to take weekly 9 ball/10 ball tournaments seriously. He and Richie Richeson definitely have respect for each other. He doesn't want to play Richie seriously in bank pool or One Pocket, and Richie I don't think wants to play 9 ball with Tony.

Richie Richeson: Richie is always looking for an edge. Always looking for action. And he is very good at knowing when he has a big edge over an opponent. Doesn't talk much, except when he's looking to get into a game with someone. Seems to be very comfortable at the table in most situations.

Buddy Hall: Got mad at me for taking a picture with Johnny Archer 30 feet away in another room in his peripheral vision. Sorry, Buddy! Talked to him for a few minutes at Planet 9 Ball in Tampa. Seemed very tired and worn out. Maybe this is before he tried to get healthy. Maybe he had some stuff going on in his life, but didn't seem very happy. Hope he's doing okay now.

Johnny Archer: What can I say? He was more than happy to take a picture with me in Orlando, and he has the type of personality where you just enjoy being around him, win or lose. I saw him giving up some ridiculous spot to an amateur there. Some like the 4,6,8 wild AND the breaks. It was a close match, but Johnny took 'er down. He was uber serious when he got down over a shot, but was willing to laugh when a fluke shot won a game for his opponent. He just congratulated his opponent, and got up to rack, joking about what a trap he was in.:rolleyes:

Rodney Morris: A really upbeat guy. I was probably too hard on him when he bemoaned the state of men's pool. Seems to really love pool and playing for a living. I think pool chose him, not the other way around. Talked to me about how he has a website. In all fairness, he did seem pretty focused on himself and achieving the things he wanted to ahieve. That's understandable, though, as he has a wife and child to take care of now.

That's pretty much everyone I've had the chance to talk to.

Russ
 
I may be mistaken but I might have seen Jenn Barretta working a back alley of a key food or wal-mart.

It may not have been her, maybe.

She is a great pool player, she's reminds me of my niece full of emotion and discipline whose talents are a natural extension of the such. Last I saw she has been gaining weight.
 
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Blackjack said:
I think that Crystal McCormick is the best player that has YET TO WIN on the Ladies Spirit Tour.

Glad you said it Dave...cause I was gonna


There are also some Az-ers that I like hanging out with at the events too such as Nostroke, Timberly, Eydie, Marissa, Thoffen, Bobroberts, SusieQ, Vader, progr, VooDooDaddy, are all cool people and great to hang out with.

Wish we had more time...I know we will do that again!!
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Voodoo~~~lives by the new creed; "Voo, STFU":o
 
Went to my first pro tournament in Metropolis Il. ... the Buddy Hall Superman Classic. I met many of the top pros including Buddy, Nick, Archer, Charlie Williams, Dallas West, and several others. I stood in groups listening to them shoot the shit and when appropriate I joined in. They all accepted me as one of the crowd and were open and friendly both in a group and one on one.

When I left after the tournament the conclusion I had reached about the pro pool players was that they were just guys that play pool. They happend to have tremendous skills and to play pool extraordinarlly well, but they were in every sense just GUYS that play pool.

By the way. I didn't ask for anything from them. No autographs or pictures... nothing. I just don't feel right asking for anything from them when watching them is such a gift to me. I took every available opportunity to give something back by telling them eye to eye that watching them play pool had increased the level of happiness in my life. I owe them that... and more.
 
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