Nick B said:
I think he was referring to Nick Varner, who was referenced in an earlier post.
FWIW I don't think Grady should have to qualify either. Doesn't Gary Player play in many of the major golf events? I highly doubt that he was to qualify.
This is the best I can do!!!!!!
- Thread starter Grady
- Start date
I think he was referring to Nick Varner, who was referenced in an earlier post.
FWIW I don't think Grady should have to qualify either. Doesn't Gary Player play in many of the major golf events? I highly doubt that he was to qualify.
Face it. Pool as a sport is too fragmented and personality driven to ever succeed. In the era of 1 million channels and 10,000 ad impressions a day pool in a fragmented and highly political state has NO CHANCE.
It's very sad that a man who worked to preserve a great game is completely and utterly disrespected by his juniors and by people who couldn't hold a candle to him on the table in a million years. For the latter I am speaking of promoters who put themsleves into tournaments even though they can't run 20 balls.
If there were more respect given to the senior players in this sport then at least we could have a heritage to stand on.
As it is it's all just a bunch of self serving BS with very little professionalism or consistency.
Makes me sad to see so many talented people out there on their own trying to do things for themselves and their "group" rather than a larger effort that truly brings everyone together.
It's very sad that a man who worked to preserve a great game is completely and utterly disrespected by his juniors and by people who couldn't hold a candle to him on the table in a million years. For the latter I am speaking of promoters who put themsleves into tournaments even though they can't run 20 balls.
If there were more respect given to the senior players in this sport then at least we could have a heritage to stand on.
As it is it's all just a bunch of self serving BS with very little professionalism or consistency.
Makes me sad to see so many talented people out there on their own trying to do things for themselves and their "group" rather than a larger effort that truly brings everyone together.
JB Cases said:
Wow, Great Post! I am not "in the know". I have read this thread and it is very disconcerting to me. How can people disrespect a legend like Grady Matthews??? AZB is a learning tool for me, and some of the information is just down right depressing. I had no idea the legends are treated this way.
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JB Cases said:
Sure... If you pay more, they will come...
For pool to succeed, people need to stop being idealistic and get on board with the real world (reality). Trying to make respect the top piority will never do anything good for pool.
Do you think Lowes loses sleep over loyalty when they moved in next door to several Home Depots across the country? Nope, they just count money instead...
If Grady wants to stick it to CW and have a Straight Pool tournament; he could pay more on the same date.... Its proven to work in real business... Pool is no different...
JB Cases said:
I FEEL what you are saying but in defense of the event...there were AT LEAST 8 different events under one fairly small tent (25 tables or so) on the same weekend...so there HAD to be a limitation on the number of players invited to the 14.1 event.
The most constructive criticism...and no disrespect intended...is that there were simply WAY too many events going on at once in the first place.
Had entries been any higher for each event it would have been unmanageable.
As it was, the event staff did a GREAT job and kept up fairly well with the event times AFAIK...but it was a ZOO for the amateur players with CONSTANT foot traffic on all sides of the tables at all times...many of whom could have cared less that there was a MATCH going on as they walked right behind you laughing at jokes or otherwise being VERY distracting.
Inviting even more players would have been a big mistake and I don't think there was any disrespect intended.
JMHO,
Jim
This is the best I can do!
Can Grady still run 100+ balls in practice? If he can he sould be able to play in any straight pool tournament. If he can't then stand aside and watch the newbies play. GRADY IS A LEDGEND but don't embarass himself with a 30 ball high run and then hear him say "it just wasn't my day".
Grady is a warrior and will battle to the end which is one of many reasons he is a ledgend. If he still has the skills let him play!
Can Grady still run 100+ balls in practice? If he can he sould be able to play in any straight pool tournament. If he can't then stand aside and watch the newbies play. GRADY IS A LEDGEND but don't embarass himself with a 30 ball high run and then hear him say "it just wasn't my day".
Grady is a warrior and will battle to the end which is one of many reasons he is a ledgend. If he still has the skills let him play!
CaptiveBred said:
THERE'S a man who believes in free market economics...and you are absolutely right sir.
No disrespect intended by you or I but you are correct that most pool players and most other people out to earn a living would trample their grandmothers to be involved in an enterprise with superior economics.
Regards,
Jim
selftaut said:
Grady, This man runs a 14.1 league for the love of the game. I and 4 others from my area went to his "national" tournament in May and had a blast. We all lost, but learned much more and met some very good players from NJ, Pa, and Ma. We are looking forward to next year as well. I am sure Kevin has players that would love to come and play in your 14.1 tournament.
See you in May, Kev...
Dwight
TWOFORPOOL said:
I'd be thrilled to sweat Jack Nicklaus at a golf tournament if I happened to be attending one. Personally, I think golf tournaments suck in person and would much rather watch them on TV. Too much damn walking like mountain goats for me. :angry:
With pool, there may be some spectators who, like me with golf, would enjoy seeing some of the legends of pool at an event. Pool doesn't have as many tournaments as golf does, and unlike golf, pool in the States has no legitimate tour for the men, at least not yet. The tour, if you can call it that, is comprised of mainly independently promoted events.
I know several years ago, Jimmy Mataya was invited to a so-called "world" 14.1 pool tournament in New Jersey. Jimmy has not competed in recent times at all, maybe decades, but he still got the proverbial invite. As an aside, Jimmy can give you an earful on the logistics at that New Jersey 14.1 tournament, much better than I can on this forum. Jimmy likened it to a circus.
In sum, the promoter of the so-called "world" 14.1 tournament can invite whoever he wants and has been getting away with it even when he was president of the UPA. Who can forget the UPA picks for going to Cardiff. Everyone knows they were supposed to adhere to a UPA ranking system, but they didn't. I am sure Grady remembers that one because he was ranked much higher than one of the UPA representatives who did get to go to Cardiff. It was discrimination and favoritism as its finest.
Fortunately, not everybody who runs tournaments does it like that. I can assure you that if Grady has a tournament, anybody who pays their entry fee can play. There would be no favoritism or discrimination. Rather, the more the merrier. That's the way Grady does it.
JAM
TWOFORPOOL said:
running 100's has very little to do with winning 14.1 matches. Jimmy Caras won a "real" world championship winning 11 or so matches from the losers side and never ran more than 60 odd balls. That was back in the day of Mosconi, Balsis, Crane etc.
I realize your comment wasn't meant to be harsh to Grady.
G.
Cameron Smith said:
Gary Player plays in the Masters as does each of the past champions. This is the only major, however, that does this. The winner of the US Open and British Open get a 10 year exemption and the winner of the PGA Championship gets a 5 year exemption.
JAM said:
good post. Jack Nicklaus doesn't play in any tournaments anymore. 1) He has realized that his skills no longer allow him to compete and this is why he stepped away from returning to the Masters each year. 2) He is not a member of the PGA Tour which means he can't play in any events 3) The only way he would be allowed to tee it up is if he received a sponsor exemption to a certain event and if he did he'd refer to #1.
The PGA will not allow anyone to play without qualifying just because they are a past champion. The individual event sponsors will from time to time make "Sponsor Exemptions" available, ie. John Daly, Michelle Wie, up and coming amateurs who don't have tour status yet.
JAM and Blackjack were right clear back in the first few posts of this tread... Just have a straight pool tournament and call it by whatever title pleases you.
You have the venue. You have the abililty to produce the tournament. You have what it takes to play in it... or commentate on the video and/or mix the freakin drinks if you want to.
So... wtf? Just git'r done. :thumbup:
You have the venue. You have the abililty to produce the tournament. You have what it takes to play in it... or commentate on the video and/or mix the freakin drinks if you want to.
So... wtf? Just git'r done. :thumbup:
JimS said:
Good post, JimS.
You know, most people who have been in the pool world for an extended period of time realize that pool has no tour, as golf (PGA) does. I am confident that you and many other saged veteran posters know this. In fact, I enjoy reading your posts on this forum. You're truly one of the good guys.
What flies in the pool world isn't quite the same as what would fly in the PGA tour.
That said, my comparison of pool to golf only pertains to legends of the sport. If pool had a tour like the PGA, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
One thing I would like to insert into this thread is that at least the IPT (Kevin Trudeau) recognized the legends of pool by inviting each BCA Hall of Fame member to the Orlando King of the Hill Shootout in December 2005, gifting them with $30,000 just for showing up.
Not only that, each BCA Hall of Famer got two byes in the tournament. This is the only time that I am aware of that pool legends were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the sport and gifted with a little jelly roll. In fact, their presence was desired. Several of them never won one game in any of their matches either. However, them just being there complemented the event.
JAM
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APA7 said:Iz it me or does Grady always come across like a whiny crybaby??:frown:
Brian
Have a big cup of STFU... When you are great like he is then say something, meanwhile have another cup...
BigDogatLarge said:
Whats wrong with just telling someone to shut up? Do you think the tired phrase of "having a cup of stfu" is clever? You come off like a real dork. Someone makes a statement and you bombard them immediatly telling them to shut up on an open forum.