Two great Keith McCready matches....(1 hr videos)

the420trooper

the420trooper

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
the420trooper said:
These are very enjoyable matches to watch. Not the most consistent pool ever, but McCready shows definite flashes of brilliance. Here's an excellent opportunity to watch one of the true legends of the game...

2003 US Open: Buddy Hall vs. Keith McCready
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsHAG8YrXG8&feature=channel_page

2004 US Open: Keith McCready vs. Ryan McCreesh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtCrMFDFvk4&feature=channel_page
Click to expand...

Well, here's a little skinny about those two matches! :p

At the 2004 US Open between Keith and Ryan, it was the very first round on the TV table. This particular year at the US Open, Keith decided -- well, he had a wee bit of help in deciding -- that he would not consume any alcoholic beverages the entire week at the US Open in 2004. As luck would have it, Keith pulled Ryan first round. He did not play well, and Ryan did. In fact, Keith didn't play well the entire US Open that year. :frown:

The 2003 US Open match between Buddy Hall and Keith McCready was the very first time the measle ball was used as a cueball at the US Open; on the TV table, no less. BCn was offering $500 to any player who could pocket the 9-ball on the break while being filmed that year. Needless to say, Keith and Buddy were practicing their breaks and came to the conclusion, after consultation with others, that a medium-speed break worked best with the Sardo rack. However, neither of them made it on the break, as hard as they tried. :o

Both Buddy and Keith agreed after the match that the measle ball didn't affect their game on the TV table, but Keith told me afterwards that that red-polka-dotted cueball was distracting to him at first. He missed a fairly easy shot and had that deer-in-headlights look, staring at the pocket in disbelief. He said to Buddy, "Man, Buddy, I must have hit the wrong polka dot." Buddy then cracked up laughing but couldn't get to the table fast enough to take advantage of Keith's mistake. Check out the audience laughing at Keith's miss and comment. That's US Open champ David Howard in the front row behind Keith.

Diana Hoppe happened to snap the picture right at that exact moment, as depicted below. You can almost hear Buddy cackling. It was a fun match to watch, two good friends battling it out.
 

Attachments

  • poka%20dotted%20cuball[1].JPG
    poka%20dotted%20cuball[1].JPG
    32.9 KB · Views: 1,916
Last edited:
I might as well throw a Ryan McCreesh picture in the thread. I have many pictures of "Genie Man," but this one is one of my faves because of what happened right when I snapped the picture. :grin-square:

We were up in New England somewhere, I think Boston, and Keith was out of the tournament. It was Sunday night, time to make the long drive home to D.C. I had a job due Monday and wanted to get home in time to get up early and work on it. Keith, on the other hand, wanted to stop at Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods Casinos and hang out one or two hours. Yeah, right, Keith, one or two hours -- been there, done that. :angry:

So, right before I snapped the picture, Keith says to Ryan, "We're going to leave now, so we can hit one of the casinos on the way home," to which I replied, "I got a job due tomorrow. We're going to have to miss the casino this time and drive straight home. Say 'cheese,'" and I snapped the picture. You can see Keith was thrilled. I ended up stopping at Foxwoods, however, because I couldn't take the non-stop chirping about how much he wanted to go. Love can be give-and-take sometimes. :o

Great picture of Ryan and a not-so-good picture of Keith! I still love this picture because of what happened when I snapped it. :grin-square:
 

Attachments

  • Keith and Ryan McCreesh.JPG
    Keith and Ryan McCreesh.JPG
    27.6 KB · Views: 5,751
Those pics are great. McCreesh looks so much more laid back and friendly with Keith than he did in the youtube vid. Cool they can compete and then go out for a beer and casino run together. And the shot of buddy is great too, you can see a lot of grins in the crowd.
 
JAM said:
Well, here's a little skinny about those two matches! :p

At the 2004 US Open between Keith and Ryan, it was the very first round on the TV table. This particular year at the US Open, Keith decided -- well, he had a wee bit of help in deciding -- that he would not consume any alcoholic beverages the entire week at the US Open in 2004. As luck would have it, Keith pulled Ryan first round. He did not play well, and Ryan did. In fact, Keith didn't play well the entire US Open that year. :frown:

The 2003 US Open match between Buddy Hall and Keith McCready was the very first time the measle ball was used as a cueball at the US Open; on the TV table, no less. BCn was offering $500 to any player who could pocket the 9-ball on the break while being filmed that year. Needless to say, Keith and Buddy were practicing their breaks and came to the conclusion, after consultation with others, that a medium-speed break worked best with the Sardo rack. However, neither of them made it on the break, as hard as they tried. :o

Both Buddy and Keith agreed after the match that the measle ball didn't affect their game on the TV table, but Keith told me afterwards that that red-polka-dotted cueball was distracting to him at first. He missed a fairly easy shot and had that deer-in-headlights look, staring at the pocket in disbelief. He said to Buddy, "Man, Buddy, I must have hit the wrong polka dot." Buddy then cracked up laughing but couldn't get to the table fast enough to take advantage of Keith's mistake. Check out the audience laughing at Keith's miss and comment. That's US Open champ David Howard in the front row behind Keith.

Diana Hoppe happened to snap the picture right at that exact moment, as depicted below. You can almost hear Buddy cackling. It was a fun match to watch, two good friends battling it out.
Click to expand...

JAM, thanks for the inside stories, and the pics. Extra insight into the player's mind makes watching the matches even more interesting. :thumbup:

Rep coming your way...
 
the420trooper said:
JAM, thanks for the inside stories, and the pics. Extra insight into the player's mind makes watching the matches even more interesting. :thumbup:

Rep coming your way...
Click to expand...

rep coming your way to my friend for starting such a good post. jam you have to wait gota spread the love around.
 
Black-Balled said:
Ha! I see that ttoo!

I was gonna mention the Keith/ Ryan match. It is a good one and I have seen it more than a few times.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was a good one for Ryan; that's for sure. :grin-square:

If Keith had been accompanied by his BUD-dies, the outcome might have been a little bit different. :o

It was ironic, though, that they pulled each other the first round of the U.S. Open that year, being that the two of them played against and with each other back home all the time. And then to have it on the TV table, Keith with no BUD-dies. It was pretty brutal. Can't take nothing away from Ryan, though. He played excellent. If it couldn't be Keith to win that match, then I was happy as could be that it was Ryan. We're all good friends. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top