sharandrew said:
David Rhodes one of the most talented/gisted players..... could beat anyone, say again could beat anyone. Had a gear beat Strickland 11-0 in Houston 20 years ago when Earl was player of the year, Ive seen a bunch of great players most of them David was right there with them........sad story David applied himself to other things then Pool
Thought I would revive a couple of stories about a few of these players mentioned. I played David just after he got out of jail, in a tournament. Mike said he got to practice an awful lot there though. Anyway, he had me in stitches the whole set. I knew he was just playing with me and would have put the screws to me, but I missed several relatively easy shots that could have made the match lots closer and he told me he escaped. It's hard not to like the guy.
Billy Bob Cress - One time we were sitting together when a guy walked by that was all belly. He said, "Linda, which would you rather have? A million dollars or that guy's belly filled with nickels?"
At one time, Mike brought Billy up to Seattle to play Harry, cleaned him up, got him a place to stay (those were the days when I was dating Mike, hanging out with some great players there) and practiced with him.
I heard he just moved to Seattle from Portland. Mike misses all the guys up there. Bill promised me a roast dinner next time I visited him. Here is a picture of Bill on the right, Mike on the left, and Scotty in the middle, taken last year, so you know the stories of his death were exaggerated.
JD - Russ, you asked why JD wasn't a bigger player than Mike. IMO, it is the company he keeps.
Geiler - he does that 3 rail kick shot with the heel of his foot better than anyone I have seen. If he ever misses, he just chalks his heel up and gives it another go. And he doesn't stutter when he sings, just like Mel Tillis. His license plate says R-R-R-Rich!
Monk - Warren Costanza - He coached me one time when all the boys were watching, in a 1 pocket game against my husband, Mike...and I won!
To stay on topic, of course, I have to mention my honey, Mike Zimmerman who was a big unknown until the IPT, and his top 100 finish, coming first out of his bracket a few times. He has beaten every major west coast player except one. He and Cole Dickson go way back to their teen years, and so do his stories!