What has Earl contributed to the sport?

Fleece3 said:
I forgot about Janette Lee. Steve Mizerak, I don't know, I think MOST people would know him as "that guy from the "even when you're just showing off commercial".

Anyway, I do work in a NYC hotel, so I can do our little experiment as post the results here. Will I get the sneaky pete? Interested??
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Totally. Just do it and post the results. PM me your address and which one of the Fury SPs you want with the weight and I will get one sent to you. Just give us a review of the cue after you have had a chance to evaluate it.

I think this would an interesting thing to know. I suggest that you don't give any of the players names to the people you are asking. Just get them to list the names they know.

Cool!
 
John Barton said:
Even in his prime Earl doesn't spot the world the wild 7. To paraphrase MCGoorty, 'there's a line of players a mile long that would swim through a river of s-hit to play him with that spot'. Most of them unknown Filipinos :-)

He's great, lets not go overboard with the hype though.
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I was referring to his High Gear. When he was "ON" he was god-like good. The ability plus the reputation was overpowering. Guys like Efren surprise you. Earl scared you. Power 9-Ball with no equal. In his prime playing any other game he would tormented by a dozen professional peers.

Nick
 
John Barton said:
I disagree. The most famous pool players ever outside of pool rooms are Minnesota Fats, Jeanette Lee, Willie Mosconi, and Steve Mizerak, in that order, in my opinion.

I dare anyone to go out right now to your local Starbucks and take a poll. Ask 100 people to name all the professional pool players they can.

Actually, this would be quite an interesting experiment. Anyone who wants to do it in this coming week can have a free Fury Sneaky Pete from me.
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Please check your PM box thank you
 
Earl has been a self centered egotist seen the first time I laid eyes on him almost 25 years ago.

The current view is Earl started this erratic behavior within the last couple years. WRONG!

The guy has acted this way since I first saw him play in the early 80's when he lived in Houston. Back then, the guy would do literally anything to win when playing. I was really amazed that someone didn't crack his skull open at times.

The only difference now is he doesn't care if there is a TV camera on him now or not. What you're seeing now is the REAL Earl.

I will give him two things. He has a tremendous talent and balls the size of Alpha Centauri with the mouth to go with it.

But in the end, the main thing Earl cares about is..............Earl. And if someone wants to list that as a contribution to the game, so be it. JMO.

I respect his talent but have no respect for him as a human being not from how I've seen him treat other people over the years.

Kinda hard to have a nice conversation about someone whose favorite two words are "I" and "me".
 
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earl bashing

in all honesty i haven't read any post on this thread but i can imagin.earl strickland is a character of pool.not everyone take a beat well.some even over do it for sharking purposes.earl wears himself on his sleeves.like him or not he has been one of the very best 9 ball tourny players pool has ever seen.me myself,i'm not a fan.but i don't really have a favorite pool player.
earl plays about as good as anyone "at times" its unfortunate that he has the head he has.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I still don't get it. I recognize Earl is a great player. And after reading some of the replies in this thread, I see that he was not always known as a poor sportsman. However, I still don't see that he has contributed anything positive to the sport.

For example, Allison Fisher is as great (or greater) womens champion as Earl was mens. Yet she is a great example of excellent sportsmanship, win or lose.

Freddy "The Beard" has written quite possibly the single greatest book on bank shots.

Jennifer Berretta has been featured in countless non pool related magazines, offering billiards exposure to people that otherwise might not be interested.

Grady Matthews, it appears to me, has gone out of his way to help teach the finer points of the game to younger players.

David Sopolis, AZ's very own Blackjack, has offered free advice and guidance for those wishing to learn 14.1.

These are positive contributions made by great ambassadors for the sport. I could name more examples, but I hope I've made my point.

Earl, on the other hand, could best be described as Amarillo Slim described Nick The Greek, big I little you. IMO, that is not good for the sport. It's just as bad, if not worse, than pool being presented by television and movies as a sport for hustlers.

When Benny Binion began the World Series of Poker, he learned very quickly that not all great poker players were good for poker's image if poker was to be widely accepted and respected by the general public. Pool could learn a lesson from that.

Was Earl a great player in his prime? Absolutely. Has Earl contributed positively to the sport as a champion and an ambassador? It doesn't appear so.

Good Rolls,
Rasta

My apologies to anyone whose name I may have misspelled.
 
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Rasta said:
Thanks for the responses.

Jennifer Berretta has been featured in countless non pool related magazines, offering billiards exposure to people that otherwise might not be interested.
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Now your killing me. At first I thought that you started this post to stir up some heat...now it seems your pushing the envelope or reason. JB's claim to fame is here looks. I'm sure she's a really nice but here attention comes largely from appearance. How much attention would she have had to date if she looked like Roseanne Barr.

5928.jpg
 
Rasta said:
Thanks for the responses.

I still don't get it. I recognize Earl is a great player. And after reading some of the replies in this thread, I see that he was not always known as a poor sportsman. However, I still don't see that he has contributed anything positive to the sport.

For example, Allison Fisher is as great (or greater) womens champion as Earl was mens. Yet she is a great example of excellent sportsmanship, win or lose.

Freddy "The Beard" has written quite possibly the single greatest book on bank shots.

Jennifer Berretta has been featured in countless non pool related magazines, offering billiards exposure to people that otherwise might not be interested.

Grady Matthews, it appears to me, has gone out of his way to help teach the finer points of the game to younger players.

David Sopolis, AZ's very own Blackjack, has offered free advice and guidance for those wishing to learn 14.1.

These are positive contributions made by great ambassadors for the sport. I could name more examples, but I hope I've made my point.

Earl, on the other hand, could best be described as Amarillo Slim described Nick The Greek, big I little you. IMO, that is not good for the sport. It's just as bad, if not worse, than pool being presented by television and movies as a sport for hustlers.

When Benny Binion began the World Series of Poker, he learned very quickly that not all great poker players were good for poker's image if poker was to be widely accepted and respected by the general public. Pool could learn a lesson from that.

Was Earl a great player in his prime? Absolutely. Has Earl contributed positively to the sport as a champion and an ambassador? It doesn't appear so.

Good Rolls,
Rasta

My apologies to anyone whose name I may have misspelled.
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What did Babe Ruth contribute to baseball? Contributions don't define one's legacy. Babe was a dunk womanizer whom many people couldn't stand to be around and he is still considerd by many to be the best player ever.
Earl is an ass more often than not and he is not a very good role model for people to emulate. He is still one of the greatest to ever play the game whether he ever writes a book or graces the cover of a magazine in a bikini. His accomplishments, despite his mentality, are his contribution. JMO
 
I'm glad you guys have call Rasta's bluff thread. It wasn't an honest attempt to find good answers from forum members. He/she/it is just another hater who lays in wait. Anything Earl generates 'interest' on these forums. As to Rasta's phoney question. How can showing the world how play the game(9ball) at a new level not be a contibution. Jeezus.......give me a break....no wait give me all the breaks:)
 
The people without class take from the sport. The people with class give to the sport. One's contribution to a game should not be measured by talent alone.

The sport we have chosen is a solitary one. One spends 99% of their time in their own head while playing the game. Some are comfortable there, some not.

From what I've seen first hand, seen on TV or read, Mr. Strickland's head must be a scary place.

So, to answer the original question, Mr. Strickland's contribution to the game has only been to show how NOT to conduct yourself during competition.
 
Rasta said:
No one says he needs to contribute. Some have stated he has contributed. I'm trying to understand what it was he contributed.

Good Rolls,
Rasta
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This is almost like saying Tiger Woods has won alot of golf tournies, but what has he contributed to the game....Earl (as well as Tiger) has broken records and set higher ones that no one will probably beat. In todays pool, you will probably never see one person win the U.S. Open 5 times in their career. I agree that the Earl of the last 3 or 4 years has gotten out of hand, but for his whole career, the guy has played with more fire and passion for the game than anyone. Alot of the young guns today, Corey, Troy Frank, Stevie Moore, etc. are playing because of players like Earl. The thing that I will always admire about Earl is that he will be the first to tell you that he is not talented. He says he has to work very hard to keep his game sharp and the only way to do that is to treat is like a job and work hard day after day. You cannot teach this kind of discipline. There is alot more to Earl than just the antics we all see and hear about. Its just easier for people to focus on the negatives. I think the guy has done ALOT for the sport. Rock on Earl......

Southpaw
 
Question: What Has Earl contributed to the sport ?

Answer: If you are a real pool aficionado and a pool player, then you will certainly know! disregard all the crazy crap that you see about Earl and you will know ! lastly, Watch the Color of Money and you will know !!! :D
 
I was always told that it was Earl that invented the jump shot. Maybe Toupee Jay or Hemicuda could clarify this??
 
watchez said:
I was always told that it was Earl that invented the jump shot. Maybe Toupee Jay or Hemicuda could clarify this??
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I always have heard this too. Except, Earl has always done it will his full cue...not a jump cue.

Southpaw
 
Southpaw said:
I always have heard this too. Except, Earl has always done it will his full cue...not a jump cue.

Southpaw
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Well obviously when he started jumping balls, if he was the first, no jump cues were around.

But thanks for the confirmation. Can anyone disclaim this fact that Earl invented the jump shot?
 
watchez said:
Well obviously when he started jumping balls, if he was the first, no jump cues were around.

But thanks for the confirmation. Can anyone disclaim this fact that Earl invented the jump shot?
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Well, Im sure some time between the 1800s and the 1960s someone somewhere jumped a ball playing pool, but Earl was the one that brought it into modern pool.

Southpaw
 
watchez said:
I was always told that it was Earl that invented the jump shot. Maybe Toupee Jay or Hemicuda could clarify this??
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Seems to me that Sammy Jones was jumping balls with a shaft before Earl started doing it with a full cue, but I may be wrong. Jay???
 
Nick B said:
JB's claim to fame is here looks. I'm sure she's a really nice but here attention comes largely from appearance.
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Be that as it may, JB does not take advantage of that attention to portray pool in a negative manner. And don't believe for a second that there are no brains behind that beauty.

Good Rolls,
Rasta
 
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