Whats this Mike Sigel IPT "best-ever" crap

whitewolf said:
This email was from a friend of mine:

"In the tape, Buddy Hall said that the best 9-ball player he had ever seen, was Luther Wimpy Lassiter. He said that Wimpy had a better break and had
more run outs anyone he had ever seen in 9-ball. I thought that was a
powerful statement, coming from a guy who has been world champion in 9-ball a few times himself and has played against the modern guys such as Efren Reyes, etc.."

Is it fact or fiction that Wimpy was the best 9 ball player who ever lived? I think it borders on factual. Buddy's statement says it all, IMO.

Another question off topic though:

Now that Efren has had laser vision surgery, has anyone noticed a difference in his play?

Regards, WW


I heard Buddy say Wimpy was the best preiod, citing Wimpy's 15 Wins in Johnston City Vs 3 tops for anyone else ( i think Shorty and ???)
 
zeeder said:
Actually, the plants in the room would have thrived since "The Mouth" was putting out lots of carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide and put out oxygen and people take in oxygen and put out carbon dioxide. Sorry, as a biochemistry student I had to put in my $.02...lol.

Photosynthesis (carbon dioxide in, net oxygen out) only happens in sunlight. For the rest of the time, green plants absolutely absorb oxygen and put out carbon dioxide in the absence of sunlight, just like animals and non-green plants.

Fred
 
Mr Finals

Even though I don't think I ever pulled for Sigel, his record speaks for itself. If he made it to the finals, he was almost automatic. He played all the disciplines very well. A couple of years ago at the Derby City Classic, Jimmy Mataya was holding court during his match. He said he had just been to dinner with Sigel and mike talked so much he gave him cauliflower ear.
 
Though Mike Sigel was undeniably one of the best players of all time, there is simply no evidence of any kind that he is one of the best players today.

He showed only marginal form in his win over Loree Jon Jones, played very ordinary pool in the IPT King of the Hill event against Reyes, and failed to finish among the top sixteen at the World Straight Pool Championships.

I was a big fan of Mike in his prime, but his day has passed, and his claim of being the man to beat today is pretty ridiculous and I seriously doubt even he believes it.

When Muhammad Ali said "I am the greatest," whether you agreed or not, you knew he believed it. With Mike, you know he doesn't believe it, and that's why it rubs so many the wrong way.
 
sjm said:
Though Mike Sigel was undeniably one of the best players of all time, there is simply no evidence of any kind that he is one of the best players today.

He showed only marginal form in his win over Loree Jon Jones, played very ordinary pool in the IPT King of the Hill event against Reyes, and failed to finish among the top sixteen at the World Straight Pool Championships.

I was a big fan of Mike in his prime, but his day has passed, and his claim of being the man to beat today is pretty ridiculous and I seriously doubt even he believes it.

When Muhammad Ali said "I am the greatest," whether you agreed or not, you knew he believed it. With Mike, you know he doesn't believe it, and that's why it rubs so many the wrong way.



qft (quoted for truth)
 
sjm said:
Though Mike Sigel was undeniably one of the best players of all time, there is simply no evidence of any kind that he is one of the best players today.

He showed only marginal form in his win over Loree Jon Jones, played very ordinary pool in the IPT King of the Hill event against Reyes, and failed to finish among the top sixteen at the World Straight Pool Championships.

I was a big fan of Mike in his prime, but his day has passed, and his claim of being the man to beat today is pretty ridiculous and I seriously doubt even he believes it.

When Muhammad Ali said "I am the greatest," whether you agreed or not, you knew he believed it. With Mike, you know he doesn't believe it, and that's why it rubs so many the wrong way.


I couldn't think of a better way to state how I feel after reading your post.:o
 
Cornerman said:
Photosynthesis (carbon dioxide in, net oxygen out) only happens in sunlight. For the rest of the time, green plants absolutely absorb oxygen and put out carbon dioxide in the absence of sunlight, just like animals and non-green plants.

Fred

Hmmm, I knew of course that PHOTOsynthesis only happened in the presence of sunlight, but I never realized that plants absorbed oxygen in the dark. Do you know why this is? Do they have a process which is a somewhat akin to metabolizing foods? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
What I find really interesting is his obvious low opinion of female players yet he set up his so called King status by beating one! Yet not one of the top females either? Instead a retired WPBA-er who was not even in the top 16 when she left the tour, though also a great player in her prime.

I think it would really have been interesting to see him play Allison or Karen. I know there are rumors Allison was offered the chance, but I find it hard to believe she would have passed on the chance for guaranteed money!
 
PoolSleuth said:
Its called HYPE, and HYPE sell Stuff, like the Words New, Improved, Bigger, Longer, or BEST ETC...:)
Why thank you Mr. Obvious. I never made the connection! :D
 
Best ever is always a though one. Take basketball for example. MJ is said to be the greatest player ever. But if you ask the old school guys they come up with people like Wilt or Oscar. They might have been great but of the current modern era (the only one I have witnessed) MJ was the best.

If you add on top the fact that overall the level keeps getting higher in any sport (think of basketball, tennis, pool etc.) because of better (more scientific) methods and approaches, better material and people starting at a younger age (partially influenced by more money to earn thanks to improved commercial aspects) then you can make the assumption that the current overall level of pool is the highest it has ever been.

This can be evidenced by looking at the amazing amount of players that can win tournaments these days.

I would argue that the player who can perform at a high level consistently in the modern game has to be regarded the best ever. In my opinion that is efren. He not only has dominated the sport, he is also a master at the other variations of the game and billiards and snooker.

I believe that Siegel is one of the best ever as is strickland (only in 9ball though) but the best ever hype is to hype up te IPT (good idea though).

SSirus
 
I was under the impression that Efren has already beaten him off the King of the Hill. He beat him this past dec or jan. cant rem which.
 
whitewolf said:
This email was from a friend of mine:

"In the tape, Buddy Hall said that the best 9-ball player he had ever seen, was Luther Wimpy Lassiter. He said that Wimpy had a better break and had
more run outs anyone he had ever seen in 9-ball. I thought that was a
powerful statement, coming from a guy who has been world champion in 9-ball a few times himself and has played against the modern guys such as Efren Reyes, etc.."

Is it fact or fiction that Wimpy was the best 9 ball player who ever lived? I think it borders on factual. Buddy's statement says it all, IMO.

Another question off topic though:

Now that Efren has had laser vision surgery, has anyone noticed a difference in his play?

Regards, WW

Wimpy was considered the best 9 baller of his era, and one of the best to have ever lived....but everyone has an adversary, and I believe it was a man by the name of Harold Worst who Wimpy wanted no part of gambling at 9 ball. Harold was a money player, and said that he was going to practice for a year and win the world's championship....but he died rather abruptly and at a young age. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Cane said:
I was playing in a tourney in Memphis last weekend and talked to a IPT Player, Hall of Famer, whom I won't name. We talked about Mike and he told a joke that had everyone in tears.

He said at Earl's HOF induction, many of the players got up and gave speeches.

He said...

" I got up and said a few words, got a little choked up and shed a few tears.

Nick Varner got up, said a few words, got choked up and shed a few tears.

Jimmy Rempe got up, spoke, got choked up and shed a few tears.

Mike got up and couldn't talk about himself, so he shed a few tears..."

Later,
Bob


Mike was not at Earl's HOF induction....
 
Lighten up ...

SJM - You opinion is right on the mark!! Part of the 'act' is a Marketing
Plan, folks. So was the match with Loree Jon. Totally serious matches
beginning the IPT era would not have attracted or generated all the talk
about the IPT that has gone on. The IPT was just trying to put down
noticeable roots.

Now, that it is getting established, the 'meat' of the product is taking shape with top level competition by competitors in all stages of their playing careers in an exciting format (similiar to the WPC) with the true International flavor they want to represent.

Even the qualifiers have been exciting with all the competing ploayers, and generating much interest all over the world.

Anything that is worth its salt takes a little time. Be patient, observant,
and just enjoy the ride. Everything won't go exactly as you want, but how many things do!!! .... lol

Cane (Bob) ... That was too funny!! Nice to see ya back on here. Email me and catch me up with what you have been up to.

It goes along with my new motto for Pool, 'We breaking up with Pool' ... lol
 
> If you look at it from a purely statistical standpoint,Mike has a legit claim to that title. He has won 104 titles,not including the IPT win over Loree Jon. He can still be very dangerous. On the subject of Buddy Hall,when I asked him about the best 9-baller,he said Lassiter was the best he had ever seen,but by the time he got to play against him Lassiter was past his prime. He also said that as far as players he had to deal with on a regular basis,Mike was the toughest player on Earth,citing his speed out of the gate or at the beginning of a match,and how rarely he made unforced errors that cost him games. Tommy D.
 
Why Not???

cuechick said:
What I find really interesting is his obvious low opinion of female players yet he set up his so called King status by beating one! Yet not one of the top females either? Instead a retired WPBA-er who was not even in the top 16 when she left the tour, though also a great player in her prime.

I think it would really have been interesting to see him play Allison or Karen. I know there are rumors Allison was offered the chance, but I find it hard to believe she would have passed on the chance for guaranteed money!
If she was offered the chance to play him for guaranteed $$$$$$$, she probably passed for the obvious reason, Didn't want to listen to him talk.

As far as Mike's record goes, Yes he has a better performance record than Earl. I watched him play in his prime, along with Earl, Buddy, Nick and a slew of others. I saw Efren play in 1985 shortly after he came here. Mike was THE dominating force at the tournaments during his prime. Personally, I don't like him. Say what you want about Earl's attitude, but if you try to talk to him away from a match, he's almost always friendly. Try to talk to Mike, if he don't know you, he acts like you have no right to even speak to him. There are very few people who rub me the wrong way, He's one of them. Sam
 
As it has been mentioned, this idea of Mike Siegal as "Greatest of All Time" is IPT hype. He may have been the greatest for a few years in the past, but now, no way. He's still a strong player, but anybody who saw the finals, and see Reyes beat him 8 to 0 in the 1st set had to have 2nd thoughts about who is the greatest. I know everybody that's responded here must be quite young, and think billiards started sometime around the advent of color tv, but take a look at some of the sites where the history of the game and the greatest players of all time are discussed, and you're probably not going to even see Mike Sigel's name mentioned, although maybe in the future, who knows if his domination of of the best players of his day will be sufficient to give him a mention. I think even Mike himself would not say that he was better than someone such as Willie Mosconi, who would be the top pick on many pool expert's "Greatest of All Time" list. I am proud to say that, as a youngster, I saw him play in person at an exhibition in 1970 or '71.
And talking about women players - how about Jean Balukas, who many have picked as the greatest of all female players. Just a snippet that I found incredible - She started competing at something like 9 years old, won her first BCA title at 12, and took her first Womens National championship at 14!
 
GCue said:
but take a look at some of the sites where the history of the game and the greatest players of all time are discussed, and you're probably not going to even see Mike Sigel's name mentioned, although maybe in the future, who knows if his domination of of the best players of his day will be sufficient to give him a mention. !

LOL!!!! I think you need to take a look at that "history of the game and the greatest players" list.

There aren't many pool players that wouldn't put Sigel in the their top 5 of all time, and top two of greatest living player.

Fred
 
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