Woodward Attitude?

At the 2013 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship, that was my first experience checking out Jayson Shaw. He made it to the quarterfinals and was playing Lee Van Cortez aka "Van-Van." I was commentating on the match, play by play, in print on an AzB thread. :D

The TV table match was neck and neck all the way. Van-Van was cool as a cucumber, having been in this spot many times in his life. Jayson, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable and angry. Not a good look on the TV table. :embarrassed2:

Though he shot excellent pool, he was clearly rattled easily. He was seen banging the butt of his cue on the ground when he missed a shot, and sometimes he's cross his arms in front of him and made noises, almost like a growl. I felt at that time that he let his emotions get the best of him, and he displayed some mean-spirited looks a la Earl. Some folks were saying his attitude was poor and that he beat himself when he lost to Van-Van.

But I loved watching Jayson Shaw that year. Finally, a European player not afraid to show emotion, I thought! :grin-square:

I also remember I was in awe at some of the shots he was making. For sure, I was thinking that this kid, Jayson Shaw, is probably going to win the Open one day as soon as he gets some seasoning in him, and of course, the rest is history. :cool:

Some players are misinterpreted, I think, when they're in the heat of battle. I've never met Sky Woodward, but from what I can see on film and on FB, he seems like a nice kid. I love his mother, Deborah. What a hoot she is. I love the levity and fun they both bring to pool.

Make no mistake about it. Sky is on his way to pooldom greatness. His streak is just beginning, and all players, no matter who they are, don't like to lose. He may have rubbed somebody the wrong way, but they all do. Why? They all have huge egos. Huge! But that's what makes them great players, that big ego and self-confidence on a field of tournament blue.;)
 
YOUR chalk belongs on the table when YOU shoot. By your logic I can place a powder, tip scuffer and a burnisher on the rail when my inning ends to annoy my opponent. Have fun with that :cool: :eek:

I have never seen any powder, tip scuffer, or burnishing tools on a pool table (ever), but it is normal to leave Chalk on the pool table (because that is where it belongs).

If my opponent forgot to get his chalk off of the table, and I knew that the chalk belonged to my opponent, then I would either leave it alone, or I would hand it to him.

Not cool to touch another persons property, unless you are going to hand it over to that person.
 
I met Sky at a tournament in Lincoln City , Oregon....he was very polite and easy to talk to....others like Mike D, Mika....not so much

I seen Mika at the DCC a few years ago, and he seemed to be pretty cool to his opponent (who seemed to be a big fan of his, and was honored for the opportunity to play him), before they started their match.

Mika just seems to be a very serious type of player (kind of in the same way that Earl is, during competition?). Very confident, and very serious.
 
Jay,
I totally agree. Mika's "bottom of the birdcage" move is telling and insightful.
In all my years of playing (60) that slippery move would never have even
crossed my mind.....ugly, stupid, odd....

Will Prout

It is hard to believe that Corey did not notice Mika do that. I guess he must not have been paying any attention to Mika at that time.
 
Wait! People have their own chalk? I have always just used whatever was on the table. If I took it back to my chair then my opponent wouldn't have any chalk to use.

Lol, I get the feeling that all of the Pro players carry their own chalk. The major Pro events probably do not even offer any. I would not know though.
 
I've watched Skylar Woodward up close when at the White Diamond tournament in Lafayette, Louisiana, which is THIS WEEKEND btw and he has always carried himself in a respectful way.

I'd like to comment on your perception. YES, many successful professional athletes carry themselves with a kind of bravado or "confidence" if you will. That is the result of "earned confidence", not the false kind fostered by positive thinking when you haven't earned that right.

I can think of many professional pool players who have an exaggerated swagger when they have their A game on and I condone even exaggerated swagger when that player conducts himself as a gentleman, especially when no one is looking and Skylar does just that. In fact, I have seen an almost jovial attitude by Sky (toward himself) when his game stutters for a moment, not blaming his opponent for his own mistake.

Maybe, you saw a little something (from your perspective) that rubbed you the wrong way and that's understandable too but from what I have witnessed, Skylar conducts himself as a professional and his earned confidence is something he should be proud of.

In your defense, I have seen professional pool players act like *****s to their opponent but I haven't seen Skylar act like that even when he played poorly and Alex Calderon played great and beat Sky last year for the Buffalo's on Bloomfield big bar table event in New Orleans. BTW, that event is scheduled for December 5-10th, 2017.

Alex has been seen practicing this week like a guy who wants to repeat as Champion of Buffalo's on Bloomfield. Maybe, he is just getting ready for White Diamonds BIG CALCUTTA 9 BALL EVENT.

I'll keep a close eye open for Skylar this weekend and in December but I don't expect to see anything except a class act and a player with a growing confidence.

JoeyA


So, I saw Sky play recently and his attitude both on and off the table rubbed me the wrong way.

I've heard from some other pros that Sky's head has gotten too big over this past 1-2 years and I can see it. Kind of sucks because he's a great player but watching him play and noticing his attitude I lost respect for him.

Also, in case anybody wants to make a "Well, then play him for money" post - I'm not saying I can beat him, he's a great player, I'm talking about his attitude because he seemed cocky and was whining when he was losing.
 
Sky may have just had a bad day, week, or month. You could pin point a few days or moments in anyone's life and make a great case that they are a d bag, no one is perfect all the time. Even if his head has gotten swollen he's in his early twenties and doing well, he's won alot of big events here, has tons of cofidence, and knows how to get the money. He has alot of good people around him that would probably check him if it became a real issue.

The chalk issue is pretty comical IMHO. I always get a good chuckle out of the chalk police. Set it right side up, don't leave it at the table, your powder bothers me and on and on. Sometimes it's genuine and sometimes it's a move, either way it don't bother me, just play.
Corey must have seen Mika throw the chalk under the table but that was his way of letting Mika know it didn't bother him, go get the chalk you cried about/move you were trying to pull make it right and let's play. Corey does not let too much bother him at the table. Reminds me of a match I saw with him and Dennis Hatch at the Carom Room in Beloit. Corey was religiously making the corner ball on the break playing 8ball and Dennis was getting hotter and hotter at Corey. Finally Corey was on the hill and Dennis walked up and told Corey if you make
The corner ball again I'm going to punch you in the f***ING face. Corey just looked at him, walked up and racked the balls, and then made BOTH corner balls.
 
Exactly, Mika hiding some chalk is such a non issue, it shows bad form for folks to keep bringing it up. I mean, so what.

I get tired of the rubes who turn the chalk upside down. And I keep righting it up. After the 2nd time, I just take it off the table, and put it somewhere else and make him search for chalk the rest of the night.

I know, I know, I'm as bad as Gacy.

At least you don't eat their cube, LOL!
 
At least you don't eat their cube, LOL!


My friend comes to play, older gentleman with two sweet-natured Great Danes who travel with him everywhere.
As we are playing and joking, having to work around these two clowns who are always excited to be here, we notice that the chalk has disappeared from the table... 3 pieces when we started to play, down to the one he has in his hand.
Damn dog is eating them!
Half grown puppy who can REACH the cube on the rail 😂

Kind of makes your mouth pucker-up just thinking of it...
(Time for a shiner bock, now)
 
I seen Mika at the DCC a few years ago, and he seemed to be pretty cool to his opponent (who seemed to be a big fan of his, and was honored for the opportunity to play him), before they started their match.

Mika just seems to be a very serious type of player (kind of in the same way that Earl is, during competition?). Very confident, and very serious.



A lot of people are extra nice when they're around fans and other people who worship them.

You can be 100% competitive and still be nice and courteous with others and you don't have to be dropping people's chalk on the floor and pretend not to know where it is in order to be competitive.

Even just dropping the chalk on the floor when it's a house chalk and doesn't belong to anyone except the house, is a very cheap thing to do.

Says a lot about a person.
 
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A lot of people are extra nice when they're around fans and other people who worship them.

You can be 100% competitive and still be nice and courteous with others and you don't have to be dropping people's chalk on the floor and pretend not to know where it is in order to be competitive.

Even just dropping the chalk on the floor when it's a house chalk and doesn't belong to anyone except the house, is a very cheap thing to do.

Says a lot about a person.

Dropping someone's chalk might be one of the most innocuous things a professional sports person has ever done, ever. The NFL would LOVE pools image problem. The NBA would KILL for pool's image problem. just saying ;)
 
Great post. I Hope all's well!
See you at Shooters!
Will Prout

Hey Will! It's going pretty well. I took the summer off playing and still haven't started back lol. I'll be at Shooters and play in the 9 ball. Can't miss such a great tournament and you never know when it will be the last one. Look forward to catching up, hope the family is doing well.

Darryl
 
It's the difference between talking to the boys in the locker room and talking to your girlfriend.

Gotta walk that walk, as they say.

Hero ain't nothing but a sandwich, as they say
 
I've watched Skylar Woodward up close when at the White Diamond tournament in Lafayette, Louisiana, which is THIS WEEKEND btw and he has always carried himself in a respectful way.

I'd like to comment on your perception. YES, many successful professional athletes carry themselves with a kind of bravado or "confidence" if you will. That is the result of "earned confidence", not the false kind fostered by positive thinking when you haven't earned that right.

I can think of many professional pool players who have an exaggerated swagger when they have their A game on and I condone even exaggerated swagger when that player conducts himself as a gentleman, especially when no one is looking and Skylar does just that. In fact, I have seen an almost jovial attitude by Sky (toward himself) when his game stutters for a moment, not blaming his opponent for his own mistake.

Maybe, you saw a little something (from your perspective) that rubbed you the wrong way and that's understandable too but from what I have witnessed, Skylar conducts himself as a professional and his earned confidence is something he should be proud of.

In your defense, I have seen professional pool players act like *****s to their opponent but I haven't seen Skylar act like that even when he played poorly and Alex Calderon played great and beat Sky last year for the Buffalo's on Bloomfield big bar table event in New Orleans. BTW, that event is scheduled for December 5-10th, 2017.

Alex has been seen practicing this week like a guy who wants to repeat as Champion of Buffalo's on Bloomfield. Maybe, he is just getting ready for White Diamonds BIG CALCUTTA 9 BALL EVENT.

I'll keep a close eye open for Skylar this weekend and in December but I don't expect to see anything except a class act and a player with a growing confidence.

JoeyA

Sorry to mention this, but as far as I know, his 1st name is not spelled Skylar. The correct spelling of his name is Skyler. I am really surprised that you are misspelling his name.
 
Sky may have just had a bad day, week, or month. You could pin point a few days or moments in anyone's life and make a great case that they are a d bag, no one is perfect all the time. Even if his head has gotten swollen he's in his early twenties and doing well, he's won alot of big events here, has tons of cofidence, and knows how to get the money. He has alot of good people around him that would probably check him if it became a real issue.

The chalk issue is pretty comical IMHO. I always get a good chuckle out of the chalk police. Set it right side up, don't leave it at the table, your powder bothers me and on and on. Sometimes it's genuine and sometimes it's a move, either way it don't bother me, just play.
Corey must have seen Mika throw the chalk under the table but that was his way of letting Mika know it didn't bother him, go get the chalk you cried about/move you were trying to pull make it right and let's play. Corey does not let too much bother him at the table. Reminds me of a match I saw with him and Dennis Hatch at the Carom Room in Beloit. Corey was religiously making the corner ball on the break playing 8ball and Dennis was getting hotter and hotter at Corey. Finally Corey was on the hill and Dennis walked up and told Corey if you make
The corner ball again I'm going to punch you in the f***ING face. Corey just looked at him, walked up and racked the balls, and then made BOTH corner balls.

Wow, Dennis Hatch sounds like a scary type of person. So, I assume he was bluffing? Trying to intimidate Corey? Sounds like it did not bother Corey. Good for him.
 
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