Paragraphs would help reading longer articles (On The Road Again…part deuce). Nicely done site.
www.mikedechaine.com
- Thread starter Mainplayer
- Start date
Nathan - sent you a PM - critique my site please
only one person has noticed the no paragraphs in the blog? I would fire Artie Bodendorfer as your typist
From Dallas I picked up two pool players, Brittany Bryant and Jesse Engle and we drove to San Francisco which was about a two day trip. I got involved in a little one pocket tournament but didn’t do awfully well. One pocket really isn’t my game. I played in the 10-Ball tournament and got beat by Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris. I played terrible against Rodney…I mean REALLY TERRIBLE. And Rodney played absolutely GREAT. It’s hard to beat a combination like that. But I also had my share of wins because I managed to come in fourth. I was really glad I drove because when you fly in from somewhere for a tournament you don’t really have a lot of time to get to see the city you’re in. We had time to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, among other things. Just hung out and chilled for the most part. So, now it was off to L.A. and another tournament. These tables were even tighter than the ones in San Francisco and there was something wrong with my tip. Not to make excuses but it felt like it was beginning to ‘sponge’. My road partner, Jesse Engle, beat me the first set and when all was said and done he came in tied for 7th/8th and yours truly managed to come in tied for 9th/12th. Played a lot of three cushion that weekend. We even went to Knott’s Berry Farm, rode the roller coasters and just had fun. We pulled into L.A. on a Monday and left for Vegas, which is a three or four hour drive, the following Monday. One of the best parts of the entire trip was pulling into Vegas at night. It was awesome. I love Las Vegas partly because it’s a whole different world and the energy is amazing. We checked into the Riviera because that’s where the tournament was being held. I got a new Elk Master tip put on immediately by Joe Blackburn, went to dinner, then crashed and burned. Traveling really wears me out. We had a few days before the tournament so I played some blackjack and lost about a hundred all together. I was really upset because I hate losing (at anything) and never gambled again as long as we were there. Tough to do but I managed. The two things that are closest to my heart are good pool and good food and we had plenty of both the month I was on the road. For the most part we just hung out by the pool and relaxed. All too soon it was time for business again. Who do I draw for the first match but Mika Immonen who came in 1st,1st, and 3rd in the last three Open’s? He’s one of the best players in the world and someone I’ve looked up to for the past 5 years. Oh, well…nobody said this was going to be easy. Mika won the first game then broke and ran the next rack. I fought back and before I knew it the score was 4 to 4 and I ran away with the rest of the set. I lost the next match and won the one after that. My next match was with Earl Strickland. I’m one of the few people who really enjoy playing Earl because there’s never a dull moment when you play him. I just smile back at him, no matter what he does, and that seems to drive him crazy. I got by him 8-5 in a set that included an exchange between him and the referee that had to be heard to be believed. The next set was with Johnny Archer and it turned out to be the set of the tournament. I won the lag, broke the balls and came up dry. We were using the magic rack so it’s hard not to make a ball on the break. So I thought to my self “Here we go”. He makes a very difficult shot on the one ball but doesn’t get position on the two. He ends up playing a poor safe and the outcome was that I won the first game. So the score was 1 to 0. I broke and ran the next rack for 2-0. And the next one 3-0. And the next 4-0 and the one after that for 5-0. I broke and ran the next one for 6-0 and the one after that for 7-0, and, just to put the icing on the cake, another one to end the set at 8-0. I broke and ran a total of seven racks to win the match 8 to 0. It has to be one of the highlights of my career to run out a set on someone of Archer’s stature. The next match was with Jeremy Sossei who I defeated pretty easily with a score of 8 to 3. Then comes Raj Hundal who I beat 8 to 4. Next was Charlie Williams. Charlie and I have had some pretty close battles over the years. He’s a pretty consistent player and one of the best on the pro tour. Our match went back and forth and back and forth until we were at hill-hill. I break, make a ball, and proceed to mess up an easy out. I play a safe and he makes the kick but scratches in the pocket. I play another safe, lock him up and he doesn’t make the hit so now I have him on two. I really put him ‘in jail’ with the next safe and he manages to hit the object ball but nothing hit a rail after the contact. We ended up hill-hill and I won the final game. Then I play Dennis Haar who I had never heard of before. I was up 4 to 1, then fell asleep at the switch and let him get back to 4-4. Then I was up 7-6 and I break the balls, wind up with a tough shot on the one and jar the pocket. He ran the rest of that rack and broke and ran the next rack to close out the match. I had never heard of him before but when I shook his hand after the match I made a mental note to remember him for a very, very long time. It was a long drive from Vegas to Snookers in Providence, obviously with stops in between, but a long drive at best. Then on to Waterville Maine to spend Memorial Day (and my birthday) with family and friends, just kick back, play a little golf, and reflect on a very interesting road trip.
From Dallas I picked up two pool players, Brittany Bryant and Jesse Engle and we drove to San Francisco which was about a two day trip. I got involved in a little one pocket tournament but didn’t do awfully well. One pocket really isn’t my game. I played in the 10-Ball tournament and got beat by Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris. I played terrible against Rodney…I mean REALLY TERRIBLE. And Rodney played absolutely GREAT. It’s hard to beat a combination like that. But I also had my share of wins because I managed to come in fourth. I was really glad I drove because when you fly in from somewhere for a tournament you don’t really have a lot of time to get to see the city you’re in. We had time to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, among other things. Just hung out and chilled for the most part. So, now it was off to L.A. and another tournament. These tables were even tighter than the ones in San Francisco and there was something wrong with my tip. Not to make excuses but it felt like it was beginning to ‘sponge’. My road partner, Jesse Engle, beat me the first set and when all was said and done he came in tied for 7th/8th and yours truly managed to come in tied for 9th/12th. Played a lot of three cushion that weekend. We even went to Knott’s Berry Farm, rode the roller coasters and just had fun. We pulled into L.A. on a Monday and left for Vegas, which is a three or four hour drive, the following Monday. One of the best parts of the entire trip was pulling into Vegas at night. It was awesome. I love Las Vegas partly because it’s a whole different world and the energy is amazing. We checked into the Riviera because that’s where the tournament was being held. I got a new Elk Master tip put on immediately by Joe Blackburn, went to dinner, then crashed and burned. Traveling really wears me out. We had a few days before the tournament so I played some blackjack and lost about a hundred all together. I was really upset because I hate losing (at anything) and never gambled again as long as we were there. Tough to do but I managed. The two things that are closest to my heart are good pool and good food and we had plenty of both the month I was on the road. For the most part we just hung out by the pool and relaxed. All too soon it was time for business again. Who do I draw for the first match but Mika Immonen who came in 1st,1st, and 3rd in the last three Open’s? He’s one of the best players in the world and someone I’ve looked up to for the past 5 years. Oh, well…nobody said this was going to be easy. Mika won the first game then broke and ran the next rack. I fought back and before I knew it the score was 4 to 4 and I ran away with the rest of the set. I lost the next match and won the one after that. My next match was with Earl Strickland. I’m one of the few people who really enjoy playing Earl because there’s never a dull moment when you play him. I just smile back at him, no matter what he does, and that seems to drive him crazy. I got by him 8-5 in a set that included an exchange between him and the referee that had to be heard to be believed. The next set was with Johnny Archer and it turned out to be the set of the tournament. I won the lag, broke the balls and came up dry. We were using the magic rack so it’s hard not to make a ball on the break. So I thought to my self “Here we go”. He makes a very difficult shot on the one ball but doesn’t get position on the two. He ends up playing a poor safe and the outcome was that I won the first game. So the score was 1 to 0. I broke and ran the next rack for 2-0. And the next one 3-0. And the next 4-0 and the one after that for 5-0. I broke and ran the next one for 6-0 and the one after that for 7-0, and, just to put the icing on the cake, another one to end the set at 8-0. I broke and ran a total of seven racks to win the match 8 to 0. It has to be one of the highlights of my career to run out a set on someone of Archer’s stature. The next match was with Jeremy Sossei who I defeated pretty easily with a score of 8 to 3. Then comes Raj Hundal who I beat 8 to 4. Next was Charlie Williams. Charlie and I have had some pretty close battles over the years. He’s a pretty consistent player and one of the best on the pro tour. Our match went back and forth and back and forth until we were at hill-hill. I break, make a ball, and proceed to mess up an easy out. I play a safe and he makes the kick but scratches in the pocket. I play another safe, lock him up and he doesn’t make the hit so now I have him on two. I really put him ‘in jail’ with the next safe and he manages to hit the object ball but nothing hit a rail after the contact. We ended up hill-hill and I won the final game. Then I play Dennis Haar who I had never heard of before. I was up 4 to 1, then fell asleep at the switch and let him get back to 4-4. Then I was up 7-6 and I break the balls, wind up with a tough shot on the one and jar the pocket. He ran the rest of that rack and broke and ran the next rack to close out the match. I had never heard of him before but when I shook his hand after the match I made a mental note to remember him for a very, very long time. It was a long drive from Vegas to Snookers in Providence, obviously with stops in between, but a long drive at best. Then on to Waterville Maine to spend Memorial Day (and my birthday) with family and friends, just kick back, play a little golf, and reflect on a very interesting road trip.
Awesome, thanks for that. I for one will be tuning in, and I would suspect many more would to the same.
Cheers...