WPBA Top 8 in Mini-Tournament?

Posted on 04. Apr, 2010 by Mike Fieldhammer.

Top 8 women play in a mini-tournament?

Here’s a news clipping from the Omaha World Herald:

Published Wednesday March 24, 2010

Billiards: Omaha Classic set for this weekend

Eight top players from the Women’s Professional Billiard Association will compete in the Omaha Classic this weekend at Qwest Center Omaha.

Competition in the nine-ball tournament begins Thursday night. The semifinals and finals are Sunday afternoon.

Three top 10 players — No. 4 Karen Corr, No. 6 Allison Fisher and No. 10 Monica Webb — are among those competing for a $10,000 purse.

From:  http://www.omaha.com/article/20100324/SPORTS/100329796

I think it was in conjunction with a home show:
TODAY AND SUNDAY
The 54th annual Omaha Home Show continues through Sunday at the Qwest Center Omaha. Show hours are: Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults, $5 for students (17 and under), and free for kids under 5. The show features more than 300 exhibitors offering products and expert advice, as well as guest speakers, a Women’s Professional Billiards Association competition and a pet zone. The event is sponsored by the Metro Omaha Builders Association and the Metropolitan Utilities District. Information: www.GoToTheShows.com.

I did some looking around for the results and couldn’t find them.

This is bad news for the WPBA and for pool in general.
I saw in a survey that pool/billiards was down 12.3% in 2009 over the previous year.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36103179

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Earl “The Pearl” Strickland

Posted on 22. Mar, 2010 by Mike Fieldhammer.

Living legend, hall of famer, Earl Strickland is amazing and I love watching him win.  I was there to watch him win his 5th US Open 9 Ball Championship. I watched from my PC as he won the recent Reno Bar Table 8-Ball title. We’ve all watched the Joe Rogan impersonation.  I thought he was joking about the ass weights.  Wrong.  Here is a photo of Earl over the weekend at the 2010 Allen Hopkins Super Billiard Expo.

Ankle weights until match time, then upstairs they go.

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Fargo Billiards holds a compelling weekly tournament.

Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by Fieldhammer.

Fargo Billiards from a scissor lift.

I couple of weeks ago, Jared “J-Rock” Bailey and I stopped by Fargo Billiards & Gastropub for their “Monday Night 9-Ball Tournament”. What a treat. Owner Mike Page, GM Rory Hendrickson, and League Coordinator Kevin Knight have created a true no-brainer.

Here is the clipping from their web site describing the weekly contest:

A player finishing in the money for the first time will receive a Fargo Billiards shirt inscribed with:
I Cashed in the Monday Night 9-Ball Tournament at Fargo Billiards

A player winning the tournament for the first time will receive a Fargo Billiards shirt inscribed with:
I WON the Monday Night 9-Ball Tournament at Fargo Billiards

Fargo Billiards also displays a list of past winners of the Monday Night 9-ball Tournament as well as a list of players who have finished in the money.

Free Entry Offer: Fargo Billiards will pay the tournament entry fee for any player who paid the entry fee and finished out of the money in the two previous weeks.

Now that is something isn’t it?  It gets better.  The entry fee is only $10. And wait for it…you get to eat from a free pizza buffet.  Think of it like those crappy free taco bars during happy hour but without the slop.  This is gourmet pizza and plenty of it.  I had two trips and when I looked back at the buffet table an hour later there were still noshes available.  I had a delicious latte’ from the coffee bar, but Jared commented favorably on the free sprite refills. Maybe this was just a server who was sweet on him, but the service is wonderful from the professionally dressed staff.

The main six 9 foot Gabriels used for the tournament.

The tournament report…oh yeah. Kevin, Mike, and Rory all played and took turns logging results on their laptop which projected the tournament chart on a wall where artist Kimble Bromley’s 7-ball painting was temporarily removed.  In fact, this is my only gripe.

Kimble Bromley, Artist and Pool Player

One of my favorite paintings tucked into storage for the tournament and the number of times I nearly blinded myself walking in front of the projector without averting my eyes.  Come on guys, mount that projector higher and point it on some other spot on the wall. I think I finished 4th and J-Rock was a hair’s width from two-scooping Fletch. Don’t forget his second place shirt next time he’s in town, guys.  Boy’s small please, he likes them tight.

The method to the madness. Mike Page does nothing by accident. His entire empire called Fargo Billiards & Gastropub has been thought out to the point of exhaustion. His idea for the Monday night tournament is to show players of all abilities that they should relish the chance to play in a non-handicapped tournament.  It should be noted that this weeknight tournament comes a day after the HEAVILY handicapped Sunday afternoon bar box 8-ball tournament.  Kind of a ginger or sorbet cleaning of the palate to get back to the reality of skill differences in the billiard community. It is mind-blowing to think of the stratification of abilities even in the small city of Fargo. Rory, Ole, Stainbrook, et. al. down to complete novice. Sheesh!

Always tough action at Fargo Billiards when Rory's there.

So why is this a no-brainer?  Well, do the math. $10 bucks. Free and delicious pizza dinner. Cash and you win money(duh!) and you get a t-shirt that probably retails for more than the cost of entry.  Win it and you get a trophy you can wear plush the lion’s share of the $100 added guaranteed plus entry fee funded purse. Don’t cash two weeks in a row?  Guess what, you get a third swing for free. Yep, three pizza dinners, a guaranteed 6 matches and some practice time and the exciting challenge of playing in a big table 9-ball tournament with the big boys for the low, low price of $20. Three weeks of excitement for the cost of a half-tank of gas.

We should all be so lucky to live in Fargo.  Except for the weather. As of writing this the current temp: -12 degrees Fahrenheit. Ouch.

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Is billiards the lowest paying professionals sport?

Posted on 01. Jan, 2010 by Fieldhammer.

Congratulations to Mika Immonen for being the money leader in 2009. He ought to sweep the player of the year votes for 2009. Runner up Ralf Souquet was the 2008 leader. Karen Corr must have put on a charge to blast past SVB, although I’d bet his gambling winnings are greater than the top three’s action totals for the entire year. I wish every figure here had another zero at the end, but it still wouldn’t amount to (insert another sport here) money.

Figures courtesy AZBilliards.

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