Few Pictures of '04 U.S. Open

[JAM]

Here's a link of a few pictures I took at the 2004 U.S. Open.

2004 U.S. Open Pictures by JAM (http://hometown.aol.com/khmccready/2004usopen.html)

JAM

[vagabond]

Here's a link of a few pictures I took at the 2004 U.S. Open.

2004 U.S. Open Pictures by JAM (http://hometown.aol.com/khmccready/2004usopen.html)

JAM


Hi JAM,
Thanks for taking time to put the pictures.
Vagabond

[hemicudas]

Thanks a bunch, JAM. You "DaGirl"!!

[70niner]

Great pics, I like the one of Earl, he looks WAY too serious/

[JAM]

Great pics, I like the one of Earl, he looks WAY too serious/

That was taken right before his match with Bobby Pickle in front of the Conference Center. I asked him to smile, but...

Some more pictures: :)

Page 2 of '04 U.S. Open Pictures by JAM (http://hometown.aol.com/khmccready/2004USOPENPAGE2.html)

JAM

[Pelican]

Great pics, thanks dahlin'

Pel

[JAM]

Last picture page of 2004 Open:

Page 3 of 2004 U.S. Open Pictures by JAM (http://hometown.aol.com/khmccready/2004usopenpage3.html)

That's about it on the pics. I really enjoyed the Open and look forward to next year! :)

JAM

[yobagua]

Hey Jen Loved the pics. Can you give us your impression of the event as a whole this year. What were your personal feelings about the organization etc? Any interesting stories? You are the best.

[suki]

Hey Jen Loved the pics. Can you give us your impression of the event as a whole this year. What were your personal feelings about the organization etc? Any interesting stories? You are the best.

I would like to know too. There were great info posted up to sept. 9, then nothing. It seemed when Keith got knocked out the posting ended. We did hear of quite a bit of action on the other forum but was hoping to hear from Jen. (Jam?) Thanks for the great pictures though.

[JAM]

Oddly enough, Suki, Keith and I never did make it over to Q-Masters pool room. Every single night, folks came up and asked when Keith was going to make an appearance, but it just wasn't in the cards for us to go this year. We were concentrating on the tournament only this time. On Friday, Marcus Chamat of Sweden said that the only action in the pool room was one-pocket, no 9-ball games. Most of the Filippinos were engaged in games of stake, to include Jose Parica. Francisco Bustamante said that Jose left the Open for the Philippines, and then Jose will be competing in an 8-ball tournament in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, with Efren, Alex, and himself. BTW, this Dubai tournament is occurring at the EXACT SAME TIME, once again this year, same as last year, as the UPA event, World Summit of Pool, in NYC.

Seems like most players would rather play one-pocket than 9-ball or other games. Yet, most of the tournaments these days are 9-ball. Not sure why this is.

Pookie beat Scott Frost at the beginning of the tournament for 5 large (I think), and then they negotiated again to play two 5-ahead sets, 10 to 7 and 9 to 7. Last I heard on Sunday afternoon, they were still playing and the table time amounted to over $700. They upped the ante to 14 large for the two 5-ahead sets. At the time of this writing, I don't know who won. For all I know, they may still be playing. :D

On Thursday morning, I think it was, Pookie quit playing Scott Frost at 10:15 a.m., so that he could make his 11:00 a.m. match at the Chesapeake Conference Center, about 10-minute drive from Q-Masters pool room. When they announced Scott Frost's name for his match, Keith and I didn't see Scott and we didn't know which hotel he was staying at. We ran over to the Holiday Inn, adjacent to the conference center, and asked for Scott or Marcus Chamat, thinking Scott may be with Marcus, but to no avail. We then called a few other hotels, but they had no Scott Frost listed. Somebody must have gotten a hold of Scott, and he was driving to the conference center, trying to make his match, but they forfeited him after a 15-minute wait. So Scott chose not to even show up, knowing he was forfeited by phone, and turned around and went back to his hotel. Sad to say, there is more money to be made in action games than tournament winnings, and there are MANY players who would rather be engaged in action and make more money than play in a tournament. This marathon action game, though, between Scott and Pookie was the talk of the tournament. They must have matched up pretty darn good to still be even as of Sunday.

There was another player from Texas, a young strong one-pocket player named "Gilbert." I thought his name was "Silver," but somebody said it was Gilbert. He's one of the few players I've seen who wears glasses when he plays. Rachel Abblink and Larry Nevel backed Ike Runnels of Chicago for 2-1/2 large against Gilbert, with Ike spotting Gilbert one ball in one-hole. Gilbert won the cheese.

About 4:30 a.m., Sunday morning, I was wide awake, used to getting up early like a rooster at home, and so I decided to go downstairs to the Holiday Inn lobby and kill a little time, allowing Keith to sleep longer. I saw Tony Chohan walk in about 5:00 a.m., just getting back from the pool room, and he got a little action and won. The way I heard it, he was playing a lobster who had no chance to beat him. Tony said he was going back home to California after the Open.

The new ring game phenomenon seems to be an attraction for upcoming tournaments. This year at the Open, it was advertised that there would be a ring game consisting of previous U.S. Open champions. They only needed six players. It is incredulous to think that the monies weren't posted AHEAD OF TIME, to ensure the ring game to happen. When the Open commenced, much to the surprise of the organizers, most previous U.S. Open champions didn't have an extra $2,500 to put up for themselves to play in any ring game. At one point, Keith was asked if he'd like to play in the ring game, as an afterthought, when it was discovered that the previous U.S. Open champions couldn't afford $2,500 to post for themselves. We are already stuck $2,500 for the week-long trip to the Open ($500 entry fee, hotel, food, et cetera), and I sure as hell didn't have an extra $2,500 to post for Keith to play, so we had to politely decline, but appreciated the kind offer.

I did not post any further activities after Keith got knocked out of the tournament because, for us, there really wasn't too much going on. We stayed close to the hotel and didn't venture out. One night, though, we went to the Colonial Downs off-track-betting facility with Little Joe from Baltimore. Keith and Little Joe pooled their monies together and had $300 to work with, and I had $50. I was betting my daughter's birthday, which was this past Sunday, 9/12, on every race, a dollar triple-box, 1-2-9. I was lucky and hit at Charlestown for $869, a signer.

All in all, I thought the Open was successful. Barry Behrman and his son, Brady, as well as their staff were working round the clock to ensure a smooth-running tournament. Keith was shocked to learn that he wasn't seeded. Apparently, a disgruntled pool player complained to the tournament organizers that they should not use the UPA ranking system for the Open seeding process, as they did last year. Because of his whining and moaning, he got himself seeded and seven other older fellows on the so-called seniors tour, to include Charlie Brenson from North Carolina, a guy Keith could give the 5-ball to, Don Polo (sp), a 70-plus-year-old pool player whose name I don't know at this time, and Dave Bollman. It is unsettling that this kind of thing can happen at a major event like the Open. The seeding process should be established and set in stone (IMO) before the event commences.

When Barry Behrman heard about the omission of Keith's seed, he tried to get Scott Smith the TD to change the charts, but it was too late. He apologized to Keith for the unfortunate oversight. I talked to Scott Smith with Keith and heard the whole story of what really happened.

I've run tournaments in the past, and I know that you can't please everybody. There will always be somebody who isn't content. Keith's first match was against Ryan McCreesh, a friend of ours that we play all the time, and the Open organizers decided to put this first-round match on the TV table to entertain the spectators. Keith shot fairly well, but did make some mistakes early in the match to allow Ryan to beat him.

I must state that Gabe Owens, the new 2004 U.S. Open champion, didn't get any seed or bye, and he won the tournament. So dreams can be fulfilled at the Open, and I'm happy for Gabe. He's really a nice young fellow. He's good friends with Jeremy Jones. Jeremy had a saver with him, too. Sometimes good friends will do this to help fray off the enormous traveling expenses. We had a 10-percent saver with Ryan.

Keith and I talked to Buddy Hall about the seeding debacle, and Buddy said that this kind of thing has happened on numerous occasions in the past in pool, the politics I guess you could say, and there's not too much one can do about it except swallow your pride and move on. Keith took a hiatus from pool back in the '80s after some pool politics affected his life, quit playing pool and began working with racehorses. I now understand why.

To me, it seems idiotic to seed the best players in any tournament, allowing them to get a seed and a buy. If it were a foot race, why should the best runners get a head start from the lesser-skilled runners in any race? Keith thinks they should throw all the names in a hat and let the players draw and play whoever they get and be done with it.

There were lines set on most matches at the Open between the railbirds and there was plenty of rail action. I decided to bet a little on Tommy Kennedy against Canadian Chris Ohrme (sp). The line was Tommy don't 10 in the race to 11, and TK played really good, but ended up getting beat 11 to 9.

Every day at the conference center, they had a special all-you-can-eat buffet set up for 10 bucks, lunch and dinner. We took advantage of that a few times. It was convenient, a good deal, and appreciated by many.

Keith bought a new break cue from South East cues with a phenyllic (sp) tip. The tip is actually wider than the shaft, looking like a cannon. And that's what it's called. It has Shannon "The Cannon" Daulton's name on the break cue. We got a great deal. I believe they sell for about $325. We paid much less than that, thanks to Shannon.

Francisco Bustamante cracked me up on Sunday afternoon. We were hanging out in front of the conference center, and he showed me his new white leather shoes. He said he bought four pairs of them because good shoes are hard to come by in the Philippines for a good price. They didn't have his size, and so he settled for the women's shoes. They look nice on him and nobody would know they're women's shoes. He then continues and shows us his brand-new Ralph Lauren Polo shirt he paid $10 for on sale. He said in the Philippines, these designer shirts are high dollar. When he bought the shirt for 10 bucks, he was very surprised to see the tag inside the collar of the shirt said "Made in Philippines." :D

Well, the above is just a snippet of my experience at the Open sitting on the rail. Can't wait for next year. In my opinion, the Open is a tradition that happens every year only because of Barry Behrman's dedication to making it happen, and for that, he is to be commended. Without the Open, my pool world would be a little dimmer. Win or lose, it is one of the best pool experiences of the year (IMO), and I'll be back!

JAM

[gulfportdoc]

There was another player from Texas, a young strong one-pocket player named "Gilbert." I thought his name was "Silver," but somebody said it was Gilbert. He's one of the few players I've seen who wears glasses when he plays. Rachel Abblink and Larry Nevel backed Ike Runnels of Chicago for 2-1/2 large against Gilbert, with Ike spotting Gilbert one ball in one-hole. Gilbert won the cheese.

JAM

The player you describe is probably Sylvester Ochoa. He's referred to as "Silver" (Sylver). He's from Texas-- Houston, perhaps. Silver seems very talented. He's not triple A level, but very dangerous. He gave a good local shortstop here in Gulfport 10-7 for a long session, and robbed him. I don't think he even lost one game. The spot was out of line, and I don't know why the local guy didn't demand an adjustment.

Doc

[suki]

Thanks for the great synopsis, more than made up for the lost days.
Glad to see Tony finally booked a winner although I hope he did not have to "hustle" to do it. I agree with Keith, just throw everyone in the hat and get it on. Saves so many arguments.
It is none of my business but I always like to have fund figuring out peoples handle and why they have them. I noticed on someones post on another forum where I think he inadvertently metioned your name so I believe it was Jennie Ann. So I am guessing since you appear to be Keiths girlsfriend that you went JennieAnnMcready thus JAM? Mine on this forum is my dogs name.LOL cause that is what I am. But that is for me know and you to find out. Ha Ha

[SactownTom]

I got the pleasure of meeting this fine lady.

Talk about energy and someone that loves the game and all its players.

One GREAT Gal.

[SactownTom]

This one is with Chris Cass (US Open Player)

Good pic of Jenny

[JAM]

It was my pleasure meeting you in person. It was fun milling around the conference center, chatting with friends, old and new. This is what makes the Open distinctive from every other tournament. There was truly never a dull moment, whether inside the tournament room or out front in the smoking lounge.

I think this is a good picture of SactownTom! :)

[yobagua]

Jen thanks so much for your report. I think it is real sad when former US Open champions cant come up with the $2500 for a ring game. I mean they are the cream of the crop. The best our sport have to offer. Something is wrong here.

[JAM]

Jen thanks so much for your report. I think it is real sad when former US Open champions cant come up with the $2500 for a ring game. I mean they are the cream of the crop. The best our sport have to offer. Something is wrong here.

You know, Yobagua, it is kind of sad that pool isn't more lucrative. It hasn't to date attracted sponsorship from any of the other usual sports advertisers one sees on the screen, i.e., MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA, tennis, bowling, darts, et cetera.

I mean, Nike has come out with a special shoe for skate-boarding. I would think tailored pool shoes would be a worthy investment by an entity such as Nike, considering the millions of league players in this country.

The bottom line is it all boils down to money. I'm sure Buddy Hall, as an example, would have loved to have played in a ring game at the Open, if he had been sponsored. It is damn near impossible to make a living playing pool for most players. Like most of us, I'm sure he's got bills to think about, and going to a week-long event like the Open ain't cheap. Of course, Johnny, Efren, Alex, and Bustie are a few exceptions. Matter of fact, those four, I think, committed to play in the Open ring game. They only needed two more players to make it a "go."

At the Derby City Classic earlier this year, the ring game was a "go," and the reason there were no glitches is because the monies, all provided by industry sponsors, were posted up ahead of time. There was no way this could have not gone down, which makes me wonder why the Open ring game wasn't handled in the same manner. BTW, they cancelled the players auction, i.e., calcutta, at this year's Open, too. :(

The Chesapeake Conference Center got really crowded this year towards the end of the week, and I truly hope Barry Behrman broke even or made a little extra. He gets a lot of bad press from time to time, and we've all read about it or heard it through the pool grapevine. I have met very few people who have as much enthusiasm and passion for pool like Barry. Like others in this industry, independent promoters, world-class professional pool players, vendors of pool-related products, he's suffered as well.

For me, the U.S. Open is like the Master's in golf. Matter of fact, they even give out green blazers to the Open champions. Jimmy Reid proudly wears his U.S. Open green blazer. :D

The organizers should request all the Open champions who attend future Opens wear their green blazers at the closing ceremonies. This year's Open had a lot of previous title-holders, like five-time Open winner Earl Strickland, two-time winner Allen Hopkins, two-time winner Buddy Hall, Tommy Kennedy, Jeremy Jones, Mike LeBron (who won it when he was 54 years old, so there's hope for Keith yet :rolleyes: ), Ralf Souquet, Corey Deuel, smiling Jimmy Reid, Johnny Archer, Rodney Morris, and everybody's favorite, Efren Reyes. Some Open champions who were missing this year, Mike Sigel, David Howard who attended last year, Steve Mizerak who got held up in Florida because of those blessed hurricanes, Nick Varner, and Reed Pierce. The closing ceremonies celebrating Gabe Owens' win would have been handsomely complemented by the appearance of previous Open champions in attendance wearing the traditional U.S. Open green jackets (IMO).

The ring games seem to be a hit with the Internet public, desiring to watch it at home on their computer if they can't be there. This may be a step in the right direction, if those in the know can get it going.

In a nut shell, "something is wrong here." It's money, and everybody's chewing on the same bone. Just my thoughts...

JAM

[NH Steve]

You know, Yobagua, it is kind of sad that pool isn't more lucrative. It hasn't to date attracted sponsorship from any of the other usual sports advertisers one sees on the screen, i.e., MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA, tennis, bowling, darts, et cetera.
<snip>
In a nut shell, "something is wrong here." It's money, and everybody's chewing on the same bone. Just my thoughts...
JAM
I know I'm beating on the same drum I have before, but anyway I can't help myself :) IMO, the root of the problem with pool and sponsorship money is that the pool/billiards industry itself seems caught up in the 'fear of the hustling/gambling image'. Now I think it sad that the industry itself doesn't seem to believe in supporting its best practitioners, and it sure makes a difficult sell to outside industries (like soft drinks, beer, apparel, etc), when the inside industry itself so obviously holds back!!! Of course there are exceptions -- like Diamond, Simonis, and others. Could someone please explain to me what better role for the Billiard Congress of America than to rally the pool industry to support their own ?!?!?! Yet they seem to be as guilty of anyone of subscribing to the 'Music Man' syndrome.

Curiously, there is a ray of hope coming from -- of all places -- the surge of poker's popularity! I mean, look at poker, can anyone think of a game/sport more historically associated with cheating, gambling and mayhem than poker?? (I mean, besides pool, you jokers :) ) Yet look at it go!!! Despite, btw, anywhere near the potential manufacturing industry that pool already has in place! I mean, how much can a deck of cards cost, anyway?

Sorry for the rant, and JAM, thanks again for the pics and highlights from the open!