A lot to say and probably will forget a lot….
First and foremost….Bill Rowsey. What a gregarious and hospitable host. Can’t say enough about Mr. Rowsey and his staff. (Even if he did try to trap me for $10 into an impossible snooker table proposition….lol – smallest pockets you’ll ever see….) What a great guy. Can’t put it into enough words….
Very impressed with the way Crabb Man played. Both in the tourney and gambling. He should be very prideful. Didn’t see him coming – my wallet can attest to that.
Banks Tourney. Got a bye then played a local gentleman – Ronald Kelly – I believe is the man’s name. I hit a couple highlight reel banks but guess that doesn’t matter if the other guy gets out first. Showed up, played strong, came down to set ball and Ronald booked a winner. Unfortunate for him, Col Bille was his next draw….Bille wins and got beat by the local young man – Blake – who won the tournament. Strong showing Bille….
One Pocket Tournament. First draw. Uh-Oh. Got “Newkirked.” Still trying to figure our what happened. Might have made two or three balls in three games….lol. Always a pleasure to see Mr. Newkirk and his pal, Warren. Loser’s side, race to two, drew Nick Principe (Jakie). Put it on me first game. Second game, thought I had a chance to get a few with Nick sitting on seven, pocketed a ball but should have hit a touch higher, clipped a ball on the bottom rail and it rolled in front of Nick’s pocket. Layed real funny, so I tried to jump whitey off the table – drilled the ball just fine, but the cue ball got about a 1/2” of air and landed on the table spinning and just smiling at me….lol. Nick books a winner. Nick’s a very cerebral player and moves with the best of them – and a
very cool cat.
Social. Too much to say. What a great group. Nice to finally meet Dan and Tracy in person. ChicagoFats is a riot – imagine he and I could get into some trouble if we were closer to one another…. I’ll admit, I was a tiny bit worried about JB – but he assimilated with the group quickly, was a gentleman, and didn’t go on tilt once.
The Stream. Sorry it was bunk the first couple nights. I’ll reserve further comment on that for now with the caveat that Bill and his local guy did everything and more on their end. (Including re-positioning the pit table and building a rail/window wall around it.)
Miscellaneous Thoughts. The thoughts around bringing something together went a few different directions – but ultimately the conception belongs to John Long. His wife, Jeanne, was a trooper in keeping the table assignments and bracket squared away. Speaking of troopers, Mrs. “Hardmix” Smith – a very pleasant and lovely lady – sweated the entire tournament and appeared content to do so. Of course, that “quiet” guy – Matt – came though with the shirts and helped Crabby with the calcuttas. Our main man in Memphis (actually Arkansas) Todd – made this happen with Bill. Thanks onepocketguy – another
very cool cat.
Road Partner. Youngstownkid. Mark Mariani. Drove two hours out of his way just so we could ride down together. Thanks buddy – had a great time. Happy for your 4th place finish and very strong play.
The Future. We’ve got something here. Had a couple brief conversations with Bill and Todd about it and relayed my and Crabby’s thoughts to Steve today on the drive home. Simply stated, I anticipate future “mark it on your calendar” get togethers at Southaven Recreation Center.
P.S. Hope everyone had as good of a time that I did. I brought a camera but was too busy/forgot to snap any pictures – I’m sure plenty will make it on here…. But, here’s a cell phone pic from the big partner’s game last night (not a game for rookies….lol):
(L-R: Ben, Nick P, Robert, Jason)