12squared
Verified Member
I guess I should do a recap as well, you know, peer pressure. 
First let me say that this is the most pool I have played in well over 6 years. I’m still recovering, but I loved it. Onepocket.org is one big family and I really looked forward to putting faces to screen names. I enjoyed meeting those that I had the chance to meet, saw some old homie’s (hendy, KY, etc), but sadly I didn’t get to meet everyone (too many to name), sorry. Next time for sure. Yes online there is bickering from time to time, that’s what happens to family members; besides sharing the love of one pocket we all truly like and respect each other for the most part. So here’s to my new Bro’s! (clink)
After the longest wait to get my car (O’hare is a busy place and Dollar rental is nickel and dime outfit w/good prices) I finally got to Chris’s around 1pm Thursday. I was greeted warmly by another old homie from CA, Marshall Williams. We knocked the balls around for about 45 min so I can knock the rust off, then played again the next day. Marshall’s a great guy and it was really nice to spend time with him again; he hits ‘em pretty sporty too.
I had been to Chris’s in 1994 and one other time sometime later to show my wife the room while visiting Chi-town. While showing Di the room I saw that Dr. Bill was practicing so I went up to him and mentioned I used to watch him practice at the Rack in Detroit and that I bought his 1pocket tape then asked if he wouldn’t mind playing me a couple games. He graciously agreed and chuckled at my last safety and banked in the last ball like it was a hanger. It was great – wish you were able to make it, Billy.
After hitting them w/Marshall, I played a few games w/Mike Eck for cheap to get things started. Mike is an awesome guy and an awesome player w/a great stroke who is pretty aggressive on the table, which I like. I found myself up a game and then KY, John H, FastEddie wanted to go eat some Italian Beef sandwiches. I was hungry and asked Mike if it was alright to quite to go with them. Mike not only said no problem, he drove all of us to a place he knew, Roma’s Italian Beef and Sausage; you can’t beat that for Chicago hospitality! Thanks again, Mike.
Here we are in Mike's car on the way to the eats:
I was pretty tired and can’t remember what I did after that but I think I played FastEddy some billiards and maybe one of the locals to get my stroke loose. I really can’t remember if I played anymore pool or not, sorry.
My roommate was jtompilot (Jim) as he asked online if anyone wanted to share a room with him so I jumped at the chance. Jim is a really great guy, easy to get along with and as you all can tell from his finish, he is a terrific player. So much control and thinks the game really well. We did get a chance to practice a couple times and almost got to play but I couldn’t get past the Ghost.
I’m not going to go into my matches in detail as everyone plays great and offers different learning opportunities. I just wish I was smart enough to put any of it in practice. But I played Goldy; Mitch; the Champ, Robert; Jason; Mike Eck; and the dreaded Ghost. Ghost may be fun to tease but the man knows how to play one pocket. Thanks for the lessons, boys.
Everyone at Chris’s were fantastic hosts, except they promised to stock up on Diet Coke that never happened, but we got to joke about it throughout the weekend. Matt and Lizz were great tourney directors keeping things moving the best they can (some matches took a long time…I mean everyone tries so hard). John Crabb took charge of the Calcutta expertly. He was so good he had KY bidding against himself. :lol Goldy and KY provided the excellent stream. And, Steve Booth is always the perfect host and photographer. Thanks for all you do for us misfits.
There is always one thing that stands out to me during events like this and this was no exception, but it had nothing to do with the tournament directly. My wife’s best friend from college (Go Blue) lives in the Chicago area. Leslie made the effort to come watch me play Fri night and brought her 16 year old daughter who brought a friend of hers. Leslie sat and watched my entire match w/Mitch (she even sharked me on one shot where Mitch and I got to share a smile). What a trouper she was, especially since she had no clue about what she was watching. But her daughter and friend didn’t last a game. During our final game I noticed those two by one of the billiard tables watching 2 guys play. So here’s the thing that stood out and was my favorite part…
After our match was over Leslie and I went over to check on her daughter still watching the 3C game. For some reason she gravitated to that game and was fascinated by it (who knew?). Thankfully one of the players, Brian Haff, was explaining the game to them. After they finished their game, Brian was nice enough to get a set of balls and gave Leslie’s daughter and her friend a 3C lesson. He had a really nice way about explaining the game using many examples, then he set up a few shots for them to try. He even took off his glove and let them wear later in the lesson. This is one example of why I love the pool/billiard community; the people that play the game. I think all 3 of my visitors enjoyed themselves in their own way thanks to the generosity of a few. Thanks Brian! (Mitch was cool, too).
Here's Leslie's daughter making a short angle (look at that bridge!):
The same warm feeling I got from the story above is how I feel about the onepocket.org group as a whole. Sing it with me...We are family!
Thanks for a great time,
Dave
P.S. I finished 6th and John Henderson finished 5th (not the first time this has happened)
First let me say that this is the most pool I have played in well over 6 years. I’m still recovering, but I loved it. Onepocket.org is one big family and I really looked forward to putting faces to screen names. I enjoyed meeting those that I had the chance to meet, saw some old homie’s (hendy, KY, etc), but sadly I didn’t get to meet everyone (too many to name), sorry. Next time for sure. Yes online there is bickering from time to time, that’s what happens to family members; besides sharing the love of one pocket we all truly like and respect each other for the most part. So here’s to my new Bro’s! (clink)
After the longest wait to get my car (O’hare is a busy place and Dollar rental is nickel and dime outfit w/good prices) I finally got to Chris’s around 1pm Thursday. I was greeted warmly by another old homie from CA, Marshall Williams. We knocked the balls around for about 45 min so I can knock the rust off, then played again the next day. Marshall’s a great guy and it was really nice to spend time with him again; he hits ‘em pretty sporty too.
I had been to Chris’s in 1994 and one other time sometime later to show my wife the room while visiting Chi-town. While showing Di the room I saw that Dr. Bill was practicing so I went up to him and mentioned I used to watch him practice at the Rack in Detroit and that I bought his 1pocket tape then asked if he wouldn’t mind playing me a couple games. He graciously agreed and chuckled at my last safety and banked in the last ball like it was a hanger. It was great – wish you were able to make it, Billy.
After hitting them w/Marshall, I played a few games w/Mike Eck for cheap to get things started. Mike is an awesome guy and an awesome player w/a great stroke who is pretty aggressive on the table, which I like. I found myself up a game and then KY, John H, FastEddie wanted to go eat some Italian Beef sandwiches. I was hungry and asked Mike if it was alright to quite to go with them. Mike not only said no problem, he drove all of us to a place he knew, Roma’s Italian Beef and Sausage; you can’t beat that for Chicago hospitality! Thanks again, Mike.
Here we are in Mike's car on the way to the eats:
I was pretty tired and can’t remember what I did after that but I think I played FastEddy some billiards and maybe one of the locals to get my stroke loose. I really can’t remember if I played anymore pool or not, sorry.
My roommate was jtompilot (Jim) as he asked online if anyone wanted to share a room with him so I jumped at the chance. Jim is a really great guy, easy to get along with and as you all can tell from his finish, he is a terrific player. So much control and thinks the game really well. We did get a chance to practice a couple times and almost got to play but I couldn’t get past the Ghost.
I’m not going to go into my matches in detail as everyone plays great and offers different learning opportunities. I just wish I was smart enough to put any of it in practice. But I played Goldy; Mitch; the Champ, Robert; Jason; Mike Eck; and the dreaded Ghost. Ghost may be fun to tease but the man knows how to play one pocket. Thanks for the lessons, boys.
Everyone at Chris’s were fantastic hosts, except they promised to stock up on Diet Coke that never happened, but we got to joke about it throughout the weekend. Matt and Lizz were great tourney directors keeping things moving the best they can (some matches took a long time…I mean everyone tries so hard). John Crabb took charge of the Calcutta expertly. He was so good he had KY bidding against himself. :lol Goldy and KY provided the excellent stream. And, Steve Booth is always the perfect host and photographer. Thanks for all you do for us misfits.
There is always one thing that stands out to me during events like this and this was no exception, but it had nothing to do with the tournament directly. My wife’s best friend from college (Go Blue) lives in the Chicago area. Leslie made the effort to come watch me play Fri night and brought her 16 year old daughter who brought a friend of hers. Leslie sat and watched my entire match w/Mitch (she even sharked me on one shot where Mitch and I got to share a smile). What a trouper she was, especially since she had no clue about what she was watching. But her daughter and friend didn’t last a game. During our final game I noticed those two by one of the billiard tables watching 2 guys play. So here’s the thing that stood out and was my favorite part…
After our match was over Leslie and I went over to check on her daughter still watching the 3C game. For some reason she gravitated to that game and was fascinated by it (who knew?). Thankfully one of the players, Brian Haff, was explaining the game to them. After they finished their game, Brian was nice enough to get a set of balls and gave Leslie’s daughter and her friend a 3C lesson. He had a really nice way about explaining the game using many examples, then he set up a few shots for them to try. He even took off his glove and let them wear later in the lesson. This is one example of why I love the pool/billiard community; the people that play the game. I think all 3 of my visitors enjoyed themselves in their own way thanks to the generosity of a few. Thanks Brian! (Mitch was cool, too).
Here's Leslie's daughter making a short angle (look at that bridge!):
The same warm feeling I got from the story above is how I feel about the onepocket.org group as a whole. Sing it with me...We are family!
Thanks for a great time,
Dave
P.S. I finished 6th and John Henderson finished 5th (not the first time this has happened)
