Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 02

Two teams excelled in week 2 by taking all (15) points in their matches. It was English Majors (Jimmy F & Victor) taking over the top spot in the standings as Jimmy continues to pound in game winner after game winner. Victor as always was an outstanding team supporter as his safety play continued to give his son the opportunity to close out several games in their match.  The other team to take (15) points was the Bull Dogs (Ray-sub Matt R & Jim P) with both Jim & Matt showing some nice game shooting abilities. Honorable mention goes to Zenith who climbs out of the cellar with a (14) point performance by both Walter & Nigel and the Two Old Guys, Peter and Mike with (14) points. Very nice shooting by all.

This writer also wants to compliment all of our teams for doing good job in keeping the scores legible and neat. This helps me to write up the matches. So if you see great runs, outstanding shots, and unbelievable bank shots, please feel free to put them on the score sheets to help me to elaborate on your matches. And again, thanks to all.

Table 1:Reckless (Jim B-sub Gary L & Matt D)(05) vs English Majors (Jimmy F & Victor) (15):

Jim Barkatt lied to the writer, noting he was not going to miss any matches in the winter league, but guess what? He did (lol). Jim was able to secure a good sub as Gary Loverde jumped in to fill his spot. Victor started out decently as he notched a 4 ball run to close out game 1 to start the 8 Ball Set. Gary got Reckless on the score sheet nailing the 8 ball after a short run and the set was all square. Jimmy and Victor then took turns to close out games. Jimmy took advantage of some missed shots by Reckless and turned it into a win as he and dad took game 3.  Matt seemed to be stymied on many of his shot in the set, and when he as hooked, it led to more chances for English Majors. Game 4 went quick as Victor again put a nice string of shots together to win the game and give his team a 3-1 lead. Jim again caught fire, after a few misses in game 5, he knuckled down and finished off game 5. Reckless just seemed to be off, and could not stop the charge made by Jimmy & Victor. The set ended with Jimmy putting the final nail in the coffin in game 6. English Majors take a commanding lead in the match with a 5-1 set win. 

The 9 Ball Set didn’t seem to go very well for Reckless as both Gary and Matt continued to miss golden opportunities that kept the door open for English Majors. Victor had his problems with some untimely misses by Gary & Matt didn’t seem to grab the bull as they also found more struggles to make shots.  Victor made a few nice shots that gave him the chance to close out the game in which he did with a nice bank to get super position on the 9 ball for the win. Jimmy has continued to shoot well that carried over into the set and he made Reckless pay for every mistake they made. Jimmy stayed hot every chance he got to shoot. If it was a 2 ball run, then he was converting 4, 5 & 6 ball runs to finish games. Jimmy closed out the set as he was responsible for the next three games and he and Victor had now taken a 10-2 lead in the match. 

Up to this point, English Major has made Reckless pay for each reckless shot they made. Jimmy continued his fine shooting skills and posted the opening win to start the 10 Ball Set. Victor was somewhat quiet in the previous set again took charge in game 2. With several nice shots combined with his excellent position play Victor notched the win in game 2. Matt & Gary continued to struggle to keep their runs going and Jimmy & Victor continued to stay focused. After the victor in game 3, Gary subbing for Jim seemed to get his shooting eye back in place. This time when English Majors made a mistake, it cost them games. Gary made a 5 ball run in game 4 to stop the six game run of the Majors. Gary gained more and more confidence, with Matt holding down their opponents with great safety play, he started shooting like he knows how. He posted a win in game 5 and without slowing down, finished the 6th game with another nice run. Jimmy had been surprisingly quiet for the last several games as Reckless drew even with The Majors. Jimmy found an opening to put a stop to the three game run posting the win in game 7. With Reckless still in the hunt, Jim closed the door of chances as he nailed the 10 ball on the break in game 8 to take the final set, 5-3.  With the (15) point performance, English Majors moved into first place, two points ahead of 2nd place The Two Old Guys. Good shooting by The English Majors and valiant effort by Reckless.

Weekly Performance:

 Just some of the the boys playing a friendly game of Billiards-yea right!!! They look friendly, don’t they??

Table 2: Double D (Dave & Doug) (10) vs The Two Old Guys (Peter & Mike) (14):

This match put (4) very good shooters on the same table with each player in battle mode. Dave and Doug (Double D) have been playing well and were up against one of the best shooters in the league, Mike and his side kick, Master Hook artist , Peter. The 8 Ball Set got off to the start like this writer expected it too, Double D’s Dave notching the first game with some clutch shooting. The Two Old Guys kept suit with Double D as Peter made a very nice cut shot to extend his turn at the table and then proceeded to finish off game 2. Then The Two Old Guys seemed to stall, missing some key shots that opened up the flood gates of victory for Double D. Dave ran several balls, playing perfect position on the last couple to notch game 3. Doug seemed to be off a bit in the first part of the set , but quickly made some improvements in his shot making and position play to get into the scoring act as he took game 4. Doug wasn’t quite done yet as he took a tough situation left by the Master ‘Hooker’ Ramonat and turned it into a very positive finish. Doug notched 5 and out to take game 5, putting Double D on the hill. Just when you think The Two Old Guys are finished, they made a remarkable comeback in the set. Peter can shoot when he wants too and his shot making ability came out in game 6. With some remarkable long shots along with a few favorable leaves, Peter finished off the game and closed the gap on Double D’s lead. Peter seemed to continued his sharpshooting as Double D missed a few shots that kept The Two Old Guys in the set. Peter nailed 3 quick balls in game 7 and nailed the 8 ball that cut the lead to 1 game. Mike seemed to get a spark from Peter shooting and got into the act as well. This game saw Peter put Double D on their haunches with some very nice safety play as Mike seemed to get his game back together. Mike nailed game 8 to match Double D on the hill. At the start of game 9, it appeared The Two Old Guys might pull off the comeback as they kept Dave & Doug a bit off balance with some very nice safety leaves. With good shooters like Doug and Dave, mistakes can lead to runs. Both Dave and Doug took turns on pocketing balls and Doug closed out the final game notching the last few balls which included the game winner. This gave Double D the first set with a 5-4 win.

Peter continued to shine in the 9 Ball Set as he got the team on the score sheet first with a quick 1-9 combo. Mike got his chance at the table when Double D left the door open on a missed shot. Mike picked apart the rack with precision shots and position as he and Peter to a 2-0 lead in the set. Doug got into the combo act in game 3 as he worked his way around the table to early in the game to put the 3-9 combo in for the win. Doug coming off the previous win continued to find shot after shot making his own position on several shots. Doug completed a 4 ball run to close out the 4th game and tied up the set with The Two Old Guys. The Two Old Guys continued to shoot well and Mike contributed his shot making in game 5 and wasn’t quite out of shots in game 6. With the few chances that Double D gave them, they made good on shots and safety play to finish off game 6 and take a two game lead in the set. Peter and Mike continued to hold off the duo in a safety battle in game 7. The one opening that was given to Peter in the game presented him with another combo in the set, this time a 4-9 that he completed to insure he and Mike take the set with a 5-2 win. In the win, The Two Old Guys take a 2 game lead in the match. 

The battle continued in the 10 Ball Set and Dave from Double D got back into high gear as he took advantage of a some misses by The Two Old Guys. He was faced with four of his group and the 8 ball remaining in game one of the set. It was a very impressive 5 ball run that netted Double D the first game. This set started out going back and forth for the first 6 games. Mike got into the combination act as he too got a chance to nail one. This was a quick win, a 1-10 shot to tie up the set. Dave didn’t lose much in his game as he too got a chance to finish game 3 which he did handily. The Two Old Guys, Peter, started getting back into ‘hide’ the cue ball from his opponents. This worked well as Mike finished the next game, to again even up the set. Dave got a chance to knock in a combination shot in game 5, taking great aim he drove the 10 ball into pocket with the help of the 4 ball. This again gave Double D the lead 3-2. This would be the last time that Double D would lead in this set. Mike continued to nail shots as he and Peter put game 6 into the winners box on their score sheet. With more great shots, Mike continued to take charge in game 7, posting a nice run to help The Two Old Guys get on the hill and a 1 game lead in the set. Peter got up in game 8 looking to close out the set and that he did. He nailed a 10 ball on the break to avoid any chance of Double D getting back to the table. This was a good match as all four players played decently in a close match.

Weekly Performance:

Table 3: The Johns (John K Sr & John K Jr) (11) vs Zenith (Walter & Nigel) (14):

The writer got first a first hand update from our newest league player, Nigel, who relayed that he had spent several extra hours during the week before league in practice time at Orleans. It paid off as Nigel posted (8) wins in their match. Not to take anything away from John Sr & John Jr who played admirably in a losing battle. Zenith got off to a quick start in the 8 Ball Set as they share a win each. Walter relayed that all four were a bit off in their shot making early in the match. There were enough openings left by The Johns to allow Zenith to pull out back to back wins in games 1 & 2. Walter nailed down a game 1 winner and partner Nigel followed with a nice finish for the win in game 2. John Sr from The Johns has been shooting much better in his last couple of seasons and posted very nice (3) ball run to close out game 3. The Johns then got a gift from Zenith made a shot and inadvertently  made the 8 ball out of turn. This evened up the set at 2 games each. Again Nigel stepped up in game 5 with some key shot making to give Zenith the lead. Walter then gave he and Nigel a two game lead in the set as he pounded in a game winner after putting a nice run together. John Jr from The Johns got into the scoring act as he got a few extra chances by Zenith in game 7. He didn’t let down his team mate/father as he buried the 8 ball  in the pocket for the win keeping the teams hopes alive to win the set.  That idea came to a sudden stop as Walter got to the table in game 8 and notched the final game winner to take a 5-3 set win.

Nigel got Zenith on the sheet first as he posted the opening win in the 9 Ball Set. So far, Nigel’s practice has paid off for Zenith. The Johns continued to fight back against a good shooting team. John Jr made a nice run in game 2 that evened up the set. Then John Sr nailed a 2-9 combo to quickly put his team up a game. The nine ball set turned out to be a battle that an underdog team would come out on top in even when it looked bleak. It looked a bit dim as Nigel continued to shoot well and nailed a 4 ball run to close out game 4. It was Walter’s turn to step into action. Each miss by The Johns continued to benefit Zenith. Walter posted the win in game 5, nailing a couple of long shots to get into a good position to finish the rack taking game 5. His shooting ability continued into the next rack. After the break by Nigel making a ball but unable to make the next shot, the door was open for The Johns. When John Sr was unable to connect on his shot, Walter stepped up again. This time Walter moved through the rack with the precision of a surgeon, playing excellent position shots to run (8) balls and put his team on the hill taking game 6, leading 4-2. Somehow the tide of the match changed with a few mistakes made by Zenith. John Jr seemed to pick up some of the slack for his team, getting a chance to nail the win in game 7. John Sr chipped in with some nice shots, making three and out to put The Johns on the hill with Zenith. It was John Jr again making some outstanding shots and with the missed opportunities by Zenith, he finished off the three game comeback and a 5-4 set win. 

With both teams winning a set, the battle was afoot in the 10 Ball Set. Nigel came out strong, making shot after shot every chance he got to the table. He nailed game 1 and then posted a very nice 2-10 quick win in game 2. Again, The Johns never gave up with John Jr continuing to take care of the balance of the balls in game 3. Game 4 found John Jr nailing a 10 ball on the break to even up the set. With John Sr getting the break in game 5, he did what his son did. John Sr nailed a 10 on the break for back to back break game winners. This did not seemed to distract Zenith from what they had to do. Nigel got his opportunity in game 6 to post a win and draw even with The Johns. Walter took his time in game 7 and took the game to put he and Nigel on the hill. Nigel picked up the slack in game 8.  Everyone had their chance at finishing the game, but it was Nigel finding a 3-10 combo to close out the final set taking a 5-3 set win. This turned into a very close match with all four players taking their turns at performing. 

Weekly Performance:  

Table 4: Bull Dogs (Ray/sub Matt R & Jim P) (15) vs Just Another Bye Week (Scott M & Scott K) (07):

Jim & Matt (subbing for Ray) seemed to settle in after an opening round loss as both played pretty well all night. Scott K got into a nice shooting groove and nailed the first 4 balls of the first rack of the 8 Ball Set.  Matt got Bull Dogs going with a nice couple of shots to nail the first 8 ball game winner. Scott M has missed a few sessions, but has gotten back into his nice shooting ability as he ran several balls posting the win in game 2. His partner Scott K continues to shoot well and put together some nice shots to post the win for Just Another Bye Week in game 3. The Bull Dogs tied up the set as Jim found a bit of shooting magic, nailing a couple of very nice bank shots. Jim makes the 8 ball in game 4 and the set was square. Scott M again found a few missed shots by the Bull Dogs to his advantage and notched the win in game 5. With the lead in the set, Scott K again got into a nice shooting rhythm running 4 more balls to close out the 6th game. Scott & Scott have now put Bull Dogs down two games in the set. If Bull Dogs had any chance, it would have to come now as Just Another Bye Week was sitting on the hill. It was Matt staving off the first set defeat as he pounded in an 8 ball winner in game 7. It was now Jim’s turn to to get into the mix to help his team. Jim nailed wins in the next two games to mount a nice comeback win by he and Matt.

After a nice comeback win in the first set, Jim continued to make things happen when the opponents missed their chance to take a game. Jim nailed the win in game 1 to start the 9 Ball Set,  and came right back in game two with a very nice run of 4 balls to close out that game. Scott M & Scott K seemed to still try to recover from the opening set loss and had many chances to capture games but failed to close out games. Jim didn’t squander any good chances he had and nailed a nice win in game 3 and took care of game 4 with a very quick 1-9 combo. This put Jim & Matt in the drivers seat sitting on the hill with a 4-0 lead as they posted 7 straight wins. This would be a uphill battle for Just Another Bye Week. Scott M ended the winning streak by Bull Dogs as he posted a 5 ball run to take game 5. He now seemed to get back into his groove an with a some nice position play took the 2nd game in a row. Now trailing by two games, Bull Dogs got a few openings in game 7 and took care of what they had to do. Make balls and win the game. Matt accommodated that with some nice shooting. Bull Dogs took the set with a 5-2 win. They have now increased their lead in the match by 4 points.

It would be an uphill battle for Just Another Bye Week as Matt & Jim seemed to start clicking, when one was shooting the other was playing some very nice safeties. Matt shot lights out in game 1 to start out the 10 Ball Set with Jim posting the win in game 2. Each chance Bull Dogs had, they made good with a win. Matt followed Jim’s win with some very nice shooting in game 3. Bull Dogs have now taken a 3 game lead in the set. Scott K cut the lead to 2 games as he made some nice shots that were complimented by his position play in game 4. Matt has always seemed to find some unlikely combination shots and put them in action in the final two games. Matt got his first chance in game 5 notching a 3-10 combo. The match ended with Matt’s second combo, this time a ball sooner as he used the 2 ball for a fairly quick win and the end of any chance by Scott K & Scott M to get back into the set. Bull Dogs take the final set, 5-1. This was a nice win by Bull Dogs with some nice shooting by both Jim & Matt. Nice effort and try by Just Another Bye Week who have lost their first two matches and will be looking to turn that around in the upcoming weeks.

Weekly Performance:

Tips and Tricks for the game of Pool: David Alciatore, PhD (“Dr. Dave”) ILLUSTRATED PRINCIPLES “Fundamentals – Part IV: Bridge Length”

I’ve covered the stroke, the basics of aiming, and issues involved with cut-shot aiming systems. This month, we will look at the bridge length and its effects. Diagram 1 illustrates terminology related to the bridge and cue position. The bridge length is the distance from the bridge pivot to the front edge of the cue ball (CB). The tip gap is the distance between the tip and the CB at the “set” aiming position (i.e., your cue and body position before the final stroke). 

To read more follow the link below:

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2008/dec08.pdf