Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 06

Winter Singles 2016: Here are the current leaders in the Winter Singles League (pictured below) after week 2 with both players taking all (15) points in their matches. Austin Heath & Jimmy Francisco are tied at (29) points. They actually were in 2nd place last week and move up into first place as Walter has to wait to make up his match with Gary. Mike Bates climbed up that ladder into a tie for second place with a (15) point performance as well. Honorable mention to Todd who notched (14) points in his match and remains tied for 2nd. I will call the match between two new comers, Nigel and his buddy Micks that ended in a tie, the Match of the
Week. This match ended with each player getting (11) points each. Nice job to both. Also, the singles schedule for the winter season has been posted on the website. On the home page, click on the schedules tab and you can follow which table and who you will be playing against each week.

Table 1: Todd (14) vs (8) Ray:

This match started out with both players struggling in the first game with missed shots to continue to set each player up for a win, but nobody seemed to grab the reins. Ray then got his chance to score first and marked the first box for the win in the 8 Ball Set. Then it looked like Todd got on track with his shooting. He made some nice runs, posting two 3 ball & 4 ball runs respectively in games 2, 3 & 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the set. Some how the tied changed and Todd started missing, shots he was previously making seemed to hang up in the pockets giving Ray a chance to get back into the set. Ray did what Todd did, took advantage of the mistakes made and posted win after win. Ray had a few nice runs en-rout to posting wins in the next three games. Ray notched games 5, 6 & took game 7 to get on the hill with a game lead. Ray and Todd battled back and forth in game 8 and it looked like Ray could possibly take the game after hiding the cue ball behind a blocker. Todd had attempted a jump shot previously without any success, but in game 8 it worked like a charm. Todd jumped the blocker and made his last ball of the group with perfect position. Todd notched the win to tie up the set at 4 each. After a great finish in game 8, Todd again seemed to make enough mistakes to open the door for Ray. It was a 3 ball finish and the first set for Ray with a 5-4 lead, even with the amount of mistakes that Ray continued to make.

Todd fed off the first set loss as he ran several balls to get going in game one of the 9 Ball Set. Todd missed his set up position on the 9 ball for an easier win in game 1, but promptly nailed a cross side bank with perfection. Then it was all Todd, making everything after misses by Ray. Ray would run several balls and then made many unforced mistakes to assist Todd in staying in sync with his shot making. Todd increased his lead in the set as he notched wins in games 2, 3 & got to the hill with a quick win in game 4 using the 1 ball to nail the 9. Ray got his chance to get back into the set as he took advantage of one of the few chances he had throughout the set so far. Todd played smart with either safety plays, or got several favorable rolls to give Ray tough starting shots when it was his turn. Ray was able to notch the win in game 5 to stop the run by Todd at 4 games. Ray broke in game 6 and with nothing dropping, a 2-9 ball lined up close enough for Todd to take a shot at it. It never hesitated as it hit the bottom of the pocket and Todd took a 5-1 set win, and a 3 point lead in the match.

Todd followed up his last game winner with an opening winner to start the 10 Ball Set. Todd nailed 3 balls to close out game 1. Ray had a 1-10 combo chance early in game 2 but could not capitalize on popping it in. After a Todd miss in the game, he gave Ray a second chance at a combo, this time using the 3 ball. This one fell and the set was tied. Again, Todd got back into some nice shooting, notching games 3, & 4 and got to the hill when he drilled the rack in game 5 and drove the 10 ball dead into the corner pocket. Ray again was given a chance to catch up with several missed opportunities by Todd. Ray got one more win in the set as he took game 6. That would end it as Todd finished the set posting the final win in game 7 and a 5-2 win in the set. Ray continues to struggle a bit in his shooting but will hopefully get it back together soon. Good try to Ray. Todd started slow but seemed to gain his shooting eye as the match progressed. Good shooting by Todd who remains tied for 2nd place with 28 points.

Table 2: Katie (06) vs (15) Jimmy:

Katie seemed to come out with great shooting and position play to get thing going in the 8 Ball Set. Katie found many openings early in the set as Jimmy struggled early in the match. Katie nailed wins in games 1, 2 & 3 to get out in front with some great shot making, even as Jimmy left many difficult shots that Katie stepped up to and made. With Katie in the lead 3-0, Jimmy then got into his groove. Jimmy nailed a 4 ball run to get on the sheet winning game 4. Then with several unforced mistakes by Katie, Jimmy got back into the set. He posted wins in games 5 & 6 to even the set. Katie hit the hill first with a 3 ball run in game 7 making some key shots to take the lead. Jimmy had started his catch up with a 3 ball run after Katie’s, and turned the set into his as he notched back to back wins in games 8 & 9 to capture set one 5-4.

Jimmy stayed in some great shooting rhythm as he opened the 9 Ball Set again with two wins in a row, making it four straight wins in a row. Katie shut down the run by Jimmy as she took advantage of a mistake by Jimmy in game 3. She notched both balls remaining on the table to take game 3. Jimmy continued to get stronger as the match went on and it was the mistakes Katie made that continued to give Jimmy some decent starting positions and he made good on each one. Jimmy posted the next three wins to close the set with a 5-1 win taking a commanding 5 point lead in the match.

Jimmy did not seem to slow down as he started the 10 Ball Set where he left off in the previous set. After the opening win in game 1, Jimmy nailed a 3-10 combo to take game 2. For the sixth straight win in a row, notching game 3, Jimmy has now built up a 3-0 lead in the set. Katie stopped the run nailing a win in game 4 with a nice run to get on the board in the set. It was all Jimmy from this point on as he notched game 5 and finished the set with a quick 1-10 in game 6 to take the final set 5-1. It was a valiant effort by Katie who just seemed to be off just enough to fall short in the match. Nice shooting by Jimmy who is tied for first with his good friend Austin with 29 points each.

Table 3: Marty (08) vs (15) Mike:

The match got started with Mike notching a game winner in game one to start the 8 Ball Set. Then, it was Marty taking charge of the set as he got a multitude of chances to finish some games. With some nice shooting coupled by a few mistakes by Mike, Marty posted wins in the next four games. Marty posted 2 and 3 ball runs in most of the games and built up a 4-1 lead in the set, sitting on the hill. Mike had his work cut out for him trailing 4-1. Mike had some nice runs in his attempt to catch Marty as he started with a long run in game 6 to cut the lead to 2 games. Marty then stalled some, as Mike left him with some very tough starting positions to hold him off. Mike fought his way back in the set as he stymied Marty with well played safeties and good runs to notched wins in the next four games to come from behind to take a 5-4 set win.

Mike wasn’t slowing down much as he nailed back to back wins to start the 9 Ball Set, making it a 6 game run, and a 2-0 lead in the set. Marty finally got back into the winners circle as he notched a win in game 3. Mike answered with a pretty quick win using the 2 ball to nail a 9 ball winner to again take a 2 game lead in the set. Marty stepped up in game 5 making 3 balls to finish the game. Marty then proceeded to tie up the set as he drove the 9 ball in the pocket for the win in game 6. The charge by Marty was short lived as Mike returned to the table to post a win in game 7 to hit the hill. He would close out the set after a back and forth game with his second combo of the set. Making the 9 ball with the help of the 8 ball and the set win. Mike takes the 2nd set with a 5-3 set win.

Mike again got started early in the 10 Ball Set, posting another 4 game run, continuing from the previous set, with winners in games 1 & 2. Marty took game three with another nice run and cut the lead to 1. It was Mike remaining in focus by making some very nice shots to post game wins in games 4, 5 & 6. The more mistakes by Marty, the more opportunities that were set up Mike for wins. Mike takes all three sets and a 7 point match win. A nice effort and try by Marty. Good shooting by Mike who has moved into a tie for 2nd place with Todd Cook with 28 points..

Table 4: Micks (11) vs (11) Nigel:

This was the featured match of the night as both players had their chances to best each other, but ended in a tie. The 8 ball Set saw newcomer Micks jump out to a 2 game lead in the set as he pounded in two nice runs in each game. Micks notched back to back 3 ball runs with some great shot making to continue in each game. Nigel also got on the score sheet with a 4 ball run to cap off game 3. It was Micks again making a very nice shot on the ball before the game winner to go back to a 2 game lead. Nigel again would cut the deficit with a win in game 5, trying to catch up to Micks.  Micks continued to take advantage of some mistakes by Nigel and got to the hill in game 6 to take a two game lead again. For some reason, several mistakes by Micks opened the door for Nigel. He took full advantage of each mistake and turned them into wins. He posted wins in the final three games to come from behind to take set 1 in the match with a 5-4 win.

The players split the opening two games in the 9 Ball Set and looked like maybe another close set. Micks again got on the sheet first with a nice finish in game 1 for his second opening win to start a set. Nigel answered his buddies win with the use of the 1 ball to nail the nine for very quick win in game 2. With the set all square after 2 games, this looked like another set that could go the distance.  Micks took the lead with a 3-9 combo in game 3 and proceeded to post win after win. He didn’t have any longer runs, but made certain when he got a shot to get going, he finished it. Micks took four in a row, sparked by the combo in game 3. This gave him a 3 point lead in the match with the 5-1 set win.

Micks has seemed to control the opening wins and made it three opening wins in a row starting the 10 Ball Set. Nigel strung together back to back wins in games 2 & 3 to take a the lead for a short time. That lead lasted until game 4 as Micks posted the final three balls to finish the game and tie up the set. Nigel started game 5 with a 4 ball run to take the lead and never look back. Nigel nailed wins in games 6 & 7 to close out the set and turn this match into a even event. Nigel wins the set 5-2 as both players finished with 11 points each. Nice shooting by both players in the Match of the Week.

Table 5: Stephanie (07) vs (15) Austin:

Stephanie was unable to make week one but ran into hot shooting newcomer, Austin in week 2.  Austin started the 8 Ball Set chalking his stick and then proceeded to notch the first two games of the set. Stephanie jump in with a nice run in game 3 and got on the sheet. Wins seemed to come in twos in this set as Austin again jumped into the win column with back to back wins in games 4 & 5. This gave him a 4-1 lead in the set. Stephanie was able to post one more win taking game 6 before the end came. Austin pulled down the curtain with a win in game 7 and a 5-2 set win.

Austin pounded in a combination to start the 9 Ball Set. It was all even as Stephanie ran 3 balls to finish game 2 hoping to take the set and catch up in the match. Bud then it was all Austin. When he wasn’t playing some great safeties to hold off Stephanie, he was running balls. Austin had several decent runs as he capitalized on misses by Stephanie and seemed to gain confidence and momentum taking the next 4 games to tkae a 5-1 set win. Austin takes a 7 point lead in the match heading into the final set.

Stephanie struck first in the 10 Ball Set as she made some very nice shots en-rout to the opening win. Austin continued to shoot well, making very few mistakes. He notched a 5 ball run to take game 2 and didn’t slow down much as the notched wins in games 3, 4 & popped in a combo win in game 5 to get on the hill with a 4-1 lead. Stephanie has been fairly quiet in the match but seemed to get a second wind and started making some nice runs in the next several games.  Stephanie notched 3 balls to win game 6 and start a comeback. Stephanie continued to find enough openings posting wins in games 7 and followed with another three ball run in game 8 to hit the hill and tie the set. Unfortunately, a few misses left the door open for Austin and he sealed the deal as he took game 9 to take all three sets in the match. It was a very admirable try by Stephanie and nice shooting by Austin. Austin moves into a tie for 1st with his good friend Jimmy Francisco.

Thursday Night Doubles:

Here are the leaders for the Thursday 2016 Winter Doubles-English Majors (Victor & Jimmy Francisco) (left) who have a (4) point lead over the second place team Reckless (Matt Dessert & Jim Barkatt) (below left). Reckless takes (15) points for the fourth week in a row as both Matt & Jim continue to play extremely well and are now crowding the leaders for the top spot. Both teams will have tough matches in week 7. English Majors will be pitted against The Two Old Guys who hold on to third place and Reckless will match up against Zenith who is in 4th place. This might be a pivotal week for our leaders if they can survive against a very good shooting team and take more points than Reckless. But Reckless won’t have it easy either as they play an explosive sharp shooting team in Zenith. It could be a larger lead or possibly, a new leader on top of the pack. I have highlight the match between English Majors and Double D as the match of the week. They played on table 4.

Reckless ( Jim Barkatt & Matt Dessert)

Table 1: Bull Dogs (08) vs (11) Zenith

After a back and forth battle in the first game of 8 Ball Set, Bull Dogs Jim struck first as he was given a gift after a nice run by Zenith to notch game 1. This set would go back and forth as both Walter and Ray seemed to get into stroke. Walter notched the win in game 2 with a 4 ball run. After the break by Zenith, Ray got to the table and focused in on the task at hand shoot straight and don’t look back. Ray ran all 8 balls in the rack of his group to give Bull Dogs the lead again as they won game 3. Walter continued to shoot well and also made a nice run to take game 4 and continued his shooting skills with more shot making in game 5 to take the lead. It was Bull Dogs Ray again getting a chance to finish a rack and promptly notched game 6 to even the set. Nigel got into the scoring act as he too made a 4 ball run to take the lead for good for Zenith. Ray made a very nice run again in game 8, but with a bank of the 8 ball into the corner, Ray’s cue ball found the side pocket for the loss of the game and the set, 5-3.

Jim got Bull Dogs on the score sheet first to start the 9 Ball Set. Jim nailed a 3-9 combo in game 1. Walter again answered the call notching 4 balls to close out game 2. Then Zenith seemed to make some decent runs but stalled out in several games, that gave the advantage back to the Bull Dogs in the set. Ray notched game 3 with a couple of nice shots and followed that win using the 3 to nail the 9 ball in game 4. Jim contributed as well as he too got a chance to make a few balls and take game 5. The set ended with Ray taking the final game on a bit of a give away by Zenith. Bull Dogs take a 2 point lead in the match.

This set up for an exciting finish as the teams started the 10 Ball Set. Walter put Zenith on the sheet first with a (7) ball in game 1, starting with the 4 ball through the 10. Great run as he continued to to sharp shoot his way through the racks. It was two in a row as Walter continued his fine shooting in game 2. Bull Dogs continued to miss a the most inopportune times and Nigel added to Zenith’s total taking the third game in the set. Neither Ray nor Jim could stop the charge put on by both Walter and Nigel as they posted the final two wins in the set to shut out Bull Dogs 5-0. Nice comeback win to take the match by 3 points. Very nice effort by Jim & Ray. Very nice shooting by Walter & Nigel.

Table 2: The Two Old Guys (15) vs (04) The Johns:

This wasn’t a very pretty story all in all, other than John Jr relayed that John Sr has come around in his shooting and played extremely well. At times he would have a some nice runs to finish racks even as The Johns took a whipping. Mike seemed to play pretty decently at times, posting 3,4 and 5 ball runs through out the 8 Ball Set. Peter continues his safety play holding The Johns down in the set. Mike and Peter cruised through the set as Mike posted his name in 5 boxes on the score sheet as Peter played his supporting role to keep John Sr & John Jr off the table as much as possible. That scenario worked with an opening 5-0 set win.

Mike and Peter played role reversal in the 9 Ball Set as he played the shooter and Mike played ‘keep the ball away’ from the opponents. Again, it worked well as Peter started the set with a 8-9 combo win. The Two Old Guys again put it in cruise control and Peter notched the next four games. This also included a 1-9 quick combo win in game 4 to put The Two Old Guys on the hill. It was over in game 5 and the second sweep in the match. Mike & Peter have taken a 10-0 lead in the match.

The 10 Ball Set saw John Sr finally get a few breaks, made several nice shots and some decent runs to get he and Jr on the score sheet. Peter didn’t hide the cue ball good enough in game one as John notched a three ball run and posted the first win in the match for The Johns. This stopped the on going run at 10 unanswered points for The Two Old Guys. The Two Old Guy’s Mike notched game 2 posting a nice finish in the game and  then he stuffed in a 5-10 combo in game 3. Peter felt left out and with a couple of unforced mistakes by The Johns, Peter tallied wins in games 4 & 5 to put them on the hill with a 4-1 lead. The Johns would make a charge at taking this set as John Sr continued to shoot well. John Jr relayed he was off but he got a chance to nail a game winner in game 6. John Sr followed his son with some nice shot making with some very accurate cue ball position and pounded in winners in game 7 and a nice 3 ball  run out in game 8 to tie The Two Old Guys on the hill. The set ended as Mike cleaned up the remaining 4 balls in game 9 to take set, 5-4. Very nice try by The Johns and great shooting by The Two Old Guys. The score doesn’t reflect the great shooting performed by John K Sr as he continues to show great improvements in his game. John Jr seemed to be a bit off the mark for the second week in a row.

Table 3: Just Another Bye Week (09) vs (15) Reckless:

Reckless continues to roll staying right on the heels of English Majors as the make up three more points in week 6 to only trail by (4) points. They will be looking to take over the top spot with a big win in week 7, but it will not be an easy task as they will be going up against Zenith with sharp shooting Walter and his partner Nigel who continues to show very nice improvements in his game. The 8 Ball Set started out going back and forth with both teams showing some very nice shot making abilities. Jim has been shooting well lately and got Reckless on the sheet first taking game 1. Scott M has also been hot in his shooting ability and evened the set with a 4 ball run in game 2. It was Matt taking over in game 3, as he also ran 4 balls to put Reckless back in the lead and increased that to two games with a win in game 4. Just Another Bye Week fought back as Scott K got into the scoring act notching three and out in game 5. Still trailing by a game, Reckless seemed to be unable to get anything going and left openings for Scott M & Scott K to get back into the set. Scott M cleaned up with some great shots to post back to back wins in 6 & 7 to hit the hill. Reckless must have felt the urgency at hand and Jim got Reckless a win in game 8 and Matt followed with the win in game 9 and a come from behind set win, 5-4.

It was all Reckless in the 9 Ball Set. Still on a nice high from the opening set win, Matt notched a winner in game 1. Scott K answered with a 3 ball run and a nice cut shot down the rail to even the set up winning game 2. Then it was too many misses against a team that can get out quickly as Jim B sparked Reckless with a 3-9 combo win in game 3. Matt notched game 4, and Jim followed with a win in game 5 to put Reckless on the hill with a 4-1 lead. It was over as Reckless took the final game and a 5-1 set win. This gave them a 10-5 lead in the match.

Jim again put Reckless on the sheet first posting the opening win in the 10 Ball Set. Jim made several nice shots with great position to give them a short time lead. Scott M continued to shoot well and notched game 2 with a 3 ball finish in the game. Scott M found a 3-10 combo in game 3 and the back and forth battle was on. Jim made a long cut shot on the object 2 ball to sink the 10 in game 4 and even the set. Scott K had been a bit quiet up to this point but finally got his chance to shine, and nailed the final three balls in game 5 to get Bye Week back in the lead. Jim again got saddled with a possible combo shot using the 8 ball which he successfully managed to even the set again at 3 games each. Matt got Reckless to the hill as he continued to play well as he set himself up with shot after shot with great position play to take game 7 and get on the hill. Scott K  got another chance on a small opening and took advantage as he too played some nice position shots to get he and Scott M on the hill with the win in game 8. This put Reckless in jeopardy of losing the set but too many misses by Just Another Bye Week left the door open too long. Jim notched the game winner in 9 to take the final set, 5-4. This gave Reckless a fourth week in a row taking all (15) points. Very nice shooting by Reckless and a great effort by Just Another Bye Week.

Table 4: English Majors  (12) vs (10) Double D:

I will call this ‘The Match of The Week’ pitting two heavyweight teams battling it out. There were four very good shooters all on the same table, who all who are capable of running racks given the slightest opportunity available. Double D got off to the good start as the Majors seemed to start on the slow side. Dave took advantage of some openings left by Victor & Jimmy and made them pay to start the 8 Ball Set. Dave nailed back to back wins, posting a 3 ball run in game 1 and 5 balls in game 2. English Majors Jimmy seemed to get back into his shooting rhythm to notch the win in game 3. Then it looked as if Double D could not get any decent starting shots and left the curtain up to many times for English Majors to capitalize. Jimmy again took game 4 and broke and ran his group and the 8 ball for a break and run out in game 5. Victor followed the B & R by Jimmy by notching the final three balls in game 6 to put it the score sheet taking a 4-2 lead. It was over as English Majors finished off the final game to take a 5-2 set win and the match lead.

Double D again got started early to start the 9 Ball Set as Doug got hot nailing back to back wins in 1 & 2. Doug notched back to back 4 ball runs to get out each game. The English Majors got even for the first two wins by taking game 3 with a three foul rule win. The Majors hid the cue ball three times and Double D failed to make a legal hit after each hook. Dave rebounded for Double D with a quick 2-9 combo to take game 4, putting them ahead by 2 games again. Victor would cut the lead to 1 game posting a nice run in game 5, but that would be all that Double D would give up in the set. Doug put Double D on the hill winning game 6 and then there were no games left. Dave made sure of that with his second combo win in the set. The final game was a 6-9 for Dave and a 5-2 set win. This tied up the match with each team at 7 points each.

Doug jump started Double D in the 10 Ball Set as he nailed a 1-5-10 combo to start the set taking game 1. This seemed to put a charge in English Majors as Victor notched a win with a 5 ball run in game 2. Jimmy also got his shooting aim back on track and notched wins in games 3 & 4, posting a 4 ball run in game 3. The momentum seemed to stay with English Majors as Victor nailed a winner in game 5 to put them on the hill. English Majors have now taken a 4-1 lead in the set. It was Double D’s turned to change the tune of the set. At least, that is what they had in mind. Dave got focused on the task at hand and started shooting everything in sight. He notched a 4 ball run to nail down the win in game 6 and continued with his shot making in game 7 to win and cut the lead to 1 game. It was Jimmy stopping the momentum of Double D by capping off the set winning game 8 and a 5-3 set win. This was a very close match with four good shooters all excelling throughout the match. Great shooting by all.

This week  I want to give everyone some of the pool rules quiz videos that are on line from the Dr Dave’s library. You can also open the score sheet (underlined) if you want to practice the principles stated in each of the videos.

Dr. Dave’s “Illustrated Principles”

Billiards and Pool Teaching and Learning Resources
for Instructors and Students

http://billiards.colostate.edu/normal_videos/new/NVB-61.htm