Cuetec Dumps Earl Strickland (finally!)
February 24th, 2007 by poolcuereview
Well, it only took 16 years, but Cuetec has finally fired BCA Hall of Fame Member Earl Strickland. Strickland endorsed Cuetec cues from 1990 through January 2007 but with the sale of J-S Sales (Cuetec’s parent company) to Imperial USA, that relationship came to a grinding halt.
It seems that the new owners of Cuetec didn’t want pool’s version of John McEnroe attached to their cue line. As far as I’m concerned, this should have happened years ago. Strickland is a continuing stain on the game of pool. His antics are childish and more importantly, completely played out. It was entertaining at first, but after seeing “the pearl” throw a tantrum at every event, the act grew real old real fast. He clearly has no respect for the game, the industry or the players.
Strickland, never known to take responsibility for anything, continued his impressive run of being a horse’s ass by blaming the fact that he can’t win anymore on Cuetec. “If they [Cuetec] made a better cue, I’d still be winning. But I was handicapped with that cue.” He then went so far as to compare himself to Tiger Woods. “J-S sent me an invoice for $3,000 for stuff I got from them. You think Tiger Woods would ever get an invoice from Target?” Well Earl, maybe the difference between you and Tiger is that Tiger is a consistent winner who isn’t an embarrassment to his sponsors and the game he plays. You might also consider the fact that golf has a slightly bigger audience than 9 Ball.
Meanwhile, the quality of Cuetec cues doesn’t seem to be bothering pool’s real version of Tiger Woods: The Dutchess of Doom, Allison Fisher. She once again took home a truckload of Player of the Year honors and is still the most consistent pool player in the business. All that with a cue that was a “handicap” according to Strickland. As they say, it’s a poor carpenter that blames his tools, especially when someone builds a mansion with the same tools you used to create the crapshack you’ve turned your career into.
Hasta La Vista Earl. Here’s to hoping that no cuemaker is ever foolish or desperate enough to sign you up as a sponsor.
(Footnote: Earl’s quotes were originally seen in the March 2007 issue of Billiards Digest Magazine).
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 24th, 2007 at 5:23 pm and is filed under BCA, Billiards Trends, Earl Strickland, Pool Players, Pool and Billiard News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 16th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Hi,
I am following Pool a lot, even I don’t play it.
I am a prof. Chessplayer and wer have similar people in our Game. In Germany exist a Player with the Name Podzielny (a very strong Player) who attacked once an Opponent and tried to strangle and kill him after a game. He was stopped and banned for years from all competitions. The police investigated this case and he got legal problems too.
I see now since a while this unfair Player Earl Strickland and I think you did the right thing to finish your contract with this person. He is in my opinion sick and should be banned from all tournaments. I think that it is only a matter of time until he will hit his opponent with an Cue … and you can be now very happy that it will be not a Cue from your Company! This person is just dangerous, he is schizophrenic.
Nice greetings to your Company and I wish you good business
Frank Meier
March 20th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
^ The above poster is an idiot.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:22 am
earl has a self image problem,apparently;however is interesting to watch and try anticipate how he will react.
I Always make it a point to watch when earl is playing….at least brings “some” personality and excitement to this otherwise predictable “sport”
August 10th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Next time Earl says something bad about Cutec cues or how it killed his game, ask him how many tournaments he has won since he stopped using Cutec cues,and how many tournaments did he win while using Cutec cues.
August 31st, 2008 at 12:00 pm
earl’s the godamn Man people….cuetec cues wish it had half the talent earl has
August 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
long live earl strickland and pastimes’s of kinston,nc
August 31st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
plus….i don’t have any panties on….lol
August 31st, 2008 at 12:07 pm
ShamWoW!
November 17th, 2008 at 5:36 am
It really sounds like people who dont really know Earl are sitting here talking trash. He has acted childish at times but for some one to say he should not be able to play in any more tournaments is BS. He obviously has some personal issues but is the most talented 9 ball player to pick up a cue. I know that if he could get his head on straight he still has the talent to be at the top.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
you guys are all weirdo`s..earl is past it. the only reason earl is on the mosconi cup team is for ratings…people will tune in to laugh at his child like behaviour when he doesn`t win.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I can’t believe Team USA still want Earl on their team as he obviously cost them at least 2 matches this year, [the doubles with Rodney Morris + the singles against Mika Immonen]
But hey long may it continue Europe Rule now! USA are falling behind big time
December 27th, 2008 at 9:56 am
earl strickland displays bad sportmanship im a hustler they refer to me as possum or aka gentalman jim ive been playing 8 ball 9 ball 3 ball any game were there is a cue ball involved ill be there but you cant be a baby about losing you learn by losing and by youre mistakes you have good games were you cant be beat and some days you cant make youre shots you find the best sticks in the game play them and learn from it