Pool Cue News and Review

Not too much in the news today to report on, so I spent some time trolling around looking for anything to write about.  Sure, I could take a day off, but I saw a couple of items I just felt the need to share.

First, someone on the AZ Billiards site posted a ton of pictures of Jasmin Ouschan breaking and shooting.  You can check out all the pictures here, but I linked to one so ya’ll could get an idea of what they are.  Jasmin seriously has some amazing chops.  I give her grief from time to time, but from a raw talent perspective she really has the potential to run wild on the WPBA tour.  By the way, is it just me, or does that girl’s break look exactly like Johnny Archer?

The second is a blog post that just made me chuckle Beavis and Butthead style.  People are constantly giving me grief for mentioning that certain pool players are “all about the ladies”.  Well, it seems that I’m not the only one that thinks so.  I can’t remember what I Googled to find it, but there’s this site called AfterEllen.com where they talk about all things lesbian and bisexual.  Naturally, there was a post about the ladies of the WPBA with the readers using their gaydar to try and ID their favorite players.  Some of the comments are pretty damn funny.  See… its not just me that talks about this stuff after all!

Move over Angelyne, because there’s a new billboard queen. I was checking the news on AZ Billiards this morning and once again, Ms. Ouschan was on the front cover looking all hot and scowley (is that even a word?) with her cute little face all scrunchy looking serious and stuff. I kept getting distracted though by the 5,000 billboards that seem to be covering almost every square inch of her shirt.

Now I’m not one to talk since I just whored the shit out of my website Google style so I can get my $0.31 per day in clicks, but damn girl! You look like you’re one step away from having Golden Palace sponsor your forehead. If a hot blond can get her pregnant belly sponsored by Golden Palace, you could probably get them to sponsor just about anything you want!

Oh yeah, congrats on making it to the Round of 32 at the World 8 Ball Championships. Hard to believe you made it this far after you crapped out so early in San Diego, but that’s pool I guess.

I’m a fan of Jasmin just like everyone else (an not just because she’s smokin’ hot), but saying that her game is slipping is an understatement.  In the last WPBA event, Jasmin lost in the second round and then again in the third round to players that she honestly should have beaten.  Two years ago at the BCA 9 Ball Tournament, I watched her tear through everyone, but since then she’s been very beatable.  As hot athletes go, she’s beginning to look a lot more like Anna Kournikova than Maria Sharapova and questions are starting to be asked if she’s just a flash in the pan.

She did have a nice run in the Women’s World Championships, but its still just another Top 5 finish.  My opinion - she’s got Michelle Wie Syndrome.  She read too many of her clippings, spread herself too thin and as a result, can’t even come close to making it to the TV round for the first WPBA event.  We’ll see what happens in Charlotte this June, but you really have to question whether or not she should be grouped in the same company as players like Allison Fisher, Karen Corr and Ga Young Kim.

Alright, Alright… this event gets more and more interesting every day. As you know, Liz Ford got bounced by Miyuki Sakai 9-3 yesterday, but my favorite little pixie is just one win away from the round of 16! Sarah Rousey beat Maria Catalano 9-8 and is now matched up against Caroline Pao who yesterday got rolled 9-3 by Karen “The Librarian” Corr.

In other results, teeniebopper Anna Kostanian took time out of her mall tour to beat 3 time champ Kelly Fisher who is matched up against Dawn Hopkins. Anna will be joined by tour regulars Allison Fisher, Karen Corr, Xiaoting Pan, Ga Young Kim, Sarah Ellerby and Monica Webb. In addition, they’ll be joined by another surprise winner in Melissa Herndon who hasn’t been on TV since that godawful show “Ballbreakers”. Final matches in the losers bracket will conclude this afternoon and the next round of matches are scheduled to start at 9:00PM tonight. Stop by later and I should have some updated results. I leave you with an action shot of Jasmin Ouschan courtesy of the WPBA, who hasn’t lived up to the hype she built with her 2007 BCA/EnjoyPool/GenerationPool 9 Ball Championship. We forgive her though since she is such a foxy little minx!

Not a good day for the hotties. Sarah lost a close 9-7 match to The Hoff and Liz got crushed by a steamrolling Monica Webb, just off a 9-2 thrashing of Morgan Steinman. That throws these two into the one loss bracket, which is turning into a virtual calendar of WPBA pinups. Along with Rousey and Ford, Jasmin Ouschan, Jennifer Barretta, Ewa Laurence, Tiffany Nelson, and Rachael Abbink (who sometimes looks unreal and other times looks well… not her freshest) are all on the one loss side.

One of the survivors of a brutal second round was Anna Kostanian, who’s playing lights out pool. Unfortunately, she’s matched up against Kelly Fisher which means we’ll likely see her on the one loss side shortly. The match I’m looking forward to though is Liz taking on Angel Paglia, assuming Angel can get past Miyuki Sakai. Holy schneikes!!