Pool Cue News and Review

This is an interesting one. With pool players losing sponsorships left and right, the last thing that I expected to come across my Google News feed was this press release. Even with Allison Fisher, Gabe Owen and countless others losing sponsorships, it seems that PoolDawg.com has picked up a player in WPBA pro and Ladies Spirit Tour regular Debbie Schjodt.

Details of the deal were not included in the press release. She doesn’t have a lot of name recognition, but at 6′ 4″, she does stand out in a crowd and in looking at one of the picture below which I ganked from her MySpace page, I’m guessing she’s not too shy with players and fans. What’s up with making me listen to Static X this early in the morning though Debbie??

Anyway, congrats to Debbie for pulling off the improbable and snagging a sponsorship during a serious downturn for the industry!

Someone was nice enough to post a gaggle of pictures from the WPBA Saturday night drinkfest and all I can say is those gals know how to get their drink on! In all seriousness, this is one of the reasons why the WPBA is just so much cooler than the men’s tour(s). Instead of playing and running, which seems to be the SOP for most of the guys, the ladies hit the bar, hang out with friends and fans and have a good time.

I love the quote from Monica Webb. “I must say the Indiana tournament is always a blast ’cause all the girls get together and have lots of fun. Don had us doin “grease” dances on the dance floor and every one had so much fun. If anyone hasn’t been to one of our tournys. and wants to go that is the one to go to (or one of them anyways ).”

You should totally check out the thread on AZ Billiards. In addition to the candid shot of Sarah Rousey and Debbie Schjodt below, there are tons of shots of Ga Young Kim, Xiaoting Pan, Viv, Angel and a bunch of others. By the way, how cute is Ga Young Kim?? Both her and Xiaoting Pan are really stunning. So once again, big ups to the WPBA for having some fun, being approachable and showing the world that our game isn’t just about taking advantage of rubes in a dive pool hall.

Lots of action to report on.  After getting shown up in the Gen Pool event earlier this month, it looks like the WPBA vets came out to play.  Our girl Sarah Rousey lost a heartbreaker to Ga Young Kim, coming from behind to tie it up at 7-7 and then dropping the last two racks.  Great tournament for my favorite little pixie though.

In other action, Allison took down Tiffany 9-5 and Brit-Brit eeked out a win against Megan Minerich (great tourney Megan!) 9-8 to set up the rematch from the GP semis.  This time, Allison took Anna K. to the woodshed and just drilled her 9-1 to set up yet another matchup with Karen Corr, who took down J-Thug in the quarters 9-5.

On the bottom half of the bracket, defending champ Xiaoting Pan lost to Kelly Fisher 9-8, putting Fisher 2.0 into the semis.  The big surprise though came in the last bracket cluster.  After squeaking by Sarah, Ga Young Kim was knocked out of the tournament by Monica Webb 9-7, setting up a quarterfinal match of Monica Webb v. Sarah Ellerby, who hasn’t been seen since she showed off her rockin’ new bod in Pool & Billiards Magazine.  Ellerby proceeds to take down Monica 9-7 to put her in the semis and the TV round against Fisher 2.0.  Huge congrats to Sarah Ellerby!  By the way, if you want to know how she dropped the lbs, there’s a great feature article about her at RunnersWorld.com.

So there you have it.  Your Final Four is Allison Fisher v. Karen Corr and Kelly Fisher v. Sarah Ellerby.

The ladies of the WPBA are pretty busy it seems.  Fresh off the Generation Pool event, the WPBA rolls into Indiana for the Great Lakes Classic.  You can never really tell much from the initial draws, as it is a double elimination event, but as always there are some interesting first round matches.

Britt-Anna vs. Megan Minerich
Haven’t seen Megan in a while since she blew off the GP event, and because she’s buried at the bottom of the rankings, she pulls everyone’s favorite gum snapping, sweats wearing teen - Anna Kostanian.  In reality this shouldn’t be much of a match as Anna is playing really strong as of late, but they’re both pretty cute, so it should make for some decent eye candy as Anna rolls Megan.

Xiaoting Pan vs. Line Kjoersvik
This could be a fun one to watch.  Both are playing solid pool and Line seems really determined to earn her WPBA card back, blasting through every WPBA qualifier she plays in.

Jasmin Ouschan vs. Yu Ram Cha
Another potentially strong match.  Jasmin’s game has been so streaky as of late and Yu Ram Cha is showing some decent chops at the table which could lead to an early upset.

Tiffany Nelson vs. Angel Paglia
Seriously, damn!  I don’t know how good the pool is actually going to be, but in my opinion this is definitely the hottest first round matchup.  Both Angel and Tiffany are unbelievably foxy and Angel is just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.  It probably won’t devolve into a pillow fight or a round of foxy boxing, but hey… a guy can dream, right?

Almost forgot to mention… once again, Jennifer “pea shooter” Barretta is skipping a tournament.  Should we even consider her to be a pro pool player anymore?  Seriously, how many skipped matches will it take before the WPBA strips her of her touring card?

Hey Britt-Anna, you just took down two of the most recognizable names in this sport!  Do you have any training tips for the rest of us?

“Sometimes I play the ghost and sometimes I’ll just gamble… usually gamble”

Way to go Anna!  You are truly a role model for young players everywhere.  Here’s the clip of her interview with Samm Diep if anyone wants to see it.

Yeah, I get it… pool players like to gamble.  Don’t get me wrong, I like to gamble too.  Not on pool because I suck ass, but who doesn’t like to throw dice every now and again.  If I was being interviewed though, I don’t think I’d ever say anything to the effect of “I’m as good as I am thanks to hustling suckers at pool halls”.

I really hope the WPBA isn’t hanging their hopes on this girl as being the new face of the league.  Sure, she’s young and cute and can clearly play, but using gambling as a training tool is yet another reason why people outside the industry think pool is skeevy.

Seriously, how f’n hot is Loree Jon Jones?? I got to peep her at the BCA Expo and seeing her in person really makes me want to reconsider my initial Top 5 countdown. I don’t think there’s a woman in pool that exudes more pure sexiness and class as Ms. Jones.

Anyone who hasn’t seen her in person simply can’t understand the hotness factor that she brings. Just because I’ve got such a giant crush on her, I dug up this old promo. Yeah, I can’t stand KT and the IPT, but she just looks so fine in this clip I had to put it up.

After losing last night, it looks like Samm Diep caught up with Anna Kostanian for an interview. I’m still irked by the sweatpants thing, but damn if there isn’t something really charming and likable about her. Apparently she wasn’t quite prepared with clothes for a TV appearance. She could’ve stayed in her match outfit instead of putting her PJ’s on, but I’m really having trouble not digging this girl. Damn her and her flat out adorableness! Anyway, I linked the interview below, so feel free to check it.

By the way, my picks for tonight are GYK and Ronnie Wiseman, so if you’re smart, follow the trend and play the opposite.