Pool Cue News and Review

I don’t even know what to say here. 4 Days + 1 Free Booth + 1 Brunswick Tabe = $2300? How is that even possible? The BEF had Allison Fisher, easily the most recognizable person in pool next to Jeanette Lee, helping you out. The table itself must have been worth that much by itself, which means that 4 days of pool celebs stopping by to help out and doing the meet and greet didn’t make much difference. Even after expenses, the BEF should have been able to raise more than a couple grand.

I know, I know. This is being celebrated as a success and I’m sure I’ll get hatemail and fun comments telling me what a negative prick I am, but with the amount of cash that’s floating around at the Super Billiards Expo, there’s no way they should have come away with that little amount of money. Now I’m not one to bitch without suggesting a way to improve, so here’s an idea:

Step 1: Call the manufacturers and the retailers and ask for product donations.

Step 2: Use the donation of said products and sell them in your donated booth at the Expo.

Step 3: Use proceeds to fund scholarships from the BEF. Even if business is slow, you’re still going to generate 5x the cash you made from just raffling the pool table.

Yes, they got a table from Brunswick, which is a good start, but its not enough. I’m not saying that getting donations is easy, but it is possible. People get donations for fundraisers all the time. You just need to be tenacious enough to make those calls, send those emails and get people to notice your cause.  Considering the fact that Dawn Hopkins is on the staff and she knows just about everyone in the industry, it shouldn’t be too much work to raise more than $2,300.

Not much that needs to be said about this one. My two favorite girls together with a camera… why the hell didn’t someone provide them with pillows? It’s scientific fact that if you put two hotties together in a room, they’ll eventually have a pillow fight. Samm Diep and Shanelle Loraine… you little temptresses!

My favorite YouTuber comment though comes from Spacecowboy006 who says “i just want them to start making out….”.

People never learn. If you’re going to exaggerate, don’t do it in front of a camera where people can call bullshit on you. Danny’s a nice enough guy, but give credit where credit is due. So here’s the story… Basavich is at the expo hawking his DVDs and the book that was written about him. He gets interviewed by Rachael Abbink and proceeds to tell her about “his” book Running the Table.

Just to be clear, Basavich didn’t write the book. The book was written by L. Jon Wertheim, a senior editor for SI. The book is based on Basavich’s life, but that would make it a biography, not an autobiography. There’s a big difference between spinning a yarn and writing a novel. Why not give some credit to the guy who took your life story and turned it into something entertaining instead of telling the camera that its “your book”. Look, I hope that they make a movie out of Danny’s story. Done right it could be very entertaining and would be a very nice boost for the industry. I haven’t heard anything since Lions Gate bought the rights a couple years ago, but you never know. All I’m saying is the book wouldn’t exist if Wertheim didn’t write it, so the least he can do is give a shout out to the guy who wrote the book. Anyway, you can watch the interview and judge for yourself.

Another event, another title for Shane “The North Dakota Destroyer” Van Boening. Shane took down Shaun “Cool Shirt” Wilkie 13-7 after losing to him earlier in the tournament at the 2008 Super Billiards Expo. Wilkie simply couldn’t stay awake as Shane lulled him to sleep with his solid game and complete lack of life drama. No drunken outbursts, no getting caught behind the Riv buying an 8 ball, nothing I tell ya. He just goes out, does his thing and leaves with a plaque and a big novelty check (or a fistful of fanned 20s depending on how classy the event is).

Come on man… give me something to write about! I can’t stand all this humble, nice guy crap. Where’s the drunken, or better yet, coked out smack talk? I need material. Damn you Van Boening!! By the way, congrats on another solid win kid.

Are you fucking kidding me? Its pool man! Get a grip. It wasn’t like he just missed a shot either. Gabe was running out, had a straight shot on the nine and Fabio gets up from his chair, heads to the corner of the table and starts bashing his head. I’m not even going to speculate as to what the hell caused this. There’s plenty of that going on over at AZ Billiards.
This isn’t the first time a complete meltdown or freakout has occurred at the Super Billiards Expo. I still remember a few years ago when Jamison Neu broke down in the middle of an “artistic pool” (trick shot) match. This is in addition to the standard daily routine of fights breaking out and being broken up between players and patrons. I’m telling you, there’s something about this event that just brings out the worst in people.

At any rate, superfox Samm Diep interviewed Gabe Owen shortly after the match to talk about it. Not much additional info to be had, but any chance to see Samm on camera is a good enough reason to watch!