Pool Cue News and Review

I’ve gotta say, there are some things I just don’t understand.  Well, there are a ton of things I don’t understand, but the paradox of the moment is one Tracie Hines.  Take a look at how the tour finished out and then you’ll see what I’m talking about.

The Final Four consisted of Debbie Schjodt, Monica Webb, Helena Thornfeldt and Tracie Hines.  Monica takes down Debbie 7-3 and Hines took out Helena 7-4, setting up a Webb v. Thornfeldt match on the one loss side with the winner to face Tracie Hines in the finals.  Monica proceeds to bounce Helena 7-2, setting up a Monica Webb vs. Tracie Hines finish.  Hines then proceeds to bounce Monica Webb 7-4 to win the event.

Now I know Tracie Hines used to be a regular on the WPBA, so I go to check her rankings and find that she hasn’t played in a single WPBA event this year.  Its not like she doesn’t have the playing chops, considering she took down the #10 and #11 ranked players without much difficulty.  Plus, with only playing 5 of the 8 scheduled Spirit events, winning the finale should give her enough points to finish atop the leader board.

I’m sure there’s a reason why she doesn’t play on the WPBA tour anymore, but looking at how she’s playing now, it sure seems like she should be mixing it up in the big leagues on a regular basis.  At any rate, congrats to Tracie Hines for kicking some WPBA ass and taking the title.  As the top finishing amateur, Michell Monk took down the WPBA qualifier.

All the day one matches have been completed (obviously), so we’re down to the final 8:

Winner’s Bracket
Tracie Hines vs. Michell Monk
Yu Ram Cha vs. Helena Thornfeldt

One Loss Bracket
Diana Minor Vs. Monica Webb
Debbie Schjodt vs. Emily Wilmoth

There were some pretty heavy hitters in this event.  Good to see Michell Monk hanging in there alive in the winner’s bracket against all those WPBAers.

Back later with the results.

Well, November is here which means that most of my favorite tours will be going into hibernation until the spring.  This weekend is the season finale for the Ladies Spirit Tour (where I’ll be pulling for PCN hottie Niki Rasmussen), next weekend is the finale for the WPBA tour and the weekend after that is the finale for the OB Cues Tour, home of PCN hotties Heather Lloyd and Cristina De La Garza.

While we’re on the topic, this weekend’s Spirit finale should be a good one.  In addition to foxy Niki Rasmussen, I’m guessing that we’ll see the likes of WPBAers Debbie Schjodt, Tracie Hines and Yu Ram Cha.  I’m guessing the curvilicious Shanelle Loraine might show up as well although she hasn’t quite figured out the whole “pool” part of being a pool player quite yet.

So treasure these next few weeks friends, because once they’re over I’ll be going back to reviewing products and pushing you to go buy them at places that are nice enough pay me through their affiliate programs.  Hey, I gotta make a few bucks here and there to pay the bills, don’t I?

If anything, you’ve gotta say I’m consistent in my lingering obsession with pretty brunettes.  For November, our hottie of the month hails from the lone star state in the form of one Cristina De La Garza.  Not much is known about her since she likely took a look at my inquiry email and said “ewww… who is this creepy stalker” before hitting the “please block any and all further emails from this address” button.  Can’t say I blame her though.

Naturally, if there’s a hottie in the billiards industry, they’re going to show up on Inside Pool’s video podcasts.  Sure enough, Ms. De La Garza appears to have filled the void left by Rachel Abbink, doing interviews at the US Open along with Samm Diep.

Cristina seems to spend most of her playing time on the OB Cues Tour where she’s currently ranked #7 on the points list.  At the last tour stop, she finished second to last month’s hottie Heather Lloyd and she took the WPBA qualifier, so I’m guessing we’ll be seeing more of Cristina next year.

Not convinced of her supreme foxiness?  Well I’ll leave you with this shot of Cristina courtesy of the OB Cues Tour (like I wasn’t going to use the fully extended stretching across the table shot).  

(photo credit to the OB Cues Tour)

It seems that the WPBA is getting into the live streaming experiment.  According to their press release, the WPBA will be streaming select matches on 11/13 and 11/14.  30 bucks for two days worth of matches seems like a pretty good deal for all you pool junkies out there.  Hope it works, because the WPBA could definitely use an additional revenue stream.  Here’s the contents of the official release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WPBA PAY-PER-VIEW WEB CASTING FOR THE 2008 TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
FANS CAN WATCH SELECT MATCHES, SEE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS AND LISTEN TO COMMENTARY!

November 5th, 2008 – Thousand Oaks, CA

The Women’s Professional Billiard Association announces that for the 2008 WPBA Tour Championships, pay-per-view service will be available on www.wpba.com for select matches on Thursday November 13th and Friday November 14th, along with exclusive player interviews, match commentary, sideline reporting and updated statistics.
This marks the first time that a WPBA event can be viewed live on the internet. For $20 for one day’s viewing, or $30 for 2 days, fans can log in and watch select matches from the last tournament of the WPBA 2008 season live from the Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Resort in Hollywood, Florida. Match times are listed below. In addition, fans will have access to exclusive interviews with the WPBA’s top Professionals including Kelly Fisher, Allison Fisher, Jeanette Lee and many others. Sideline reporting will enhance the viewers’ perspective on matches in progress and statistics will provide further insight into how players stack up against each other. Coverage will include live scoring and constant feed from the tournament.
For more information, log onto www.wpba.com.
Match times:
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
10:00am, 11:45am, 1:30pm, 3:15pm, 6:30pm, 8:15pm and 10:00pm
Friday, November 14th, 2008
10:00am, 11:45am, 1:30pm, 3:15pm, 6:30pm, 8:15pm and 10:00pm