Turns out I was wrong. I played rather well for someone who plays once a week on a good week. I didn’t run any racks, but I came damn close a few times. I chalk (see what I did there?) it up to having to be special careful placing my hand on the table every time, and being sure I knew where I wanted to go. The finger I cut up is the primary load bearing finger, and I didn’t want to have to repeat myself. There’s just something about ripping pain that makes you want to minimize the movement.

The same thing happened last year when I hit my left index finger with a hammer while beating landscaping stones into the sand around the patio. I hyper extended that little digit, causing some fairly dramatic discomfort. Given that it’s the primary guide for the cue stick, I had to be very careful then, also. I slowed down to account for the injury, and played lights out all night.

I think there’s a lesson here. Hit yourself with a hammer, or cut yourself bone-deep with a utility knife to slow you down and make you a better player.

So I’ve done my index finger, and my middle finger… any ideas on what I should do to my ring finger? I have your basic standard tools around, plus a miter saw, electric sharpening stones, an electric knife, a 3.5″ Shun pairing knife, assorted chisels, a washing machine, a fire pit, lots of windows, two cars, two bikes, a cat, and lots of imagination.

Some very positive things happening personally. Since I decided long ago to keep such things off this blog, you’ll just have to wait to meet her. I will say this… she must be pretty special. I’ve not been to church in 20 years, and she’s gotten me there no less than 4 times since late December… and maybe 5. My attitude towards organized religion is perfectly summed up by the Mohandas Gandhi quote “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” That said, I have met quite a few very nice people through her and the friend that set us up together, all of whom go to their church. It’s an interesting change of pace for me… Besides Church, we’ve done quite a few things together, and have quite a few more on the plate for the next few months. I’m quite optimistic.

I’ve been very busy at work lately. In ’08 I was nearly desk bound the whole year working on this and that. In ’09 I will be much more involved in the daily lives of my fellow employees… not sure how well they’ll like that. I am the local representative for Information Security, after all. It’s like the police without the uniform, firearms, or authority. I can’t arrest anyone. I can’t have anyone fired. What I can do is make them feel really bad about what they’ve done. Sometimes, I get baked goods as apologies. I can live with that.

I’ve been playing a lot of pool lately. Monday night, Wednesday night and Thursday nights all see me at various pool halls in leagues the likes of which I’ve never seen. Wednesday is pretty standard in terms of competition, but Monday and Thursday… let’s just say that if I make one mistake, miss one ball, or dry break, I’m done for the game. The competition is fierce. I like it that way. It makes me really focus, though there are nights when it does get tiring.

Cycling has seen a dramatic decline so far this year… without my daily commuting (logistically impossible at this point, unfortunately – at least not without spending a lot of money on another form of motorized transportation to keep either at work or at home so I’m not bike-bound all day), and with the cold, I’m pretty much limited to roller training. While I did keep up with it for a while, I’ve since fallen into a rather “fat and happy” mindset, and haven’t felt the motivation to roll. The weather is looking to warm up soon, though, and I reckon I’ll get my expanding carcass out on that saddle for some long rides here real soon like. I have to, b/c word is that my brother, as well as our hosts in Colorado are training hard for the Triple Bypass… July 11th is fast approaching! I may not be as fast as I was last year, but I’ve no doubt whatsoever that I’ll make it over them there hills just fine and dandy.

That’s enough for now. Later.

The competition is very tough, and is guaranteed, if I pay even a smidgen of attention, to improve my game. I’ve been trying for a couple years now to get in on the Thursday league, and when I was asked to join up while on the way out Shark’s door Wednesday night, I just couldn’t pass it up, even with the already hefty time commitment. I’m “just” an alternate, which means I won’t play every week, but I’m treating that as a foot in the door, and who knows, maybe I’ll play more regularly than I imagine.

Between fighting for every point Monday night at Shooters and then Thursday night at Clarette, I should gain at least one or two balls on my average by the end of Spring!

I hope so, b/c lately, it’s been really tough to take the game seriously. It’s clear to me that I’ve lost some of that “student of the game” attitude I used to take so much pride in a few years ago. In fact, looking back, I don’t really think I’ve had that hunger for pool knowledge and expertise since I moved out here to KC from Lawrence. One of the guys on the Clarette team may be able to inspire that in me again… none of us had a good night last night, but the sideline conversation about the ins and outs of the game, both the physics and the mentality, was fantastic.

In talking with him I realized that I’ve been too complacent in what I know, and actually (horror of horrors) resistant to new ideas, methods, and knowledge. I’ve just not cared to learn anything new, or perfect/correct what I already know. That. Has. To. Change.

And there’s nothing like being on a team of better players, playing against some of the best in town, to force me out of a rut and make that change.

We’d only been playing the Tuesday night league for a single session, but already made our mark pretty well. The wait staff, as well as others working there made it a point to tell us, in no uncertain terms, that we would be back, so just accept it and move on. It was very nice, and made us feel very good. The whole night was fantastic. The four of us had a blast, and made sure that the last night would be one to remember.

We’d been playing the Wednesday night league for some time, and felt it was just time to let it go. Last night was, also, a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed playing there for the last few years, but I’m thinking it’s time to expand my horizons a bit and move on.

I’m really not sure what’s in store for me and pool when I return in a few months. My game feels pretty good right now, like I’m nearly back to where I was 5 or 6 years ago. I’ll keep playing on my own, over lunch, on the weekends, and the like, but not in league. I may try out some tournaments here and there, just to see what’s up. Who knows? Right now, I’m just looking forward to a little bit of a break.

This morning, Mother Nature seemed to mourn the close of a chapter with clouds, misting and a little light rain. It was pretty chilly for a while too, until I warmed up into the ride.

There weren’t any mini-vans blasting gangsta rap this morning, or groups of suburbanites flashing gang signs. There weren’t any small children playing with their dogs. There weren’t even any other cyclists/bikers/bicyclists out.

Just me.

In the mist.

Slowly making my way into work.

All that said, last night was pretty good. I ran out on two opponents for two 10-0′s. Well… ok, I ran out on one, and while I missed the 8 ball on the other after a tight 7 ball run, he missed, leaving me clear on the 8 for a two inning 10-0. The other two games weren’t so cut and dry, but I did win them 10-5 and 10-4.

I remember back in the day when I was playing nearly every day, I noticed that a really bad day was often followed by a really good day, and then things would level out a while until the next really bad day, which would then be followed by an even better day than the previous really good day.

This holds true even now. Monday night I went to a local Irish pub and had some drinks with co-workers. One of them brought her fiance, and we ended up at the pool table. He was a surprisingly good shot. I probably had an average of 3-4 balls left on the table every time he won, and he won probably 7 to 8 out of 10 times. Granted, I was deep in a pool malaise at the time, but still, even had I cared about what happened, he still would have won handily.

That night of horrible losses was followed by a night of handy wins.

I wonder what tonight will bring…

Defeating the first place team did a lot to bolster the flagging confidence of the team members. Over the course of the last three weeks, they went from splitting the rounds even, to suffering two 1 round nights in a row. Out of 12 rounds, they won 4.5. While last nights performance may not have improved their percentages enough to put them in one of the top three spots, winning the majority of the rounds against the first place team made the team members feel like they were already there.

Of the four team members, two monopolized the 8-ball, each sinking it three times out of four for 37 points each. While the other two team members weren’t able to pot the 8, they were able to maximize their losses with 5′s, 6′s and 7′s. Only once did our team suffer a significant defeat, when, having been unable to pot a ball, an opponent ran out to the 8 for the win, resulting in a zero to 10 score. That game resulted in a tie for the round, but it wasn’t enough to deter the tenacious Deep Pocket players, who were able to hold on to the point lead through the next round to the end of the night.

Looking forward, we’ll have to wait to see how the rest of the teams managed before we can know how last nights performance affected the overall standings. One thing is for certain, however, Deep Pockets will enter next weeks match with heads held high with renewed confidence.

This can be explained by two things…

1. We got 4 points a round in handicap. Take the handicap out and we still won 3 of 6 games, so the handicap only accounts for one round by itself.
2. When my teammates did lose, they lost by a close margin, with 5, 6 and 7 points to the opponents 10. This accounts for some games, but there were some 10-1 and 10-2 games as well. On the other hand, when we won, we won well, keeping the opponents to 10-2 through 10-5.

Still, even understanding the math, it’s just weird. That makes for two weird nights in a row. Two nights that really felt like we were going to come up very short, and in fact, came out the winners.

Two things of note from my games last night…
I beat a guy named TJ with a difficult run-out. TJ is a good friend of mine. Don’t get me wrong. But he’s an arguably better player, and likes to talk a lot of (friendly good-natured) sh*t about it. My run-out was not a gimme, and it felt really good to stick it to him like that (in a friendly good-natured way, of course).

My last game was against TJ’s brother, Kyle. It turned into a battle of safeties towards the end. I was definitely in his head, as he had a tough time with impossibly (to me, at least) easy shots. Then he pulled out what is probably the luckiest shot I’ve seen in 10 years of playing. I’ll have a diagram coming, but for now…

I played a safe which left the cue ball and my last object ball at one end of the table, his last object ball at the other end of the table, and the 8 ball right in between. He attempted to hit his object ball by banking the cue ball off the side rail near the side pocket. Instead, he hit the far corner of the side pocket, which deflected the cue ball into the near corner of the same side pocket, then across the table to the near corner of the other side pocket, which deflected the cue ball straight at his object ball with just enough speed to send it to the rail, and leave me hooked behind the 8.

I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or rage. Instead, I tried a massé, which failed, giving him ball in hand and an easy out. Fortunately, he choked the out and I went on to win… after a few more safeties, of course.

The rest of my team rested momentarily on islands of joy amidst a sea of frustration. They just couldn’t pull it together, unfortunately. I can only imagine the beat-down we would have delivered had they been even just a little bit more on top of their game. As it was, they did enough, and the night was a success.

Mike sat out, letting the GF step in and get on the books for the session. He’d jumped up to a 9, so it also allowed us to give up one less point in the handicap scheme. Turns out one point wouldn’t have made a difference, but it’s a nice option to have.

Chris had 2 wins with 26/40 points.
Linda had 2 wins 27/40 points.
GF had 3 wins 37/40 points.
I had 3 wins 37/40 points.

Chris should have had at least one more win, and I should have had one less. He’s been having a hard time adjusting to the tables. They’re a lot faster, and moving to a brand new environment can affect a player a lot more than most realize. He’ll find his stroke. Until then, he just needs to keep playing. I’m not immune, either. I see it in him b/c I see it in me. I really only won two of my games. The third game was given to me. Down to the 8, my opponent rattled an easy out. No one really likes to win like that, but he choked where I didn’t, so if you look at it that way, I guess I deserved it. I sucked less, in other words.

As a team, we’re not doing too badly. The first night was rough, apparently. I wasn’t there, but we were swept 0-5. No fun, that. Since then, we’ve pulled it back together, taking 4 rounds of 5 for the last three nights running.

The first deals with mood. I’m flat. In a bit of a funk. Neither super low, nor super high. Pool league last night was… uninspired. Normally I really enjoy the game, but I could have just as easily taken a nap last night. I won 3 of 4, but only because they were given back to me, after I gave them away to begin with. The fourth opponent had the audacity to keep it. Eh. Flat.

The second deals with my ride home last night. Almost 6 miles in, and just over 3 miles from home, I start bouncing up and down in my seat in an odd and unfamiliar manner. I start to get a sinking feeling, and sure enough, my rear tire is sinking to the rim. Slowly, but surely, it’s going flat. Nothing like forced recovery, eh?

And there’s me, with no spare tubes, no pump, and no CO₂. Believe it or not, this is the first road flat I’ve had. Ever. 30 years on and off the bike, and I do not remember a single time a tire has gone flat due to road debris while still on the road. I know, I know… sounds laughably implausible, but it’s true. I’ve definitely had flats before, but never while I had miles left ahead of me.

The GF picked me up, and was cheery and upbeat in spite of my surly demeanor. Bless her heart, but she’s a keeper. I now have a spare tube and a pump with me, along with the requisite tire levers, and a little bit of baby powder to help the tube expand, plus the three spare tubes in my garage. You can’t prepare for everything, but I’m prepared for my next flat.

Moment from last night… the first hint that things weren’t quite right with my rear tire.

Moment from this morning… pulling up next to the driver that previously gunned his engine to pass me at speed for great effect only to be stopped by a light. I managed to maintain a demeanor of relaxed aplomb, in spite of laughing on the inside.

The team is fantastic. I’m an alternate for this session, but will be a full timer next. Right now, there are 5 or 6 on the team, and I know two of them well, and have played with another twice. Next session it will be myself and three others, all of whom I know well, one being a good friend of mine outside of pool. I don’t know how well we’ll do, but I expect to have a great time.

It’s a Valley league, which is a first for me. I’ve been in many house leagues, BCA, APA and ACS, but never Valley. The rules are generally all the same, though, so I’m not worried. As long as slop doesn’t count and the handicap system isn’t built for sandbagging, I’m good (hence, me no longer playing APA).

Last night I went 4 and 0. 3 pretty easy wins and one that (by all rights) I should have lost. Two balls-in-hand and my opponent still gave the game up. I did play a few good safes on him, but he had ample opportunity to capitalize.

My only concern is that by adding another night of pool, I’m taking away time from my training schedule. I can’t ignore the pull of the table, though, and will find a way to make it work.

My Handicap: 5
Matches:

1. 4-0 (Race: 4-4)
2. 3-2 (Race: 4-2)

My Place: n/a
My Winnings: n/a

1. 4-1 (Race: 4-3)

My Place: n/a
My Winnings: n/a

My Handicap: King
Matches:

1. 5-1 (Opponent: Queen) W
2. 1-5 (Opponent: King) L
3. 0-5 (Opponent: King) L

Place: n/a
Winnings: n/a

Jesse, the manager listened to our local cuemaker, Chris Klindt about the current handicap system being… lacking somewhat. Used to be that whoever was running the tournament would just take the players and guess at their handicap. You can see how that could cause problems. The person in charge was never dishonest, but leaving something like that up to opinion, even well-meaning opinion is just asking for trouble. So they’ve adopted the something along the lines of the NPL handicap system. I’m not sure about the details, and I know it’s different than what’s behind that link, but after playing today, I like it.

I didn’t do too badly today. There were two notable matches (in the absolutely huge pot of 6 whole players). The first was against a guy named Brian, who I pretty much tromped 5-0. He’s one of those guys I’ve been afraid of for months, so beating him today was something of a milestone. I’d have been happy with a closer match, but after I got to 3, he just lost heart. The second was the last. It was against a guy named Tim. He’s not as good as I, but I just couldn’t get the rolls that time. He put me in the loser bracket early on (I had to win 5 while he only needed 3… he’s not as good, but he’s not THAT far behind me), which I think put my confidence on hold for our next encounter. The second match was a race 6-4, which is better, but I just couldn’t make it happen. No confidence, no focus. I didn’t deserve it and he did. Simple as that.

Still, it did feel good to play feeling I didn’t HAVE to win.

My Handicap: King
Matches:

bye
1. 5-2 (opponent rank: 5) W
2. 2-3 (opponent rank: 3) L
3. 5-0 (opponent rank: 5) W
4. 3-4 (opponent rank: 4) L

My Place: 2nd
My Winnings: 30

My Handicap: 5
Matches:

1. 2-5 (Opponent: 5) L
2. 4-1 (Opponent: 4) W
3. 4-3 (Opponent: 5) W
4. 0-4 (Opponent: 4) L

My Place: 4th
My Winnings: 10

1. 4-3 (opponent rank: 6) W
2. 4-0 (opponent rank: 3) W
3. 4-4 (opponent rank: 8) W
4. 2-7 (opponent rank: 7) L
5. 3-8 (opponent rank: 8) L

My Place: 3rd
My Winnings: 20

My Handicap: 5
Matches:

1. 3-8 (opponent rank: 8) L
2. 3-3 (opponent rank: 3) L

My Place: n/a
My Winnings: n/a

My first match was against a new face belonging to a guy named Ted. He is an official APA 4, but honestly plays like a 2 or 3. I don’t get the APA handicaps. I really don’t. I, and the rest of the people on my team consider me a pretty solid 4, creeping slowly up to a 5. If this guy is a 4, then I’m more like a 6, and the rest of my team needs to adjust accordingly. It’s silly, I tell you. Silly.

The second match was also something of a rout with the final score at 4-0 my favor. The thing is, I was just getting lucky. I don’t think I shot well either of these first two matches… or all day for that matter. I just got a lot of lucky rolls. I’ve been trying, but I cannot for the life of me remember who this match was against. Whoever it was, I apologize for not remembering.

The third match was a bit more difficult. This guy is probably an accurate 4. I still beat him, but again, I chalk it up to the rolls b/c my heart just wasn’t in it today. Still, I did have to focus a bit more this time, and fortunately was able to do so to come up with a 4-1 win.

The fourth match was against Jeff Taylor. Jeff got in a real bad car accident a few months ago, in which he broke his neck and recieved a compound fracture of his femur. He’s been in traction until last week, when they took it off early due to complications with the skull screws. He still walks with the aid of crutches, and wears a nice solid neck brace, but he’s doing MUCH better now. We were wondering though, those of us watching him play, just what exactly one has to do to Jeff to hurt his game. He is an amazing shot. The last time I played him in a tournament, he won 6-0. This time I got two games on him for a 6-2 final score. He started at a handicap of 5, but moved up to 6 when he won his first two matches 5-0 and 5-1.

I waited around for about two hours for my last match, and it turned out to be against the same guy I played in my third match. By this time, I was tired, full from the pizza I just ate, and was thinking that my motivation earlier in the day was fierce compared to what I felt now. I still won, 4-2, but I let him get two games while I was on the hill. I just had a hard time keeping my head in the game. All I could think about was coming home, writing this up, taking a nice warm shower and going to bed.

The last match was against Jeff Taylor again. He climbed the whole way through the winners bracket, which meant he was the only obstacle in my way of 1st place. We agreed, however, that it was late, and time to go. We split the remaining $125 $65/$60 his favor, given how he beat me previously. Sounded fair to me, so we took our money, shook hands and now it’s time for that shower.
My Handicap: 4
Matches:

1. 4-0 (Opponent Rank: 4) W
2. 4-0 (Opponent Rank: 4) W
3. 4-1 (Opponent Rank: 4) W
4. 2-6 (Opponent Rank: 6) L
5. 4-2 (Opponent Rank: 4) W
6. Final Match: Draw

My Place: 2nd
My Winnings: 60

Dennis and I spent about 45 minutes warming up before the matches started, and I was feeling pretty good about my game. This played out as I beat my first opponent, handicapped at 4 soundly and solidly 4 games to zero. Dennis, on the other hand, had less luck. His very first tournament ever, his very first experience with any sort of official handicap system, he draws Mike. Mike, you may recall, is on my 9-ball team, and could go pro if he dedicated himself. Needless to say, Dennis didn’t win, though he did give Mike a bit of a run. That match ended at 8-2.

My second match didn’t go so well. I went up against a fellow named Jeff from Topeka. He started as a 6 and beat his first opponent, Tim, 6-0. The Powers that Be raised him to a 7 for our match. He beat me 7-1. The one game I did win, though, was at the very limits of my ability. None of my shots were hard, but getting to a couple of them was extremely difficult. I had one of those moments I live for though. With 4 balls left, not including the 8, one of them was tied up pretty badly. However, there was a window of about 2 inches where I could get shape on it… if I could play the other three right. Then it just clicked, and the pattern I’d have to play became as clear as day, and I knew I could do it. I proceeded, then, to to just that. After that though, I didn’t get much of a shot. The guy was just that good. I think he throttled back though, fearing his handicap would go up again, b/c he lost the next matches to someone who I can easily beat.

Meanwhile, Dennis went 2 and out. Not unexpected given that this was his first tournament. I was a little surprised though. I counseled him at one point to take a safety shot, and he looked at me blankly while asking “a what?” He’s probably played longer than I have overall, and didn’t know what a safety was. I explained it, but then he forgot about the whole ball-must-hit-a-rail-after-contact rule thinking it didn’t apply to safeties, and gave up ball-in-hand. He’s a good shot, but he has very little in the way of a defensive game, and doesn’t think about position play that much. I’d like to think, however, that he’ll continue playing when he gets back home. He could be very very good if he applied himself and studied the game.

My last game was against a guy named Brian. It was an extremely tight match, ending with both of us on the hill. We both played very conservatively, just b/c that’s how we play when we get together. All 6 games were very long, fully of safeties and very thoughtful shots. All in all, I’d say this match, even though I lost, was the best match of the day… both in terms of how I played, and how much fun it was. I would have won, but I left myself a couple inches short of a sure shot on the 8, and missed the pot by about half an inch, leaving Brian a relatively easy run-out.
My Handicap: 4
Matches:

1. 4-0 (Opponent Rank: 4) W
2. 1-7 (Opponent Rank: 7) L
3. 3-3 (Opponent Rank: 3) L

My Place: n/a
My Winnings: n/a

1. 4-0 (opponent rank: 4) W
2. 1-7 (opponent rank: 7) L
3. 3-3 (opponent rank: 3) L

My Place: n/a
My Winnings: n/a