Check out the latest episode of Runout Radio, where Jerry and Mike chat about the latest news from the WPBA and then talk with their guests Nick Varner and Alex Lely about the upcoming Mosconi Cup.
All episodes of Runout Radio are available online at www.runoutradio.com
The American CueSports Alliance (ACS) is pleased to announce the fourth annual installment of the All American Tour. ACS will again be teaming up with sponsors Pechauer Custom Cues, Championship Billiard Fabric and Nick Varner Signature Cases (in addition to new partner oZone Billiards!) to produce the Tour. With fifty (50) stops nationwide to be conducted between October, 2008 and June, 2009, the Pechauer All American Tour is one of the largest in the nation.
All events are open to any amateur player (all paying the same entry fee) vying for $500-$1,500 added prize fund events, with the highest-placing ACS member receiving an extra perk of claiming a free singles entry to the ACS Nationals in Las Vegas, May 31 - June 6, 2009.
The ACS is the national, member-governed assocation which offers opportunity programs for sanctioning independent pool leagues, referee and coach certification, junior championships and thirteen affiliated state associations. Further information on ACS and the Tour, entry details and schedules for the 2008/2009 Pechauer All American Tour are available at www.americancuesports.org.
Ironwood Ridge hopes to dominate the girls high school cross country scene once again.
Sophomore Sarah Miville, who won the Class 5A Division II individual state championship as a freshman in 2007, was tops at the 5A Southern-II Region meet and helped the Nighthawks win the team state title.
"I'm hoping to continue with my success," Miville said. "I'm also hoping we can get another state championship."
The Nighthawks also bring back junior Allison Crawford and sophomore Lauren Cooper. Katherine Howard moves up from the junior varsity.
"A lot of the girls have improved from last year and it will be exciting to see what happens," Miville said. "Kat Howard has improved the most. She was bummed that she wasn't on the state team."
Gary Forrest, the boys cross country coach who worked with most of the girls team during the spring track season, thinks the Nighthawks have as talented a team as any.
"They're strong and one of the best teams in the state," Forrest said. "It's a good sign of things to come. "
The 2008 season appears to be promising for the boys cross country team at Catalina.
Coach Nick Varner has high hopes for the team, saying the Trojans have the potential to contend for a 4A Gila Region and 4A Division II state championship.
"This is one of the best boys team I have coached in a while," Varner said.
Catalina's top runners are seniors Wais Khaurabdesh, Stephen Pierson and Mario Portillo. Sophomore Alejandro Montano adds depth to the talented Trojan squad.
Due to rumors of the World 9-ball championships possibly being cancelled, The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships has opened the field to give all the great players from America and all over the world the opportunity to play in this year’s U.S. Open.
Players, you must have your $600.00 entry fee paid by October 12th, 2008 to avoid the $50.00 late fee. So please be sure to get it in on time.
In the event of the field exceeding 256 players, matches will still be held at the normal times of 11, 1, 3 & 7, 9, 11. Pre-designated loser bracket matches will be played at Q-master Billiards in order to stay on “cue” with all scheduled matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and possibly Thursday at 11, 1 and 3. Matches will be determined by the flow chart prior to the draw. The final day will begin at 1 p.m. and conclude with the finals beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Of course, more players means more money added to the purse! All additional entries will be added to the total prize fund amount.
Example 1: 300 Players adds $26,400.00 to the purse and will pay up to 128 players.
Example 2: 400 Players adds $86,400.00 to the purse!
We are looking forward to the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships! Thank you for your continued dedication and support throughout the years. We are excited to see if Shane Van Boening can repeat as Champion. Nick Varner is the only U.S. Open Champion in history to have achieved two consecutive championships in 1989-1990.
Billiards Nick Varner from the Derby City Classic speaks with Aaron Czetli and Rachael Abbink of Inside POOL Magazine.
Seybert’s Billiard Supply is the worlds largest Predator Cue and Shaft dealer and takes great pride in providing customers all over the world with the very best in billiard products, selection and customer service.
Seybert s Billiard Supply is a large stocking dealer with Predator Cues, McDermott Cues, Viking Cues, Pechauer Cues and many other billiard manufacturers.
The Catalina High School cross country teams will work and play hard this Saturday, August 23, as the school hosts its annual benefit, The 1 Mile Race. The community event is open to casual and elite runners alike, with 11 different waves spanning five different age groups.
Visit Blue Pants Racing to see a list of all the events scheduled and registration information. Completing one mile consists of circling the track field four times.
Catalina High School will be hosting the races this Saturday evening. You can get there as early as 5 p.m., with the first heats starting at 6 p.m., and the last wave of races will start around 8 p.m. Food and live entertainment, including a big screen TV set up alongside the track, will also be on site. All proceeds from the evening will be utilized by the Catalina cross country programs, helping to fund entry fees for local and statewide tournaments, according to boys cross country coach Nick Varner.
Plus, goofy categories, like the hot dog mile and the big guys race, dedicated for men over 225 pounds, are sure to have the crowds cheering along!
Everybodys gonna have a good time! Varner said.
It was another full house for the 2008 One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner held Tuesday night during the middle of the action at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. With special guests with names like Reyes, Varner, Bustamante and Corr, and veterans of the road like Di Liberto, LeBron and Rood, the room was chock full of veteran players and fans of pool action. This was truly an occasion of great players being honored by their peers. Like One Pocket inductee Billy Incardona said, “To be honored among all these great champions is really something special.”
Co-Master of Ceremonies Grady Mathews and Freddy ‘The Beard’ Bentivegna led numerous other guest speakers in honoring each inductee in turn. Of course there were old road stories galore, and plenty of good-natured ribbing, but there were a few surprisingly touching stories as well. As much as these players have butted heads over the years, it is something special to see the genuine respect these guys have for each other when it comes time for Hall of Fame honors.
First up was this year’s Lifetime Pool in Action award that went to Jimmy Reid, the champion player who has been fighting a tough personal battle against esophageal cancer. Jimmy not only came to Louisville to receive his award, he valiantly entered all three divisions of the tournament, which is tough enough for those in good health to handle. When the banquet crowd was asked to “raise your hand if you’ve got Jimmy Reid stuck,” not a single hand went up in a room loaded with great players, past and present. The man is a definite fighter, with a very strong will to survive, and we all wish him the very best.
Turning our attention to the One Pocket inductees, Philadelphia’s Jimmy Fusco was honored, and good-naturedly harangued, as his cousin Pete Fusco and others described Jimmy’s unrestrained desire to tangle with the best, even if it meant going broke. Their entertaining narratives illustrated that to become the best, you have to compete against the best. Jimmy was clearly humbled to be considered one of the best, and in Freddy Bentivegna’s words, “One of the very select few that truly understand the right way to play the game.”
JoAnn (Jansco) McNeal graciously accepted induction for her father and uncle, the brothers George and Paulie Jansco, for their contribution to the legacy of the game as promoters. Between the Johnston City and Stardust tournaments, these two dressed up both the game and the players, got pool on TV, and into the history books for all time. Danny Di Liberto shared a few of his personal Johnston City stories, as he likened his own experience there to going to pool college – especially a college for pool gambling. In his rookie year at Johnston City, the veteran hustler Earl Schriver advised the young and admittedly square Di Liberto, “Kid, keep your mouth shut and your ears open and you’ll learn a lot.” It is hard to overestimate the significance of Johnston City to the legacy of ‘Pool in Action’, and the induction of George & Paulie Jansco is long overdue...
Freddie ‘The Beard’ introduced a dapper and dignified Billy Incardona, who clearly had a great time, equally ribbing his peers and basking in the recognition for an exemplary career as a great player, a savvy gambler, a wise and entertaining commentator, and a human being with a big heart. Player after player paid respects to Billy’s forty years of winning pool, and he’s not done yet, having been spotted several times in the action room at the Derby this year, with cue in hand and cash on the line. Pat Fleming spoke about the important role Billy played in turning Accustats from a statistical reporting concept for pool into the industry leader in pool videos.
Last, but not least, was the induction of banking legend Donny Anderson in the Legends of Bank Pool category. His long-time rival and fellow Hall of Fame member, Truman Hogue, joined ‘The Beard’ in introducing ‘The Cincinnati Kid’. For years and years Donny was a banking terror in a town that had some terrors. Truman acknowledged that he never could beat Donny, and hated competing against him all those years, until finally he became a fan himself, admitting, “I guess he beat me so much I began to like him.” Despite his physical frailty, Donny was determined to stand out of his wheel chair and be helped up to the podium, where he brought the evening to a rousing conclusion with a surprisingly strong voice.
Meanwhile, Ed Kelly, who has been unable to attend the annual HOF dinner since his 2005 election into the One Pocket Hall of Fame, was able to slip over to Louisville on the Sunday after the Derby City Classic ended to receive his belated induction. In a small private gathering of legends of pool action assembled by photographer Diana Hoppe, Grady Mathews surprised Kelly with his HOF plaque.