i have been playing with a cuetec cue for time and memorial. i bought it at minnesota fats in nyc (or shall i say the now defunct minnesota fats) and it has done me a world of good over the past 5+ years. after winning my singles qualifier, i decided that i needed some new lumber — and a new case.

mike and jace were very helpful as i went through the selection process. i wanted to make sure i got something with a wood-to-wood joint, that had good quality wood and that was not going to kill ye olde bank account.

so…

i purchased the mcdermott m1-1a “warden” cue. woo! i got it from ozone billiards — partially for cost, partially for delivery time and partially because they would engrave “erock” on the butt for me. i also had a tiger dynamite tip put on it.

in addition, i purchased a nifty case from pooldawg that will hold both of my cues. yes, it is “synthetic” leather, but it looks AMAZING and holds everything i need safe and sound…

after playing with it for a few weeks, it is more than i had ever expected. it is “weighted” much differently than my cuetec and the tip really engages the cue ball in a different way than i am used to. most of the shots that i was taking in a “far” quadrant are now barely off center — there is so much more control…

the summer pool season is in full swing!

after my win on monday with my new team, i joined my tuesday team at paddy’s to take on the other paddy’s team.

i got there early and had a few with dympna behind the bar. of course, there was a bit of smack talking. ahem. it was good to hang with keith and rich for a bit as well…

we won the night 3-2!

chris (4) took out rick (5) in the first match. thank you to rick for forwarding the info about the “buffalo takes manhattan” party this weekend!

i played carol (4) and… won! woo! that makes 5 straight wins for me going back to the qualifier i won a few weeks back. there was a really interested scenerio in one of the games that is very difficult to describe in words. however, it involved me getting ball in hand, soft safety-ing and then carol trying an up and down shot giving me ball in hand. all with her on the 8 and it hanging on a corner. several times in a row. she eventually won that game… again, i played with more confidence. something that i was truly lacking last season.

stephen was playing dympna when i left. unfortunately, he lost. as he points out, he is, bizarrely, 0-3 against her, but it is never really a bad idea to lose to a bartender.

i am not sure who played fourth, but they lost…

jace (6) took down sui (6) in the last match…

it was great to see ye olde dog’s bollock’s during the night. the old team showed up at paddy’s for a bit of a reunion that ended up at bull’s head. twas cool to see them!

i played my first match with my new monday apa team — manic monday. the team plays out of paddy's — the same place my tuesday team plays out of. convenient.

i was not able to stick it out til the end, but here is what i know…

we won the night 3-2.

nina (3) beat one of their sixes in the first match.

i played a LONG match against another (3) and i took it down. it was one of those "really evenly matched" things. we both made our fair share of nice shots. and crappy ones. in the final game, i ended up on the 8 with a good angle to the corner. which i, of course, missed most badly. my opponent had an "easy", straight wall shot that he babied. i put in the 8 from there. *phew*

paddy (yes, THAT paddy) lost a tough one.

sui was playing when i left…

i have joined a new (additional) pool team!

in addition to VLP (viva las paddy’s) on tuesday night’s, i have joined a team on monday night’s with sui as el capitaine… both teams are based out of paddy mcguire’s. nice!

new season starts next week….

qualified! woo!

at o’flanagan’s on saturday for another attempt at qualifying for the apa single’s championship…

started out against an sl4… won the first game giving me a huge advantage (as he needed to win 3 straight) and in the second game, he tried a defensive shot that ended up scratching on the 8-ball. round one… won!

second round versus hunter, an sl3. again. winning. woo.

final round against cisco, an sl4. he took the first game. and then the second game. eeeek. and then things got weird. on the break, in the third game, he sank the 8-ball, followed closely by the cue ball. strike up one for me… on my break, in the fourth game, the 8-ball came within 1/2 inch of going into the center pocket. cisco ran some balls… i ran some balls… he made it to the 8 first and… scratched with too much follow into the corner pocket.

certainly not the way i wanted to “win”, but… i am qualified!

now i need something to do on saturday afternoons!

coupla other photos from the day are in Miscellaneous 2007…

attempted to qualify, again, at o’flanagan’s.

this week i was the tournament director as well as a player.

alison and i went up early for brunch — yummy omlettes! — and a few beverages before the matches started.

i missed out on the byes in the first qual and played one of two people i did not know previously — whendy. although small in stature, she intimidated me with her glove and fancy chalk contraption. she played quite well and got herself out of a few jams i put her in while trying to play some defense. dorie ended up winning — woo!

the first qual ended in record time and the four remaning players — myself included — decided to play a second qual. with only four players, you skip the first round completely and go right to semi-final play. i played joseph — an sl3 — that had lost to mandy the first time around. in all seriousness, i think we all should have had less to drink. ahem. i lost. mandy took down the second qual — woo!

i baked/brought cupcakes to the qual. thank you to joseph for actually eating one.

the sabres game was on as well… they lost too. go figure.

try and try again.

i ended up playing two qualifiers on saturday afternoon at o’flanagan’s. i did not make it up there for brunch, as i had been doing, unfortuantely…

the first qual i played diane (sl3) in round one. in the first game, i worked it down to the eight and missed what should have been an easy corner shot leaving her with one ball and the eight — which, of course, she took down. in the second game i ran a bunch of balls over 3 innings and was left with a safety on the eight as i did not have a good look at it. as luck, and the table would have it, the cue ball, which should have it off the rail rolled slowly and bizarrely toward the center pocket and barely dropped in. eight scratch. frustrating as she had 6 balls left. erock goes down in two games.

the second qual i lucked out a bit for the first round by catching a bye. woo! in the semis, i played jason (sl5) in a tightly contested match. we went hill/hill and i lost as we were both shooting at the eight.

it was good to hang with some of the “usual gang” — diane, mandy… mandy’s friend was a riot. and it was cool to meet and hang with jason, billy (i’ll see YOU at chelsea piers) and hunter (thanks for taking those mets tix!).

8 may pool league…

viva las paddy’s v peter dillon’s 2 (i never caught the team name…)

last match of the season…

we started with jenny (5) against a 6. a very focused 6. a very quick shooting focused 6. jenny goes down…

jace (6) tangles with a 4. it is over quickly. 1-1

it is now only 815 and both teams only have 3’s and 4’s left.

chris (4) takes on a 3 and dispatches him. 2-1

lauren (4) takes on a 3 and takes him out… 3-1

and then… it is down to me and…. whoops. they don’t have a fifth player! i take down the final match of the evening with 0 innings and in 15 seconds. i am good. 4-1

five points still would not be enough to push us to playoff level, but we should have a good shot at the wildcard.

the bartender at peter dillon’s was very cool, btw. and i love the music — jukebox — there — it sounds like a mix i would make in high school — “sweet dreams” followed by “holiday in cambodia” followed by “don’t believe the hype”. awesome.