Vegas Billiard's Buzz - ArticlesVINNIE & THE YOUTES - 2010 APA NAT'L CHAMPIONSHIPS @ THE RIV 
Although some spectators at the 2010 APA Team Nationals might still be wondering what a "Youte" is, few if any doubt whether Las Vegas' Vinnie & the Youtes had their game on in the 8-ball Open Division. Starting with an ominous-sounding team named "Doom" from South Carolina, the Youtes worked their way up through the winner's side of the bracket, defeating opponents one-by-one as the initial field of 732 teams narrowed to 16 with the Youtes still in the hunt Friday evening.
A PICTURE IS WORTH... 
It’s been said that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That’s because every picture has its own story to tell. So what does that have to do with the game of pool? Well, the pictures that I’m referring to are the ones we hold in our minds before we take any shot in the game. Pool is a game of position, and we must always have an idea of where we want the cue ball to be, what we want to achieve, and what the end result will be. We begin with the end in mind first and work our way backwards. All of this begins with a clear mental picture, a vision, or a goal of what we want to accomplish. Without one, we find ourselves taking very difficult shots, snookered, or worse yet, scratching. It would be like an architect trying to construct a building without a blueprint. Before taking a shot to pocket an object ball, take a second to visualize the ball disappearing into the pocket and the cue ball landing where you intended for perfect position. If playing a safety, visualize where the object ball and the cue ball will end up after you’ve taken the shot, making sure your opponent can’t see the ball, and is forced to kick. Make it a point to develop this positive habit and add it to your routine. The theory of positive visualization not only applies to playing position, it also applies to our overall games and what we wish to accomplish in our pool playing. To reach the highest levels of play and to succeed, we must be able to see ourselves making difficult shots, succeeding in tough situations, making great comebacks, and winning against the best players. We must be able to see ourselves as the players we wish to become before it can ever happen. Remember that “The harvest will be a reflection of the seeds that were planted.” Professional athletes spend time on their mental games visualizing winning the races, the trophies, and the championships. It’s one of the things that’s most admirable about champions; their ability to visualize positively, which manifests and translates into positive results, confidence, winning, and success. There is a quote which says “If you can see it and believe it, you can achieve it”. Every great achievement in history started out as a vision or a picture in someone’s mind. Next time you’re competing in a match or tournament, take inventory of the mental images or visions you’re holding in your mind. Are they positive or negative? Are they successful? Are they the images that a winner would be visualizing? Remember that the most important piece of any jigsaw puzzle is the box cover; it has the picture of what we’re trying to accomplish, it gives us direction, and it is the blueprint we need to succeed. No matter what skill level you are, the greatest barriers that will have to be overcome will be found within yourself. Make it a point to practice positive visualization, and you’ll find yourself taking your game to the next level. Remember to begin with the end in mind, and very soon your picture will be telling its own story.
Until next time, keep practicing, play well, and we’ll see you in the winners circle! Jim Carmona
WE’RE GOIN’ TO VEGAS…..BABY! Congratulations to
“I have been incredibly blessed to have the most amazing people to call my friends, also known as the ‘Las Vegas Pool Players Community’. I can’t thank you enough for the selflessness you have shown me since I have started this very trying journey. The least I can do is send you a very special thank you and hope you know just how much I appreciate all you have done for me, even if it was just coming by to the event to say hi. I love and miss you all and am hoping to be on my feet again soon, so that I can give back to this extraordinary group.” Marielle Calizo see more photos>> BY JACKIE SHIRLEY, AUTHOR OF RUNNING THE TABLE: THE STORY OF TAMA THUNDER, THE INDIAN PRINCESS I was four years old when my parents left the carnival circuit and settled down in St. Joe, Michigan to work at a lakeside amusement park called Silver Beach. St. Joe didn’t like dens of iniquity, so the closest pool room was in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The two towns were separated by the St. Joe River and were usually referred to as the Twin Cities. Benton Harbor’s claim to fame was the House of David professional baseball team that was quite well known in the 1930s.
VEGAS BILLIARDS TOUR STOP #5 @ MICKEY'S CUES & BREWS - JULY 17 & 18, 2010
We seeded the 64-player bracket by dividing everyone by their handicaps, 2-6. Placing the 2's at the top of the bracket and 6's at the bottom. We received a wonderful amount of positive feedback for this format. EVERYONE was playing opponents of similar ability well within the first 3 rounds. It was ironic that a 2 and a 6 landed in the finals. Some first round wins were: Kellie Kehm over Patrick Kenney, Butch Peacock over Charlie Medeiros, Ralph Patterson over Steve Stokes, Sean Haviland over Joe Corpuz, Carlo Bellistri Sr. over Joe Klimchak, Tim Wampler over Phil Engstrom, Of course, there were some unbelievable comebacks! Jason Osborn vs. Brett Sandberg in a 4-3 race on the one-loss side. Brett was up 2-0 and Jason wins 4 in a row to win the match. Randy Kukla vs. Will Deethardt in a 6-2 race on the one-loss side. Randy was up 5-0 and Will won 2 in a row to win the match. Mark Estes vs. Latrelle (Smitty) Smith in a 6-4 race for the hot seat. Smitty was up 3-0 and Mark won 6 in a row to win the match!
Once again, Shawn & Michelle were exceptionally hospitable serving salad, fruit and Michelle's savory custom cupcakes. Special thank you's to Shawn & Michelle Gresser, Roger Ignasiak, Tim Wampler and Ray Skenandore. see VBT point standings>>
TAP DREAM TEAM 8-BALL TOURNAMENT @ MICKEY'S
MAKE PRACTICE SESSIONS COUNT PART SEVEN - POSITION
Be constantly aware of the angles, they are especially critical in 9-ball. Remember to always do all of your planning before you get into your shooting stance. Practice randomly setting up 3 balls and strategizing how to run them out in order. Go different ways until you are satisfied with your moves. Then set up 4 balls and try the same thing. Make the drills more difficult as you improve. Practice position shots that require the cueball to go down table on the first shot and back up table on the second shot and then back down again. On this drill, try to consciously avoid straight on position. This will condition you to be aware of the angles. Select some position drills from books or YouTube and practice those. When you practice, use a lot of center ball english. That way you will learn the natural path of the cueball. Once you know the natural path, it will be easier to figure out which english to use. It is usually not advantageous to try to pinpoint the exact placement of the cueball. It is far better to try to get the cueball to a general area. Visualize the largest circle (or oval) possible that will insure that you will have the proper angle on the next object ball. It is usually safer to go to the rail and back out rather than trying to baby the cueball to a stop. When the cueball is resting up against the rail it makes the shot much more difficult so plan your positioning to keep the cueball off the rail. If there are problem clusters in the rack, try to force your opponent to deal with them rather than running the balls until you get into trouble. However, if you are satisfied you can break them up and continue running the rack, go for it. When you get toward the end of the rack, slow down. Be especially aware of the angles you will need to make the last couple of balls. Walk completely around the table and study it. Keep telling yourself you can do it. After all, you probably can.
THE POSITIVE SIDE OF LOSING So, what’s so positive about losing? Well, absolutely nothing when it’s happening to you. Especially if you just missed a ball that cost you the match and you’re sitting there stewing in anger and frustration as you watch your opponent run out to win. It’s difficult to be positive in that situation, but rest assured that after the smoke clears and the dust settles, there are some positive things that come out of losing.
For starters, while losing is not on anyone’s agenda, for as long as we compete in this great game of pool, losing will always be a part of it and no one is exempt. The greatest pool players in our history have all suffered their fair share of losses in their journey to becoming great champions. Losing is part of the process in achieving greatness. There are lessons to be learned from our losses. We learn which shots cost us games and matches and we work to improve those areas of our games. Losing tells us we need to strengthen certain parts of our game whether it’s mechanical or mental. A heartbreaking loss can motivate us to become better and stronger players. Every defeat has a lesson that can be learned to improve the chances for future victories. Our defeats teach us to re-evaluate our mistakes so that we can make adjustments, fine tune our games, and learn how to achieve success. It is said that: “Experience is what you get, when you didn’t get what you wanted.” Years ago while playing in a tournament; I sat in my chair watching my opponent run the last few balls off the table to win the event. It occurred to me why I was about to lose; I simply made more mistakes than my opponent and I failed to execute when I had the chance. As I sat there in my chair I created an acronym for the word “LOSE” to help me remember why I lost: LACK OF SOME EXECUTION. Often times when we lose, the only thing we remember is that our opponent got lucky and won the match. But how did they get to the table in the first place? How did they win the other games and get on the hill? By taking a close look at our losses, we will see that at some point we failed to execute. Either we missed a ball, played poor position, a bad safety, scratched, fouled, etc. In other words, too many unforced errors. At the highest levels of play the error can be as small as failing to pocket a ball on the break. One way or another, at some point in the match, there was some lack of execution on our part. Losing teaches us that we need to make fewer mistakes if we want to win. The player, who makes the least errors and therefore plays the better game, wins in the long run. If we make fewer mistakes than our opponents and capitalize on their mistakes, we will find ourselves winning more games, matches, and tournaments. Until next time, keep practicing, play well, and we’ll see you in the winners circle! Jim Carmona~ 9-BALL DOUBLES TEAM "VEGAS NIGHT AND DAY" ARE HEADED TO APA NATIONALS IN AUGUST Sondra Friestad 5/Amy Encinias 5 defeated Ryan Messer 5/Catrina Gallegos 5. The lowest ranked team (only had to go to 19 points) Melissa Uptain 3/Gary Frerking 3 defeated Rebecca Hendrix 3/Don Kervin 6. But then lost to Tina Moden 4/Chris Erickson 5. The other lower-ranked, extremely indimidating team was Mikhail Lerma 4/Wendy Broadhead 3 (only going to 25 points) were surprisingly defeated in their first match...they just couldn't get any rolls to go their way. Semi-final round wins were Sondra/Amy over Gina/Al and Rob Womble 6/Tammie Couch 3 over Tina/Chris. The final match was nothing but exciting. Sondra/Amy having to go to 46 points and Rob/Tammie going to 38 points. Before the final rack, the score was 42-33 Sondra/Amy. Sondra to break and for what seemed like the first time all day, did not pocket a ball. Rob missed the 1-ball. Amy pockets the 1-ball and leaves Sondra a very tough shot on the 2-ball for shape on the 3-ball. Sondra needing to force draw the 2-ball, it just barely rattled the pocket. Tammie makes an outstanding cut on the 2-ball in the side pocket, but then scratched! With ball-in-hand, Amy takes their 1 time-out to discuss how to run the next 3 balls for the win. Sondra and Amy agreed to keep it as simple as possible and their plan worked. Sondra & Amy (pictured above with League Operator Marv Rethman) named their team "Vegas Night and Day". They are the only team representing Las Vegas in the 9-Ball Doubles National Event, so come down to the Riv and support them! ~ GO LAS VEGAS! Meanwhile, over in the Women's Open 8-Ball Teams Event, most of Las Vegas' reputable women players were accomplishing their goal. The women get ACS qualified through Southern Nevada 9-Ball League by actually playing on the same team together throughout the seasons. There are enough women on the team to break up into 2 teams. Their goal is always to meet up in the finals....and this time they did. I Had A Plan 7-11 Smokin 8's (pictured in black shirts: Debra Aarens, Rhonda Murray, Christina Kolkhorst, Sondra Friestad and Carrie Halvorson) went to the one-loss side of the bracket in the middle of the tournament. But they were on a mission and plowed their way through to the end of the one-loss side where they also defeated Which Witch is Which to play in the finals.
~ CHRISTY ROBERTSON WEARS THE PANTS IN THE ACS NATIONAL EVENTS AT THE RIVIERA Christy did, however, win the Speed Pool Event and retains the title of 2010 Women's Speed Pool Champion.
In addition, Christy's team won the Best Dressed Award (how ironic!). It's been an awesome week for Christy...watch out, she's on a roll!
MARIELLE CALIZO'S FUNDRAISER TOURNAMENT @ POOL SHARKS - MAY 29TH
Mahalo, see results>>
AMY ENCINIAS TAKES 2ND PLACE IN APA NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
MAKE PRACTICE SESSIONS COUNT - PRACTICE SESSION PART SIX
There are a few shots which should be executed with a locked wrist. On long shots, combine the locked wrist with a very short stroke and you will become more consistent in making them. Use the locked wrist any time you use centerball english, or if you want to stop the cue ball dead, cuing slightly below center on a straight-in shot. Now it is time to present to you one of the cardinal rules of pool playing: BEWARE OF REVERSE ENGLISH Reverse english is cuing on the same side of the cueball as the direction the object ball takes. In other words, if you are cutting the object ball to your left, you will use left english. Reverse english can often fool the best of the best, so use extreme caution when applying it. The simple remedy is to not use it unless you think it is absolutely necessary. The other remedy is to practice and practice it until you understand how to administer it. If the object ball is fairly close to the pocket, the shot is not so difficult; but when the object ball is over two feet from the pocket the shot becomes pretty challenging. Study the point of aim while practicing this shot, because it is not where you think it is going to be. Lock your wrist and keep a light but solid baseball grip on your cuestick. If I’m using high reverse english I do not always come to a complete stop before shooting it. It just depends on how the shot feels to me. But I do take extra time when aiming so that I am sure that my aim is correct. When I am prepared to shoot, I take a very short backswing of about two inches. Then I will smoothly start the forward stroke toward the cueball. Once the cuestick makes contact with the cueball, I will accelerate the follow through, depending on where I want the cue ball. If your stroke is not smooth, or if you accelerate your forward stroke too soon, you will throw the shot off. Practice this shot often. When confronted with a lower percentage shot, that just means that you should apply more concentration and be more careful. In nineball, always think safety if it’s a shot you might miss. A lot of times you will be able to play position on the next ball while still leaving your opponent a tough shot if you miss. You will feel much more confident in your approach toward a difficult shot if you also have a backup safety plan for insurance.
ARCHIVES MICKEY'S B-PLAYER TOURNAMENT by The Pool Fly, April 17, 2010 click to view pdf >> MAKE PRACTICE SESSIONS COUNT - PART FIVE: FINE TUNE YOUR GAME by Tom Pringle, April 14, 2010 click to view pdf >> DON'T HAVE A STROKE? GET ONE! by Greg Kuhl, April 1, 2010 click to view pdf >> 2010 DOC HILL CHAMPION: CHRIS MCCREARY March 23, 20010 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> MAKE PRACTICE SESSIONS COUNT - PART FOUR by Tom Pringle, March 16, 2010 click to view pdf >> TAP LAS VEGAS - JUNIOR POOL TOURNAMENTS by Cynthia Chappell, March 3, 2010 click to view pdf >> MAKE PRACTICE SESSIONS COUNT - PART THREE by Tom Pringle, March 2, 2010 click to view pdf >> 2009 DOC HILL CHAMPION: A CHAT WITH BENNY SCHAPERO February 23, 20010 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> MICKEY'S 1ST PLAYER'S HANDICAPPED TOURNAMENT by The Pool Fly, February 23, 2010 click to view pdf >> MAKE PRACTICE SESSIONS COUNT - PART TWO by Tom Pringle, February 15, 2010 click to view pdf >> Vegas Billiard's Tour - Premiere Event February 1, 20010 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> MAKE PRACTICE SESSIONS COUNT - PART ONE by Tom Pringle, February 1, 2010 click to view pdf >> TAP LAS VEGAS AND THE 2010 YOUTH POOL PLAYERS OF VEGAS by Cynthia Chappell, January 20, 2010 click to view pdf >> GAME ON by Tom Pringle, January 1, 2010 click to view pdf >> WHO ARE THE BEST PLAYERS IN VEGAS? PART 2 by Greg Kuhl, December 14, 2009 click to view pdf >> 2009 THANKSGIVING TOURNEY AT MICKEY'S by The Pool Fly, December 9, 2009 click to view pdf >> BRIAN PARKS IS HEADED TO THE US OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS December 1, 2009 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> CLASSY THANKSGIVING AT MICKEY'S November 30, 2009 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> RICKY WHITE GOES UNDEFEATED November 23, 2009 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> BREAK TECHNIQUES & TIPS by Mark Lerma, November 19, 2009 click to view pdf >> WHO ARE THE BEST PLAYERS IN VEGAS? PART 1 by Greg Kuhl, November 4, 2009 click to view pdf >> APA LAS VEGAS' BOB GRAESER PASSES THE TORCH by Marvin Rethman, November 3, 2009 click to view pdf >> 1ST ANNUAL "FALL SHOOTOUT" POOL TOURNAMENTS AT PUTTER'S NOV. 20-22ND - PRESS RELEASE November 1, 2009 - for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> CUE CLUB/TAP 8-BALL TOURNAMENTS October 26, 2009 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> DEALER'S CHOICE 25TH ANNIVERSARY 9-BALL 'B' PLAYER TOURNAMENT October 10-11, 2009 ~ for immediate release by vbb click to view pdf >> ROAD TO NATIONALS October 4, 2009 - by Amy C. Encinias click to view pdf >> Mickey's Cues & Brews (7380 S. Eastern Ave. Las Vegas, NV) held the Las Vegas Cup 8-Ball B-Player’s Tournament on Diamond Bar Box tables. by Shawn Gresser, September 30, 2009 click to view pdf >> ARE CHAMPIONS BORN OR MADE? by Greg Kuhl, September 1, 2009 click to view pdf >> |
|
The 
Joe Bosco, Terry Lussier, Howard Dameron, Jerry Lerner and Daniel Kovac. 
Gin Mill’s Team 8 winning State Runner-Up. From left to right: Chris Adlawan, Gerald Branham, Captain, Carlo Butto, Jeremy Head and Lucy Hernandez.
Congratulations to Cheyenne Saloon’s Cheyenne TAP Out for winning 4th place! From left to right: Ray “Baby Ray” Galaviz, Marilyn Kamealoha, Danny Dayan, Jeff Chappell, Doug Coffman; not pictured are Glen Ivy, Danny Dietrich and Vern Mundle.
The victory came down to the final game and the final shot of the night between Kendra Harris and Sharen Hicks of Cue U. In the end, Kendra was victorious and won for her team!
It was not an easy victory for any of these top teams and they are to be commended for their efforts and their excellent show of their abilities in shooting pool and sportsmanship throughout the tournament! Thanks to our many referees who helped to insure things ran smoothly and fairly. A special thanks also to 
Congratulations! to Mark Estes for winning the Vegas Billiards Tour Stop #5 - Handicap 8-ball Tournament on July 17 & 18th at Mickey's Cues & Brews. In a 6-2 race, Mark defeated Will Deethardt in the finals 6-0. Will played an outstanding tournament. There were 8 skill level "2's" total and during two long, challenging days he came from the one-loss side all the way to the end. The VBT tournament drew 60 players! Many of us were eagerly anticipating the exciting weekend at Mickey's. In addition to the Vegas Billiards Tour tournament, Shawn Gresser was also holding the John Ervolino Memorial, Open 9-Ball Tournament on the other side of the room on big tables. 
Both tournaments ran steadily with 13 players competing in both. Impressively, Randy Kukla and Sean Haviland placed in the money in both tournaments.
Shawn Foret over Mike Didier, Jerry Enos over James Murphy, Rebecca Wagner over Ray Galaviz, Randy Chugg over Ray Skenandore, Roger Ignasiak over Tony Spanier and Randy Kukla over Justin Whitehead to name a few. Every match was unpredictable.
Another big congratulations goes to Walter Glass for winning the John Ervolino Open 9-ball big table tournament for $700.00! (Walter placed 17-24th in the VBT tournament.) Rocky Phipps did a great job taking 2nd in the Ervolino Open winning $350.00 with Justin Whitehead in 3rd place earning $225.00. Full Ervolino Open 9-Ball results 
We started day 2 with Set to Kill competing with Lights Out. The first 2 matches with John Vece and Harold Shimojo, and Grant Gilbert and Lee Doerr going hill/hill and the last in a race to 3 was Gordon Graham vs. Ryan Caparida of Set to Kill with Ryan taking is team on to the finals with their 3rd consecutive win!
In the finals between Set to Kill and Fun & Games, Howard Dameron and Lee Doerr took the table to compete in a hill/hill match. In the end, it was Lee walking away with the win. The next match came between Joe Bosco and Brian Erle. With both players on top of their game, once again Set to Kill's, Brian Erle takes the match to include an 8-ball break is his list of successes for the weekend. With Set to Kill on the hill for the win, Henry Tyler played Set to Kill's, Ryan Caparida. Both players did well, but in the end it was Ryan and Set to Kill walking away with the victory.
Good shotmaking makes the challenges of positioning the ball much easier, so dedicate a lot of time into improving your shotmaking. The secret is to know your game. Place the cueball in a position where you know you can make that ball at least 7 out of 10 times. As you abide by this rule, you will find that your shotmaking percentage will increase to possibly 9-10 out of 10 times. You don’t need to map out the entire rack, but you do need to plan at least 3 or 4 shots ahead. You will need a plan that is flexible and allows for error. If you go too far (or not far enough) on a certain position shot, you will need to regroup and develop another plan.
On June 19th at the 
Las Vegas teams played an outstanding tournament at the ACS National Championships at the Riviera Hotel & Casino, June 6-12th, 2010. A big congratulations goes to Rich Tuesdays (pictured left: Tony Spanier, Bruce Barrette, Jim Taylor, Rich Verley and Drew Giovanis) who took 1st Place in the Men's Mixed Standard 8-Ball Team Event winning a total of $2,000.00.
(pictured in orange shirts below: Christy Robertson, Paula Patterson, Amy Encinias, Pam Fletcher and Pam Huntington) played strong throughout the tournament winning the match for the hot seat against Which Witch is Which (Jessica Frideres' team). 
Having to beat "I Had a Plan" two sets for the 1st Place title, that's exactly what 7-11 Smokin 8's did. They pretty much led the score in both entire sets and they all played exceptional. They received the 1st place trophy and $1,750.00. 2nd place received trophies and $1,200.00. Great job Las Vegas! We can't wait for next year. 
A big congratulations goes to Christy Robertson (pictured left) who played exceptional the entire week at the Riviera during the ACS National Championships June 6-12th. Aside from a minor setback with regards to a dress code violation right before her final match (a referee didn't want to allow her capri pants), she dominated the Women's Open Singles 8-ball event by not losing a match until, unfortunately, the finals. She wanted so very much to win the title, but it just wasn't in the cards. She received the 2nd place trophy and $1,000.00. All of her family and friends there for support couldn't be more proud. (pictured below: the note she was given to use for any other violation accusations: "Christy Goldsmith/Robertson. Pants are ok!! --Head Referee").
Her Women's Open 8-Ball Team - I Had A Plan (Pam Fletcher, Christy Robertson, Amy Encinias, Paula Patterson and Pam Huntington) won the 2nd place trophy and $1,200 in the team event. It was very cool to have an all Vegas final match...they were defeated by the other Las Vegas women's team 7-11 Smokin 8's (Sondra Friestad, Rhonda Murray, Debra Aarens, Carrie Halvorson and Christina Kolkhorst) who all played exceptional.
With your help and support we raised over $3,000 for Marielle (pictured left). This tournament was a huge success -
especially on such short notice!
We would like to thank our Sponsors: Pool Sharks, Rum Runner, 7-11, Mickey’s Cues & Brews,
ACCINGE and LV Cue Club. Also, much thanks to our Raffle Item Donators: (All Sponsors-booze, tshirts,
hats, dinner coupons, autographed cue ball, free pool time, car washes and hot dogs), FireArt-
Guardians II Sunrise Artwork, Ricky and Tina White-Saturday Evening Post 1924/Billiard Artwork,
Walter Glass-1 hr. Pool Lesson, Tudy McFadden-1/2 Massage, Joe Klimchak-Cue Repair Coupons,
Madeline Dolan-Candle Gift Bag, Elle Reid of the APA-Scentsy Gift Bag, Mark Estes CSI-t-shirts, Holly
Ryan-Billard Posters, Brian Miller-Jiffy Smog Coupons, David Robertson-Tournament Flyer, Vegas
Billiards Buzz-Advertising and Jacky Chen-Photography.
Thank you to our friends and fellow pool player brothers and sisters who could not play, but generously
gave cash$$ donations (too many to name-you know who you are-THANK YOU!)
And of course, great thanks to all of the players and remember that you received 2 hrs. free pool time at
Pool Sharks.
Marielle begged Matt to “bust her out” as she really wanted to thank you all in person, so please accept
her thanks.
Ok....so I'm feeling really obnoxious putting a picture of myself on my own website....but it is quite an achievement for me. I NEVER expected to win a match in the APA Singles Nationals in the '5's only' bracket this past weekend and I am still seriously shocked at my finish. I lost my very first match to Bryan Bateman from Richmond, VA (who is hands down the nicest, most pleasant opponent I have ever met and he should have received the sportsmanship award). After 9 long matches, four of them going hill-hill, 2 days later and very little sleep, I found myself in the finals. I felt I was still shooting well at that point, but the ability to make the 8-ball seemed to have escaped me. 
