Look what I won!

Look what I won!

The US Amateur Championships
(California Preliminaries)
was held this weekend
and I won a really neat patch,
with an official APA US Amateur Championship logo,
commemorating my "Break and Run in 9-ball".

What it doesn't tell you is that
my opponent was on the hill at the time!
Talk about clutch play!
Way to go Mikie!!

And, it also doesn't tell you that while
my opponent was on the hill
when I popped a break and run on his
out-of-town pool playing self,

I was headed for a complete wipeout!
Nothing could be more humiliating!

At around 4-0 I started to think
I couldn't shoot pool at all,
that everything up to now has been a hallucination.

What was I thinking? Check this:
We lag for the call (break or game).
He wins by a half-roll,
and chooses to have the break,
and then I call 8-ball...
What was I thinking?
8-ball is my weaker game, by far.
And this fact has been pounded into me
several times over the last few weeks.

I always choose 9-ball first,
but for some reason decided to choose 8 this time.
He won all 5 games of 8-ball,
and then had me one down in the 9-ball segment!
Six to zero!
One more game to complete annihilation!

Where does a man have to go inside
to recover from such a situation?
Is it even possible to recover?
All things are possible.

He missed a shot, and opened the door for me.
That's when I discovered my stroke,
and starting sinking balls and getting shape.
Six - One.
And then I popped the break and run. Six - Two.
And I won the next. Six - Three.

And then he won that last game, and the set,
with an excellent offensive safety.

Analysis: My mojo was late at the gate.
Gotta work on that.

The next set we play 9-ball first.
I won handily at 7-2.
Case closed.
And I made some really nice shots.
That was fun.

That was the end of Saturday's play.
Gotta be back Sunday morning for match at 10am.
How civilized... I was outta there by 7:30pm,
and now I can go home and eat a decent meal,
and relax for the next day.

---

I check my email.
Lowell Williams,
one of my best friends,
is dead.

This is the man who taught me to fly.
A true American Hero,
a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot in WW II...
He and I had many flying adventures together.
Worth a book...
Now he's gone.
(more about Lowell Williams, click here)

---

Sunday morning always comes earlier than you want,
so when I get there at 9:30am
it's precious few strokes for me.

This morning we're playing 9-ball first,
and after 8 games of 9-ball
Fast Mikie (that's me) is ahead 5-3,
and we head into the 8-ball format,
and all I need is two games, he needs 4 in a row.
He got 4 in a row,
and now I get to go home and
think about why I am such an idiot at 8-ball.

I'm making shots ok.
It's strategy that's killing me.
Gotta work on that.

I have an entire year to prepare for
the next US Amateur Championships.
I'll be a lot better by then!

Congratulations to the lucky ones:

Men's US Amateur qualifiers:

John Troy (San Diego)
James DeCicco (San Diego)
Chuck Jacques (Orange County)
David Deninno (Orange County)
Brian Parks (Bakersfield)

Ladies US Amateur qualifiers:

Shar Young (San Diego)
Luz De Lira (San Diego)

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