Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story

Did you ever want to be a road player?
I did, a long time ago.

Check out this new pool book:
Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story
by Jerry Forsyth.

Good reading.
Couldn't put it down.
But when I did,
I was glad I never became a road player!

Available now from
Bebob Publishing
(click on "more books")
Only 19.95, and you can't get it
any cheaper at Amazon.com!

Enjoy!

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More on: Knickerless Pool

I didn't mean to bring this subject up,
it was just something that happened.
I mean, it was a new personal best high run for me,
and I even got it on video,
but the bad news is that I wasn't wearing pants.

Now I want to be perfectly clear that I did
not intentionally start out to make a video of
me shooting pool, without pants.
Absolutely not.

I was simply video-taping my practice session.
Of course I started out wearing pants,
but it was late at night,
in the privacy of my home,
the fireplace was putting out a lot of heat,
and I kinda forgot about the camcorder running,
and the next thing you know my knickers are off,
and I'm running balls like it's a walk in the park!

It hardly seems appropriate for the Holiday Season,
and I'm sure you would prefer to have other images
in your mind, rather than the one of me shooting pool
without pants.

Heck, even I don't want to be thinking about me
on video, shooting pool, junk in the wind.
It's the video thing that I would object to.
I just wouldn't want a video of it on the internet.
Call me old-fashioned.

However, there are people of the YouTube generation
who might enthusiastically share their
world record high run attempts, without pants...

Well, one thing lead to another, and
a meeting was held here at the offices of
Diary of a Pool Shooter
and there was compiled a short list of people
we would like to see do a video attempt
at a world record high run, without pants:

1. Jennifer Barretta
2. Jennifer Chen
3. Jennifer Barretta AND Jennifer Chen

I'm not sure how this got into the Official Rules,
but it seems that there is extra credit for wearing pigtails.

From my limited personal exposure
(excuse the unintentional pun)
with the subject
I judge it to be easier to set a record high run
shooting pool whilst knickerless
because a person would be more relaxed and comfortable,
and endurance would be increased.

This could be the next big thing in pool.
You heard it here first.

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43 Balls, No Pants

Late last night, well past midnight,
I had just finished a session of creative writing
for a new project in my plan for Global Domination.
I needed a break,
so I started to hit some balls...

I rigged myself up with my new iPod Shuffle Gen 2,
loaded with some easy blues by Corinne Bailey Rae.

My focus was on my stroke,
the quality of the hit,
and how light and easy and balanced the cue felt.
Soon enough I was hitting them pretty good,
so I turned on the video camera...

Toward the end of the hour-long tape,
I wasn't counting,
but it seemed as if I had a decent run
so I stopped to review what I had.

To my surprise, a new personal best:
a run of 43, setting up for the break shot
at the end of each rack.

My previous high run was 35,
but that was many years ago, in college.
The best part is that, this time,
I have proof on video tape.
(When I was in college, video tape didn't exist.)

I'd give you a link to view the tape,
but I wasn't wearing pants at the time,
and this is a G-rated website...

Next time, I'll see how good I can do with pants.

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It's Alive!

Many times in our practice sessions,
when the occasion called for it,
El Maestro would encourage me to use my left hand,
instead of a bridge,
but every time I would pass on that,
explaining that my left hand was
completely useless, unfeeling, inert, uncoordinated.

And besides...
(my father, a wise man in such matters,
says that a person's real reason
always comes after "...and besides...")
I would be mighty embarrassed
to miss a feeble lefthanded poke.

The Irish have this saying:
"Tis better the devil you know,
than the devil you don't know."

I prefer to use a bridge,
than to expand my skills?
Doesn't make sense does it?
For 3 years I never even tried.

But a few months ago,
in the privacy of my solo practice,
I actually tried a left handed shot,
and it went in.
Of course it was a very straight, short shot.
And it felt really strange.
But it went in.

Over some weeks,
I found a new freedom from the bridge
and learned to focus and trust my left hand.

About a month ago,
in a match with El Maestro,
and in a public pool hall,
for all the world to see,
I took a left handed shot,
made it,
and got position.

Now, don't get me wrong,
there is still much work that I can do
to get a natural, fluid stroke with the left.

But I am On The Path...

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