Didn't notice this thread when it first came out. Not much has changed with me since then though so nobody missed anything.

I'm Dave Siltz, 34, single, living in New Albany IN, of which Louisville KY is a suburb. I'm a computer consultant and besides pool my main hobby is home theater. I also have 3 cats. Been playing since about 1983 when I started a decade of military (Air Force) service. I lived in Bellevue, NE for six years until 1992 and that's where I guess I got pretty good at pool. I noticed a couple of posts from the Omaha area and I'm wondering if we have any mutual acquaintances. Anyone who knows who "Awesome Larry" is should also know who I am. Ask Mike the bartender at Fort Crook (if he still works there).

Also lived in Kent WA for six years and I'm responsible for starting the APA up there and running it (for my absent LO) it until G.B. bought it in '94. I've also lived and played in Anchorage AK and New Orleans LA and met quite a few good people (and good shooters) in both cities.

Let's see, as this is written I shoot with an old Schon (SP-8?) that I've had for about 10 years, and I break with a 25oz Schmelke I call "The club". A couple of weeks ago I went on a little buying spree that culminated in my ordering 2 new Schons (STL-4 for breaking, STL-13 for shooting) that I'm hoping to get by Thanksgiving.

Very long time readers may recall that I got in a bit of trouble about 5 years ago for posting the complete APA handicap system to R.S.B. The system has changed a lot since then so I guess the heat's off.

I've played in APA, VEA, Midwest, and BCA 8-Ball leagues. I refuse to play in the APA's so-called "9-ball" league since IMHO it's not 9-ball when you start counting balls made. I was a fairly solid "9" in the BCA and VNEA leagues, and scraped out a "10" for the one season I played the Midwest league. I've had a NLA (National Lowest Attainable) of "7" in the APA for about 10 years, mainly due to a 3 month stretch where I dropped my average to .38 or something ridiculous like that. I haven't played as well since. I got kind of burnt out on pool in '95 (girl troubles) and haven't played league or regular tournaments since, though I've been considering getting back into it. Played my first tournament in 4 years about a month ago (a small weekly deal at Bailey's in Clarkville IN) and won it, so my game hasn't chumped up too much.

A little off topic, but this thread reminded me of something quite strange I saw once. Anyone who was at the APA Singles Regionals in Omaha in 1988 might remember this. During the Womens' Finals a local player (I'll call her Carol), and someone from out of town (Something "Skank" I think) were both down to a single ball in the hill-hill game. Skank was lining up to shoot the wrong ball, and everyone in the room held their breath. Just before the shot one of Skank's friends called out "Skanky, you're solids!" or something to that effect. Skank looked up, switched her shot, and made her last ball.

Before Skank could pocket the eight and win the match, Carol called a foul, since any type of coaching is forbidden in APA singles play. Skank claimed that she hadn't been coached, that she noticed the mistake on her own, and that she should not be punished just because some drunk couldn't keep his mouth shut.

The League Operator couldn't make a ruling (he was sort of clueless) so there was a rather long shouting match, followed by a call to APA headquarters in St. Louis. The final ruling was that since it was a friend of Skank's that had done the "coaching" a rules violation had occurred and Carol should get ball-in-hand.

So finally after about a 30 minute delay that game was allowed to continue. Carol picked up the cueball, sat it in front of the eight, and shot the eight in. She had completely forgotten (a)that she was shooting stripes, and (b)that she still had one ball left. After all of the uproar Carol had lost the game and the match after all.

If there is a moral to this story, I suppose it would be that you need to keep your own ducks in a row, not count on someone else to line them up for you.