I met up with Fred Agnir Monday night at The Bank Shot in Louisville. I'd really been looking forward to playing against Fred since I've been assuming that he and I played about the same speed.

I was right. We ended up playing two sets of 9 ball and one set of 8 ball. In the first (9 ball) set, Fred had me down 7-2 racing to 9 but I finally found my focus and squeaked out a 9-8 victory.

The next set was race to 9 in 8 ball, and again we went hill-hill and I somehow managed to put the final 8 ball into a pocket 2.26" wide to take that set as well.

The last set was a race to 7 in 9 ball. Fred pulled ahead 4-2, then I pulled ahead 5-4, and inevitably we ended up tied on the hill at 6-6. I won that game on an el-cheapo 1-9 combination to take the final set.

Any of the sets could have easily gone the other way. My breaks were working a little better than Fred's. His safeties were a lot better than mine. Fred's shotmaking was very good, my speed control was a little better than his. If a few rolls had gone the other way Fred could have taken all three sets.

Fred may correct me on this, but I think we were both playing at about our average speed. You know how sometimes you just play good enough to win? Well I think Fred and I were both doing just that. When I stepped it up a notch Fred followed suit easily, and vice-versa. It would be interesting to match up against Fred for some serious play, but I think we'd still end up pretty even.

I really enjoyed playing against Fred, though I was a little concerned he'd pop a vein or something because of this magic corner pocket that seemed to deflect all his shots while letting mine go right in no matter how much I cheated the pocket.

One final note: Don't scratch on the break playing Fred in 8 ball. He will apparently run out on you every time.