Haven't picked up a cue for a couple of weeks now.

It not that I don't feel like playing, I just feel like doing other things even more.

I'm sure this is just temporary. The urge to hit balls will come back some day.

I just finished reading Willie's Game, finally purchased after several lost eBay auctions, and in honor of Mr. Mosconi I played nothing but straight pool all day.

I actually had a run of 52 early, but most of the day consisted of me running 14, then missing the break shot.

It really does suck to know exactly what needs to be done, yet be unable to perform.

I just need to get something off my chest.

People are pissing me off.

People piss me off all the time I suppose, but in this particular case they're pissing me off about break cues. Specifically the heavy vs. light debate.

As the argument goes, a lighter break cue will allow you to generate more speed with the cue, and that increased speed more than makes up for the fact that there's less mass hitting the cueball.

Well, lah dee dah.

I suppose, if I were so inclined, I could grab myself a light break cue and wind myself up like a softball pitcher, maybe even get a running start like Happy Gilmore, and really *WHACK* the damn ball. I might even be able to get an accurate hit every now and then.

Allow me to hit the cueball with less speed, however, and I'll hit the damn thing accurately every time I break. There are two components to a power break, and I'm going to list them in the order of importance. Pay attention here:

1. Accuracy.

2. Speed.

This shouldn't be news to any of you. If you know enough about pool to be reading this 'blog then you know I'm right. All the speed in the world does you no good if you can't hit the head ball correctly.

The point I'm trying to make here is that a slightly slower speed, combined with a more accurate hit, can result in a better break than an inaccurate hit at 100 miles per hour.

Just because somebody (I bet it was Sigel) said years ago that he preferred a lighter break cue because he felt it improved his break, that doesn't mean that every other self-professed expert else has to start parroting his words until the end of time.

Some people lose too much accuracy when they try to break at full speed. Some people are better off with a slower speed.

And those people are probably better off with a heavier break cue if their goal is to break the balls the hardest.

Don't argue. You know I'm right.

Okay, so I'm back into pool mode.

My post-DCC pool doldrums usually last until about this time for a reason.

That reason is that the Accu-Stats matches taped at the DCC finally go up for sale.

Every year, I buy all of the banks matches I can get my hands on. This year there were three tapes and I bought them all.

In addition to the Accu-Stats purchase, I've been going a little crazy on eBay. In the last 60 days, I've bought about a half-dozen books and another half-dozen videos.

Watching and reading all of these has really got me fired up again.

As far as my game goes, I've made some major changes to my sighting technique. I'm no longer aligning myself along the line formed by the contact points. I've basically just gone back to sighting along the cue.

It's helped my 9-ball game immensely, though I still suck.

For my banks game, I'm continuing the experiment I started, then aborted, a couple of months ago. I'm using a little pumphandle jab and the balls just keep banking in.

It's really funny to watch sometimes, but then I'll miss a few easy ones in a row and doubt sets in. I'm trying to stick with this for a while though as it's the closest I've ever been to dead stroke while banking.

Okay, I guess that's enough for now. I just wanted to let you people know that I was still out here.

Just got messaged that it was time for me to post something.

I've been busy with my non-pool life since the DCC ended, so my pool life isn't really worthy of an update right now. I usually end up taking a short break from pool for the weeks immediately after the DCC, so this is all normal.

I guess I could say that my nine-ball match went pretty much as I expected it to except that, along with my predicted break suckage, I also could not make more than a few balls in a row. I lost 7 to 3 I think, though it may have been 7 to 2.

I may get LASIK with my tax refund this year. That will hopefully eliminate at least one potential excuse for the next time I play poorly.

Spent the entire day yesterday practicing 9-Ball, in a fruitless attempt to make up for several years of practice lack.

What I did was play God races to seven. I won seven matches and lost seven matches. My victories were almost all narrow ones, and my losses were almost all blowouts.

My prediction for the DCC 9-Ball, which starts today, is that I will shoot well, but it will be my breaks that kill me. I'm making a ball on the break about 25% of the time, and I'm getting shape on the one about 25% of those times. This is simply not good enough, and even if I never miss a shot otherwise, this poor breaking performance will be my downfall.

Watched the last several matches of the Banks on the TV table. If you buy any accustats tapes you just might see me sitting off to the breaker's left.

The banking was very impressive, but I actually thought people were being a little too aggressive. Perhaps this can be blamed on Jason Miller proving last year that all-out offense can win the whole thing. In the end, though, David Matlock's slightly more contained impatience won him the tournament.

It turns out that my second-round opponent knows Bugs Rucker, so I got myself an introduction. This was the first time I'd ever even seen Bugs, and to actually meet him was really an honor.

...I'm not updating this thing with Derby City Classic entries the way I'd planned.

I've just been to damn tired by the time I get home, plus I've known that I'd have to get up early again.

Tomorrow should be better because once the Banks wraps up I'll be able to sleep in Tuesday morning.

So I'm out of the Banks. I once again won two matches and then lost two matches. One round out of the money. Oh well.

I have a problem with third round draws. In 2003 it was Charlie Bryant. I won that match. In 2004 it was Truman Hogue, and I lost.

This year my third round opponent was Louis DeMarco.

I need to make some more entries once I get my mental notes together, and once I diagram out some shots, but I'll list a few points here:

1. I banked eight in a row, tying my own high run in competition, against my second round opponent, a gentleman from West Virginia I think. I shot extremely well and would have won easily even without the high run.

2. My third round match started with my execution of a very nice run of five banks to win the first game. After that the match was a blur of Louis making banks and me racking. I guess I woke him up or something. Actually I missed a shot that would have put me up 2-1 with me breaking. A shot I really should have made. I'll diagram it later. I shot very well against Louis, but he's a fucking great player and he beat me.

3. My fourth match - well, in my fourth match I sucked the proverbial donkey dick. I simply could not adjust to the table banking short, and by the time I did start to adjust it was too late. I lost 3-0. I am not blaming the table for my loss. I should have been able to adjust, but I didn't do it in time. What I will say though is that if I'd played my fourth round opponent on a table that banked like the tables I played my first three matches on I would have just killed the guy. I have zero doubt of that.

4. Larry Nevel is just destroying everyone. Efren Reyes 3-0 and Truman Hogue 3-0 just to name two of his victims. Sometime over the next couple of days I'll diagram the out that Larry put on Truman to win that match. Had everyone on the room gasping at both the audacity and the execution. I don't know how that guy walks around with cojones like that. (Update: I've put Larry's out on the End Game Banks page.)

5. I bit the bullet and paid my entry for the nine ball that starts on Wednesday. If I win a match I'll be happily surprised.

I guess that's it for now.

Played my first (and, as it turned out after ten hours of uncertainty, only) match on Friday against a local Louisille player. Actually it was the guy checking badges of people trying to enter the room.

I won 3-1, shooting pretty well.

I certainly plan to provide more information than this on my match, and on some of the matches I watched, but right now I'm just too damn tired.

I finished my match at 3:00, then at 12:30 AM they told us that we had the night off but to show up at 9:00.

Of course all that pressure to sleep had just the opposite effect on me - I was awake until at least 3:00 AM.

I'd say that the non-competition surprise of the day for me was easily won by my friend Bob from when I was stationed in Omaha. I was waiting in line to get my ID badge printed and there he was, just walking by. Hadn't seen him in 14 years, and really hadn't seen much of him in the couple of years prior to that as he got a little strange there towards the end of his Omaha stay.

Very cool to see him though.

Also saw a few people from my RSB days, notably Fred Agnir, who's all famous now so I can use his full name.

Well I'm off to the tournament for my second match, probably at 10:00. This looks to be another very long day, but it's pool, and I love it.

(This is a reminder to myself to write about the shot that Shannon Daulton missed. The shot that nobody in the world will ever make. The shot that Shannon missed by about half a you-know-what hair.)

Yesterday my cousin Mike and I played quite a few games of banks while waiting for my foyer paint to dry.

At first the humidity was really affecting me and I didn't play very well at all, but the second session went a lot better. I ran quite a few fours on him, and maybe a few fives.

It was nice of Mike to humor me by playing banks - a game he's never played - so I could continue my pre-DCC warmup.

Later in the night I watched the 24 season premiere in the basement so I could keep practicing. At around 9:00 I could have beaten anyone who dared to enter my basement. Makeable banks were simply not being missed, and quite a few iffy banks were going in as well.

When I'd first started playing yesterday I was pretty concerned that my four-day illness (and the resulting lack of practice) may have done a lot of damage to my game. Luckily I was able to regain my speed control and adjust to the wet conditions.

I guess that's it. Bring 'em on.