Trivia and The Weekend...

Like I said in the last post, I headed to Oconomowoc, WI for the Olympia Open III. The weather did kind of stink, but we made it there safely. I was surprised that there were so many people there considering the weather! Each division had at least 50-70 players and the women had about 30. It was a handicapped event. I didn't get to play in the women's division so I got to play in the men's upper division as a six. I think it has become very clear that bar table 8-ball is not my game! This weekend was not any different! This is the range of emotions I felt....
I started out well. I broke and ran the first rack of my first match. I was playing a five. That made it even. Then all of a sudden, the little doubts crept in. It is impossible to do well if you are telling yourself that you have no clue what you are doing! Honestly, I should have lost the match. Trailing 4-3, my opponent missed at the end of the rack each game. The hill-hill game was a nail-biter. I dogged it, then he dogged it, it was ugly. I pulled out the win though. Not a bad start.

My next match was against another six. Sure, it should be even. It became painfully obvious that it was not. My opponent knew the proper patterns and the shots that you need to know playing on a bar table. I lost 6-1!

On to the left side of the board for me. My next match was another six. I was down 4-1, then mounted a small comeback. When the score was 4-4, I had a chance to get on the hill first. Instead, I played a really awful shot and ended up hooking myself with two balls left. I lost that game. I did come back and make it 5-5. It seemed like I had a great chance to break and run out. I made a ball, had a shot, the stars were aligned! NOT. Again, I played the wrong pattern and came up short. After a safety battle, I had one of those awful 50/50 shots. Do you go for it, do you play safe? I think everyone knows that you have to make up your mind BEFORE you shoot the shot, not DURING the shot! I was undecided and just got down without making up my mind. I got what I deserved, I left him a shot, not just a shot, but a perfect breakout shot. He ran out and my tournament run was over.

I think we can all see the theme or rather, the problem when I play bar table 8-ball. I obviously need to work on pattern play and confidence. It amazes me that clusters of solids and stripes on a 7ft table can put me in a state of shock and make me feel like it is the first time I have ever played pool! If you guys have any ideas how to get over this, feel free to chime in!

Thanks to Dr. Pool for having a great tournament. If you are in the southern Wisconsin area in January of next year, I highly recommend checking it out. If you are a ski buff, you can even go skiing! My friend that roomed with us this trip was tempted to try it out and so was I, but to be honest, I'm scared. If I broke a bone I wouldn't know what to do! Here is a view of the ski hill at the Olympia Resort...
This weekend I also got the proofs for the Heartbacker t-shirts. I have to say, they look awesome! I decided to go with both red and purple. I will have a range of sizes, small-4x. They will be done by Friday! I'm so excited. If you would like a shirt, you can donate any amount $25 and up. Specify the color and size you want and make sure that your address is current on your Paypal address! I have to give a big thanks to those of you that have already expressed interest, ordered and helped me decide what to choose!

I also have to thank the local paper here in Bloomington, The Pantagraph and sports writer Randy Sharer. Randy and I did an interview last week and it ran today in the sports section. Thank you Randy. You have been a big supporter of my career for the past 15 years or so! I greatly appreciate it and the exposure you guys have given me over the years.

Okay, now what you have all been waiting for, the PoolDawg weekly trivia! I have been trying to think of a question all weekend but I am drawing a blank. I am going to go with a general pool question this week. Here you go: Who was the first woman inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame??

Good luck and remember to leave your email address along with your answer. The winner gets a $10 gift code from the folks at PoolDawg! Remember, that is the place to go for all of your pool supply cravings. Even if you don't win, everyone can save 5% off of their purchase by using the discount code ROUSEY.

Have a great week everyone and I will be back with something this week!