Opinion/Blog
- Written by: Andy Janquitto
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A compendium of laments, explanations, excited utterances, alibis and excuses
There are sighs, monosyllabic grunts and groans, breathless mutterings. There are references to God. There are curses, of course, and sometimes long vituperative whisperings, best said in a foreign language, questioning the heritage of the table or the balls, or questioning why fate has turned cruel or why we ever took up this infernal game. The vernacular of the billiard world is rich in the things we say when we miss or when others miss.
- Written by: Andy Janquitto
- Hits: 8875
Cross-Over Billiard Players Through the Years
If you are a carom billiards player, you cherish a five-minute scene in the middle of the 1961 movie, The Hustler. Fast Eddie Felson’s manager, Bert Gordon, has set up a high stakes game at a Louisville mansion owned by Findley. Anxious to start the match, Fast Eddie removes the table cover and is confused by the absence of pockets. “Thought we came here to play pool?” Felson says. "I don’t play pool, Mr. Felson,” Findley says. He sips from his drink, a cigarette wedged between his middle and ring fingers. “I play billiards. My house, my game. You don’t have to play if you don’t want to.”