tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627514320196817102024-03-13T09:59:55.516-07:00Come On Jimmy!For the love, boredom and wonder of snooker.Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-48699404549851477542010-01-20T12:57:00.000-08:002010-01-20T12:58:09.739-08:00Unreasonably high expectations of the casual snooker player<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; ">On a recent visit to Center Parcs I was astonished to see that the text supporting booking of the Center Parcs snooker tables suggested that one should 'come and have a go, who knows, you may even get a 147!'.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I noted that the other sports descriptions did not for instance say 'come and have a go at tennis, who knows, you may serve at over 140mph', or 'why not try running, who knows, you could cover 100 metres in under 9.7 seconds!'.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now for me, getting a 147 is a bit like the old monkeys and typewriters scenario. The actual chances of hitting the balls in a way that could score a maximum are so slim that I could try fifty times a day for the rest of my life and I don't think it would happen, especially not on a full size table. I probably couldn't even do it in that time if I was allowed to move the white with my hand.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Which makes me wonder, who are these people visiting Center Parcs and occasionally knocking in a maximum in the Country Club whilst keeping one eye on their bike lock outside? I always thought snooker was more of a Butlins crowd.</span></div>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-53930982417229881062010-01-17T10:20:00.000-08:002010-01-17T12:32:07.865-08:00Top drawer at the Masters<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">What a superb Masters tournament this year. Some truly engrossing matches, and a great atmosphere at Wembley. To celebrate the BBC's new catchphrase 'top drawer', here are some things that have been right out of the top drawer in the Masters:</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>1. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/8451023.stm">Intro music!</a></b> Loving this addition, just what's needed. It's about time the players got bigged up on the way in. I loved Mark King's dancing to his, so much better than the po-faced walk down the stairs. Also loved Ronnie O Sullivan's idea of playing it when someone has won the frame, what a brilliant idea - imagine finishing off a century to the sound of Eye of the Tiger.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>2. The Rocket in some classic matches! </b>Vs the Thunder from Down Under, Snebdon the Clown and then Mark Selby in the final. All three superb matches. Not too high on the flounce-o-meter this time either.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>3. John Higgins out nice and early! </b>Heh heh, not too much of honest John to sit through thank goodness. A good job really as this is supposed to be a return to entertaining snooker rather than exemplary professionalism (yawn).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>4. The Jester pretends to beat up Ding the Robot!</b> Possibly the most awkward sporting moment in history, as the intro music spurs Mark Selby on to pretend box Ding, who looks frightened and offers him his hand. Ding then goes on to lose 6-1, perhaps a tactic for any player who aspires to beat him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>5. Jimmy on TV again!</b> Actually this one was closer to the bottom drawer really. Probably more like one of the legs of the cabinet of drawers if truth be told.</span></div>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-15826304892904844182010-01-12T10:25:00.000-08:002010-01-12T10:28:33.542-08:00Steve Davis on Twitter<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Say what you like about Twitter, for some people it is the perfect medium. Steve Davis is one of them. The 160 character medium plays to his strengths in witty quips and denies him the space to sound interested about someone having re-tipped their cue. He also liberally rips it out of snooker players, which is of course what they are there for. He has even discussed various pieces of snooker slang - right up my street! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Check out some of his recent efforts:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"Jimmy can win this tonight! He ate better looking things than mark in the jungle!"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"Can't wait fir the Murphy Hendry match! What will stephens walk on music be? The smiths - heaven knows ....?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"Why is it they never seem to put Marco Fu and Mark King in the same half of the draw? What are they frightened of?"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"Is Snooker a sport? Who cares! But it'll be on TV all next week! :) Why? Because we have under table heating. Other sports take note."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">John higgins "can you turn that spot light off?" Dave coleshill (lighting director) "why? Don't you want to be on the tele"?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">More on <a href="http://twitter.com/SteveSnooker">http://twitter.com/SteveSnooker</a></span></div>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-44231892914986758732010-01-10T12:15:00.000-08:002010-01-10T14:11:11.036-08:00Jimmy White plays actual snooker on TV!<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Well Whitewatchers, you can imagine my delight at hearing actual people shouting 'Come on Jimmy!' in a major snooker tournament and it being </span><a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/other-sports/jimmy-white-will-generate-jungle-fever-at-the-masters-14625320.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">in reference to Jimmy playing</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Young James has decided not to put any pressure on himself by </span><a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23792562-jimmy-white-hungry-for-masters-title-after-starving-in-jungle.do"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">talking to all</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/6957079/Jimmy-White-gets-wild-card-for-Wembley-Masters.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">of the national papers</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, </span><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/8430119.stm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">inviting all of his celebrity mates to watch </span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">and insisting that he can reclaim a position in the top 32 every time someone speaks to him. To be fair, he has qualified fairly and squarely for his wild card position. Some nasty people on the internet seem to think that spending three weeks in the company of a bunch of z list tossers, eating grubs and being made to wear a very tight red catsuit is not test enough.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">All I can say is that I hope Jim's celebrity mates know what to expect from watching a snooker match involving two has-beens. We're three frames in and already Jimmy has missed some shots that even I could get in without the help of any beer. I expect Kim and Gino have already got a least a numb buttock each. When they both go numb they'll be wishing they'd gone to Jordan's for tea.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The first three shots were vintage White though, tonking in a red from D, missing any kind of position, then playing a long colour to get back in it. From there onwards though, Jimmy's highest break so far is around the kind of level I would be satisfied with after 4 frames - 27.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">***Update at 9:30pm*** Ha ha ha there is a cheeky scamp in the crowd with a sign that says 'Come On Jimmy!' which he is waving whenever Mark King plays a shot. What a rum old boy!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">*** Update at 10pm *** Well this is one of the worst games of snooker I've seen. Mark King is playing abysmally, and Jimbo's still managing to stuff it up. Jimmy has played one good shot and even that went in off! Virgo is laying right into him making it even more depressing to watch. 5-2 to King, first to 6 takes it. Anything other than a win for King would be a miracle.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">*** Update at 10:10pm*** Totally farcical. There are people at Wembley who have paid money to see this!***</span></div>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-77157346841896862272009-12-09T14:27:00.000-08:002009-12-09T14:33:08.446-08:00Jimmy White, Finalist<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Superb work by young James, reaching the final of the Australian Open and knocking out some of the tournament favourites along the way. As Jimbo hardly said anything throughout the series, there can be only one conclusion drawn, and that is that he is very popular indeed amongst the general public, particularly housewives.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">How could we forget his desperate grasp for a gold star on the high wire, displaying all of the athleticism of Stephen Lee reaching for a long red without the rest.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Great to see Jimmy fighting it out in a final once more and to see him achieve his dream of runner up once again.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Back to the snooker soon I promise!</span></div></div>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-10312373434423902412009-11-24T12:49:00.000-08:002009-11-24T12:57:40.559-08:00Jimmy knocks Boredan out in the first round!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Get in there Jimmy my son! Jim has only another 10 rounds to go until he can finally achieve his dream of being runner up in the Australian Open. With another contestant already having dropped out due to the strain of long periods of boredom without food Jimmy must be thanking his lucky stars, safe in the knowledge that he has successfully endured a safety exchange with Peter Ebdon AND Steve Davis in the past, and nothing is more of an endurance than that. Except perhaps having to listen to Virgo commentating on a safety exchange between Snebdon and the Nugget.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I'm very much looking forward to Jimmy's first challenge. I've heard that it may involve watching Michaela bend over a snooker table to replace the yellow (from the wrong side) for ten minutes without making any laddish comments. Or possibly being asked to pot a simple black when 17 all with Stephen Hendry and 40 points in front. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Surely impossible for the young challenger?</span></div>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-15554807153304177152009-11-20T13:46:00.000-08:002009-11-20T13:50:14.188-08:00The Australian Open: Jimmy vs Boredan<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Well well Jimmy Watchers. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Many of you will know that I spend my days waiting to see young James locked in battle in a fierce competition of wills with his fellow contestants. I hope that one day he will return to our screens on prime time TV, fighting for second place as only he can. What would be best would be if Jimmy could find a way to perform at his best in front of an audience of 8 million like the good old days, maybe with some proper prime time presenters like Ant and Dec to introduce him properly, rather than that guy Ravi who has started doing the intros in the Masters.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Imagine my surprise when this incredible vision came true this week! Jimbo would appear to be taking part in a rather unusual new snooker competition which I will call the Australian Open. As with any snooker competition the people he is competing against are largely unknowns with bad skin and a whiff of desperation.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I must say he is doing a fine job thus far of staying under the radar, keeping his secret plan of finishing as runner-up a well kept secret whilst allowing Boredan (the celebrity version of Bendreary) to take the early glory.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So far my highlight is Jimmy walking up a small hill and nearly collapsing. Other than that, Jimbo has largely kept himself to himself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As far as I'm concerned there are two ways which this might go. Jimmy is either the lovable rogue a la Phil Tufnell, or a total drong like Rodney Marsh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I am hoping that soon Jimmy will carry out a task that requires some serious physical exercise, like maybe leaning over the table for a tough yellow with the rest, taking a shot that involves difficult stance, or having to reach for the extension without Michaela helping. Hopefully he won't do anything too embarrassing like hitting the blue off the break or starbursting the reds though.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Come on Jimmy!</span></div><div><br /></div>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-10859966075833286182009-09-09T13:57:00.001-07:002009-09-09T14:18:40.609-07:00I'm the nations best loved sporting underdog, get me out of here<span style="font-family: arial;">The evenings are getting cooler, the sun has started going down earlier in the day. My thoughts have started to turn to the start of the snooker season and the unbridled joy which several weeks worth of quietly clicking balls and whispering commentators will bring me. Who knows, perhaps Jimmy will make it to one of the big competitions this year? And then win the World Championship.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">But my excitement has been shattered by a terrible rumour which is doing the rounds. People are saying that Jimmy White will be in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. <a href="www.digitalspy.co.uk/celebrity/a170414/jimmy-white-tipped-for-im-a-celebrity.html">This cannot be</a>! Whilst this could be a calculated risk that Jimmy's 'true personality' will come out in the show and our great nation will find him wonderfully endearing, what will probably happen is that it will turn out that he is actually a bit of a dong.<br /><br />Jimmy will also have to humilate himself by eating worms and at some point will be on camera in his speedos having a shower. Perhaps the producers could get him to do something he really, really doesn't want to do, like shake hands with Hendreary, or listen to 3 hours of Parrott's witty quips, or have Virgo whisper in his ear about how he likes a long swingy action and has a nice touch in the balls. The horror.<br /><br />What a total nightmare for White Watchers.<br /><br />I will of course be providing daily updates.<br /><br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-29389786719371288222009-05-10T07:57:00.000-07:002009-05-10T08:07:23.609-07:00Game over (until it gets cold again)<span style="font-family: arial;">Well, that is quite enough Come On Jimmy for one season I think. Snooker has no place when the sun is shining outside. Even the Grand Master's snooker group disbands over the summer (after the all important 'Wives and Girlfriends night' of course). As soon as the snooker is back on the telly, sometime like November, I will write some more snooker-related guff. This time I may have the red button at my disposal, then you really will be in trouble.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">I will leave you with this excellent article by Simon Barnes of The Times, who puts the whole thing better than I ever could:</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/simon_barnes/article6128484.ece"><br />www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/simon_barnes/article6128484.ece</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Come On Jimmy!</span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-50082978084562180172009-05-03T15:26:00.000-07:002009-05-10T08:08:18.758-07:00Wrigglers<span style="font-family:arial;">I have noticed some excellent additional slang creeping in this year. There are some special terms commonly used amongst my immediate cue sport circle when a ball does that wriggly thing where it hits both edges of the pocket and then goes in.<br /><br />My favourites are:</span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">It wriggled</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">It wiggled</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">It wiped its feet</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">It went in off the post</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">It thought about it</span></li></ul><span style="font-family:arial;">You get the idea. This year these have been joined by the excellent 'It knocked three times' coined by John Virgo during the Shaun Murphy vs John Higgins match. Great work Virgo, I am one step closer to forgiving your life-long affiliation with that tit Jim Davidson.<br /><br />UPDATE: One additional wriggler comment from the Grand Master - "It entered through the side door". Great work.<br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-90964687171175228932009-05-01T03:21:00.001-07:002009-05-01T03:28:08.389-07:00Australians and snooker<span style="font-family:arial;">I am very pleased to see 'The Thunder from Down Under'* Neil Robertson doing well in the World Championship. So far he is doing a very good impression of Alex Higgins / Jimmy White, by falling short positionally very regularly and having to tonk it around the table to make up for it. My kind of player. He is also playing Shaun Murphy who is a frankly odious individual.<br /><br />But why on earth would you play snooker if you were Australian? It's bad enough in the Spring and Summer in the UK - staying in a dark room when the sun is shining seems so wrong. Australia is just not a country suited to the baize. Also, about three quarters of the tournaments are in the UK. Neil Robertson seems to be holding it together but Quinten Hann drove himself mad from the jetlag, eventually giving in and just starbursting the reds. That was proper fun, and (as described elsewhere in this blog) can be a psychological tactic unlike any other in the amateur game, snooker clearly drove him mental.<br /><br />On another note, Dennis Taylor shamed himself on last night's commentary with a terrible Australia pun. The Thunder (tm) had the white on the cushion and needed to dig one it out with some backspin. Dennis mentioned that he was probably good at digging seeing as he'd come all the way from Australia.<br /><br />Only a lifetime ban from the BBC can set the proper example to other commentators to ensure this doesn't happen again.<br /><br />*Best new snooker nickname this year.<br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-86726818697793025882009-04-29T09:27:00.000-07:002009-04-29T15:46:53.622-07:00Hendry in luckiest 147 ever<span style="font-family:arial;">I can't even bring myself to watch it but I'm sure there are no fruity bananas or doubles in it. I couldn't help but raise a smile at this image of Stephen Hendreary on the front page of the BBC Sport website though. It really seemed to capture something...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5083cW5-yLJ26NOOoBdAgxzuSJjh76ECKDGOkZUQEXBCiUWFsut3GrHTVcM7U3Zs-9ifRi9C9Jt5KRhJ338VXJ3ywaxzQ80msRIPAU5e6WzUscem0E8MZNvQE7Ub_8dyTWEQDiTDEC4/s1600-h/Hendry.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5083cW5-yLJ26NOOoBdAgxzuSJjh76ECKDGOkZUQEXBCiUWFsut3GrHTVcM7U3Zs-9ifRi9C9Jt5KRhJ338VXJ3ywaxzQ80msRIPAU5e6WzUscem0E8MZNvQE7Ub_8dyTWEQDiTDEC4/s400/Hendry.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330151138098424722" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">UPDATE:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Alright, alright, I have watched it now. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/8023081.stm">Here it is</a> in case you fancy it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Notice the anticipation at around 25 points, where Virgo clearly wants to mention it might be a 147, but knows the rules of the OPTA 147 Index. He almost starts panting whilst discussing whether Hendry will go for the pink or black and probably dribbles on the microphone. Great stuff. Virgo finally breaks down on 7 reds, 7 blacks and lays an initial hint. Clive mentions it outright, but in his haste he says it when the crowd are clapping, and you can't really hear him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Hendry plays it old-school, and breaks the pack only after he's potted all the available reds.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">At 129 points, you can see Ethel and Edith in the crowd confirming to one another that a 147 may indeed be in progress.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">It has two flair shots in it - both plants. One of them even has a little wriggle on the way down and the other is a three ball multi-angle affair. I am impressed! The pink at the end is pretty good too.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-79797297265469886512009-04-26T11:08:00.000-07:002009-04-26T11:24:27.961-07:00Oh dear.<span style="font-family: arial;">Much badness at the World Championship in the week. Apologies that updates have not been forthcoming, largely due to my utter dispair at proceedings and having to revert to analogue TV halfway through the week. No red button? It's like the 1950s.<br /><br />Here is my summation:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The bad</span><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Liang WenProperBo defeated by Ding the Drone.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">O Sullivan out playing really poorly.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Hendreary looking like he might do well.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Nigel Bond the accountant of snooker grinds down Snebdon to a thin paste in the most snoozetastic match ever.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Steve Davis out, and unable to set a new record for the longest match of all time (or thinking about a shot for longer than anyone ever) and hence reducing some debutante to tears.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The longest frame ever between two dullards of snooker (didn't see it thank god)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Where is Hazel? I am not sure about this Rishi fellow, he doesn't look like he could hold a conversation about Parrott's big tip for long. Come back Hazel, I miss you!<br /></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The good</span><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">'Let's get the boys on the baize!' - I am a big fan of this crazy haired gonk doing the intros, he has got some great nicknames. The Thunder from Down Under - brilliant.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Neil Robertson still in with a shout. I like an Australian who plays snooker (more on this another time - it is like being an Eskimo who is into tanning).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Totally open draw - could be won by a complete random. Please don't let John Higgins win.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">People boo-ing Shaun Murphy. Something to do with his personal circumstances. Whatever, nice to see a bit of theatre. He did what the Ronaldong does and responded to it by playing about ten times better.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Commentators still talking utter nonsense. One blatant comment about Stephen Lee having a good touch in the balls for a big lad has already been reported. Nice work fellas.<br /></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial;">All in all, not a good start. Let's hope it picks up in the second week.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-40503332348920854742009-04-17T07:39:00.000-07:002009-04-17T07:40:07.922-07:00And by the way...<span style="font-family: arial;">The World Championship starts this weekend. If you have a red button or the internet you can watch every shot, probably live. There, you have no excuse.</span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-85203701441126706572009-04-17T07:20:00.000-07:002009-04-17T07:28:43.300-07:00"I wouldn't necessarily be drinking or out clubbing, but I would be gambling or playing cards"<span style="font-family: arial;">Young James was to be seen this week in a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/inside_sport/7998939.stm">fine feature on Inside Sport</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. Despite his pasty sweaty demeanour, he clearly charmed the pants off Gabby Logan with his tales of excessive drinking, not winning the World Championship and the good old days. He frequently performed what I would call his interview special move, a wry smile followed by a bashful downward glance when discussing getting lagered rather than concentrating on beating Hendreary. He also mentioned that he had shared eight pints with Steve Davis the night before. By the look of him Jim had seven and a half of them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Sadly that witty quip maker Parrott was on the sofa, and it must be said that Gabby still appeared to be in a bit of a fluster post-Jimmy, particularly when dealing with the guy who knew lots about cricket. Parrott mentioned that he had become part of a 'legends' team. Legends of quip-making perhaps, but not snooker Parrott. They showed the one interesting part of his snooker career, where he pots the long red down the cushion and raises his freakish eyebrows.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">There were of course many great highlights of Jim's career, including the missed black (the agony!), all of the bits where other people are winning the World Championship trophy (like 6 daggers through my heart) and a man who was probably from Tooting telling him that he was definitely going to win.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Check out the very young James in the VT with his headmaster - what a cheeky little scamp. He has hardly aged!</span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-48742335142198108712009-04-05T13:05:00.000-07:002009-04-05T13:06:24.070-07:00The Longest Match<span style="font-family:arial;">The boy and I came to the conclusion that it was time to call an end to years of speculating as to which of us was better at snooker. Having had many best of five or even best of seven matches, it was obvious that this short technique of measuring performance was not enough.<br /><br />So we played first to ten, and then we had the idea of playing first to 18, as though we were in a World Championship. But the conditions weren't ideal (i.e. I lost both) as we had to keep stopping the game at inappropriate moments, most unlike the professional game.<br /><br />There was clearly only one way to settle this in a sensible way. It was the summer holidays, which when 16 years old seems like the longest period that could possibly exist. It had to be first to 100.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />My memory of how the match progressed is hazy, but the one thing I do recall about it is that at one point I was something like 80 frames to 60 down, and pulled it back to close to 90-90. Amazingly, the game ended 100-99 to the Boy, with me kindly handing him the final frame, no doubt going in off the black after some Patrick Ewing and giving away a cheap foul after scuffing the white with the Steve Ryder.<br /><br />An honourable mention should go to my good friend Mark, with whom I played a first to 35 (best of 69) match of pot black pool in the kitchen of his student house <span style="font-style: italic;">all in one day</span>. It ended 35-34 to Mark, once again proving my inability to win a match of substantial length.</span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-84797900190145549942009-04-02T13:52:00.001-07:002009-04-02T13:52:29.471-07:00Virgo hands out some pun-ishment<span style="font-family:arial;">'Both these players need two balls to get to the semi-finals' said the ever homo-erotic JV whilst stroking Willie Thorne's bald head with his spare hand. </span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-91827709681446508402009-03-30T12:46:00.000-07:002009-04-30T17:02:56.557-07:00The times I have watched snooker live and what it was like. Part Two: The Masters at Wembley<span style="font-family:arial;">I'm not quite sure how this happened, but my whole family went to see this one. I was late in to the first match, which was a shame because it went to the wire. <a href="http://kezins.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/joker_13.jpg">Selby</a> versus <a href="http://www.moviewallpapers.net/images/wallpapers/1983/scarface/scarface-2-1024.jpg">Doherty</a>. Good game. Selby has got the best nickname, and makes funny faces and the occasional joke around the table. Good jokes though, not like <a href="http://www.nyt.co.uk/john.parrott.htm">Parrott and his witty quips which are more like something that Jimmy Tarbuck would come up with</a>. The Jester from Leicester can regularly be seen having a good chuckle with <a href="http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2009/03/podcast6jan-verhaas.html">referee Jan Verhaas</a>, although obviously he wouldn't want to be making <a href="http://www.supersvet.cz/snooker/img_clanky/200612261102_TABB.jpg">Michaela</a> laugh because he might be worried that all of the bigger boys in the commentary box would laugh at him and say that he fancies her.<br /><br />I made it into the last frame to see The Jester defeat Kenneth. Great atmosphere. The security at Wembley Arena made a late play to stop me entering the room, but as we had somehow got tickets that were as far as possible in the right hand corner of the arena I probably could have got away with wearing a traffic cone on my head. Tense stuff which Selby won 6-5. As well as being a significantly better witty quipster than anyone else, watching Selby live is fun because he stalks around in such a weird way, a bit <a href="http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=alex%20higgins%20video&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv#">like those old videos you see of Alex Higgins</a>.<br /><br />We had the most entertainment out of those ear pieces. Obviously at about a tenner each they are the biggest rip-off in the entire world, but it is worth it to hear some of the total shite that the commentators come out with. The PUNishment being handed out by Virgo was next level, and was generating some serious guffawing in the <a href="http://www.virginmedia.com/sport/galleries/larger-than-life-heroes.php?ssid=10">Stephen Lee</a> match that we watched second. Virgo and Dennis were talking about Stephen Lee's 'long swingy action' and how he had a 'lovely touch amongst the balls'. When Virgo started saying how he 'preferred a long swingy one to a short sharp one' it all got too much. Surely they didn't broadcast that?<br /><br />Other points of note include a protracted discussion about the merits of peppermint tea, which Dennis Taylor has (apparently) started experimenting with (his usual dose of heroin before a match was playing havoc with his concentration). As many snooker commentary discussions do, this seemingly harmless avenue of chat ended in a supreme piece of racial stereotyping which would make any liberal Guardian-reading snooker lover blush. During the tea conversation, Virgo or Dennis noted that Marco Fu was also drinking tea. 'What type do you think it is?' asked Dennis. 'Probably Jasmine tea' said Virgo. Of course! Fu being from Hong Kong, what else would he be drinking? I would have laughed if it was actually Yorkshire tea or Twinings breakfast.<br /><br />Stephen Lee wins easily, his long swingy action too much for the Jasmine tea-drinking Fu, who to be fair looks pretty bored throughout the whole thing. Watching this match was pretty dire I must say, but definitely worth it to see the whole family out chuckling in unison at the nonsense coming through the earpiece and yawning together at another protracted safety exchange.</span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-51369222777902689942009-03-30T11:53:00.000-07:002009-03-30T12:09:52.485-07:00The perfect television sport<span style="font-family:arial;">It is often spoken as fact by the oracles of snooker (Virgo and Dennis) that snooker is the perfect television sport. I'm never quite sure why this is, but my main understanding of it is that the table fits very well indeed on the screen. When you compare it with other sports, you can see what I mean:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGqEeonSiaxBNWSOK6W-XbLX47eN6nsr2e5T8Kfl2YP_GU58Ep6mLSbf6N8HRALl0QiQKCPhBZPNmiGESeVgBUztaC2RGbLVduMxmC95aDOT_yJXGU2J4RNew38YiK1pbuRNgMO3NEfA/s1600-h/Snooker+vs+other+TV+sports.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 373px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGqEeonSiaxBNWSOK6W-XbLX47eN6nsr2e5T8Kfl2YP_GU58Ep6mLSbf6N8HRALl0QiQKCPhBZPNmiGESeVgBUztaC2RGbLVduMxmC95aDOT_yJXGU2J4RNew38YiK1pbuRNgMO3NEfA/s400/Snooker+vs+other+TV+sports.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319058860017074082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">I suppose one could put forward the argument that a tennis court fits on the screen if viewed from far enough away, but one player looks mighty small compared with the other, and they do hit the ball very fast making it difficult to see in the sun.<br /><br />Formula One is the official worst performer on this basis.<br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-88789814840122148142009-03-17T12:47:00.001-07:002009-03-21T09:01:12.102-07:00Psychology and snooker<span style="font-family:arial;">Snooker is one of the least physical sports ever. Of that there is no doubt. I can think of only <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.bdodarts.com/">darts </a>and <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.guardian.co.uk/sport/chess">chess</a>, that are less physical and like snooker they falll more into the 'games' category than sports. Team Snooker GB would have a mighty fine chance of winning mucho medals at the Olympics, but I get the feeling that the Olympic Committee may find its introduction a bit of a pisstake. It would be funny if they were made to where lycra though.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One thing that is jolly interesting about snooker is the way in which it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZHaXhD3nTo">highlights the psychological aspect of sport</a>. In football, a player is often said to reach his peak around the age of 28 to 30 - when he has enough physical fitness to compete, but also enough experience, guile and drive for an all-round game. Snooker removes the physical aspect (mostly, although I think <a href="http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/4188476.Stephen_Lee_reaches_snooker_World_Championships/">Stephen Lee</a> probably can't reach as many shots as other players) and focusses on the psychological. What you get is a psychological dividing line between young and old. Beyond the age of 35, players seem to seize up, looking like they have seen this shot before and remembering the frames they have lost by playing more aggressively. Under 25, regardless of talent, when it comes to grinding one out they will play shots that are too petulant or risky and often end up losing frames. <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/04/30/my-bangkok-taxi-drink-drive-shame-by-stephen-hendry-86908-20399561/">Stephen Hendry</a>, that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KyKrSL9t7M">ruthless Jimmy Defeater</a>, is going through his fall into old age risk avoidance now, and is losing his once iron ability. Brilliant. <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-sport/snooker/2008/04/22/video-ten-classic-steve-davis-moments-115875-20391624/">Steve Davis</a> is a shadow of his former World Champion grinder self and has turned his snooker persona into a jolly old battler who does it for the love.. But its only their minds that have changed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.ronnieosullivan.tv/">Ronnie O Sullivan</a>, being a player with a diagnosed <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article2395208.ece">mental illness</a> is a fascinating example. On a 'good day' he is unstoppable, believing that he can achieve anything and striving for an unattainable perfection. But when he is down he can barely bring himself to pick up the cue, or will play irrationally or without concentration. The reaction of the snooker media to this is farcical, and the tone of voice in which they criticise some of his behaviour is that of a confused onlooker that doesn't understand mental illness and mistakes it for petulance. I'm sometimes amazed that Ronnie has actually won the World Championship. Sure, he has the talent, but he also seems to go through the 'cycle' in nearly every tournament, often emerging from a bad patch in time for a crucial match. It's a credit to him that he has overcome the disability (however temporarily) to achieve the highest accolade in his sport.<br /><br />Incidentally, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVaUhlgIa6U">Tony Drago seems to have been largely unaffected</a> and is probably <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUeX7t7bTzo&feature=related"><span style="font-style: italic;">more </span>reckless</a> than he was as a younger player.<br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-68937229631451100922009-03-16T08:57:00.000-07:002009-03-21T12:52:38.024-07:00Chalking the other player<span style="font-family:arial;">What a delight there is to be had from this simple, childish act. Especially when your opponent is wearing <a href="http://www.virginmedia.com/microsites/sport/slideshow/snooker-heroes/img_2.jpg">white or some other similarly stainable colour</a>. I have seen many variations, involving secret chalking, blatant chalking, and a recent discovery (which I think may have been invented in the North) called chalky finger, involving using someone's finger as if it were a cue and giving it a thoroughly good chalking indeed. Not quite sure how I fell for that one but I did. I also then accidentally chalked my clothing, giving me a double chalking.<br /><br />Chalking the other player should clearly be introduced into the World Championships as an acceptable psychological tactic, especially against <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1919178/Snookers-Stephen-Hendry-defends-his-right-to-be-boring.html">Stephen Hendry</a>, who is asking for a chalking.<br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-72954628692220923062009-03-12T03:51:00.000-07:002009-03-21T13:10:25.968-07:00The big draw<span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2009/03/maguire-to-face-burnett-again.html">The first round of the World Championship</a> has been drawn, and there are some jolly interesting matches. Here are my top five:<br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">1. Ding Junhui (Chn, 11) v <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAe1LLCvOLY">Liang WenProperBo</a> (Chn, 40)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">2. Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng, 1) v Stuart Bingham (Eng, 21)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">3. Stephen Maguire (Sco, 2) v Jamie Burnett (Sco, 45) - <span style="font-style: italic;">there was some sort of match-fixing scandal involving a game between these two. I'll be having a flutter (once I'm off the phone to them both).</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">4. Neil Robertson (Aus, 10) v Steve Davis (Eng, 29) - <span style="font-style: italic;">This should be a cracker, I wonder if Steve can make Neil Robertson go totally mental by playing every other shot as a safety.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">5. Stephen Hendreary (Sco, 6) v Mark Williams (Wal, 22) - <span style="font-style: italic;">Hopefully one will get knocked out and the other will retire injured.</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family:arial;">And the ones I probably won't be watching:<br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">14 = Peter Snebdon (Eng, 9) v Nigel Bond (Eng, 23) - <span style="font-style: italic;">Bore factor: 10/10. Bond is the accountant of snooker.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">14 = The Dott (Sco, 13) v Barry Hawkins (Eng, 27) - <span style="font-style: italic;">Massive snorefest. The Dott is amongst the dullest.</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family:arial;">With any luck <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1919178/Snookers-Stephen-Hendry-defends-his-right-to-be-boring.html">Hendreary</a> will get knocked out in the first round by Mark Williams, who will get knocked out in the second. Mark did have quite a reputation as an exciting player due to his love of a long pot or two, but I can't say I've been thrilled by any of his recent matches. Proper Bo will hopefully knock out Ding. In fact hopefully Proper Bo and Ronnie O Sullivan will be in the final together. Let's hope he doesn't end up crying <a href="http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2008/01/58a_15_ding_415x275.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23432462-details/Ding%2Bstill%2Bsuffering%2Bafter%2BWembley%2Bupset/article.do&usg=__w8vsaOFES5E4ZdozHHBPpqCbyRI=&h=275&w=415&sz=44&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=rXNMTcC-qs-KTM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dding%2Bjunhui%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1">like Ding did that time</a>, that was all a little bit embarrassing.<br /><br />As ever I will be rooting for <a href="www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgnAIsPY8hA">Steve Davis</a> without really knowing why. He is a very charming man indeed and I take an almost perverse pleasure in watching him <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/furious-dott-puts-davis-in-dock-over-slow-play-720382.html">grind out a beauty</a> against some poor young player who only wants a decent game at the Crucible. Without doubt one of Steve's matches will finish at around 2:30am. Thank god <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/world_champs_2002/player_profiles/1919235.stm">Dave Harold</a> failed to make it, the idea of the two of them playing in the same match would be too much. I'm not sure Steve will make it past <a href="http://www.neilrobertson.net/html/index1.html">Neil Robertson </a>though, he is a mighty good player (especially for an Australian). Neil also has the best website of any snooker player, I've just noticed.<br /><br />The draw is wide open based on these matches though. With many of the big names underperforming, this could be a World Championship with a <a href="http://www.joejohnson.co.uk/aboutjoe.php">pretty random winner</a>, especially if <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/6180811.stm">O Sullivan doesn't turn up</a>.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-81545069168855789742009-03-09T04:03:00.000-07:002009-03-21T13:15:38.287-07:00Parrott alert<span style="font-family:arial;">The BBC's beloved <a href="http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2008/09/john-parrott-25-years-professional.html">Parrott</a> is not in the World Championships. This is good news as far as I'm concerned. I cannot bear his excruciating 'comedy' comments when playing, and he is much better sitting on the couch next to <a href="http://www.hazelirvine.net/">Hazel</a> or <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/sport/raystubbs.shtml">Ray</a>. Although it was a long time ago and he only committed the offence once, he is responsible for being a <a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jimmy-White-v-John-Parrot-UK-Snooker-final-1982-dvd-_W0QQitemZ180338163733QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090319?IMSfp=TL090319113003r11297">Jimmy defeater (tm)</a> so I have never warmed to him.</span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-28217511902388851132009-03-08T08:37:00.001-07:002009-03-21T13:35:08.852-07:00Best shots I can remember Part II - Jimmy finishes the job with the Steve Ryder<span style="font-family:arial;">This happened in an important match late in Jimmy's career, probably in the Masters as I'm sure I would have remembered the feeling of hysteria had it been in the World Championship. Young James is playing well but has adopted a <a href="http://m.blog.hu/sn/snooker/image/harold001.jpg">slower mo</a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://m.blog.hu/sn/snooker/image/harold001.jpg">re considered style </a>on the advice of a sports psychologist who frankly is fighting an uphill battle. More on the psychology of snooker soon.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This sparkling run of form is given a special dust</span><span style="font-family:arial;">ing of magic in the shape of a 143 break, which is the highest in the tournament (the traditional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Thorne">Willie</a> baiting 147 has thus far not occured, miraculously). Jimmy's slower style and the feeling that the crowd are desperate for him to show some of his previous form have created an odd atmosphere that falls somewhere between extreme tension and hysterical celebration. The pi</span><span style="font-family:arial;">nnacle of the frame is an</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> astonishing shot on the blue when it appears that Jimmy has completely shafted himself through poor positional play (sound familiar?). Old Jim has always been the best with the rest (as Virgo always reminds us whenever he picks it up) and shows us why this reputation has been earned by not only spanking in the blue, but getting perfect position on the tricky pink. Here is my memory of it:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7ZV6ksQZzQwDQBJ6J9H3gOI8PwaH_2d6F742-Ye8prjxhChO-FLvoUiHMqhBVsYMZa0eHCdUmNasbjZTEXVXfbXFzSmd90HUPN2AqBzm8J5xDDo5A6hr2jD-RAEihmw5wFntDGf7kvw/s1600-h/Jimmy+Steve+Ryder+3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 328px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7ZV6ksQZzQwDQBJ6J9H3gOI8PwaH_2d6F742-Ye8prjxhChO-FLvoUiHMqhBVsYMZa0eHCdUmNasbjZTEXVXfbXFzSmd90HUPN2AqBzm8J5xDDo5A6hr2jD-RAEihmw5wFntDGf7kvw/s400/Jimmy+Steve+Ryder+3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312592137304335826" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSW-F7GKJjRPwAom9UAuUB_JlEJDmiPMExgsq0wZv3LV6CwjcVPu4sJTu-8aEY77DNMJ2WoYNu1_aZK4mQLoxIZ9q8H2EMKk11PiUdgfF9hzsv-Bxu1npW-HeJjNiz8NRtOyV9ctE1F00/s1600-h/Jimmy+Steve+Ryder.JPG"><br /></a>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62751432019681710.post-23907922923388098952009-03-06T06:47:00.000-08:002009-03-21T13:40:12.216-07:00Difficult stance<span style="font-family:arial;">We like to point out when one player or another has had to adopt a <a href="http://www.sifulee.com/photos/mabuarticle/dingxima-sm.jpg">'difficult stance'</a>. In our games, this is due to a chair, old toy or table full of beer cans affecting a players natural position. Completing a difficult pot when accompanied by a difficult stance is one of the games great skills, and is I feel sadly lacking in the professional game. With only referee Jan Verhaas, the other player and the BBC cameras representing obstacles there is barely even a chance of tripping over, let alone having to adopt an unusual pose. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Difficult stance is most entertaining in the following scenarios:</span><br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WAG car exit</span> - When a player has to bend their knees <a href="http://media.entertainment.sky.com/image/unscaled/2008/9/12/Jada-Pinkett-Smith-0908.jpg">like a WAG trying to get out of a car without showing her knickers</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gymnast</span> - When a player has to <a href="http://www.sportsphotography.net/portfolio/gymnast.jpg">significantly widen their legs</a> in order to avoid an item on the floor</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lazy bastard</span> - When a player has to <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/11/03/lives_now_narrowweb__300x438,0.jpg">partially sit on something</a> (such as the back of a chair) and carry on playing</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cloth damage danger</span> - When the wall is in the way creating a <a href="http://www.hillbillyonthehill.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/charlie-bryant-pool-player.jpg">magnified downwards angle</a>.</span></li></ul><span style="font-family:arial;">Perhaps difficult stance should be added to my list of things that could help save snooker and add a new sense of randomness and grass roots reality.<br /></span>Come On Jimmy!http://www.blogger.com/profile/02697297139319328305noreply@blogger.com0