There are some things that have happened in the last few weeks in league that are weighing on my mind and I’d like to mention some of them in no particular order…
If Team A throws their player “blind”, team B has 5 minutes to produce their player at the table for the match. Team B can name their player, then change their mind as many times as they wish as long as it’s within the 5 minutes. Once the lag occurs, the match has been started and those are the players playing for that match. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT TEAM B should wait the full 5 minutes to begin the match. This leads us to the next topic..
Slow play. Certain players and teams are known to be slow which leads to a very late night in some cases. If a team is frequently involved in very late matches, they have a problem that should be addressed by the captain. Captains should take whatever means necessary so that their team is not the reason for matches ending in the “wee hours”.
Cheating. I have seen too many instances lately where a player disagreement occurs about whether a foul occurred and of course, both players teammates each come to the defense of their own player. (Funny how it always works that way huh???). IT IS BETWEEN THE TWO PLAYERS PLAYING THE MATCH, NOBODY ELSE. The call goes to the shooter if the players disagree. If other players want to voice their opinion, it should be only if they are calling out THEIR OWN player for fouling. With that said, certain players in the league seem to frequently be involved in matches about whether fouls occurred. I know who they are and they are most likely frequently cheating. I really don’t want to have cheaters having a large degree of success in the league. Don’t be a cheater, it will serve you well.
Poor sportsmanship. It sickens me and everyone else when it occurs. I’m not going into what constitutes poor sportsmanship because we are all adults and know it when we see it. In general, it is behavior that sickens everyone and makes everyone uncomfortable. The wide majority of players in the league are not into drama and want a low stress fun night out with friends. They aren’t looking for confrontation. If a player or team frequently has an aura of “drama” around them, that’s a problem. I also know which teams and players they are. I am not going to want these types of teams and/or players having a large degree of success in the league. Don’t be that player/team. It will serve you well.
Try to win the game/match by playing good pool on the table, not by trying to take advantage of some very obscure rule violation that had absolutely no bearing on the game/match, length of the night, shot taken, etc etc. When enforcing rules, keep in mind the “spirit of the rule”, not the “literal interpretation” of the rule. For example, speeding is illegal but it’s unlikely that a person would get ticketed for driving 80 mph to the hospital for a loved one who is having a heart attack.
I’m sorry if the tone of this post seems angry, but it’s because I’m angry. I believe in being transparent and would rather let teams and players know what I want to see so that they can have success in the league. What I am saying is no different than what any other league operator is thinking, I’m just being honest and transparent enough to say it. So for the 90-95% of the players who act like adults, thanks for making the league fun. For the other 5-10% of you, I’m watching you 🙂