The unbeatable team
Rack ‘em up: Angelina's Bar and Grill Team # 1 is celebrating again that Welcome Inn Team # 2 Captain Linda Long didn't need Trish or Mark Love and declined to put them on the Welcome Inn Team
# 2 last year. Angelina's Grill and Bar's Team # 1 did, though Captain Raven Dean watched them and quickly invited them to join the Team.. Ever since, of course, Trish and Mark have been some of his most consistent winners on the team, including crucial games last season. Captain Raven smiled again as Mark and Trish helped knock top-rated Welcome Inn Team # 1 to the mat as they both won their games, helping their team demolish the League's used-to-be number-one team. Trish's was also the match-winning game of League this past week.
Gino Giacomella has played pool Leagues in Fort Bragg and Ukiah for decades and also spent years without a League. He spent those years trying to return to Fort Bragg Pool League. Gino is finally back and recently replied to the question of why Ukiah no longer has a Pool League. Gino explained, "A group decided to put together a completely unbeatable team, and they were successful in doing so. The downside was that it became an arrow in the heart of the League. The unbeatable team had killed the League simply by killing the competition, which should give us all pause and something to think about.
It reminds me of when Captain Casey and I tried to figure out a way to have more evenly distributed competition among League teams. In that spirit, Welcome Inn Team # 1, for the past several seasons, has given more than one top shooter of their team to a team without top players. It was always controversial from a team standpoint, but maybe not anymore. Because, as Gino explained, a lack of competition in the Ukiah Pool League killed it. Welcome Inn Team # 1 helped create more competition, and according to Gino, competition is necessary for the Pool League to survive. Those players that want to dominate and win every single game might be doing for Fort Bragg what they did for Ukiah, killing competition and the League.
Thanks, Rafael, Flaco, Rick, and others, for offering smiling condolences to Welcome Inn Team # 1.
For Tuesday, 05/23/2023:
TEAM POSITIONS >> Angelia's Grill and Bar Team
# 1: 2 wins; Angelina's Grill and Bar Team # 2: 9 wins; Golden West Saloon Team # 1: 8 wins Golden West Saloon Team # 2: 2 wins; Milano Hotel and Bar Team # 1: 12 wins; Milano Hotel and Bar Team # 2: 4 wins; Tip Top Lounge Team # 1: 11 wins; Tip Top Lounge Team # 2: 6 wins; Welcome Inn Team # 1: 12 wins; Welcome Inn Team # 2: 4 wins.
TOP PLAYERS OF THEIR
TEAMS >> Angelina's Grille & Bar Team # 1: Misha Tsaran; Angelina's Grille & Bar Team # 2: Rosendo Padillo; Golden West Saloon Team # 1: Greg Brickey and Trent Ducati are tied; Golden West Team # 2: Mikael Haye; Milano Hotel and Bar Team # 1: Rafael Flores; Milano Hotel and Bar Team # 2: Jacob Tupper; T T Team # 1: Joel Vidal; T T Team # 2: Tomas Vellegas; Welcome Inn Team # 1: Mike Bohanon; Welcome Inn Team # 2: Linda Long.
TOP PLAYERS IN LEAGUE >>
Joel Vidal 23 wins; Rafael Flores 22 wins; Rosendo Padillo 21 wins; Flaco Pat 20 wins; Nick Moore 19 wins and Jubilee Placido 19 wins.
Visit Fort Bragg Pool League sponsors: Angelina's Grille & Bar, Golden West Saloon, Milano Hotel, and Bar, or Welcome Inn: all maintain a schedule of Fort Bragg Pool League players and teams. Look to the list for someone you might know and find where they are playing. You might join their team, make new friends, or watch 8-ball games as they unfold. The League plays Tuesday at 7 pm ending before 10 pm. Tournaments, if held, are posted near pool tables. Anyone can enter to play.
CUE TIP >> Take pictures of your cues and cases, and put identifying marks on your equipment. They are impossible to describe without a saved image and the documented markings proving it is yours. If you bought an inexpensive cue case that you bring to League, it was a great idea, and you were not alone.
The problem is that many players also had that idea, and now we need to put clear identifiers on all cue cases, especially the black ones. Some look identical, and after losing a game, you may grab yours and go and only later realize you have made a mistake. Keep it simple. Make your inexpensive cue case stand out. Contact me at mcbohanon@gmail.com.