Play Snooker till your 100?

In a once in a life time coincidence I ran into two stories about two different men who share two things in common: both of them were born in June 1908 (which means they celebrated their 100th anniversary last month) and both of them share an active interest in snooker.

The younger one, Joe Auty of West Ardsley, England had quit playing snooker not so long ago, but he took his incredible potting skill outside, to the crown green bowling field, and stayed there. Fred Moore, of Oak Tree Courts, who has about a week fore on Joe Auty, still visits the local snooker club every Friday. As he said to the Hunts Post "They always say you silly fool you can't play snooker, but I'm okay once I get to the table...its just getting myself there."

Unbelievable. So what do you say? Just a coincidence or is there something in snooker that guarantees living longer than the average?

Billiard Balls Continue to Evolve...

If the first billiard balls were made of wood, elephants died to create their advanced color-proof variation and today's biliard balls are made of plastic, how will the next generation of billiard look like?
Hairy!
No kidding, scientists at the Royal Institute of Medford, UK found a way to grow hair on a billiard ball. And if billiard balls can entertain lice on their dreadlocks, even the most follicularly challenged dude can hide a comb in jeans' pocket.

(and thanks to the Spoof News for the inspiration and entertainment)

Sharks Serve Drinks to Pool Sharks

Hockey players found an original way to thank their sponsors. Continue reading to find out what it has to do with pool.



Members of the American Hockey League Worcester Sharks served as bartenders for one night at the Boston Billiard Club, one of the league's proud sponsors. This gratitude gesture took place on Saturday night, January 19, right after the Sharks game against the Providence Bruins at the DCU Center, a game in which they eventually lost 4-3.

With its selection of Brunswick Gold Crown, and large TV sets Boston Billiard Club is one of the top pool halls in Worcester, New England and a leading entertainment destination for local sports fans. On Saturday night, the disappointed fans of the Worcester Sharks had a unique opportunity to drown their sorrows in drinks mixed by their favorite Hockey stars. And it sure ain't a common comfort for sports fans!

New World Record Billiards Break!

The world's record billiards break was broken! It happened two days ago, on the first day of the New Zealand Open Billiards Championships by Peter Gilchrist, a 39 years old English billiards pro and the Singapore Snooker & Billiards Association Coach.

The new world record billiard break is 1346; 100 points more than the former world record, which was set by the Indian billiards master Geet Sethi about 15 years ago.

The new world record is also a new record for Gilchrist, whose former highest break was 917.

Creative uses of Billiards Equipment - Don't try at home!

Recently I wrote a post on billiards balls following a news story on an ex-cup who smashed an office window using a billiard ball. Now I read about a gang who attacked another gang using pool cues and socks stuffed with billiards balls. What's wrong with you people!

Not that I support and/or encourage violence of any kind, however, this story inspired me again to write a post on the history of the cue stick.

Billiards games used to be played with a wooden mace, instead of the contemporary cue stick, until the beginning of the 17th century. First, the handle of the mace was used to remove the balls from the edges of the table. Later on, only the handle (queue in French) was used in billiards games.

Only two hundreds years later the leather cue tip was invented. The invention is credited to the French man Captain Mingaud. Thanks to Mingaud's invention, the cue ball control improved significantly.

Did you know?

• Women were not allowed to use cue sticks on the 17th century. They weren't to be trusted near the billiards table felt...
• Captain Mingaud had a billiard table in his prison cell.
  

Snooker players are such good people...

Can you believe this story?
Four of the world's top snooker players (Ronnie O'Sullivan, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Neil Robertson) have gathered to give a young snooker fan an unforgettable 18th birthday present: an autographed cue stick.
And you thought all they do is play poker and snort cocaine...

Play89 Pool Blog

In this post I want to recommend on a new pool and billiards blog I ran into, called Play89 Pool Blog. First I thought it's Play89 pool site official blog, but it isn't. It's a personal blog of someone whose entire life surrounding around online pool games, billiards news, and so on... So familiar so it almost hurts...