Fall 2008 Season Welcome Letter

            Please note that there are two major rule changes this season. The first is that “one ball width from the rail” rule. It has been changed to the standard rule used by most leagues “If the ball is frozen to a rail, it or the cue ball must be driven to a different rail unless the cue ball strikes a different rail before contacting the object ball”.

            The 2^nd rule change will cause some controversy but it’s designed to keep the games running smoothly. Basically it states that anytime that you make a legal shot, even if you don’t sink the ball that you called, you can be asked to continue to shoot again. No harm, no foul, just keep shooting. I didn’t dream this one up on my own. It was a part of the professional rules and instituted because it was boring for people watching 8-ball on TV to see players do nothing more than make defensive shots. If you’re playing your game with the intention of sinking your entire group of balls to beat your opponent, this rule probably won’t affect you at all. If you’re one of those players that is intent on winning the game by constantly trying to leave your opponent safe, this will make you have to change your strategy. 

Personally, I’d like to get rid of all the rules but that would end up causing a lot of arguments and fights and that’s not what this league is about. It’s supposed to be a Wednesday night out having fun, meeting new people and playing a few games of pool. When I play a game, I want to win because I shot better than you and not because you touched a ball or broke a rule. Winning my game only because your shirtsleeve happened to touch a ball while you were shooting doesn’t give me any personal satisfaction. Play your games, play to win, play fair, be courteous and you shouldn’t have much need for the rules.

There is one Gold Conference division this season. It’s comprised of 8 of the teams that have consistently better records during the season than most of the other teams in the league. The reason for the separate conferences is to try to give those in the Silver Conference a better chance of progressing further in their own conference.  At the end of the playoffs, there will a conference championship between the winners of each of the conferences. Whichever team wins that match will be awarded leather league jackets and the other team will be awarded satin league jackets (maximum of 6 jackets per team). In that way the winner of the Silver conference will, at the least, be awarded satin jackets.

Note that there will be 16 teams in the Gold Conference in the upcoming Winter 2009 Season. How those teams will be picked will depend on how you do this season. If you finished in 1^st or 2^nd place in the Silver Conference, made it to the top 4 in the Silver Conference playoffs or had the person with the highest average (top shooter in the league) as a member of your team, you stand a good chance of being placed in the Gold Conference next season. In contrast, if you did poorly this season in the Gold conference, there’s a chance that you’ll be dropped to the Silver conference for the following season. This will hold true for all future seasons in this league.

Our intent (Richie, Laura and myself) with this league is to make it enjoyable for all. It’s supposed to be a fun night out. Try to keep that in mind when you go out to play your matches.