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Show nt aest moumta;n times. no ember 5, irbi, page seven SPORTS Salt Lake billiards league takes back seat to no one By Mike Gygi Cyprus Pirates advance to quarterfinals By MIKE GYGI Times Correspondent the Rams 30 yard line. The Pirates were unable to capitalize on their opportunity, passing four straight plays with no gain and turned the ball over. The Pirates were digging their own grave with penalties. Highland was moving the ball without any trouble while the Pirates, in turn, were giving them all the help they could with holding, illegal procedure, pass interference, and too many men on the field. The pass interference call against Cyprus moved the Rams down close enough to put another three points on the board with a field goal. The Rams moved down the length of the field another time to attempt a field goal which was just wide. Cyprus was staying with its passing game, even though Dilley was cold and not getting much protection. The Pirates ran well, especially the sweeps, but they went to the air more often hoping that Dilley would connect with a big one. Dilley finally hit Marty Jones to get some points on the board and the momentum going. Down 10-the Pirates needed to hold the Rams and get on the board again before the half. Highland pushed Cyprus back to the wall once more MAGNA The patience of the Cyprus Pirates paid off in Fridays game as they snuck past Highland, to advance to the quarterfinais of the state class 4-- tournament. The Pirates saw themselves behind the entire game practically. Cyprus seemed to know that playing three games in eight days would finally take its toll on the Rams, and they were right. The field was wet and slick from the snowfall the night before. Pirate quarterback Doug Dilley did not have one of his finer performances. The ball was hard to grip and Dilley lost the handle on it a couple of times. Dilleys passes looked liked Weebles wobbling in the air. Several of his passes went right into the arms of Ram defenders, but amazingly enough, all were dropped. Highland jumped out to an early lead with a powerful running attack led by fullback Morrie Moore. The Rams stunned the Pirates by putting seven points on the board on their first possession. The Pirates had an excellent opportunity to answer the call when Jeff Sorenson ran the kickoff back to 21-1- 7, A m ' . inwinni: WpWhih. i immt The Rams stop Pirate tailback David Landsberg (41) during action in Friday's state 4-- A tournament. t Tunes Correspondent The room is dark and crowded; there are two lights above the table. The crowd is silent, and then a loud crack is heard. Fifteen ivory balls are scattering around an eight foot table with six pockets. It is the break of another game of billiards. There is nothing really new about the game of billiards, or pool. In fact the game has been around as early as William Shakespeares time as evidenced in the play Antony and Cleopatra Let's to bilwhere Cleopatra says, liards: come Charmian. The game of pool probably derived from an outdoor game called The game was played with wooden balls about four inches in diameter and a curved stick. Foul weather forced the game to move inside. The game has undergone various changes such as putting the balls through hoops, pegs and arches; the tables were at one time triangular, and were made of slate and marble before felt surfaces came into the picture. Pool is the second largest participant sport in the country. Bowling is number one. Even with this in mind, the Salt Lake Invitational Pool League takes a back seat to no one. Going into their ninth season, the SLIPL has 144 teams playing in 34 different taverns every week in the Salt Lake valley. Neil Craft, owner of the Midway Lounge and Cafe in West Valley City, decided in 1972 that it would be a great idea if some of the other tavern owners in the valley could get some of their local pool shooters together and start playing each other. The idea clicked and everybody wanted to get in on the fun. The objectives of the SLIPL are to promote competitive pool, good shooting and sportsmanlike conduct. Membership is simple: anyone who has an interest in pool as a sport, is over 21 years of age, and pays the appropriate fees is eligible. The age requirement is due to the fact that all matches are played in bars and taverns. The teams are set up in one of three ways: mens A & B, women, and mixed Pall-mal- Cyprus safety Pete Sefakis (87) tackles a Highland ball carrier with teammate Paul Coon (68) In pursuit. (Photos by Mike Gygi). with a perfect strike from Jim Cowely to halfback Dave Alvey to bring Highlands lead back to 10 points. The Pirates put together a strong drive before the half ended and were sitting with a first and goal from the six. Dilley threw two passes into the arms of Highland defenders and somehow both passes were dropped. On the third down the ball was pitched out to Randy Wooky who ran it into the endzone behind a great block from tackle Barry Coward. The Pirates went into the locker down by three, but were taking the momentum with them. With a little more than five minutes kft in the game, and 80 yards to go for a touchdown, the Pirates looked as though their season might be over. A pitch-ou- t to tailback Dave Strausberg put fire back into the Pirates eyes. Dave was shoved out of bounds at the 30 after a sizeable gain. The Pirates could smell a score. They knew if the offense could just get the ball into the endzone, the defense would do the rest. They also knew they wouldnt get another opportunity like this, so they had to make it work and work now. Coach Bill Hunter said, We felt good at halftime. We were down 10-- 0 and were able to come back and be down by only three. We thought they would get tired in the second half after playing Tuesday. We just wanted to keep the pressure on them. Defensive coordinater Paul Dilley said, We had the momentum right before the half. We knew they would be tired when we came back out, but we needed to play better defense and stop their running game. Next Game The Pirates travel to the University of Utah Friday to square off against No. Bonneville. The Lakers took the state championship last year, but lost a lot of seniors in the process. Even though there arent many players returning from that championship team, including quarterback Cory Sylvester, Bonneville is still a force to be reckoned with. The Pirates could be facing some inJeff Sorenson jury problems. Split-enhas had a broken nose, and saw it turned into a wad of Silly Putty after a runback in the Highland game. Whether Jeffs nose of mush will be ready on Friday is still a question. Center Bob McGriff and defensive end Jeff Grossaint are also questionable. McGriff suffered a pulled ankle early in the Highland game, and Grossaint has a possible shoulder separation. Game time is noon at Rice Stadium. d l. playoffs. The summer season is slightly shorter with 10 weeks of regular play and five weeks of plavoffs. A lot of hard work goes into the organization of a pool league this size and no one knows that better than the secretary of the SLIPL, Pat Craft. Pat is not just a bookkeeper, either. She has her own wall full of trophies down at the Midway Lounge, averaging knee to waist high. In Pat's hands a cue stick becomes a finely tuned instrument or a deadly weapon, depending of course if you are playing with her or against her. Well, I wasn't satisfied just to hear how good she was. I had to find out for myself. Pat was very cordial. She set up a very tight rack for me, and then turned the juke box up a few decibles. I knew she was trying to distract me, but it would be to no avail. After I scratched on the break, she offered me a beer. I said to myself, Ah ha! She figures to get me drunk, but that won't work either." I politely refused and the game went on. I watched Pat sink billiard balls into the pockets as if magnets were directing them there. I lived up to my boyhood reputation Sloppy Joe," getting a ball or two in here and there from time to time. Pat never lost her poise. She quietly picked the cue ball up off the floor after one of my famous Lnglish shots. I seemed to have an obsession about sinking the eight ball before any of the others, and when Pat saw this she quickly ran the table so there would be no doubt in anyone's mind as to who the champion really was. In the best of three series, Pat walked away with an s easy straight. Pat said that the pool leagues are growing at an outstanding rate. She said that it wasn't growing among the men as much as the women. Women are getting out and enjoying this sport more and more. Where this was once considered a man's game, is no longer -- two-game- true." Two years ago the Salt Lake women tournament shooters went to an which involved the best in Ogden, Weber, and Tooele. The gals upheld all-st- V THE WEST MOUNTAIN TIMES A news newspaper. doubles. The mens A division is for the hot shooters who are after prize money. This is the toughest division and these men take their pool very seriously. There are four members to every team, and eight teams in a division. This year the SLIPL has 18 divisions of eight teams in each. The schedules are set up in this manner to avoid confusion when working with 144 teams a week. Women's play is Monday and Tuesday. The men take to the tables every Wednesday and Thursday night, and the mixed doubles play on Thursday and Sunday. is The SLIPL a organization. The various lounges in the valley sponsor the teams. The number of teams any lounge can sponsor depends upon how many pool tables are available in the bar. If a tavern has six tables, it can sponsor 24 teams. Twelve teams play at home each week and 12 play away. This way only three of the tables are being used by league players at a time, which allows other customers in the bars the use of three other tables. In league competition, the game In this game, the played is Eight-Bal- l. object is for one person to try to sink all the solid colored balls, while his or her opponent tries to sink the striped ones. After seven balls of the suit are sunk, the player then has to sink the eigth ball, and call the pocket which he or she will sink it. In the teams, each player will play four games for a total of 16 games on the evening. There are two league seasons during the year. The Winter season is two weeks old now and has 12 weeks of regular play left; and six weeks of non-prof- four-memb- it the Salt Lake name and brought back e the trophy. Pat said Utah has some of the best There are shooters in the country. very few hustlers, just a lot of people who take their pool very seriously. Theyre professional. Those who aren't come out and have a good time just the same and thats what it is all about." A good time is just what everybody has too. There is very little trouble with sportsmanship or fans in the matches. In fact, in nine years there have only been two cases of a team getting disbarred from the league Pat said that one team was thrown out for causing a small fight over some insignificant incident that no one was quite sure of, and the other had to do with some shooters who got, "a little too first-plac- mouthy." Pat said billiards has had some bad connotations in the past. Ihis really is a family game. The hustlers and hoods in leather jackets are a thing of the past. The SLIPL is planning some future leagues that would be out of the barrooms and into the billiard halls Pat is hoping the SLIPL can start set ting up leagues for senior citizens, youth groups, and the LDS sector Pat said hopefully, if we can get other leagues going outside of bars, pool will become a more acceptable sport." There will be a state tournament held in May at the fairgrounds. Anyone who is a certified member of a league is welcome to play. For more information about any of the pool matches, or getting on a team, contact Pat Craft at the Midway Lounge and Cafe, 968-087- ! i THE WEST MOUNTAIN TIMES BEGINS A NEW ERA IN NEWSPAPER COVERAGE AND ADVERTISING IN THREE COMMUNITIES SERVING KEARNS, HUNTER, AND MAGNA, call 966-444- 4140 West 5415 South Calling all sports. . . j The Times is expanding iu sports coverage and can do so only with your help. The paper welcomes contributions from leagues of all sports and age groups. Publicity chairmen should call the Times at 966-444-4 for instructions on regular contributions. Those with sports items should type or print them neatly on standard-size- d paper and send them to the Times. Box 248, Magna, Utah MOW. Photos and story suggestions are also welcome. 4 Kearns, Utah 84118 k 1 j j j |
