| |
BGonline.org Forums
An inconvenient truth, bg ballistics.
Posted By: Coolrey
Date: Thursday, 4 March 2010, at 9:21 p.m.
At a friend's behest, I have returned to read and respond to all of the posts regarding my Pittsburgh "acceptance speech".
That the response was overwhelmingly negative is duly noted. I thought for two months about what to say and didn't relish the thought of airing my dirty laundry publicly. Does anybody really think I was having a lot of fun up there? That I wouldn't have much rather been regaling my exploits and lauding my obvious expertise over everyone??? It was a great opportunity for me to gloat, but I felt that there was an important issue that needed to be addressed and took priority over a selfish celebration. Anyway it appears that my message was construed as selfish in any case and BAD for the game. That makes me sad, because I have always tried to do things that are good for the game. To the guy who said I ought to fire my speech writer: I guess you are right. Maybe I should have consulted Phil Simborg on how to put a positive twist on things? (!).
I'd like to apologize to Rob Maier and Bill Davis at this point because they were blind-sided and I noted considerable hand-wringing and whispering going on behind me as I delivered my "message". I had the microphone and I was going to be heard.
I can't really apologize for the emotion; I tend to blubber at all ceremonies. Funerals, promotions, awards presentations, watching the Olympics, chick flicks, you name it. I probably will never gain any control over that because I just turned 54 the other day and have not found a way to suppress it yet. I also still get nervous speaking publicly and my biggest weakness in my profession was my ineffectiveness in oral interviews.
I am, on the other hand, an excellent writer and it is a venue in which I can eliminate emotion and consolidate my thoughts. It is an area where I am able to be more concise, though I don't always exercise that ability (as Phil once told me).
As to my MESSAGE, this obviously got lost in the translation:
1. Backgammon has some problems, and we all share some responsibility for fixing them.
2. Directors need to know the rules inside out and make rulings accordingly. To avoid making mistakes it would behoove them to consult a committee, as they are the last line of defense for honest players.
3. As a player you have the obligation to play fair, but you ought to keep in mind that you may not always be treated fairly. You might get a bad ruling, but you might lose anyway if you had the right ruling. Conversely you might still WIN, even if you get a bad ruling. Life is not always fair, and backgammon is no exception: You will have to deal with much ADVERSITY and learn to overcome it to succeed in the game. I have always felt that the ability to overcome adversity is what separates the men from the boys in backgammon. The only credit I gave myself during the speech was that I was able to overcome a setback, and become the champion anyway by taking 3rd place in LA.
4. Kibitzers have an obligation, when consulted, to be honest. Kibitzers by nature, generally have a rooting interest in the match. If they allow that interest to interfere with their objectivity, that is bad for the game.
Chuck's post said that I called someone a liar. Hmmm, I thought I didn't do that, but possibly a hundred people could verify it, so I am not going to argue the point.
What I thought I was stating was this: IF you are the kind of guy who changes his story to benefit your friend... Shame on you. I feel sorry for you. That is a disgrace. It isn't right, and it is extremely bad for backgammon.
Now if at some point I used the word liar, I was out of line there. I have no right to speculate on motives... or make accusations. It is rather obvious that I do feel like I got cheated and that someone did lie, and the reasons for that are numerous, varied, and not necessarily limited to the incident in question. I won't bore you with the details here.
Lets just say I was overly emotional at being honored as the ABT Player of the year and got too passionate, (went overboard?!), in delivering my message.
Mary Anne Meese commented to me that I needed to "learn to control my passion". I guess it would solve a lot of the world’s problems if humans could do that better!
CLOCKS:
As with so many threads here at bgonline this one degenerated into a discussion of the pros and cons of clocks. I used to be indifferent but my experience with them at ABT events has made me a strong advocate. Which brings us to the........ Drum roll please:
$10K WINDEX challenge!
Feel free to log off at this point if you have not fallen asleep already, for the rehashing is about to begin!
At the heart of the controversy was the bum ruling I claim to have gotten in LA. There has been much discussion about the lateness of the hour, the motives of the participants, the veracity of the kibitzers, and the competency of the director: Mr. Patrick Gibson.
A Director, by the way, for over 30 years in Los Angeles, who reads these posts in forums and who is a member of the staff of the new USBGF. I look for him to help me out here and post something that admits he blew that ruling. He knows I have already forgiven him and I didn't challenge his authority at the time. I know that all of his rulings moving forward will be enhanced by this experience and as a result it will be good for backgammon in the long run.
That, my friends, is my only interest in the matter, to improve backgammon and to see it grow. Eliminating frivolous requests for rulings does that, imho.
I am the ABT Champion, and I know what I am doing. If you are going to pull a fast one on me, or my friends, look out. If you have the audacity to question my integrity... Then you had better be ready to defend yours, because I will aggressively defend mine. I will prove you wrong, if I can.
In this case, the CLOCK proved my point. Thank God for the clock! In addition to the benefit of speeding up matches, making tournaments flow more smoothly and quickly, eliminating fast rolling, and all of the other benefits explored in this forum ad nauseum... It tells you whose turn it is. I repeat:
IT TELLS YOU WHOSE TURN IT IS. (Wake up, you guys)!
Now then, my esteemed colleague Mr. Bob Glass has issued me a $10,000 challenge designed to clear his name because I allegedly called him a liar. I don't think so, but I could be wrong... (My short term memory is a little bad, you see). He suggests a lie detector test to determine the outcome. Evidently he believes that a lie detector will clear his name or reputation which I have smudged. I will call it the WINDEX challenge because it is designed to CLEAN THE GLASS. Ok?
Sorry if I am making light of this situation but it cracks me up. It reminds me of watching the World Series of Poker on TV. Everyone in the audience can see the cards and knows who will win if it comes to a showdown of hands. The guy who has nothing makes a large bet because it is his only chance to make his opponent fold his hand so he can subsequently drag the pot.
If this were a poker game, I'd raise, not fold. But, it isn't a poker game, it’s a backgammon dispute. You can't push me around because you have a bigger stack, either.
I raise you with the facts, Mr. Glass!
You have stated for the record that you "didn't see anything". Right? However for a guy who is short term memory challenged... You certainly remember a LOT of stuff that you heard. Evidently while your eyes were closed... you did not simultaneously have your hands over your ears.
Your post noted that it was "funny" that I stated during the argument that it was POSSIBLE Joe could be right... or whatever... a point that Jason Lee also made in his response to my original post...
For the record, here at bgonline... Since there have been over 6,000 posts, and none of them by me, from then until now because I only answered certain individuals who commented... in emails:
I acknowledge being taken aback at Joe's assertion that I had rolled twice. I NEVER want to be wrong when there a ruling has to be made. When I am wrong, I don't ASK for a ruling for that very reason. I said something to the effect that it was POSSIBLE for the checkers to be in that position and for it to be his turn... BUT... I have/had the dice and therefore, by default, it is/was MY turn.
So, fuck a buncha lie detector tests! What will be next? A séance? That might be good... the four of us could join hands and hum while the soothsayer consults his crystal ball. At least we'd have the makings of a good chouette afterwards, huh? Maybe we should all climb a hill during a thunderstorm, (you could ride a golf cart, Bob), and wait until one of us is struck down by lightning? Surely the backgammon gods would choose the evil culprit?
You didn't see anything... but apparently there was nothing wrong with your hearing. I hereby subpoena that into evidence... for I am sure that you heard me, (after Patrick set down the clock having adjusted it for my losing time when Joe started my clock instead of centering it), say:
Okay Joe, now you hit the clock... and I will roll. [Meanwhile shaking the dice IN MY CUP]
Joe didn't say it was his turn, or that I was rolling twice... He hit the clock, and you must have heard that.
I rolled double 3s. It was my best number. Only then did Joe protest that I had rolled twice. Why? I am not allowed to say, I guess, but I believe I know.
Then Joe asked for a ruling when I disagreed... and the rest is history.
The fact remains: I had the dice. I can NOT, under the rules of the clock that have been posted here in this forum how many times??? Have the dice unless it is my turn. The backgammon ballistics proves my case, beyond a reasonable doubt...
Backgammon is a form of Russian roulette... only played with TWO guns: (the dice cups), and two bullets: (the dice).
One player shoots his "gun" by rolling the dice. He indicates he is done shooting by hitting his clock. Now and only now is the other player allowed to retrieve the bullets and place them in his gun... Comprende, Senor Glass?
After Joe rolled, played, and hit his clock... I put the bullets in my "gun", and started shaking them. Then I called for a ruling to replace the time I lost unfairly after my first roll, the FIRST play of that game. Patrick reset the clock and set it down and left. I instructed Joe to hit the clock so as to give me permission to shoot my "gun". He hit the clock, I rolled the threes...
It may be INCONVENIENT, but that is the truth.
I did NOT roll twice. I got a bum ruling, the END.
Chime in any time now, Pat Gibson. I know you are man enough to admit when you are/were wrong.
Through all of the rhetoric and back stabbing and character assassinations, the facts remain the same. No amount of smoke and mirrors, (or should I say glass?), can alter them. Not ONE person has disputed that I had the dice. Nobody can dispute the placement of the checkers though some have sought to rationalize the reason(s) they were where they were. It was what it was.
I know you guys don't like me, and I don't care. A whole LOT of people are in wholehearted agreement with you. Sometimes, I don't even like myself. I am a card carrying, board certified ass hole. Just ask Paul Weaver or David Startin. Review the thread about my Pittsburgh speech for verification. In my defense, I do try to do the right thing, however misguided my logic might be. I am confrontational and will respond in kind if you challenge me or my friends. I do have some of those.
I apologize if I characterized you as a liar Bob, or you as a cheater Joe. However, in the future if you don't want your reputations smudged or challenged... I suggest that you don't challenge mine. You started it and I have a right to defend myself, and it just so happens that in this instance I am right 100%, no doubt about it. Check the bg-ballistics report.
I am quite sure that Norm Wiggin’s reputation is beyond reproach. Please tell me you are not going to insult him! He was right, and the clock proved it. That item may have escaped Patrick's attention at the time, but it never will again.
In closing I would like to address the lack of fervor during the auction. I suppose that the thread is correct in that the black mood created by my "speech" is to blame. In addition, Bob Glass and friends boycotted it as they have the last couple of auctions in LA. Apparently it is because I "dissed" his pal. I have to respect that, I suppose, for I have been guilty of doing that myself. I do believe that it hurts backgammon to boycott an auction. I DO the auctions for free and don't share in the proceeds aside from a room rate perk generated largely by attendance, in other words I don't affect the tournament's bottom line. I also rarely accept any compensation for my articles which have received almost unanimous acclaim.
Maybe somebody else will become the ABT Champion in 2010, but the will have to beat me to do it. Good luck with that, cuz I am bad to the bone and saturated with experience. Perhaps the next champion... like John O' Hagan or Gary Fries maybe... with be both more gracious and more glib. I do believe it is possible or at least arguable that what I said might have a positive effect. If one less person has to endure a frivolous ruling or if when they do that ruling is a better one because a committee was convened... Then I have succeeded in my goal. Even if it wasn't the way YOU woulda done it, ok?
I accept your arguments and criticisms in the spirit in which they were intended, and bear no grudges against anybody... Not even David Rubin who evidently fears my wrath...
Your humbled Champion (2007 AND 2009)
Cruel-Ray
You ass-holes! They used to call me Fool-Ray on GG.
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.