Cuetec Dumps Earl Strickland (finally!)

Well, it only took 16 years, but Cuetec has finally fired BCA Hall of Fame Member Earl Strickland. Strickland endorsed Cuetec cues from 1990 through January 2007 but with the sale of J-S Sales (Cuetec’s parent company) to Imperial USA, that relationship came to a grinding halt.

It seems that the new owners of Cuetec didn’t want pool’s version of John McEnroe attached to their cue line. As far as I’m concerned, this should have happened years ago. Strickland is a continuing stain on the game of pool. His antics are childish and more importantly, completely played out. It was entertaining at first, but after seeing “the pearl” throw a tantrum at every event, the act grew real old real fast. He clearly has no respect for the game, the industry or the players.

Strickland, never known to take responsibility for anything, continued his impressive run of being a horse’s ass by blaming the fact that he can’t win anymore on Cuetec. “If they [Cuetec] made a better cue, I’d still be winning. But I was handicapped with that cue.” He then went so far as to compare himself to Tiger Woods. “J-S sent me an invoice for $3,000 for stuff I got from them. You think Tiger Woods would ever get an invoice from Target?” Well Earl, maybe the difference between you and Tiger is that Tiger is a consistent winner who isn’t an embarrassment to his sponsors and the game he plays. You might also consider the fact that golf has a slightly bigger audience than 9 Ball.

Meanwhile, the quality of Cuetec cues doesn’t seem to be bothering pool’s real version of Tiger Woods: The Dutchess of Doom, Allison Fisher. She once again took home a truckload of Player of the Year honors and is still the most consistent pool player in the business. All that with a cue that was a “handicap” according to Strickland. As they say, it’s a poor carpenter that blames his tools, especially when someone builds a mansion with the same tools you used to create the crapshack you’ve turned your career into.

Hasta La Vista Earl. Here’s to hoping that no cuemaker is ever foolish or desperate enough to sign you up as a sponsor.