Yep, that’s Dad.
Going to take a break from player reviews today for some more Friday goofiness. With Father’s Day this weekend, I thought I’d provide my father George a gift by sharing his writing with those of you who are interested. Though he was about as self-deprecating as a person as there could be, Dad was never shy about boasting about his writing. And neither am I.
I know a lot of you come here for the analysis or the music/Simpsons references or the creative swearing (and we’re proud of that), but some do come for the style and writing we use (which we still find strange but to each his or her own). My father George was the back-page columnist for Billiards Digest for over 30 years, and even though I’m obviously a little biased I think I can still safely say he was one of the best sportswriters I have ever read. You don’t have to know anything about pool or billiards to enjoy it, which I think is about the highest compliment you can pay. My brother (writer for CubsDen on ChicagoNow.com if you didn’t know) and I constantly reach for this standard, knowing full well we’ll never come into the same zip code as Dad.
The Digest has catalogued the last few years of his columns as well as his best work from his entire career, and you can get to that right here. However, there is one column that’s always been one of my favorites that isn’t on there, so I’m going to share it with you below.