In addition to the new look of the site, we also have a brand new search tool thanks to our friends over at SLI Systems.

They’re the technology behind the search for sites like Tupperware, Symantec, Jelly Belly and American Bridal, and now they’re powering the PoolDawg search.  Pretty crazy, right?  At any rate, give it a try and let us know what you think.

Its going to be a few weeks before we’ll have these on the site to sell, but if you’re going to APA’s, be sure to stop by the PoolDawg booth and pick one up.

Now I did have fun at the event and I got to hang out and meet a ton of pool players thanks to my new friend Tequila Schjodt, but I do have a gripe goes by the name of ESPN.  Unfortunately, our tables were set directly behind some cameraman from ESPN, so I got to spend the evening staring at the back of some guy’s head instead of watching Jeremy Jones and Ronnie Wiseman rattle and scratch.  The picture here doesn’t even do it justice, as this was one where the cameraman was taking a break and kneeling.  Most of the time he was staring into the lens, so watching the match was a little, shall we say, obstructed.

Anyway, even with the view of the cameraman’s posterior, it was still a good time with some excellent pool to be had.  Kudos to Ga Young Kim, Xingtao Pan, Jasmin Ouschan and Anna Kostanian on not only playing some excellent pool, but seriously outplaying and out-entertaining the men.  I’ve heard that the semis and the finals are slated to air on ESPN July 19th, so be sure to tune in and check it out.

The first night I was there, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting the lovely and effervescent Ms. Debbie Schjodt. She mentioend that her nickname on the tour is “The Intimidator”, but that’s just not gonna work for me. From now on, she’ll be known to me as Debbie “Tequila” Schjodt.

So I run into Debbie at the pro arena and we decide to hit the Hilton bar for some drinks. After countless beers (and vodka and sodas for Debbie), Debbie orders a shot of Patrón. Well, I’m not one to let a girl drink alone, so I stagger down the tequila highway. Personally, I’m not a fan of tequila, but Patrón (which I’d never had before) was pretty damn smooth and tasty, so we ordered a second before heading out.

About ten minutes later, I got to experience Patrón in reverse. Debbie being Debbie offers to “hold my hair”, which if you’ve ever met me is pretty damn funny, so now I’m trying to not laugh while involuntarily removing beer and tequila from my system. Needless to say, I never made it back to the pro arena to watch Johnny Archer win a hill-hill battle. Instead, I apparently went to a sports bar, ordered some grub with my boys and proceeded to spend what I thought was 5 minutes but was actually about 45 minutes in the head. It all gets sort of fuzzy from there, but my boys did get me back to my hotel room instead of leaving me out at some fountain which apparently I really, really wanted to hang out at.

The upside of this experience though is that it reminded me of a really funny (and somewhat applicable) Jim Breuer bit. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0AJPqKybs]

Who’s In: Among the survivors are tour mainstays like Allison Fisher, Karen Corr and Ga Young Kim. In addition, there are some new faces that are battling their way through the bracket including Liz Ford, Debbie Schjodt and Caroline Pao. In addition, WPBA newcomer Anna Kostanian looks to improve upon her impressive performance in the San Diego Classic with two early wins.

Who’s Out: Megan Minerich, Kim White and ESPN commentator Ewa Laurance are just a few of the names who had to pack their bags early. Competition has been fierce with lots of hill-hill battles and no one looks like they’re going to have an easy path to get to the Final Four.

For the 4th consecutive year, PoolDawg is proud to once again sponsor this fantastic event. Our resident marketing guy Mike Feiman will be on hand to watch the TV rounds as well as to check out the Expo and all the new cues.