The Pool Players of the Brooke (PPB) thanks the SaddleBrooke Ranch Billiards Club (SBR), Jim Kauffman, and SBR’s billiards team for their pool table prowess, camaraderie and friendly competition. Another big THANK YOU goes out to Tony “The Snake” Cardillo PPB’s Travel Team Captain for organizing this event. On Saturday, May 30, the SBR’s Travel Team ventured up to SaddleBrooke for an 8-Ball Team Challenge.
We were competing on four 9-foot Diamond Pro-Am pool tables for temporary ownership of a Traveling Bronze Plaque that has been in the SBR’s possession since July 26, 2025. The PPB team was made up of four, two player teams and SBR also had four, two-player teams. The PPB teams consisted of Tony “The Snake” Cardillo/Mike “The Lip” Collins, Fred “The Baker” Dianda/Lowell “8-Ball” Hegg, Randy “Nice Try” Smith/Gary “One Rail” Barlow, Phelps “Montana” L’Hommidieu/Joe “Ball Breaker” Vidmar. Our opponent’s teams from SBR were Karl “English” Knight/Jim Mabbott, Robert Blackburn/Kurt Warner, Keith Vincent/Tim Connolly, Bruce Keller/Peter Bratz and their alternate, Jim Kauffman.
The format was simple and interesting. Each of our teams would play each of their teams three games of 8-ball with each game won being one point for the winning team. There were a total of 48 points in the match.
First Round: PPB 08 SBR 04
Second Round: PPB 06 SBR 06
Third Round: PPB 05 SBR 07
Fourth Round: PPB 06 SBR 06
Final Score: PPB 25 SBR 23
Randy "Nice Try" Smith put the nail in the coffin and earned our club's 25th point to take the Traveling Bronze Plaque back from the Ranch. Congrats to the PPB’s Traveling Team!
Again, we had a chance to play for the Traveling Bronze Plaque that now stays in SaddleBrooke and is going to be mounted on the CRC’s wall. This event was a continuation of a friendly but fierce rivalry. SaddleBrooke is proud of their team, and they thank SBR for being such gracious guests. Our PPB’s Travel Team gathered at the RoadRunner Grill for lunch after the 8-Ball Challenge.
For more information about the Pool Players of the Brooke, email Joe Giammarino at
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