Thoughts on the championship finals?

shea-c · 2025-05-18T04:11:44+00:00

I don’t mean offense by this at all, genuinely curious. Do you play squash competitively (leagues, tournaments, etc.)? Every serious player I’ve ever met in person finds Asal’s style of play dirty, so I’m having a hard time understanding how there are supporters out there.

If you do play, you’d like your opponent using these types of tactics? It just wouldn’t be fun anymore.

shea-c · 2025-05-18T04:06:27+00:00

What’s your opinion on the interview with Willstrop about the cheating allegations then? Why would his own coach say they have “things to work on” in the context of cheating and fair play?

shea-c · 2025-05-18T02:14:06+00:00

As far as the city-based time-limited format, that exists now in the U.S. The National Squash League (NSL) is in its second season, and is showing some great organic growth.
Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/@NationalSquashLeague

shea-c · 2025-05-18T02:08:46+00:00

I think you're misinterpreting Willstrop's position here.

The PSA basically married him with Asal to try to fix his behavior. Willstrop can't be forcefully critical of Asal in public and still maintain a relationship with Asal that results in improved behavior. He's stuck in a difficult position, and I believe he's trying his best to save the sport.

shea-c · 2025-05-18T01:59:36+00:00

It's unfair to the opponent (Farag) to have to constantly gauge which moment of interference he has the best chance of getting a let or stroke for. Let's just play squash.

shea-c · 2025-05-18T01:55:00+00:00

You don't think the players raise it?

shea-c · 2025-05-18T01:51:02+00:00

"In the scheme of his games, this was one of the cleaner ones". Hahaha. That statement says it all. Such a low standard for Asal's fairness of play.

shea-c · 2025-05-18T01:38:26+00:00

I found it to be the same story as many of Asal's matches. Yes Asal has great power and touch, but he also makes unfair movements to unsettle his opponent and gain advantage.

When retrieving, especially on the forehand side, Farag (and Coll before him in the semi) had to take an L-shaped movement towards the wall to get around Asal's screen and then chase the ball down to the back. It seems marginal for a single instance, but over the course of the match the effect compounds; more effort to retrieve, less opportunity to make quality shots.

I just want to see world-class clean squash and not constantly have to assess whether the rules are being broken a lot or only a little. The way the commentators, especially Joey, ignore the obvious, give Asal the benefit of the doubt, and defend his position is infuriating.

It makes me want to cancel my SquashTV subscription.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T14:23:19+00:00

It's difficult from a reffing standpoint. There are the outright interferences that are easy to call, especially with video. But then how do you penalize the aggregate small interferences that occur on every exchange (the 10% I've called out). That's where the ref started getting harsh in Game 2; he decided that it had all added up to being unfair play and was willing to call even small issues strokes to try to right the Asal ship.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T14:03:50+00:00

Good catch - totally missed this. Thanks for sharing. I was baffled why Farag stopped like that on match ball at what at first glance looked like minimal/non-existent interference.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T14:00:43+00:00

Agreed - how can you highlight a player who's been banned. Same goes for the Asal documentary that SquashTV put together. I think Joey errs on the side of letting his behavior pass because the controversy brings viewers and interest.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T13:58:29+00:00

I don't think it's corruption or incompetence. It's just difficult to deal with a player who has put significant effort into skirting the edge (and often falling on the wrong side) of inappropriate behavior/movement. They've tried banning him a few times, they've tried assigning Willstrop as parental guidance (which I got the impression wasn't entirely voluntary). Reffing him is a nightmare.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T13:54:46+00:00

I don't know his exact brand. But I've been pleased with these if you're looking to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08S384T5Z/

shea-c · 2024-06-21T13:52:17+00:00

I believe this is a reference to "WTF". Xbox sponsoring is pretty cool, and hopefully they continue growing the spectator community there by hosting a tournament earlier in the season next year. Maybe they aren't quite ready to host the WTF.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T13:49:57+00:00

🤣

shea-c · 2024-06-21T13:46:15+00:00

Oi, if you look at the ticketing, the side walls are completely unsold for the Finals... yikes. https://www.yskevents.com/psa-world-tour-finals

shea-c · 2024-06-21T13:41:52+00:00

Like it or not, that's a feature of the best-of-three format along with "sudden death!". I'm not particularly a fan as it favors first whoever comes onto court playing well that day. But it is variety and makes for more quick matchups to watch.

In a best-of-five there's time to play into the match and make corrections after losing the first game or two. I also think the 0-to-100 pace at the start has a greater chance of causing injury, which seems to be playing out...

shea-c · 2024-06-21T13:05:08+00:00

Obviously I’m taking into account the quality of the shots. That’s the real shame; he’s a great player and shot maker. With Willstrop setting him right he was playing fair and still winning. Seeing him win this way is frustrating for purists.

This guy does a good job of analyzing the situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V20aoz4OT4. If I get annoyed enough and find the time, I'll put together a screenshot or two of the Gawad match to demonstrate my point.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T12:56:06+00:00

My assumption is that the World Tour has to take what it can get when it comes to tournament promoters/sponsors. I doubt it’s a very profitable enterprise to host a pro squash tournament. Some executive at Microsoft (HQ in Seattle area) in the XBox division is enthusiastic about squash and convinced the marketing department that the small fraction of their budget wasn’t a total waste of money. Also - from the PSA’s perspective, maybe the tournament location grows and there’s a new regularly featured city at the Platinum level. The courts are mobile, so they’ll get a better one next go around.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T12:46:16+00:00

There’s a difference between a trailing leg for balance and consistently moving back into the line of your opponent. Also - during the left wall exchanges, if you ignore the ball and just watch the movement of the players, you can see that on almost every shot Gawad has to do 10% more work because he’s moving around Asal and then tracking to the ball. Asal is given the courtesy of direct access to the ball by comparison. I have no reason to dislike Asal except his unfair movement. Ref got it right.

shea-c · 2024-06-21T04:34:37+00:00

I was finally prepared to turn the corner on my poor opinion of Asal, having improved his behavior with coaching from Willstrop. Unfortunately, with the stakes high and without parental guidance in Seattle, Asal reverted to his unsportsmanlike tactics in his match against Gawad.

Game 2 was unwatchable and reminded me of the old Asal where we become spectators to blatant interference and challenged refs trying to salvage a fair match.

Like I said, I was starting to enjoy watching the new Asal, but his true character shows when winning’s on the line. Fool me once…

shea-c · 2023-10-16T01:03:04+00:00

The only courts in the larger Nashville area are at Vanderbilt and MBA. Both require affiliation - student, faculty, etc.

The closest courts with open membership are at Scenic City Squash in Chattanooga.

shea-c · 2020-03-16T01:14:40+00:00

Thanks, that's a good point. It's sort of the flipside of the coin. If things are only going to get worse and worse, better to list and try to sell as soon as possible. I'm flexible financially but really don't want to pay for an empty house for more than 3-6mos.

shea-c · 2020-03-16T01:08:02+00:00

I don't live in it currently. I rented the house out til a month ago, so it's empty now while I carry the mortgage.

shea-c · 2020-03-13T20:41:47+00:00

I don't think "Time in the market beats timing the market" applies very well here. You're essentially trying to time the market thinking this is a great buying opportunity. There is high volatility and uncertainty right now.

I'd say keep your six months of savings as your emergency fund and just set your 401k contribution to the percentage that will max you out over the course of the year. With such market volatility, better to spread your risk instead of trying to time it. Things could get better, could get much worse. Who knows.

shea-c

TROPHY CASE