Ochoa Takes Down Heavy Hitters Lone Star Billiards Tour / San Leon, TX by InsidePOOL Staff It was a star-studded weekend for pool—or perhaps a “Sylver Star” weekend—for pool on the Lone Star Billiards Tour at Casper’s Billiards in San Leon, TX, November 7-8. This event drew 69 top Texas players, including tour regulars Sylver Ochoa, Jui Lung [...]

Two New Junior World Champions Crowned Jerry Forsyth, WPA Press Officer Ruslan Chinakhov of Russia and Keng-Chun Lin of Taipei are the new WPA World Junior Champions. The final day of play began with Anja Wagner (GER) defeating Konishi Samia (JPN) 9-7. Then Keng-Chun Lin ended the winning streak of Liz Lovely (USA) by that same 9-7 [...]

Down to Last Matches at WPA World Junior Championships in Managua by Jerry Forsyth, WPA Press Officer Day two saw a lot of action in Managua as tournament organizer Carlos Rivera and his entire crew from Pool Ocho have done a magnificent job of producing this year’s event. We are down to the final four in both [...]

WPA World Juniors Championship Underway by Jerry Forsyth, WPA Press Officer The WPA World Juniors Championship has kicked off in Managua, Nicaragua. The CPB (Confederation Panamerica of Billiards) has spent the past year preparing for this competition, and their efforts have borne fine fruit. The first day began with a wonderfully elaborate opening ceremony. The players were ushered into [...]

Varner Back to Steer the USA to Glory Matchroom Sport can announce that four-time Mosconi Cup winner Nick Varner will return as captain of Team American at this year’s event which takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas from 10-13 December. Varner, 61, has successfully captained America to Mosconi Cup victory, initially as a player [...]

SARTA, the nonprofit dedicated to expanding Sacramento's tech economy, has changed chief executives.

Meg Arnold, the organization's board chairwoman, has replaced J.D. Stack as CEO of the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance.

Arnold just finished a four-month stint as head of the green capital alliance at Valley Vision, an organization devoted to regional planning. Before that she was with Drexel University's Sacramento campus, and had been director of business development and entrepreneurship at the InnovationAccess program at the University of California, Davis.

Stack will remain at SARTA as director of program development and grants. He joined the organization in spring 2007 after 14 years as head of economic development for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

Arnold takes charge of SARTA at a time when the region's tech economy is struggling in a sour economy.

Companies are having trouble getting venture capital and other forms of financing, and "growth projections have slowed," she said.

Yet she said the industry hasn't ground to a halt, either. Entrepreneurs "are finding ways to bootstrap (their) companies," she said.

SARTA has been involved in promoting the region's green-technology initiative. It is perhaps best known for its quarterly index measuring the health of Sacramento's tech industry.

With Arnold's shift to CEO, the new SARTA chairman is Dave Sanders of the executive search firm Worldbridge Partners of Roseville.

Immonen Wins International Challenge of Champions by InsidePOOL Staff “This is the toughest tournament in the world,” said an elated Mika Immonen moments after capturing the 2009 International Challenge of Champions title. The pressure-packed, $25,000 winner-takes-all event was held at Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, CT, October 27. Immonen, originally from Finland, defeated Darren [...]