WPBA Great Lakes Classic / Michigan City, IN by InsidePOOL Staff After Thursday night’s initial round, the WPBA Great Lakes Classic has been focusing on winnowing out the one-loss side players. This event is being hosted by the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, IN, and will last throughout the weekend. Sarah Rousey suffered a brutal hill-hill first-round [...]

Seminole Pro Tour / Jacksonville, FL by Raymond Linares The Seminole Pro Tour returns to action this weekend in Jacksonville, Fl. This $6,000-added event is being hosted by Bankshot Billiards and gracious owner Jeff Scott. Once again the tour has come with a star-studded 46-player field, including Mike Davis, Thorsten Hohmann, Corey Deuel, Johnny Archer, [...]

Cuetec Cues Signs Former U.S. Open Champion, Shane Van Boening Cuetec and exclusive U.S distributor Imperial International are pleased to announce that the 2007 U.S. Open Champion, Shane Van Boening, has joined their team of professional players representing Cuetec Cues. Van Boening will make his debut appearance as a Cuetec representative at the Imperial International [...]

Great Lakes Classic Kicks Off WPBA Great Lakes Classic / Michigan City, IN by InsidePOOL Staff Monica Webb, the points leader of the Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) leads the charge to take home top honors at the Great Lakes Classic event, being held this week at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, IN. Webb, who has won [...]

Yu Ram Cha Is the Queen of Carom By DP Staff Bucheon, Korea- Yu Ram Cha finally changed history with her win at this year’s 3rd Annual Queen of Carom. Cha had previously lost in the finals of last year’s event, and had lost in 9-Ball to Jeanette Lee in two consecutive finals of the 2008-2009 [...]

Brothers Makes a Bang on Blaze Tour Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Drexel Hill, PA by Jose Burgos The Blaze 9-Ball Tour made its way to Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, June 14, where a strong field of 38 players came out to play. Among them were Shaun Wilkie, Matt Krah, Joey Testa, Scott Tollefson, and Caroline Pao, [...]

Still struggling to join the digital TV age?

The Federal Communications Commission has some tips for you from its digital-transition playbook.

TV stations nationwide ended analog-signal broadcasts on Friday. However, many viewers with digital-to- analog converter boxes – which enable older TVs to receive digital broadcasts – have been struggling to get reception.

DTV Across America, a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based group assisting U.S. consumers with the transition, estimated Wednesday that more than 5 million households are struggling to get the TV reception they had before the switch.

"This was never going to be an easy transition … ," said FCC Chairman Michael Copps. "It appears to have worked well for the majority of over-the-air viewers, but for those who are experiencing a less-satisfactory outcome, we are committed to staying on the job to help."

The FCC, which has handled about 1 million calls on its DTV consumer hotline since last week, has issued some suggestions for frustrated converter box owners not yet enjoying their favorite shows.

One is called "double rescanning."

Rescanning is the recommended channel-scan process that converter box owners need to do periodically to receive all available stations, but the FCC said double rescanning is sometimes needed to clear a converter box's memory of saved channels – information that might now be incorrect.

Here's how it's done:

• Disconnect the antenna from the converter box or digital TV.

• Rescan the box or digital TV without the antenna connected. It's easily done with a remote, or follow instructions in the box/TV owner's manual.

• Unplug the box or digital TV from the electrical outlet for at least one minute.

• Reconnect the antenna to the box or digital TV, and plug the unit into the outlet.

• Rescan the box or digital TV one more time.

The FCC also recommended antenna procedures.

If you have a rabbit ears antenna or something similar, extend the rods all the way out to get the best receptions of VHF channels 2 to 6; for the best reception of VHF channels 7 to 13, reduce the length of the rods to 12 to 18 inches.

Experimenting with the position of a circle antenna, "bow tie" or other device designed to pick up UHF channels 14 to 51 also is recommended.

The FCC said the specific location of an indoor antenna is key. Putting it on top of the TV may not be the best option.

Consumers should try moving the antennas near a window, to a higher position or away from other electronic equipment. Rooftop antennas may be needed in some areas.

The FCC's DTV hotline, at (888) 225-5322, remains open, and more help is available at www.dtv.gov.

Marr Takes OB Cues Ladies Tour Win OB Cues Ladies Tour / Houston, TX by InsidePOOL Staff There was a lot of sweating going on June 13-14 in Houston, TX, at Bogie’s Billiards, as the action rolled in from the 44 players who signed up for the fourth stop on the OB Cues Ladies Tour tournament trail. [...]

The Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance Leadership Series continues today with a seminar on corporate governance at Drexel University's Center for Graduate Studies.

"Understanding Corporate Governance" will be led by Roger Akers, managing partner at Akers Capital LLC, and Diane Miller, president of Sacramento executive search firm Wilcox, Miller & Nelson. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at 1 Capitol Mall, Suite 260. Admission is $30 or $15 for SARTA members.

For information, go to: www.sarta.org

– Darrell Smithck@sacbee.com">cbuck@sacbee.com.

Predator 9-Ball Tour / New York City, NY by Alison Fischer The Predator 9-Ball Tour’s eighth stop of the season went to Zion Zvi, who triumphed over the 44-player field to notch his first tour win. The June 13-14 event was hosted by Eastside Billiards in New York City, NY, and featured a $1,500-added prize purse. Two newcomers [...]