Cue Sports Media Episodes

The sixth and final part of our Legends of the Cue interview with Alan “Angles” McManus looks forward as much as it looks back. After tracing Alan’s journey from Glasgow schoolboy to Masters champion, Crucible semi-finalist, commentator, and podcaster, this closing episode turns to the future of snooker, the growth of cue sports, and the enduring connection between snooker and pool. Alan shares his views on the modern professional game, the extraordinary standard of today’s players, and the i...

In Part 5 of our Legends of the Cue conversation with Alan McManus, we follow his transition from the professional arena to the commentary box, the television studio, and the world of podcasting. After more than three decades as a professional snooker player, Alan retired in 2021 and moved more fully into broadcasting. In this episode, he reflects on how the balance gradually shifted from competing to commentating, what he learned from being around television production, and why explaining th...

Part 4 of our Alan McManus series brings us to the championship heart of his career: the 1994 Masters at Wembley, the famous final against Stephen Hendry, and the long arc of a professional snooker life lived at the highest level. Alan takes Mike Gonzalez, Allison Fisher, and Mark Wilson inside one of the most memorable wins of his career: defeating Hendry 9–8 in the Masters final. He reflects on what finals felt like, why some players seemed naturally built for them, and how different the at...

Part 3 of our Legends of the Cue series with Alan “Angles” McManus explores the influences, techniques, rivalries, and self-awareness that helped define his rise in professional snooker. Alan looks back on Steve Davis as the model player of his youth: the standard-bearer whose technique, discipline, and professionalism changed what young snooker players believed was possible. As a boy, Alan even staged imaginary tournaments at home, pretending to be Davis, Jimmy White, and other stars while s...

In Part 2 of our Legends of the Cue interview with Alan McManus, the conversation moves from Glasgow snooker halls to New York pool rooms, from schoolboy promise to professional ambition, and from natural ability to the hard-earned craft of safety play. Alan begins with a fascinating cue-sports crossover discussion, asking Allison Fisher about the open bridge, snooker technique, and how her move to American pool may have influenced the way pool players approached fundamentals. That opens the ...

In Part 1 of our extended Legends of the Cue conversation with Scottish snooker great Alan “Angles” McManus, we begin where every cue-sports life story should begin: at the first table, with the first cue, and with the first signs that something special might be happening. Alan joins Mike Gonzalez, Mark Wilson, and Allison Fisher for a warm and thoughtful opening chapter that traces his early years in Glasgow, his first memories of cue sports, and the childhood moments that helped shape one o...

In the final part of our Legends of the Cue conversation with Mike Panozzo, we turn to history, legacy, media, governance and the future of professional pool. After more than four decades at Billiards Digest Magazine, Mike has not only reported on cue sports — he has helped preserve its record, recognize its legends and frame many of the sport’s most important debates. Mike discusses his work with the Billiard Congress of America, the BCA Hall of Fame, and the United States Billiard Media Assoc...

In Part 3 of our Legends of the Cue interview with Mike Panozzo, the story moves from covering the game to owning one of its most important publications. By the mid-1990s, Mike and Keith Hamilton had purchased Billiards Digest Magazine, giving Mike the chance to devote himself fully to the sport he had spent years chronicling. This episode explores what it meant to become publisher, how the magazine grew, and how Billiards Digest tried to serve players, fans, room owners, manufacturers and the ...

In Part 2 of our interview with Mike Panozzo, Legends of the Cue steps into the pool world of the early 1980s — a time when the billiard industry was struggling, professional pool was still searching for stability, and a young journalist from Chicago was learning the game one tournament, one poolroom and one unforgettable character at a time. Mike describes what Billiards Digest Magazine looked like in 1980: a small, mostly black-and-white, bi-monthly publication covering tournaments, players, ...

In Part 1 of our conversation with Mike Panozzo, longtime Owner and Publisher of Billiards Digest Magazine, Legends of the Cue goes back to the beginning of one of cue sports’ most important storytellers. Mike grew up on the South Side of Chicago in a close-knit Italian-American family, surrounded by relatives, neighborhood traditions, Catholic school discipline and the unmistakable rhythm of Chicago sports culture. Long before he became one of pool’s most trusted voices, Mike was a kid racing ...

In this moving final chapter of our six-part Legends of the Cue conversation, Mitch Laurance brings his remarkable journey full circle—through gratitude, reflection, and the relationships that have shaped a life squeezed for every ounce of meaning. Before we leave the world of pool, Mitch turns his attention to the people beside him—Allison Fisher and Mark Wilson—offering heartfelt thanks for what they’ve given the game and the players who love it. What follows is an unforgettable exchange of m...

In Episode 5 of our six-part life-story series with Mitch Laurance, we pick up where his improbable second act really takes flight—behind the microphone, on the biggest stage pool had at the time: ESPN. Mitch takes us back to that first broadcast, when pool commentary was still being figured out in real time… and he was, too. With the opening and closing done live and much of the commentary recorded in post, Mitch describes the surreal learning curve of watching a match like a fan—only to hear a...

In Episode 4 of our six-part conversation with actor, producer, and longtime billiards broadcaster Mitch Laurance, the story turns on a single moment in Winston-Salem that changed everything. Mitch takes us back to 1990—sent to “go play pool” at a charity night during a golf event—only to find two tables… and two legends. On one side: Nick Varner. On the other: a Swedish star with “green laser eyes,” Ewa Mataya, already at the top of her game. Mitch hadn’t come looking for love, but one glance ...

In Part 3 of our multi-part life-story conversation with American film and television actor—and longtime sports broadcaster—Mitch Laurance, we detour through the worlds that shaped him long before pool took center stage. Mitch takes us back to Los Angeles in the 1980s, when a persistent friend talked him into an early-morning tee time at Balboa. What happened next surprised him: not instant love for golf, but total fascination. Here was a ball sitting still on the ground… and he couldn’t hit it...

In Part 2 of our conversation with actor and sports broadcaster Mitch Laurance, Mitch takes us deeper into the improbable zigzags that turned a behind-the-scenes job at Saturday Night Live into a front-row seat to entertainment history—and ultimately, into a life on camera. Mitch starts where most origin stories don’t: as a production “gopher” in the early days of SNL, absorbing the chaos, the pressure, and the genius up close. But week by week, opportunity finds him. He becomes a researcher fo...

In this opening chapter of our multi-part conversation, Mitch Laurance takes us all the way back—before the bright lights of television, before the broadcast booth, before the roles that made his career a near-constant highlight reel—back to a simpler time on the south shore of Long Island. Born in Queens and raised in Hewlett, Mitch shares what it really felt like growing up as an identical twin: the built-in best friend, the constant competition, the comfort of always having someone to throw ...

In this sixth and final chapter of our deep dive into the remarkable life of Billy Incardona, we bring to a close the journey of one of pool’s most colorful and respected figures—a man whose sharp mind, storytelling charm, and love for the game have made him a true legend of the cue. Billy reflects on his lifelong relationship with the sport, from creating his instructional video Common Sense One Pocket to helping shape the design of Diamond Billiard tables. He shares vivid memories of epic roa...

In this fifth installment of our six-part series with legendary cue artist and road warrior Billy Incardona, listeners are treated to a vivid journey through the smoky, cash-fueled pool halls of America’s golden era. With trademark candor and humor, Billy recalls epic encounters with some of the game’s most colorful—and notorious—characters, bringing to life the grit and glory of a bygone hustler’s world. From a wild high-stakes showdown with Weenie Beanie in Detroit to his induction into the O...

In this fourth installment of our six-part deep dive into the extraordinary life of pool legend Billy Incardona, we step inside the smoky rooms, backroom barns, and broadcast booths that shaped one of the game’s sharpest minds and most colorful storytellers. Joined by hosts Mike Gonzalez, Mark Wilson, and Allison Fisher, Billy brings to life the unforgettable characters and moments that defined his years as both player and commentator. He recalls the brilliance and blunt honesty of fellow legen...

In this third installment of our six-part conversation with pool legend and all-time hustler Billy Incardona, we dive deep into the wild, unfiltered golden age of American pool — a time when the cues cracked, the cash flowed, and the characters were larger than life. Billy takes us straight into the heart of Johnson City, Illinois, home of the famed Jansco Brothers’ “Hustlers Jamboree.” With his trademark mix of humor and candor, he recalls the smoky taverns, all-night action, and the unforgett...

In this captivating second installment of Legends of the Cue: The Billy Incardona Story, co-hosts Mike Gonzalez, Allison Fisher and Mark Wilson continue their deep dive into the colorful, gritty, and often hilarious world of one of pool’s true storytellers and road warriors. "Nine-Ball Billy" pulls no punches as he recalls his early influences, his larger-than-life mentor “Champagne Eddie” Kelly, and the unforgettable characters who shaped the golden age of American pool. From the smoky rooms o...

In this first installment of our six-part conversation with the great Billy Incardona — known to pool fans everywhere as “Nine-Ball Billy” and later the unmistakable voice of Accu-Stats — the Legends of the Cue team dives into the early years of one of pool’s most colorful and enduring figures. Hosted by Mike Gonzalez, Mark Wilson, and Allison Fisher, this episode traces Billy’s roots in Pittsburgh, where a curious nine-year-old first discovered the magic of the game on a makeshift checkerboard...

In this fifth and final installment of our Legends of the Cue deep-dive with co-host, former Mosconi Cup Captain and player, professional pool player, master teacher, and broadcaster Mark Wilson, we bring the conversation full circle — from the bright lights of international competition to the grassroots of the game he loves. Mark takes us behind the curtain of his Mosconi Cup captaincy, sharing the challenges of managing world-class talent, the psychology of match play, and the small strategic...

In this fourth episode of our special five-part series with Legends of the Cue co-host, former Mosconi Cup captain, accomplished professional player, master teacher, and broadcaster Mark Wilson, we journey through some of the most personal and defining chapters of his extraordinary life in pool. Mark opens up about an unthinkable personal tragedy that nearly ended his career—and how a single spark of resolve set him on a path toward “relentless positivity” and a renewed purpose. We follow his r...