Thomas commentating on Steinway's Ginky Memorial / Classic

3andstop

3andstop

Focus
Silver Member
So, I felt compelled to say that this young fellow Thomas did an outstanding job commentating at Steinway yesterday.

I also want to say I don't think Alvin gave him a fair shake, nor did he offer the kid the respect he deserved. I think he treated Thomas in a way that could easily hurt his feelings.

The kid was stronger than me I'll tell ya because Alvin hurt my feelings for the kid!

Perhaps Alvin was a bit embarrassed by the youngster's knowledge of the game and felt threatened by it.

In any event, ..... GREAT JOB Thomas!! They were kidding with you, asking what your nickname was. Cause you're just a youngster, I vote for Thomas Thumb. :)

Don't pay any attention to any negative feedback you may have heard. You acted beyond your years. You were polite, articulate, and knowledgeable about the game. You also were obviously excited about both the game and the opportunity to commentate.

Congrats!
 
3andstop said:
So, I felt compelled to say that this young fellow Thomas did an outstanding job commentating at Steinway yesterday.

I also want to say I don't think Alvin gave him a fair shake, nor did he offer the kid the respect he deserved. I think he treated Thomas in a way that could easily hurt his feelings.

The kid was stronger than me I'll tell ya because Alvin hurt my feelings for the kid!

Perhaps Alvin was a bit embarrassed by the youngster's knowledge of the game and felt threatened by it.

In any event, ..... GREAT JOB Thomas!! They were kidding with you, asking what your nickname was. Cause you're just a youngster, I vote for Thomas Thumb. :)

Don't pay any attention to any negative feedback you may have heard. You acted beyond your years. You were polite, articulate, and knowledgeable about the game. You also were obviously excited about both the game and the opportunity to commentate.

Congrats!
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The kid was fine but I had to tune out due to his fellow announcer. I really cant take much of that guy on the mike.

I believe Alvin was just trying to rein in a kid who could have a tendency to get hyper and big headed. Alvin was there, measuring the kids response and I am sure he would have adjusted if the kid was phased which he was not in my opinion.
 
3andstop said:
So, I felt compelled to say that this young fellow Thomas did an outstanding job commentating at Steinway yesterday.

I also want to say I don't think Alvin gave him a fair shake, nor did he offer the kid the respect he deserved. I think he treated Thomas in a way that could easily hurt his feelings.

The kid was stronger than me I'll tell ya because Alvin hurt my feelings for the kid!

Perhaps Alvin was a bit embarrassed by the youngster's knowledge of the game and felt threatened by it.

In any event, ..... GREAT JOB Thomas!! They were kidding with you, asking what your nickname was. Cause you're just a youngster, I vote for Thomas Thumb. :)

Don't pay any attention to any negative feedback you may have heard. You acted beyond your years. You were polite, articulate, and knowledgeable about the game. You also were obviously excited about both the game and the opportunity to commentate.

Congrats!
Click to expand...

Well My take on it was a bit different than yours.

As far as Thomas in the booth he did fine and with some more years under his belt (not just in pool but life in general) he will do very well in the booth.

From what I heard (and I wasn't there) the problem started because the young man just walked into the booth sat down and started talking on the mic. Now I don't care what streamer it is from TAR, POV, TVMike, BigTruck, and etc if anyone that is not known to them just walks up to their equipment and starts playing with it, they would all get a bit upset. Sure each person would handle it in their own way but they each would be a bit upset.

I did hear Alvin talking to Thomas about just that and while Alvin was stern he was nice and did not raise his voice or speak poorly to him. I heard Thomas say he was sorry and he did ask Alvin is it ok if he stayed and Alvin said yes. Now the young man not more than a few minutes later made a comment about Alvin not wanting to share the spotlight and wanting it all to himself. Now that was uncalled for and is way out of line.
 
3andstop said:
So, I felt compelled to say that this young fellow Thomas did an outstanding job commentating at Steinway yesterday.

I also want to say I don't think Alvin gave him a fair shake, nor did he offer the kid the respect he deserved. I think he treated Thomas in a way that could easily hurt his feelings.

The kid was stronger than me I'll tell ya because Alvin hurt my feelings for the kid!

Perhaps Alvin was a bit embarrassed by the youngster's knowledge of the game and felt threatened by it.

In any event, ..... GREAT JOB Thomas!! They were kidding with you, asking what your nickname was. Cause you're just a youngster, I vote for Thomas Thumb. :)

Don't pay any attention to any negative feedback you may have heard. You acted beyond your years. You were polite, articulate, and knowledgeable about the game. You also were obviously excited about both the game and the opportunity to commentate.

Congrats!
Click to expand...
I agree. Before he was on, I was watching the stream and enjoying the match until Alvin started in on one of his rants about how he TOLD Earl he didn't like the way he played his matches and that he had to stop. He went over & over with his rant which had nothing to do with the match being played! I logged on to the chat and made the statement "For the record, Not everyone enjoys Alvin's "disk jockey" style commentary." Apparently he doesn't take constructive criticism very well as he promptly banned me from the chat, then spent about another 10 minutes pounding his chest about how he has the power to banish anyone he wants! lol

First off, I gotta say I'm very thankful for Inside Pool, J.R. Calvert and Alvin setting up and streaming these matches for free! I have a bad back and can't get to many tournaments anymore so I have to enjoy what I can on the internet. I do wish that IP had commentators of the professional type like Accu-Stats, TAR and other streamers but I also understand that there's no money to pay commentators on free streams and it's usually left to volunteers. I get that! Number 1, My comment was out of frustration. I'm getting sick of hearing people knock Earl publicly when he hasn't done anything wrong. They just like to sound like they're superior when in fact they couldn't caddy for Earl! It's especially egregious when it's the official commentators doing so! Number 2, I don't think anyone tunes in to hear Alvin ramble on about anything and everything but the match at hand! He might go on for a half an hour without saying a single word about the match or the players currently playing. He thinks he's a "rock star" or something and that people want to hear him "drop names" and tell of his prowess! It would be nice if he could give the score after each game, but I don't think he has a clue what's going on in the match, he's the star of the show! The matches are much better with the audio turned off and that's a shame!

I do think that Thomas was much better suited to doing commentary. He was at least communicating about what was actually going on, not about Alvin's pipe dream.

Sherm
 
Give Thomas more air time

I agree that Thomas did a fantastic job for a kid getting ready to go into the 9th grade, as he stated last night. When Alvin is on there and doing his narcissistic rants I would rather watch Sesame Street. Burt and Ernie are much more informative and a lot less abrasive. I also enjoyed it when Gail and Tony were on there. They have a nice banter between them and obviously care about the future of pool. Not sure Alvin cares about much of anything other than himself.

I think the kid should be given the opportunity to do what he was doing anytime he wants. Talk about the future of pool? Isn't he part of it? Who knows...with the right encouragement and some luck he may be able to bring to this sport something it doesn't have. A younger element to attract younger players is what pool needs. Maybe he could be the Neo of the pool Matrix. Good morning, Mr. Anderson.

Step aside Alvin and nourish the interest of the younger generation when the opportunity presents itself. We all know its your show. Help to light a spark instead of drowning out ambition.
 
I also thought Thomas did a fine job. And he kept his focus on the pool match, not some space wars talk or other such nonsense.
 
cuesmith said:
I agree. Before he was on, I was watching the stream and enjoying the match until Alvin started in on one of his rants about how he TOLD Earl he didn't like the way he played his matches and that he had to stop. He went over & over with his rant which had nothing to do with the match being played! I logged on to the chat and made the statement "For the record, Not everyone enjoys Alvin's "disk jockey" style commentary." Apparently he doesn't take constructive criticism very well as he promptly banned me from the chat, then spent about another 10 minutes pounding his chest about how he has the power to banish anyone he wants! lol

First off, I gotta say I'm very thankful for Inside Pool, J.R. Calvert and Alvin setting up and streaming these matches for free! I have a bad back and can't get to many tournaments anymore so I have to enjoy what I can on the internet. I do wish that IP had commentators of the professional type like Accu-Stats, TAR and other streamers but I also understand that there's no money to pay commentators on free streams and it's usually left to volunteers. I get that! Number 1, My comment was out of frustration. I'm getting sick of hearing people knock Earl publicly when he hasn't done anything wrong. They just like to sound like they're superior when in fact they couldn't caddy for Earl! It's especially egregious when it's the official commentators doing so! Number 2, I don't think anyone tunes in to hear Alvin ramble on about anything and everything but the match at hand! He might go on for a half an hour without saying a single word about the match or the players currently playing. He thinks he's a "rock star" or something and that people want to hear him "drop names" and tell of his prowess! It would be nice if he could give the score after each game, but I don't think he has a clue what's going on in the match, he's the star of the show! The matches are much better with the audio turned off and that's a shame!

I do think that Thomas was much better suited to doing commentary. He was at least communicating about what was actually going on, not about Alvin's pipe dream.

Sherm
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You are spot on Brother, Alvin should call the game as it unwines, not tell us about everything other thing then pool, alvin says some really weird stuff at times and most people ask him alot if he has been drinking.

Alvin, you dont have to impress any of us , just call the game Brother!

I do appreciate the work Alvin puts in by bringing us pool fans these free streams, it seems to me that when Alvin gets tired that is when he says the crasiest stuff and then everyone thinks he is drunk!

Either way i do enjoy the matches that Alvin calls, i know Alvin is a good guy and is doing good things for pool, but some of the crazy things he comes up with mite be better off unsaid!
 
The kid should not just walk up and drive another man's car. Period. Full Stop. Having said that he did just fine. At least he didn't yell LIVE 18 times a minute. :)

Nick
 
Nick B said:
The kid should not just walk up and drive another man's car. Period. Full Stop. Having said that he did just fine. At least he didn't yell LIVE 18 times a minute. :)

Nick
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Well actually in Thomas's defense, he was invited to commentate by Alvin prior to his picking up the headset on his own.

Alvin snidely said to Thomas initially, you have 10 minutes to prove yourself a worthy Jedi commentator, ( or some crap like that) after that time period we will have the master brain ( meaning the chatroom) decide if you are worthy to stay.

The kid got an overwhelming thumbs up ( its where I came up with Tom Thumb :) )

Anyway, he was allowed to stay. The match ended, and after the dead silence, when the next match started ... yes he did pick ups the headset on his own, but ... extenuating circumstances were also involved here when he got the chatroom's thumbs up to continue.

Anyway, he said he was 14 years old. He conducted himself like an adult, spoke like an adult and was very polite. Can you think of anyone who fits the inverse bill?


EDIT **** By no means am I attempting to detract from the amazing effort Alvin puts into his productions. I also commend his dedication, and I am appreciative of the stream.

I am sure if we met, we would hit it off immediately and become great friends. I'm not sure however if we were walking down the street together, I'd want to have him out of my sight for very long. God only knows what he'd get into.
 
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ctyhntr said:
The stream was a joint production between NYCGrind and Inside Pool.

Here are the contact information for both if you want to show your appreciation, support and any suggestions you think can help improve the stream.

http://www.insidepoolmag.com/contact

NYC Grind, Alison Fischer AF@NYCgrind.com
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Woulda been nice to get Alison in the booth a bit. She did a real good job at SBE this year, sitting in with Mary Kenniston.
 
3andstop said:
Don't pay any attention to any negative feedback you may have heard.
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To be blunt, I didn't care much for the nonsensical commentary, so I muted the stream. But to be fair to Thomas, anyone who feels they could have spent that many hours behind a mike, for free, should step up and offer to help next year. There's simply too many hours of play to be covered, anyone who is generous enough to help should be praised, and anyone who verbally criticizes is welcome to volunteer next year.:thumbup:
 
3andstop said:
Well actually in Thomas's defense, he was invited to commentate by Alvin prior to his picking up the headset on his own.

Alvin snidely said to Thomas initially, you have 10 minutes to prove yourself a worthy Jedi commentator, ( or some crap like that) after that time period we will have the master brain ( meaning the chatroom) decide if you are worthy to stay.

The kid got an overwhelming thumbs up ( its where I came up with Tom Thumb :) )

Anyway, he was allowed to stay. The match ended, and after the dead silence, when the next match started ... yes he did pick ups the headset on his own, but ... extenuating circumstances were also involved here when he got the chatroom's thumbs up to continue.

Anyway, he said he was 14 years old. He conducted himself like an adult, spoke like an adult and was very polite. Can you think of anyone who fits the inverse bill?


EDIT **** By no means am I attempting to detract from the amazing effort Alvin puts into his productions. I also commend his dedication, and I am appreciative of the stream.

I am sure if we met, we would hit it off immediately and become great friends. I'm not sure however if we were walking down the street together, I'd want to have him out of my sight for very long. God only knows what he'd get into.
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I'm simply commenting on what I read. When I got online "Junior" was already there so I went on what was written...IE he "jumped in". As I stated he did fine. Only Alvin can set the record straight on his level of invitation.

Nick
 
I like listening to the eccentric high energy dude named after a chipmonk. Now if it were the US Open or something, I'd expect different commentary. But it wasn't, 1st place was 2300 measly pesos. Ya never know what's coming out his mouth next - but a droning sleepy presence he is not.

So I sit in chat, watch awesome pool courtesy of Inside Pool, I know that the 3 ball comes before the 4, I tilt a couple beverages, eat some chilli with beans, and talk shit in chat while the efficacy of Alvin's prozac wanes. ;) IP runs/attracts some funny sob's in chat, the mods are the best - bar none, and it's a blast.

Thanks IP!

BTW, how many hours did Alvin work in the last couple weeks?
 
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Sloppy Pockets said:
Woulda been nice to get Alison in the booth a bit. She did a real good job at SBE this year, sitting in with Mary Kenniston.
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There is no doubt that Alli would of done some commentary, but she was not present at the event !!

Alli does a great job with Commentary !!
 
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