Jay Helfert

jay helfert said:
Where Europe is beating us consistently is on defensive play. Their kicking and safety play has been far better than USA overall.
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If it will help your blood pressure.....you got this right. But you should go a step further. The Euro's cue ball control PERIOD....whether running out, playing safe or kicking....exceeds the Americans.

Stroking fundamentals.

The majority of times, the Euro's, when in line, stay in line. If they don't get out they jar a ball.

The Americans can not stay in line as often. They miss position....pin point position....when proper angles need to be kept....way too often.

There is one exception to that....and that is Justin Bergman. He BY FAR has the best cue ball of the Americans.....not even close....and NOT ONE....of the Euros is better. He finally made enough balls on the break to show it against Appleton. Made a "32nd of an inch" mistake or would have beaten Appleton 5-1.

Feel better now? :D
 
xXGEARXx said:
Not sure why you choose that route, but ok.

Watch the match with Corey and Berg. Watch rack two when Burg sinks the 4 ball down the rail. The ball clearly hits the tit, rattles, and then drops. Try that on ANY diamond table where I play at, and I will be up to shoot the 4 in and shape for the 5.

I think where he was going with "loose" was the fact of playing with new felt. I am not arguing 4.25 inch pockets are easy. I think those are the dimensions of table 14, if I remember correctly. Of course, table 14 is the hardest diamond I have ever played on (Yes, harder than the others for multiple reasons- besides having a deep shelf). Don't take my word for it, ask everyone that shoots there. That includes Benny Z., also.

New felt always makes for a more "forgiving" table initially. I don't understand why it does, as I have not been interested in looking into it. I am guessing it has to do with the coefficient of friction. I will have to wait for "Patrick" to chime in and give his uneducated, educated opinion.

In conclusion, if I read your post right and inferred where you were going, I think you are a bit overboard in your reference to said individual as a "jackass".
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you do not understand the situation, he is not a jackass for saying the table plays loose, but rather how he treats people on azbilliards and how he conducts himself.
 
watchez said:
Europe is winning cause of the break -- Mike D broke dry every rack in his singles match. If he makes one ball on the break, he wins that match.

Neils won cause of the golden break.

Take away those two wins and US is up 8-7.

The US, at first, was trying to cut break, with a slow to medium speed and feather in the one into the side. That was a poor tactic as they are not racking the balls so the rack is being placed at a slightly different spot each time by the referees. This doesn't give you any consistency in your break. And the table has small pockets - makes it even tougher to cut break and play the one in the side. You have to be that more exact. The US then moved to smashing the rack (ie Bergman in his last match). Then what were the results -- oh he broke and ran every rack. Boyes figured it out first, he was pounding it as well.
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Didn't at large post break stats that showed we were breaking better?

Looked at it and successful breaks were about even, but we didn't get out as often ona successful break
 
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jay helfert said:
You think your smart because you know that new cloth slides. That's Pool 101! When you learn something about the Meta game of pool then you can offer worthwhile criticism. You may not have noticed how often I remark that a player does not look quite right PRIOR to his shot. Something about the way he sets up and gets down is not comfortable and the possibility of him missing is much greater. A players body language is all important but I wouldn't expect you to understand that. Even the conversation between players can be very telling. A player's state of mind is very important to ascertain and recognize. I also have the advantage of seeing and hearing more because I'm physically present here and not watching only what you see on TV.
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You are the Teacherman. Don't ever lose your impartiality , we need more impartial commentators like you
Don't let those 2 bit whining crybaby charlattans like the OP bother you.
:grin:
 
Teacherman said:
Once again, there is no counter for your obvious gaffe comments about how tough the table was playing when in fact it was playing loose.

Carry on. Many here support nonsense.
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My only comment on this, is that a 4 1/4" Diamond table in no way would be considered a "loose" table in my book. Whether hot, cold, damp, dry.....to say that it's "loose" is bordering on absurd.

Of course new cloth will allow the ball to slide in easier, that's a given at any tournament with any pocket size.
 
Get_A_Grip said:
My only comment on this, is that a 4 1/4" Diamond table in no way would be considered a "loose" table in my book. Whether hot, cold, damp, dry.....to say that it's "loose" is bordering on absurd.

Of course new cloth will allow the ball to slide in easier, that's a given at any tournament with any pocket size.
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Sir,

Any table that has new cloth....will allow a ball to slide in. Absolutely.

You can't call that tight.

A table isn't both tight and loose. If it lets balls in that normally won't....it's loose. We aren't debating the why. We are debating the truth.
 
xXGEARXx said:
Not sure why you choose that route, but ok.

Watch the match with Corey and Berg. Watch rack two when Burg sinks the 4 ball down the rail. The ball clearly hits the tit, rattles, and then drops. Try that on ANY diamond table where I play at, and I will be up to shoot the 4 in and shape for the 5.

I think where he was going with "loose" was the fact of playing with new felt. I am not arguing 4.25 inch pockets are easy. I think those are the dimensions of table 14, if I remember correctly. Of course, table 14 is the hardest diamond I have ever played on (Yes, harder than the others for multiple reasons- besides having a deep shelf). Don't take my word for it, ask everyone that shoots there. That includes Benny Z., also.

New felt always makes for a more "forgiving" table initially. I don't understand why it does, as I have not been interested in looking into it. I am guessing it has to do with the coefficient of friction. I will have to wait for "Patrick" to chime in and give his uneducated, educated opinion.

In conclusion, if I read your post right and inferred where you were going, I think you are a bit overboard in your reference to said individual as a "jackass".
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I don't get what people are so pissed about, with regards to the pockets. Yes, they're tight. There are balls bobbling in pockets, and finally falling, but those same balls would just fly in on a GC4 with a 4.5" standard cut pocket. Some balls haven't gone in at all.

If you would like the guys to shoot on tighter tables, get them to bring in a Chinese 8 ball table. Otherwise, they're playing tighter than most tournament tables I have seen.

We play on Diamond tables at our league locations. They're tight. But, when they're reclothed, you get a reprieve for a week. You can still cheat pockets on a Diamond, and you can rattle some in. It depends on the angle to the pocket. Balls very close to the rail can rub the knuckle and go in. I'm actually wondering if tightening up the pockets at the MC has made the shelf a little shorter, and made those rattlers drop a little easier once they are coming to rest inside the jaws.
 
Teacherman said:
There is one exception to that....and that is Justin Bergman. He BY FAR has the best cue ball of the Americans.....not even close....and NOT ONE....of the Euros is better. He finally made enough balls on the break to show it against Appleton. Made a "32nd of an inch" mistake or would have beaten Appleton 5-1.
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So true. Bergman definitely does not seem the typical American player with the usual anarchy game heavily based on shot-making ability. His cue ball control and general shooting ability is superior to any other American player. Impressive stuff till now.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
I don't get what people are so pissed about, with regards to the pockets. Yes, they're tight. There are balls bobbling in pockets, and finally falling, but those same balls would just fly in on a GC4 with a 4.5" standard cut pocket. Some balls haven't gone in at all.

If you would like the guys to shoot on tighter tables, get them to bring in a Chinese 8 ball table. Otherwise, they're playing tighter than most tournament tables I have seen.

We play on Diamond tables at our league locations. They're tight. But, when they're reclothed, you get a reprieve for a week. You can still cheat pockets on a Diamond, and you can rattle some in. It depends on the angle to the pocket. Balls very close to the rail can rub the knuckle and go in. I'm actually wondering if tightening up the pockets at the MC has made the shelf a little shorter, and made those rattlers drop a little easier once they are coming to rest inside the jaws.
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Um....sir....

We are not arguing that tight tables are needed....or not.

Pay attention.

Please.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
I guess you've never played on a hot table before. It's actually quite hard to make a TV table play tight. If you were hitting balls on that table before the production started, it would play much different than after about 4 hours of having a spotlight on it. Warm cloth and warm balls slide a little more. I wouldn't be harping on the table. That Diamond is playing a hell of a lot tighter than the Brunswick Metros they used to use at the World Championships.

But, you seem to find something to complain about on a post by post basis. Glass totally empty mentality.
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Right on. I've heard pro players complain many times especially at places like the expo where one table is the tv table under heavier lights and the rest our not that the table places completely different then the rest
 
spartan said:
You are the Teacherman. Don't ever lose your impartiality , we need more impartial commentators like you
Don't let those 2 bit whining crybaby charlattans like the OP bother you.
:grin:
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I agree. Jay is doing an excellent job, and we are fortunate to benefit from his insights, passion, and hard work.
 
You couldn't pay me enough to commentate on pool. The small crowd that can find something to complain about is always the loudest, they will pick out every thing you say and break it down and twist your words to suit their needs and to hell with what you think, they will always know more.

It's laughable that anyone would even suggest Jay doesn't know anything about pool.
 
Baron said:
Maybe he seems pro-European because they're outplaying us and as a commentator his job is to point that out. Just a thought.
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Boom! Jay has been a little too harsh in a couple of situations. Its one things to say "I don't like that shot" its another to sound like a father who is disappointed his son missed a free throw.
 
Dockter said:
You couldn't pay me enough to commentate on pool. The small crowd that can find something to complain about is always the loudest, they will pick out every thing you say and break it down and twist your words to suit their needs and to hell with what you think, they will always know more.

It's laughable that anyone would even suggest Jay doesn't know anything about pool.
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Jay is speaking with the officials at Matchroom this very moment. Commentary next year will be done by Teacherman and Snucar.

TM "wow, Corey played that totally wrong. He should have done what I would have done"
SC "what would you have done, Teacherman?"
TM "I'd have got Justin to shoot the shot for him"
..........
(hours later)

TM "I can't stand this rack they're using this year. They should use the rack I use...."
SC "which rack is that, Teacherman?"
TM "the rack of the chick that Bergman is with...."
SC "good one, Teacherman!"

Can hardly wait til next year....
 
Maxx said:
Didn't at large post break stats that showed we were breaking better?

Looked at it and successful breaks were about even, but we didn't get out as often ona successful break
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Read this....

AtLarge said:
Through 3 days of the Mosconi Cup, Bergman has hit 11 break shots. Ten of them were successful (made at least one ball and did not foul). Seven of them (64%) resulted in break-and-run games.

Pretty good (so far).
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Take out Bergman's stats (91% success rate) and where does that leave the rest of Team USA and their break? I can tell you where it leaves them. Failing on the break, down 9-6 and their backs against the wall.
 
I'll say it again... YOU get on a mike, live to streaming or TV (even taped) and try not to trip over your words, hopefully form complete sentences, etc. Most pool players I know start every sentence with "I don't like that, I like...."

It ain't easy.
 
Pocket size

4.25" for these guys is NOT that tight. TV lights WILL make them much tougher. I hit balls on the TV table at the '07 DCC and was blown away by how fast, bouncy and tight it played. My home spot has two GC4's w/3&7/8" pockets. Now that's TIGHT. I think Hardtimes-Bellflower has a couple that tight also.
 
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