ESPN contacted John French??

bfdlad

bfdlad

T-Wheels
Silver Member
Ok, so I still have not heard John French's commentary although there has been a lot of talk about it so I am not qualified to judge that. However I have been told that ESPN have contacted John French and want to talk to him about his events and have a meeting set with him on Tuesday. So this leads me to ask, if he is so bad why are ESPN contacting him?? He must be doing something right. This info came from someone who does not want to be named at this point. Also that John French will be doing commentary at the SVB match that's coming up.
I am going to try and get Mr French on my segment on American Billiard Radio and ask some straight questions. Topics I would like to cover are, ESPN, his thoughts on the commentary petition, will he in fact be in the booth for the SVB match with Ko, How did the DO deal come about since there has been some questions there.

By the way I do not know John French and have not dog in this fight but this has interested me and if the ESPN thing works out it could be BIG for pool.
 
When French started the talk of "signing" the Ko brothers to his stable, it had hints of Dana White and the early days of him aquiring UFC.

This may be just wishful thinking, but that business model applied to the big names in professional pool might actually lead to something great.
 
BRussell said:
Yeah a race to 100 with no shot clock is the perfect format for ESPN.
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I will be interviewing him on Wednesday it looks like and recording it for the show. So by that time he should have been to the ESPN meeting so hopefully will find something out. I have no real idea what ESPN want to talk with him about.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Make sure you are blunt with him and ask him if he was backing both Ko and Dennis for their match.
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How does somebody make money backing both players in a match??

Although if you wanted to look like a big shot and get your name out there, it would be genius.
 
bfdlad said:
Ok, so I still have not heard John French's commentary although there has been a lot of talk about it so I am not qualified to judge that. However I have been told that ESPN have contacted John French and want to talk to him about his events and have a meeting set with him on Tuesday. So this leads me to ask, if he is so bad why are ESPN contacting him?? He must be doing something right. This info came from someone who does not want to be named at this point. Also that John French will be doing commentary at the SVB match that's coming up.
I am going to try and get Mr French on my segment on American Billiard Radio and ask some straight questions. Topics I would like to cover are, ESPN, his thoughts on the commentary petition, will he in fact be in the booth for the SVB match with Ko, How did the DO deal come about since there has been some questions there.

By the way I do not know John French and have not dog in this fight but this has interested me and if the ESPN thing works out it could be BIG for pool.
Click to expand...

Also clear up the debate of the legitimacy of the Ko vs DO match since they are all under his same umbrella now.
 
cueenvy said:
How does somebody make money backing both players in a match??

Although if you wanted to look like a big shot and get your name out there, it would be genius.
Click to expand...

Don't think about the bet between the players, think of the side bets. Sometimes to make money, you have to lose money.
 
It's probably ESPN3 streaming. They streamed the Mosconi Cup the last few years and probably want to try to use that format. Of coarse all they want is someone to produce it and get handed the DVD or whatever. Ask the Women's tour how that works out. Johnnyt
 
As much as im against gambling and if players (ALL the good players) from 700+in the fargo rating can make a good living playing this sport ...Then maybe A RED BULL sponsor might be the thing. I dont personally know Mister French but from what i can see he brings alot of action to the Pool Arena.. i cant say its a good thing or a bad thing but if we want this sport to be recognized for what it is and to be able to compensate even the weakest of pros or semi pros ..then i guess it MAY be a step in the right direction or set us back another 25 years.Ronnie just cashed in 285,000 US Dollars...any chance pool can see that kind of prize fund in the near future and is ESPN going to support pool on the way there or are they going to bail when some other sport comes along with better audience ratings. And by the way i have heard Mister French do commentary and that is not what we need.Im not saying he is bad or that im better but we need someone doing commentary as if we are explaining pool to a baby or a deaf grandmother...NEED TO TEACH THE BASICS TO THE AUDIENCE and show them that this a ****EN HARD SPORT ... I have stated in the past that the way snooker is set up with qualifiers ..the same thing needs to be done for pool.
 
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I went out to Steinway Billiards with Dennis Orcollo for the match against Ko Pin Yi. I just want to let everyone know what happened between myself and Ko Pin Yi and Ko Pin Chung. There was a tournament back a few months ago out at Steinway. This was the first time I had met them. They kind of asked me then if I was interested in backing any more players but I thought they were joking and told them no. When I went out for the tournament between Dennis Orcollo and Ko Pin Yi they said there backer was no longer giving them money for games. This was brought to me in the middle of the match by Mandy Wu and her boyfriend Dan. The reason they wanted to put a deal together with me now is because they wanted me to back them at Derby. I had no dealings with them before they approached me. I would have never contacted them first because I would have no way to speak/translate with them. Mandy said they had researched me and wanted me to back Ko Pin Yi and Ko Pin Chung. I said I would love to back them at Derby because he is one of the best players in the world. I had NO INTENTIONS of putting a deal together with these two prior to going to Steinway Billiards and then them approaching me. This deal did not even come together until about 3 hours before the end of day 3. I told them if we did put a deal together then it was ok but I would not announce anything until after the match being that I was there with Dennis. If you look at Facebook this was not mentioned by Mandy Wu and Ko Pin Yi until AFTER the match was completed. My intentions is to make pool better everyday by bringing these matches together. I thought they would make a great scotch double partners in the future. The paperwork is not even in writing and is just a verbal agreement. They said they would have it drawn up in writing for Derby city classic to be signed. All we have is a verbal agreement that they would like me to back them in different events. If you listened to my commentary during their match you would see that I was a huge Dennis Orcollo fan. My intentions were to bring two great player together for the pool world to watch. I had no involvement of the streaming of this match or anything to do dishonest with this match. I only showed up to watch Dennis play. It was an unbelievable match and I wanted to see it in person. Who wouldn't want to have the two greatest players on their team. Knowing they did not have a backer while in the USA I was just trying to help make a lot of big games. You can talk to Manny at Steinway or anyone that knows me in the pool industry that I am the most honest person and would never do anything to jeopardize the game of pool. All I seen is two guys without a backer for Derby and wanted to help out because they are superstars in the game. I may have become too excited and didn't think before announcing this and the effect it could have. I am sorry if I have offended anybody by my excitement. I have a lot of love for the game because my passion is strong for the game. I love to watch the best of the best play and wish I could someday be as good as them. It was like I was in a dream when they approached me to back them. I never thought in my lifetime that 2 great players would ask me to back them up and I was honored and excited. The Dennis and Shane match is going to be an awesome match to watch and took a lot of time to set up. Dennis has been playing strong and putting a lot of energy into his game. There has always been a thought in the back of my mind who I could put up for Scotch doubles against Woodward and Bergman and so at Steinway when the brothers/Mandy Wu their interpreter approached me I got very excited because I felt I had the team to play Skylar and Justin. Ko Pin Yi and Ko Pin Chung would be a powerhouse team and who wouldn't get excited to watch that match. All I went to do for the game of pool is bring a lot of excitement and big matches for everyone to enjoy. As everyone knows in the pool world Justin and Skylar made an announcement that no one could beat them in Scotch double so when the 2 brothers said they wanted me to back them my first reaction was to put them up against Bergman/Woodward and thats the reason we all (Me, Ko Pin Yi, Ko Pin Chung, Mandy Wu and Dan) announced it that night. I was flying back to Illinois and they wanted to make sure they had a verbal confirmation that I would back them at Derby City Classic and that they would type up a contract and sign at Derby. All I want to say is good luck to everyone at Derby and hope everyone watches the match between Dennis and Shane on Feb 11-14. You don't want to miss this event. It seems like a year ago nobody was talking about big matches and now everyone seems to want to watch the best players in pool. I promise the only thing I want for the pool industry is honesty and high integrity. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I have a lot of respect for all the pros and amateurs in the pool industry. I am sorry if people did not enjoy my commentary but sometimes my excitement get the best of me. God Bless to all and good luck in 2016!
 
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