Pool Announcers; What do you want?

But he is monotone.

He is a great announcer and if I were having a book written on the art, I'd want him to be a major
collaborator in designing an announcer program but has got a monotone thing going on. Not that
its a distraction but it is monotone.
Some commentators think they’re stars
JJ let’s the guys with the cues be stars.
I think he and Karl are a great team.
They both know a lot and Karl brings some spice.
 
Some commentators think they’re stars
JJ let’s the guys with the cues be stars.
I think he and Karl are a great team.
They both know a lot and Karl brings some spice.

I'm not sure who this Karl is you're referencing but one of the most pleasant matches I ever saw
was JJ and Danny D believe it or not. In that match they talked about the viewership side of Pool
vs. what the players wanted. I was little surprised but Danny D said race to 7 was sufficient for
players and was about what he figured was the attention span of viewers and I have to agree.

If a match were to go 7/6=13 games x 8 min per game=104 min /60= 1.73 hrs. That is a lot of viewing
if it went hill to hill. If not which will be the norm that puts the matches ending anywhere from 1 hr and 15 minutes
forward.

People can say what they want but most people either don't have the time or the patience to stay glued to a match for 2 plus
hours. I think Danny D was right.
 
Billy Incardona, best commentator there is.
This is the problem right? Lots of us were lucky enough to grow up with Accu-Stats and Billy doing the commentating and he was the best. Not only did he have all the qualities SJM likes, but he had personality! The closet right now is Karl Boyes. I like JJ but he's a little dry. Agree with SJM that Alex is pretty good too.
 
This is the problem right? Lots of us were lucky enough to grow up with Accu-Stats and Billy doing the commentating and he was the best. Not only did he have all the qualities SJM likes, but he had personality! The closet right now is Karl Boyes. I like JJ but he's a little dry. Agree with SJM that Alex is pretty good too.

I don't hate on anyone but the Accustats arena at times looks claustrophobic when you add
a referee.
 
loves the sound of his own voice. He has oral diarrhea.
In the movie business....their terminology was ''diarrhea of the mouth''. I don't think JJ's is that bad.
I worked with Ed Fugate/Tony Annagoni and myself to produce 8 pool shows.
Tony would NEVER shut up.
Ed then told me, his business industry came up with that description. :)
 
In the movie business....their terminology was ''diarrhea of the mouth''. I don't think JJ's is that bad.
I worked with Ed Fugate/Tony Annagoni and myself to produce 8 pool shows.
Tony would NEVER shut up.
Ed then told me, his business industry came up with that description. :)

Are you talking like exhibitions?
 
I am one who likes commentary. I will keep it on even if it's bad. This is aimed more at new commentators. Here are some things I like and don't like:
1) Tell us who you are several times. I want to know who is talking and many times it isn't listed in the description. Obviously if it's a specific person's streaming channel we can probably figure it out but sometimes they'll invite guest commentators and if you miss the name in the beginning you have no idea who is in there.

2) Keep it conversational - I like it when the commentators have a little bit of banter and talk about things happening at the tournament or other players. My pet peeve though is when they are talking to someone not mic'ed up and you can't hear the other side. Usually it appears to be a very funny story that we miss the punchline of.

3) I appreciate good analysis but don't need you to guess at what the player is going to do every shot. If it's a difficult or tricky situation I appreciate a good analysis. If it's a routine out then just let them shoot.

4) Watch the game - I don't like it when a player does something spectacularly good or bad and the announcers miss it completely and then have to ask each other? "How did he not give up ball in hand there?" because they missed his jump/kick carom for a return safe.

5) Don't criticize the game being played. I was once watching a bar table 9-ball tournament and the commentators were talking about how bar table 9-ball is too easy...yet when I looked up their Fargo they were both low 400s. Really?

6) Don't get too cute with the camera angles. I'm glad you just bought a new camera that allows us to count a player's nose hairs - but I'd rather watch the whole table.

7) Focus on the stream. I appreciate that there is a lot to do during a tournament that you are streaming. Especially since many times the streamers are co-promoting the tournament and helping run it. However I do appreciate it when at least someone is in the booth focused on the match. I can't stand it when they repeatedly leave and go off mic and then come back and have to ask the chat what the score is etc...

8) I really like when the commentators are engaged in the chat on local/regional streams. I think it's cool to be able to interact with them and other fans.

That's all I can think of for now.
 
The thing about JJ's commentary which is unlike most other commentators is that he'll tell you the why. When he describes what a player wants to do and what troubles he might run into. He'll explain WHY a player didn't want to roll that far or choose the alternate shot. JJ knows as much about the game as anyone and more than most.

Jaden
 
Where modern pool broadcasts fall woefully short is production. Watch some of the the Accu-stats classics from the 90s and early 2000s. You felt like you were there watching from the best seat in the house, on every shot. The camera angles were great. The sound of every shot. You didn't just feel like a rail bird onlooker.

The commentating among Billy, Grady, Nick and Buddy were second to none. The dry quips that Grady would come up with on the fly would have me rolling. His vocabulary. The banter. I'm not sure that can ever be reproduced.

The entertainment value is gone. Pool is so much more than watching a bunch of robots knock balls around a table.
All the homegrown self taught subculture personalities are non-existent. Earl is the last of a soon to be extinct breed of cat. The egos, the bluster, the self financed road player is gone and has bee replaced with the equivalent of the mechanical bull at Gilley’s.
 
All the homegrown self taught subculture personalities are non-existent. Earl is the last of a soon to be extinct breed of cat. The egos, the bluster, the self financed road player is gone and has bee replaced with the equivalent of the mechanical bull at Gilley’s.

Those times, the day when the local mill/manufacturing plant was where all the men worked, and the pool room was where they lined up to develop the pecking order all started leaving about the same time if you think about it. When the work left, the dedicated rooms left. Arpund the
same time video games started being a thing and the kids that were keeping pool alive found other things to do.

At one time in my state there were probably 200 small towns with pool in it. We have 100 counties. That would be a minimum.

Those tables long gone because the reasoning for those tables left.

Today that machismo isn't as prevalent as it used to be. It's a different day and time.
 
I find accu stats commentators to be much easier to listen to.
Grady Matthews is a fun catalyst

Phil Yates is irritating

Danny D didn’t care for him at first but grew on me

JJ one of the best although I’m getting a bit tired of him ,

Bill Incardona ,another favorite

Earl ,well he’s Earl & I wouldn’t want him to be any other way

Karl B is good


Mark Wilson , nice & non irritating

Generally any actual player that guests are ok

Bill Murray would be fun

Phil Yates and the purple 5 must go
 
I find accu stats commentators to be much easier to listen to.
Grady Matthews is a fun catalyst

Phil Yates is irritating

Danny D didn’t care for him at first but grew on me

JJ one of the best although I’m getting a bit tired of him ,

Bill Incardona ,another favorite

Earl ,well he’s Earl & I wouldn’t want him to be any other way


Karl B is good

Mark Wilson , nice & non irritating

Generally any actual player that guests are ok

Bill Murray would be fun

Phil Yates and the purple 5 must go
If they gave you the orange five and left Phil Yates, you come out ahead only because you can mute PY.
 
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