Mr. Strickland and the Billiard Network

Blunoser

Registered
I have been watching Billiards Network and really enjoy Earl Strickland's comments.His describing how the shot would be done, at least how he would shoot it, has been a great learning tool, Thanks Earl
 

smoochie

NotLikeThis
I have been watching Billiards Network and really enjoy Earl Strickland's comments.His describing how the shot would be done, at least how he would shoot it, has been a great learning tool, Thanks Earl

I agree, the best commentator ever, good job billiard network, I dont know how they did it, but really well done.
 

justnum

Billiards Improvement Research Projects Associate
Silver Member
Earl has the demons of the knowledge

I wonder in the past if his anger was because his opponent was so bad and making poor decisions.

I had teachers that get mad while watching me work on stuff the wrong way.

Is Earl an overly strict teacher? He is watching the top pros play.

Would he act that way with a D player that can't stroke a cue properly?

Meaning can Earl teach the B to Pro students or can he teach the never held a cue before type people that walk in to a pool hall with lots of self important feelings.

I hope Earl can make pool fun for adults new to the game. I believe in him.



Mister Strickland, really??
 

Walt69

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I enjoy his commentary immensely. I also enjoy when he compliments the players and acknowledges the difficulty of a shot and how well it was executed. It's sort of like honorable acknowledgement from a fellow competitor who is on the same level as them. It's a nice side of Earl to see. I truly hope pool becomes more mainstream/popular again, and i'm curious to see if Earl is going to be a big part of making that happen.
 

West Point 1987

On the Hill, Out of Gas
Silver Member
Earl has the demons of the knowledge

I wonder in the past if his anger was because his opponent was so bad and making poor decisions.

I had teachers that get mad while watching me work on stuff the wrong way.

Is Earl an overly strict teacher? He is watching the top pros play.

Would he act that way with a D player that can't stroke a cue properly?

Meaning can Earl teach the B to Pro students or can he teach the never held a cue before type people that walk in to a pool hall with lots of self important feelings.

I hope Earl can make pool fun for adults new to the game. I believe in him.



Mister Strickland, really??

I've never had lessons from him, but I know someone who has and they are/were a C+ player who swore he was great with them and taught at their level of comprehension. I got to spend about 8 hours with him during a tournament in Maryland, and he was great to talk to...none of the drama, lots of great stories, etc. And he treated everyone with respect, never talked down to anyone. The highlight was watching him and Keith McCready recount a match they played back in the late '90s, recalling specific shots and their reactions to the other's shots/defenses.
 

West Point 1987

On the Hill, Out of Gas
Silver Member
I don't know, but it appears to me that he's commenting on matches after the fact, adding his commentary post/recording. I, for one, really like these, and I hope he keeps doing them.

Somewhere on YouTube there's a 14.1 match with Cisero Murphy guest commentating for a couple of racks...he called out EVERY plant and could see as soon as the player got down where and how he was going to get stuck. It was amazing...wish he'd done more of it, really eye-opening.
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree, the best commentator ever, good job billiard network, I dont know how they did it, but really well done.

I would not put him as the best commentator ever but he does call the shots pretty much exactly how they were played. He'd probably be in the top 10 commentators, ahead of most Matchroom people but behind the AccuStats and CSI teams (past and present). His shot calling is pretty spooky but maybe the layouts were just going from point to point, reminds me a bit of when Tony Romo was doing the NFL commentary and people were saying he was magic for calling so many plays correctly.
 
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ghost ball

justnum survivor
Silver Member
In the three videos I briefly watched, Strickland is the best. Much better than Hopkins drawing lines on the tv.
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Earl is still so excited about pool, the nuance and subtleties of play & strategy and he relates it like a 14 year old prodigy that still can't believe he is in the top, in the best game he ever imagined. No airs in his presentation, or even in personal interactions.

I hope he never gets jaded.

smt
 

ThinSlice

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Earl is a savant. He would have ruled pool if it wasn’t for the Filipino invasion. Even than it was a battle. If he was born 2 years earlier he would have ruled pool. ATK East for a short time. Great player with bad ways of expressing himself. Great stroke and understanding of the game. Timing was off.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 

smoochie

NotLikeThis
I would not put him as the best commentator ever but he does call the shots pretty much exactly how they were played. He'd probably be in the top 10 commentators, ahead of most Matchroom people but behind the AccuStats and CSI teams (past and present). His shot calling is pretty spooky but maybe the layouts were just going from point to point, reminds me a bit of when Tony Romo was doing the NFL commentary and people were saying he was magic for calling so many plays correctly.

What? AccuStats? LOL, look I love accu-stats, old commentaries are fine but if you mean the new commentary box then I'm sorry, just wow.

Mark Wilson: probably the worst commentary of all time, he keeps repeating the same thing which doesn't help anyone, ill quote "Look at his transition from back-stroke to front-stroke, it is so smooth and straight" or he'll just keep going "Uh-hmmmmm" all day long, he is so boring its quite astonishing to me how he is coming back to the booth.

Danny D: He is way behind his years, he calls everything wrong, every angle wrong, every ball wrong.

Jimmy Wytch: He thinks it's an NFL match, he shouts after shot thinking a team scored a goal in a soccer match, he thinks shouting after a good shot is how commentary for a pool/snooker match should be, it's really really annoying.

Old commentaries like Billy Incardona and Grady Mathews were great, you learn a lot of them, just like how we learn nowadays from Earl Strickland.

Some people think good commentary is predicting what a pro is going to do, this is so wrong for so many levels, a good commentary is how a problem of a layout is explained, and telling you how to overcome this problem, also telling you options of routes on each shot, thats is how a good commentary should be. it is NOT PREDICTING what a pro is going to do, predecting has nothing to do with a good commentary.

I saw many commentaries trying to see the body language of a player then when he goes down on a shot, they tell you what they're going to do, this isnt a good commentary, anyone can do that, I see where the pro is hitting the cueball and I can tell you if he's going two rails or three rails, that is very easy, I hope the new commentaries stop doing that.
 

justnum

Billiards Improvement Research Projects Associate
Silver Member
I don't view Earl's speech as prediction. It is more shot selection and cue striking preference for position. any two points on a table can be connected, Earl just points out the most natural way. sometimes I look at the layout and my lack of knowledge means taking a guess at how to strike the cue for the desired position.

for the straight shots or off 1 rail its easy. But on the complicated layouts, Earl is really fast on spotting it. Only way to prove it, is if Earl becomes a live commentator.

What? AccuStats? LOL, look I love accu-stats, old commentaries are fine but if you mean the new commentary box then I'm sorry, just wow.

Mark Wilson: probably the worst commentary of all time, he keeps repeating the same thing which doesn't help anyone, ill quote "Look at his transition from back-stroke to front-stroke, it is so smooth and straight" or he'll just keep going "Uh-hmmmmm" all day long, he is so boring its quite astonishing to me how he is coming back to the booth.

Danny D: He is way behind his years, he calls everything wrong, every angle wrong, every ball wrong.

Jimmy Wytch: He thinks it's an NFL match, he shouts after shot thinking a team scored a goal in a soccer match, he thinks shouting after a good shot is how commentary for a pool/snooker match should be, it's really really annoying.

Old commentaries like Billy Incardona and Grady Mathews were great, you learn a lot of them, just like how we learn nowadays from Earl Strickland.

Some people think good commentary is predicting what a pro is going to do, this is so wrong for so many levels, a good commentary is how a problem of a layout is explained, and telling you how to overcome this problem, also telling you options of routes on each shot, thats is how a good commentary should be. it is NOT PREDICTING what a pro is going to do, predecting has nothing to do with a good commentary.

I saw many commentaries trying to see the body language of a player then when he goes down on a shot, they tell you what they're going to do, this isnt a good commentary, anyone can do that, I see where the pro is hitting the cueball and I can tell you if he's going two rails or three rails, that is very easy, I hope the new commentaries stop doing that.
 

SulcoPete

Registered
Earl's commentary is the best! I hope he and billiard network re-dub some of the older, great matches on youtube that you can't watch because of bad commentary. I'd also enjoy hearing him comment on one of his own matches.
 

8cree

Reverse Engineer
Silver Member
Earl's commentary is the best! I hope he and billiard network re-dub some of the older, great matches on youtube that you can't watch because of bad commentary. I'd also enjoy hearing him comment on one of his own matches.

I agree with the part in bold... might would even pay for that...:cool:
 

marikian

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
One thing Earl talks about is rolling the ball or stunning it. For me that is a great way to think of the shot before getting down.
 

ChrisSjoblom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Not the most articulate commentary, but true; at least the translatable parts.

:sorry:

Just curious as to what parts you don't find translatable? I can't think of another commentator working today whose commentary is as crystal clear (and spot on) as Earl's. I also appreciate his casual style that demonstrates experience and knowledge without a hint of arrogance. His plain and straightforward delivery is refreshing. I've not been a big Earl fan up until now, due to his frequent poor behavior during matches, but I have to say the personality that comes through in his commentary is winning me over.

Most of the other commentators I've heard over the past several years range from mediocre to awful, but since many are doing it for little or no compensation I wouldn't call them out on it individually. There are also a handful that are quite good at it and enjoyable to listen to, but from what I've heard from him so far Earl is easily my favorite.
 

claymont

JADE
Gold Member
Silver Member
I agree; couldn't have stated it any better!!


Just curious as to what parts you don't find translatable? I can't think of another commentator working today whose commentary is as crystal clear (and spot on) as Earl's. I also appreciate his casual style that demonstrates experience and knowledge without a hint of arrogance. His plain and straightforward delivery is refreshing. I've not been a big Earl fan up until now, due to his frequent poor behavior during matches, but I have to say the personality that comes through in his commentary is winning me over.

Most of the other commentators I've heard over the past several years range from mediocre to awful, but since many are doing it for little or no compensation I wouldn't call them out on it individually. There are also a handful that are quite good at it and enjoyable to listen to, but from what I've heard from him so far Earl is easily my favorite.
 

HomeBrewer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My only previous knowledge of Earl was his antics as a player over the years, but this commentary is great! I'm getting a ton of usable information from it.
 
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