2018 US International Open - Observations

Pool commentators, in most cases, don't seem to follow the pool scene very closely and, for that reason, just as you suggest, need to be armed with this kind of information. Few of them could tell you who has won a tourney even in the last month, let alone the last year.
This particularly stands out with Accu-Stats commentators.
 
Love Danny, but.....

Danny: He's gonna bank it 9 rails, no, he shot it straight in

Danny: This guy is really tall, he should play basketball. Meanwhile his opponent is a foot taller lol.

When Mark was talking about Kaci s neck tatoo, and asked Danny if he would get a neck tatoo. Danny replied I would have to get a neck first! Danny went on to say his father never wanted him to get a tatoo because he could never rob a bank then. Danny then elaborated he knew a bank robber , John Kelly, who was waiting in the bank line up to rob the bank, when someone ahead of him robbed it first!!
 
I couldn't agree more with you! No wonder pool is in such a horrible state over all.
It still baffles me they let Danny in the booth and I know many will bash me but his time has been up for years as far as announcing. He just keeps getting worse!

Danny has been horrendous for years now. Broken record.

So they have the usual crew it seems, DD, Mark, and Bill Gibbs? Ugh :o
 
When Mark was talking about Kaci s neck tatoo, and asked Danny if he would get a neck tatoo. Danny replied I would have to get a neck first! Danny went on to say his father never wanted him to get a tatoo because he could never rob a bank then. Danny then elaborated he knew a bank robber , John Kelly, who was waiting in the bank line up to rob the bank, when someone ahead of him robbed it first!!

Story Time. Yeah :rolleyes:
 
I think if you gave me a good laptop, 3 iPhones and a router. Maybe mount a Go Pro on Jason Shaw's nose.

I could do a excellent broadcast.

I do think the commentators should be better informed. Index cards or bios on the players. Maybe interview a few here and there. The more information you can pump out on a broadcast, the better.
 
On top of standard demographics I would love to know what equipment they are using. Cue/shaft/etc. I'm sure their sponsors would like that info out there too.
 
This not ESPN! Pat and all of the other streamers work with limited resources to bring Pool to the masses.

There's no research department at Accu-Stats with interns that spend all day researching player stats and backgrounds.

Just as there is no Money in Pool for the players, there's no Money in Pool for the broadcasters of the events.

These guys love the game and bring it to us for that reason.

No one is demanding they write a book report on these guys. This is easy basic stuff that can usually be found in 10 minutes of a Google search.
 
There should be a bio submission required of each entrant.

Now you need translators.

What is our budget again?
 
When Mark was talking about Kaci s neck tatoo, and asked Danny if he would get a neck tatoo. Danny replied I would have to get a neck first! Danny went on to say his father never wanted him to get a tatoo because he could never rob a bank then. Danny then elaborated he knew a bank robber , John Kelly, who was waiting in the bank line up to rob the bank, when someone ahead of him robbed it first!!

Story Time. Yeah :rolleyes:

That’s why I like listening to Danny......different strokes.
 
That’s why I like listening to Danny......different strokes.
yes I like Dannys stories as well. When asked about Boston Shorty, Danny replied:
He drank a lot and smoked a lot. He could drink for 2 days straight and still play great!
 
I find this thread interesting because I've been in the same spot as these coms many times. Only SkySports ever provided me any background info on players, so other than that it was up to me. My strategy was first to check their records on AZ for how they did in tournaments during the current year. I would also look for any major victories. Then I would spend maybe five minutes with each player prior to the match chatting about their most important wins, their prior record against their opponent, sponsors, cues, etc. Age and hometown is a given. Any other background I could glean in a short time was also helpful. Many players I knew pretty well already, but there were always new guys coming up.

I liked to see how they view their opponent and what strategy it might take to win. Then I would stand back and watch how they interact before the match began. I liked to see that dynamic because it told me a lot about how they felt about each other and the importance of the match. Sometimes I would see them discussing "deals" (believe me I could tell) and I knew that would have a bearing on how they played. Some guys have a well cultivated rivalry (Dennis and Shane for instance) and others may even travel together.

One other thing that I think is very important and is often left out of the commentary by some of these guys is what's at stake in this match! Is it winners or losers side? How much money is on the line? Who will the winner (and loser) play next and when? Everything that makes this match important (Mosconi Cup rankings could be very important this week!) is worth sharing with your audience imo.

I like the new resource that Fargo provides with previous match records and I would advise the current crop of coms to take advantage of it.

Jay: IIRC, in the early days of the U.S. Open when it first got televised, they had all the players fill out bio forms with their favorite player in the field, influence, major titles, age, birth place, etc. and the commentators would refer to those during matches (maybe it was a PBT thing?)...that, and the commentators were current top players adding color and personal observations on the players--they knew most of the players in the field, because they played them in all the tour events (Buddy Hall, Grady, Nick Varner being the contemporary commentators then). I think this would be an easy fix, and I agree with all the others, nothing worse than listening to commentators who know less about the current field than the majority of the (paying) audience. Have the players fill out an info sheet on themselves, and the commentators can have those for reference.
 
I couldn't agree more with you! No wonder pool is in such a horrible state over all.
It still baffles me they let Danny in the booth and I know many will bash me but his time has been up for years as far as announcing. He just keeps getting worse!
Hey pal,

Pat brings Danny on board absolutely and without a doubt out of respect for who Danny is and what he has to offer our generation as well as they have been extremely close friends for decades.

Let's not forget Danny is 83 and not in great health. I hang with Danny regularly and I'll tell you for a man in his upper senior years, he'll shoot the pants off of you and probably still knock a few guys out.

We're can all appreciate what you're talking about with regards to calling the wrong ball, I don't care what anyone says, it's hard to differentiate balls on television even for younger players. Not knowing someone's age is a statistic that should made available to the commentators. I'm a current player and I can't keep up with all the players, let alone their demographics.

I agree that a sports commentator should be A) knowledgeable on the sport, B) Entertaining and articulate, C) Provide some aspect to their presence that you or I can't provide, like historical comparisons, rule creation, format change timelines, etc.

Believe me, you might not agree with Pat's decision to include Danny to do the commentary, but when a living legend, who's played professional in multi-generational events is no longer around to do that commentary you don't seem to care for, many of us will sadly and regrettably miss him and his colorful character and all that he does offer us with his commentary.

Look at the picture, how many of these guys are still around to even have in our lives let alone be privileged enough to commentate the US Open.
Wait till the USIO9 event starts up and Matchroom begins to bring their typical lineup of commentators in.
I love Jerry, but some guys are just not cut out to do this stuff. Hmmm sounds familiar.

ImaPoolNut
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Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
This not ESPN! Pat and all of the other streamers work with limited resources to bring Pool to the masses.

There's no research department at Accu-Stats with interns that spend all day researching player stats and backgrounds.

Just as there is no Money in Pool for the players, there's no Money in Pool for the broadcasters of the events.

These guys love the game and bring it to us for that reason.
Can I get a hallelujah!!!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Jay: IIRC, in the early days of the U.S. Open when it first got televised, they had all the players fill out bio forms with their favorite player in the field, influence, major titles, age, birth place, etc. and the commentators would refer to those during matches (maybe it was a PBT thing?)...that, and the commentators were current top players adding color and personal observations on the players--they knew most of the players in the field, because they played them in all the tour events (Buddy Hall, Grady, Nick Varner being the contemporary commentators then). I think this would be an easy fix, and I agree with all the others, nothing worse than listening to commentators who know less about the current field than the majority of the (paying) audience. Have the players fill out an info sheet on themselves, and the commentators can have those for reference.

In many of the major tournaments in the 80's and 90's the players were given bio sheets to fill out before the tournament started. They were very helpful to me in announcing the players before the match began. Most of the guys I knew pretty well but some I knew very little about and the bio's were very helpful.
 
This one is not as easy as you think.

Have an extra set of the same set of balls inside the booth, or just the off-colored versions. Put them right in front of the monitor.

All of the other suggestions have been made before, but not implemented in anything other than the MC and even then, only in the briefest of detail. Usually the color commentary is an old gambling story about the commentators themselves, which while interesting and entertaining, shouldn't be on the mic in the middle of a game. Save that for between racks or sets.

- How about some info on the venue? Where it is, how long it's been in business. Seating capacity? Make me feel like I'm there.
- Why is tournament called, the "Mr. X memorial?" Who was X and why are we honoring them?
- Is this tournament a ranking event? If so, ranking for what?

If you're trying to bring in new viewers don't talk to them like they already know everything and yet, don't over-explain either.

It's not all directed at you Jay. Just some general observations.
 
Have an extra set of the same set of balls inside the booth, or just the off-colored versions. Put them right in front of the monitor.

All of the other suggestions have been made before, but not implemented in anything other than the MC and even then, only in the briefest of detail. Usually the color commentary is an old gambling story about the commentators themselves, which while interesting and entertaining, shouldn't be on the mic in the middle of a game. Save that for between racks or sets.

- How about some info on the venue? Where it is, how long it's been in business. Seating capacity? Make me feel like I'm there.
- Why is tournament called, the "Mr. X memorial?" Who was X and why are we honoring them?
- Is this tournament a ranking event? If so, ranking for what?

If you're trying to bring in new viewers don't talk to them like they already know everything and yet, don't over-explain either.

It's not all directed at you Jay. Just some general observations.

It's all good! I would also point out that commentary can be very different when streaming as opposed to a televised match. Steaming matches tend to be much longer and there is a lot of dead air time to fill. A few side stories, preferably about the players we are watching, can be good to fill in the blanks. Also, you're not as censored as you are doing live TV, which is very strict.

On live television it is usually best to stick to the match and what is going on around it. If you stray off course, the director will usually get you back on track fast (he's in your ear at all times!). One of my pet peeves are the guys who talk way too much. Sometimes I think they are offering long drawn out explanations to impress the viewers with their knowledge. Other times I think they just believe that's good commentary to talk, talk, talk. It can get boring fast!

If I learned one thing, it was to be succinct in your comments whenever possible. Try to say what needs to be said in one or two sentences only. Quick sound bites work best on TV for the most part, unless there is a clear reason to offer a longer explanation. And there's a time to be silent as well, especially when players are talking to each other or a team mate. When I hear a commentator talking over a player, I'd like to yell at them to be quiet. The viewer wants to hear what the player is saying! During a pretty straightforward run out, there is not a lot that needs to be said, comments like, "All He needs to do is stay in line" or "It looks good from here" and if he messes up, "He may have stubbed his toe here" is about all you need to say, and saying absolutely nothing for a minute while he runs out is okay too!
 
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Danny D's stories are great. His play-by-play call of the game, not so much. The problem is that most of his contributions in the booth take the form of the latter, not the former.
 
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