A. Hopkins and his commentary!
- Thread starter BAZARUS
- Start date
Maybe you should write a letter to the producer of the show and let him know your feelings.
At least you should thank him for putting the show on and how you appreciate all the good he is doing for the pool players. And let him know how much of your time and money you are willing to contribute to help him make it better.
Oh, and by the way, Allen Hopkins is the producer.
At least you should thank him for putting the show on and how you appreciate all the good he is doing for the pool players. And let him know how much of your time and money you are willing to contribute to help him make it better.
Oh, and by the way, Allen Hopkins is the producer.
Allens a good dude no matter how you look at it. It would be hard to get any one person in the booth everyone likes. My choice for any match would be
Grady
Buddy Hall
Weenie Beenie
Jeff Carter
Jim Rempe
Not to slam him or anything but, Billy Incardona rubs me the wrong way at times. He's always arguing with Grady or whomever over dumb stuff. He's got a huge amount of knowledge, and I don't mind when I put the TV on Mute and read the subtitles
Maybe it's how he annunciates certain words?....anyway............Gerry
Grady
Buddy Hall
Weenie Beenie
Jeff Carter
Jim Rempe
Not to slam him or anything but, Billy Incardona rubs me the wrong way at times. He's always arguing with Grady or whomever over dumb stuff. He's got a huge amount of knowledge, and I don't mind when I put the TV on Mute and read the subtitles
Maybe it's how he annunciates certain words?....anyway............Gerry
Gerry said:Allens a good dude no matter how you look at it. It would be hard to get any one person in the booth everyone likes. My choice for any match would be
Grady
Buddy Hall
Weenie Beenie
Jeff Carter
Jim Rempe
Not to slam him or anything but, Billy Incardona rubs me the wrong way at times. He's always arguing with Grady or whomever over dumb stuff. He's got a huge amount of knowledge, and I don't mind when I put the TV on Mute and read the subtitles
I'd add to your choice english commentator J.Forsyth, he got great knowledge, he gets into action and he is well spoken.
i like Allen and his broadcasting.....as far as Danny playing..LOL.i love watching him..then hearing everybody ***** about his play...i grew up watching the Honeymooners and the Stooges and when i see Danny fidgeting all the time it reminds me of when Ed Norton (Honeymooners) used to do that and Jackies eyes would get bigger and bigger finally Jackie would explode and yell "COME ON" ...LOL>.....i know it drives ALOT of u nuts..LOLiacas said:
Hopkins is the best. Very knowledgeable .The best is the telesrater. He tries to show each step the player is trying to do.He may not be right 100 per cent but at least you can tell what ball they are going to play..its hard to see on t.v.,what balls are what..
Excellent commentater..
Excellent commentater..
Gerry said:Allens a good dude no matter how you look at it. It would be hard to
Not to slam him or anything but, Billy Incardona rubs me the wrong way at times. He's always arguing with Grady or whomever over dumb stuff. He's got a huge amount of knowledge, and I don't mind when I put the TV on Mute and read the subtitles
matthews and incardona are a bad combination. they just rag on each other and don't pay attention to the match.
jjinfla said:
It should be mentioned that in addition to Allen Hopkins, the Skins Billiards Championship is produced by Matt Braun, Billiards International. The two of them, Allen and Matt, make a great team. Matt and his lovely wife both work very hard to bring the Skins events to fruition as well as many other pool exhibitions we all enjoy on TV.
I happen to really enjoy Allen Hopkins' commentary a whole lot. I think his knowledge of the players themselves AND his wisdom is what separates him from the rest.
And yes, Jerry Forsyth is great as a commentator. I remember one year he did the WPC, and it was very entertaining and fun to watch.
Here's a picture I took at the 2005 Skins at the Resorts in Atlantic City of Matt Braun.
JAM
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I met Hopkins when he came down to Tampa a couple years ago to play in the Patriot Cup. Seems like a nice friendly person. Always happy.
Keep in mind that all commentators have a job to do and work with each other to keep the audiance interested. There is a wide range of knowledge among the spectators and it is an art to reach them all. You can't constantly talk over their head, nor below.
Mitch Laurence has been at it for some time and is actually very good at it. At least his bosses (the ones who sign his checks) like the way he controls the flow of the show. And in many instances that is more important than what he is saying.
I like Sigel and Mark Wilson.
Keep in mind that all commentators have a job to do and work with each other to keep the audiance interested. There is a wide range of knowledge among the spectators and it is an art to reach them all. You can't constantly talk over their head, nor below.
Mitch Laurence has been at it for some time and is actually very good at it. At least his bosses (the ones who sign his checks) like the way he controls the flow of the show. And in many instances that is more important than what he is saying.
I like Sigel and Mark Wilson.
jjinfla said:
I had actually never thought of it quite the way you worded it, JJinFLA, but thinking about it a little further, the two of them, Mitch Laurence and Allen Hopkins, do complement each other.
Allen Hopkins being a veteran champion player can address things which are on point and of interest to the more experienced viewer, and Mitch adds another flavor to the mix by commenting on what the less experienced or layperson, if you will, sees when viewing a pool match.
JAM
Color Man
As I've watched billiards over the years on TV, the group of commentators has never really evolved in such a way as to increase my interest of the game/or made me want to see more programming, the game itself is the only driving factor, most times I'll mute and listen to music. I know in other sports, the color commentators, and allot of em were players, took the time, effort and schooling, learned their trade and knew full well there was still risk, how would they really be on camera. I too have become bored/disinterested with the 'usual subjects' and would give you odds, none of the Color/poolplayer/commentators/have any schooling (big mistake). If Matt and Allen H. are in business together that speaks for itself. If it was I, I would let 50 or so people do voice of a match of my choice to see their skills, then choose from the crop. Allen, has been doing this limited pool commentary on TV for years, and I'll never forget the time he got on camera and when he realized he "was" he tilted his head back slightly to posture up, shook his head ever so slightly/side to side, pushed back his parted hair as he talked into the camera, THAT told me too much. Color commentary is special/it's the mouthpiece of the sport and should be treated/coveted in such a way that it too is almost as important as the show itself, allot of times it is. Allen has a great face for RADIO.
BAZARUS said:
As I've watched billiards over the years on TV, the group of commentators has never really evolved in such a way as to increase my interest of the game/or made me want to see more programming, the game itself is the only driving factor, most times I'll mute and listen to music. I know in other sports, the color commentators, and allot of em were players, took the time, effort and schooling, learned their trade and knew full well there was still risk, how would they really be on camera. I too have become bored/disinterested with the 'usual subjects' and would give you odds, none of the Color/poolplayer/commentators/have any schooling (big mistake). If Matt and Allen H. are in business together that speaks for itself. If it was I, I would let 50 or so people do voice of a match of my choice to see their skills, then choose from the crop. Allen, has been doing this limited pool commentary on TV for years, and I'll never forget the time he got on camera and when he realized he "was" he tilted his head back slightly to posture up, shook his head ever so slightly/side to side, pushed back his parted hair as he talked into the camera, THAT told me too much. Color commentary is special/it's the mouthpiece of the sport and should be treated/coveted in such a way that it too is almost as important as the show itself, allot of times it is. Allen has a great face for RADIO.
why don't they have like allison or some of the other players do commentary, i know The Black Widow does it sometimes when she ain't in the hot seat or semi's. By the way how much do you think they get as $ wise doing this, that would be the greatest job ever, if not actually playing pool for life.
Hopkins HOF
Hopkins does have problems with names I'll admit. I think he does pretty good considering he hasn't been in the broadcast buisness his whole life. But his knowledge and insight more than make up for it IMO. I think he is overdue for the Hall of Fame for sure. He has been a champion in pretty much all disciplines. He also showed a lot of heart for the cheese and didn't seem to fear anyone!
Hopkins does have problems with names I'll admit. I think he does pretty good considering he hasn't been in the broadcast buisness his whole life. But his knowledge and insight more than make up for it IMO. I think he is overdue for the Hall of Fame for sure. He has been a champion in pretty much all disciplines. He also showed a lot of heart for the cheese and didn't seem to fear anyone!
Re:Allen Hopkins
It is readily obvious that pool commentators haven't been educated in the cloned art of "talking heads" and most haven't been educated at anything except pool. For 99.9% of those posting on this forum to say they could make more accurate predictions than Allen is ludicrous and speaks of their skill level (low). He is usually saying how he would play the shot and experienced players know there is more than one correct way to play most shots. As a money player Allen is considered among the best ever. Asking for a more polished commentator, a more educated commentator with a large vocabulary is acceptable but to belittle Allen Hopkins isn't appropriate at all.
It is readily obvious that pool commentators haven't been educated in the cloned art of "talking heads" and most haven't been educated at anything except pool. For 99.9% of those posting on this forum to say they could make more accurate predictions than Allen is ludicrous and speaks of their skill level (low). He is usually saying how he would play the shot and experienced players know there is more than one correct way to play most shots. As a money player Allen is considered among the best ever. Asking for a more polished commentator, a more educated commentator with a large vocabulary is acceptable but to belittle Allen Hopkins isn't appropriate at all.
For a long time, I wasn't crazy about Allen's commentary but I think it was because I kinda disliked him as a person. The lone time that I saw him, he seemed a little (not arrogant but) conceited. There were a couple of questions posed to him, and he acted like it was a chore to have to talk with his fans. Looking back, he was very busy at the time. There may have been many things on his mind, or many chores that he had to do, and he may have unintentionally been rude or not as friendly as he should have.Doug said:
Since I have thought about that, watching him now, he does a pretty good job (I think). As a player and person, he does sometimes rub folks the wrong way, and I think that alot of people who coment on his commentary dislike him, and are biased towards what he says. They don't like his commentary, good or bad, because they don't like him as a person.
He was a great champion, as Doug said, and (IMO) he is deserving of respect for what he has done for the game.
Mike
More
Yeah, I agree, but he still needs to do more, and give more and then he could take his color commentary to the next level, like his pool skill level, but has he made the effort to improve his/our/sport/product/image/commentary/telestrator work? I think not, it has to be more exciting than samo/samo. I am not trashing this man, I just want MORE. The game takes care of itself, those in that position need to take care of the needs of the game. Its a small step, but a necessary one. No different than you and I giving more respect to our opponents when and wherever we play, it starts with all of us doing our bit.
Mike Templeton said:
Yeah, I agree, but he still needs to do more, and give more and then he could take his color commentary to the next level, like his pool skill level, but has he made the effort to improve his/our/sport/product/image/commentary/telestrator work? I think not, it has to be more exciting than samo/samo. I am not trashing this man, I just want MORE. The game takes care of itself, those in that position need to take care of the needs of the game. Its a small step, but a necessary one. No different than you and I giving more respect to our opponents when and wherever we play, it starts with all of us doing our bit.
Island Drive said:
You gotta be kidding me, Island Drive.
What on earth could Allen Hopkins do MORE for the sport, product, image, commentary and/or telestrator work?
Allen Hopkins has an established track record, with a portfolio of wins too numerous for me to list in this thread. Just because he isn't currently playing in the Mosconi Cup or the BCA's "invitational" Open doesn't mean Allen Hopkins is not a world-class champion. His picture is in just about every single pool magazine from the '80s era.
In addition, Allen Hopkins produces the BIGGEST pool vendor expo in the world a/k/a Super Billiards Expo at Valley Forge, PA each and every year. As well, the SBE offers open tournaments to players of all caliber: seniors, ladies, pros, and amateurs. Some folks save up all year to go to the SBE and wouldn't miss it for anything. On the horizon in August 2006, there may be an 8-ball competition in Valley Forge with a guaranteed $25,000 payout for first place.
Further, Allen Hopkins co-created and co-produced an innovative concept of exciting pool on TV, the first of its kind, in the form of the Skins Billiards Championship.
I understand that everybody has personal tastes about what they want to hear in the form of pool commentary, but to say Allen Hopkins needs to do more for the sport doesn't seem quite right. If anything, he is one of pool's STRONGEST supporters. JMHO, FWIW!
JAM
Doug said:
I remeber when I started to play pool 14 years ago one way to get pool education was to watch a match and listen to commentary to try to pick something up. Now when I'm a advance player I really don't need to listen to it, but for some people it may be a good thing to do. With Hopkins commentary I don't think anyone can learn anything. He simplify his efforts saying "once again he is going to bring the cue ball to the center of the table". He doesn't explain how he is going to get there, what english, why and what for. The art of beeing a good commentator is to follow a players thinking! A one gotta be able just by looking at the player and what he is looking at to predict what he is going to do. Sure there are several different ways to get out, but there is one, correct way which a viever is trying to figure it out. Now, if someone wants to try and learn something from watching pool on tv he or she relays on what a commentator says.