After Seeing Earl vs. Nick VDBerg.

[Icon of Sin]

Just watched this controversial match last night. WOW. Incredibly unsportsmanlike by Earl. Never seen anything like that. You can tell the crowd behind him was very uncomftable as he spoke to them. Hell I was uncomfortable watching this and I was in my living room months after the incident I read about. Actually watching it seemed much worse.

Even the announcers, Trudeau, Sigel and Vaswhatever could not believe it. Interviewed Johnny Archer and he talked about "bad Earl". I can't believe America is stuck with this guy as a representative of American pool. Im embarrassed and Im just a pool fan. After hearing Trudeau talk about this the way he did, he even said it was unacceptable, it makes you wonder if he is going to do anything about it next time, probably not though as I guess it makes good TV for the person who does not play pool. Earl should definately be fined for such actions toward the opposing player and his family even. I used to respect Earl as a pool player but now I dont want to respect him at all. Im glad he isnt going to be in the upcoming episodes, I was really getting sick of watching him each week.

I commend Nick VDB for his composure during the match. Definately a top notch player and a good ambassador for the sport and for his country. To bad the biggest asshole in International Championship Pool has to be an American.

A truly disgusting display.

Id like to hear what other people have to say after actually seeing this match.

 

[Snapshot9]

Me too ....

I was shocked too, but I can not help but wonder if Earl has not been put up to play up the 'bad boy' personality some - maybe, maybe not.

It was, IMO, an attempt to shark Nick, and gain a psychological edge in the match. It was to make Nick edgy in his runouts, then show him how simple that Earl could run out, and therefore putting negative thoughts into Nick's head.

I don't think that players should have to put up with BS from the railbirds, but it has to be legit, not dreamed up.

Also, I was less than impressed with Shawn Putnam's performance. He needs to work on ball patterns, IMO.

 

[cuetique]

Yeah, I was also disgusted. There should be some kind of penalty for that outright and blatant disruption. He threw a temper tantrum if there was any chatter from the crowd as he set up his shots, but wouldn't extend that courtesy to Nick. Earl just couldn't shut piehole.

Watching him stalk off like a child when he was eliminated made it somewhat more tolerable.

 

[jjinfla]

I think Earl needs a good manager.

That would be me. I am very good at instigating.

It sure would be a hoot.

Now if you want to see unacceptable look at the highlights of the Florida football game. 17 players ejected. Using their helmets to hit players. Stomping on a player with their spikes while the guy is on the ground. Head butting. And one guy came off the sidelines and was using his crutch to hit players.

The suspensions, fines, should be pretty hefty for this one.

Jake

 

[nyneball]

bad peral

I just gotta think that this match was guaranteed to raise ratings. I know I got on the phone and called some friends to be sure to see round four of the IPT if they hadnt already. It repeats today. Kind of like the press relishing on the old pre-fight press conferences with Tyson and his cronies.
I think Johnnie Archer explained his thoughts about Earl very well. theres a good Earl and a bad Earl that can showup at pool tournaments. Because one never knows which one will showup, we will be sure to watch to find out.

 

[Ummagumma]

Let's see. We had Migel Sigel and the head honcho KT commentating that match. Both commentators indicated they were surprised by Earl's behavior.

One commentator is in a position to do something about it. The other commentator is in a position to influence the other commentator.

Did they do anything about it? No. They let it proceed.

That's unbecoming sportsmanship and merits an official warning.

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

Also, I was less than impressed with Shawn Putnam's performance. He needs to work on ball patterns, IMO.

The tv production borders on amateurism. They even showed Shawn putting the 8-ball in his mouth.

I would be embarrased to have this sloppily-produced show broadcasted to the general public, let alone the pool-playing niche.

 

[poolplayer2093]

i didn't get a chance to see that match and don't know what you guys're talking about. do you think you could post a youtube link?

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

Let's see. We had Migel Sigel and the head honcho KT commentating that match. Both commentators indicated they were surprised by Earl's behavior.

One commentator is in a position to do something about it. The other commentator is in a position to influence the other commentator.

Did they do anything about it? No. They let it proceed.

That's unbecoming sportsmanship and merits an official warning.

It's not the commentator's job to interfere with the match. It's the referee's job to penalize a player for unsportsmanlike conduct. IMO, the referee failed to perform his job and let the match get out-of-hand.

 

[cuetique]

The tv production borders on amateurism. They even showed Shawn putting the 8-ball in his mouth.

I would be embarrased to have this sloppily-produced show broadcasted to the general public, let alone the pool-playing niche.

I agreee -- it seems the production of this episode was worse than the first. I was particularly put off by the commentators comments making fun of Putnam's weight. Commenting something to the effect: the biggest winner of that match is the closest pizza parlor, and Putnam likes to drown his sorrows in pizza. That's 5th grade BS, and cheapened the whole production, IMO.

 

[grisbe]

I was shocked too, but I can not help but wonder if Earl has not been put up to play up the 'bad boy' personality some - maybe, maybe not.

Absolutely not. Earl has always had a tendency for wackiness, but he's really gone off the deep end of late. I saw several of his matches in their entirerty, and he not only couldn't contain himself, but he teetered between depression one minute, and hyperactivity the next. He could probably be diagnosed as clincially bipolar.

 

[straybullet]

I think Earl needs a good manager.

Wait... if they're taking applications for Earl's infamous manager... who betta than the Yap Wolf? lol ...

Earl and I can get some good ratings - he can play pool while I bait the crowd into pushing Earl into one of his infamous tantrums... If I get fined or if I get Earl in trouble, I'll just tell him my name is Linda Carter... he's mixed us up before...lol...

 

[Island Drive]

Absolutely not. Earl has always had a tendency for wackiness, but he's really gone off the deep end of late. I saw several of his matches in their entirerty, and he not only couldn't contain himself, but he teetered between depression one minute, and hyperactivity the next. He could probably be diagnosed as clincially bipolar.

It's just another Earlabetic Hi/Lo. I don't know of anyone that can bring it as well on both ends of the test strip. He's got the blood sugar of a middle school male with attitude popping out like new pubes.

 

[Ummagumma]

Wait... if they're taking applications for Earl's infamous manager... who betta than the Yap Wolf? lol ...

Earl and I can get some good ratings - he can play pool while I bait the crowd into pushing Earl into one of his infamous tantrums... If I get fined or if I get Earl in trouble, I'll just tell him my name is Linda Carter... he's mixed us up before...lol...

I most certainly hope you are joking. Bad enough about Earl's behavior. But even worse when some spectators intentionally push his buttons.

 

[Ummagumma]

It's not the commentator's job to interfere with the match. It's the referee's job to penalize a player for unsportsmanlike conduct. IMO, the referee failed to perform his job and let the match get out-of-hand.

Good point. I also should have added that after the match was complete, KT should have spoken to the referee and Earl privately about this. (Maybe he did, tho.)

 

[Bullett]

Just watched this controversial match last night. WOW. Incredibly unsportsmanlike by Earl. Never seen anything like that. You can tell the crowd behind him was very uncomftable as he spoke to them. Hell I was uncomfortable watching this and I was in my living room months after the incident I read about. Actually watching it seemed much worse.

Even the announcers, Trudeau, Sigel and Vaswhatever could not believe it. Interviewed Johnny Archer and he talked about "bad Earl". I can't believe America is stuck with this guy as a representative of American pool. Im embarrassed and Im just a pool fan. After hearing Trudeau talk about this the way he did, he even said it was unacceptable, it makes you wonder if he is going to do anything about it next time, probably not though as I guess it makes good TV for the person who does not play pool. Earl should definately be fined for such actions toward the opposing player and his family even. I used to respect Earl as a pool player but now I dont want to respect him at all. Im glad he isnt going to be in the upcoming episodes, I was really getting sick of watching him each week.

I commend Nick VDB for his composure during the match. Definately a top notch player and a good ambassador for the sport and for his country. To bad the biggest asshole in International Championship Pool has to be an American.

A truly disgusting display.

Id like to hear what other people have to say after actually seeing this match.

I saw this on tv too the other day. I also felt embarassed watching this, as I was in my living room too! What is Wrong with this guy? Acted like a total idiot, I couldn't believe it!

 

[Island Drive]

I saw this on tv too the other day. I also felt embarassed watching this, as I was in my living room too! What is Wrong with this guy? Acted like a total idiot, I couldn't believe it!

It most mirrors a manchild tantrum.

 

[coreyh]

I watched the taped match between Earl and Nick from Saturday's show. I did not see that match live in Vegas, but I saw Earl's match vs Ronnie Alcano in the last round that same night in its entirety, along with many other matches that week.

Earl's first outburst in that match versus Alcano occurred after he missed a shot somewhere between games 4-6, and two of Ronnie's friends let out a clap of applause and a gasp of excitement for their friend. It was no more noise than occurred in any match of the tournament, but it caused a glare straight at the offenders (I was sitting behind them) and some mutterings to them from Earl. And so it began...

Watching Earl spin out of control live is a study in self-destruction. All of us have those times when, to varying degrees, we let a thought or a feeling overtake us. In most cases, a quick conversation can place everything back into the proper perspective. We "get a grip". In Earl's case, he has no ability to put in perspective the fact that someone rooting for his opponent is not necessarily rooting against Earl.

I can also understand the position that Earl is very passionate about pool and wants it to be treated with respect. This is very insulting to the many professional players that have an equal amount of passion for pool, but can maintain decorum and respect toward the fans and their opponent.

Earl is not more passionate about pool than other pros. The other pros have the self-control to deal with the adversity, keep their emotions in check, and go on with their job. If other professionals have a problem with the rules, their opponent, the fans, etc., they bring it to the officials attention and move on.

The sad thing is that I was watching the match as a fan of Earl's. I wanted to see The Pearl advance to the next round. Unfortunately, if he doesn't get some sort of counseling on how to deal with adversity soon, we'll never see The Pearl again.

 

[BigMalUK]

You make some excellent observations there, coreyh.

You know, Earl is the guy I kind of 'loved to hate' and I don't mean that in a disrespectful or derogatory way. I loved his outbursts, his interviews and so on, but most of all I loved to watch him play in full flow. The man has been a brilliant pool player in recent times, of that there can be no doubt.

Of course, I came to pool (or the American game at least) by watching Mosconi Cup on TV and more often than not Earl was the guy doing a lot of damage to my team and coming out with some pretty near the knuckle remarks to the crowd and to the interviewers, but mostly it seemed like it was done for TV and to make the audience respond and create a good atmosphere.

He made for great TV viewing that's for sure.

Unfortunately some of his recent antics have overstepped the mark somewhat. His disrepect to Raj Hundal's family in the last Mosconi and also the infamous "your whole country sucks" remark (imagine if a Brit said that on the IPT - he would be asked to leave I'm sure) and now his horrible childish behaviour with Nick Van den Berg are incidents which leave a bad taste in the mouth.

He has gone beyond a loveable rogue and is now a parody of his former self - it's sad to see and I do genuinely hope he can get past this kind of thing and focus more on the table. For now I can drop the 'love to' from the 'love to hate' line.

 

[8-ball bernie]

hi, it's bernie, i was in the auidence, keeping quiet,and inside cheering for van den berg, since i like his playing and he's a good guy, anyhow they cut it out, but after nick took his break, after being shook up, i yelled out, let's go nick! strickland started calling me a traitor rooting for a european,they cut the whole thing out, but believe you me i screamed, "let's go nick!" that's when strickland said "what the hell was that" that's all they left on the tape.