Commentators

G

Grady

Pro Player
At this year's U.S. Open I made arrangements to do commentary with any two people of my choice. I would also be allowed to select which match or two we would use. It was intended to be an audition for future TV and/or Accu-stats work.
I went and bought new dentures so I could get rid of that annoying sibilant sound that's pestered me the last few years.Then I created copious notes from many sources at my disposal so that we could plan our commentary in order to have real quality speaking about our great sport.
After talking with lots of respectable industry folks whose opinions and advice I value, I picked what I thought would be the best two gentlemen to work with.Continuing on, I contacted them and they both liked what I had in mind. So we were to go to dinner on me the day before the tournament started to discuss how we were going to do the absolute best commentary ever heard about pool.Well, neither showed up, which, frankly broke my pool heart.
I fully intend to do this and if it's not still okay with Accu-stats, I'll pay for it myself.Anyway, to the reason I'm posting here today: I'd like a vote on who the group thinks would be the best players for me to do commentary with.E-mail probably is best here: Grady101@sc.rr.com
I don't wish to get negative but Wych and Laurance really need to go. Thanks in advance, Grady
 
Grady, I nominate Incardona and Buddy Hall.
I will e-mail my vote too.
Good luck and thank you for loving this sport of ours.
 
I agree with Billy Incardona and Buddy Hall - perhaps you can even get on of the "young guns" to jump in and show some enthusiasm?!?

Sonja
 
Wych is a stuffed shirt, boring as hell, does not interest the audience at all.

Lawrence is about as clueless as a African commentating on the World Curling Championships. Commentators should not be clueless.

Incardona is my favorite announcer of all time. You and him are right there a match made in heaven. For a 3rd...

Do what Accustats does, they have the usual commentator, and then they have the wildcard. You guys can have 2 standard commentators, and have a wild card in each match that makes sense based on the players in the match.

Watching a match with Dan Louie in the Sands Accustats got Potier to do commentary with Incardona, it made sense since Paul knows Dan well. If you get Archer out there playing a match you could maybe get Varner to do commentary since they are good friends. You have Pagulayan playing a match, Wiseman would be a great commentator to join you and Incardona since him and Alex were road players together.

Since you have the 2 standard commentators at all times the third wild card does not need to run the show, it is not critical that they pull their weight so too speak. They are there to give more personal information and a way to introduce the player at the table and bring personality into the game that we need the audience to see and learn if we want them to embrace the players, and therefore the game. I think that is the way you should go personally, and that is comming from a player that really wants the game to grow and the TV audience to finally take notice of our game we all love.
 
Hall and Sigel immediately come to mind.

But what do you want from the commentators? Do you want them to give pool lessons? How many times have we seen one commentator announce that the player will play option #1 and the other announcer pops up with option #2 and then the player shoots option #3.

Many announcers talk too much and take the spotlight from the players.

Jake
 
Doubt Sigel would do it. Hall would, he was damn funny as a commentator on Archer's first pro tournament win over Rempe on Accustats.
 
Grady - I agree!

“Grady, You Old Dog”!
I know you probably won't remember me from Johnston City, Denver, Affton Billiards here in St Louis (you played Gordon Guy) or the many other places we ran into each other over the last 35 years. (I have always kept a very low profile).
About one or so years ago you stopped late at night at The Break Billiards in Cahokia, IL. There was one of the Midwest 9-Ball tourneys going on and I think you were heading South after being in Chicago. I was amazed at how well you jumped up and played a set of 9-Ball with one of the young whippersnappers that shoot so well now a days.
YOU BROUGHT BACK A REAFFIRMATION TO ME THAT WE (The Old Has Beens) can still "Get It Up" and give it a go with the best of them. I have been "putting in my time" and am seeing the positive results lately. I'm enjoying the game again. I would say that I'm playing close to 80 or 85% of what I used to play and that feels great. I'm actually competitive again!

ANYWAY, ABOUT THE COMMENTATING!
You are 100% right about Wych and Laurance.
I personally don't think that you are ever going to see TV POOL appealing to the general public so why not capitalize on the audience that exist.
What is going to "SELL" is the excellent playing AND the colorful characters that exist. Why does everyone shy away from the "COLOR" of the past or the history of the game? Instead of trying to lift the game into something that it isn't, why not "sell" what it is. The nostalgia aspect is a marketable product that needs to be properly marketed & exploited. I personally think it could add to the broadcast if the were more colorful and realistic language used as though you were telling a story to someone in a poolroom or bar. I heard a broadcast a while ago where Buddy told a story about “Wimpy” in Johnston City and it was wonderful. It added so much to the match and made the whole experience much more viewable.
When You or Buddy or Danny talk about the game, everyone knows you know of what you speak. Also the different dialects & regional accents only add to the “Color”.
I like Billy (and remember playing him at “The Hawks Nest” way too long ago) but I can’t stand the way he tries to use a vocabulary that he really doesn’t know very much about. I don’t know why he can’t just talk like he does everyday and be the commentator he could be. He needs to talk to us like “Billy The Kid” instead of his interpretation of William Buckley.
I also enjoy Alan except when he is trying to cope with Mitch Laurance. I can tell he would just like to smack him in the mouth and tell him to shut up.
So – those are my votes – You, Buddy, Danny, and Alan.
And maybe ? Nick, Earl, Mike Segal, David Matlock, Mark Wilson, Keith or Gabe.

TY & GL
 
Keith would be a awesome commentator! I would watch the US Open non-stop with him as a commentator even if my picture tube blew out and I only had sound!

Best choice EVER. Noone is quite so entertaining. Billy and Keith together would be like Ying and Yang of commentating, it would be the good cop/bad cop buddy movie of commentating. McCready for President, and baring that then at least get him as the US Open commentator.
 
Keith would be great AND....

Keith would be a great commentator and also a wonderful advertisement for my Home Town Brew - "BUDWEISER"!
TY & GL
 
Grady said:
At this year's U.S. Open I made arrangements to do commentary with any two people of my choice. I would also be allowed to select which match or two we would use. It was intended to be an audition for future TV and/or Accu-stats work.
I went and bought new dentures so I could get rid of that annoying sibilant sound that's pestered me the last few years.Then I created copious notes from many sources at my disposal so that we could plan our commentary in order to have real quality speaking about our great sport.
After talking with lots of respectable industry folks whose opinions and advice I value, I picked what I thought would be the best two gentlemen to work with.Continuing on, I contacted them and they both liked what I had in mind. So we were to go to dinner on me the day before the tournament started to discuss how we were going to do the absolute best commentary ever heard about pool.Well, neither showed up, which, frankly broke my pool heart.
I fully intend to do this and if it's not still okay with Accu-stats, I'll pay for it myself.Anyway, to the reason I'm posting here today: I'd like a vote on who the group thinks would be the best players for me to do commentary with.E-mail probably is best here: Grady101@sc.rr.com
I don't wish to get negative but Wych and Laurance really need to go. Thanks in advance, Grady
Click to expand...

I've heard them all. Here is my list of the best color men, in order:

1) Danny DiLiberto - simply the best
2) Jimmy Mataya - potential to be just as good
3) Grady Mathews - the dentures are a big improvement
4) Jim Rempe - good voice, very colorful
5) Buddy Hall - also a great voice and tons of knowledge
6) Paul Potier - a Canadian who can use American terminology - what an idea
7) Bill Incardona - the voice of accu-stats - but he needs to speak slower
8) Steve Davis (but who can afford him) - very, very funny. great accent
9) Freddie Bentivega (sp?) - another great accent, best when working in tandem
10) Mike Sigel


Here's a list of good 'straight' men to work with them, also in order:

1) Robert Byrne
2) Scott Smith
3) Mark Wilson
4) Bill Incardona
5) Jay Helfert
6) Ed Sheehan

Nick Varner, though he's great, speaks too slowly for television. Same with Johnny Archer. Sid Waddell should stick to darts.
 
OldHasBeen said:
Keith would be a great commentator and also a wonderful advertisement for my Home Town Brew - "BUDWEISER"!
TY & GL
Click to expand...

I heard Keith do commentary once. I like him personally but he was horrible.
 
dinovirus said:
I heard Keith do commentary once. I like him personally but he was horrible.
Click to expand...
I liked Keith's commentary on one Pagulayan vs Hoa match.
He was insightful and straight.
 
Buddy Hall was my first choice, but also thought it would be unique if Burt Kinister (sp?...think that's him) was commenting (his tapes speak for themselves and he has given lessons to so many top players).

Aye Grady, maybe after the game/match Burt and you can redo shots and provide options if there was a miss. I for one would love to own tapes that not only provided excellent coverage of a match, but provide shot selection choices that the shooters could have considered.
 
Grady,
I think one of the commentator's needs to speak properly (that's your job, you are the BEST), and one should be funny as can be (you also qualify). I think Danny DiLiberto and Nick Varner are about the most entertaining commentators after you. Buddy Hall and Jim Rempe also can be entertaining. If they insist on someone with acceptable grammar, that limits things a lot - you and Billy Incardona (I haven't heard Mark Wilson's commentary, but I'll bet his grammar was probably o.k.).

By the way, I think a lot of us appreciate as many road stories as possible - it contributes to building a common history of the game. It's nice to analyze the positions and shots, but please leave time for the anecdotes (I've never heard Mitch tell one).
 
The best color man would be---

RONNIE ALLEN
However you would have to try to keep him sober for the whole match. lol
I saw a tape of him announcing, where the match took so long he was wasted by the end of it. But it was funny. I think he did that with Grady.
 
Billy Incardona may know what he's talking about as far as pool goes but I agree with Old has been, he just can't talk he uses words in the wrong context and repeats them alot. Mitch talks about himself, Jerry Forsythe again good player commentating more appropriate for farm report. I don't mind Wych I think his commentating is aimed more at the non-pool player he's OK for the color not the analizing. Bob Geruerro(sp) is as bad as it gets.
 
I find Incardona hilarious and he attempts to be more at the viewers level then he really is. For TV you need BI just to make sure the uneducated viewer has someone with them in mind. Plus the guy can be hilarious. One match in particular, I think it is the Archer Rempe match in the finals of the Sands, Incardona says he would play safe on a shot, Hall deadpans "really, you would play safe there?" just as Archer shoots the shot in with little problem and Varner goes "yeah,I dont really think safe is the shot there...." Hall says "who the heck plays safe there" and laughs. Billy then in the most hurt voice I have ever heard like a kid who just lost his puppy comes back with " now thats not nice!". The whole discussion is quite comical if you have heard it. Today is the day of sports commentators not being suits and boring. Today is the day of 30 second blurbs on drugs in sports on sport shows, commentators and sport analysts debating quite loudly the ins and outs of sports, agreement is not interesting, they want opposing views and discussion. The commentators themselves need to have personality.
 
Grady and Billy and Buddy would be my top 3 choices. I like the 2 with guests idea also. Jimmy Mataya may be good as an intermission show shooting some balls and cutting up, but i can do without his Minnesota Fats act. His commentary during the ring game nearly killed me to listen to them. Mark Wilson also does a nice job. Sam
 
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