Mad ramblings about TV matches ...

[Snapshot9]

I just finished watching Varner vs. Ellin on ESPN classic during my 'billiard' hour on TV, and I just have to vent:

1) If I hear Allen say 'Perfect' one more time, I will scream. No, they were not perfect, they were 3-8" off with the cue ball.... lol
2) As noncommital as Allen is on TV, can you imagine Dawn asking him which dress she should wear to an event? .... ROFL
3) Nick Varner must have had exceptional eyesight back in those days. He makes some of the best and delicate cut shots I have seen on TV.
4) Tony Ellin (I call him the Pillsbury Doughboy) abandons all semblance of stroke mechanics on pressure or difficult shots. Totally awful. Breaking is one thing, but regular shots are another. BTW, how did he ever get that good looking girlfriend he had? Puzzles me!
5) Always love to watch Bustamante and Efren play. How could Bustamante lose so much when he played so good?
6) Although watching the women was interesting at first, it is so cookie cutter that I find their matches pretty boring anymore. (Watch Allison win, and Karen once in awhile)
7) Do you ever watch a TV match, and see logic errors that pros make sometimes? or say to yourself, I could have won that match?
8) I think it is interesting to guess what a Pro's character and personality are like in real life from watching them play Pool.
9) I have noticed on some final matches that the players sometimes act like it is a game on Sunday afternoon and don't really project the intensity of a final match for $50,000.
10) Sometimes in these tournaments, you kind of image that all these players are playing perfect Pool, but seeing the actual match brings your thoughts back to earth a little, realizing that they are still human, and make mistakes just like we do.
11) Having a cash payout is ALWAYS GOOD .... lol
12) I think the players of today vs 10-15-20 years ago, break the balls better with better position for a first shot after the break.
13) When did Phenolic tips, used on Break sticks, first show up on the scene? Before phenolic, did pro players use a buffalo tip on break sticks?
14) When did the sponsor for the Challenge of Champions switch from McDermott to Viking?

That will get us started .... lol

 

[Egg McDogit]

1) If I hear Allen say 'Perfect' one more time, I will scream. No, they were not perfect, they were 3-8" off with the cue ball.... lol

He actually says this when people get on the wrong side of the ball too...I don't get it either...you'll hear him say "perfect" and watch the player shaking their head

9) I have noticed on some final matches that the players sometimes act like it is a game on Sunday afternoon and don't really project the intensity of a final match for $50,000.

I'd say the chances of someone going halves in a winner-take-all finals for 50k is pretty high.

10) Sometimes in these tournaments, you kind of image that all these players are playing perfect Pool, but seeing the actual match brings your thoughts back to earth a little, realizing that they are still human, and make mistakes just like we do.

You know that brings up something I was really let down about - I hate it when they cut games out. This was especially bad in those early 90's matches that they recently aired. They'd goto a commercial, come back and just summarize the last 3-4 games by showing the last 3 balls being run. There were a couple good comebacks and I wish I could've seen those comeback racks.

 

[ironman]

I just finished watching Varner vs. Ellin on ESPN classic during my 'billiard' hour on TV, and I just have to vent:

1) If I hear Allen say 'Perfect' one more time, I will scream. No, they were not perfect, they were 3-8" off with the cue ball.... lol
2) As noncommital as Allen is on TV, can you imagine Dawn asking him which dress she should wear to an event? .... ROFL
3) Nick Varner must have had exceptional eyesight back in those days. He makes some of the best and delicate cut shots I have seen on TV.
4) Tony Ellin (I call him the Pillsbury Doughboy) abandons all semblance of stroke mechanics on pressure or difficult shots. Totally awful. Breaking is one thing, but regular shots are another. BTW, how did he ever get that good looking girlfriend he had? Puzzles me!
5) Always love to watch Bustamante and Efren play. How could Bustamante lose so much when he played so good?
6) Although watching the women was interesting at first, it is so cookie cutter that I find their matches pretty boring anymore. (Watch Allison win, and Karen once in awhile)
7) Do you ever watch a TV match, and see logic errors that pros make sometimes? or say to yourself, I could have won that match?
8) I think it is interesting to guess what a Pro's character and personality are like in real life from watching them play Pool.
9) I have noticed on some final matches that the players sometimes act like it is a game on Sunday afternoon and don't really project the intensity of a final match for $50,000.
10) Sometimes in these tournaments, you kind of image that all these players are playing perfect Pool, but seeing the actual match brings your thoughts back to earth a little, realizing that they are still human, and make mistakes just like we do.
11) Having a cash payout is ALWAYS GOOD .... lol
12) I think the players of today vs 10-15-20 years ago, break the balls better with better position for a first shot after the break.
13) When did Phenolic tips, used on Break sticks, first show up on the scene? Before phenolic, did pro players use a buffalo tip on break sticks?
14) When did the sponsor for the Challenge of Champions switch from McDermott to Viking?

That will get us started .... lol

Tony Ellin when alive was a very good player and a good guy. You should show some respect!

 

[CaptainHook]

Tony Ellin when alive was a very good player and a good guy. You should show some respect!

I always wondered what happened to him. He held his own with some Monster players.

Sad to hear he passed, how did that happen?

 

[Fuji-whopper]

I was going to say the same thing, he was a hell of a guy. It's not nice to speak of someone in that manner, even more so when they are deceased.

The week after Reno in the late 90's he got hit by a train in his home town, his car stalled or something while going over the tracks.

 

[gromulan]

13) When did Phenolic tips, used on Break sticks, first show up on the scene? Before phenolic, did pro players use a buffalo tip on break sticks?

I have the second cue Mike Gulash made with a phenolic tip. I believe I got it in 2002. Prior to that I did in fact use a Rick Howard with a brown water buffalo tip.

 

[Grilled Cheese]

I refuse to watch pool on TV anymore because of the aweful commentators and commercials/edits.


I'll watch the IPT though when it comes up because it is something promising in different respects. I watched the KOTH, but more so out of curiosity to see if there will be success rather than to enjoy watching pool.


The only way to get my fix is through Accu-Stats. Incardona is the only person who accurately describes what's happening on the table. He is rarely wrong. All games are shown. No commericals. These are often from better events with good competition, like the U.S. Open...not some cheesy ESPN shot-clock match or some other gimmick where players are choking or not in a zone.


I don't watch women's pool often. They just don't play as well. Even the best women players make most racks look like a struggle. How can I watch that when at my local pool hall, I see professionals string rack after rack, and do so with little hassle?


I think the women are nice, and are better representatives of the sport. They are better sports and more pleasant. They also have personality, which most male pros do not.

I just don't get into it from a gameplay perspective. I can't sit there and watch a woman agonize and toil over a shot that is a little out of line, but something a male pro would just think about for 3 seconds and gun it in and get shape and be done with it.


Most of the guys at the pool hall who love and rave over womens pool are the 60 and up guys that are in love with them. Most are perverts and like to watch them bend over. A few play horrible and have never been exposed to elite pool and find the women's game to be fascinating. Don't ever tell them that a lot of these gals "play for the other team" - that would break their heart, well some of them. Most would consider that an added bonus.

 

[ironman]

I always wondered what happened to him. He held his own with some Monster players.

Sad to hear he passed, how did that happen?

He died several years in some sort of train accident.

 

[CaptainHook]

We don't pay much attention to the comments. We are just happy to see any Pool on TV. It was not long ago we hardly had any.