Not like she had to play the easiest woman out there, that's not the first time Melissa Morris has made a chica look silly and probably make uncharacteristic mistakes.
***MARY AVINA*** Being Streamed Now***
- Thread starter cmbwsu
- Start date
What's everyone's beef with Mary?
Dean
The two announcers said she was so HOT that she the caused the room to heat up 10 degrees.
Then they said she sharks her opponents by spinning and moving her cue in the line of sight of the shooting player, and that this was very annoing.
In defense of the ladies (yes there is one), this was their chance at a little bit of payback. Mary not only talked about herself as if she were the best female player since Jean Balukas but she said none of the women in her area could play pool. I can't remember verbatim but she basically said she didn't play against the women because they weren't good enough, that she only played against the men and even they weren't very good.
Mary had stuff like that posted on here and her personal pages like facebook & myspace. Her comments reached hundreds of people. Ms. Huang & Ms. Pawloski's moment of payback was in front of less than a 100 people.
They didn't draw the first blood but they saw an opportunity to get a little payback, cut them some slack.
Did Mary say some stupid things? Sure she did but that does not condone the chidlish behavior coming from commentators who are supposed to act professional in that setting. If you want to trash her, do so away from the booth. What kind of representation are you providing to the sport, the tournament, & players themselves when acting foolish?
However as I said, I expect that kind of crap from Tina since she is a legend in her own mind.
However as I said, I expect that kind of crap from Tina since she is a legend in her own mind.
We all have enemies, Tina included. That being said, Tina has more friends than foes on here so your repeated jabs at Tina will more than likely continue to be ignored. You certainly won't find many around here willing to jump on your bandwagon. Sorry your so bitter about Tina. I met her quite a few years ago and I must say she was a lovely, well mannered young lady.
I could give two shits about a bandwagon. I call it as I see it & don't give two shits if not one person agrees with me (although I know some do). I do not get wrapped up in forum politics & trying to fit in. Lastly why would I be bitter? I just call people as I read them regardless of whether it is the popular thing to do. I'd tell her straight to her face & have no problem doing it.
Karma................
LOL, angry much?
Not at all, I just state my opinion. However if I did care about fitting in, I'd beg for forgiveness of not towing the popular line.
Karma is a concept, not a justification.
For future events, I will be giving the ladies some specific guidelines to follow regarding commentary. I created this tour with the intention of creating a welcoming and nurturing environment for women to play in. I'm not naive enough to believe that we will all sit around holding hands and singing Kumbaya...however, I do expect players to act professionally and respectfully while playing in an SCL9T event because they are representing the entire tour (and me by extension).
I did not hear the commentary in question...however...I have had several people contact me by email or text to let me know that they did not enjoy what happened during the Mary/Melissa match. I will say this...if I had known it was happening at the time it was happening...I would not have allowed it to continue and I would have taken over commentary duties for that particular match. Again...I don't expect everyone to get along all the time...but while they are at an SCL9T event, I do expect all players to show respect for one another, for my tournament, for the venue, and for the people kind enough to show their support by watching the stream.
I understand that Mary has made herself a little unpopular here in the forums...however, she was a class act at the event this weekend. I had no complaints about her at all...she was laughing and chatting with several players...and she even offered to donate an extra $100 to the prize fund...just because. (I did not accept it...so she just bought some raffle tickets instead to show her support.)
Best Regards,
Melissa Herndon
I did not hear the commentary in question...however...I have had several people contact me by email or text to let me know that they did not enjoy what happened during the Mary/Melissa match. I will say this...if I had known it was happening at the time it was happening...I would not have allowed it to continue and I would have taken over commentary duties for that particular match. Again...I don't expect everyone to get along all the time...but while they are at an SCL9T event, I do expect all players to show respect for one another, for my tournament, for the venue, and for the people kind enough to show their support by watching the stream.
I understand that Mary has made herself a little unpopular here in the forums...however, she was a class act at the event this weekend. I had no complaints about her at all...she was laughing and chatting with several players...and she even offered to donate an extra $100 to the prize fund...just because. (I did not accept it...so she just bought some raffle tickets instead to show her support.)
Best Regards,
Melissa Herndon
TAP...TAP...TAP! Well said.
I'm sure this was just a one-time thing & frankly, Mary damn sure brought it on herself. I thought it was rather humorous.
Maybe it's just me then. I've always been a big fan of "Schadenfreude".
Classy, and professional response, Melissa.
Nicely done. With that kind of leadership, you're likely to make this tour quite successful. I wish you continued good luck and success.
BTW, I really enjoyed your commentary and most of the others during the time that I got to watch. I did not catch the Mary Avina match, so I have no comment on that. As with anything, there were some moments I didn't think were done well and professionally by the announcers at the time, yet many more that were done exceptionally well. This being the first streamed event that I have seen, I'm impressed. Also impressed with the quality given the wi-fi restrictions you were under. I look forward to catching another stream soon.
I actually called a couple of my friends after I had done commentary on that match. I didn't feel good about doing what I did when I was doing it. I talked to Melissa Herndon last night about it even before I knew this thread was in existence because I felt poorly about it. No matter what Mary said to us here in So California, or how she presents herself here on the forum, although annoying, is not something that I need to react to. She can have her own words and actions speak for herself, as most knew of them, I did not have to.
When I was on the stream the first match, someone sat down to commentate on my match which I knew didn't like me. I did not sit down at their match originally when asked my Melissa because I did not feel that I should. When someone makes it on to a stream table, they do so because they earned the right to, whether it is their known playing ability, or their tournament result that day. The focus should be on them in a positive way, and not what I provided. I would hope that when someone sits down to commentate for me and my opponent, that the commentary be focused at the game at hand, on how we have done in the tournament thus far, any other tournament history or stats and titles, or any equipment sponsors they would like to recognize, not by someone who focuses on themselves unless asked a direct question and it comes up in the chat, but someone professional and impartial.
When I did commentary for the regional tour championships at Hardtimes, I contacted each regional tour for information on the players they had sent to the event because I wanted to provide quality commentary not only about the match in front of the stream, but who these girls were and how they had gotten there - how long had they played on the tour, what rank on the tour, etc. I also asked them what their goals were when they were there and what they liked most about playing so when there was a lull in the action, I could keep talking about the player. This is professional commentary that I would like to continue to provide.
No matter how I felt about what Mary does, I should have either not sat down on her stream, or kept in professional like I have done in the past. These streams are a new introduction into the pool world, and each time I do one I learn from the last. One part of me thought this is a small sandbox, a free stream, so I can be "colorful" and have fun and banter in certain ways. I realized this weekend that this is not, for me anyway, and shouldn't be treated as such. Although talking to the chatters can be fun, those chatting make up about 15 of the almost one hundred people watching. I think streams and mine that I do in the future will of course still respond to the chatters, but the greater focus will be trying to bring it back to the game being played as much as possible, no matter if the person sitting next to me does so or not.
My apology goes out to Miss Avina for my commentary this weekend. I would like that for all I try to do in the pool world positively, that I'll be forgiven this slip up which I've learned from greatly. I have learned a great deal from this weekend which will make me better in the future.
When I was on the stream the first match, someone sat down to commentate on my match which I knew didn't like me. I did not sit down at their match originally when asked my Melissa because I did not feel that I should. When someone makes it on to a stream table, they do so because they earned the right to, whether it is their known playing ability, or their tournament result that day. The focus should be on them in a positive way, and not what I provided. I would hope that when someone sits down to commentate for me and my opponent, that the commentary be focused at the game at hand, on how we have done in the tournament thus far, any other tournament history or stats and titles, or any equipment sponsors they would like to recognize, not by someone who focuses on themselves unless asked a direct question and it comes up in the chat, but someone professional and impartial.
When I did commentary for the regional tour championships at Hardtimes, I contacted each regional tour for information on the players they had sent to the event because I wanted to provide quality commentary not only about the match in front of the stream, but who these girls were and how they had gotten there - how long had they played on the tour, what rank on the tour, etc. I also asked them what their goals were when they were there and what they liked most about playing so when there was a lull in the action, I could keep talking about the player. This is professional commentary that I would like to continue to provide.
No matter how I felt about what Mary does, I should have either not sat down on her stream, or kept in professional like I have done in the past. These streams are a new introduction into the pool world, and each time I do one I learn from the last. One part of me thought this is a small sandbox, a free stream, so I can be "colorful" and have fun and banter in certain ways. I realized this weekend that this is not, for me anyway, and shouldn't be treated as such. Although talking to the chatters can be fun, those chatting make up about 15 of the almost one hundred people watching. I think streams and mine that I do in the future will of course still respond to the chatters, but the greater focus will be trying to bring it back to the game being played as much as possible, no matter if the person sitting next to me does so or not.
My apology goes out to Miss Avina for my commentary this weekend. I would like that for all I try to do in the pool world positively, that I'll be forgiven this slip up which I've learned from greatly. I have learned a great deal from this weekend which will make me better in the future.