After reading Fatboy's and numerous other posts over the last week or so, I started thinking about what I would do if I had the money to start a professional pool association/organization/league thing and what I would like to see on tv.
Format:
I'd like to hold qualifiers once every season to determine 28 players. These 28 players would be split into 4 divisions of 7 players. Screw elimination. Every player plays each player in their division. This guarantees the player that he didn't put up his entry fee to go two and out, and it also lets the spectator pick their favorite to watch and follow throughout the season. The player with the most wins in their division plays the other players with the most wins from the other divisions. This part is single-elimination. There will be a website which keeps updated player bios, stats, and records. Prizes must be large.
Games:
Stick with what the general population knows. 8-ball and 9-ball. I kinda stole this idea from my master's league. Race to 8. 10 possible games of 9-ball and 5 possible games of 8-ball. Or 9 games of 9-ball and 6 games of 8-ball. Either way. Players lag. Winner chooses either to break, or which game to start with. If the winner chooses the break, the loser chooses the game. Winner breaks? Maybe.
Other things:
45 second shot clock. Maybe 50? 45 seems long enough to me, but others have complained. No annoying high-pitched shot clock buzzers. Each player gets two 60 second timeouts per match. They must use the entire 60 seconds if they call for a timeout. This allows for a commercial break (if live) without forcing the spectator to watch the player stand and stare at the balls, and when the break is over, they haven't skipped ahead 3 racks. There are no extensions. Well, maybe 1.
Preferably around 40-50% of the matches would be aired on television. Two 1-hour matches, two times per week would be nice. Something like 9-11 PM EST on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
This would mean a season on television would last about two months. There are a couple problems with this. I'm not sure we can expect pool players to keep coming back over a two month period, which means the actual tournament would probably need to take place over the course of a week and the television coverage would be severely delayed. If a viewer checks the website, he'll know who won almost two months in advance. Could delay the results/stats, and make everyone sign a confidentiality agreement. Not sure it matters much. But the goal is to get viewers involved, suspense just helps a little. Also I'd like to offer live PPV via webstream for those who want to watch it live or don't get ESPN 8, The Ocho.
There's a few things left undecided or vague here, and a few things left out completely. But since it's not official, and I don't have any Louis Vuitton bags lined with hundreds lying around, it doesn't really matter at the moment. Just something to dream about.
So how would you do it? Maybe someone someday will read this thread and steal all your ideas, for the benefit of pool.
Format:
I'd like to hold qualifiers once every season to determine 28 players. These 28 players would be split into 4 divisions of 7 players. Screw elimination. Every player plays each player in their division. This guarantees the player that he didn't put up his entry fee to go two and out, and it also lets the spectator pick their favorite to watch and follow throughout the season. The player with the most wins in their division plays the other players with the most wins from the other divisions. This part is single-elimination. There will be a website which keeps updated player bios, stats, and records. Prizes must be large.
Games:
Stick with what the general population knows. 8-ball and 9-ball. I kinda stole this idea from my master's league. Race to 8. 10 possible games of 9-ball and 5 possible games of 8-ball. Or 9 games of 9-ball and 6 games of 8-ball. Either way. Players lag. Winner chooses either to break, or which game to start with. If the winner chooses the break, the loser chooses the game. Winner breaks? Maybe.
Other things:
45 second shot clock. Maybe 50? 45 seems long enough to me, but others have complained. No annoying high-pitched shot clock buzzers. Each player gets two 60 second timeouts per match. They must use the entire 60 seconds if they call for a timeout. This allows for a commercial break (if live) without forcing the spectator to watch the player stand and stare at the balls, and when the break is over, they haven't skipped ahead 3 racks. There are no extensions. Well, maybe 1.
Preferably around 40-50% of the matches would be aired on television. Two 1-hour matches, two times per week would be nice. Something like 9-11 PM EST on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
This would mean a season on television would last about two months. There are a couple problems with this. I'm not sure we can expect pool players to keep coming back over a two month period, which means the actual tournament would probably need to take place over the course of a week and the television coverage would be severely delayed. If a viewer checks the website, he'll know who won almost two months in advance. Could delay the results/stats, and make everyone sign a confidentiality agreement. Not sure it matters much. But the goal is to get viewers involved, suspense just helps a little. Also I'd like to offer live PPV via webstream for those who want to watch it live or don't get ESPN 8, The Ocho.
There's a few things left undecided or vague here, and a few things left out completely. But since it's not official, and I don't have any Louis Vuitton bags lined with hundreds lying around, it doesn't really matter at the moment. Just something to dream about.
So how would you do it? Maybe someone someday will read this thread and steal all your ideas, for the benefit of pool.
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