TAR 38 Results

bobbycotton said:
First of all I really like Darren and Dennis equally. I'm sorry if Jay and I both made comments on Darrens behavior during the match but it was hard not to. I never want to see players get bad rolls like Darren thought he did or didn't. They are both world champions. In my opinion darren mumbling for the last 2 hours hurt his game and I feel bad for him that he did that. As I said I really like Darren and definately don't wish him bad luck. The rolls were even in my opinion and when Dennis got a good roll or a bad roll he never said any thing. It just dissapointed me to hear Darren complain.
Click to expand...

Hi Cotton,

I was glad to see Darren play well in the one pocket match.. He did not know the game that well a few years ago, and I worked with him (lessons) for quite some time...That, and his obvious grasp for the game of pool in general, have allowed him to improve his 1P game considerably...I consider Darren a good friend, and I know he wears his heart on his sleeve, in the tough action he's always involved in.. I also know he can get a little vocal about it, when things are going bad !... ...But he is NO Earl Strickland in that area, and does NOT use it as a shark !

Like MANY player's, he has antenna ears, and the fact that he could hear much of the commentary, would certainly affect him more than Dennis...Dennis has that automatically tuned out, due to his lack of understanding our language...Not making excuses for Darren, just making a factual observation..You (Cotton) and Jay did a good job commentating, but in the confines of a small studio, if you want to be close enough to observe the action, you need to make sure your voices cannot be heard, when you are describing LIVE action !

Mixing stories in are great, and you guys are two of the best at it..But, JMHO.. you should really go into a whisper, when you are describing a players demeanor, or pointing out shot options..It would be very distracting, to almost any player, and could have an adverse effect !.. Had I not seen the post below, I may not have made my observation ! ;)
12squared said:
My favorite part of the 8-ball was when Cotton was saying in the booth just shoot the 1-ball, just shoot the 1-ball and DAZ looked up and said "I can't see the 1-ball". I laughed my butt off and I could see Cotton turn beat red through his voice - who knew the players could hear them????? That was priceless - at that time Darren did say they could hear everything from the commentators.
Click to expand...

San Jose Dick
 
Last edited:
What Darren should have done was stop playing and start doing commentary
about the commentators and comment about their non-commentary comments.
 
I think Darren played his heart out as that is why he is a champion. But I like watching guys get emotional about the game (to include Earl). Pool is an intense game, it requires so much concentration and emotional control to play well and when players act "real" it reaffirms why I love this game. Jeez, when you really think about it all the great pool hall stories of matches of old always revolved around these "human" actions. Darren put his ass on the line, in front of who knows how many people. And God knows pool fans are the most critical, lol He's got my respect. And to Dennis, congrats. They are both champions. As for as for the microphone issue, imagine what the NFL, NBA, etc. would be like, and how would we perceive the players, if we mic'd everyone on the field/court up and broadcasted it.
 
JCIN said:
All Darren had to do was say something. He didnt. He stated here that he knew going in that it can happen and he prepared for it. If it bothers a player all they have to do is say something. Darren is not blaming hearing the commentary so I dont know why anyone else is.
Click to expand...

I think the players shouldn't have to hear the commentary, but like jcin says, they gotta let somebody in control know if there is an issue.

One of my favorite things about tar- and the thing that makes it the preeminent host of challenge matches- is the flexibility it's operations offer and I have no doubt I in would have solved and issues immediately, given the chance,
 
Since I purchase every TAR event weekend whether I watch or not I'll throw my thoughts in here about the commentary.

Cotton is PAINFUL to listen to. Not his fault its just him. It is much more of a personal promotion than calling a pool match. He tells the same stories over & over. They were good the first time I heard them but not over & over. I don't care who he played in 1970 in Kansas City or who he busted in 1965 while watching two WORLD CHAMPS play, etc. I'd love to drink a beer & shoot the stuff with him but don't enjoy listening to him call matches. You get the point.

Jay is usually GREAT at TV matches & I was looking forward to him helping with this match but was a little disappointed. I think he got a little too involved with Cotton telling Road stories.

We have in front of us two WORLD CHAMPION Pool players. Lets talk about them.
Maybe you could do a personal 15 minute interview with them to LEARN something about them that you & the listening audience didn't know. What are there favorite foods? Do they have family? What do they think is there biggest accomplishment? Who was there toughest opponent? What is there favorite game? Do a little homework on the players. Know when they won a world title or US Open, don't ask them before they go on air. Etc, etc. I think you get the point. They don't have to be these questions just tell us about them. That is what attracts people to sport/games, identifying with a favorite player & learning all they can about them & cheering for them.

Then use that during the commentary instead of talking about how many people you know that have died in the past few years. That was very morbid & no one wants to hear that....Here are some other suggestions. Print up the past results for all TAR matches the present players have been a part of & the results....I hear tons of mistakes from the commentary about former TAR matches. I think the results are all on AZB, correct? Look them up & print.

I only remember hearing about the TAR on demand matches once the entire weekend. What a deal for $5 bucks. You can See SVB & Orcullo for up to one year for only five bucks or Efren vs. SVB. I bet there are a lot of people listening that don't even know about that feature. Tell the public about this & help make TAR some money.

I do think they were a little hard on Darren as well. He was complaining a bit too much but the commentary made it 10x worse. Mention it then move on that is what professionals do. Its ok to just be quiet for a few minutes & let us watch the match. Some of the long pauses near the end of the match last night were the most enjoyable moments of the match.

I think the length of the matches wore on all involved. I hope in the future there is a shot clock on all matches also. Just my thoughts. Don't want to hurt any feelings but how can you improve if no one tells you?

I also want to thank JUSTIN for his professionalism handling the technical issues. That is what a PROFESSIONAL does & he handled all issues immediately & stopped the match. That is why I continue to support TAR & want it to grow into something bigger. THANKS for another great weekend of pool.:grin-square:
 
bobbycotton said:
First of all thanks Justin, next for the record I would NEVER shark the players on purpose for any reason and if by us talking too loud did, Jay and I sincerely apologize. I can easily go thru an entire match and not tell one old road story or voice my opinion on a players behaviour. But I thought people might like a story or two in addition to explaining every shot. I guess I was wrong. When I listen to other pool stream I like a story or two, well thats just me. When Darren was on the hill I really wanted Dennis to catch up and to see a hill/hill match. When he did I DID NOT have any preference of who I wanted to win the match. They both played great !
Click to expand...

Since I specifically mentioned the road stories thing - I feel I should clarify something. I really don't mind the stories - once in a while - but sometimes, when two guys who have the history both Cotton and Jay have, one story leads to the next, which leads to next, and so on. I guess I'm used to Accu-Stats, when Pat brings them back on topic after a story or two. :p

I will add that I enjoyed the bit about the trap games. I hadn't heard of some of those. haha
 
tduncan said:
... We have in front of us two WORLD CHAMPION Pool players. Lets talk about them.
Maybe you could do a personal 15 minute interview with them to LEARN something about them that you & the listening audience didn't know. What are there favorite foods? Do they have family? What do they think is there biggest accomplishment? Who was there toughest opponent? What is there favorite game? Do a little homework on the players. Know when they won a world title or US Open, don't ask them before they go on air. Etc, etc. I think you get the point. ...
Click to expand...

These types of questions are typically asked during the TAR podcast the day before the match starts.
 
God bless you non-stop *****ers...god bless TAR (for sure)...god bless the game of pool. We all know we love it.
 
Emotion is a part of any game or sport. I personally love the fact that Darren showed some emotion. If you show me a person that doesn't mind losing...I'll show you a loser. There is always something on the line. Just my opinion.

Good Rolls, Bad Rolls, we all get them.

Randy.
 
bobbycotton said:
But I thought people might like a story or two in addition to explaining every shot.
Click to expand...

I by no means am isolating you as this is a common thing in pool commentating but you do "not" need to explain "every" shot during a match. Watch professional snooker broadcasts for an idea of how much discussion about upcoming shots should actually be given.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cndbkI25sGM

Notice how they do not actually discuss every single shot and guess what the player is going to do next. They actually let the players play the game and are actually silent for a large portion of the time and let the game simply be enjoyed and let the viewers listen to nothing but the click of the balls.

You do not get discussion about the shots unless there is something specific and interesting to speak of, they do "not" let you know the player is going to shoot the straight in black that they just played shape on, the fans know this and it is actually quite annoying to listen to people explain the obvious and it takes away from the viewing pleasure.

You are not alone in this and nor is Jay, almost every commentator in pool does this and it is "not" what needs to be done. Don't worry about moments of silence, talk when there is something meaningful to say, don't fill every second of time with random chatter.
 
I enjoyed both guys in the booth and like hearing about all the stories. Six hrs of just play by play like ken would've been tough.
 
bobbycotton said:
I believe I only told one short story.
Click to expand...

Surely, it was more than one short story ;)

Can only speak for me, I like hearing this stuff and I am almost 40 years old and most of the guys you talk about I never heard of (am European). If u guys were doing commentary on free TV or so, the stories wud not fit and u had to concentrate much more on the shot-by-shot commentary. Since TAR matches mainly or even exclusively follow well educated pool players, it is not necessary to follow the action shot by shot.

Especially as a European, who has never been to the States, I love all the information i get about the US pool scene - past an present. The shot by shot commentary wud wear me out over a couple of hours...

as Justin already pointed out, there is always somebody unhappy with the one doing commentary. keep it up guys!
 
tduncan said:
Maybe you could do a personal 15 minute interview with them to LEARN something about them that you & the listening audience didn't know. What are there favorite foods? Do they have family? What do they think is there biggest accomplishment? Who was there toughest opponent? What is there favorite game?
Click to expand...

Please god no. When you watch snooker do you have to listen to the commentators talk about Ronnie O'Sullivan's new puppy he bought last month? Do you listen to football announcers talk about that one time that Tom Brady was in band camp? FFS just let us watch pool, speak about something critical taking place in the match if it comes up, otherwise just let me listen to the click of the balls, please...

On almost all pool streams I would choose a non-commentary feed that had zero commentary "IF" the feed still allowed me to hear the players mics and the sounds of the actual game.
 
Tsk tsk, this is a TAR result forum and all u guys do is talk about darren. Give some love to dennis for he deserves the win!

Good job on the guys behind the tar! Keep up the good work guys
 
Dick, yep some good comments from you. I'm not gonna comment any more on this because whats done is done. Neither Jay nor I tried to shark Darren which I think everbody knows that. You cannot tell with headphones on how loud you are talking. Jay and I both remarked about Darrens mumbling. Champions in all kinds of sports get a pass for bad behavior. Maybe all pool players should watch Efren and Allison Fisher and see pool played with respect and class. Thats what I like to see .People used to laugh at McEnroe, jus sayin ! For the last effin time, I think Darren is a great player and he played great all 3 days. I was just dissapointed a little.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top