The Mike Sigel/ Loree JJ match was a bad move

[sjm]

IMHO, the Sigel vs. Jones match was nothing but marketing.

KT wanted to be able to advertise the event as one HOF player vs. another HOF player, one male and one female. I don't think the issue of current ability ever entered the picture.

I disagree. Kim Davenport, commentator for the Battle of the Sexes match proclaimed (I'll never know how he managed to say this with a straight face) Sigel vs Jones to be the Ali/Frazier event of pool, focusing on the quality, rather than the resumes, of the players. Unfortunately, and quite predictably, there wasn't much great pool played in a match designed, but unlikely, to get people excited about this tour.

Selling the falsehood that Sigel is still a premier player rather than a legend more than a decade past his prime still seems to be a top priority at the IPT. The pathetic one-sided announcing during the King of the Hill final, in which LJJ and KT a) attempted to make it appear that Sigel was a clear favorite and b) were both apologists for Sigel's poor play, made it almost unwatchable. Nobody who follows the sport was fooled, as evidenced by the fact that Mike's odds with English bookmaker Stan James to win the NAO were right in the middle of the pack (150-1, I think).

I believe that as co-founder, Mike Sigel deserves to be remunerated handsomely for his conception of and contribution to this tour. Still, the rigging of this tour to sell the myth that Mike is still a superstar of the game is getting ridiculous in the following ways:

1) Mike's completely unearned bye into the finals of the KOH event remains a joke in the eyes of many, myself included
2) Mike's commentary in which he always makes a point of telling you just how good he is compared to the guys you're watching is silly
3) The comically-biased commentary of LJJ and KT of the final of the KOH event was pathetic
4) Mike was placed (no disrespect intended to others in his group) in the easiest of the forty round robin groups formed at the onset of the NAO event, stacking the deck in his favor, although to no avail

I think that as it becomes clearer and clearer that Mike is incapable of competing for titles in the presence of the superstars of today, the IPT should abandon it's strategy of misrepresenting the quality of his game, instead painting him as a grand old figure of pool's past, which is, indeed, what he is.

 

[coreyh]

I think that as it becomes clearer and clearer that Mike is incapable of competing for titles in the presence of the superstars of today, the IPT should abandon it's strategy of misrepresenting the quality of his game, instead painting him as a grand old figure of pool's past, which is, indeed, what he is.

Mike Sigel was well paid for his early work with the IPT. He got paid handsomely for two matches, but I figure that money is well earned as compensation for the time he (and LJJ) spent promoting the event, doing TV spots, etc. He will probably see more paydays in his future as a commentator. As a player though, the free ride is over. He is ranked #61 and has to fight to stay in the Top 100 like everyone else.

He will always have a spot in the IPT history as the first "Champion", but that will become less meaningful as time moves on and new champions are crowned. The spotlight will rightly shift to Reyes, Hohmann, and the other players that win these tournaments.

With regard to the easy draw at the NA Open, I'll accept it that an easy draw can happen by chance. There were several players that got easy draws in the first round. If it happens again at the World Open, we can call shenanigans on them.

 

[sdtonyc]

I was looking through an old issue of either Billiards Digest or Pool & Billiard from approximately June '05, and the editor's column mentioned a planned battle-of-the-sexes match between Mike Sigel and Alison Fisher.

Apparently, Alison was supposed to be the original opponent. I assume there must have been some political reasons for the switch.

It is unfortunate because Alison is far more recognizable today to the casual fan than LJJ, and Sigel v Fisher may have garnered more attention.

I was privy to a conversation about this. A WPBA touring pro (who, of course, shall remain nameless) playing on the adjacent table was talking to her shooting partner about it. She said that the original plan was to have Mike Sigel match up against Allison Fisher in the Battle-of-the-Sexes matchup, but Mr. Sigel pretty much begged and pleaded not to have Allison as his opponent. And so, apparently for that reason, it never happened. I've heard a conflicting report (maybe it was on this forum) that Ms. Fisher wanted certain conditions met prior to agreeing to a matchup and that those conditions weren't met.

I'm more inclined to to believe what I heard from the WPBA pro. It seems like Allison had nothing to lose and everything to gain from such an event, win or lose. Mike Sigel may have been a monster in his day, but he's clearly a shadow of his former self. I think Allison would have handed him his ass on a platter. Maybe a conversely lopsided win would have been just as bad for an IPT initiator.


sdtonyc

 

[Roy Steffensen]

There has been exactly NO effort made to attract Mr. & Mrs. Mainstream, no major advertising, no top name, credible people involved as partners, supporters or commentators, just the same old sales pitch to the die hard pool player.
The business plan here is to, once again, tap into the die hard pool player's wallet, nothing to benefit the sport or the spectator. And, unfortunately, that formula has never proved to be acceptable to the general public.

Well, I think you are wrong.

The IPT has got a better tv-coverage deal than any other poolevent, with the Eurosport. I think it is broadcasted to 230 million viewers, and it was promoted on Eurosport before the event started.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is almost as well-known as David Beckham back in Great Britain, and there are some articles about IPT and him (and Jimmy White) in the English newspapers. There were even picture of O'Sullivan in Norways biggest newspapers, telling that he was going to USA to play 8-ball and that we could watch it live on Eurosport.

And pool is not big in Norway, I think I know the names of all the Norwegian players...

I am running a poolhall, and during the broadcasting of Eurosport we got some phonecalls about our poolhall and the IPT because they had seen that we should host a qualifier for the next IPT. We actually got new customers because they saw 8-ball on Eurosport...

With the tv-deal in Europe, and the tv-deals that hopefully come in other continents, I believe that the IPT will grow even bigger! Imagine if the IPT gets tv-deals in all continents, how much money will that be worth?!?!?!

I wish all the best to the IPT, and I believe they will succeed.

 

[jimmyg]

Well, I think you are wrong.

The IPT has got a better tv-coverage deal than any other poolevent, with the Eurosport. I think it is broadcasted to 230 million viewers, and it was promoted on Eurosport before the event started.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is almost as well-known as David Beckham back in Great Britain, and there are some articles about IPT and him (and Jimmy White) in the English newspapers. There were even picture of O'Sullivan in Norways biggest newspapers, telling that he was going to USA to play 8-ball and that we could watch it live on Eurosport.

And pool is not big in Norway, I think I know the names of all the Norwegian players...

I am running a poolhall, and during the broadcasting of Eurosport we got some phonecalls about our poolhall and the IPT because they had seen that we should host a qualifier for the next IPT. We actually got new customers because they saw 8-ball on Eurosport...

With the tv-deal in Europe, and the tv-deals that hopefully come in other continents, I believe that the IPT will grow even bigger! Imagine if the IPT gets tv-deals in all continents, how much money will that be worth?!?!?!

I wish all the best to the IPT, and I believe they will succeed.

You may be correct with respect to Europe, but the same is absolutely not true in the USA. The IPT is an unknown entity to the average American, and I don't really see an effort to change that. I also believe that the IPT had to pay for its post tournament airtime here.

 

[Roy Steffensen]

I understand that it is not the same in America, but to be honest I think the most important thing for the IPT is to get good deals with tv-companies in Asia and Europe, to generate money to survive before trying to reach the public in America.

If they try to only reach the public and sponsors from America then I think it will be easier to fail. First get the tour to survive before trying to reach the American market, that's my opinion... Think it will be a great oppurtunity to get sponsors from Asia after the Tour Card 07 qualifier.

 

[cuechick]

I'm more inclined to to believe what I heard from the WPBA pro. It seems like Allison had nothing to lose and everything to gain from such an event, win or lose. Mike Sigel may have been a monster in his day, but he's clearly a shadow of his former self. I think Allison would have handed him his ass on a platter. Maybe a conversely lopsided win would have been just as bad for an IPT initiator.


sdtonyc

I have to go with that too, looking at all realistically, why in the world would they chose a retired member of the WPBA, who when she left the pro tour was no where near the top 5? If not Allison, why not Karen or Jeanette? The answer is obvious, because they might have won.

 

[rackmsuckr]

I have to go with that too, looking at all realistically, why in the world would they chose a retired member of the WPBA, who when she left the pro tour was no where near the top 5? If not Allison, why not Karen or Jeanette? The answer is obvious, because they might have won.

Last night, I got the first look at the entire matches on DVD. The behind the scenes special feature was really fun, but one statement that glared was LJJ stating emphatically that she is the best woman player ever. I am sure she was told to emphasize that...perhaps statistically she is, as far as # of world championships?

Also, I think it was mentioned that Allison had a prior commitment to the APA that she absolutely could not re-schedule and LJJ was the perfect 2nd choice.