Who was commentating during the Mosconi Cup?

J

justinb386

Banned
Very sorry if this is a stupid question, but I am just very curious who was commentating during the Mosconi Cup?

The guy really knew the shots that the players were probably going to take.

He really knew the game, so I am assuming that he is either a pro player, or was a pro player in the past.

Thanks.
 
Jerry Forsythe, Jim Wych, Jay Helfert. Sorry if I spelled any of the names wrong.
 
Jerry Forsyth owns az and knows a little about pool. :smile:

Jim Wych was a fairly high level snooker player and owns a big new pool room in Toronto.

Jay Helfert is an old-school road plauer and has been a room owner a few times and he ref's and TD's many major pool events.

they do know a lot about cue sports.

best,
brian kc
 
I have no doubts they were qualified to commentate, but I feel as though they may have had a bad view of the table. They consistently misread angles and if there was a shot, so there was a lot of back tracking.
 
justinb386 said:
Very sorry if this is a stupid question, but I am just very curious who was commentating during the Mosconi Cup?

The guy really knew the shots that the players were probably going to take.

He really knew the game, so I am assuming that he is either a pro player, or was a pro player in the past.

Thanks.
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I know I'm fairly new to AZ but this is the biggest troll post I've seen so far!
 
California Fats said:
I have no doubts they were qualified to commentate, but I feel as though they may have had a bad view of the table. They consistently misread angles and if there was a shot, so there was a lot of back tracking.
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Agreed. This was apparent to me as well.
 
Mousa said:
I know I'm fairly new to AZ but this is the biggest troll post I've seen so far!
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Do you feel that it was a troll post because it was such a stupid question to ask, or something that I could have easily gotten the answer to by using google? I honestly did not know, and it was just something I was curious about.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
Jerry Forsyth owns az and knows a little about pool. :smile:

Jim Wych was a fairly high level snooker player and owns a big new pool room in Toronto.

Jay Helfert is an old-school road plauer and has been a room owner a few times and he ref's and TD's many major pool events.

they do know a lot about cue sports.

best,
brian kc
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Thanks Brian. I missed day 1 and parts of day 3 and 4, and just thought it was the 1 guy commentating. Who was the last person to commentate on day 4 (today)? Thanks for the interesting info about the commentators. I have heard jay commentate in the past, so I think that maybe it was him today.
 
justinb386 said:
Do you feel that it was a troll post because it was such a stupid question to ask, or something that I could have easily gotten the answer to by using google? I honestly did not know, and it was just something I was curious about.
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Well, it wasn't my intention of coming out as rude or elitist, but it was pretty obvious that the commentating was pretty horrible. Hideous to be accurate, with no overreaction!
It was pretty ok for a crowd that started playing or watching pool the past week or month, but to comment on that high level of play they didn't know what they were saying regarding shot selection, predictions or anything else! You would constantly hear them saying "Look out Jerry, he's going for the XXX, oh no he didn't. It looked like blahblahblah! Non stop all the time!
I only had the sound on because I wanted to hear the actual ball and stroke sounds! But it was a harsh price to pay so I watched the last 1,5 sessions muted! And these 3 are doing the commentating for these events FOR YEARS! It's awful! At least on my view!
 
Mousa said:
It was pretty ok for a crowd that started playing or watching pool the past week or month, but to comment on that high level of play they didn't know what they were saying regarding shot selection, predictions or anything else! You would constantly hear them saying "Look out Jerry, he's going for the XXX, oh no he didn't. It looked like blahblahblah! Non stop all the time!
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Maybe 1% of the viewing audience for a major event like this has even a small clue what a good break looks like, let alone how to even begin to run out a rack, play a good safe, what a kick is, what natural shape is, etc. Give these guys a break. Believe me, they all know a hell of a lot more about pool than most of the membership here, let alone the general non-playing public.

My wife finally started watching pro pool with me about four years ago, and she has learned a ton from listening to these guys. Enough so she can follow it, and to make it interesting to her at any rate. I'm sure there are thousands of viewers who are helped to understand pool by the commentary these men give. Look at them as educators for the masses, and just devoted guys who are trying to grow the sport. You are always welcome to turn off the sound and provide your own commentary... without fear of public ridicule for the job you do.
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
Maybe 1% of the viewing audience for a major event like this has even a small clue what a good break looks like, let alone how to even begin to run out a rack, play a good safe, what a kick is, what natural shape is, etc. Give these guys a break. Believe me, they all know a hell of a lot more about pool than most of the membership here, let alone the general non-playing public.

My wife finally started watching pro pool with me about four years ago, and she has learned a ton from listening to these guys. Enough so she can follow it, and to make it interesting to her at any rate. I'm sure there are thousands of viewers who are helped to understand pool by the commentary these men give. Look at them as educators for the masses, and just devoted guys who are trying to grow the sport. You are always welcome to turn off the sound and provide your own commentary... without fear of public ridicule for the job you do.
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I understand what you mean, and I'm all for educating and bringing new people and crowd into the sport! My "issue" would be with how correct are the things they say! When you see someone break the rack making a ball, and he has no vision of next ball, clusters everywhere, has to push, don't yell "PERFECT BREAK!" That will not teach the uneducated crowd in any way! The whole thing is just that they were correcting themselves all the time! So much that it was becoming a distraction!

I am pretty sure that they love the game like you say and they wanna do good! I didn't argue that at all!
 
Mousa said:
I understand what you mean, and I'm all for educating and bringing new people and crowd into the sport! My "issue" would be with how correct are the things they say! When you see someone break the rack making a ball, and he has no vision of next ball, clusters everywhere, has to push, don't yell "PERFECT BREAK!" That will not teach the uneducated crowd in any way! The whole thing is just that they were correcting themselves all the time! So much that it was becoming a distraction!

I am pretty sure that they love the game like you say and they wanna do good! I didn't argue that at all!
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I hear you. Sure, it gets tedious at times, and they do make mistakes. Sometimes they can't see all the balls clearly, and they also have access each play very quickly, and have to make their comments at the correct time or they might lose the moment (especially with some of the fast and aggressive players like we were lucky enough to see this year).

All in all, it was a great event, with some of the most dramatic and awesome matches I've ever watched. Sure, I really wanted the rolls to go our way more than they seemed to, but the other team played awesome as well. There is only ever one winner. I think we made a great showing of what American players are still capable of, and next year we will do even better. :wink:
 
something to keep in mind.

I dont know what the layout was at MC but I wouldn't be surprised if the commentators had either a limited view or poss even no view of the live table.

They may have been doing most, if not all of their viewing from the monitors and it could have been tricky to pick up on some of the close layouts if a player was hooked or not.

worth considering this possibility.

best,
brian kc
 
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Sloppy Pockets said:
I hear you. Sure, it gets tedious at times, and they do make mistakes. Sometimes they can't see all the balls clearly, and they also have access each play very quickly, and have to make their comments at the correct time or they might lose the moment (especially with some of the fast and aggressive players like we were lucky enough to see this year).

All in all, it was a great event, with some of the most dramatic and awesome matches I've ever watched. Sure, I really wanted the rolls to go our way more than they seemed to, but the other team played awesome as well. There is only ever one winner. I think we made a great showing of what American players are still capable of, and next year we will do even better. :wink:
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I hope so! Tough matches are always more enjoyable to watch than an 11-0, from either team!

Fun fact: At 2006 when Corey Deuel got the MVP, there wasn't a winner! It was a tie 12-12 :D
 
Mousa said:
Well, it wasn't my intention of coming out as rude or elitist, but it was pretty obvious that the commentating was pretty horrible. Hideous to be accurate, with no overreaction!
It was pretty ok for a crowd that started playing or watching pool the past week or month, but to comment on that high level of play they didn't know what they were saying regarding shot selection, predictions or anything else! You would constantly hear them saying "Look out Jerry, he's going for the XXX, oh no he didn't. It looked like blahblahblah! Non stop all the time!
I only had the sound on because I wanted to hear the actual ball and stroke sounds! But it was a harsh price to pay so I watched the last 1,5 sessions muted! And these 3 are doing the commentating for these events FOR YEARS! It's awful! At least on my view!
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Well it looks like you Failed....These guys try to talk,chat maybe give some in site. Their not standing table side with a great view.

I'm sure by your comments you would have been spot on and been very helpful educating all the PRO's watching..:bow-down:
 
croscoe said:
Well it looks like you Failed....These guys try to talk,chat maybe give some in site. Their not standing table side with a great view.

I'm sure by your comments you would have been spot on and been very helpful educating all the PRO's watching..:bow-down:
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Well, in that case let me rephrase! I meant I didn't care! I was just stating my opinion! And if that is what you understood from what we said above then oh well, no reason to reply anymore!
 
Not sure where your WE comes from....Your comments were all negative. OP commented they appear to do a good job.



Well, it wasn't my intention of coming out as rude or elitist, but it was pretty obvious that the commentating was pretty horrible. Hideous to be accurate, with no overreaction!
It was pretty ok for a crowd that started playing or watching pool the past week or month, but to comment on that high level of play they didn't know what they were saying regarding shot selection, predictions or anything else! You would constantly hear them saying "Look out Jerry, he's going for the XXX, oh no he didn't. It looked like blahblahblah! Non stop all the time!
I only had the sound on because I wanted to hear the actual ball and stroke sounds! But it was a harsh price to pay so I watched the last 1,5 sessions muted! And these 3 are doing the commentating for these events FOR YEARS! It's awful! At least on my view!
 
Too bad you watched while having it muted. Otherwise you would have heard Jay comment that he couldn't tell if there was a lane for a ball to pass when the camera man immediately gave a shot showing that it indeed pass. Jay instantly gave thanks for good camera work. As mentioned before the commentators don't always have the best view or angle. Jay did say "perfect break" before the balls stopped rolling. Big deal. Nothing wrong with enthusiasm.

Everyone sees the table differently depending on their strengths and weakness's. Consequently, what happens isn't always what you might prefer.
 
I'm reminded of the saying by the great philosopher Mike Tyson:

"Everybody has a plan... until they get punched in the face."

Commentating takes a combination of skills, wit, and knowledge. It's easy to say how wonderful you would be, until someone pushes a microphone in your face and says, "go."


Freddie <~~~ 1-2-3 GO!
 
California Fats said:
I have no doubts they were qualified to commentate, but I feel as though they may have had a bad view of the table. They consistently misread angles and if there was a shot, so there was a lot of back tracking.
Click to expand...

Spot on....Obvious they had a bad view or angle. I think they need a constant over head view feed on a monitor for them to see at all times. That at least would give them a fighting chance to see if a player was hooked. Felt sorry for them. It did make them sound like they didn't have a clue....lol
 
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