Worst Commentator ever

I definately cant stand Mitch,how did he get that gig anyway?I dont care for Dawn or Jeanettes commentary,i do like Allen although.As for the people who dont like Mataya,i think he is great and funny,i mean alittle egotistical.Jerry Forsythe and Incardona are also some notable pics.
 
the hands down worst is the mosconi cup guys...

its like watching soccer the way they yell.

dawn is pretty bad. she is always wrong but shes a good friend of mine so i love her
 
Wow! People bagging on Sid Waddell! I could not agree more! I think it was in the late 70's in the UK when he started doing the darts commentaries & my folks hated it. I was horrified when I started to hear him over here.

I'm not too familiar with many of the pool commentators so I'll throw in a great snooker one, "Whispering" Ted Lowe. The best by far, even with the occasional faux pas like "For those of you at home watching in black & white, the pink is behind the blue." Priceless!
 
I had a few thoughts on worst until someone mentioned Mataya. I think his tone is ridiculous. He is annoying trying to sound like an old James Cagney movie.

I remember a 14.1 tape that a fly was constantly landing on the players cue while they attempted to shoot. Billy Incardona commented that it must be a Mataya fly looking for the limelight. ha .....

Mitch Lawrence has nothing to add to any game and is no more than the mike holder for whom ever his sidekick is at the time.

I still like Danny D. and especially when he is with Billy I.

I'll tell ya another guy who is both extremely knowledgeable and colorful, but only did a few accu-stats tapes and thats Dallas West. I really enjoy his commentary and banter.
 
uwate said:
You think Incardona...the voice of Accu-stats...was the worst?

wow thats incredible...

How Billy can even be put into the same category with Wych is gonna really amaze people and maybe rub wincardona the wrong way. Your talking about fine wine and maddog there, not even the same species of commentators.
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I thought I'd suprise someone with my choice of Incardona. I don't really have a problem with what he says - that's all good - it just the way he says it. I don't know why but he just really bugs me. Unless I'm thinking of a different person... :D
 
uwate said:
Danny D, Buddy Hall, Varner and Jay also did pretty good, especially at one pocket.
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Varner always adds insight about the game in his commentary, if I can just fade that nasal twang of his.
 
I wouldn't mind taking a shot at this one:

The worst commentator that I have heard so far is (and yes... let's beat him with a piniata stick) is Sid Waddell (If I'm not mistaken, he was the one that screamed out on the Reyes vs. Yang: "WHAT'S THIS??? A PALM PUSH SHOT!!"... if so, that's the guy). I mean, it's like I just want laugh at him for his sound pitch. Mitch Laurence has improved so far but I remember that he used to say pretty odd things that would want an amateur audience to absorb from which is why I would somewhat put him in the worst commentator list.

Danny Diliberto should be honorable mention, but due to his age (20, I assume :p) I give him props for being such a big ball of knowlege on the mic.

Best ones in my list are: Jerry Forsythe, Mark Wilson, "The Professor" Grady Matthews, Billy Incardona, Freddy the Beard, and (if it ever existed) Minessota Fats cause the man is just too damn funny.
 
Grady is a great player and a knowledgeable commentator for sure. A classic legend. But ..... :)

But, boy, can he step on his partner during commentary. He gets wrapped up in trying to use every word in the english language before a match is over that he starts it up before his partner is finished completing a thought. :)

Once again, should you have this tape, a good example is Efren Reyes vs Steve Cook in 1999 DCC One Pocket.

I thought Billy Incardona was gonna duct tape his mouth a few times. It seemed early on Billy simply gave up and shut up, diverting his thoughts to some chocolate cake he had in his hotel room. :)
 
Non-pool player commentators are usually the worst. Front men like Tom Kelly or Lawrence just seem ridiculous talking about a game they can't play but they get hired because they'reprofessional mike holders and wear nice suits.

By far the worse commentator who is on more than just a few tapes made by Accu-Stats is Mike Shamos who did commentary on a bunch of three cushion videos. It's horrrrrible. Half his commentary is about how the refs get trained, he updates the scoring average every freakin shot, and his tone and slightly condescending attitude are really annoying...especially since a pool business owner I know saw him play and said he sucked at the game.

Thank God Fleming filmed a bunch of events and got guys like Grady, Freddie, Billy, Buddy, etc... to do the commentary. For people too young to actually see the legendary players, listening to these guys relate road stories, tell you not just what shot to shoot but how to approach the game in general, is awesome.
 
I don't have a "worst", but for best, I really enjoy when Steve Davis steps into the booth during the World Championships (usually in the earlier rounds, often on days when he has a match, and always when a contender is playing)- great, insightful comments and terrific wit.;)

Not sure if you get coverage of all the early rounds in the States.
 
I know who the funniest commentator or at least the funniest one time commentary I ever heard was. On an Accu tape of a 1hole event, I think in Roanoke, match between Mike Segal and Johnny Ervolino, they bring Buddy Hall and Cornbread Red into the booth and man they just start ripping into Ervolino with their good ole boy humor and it is roll on the floor funny. Buddy starts laughing, maybe he had a few beers, and he can't stop, and Red plays into it and won't let up with the dry humor, mispronounces Ervolino's name a different way every time he says it, not only questions and criticizes Ervolinos shot selections but downright ridicules the man. I don't know what the deal was but by the end Ervolino was getting overwhelmed by Segal and he blews the match on a high risk shot and of course Buddy and Red crow on about how wrong he played the match and how he could have made out better had he been incorporating their strategies.
 
I've posted about that match a couple times. It might be my favorite tape ever and I don't know anyone who has a good original or even copy of that match. It kills me that I can't just buy a nice copy of that match.

Certain matches from the early 90's or late 80's seemed to capture a mood and style about pool that nothing since then seems to capture. Only Efren at one pocket seems to be something that will really stand out years to come. Plenty of matches with great play, but not much that just grabs you with the cool style of pool.

Grady's one pocket events also had a ton of great commentators.
 
Cosell was way down there, but at least he had the excuse of not being expert at the game. The worst I ever heard, bar none, was Wanderone, who could barely get his jaws apart and had really incisive stuff like, "It's all over now," to say when he did. This was way back in the '70s, on CBS-TV, which had a 30-minute pool series on for a short time. GF
 
mmmm I cant think of his name, but he did some commentary with Allen Hopkins back in the 90's and I swear he was just WRONG!!!!!! every foul he called was a Scratch lol. And his Billiards knowledge was just sad. Now the only bright spot was after a few episodes, he was "learning or understanding" what was going on.

I could tell this because the episodes were on ESPN classic and after watching about 5 shows that seemed to be for a tournament, he wasnt so bad.

As for Mitch , yea his voice is kinda annoying, and his constant or repetition of commentating gets dull. But, i cant say he is a bad commentator.

I personally think Allen hopkins, should be the only commentator, and then ESPN, should find someone in the WPBA who can back him up.
 
StormHotRod300 said:
every foul he called was a Scratch lol. .
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They just got to get the language right.

Scratch = Sewer

Rest = Bridge = Rake = Lady's Aid

Please add more entries so we here on AZ can offer a Commentators Handbook
 
jnav447 said:
Worst - Sid Waddell, a British commentator who does commentary for darts, snooker, and sometimes pool. He sounds like Olive Oil on speed when he gets revved up, and is impossible to understand.
Best - Jay Helfert. Just flawless, impeccable commentary. ESPN should hire him.
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Sid Waddell is the greatest if you are going for entertainment value. Especially of you are not in a sober state at the time you are watching him. He's gotta be geeked up on something.

For pool I like Jim Rempe (although I'm not a big fan of him as a player), Billy I, and David Maddox. They seem to be able to add a little more intellect and they seem to more quickly give possible different position patterns that are available on shots.

I love Buddy Hall, but he is my least favorite commentator. He's a player, not an analyst.

Mike
 
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