There's never any mistaking the measles ball so these problem colors need to be enhanced with distinct markings.
Wrong Ball
- Thread starter MajorMiscue
- Start date
As a TD it is not my job to tell a player he is doing something wrong. I am an observer, not an advisor. I can't tell you how many times players have tried explaining to me how they are going to hit a shot and asking me if that will be a foul. I always tell them, "You shoot it and I will call it," nothing more, nothing less.
If you want the other player to be the referee I am sure you have no objection to them getting out of their chair and getting in the same positions a regular referee would get to judge a shot even if that means in front of the shooter or on top of the shot.
When it is my job to be referee I have not and will not keep my butt in the chair while my opponent shoots. I sit in my chair if I can see the shot clearly from there. If I can't, I get where I can see the shot clearly!
Hu
A valid point, but how intrusive is a ‘referee‘ allowed to be? There is a fine line between ‘observing’ & ‘interfering’.
This thread is quite thought provoking in many ways:
What exactly were the relevant rules re: coaching? Is a teammate allowed to stop play (as ‘timeouts’ are called in pro sports)? In an officially ‘refereed’ match, reflexive motion by a sitting player, though well intentioned (sympathetic reflex), could conceivably result in disqualification or foul (depending upon prearranged rules). No amount of prize money (or gambler/sponsor involvement) should dictate sportsmanship nor honor. You bet for or against an honorable sportsman at your own risk. Many would truly have been disappointed if SVB had conceded a game where his opponent shot the wrong ball out of a foreseeable circumstance, though that type of courage/protest would be considered ‘biting the hand…..etc’. Much to think about.
If you watch video from major events you will sometimes see the referee being very intrusive, literally leaning over a shot if that is what is needed to see the details. Sometimes whichever ball is hit first you are going to get much the same result.
Sometimes I have played someone that not only didn't call their own fouls but denied fouls I saw from my chair. I had a two pronged approach to deal with this, admittedly not very nice. I would shoot a 100% perfectly normal shot and then jerk my head around to see where my opponent was at. A few times doing this and they would holler foul when my head jerked. "Really, what did I do?" Some guessed but of course there was no foul. Another time honored ploy, when I could pocket balls from multiple positions I made a point of playing shape so my butt was in the face of the person sitting in a chair. Didn't take long for them to realize I was hiding my shots deliberately.
Even hardened players tended to bounce out of their chair like their butt was spring loaded when they couldn't see the shot or I jerked my head immediately after a shot. Can't deny that those moves were both sharking and unsportsmanlike. Much like their cheating though, no way in the world to prove it.
I much prefer playing a gentleman's game with a gentleman or lady. Sometimes in a tourney or playing someone I don't know I get in situations with somebody without scruples. I have to admit it is plain fun to take them over the hurdles!
Hu
Here's Saluc's "story behind Aramith Tournament BLACK colours": https://www.aramith.com/story-behind-aramith-tournament-black-colours
purple fours matter
Only problem with this "story" is it doesn't hold water. The precision cameras being used today are able to show the different balls just as clearly as if you were sitting tableside. The problem before wasn't so much the cameras as it was the failure of the TV crews to use them properly. As we all know, if the camera pans in (closes) on the balls you can see them and distinguish one from the other just fine. The popular overhead camera being the worst offender since it does not have the capability of closing in on the various balls. I have never had any use for that camera and feel it is unnecessary for a pool telecast. Often its purpose is to bail the director out when he (or she) is unsure which camera to use. They can always go to the overhead and see the entire table. It's a convenient crutch when they are stymied. Don't laugh, I know of what I speak.
All the single (or two) camera shoots we see today from the foot end of the table show our game just fine, as long as they have cameras that can zoom in closer if necessary. Unfortunately too often the television crews have a director who is not so well versed in the game of pool, and is not aware that he must direct his cameramen to close (or zoom) in on the balls so that you can distinguish them (and the layout) more clearly. There were times I would "coach" a television director about this and sometimes they paid attention and other times I was ignored.
The solution is not to change the color of the balls. It is to teach the various TV crews how to televise the game! I know I'm stepping on some toes here, but so be it. I've seen way too many dismal telecasts by inexperienced crews that are clueless about what is going on in the match. The crew working the U.S Open matches are well versed and if directed properly they would be fine with the correct balls being used. If the same attention was given to pool programming as what is given to other televised sports it would improve the experience for the viewer. Often it falls to the commentators, who are the experts, to tell the crew on the air where they need to direct their cameras.
There is a "dance" and a "rhythm" to a pool game/match that must be orchestrated properly for maximum effect. First there is the study of the shot, then there is the shot, and then there is the time between shots when the player prepares/studies for his next shot. The time between shots is when you "set up" for the next shot by the use of your cameras to show the layout of the balls and close in on trouble balls and close hits, etc. Rarely have I seen this done with any level of expertise! I know this might be offensive to some of the people currently televising pool, but maybe it will serve as a wake up call. To this day, the Accu-Stats crew consistently does the best job of showing our game to its audience.
Realize that pool rooms across America use the traditional balls. The majority of juniors coming up are learning pool using the traditional colors. The majority of league players are playing weekly using the traditional balls. Most of those pool rooms are not going to replace all their sets of balls to match Matchroom.
This is not just some aesthetic issue we merely need to get used to. It will continue to be a problem for many years to come where spectator ability to mentally process the table they are seeing on Matchroom productions is disrupted because the ball colors don't match the sets in common use. The viewers ability to appreciate the play of the game is diminished.
We need to continue to complain about this and build momentum until it is changed. If Matchroom won't listen, we continue to complain and lobby for a return to the traditional colors. It is foolhardy of Matchroom to build arbitrary barriers to the viewer's ability to follow the game at the same time they are trying to build viewership. When I stop complaining about the arbitrary change from the traditional ball colors will be exactly the same time I stop watching.
Let Matchroom change the snooker ball colors arbitrarily because Emily likes the new pretty colors or because they think it will help sell new ball sets. See what kind of response that gets from the snooker community. Matchroom's arbitrary change of the ball colors in pool is an outrage!
You might as well stop watching now. The rest if the world has accepted these ball colors. They are not going to change back because of a bunch of whining Americans. On the contrary...they will stick to those colors to spite us. I really cant think of a single other country that is having an issue with the (no longer new) colors. I dont think anyone else can name one either.... not without proof that is.
Think about this for a minute.... what quality of pro pool would we have if it wasnt for the hard work of Matchroom? I say it would barely exist. If they were animals, US pro pool players would have been put on the endangered list. Now they are on a threatened status.
And can anyone answer this for me....
Which American pro players are bitching about ball colors in 2022? They might have when they first come out, but it seems they have accepted them to be the norm.
As ive said before, I prefer the traditional colors, but the black set is not a deal breaker for me. Matchroom is doing a good job. Or maybe y'all think we should go back to the shady, money stealing America promoters we had about 15 to 20 years ago?
...and cyclops skittle balls
I can name one other country that don't like them. Canada.
But as far as I'm concerned if your a pro you should be able to adapt. Everyone should be able to adapt after a couple of games. It's not like they are new anymore. I still think they should have left the purple on the 4 and made the 5 pink instead.
Emily Frazier piss-marking her fiefdom like a cat. These BLACK balls were her idea.
Didnt the Blacks arise before Matchroom was so involved in 9 ball?
Tough break for the kid, he probably has purple balls on a daily basis.
He was destined to shoot the wrong ball.
He was destined to shoot the wrong ball.
Jay, I was referring to a situation where I as TD happen to clearly be in a position to witness a shot in question even though I wasn’t asked by either player to judge it, and after the shot the 2 players have different opinions as to whether it was a foul. Am I still supposed to stay out of it and let the players settle it, even if it ends up being settled incorrectly?
Nonsense. The only place you see these colors is at Matchroom events, and not even all of those. The last Matchroom event in Asia was played with traditional ball sets.
There is no doubt that Matchroom has been a huge boon for the sport, but the balls are a mistake that needs to be fixed.