Pool on ESPN vs Poker

[Duke]

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In the pool tournaments, they analyze the play, discuss the shots, think outloud about stragegy, and NOT ONCE have I heard an announcer tell an ex-wife joke--or any kind of insipid joke for that matter.

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This was true even when the announcer (Mitch Laurence) was covering a match that his wife (Ewa Mataya Laurence) was playing in. They even cover matches together and very rarely even hint that they're married. You'd think they never met each other.

Quite professional.

~D

[danderso8]

I agree, poker on TV is almost unwatchable (only good thing i can think of is Raymer's commentary on last year's WSOP), and ESPN's pool coverage is WAY better.

That said, I don't like ESPN's pool coverage very well either...they do a good job, considering the restraints of commercial broadcasts (i.e., fit into an hour), but they have to make a lot of compromises to do it. These can include editing out some of the most informative and strategically interesting games of a match...games where players need to make a decision or two, play some safes, and fight back at one another a little bit. These games are usually too long and are therefore the ones to get axed.

For the serious pool player, I would recommend match videos from Accu-Stats . These are complete matches with high-quality commentary. I have about 8 or so of these that i bought used, and judging by those, would recommend anything where grady matthews is the commentator.

--dan

[Iplayragstoo]

Ok, first of all there are a couple of big difference in the two broadcast. I am not talking about balls vrs. cards here....in the pool events, the commentary is LIVE as it happens. In the poker broadcasts they are making comments about already filmed events they know the outcome of. As for the women being on more is because the company that runs the womens tour is much better then the several that fight over the mens "tour" if they even have one anymore.

When womens pool first came on the sceen, they were PAYING ESPN to air it. Yes they got sponsers to off set the cost, but the tour actually bought air time from them. This turned into a great thing for them as there tour, and sponsership is much stronger longterm, then the mens. I don't know if they have to buy there air time anymore, but it would not surprise me if they still did. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[Kosstic518]

Pool on ESPN doesn't get that exciting unless its the trick shot magic and the poker on television now a days makes me sick to my stomach.