Let's Talk Squash - SUSPENDED

seshadri · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:36 am Post subject: Pace Canadian Classic

Any news about whether or not this tournament is being webcast live? PSALive certainly are not covering this. Are there any rivals whose hats are in the ring?
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GOB · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:16 am Post subject:

I think Horizon (PSA Live) are the only ones who do the webcasting of PSA events (they have exclusive rights perhaps?). I think I recall reading the squashlive with be filming all of the players cup events but you have to pay a premium for the DVD's.

seshadri · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:17 am Post subject:

The squashlive videos are without doubt the last word in squash recording; unfortunately they are way too pricey for me. Do they also do live webcasting, or are they solely into recording? I thought I read something to the effect that John Nimick [of the Players Cup fame] had tied up with Jean Delierre for broadcasts of the Players Cup tournaments [of which the Pace Canadian is a part].
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stevecubs · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:53 am Post subject:

I think tv is your only option for this one ...

"Watch the 2008 PACE Canadian Classic in Hi Definition on TSN Saturday March 22 at 1:00 pm."

Flash · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:19 am Post subject:

Delierre's squashlive does the coverage of squash for the tennis channel in the USA. Does anyone know if their tv quality is as good as the DVDs (which are awesome)?

GOB · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:27 am Post subject:

It does say Hi def in Steve's quote. I have noticed that some of the pro active programmes (not too often of late) have been filmed by squashlive. You can tell it is delierre by the quality of the picture. The last pro active broadcast I thought was done by him was the Windy City 2007.

Canuck · Prolific Contributor Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 123

Sorry about the double post. This is also in the tournament chat section, but given that this section is far more active, I thought I'd post it here as well.

Just got back from Canadian Classic. Wael el Hindi beat Cameron Pilley in 4 games, and Mohammed Abbas retired in the 4th, down 5-0 or 5-1 against Shabana. The match between Shabana and Abbas was looking like the best match of the night. I thought Shahier played pretty well in the 2nd and 3rd against Ramy.

Reffing on the whole was sub-par, though no matches were so tight that it made the difference.

Ramy is amazing, but Shabana was on fire as well. Boswell couldn't do anything against Darwish at all. Should be some great semi-finals.

Canuck · Prolific Contributor Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 123

Just back from the semis in Toronto...

The first up was Ramy Ashour against Karim Darwish. First game started with both players playing well, hitting really tight length, and even tighter drops. Lots of drop and counter-drop rallies, sometimes up to 5 or 6 drops in a row, millimetres above the tin. Ramy took it down 11-4 in about 10 minutes.

The second game was much closer, Karim digging out lots of balls, and Ashour using his reach to volley and put on enormous pressure. He won the game 11-7 or 8. Darwish responded in the 3rd. That game had a fair amount of tension in it, and at one point, they started bickering with one another in Arabic, each of them contesting each other's retrievals throughout the game. Darwish eventually won the game 11-8.

The fourth started out great, they were level until 3-3, and then Ashour pulled away, to 10-4. Karim saved one match ball before Ramy put it away.

Shabana and El Hindi were up next. Started slowly, with the players trading points until 9-9. Both players hitting tight shots, but the game was much slower than the previous match, which was at a lightning pace most of the time. As perhaps should be expected in a match with El Hindi, there were plenty of lets, as the players couldn't find room around each other to play their shots. Shabana took it and the second game, both 11-9.

El Hindi played much better in the 3rd and won it 11-5, but Shabana came back strong in the 4th and closed it out 11-7.

Should be some final tomorrow. I've been waiting quite a while to see Shabana v. Ashour.

seshadri · Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:08 am Post subject:

Thanks for the reports. Even the tournament website doen't bother to post the results in time. What's gone wrong this time with the coverage?
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Canuck · Prolific Contributor Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 123

Honestly,

I don't get the squash scene sometimes. I think the organizers are only targeting local press, to get the word out about the event, and make sure the seats are full. Attendence is great however, with the event 90% sold out. The sponsoring companies only care about local coverage, because the international squash community is generally not in a position to support the sponsors in any meaningful way.

So I think it comes down to there being no profit driver to have great online press for the event, as there is no one footing the bill for the event with a stake in getting the match results out there quickly. With the British Nationals on this week, I can see why Steve's resources are back in the U.K.

Hopefully Bronstein will have something wriiten shortly. He'll most certainly have better coverage of the event than my meager efforts. I just thought everyone would appreciate hearing what happened ASAP.

GOB · Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:57 am Post subject:

Thanks Canuck. I am very envious that you are going to see Shabana v Ashour. My moneys on Amr.

can_squasher · Prolific Contributor Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 56

Ramy beats Shabana 11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 in 38 mins to win the Canadian Classic

bendi36 · Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:01 am Post subject:

6 egyptian born players in quarter finals
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SquashAround · Contributor Joined: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 11

bendi36 · Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject:

I'm sure it's worth the 70 dollars a match he asks for but people don't have that money. No one's gonna pay that much when PSA live downloads of DVD quality are 3 pounds. If he reduced it to like 5 dollars a match and 12 for 3 he would be getting so much business.
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SquashAround · Contributor Joined: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 11

Come on Bendy, you cant undercharge and devalue your product either. Id be willing to pay $29 for a quality match and $75 for a pkg of 3, but what he is charging is off the charts. Even better would be to be able to be able to download or rent a digitial copy for $5 or 10 bucks. Id do it to watch some quality squash and support the game.

Adam Hildred · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:02 pm Post subject:

I'd love to watch some of his DVDs ad the quality is legendary, but the prices are indeed insane. Sad

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bendi36 · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:53 pm Post subject: Re: Naw

VolleyDrop · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:20 pm Post subject:

I'll admit it. A few years ago for my birthday I paid the full price for all the 2003 Superseries matches from Squashlive. I've watched them over and over again and learned much. Each time I watch I focus on a different aspect of play. Especially helpful is to focus on footwork. Was it worth it to me? Yes. I don't often watch them for entertainment any more, but for instruction. If it's just entertainment and I would watch them once or twice, it wouldn't be worth it. But I have them until they wear out or get scratched. I watch them, stop play, review shots, etc., etc.

bendi36 · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:41 pm Post subject:

Well would he make more money selling them 5 or 10 bucks more than what it costs to make them? (someone find out how much it costs him to make them for me please) or would he make more getting a ridiculous amount once a blue moon on someones birthday??
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VolleyDrop · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:00 pm Post subject:

Surely if he's a smart business man he would have calculated that. Making the DVDs doesn't cost much, but I'd imagine video and sound equipment and paying the commentators and videographer and editors would add up. He likely has to pay the tournament, too, and maybe royalties to the players (not sure about this last one). Oh, yeah, then there's travel expenses, etc. I can see how it would add up quickly.

GOB · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:19 pm Post subject:

VolleyDrop · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:08 am Post subject:

Maybe a couple things would be the same, but DeLierre might have to pay the PSA for the privilege. That might not be cheap! And perhaps they use that revenue to pay for PSAlive. I don't know.

Notice the "mights" and the "maybes" above. We need to see the numbers before we accuse Jean of inflating his prices. We would not want to slander anyone, would we.

GOB · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:34 am Post subject:

I am sure he doesn't inflate his prices, after all, there are plenty of us interested in his product but we are just not willing to stump up what he is asking.

Yeah, lots of mights and maybes. Who knows what goes on within the murky world of PSA tv rights (I recall a rather revealing thread on the old forum)

bendi36 · Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:35 pm Post subject:

GOB it's all well and good to assume he's a good man and has never had any molestation accuasations against him and charges the bare minimum for his DVD's without any proof, but I have one word for you: capitalism.
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If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite