The news conference of Ronnie O'sullivan & Marco Fu

[snooker_wiz]

Apparently ronnie was fined $ 1 000 000 ?

[Monique]

Well ... the news has finally spread in China

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_7894615.htm
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/9...7/6384364.html

and apparantly, Ronnie himself presented apologies ....

I must say I'm a bit nonplussed at it all ...
Until the week-end the Chines seemed to black-out it more or less. And we had no word in the European press that Ronnie had apologised.

Plus it seems the Chinese audience is not too keen on long matches. That is alledgedly the reason for the poor audience ... At that I'm not too surprised. The format of competitions in table tennis, maybe THE major sport there, were changed to make the matches more "dynamic". Lenght of sets was shortened: first at 11 points instead of 21, and 5 winning sets instead of 3.

[Black_cat]

So Ronnie did apologize after all...Plot thickens.
And those two press releases have found their way here http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Snooker , too.

[Caroline]

As a matter of fact, It was the International Table Tennis Association who made the decision to shorten the table tennis set length, for the purpose of favouring the non-Chinese players. Because with the longer set of 21 or 15 points, it is most likely that always a Chinese player will come out as a certain boring winner(just like a mighty Higgins or Hendry in the Worlds); but with 11 points the game becomes more intense and dramatic, many times anyone with a bit of luck and good momentum rather than a better player might get a result in a blink of eyes. The ITTA is now using this tactic in order to somehow break the long time Chinese/Asian dominance and therefore hopefully save and promote this sport to other continents.

No doubt the short format in either table tennis or snooker is less watchable to a real dedicated fans. I suppose with the time going on and snooker culture better recognized and developed in China, long matches will definitely be also more appreciated in future.

Well ... the news has finally spread in China

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_7894615.htm
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/9...7/6384364.html


Plus it seems the Chinese audience is not too keen on long matches. That is alledgedly the reason for the poor audience ... At that I'm not too surprised. The format of competitions in table tennis, maybe THE major sport there, were changed to make the matches more "dynamic". Lenght of sets was shortened: first at 11 points instead of 21, and 5 winning sets instead of 3.

[Monique]

Caroline ... there was no such thing as a hinder of contempt to Chinese audience in my post. My only point is that there is a general trend in sports today to favour drama because it has to "pass" through the media and indeed capture a broader, less really knowledgeable audience. I have absolutely no doubt that this knowledgeable audience exists and will further develop in China regarding snooker.

And regarding Table Tennis ... the change was made to favour attacking players, irrespective of their origin. Before the change the top of the table in table tennis was a cross-section of attackers and defenders ... Now, I think the first (relatively) defender is around 12th. And the chinese are on top .... so? BTW ... my hubby is delighted. He's an attacker

[berolina]

[...] Because with the longer set of 21 or 15 points, it is most likely that always a Chinese player will come out as a certain boring winner(just like a mighty Higgins or Hendry in the Worlds); but with 11 points the game becomes more intense and dramatic, many times anyone with a bit of luck and good momentum rather than a better player might get a result in a blink of eyes.

Now, that is absolutely not true. There was more suspense, when the sets were longer. Nowadays, you're two points in advance and have won the set for sure. You may win a set with a little luck but as usual the better player wins. They tend to be mostly Chinese or of Chinese origin simply because they are the best at the moment and have been since the 80s. The game has not been improved by this rule changing and will not in the future with all these ideas about changing back to 3 winning sets.

[berolina]

Oh and back to topic, just to put my two cents in. I laughed very much about what Ronnie did at the press conference but also felt embarrassment. Such things you just don't do when you're in your right mind. But as we know Ronnie isn't sometimes. He obviously needs to pay a fine but knowing WSA it will happen next year.

[Black_cat]

Since I find the development of this situation more and more absurd and since I have nothing more to add to this thread, here's an image that sums up perfectly what I am thinking right now.
Warning
It contains offensive language so it's not safe for work. Make sure your boss is not around !
http://www.bloodysushi.com/macro/nsf...0awareness.jpg

[snooligan]

Since I find the development of this situation more and more absurd and since I have nothing more to add to this thread, here's an image that sums up perfectly what I am thinking right now.
Warning
It contains offensive language so it's not safe for work. Make sure your boss is not around !
http://www.bloodysushi.com/macro/nsf...0awareness.jpg

Do you think if you issue a warning, it will get you off the hook?!? I thought you were bluffing. Now you owe me a new shirt.

PS: Size 16 please!

[gingerale]

At 2 minutes 7 seconds, it seems quite clear that he then combines some ancient forms of Cantonese from the Macau region with Beijing Mandarin pronunciation, when I feel sure that he distinctly states "Sahkmi prik, eneeh wahnwon ahgiv mianosh," (roughly translated as "I am devastated that my best was not good enough to win the match, but thank you for your hospitality and I await with the most eager of anticipation my return to playing in China").

This made my day

[Black_cat]

Mine, too, awesome!
Who would have thought Ron's Chinese is so nuanced and fluent?

[janverhaas]

Hs any statement been made as to what punishment Ronnie will receive?

[wildJONESEYE]

Hs any statement been made as to what punishment Ronnie will receive?

whatever it will be and i suspect it will be a punishment of somesorts it will be done during the summer after the world championship................

[dannyd0g]

Well this one is not all over yet.

"World snooker champion John Higgins brands Ronnie O'Sullivan "stupid" for making lewd comments at a news conference last month's China Open. " :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/othe...er/7350484.stm

Hmmm, and i thought JH was supposed to be a mate of Ronnies.

[ferret]

Ha Ha I live that comment although off topic at the end of that article.

We've had discussions with World Snooker to make sure our events won't clash with their tournaments.

World Snooker can barely make sure that their own events don't clash (Malta Cup / Welsh Open) how are they gonna make sure events with another organisation don't clash.