Mohawk guy w/ tape recorder @ end of ME FT

[NeBlis]

anyone know what this guy was doing? he ran in and tryed to shove a mic in yangs face but freinds & family blocked him then it looked like security chased him off.

[RacersEdge]

Yeah, that was weird. If you want to slip into the crowd to get an exclusive interview, don't be 6'2" (or maybe he just looked tall surrounded by the Yang clan) with a mohawk. Security was all over him.

[BJ Nemeth]

I'm in the media (I was doing hand-by-hand coverage at the final table for PokerNews.com and WorldSeriesOfPoker.com), and I had never seen that guy before that moment. But someone with Harrah's quickly pointed him out to security, and they were quickly onto him.

He seemed like an over-eager media type who wanted the first interview with Jerry Yang, or some audio of the initial celebration. Completely disrespectful, in my opinion, and definitely against the rules. I couldn't tell if he had a media badge or not (meaning he was credentialed), but I imagine if he was, those credentials would *not* be granted again next year.

This is what I wrote in the official live updates --

"The river card is the -- 6h! Jerry Yang spikes a six on the river to win the hand -- and the 2007 WSOP World Championship -- with a nine-high straight.

The crowd explodes into cheers as the house lights flood the ESPN arena. Jerry Yang is mobbed by his friends and family, and he is barely visible. A rogue person with a microphone runs up for an interview, but he is pulled back by ESPN before a security guard goes after him."

It was actually one of ESPN's camera operators that was grabbing at him, pulling him back away from Jerry Yang's group. And if he weren't busy operating a very, very expensive camera, I'm pretty sure he would have single-handedly dropped that mohawk-sporting dude to the ground. :-)

[TheFilmGeek]

I'd seen him before in the media room. I have a pretty good memory of which outlet he was with, but I'm not going to say as my memory isn't 100%.

There were other statements made by other witnesses that night that he had been drinking. After being pulled away from the celebration and security got involved, it looked like he was yelling "I was assaulted!" to the guards. I couldn't see the actual altercation from my position, though.

I have no idea of his intentions, but the speed at which he ran over was almost humorous. No idea what he thought he would get in the middle of all that.

Just another amusing note in the circus that is the WSOP ME FT...

[NeBlis]

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I have no idea of his intentions, but the speed at which he ran over was almost humorous. No idea what he thought he would get in the middle of all that.


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lol yeah i was thinking ... wtf jerry has a tall white brother-inlaw or something bc he ran up w/ the family.

[ericicecream]

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A rogue person with a microphone runs up for an interview, but he is pulled back by ESPN before a security guard goes after him."

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What makes you say he was rogue?

[CybrPunk]

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A rogue person with a microphone runs up for an interview, but he is pulled back by ESPN before a security guard goes after him."

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What makes you say he was rogue?

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I usually think this way about anyone that approaches me holding a microphone. Don't you?

[BJ Nemeth]

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A rogue person with a microphone runs up for an interview, but he is pulled back by ESPN before a security guard goes after him."

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What makes you say he was rogue?

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Before I answer, let me remind you that the words in that sentence were chosen quickly, as this was a live update posted online about a minute after the river card fell. I took a little longer writing this particular update (most of my updates are online about 20 seconds after the river card or final betting action), because I wanted to pass on some of the atmosphere of the moment. After all, this was the final hand of the biggest poker tournament of the year.

So if my word choice was less than perfect here, cut me a little slack. :-)

The word "rogue" can have negative connotations about thievery and dishonesty, but they are generally tied to its use as a noun. If I were to have called him *a* rogue, that would imply some bad things. But I didn't. I used it as an adjective, calling him a "rogue person," which is more or less what I intended. My use of the word falls under item 11 on Dictionary.com --

"11. no longer obedient, belonging, or accepted and hence not controllable or answerable; deviating, renegade: a rogue cop; a rogue union local."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rogue

While I stand by the adjective "rogue," given a second chance I would change the noun "person" to "journalist." Under the circumstances he was definitely acting like a rogue journalist. (And I'm using the word "journalist" lightly here.)

[doublejoker]

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A rogue person with a microphone runs up for an interview, but he is pulled back by ESPN before a security guard goes after him."

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What makes you say he was rogue?

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BJ any chance of you doing an investigative story on the CEO Poker Tour. Check the thread I just posted on exact juice charged for about 20 different events they have run.....

[uDevil]

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anyone know what this guy was doing? he ran in and tryed to shove a mic in yangs face but freinds & family blocked him then it looked like security chased him off.

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Was his tape recorder/microphone standard 1960's issue? It was huge. Is that really what journalists carry around in 2007?