News of Emily Hughes (and Joey Cheek) | Page 2 | Golden Skate

News of Emily Hughes (and Joey Cheek)

Joined
Jun 21, 2003
lisadotdash said:
...and the twin from Ohio, I wish them well, certainly
Me, I'm for the twins from Ohio. :rock:

Actually, the twins are from Michigan. :agree:

Here's Amber: http://www.usfigureskating.org/content/events/200405/ucc/czisnyamber.jpg

BTW, Amber Czisny's career as a promising singles skater derailed a year or so ago because of a foot injury. She decided to take up ice dancing, but as far as I know she has competed only in solo dance events so far. Does anyone know if she has a partner?
 

Sylvia

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
The Czisnys are from Bowling Green, Ohio, and have trained in Michigan for the majority of their skating careers. I don't see Amber's name listed for any Solo Dance events at the Lake Placid competition this week, and I haven't heard if she is still training (I always enjoyed her singles skating which was a very different style from Alissa's; Amber was also a *great* spinner who sometimes included a reverse spins in her programs).
 

Sylvia

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Note to chuckm: Emily Hughes is from New York and so the NY Times Sunday magazine feature article on her last fall was not surprising to me. Meissner is from the Baltimore area and her remarkable accomplishments have been extensively covered by the Baltimore Sun newspaper. IMO, there's no need to denigrate what Emily Hughes has been able to accomplish in her first 2 seasons as a senior level skater.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
chuckm said:
Mere mentions in skating mags? Emily Hughes was featured on the front page of the NY Times Sunday Magazine section, before she even won a medal at Nationals, and every Olympic figure skating article in the Times heavily featured Hughes as a medal threat with little or no mention of Meissner. The NY Times didn't even do a real story on Meissner when she won Worlds.

Ha! That's so funny. Here in Maryland they did the exact opposite...hyped Meissner almost to the hilt and hardly mentioned Hughes or even Cohen.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Sylvia said:
The Czisnys are from Bowling Green, Ohio...
Oh yeah? Well, Bowling Green, Ohio, is rightfully part of Michigan. We lost it in the Toledo War of 1836.

In exchange Pres. Andrew Jackson gave us a big chunk of Wisconsin, now Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

And a good thing it was, too, because Michigan --the Wolverine State -- doesn't have any wolverines, but Wisconsin does (or did, in 1836). So instead of the University of Michigan Wolverines we would have had to choose a stupid nickname like the Buckeyes.

MM ;)
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Sylvia said:
Note to chuckm: Emily Hughes is from New York and so the NY Times Sunday magazine feature article on her last fall was not surprising to me. Meissner is from the Baltimore area and her remarkable accomplishments have been extensively covered by the Baltimore Sun newspaper. IMO, there's no need to denigrate what Emily Hughes has been able to accomplish in her first 2 seasons as a senior level skater.

Emily had not yet won a Senior level medal when she got the cover of the NY Times Magazine (and a long article, as well). It WAS surprising to me, because nothing remotely similar had ever been done by the NY Times for Sarah (prior to her big win), and Sarah had won a World medal and multiple US medals before winning the OGM. Yes, Sarah got front page coverage in a major newsmagazine, but then she was considered a legitimate OGM contender, having beaten Slutskaya and Kwan early in the season. But the NY TImes was more interested in Kwan and Cohen than Hughes at the time.

I am sure the Baltimore papers have covered Kimmie, but then Kimmie had won her second US medal and the World Championship. What is odd to me is that the NY Times barely mentioned Kimmie's WC win. The Times has covered Sasha and Michelle extensively and in depth, win or lose, in the past, and those ladies are West Coast skaters. I felt that was denigrating Kimmie's astounding accomplishment.

My intention was not to tear down Emily, but to rebut statements by others that Emily and Kimmie were on a level playing field accomplishments-wise. I do not see it that way, sorry.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Can someone tell me what is wrong with hype? It doesn't bring in any medals. Judges are oblivious to it. The only hype I ever objected to was the paid for hype of the Lipinsky family while their daughter got a silver medal in junior girls. Wow, what a feat. :scratch: Other than that one, I kind of like the hype of Emily and Kimmie. I wish Bebe would get some hype.

The story of Emily, as I see it, she showed promise in Portland. Excepting the dreaded GPs the following year because she was quite ill, she really hasn't rose to the level of Kimmie yet. Maybe this season,. JMO.

Joe
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
The only hype I ever objected to was the paid for hype of the Lipinsky family while their daughter got a silver medal in junior girls. Wow, what a feat.

Well, that doesn't sound like something to sneeze at, IMO.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Red Dog said:
Well, that doesn't sound like something to sneeze at, IMO.
RD - One doesn't interrupt a news broadcast to announce that a skater did 3 triples. C'mon. Daddy Lipinsky arranged that.
 

SeaniBu

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Joesitz said:
Can someone tell me what is wrong with hype?
I can't, thre more attention the better - 90% of the time. There will always be corrupt judges popping up once and a while. This sport needs more attention. And even the negative can get more people interested - not promoting negative, but I am sick of empty seats. Here I am looking at moving to Sun Valley, and the COI got canceld there / Boise:frown: . That is just wrong! Sun Valley has a pretty good rep for FS, heck Abbott and Costello even did a flick on it, which featured a good deal, there are "champions skating there all the time...bla bla. That is part of the reason I am considering Idaho. Colorado Springs has nice attactions, but try living there.:p

No more stinking cancellations. I will take Hype if it means more interest.
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
How did Hughes "FOLD" at worlds??!!! Since when was Baby Hughes going into Worlds as a favorite and then "folded"? Emily didn't fold at Worlds anymore than Kimmie folded at the Olympics. Isn't that the whole point of letting the youngsters compete and find their way. Did Michelle "fold" at 1994 Worlds when she finished 8th?

Shizuka is a great skater and it took her years to learn how to compete and to get that "lucky" break. Cut those kids a break. You may find that Kimmie's early win may or may not bode anything for the future. Emily might skate for years and not win anything; and then have the breaks and the skate of her life at the right time to win an OGM. Then would it even matter that Kimmie won a World title on her first try?
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
soogar said:
Shizuka is a great skater and it took her years to learn how to compete and to get that "lucky" break. Cut those kids a break. You may find that Kimmie's early win may or may not bode anything for the future. Emily might skate for years and not win anything; and then have the breaks and the skate of her life at the right time to win an OGM. Then would it even matter that Kimmie won a World title on her first try?

That's the thing about skating. Ya just never know, do you.
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
soogar said:
How did Hughes "FOLD" at worlds??!!! Since when was Baby Hughes going into Worlds as a favorite and then "folded"?

Emily was 7th at Torino, and two of the top 6 didn't go on to Worlds. If Emily had simply skated as well as she did at Torino, she would have finished 5th. Instead, she fell on the lutz combo in the SP and then had a lackluster FS, and finished 8th. She didn't exactly fold, but she didn't shine either.

Emily didn't fold at Worlds anymore than Kimmie folded at the Olympics.

Kimmie's Olympic performances were her best to that point last season. Emily's best performances of 2006 were at Torino, and her performances at Worlds were not as good. Put it this way: Kimmie skated a B+ at Torino and an A at Worlds. Emily skated a B+ at Torino and a B- at Worlds.

Did Michelle "fold" at 1994 Worlds when she finished 8th?

Michelle was 13 at 2004 Worlds, her first appearance at the Senior Championship level, and as the sole US representative to make it through to the FS (Kerrigan had retired and Bobek bombed the QR), there was heavy pressure on her to finish in the top 10. Her 8th place finish was phenomenal under the circumstances.

Anyway, comparing Emily Hughes to Michelle Kwan is more than a bit ridiculous.


As far as Shizuka is concerned, she had proven she could shine at Worlds 2004. Shizuka's win at Torino was no "lucky break". She regained her 2004 form with hard work and steady practice.
 
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Joined
Jul 11, 2003
SeaniBu said:
This sport needs more attention. And even the negative caonce and a whilen get more people interested - not promoting negative, but I am sick of empty seats.
No more stinking cancellations. I will take Hype if it means more interest.
Right on Seanibu! If all those baseball players can be hyped on a daily basis I see nothing wrong with the occasional hype of a skater. Why some people get all hyped up over hype is beyond me.

Joe
 

antmanb

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
euterpe said:
Emily was 7th at Torino, and two of the top 6 didn't go on to Worlds. If Emily had simply skated as well as she did at Torino, she would have finished 5th. Instead, she fell on the lutz combo in the SP and then had a lackluster FS, and finished 8th. She didn't exactly fold, but she didn't shine either.

No not really - to use that logic, not only would Emily had to have skated as well as she did - everybody would have had to have skated exactly as they did in torino, with people who placed above her skating no worse and people placing below her no better.

Ant
 

antmanb

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Joesitz said:
Right on Seanibu! If all those baseball players can be hyped on a daily basis I see nothing wrong with the occasional hype of a skater. Why some people get all hyped up over hype is beyond me.

Joe

I think its just sometimes the hype in a young skater can result in too much pressure on them such that they never reaslise that potential. Cohen is probably the chief example of that but to a certain extent I think the US having had a such a deep field of Senior ladies is always looking for the next big thing on the basis that it always has been there...now i'm not so sure, others i think have been hyped in the US but i've never even seen skate - Bebe Liang, Czissny (sp?). To my mind its a bit of nationlistic promotion, which is no bad thing, but up until recently this was a sure fire tactic given the depth in the US, i think that mantle has now been passed to Japan.

Ant
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
In the last analysis skaters have to learn to deal with 'pressure'. It's part and parcel of being in competitive sports. If hype brings on pressure, then the skater should deal with it. I'm not so sure it does bring on pressure. I do believe the Competition itself brings on pressure It does for those skaters who are not hyped just as much, if not more. It's scary out their on the ice, alone, and your first element is a 3A.

Joe
 

antmanb

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Joesitz said:
In the last analysis skaters have to learn to deal with 'pressure'. It's part and parcel of being in competitive sports. If hype brings on pressure, then the skater should deal with it. I'm not so sure it does bring on pressure. I do believe the Competition itself brings on pressure It does for those skaters who are not hyped just as much, if not more. It's scary out their on the ice, alone, and your first element is a 3A.

Joe

It is but i would think its even scarier if, because of media hype, the skater is expected to land that 3A no matter what, and anything short of a clean perfect program is looked upon as a failure. Because of hype people will concentrate on you failing to achieve something rather than getting, for example, forth place at your first Olympics and first international senior championship. Winning a silver turns into losing the gold...without the hype the pressure is less surely.

Ant
 
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SeaniBu

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Although it maybe true that there would be less pressure with out the hype, I don't see as thought there would be any benefit from having less interest in the sport. I have always had bad "stage fright," but performing for just my friends or during practice has not accomplished a music career for me. The same would likely follow suit for a skater that cannot handle the pressure, this would likely = no career.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Many people confuse pressure with stage fright. they are too entirely different reactions. The latter being impossible to perform in front of an audience. Anyone who gets stage fright easily and has become a senior has been lucky to get to that level - never mind winning a medal.

Now, If being hyped and I did not know how to deal with it, of course it will affect my skating. At the same time, at the senior level, I should have learned by then how to deal with it. Had I not, why should I still be trying to prove something? There are many things one learns about oneself in sports besides winning or losing medals. You can be sure the gold medalist knew how to handle hype.

Hype is part and parcel of any sport. Deal with it or enjoy a good movie.

Joe
 
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