After Marshall's, What impressions do you have of Sasha Cohen??

Mathman said:

According to this, Sasha's movie Moondance Alexander with Don Johnson is due out in 2007. I don't know if it will be released to theaters or what.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0828065/

Click to expand...

Hmm, thanks. For some reason I think it's going straight to the ABC Family Channel or something

If Cohen seriously thinks she can go to nats with the status quo I already think she's headed for disaster. One month I doubt would cut it. Just take the year off and come back next season rejuvenated and hungry. Plus, if she doesn't know by now that means she can't want it that bad, which means that likely she wouldn't be able to mentally put in 100%. Not good for her.

And I second the thanks for the review- sounds like it was a fun event and it definitely wasn't bad on TV. What did they do during the commercial breaks?

Next year she may be competing with Caroline. This might be Cohen's last shot at winning the National title!

Oh no, here we go with the Caroline hype again. I'll believe it once I see it

Re:

Red Dog said:

Oh no, here we go with the Caroline hype again. I'll believe it once I see it

Click to expand...

Well, if she does keep performing at the level she does now, she is guaranteed to win a spot to the Worlds team.

Now if this were the early 2000s when Cohen, Hughes, and Kwan took up the 3 World spots for a couple of years, she'd have no chance.

But nowadays, other than for Kimmie, the other ladies skaters are quite beatable ;-) So Caroline's chances are looking rather good at this point in time.

Mathman said:

I don't know why people are saying "popularity contest" in a way that makes it seem like it's bad to be popular. It's good to be popular. In show buziness it's very good to be popular. Last year Michelle was the most popular skater. This year it's Sasha. That's a good thing.

Click to expand...

So why bother having them skate then? Line 'em up in their costumes and have the audience phone in their votes. Or don't bother making them show at all....

krenseby said:

Well, if she does keep performing at the level she does now, she is guaranteed to win a spot to the Worlds team.

Now if this were the early 2000s when Cohen, Hughes, and Kwan took up the 3 World spots for a couple of years, she'd have no chance.

But nowadays, other than for Kimmie, the other ladies skaters are quite beatable ;-) So Caroline's chances are looking rather good at this point in time.

Click to expand...

But isn't she as vulnerable as everyone else? I don't get it. Ice is slippery and can trip up even the most seemingly "unbeatable" skaters at times.

RD, haven't you seen the JGPF thread? Caroline is not your average skater. She is a superhuman phenom of consistency.

Sasha's acting lessons really help her artistic side of her skating. The facial expression and body language all showed a lot of improvement than before. Sure the fact that she only put in two jumps also gave her more freedom to dance the programs through.

As for going to Nationals, she does not have to. Sasha has all the titles she could achieve, why does she have to risk with not 100% ready jumps. Competitive skating is a full time job. Too much other activities can take away a lot of energy. It seems now Sasha spends quite amount of time doing acting and traveling and she loves it.

Red Dog said:

Oh no, here we go with the Caroline hype again. I'll believe it once I see it

Click to expand...

Check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi5rjzLmDlc&mode=related&search=

It's not hype from the media. It's the competition.

Joe

Red Dog said:

What did they do during the commercial breaks?

Click to expand...

Before the show started they had a a montage ( on the jumbo thron (sp)) of various American skaters, past and present very nicely done with quite a few shots of Michelle. I think Irina and Plushy were the only European skaters in the montage. Shiz was also shown. The skating montage ended with the Kween and IIRC in her end pose from East of Eden SP at Nationals.

During the commercials Marshall's employees were handing out
t-shirts and gift cards to whichever section yelled the loudest. They were running up and down the aisles and when they gifted a section they would sprinkle sparkle dust. It was silly but the kids in the audience loved it.

I forgot to note in my original post that Dick Buttons has quite a few fans and that the audience showed him a lot of love.

demarinis5 said:

During the commercials Marshall's employees were handing out
t-shirts and gift cards to whichever section yelled the loudest. They were running up and down the aisles and when they gifted a section they would sprinkle sparkle dust. It was silly but the kids in the audience loved it.

Click to expand...

Now that's hype for Marshalls to get a good response from Nielsen.

demarinis5 said:

I forgot to note in my original post that Dick Buttons has quite a few fans and that the audience showed him a lot of love.

Click to expand...

It's so good to know it. I love Dick Buttons commentary.

About technical content in an exhibition or show program, in the recent Ice Wars fluff show didn't Shizuka open with a triple Lutz/triple toe/double loop combination?

This from a skater who has retired from competition.

Misplaced Gymnast said:

So why bother having them skate then? Line 'em up in their costumes and have the audience phone in their votes. Or don't bother making them show at all....

Click to expand...

The same reason that American Idol goes through the farce of having the contestants sing. You've got two hours of dead air to fill.

It's not the destination, it's the journey.

I agree Sasha had it won before it started, also feel Johnny won out the first heat over T&B by popularity only, but as MM just said -

Mathman said:

It's not the destination, it's the journey.

Click to expand...

And in something like this, what can you expect. See good skating. See the faces of the America teams. etc....

And I think Sasha's GBA was the best of the routines IMO - regardless of the "points" that could have been. She won it for 2 reasons IMO rightfully so.

On another note, YES TO THE HAIR DOWN!!!!!! :agree:

chuckm said:

Katy fell on the 3F, but she did land a 2A and a 3Z2T combo. That sure beats a doublefooted salchow and a 2A.

Click to expand...

Sasha looks great but I think the jumps add a highlight that was missing from her skate. I can't believe she will be at Nationals. If she decides to come back in a year or two, will she have to go through qualifying?

By the way, does anyone know how Katy is doing? I saw her at Skate America where she was having major boot problems. I thought she looked better at Marshalls and was at least able to land some jumps. I liked her spins. Any reports on her progress??

krenseby said:

Well, if she (Caroline Zhang) does keep performing at the level she does now, she is guaranteed to win a spot to the Worlds team.

Now if this were the early 2000s when Cohen, Hughes, and Kwan took up the 3 World spots for a couple of years, she'd have no chance.

But nowadays, other than for Kimmie, the other ladies skaters are quite beatable ;-) So Caroline's chances are looking rather good at this point in time.

Click to expand...

Caroline is just 13. She will not be eligible for Senior Worlds until the 2008/2009 season. By then, she may be wrestling with the puberty bug. In figure skating, nothing is guaranteed.

From reading all these posts, I get the consensus that Sasha had a great skate in Marshalls, and most are hoping she goes to Nats. However, the question of her being competitive in the World was not taken up.

Joe

Thinking about Joe's question, let me first say that I don't hope Sasha goes to Nationals, BUT let me explain why. I think she is extraordinary and has amazing presence on ice that I, at least, can't take my eyes off. But, I don't really think Sasha looks competitive at the moment, and although she might have it in her to work for it, I would just hate to see her off the top of the podium (so for the sake of my nerves, I hope she doesn't risk it --- I also would rather see her go out on a high note too). I though her R&J last year was really amazing, too bad of course that she fell, but it was an amazing program - I'd like to remember that is all.

Anyway, let's say she does go to Nats, wins or at least medals, and goes to
Worlds - AND let's say I'm still alive at this point (LOL), then I would have to say that no, I don't think she can compete with the top at this point (and it doesn't yet look like Weir can either). MAYBE this will be just what she needs to get the fire to push through two programs cleanly, but maybe the nerves of knowing she has to will get to her as well. Again, for the sake of MY nerves, I'd rather see her perform exhibitions where she seems so comfortable and happy and we can all just enjoy. Of course, the ice is slippery and if say, all the Japenese and a few others make mistakes, that does open the door for Sasha but its exactly the IFS that make me say, no, I don't think she looks competitive right now. And yes, I'm thinking really only about the jumps (even thought she seemed slow at marshalls, i bet she could pick up some speed, spin well, and have good step work to compete - it's the jumps i'm doubtful about). Perhaps MM or someone else could figure out how she can get the most points from 5 triples -- maybe seeing the point possiblity here I would say, ok, she has a great shot, but I just don't see her doing more than 5 triples, and even then she might still two foot or even fall.

If Sasha going to nats is only a matter of her placing in the top 3, well it is debatable. But if she is to go just so she can skate, we can see her and there isn't anyone else that is going to get bumped that has a better chance than her, I say she should go. I love to see her skate as well as many others. Even if she wound up off the podium, big whoop, I will always enjoy her skating and don't feel she would be bumping anyone more qualified so why not.

She'll generate more interest, keep the "threat notion" creating a higher "bar" - at least in the mind - and all those who swoon for her will be more likely to tune in or go. She is still a great skater even when not at her best and her presence is felt in so many ways IMO. It would be a shame not to see her even if she placed 5th or lower.