"Sasha Cohen expects US figure skaters to flop in Vancouver"

[bethissoawesome]

a bit of a funny (but true) article... Sasha Cohen commenting on the chances of Flatt and Nagasu to podium in Vancouver. One thing that did surprise me was that Cohen said she was "shocked" not to make the Olympic team... definitely a different response than the repetitive "I'm just glad I came/tried/did my best" responses she has given in other interviews.

SOUR GRAPES: Olympic silver medallist Sasha Cohen expects her American compatriots to miss the medals in her absence in Vancouver (Getty Images)

Cohen, 25, collected silver at Turin 2006, but her appearance at the US Championships last month was her first for nearly four years after calf injuries scuppered her intentions to return in 2009.

http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/fi...flop-vancouver

[Mathman]

What Sasha actually said was a long way from what the author of the article insinuated in the headline. .

[ImaginaryPogue]

True. Though Sasha, the girls you claim aren't near enough the international girls are the girls that beat you.

[Tonichelle]

What Sasha actually said was a long way from what the author of the article insinuated in the headline. .

I thought the exact same thing. She's not shocked that she didn't make the team, she's shocked that she lost. But she left that up for interpretation (or the journalist was unethical and used her quotes to fabricate teh article they wanted, which judging by the whole thing is what they were doing). I think she was shocked that her LP went as badly as it did, but she's not shocked that she was kept off the team because of it.

and she's right, our girls are not going to be on teh podium unless the heavy hitters implode and the tech callers are lenient.

[MK's Winter]

I thought the exact same thing. She's not shocked that she didn't make the team, she's shocked that she lost. But she left that up for interpretation (or the journalist was unethical and used her quotes to fabricate teh article they wanted, which judging by the whole thing is what they were doing). I think she was shocked that her LP went as badly as it did, but she's not shocked that she was kept off the team because of it.

and she's right, our girls are not going to be on teh podium unless the heavy hitters implode and the tech callers are lenient.

I don't think Sasha would say something like that, I agree, she was referring to her own performance. I do agree I don't think Mirai or Rachel will medal either. Agree with you Tonichelle 100%

[janetfan]

True. Though Sasha, the girls you claim aren't near enough the international girls are the girls that beat you.

Maybe Sasha needs some PR lessons from Patrick

[Tinymavy15]

Sasha did not say anything shocking here. She finally admitted her disappointment at her own poor skate and not making the team, a emotion she strangely hid under a blase, "i'm happy to be here" attitude at nationals.

I do wonder what is next for Sasha is she even thinking about next year? Is she hoping to give acting another try. Life must seem pretty meaningless these past few weeks.

[Tonichelle]

Life must seem pretty meaningless these past few weeks.

goodness I hope not. she hopefully has a better/well-rounded look at life where it's not all about the winter games.

[janetfan]

Sasha did not say anything shocking here. She finally admitted her disappointment at her own poor skate and not making the team, a emotion she strangely hid under a blase, "i'm happy to be here" attitude at nationals.

I do wonder what is next for Sasha is she even thinking about next year? Is she hoping to give acting another try. Life must seem pretty meaningless these past few weeks.

I thought Sasha's remarks were fine and that she handled herself very well at Natls. Isn't she going to be touring with SOI later this year?

[DesertRoad]

Unless the actual quotes in the article from Sasha are fabricated, then she said exactly what the writer said she did, only less directly. Saying the American girls aren't competitive with their international competition is saying they'll flop. Saying you're shocked you didn't qualify is saying you expected most of the other skaters to be worse than you. And I have no problem with Sasha saying any of that. The two American girls are not competitive with the international elites, any rational observer of the sport would say that. As for being shocked she didn't quality, well she did finish 4th. She knows how well her training went, maybe she expected to be skating a lot better than she did and crush the unimposing opposition at nationals.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Maybe Sasha needs some PR lessons from Patrick

Heh. All she needs is her id to go rampaging through skating world.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Unless the actual quotes in the article from Sasha are fabricated, then she said exactly what the writer said she did, only less directly. Saying the American girls aren't competitive with their international competition is saying they'll flop.

No, those don't mean the same thing. Flop suggests that they'll perform below expectations - out of the top eight-ten for both girls. Not being competitive with the best of the best isn't "flopping". Joannie Rochette didn't flop in 2004 when she came eighth as that was about where most people would peg her (if a little bit better, even). However, one can argue that she flopped in Calgary and Tokyo, as her finishes were well below what she was capable of. In all three cases, she wasn't really competitive with the best of the best, but I wouldn't say she flopped the first time.

[Sk8n Mama]

What she actually said was not as bad as the headline makes it sound. I'm no Sashsa fan but I'd defend her on this one.

[bethissoawesome]

For something to be a "flop" really depends on the interpretation of the viewer. I do believe both Mirai and Rachael (Rachael in particular) had very inflated scores at Nats... the average viewer who watched the US Nat Champs and saw Rachael score over 200 will probably consider her a realistic Olympic score for her, say between 165 - 175 depending on consistency, a big disappointment. If Rachael comes within 25 points of her Nats score at the Olympics, I would be extremely surprised... and to the casual spectator (especially one that doesn't understand that ISU judging is much harsher than Nats), that huge of a point difference is definitely a flop. If Mirai skates a solid SP (her SP Season Best during GP is 4th highest among those in the SP scores of those going to the Olympics), and manages to fully rotate her LP jumps, she could hit the 170 range... which, thanks to her lower score at Nats, will probably appear like a "better performance" to US fans than Rachael's.

[Layfan]

For something to be a "flop" really depends on the interpretation of the viewer. I do believe both Mirai and Rachael (Rachael in particular) had very inflated scores at Nats... the average viewer who watched the US Nat Champs and saw Rachael score over 200 will probably consider her a realistic Olympic score for her, say between 165 - 175 depending on consistency, a big disappointment. If Rachael comes within 25 points of her Nats score at the Olympics, I would be extremely surprised... and to the casual spectator (especially one that doesn't understand that ISU judging is much harsher than Nats), that huge of a point difference is definitely a flop. If Mirai skates a solid SP (her SP Season Best during GP is 4th highest among those in the SP scores of those going to the Olympics), and manages to fully rotate her LP jumps, she could hit the 170 range... which, thanks to her lower score at Nats, will probably appear like a "better performance" to US fans than Rachael's.

i agree with you about the scoring at nats but by this time there'll have been enough news articles stating exactly what sasha said - that rachael and mirai are longshots for medals - so i think the casual viewer will know what to expect...