- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
didn't Ina & Zimmerman or Inoue & Baldwon medal at worlds?
didn't Ina & Zimmerman or Inoue & Baldwon medal at worlds?
Mark Ladwig @LadwigMark
@olyphil your continued low praise of US pairs inspires me to improve & volunteer @USFigureSkating for benefit of all US skaters-Thanks you!
8:42 PM - 1 Sep 12
Philip Hersh @olyphil
@LadwigMark Someone's input is needed. No Oly medal since 88. Worst-ever Oly placings in '10. No medal in a non-Oly year worlds since 96
4:05 PM - 2 Sep 12 ·
Good for Mark to not let the negativity get to him.
If it makes him work harder that's good.
To disagree with Hersh about the state of American Pairs skating strikes me as odd.
i can understand mark being defensive considering he is a current pairs skater for the US and is one of the "problems" for Hersch... it probably struck a nerve.
Is it Hersh's job to offer solutions? Is he running US Skating?
If skating wants to be viewed as a serious sport then it has to accept criticisms the same way other sports do.
In baseball if the starting pitcher gets bombed there are no excuses. The sportswriters say such and such "had nothing last night and was rocked early and often. He stunk up the joint."
What do you want - sports or a pageant?
It's his job to offer a full perspective of what he is covering. Watch ESPN or any sports network and you'll have tons of people who are sitting there analyzing the heck out of a sport. When something goes wrong, you have columnists who do say "yes, that stinks" but then they go and say "well, here's what can be done" or at least ask people what can be done.
Hersh lacks that analysis -- as I said, he seems busy just trying to find a witty way to write his insults rather than really covering the sport. Or he's obsessed with some vendetta like his perception that USFS screwed over Alissa Czisny or that there was bloc judging at Ice Dance at Worlds.
There's no reason he can't go to USFS and ask "Why is US Pairs failing" or why not ask the veteran pairs skaters or coaches....at least then we would have something of substance.
As I said in March when all that was happening, I felt that Hersh had a right to his opinion and was glad he was out there covering the sport. That doesn't mean I think he's doing a great job at it.
You raise interesting points but I am totally confused by your conclusions.
In case you haven't noticed ESPN has basically washed it's hands of skating.
There is practically no interest in CoP skating in USA let alone any serious media analysis.
I am glad for writers like Hersh and Brennan who write about skating. The problem is NOT what Hersh writes - but that not enough others are writing about skating.
I get that there's not a lot of interest in skating analysis these days from ESPN and other networks, but I don't think that means that people should be happy with the coverage a sport IS getting.
I actually like Brennan's coverage, as well as Nancy Armour at the AP (though she doesn't cover skating as much as the other two). As another poster pointed out it seems that Hersh, whether he intended to or not, seems just more mean-spirited at times or more vendetta driven (my thought) in his coverage when it really isn't necessary.
At the end of the Brubaker article (bringing it back to the thread) -- he could have simply said that yes, he still has a chance even if he skips the season because of the lack of depth in pairs. Or that given all the break-ups, he still has a chance. There's a billion ways he could have gotten his point across just as well and provided an opportunity for constructive criticism and analysis. Or maybe he could have spent more time analyzing the field and how Brubaker fits in it (I've seen some great analysis from some posters here!) The way he ended up writing it really just came across as a personal dig at pairs skating.
I don't recall a junior event ever packing it in...
I like what you wrote here and have no problem agreeing with most of it.......
Still.....if you think Hersh has any responsibilty or pull with US Skating I think in a way he was too gentle
I think US Skating needs a major kick in the butt - not just in Pairs but in many other areas.
I was saddened watching the empty seats at the Lake Placid JGP. Maybe because I can remember days of such glory and packed arenas there.
It doesn't take much marketing savy toget in touch with some of the local schools or churches and to bus people into see the event.
It's like the promotional effort was non-existent. What a shame for those young skaters to perform in such an empty arena.
Embarrassing really.
Back to Pairs...and Rockne, who I wish well.......Hersh is probably right that with the state of US Pairs right now Rockne can show up next season with a new and inexpereinced partner and have a shot at the podium.
I will not hang Hersh for being honest and IMO accurate about this.
I think a bit more anger or frustration would be far better placed in the direction of US Skating for having such a lack of direction and vision.
The US Pairs program is in shambles and I see that as the problem much more than honest if not caustic reporting.
In fact, it wasn't really a report but just a tweet.
No one can do a full analysis with a tweet but let's just say I am glad Hersh brought some attention to the state of US Pairs skating.