Plushenko won't bother with figure skating Grand Prix season: by Rosie DiManno

[plushyfan]

Who is that woman? I'm not Russian, but I read many times the Russian media, they had never wrote such a disgusting article about Plushenko's rival. And Chan is a rude man! After this I don't like him!

http://www.thestar.com/sports/figure...season-dimanno
I think this is shame for Canadians and for Chan! Sorry, maybe I'm also rude, but I'm really surprised!! I have no words...

This is not my comment, my english is too bad, so I borrowed this from an American lady, I hope she forgives me..

Whitebamboo:
"Plushenko, like every other skater, has the right to decide, based on his own competitive interests, what competitions to enter or not to enter. And given his age and injuries, every competition carries its risk.

But then again...LOL, why am I even trying to reply to Ms. DiManno's "point"? As far as I can see, there is no content to her article other than various not-so-subtle personal attacks, and against a character that's completely imagined by her own mind. I don't even know if it's possible to "defend" Evgeni against this, because it's like some sort of fiction, really.

(And btw, speaking of fiction, why did she have to drop Tolstoy's name in this article? If she'd actually understood anything about Tolstoy, she'd have know that the characters in his books actually have inner motivations and human depths and are actually not "vain, disdainful, imperious" caricatures.)"

[Buttercup]

Who is that woman? I'm not Russian, but I read many times the Russian media, they had never wrote such a disgusting article about Plushenko's rival. And Chan is a rude man! After this I don't like him!

http://www.thestar.com/sports/figure...season-dimanno
I think this is shame for Canadians and for Chan! Sorry, maybe I'm also rude, but I'm really surprised!! I have no words...

I wouldn't take anything Rosie DiManno writes seriously. Note that Chan doesn't say anything particularly controversial, despite her efforts to twist his words and make him seem like a jerk. And Plushenko has never said anything that could be interpreted as sneering at Chan. Anyway, when Chan wants to say controversial things, there's no need to paraphrase his comments Basically all he said here is that Plushenko was more impressive in practice at JO than in competition and that his jumps are pretty amazing for a skater in his thirties (the ages mentioned are obviously a joke), and he tried to answer the bit at the end diplomatically. The rest is just DiManno trying to earn her paycheck. It's just an attempt to stir up some controversy and drama, a typical hack job for her.

So the bottom line: ignore her. Maybe some day she'll go away.

[Mrs. P]

I've never been that impressed with DiManno. She wrote a column in 2011 basically slamming all the Canadian men skaters not named Patrick Chan and I took the time to craft a thoughtful response disagreeing with her (and to a correct an error) via email and she didn't even bother to respond.

So I agree with Buttercup, she's not really into reporting on the sport beyond her perceptions and assumptions.

[plushyfan]

I wouldn't take anything Rosie DiManno writes seriously. Note that Chan doesn't say anything particularly controversial, despite her efforts to twist his words and make him seem like a jerk. And Plushenko has never said anything that could be interpreted as sneering at Chan. Anyway, when Chan wants to say controversial things, there's no need to paraphrase his comments Basically all he said here is that Plushenko was more impressive in practice at JO than in competition and that his jumps are pretty amazing for a skater in his thirties (the ages mentioned are obviously a joke), and he tried to answer the bit at the end diplomatically. The rest is just DiManno trying to earn her paycheck. It's just an attempt to stir up some controversy and drama, a typical hack job for her.

So the bottom line: ignore her. Maybe some day she'll go away.

Ok. Thanks Buttercup. I really hope, really hope you are right..Plush always spoke respectfully about Chan.. I remember Chan had bad mouth toward Plushy several times, so I'm not sure this explanation will be enough for FS fans, who don't like Chan, and they are not a few people.

[evangeline]

The Toronto Star basically hires Rosie DiManno to manufacture outrage and controversy...she's only a "journalist" in the loosest sense of the word and is not representative of the Canadian media at all. Sadly this article is pretty tame compared to some of the truly dreadful and insulting things she's written about in the past.

[Buttercup]

Ok. Thanks Buttercup. I really hope, really hope you are right..Plush always spoke respectfully about Chan.. I remember Chan had bad mouth toward Plushy several times, so I'm not sure this explanation will be enough for FS fans, who don't like Chan, and they are not a few people.

I think Chan has made all sorts of offensive and inappropriate comments in the past, and some of these were quite memorable. However, it seems to me that he has matured and learned to better express himself with journalists (not that DiManno deserves to be considered a journalist), and there's really nothing particularly objectionable in this case, except for DiManno's interpretation. The same article 2-3 years ago would have likely included far more colorful comments from Chan.

[gmyers]

this is very common of all the north american media and plushenko and is really nothing compared to what such people as bezic hamilton carruthers hammond and EM swift have said. In fact I think em swift was much worse in sports illustrated after vancouver because of their unanimous agreement that quads didn't matter in skating and how celebratory they all were of the really grotesque win of lysacek which defines objectionable olympic gold medals in skating at the olympics because the celebration of regresion and anti-progress and jumping. Should have recived unanimous disapproval and not just plushenko expresseed disaprroval. It was a disgrace and will always be such.

[Mrs. P]

The Toronto Star basically hires Rosie DiManno to manufacture outrage and controversy...she's only a "journalist" in the loosest sense of the word and is not representative of the Canadian media at all. Sadly this article is pretty tame compared to some of the truly dreadful and insulting things she's written about in the past.

Yes, in that article I refer to (http://www.thestar.com/sports/figure...orryingly-thin) she basically paints Shawn Sawyer in quite the terrible light, which was horrible considering his SOHL at Canadians:

Apart from providing an intriguing glimpse into the machinations of the Skate Canada politburo — an organization with a long history of big-footing athletes and promoting favourites over those who’ve earned their ranking on the ice — Sawyer’s success represents a double-edged sword: He may have had the skate of his life, but he’s not an athlete to build on and his Tokyo inclusion, while a nice personal story, is pretty much a waste in a year when Canada has qualified three spots for men at worlds.

Geez louise!

[drivingmissdaisy]

I hate Rosie's type of journalism. I think the sport and it's athletes deserve better than to be put in a situation where they feel compelled to comment on their competitors. Skaters are tremendous athletes who work very hard to give their best on and off the ice.

[LRK]

I think it will probably be better for my temper not to read the thing - though I may obviously succumb to temptation later... However, whenever I hear/see things like this, I cannot help but think of the Babylon 5 episode: The Illusion of Truth...

[SkateFiguring]

One writer is not the Canadian Media, nor does an unverified quote define Chan, just as the tune of said writer does not paint an astute portrait of Plushenko.

A mole hill is not a mountain.

[Rachmaninoff]

I had to read through the thing three times before I realized what was supposed to be so offensive about it. The slight exaggeration about his age while talking about how impressive it is that he's retained his jumps? Meh. Honestly, I can see myself making a remark like that in casual conversation, not at all intending it as an insult. I agree that it's the writing around it that makes it seem that way.

And Chan has never come across as obnoxious to me when I actually see him speaking during an interview. I've gotten that impression before reading print articles, but in print articles it's easier to misread people: you don't hear how they're saying things, and the reporter can easily spin it a certain way by the rest of the article. I really think he's more innocently honest and straightforward, and doesn't always realize how he's going to come across. I can be like this myself, so I kinda like him for that.

[let`s talk]

I think Chan has made all sorts of offensive and inappropriate comments in the past, and some of these were quite memorable. However, it seems to me that he has matured and learned to better express himself with journalists (not that DiManno deserves to be considered a journalist), and there's really nothing particularly objectionable in this case, except for DiManno's interpretation.

How do we know that this is DiManno's interpretation and not his words? Did he sue her for libel or denied "his" printed words in press? Or do we have another souce? No. Moreover, just this season after JO he said to his media, and to not DiManno, that he is unbeatable when he jumps. Oh yeah. Sounds kind of arrogant and childish for a matured man. Or when he said after CoR to the Russian press that 4F and 4S are just funning around. Poor skaters who are "funning" by practicing those jumps! And then he added that PCS has always been his strong point. Here he is absolutely "right" but surely has no idea how ironical it sounds from the mouth of the most overscored skater. Or when he said just recently that his rivals in Sochi are Plu and Dai only because all the rest are young and inexperienced. Great! After these words I just want someone like Hanyu to be over Chan in Olympic chart. And I don't even bother to type his offensive comments from the past. The guy doesn't sound matured to me, he actually sounds angrier and desperate somehow. Plus he did all he could in the past to make people believe that there is some truth in "DiManno's interpretation", as you call it.

[Mathman]

^ Nah. Chan is in the clear. The lady is tying to sell newspapers. *yawn*

[Mrs. P]

Yeah, I don't think you can indict Chan for this one, either.