Gold's motive for GP Final pullout in question

ice coverage · Dec 9, 2014

Everettguy said:
... Maybe the USFSA rep. didn't immediately respond because she was on vacation or out sick or for all we know weekend days were being counted. Who knows but let's calm down on the conspiracy theories.

Straightening out one important detail that you have garbled:
It is the ISU -- not U.S. Figure Skating -- that apparently did not respond to the author.

Ice Time then reached out to ISU communications and media coordinator Selina Vanier the same day to confirm receipt of the documents and ask for comments about Gold’s withdrawal.
Four full days later, Vanier had still not responded.

Ayeshoo · Dec 9, 2014

He is taking Gracie's statements out of context to support his claims. How is this journalism? I've read some of his articles before and he always colors them with his own personal bias.

But seriously, wow, just because they came from the same country/have the same culture, he immediately can tell insincerity? Sounds like The Mentalist or something.

Also, is it really in question? Was there anyone else really speculating apart from him?

I dunno but I would think that these girls would actually be really motivated to compete for thr GPF since none of them have actually been a champion in the past. And if Gracie is really faking it, as he claims. Why then would be even bother to attend NHK? Why not just announce earlier that she's injured so she had more hypothetical time to recover before Jeremy's show.

NaVi · Dec 9, 2014

Not a fan of having that speculation printed out in a news story publicly, but personally I do think there could be a different motive for pulling out... and it's not necessarily about "losing to the Russians" but about having to compete while jet lagged... she would have a few days of prep for the final on a 7 hour eastward time shift and compete on another 9 hour eastward time shift.

And if this(or something else minor) is the true motivation, then much of the problem lies in that figure skating is currently structured so it is only the World Championships that really matters(Actually, the Grand Prix matters less than winning the US Championship)... Yuna Kim missed the Grand Prixs after winning Olympic Gold... I think the stature of the Grand Prix needs to be elevated somehow to where it's considered equal to the World Championships.

I've proposed elsewhere that the event be held in a world media/entertainment center(New York, California, or maybe Vegas) and try to turn it into a glitzy affair. The senior portion of the Grand Prix including the gala needs to be live on American prime time tv. America isn't the center of the world but it carries far more cultural influence than any other nation. I think the reward for winning the Grand Prix needs to be at least $100k for the ladies(and likely mens) events and that the winner receives an individual ticket to the world championships. Those who place should receive 3 grand prix assignments next year and be able to use their two best scores for qualifying.

Sam-Skwantch · Dec 9, 2014

The best part is when he sends a request for proof of Gracie's injury and waits four days and gets no response. Lol. Great story Jack :laugh:

I'm sure if he keeps writing quality stories like this his credibility will only increase to the point where he will only have to wait two or three days before he realises he is being completely ignored. :think:

How is this irony? Can someone help because I'm not seeing it.

The irony of this entire episode is that Rika Hongo was the first alternate for the GP Final, and has now joined the field that includes Elena Radionova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Anna Pogorilaya, Julia Lipnitskaia and Wagner, as a result of Gold’s injury.

Did he maybe intend to use a different phrase that actually makes sense like "silver lining" or would that be too positive to use for old Gallagher?

Krunchii · Dec 9, 2014

Is this the same jerk who wrote that nasty article about Adelina headlining NHK? I clearly remember that article saying how Japanese fans will enjoy Gracie Gold, now all of a sudden judging her and speculating about her words? Journalist my butt

satine · Dec 9, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
How is this irony? Can someone help because I'm not seeing it. Did he maybe intend to use a different phrase that actually makes sense like "silver lining" or would that be to positive of a word to use for old "Gallagher"?

It's not ironic at all. Plenty of native English speakers misuse this word for some reason... :drama:

penguin · Dec 9, 2014

Oh goodness. I clicked, saw that it was Gallagher and the Japan Times, and went "nope." How does he keep writing about figure skating when he's so terrible at it? Does the Japan Times not care? He's not even worth getting outraged over, imo, just another hack.

chuckm · Dec 9, 2014

He is clearly a RAG JOURNALIST which means he is not worth reading, as he spins his stories out of thin air with no basis in fact.

IcyEdges · Dec 9, 2014

The person that wrote the article, if you even want to classify it as such, is a dirtbag.

Gracie discovered the pain the Wednesday of the week of NHK. She was already in Osaka at the time, she competed through the pain to find out that she had a stress fracture.
As you can imagine, it's not all fun and games right now for Gracie, she has to wear a walking "boot" on her foot and is only allowed to stroke and spin on the ice (thanks to the skate boot supporting her foot to a point). If she is able to skate at Abbott's show it will probably just be programs minus jump passes. Jumping is what hurts and reinjures the stress fracture the most. I have had this same injury in the past and it is not a good time by any means.

Also, IDK if anyone remembers but this is the same injury Lysacek had back in 2009 during Worlds. He still competed (with a cortisone shot to his foot) minus the quads because he always had a psycho approach to things.
There's a chance that Gracie could still do the Abbott show and skate as I said above with a cortisone shot.

Sorry but no one makes the GPF to w/d on purpose.

Icey · Dec 9, 2014

I don't see how she will be able to skate at Nationals

In most cases, patients can manage a stress fracture of the cuboid bone within 3-6 months. Severe cases may take over a year to heal completely, especially if intervention was not reached early on. Those that do not manage their injury may also see lingering effects throughout their life.

http://www.md-health.com/Cuboid-Bone.html

noskates · Dec 9, 2014

NMURA said:
Gold herself doesn't choose. Frank Caroll does. I think he has the motive to "withdraw". He doesn't want her to be knocked out easily by the Russians or beaten by old Wagner.

That's complete disrespect for Frank Carroll and unwarranted. WHY is it when an athlete is injured, particularly a figure skater, that the armchair quarterbacks have to find something sinister in the situation. And a snotty remark about Ashley. Sometimes I hate the fact that people can go on a message board and just tee off on anybody, be mean, be disgusting, and because it's anonymous they can do it without recrimination. Makes me think they have nothing in their lives except to bring grief to others.

Very sad!!!!

Mrs. P · Dec 9, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
The best part is when he sends a request for proof of Gracie's injury and waits four days and gets no response. Lol. Great story Jack

And the thing is it's not really four full days, lol. He said he contacted the ISU on Friday. The story ran today. So basically he's including two weekend days as part of his "waiting."

In the past, I've maintained the guy writes a column and not a straight news reporter, so he's entitled to his opinion, but this is just ridiculous. Even the opinion has to have some fact as its basis and there really isn't in this one. "Body language and culture" as the basis for the reasoning? Crazy.

Also another thing that he didn't account for her "body language" -- that she was probably still somewhat jetlagged. The ladies FS (and the press conference) ended around 2 a.m. PST. Even though she was in Japan for a few days, I'd imagine you're still feeling tired.

ice coverage · Dec 9, 2014

IcyEdges said:
The person that wrote the article, if you even want to classify it as such, is a dirtbag.

... If she is able to skate at Abbott's show it will probably just be programs minus jump passes. ...

Also, IDK if anyone remembers but this is the same injury Lysacek had back in 2009 during Worlds. He still competed (with a cortisone shot to his foot) minus the quads because he was always had a psycho approac to things.
There's a chance that Gracie could still do the Abbott show and skate as I said above with a cortisone shot.

Sorry but no one makes the GPF to w/d on purpose.

Yes, and Gold's own comments on Abbott's show indicate that she will scale back her program -- per Lynn Rutherford's Dec 5 report on Gold's media call:

There is no definite timetable on when Gold will be able to resume training her triple jumps, although she said she expected it to be a few weeks. She will tape an appearance at Rockefeller Center for the TODAY show on Dec. 16 and hopes to perform in Jeremy Abbott's "Stars on Aspen Ice" on Dec. 20.

"I really want to do Jeremy's show. Even if I'm not doing a complete program, I will still travel there and support his cause (the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research)," she said. "We're waiting week by week to see how my foot improves."

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2014/12/05/103251654/gold-devastated-by-grand-prix-final-withdrawal

Serendipitously, skaters often skip their big jumps at Rockefeller Center anyway b/c the rink there is so small -- so it is reasonable for Gold to go forward with the Today show taping, which I can understand she would hate to miss.

Sam-Skwantch said:
... How is this irony? Can someone help because I'm not seeing it.

The irony of this entire episode is that Rika Hongo was the first alternate for the GP Final, and has now joined the field that includes Elena Radionova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Anna Pogorilaya, Julia Lipnitskaia and Wagner, as a result of Gold’s injury.

Click to expand...

...

satine94 said:
It's not ironic at all. Plenty of native English speakers misuse this word for some reason...

:agree: I too was puzzling over the lack of irony. The only irony is that the reporter apparently has no idea what "irony" means.

Meoima · Dec 9, 2014

noskates said:
That's complete disrespect for Frank Carroll and unwarranted. WHY is it when an athlete is injured, particularly a figure skater, that the armchair quarterbacks have to find something sinister in the situation. And a snotty remark about Ashley. Sometimes I hate the fact that people can go on a message board and just tee off on anybody, be mean, be disgusting, and because it's anonymous they can do it without recrimination. Makes me think they have nothing in their lives except to bring grief to others.
Very sad!!!!

I've thought you are here long enough to get used to NMURA's conspiracy theories on GS.

mskater93 · Dec 9, 2014

Not only jet lag, but if she was already feeling pain in her foot on Wednesday as someone else mentioned, she could have been tempering her excitement of making the final with the possibility of withdrawing if it actually WAS a real injury and not just something random and quickly gone. Gosh, what a jerk...

IcyEdges · Dec 9, 2014

golden411 said:
Yes, and Gold's own comments on Abbott's show indicate that she will scale back her program -- per Lynn Rutherford's Dec 5 report on Gold's media call:

There is no definite timetable on when Gold will be able to resume training her triple jumps, although she said she expected it to be a few weeks. She will tape an appearance at Rockefeller Center for the TODAY show on Dec. 16 and hopes to perform in Jeremy Abbott's "Stars on Aspen Ice" on Dec. 20.

"I really want to do Jeremy's show. Even if I'm not doing a complete program, I will still travel there and support his cause (the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research)," she said. "We're waiting week by week to see how my foot improves."

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2014/12/05/103251654/gold-devastated-by-grand-prix-final-withdrawal

Serendipitously, skaters often skip their big jumps at Rockefeller Center anyway b/c the rink there is so small -- so makes sense for her to go forward with the Today show taping.

:agree: I too was puzzling over the lack of irony. The only irony is that the reporter apparently has no idea what "irony" means.

I know this. I don't understand your point of quoting me though?!

anyanka · Dec 9, 2014

Everything Jack Gallagher writes has a sensationalist tone to it. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we just see him reaching. He attempted to trash Yuna for skipping the GP series and going to NRW instead when she made her return in 2012, but got the dates wrong. He clearly doesn't fact-check if he's made his mind up about something.

However, if something is suspect about Gracie's exit, it could be because (1) she may want to rest up for the more lucrative ice shows, or (2) redesign her FS, which didn't meet with much enthusiasm from fans or judges.

But again this is all speculation.

Mrs. P · Dec 9, 2014

IcyEdges said:
I know this. I don't understand your point of quoting me though?!

golden411 was just affirming your point RE: scaling back for shows.

ice coverage · Dec 9, 2014

IcyEdges said:
I know this. I don't understand your point of quoting me though?!

I quoted you b/c I was continuing to discuss a subtopic that you had addressed.

I was not trying to tell you something that you already know. News flash: plenty of other people are reading this thread besides you and me.
AFAIK, the direct quote from Gracie did not appear earlier in the the thread.

If you are taking offense, I don't understand why. But would you like me to edit my post and remove my quoting of your post?

p.s. Thank you, Mrs. P. As you said, my post was an innocent affirmation.

Sandpiper · Dec 9, 2014

What a load of crap. Though I guess that's to be expected, since the same guy wrote a GP preview article that spent the first few paragraphs ranting about Yuna Kim.

And the only thing he bases it on is Gracie's tone of voice at the media conference.

I don't see a plausible reason for Gracie to pull out if she's healthy. It's her first time making GPF--why wouldn't she want to attend? Even if she comes dead last, it's cool to say you've been to GPF over having never been there. Anna was last the year before, and it didn't stop her from placing fourth at Worlds.

LRK said:
As for the show... I've never understood the "if X is well enough to perform in a show, X is well enough to compete!" argument. Er... no. How many jumps does a skater have to do in a competition? And how many in a show? In fact, if the skater is not up to it, they need do NO jumps in the show. Or if they do it need be only something simple. To me it's like saying: "Well, if X was well enough to go to the corner store to buy milk, X should be able to put in a full nine-to-five day's work as well."

This, so much. I mean, is Gracie supposed to show up at GPF with exhibition level content? (whereupon she'll promptly be attacked for treating competition as a joke).

anyanka said:
However, if something is suspect about Gracie's exit, it could be because (1) she may want to rest up for the more lucrative ice shows, or (2) redesign her FS, which didn't meet with much enthusiasm from fans or judges.

The judges like it just fine. Even with 4 triples and a fall, she still pulled PCS nearly all in the 8 range, and broke 190 points overall. While I'd be thrilled if she changed her FS, I doubt the scores are telling her team to do so.

Gold's motive for GP Final pullout in question

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Ayeshoo

NaVi

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

Krunchii

satine

v Yuki Ishikawa v

penguin

chuckm

IcyEdges

Match Penalty

Icey

noskates

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

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Meoima

Match Penalty

mskater93

IcyEdges

Match Penalty

anyanka

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

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Sandpiper

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