Just got my TIME magazine today and while all three members of the ladies Oly team are discussed in the article, it's clear that TIME is favoring Kimmie to win if not the OGM, then the top medal of the US ladies. (What are the men and other disciplines? Chopped liver? Just kidding. I know, the ladies are what sell magazines.)
A lot of the article concerns the COP, going into the big '02 pairs scandal and presenting a very simple explanation of how the NJS works. However, this time there's no skater on the cover (the cover story is Mexican immigration "Inside America's Secret Workforce"; really, where are TIME's values
); no single US lady leaping high over the landscape of Torino the way Sarah Hughes was shown doing so over Salt Lake's Wasatch Mountains. However, there's a BIG photo of Kimmie on the title page of the story, which, under the circumstances is as good as TIME saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, here's our winnah!"
OTOH, although it's clear that TIME is throwing its hat in with Kimmie as the best bet for a US OGM or other medal, there's not a whole editorial dedicated towards analyzing why she will win, as there was with Sarah. Kimmie's assets are more or less woven throughout the story, which also includes Sasha and Michelle. In terms of coverage, Sasha gets the next most, with probably the most number of quotes. As a preface to TIME's coverage of Michelle, let me say I realize I'm biased and that TIME not only covers what's hot in sports, it also editorializes on it. So the photo of Michelle is basically "forlorn Michelle, too late and injured to really dance at the ball." There are also no quotes from Michelle.
The "blah" coverage of Michelle could be because NEWSWEEK may be planning a big schmoozefest on Kwan; but I don't know. I haven't seen NEWSWEEK yet.
The article, by Alice Park, entitled "The Ice Storm" (a little originality, puh-lease), starts out with a description of the house Sasha Cohen purchased (doesn't say when). It describes the view of the ocean from one side and view of the mountains from the other side. What could be more beautiful? Parks basically says, but then goes onto say that when the rains came Cohen discovered the foundation of her house was weak and was in danger of sliding away. (It didn't.)
For the average reader, which is TIME's audience, I thought it was a good metaphor; but I could just see skating fans, whether they like or dislike Sasha rolling their eyes. However, later in the story Park discusses and quotes Cohen about her two-year quest for the Holy Grail of figure skating coaches: "If the sojourn to the East had taught Cohen anything, it was that only she could make herself a winner. 'I was always looking for a coach to make me a champion,' [Cohen] said. 'But ultimately you have to make it happen.'"
Park then goes on to very generally discuss the changes in Cohen's physical and mental training. So, just a couple of days after Idiot Rgirl posts a quote from an interview Nancy Kerrigan did with Sasha either in the fall of 2002 or early in 2003, in which Sasha said she had done double runthroughs before and her consistency didn't improve (I'm a great believer in double runthroughs despite what anybody says), Parks reports Sasha as saying, "I used to do my long program once and my legs were wiped, but now I practice it over and over." Good for Sasha. It only took her almost four years to take Nancy's advice.
Kimmie's 3Axel is discussed several times, with Park saying, "[The COP] benefits skaters like Meissner who have the big tricks but are more analytical and calculating enough to maximize their point totals with the minimum amount of big tricks." Later Park goes on to say, "COP draws a line between the intuitive skaters of yesterday and the more technical, all-around stars of tomorrow." She also makes the point that the COP is all Meissner has ever known since she debuted at the senior level last year. Park also says about Meissner, "She flung herself into Olympic contention with that tricky triple Axel and has thrived under the COP ever since, reaping rewards by filling her programs with difficult moves from beginning to end."
Now, I like Meissner quite a bit, especially after I saw her skate live with COI. I think she has strong basics; her long arms and legs, which I think she uses beautifully given Meissner-friendly choreography; and she has a natural authority on the ice, which obviously some see and some don't (ran into a friend at COI who didn't see if--hey NYMKFAN!). But correct me if I'm wrong, even liking Kimmie's skating I can't say she has "thrived" under the COP system except at US Nationals '05 and '06, which I think had as much to do with skating cleanly, this year only a clean LP as anything. Am I mistaken or didn't Meissner skate in the GPS both last season and this one and again, not exactly "thrive"? I'm not trying to diss Kimmie. I'd much rather diss the reporter.
Seriously, how has Meissner done on the GPS?
I'm also not saying Meissner might not do well internationally as she matures, but when TIME predicted Sarah Hughes as "da winnah." Sarah had made the GPF at least once, IIRC, and if I'm wrong about that, she had a World bronze medal and consistency almost as solid as Michelle's, if not as solid. Plus she had been skating at the senior level longer than Kimmie, even though they were/will be both 16 at their respective Olympics. Late in the article Parks notes how the last two OGM's were upsets won by teenagers. Even though Oksana Baiul was the World Champion going into the '94 Olympics, one could argue that she was an upset, ie, assuming Nancy's '93 Worlds meltdown being out of character and also the thing that prompted her to revamp her whole training and mental approach to skating. Anyway, Oksana was certainly a teenager. Maybe TIME is playing the odds.
The most biased reporting, IMO, is about Michelle. Park says that she gained all her success under the 6.0 system. "At her first competition without the 6.0s," says Park, "she came in fourth, the first time she failed to medal at an event in a decade." While accurate, the way this section is worded makes it sound as if the only way Michelle can win or medal is under the 6.0 system. Unfortunately, because of her injuries, we haven't seen clear evidence to the contrary. But, again, I may be wrong, but didn't Michelle win the free skate at '05 Worlds, which was COP? True, she finished fourth, primarily because she skated a bad Q round, but IMO a good reporter would have noted that she won the '05 Worlds FS under the COP--unless I'm thinking of '04, which was 6.0.
In lieu of any quotes from Michelle, Park gets quotes from Peggy Fleming, that bastion of understatement, to continue driving nails into Michelle's coffin--as if the photo isn't enough. When Park notes that Michelle will be making her season debut on Olympic ice, she quotes Peggy Fleming saying, "I would be terrified." And later, "I'm extremely scared for [Michelle]."
And that's pretty much all she wrote about Michelle. Come on. I know we haven't seen her skate since last March, but she's a nine-time National and five-time World champion. Show a little respect. At least give Michelle two paragraphs.
There is one great sentence, or at least I think it is, at least aesthetically: "...like medal contenders Irina Slutskaya and a gaggle of Japanese women--all of whom have wrestled the COP into submission." I just love the mental picture I get of Sweet Shizza, Elegant Ando, Lovely Suguri, Giggling Asada and Smiling Irina with a big stuffed representative of the COP, which, why heck, looks just like Cinquata, and the "gaggle" of them pounding the cr*p out of him--I mean it. Well, I laughed.
So that's an overview of these Olympics TIME article on ladies figure skating.
arty:
Rgirl
A lot of the article concerns the COP, going into the big '02 pairs scandal and presenting a very simple explanation of how the NJS works. However, this time there's no skater on the cover (the cover story is Mexican immigration "Inside America's Secret Workforce"; really, where are TIME's values
); no single US lady leaping high over the landscape of Torino the way Sarah Hughes was shown doing so over Salt Lake's Wasatch Mountains. However, there's a BIG photo of Kimmie on the title page of the story, which, under the circumstances is as good as TIME saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, here's our winnah!"OTOH, although it's clear that TIME is throwing its hat in with Kimmie as the best bet for a US OGM or other medal, there's not a whole editorial dedicated towards analyzing why she will win, as there was with Sarah. Kimmie's assets are more or less woven throughout the story, which also includes Sasha and Michelle. In terms of coverage, Sasha gets the next most, with probably the most number of quotes. As a preface to TIME's coverage of Michelle, let me say I realize I'm biased and that TIME not only covers what's hot in sports, it also editorializes on it. So the photo of Michelle is basically "forlorn Michelle, too late and injured to really dance at the ball." There are also no quotes from Michelle.
The "blah" coverage of Michelle could be because NEWSWEEK may be planning a big schmoozefest on Kwan; but I don't know. I haven't seen NEWSWEEK yet.
The article, by Alice Park, entitled "The Ice Storm" (a little originality, puh-lease), starts out with a description of the house Sasha Cohen purchased (doesn't say when). It describes the view of the ocean from one side and view of the mountains from the other side. What could be more beautiful? Parks basically says, but then goes onto say that when the rains came Cohen discovered the foundation of her house was weak and was in danger of sliding away. (It didn't.)
For the average reader, which is TIME's audience, I thought it was a good metaphor; but I could just see skating fans, whether they like or dislike Sasha rolling their eyes. However, later in the story Park discusses and quotes Cohen about her two-year quest for the Holy Grail of figure skating coaches: "If the sojourn to the East had taught Cohen anything, it was that only she could make herself a winner. 'I was always looking for a coach to make me a champion,' [Cohen] said. 'But ultimately you have to make it happen.'"
Park then goes on to very generally discuss the changes in Cohen's physical and mental training. So, just a couple of days after Idiot Rgirl posts a quote from an interview Nancy Kerrigan did with Sasha either in the fall of 2002 or early in 2003, in which Sasha said she had done double runthroughs before and her consistency didn't improve (I'm a great believer in double runthroughs despite what anybody says), Parks reports Sasha as saying, "I used to do my long program once and my legs were wiped, but now I practice it over and over." Good for Sasha. It only took her almost four years to take Nancy's advice.
Kimmie's 3Axel is discussed several times, with Park saying, "[The COP] benefits skaters like Meissner who have the big tricks but are more analytical and calculating enough to maximize their point totals with the minimum amount of big tricks." Later Park goes on to say, "COP draws a line between the intuitive skaters of yesterday and the more technical, all-around stars of tomorrow." She also makes the point that the COP is all Meissner has ever known since she debuted at the senior level last year. Park also says about Meissner, "She flung herself into Olympic contention with that tricky triple Axel and has thrived under the COP ever since, reaping rewards by filling her programs with difficult moves from beginning to end."
Now, I like Meissner quite a bit, especially after I saw her skate live with COI. I think she has strong basics; her long arms and legs, which I think she uses beautifully given Meissner-friendly choreography; and she has a natural authority on the ice, which obviously some see and some don't (ran into a friend at COI who didn't see if--hey NYMKFAN!). But correct me if I'm wrong, even liking Kimmie's skating I can't say she has "thrived" under the COP system except at US Nationals '05 and '06, which I think had as much to do with skating cleanly, this year only a clean LP as anything. Am I mistaken or didn't Meissner skate in the GPS both last season and this one and again, not exactly "thrive"? I'm not trying to diss Kimmie. I'd much rather diss the reporter.
Seriously, how has Meissner done on the GPS?I'm also not saying Meissner might not do well internationally as she matures, but when TIME predicted Sarah Hughes as "da winnah." Sarah had made the GPF at least once, IIRC, and if I'm wrong about that, she had a World bronze medal and consistency almost as solid as Michelle's, if not as solid. Plus she had been skating at the senior level longer than Kimmie, even though they were/will be both 16 at their respective Olympics. Late in the article Parks notes how the last two OGM's were upsets won by teenagers. Even though Oksana Baiul was the World Champion going into the '94 Olympics, one could argue that she was an upset, ie, assuming Nancy's '93 Worlds meltdown being out of character and also the thing that prompted her to revamp her whole training and mental approach to skating. Anyway, Oksana was certainly a teenager. Maybe TIME is playing the odds.
The most biased reporting, IMO, is about Michelle. Park says that she gained all her success under the 6.0 system. "At her first competition without the 6.0s," says Park, "she came in fourth, the first time she failed to medal at an event in a decade." While accurate, the way this section is worded makes it sound as if the only way Michelle can win or medal is under the 6.0 system. Unfortunately, because of her injuries, we haven't seen clear evidence to the contrary. But, again, I may be wrong, but didn't Michelle win the free skate at '05 Worlds, which was COP? True, she finished fourth, primarily because she skated a bad Q round, but IMO a good reporter would have noted that she won the '05 Worlds FS under the COP--unless I'm thinking of '04, which was 6.0.
In lieu of any quotes from Michelle, Park gets quotes from Peggy Fleming, that bastion of understatement, to continue driving nails into Michelle's coffin--as if the photo isn't enough. When Park notes that Michelle will be making her season debut on Olympic ice, she quotes Peggy Fleming saying, "I would be terrified." And later, "I'm extremely scared for [Michelle]."
And that's pretty much all she wrote about Michelle. Come on. I know we haven't seen her skate since last March, but she's a nine-time National and five-time World champion. Show a little respect. At least give Michelle two paragraphs.
There is one great sentence, or at least I think it is, at least aesthetically: "...like medal contenders Irina Slutskaya and a gaggle of Japanese women--all of whom have wrestled the COP into submission." I just love the mental picture I get of Sweet Shizza, Elegant Ando, Lovely Suguri, Giggling Asada and Smiling Irina with a big stuffed representative of the COP, which, why heck, looks just like Cinquata, and the "gaggle" of them pounding the cr*p out of him--I mean it. Well, I laughed.
So that's an overview of these Olympics TIME article on ladies figure skating.
arty:Rgirl
......:yes: 42
