TV Alert: Caesars Tribute II: A Salute to the Ladies of Ice On Now!!!!

[chuckm]

I agree with Heyang. I have always loved Michelle and was disappointed that she wasn't able to continue her career. I'm sure she gave training a try prior to Vancouver, but she probably realized her body was no longer up to it and wisely decided to go to graduate school instead. She skated in pain off and on for the last 2-3 years of her competitive career, which is why she no longer did the loop jump or tried 3/3s. It's unreasonable for fans to expect her to continue on when she physically was no longer capable of withstanding the pounding.

I wish Michelle to do whatever it is that makes her happy and her life fulfilling. If that is no longer on the ice, I am grateful for all the years of enjoyment she's given us.

 

[skateluvr]

I'm not talking competition. Just what she did for Yuna/korean fans/ATS for a lot of money. Don't we count? Anyone see what "gracious" is? She doesn't have to jump, though it is clear she could for ATS programs recently.

 

[Mathman]

Michelle has her own life to live. She doesn't ask my advice, nor I hers. "Judge not, lest ye be judged."

 

[Olympia]

I don't see why Michelle's choice in this matter makes her "ungracious." According to Christine Brennan, for the years leading up to and right after Nagano, Michelle and her parents could be counted on to show up whenever asked, while Tara and the Lipinskis could not. After Tara's win at Nagano, Michelle displayed admirable sportsmanship and never badmouthed Tara or the Olympic judges. She put in ten years as a competitive skater and behaved admirably throughout that time. She appeared in the Rise documentary, which pays tribute to the 1961 team and to the scholarship fund that grew out of their deaths. I don't know why she wasn't involved in the tribute to Peggy, but I am reluctant to make a judgment on her overall character based on this or on her appearances with YuNa in Korea. I don't know all the factors that led to her decisions.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Well put, Olympia and Mathman. I doubt very much that Peggy felt slighted in any way. It was just a skating show, after all. With a nice tribute to Peggy. We have no idea even what MK's life is really like, except I bet it is very full of committements. She owes us nothing...we owe her everything. Let her live her life.....Now Sasha's hair is another thing! Girl, you are beautiful and you are still a wonderful skater.....SUE your hair stylist!
(I am also worried about my Miki....even considering taking a season off, she looked tight and not happy) Arakowa gave the best performance, but somehow she seems to come off a bit arrogant...probably just me....

 

[brightphoton]

I wouldn't say Arakawa looked arrogant, maybe like she didn't really know what was going on when people were talking. English isn't her first language, after all. If everyone were speaking Japanese, I'd probably have a neutral expression on my face and stand in a corner.

I like to hope that Sarah Hughes has quietly applied to graduate or law school and is awaiting results ...

 

[Tonichelle]

As a vocal nonfan of "The Kween" I too don't see why declining to attend the Caeser's special is somehow her schluffing off her fans. She's left skating behind, but I think her attitude toward pro skating when she was younger did far more damage to the sport she "loved" than what she's doing now. I may not miss her skating, but I certainly don't understand why her fans should think that she hasn't given them her all. She was always upfront that she was not going to be one of those "has beens".

 

[skateluvr]

Maybe Sasha is just tired of having to straighten her hair. I think it is naturally wavy. I like it. She is always adorable looking to me. I don't find Shizuka arrogant at all. Just the opposite. I have never heard her described thus on or off ice. She is stunningly beautiful, a major champion and great skater. I assume she has an ego. Why not?

 

[skateluvr]

As a vocal nonfan of "The Kween" I too don't see why declining to attend the Caeser's special is somehow her schluffing off her fans. She's left skating behind, but I think her attitude toward pro skating when she was younger did far more damage to the sport she "loved" than what she's doing now. I may not miss her skating, but I certainly don't understand why her fans should think that she hasn't given them her all. She was always upfront that she was not going to be one of those "has beens".

When did MK say she wasn't going to be a has been?

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

MK was in grad school and she got her triples back in 2009 and said on camera she was "leaving her options open." She could put that on hold for a fourth Olympics going after the gold medal she wanted more than anything else. She graduated in May and has moved to DC to be with her grad school friends and presumably have some sort of "diplomatic career" or pursue ? I disagree she owes her fans nothing or the USFSA that promoted her so well. And I think it would be nice and gracious to accept even just appearances in honor of her skating friends and supporters who did so much from you. I believe in paying back. I clearly have a different idea about this. She skated fine and is in great shape for Yuna's shows and skated at a rink in Boston frequently.

I disagree with your view of things.

From my perspective, I am a Kwan fan (and a fan of other skaters too) but I don't enjoy watching these skaters perform when they are so far removed from their championship form. I am happy Nicole has gotten her act together and she skates beautifully, but it's sad to see her struggle with a 2S; if I want to see Nicole skate well I can fire up YouTube. Maybe Kwan feels she doesn't want to go out there and do a bunch of doubles, and I respect her for that. Her clean, easy-looking triples always added excitement to her programs; without those her programs might be somewhat lacking, as she wasn't a particularly good spinner or the most flexible skater in the world.

 

[chuckm]

Sarah Hughes is only 26, but during this show she skated without any jumps at all. She was one of the youngest skaters in this show, but her performance was the most technically limited. Contrast her with Nicole Bobek, who at 34 had been away from skating for nearly 8 years. After a few months' training, Nicole was able to do a 1a and a 2s, while Sarah could barely manage a tiny waltz jump.

I know Sarah went to Yale, but during her college years she did take off a year to skate in the 2005-2006 SOI. Having gained the "freshman 15", she was clearly out of shape and could manage only 1a and 2s, but at least she did attempt some jumps. After graduating from Yale in 2009, she lost the extra weight and returned to skating, but hasn't trained any jumps. In this show, Yuka Sato (38) and Nancy Kerrigan (42) managed to land a couple of jumps while the much-younger Sarah Hughes showed skills at a pre-juvenile level.

Emily Hughes occasionally skates in shows. Emily graduated from Harvard recently, and when she does show skating, she still has a decent 2a. What is with Sarah?

 

[Ilvskating]

I'm really impressed by Arakawa, who still has great jumps and better presentation then her amateur days. She really grows as a show skater.

As for Sarah, although she didn't do any jump, her skating was beautiful, and the flow and rhythm was better than before too. I don't mind watching her just skating like that. It's better doing no jumps than bad jumps to me in a show skating. What a single sal or even Axel would do to a program? next to nothing.

 

[chuckm]

Sarah is an OGM winner, after all. Doing a jump or two would some commitment to the sport, and an effort being made to keep up her skills. If Bobek, Sato and Kerrigan can do that, why not Sarah? It's not as if she has 3 kids at home, like Nancy, or a coaching career, like Sato, or has been away from the sport for 8 years, like Bobek. Sarah has not had a job since graduating from Yale 3 years ago. Couldn't she have squeezed in some time to train intensively, especially since she's been "headlining" shows the last year or so?

BTW, I didn't find what skating Sarah did particularly graceful and flowing---it looked labored to me, especially compared to what the other skaters did. Katya Gordeeva is the epitome of grace and flow, and she was never a singles skater in her competitive days---and Katya is 40.

 

[gkelly]

while the much-younger Sarah Hughes showed skills at a pre-juvenile level.

I have no idea what Sarah has been doing with her time. Not training skating several hours a day, evidently. Obviously her skating is not at the same level it was when she won her gold medal.

But "skills at a pre-juvenile level" is meaningless in this context. Skill level is not so much about the "what" as the "how well." Speed/power/ice coverage, depth of edge, steadiness/security, etc.

Prejuvenile skaters do double jumps (often cheated -- depends on the skater and the attempt). Sarah chose not to do any jumps at this performance.

I haven't seen that performance.
Here's her layback (at 2:22) from the finale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9RTH2QOHns

Here's another recent performance with no rotational jumps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AIBtiCeW5w

Here's an artistic (not freestyle) program by pretty good prejuvenile skater: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShOT2uIuCSw
(You can find more examples of skaters at this level by searching for "prejuvenile")

The kid may have more "content," and Hughes's skill level as demonstrated in this clip may not have the quality that she had when she was competing at the senior level, but I hope you can see a difference in the actual skill level between an out-of-training former elite competitor and a kid working her way through the test levels.

 

[Mathman]

^ That was really good! Good for her!

Makes me want to see who got first and second.

 

[Ilvskating]

Sarah Hughes is only 26, but during this show she skated without any jumps at all. She was one of the youngest skaters in this show, but her performance was the most technically limited. Contrast her with Nicole Bobek, who at 34 had been away from skating for nearly 8 years. After a few months' training, Nicole was able to do a 1a and a 2s, while Sarah could barely manage a tiny waltz jump.

I know Sarah went to Yale, but during her college years she did take off a year to skate in the 2005-2006 SOI. Having gained the "freshman 15", she was clearly out of shape and could manage only 1a and 2s, but at least she did attempt some jumps. After graduating from Yale in 2009, she lost the extra weight and returned to skating, but hasn't trained any jumps. In this show, Yuka Sato (38) and Nancy Kerrigan (42) managed to land a couple of jumps while the much-younger Sarah Hughes showed skills at a pre-juvenile level.

Emily Hughes occasionally skates in shows. Emily graduated from Harvard recently, and when she does show skating, she still has a decent 2a. What is with Sarah?

I'm not aware of Sarah are doing shows regularly after graduation. If that's the case, I would not be happy seeing her doing no jumps. As an Olympic ladies' champion, there are certain expectations when people pay for tickets to see you. I remembered how disappointed I was with Lu Chen during her professional years even though she was my favorite skater when she competed. But saying Sarah skated with pre-juvrnile skills is way out of line IMHO. Sasha Cohen did her olympic exhibition program without a single jump. Did Sasha jumped this time? I didn't see. I think some people just like to put Sarah down. If Sarah just did this tribute show by invitation and occasionally do some charity shows I don't see what the problem is not doing jumps. If she intend to do shows as means of income, she'd better do some serious training and get a few jumps back IMO. That's how I take it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[skateluvr]

ITA. Sarah seems to like the skating glamour and the connections. She might miss all things skating except the very hard work. Maybe she has tried to do her jumps and found it too hard. Her basic skating skills are lovely. I too wonder what her goals are. The fire she had seems mellowed at 26. One can assume she has a little money and is taking her time. The law is very dry compared to the glamour/fame skating brings her. Tara was just living the fine life for a long time before commentating opps came to her. MK is someone who seems to not want to waste a minute. Where this is power, excitement, and challenge, there you find MK. I was glad to hear Sasha is taking courses at Columbia. I think Sasha is so creative. I could se her as a designer. I loved her skating dresses. She is the most unique US skater ever, falls or no falls.

 

[Tonichelle]

Look it was a salute to women in figure skating. Invites went out, Sarah and others said "ok, why not, sounds like fun." If she were with SOI I'd expect more of her but this was just a get together of "look at all the awesome talent we were able to get for this brated skating show"

skating doesn't always need jumps from an olympic or a world champion to be great. I like watching Sarah's laybacks far more than her jumps.

 

[heyang]

I don't know why she wasn't involved in the tribute to Peggy, but I am reluctant to make a judgment on her overall character based on this or on her appearances with YuNa in Korea. I don't know all the factors that led to her decisions.

I agree with your entire response, but especially the quoted. It could be that she had a prior commitment, family obligation etc.

As for performing in YuNa's show, I think there is a mental difference in being the star vs the guest. It's a lot easier to be a guest and requires less time, in general. Since MK decided to concentrate on her studies, that became her priority. She may have gotten back in shape for 1 or 2 exhibition routines, but we haven't seen her in full competitive form since before Torino. If she was going to headline a show, I think she would want to be in close to competition for to avoid letting down her fans.

 

[heyang]

I disagree she owes her fans nothing or the USFSA that promoted her so well. And I think it would be nice and gracious to accept even just appearances in honor of her skating friends and supporters who did so much from you. I believe in paying back. I clearly have a different idea about this. She skated fine and is in great shape for Yuna's shows and skated at a rink in Boston frequently.

I disagree with your view of things.

I certainly accept that you disagree.

However, I think MK gave back to the USFSA every time she medalled at World's and the Olympics, securing spots for the US in the following year. She competed at senior level from 1994 to 2006. 11 seasons (I excluded 2006 since she never actually competed, but did train and was put on the Olympic team.) Even in 1994 she was put on the spot to secure spots at 95 World's when Nancy Kerrigan didn't go and Nicole Bobek failed to even qualify and finished 8th in her 1st senior world's. Every World's thereafter, MK finished no lower than 4th, which only happened twice.

Also, 11 seasons of senior level skating is more than the majority of skaters give to their federations.