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FYI, Daisuke and Oda are not top ten skaters. Kozuka is. Miki finished 4th at JP Nats and this is one of the reasons Miki will not go to 4CC though I know she will not want to go.
Philip Hersh on Cinquanta pressuring Yu-Na Kim to compete at 4CC
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FYI, Daisuke and Oda are not top ten skaters. Kozuka is. Miki finished 4th at JP Nats and this is one of the reasons Miki will not go to 4CC though I know she will not want to go.
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Sadly, the provision that he specifically mentioned for pushing Kim around does not distinguish skaters of the host country from those of other countries as long as they are top rankers. If you are right, then it means that Mr. C suddenly (one week before the deadline for listing entries) felt like it was a good idea to have Kim at the 4CC because it was her home country, even though there was no on-point ISU regulations. Well, Mr. C is not a Czar, and Kim is not his serf.
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Oda, #2 and Daisuke, # 9. They do not need to worry a bit, though, since Mr. C only singled out Kim.
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$peed￥ seems to pay attention to advertising revenues. If he does not satisfy the money made by SBS, the local government, KSU, he might take another steps. I don't think they are so poor.
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I don't blame Mr. C for working his utmost to rake money (yens or dollars), as long as it is done through fair, just and right measures and does not hurt the most precious and wonderful skaters from all over the world.
BTW, I would really like him to be creative in his promotions rather than pressuring skaters to do this and that against their wishes.
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Couldn't have said it better myself!
It's unfortunate that this whole thing turned into a big conspiracy theory that maligned the Japanese sponsors and skaters.
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Let's see what would be smoked out at the Oly, and then decide whether there was a conspiracy or not.
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Which ranking are you talking about? I'm refering to the ISU ranking. Isn't this the latest ver.?
http://www.isuresults.com/ws/wsmen.htm
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Icenetwork had updated rankings on Jan. 4th 2010.
http://web.icenetwork.com/rankings/index.jsp?disc=men&rnk=0
http://web.icenetwork.com/rankings/index.jsp?disc=men&rnk=0
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I think the Icenetwork ranking is different from the ISU ranking. Hope someone who are familiar with this matter helps us.
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- Jun 27, 2009
So... you are saying that it is absolutely permissible to "threaten" to sanction a skater for not participating in 4CC during the olympic season for money? You do realize that you admit to believe that from ISU (Cinquanta)'s point of view, this is all about business and money only. Hmmmm that sounds very nice to know as a skating fan??!?! Well, the question is, do you think it is right of him to do such a thing?
I am suspecting that you've never traveled to Asia from Canada.
For instance, forget about the olympics being held in Canada, and let's assume that 2010 Olympics was to be held in Tokyo. If your beloved Joannie Rochette was training in Tokyo, and this year's 4CC was to be held in Canada, do you think ISU should force her to fly all the way back to Canada and then fly back to Tokyo again? Do you even know how long it takes to fly there? Imagine yourself being stuck on the plane for about 12-15 hours or so (depending on the weather and flight route- Oh, and don't forget to include the preparation time and time you have to spend on the road), adjusting to time difference (about 14 hours) and then again dealing with media pressure from her own home country. Now, this is all happening only 25 days before the olympics. Sure, sounds like fun, right?
You think that's fair that ISU would threaten and pick on one skater like that?
It is not that we didn't know that Cinquanta cared about money. The question is, is it right or wrong? Well, think again, and this time try to think from another's perspective. And honestly, if ISU was smart, Cinquanta himself should have realized that bullying Kim would not help sell 4CC tickets. I am positive that Koreans would much much prefer that Kim be able to train without any outside pressure till the olympics so that she can perform her best, rather than flying all the way back to Korea to win 4CC and mess up Olympics. I am sure that's what some other people would want though. lol I wouldn't be surprised if Koreans would have decided to boycott 4CC all together. It's not that hard to figure this out, and that's why perhaps Hersh and other reporters are criticizing that ISU has ulterior motives.
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Cinquanta could never do that. Ask a skater? The proletariat? Cinquanta is the king. Maybe talk to ISU members to intimidate but lower himself to a skater? You must be plebeian to even think that way.
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Uh, figurejennah, I didn't read ilovetoskate's explanation as giving her endorsement or support of Cinquanta--I read it as just the opposite. The "what don't you understand..." is rhetorical. And an explanation/response to somebody else who wasn't seeing what might be motivating Mr. Cinq. I'm assuming English is not your first language, and you completely missed the implicit tone in luv's post. Either that, or I've completely missed ilove's meaning.
I agree with Mathman--this is all a power play and "show of force" by Cinquanta to let everybody know who's boss. In my view, now would be a great time for the relevant skating federations involved to call his bluff (and I think the threat of sanction is a bluff), and show him up to be the paper tiger that he is. I think this may be the year he's finally overplayed his hand.
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- Dec 13, 2005
The poster I was replying to said they couldn't understand it from Speedy's POV so I gave my opinion on what is going on. It isn't as if Speedy made up this rule on the spot and for all you know he has used it many times in the past, it just hasn't become public knowledge. Yes, Speedy's role is primarily about money, revenue, ticket sales, etc. What is surprising about that? There are committees that handle all the other aspects of skating so his comes down to the business side.
Yes, they probably would.
You think that's fair that ISU would threaten and pick on one skater like that?
Oh, stop using words like "pick on"! It's not as if Kim is a five year old who can't make her own decisions and stand up for herself. Speedy "threatened" the KSU with sanctions - that is a big difference than "threatening" an individual skater. She has said she's not going. It's done.
The Olympics aren't an ISU event, they do not develop the TV rights or receive revenues like they would at other competitions. Speedy doesn't really care about the Olympics that much from a money point of view.
Who are these "other reporters"? There was only one other article written by a man who pretty much just rewrote Hersh's article. Both even admit that this is all speculation and Speedy told Hersh exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it.
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ISU rankings often do not make sense... probably because it weighs the "B" international competitions (most of them are in Europe) too much. Do you really think Tomas Verner (Current ISU rank #1) is the best male singles skater in the world? Kevin Van Der Perren is 7 places better than Oda at number 5?? Those rankings are frankly ridiculous. Not to mention that Carolina Kostner is #2 for the ladies (she was #1 just a couple of months ago.) Don't forget Plushenko is ranked #92!! Just beloew Moris PFEIFHOFER (who?) of Switzerland. Oh yeah, he came in 6th at the Swiss Nationals this year!
Even though the icenetwork's ranking is not immune to a bit of nonsense also, it is at least a bit better than the ISU rankings.
What I'm saying is that to the casual Olympic figure skating viewer, what Hersh's article has done is put the notion into people's head that there is a conspiracy by the Japanese sponsors, and that they are bribing ISU officials.
For example, I don't watch any football, basketball or baseball. However, I do read the newspaper and if I read an article by a columnist who writes for a major newspaper suggesting that a team, or sponsor of a team, is bribing an official or referee (or whatever they're called), well, that's what I'm going to be thinking about during that Superbowl or World Series game. And I would be telling my friends, "Oh, I read in the paper that the officials are being bribed". Now, my friends, who haven't seen the article, will also believe this to be true because it was printed in a major newspaper (vs a supermarket tabloid), so even if the "accused" team wins, there will always be a shadow cast over that win.
That's why I have issues with Hersh's article and believe it was very inappropriate. Does anyone understand the point I'm trying to make? I'm not sure I'm making myself very clear
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So, the icenetwork rankings and the ISU rankings are different one, right? I just want to clarify it, thank you!
This is a business, though, that has a history of disputed results. I don't have a problem with Cinquanta wanting Kim to compete at Four Continents, but he's got to be careful with how he's handling this situation. Can he deal with the fallout if he's pressuring her, word gets out and then she is the "victim" of a "controversial" finish at the Olympics?
We live in an age of protocols and the Internet, now. All anyone has to do is look at those protocols and compare them to a video of the performance. If calls aren't legitimate, or if they're close, all that needs to happen is for enough people in the right places to call the ISU on it, and we've got a scandal on our hands. Just eight years after Salt Lake City, can figure skating deal with that?
The Olympics are figure skating's greatest chance to showcase itself. If fans and more importantly, sponsors, don't think the results are legitimate, Cinquanta will have far greater problems than he does now, and this situation with this timing does not, in my mind, help skating. As a man running a business, I would expect Cinquanta to think much further down the road than Four Continents in his handling of situations like this. If he isn't, his intentions may end up hurting his business much more than he intends.
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