Comments on ESPN coverage

Hi everyone. I'm about to post some thoughts that might be controversial to some. It's just my own opinions. And I've been more of a lurker than a contributor here lately, so if any of these things make this post inappropriate from a moderator perspective, I won't be offended if this thread is deleted or closed.

Believe it or not, I remained "unspoiled" for the entire US Nationals until the broadcasts. LOL - the only thing making that possible with the concurrence of European Championships, which I followed on-line, including live audio from Eurosport ( in English via mainly Chris and Nicky) along with a slightly delayed video Eurosport feed with commentary in a different language, which I muted (in order to hear the commentary in English).

The reason I mention that I remained "unspoiled" is that my opinions were formed long before I read anything about it here.

While I think ESPN/ABC/USFSA have made some improvements in covering this Nationals more like a "sport," I think the difference in coverage as a "sport" between here and Europe is still pretty...well...different.

Now I will move to my main point, which ties to some comments made in the "live men's report" thread. (again, my opinions only)

I agree that the sexuality of a skater has zero relevance to the coverage of a sporting event / athletic competition. I found the combination of several things from the coverage last night to be disturbing, when taken in combination.

On Tanish and Evan dating. I agree that Tanith is beautiful, and quite camera friendly. It's quite common when watching sporting events for the camera to "find" beautiful women when there is a lull in the action. (cheerleaders anyone?) However I did NOT think the camera's "finding" of Tanith was random at all during the coverage. Maybe I missed a shot or two, but I found myself going "huh?" when the shots of Tanith seemed to surround Evan's skate (before and after) with the commentators emphasising that Tanith and Ben are dating. (if they are, good for them...I could care less). I immediately thought about Michael Weiss, and how it was often discussed that you couldn't get through a competition without a fluff piece on his *family* - always leaving me thinking that the USFSA felt REALLY compelled to proove Michaels heterosexualness. (new made up word) I got that same vibe WRT Evan/Tanith coverage last night.

In the event thread, someone gave a good example of the cameras regularly finding Shae in her competitive years in Canada. Another gorgeous, camera friendly woman. But was it done randomly, or was it done in close proximity to, say, E-Man (or insert other skater here) to *prove* heterosexual dating?

In contrast, I thought that all the commentators, and Kurt Browning in particular went out of their way to point out, in their not so subtle ways, Johnny's *gayness.* Johnny's modeling jobs have as little to do with this sporting event as who Evan is or isn't dating. IMO, Kurt's comments about Johnny's modeling in high heels, etc. were over the top.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but my STRONG impression after all of this was that the USFSA is trying hard to position Evan as "our heterosexual star" and Johhny as "our crazy gay guy." It just plain shouldn't matter.

I wish ESPN/ABC/USFSA would take a look at how these events are covered in Europe. Cut the personal irrelevant nonsense, and focus on the performances. I can do without 90% of the fluff - this combination of stuff just offended me more than usual. And yes, I am sending e-mails for whatever it's worth, to all these organizations with my opinion. (and yes, I know I need to shorten it up!!)

DG

I really agree with what you said. I don't know how much USFSA is involved in deciding the fluff coverage and commentary - but what you point out was occurring last night and I too disliked it.

Also your comparison with Eurosport - or should i say - EuroSPORT - is apt. In general - i didn't like a lot of the cute 'girly' fluff for the ladies either - how hard would it be to show competitive records, and some training shots - why do we need a long piece on how all of the ladies are friends and giggly???

I appreciate the live and fairly deep coverage - but less fluff of all sorts and more sports (again, records, training that sort of thing) - that whole fan zone thing was wierd too, IMO - and please no offense to anyone - I could watch Kurt skate forever, but his commentary and jokey ice moves leave me --- well, taking a bathroom break.

Many excellent points Doggygirl! I couldn't agree more. I am so sick of fluff. However, there was one "fluffy" highlight for me this year. Friday night in the "Push Dick's Button" (which, IMO, can be very educational to the average viewer sometimes), Dick was answering a question and he quoted his mother "Consider from whence it came and chalk it up to ignorance". Dick Button I could kiss you!

Putting aside the testoterone part, the fluff is for the non-diehard fans. Although, I have no idea how the non-diehard fan would have found skating on ESPN at those odd hours (for eastern standard time). I definitely appreciated the Live coverage, but the timing would not have found the casual viewer easily. The fluff is about the human side of the athletes. Brownings Breakdowns were about explaining what to look for - not everyone understands the various factors as can be proven be various posts throughout this board (that it's not just about the appearance but about the connection between blade and ice). Without that basic understanding, the scoring is even more incomprehensible.

I think part of (Not all) of the comments towards Johnny were somewhat related to the distractions from his training time. If it was a female skater who was modelling and making outrageous remarks and not being prepared for competitions, there would be some comments about the distractions (although not as vitriolic to be sure). It's not the modelling per se because John Zimmerman and other skaters have also modelled. There were comments when Nicole Bobek let her distractions prevent proper training. Nancy Kerrigan also let herself be distracted from properly training during the 93 season. Just wanted to point out that other skaters have had their training habits questioned. Johnny himself admitted that he was not prepared earlier this season.

As for the high heel comments, I haven't seen it, but I think Johnnie did have a photo sheet where he dressed in drag (vaguely recalled mention of it, but don't take my word for it.) Dick Button mentioned several times that Johnny's music was more masculine in tone.

As for Tanith, I think they would've shown any significant other who was photogenic. They certainly showed plenty of family members both before and after. I don't recall if they showed Johnny's parents this year, but a couple of years ago, his mother turned her back to the camera after they got her on camera cheering after he gave a wonderful performance.

There were certain comments that were somewhat inappropriate, but I wouldn't target every single factor.

Agree here also with all the fluff, they could do without it.
I only took the part of the ladies with Kimmie, Katy and Rachel as to say yes were competers but were also friends. Because most of the time all you here is negative no you can't be friends your competers sort of thing.
I don't pay much attention to the Johnny vs Evan comments, your lifestyle might not be my choice but its your and so be it.
As for Tenith I thought they said she was dating Evan not Ben when they were showing her during the men's event.

I don't know. I didn't sense anything like that during the broadcasts. When I read on the MKF people compalining about the commentators making comments about Johnny's sexuality I was extremely confused becuase I watched all of Nationals and never heard any comment about any skater's sexuality. The closest thing I heard was when Dick said that Johnny's SP was more masculine than in the past. But that is referring to his program, not his sexuality.
I just don't see it.

heyang said:

Putting aside the testoterone part, the fluff is for the non-diehard fans. Although, I have no idea how the non-diehard fan would have found skating on ESPN at those odd hours (for eastern standard time). I definitely appreciated the Live coverage, but the timing would not have found the casual viewer easily. The fluff is about the human side of the athletes. Brownings Breakdowns were about explaining what to look for - not everyone understands the various factors as can be proven be various posts throughout this board (that it's not just about the appearance but about the connection between blade and ice). Without that basic understanding, the scoring is even more incomprehensible.

I think part of (Not all) of the comments towards Johnny were somewhat related to the distractions from his training time. If it was a female skater who was modelling and making outrageous remarks and not being prepared for competitions, there would be some comments about the distractions (although not as vitriolic to be sure). It's not the modelling per se because John Zimmerman and other skaters have also modelled. There were comments when Nicole Bobek let her distractions prevent proper training. Nancy Kerrigan also let herself be distracted from properly training during the 93 season. Just wanted to point out that other skaters have had their training habits questioned. Johnny himself admitted that he was not prepared earlier this season.

As for the high heel comments, I haven't seen it, but I think Johnnie did have a photo sheet where he dressed in drag (vaguely recalled mention of it, but don't take my word for it.) Dick Button mentioned several times that Johnny's music was more masculine in tone.

As for Tanith, I think they would've shown any significant other who was photogenic. They certainly showed plenty of family members both before and after. I don't recall if they showed Johnny's parents this year, but a couple of years ago, his mother turned her back to the camera after they got her on camera cheering after he gave a wonderful performance.

There were certain comments that were somewhat inappropriate, but I wouldn't target every single factor.

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First, an apology - I can't figure out how to break up the quote into many parts.
But I like many of the points you make and want to discuss them a bit.

So, first paragraph - I agree the fluff is for non-die hard fans. And agree that Browning and other versions of ice moves are about showing stuff that isn't obvious to the casual (and not so casual) fan....But on both counts I dislike how the networks in the US accomplish this. You could have fluff about the 'human side' of skating that still gets more into the human side of training, of picking programs, of picking costumes - of 'stuff' related to the sport. For example, Taylor's makeover/new short program and Bradley's new training situation would be great stories here.
And, you could do ice moves that really teach and are not goofy - as it is, they are actually too short - less fluffly fluff, more instruction about the sport, IMO, would be useful to all viewers. And with that, how about explain the scoring for real - again, less time with goofy suff and more time actually breaking down the numbers, show some slow motion vids and how it would be scored, etc. Compare past scores to give us some idea of the range (they started this this time with what are the good numbers to look for, which ones are medal worthy etc...more of this, less of the fluffy fluff...for me.)

I think it is totally fair to mention training habits/distractions - again, that is a real sports story. But NOT to highlight some off ice activities as particularly egregious or noteworthy and others not - I mean, after last night with the 'dating' I felt like asking, so IF Evan had skated poorly, would ESPN asked if he spent to much time out with Tanith? Trace all of the top skaters training habits and methods and compare all of them - as a fan of the sport that would be very interesting to me and illustrative of what it takes to do well, and what can go wrong if you don't train properly (not a pure science, of course, nerves have to be factored in too...i'm just saying, do it uniformly for all the skaters in a group).

Tanith is extremely photogenic - I think the critique was that her beauty nothwithstanding, they showed a lot of her even compared to family shots, and kept repeating 'she's Evan's girl' kind of statement. How about, here is 4 time US dance gold medalist supporting a team mate - and leave it at that, OR mention the 'human side of dating a teammate' once and only once, and emphsize her athletic achievements and 'team spirit'. Of course, human interest is human interest - I wouldn't even care about the Tanith shots if there weren't all the other elements too including Button's (who I adore) insistence on the phrase more masculine -- it really just bugs me.

Hey DG good to hear from you!!! I liked the "Push Dick's Button" segment where the former National winners asked him questions. Also I think that Tanith also being a gold medalist and watching her BF win his first gold medal was kind of exciting............and very cute. I know in college football when a player has a father or brother that also played the game or coached in the sport they are always howing their reaction during the plays. I think that Johnny is always putting himself out there and I did not find it unusual that it was mentioned. His modeling has as much to do with skating as Bebe's piano playing, IMO...............or Katy Taylor wanting a pink hummer.

heyang said:

I think part of (Not all) of the comments towards Johnny were somewhat related to the distractions from his training time. If it was a female skater who was modelling and making outrageous remarks and not being prepared for competitions, there would be some comments about the distractions (although not as vitriolic to be sure). It's not the modelling per se because John Zimmerman and other skaters have also modelled. There were comments when Nicole Bobek let her distractions prevent proper training. Nancy Kerrigan also let herself be distracted from properly training during the 93 season. Just wanted to point out that other skaters have had their training habits questioned. Johnny himself admitted that he was not prepared earlier this season.

As for the high heel comments, I haven't seen it, but I think Johnnie did have a photo sheet where he dressed in drag (vaguely recalled mention of it, but don't take my word for it.) Dick Button mentioned several times that Johnny's music was more masculine in tone.

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Thanks to all for the thoughtful responses.

I totally agree that if an athlete is participating in lots of outside activities, and then perform badly, it's reasonable to question whether the outside activities are affecting the training. If Kurt Brownings comments relative to Johnny's modeling had been all about "I wonder how these other activities are affecting his training time/focus" I wouldn't have thought twice about it - I think that's reasonable reporting / commentating - and to some degree I wonder that too. My issue is this. What difference does it make WHAT Johnny happened to be modeling? That's where my sensibilities went off the charts. I would wonder how it affected his training if Johnny was modeling orthepedic shoes. I don't really care WHAT kind of shoes they are. *SNARK WARNING* and how about Kurt's comment about Johnny's hair? Relevant? (IMO, no) Jealously since Kurt doesn't have much of that these days? What?

One of the "huh?" things for me about the Evan / Tanith / Dating thing was this. Do you know who lots of other skaters in the competition are dating? Who is Ben dating (or not)? Who are all the others dating (or not)? Personally, I don't WANT ESPN/ABC/USFSA wasting valuable TV coverage time telling me who ANY of these people are dating. Why do they think it's so important that we know who EVAN is dating, but not very many others????

On a more positive note, I like some of the fluff improvements. I'd rather see the little segments that highlight technical information related to jumps, spins, etc. and less of the "Life Of" stuff. A little "Life Of" is interesting , but I like the shifting balance to more info related to actual skating and details of the sport.

Tanith's dating life has always been a fluff piece though... when she was dating Fedor they did several fluff pieces during competitions...

I think they were using it not to promote an anti-gay flair so much as another excuse to show Tanith...

Piel said:

Hey DG good to hear from you!!! I liked the "Push Dick's Button" segment where the former National winners asked him questions. Also I think that Tanith also being a gold medalist and watching her BF win his first gold medal was kind of exciting............and very cute. I know in college football when a player has a father or brother that also played the game or coached in the sport they are always howing their reaction during the plays. I think that Johnny is always putting himself out there and I did not find it unusual that it was mentioned. His modeling has as much to do with skating as Bebe's piano playing, IMO...............or Katy Taylor wanting a pink hummer.

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Hi Piel!! :chorus: :chorus: :chorus:

I agree generally with how irrelevant all that stuff is. I think the difference for me, say, with respect to Johnny's modeling v. Katy's desire for a pink hummer was the level of DISSING given during the commentary about it. I would respect it as "fair and balanced coverage" if the positive or negative tone had been the same for all...which IMO, it wasn't. I didn't exactly hear Kurt saying anything like..."my GOODNESS what is wrong with Katy? I would never be caught dead driving a gas guzzler like that..much less in the horrid color pink!" Which is more along the lines of HOW he commented on Johnny's modeling.

LOL Piel - you always make me think!! (a good thing) I guess for me it's more about the HOW the comments were presented than WHAT facts were presented. (and I don't care about Johnny's modeling, Bebe's piano playing, Katy's pink hummer dreams, who Evan is/isn't dating, etc.) - at least during sporting coverage. That stuff IMO is better left for discussion boards, links - legit or questionable, off season snarking, etc.!!

DG

Tonichelle said:

Tanith's dating life has always been a fluff piece though... when she was dating Fedor they did several fluff pieces during competitions...

I think they were using it not to promote an anti-gay flair so much as another excuse to show Tanith...

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I wish I shared your optimism!! I'm surely getting way too cynical in my Middle? Elder? Years...

DG

emma said:

I really agree with what you said. I don't know how much USFSA is involved in deciding the fluff coverage and commentary - but what you point out was occurring last night and I too disliked it..

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USFSA has no input on what goes out over the air on the TV coverage. They sell the rights and they spend the money, and that is about it. I am with those of you who dislike excessive fluff on TV coverage, and think personal stuff should not be part of the coverage, unless it affects how the skater performs. Yes, Tanith and Evan are a couple, but who cares? Does it make him a better skater? Did it make him have a better competition? Are they covering a sporting competition, or are they putting out an on-air personality magazine?

With public interest down, there is a lot of concern throughout the skating world about image issues, and how they affect the public perceptions of skating. Not having seen the coverage, being here at Nationals, it was interesting to me to see this thread. I wonder if the on-air personalities who make the kind of comments described are doing their own "spin control", since they too are concerned about the popularity of the sport (having devoted their whole lives to it). But while that may be their motivation, I don't think they should be doing it.

I dunno, I think some should lighten up a bit. I only watched the ladies' segment of the competition so that's the only part I can comment on. I think ABC/ESPN has always had decent coverage of this event at US Nationals. It's their coverage of OTHER events- i.e. tape-delayed events- that I don't like. I really appreciate the live coverage and coverage of skaters other than the top 3. I guess you can't please all skatefans. I also appreciated the extra backstage footage. I always want to see what's going on behind the scenes as well as what's happening on the ice. (That said, I felt the "Emily left her costume behind" thing was just a tad bit over the top). I think they covered this very well. I only wish they would show the medal ceremony as well. It doesn't really feel like complete coverage IMO if they don't show that.

I think it was only last year that they began to show skaters outside of the final group (and live coverage of the SHORT program). I think with all the things we can pick apart, the coverage is definitely much better than it was in the past. JMHO.

The one thing I would probably like to see added/improved is more analysis of the scoring. Right now what the viewer sees is a bunch of numbers that don't make a whole lot of sense (the general breakdown they had I don't think quite explains it clearly enough).

Piel said:

Hey DG good to hear from you!!! I liked the "Push Dick's Button" segment where the former National winners asked him questions. Also I think that Tanith also being a gold medalist and watching her BF win his first gold medal was kind of exciting............and very cute. I know in college football when a player has a father or brother that also played the game or coached in the sport they are always howing their reaction during the plays. I think that Johnny is always putting himself out there and I did not find it unusual that it was mentioned. His modeling has as much to do with skating as Bebe's piano playing, IMO...............or Katy Taylor wanting a pink hummer.

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I have to say I agree and dissagree with everyone - so much for making up my mind.!

As a general rule of thumb, I like the fluff. But, this year some of the fluff was not as interesting as it could have been. Ex. Flatt skating as a child (how silly!) was shown way too many times. A better alternative would be to highlight her training or how she has adjusted from Jr.'s to Sr.'s

I didn't know that Evan/Tanith were seeing eachother and as a skating fan, I like to learn these things - but, not over and over. (how many times did they cut away to tanith - speaking of which, she seemed so much more nervous for Evan than for her own skating!). Mentioning it once was enough.

The comments about Wier's sexuality are getting a bit old but to be fair, he does put it out there for talk. I'm not saying that being well-rounded and having other interests aside from skating is bad or should be held against you, but when you are the reigning US Champion and you have a bad compititon, you have to realize that the media will look at these things - rightly or wrongly. Whatever his orientation is, I really don't care. I do agree though, that if the USFSA is in any way taking advantage of this apparent Evan V. Wier sexuality thing, it's in bad taste. They don't have to be the source of the talk, but using it to thier advantage is really in very poor taste.

I guess I look at the media and skating as a mutually benificial and mutually invasive pairing. Skaters need the media to display thier talent and in some cases, to send messages to other competitors ("I'm gonna beat skater X"). Media is going to take advantage of any juicy story they can too boost ratings. Skaters need to realize that and if they don't want aspects of thier life plastered on tv, they need to be a bit more discrete (sp) - I'm NOT saying that what the media does is right, but it's the way it is for now.

Just my 2 cents worth

Doggygirl said:

Why do they think it's so important that we know who EVAN is dating, but not very many others????
.

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Because Evan is dating a US Champion, World Medallist, and Olympic Medallist. Not very many other are.

I didn't know that Evan/Tanith were seeing eachother and as a skating fan, I like to learn these things - but, not over and over. (how many times did they cut away to tanith - speaking of which, she seemed so much more nervous for Evan than for her own skating!). Mentioning it once was enough.

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Maybe she was more nervous for him because she cant control his skating but she can control her own? idk. thats just how i sometimes am when i watch my sister of my friends.

•Love the topic (obviously I bring it up all the time) and agree with most, but I think the main reason that the Evan & Tanith was brought up and more then once was the fact you had 2 Gold medalists at the Nats that were dating - surprised no one brought that into deduction, maybe I missed it. Also the one who was bringing up family being shown, precisely. They did this with most of the skaters. I could do without the distraction from the skating, but it appears ESPN/ABC still caters to this thought for what??? Well do they know we don't like it, or are their demographics making us the minority.

Doggygirl said:

I totally agree that if an athlete is participating in lots of outside activities, and then perform badly, it's reasonable to question whether the outside activities are affecting the training.

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:agree: at least there is a correlation to skating via effect, as the family or girlfriend who just won a gold medal might have an effect in some way to the skate. In some degree (less but some) as relevant IMO as bringing up that Johnny stood rinkside during Evens pro.

•I think "gay bashing" is the biggest stretch and reading too far into something form anyone here I have heard - next to myself, I recognize I am likely the worst one for that. Kurt's comments could be construed that way but think he might think Johnny wants these things brought to attention, so Kurt obliges. But as the feedback indicates, and I concur - Yep Kurt this might be the one time I say something negative about you in anyway but, Mr. Browning, what is your real point. You sound like you want to point out this factor far more then anyone wants to hear it - IMO and many others, stop it already. Even my 68 year old Mother was saying, "what, why, let's hear skating talk. I don't care about that, it doesn't matter." You sound like a talkshow host and not a commentator. Drop it Kurt! Talk about what you are one of the best ever at, skating.

•That was the worst push Dick's Button I have ever seen IMO - sorry Piel but I disagree. I liked seeing the skaters, and interesting way to bring them on, but the substance was nonexistent. The questions also put him on the spot, didn't like that either. I prefer when he addresses a topic rather then using it as a segway. That is always a informative part of the show I felt like I didn't get to see and am disapointed. Great to see the skaters though.
I would LOVE to see Joesitz come on and do some of the commentating and interviews. I mean Heck, he is already going to be there.:agree: And I bet he wouldn't be letting things get so sidetracked from the skating. Bring on Joe ESPN!

•And how many people is it going to take before the camera operators figure out that the skates are VERY important to show. This amazes me at the stupidity here. For example Kimmies replay of her foot work at the end of the Ladies broadcast was saying this is what really clenched it like the play of the day. So here they show her doing her footwork with a banner covering her skates and the banner even says straight line footwork, AS IT COVERS THE SKATES.:banging: I swear there has got to be some moron running that editing booth. Just start running the banners on top / sides and compensate for the "ticker" on the bottom and all will be grand. Is it really that tough camera / editor / director? This is where one has to wonder if they even care.

•I have definitely brought these up before sorry but, during the skate talk about the skating, at the start of the skate don't talk through it. Simple stuff I know people have issue with but it never stops, getting better IMO but how hard can it be to just NOT TALK when the skater takes the opening pose.

Great to see a post from you again Doggygirl!

BTW Doggygirl, Tanith is NOT "photogenic" IMO. See her in person and you will see that her beauty is not at all captured by the cameras. She may look gorgeous on film I totally agree, but there is nothing like her live, nothing.:agree:

Doggygirl said:

On Tanish and Evan dating. I agree that Tanith is beautiful, and quite camera friendly. It's quite common when watching sporting events for the camera to "find" beautiful women when there is a lull in the action. (cheerleaders anyone?) However I did NOT think the camera's "finding" of Tanith was random at all during the coverage. DG

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I think that they showed Tanith about in the same way and sense as e.g. Bradley´s parents. Besides, as Tanith also is a gold medal winner in US Nationals, there was even more reason to show her.

Doggygirl said:

Hi everyone. I'm about to post some thoughts that might be controversial to some. It's just my own opinions. And I've been more of a lurker than a contributor here lately, so if any of these things make this post inappropriate from a moderator perspective, I won't be offended if this thread is deleted or closed.

Believe it or not, I remained "unspoiled" for the entire US Nationals until the broadcasts. LOL - the only thing making that possible with the concurrence of European Championships, which I followed on-line, including live audio from Eurosport ( in English via mainly Chris and Nicky) along with a slightly delayed video Eurosport feed with commentary in a different language, which I muted (in order to hear the commentary in English).

The reason I mention that I remained "unspoiled" is that my opinions were formed long before I read anything about it here.

While I think ESPN/ABC/USFSA have made some improvements in covering this Nationals more like a "sport," I think the difference in coverage as a "sport" between here and Europe is still pretty...well...different.

Now I will move to my main point, which ties to some comments made in the "live men's report" thread. (again, my opinions only)

I agree that the sexuality of a skater has zero relevance to the coverage of a sporting event / athletic competition. I found the combination of several things from the coverage last night to be disturbing, when taken in combination.

On Tanish and Evan dating. I agree that Tanith is beautiful, and quite camera friendly. It's quite common when watching sporting events for the camera to "find" beautiful women when there is a lull in the action. (cheerleaders anyone?) However I did NOT think the camera's "finding" of Tanith was random at all during the coverage. Maybe I missed a shot or two, but I found myself going "huh?" when the shots of Tanith seemed to surround Evan's skate (before and after) with the commentators emphasising that Tanith and Ben are dating. (if they are, good for them...I could care less). I immediately thought about Michael Weiss, and how it was often discussed that you couldn't get through a competition without a fluff piece on his *family* - always leaving me thinking that the USFSA felt REALLY compelled to proove Michaels heterosexualness. (new made up word) I got that same vibe WRT Evan/Tanith coverage last night.

In the event thread, someone gave a good example of the cameras regularly finding Shae in her competitive years in Canada. Another gorgeous, camera friendly woman. But was it done randomly, or was it done in close proximity to, say, E-Man (or insert other skater here) to *prove* heterosexual dating?

In contrast, I thought that all the commentators, and Kurt Browning in particular went out of their way to point out, in their not so subtle ways, Johnny's *gayness.* Johnny's modeling jobs have as little to do with this sporting event as who Evan is or isn't dating. IMO, Kurt's comments about Johnny's modeling in high heels, etc. were over the top.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but my STRONG impression after all of this was that the USFSA is trying hard to position Evan as "our heterosexual star" and Johhny as "our crazy gay guy." It just plain shouldn't matter.

I wish ESPN/ABC/USFSA would take a look at how these events are covered in Europe. Cut the personal irrelevant nonsense, and focus on the performances. I can do without 90% of the fluff - this combination of stuff just offended me more than usual. And yes, I am sending e-mails for whatever it's worth, to all these organizations with my opinion. (and yes, I know I need to shorten it up!!)

DG

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I couldn't agree more - I couldn't and still can't stand Michael Weiss and all his homophobic efforts to prove his masculinity (thus all the emphasis on his ability to produce children) same goes, imho, for Evan - one day he will awaken to discover his true self - At least Weir doesn't try to hide it. I admire his forthrightness.