Mmmm. I was just going through the list of threads in “The Edge”, and just noticed that I missed that this thread had been revived a couple of weeks ago!
Since I started this thread, there has been a major development. You know the way I was saying that Simon already had a lot on his plate, what with running Eurosport’s commentary department, as well as commentating on tennis. Well, British Eurosport has lost the UK rights for the women’s tennis (as well as MotoGP) from the start of 2014 to British Telecom’s new sports channel.
So, that is one less thing taking Simon away from his figure skating!
…There again, Simon was commentating on the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon, so there is always the possibility that he could follow the tennis and switch to BT Sport. I really hope not! It would be a great loss not only to Eurosport, but a massive loss to our sport!
He’s the best figure-skating-commentator-who-has-not-been-a-skater-themselves that there is!
Anyway, I thought I would take this opportunity to explain a bit further why I was going with Jenny.
Firstly, Jenny Kirk was a very good skater when she was competing. Plus, she has the benefit of having competed under both judging systems, and so can give a more balanced appraisal than those that have just competed under one or the other.
Secondly, since she retired, Jenny has transformed herself into a very competent journalist.
Although it has not been going for long, “The Skating Lesson” has already got a cult following. OK, so there are things I don’t like about it, but it is impossible to please everybody all of the time. Yes, Jenny and Dave frequently make me cringe with the way they go on. But they can be serious, and when they are, they are as professional an interviewer as you can get.
Personally, I think the serious Jenny would fit in perfectly with Simon, Chris and Nicky.
Oh, and Jenny has made no secret of how much she admires the British Eurosport commentators, especially for how unbiased they are. I remember one time she posted a link to a YouTube video of a routine on her Facebook profile. It was one of those routines that had controversial marking (I can’t remember now which one it was, as there have now been so many controversial scores…), and she did nothing but praise the way in which Simon and Chris reacted to it.
A few people have commented in various threads that Jenny’s “new accent” is hard to listen to. And, I do tend to agree. Of course, being hard to listen to is not a good thing for a commentator. But, given how good a journalist she is, I was willing to overlook that in this instance.
Every year, I watch the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Finals. Now, it is not because I am one of these people that are crazy about Eurovision! Rather, it is because the current voting system means that a lot of the good acts get knocked out before the Final.
Usually, the BBC have 2 of their Radio 1 DJ’s, Scott Mills and Sara Cox, commentating on the Semi-Finals. I like Scott, but Sara is VERY hard to listen to. But, this year, Scott was instead joined by Ana Matronic from the Scissor Sisters. Before this, I had only ever heard Ana when she was singing. But, after hearing her talk normally, I absolutely fell in love with her accent!
So, can anybody think of any female skaters from Oregon who might be interested in commentating for a TV channel in the UK…?
CaroLiza_fan
Since I started this thread, there has been a major development. You know the way I was saying that Simon already had a lot on his plate, what with running Eurosport’s commentary department, as well as commentating on tennis. Well, British Eurosport has lost the UK rights for the women’s tennis (as well as MotoGP) from the start of 2014 to British Telecom’s new sports channel.
So, that is one less thing taking Simon away from his figure skating!
…There again, Simon was commentating on the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon, so there is always the possibility that he could follow the tennis and switch to BT Sport. I really hope not! It would be a great loss not only to Eurosport, but a massive loss to our sport!
He’s the best figure-skating-commentator-who-has-not-been-a-skater-themselves that there is!
Anyway, I thought I would take this opportunity to explain a bit further why I was going with Jenny.
Firstly, Jenny Kirk was a very good skater when she was competing. Plus, she has the benefit of having competed under both judging systems, and so can give a more balanced appraisal than those that have just competed under one or the other.
Secondly, since she retired, Jenny has transformed herself into a very competent journalist.
Although it has not been going for long, “The Skating Lesson” has already got a cult following. OK, so there are things I don’t like about it, but it is impossible to please everybody all of the time. Yes, Jenny and Dave frequently make me cringe with the way they go on. But they can be serious, and when they are, they are as professional an interviewer as you can get.
Personally, I think the serious Jenny would fit in perfectly with Simon, Chris and Nicky.
Oh, and Jenny has made no secret of how much she admires the British Eurosport commentators, especially for how unbiased they are. I remember one time she posted a link to a YouTube video of a routine on her Facebook profile. It was one of those routines that had controversial marking (I can’t remember now which one it was, as there have now been so many controversial scores…), and she did nothing but praise the way in which Simon and Chris reacted to it.
A few people have commented in various threads that Jenny’s “new accent” is hard to listen to. And, I do tend to agree. Of course, being hard to listen to is not a good thing for a commentator. But, given how good a journalist she is, I was willing to overlook that in this instance.
Every year, I watch the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Finals. Now, it is not because I am one of these people that are crazy about Eurovision! Rather, it is because the current voting system means that a lot of the good acts get knocked out before the Final.
Usually, the BBC have 2 of their Radio 1 DJ’s, Scott Mills and Sara Cox, commentating on the Semi-Finals. I like Scott, but Sara is VERY hard to listen to. But, this year, Scott was instead joined by Ana Matronic from the Scissor Sisters. Before this, I had only ever heard Ana when she was singing. But, after hearing her talk normally, I absolutely fell in love with her accent!
So, can anybody think of any female skaters from Oregon who might be interested in commentating for a TV channel in the UK…?
CaroLiza_fan