Hersh Article on Worlds and the Ice Channel | Golden Skate

Hersh Article on Worlds and the Ice Channel

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin
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Phil Hersch gives his impressions about Worlds and comments about the Ice Channel. You may have to register to read but registration is free.

Worlds Article

Dee
 
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Aug 3, 2003
I thought what Hersh said was accurate. Not pleasant for fans in the US, Canada, and Russia to hear, but true. Sure I wish he would have qualified some of his descriptions of programs or skaters as a "mess" by noting the skaters were injured or had been ill, but sports writing for every other sport is rough-and-tumble, why not figure skating?

Also, Hersh did say that because of the quality of skating that covering the pairs' and men's events was more a privilege than a job. IMO, he's correct that the US ladies haven't kept up the technical standard set in both the '92 and '94 Olympic games. In '92, Kristi did a 3L/3t, as Hersh mentioned, and in '94 Nancy Kerrigan did a 3t/3t.

I thought the info on the status of the Ice Channel possibly becoming part of Lifetime was interesting and something I hadn't heard before. I never thought an all figure skating channel would work and the idea of combining speed skating, hockey, and figure skating was ludicrous. The stuff about TV rights and skating was "just the facts, ma'am."

Finally, it's a newspaper column. Lots of facts, very little explanation.
Rgirl
 

show 42

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Also not mentioned was the reason some skaters are not doing triple-triples or just not skating up to par......injury, possible injury, recovering from injuries, illnesses, coaching changes, etc........just the facts mam. He didn't reveal anthing new, just a rehash of what anyone who follows figure skating already knows........42
 

hockeyfan228

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I thought the most interesting part was the possibility of Lifetime having regular, daily ice skating programming. Now that would be reason to set the TiVo on a regular basis!
 
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show 42 said:
Also not mentioned was the reason some skaters are not doing triple-triples or just not skating up to par......injury, possible injury, recovering from injuries, illnesses, coaching changes, etc........just the facts mam. He didn't reveal anthing new, just a rehash of what anyone who follows figure skating already knows........42
Very true, Show. I was going under the assumption that a straight news person--or at least Phil Hersh--would put injuries, illnesses, coaching changes, etc. under explanation. Even though they're facts, they're lower on the inverted pyramid of story essentials. Also true that it's just a rehash of what anyone who follows figure skating already knows. The question is, Who is Phil Hersh writing for? Serious fans, sometime fans, once-every-four-years fans, or general readers. My guess is, right or wrong, it's somewhere between once-every-four-years and sometime fans.

I think the bottom line comes down to money and money means column inches. Figure skating isn't generating much money these days, hence a newspaper is not going to allot much space to a story about figure skating, even the World championships, especially when no US skater wins a gold medal. Cold, but that's commerce. Also, had Michelle or Sasha won, there would have been a US story in it--either "Kwan Win's Sixth" or "Cohen Dethrones Kwan."

Unfortunately, until figure skating comes around to it's next "up" cycle, I think this is the kind of newspaper article we're going to be seeing. Newspapers are having a tough time as it is, so the space they have goes to where the readers are.

I think where we'll be seeing the best coverage of Worlds and probably even the Olympics is from the various Internet writers and forums. With Rosaleen's program-by-program notes and the reports from people there, I felt we had access to better coverage here than what we would have gotten from any newspaper.

The only thing the press can do now that other writers or forum members can't is get interviews. For my money, newpaper interviews are so meager anyway--a couple of token quotes--that I'd rather read something substantial in IFS, BOI, or one of the other skating magazines.

I wasn't happy with Hersh's article; of course I wanted color, explanation, quotes. But I couldn't criticize it for what it was, a well-done straight newstory, considering the amount of space Hersh had. JMO.

Of course, what I really want is for somebody to pay ME to go to every Nats, Worlds, and Olympics and write a 25,000 word NEW YORKER piece about each.:)
Rgirl
 
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hockeyfan228

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Rgirl said:
Of course, what I really want is for somebody to pay ME to go to every Nats, Worlds, and Olympics and write a 25,000 word NEW YORKER piece about each.:)
Rgirl
Hear, hear! (Or is it "Here, here"?) One of those great three-parters!
 

Jaana

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I could not agree more with what Hersh writes in this article... In my opinion he says straight and without heat (compared to those Canadian writers mentioned in the article) how things really are without playing the game of the usual hype surrounding many skaters.

Marjaana
 
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Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Great Hirsch review of the Worlds. It is exactly the way I had seen it Live in Dortmund. I would love to have written that article and could have but for the PMs I would get about bashing. For example Slutskaya did not skate a top ten routine. We know she's been ill and we would have mentioned that with her deserved 14th place finish.

The American gals had better stock up on their 3x3s because that's going to be as common as a layback spin. I think we will be watching Beatrisa Liang for the jumps if her injuries heal because she has everthing else.

I'm not sure where Hirsch got his info on Rochette's quad. but if is true, then there's a whole new ballgame starting in Ladies Figure Skating. Joannie is an excellent all round skater and should be in the top grouping next season.

I liked reading his comments on Stephane Lambiel who's overall skating is, imo, the best in Men's skating along with Klimkin who unfortunately didn't get to do that wonderful evil sorcerer in swan Lake.

But artistry or not, the Men's skate will depend on being the best of the jumpfest. I still think they should cut out the music on the men and just let them jump as they do in gymnastics. We could avoid all those silly posings they do.

Methinks the era of Pairs starting with the Protopopvs is over for Russia. the contests now moves to China.

I think the Russians will continue to dominate in Dance with the few exceptions that come up to make it more interesting, such as Italy, France and maybe the Lithuanians.

Just my take on the Worlds and Hirsch.

Joe

Joe
 
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I didn't see anything to take offense at in this straightforward article, or even anything controversial. (?)

Mathman
 
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Jul 11, 2003
What if wrote Irina Slutskaya skated heer worst yet and was held up by the judges or Sasha Cohen froze up in the LP and threw the gold medal at Shizuka.

Insted I wrote Slutskaya was not at her best but the crowd adored her and the judges too.

If only Sasha had skated her Quali at the LP. Whatever happened she and Robin need to work on it.

Joe
 

hockeyfan228

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Joesitz said:
I'm not sure where Hirsch got his info on Rochette's quad. but if is true, then there's a whole new ballgame starting in Ladies Figure Skating. Joannie is an excellent all round skater and should be in the top grouping next season.
From a Toronto Star article is the following quote (towards the bottom),
Rochette did open some eyes here this week in practice by rattling off a couple of clean quadruple toe jumps. Only one female in the world, Japan's Miki Ando, has ever landed a quad in competition. Rochette thoroughly plans to insert a quad into her program at some future date. "Definitely, I really want to do it; when I feel ready for it." Also to be found in her practice package: a triple Axel, as yet performed by only a handful of females.
 

Ptichka

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Mathman said:
I didn't see anything to take offense at in this straightforward article, or even anything controversial. (?)
I do not consider the following "good journalism":

Timothy Goebel, who ended his competitive season after a pathetic short program at nationals

U.S. pairs are so bad, with no improvement in sight, that it was a waste of money to send two talentless teams to finish 10th and 13th among only 19 entrants


And I think he could have mentioned Ice Dance, where both US and Canada, not to mention Russia, didn't do too poorly.
 
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