After Marshall's, What impressions do you have of Sasha Cohen??

[R.D.]

I think the fans are taking what happened at this event too seriously. The skaters came here to have fun and entertain the audience, and generally I think they did their job well. As for Nats, that a whole 'nother story and IMO I don't think we'll see Cohen there.

Hasn't Cohen been making mistakes in exhibition jumps during her whole career now? How is this any different? That's probably why she doesn't jump at all. But in competitive skating you must have those jumps down pat and if you don't it will haunt you throughout. That's the problem Cohen has to sit with, and even Kimmie appears to have her own issues on jumps here and there.

 

[Fossi]

Yeah but at least other skaters attempt the triples in exhibition. Sasha barely attemtped any. Even Kwan made attemtps while injured last year.

 

[R.D.]

So that means one of 2 things: 1) Cohen hates jumping unless she has to, or 2) she's taking it easy and does not intend on competing this year.

The latter is more likely but I wouldn't be surprised if both are true.

 

[euterpe]

That would be her THIRD year with "Dark Eyes". I don't buy it. Maybe she could get away with it at Nationals, but not at Worlds. And if she's not planning on going to Worlds, then why go to Nationals?

 

[R.D.]

She's done programs for two years but I doubt three. I am going to assume Cohen will not be at Nats unless she says otherwise. Actually, change that to she actually takes the ice in Spokane (she tends to say things and then change her mind, I notice).

If Meissner can skate really well at Worlds I seriously think she can defend her title. But I doubt she'll do so- $50 says a Japanese skater winning and $20 says a Yu-Na Kim upset. :yes:

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

To be fair, Sasha has had all season to prepare for Nationals. She sat out the GP series and had pletny of time to decide. She has trained, wrote of having new programs, yes programs, so I don't know what excuses could be made for her.

I hope she is not gauging this competition for her decision.

 

[euterpe]

I hope she is not gauging this competition for her decision.

This was not a competition, it was a popularity contest. I'm just amazed she got less than 50% of the vote.

 

[Misplaced Gymnast]

Some of the Sasha-bashers are going to be very surprised when Sasha goes to Nationals and does well.

Sure...as a commentator....

I thought she looked great. She beat Johnny's competition SP in the eyes of both the judges and the public... including judges who are not loathe to criticize her.

Sure...same way Michelle K. "won" last year....

 

[Piel]

Hmmmmmm....I think the judges REALLY want Sasha to go to Nationals. Their jobs are at stake here. IMO they wanted to talk Sasha up to make her think she has a chance and be more inclined to go. As for Johnny maybe they thought a little "judge love" might make him think before he opens his mouth. I&B and Evan were my favorites. Emily Hughes has more energy than any skater out there but even she was not up to Tina Turner's music. I was confused by Sasha's costume for WSS. I hear "IFP" and think Natalie Wood..........Sasha was like Natalie Wood in Rita Moreno's costume, LOL. I realize she was skating to the music and not playing a character..........but that song is kind of iconic so it is hard not to see NW. And finally...d*** I miss Kwan!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chuckm]

Here's my take: Cohen is done with competitive skating. She knows darned well she won this so-called competition because she has more fans than the other skaters. It wasn't lost on her that even Katy Taylor landed tougher jumps than she did.

 

[R.D.]

Yes, and same with Kwan last year, right? She didn't win based on skating the best, she won on having the most fans.

 

[Piel]

Define "skating the best"?

 

[gracefulswan]

I think if Sasha goes to the Nationals, she will win. All she needs is to practice jumps. She is in shape and with the same exquisite abilities. Add jumps required, she will be unbeatable. Wow, have you ever seen such a beautiful styled skater before?

But if she hasn't decided yet at this moment, I doubt she will go. There are so many opportunities for her right now in other areas. It's hard to focus on this hard working, and nerve racking preparation for the Nationals.

well said. nobody can touch her artistically in the u.s. right now. without sasha at nationals it will be pretty boring even if kimmie wins. kimmie is no where near as polished.

if only she could do the jumps as well... i think sasha should do those jumps she's good at mostly... the salchow seems to be her 'money' jump. she should do 3 of those out of 6 triples in her program... hey, there's no 'rule' that say's she can't under the new system....

 

[Mathman]

Um, yes, there is. You can only do two of the same jump, and one of the repetitions has to be in a combo or sequence.

 

[chuckm]

well said. nobody can touch her artistically in the u.s. right now. without sasha at nationals it will be pretty boring even if kimmie wins. kimmie is no where near as polished.

if only she could do the jumps as well... i think sasha should do those jumps she's good at mostly... the salchow seems to be her 'money' jump. she should do 3 of those out of 6 triples in her program... hey, there's no 'rule' that say's she can't under the new system....

If the salchow is her "money" jump, how come she doubled it and landed it on two feet in her "West Side Story" program? And her final 3S was the jump she fell on in the FS at 2006 Worlds.

Sasha can do as many DOUBLE salchows as she wants in a FS, but she will get just 1.3 points for each one. She can do only two triple salchows, one by itself and one in combination. After that she gets 0 points for each triple salchow and wastes a jumping pass.

Artistry will only take a skater so far if the jumps aren't there. Sasha's jumps weren't there at 2006 Worlds and they're even more far away now than they were then.

If Sasha goes to Nationals, she will be very lucky to finish in the top 3. She knows that, and that's why you won't be seeing her there. She doesn't want to lose so quickly a title it took her 6 years to win.

 

[Mathman]

I don't know why people are saying "popularity contest" in a way that makes it seem like it's bad to be popular. It's good to be popular. In show buziness it's very good to be popular. Last year Michelle was the most popular skater. This year it's Sasha. That's a good thing.

Sasha is light years ahead of the other girls in terms of selling a program and entertaining an audience. This sort of thing is right up her alley. Johnny, too. He looked so comfortable out there, doing what he was born to do, compared to his obvious misery in his two Grand Prix events.

Who cares if Sasha doesn't know the difference between Maria and Anita? She feels pretty. Looks pretty, too. Had a nice moment on mic asking Dick Button a question in the "Push Dick's Button" segment.

Funny moment: when Peter Carruthers went on and on telling Rene Inoue how she was the finest female athlete he ever laid eyes on, while John Baldwin was just standing there like a lump.

 

[Wolfgang]

My impression ofSasha remains the same it's always been:
She's the perfect ice ballerina, prefers shows and exhibitions over competition, isn't overly fond of jumping, and would have made an excellent ice dancer.
She would be the obvious and perfect choice for 'Swan Lake on Ice'.
I think she's done with competitions, and will do well in Hollywoodc or other show-biz environs, provided someone creates a suitable vehicle (see above) for her.

 

[chuckm]

Sure it's good to be popular, but popularity doesn't win World titles and OGMs. Hard work and consistent training are what it takes to do that, and after 7 years of skating at the Senior level, Sasha doesn't seem to want to put in the effort it takes to get to the top and stay there.

The USFS wants to hang onto Sasha because she is popular, and she is also the last of the sure-fire ticket sellers. However, Sasha has her eye out for her own future, and she isn't sure she is cut out to be a competitive figure skater. An entertainer, yes, she is that, but an athlete? Not so much.

Sasha can be an entertainer and do cheesefests and tours and still maintain eligibility so she can say she wants to stay on til 2010. But if that big acting opportunity comes along and her new career takes off, I think Sasha will leave the USFS in the dust in a heartbeat, and the trail of the OGM as well. If her acting career stalls, we may see her make a return for the 2008-2009 season, but that may be too late for her to get back to where she was in 2005-2006. And by 2008-2009, that may not be enough to be competitive.

 

[R.D.]

I don't know why people are saying "popularity contest" in a way that makes it seem like it's bad to be popular. It's good to be popular. In show buziness it's very good to be popular. Last year Michelle was the most popular skater. This year it's Sasha. That's a good thing.

Maybe, but popularity doesn't win you gold medals .

 

[R.D.]

Sure it's good to be popular, but popularity doesn't win World titles and OGMs. Hard work and consistent training are what it takes to do that, and after 7 years of skating at the Senior level, Sasha doesn't seem to want to put in the effort it takes to get to the top and stay there.

The USFS wants to hang onto Sasha because she is popular, and she is also the last of the sure-fire ticket sellers. However, Sasha has her eye out for her own future, and she isn't sure she is cut out to be a competitive figure skater. An entertainer, yes, she is that, but an athlete? Not so much.

Sasha can be an entertainer and do cheesefests and tours and still maintain eligibility so she can say she wants to stay on til 2010. But if that big acting opportunity comes along and her new career takes off, I think Sasha will leave the USFS in the dust in a heartbeat, and the trail of the OGM as well. If her acting career stalls, we may see her make a return for the 2008-2009 season, but that may be too late for her to get back to where she was in 2005-2006. And by 2008-2009, that may not be enough to be competitive.

OK, now this post I can agree with.

I just wish she would simply say she's not going to Nats and not leave everyone wondering. This is the same thing I really disliked about Kwan.