Marshall's In'l Com on 15 April. and Kimmie

[Sylvia]

I don't know about Steenberg, but if Slutskaya can't make it they could get Stephanie Rosenthal!

I'd go for that!

 

[R.D.]

Michelle, for one, shouldn't be there.

Exactly. And I would say Slutskaya is the other one, but it would be tough to choose between her and Cohen. Heck, all three of them shouldn't be there

 

[MFarone]

Marshalls Showcase

I'm looking forward to this show. Eventhough the skaters are tired, I'm hoping for some nice performances. Unlike Mathman I am not expecting a lot of jumps This could be the last time we see Hinzmann and Parcham as they are undecided about continuing - I really enjoy them. Also Matt Savoie is going on to law school so he won't be competing for awhile at least and I love his skating. Matt seems to become the music to me - kind of channel it. He's not real flashy, but I am mesmerized, JMO.

I'm a MK fan so I am also looking forward to seeing her. Don't know how wise a move this is for her, but hope she is doing the right thing for herself.

Maureen

 

[attyfan]

Exactly. And I would say Slutskaya is the other one, but it would be tough to choose between her and Cohen. Heck, all three of them shouldn't be there

Why shouldn't they be there? They are all on the COI tour, which indicates (to me, at least) that they are healthy enough -- especially when landing a lot of triples will not be required. I think that a big dose of applause and screams is just the thing to perk up three ladies who have had some major disappointments lately.

 

[R.D.]

maybe you're right. But nothing does the mind better than just some outright rest.

 

[Dee4707]

I kind of hope Johnny will be bringing Camille, if for no other reason than just to cheer him on. (Hic, I've been drinking, hic)

Dee

 

[rob43]

Well, you're right, of course. I guess I was thinking of Michelle at the 1998 world pros (an exhibition style competition), where she came out with a six triple performance to East of Eden, just because she was Michelle Kwan.

That's the attitude I would like to see from Kimmie.

MM

Actually- that's my favorite Kwan competition ever. She did 3 triples to EOE as the artistic skate. Her 'big' program was her debut of Arianne with 7 triples which she used as the technical program on night 1. That was a competition though. (and she had skipped the GP so it was a pre-nat tune-up) As everyone has said, this Marshall's isn't.

 

[antmanb]

As far as I can tell, it is an exhibition with no judging of any kind.

Still, I hope the skaters go out there in a competitive frame of mind. Even if there is no judge to tell you so, you still know when you outskated the other guy.

I doubt they would - isn't the spring cheesefest always just an exhibition at the end of the season? I presume the 6 triple program from Kwan that you mentioned was an autumn "competition" hence the 6 triples no?

Ant

 

[Mathman]

I doubt they would - isn't the spring cheesefest always just an exhibition at the end of the season? I presume the 6 triple program from Kwan that you mentioned was an autumn "competition" hence the 6 triples no?

I always looked at the spring cheesefest as the chance for the skaters who messed up at worlds to redeem themselves and prove that they are better than the worlds medalists after all, LOL. This was how it was billed in 1999, after Maria Butyrskaya whupped Michelle for the World Championship. The end-of-season event was advertised as Michelle's chance to regain her number one status.

Unfortunately, in the event they changed it to one of those team things, USA against the world. The world (starring Maria) won. Oh, well.

The competition that I was remembering (Michelle did a continuous spiral sequence, all on one foot, that included both forward and backward change of edge spirals) was the World Pro Championship in December, 1998. (Actually, there were two world professional championships in 1998, because the previous one was in January. Rudy Galindo won.)

Anyway, Dick Button used to have the world professional championship every year, and it was a good, serious competition. Brian Boitano won several, as did Kristi Yamaguchi. Then in 1998, after the Olympics, they decided to to make it a pro-am and, in particular, to let Michelle Kwan and Alexei Yagudin complete. (Boitano and Yamaguchi withdrew in protest.)

In fact, there were a whole series of pro-ams that season, all won by Michelle and Alexei -- they had names like The Ultimate Four, the Kerry Lotion, the Grand Slam, the U.S. Pro Classic, and Masters of Figure Skating. (This orgy of skating events killed off the pro-am concept. Some years later Dick Button lost financial control of the world professional championship, the new owners decided not to promote it, and now professional competition is dead.)

 

[Mathman]

I don't know why, but I am always interested in the financial aspect of these events. When they are actual competitions, there is prize money ($50,000 for first, etc.) I always assumed, but I don't know for sure, that the headliners (especially sine qua non Michelle) also got a guaranteed fee under the table.

I wonder if Kimmie's agent was able to renegotiate her contract after she won worlds.

MM

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

??? Just curious why you mention Tommy Steenberg? He placed 13th in his senior debut at 2006 US Nationals.

The kid's got musicality in his blood, and that's what makes a figure skater an artist. Watch for him, this year at Nats. Wish he could do the GPs. He needs to work out and build up his body. This forum will brand him anorexic.

MM - Yeah. I've been watching and admiring Stephanie R for the past two years and it took Rocket to get the attention she deserves. She could lose a few pounds but I like her anyway.

Joe

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don't know why, but I am always interested in the financial aspect of these events. When they are actual competitions, there is prize money ($50,000 for first, etc.) I always assumed, but I don't know for sure, that the headliners (especially sine qua non Michelle) also got a guaranteed fee under the table.

I wonder if Kimmie's agent was able to renegotiate her contract after she won worlds.MM

If there is prize money, there is a competition (of sorts). It may be that these skaters were chosen to see how well they skate for the upcoming COI series.

Marshall's will have the competitive interest (and the TV ratings for the spring line) and COI will have an audition for what numbers the contestants will be using for the big show

If COI gets Arakawa, she skates last; Meissner takes a back seat but where oh where do you put La Kwan and Diva Cohen in the mix. This may be the beginning of their 'has been' years.

Joe

 

[Sylvia]

The kid's got musicality in his blood, and that's what makes a figure skater an artist. Watch for him, this year at Nats. Wish he could do the GPs. He needs to work out and build up his body. This forum will brand him anorexic.

Steenberg looks fine to me. He's still only 17. I really like his skating and look forward to seeing how he develops. I expect he will be back on the JGP this fall.

I've been watching and admiring Stephanie R for the past two years and it took Rocket to get the attention she deserves. She could lose a few pounds but I like her anyway.

Rosenthal looks fine to me. I have my fingers crossed that she will receive her first-ever international assignment (JGP) based on her 2006 Nationals placement in senior (8th).

Sorry for my OT post. Back to discussing the Marshalls exhibition showcase...

 

[Mathman]

If COI gets Arakawa, she skates last; Meissner takes a back seat but where oh where do you put La Kwan and Diva Cohen in the mix. This may be the beginning of their 'has been' years.

That's a great question! So far, Arakawa is not mentioned on the COI web site. She may have a full schedule with the Prince Hotel tours and other opportunities in Japan. I do think Suguri will be with COI, though.

IMHO Olympic silver medalist and U.S. champion Sasha would be the next highest ranking lady after Shizuka. Especially since Kimmie is not (so far) scheduled to skate the full tour.

I remember after the 2002 Olympics, Sarah skated last. But she skated only at the beginning of the tour. Then Michelle moved up to the prime spot. This made Yagudin mad, and I think is one of the (many) reasons why he quit COI for SOI.

Then, too, "has been" or not, Michelle is Michelle, LOL.

On the COI tour, Michelle is as popular as the acrobats and the hula hoop girl.

MM

 

[attyfan]

...
I remember after the 2002 Olympics, Sarah skated last. But she skated only at the beginning of the tour. Then Michelle moved up to the prime spot. This made Yagudin mad, and I think is one of the (many) reasons why he quit COI for SOI.
...

MM

As I understood it, there were problems between Yagudin and Tom Collins from his short stint with COI in '99, that led to him skating with CSOI -- he couldn't skate with SOI until he was ready to give up competing (while he could technically retain his Oly eligibility while skating with SOI, he could not do SOI and compete at the same time)

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

As I understood it, there were problems between Yagudin and Tom Collins from his short stint with COI in '99, that led to him skating with CSOI -- he couldn't skate with SOI until he was ready to give up competing (while he could technically retain his Oly eligibility while skating with SOI, he could not do SOI and compete at the same time)

attnyfan - As I understand it, there is no problem for a non-American skating in SOI if he/she is still eligible. Apparently, the USFS has a deal with COI and not SOI.

Yags always seems discontent with something or other. I think he is under the impression that his OGM is worth more than anyone else wherever in the world. If he's in it for the money now, he has the choice to bargain for a better contract with whomever and accept the best deal he can get.

Joe

 

[attyfan]

attnyfan - As I understand it, there is no problem for a non-American skating in SOI if he/she is still eligible. Apparently, the USFS has a deal with COI and not SOI. ...

Joe

When I said that Yags could not do SOI and compete at the same time, I was referring to the logistical difficulties in competing while touring during the competitive season. American skaters can also skate with SOI and keep their Oly eligibility (Sarah Hughes did so, for example), but again, she wasn't trying to compete and tour at the same time.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

American skaters can also skate with SOI and keep their Oly eligibility (Sarah Hughes did so, for example), but again, she wasn't trying to compete and tour at the same time.

You may be right, but I recall that Todd Eldridge could not get his eligibility back after skating with SOI.

Joe

 

[Doggygirl]

You may be right, but I recall that Todd Eldridge could not get his eligibility back after skating with SOI.

Joe

After the '88 Oly's, Todd "went pro" for the 99/00 season. He returned to eligible skating for the 00/01 season and then went on to the 2002 Olys. Then back to pro.

Was there a time after 2002 Oly's he wanted to return to eligible skating and was turned down?? I'm not aware of that if he did. Just curious..

DG

 

[attyfan]

As I understood it, Todd actually did get the necessary permission from the USFSA to skate with SOI while retaining his Oly eligibility. There was another dispute with the USFSA over some other matter (a contract for appearances at USFSA cheesefests, I think), and that was when Todd decided to go pro.