Midsummer Thoughts on the Olympic Front Runners

[seniorita]

i posted by accident in plushthread, in fsu news they say lambiel will compete in nebelhorn without posting a source:think: Mid summer surprises??(i m afraid to be happy..)

 

[antmanb]

OT but what an interesting crystal ball back from 2006... And people already mentioning Caroline, too!

Heaping praise and expectation on skating 5 year olds was very in vogue in 2006. Everyone was hoping to spot the next female olympic champion before anyone else ever heard of her. Since the next generation failed to make a splash or secure three places for the Olympics (something totally unimaginable back then) it seems people have stopped looking at the intermediate and novice levels quite so closely declaring champions

i posted by accident in plushthread, in fsu news they say lambiel will compete in nebelhorn without posting a source:think: Mid summer surprises??(i m afraid to be happy..)

Well the sourse for that is a German skating magazine Eislauffen.

Plus don't forget that Plushy was very confident that his rival in Vancouver would be Lambiel, after they had both been doing the same tour...speculation flying round all over the place!

Ant

 

[Jaana]

Not all front runners, but these are the skaters whose skating as Olympians I will follow with biggest enthusiasm:

Men
Lysacek
Plushenko
Verner
Takahashi
Ten (Denis)

Ladies
Kim
Asada
Cohen
Lepisto
Nagasu

Pairs
Shen & Zhao
Pang & Tong
Kawaguchi & Smirnov
Mukhortova & Trankov
?

Dance
Denkova & Staviski (if they are coming back)
Belbin & Agosto
Khokhlova & Novitski
Kerr & Kerr
Faiella & Scali

 

[Buttercup]

Dance
Denkova & Staviski (if they are coming back)

I think their competitive career is over. As I understand it, Albena and Maxim are getting into choreo - they've been working on Brian Joubert's new LP.

 

[Medusa]

I think their competitive career is over. As I understand it, Albena and Maxim are getting into choreo - they've been working on Brian Joubert's new LP.

Maksim is also listed as a coach of Pechalat and Bourzat.

 

[chuckm]

Just the idea of Maxim Staviiski returning for the Olympics makes me want to gag.

Maxim's drunk driving caused the death of one person and incapacitating injury to another. He escaped a prison sentence, but has HUGE fines to pay as the result of his conviction, and he has to work to pay those fines. IMO, he has truly disgraced himself and should never return to eligible skating because that would set a horrible example for the younger skaters.

 

[1795]

Ladies

Kim* - don't bother
Asada - she'll try to show off her 3A
Lepisto - fierce and cute
Ando - dark horse
Rochette -___- home ice and for some reason she won silver at worlds? i always feel uncomfortable seeing her skate for some reason.

Mens

Joubert* - allez!
Plushenko - i guess....
Chan - home ice, for some reason he isn't OGM material to me
Evan - we'll see how his ego runs
Verner - when clean, he is magic
Abbott - just focus.

Pairs

Shen/Zhao* - after doing a recap of their highlight programs...wow please
Kavaguti/Smirnov - show off their 4S
Pang/Tong - up and down
Savchenko/Szolkowy - sorry, shen/zhao won me
Zhang/Zhang - FIGHT!

Ice Dance

Delobel/Schoenfelder************************************
Domina/Shabalin - never had an attachment to this team.
Khokhlova/ Novitski - funky and strong
Belbin/Agosto - repeat silver
Davis/ White - will beat V/M

 

[dorispulaski]

Why the insistence that athletes be role models? That's a question that has always puzzled me. Athletes are supposed to be good at their sport. They should be a decent role model for how to compete and train, and of sportsmanship, (which would include not using performance enhancing drugs) but I fail to see why they should be expected to provide a moral example to the young in areas having little to do with their sport, like speeding or drinking or running around on their partners.

That kind of moral example, to me, should be the province of people making moral claims, like the clergy, for example, or politicians who run on a family values platform. (And many of them don't seem to do so well on this.) Or the kids' parents.




.

 

[seniorita]

Just the idea of Maxim Staviiski returning for the Olympics makes me want to gag.

we stayed in same hotel in milan for golden skates and i found him a decent person to speak to, anyway, no matter what he did, their skating in show was amazing and thats the real thing we should look.An accident or a bad moment can happen to anyone.
To combine the other topic I was shocked with how tiny sasha is from close...but gorgeous

 

[Mathman]

Why the insistence that athletes be role models?

I think if you know that children are looking up to you for whatever reason, you should try to do right.

In fact, you should try to do right whether children are looking up to you or not.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Why the insistence that athletes be role models? That's a question that has always puzzled me. Athletes are supposed to be good at their sport. They should be a decent role model for how to compete and train, and of sportsmanship, (which would include not using performance enhancing drugs) but I fail to see why they should be expected to provide a moral example to the young in areas having little to do with their sport, like speeding or drinking or running around on their partners.

That kind of moral example, to me, should be the province of people making moral claims, like the clergy, for example, or politicians who run on a family values platform. (And many of them don't seem to do so well on this.) Or the kids' parents

Exactly. Why should they set examples. I think their examples are in their sport and clean living. If the kids can't pick that ups, well......

I think if you know that children are looking up to you for whatever reason, you should try to do right.

In fact, you should try to do right whether children are looking up to you or not.

Shouldn't an adult do right in life anyway?

 

[seniorita]

I love this board, it has so much wisdom to share

 

[Medusa]

I love this board, it has so much wisdom to share

That's because Joe and Mr. Math are like three times older than we are. Age often translates into wisdom.

 

[seniorita]

i can think of some cases when this is not the case
why you ruin my compliment post, i was really serious for once.

 

[chuckm]

we stayed in same hotel in milan for golden skates and i found him a decent person to speak to, anyway, no matter what he did, their skating in show was amazing and thats the real thing we should look.An accident or a bad moment can happen to anyone.

Maxim got behind the wheel drunk, and was speeding on a wet and slippery road when he hit another car and killed one occupant and left another seriously brain-injured. That did not happen as an "accident" or a "bad moment". Maxim had been stopped by a policeman and warned to cut down on his speed, but Maxim in his arrogance and disregard for others thought the law did not apply to him.

He was found guilty of manslaughter and is therefore a convicted felon. That he is "decent to speak to" and an "amazing" skater does not make up for his crime.

 

[seniorita]

i know the story.
I m not sure I can explain. I have the same "judging" about anyone who gets behind the wheel drunk and him, he is no exception, he was as idiot as anyone else. But him being a known skater doesnt make his crime bigger than the others. Just as guilty as the rest. There is a court to convict him not me. I just met the skater.
I m sorry if I made you think wrong. My comment was made concerning role models.

 

[redshirt]

Shen & Zhao are looking good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M70qDxhUqcA

 

[chuckm]

i know the story.
I m not sure I can explain. I have the same "judging" about anyone who gets behind the wheel drunk and him, he is no exception, he was as idiot as anyone else. But him being a known skater doesnt make his crime bigger than the others. Just as guilty as the rest. There is a court to convict him not me. I just met the skater.
I m sorry if I made you think wrong. My comment was made concerning role models.

Staviiski is certainly NOT a role model.

And he didn't just drive drunk, he KILLED a man. The only reason his jail sentence was dismissed in Bulgaria was BECAUSE he was a star athlete. If he had killed a man while driving drunk in the US, he would almost certainly have gotten jail time.

 

[seniorita]

i didnt say he is a role model, non should be anyway.

Lol ok, I m with you, and if you consder...i dont even like ice dance

 

[psycho]

Staviiski is certainly NOT a role model.

And he didn't just drive drunk, he KILLED a man. The only reason his jail sentence was dismissed in Bulgaria was BECAUSE he was a star athlete. If he had killed a man while driving drunk in the US, he would almost certainly have gotten jail time.

No it wasn't. According to Bulgarian law, any person who had no previous criminal record and commited a crime like Maxim had would not be getting jail. In fact, his jail time was suspended because the judge thought he got it only because he is famous and it was way harsher than any punishment a regular citizen would get.

Bulgaria is not US, and they have their own laws, and you seem to be missing that point.