Psyching out competitors?

[Doggygirl]

Let's see Mzheng......


*Kwan is trying to hold up Tanith's citizenship because she wants to ice dance with Ben after retiring from singles....we all know how GREEDY she is

Great post as always Piel, but I must take exception to this part. I have it on good authority that Kwan is currently in negotiations with Sebestyen to acquire her Carmen costume from last year. Following the Oly's, MK then plans to single handedly save the US Pairs program without having to steal anyone's partner.

DG

 

[Doggygirl]

Mentioning the GPF brings up an interesting point. If Michelle or Sasha WERE to compete in one GP event and won, this would mean 12 points. And we've seen in the past that when the smoke clears.... there are often skaters who make the final with only 12 points (or less in some cases). With the wonky timing of the final, I think we may see them both skip the entire GP. Probably not a major issue for Sasha, but I agree with other observations that Michelle needs the CoP experience.

Sorry if this point was discussed somewhere along the way in this thread already. I didn't fully read every post.

I suspect it is less likely this year for a skater to make the GPF with 12 points. Back when skaters had the option for a 3rd event, while those points didn't count for THAT skater, it blocked other skaters from those extra points. This year with more skaters involved given the 2 event only limitation, I think it is less likely that 12 points would qualify for GPF.

But of course I would love to hear Mathman's take on this theory!!

DG

 

[chuckm]

Last season neither Kwan nor Cohen skated at all, and only 3 seeds did 3 events, yet two ladies with TWO events and 13 points didn't make the final. This year it will be even harder to make the final with just one event.

 

[gezando]

Look how fast Irina returned to skating. I'm not an Irina fan, but she missed a season due to her condition (could barely skate at Worlds but was so happy that she could skate at Worlds).

I am cheering for Irina to win olys 2006.

What do you mean by how fast Irina returned to skating As you said, she missed a season, and that is by your definition a fast return after an illness / injury??

 

[curious]

Lots of folks have mentioned how empty the competitions are without Cohen and Kwan, especially since their rivaly is something that lots of U.S. fans at least are interested in. Sorry that you are not a fan of artistic skating. I love that about Kwan but can understan it's not for everyone. OTOH I don't understand what people enjoy about Slutskaya jump, jump, struggle into a Bielman.. and repeat..............and repeat again. To me THAT is boring.

And when Irina retires the skating world will go on.

Yes,and michell laid her bed for four years and slept on it. And you and her fans wouldn't have any problem if michell could jump her way to the top like Irina but she can't. Sorry but michell is the only responsible for her demise

 

[mzheng]

Yes,and michell laid her bed for four years and slept on it. And you and her fans wouldn't have any problem if michell could jump her way to the top like Irina but she can't. Sorry but michell is the only responsible for her demise

Yes. Michelle is the only responsible for herself. But Plushin is the one responsible for ISU's letter last season which affect a lot of top skaters himself included.

 

[Skate Sandee]

Yes,and michell laid her bed for four years and slept on it. And you and her fans wouldn't have any problem if michell could jump her way to the top like Irina but she can't. Sorry but michell is the only responsible for her demise

There are skaters who would kill to experience the same demise as Michelle over the past four years...what with the 4 National titles, 1 Word Championship win and 2 World Championship medals.

 

[R.D.]

Maybe but I think curious has a good point. MK has no one to blame for this but herself (and I trust she knows this too).

But when I hear "demise" I think sinking from the top of one's game. Don't laugh, this could happen to any skater out there. Kwan is not immune to this.

 

[millie]

All good things must eventually come to an end. I wouldn't use the word demise. Michelle has had an excellent record in her figure skating career. Fans have to realize that a skater can't skate forever- Michelle has to know when to say when.

 

[mzheng]

All good things must eventually come to an end. I wouldn't use the word demise. Michelle has had an excellent record in her figure skating career. Fans have to realize that a skater can't skate forever- Michelle has to know when to say when.

Well, so far she is still fignting.

 

[soogar]

What do you mean by how fast Irina returned to skating As you said, she missed a season, and that is by your definition a fast return after an illness / injury??

When I meant fast, as soon as she was able to, she got back on the ice to compete. Now I'm sure Irina has a lot of financial reasons for returning as quickly as she did. However she came back with a vengence the next season (after 2004 Worlds) to compete all the assigned GP events and Campbells and kicked booty. I also could see that she was skating with a lot of fire and purpose.

 

[millie]

Well, so far she is still fignting.

I know that she is still fighting. How much longer can she fight-1year, 2 years and so on? No one can stay on top for ever.

 

[swannanoa54]

All good things must eventually come to an end. I wouldn't use the word demise. Michelle has had an excellent record in her figure skating career. Fans have to realize that a skater can't skate forever- Michelle has to know when to say when.

As do fans of ALL these skaters. Irina had a great year last year. But this another year. Cohen's injured as well. As fans, we all have to realize the ones we like won't always be competing. And I believe Kwan is well aware of when to say "that's enough". And I believe she will do so no matter what happens at the Olys. I also believe Irina will too. And Arakawa wanted to retire after she won 2004 Worlds so don't think she'll be around after the Olys either. Not sure about Cohen though. Maybe, maybe not.

 

[gezando]

When I meant fast, as soon as she was able to, she got back on the ice to compete. .

She is not the only athlete who returned after an illness or injury as soon as s/he is able to, some athletes even return prematurely and risk reinjury.

 

[Vash01]

I think both of these girls are using what they can to pull out of the GP and save their legs for the Olympics while their competitors (who need the money) slog on in the GP and wear themselves out.

It can work both ways. Those who are skating in the GP are getting more mileage on the program, more feedback, and therefore more opportunities to tweak the program. The risk is wearing themselves out. If Sasha & Michelle are saving themselves for the Olympics- which I doubt - they are not going to get the feedback they need to improve. Either way a skater can benefit or the opposite. Ultimately what matters is how she skates at the Olympics and that is hard to predict.

 

[R.D.]

It can work both ways. Those who are skating in the GP are getting more mileage on the program, more feedback, and therefore more opportunities to tweak the program. The risk is wearing themselves out. If Sasha & Michelle are saving themselves for the Olympics- which I doubt - they are not going to get the feedback they need to improve. Either way a skater can benefit or the opposite. Ultimately what matters is how she skates at the Olympics and that is hard to predict.

Yes, ITA with this. But ultimately I think the choice of sitting it out is better, because you don't want to aggravate the injury doing smaller competitions which could force you out of the big one, especially during an Olympic season. Possibly better to go to the big comps with less experience than to not be able to go to them at all.

 

[Doggygirl]

Last season neither Kwan nor Cohen skated at all, and only 3 seeds did 3 events, yet two ladies with TWO events and 13 points didn't make the final. This year it will be even harder to make the final with just one event.

Thanks for either remembering the GP scores from the participants last year, or doing the research. Either way I appreciate your confirmation.

Best wishes to the veterans who need to recover, and equally good wishes to the newer skaters that we might actually see on TV given the circumstances. (no insult to either)

DG

 

[Vash01]

Yes, ITA with this. But ultimately I think the choice of sitting it out is better, because you don't want to aggravate the injury doing smaller competitions which could force you out of the big one, especially during an Olympic season. Possibly better to go to the big comps with less experience than to not be able to go to them at all.

Do skaters really have the choice to 'sit out' the GP's? Remember what happened to Plushenko last year. There was even a talk (only a talk) to disqualify those skaters from worlds. Unless a skater is really too injured to skate (Plushenko was not considered 'injured' at that time) those would be considered 'excuses'. Forcing Plushenko to skate in the GPF probably cost him the chance to defend his world title. I am on the skaters' side. If they don't feel they are healthy enough to skate in the GP, they should be allowed to 'sit out' and save themselves for the Olympics but the rules for this need to be clear.

 

[R.D.]

I think they "technically" have the choice of sitting out the GP (it's not linked to any of the big events). However, the GP is becoming more of a "promotion" circuit where only skaters who really need the experience (sans maybe Irina and Shizuka and a couple others) compete in it. The top skaters, who no longer need this experience (maybe now they do since the scoring system has changed? Hmm...:scratch are now skipping the GP. Why? Injuries, "Kwanning It (TM)", etc. the list goes on.

But if no top skaters do the GP, after a while we may not have a GP anymore...it cuts both ways.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

IMHO, neither Sasha nor Michelle are playing the "psyching out the competition" game. They are concentrating on their own individual practices and routines and pretty much ignoring what everyone else is doing. After all, they know they can only control what they do, not what others do.