Sasha Cohen, "No Longer a Bridesmaid"

[SkateFan4Life]

Here is a link to the USFSA story on Sasha Cohen's winning the US title:

http://stlouis2006.usfigureskating.org/News/RecapNews/0114SeniorPairsFreeSkate.aspx

 

[orchid]

Here is a link to the USFSA story on Sasha Cohen's winning the US title:

http://stlouis2006.usfigureskating.org/News/RecapNews/0114SeniorPairsFreeSkate.aspx[/QUOTE}

Nice. But reality is no one challenged her, even though she was weakened by the "flu".

 

[Mathman]

She's the 2006 United States National Champion. No asterisk, no flu, no Michelle about it.

I take my hat off to her with no reservations!

MM

 

[iluvtodd]

She's the 2006 United States National Champion. No asterisk, no flu, no Michelle about it.

I take my hat off to her with no reservations!

MM

Same here! I want all of the US ladies to have great skates in Torino! Let me extend that. May all of the competitors do their best, & please, let there be fair judging!!!

 

[Dee4707]

Very interesting title for the article. I disagree with this quote.

In the past her nemesis has been Michelle Kwan.

I think the nemesis has been Sasha, herself. One of the things that really made this Nationals rather less exciting for me was all the stuff about Michelle. Don't get me wrong, I very much respect her skating but the whole Nationals should not have centered around Michelle. For instance why couldn't the article's title be.........Sasha Cohen US Champion and write the article about the new US Champion and leave all that other stuff out.

Just let Sasha have her moment

Dee

 

[soogar]

Maybe finally winning a big title will shake the monkey off of Sasha's back b/c she was finally able to deliver and win what she was favored to win.

Though this Sasha performance was the most unenjoyable performance for me to sit through. I don't think I've ever seen her so nervous and she is one of the more nervous skaters. I was (as she was as well), relieved that she got through that program.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

Very interesting title for the article. I disagree with this quote.

I think the nemesis has been Sasha, herself. One of the things that really made this Nationals rather less exciting for me was all the stuff about Michelle. Don't get me wrong, I very much respect her skating but the whole Nationals should not have centered around Michelle. For instance why couldn't the article's title be.........Sasha Cohen US Champion and write the article about the new US Champion and leave all that other stuff out.

Just let Sasha have her moment

Dee

Good points. IMHO, Sasha has been her worst enemy in the sense that she hasn't had the confidence to believe in her wonderful skating ability. She just needs to go out there and SKATE, and she will win any competition she's in, regardless of who the competitors are.

 

[euterpe]

I just wish Sasha could've won her title with a clean FS. (sigh!)

 

[kyla2]

My Opinion

I no longer care about a clean skate from Sasha. Don't get me wrong, it would be wonderful to see one, but she is so gifted, I just enjoy the whole performance. She is very special. With skating going where it's going anyway, i think clean programs will be a thing of the past, especially for women.

 

[millie]

Maybe finally winning a big title will shake the monkey off of Sasha's back b/c she was finally able to deliver and win what she was favored to win.

Though this Sasha performance was the most unenjoyable performance for me to sit through. I don't think I've ever seen her so nervous and she is one of the more nervous skaters. I was (as she was as well), relieved that she got through that program.

What a wonderful world it would be if everybody and everything we and other people did was perfect.

PERFECTION:

Perhaps sometimes she slips a bit-
Well so have you.
Perhaps sometimes she ought to quit-
Well, so should you.
Perhaps she might have faltered-why,
Why, all people do, and so have I.
You must admit (unless you lie)
That so have you.
Perhaps, if we should stop and think,
When painting someone black with ink,
As some folks do,
Perhaps if we would recollect,
Perfection we would not expect
But just a girl half-way correct,
Like me and you.

Lets look at all the skaters, none of them are perfect. You may think they are but they are not.

 

[Mathman]

With skating going where it's going anyway, i think clean programs will be a thing of the past, especially for women.

Sadly, I agree with this assessment. I keep hoping that as the sun sets on eligible skating, maybe pro skating can be resurrected in some form.

Millie, nice poem. :agree:

MM

 

[SkateFan4Life]

Let's be realistic - it's pretty hard to skate a perfect long program when you land seven triple jumps, perform a variety of spins with all sorts of positions, have a length-of-the-rink footwork sequence, spiral sequence, and other assorted moves. It can be done, but it's not easy, even for the best skaters out there.

 

[millie]

Millie, nice poem. :agree:

MM [/QUOTE]

Hey MM, I'm a poet and don't know it. Thanks, I will write a nice poem for Michelle soon.

 

[havanamesa1]

I just wish Sasha could've won her title with a clean FS. (sigh!)

I think most people have already resigned themselves to the idea that new US Nats champ* Cohen will never skate clean. A scary thought especially since she's going to the Olympics. One expects more from a reigning US Nats champ*. But then again, she might just get lucky if Irina falters and the judges can't find enough ways to hold Irina up.

 

[soogar]

Well Kristi Yamaguchi only had one clean skate in her entire competitive career (Nats 1992). Everywhere else (at least Worlds and Olympics) she had one fall. So I don't care whether Sasha has a clean skate or not. Only Michelle has had numerous clean skates over her career. I don't think any other skater comes close so I don't understand what is the obsession for Sasha to skate clean.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don't think any other skater comes close so I don't understand what is the obsession for Sasha to skate clean.

I believe the obsession is called "Irina".

Joe

 

[soogar]

I believe the obsession is called "Irina".

Joe

And I have yet to see Irina skate a 100% clean program. She might land all of her jumps, but then she has weird flubs on her footwork, travels on her spins or worse, has these absent minded fallouts out of her spins. Even in her winning LP last season (and all this season in the GP), she made sloppy mistakes.


I'd like to see Irina skate a LP where she doesn't forget the choreo after she lands all of her jumps.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

And I have yet to see Irina skate a 100% clean program. She might land all of her jumps, but then she has weird flubs on her footwork, travels on her spins or worse, has these absent minded fallouts out of her spins. Even in her winning LP last season (and all this season in the GP), she made sloppy mistakes.

I'd like to see Irina skate a LP where she doesn't forget the choreo after she lands all of her jumps.

I agree! but Irina is special and she will be special in Torino. This is not about Kwan. It is about Irina!!

Joe

 

[purplecat]

Well Kristi Yamaguchi only had one clean skate in her entire competitive career (Nats 1992). Everywhere else (at least Worlds and Olympics) she had one fall.

Very untrue. Kristi did clean free programs in the 1990 Skate America and 1989 Nationals. And she had many programs where she did not skate totally clean, but did not fall including the 1991 Worlds (single salchow, NOT a fall). Plus she almost always did a clean short program.

Now getting back to Sasha, I agree that the obsession with having her skate clean is overblown since the majority of skaters do not skate clean. After all the falls in the U.S. Ladies' free skates, I don't think we should be complaining that Sasha had two step outs. Congrats to Sasha! I think she did great!

 

[curious]

Irina has skated clean programs unlike sasha. Sasha has to skate well and not expect the best to faulter to have a chance of winning gold cause it won't work