Posted on 02/12/2006 3:12:52 AM PST by libtoken
I just watched the news conference where Michelle Kwan pulled out of the Olympics. She said that she hurt after practice, and even after physio, she couldn't sleep, so about 2 am their time she consulted a doctor and he recommended she withdraw. She noted that she called her parents, and they said they would support her in whatever she did. Some idiot asked what she would do next, but Kwan said that she hadn't thought about that.
I;m a huge fan of Michelle's...so sad, but she is, as always a very classy lady.
She was also our only hope for a medal, I fear. The skaters at the U.S. Championships were a pretty pathetic lot, even Cohen. The weakest team we've fielded in a LONG time.
I'll still watch, though.....
She has won the gold in a thing called life awesome women
I won't... I only watch when the U.S. wins medalz.
Hate to see her drop out but if it would mean that NBC would reduce the figure skating coverage and do more of the real sports, that's a nice consolation. :)
Dick Button will certainly yap about this for hours on end.
Arrivederci Michelle--now lets move along and win some gold medals.
The coverage is what gets me also. Here it is 1:40 PM on a Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, and what is NBC showing...NASCAR qualifying!!! Tonight, they'll show 6 runs in the men's downhill and 6 runs in the men's luge. I could understand if it was the Daytona 500 itself, but to
be showing warmups and qualifying for a car race while the Olymics is on its astonishing. And galling to a sports fan.
This is the SECOND time I have seen you make the blind comment about Kwan being the only US Medal hope.
FACT IS....she is not even the favored US skater at this event.
FACT IS...she went on a medical and the girl who was made an alternate (sister of Salt Lake's Gold winner {when Kwan was falsely pushed as the only hope as well}) due to a PR push by Uberoth and the Committee, is now snowed in.
I feel bad for Kwan......but they knew this was coming.
I started to make a comment, but thought oh what the hell.......A comment like yours is not worth the effort. Forget I ever posted to you.
No, best U.S. medal hope was/is Sasha Cohen, whose position on the team was never in question as she won the National and earned her spot outright. Neither was 2nd place finisher Kimmie Messinger's position on the squad ever in question. What was in question was the # 3 spot, and, for that, Kwan arguably is the better skater and better medal prospect (if she was healthy) than the alternate Emily Hughes.
And it's not Emily was sitting at home tweedling her thumbs, she has been practicing for the World Champion in Calgary next month. She can get on a plane to Torino and have enough time to catch up before the skating competition starts on Feb 21.
"I started to make a comment, but thought oh what the hell.......A comment like yours is not worth the effort. Forget I ever posted to you."
Go ahead and spit it out. But you need to know the spirit of my comment:
I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with figure skating but I believe figure skating is art, not sport. It takes physical ability the same as dancing takes physical ability, but to me, neither is “sport”. As such, when I want to watch a sporting event, like the Winter Olympics, I enjoy watching what I consider sports. Skates when used in racing and hockey are great sport. Skates when used for figure skating are fine art but not what I enjoy in a sporting venue.
With all due respect, I don't think my comments were "blind". I actually watched the U.S. Championships, and I was completely underwhelmed by the skaters; even Cohen, and yes, Emily Hughes. I saw a very weak contingent of American women going to Torino.
However, perhaps my vision is failing. (LOL)
I certainly hope I'm wrong and I'll sure be rooting for them, one and all! I hope you, too, enjoy the competition.
Frank
"Hate to see her drop out but if it would mean that NBC would reduce the figure skating coverage and do more of the real sports, that's a nice consolation. :)"
I didn't think it would be long before someone said that figure skating isn't a sport. Thanks for the short wait. I agree that figure skating is not a "real sport". It is sporting, but when winning & losing is predicated on a subjective opinion, ie; "artistic merit", it ain't a sport.
"It takes physical ability the same as dancing takes physical ability, but to me, neither is 'sport'".
That's right. Dancers, figure skaters, gymnasts are all in great physical condition. But the speed skater to cross the finish line first wins, no matter how he looked doing it.
And in sports you wear uniforms not costumes. How can something be a sport when the male participants wear sparkly sequins and ruffles. Sports are played with strategies and tactics not choreographed. And I can't name many sports played to opera music.
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