Women's Figure Skating *********SPOILER*************

[joeybee12]

Just read on MSNBC that Cohen took first place in the short program with that hack Russian in second. The two Japanese ladies are third and fourth. Not sure if they need to update this because they don't give Carolina Kostner's place, and they still say Kimmie Meisner is in fourth--she's obviously only 5th, but she did well--one of the first to skate, not known internationally, and still puts up decent scores.

As for Cohen, she usually puts together either a good short program or free skate--not both. The good thing is apparently they're not about to annoint that Russian hack, so we might have a legitimate winner come Thursday!

[erpowers]

1. Why Hack

Why do you call her a hack?

[joeybee12]

2. I really don't like her skating at all...she does not move at all

gracefully on the ice...everything is deliberate, nothing flows. All in all, she looks clumsy. If she were any other nationality she would be a top skater, because she's fast and is capable of good jumps, but only because she's Russian is she the favorite. I really think the judging is the last relic of the Cold War.

[MaineDem]

3. Tell us how you really feel

Don't sugar coat it.

:evilgrin:

[joeybee12]

4. Really?????????

Oh, I'm dying to! :evilgrin:

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

5. Since Cohen is a bushbot -remember Salt Lake?-

I can't root for her. And her narcissistic behavior drives me nuts.

I'll root for Hughes even though she probably doesn't have a chance.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

6. I personally don't care if Sasha Cohen is a bushbot.

She skated a gorgeous short program tonight and IMHO should be at least 2 points ahead of Slutskaya, but then again judging in skating is all about politics.

The thing about tonight is that US has 3 ladies in the top ten after the short program. I'm not predicting this will happen, but we could end up with two on the podium Thursday night. Stranger things have happened in the figure skating world..

[aaronbees]

7. go Sasha

she was really brilliant in that program. I like Irina too, but I'll be rooting for Ms. Cohen.

[Berry Cool]

8. I don't think Cohen's a Bushbot

just because she was excited enough about sitting next to him in Salt Lake at the Opening Ceremony to call her mom and ask him to talk to her.

Sounds like something a lot of 17-year-olds would have done without thinking. They're dazzled by the office and the celebrity, not necessarily the man. "Hey Mom! I'm sitting next to the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! Here he is, he's going to talk to you!"

[aaronbees]

9. totally agree

she was 17 -- can't hold that against her. here's hoping she's gets some time to chill and come back strong for the next program :)

[joeybee12]

10. I agree also...she sort of shocked Dumbo by handing him the

phone...I thought her attitude wasthat she wasn't fazed by him, and felt she could just make him tlak to her Mom. She apparently has more cojones than he does!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

15. Cohen didn't accidently sit next to dumbya; it was staged.

She had just become a teenage spokeswoman for the beef council:

http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1907

In a media kit called “Building a Champion,” sent to nearly 100 publications targeted at children, the NCBA used 16 year-old Olympic figure skating star Sasha Cohen to promote the consumption of beef. The idea was that girls would now associate eating beef with being successful and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The press release provides a quote ostensibly from Cohen praising the new campaign: “I want to thank the beef producers for letting me be a part of this important campaign to help girls eat better…I love beef and have learned a great deal about how important its nutrients are.” It goes on to exclaim that Cohen’s “entire family enjoys beef.

Texas beef council is a huge dumbya contributor:

http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2001/030202.shtml

There were plenty of "feel good" stories, but even some of them appear to have been scripted. Even President Bush's interaction with Sasha Cohen in the opening ceremonies may have been orchestrated. Cohen is the spokesperson who will be featured in an advertising for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, a huge Bush financial contributor, which was announced just days before the opening ceremonies, about the same time Bush attended their annual meeting.

Anyhow, I don't want to hijack your thread, but I did want to back up my assertions with some links. And there are plenty more where that came from.

best & good luck to all the women.

[Redbear]

11. Slutskaya is also helped by the new scoring system

In an effort to make it more "objective," the system was changed to put additional emphasis on technical elements, which is her strength. She has some amazing jumps.

[joeybee12]

12. So does the Japanese lady, who is only in third...

...when Slutskya doesn't hit the jumps right, her whole routine goes flat because there's nothing else in there to make up for the jumps.

Read an article in Newsweek yesterday basically saying her biggest liability is that she's not a great skater, just a very, very good one. Doesn't shine, but she's suddenly become very consistent, and that wins it these days.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

13. Hey Joeybee, did you catch Slute's diva performance last night,

she was so sure she had the SP wrapped up she left the Palavela before Cohen even skated.

I don't know what the result is going to be tomorrow afternoon, but I'm not going to miss the PBP on-line. If either Cohen or Arakawa manage to place above Slute, the "wuz robbing" on the figure skating boards will be 20 times as bad as it was after Sarah Hughes beat her in SLC. In fact, it's already started.

[joeybee12]

14. There's an interesting article in Newsweek about the women's

figure skating...said Irina was the favorite, but her weakness was that she's not a great skater, just very, very good. I think that sums it up--she can do things technically quite well, but she just doesn't soar like the greats really do. Her strength lately has been her consistency, which, sadly, a lot of them lack.

Yeah, she'll claim she's been robbed. But if Sasha does her best or Arakawa does her best, they are simply better than she ever can be.

[bigwillq]

16. I didn't see any of the skaters besides

Sasha and I thought she was fantastic. She's American, so I hope she pulls it off.

[joeybee12]

17. I think she's the best skater in the competition...but she has never

rally put everything together in a competition. If she skates her best tomorrow, she'll win--Irinia just isn't as good, although much more consistent.