Kwan Withdraws From Olympics

[kennadog]

Except that I don't think Bode has, does or will ever give a rip what anybody thinks about him. He does what he does for himself. He measures his performance only by his expectations and desires. Selfish? Maybe. But I don't think anybody is ever going be a champion, if they are only working that hard to please others. It takes too much single-minded purpose and obsession.

There is a part of me that admires someone who isn't afraid to say, this is who I am, who I want to be, and the only thing that matters in the long run, is whether I live the life that I expect of myself. Johnny Weir, the skater, is pretty much the same. He just has a lot more charm about it than Bode.

 

[Evenstar]

johnny weir is HILARIOUS! my aunt and i were CRACKING up listening to some of his clips.

i would love it if he won a medal. gold is highly unlikely, but he could easily win the silver. i'd be happy with a bronze. just win a medal!

i guess i'm being a little hard on bode. i just was really looking foward to him wining a few gold medals since he's such a good skiier. he does have 3 more races, i really want him to bring SOMETHING home.

 

[hoopsfan]

i guess i'm being a little hard on bode. i just was really looking foward to him wining a few gold medals since he's such a good skiier. he does have 3 more races, i really want him to bring SOMETHING home.

I'm hoping he goes home empty handed. He thinks he's above everyone and his arrogance is a turn off. If the reports are true of him going out drinking the night before the downhill...he deserves every "trip, stumble and fall" that happens.

 

[Packt]

Here's what Mark Kreidler had to say about Kwan in today's Bee (extracted from the column I posted in the main forum):

* Michelle Kwan goes home from Italy, and I take no pleasure in being dead right about how that was going to go. It's no fun seeing a team get screwed up over procedural stuff.

Still, "classy" is not the word to describe Kwan's exit from international competition. This was always about Kwan's fierce competitiveness and her refusal to yield, period.

The same things that made Kwan a skating champion several times over - pride, ego, determination - ill-served both her and the U.S. team here. She asked for a spot, even though she was too banged-up to compete in the U.S. nationals (or any other significant competition for nearly a year), and she got it because skating's rules allow for it and because NBC wanted it.

Now the network will have to make do without Kwan, who was practically canonized for finally admitting she wasn't remotely healthy enough to compete. And Emily Hughes, who should have been in Turin from the start, is suddenly jetting that way from her home in New York, the Olympic practice sessions already under way without her.

Dramatic? Oh, baby. But classy? Not so much.

-----------------------------------------------------

I don't understand the "ill-serve" the team comment, when it's not a team sport to begin with. Nor do I get how inconveniencing Hughes by a few days is such a big deal. Hughes knew this very situation could come into play, and should've been training all this time. She also has a major comp next month that should've kept her mind in competitive mode. It's not unheard of for athletes to not be in the city until a couple days before their competition.

If the goal is to put together the best team, then the US committee made the right choice, and the fair choice. It's not unusual for athletes with experience and seniority to get on teams with a bye. She wasn't incapacitated, she was still able to train, and as far her not being able to win, that's bogus. None of her peers are dominant and it's anyone’s competion to win.

 

[loopymitch]

I'm hoping he goes home empty handed. He thinks he's above everyone and his arrogance is a turn off. If the reports are true of him going out drinking the night before the downhill...he deserves every "trip, stumble and fall" that happens.

I tend to agree hoopsy, not my favorite athlete.
As far as Weir, not a fan either. He's different but his nonchalance annoys me and I really don't like his attitude. I'd love for Lambiel to win, his spins are incredible but it's unlikely he or anybody else will beat Plushenko. I also like Sandhu but his short program was a disaster.

 

[Evenstar]

weir flamed out

the man i really felt for tonight was evan lysachec. he was AMAZING. he missed the podium because of his short program. turns out he was sick, had IV's running in his arms yesterday. to come back and skate the way he did was great. it's too bad he missed out i hope he's back in 2010

ice dancing tommorrow!!!!!!! finally, belbin and augusto!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!

 

[GoGoGadget]

Minor Olympic-related rant:

The way the NBC media is so blatantly baiting both parties in the Shani Davis/Chad Hendrick feud is one of the most disgusting displays of sports journalism I've ever seen.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Minor Olympic-related rant:

The way the NBC media is so blatantly baiting both parties in the Shani Davis/Chad Hendrick feud is one of the most disgusting displays of sports journalism I've ever seen.

What's Jim Gray doing in Torino?

 

[GoGoGadget]

What's Jim Gray doing in Torino?

Dressing up as Bob Costas/Jim Lampley.

And Matt Lauer, on occasion.