Are you impressed? I sure am! Smart young women who understand what it really means to be a role model? That rocks.

Kwan said, “I’ve always known you can only skate for so many years and then you have to rely on your education to carry you through life.”

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

Michelle Kwan and Sarah Hughes Get Diplomas

Former Olympic Figure Skater, Michelle Kwan has been chosen to be a part of the United States delegation for the closing ceremonies in Beijing. Also attending are Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice; Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Michael O. Leavitt; US Ambassador to China, Clark T. Randt; US Olympic Committee President, Peter Ueberroth; and Karen Hughes, former Undersecretary of State and Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller.

Kwan, who is of Chinese heritage, was nine-time US Champion and five-time World Champion. She won the Silver Medal at Nagano (1998) and the Bronze Medal in Salt Lake City (2002).

^{(photo © Newscom)}

Post from: EveryJoe

Michelle Kwan to Join US Delegation

“I’ve been keeping my options open and been training to stay in shape,” Cohen said. “But I have not made any new programs.” — The Seattle Times

However.

It’s been said that the 22-year old plans to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics and in the 2009 World Championships.

Cohen has competed in six US Championships, placed second to Michelle Kwan four times before placing first when Kwan rested due to a hip injury.

Source: The Seattle Times

Post from: EveryJoe

Sasha Cohen Keeps Options Open

I love Figure Skating, especially Women’s Figure Skating. I like Gymanstics too, exclusively Women’s Gymnastics. I also like Women’s Tennis, and only Women’s Tennis (but I never watch the Williams sisters play).

Michelle Kwan on ice (Source: MSN)

The difference among those three is that two of ‘em, according to Aaron, are not “Sports.”

So, in defense of the ladies who trained so hard to compete in events that they (and I) love, I am going to throw my 2-cents into the mix. Ladies, this one’s for you!

Aaron mentioned that:

“Any activity that winning or losing is based on the opinion of someone else does not qualify to me as a sport.”

Aaron is right, that is why cooking is not a sport (even if the cooking is done in what the Food Network calls ‘Kitchen Stadium’).

But Figure Skating today is unlike the Figure Skating events of yesteryears. Fans understand the difficulties involved in awarding scores according to artistic interpretation, that’s why many have clamored for changes in the Judging System. And those Judging System has gone through many modifications, some very drastic.

In the interest of objectivity, nowadays, Figure Skating is as OBJECTIVE as matching those PowerBall Ticket Numbers. Match them and you win, otherwise, you lose. My brother likes to say that there are 10 types of people, those who understand Binary, and those who don’t.

Quadruple Salchow (Source: NBC)

Anyway, I digressed. Land a ‘quad throw salchow’ and you get X number of points, you fall, you get Y number of points deducted. Simple as that. A person or couple performing a conservative program with no dramatic jumps, throws, loops, or lutz stand a better chance of winning than those who attempt those daring maneuvers but failed. On the flip side, those who successfully execute those technical elements required in a program will fare better than those with conservative routines.

Now. isn’t that objective enough and easy to understand?

You can learn more about Figure Skating, its Scoring System, and the associated Elements at the NBC Olympic Web Site.

I am sure that other artistic sporting events like Gymnastics, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Ice Dancing, Ski Jumping, Snowboard Half-Pipe, and many more have (or are going to) significantly revamp(ed) their Judging Systems to allow for objective scoring.

I agree with my buddy, HART , that it is difficult to be objective when you need to process the scores in a compressed time scale (2 minutes).

You don’t want to get on Jon Grunden’s (Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach) bad side (Source: New Orleans Pro Football)

By that argument, the NFL is not a sport either when we see questionable, gut-feeling calls being made by the Officiating Crew. And most of those questionable calls cannot be reversed after the whistle is blown. Would you say that the NFL is not a sport? I think several hundred million NFL fans plus one (me) would disagree.

Now, having said all that, Fat-assed Celebrities sitting around a table playing poker is not a sport (hear that, ESPN?)

Watching Fat-ass Celebrities playing poker on ESPN is not a sport either.

Incidentally, ‘complaining that Figure Skating is not a sport’ IS ALSO NOT A SPORT.

Post from: EveryJoe

Figure Skating IS A SPORT!

Michelle Kwan dropped out of the Olympics on Sunday morning, one day after she cut short a practice because of a recurring groin injury.

The U.S. figure skater said Saturday she didn’t want to drop out, but would have to “listen to my body.” She missed last month’s U.S. nationals with a groin injury, and needed a medical bye onto the Turin team…

…The U.S. Olympic Committee submitted a request to replace Kwan with Emily Hughes, the third-place finisher at last month’s nationals. An answer is expected later this week, and Hughes was expected to travel to Turin on Sunday.

Post from: EveryJoe

Kwan pulls out