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Post by number1fan on Dec 8, 2008 16:03:48 GMT -5
mtnme & '19'...thank you both for taking the time to post some of the thoughts i too have had about this crazy sport.
here's my 
mtnme...what andrew love said about st being a sport that no athlete can master, is spot on. it's what draws me into this sport...being able to watch our driven athlete's constant struggle to attain the unattainable goal of perfection.
for them, st is a sport where precision and calculated risk taking go hand in hand and there's never time to rest on their laurels, for if they do, there's plenty of hard-working up and comers just waiting to fill any spot that opens. this hold true in the international scheme of the sport...you snooze you lose.
what i've noticed in the past couple of years, is how much more parity there is in individual st. it's not the same athlete taking the gold repeatedly (except for meng wang...she's from pluto) and with hyun-soo ahn out with injury, the men's side has been the likes of charles, ho-suk, apolo and now the new flavor of the month, olivier jean  .
vancouver 2010 will be here before we know it. i hope with all my heart that our country will continue to give team usa the best possible training, coaching, high-tech assistance they need to stay 'on top' of the ever improving world of st.
here's a plug for The Rocker Fund...have YOU as an st fan done your share to make our US team stronger?
i'm out...too much blabbing. 
edit to add: this is most likely very old news but it's so apropo...
employment ops at U.S. Speedskating.org
*Public Relations and Communications Director  ...(isn't that Kori Novak's position?)
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Post by wildfire on Dec 8, 2008 20:09:45 GMT -5
Wow, just reading the last couple pages of info, ST news, etc. All I can say is, "TRUE DAT" to what's been said...
And #1, LOL!!! That explains A LOT...who's up for the job?! =)
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Post by tigerlilly on Dec 9, 2008 18:19:19 GMT -5
I'm enjoying reading all the comments. Yep, ST is certainly not for the faint-hearted.....lol. It's exciting to watch the development of the U.S. team..... and I'm like you guys....give me a taste of relay gold and I want more! No pressure, of course. It's great to see other people on the team get some individual glory.  They all work so hard! But I doubt we've seen the last of Apolo on the podium, either. He's been Mr. Consistency for over 6 years, sort of like Marc Gagnon used to be, except better, IMO. That kind of consistency in ST is beyond fantastic...more like in the "force of naure" category......lol. How long can he keep it up when so many of the guys he used to compete against either went down with an injury or had a good year or two, then faded away? He's so d**n resilient! I guess that's one reason I continue to follow his sports career with such interest. So....cheers for our new stars and our old! |
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Post by Lori on Dec 9, 2008 19:19:23 GMT -5
Great comments, everyone... ;D We do have to remember that our 'heroes' compete in a sport that is notoriously volatile, and truth be told, that is part of why we enjoy it so much, isn't it? The ice conditions; new boots or new blades; the ‘bend’ and ‘rock’ and ‘edges’ of those blades and the constant tweaking that has to occur; the consequences of making a decision to pass or not to pass in the course of a millisecond; a nagging injury that you can’t let the world see; the jostling and just plain 'bad luck' in a given race; a judges' call that doesn't go your way; the toll on a body that can come from international travel, different food and jet lag; heck, even poor communication about schedule changes that can ace you out of your chance to get to the starting line. Sometimes it's just 'not your day'. There are so MANY variables - and in short track those variables seem to be the norm rather than the exception. Which is why the victories, when they come, are especially sweet... frankly, I think it would be rather boring otherwise.  As in all sports - short track is a matter of 'preparation meeting opportunity', and I think our team is there. We ARE prepared, both physically and mentally - we have some of the best-trained and best-conditioned skaters in the world - we consistently find ourselves in the Top 4 Nations, along with China, Korea and Canada (witness our many appearances in relay finals, both men and ladies). But here's the rub... there are only 3 spots on the podium, and in any given distance, there are potentially 12 skaters from the Top 4 Nations battling for those spots, not to mention the occasional Brit, Bulgarian, Italian, etc., who have skaters equally as capable of being in the spotlight. Those who make it to the top of the heap are the 'prepared' ones who were the best (and sometimes the luckiest) at overcoming the inevitable variables and obstacles thrown in their paths on that day. Isn't it wonderful to have the luxury of knowing that in any given race, we are likely to be able to cheer US skaters deep into the competition! In the Nagano World Cup, we had 5 individual skaters in the A Finals, 4 in the B Finals, and seven others who made it into the medal rounds. We have at least 6 skaters ranked in the Top Ten in the world for the various distances. Many of the countries we compete against can only dream of those stats. So. 'Let not your hearts be troubled' – if not for the valleys, we could never fully appreciate the mountaintops… Rest assured, our team is still putting in those 8- to 10- hour days, eating their Wheaties and trying, as best they can, to 'turn left'... (Hmmm, does that mean they're all Democrats??? ) |
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Post by A.O.Freak on Dec 9, 2008 21:57:05 GMT -5
well-said Lori |
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Post by mtnme on Dec 9, 2008 22:11:58 GMT -5
Hey, good comments everyone, and thanks aaosmts19 for getting it started. You're right, the convo gets a little boring here when there isn't much chatting going on. So what shall we talk about next? What we think the skaters are doing for Christmas?  LOL number1 - '...Meng Wang is from pluto.....' *giggle*. What the hell do they feed that girl? And really, don't you just sit back and say, well, who's gonna be second?...'cause we know 1st is a given.  So. 'Let not your hearts be troubled' – if not for the valleys, we could never fully appreciate the mountaintops… ....ummmm, is it me? or did Lori just 'channel' Galadriel?   |
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Post by Lori on Dec 12, 2008 19:50:11 GMT -5
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
WEST COASTERS! The Nagano World Cup is on RIGHT NOW on NBCNW - (NBC News/Weather) It looks like a total of 4 hours of coverage. I missed the first 45 minutes, but it appears that the whole thing is going to repeat later tonight!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Lori on Dec 12, 2008 20:24:33 GMT -5
Okay. In the 1000m semis, when Apolo came in 4th, he was CLEARLY knocked out of the race by Song, who was DQ'd. The announcers were surprised that AO wasn't advanced. EDIT: In the 1000m B Final, the double DQ of JR and Apolo was for Team Skating. I had heard that Apolo was deek'd for an 'assist', but didn't make the connection. TEAMSKATING??? WTH??? That's the first time I've ever seen it called. |
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Post by aaosmts19 on Dec 12, 2008 21:22:07 GMT -5
Nagano WC is also now available on Universal Sports, Free, on demand. It is in 2 parts, each about 1.5 hours long.
In the men's 500 quarter-finals, Andy Gabel mentioned a few times that AO just didn't seem comfortable with his skates (they were the new black ones). He made the same comment later in the 500 final, when Apolo came in 4th. Andy said he just didn't seem like he was coming out of the corner the way he usually does.
Here's where you can link to Day 1 and Day 2.
These guys and gals sure are a sight for sore eyes! Love seeing them!
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Post by aaosmts19 on Dec 12, 2008 21:24:19 GMT -5
Okay. In the 1000m semis, when Apolo came in 4th, he was CLEARLY knocked out of the race by Song, who was DQ'd. The announcers were surprised that AO wasn't advanced. EDIT: In the 1000m B Final, the double DQ of JR and Apolo was for Team Skating. I had heard that Apolo was deek'd for an 'assist', but didn't make the connection. TEAMSKATING??? WTH??? That's the first time I've ever seen it called. Well, not that WE would EVER team skate....  (but isn't it nice we have some depth to have to be watched for it? |
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Post by mtnme on Dec 12, 2008 21:33:18 GMT -5
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Post by aaosmts19 on Dec 12, 2008 21:44:45 GMT -5
Thanks for covering me! Unfortunately Day 2 stops just short of the relays.... |
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Post by sk8on on Dec 12, 2008 22:02:08 GMT -5
Okay. In the 1000m semis, when Apolo came in 4th, he was CLEARLY knocked out of the race by Song, who was DQ'd. The announcers were surprised that AO wasn't advanced.  EDIT: In the 1000m B Final, the double DQ of JR and Apolo was for Team Skating. I had heard that Apolo was deek'd for an 'assist', but didn't make the connection. TEAMSKATING??? WTH??? That's the first time I've ever seen it called. Surprised 'team skating' was called too, Lori. But they were team skating in the B final?!! Probably a good time to 'practice' it though, if one were to do it--why should the Koreans have that monopoly?!!! Ugh! Off to watch some of the Nagano WC at universalsports.com |
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Post by chla22 on Dec 12, 2008 22:57:15 GMT -5
OMG....I'm in heaven right now!!! This is way better than flashing numbers!! And I don't care if I already know the results!! |
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Post by A.O.Freak on Dec 12, 2008 23:58:10 GMT -5
wow awesome video!!! |
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~Lori
