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Post by lizzbeth on Jan 28, 2008 19:56:52 GMT -5
I thought Johnny Weir was terrific. I prefer him over EL because Johnny is more of an artist....only this time he seemed to add a little more athlete to the mix and it worked!!
Loved Ryan Bradley and Stephen Carriere.
I think Carriere is going to be a force to contend with....Evan and Johnny better watch their backs.
I was sorry to see the emphasis on the rivalry between JW and EL. They went too far with it, IMO.
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Post by kirkland on Jan 28, 2008 20:04:58 GMT -5
I agree, they went too far with that rivalry and I didn't really get it. Perhaps they think rivalries will help "sell" figure skating - think Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Do the two guys really dislike each other? I only heard a snippet of Johnny Weirs comments and I couldn't believe my ears. Oh well, if it sells I'm in favor of it simply because figure skating's popularity has plummeted to frightening proportions in the US.
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Post by kirkland on Mar 23, 2008 19:31:22 GMT -5
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Post by lizzbeth on Mar 24, 2008 12:05:04 GMT -5
Belbin and Agosto's Free Dance  |
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Post by linmiste on Mar 24, 2008 14:38:05 GMT -5
Lexi reporting for duty!  Shame he's so ugly.  Okay... took me a minute to figure out if you were serious or sarcastic, Lexi, because I just couldn't understand how anyone could say Alexi's not hot!  Thanks for the video links. In the 2002 Olympic video, they mentioned he had an injured hip. I haven't followed his career, though I've certainly enjoyed his Olympic performances. Did he skate in 1998 as well as 2002? Is he officially retired now? I wish him well! ETA: From this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPzPoT3WHUQ&feature=related(thanks kirkland!), I see he moved from amateur to pro in 2003. This video shows an interview of him after this decision. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoHB5y4FP4U&NR=1He says he had offers from Hollywood... have we seen him? Hope we do! As far as Johnny Weir and Evan L.-- I did happen to catch their competition in January, and I agree the rivalry went too far. Johnny seemed really p.o.'d. I couldn't tell how much was real, and how much was just for TV. Either way, it seemed a shame; not beneficial to figure skating, IMHO. |
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Post by linmiste on Mar 24, 2008 15:07:56 GMT -5
Just found this little tidbit: "In the July/Aug 2002 Sports Illustrated for Women, Alexei was voted as the 2nd sexiest male athlete. NBC Sports nominated Alexei as the Best Male Athlete in 2002. He finished 3rd in voting with 10% only behind Lance Armstrong (28%) and Apolo Anton Ohno (37%)." from www.skating.nf.ca/icegalaxie2/yags.html |
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Post by kirkland on Mar 24, 2008 15:18:53 GMT -5
Linmiste, Lexi is a huge Alexei fan, so, yeah, she was being way sarcastic. The youtube video you link to was done a long time ago (in Alexei's life years) in 2003, a lot has happened since then. I believe he medaled at the 1998 Olympics, but not gold. After his retirement he toured with SOI for years, basing his life in Conneticut. He had a home there, as well as real estate holdings in Vancouver, Florida and probably elsewhere. About a year and a half ago he moved back to Russia and it is there he has re-established his life. He is doing skating tours in Russia, figure skating celebrity tv competitions similar to DWTS, has done a tiny bit of singing and my understanding is that he is going to try his hand at acting in a Russian prime time soap opera. He has also mended bridges with Plushenko. He was also considering a return to eligible status for 2010 and had hip replacement surgery in anticipation of that, the surgery was successful, but not in terms of being able to compete at an Olympic level again, the training would be too much for his joints. Most importantly he seems very happy to be back in his homeland and has a serious new relationship, a part of which is featured in Love, Pain & Ice, linked in my post above (with a Russian celeb he met during the celebrity/pro skating competition). If you want to know about the transitions in his life and where it has led him to this day, the six you-tube clips give a great synopsis of his life if viewed in order.
On to this year's Worlds...I felt bad for Belbin and Augusto, but that's life in sport. They also had some stiff competition, many excellent dance pairs this year. I was surprised that Buttle beat Joubert, and by such a wide spread. It surprised the commentators as well. The top men's skaters are interesting again: Joubert, Lysececk, Buttle, Weir (not my favorite) and Takahashi. I saw Buttle a couple years ago in Victoria at Stars on Ice, he was a tall, lanky string bean of a kid, and is growing up. Unfortunately, the best women skaters will be too young to compete in 2010. As for pairs, I don't have a good handle on the current contenders.
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Post by linmiste on Mar 24, 2008 15:32:18 GMT -5
Thanks, kirkland! I appreciate the info. Maybe I can view those clips in segments... :-) I read the brief wikepedia article on him. No pictures. :-(
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Post by tabatha on Mar 24, 2008 15:59:39 GMT -5
Kirkland, thanks for all of the Alexei stuff. I adore him, he didn't have a dog until he was 20. I thought that was bittersweet. And I'm happy that he's found someone. I will watch that.
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Post by daisymomma on Mar 25, 2008 11:02:09 GMT -5
I will have to look at that tonight when I have more time.
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Post by lexi on Mar 25, 2008 16:56:33 GMT -5
Thanks, Kirkland, for clarifying for Linmiste that I'm a HUGE Alexei fan. My "shame he's so ugly' comment was laced with loads of sarcasm. He says he had offers from Hollywood... have we seen him? Hope we do! I hope so too, Linmiste. There was a time when he retired from amateur sport that I thought for sure his next goal would be conquering Hollywood. He seemd content in the US....and then he suddenly returned to Russia and has been there ever since. He's never been as well received in Russia as Evgeny Plushenko and he had a lot of resentment towards his home country for the longest time. He must have put all that behind him....plus he's always missed his Mom who has lived there all along. Kirkland and I were saying we'd  to see him on DWTS. Now Kirkland, you mentioned something about NAKED Alexei. I might not get through all the YouTube clips tonight. So........which one would you suggest I start with for the 'good' stuff.  |
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Post by lizzbeth on Mar 25, 2008 18:42:37 GMT -5
I really like this couple  Virtue and Moir (Canada)  |
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Post by kirkland on Mar 25, 2008 20:41:38 GMT -5
Lexi...Start at the beginning like a good girl!!!
I like Virtue and Moir too. There are several dance couples I really like this season. I can't think of the name of the other, but the girl reminds me of Audry Hepburn.
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Post by linmiste on Mar 25, 2008 22:20:50 GMT -5
Thanks, Kirkland, for clarifying for Linmiste that I'm a HUGE Alexei fan. My "shame he's so ugly' comment was laced with loads of sarcasm.  I kind of figured so. Me, too! I imagine he'd be as good as Kristi is, right at the start, but perhaps with not quite as much American fan support at first. Can you Canadians vote for DWTS, at least online?  |
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Post by lexi on Mar 25, 2008 22:28:59 GMT -5
Can you Canadians vote for DWTS, at least online? Yes, we can only vote online. That's how I did it with Apolo. Now that Alexei's already experience some reality TV in Russia with his Skating with the Stars type show, I'm sure he'd jump at the opportunity to participate in DWTS if approached. A girl can dream can't she? * sigh * |
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