I hate Michelle Kwan, and you can't stop me.

[VolcanoJen]

Kwan Raises Possibility of Withdrawing

TURIN, Italy - Michelle Kwan might be out of the Olympics before she ever starts. Kwan cut short her first practice because of a sore groin Saturday and left open the possibility of withdrawing from the Winter Games if she's not 100 percent healthy.

The five-time world champion stopped short of saying she was considering dropping off the U.S. team. But asked directly, she replied:

"I really have to pay attention to how I am feeling these days. Dropping out, it's not something I want to do, but I have to listen to what my feelings are."

The 25-year-old skater said a long plane ride and marching in the opening ceremony caused enough problems for her to skip a run-through one day after arriving in Turin. She planned to practice Sunday after getting treatment for the groin injury, which kept her out of last month's U.S. championships and forced her to get a medical bye into her third Olympics.

Awwwwww, poor Michelle. Plane rides are hard! Marching in the Olympic Opening Ceremony (an honor for any athlete) is hard!!

Michelle, you suck. I sure hope Emily Hughes kept up with her workouts, since you stole the spot she earned and hitched a free ride to the Olympics, resting on your laurels, and now you're going to bail before I get the satisfaction of watching you trip out of a double lutz, the way you usually do, Chokie McKwan. You suck, suck, suck. Oh, and your signature move, you know, leg in the air and gliding across the ice? Tired. And Sasha Cohen does it better than you, anyway.

Please retire.

/rant

[Texasgal]

1. LOL!

GREAT RANT!!! :rofl:

[Bzzzz]

64. Emily Hughes...

deserved Kwans's place.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Okay then....

:rofl:

VJ!! How the heck have you been? I miss you so much!!!

Hey! I was talking to TahitiNut, and Punkingal is coming up to MI...almost a mini Mod Squad reunion. It would be cool to meet you too! :hi:

[VolcanoJen]

3. Hey Babe!!!

Wow, a Mod Squad Meetup in the Great Michigan North! Sounds pretty fun...

Oh, and something I left out of my 10 Minute KwanHate: NBC? You suck, too. That's right, NBC. There are over 200 athletes on our glorious Olympic team, but judging from your coverage, only Chokie McKwan and Bode Miller (who's actually quite hot, yum) are in attendance.

:D

[xmas74]

51. More Bode, less Michelle.

Damn, Bode looked Fiiiiiiiine last night!
And you can hate on her all you want-I won't stop you. I prefer the sports of idiots-meaning luge and skeleton. I don't pay much attention to figure skating.

[philosophie_en_rose]

4. Kwaaaaaaaaaan!

[Rob H.]

69. Bwahaha!

:rofl:

[Castilleja]

78. Heheh heheh!

Good one!

[Darth_Kitten]

5. OUCH!

:rofl:

Can you do me a favour (not that I dislike Kwan that much but this post is priceless) go over to one of the many smug figure skating forums out there and post this rant? :D

[LynneSin]

6. Oh get over it, if it wasn't for Kwan only 2 US girls would have gone

Because of Kwan's 4th place finish at the last world, the US qualifed for THREE skaters instead of two.

Yep, so that girl that you rant about is the reason why three girls, no wait - FOUR because the US always takes an alternate just incase are at the Olympics.

So that means that Emily Hughes still got her trip to Torino even though she was only an alternate. And if you're an alternate you better be ready because you never know what's going to happen to whom and you'll be required to skate. That's what alternates do.

And remember, Kwan was suppose to go to Lillehammer back in 92 but someone else petitioned to get in on a medical bye. I know, it was Nancy Kerigan and she had every right to go after the knee-bashing but personally I think Harding should have been left at home. So Kwan has been screwed over herself too.

I personally like Michelle Kwan and anyone who doesn't can kiss my ass!

[Zomby Woof]

8. YEAH LYNNE!

:thumbsup:

Nice rant! :D

[VolcanoJen]

11. Smooch!

Guess I'm puckering up to your ass. :-)

And that's just dirty skating trash talk to throw Nancy Kerrigan in my face. My hate for that screaming beotch is boundless, wherein my hate for Kwan is only a few years old and growing. "Whyyyyyyy.... Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..." Oh, Nancy, STFU.

Sorry, I hate Chokie McKwan, and like I said, nobody can stop me.

:P

By the way, anyone heard from Tonya Harding lately?

[LynneSin]

50. I have so much more respect for you

Personally I think both Harding and Kerrigan should have been booted off the team if you ask me!

[WolverineDG]

68. I completely agree with you, Lynne

& not just because we're going to be in NYC this time next week!!! ;)

I didn't really cotton to Nancy during the games & her attitude at coming in 2nd really got to me. Later that year, I saw both Nancy & Oksana in a professional show. I could see why Oksana won the gold. Nancy came out, skated la-la-la, bowed, then left the ice. Even though the crowd was screaming for her, she didn't return. Oksana, otoh, came out, facing a still-hostile American crowd, skated her Olympic long program & WOWED the audience. When they kept on applauding, she stayed out on the ice, smiling & waving. She even did an encore. If that's how they skated at the Olympics, I can see why the judges scored her higher than Nancy.

BTW, I think the skater who really got hosed in Lillehammer was Paul Wylie. He was the only one on the men's team at the Olympics to get a medal because heavily-favored Todd Eldridge choked. I'm actually stunned (but thankful) that Eldridge isn't on the team this year. Then, Wylie got left off the Worlds team so some other now-forgotten skater could fall on his ass & not medal.

dg

[cmkramer]

98. You are wrong about Paul Wylie

He was already retired from Olympic level competition by 1994. He competed in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville. And actually, TPTB thought so little of his chances of medaling -- he had a bad habit of choking at the wrong time -- that while he was allowed to go to the Olympics, they decided that he would not be able to compete at the World Championships that year. This was another year where a skater who had not competed at Nationals got a bye which meant that the third-place finisher didn't get to go to the Olympics.

Of course, we all know what happened. Wylie managed to have the skates of his life and ended up with the silver medal.

Incidentally, the third-place Nationals skater who was not allowed to compete in Albertville -- he did compete at Worlds -- was on the committee that decided Kwan's fate this year.

[Skittles]

85. OMG she looks terrible

I caught that interview; she is still a pitiful person

[sciouscience]

99. Kerrigan won a SNL host spot for her beautiful rendition of "why me!"

it was the worst saturday night live ever. thanks the sweet lord that nancy's mom did not get to see that either.

[LostinVA]

16. I agree Lynne, and I LOVE YOU!!!

As Peggy Fleming says: Kwan is the best female skater of all time, has been a great public face for US skating, and has tremendously helped THE TEAM for many years (ie helping to send more skaters to the Olympics, get more government money, sponsors, etc.)

And no, Cohen's Bush-;loving ass doesn't skate better than Kwan... I think she's a sucky skater, and she's the choker, not the lovely FIVE TIME WORLD CHAMPION Kwan. (although Emily Hughes is a nice kid, and her sister was a beautifully fun and natural skater).

And I still loathe Lipinski and Kerrigan...

[VolcanoJen]

22. Kwan is the best female skater of all time??!!!???

So Fleming's never heard of Katarina Witt?

Four World Figure Skating Championship golds, two silvers, and two Olympic Gold Medals... I adored Katarina, and even had the pleasure of seeing her skate live at the '88 World Championships, the year of the "Carmens." What a magnificent and beautiful champion she was.

edit: Sasha Cohen is a Bush-lover? Yikes.

[LostinVA]

27. Yup, she also said "most skating insiders" agree

Fleming isn't taking medal count into who's the best -- which makes me like her even more.

Damn! I can't think of her name!!! The American in the late 60's, blonde, always smiling??? Fleming says she';s the only one who she might put above Kwan... she never medaled because she did so badly in the school figures. Ursula someone beat her -- who was a horrible skater, but great in figures.

And yeah, Cohen in a big Bushies, and has shown some snotty, unsportsmanlike behavior on and off the ice. Even Lipinski didn't do that.


on edit: Janet Lynn!

[VolcanoJen]

29. Well, there's nothing more subjective than skating...

... except for all the other "judged" sports, I suppose.

Katarina Witt will always be my favorite champion. It's clearly up to the individual who they prefer to love, and who they prefer to hate.

:P

Beatrix Schuba beat Janet Lynn. And Canadian Karen Magnussen beat her, too. Remember in the 80s when the Russian girls would always be on top after the school figures, only to be laid to waste by the East German and American skaters once the programs started?

[LostinVA]

32. Yup, it's why the short program was introduced

[Darth_Kitten]

42. Witt was overrated....and held up on many an occasion....

:D

[VolcanoJen]

43. But who can forget her Diet Coke commercial?

At the time, the men in my life would literally salivate every time it came on.

}(

[Darth_Kitten]

44. Apparently I did.

sorry. I just think she was always so full of herself. She could sell the package in her time but in today's skating environment she wouldn't stand a chance.

[Scooter24]

33. Compare that

to Kwan's five world gold medals, three world silver medals, one world bronze medal, nine US gold medals (eight of them consecutive), three US silver medals, not to mention a silver and bronze Olympic medal.

Also she has received the Sullivan Award, and a total of 54 6.0's from her national and world titles.

I love Katirina as well, but Michelle definately in my opinion is the best.

[LisaL]

81. Michelle hasn't got an Olympic gold medal, while

Katarina has two. And the way this is going, Michelle is unlikely to get one.

[amitten]

45. Ah...Michelle makes Katarina look like a man.

Twice the grace, ten times the performance quality. Overall better technique, and minus the truck-driver shoulders. :)

[ronnykmarshall]

65. You go!

I can't La Lipinski, La Kerrigan and that Bush ass kissing La Cohen makes me want to hurl!!!

Viva Michelle!!!

[Inspired]

19. Thank you, I like Kwan too!

[LisaL]

46. And now, because of Kwan, only two US girls might end up

competing anyway.

[LynneSin]

49. WRRRROOOONNNNGGGGG!!!!!

US sends an alternate WHICH would be Emily Hughes

BTW, Emily was sent to Torino

[LisaL]

56. Sadly, you have no clue what you are talking about.

Emily Hughes was not send to Torino, even though she was named as an alternate. Because Kwan's groin injury is a pre-existing condition, if Kwan withdraws from competition, Emily might not be allowed to participate anyway.
So, please, don't accuse me of spreading misinformation.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/13849621.htm

[joeybee12]

59. Um, yeah, alternates do go to the games just in case...

...Michelle went in 92 as an altyernate, and practiced and everything just in case. If Emily didn't go, it was Emily's choice.

[LisaL]

61. Actually, no.

Emily wasn't send because that would have upset Kwan.
"Hughes will not travel to Turin in case Kwan is not able to compete."

"There's no reason to do that," Horen said. "If we deem that she's ready to compete at the Olympics, then to just send somebody with her like that is maybe a little demeaning, even, to the skater because you're assuming, then, that she's not going to be successful.""
http://www.usolympicteam.com/11506_43205.htm

Sending Emily apparently would have indicated that Kwan couldn't be successful. So, there you go.

[colinmom71]

79. Actually, Kwan went to Lillehammer as the alternate in 1994...

IOC rules require each country's team members to be named by a certain period of time before the commencement of the Games. How a country's sports team is determined depends on the rules of each sports organization within each country. The USFSA (US Figure Skating Association) has established rules that show under what circumstances a skater may petition for a medical bye to the Olympics or Worlds Championships, and Kwan applied and qualified for the Olympic spot according to those rules.

This year, the IOC deadline to name teams was January 30, which is why Kwan's test skates occured a few days beforehand. Once the team members are named and submitted as the official team, they can *not* be substituted with the named alternate unless there are "extraordinary circumstances" prompting a team member to withdraw. If Kwan withdraws due to the groin injury, Hughes may not be allowed to fill in as alternate if the IOC does not view the withdrawl due to injury as an exceptional circumstance but rather as a pre-exisiting issue. But then the same could even hold true if Sasha Cohen or Kimmie Meissner (the other two figure skating team members) felt they were forced to withdraw should they suffer a severe injury during Olympic practices. Emily Hughes has absolutely no say in whether she's allowed to compete as the Olympic team alternate... If you're looking to blame someone, blame the officials and selection committee within the USFSA and the IOC's strict rules concerning alternates filling in for withdrawn athletes, not Kwan or Hughes.

In fact, the Olympic team alternate never travels to the Games with the Olympic team. Kwan is actually the only alternate for our past Olympic figure skating teams to be sent to the Olympic Games. Because Harding's eligibility status was endangered by the Great Knee Whack Scandal, the USFSA wanted Kwan directly on hand in case Harding was ejected from eligibility by the USFSA and/or IOC should she have been found complicit in her then husband's actions and thus not be allowed to skate in the Olys. Kwan was even ordered to attend and participate in the official practices (which are often attended by the judges to guage each skater's abilities) up until the day before the Ladies Short Programs, which is the latest the alternate can be requested to fill in...

[joeybee12]

58. Absolutely...

...Emily Hughes got as far as she did on her name alone. She's a mediocre skater, just like the hundreds right below the top two-three women. But she's got the name. After Michelle and Sacsha, US women's figure skating is hopeless. It's going to be a long time after Michelle finally turns pro that any American womne comes close to mealgin at the Olympics or the Worlds.

[Zomby Woof]

7. I LOVE Michelle Kwan

We live here in her hometown... the skating rink she got her start in is just blocks away... we aren't going to sit here and take this abuse. :evilgrin:

Sasha Cohen is a bitch. And the only reason Kwan didn't get gold is because that Hughes slut lucked out. She isn't that good, Kwan is.

:P

[Darth_Kitten]

9. American lady skaters flutz all the time!!!!!

:evilgrin:

getting in on all the EEEEEEEEE-vil. ;)

[colinmom71]

80. Most especially Sasha Cohen!!!!

I honestly don't think the girl could do a true Lutz jump if her life depended on it!

[VolcanoJen]

14. "That Hughes slut"

Charming as ever. Loves it!!

Sasha may be a bitch (isn't that true of most skating divas?) but she's still the best American skater. Hot, too, in a longer-legged Christina Ricci way.

Kwan can suck it. She needs to stop calling herself an amateur, I mean, isn't she, like, almost 40? :P

[Zomby Woof]

15. YOU'RE almost 40

Kwan has CLASS. People run into her around here (her parents own a restaurant nearby), and she is never snotty or rude or diva-ish. She is very pleasant and unpretentious, which is amazing in the skating world.

I wish more skaters, regrdless of talent or rank, would act like her. Why hate someone with class when there is always the ghost of Tonya Harding around? :P

Next month: Baseball trash talk. :evilgrin:

[LostinVA]

18. Peggy Fleming loves her, and that's good enough for me

[VolcanoJen]

20. Yeh, but you don't see me whining about marching...

... in the Opening Ceremonies. Waaaaaah!

Speaking of skating trash-talk, don't get me started on that Tannith Belbin who weasled her way into the Olympics, too. Who wants to bet she'll be crowned America's Canadian Sweetheart by NBC before these Games are over?

Pitchers and catchers report in one week...

[Zomby Woof]

21. Considering how crappy the opening ceremonies are

You WOULD whine too, lol. :D

[LostinVA]

25. Now, Now... Belbin followed the rules

And the US Gov't changed the rules on her. Because of these circumstances, I don't mind it. However, they won't medal anyway -- those ice dancing judges have a level of corruption all of their own.... scary.

[LostinVA]

17. And, Lipinski soooo didn't deserve the gold

Sucky skater who didn't even want to skate, and who cheated her jumps soooo bad, and wasn't even pretty to watch.... gag. hate her. I booed her at Stars on Ice.... I got a bunch of dirty looks, but more claps and laughs.

Piker.

[ronnykmarshall]

66. Lipinski is a snot.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dorothy Hamil one time. Not a once of diva in her. I was dating a skater in her show and he got me back stage. She walked up to me, stuck out her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Dorothy you must be Ronny." I almost fainted. Another sweetheart is Elizabeth Manley (Silver Medal 1988). She was also on the same tour. When Edward (the BF at the time) intro me to her she said .... "Oh you have beautiful eyes .... OW!! My nipples just got hard!".

[driver8]

73. Sigh...Dorothy Hamil. I will forever have a crush on her. n/t

[Hissyspit]

86. My friend works in a video store and she rented a video from him

sometime in the last year or so. He said she was still very cute. Apparently she lives in the Baltimore area.

[Hissyspit]

87. self-delete

[no name no slogan]

10. She makes me long for Nancy Kerrigan

and that's pretty got-damn hard to do

[RandomKoolzip]

12. Yeah, but she's super-hot.

So some of us (i.e. me) can forgive her.

[LSdemocrat]

13. Wow, there's more hate in this thread than in most DU sports threads

:popcorn:

[LostinVA]

23. You can't mess with skating fans, man.....

I've also recently read that many skating insiders consider Pelletier and Sale the best pairs skaters EVER... and that the Russian pairs have an undeserved rep.... that for decades, they have used solid stroking and artistic skills to "mask" alot of problems.

[populistdriven]

24. I think they could find someone to fix her groin

'waves hand'

[BlueIris]

26. Nice. I love her and I hope she skates.

I was pulling for an improbable win, but, well, if she gives it her best, that's enough for me.

You have a lovely attitude, by the by. And they say American sports fans are too obsessed with superficial concepts regarding competition, appearance and winning. P'shaw! Who cares about devotion to craft, ideals, a profession, one's overall health? WIMPS. Who cares if a person has dignity or grace as long as they WIN to please ME and MY OPINIONS? Enjoy your hate. Sounds like it sustains you.

[LostinVA]

28. OMG!!! The Skating wars are reaching fever pitch!!!

But yeah, I agree: Kwan's attitude, love for the sport over everything else (college, etc.), devotion, etc. make me love her -- not just her skating.

Plus, several years ago (maybe even ten!), she made some pro-gay comments about some of the men on the tour... so I betcha she voted Blue, too....

[ContraBass Black]

60. This still is barely a match for the Rap War.

:D

[VolcanoJen]

30. Please consider lightening up.

This is the DU Lounge, and I just posted a funny little rant about Michelle Kwan. Of course I respect her dedication and talent; that's what I love so much about athletes. Still, must everything around here be so goddamned serious 24 hours a day?

Most folks know I'm a sports nut, I've been talking sports trash talk in this forum for years now, and I'm not going to let you come in here all self-righteous and tell me to behave myself. I'm American, I love sports, and I talk sports trash like most American sports fans.

It's part of the fun, don't you get that?

[LostinVA]

35. But Sasha still sucks

HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!

I'm TEASING. (well, kinda...)

[Zomby Woof]

34. VolcanoJen is just having fun

She likes sports trash talk, which isn't really sustained by actual hate. It's just her brand of humor. Although I will punish her for her insolence later, she doesn't deserve actual scorn and contempt. She is one of the best people on this site. :thumbsup:

[LostinVA]

38. But Kwan can still kick Jen's butt

Or so Peggy Fleming told me.

[VolcanoJen]

39. I'm gonna ring up Dick Button real quick...

... see if he's still got my back. :D

[LostinVA]

41. Sir John's gig is up over at "Skating with Celebrities"

He might eb able to back you up with a flying camel or two...

[Zomby Woof]

40. When Tonya Harding is done eating her box of donuts...

...and her twelve-pack of beer, she will waddle on over to Sasha Cohen and belch in her face. :o

[graywarrior]

31. Isn't Michelle in her 50's by now?

Cripes, seems like she's been in every Olympic's for the past 25 years!

[LostinVA]

36. She was even slated for Lilliehammer

Thanks to the infamous "Whhhhhhhhhhy me!!!!" knee-whacking incident.

And, I think she's only 47...

[LisaL]

47. She is only 25. She started really young.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

37. "Chokie McKwan???"

:rofl:

[LisaL]

48. It sucks. She took a spot she didn't deserve, and now she can't

even use it. And if she can't use it, I think it's too late and they won't allow Emily in.

[Chovexani]

52. Leave my wife alone, man.

:spank:

...yeah, she doesn't know it yet. But the minute gay marriage is legal, we're getting married.

[intrepid_wanderer]

53. hate?`

that's not good!

[AtomicKitten]

54. Not her fault she was butt-kissed.

However, I HATE the process that caused this travesty to occur. Doesn't set a very good example with regard to hard work paying off. And I hope Emily Hughes kicks ass as compensation for her needless disappointment.

[LostinVA]

62. I actually think it shows that hard work does pay off

Kwan's work ethic , devotion to the sport, and sportsmanship is well know in skating citrcles... if it wasn't for that, there's no way in hell she would be in Italy right now.

However, I think it's moot, because I suspect she'll withdraw within the next day or too. Hughes will skate, and the experience will do her good. Although I agree with a poster up thread: there's no bright lights waiting in the wings in US women's skating right now.

[LisaL]

63. Hughes might not be allowed to skate because Michelle's groin

injury is a pre-existing condition. Hughes wasn't even send to Torino because that would have demonstrated to Michelle she might not be successful. So, Hughes wasn't send in to not upset Michelle. And now Michelle might not even compete. Geez, how is that for work ethic?

[Name removed]

71. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LisaL]

75. Oh please. Put me on ignore.

But I don't make up facts or ignore them. I posted a number of links to show that Emily wasn't even send to Torino because it would upset Kwan. WTF can you post to show otherwise?
http://www.usolympicteam.com/11506_43205.htm

[AtomicKitten]

67. Kwan didn't "try out" like everybody else did.

She was appointed to the spot on the team.

That's an example contradictory to hard work. I understand she has worked hard, however, she jumped over the process kinda like Junior getting a spot in the champagne unit of the National Guard.

[LostinVA]

70. Your email completely overlooks everything she's done for skating

You can say you don't agree with the decision the US committee make, but saying Kwan is a cheater and and a slacker is just wrong... and comparing her hard work and DEVOTION to her sport to Bush's slide through life is nasty.

THread on ignore.

[AtomicKitten]

72. I never sent you an email, dear.

Hmmmmm. I commented on her hard work. Never said she was a "cheater or a slacker." However ...
The fact is she was placed on the team without following the process, jumping over all others who did.
That's a fact, Jack, whether you like it or not. I'm sorry the facts offend your delicate sensibilities.

And who gives a crap anyway? It's just freakin' ice-skating.

Do you seriously think your threat of "ignore" makes a damn bit of difference to anyone?




This is the Lounge, dear. Get over yourself.

[VolcanoJen]

82. C'mon now

Putting posters on ignore because they're not down with your favorite skaters?

May as well add me to your ignore list. C'mon now... can't we have a little fun? We only get to engage in skater smack-talk every four years or so, on a collective level...

[friesianrider]

76. AK, I just wanted to tell you...

Everytime I see one of your posts, I think "I love that photo in her signature." :thumbsup:

[AtomicKitten]

77. thank you, I really love it too.

[sasquatch]

55. Yeah, figure skating takes up tv time that could be used for Hockey

She's almost as bad as Kimo Von Cheapshot himself.

[driver8]

74. I would like to amend that statement...MEN'S figure skating

takes up time that could be used for hockey.

But I love to watch the women!

[Capn Sunshine]

57. GIRL FIGHT!

Get 'er , Jen!

:popcorn:

[VolcanoJen]

83. IT'S OFFICIAL, Kwan Withdraws

Michelle Kwan Pulls Out of the Olympics

Damn. Never got to see her choke.

Emily Hughes has appealed to compete; let's keep our fingers crossed that the U.S gets to field three skaters.

Thanks, Michelle. Enjoy professional skating.

[colinmom71]

84. You got your wish... Looks like she's officially withdrawing....

http://www.usocpressbox.org/ ;(

MICHELLE KWAN WITHDRAWS FROM 2006 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES DUE TO INJURY KWAN TO BE AVAILABLE AT 11:30 A.M. IN SALA 500 ROOM

Torino, Italy (Feb. 12, 2006) – The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) announced today that five-time World and nine-time U.S. champion Michelle Kwan has made the decision to withdraw from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games due to injury. Kwan injured an adductor muscle in her right hip, commonly called a groin strain, at a practice Saturday morning at the Palaghiaccio practice ice rink in Torino, Italy.

Pain from the injury grew significantly worse Saturday evening. At 2:15 a.m. Sunday, Kwan was evaluated by a U.S. team physician in the Athletes’ Village. Dr. Jim Moeller, M.D., of Detroit, Mich., evaluated Kwan and diagnosed her with a severe groin strain. Shortly afterwards, Kwan decided to withdraw from Olympic competition.

At 7:30 a.m. today, the U.S. Olympic Committee submitted a Late Athlete Replacement Form to the Torino Olympic Organizing Committee (TOROC), submitting Emily Hughes as a replacement athlete in the ladies figure skating competition. The USOC expects to receive an answer from TOROC this week. Hughes was contacted at 2:45 a.m. (Sunday) Torino time, 8:45 p.m. (Saturday) Eastern time, and she will be traveling to Torino shortly.

Kwan will be available at a press conference today at 11:30 a.m. Torino time in the Sala 500 press conference room in Torino, Italy.

[RoyGBiv]

88. I'm with you ...

And I'm glad she's now gone from the Olympics.

My only irritation now is that the stories will *still* all be about her and what she *might* have accomplished. Feh.

[VolcanoJen]

90. Amen.

You'd think, from the coverage, that Kwan and Bode Miller are the only two Americans competing.

Strike that... best two out three?

[bluestateguy]

97. I'm glad this story is hopefully over

At the Olympics, the media whore types just LOVE to find soap opera like stories to prattle on and on about for weeks. They want to create controversy (which generates ratings) because they get bored with the many hours of boring competition. I seem to remember a similar soap opera in 1996 with regard to Carl Lewis competing (he didn't).

Well, not to worry. The media whores have almost 2 weeks to make up another controversy.

[Hissyspit]

89. I think female figure skaters should break each other's knee-caps!

:crazy: :P

[Fox Mulder]

91. Agreed.

I'm sick of hearing about her. There's a lot of people better than her anyways.

:puke:

[JVS]

92. What would Brian Boitano do?

[philosophie_en_rose]

93. He'd make a plan and he'd follow through. That's what Brian Boitano'd do.

:)

[JVS]

94. So it doesn't sound like he'd bitch out and go home!

[philosophie_en_rose]

95. No. He'd use his magical fire breath and save the maidens fair.

:)

[Giant Robot]

96. VolcanoJen

I don't care that you hate Michelle Kwan and you can't stop me!! Hah take that!