What is the deal with Alissa?

[IceAlisa]

I saw Alissa live at practices and Nats and thought she looked fine, not too thin but shapely and muscular. Also, she skated an amazing short at her first practice in San Jose. The problem is, she left it on the practice ice for reasons unknown.

[sk9tingfan]

Phil Hersh is on a tirade on Twitter with multiple tweets about Alissa. Indicated that USFS should have sent her to 4CC's so that she would be in a better frame of mind going into Worlds. Even indicated that there was no way that USFS could replace her at Worlds without an impending lawsuit, unless she was injured. Continues to call USFSA bunglers.

[fenway2]

Phil Hersh is on a tirade on Twitter with multiple tweets about Alissa. Indicated that USFS should have sent her to 4CC's so that she would be in a better frame of mind going into Worlds. Even indicated that there was no way that USFS could replace her at Worlds without an impending lawsuit, unless she was injured. Continues to call USFSA bunglers.

Alissa is always a victim in Phil Hersh's eyes. He cuts her breaks and makes excuses for her that he won't do for others. His biased attitude toward her is embarrassing, unprofessional and not how a "real journalist" would behave.

[demetriosj]

Alissa is always a victim in Phil Hersh's eyes. He cuts her breaks and makes excuses for her that he won't do for others. His biased attitude toward her is embarrassing, unprofessional and not how a "real journalist" would behave.

yah, he kind of acts like a kid with a crush..............

[geod2]

Phil Hersh is on a tirade on Twitter with multiple tweets about Alissa. Indicated that USFS should have sent her to 4CC's so that she would be in a better frame of mind going into Worlds. Even indicated that there was no way that USFS could replace her at Worlds without an impending lawsuit, unless she was injured. Continues to call USFSA bunglers.

Phil is having an "I told you so" moment.
If Alissa medals at Worlds (don't laugh!) what will Phil say then?
.

[reese]

Phil is ridiculous. I don't understand how he gets paid to write about figure skating. He barely follows it, is always a day or two behind on catching up on competition news (a lifetime in the world of journalism), and understands ice dance about as much as my brother, who watches it once every four years. BLAH.

[AJ Skatefan]

You can join the ongoing hand-wringing, I mean, discussion (starting with post #776) in the "US Ladies [#3]: 2011-12 news, musings & everything else" thread in the Trash Can forum.

ETA: I've been watching Alissa compete since 2001 U.S. Nationals and she's been written off by fans many, many times before. I say: Keep your expectations low and just hope for the best!

I like your attitude, Sylvia. I adore Alissa's skating but learned long ago never to bet on her. When she does well I'm thrilled. I like that, "Keep your expectations low and hope for the best!"

[victoriaheidi]

Phil is ridiculous. I don't understand how he gets paid to write about figure skating. He barely follows it, is always a day or two behind on catching up on competition news (a lifetime in the world of journalism), and understands ice dance about as much as my brother, who watches it once every four years. BLAH.

Honestly, I've only seen/read/listened to a few people who actually deserve to get paid to report on skating. I've been trying to figure out how to get myself a job like that for months.

Even more unfortunate is my local affiliate of patch.com. I read the articles and decided that I could write significantly better articles than their current staff, so I researched jobs. Apparently, you need a BA to get a job from them? Really? Because some of those articles are so grammatically weak that I feel like the local HS AP kids could write them better. /rant

[mtnskater]

I agree with the poster above who said Alissa is the best out there. For me she is the best skater with the best total package, spins, artistry, etc in the world. HOWEVER, she is not the best competitor by any stretch unfortunately. I long ago realized to enjoy Alissa when she skates well and even when she doesn't to appreciate her spins and the beauty in much of her skating. So I say quit with the handwringing. She made the world team fair and square and until others beat her she deserves her chance there. It is really a shame that Worlds placements dictate team spots. Perhaps with the new scoring system a better criteria could be arrived at than just one competition as to how many skaters each country can send. That is another topic for another day. I am rooting for both Alissa and Ashley at worlds and hope for a great outcome from both. Each competition is a new day.

[AJ Skatefan]

BTW, how the heck do people know what Alissa eats?

[bek]

My problem with Phil's whole tirade is this: Wasn't Phil one who argued that Gracie Gold should be sent to Four Continents. Who exactly did Phil think Gold would replace?

Alissa is responsible for ALISSA's skating, and I actually think its smart for the USFSA to spread the wealth.

[smarts1]

Ugh Phil is a retard. I had a feeling Alissa wasn't going to be sent to 4CCs this year. She gave a whole lot of excuses last year when she didn't do well at 4CCs after nationals, so what was the incentive for sending her to 4CCs this year? Make more excuses for herself if she didn't perform well again?

Anyways, Alissa will probably do okay at Worlds. She probably won't medal, but I'm sure (at least hoping) she won't tank as much as she did at Challenge Cup. She'll probably crack top 6.

[fenway2]

My problem with Phil's whole tirade is this: Wasn't Phil one who argued that Gracie Gold should be sent to Four Continents. Who exactly did Phil think Gold would replace?

Alissa is responsible for ALISSA's skating, and I actually think its smart for the USFSA to spread the wealth.

Phil would have argued Gold be sent over Wagner than Czisny. He has no objectivity when it comes to his favorite. Why isn't he urging Czisny to return to school ( yes i know she graduated) or hit the pro circuit as he has so many skaters before her? No, instead he makes excuses for her. Her poor performances are someone else's fault. My problem with Hersh is he doesn't report. He plays favorites and comes off as a bully to some and a cheerleader or enabler to others.

[nubka]

BTW, how the heck do people know what Alissa eats?

Because we all know everything!

[Skittl1321]

Because we all know everything!

It's the hidden cameras...

[demetriosj]

My problem with Hersh is he doesn't report. He plays favorites and comes off as a bully to some and a cheerleader or enabler to others.

Amen..

[RD]

The question every time Czisny enters a competition is, which Czisny is going to show up?

Bad/mediocre Czisny has materialized every single time this season. I hoped Worlds would be different and she'd take advantage of the extra training time to get herself ready, and I wondered why she wanted to even bother with this competition in the first place. If she tanked it (which she did), would it be worth it? What would it do to her confidence for worlds?

You can virtually forget about Czisny medaling here. I don't see a massive 180-degree turnaround in just two weeks. She'll likely have a better showing at worlds (because honestly, it can't get much worse), and we just have to hold our breath and just hope good Czisny makes that rare appearance. As for Wagner, well, many questions surround her as well. We need a podium challenger and if Czisny does not improve dramatically it looks like it will be on Wagner to play the role instead...

(and for once, I'd like to see Czisny take a little more responsibility for her poor performances...the END RESULT is out of your control, yes, but your skating is definitely not!!)

[arakwafan2006]

It's just that Alissa seems so tortured this year. The questions about her diet are just weird to me. It's not like she's transparently thin or like she looks like she is a diabedic. She actually looks her normal size. Alissa just does not have what it takes to sustain a competitive career. I wish more than anything that she would prove me wrong but i dont see it coming.

I still say that she's way too "well what did you think would happen?" in her interviews. I suppose on the other hand, everyone is not champion material. At the end of the day, she's accomplished a lot. 2 time national champion. a freekin Chrysler commercial. She did a lot. We'll always remember her. I would draw Sasha Cohen paralles but i cant because Sasha was pretty consistent with her medals at worlds.

I hope A.S. gets it together. I bet Julianne Berlin and Theresa McKendry (sp) are probably saying " see...it wasnt us..."

[pinky166]

BTW, how the heck do people know what Alissa eats?

It's a known fact she's a vegan, meaning, pretty much nothing unhealthy and probably not much at all. Sooo many foods are off limits for vegans.

[brightphoton]

Alissa started her vegetarianism about 2 years ago. I don't know how serious she's been with it since.

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news