Was Mark Mitchell robbed?

When was Mark Mitchell robbed?


  • Total voters
    45
  • Poll closed .

bardtoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
giphy.gif
I never doubted the exchange of money :ds1:
 

Foolhardy Ham Lint

Well-Known Member
Messages
6,277
It’s in one of the videos in post 17, and I also posted it in a different thread the other day, so that’s not much of a dare. Chack skates at around 1 hour 8 minutes, but I would suggest starting with Galindo’s skate 7 minutes earlier.
Rudy killed it. He was awesome. Thanks for that.

I forgot how much presence Chack had on the ice. When Michael was on, he was outstanding.

Mitchell was fortunate that Galindo and Chack were in the penultimate group. Had both skaters placed higher in the short, Mark may not have made the world team.
 
Last edited:

Vagabond

Well-Known Member
Messages
25,378
Many thanks, @Erin. So that's the chacked Chack Free Skate! The height and rotational speed on his jumps is outstanding. Too bad Chack couldn't always check his landings. :shuffle:

And yeah, Rudy Galindo's FS was all that and a bag of chips.
 

Marco

Well-Known Member
Messages
15,262
Mitchell was fortunate that Galindo and Chack were in the penultimate group. Had both skaters placed higher in the short, Mark may not have made the world team.
He would have. It's all about pecking order and by 1993, Paul and Chris had retired, Todd wasn't at his peak and Mark was by then one of the top men whom USFS had to rely upon. There's also the payback element for 1992.

It's a sad vicious cycle of not properly scoring the skating but instead focusing on ensuring top placements for the top skaters for world team assignments; and the victims of these past Nationals didn't get preferential treatment until they themselves became veterans with their own skating being off or going downhill altogether. The judging was never going to be spot on unless and until the 3 men that they wanted in were going to be safely in the top 3. How discouraging for up and comers.
 

Sylvia

TBD
Messages
79,976
I will say, from my limited personal experience, that I think Ross is one classy guy, and he seems to be enjoying his current coaching role in the MJM program.
Bumping this thread back up :D ... Ross Miner chatted with Polina Edmunds on her podcast last month:
 

her grace

Team Guignard/Fabbri
Messages
6,492
Thanks @Sylvia for posting the Ross Miner interview. I appreciated hearing his perspective on team selection: the document was written so that they could choose anyone they want. Polina and he also discussed how when the U.S. has three spots, two usually go to the favorites, but one is open for whoever of the rest skates best at nationals. It certainly worked out that way for Polina, but not for Ross. He does seem at peace with what happened, and he credits his coaches for helping him with perspective.

Also interesting to hear how Ross would change the judging system--actual variation in PCS marks reflecting skaters' strengths and weaknesses. :cheer2: Finally, both shared some anecdotes from their time at Champs Camp and competing at altitude at the end of the interview which were fun to hear.
 

jlai

Question everything
Messages
13,781
Yeah, I was glad to hear that interview too. I certainly have experienced in life -- as we all have -- when we lose out on a great opportunity that we thought we rightfully earned. But ultimately the regrets in life have more to do with what I could have done differently, not something I have no control over (e.g. Olympic selection, or hiring decision, in my case)
 

BittyBug

Disgusted
Messages
26,611
USFS could not have been clearer that placement at nationals would not be the sole determinant of selection for the Olympic team, but Miner and his team still don't seem to grasp that, despite having the "40-page document" detailing the criteria. It's not "picking whoever USFS wants," it's selecting based on body of work. The comment (forget whether it was Polina or Ross who made it but they both agreed) about getting silver at nationals and not getting rewarded for it? Miner was rewarded - he got a silver medal. And Rippon was rewarded for having delivered more throughout the season than Miner did (Ross had a particularly weak season internationally IIRC).

I can appreciate that it was a bitter pill to swallow, especially because as he noted he wasn't even the 1st alternate, but that too was based on body of work. The rules changed. Sucks for him, but it doesn't make them arbitrary.
 

ЭPiKUilyam

Banned Member
Messages
1,333
I hope you are satisfied with yourself for how scummy you can be towards a tortured soul that tragically died. From 1947 to 1992 Van Nuys had a General Motors Assembly factory, and you could have just as well claimed he secretly built Impalas to fund his skating and addiction rather than say he got money the way you said :rolleyes: I hope his 20-something year old daughter does not Google search him looking for something to be proud of only to find an invented claim he did this because he happened to live in Van Nuys.
Well, I know for certain this tortured soul was selling his ass at a Nationals for coke or $$$. Maybe around 1999? He lived his life on his terms. Stop making excuses for him.
 

tony

Throwing the (rule)book at them
Messages
17,677
USFS could not have been clearer that placement at nationals would not be the sole determinant of selection for the Olympic team, but Miner and his team still don't seem to grasp that, despite having the "40-page document" detailing the criteria. It's not "picking whoever USFS wants," it's selecting based on body of work. The comment (forget whether it was Polina or Ross who made it but they both agreed) about getting silver at nationals and not getting rewarded for it? Miner was rewarded - he got a silver medal. And Rippon was rewarded for having delivered more throughout the season than Miner did (Ross had a particularly weak season internationally IIRC).

I can appreciate that it was a bitter pill to swallow, especially because as he noted he wasn't even the 1st alternate, but that too was based on body of work. The rules changed. Sucks for him, but it doesn't make them arbitrary.
I agree with this, and I don't think Rippon was going to be left off the Olympic team anyways [although side note here - if Brown finished 4th and Rippon 5th I think they would've been in a huge predicament].

However, I don't think Samuel Auxier (I believe he is the one that led the press conference) helped matters when he basically said the body of work was in place for potential medal contenders, or something along those lines. I think most of us knew Rippon would be fighting to get into the top 10, and we've gone back in forth in other threads about him being picked with the team competition in mind. But it was then cleared by Adam himself that the top skaters in each discipline decided if they wanted to skate both programs or not, and then the next skater in the world rankings was given the option. So his team event status fell into place solely by Chen's decision, not because the USFS had him in mind to win a bronze medal there. Rippon was not a medal contender individually, and his placement in the Olympics had no rolling effect to the next Worlds.

Of course Adam made the most of the Olympics and the Pence comment really got his career skyrocketing quickly, so I'm sure he's especially grateful ;)
 

bardtoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
Well, I know for certain this tortured soul was selling his ass at a Nationals for coke or $$$. Maybe around 1999? He lived his life on his terms. Stop making excuses for him.
You are indecent because you speak indecently about the dead. It has nothing to do with him at this point or what he pedaled ... maybe, just maybe, who bought it. You can't have supply without demand in a market, and who knows if they are alive two decades later.

I hope you had a blessed Easter. I spent mine counting my blessings, not kicking at somebody else's grave.
 
Last edited:

ЭPiKUilyam

Banned Member
Messages
1,333
Why, thank you! I was filled with the spirits yesterday! Indecent? LOL. I don't wear pearls. Nothing to clutch, unlike you apparently.
 

bardtoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
Why, thank you! I was filled with the spirits yesterday! Indecent? LOL. I don't wear pearls. Nothing to clutch, unlike you apparently.
You are certainly full of something today. I am not certain what, but it prompted a response I was not expecting. For all I know you had a drug addict personally harm you.
 

ЭPiKUilyam

Banned Member
Messages
1,333
Define "harm". I allowed myself to be used by many Bowmans in my life. My fault. Blame is solely on myself. That's the extent of it. Live and learn. I learned my lessons. And no, I don't feel badly talking about someone's well out in the open behavior. You don't get much more buzz at a Nationals when you are selling your butt for drugs and being a former Olympian and US champion. That was just his life. I'm not even criticizing him. Lighten up.
 
S

SmallFairy

Guest
I agree with this, and I don't think Rippon was going to be left off the Olympic team anyways [although side note here - if Brown finished 4th and Rippon 5th I think they would've been in a huge predicament].

However, I don't think Samuel Auxier (I believe he is the one that led the press conference) helped matters when he basically said the body of work was in place for potential medal contenders, or something along those lines. I think most of us knew Rippon would be fighting to get into the top 10, and we've gone back in forth in other threads about him being picked with the team competition in mind. But it was then cleared by Adam himself that the top skaters in each discipline decided if they wanted to skate both programs or not, and then the next skater in the world rankings was given the option. So his team event status fell into place solely by Chen's decision, not because the USFS had him in mind to win a bronze medal there. Rippon was not a medal contender individually, and his placement in the Olympics had no rolling effect to the next Worlds.

Of course Adam made the most of the Olympics and the Pence comment really got his career skyrocketing quickly, so I'm sure he's especially grateful ;)
I agree with this. I was of course a big Adam-fan so I’m biased, but I thought it was the right decision to send him to OG, he had such a good season overall, and also the season before iirc. I did feel for Ross! But I wouldn’t have missed Adam’s Olympic performances for the world. Even without the top content his Arrival of the birds were so great. He totally enjoyed being on the ice at those Olympics, you could see he made the most of his dream coming true.

I’m looking forward to listening to the podcast. Some of Polina’s episodes are interesting, but sometimes I feel she sounds a bit sore about getting low marks, low placements etc and can’t understand why, except for the judges disliking her. Underrotations are not mentioned, just “clean programs”. So...this particular topic are intriguing.

Thread drift again. (((Mark Mitchell)))
 

soogar

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,125
Rippon over Miner was idiotic! You have two journeyman. Who cares who goes? Why rippon? Made no sense. Miner beat rippon fair and square. His international results were a few GP medals. Big deal. No one ever thought anything of rippon. Plus rippon was a Quadless journeyman

I liked Ross and felt bad for him but he would have never milked that Olympic opportunity the way Adam had. I really think Adam brought a lot of positive media attention to the sport and his reach extended beyond skating as well. It was the closest thing to the Battle of the Brians- because that had a lot of media attention on Brian Boitano that was not fueled but an attack like the Whack.
 

bardtoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
I liked Ross and felt bad for him but he would have never milked that Olympic opportunity the way Adam had. I really think Adam brought a lot of positive media attention to the sport and his reach extended beyond skating as well. It was the closest thing to the Battle of the Brians- because that had a lot of media attention on Brian Boitano that was not fueled but an attack like the Whack.
You realize that Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez, Nathan Chen, and Patrick Chan were also there, and they tend to draw attention to the sport 😂
 

tony

Throwing the (rule)book at them
Messages
17,677
You realize that Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez, Nathan Chen, and Patrick Chan were also there, and they tend to draw attention to the sport 😂
Not one person has argued otherwise. But you're very wrong if you don't think Rippon came out of the Olympics as one of the most household American names, and I do think he attracted a lot of attention to skating especially on social media.
 

caseyedwards

Well-Known Member
Messages
21,793
I liked Ross and felt bad for him but he would have never milked that Olympic opportunity the way Adam had. I really think Adam brought a lot of positive media attention to the sport and his reach extended beyond skating as well. It was the closest thing to the Battle of the Brians- because that had a lot of media attention on Brian Boitano that was not fueled but an attack like the Whack.
Well there was a lot of attacking of pence that miner would probably not have done that got him attention but that didn’t help skating
 

bardtoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
Not one person has argued otherwise. But you're very wrong if you don't think Rippon came out of the Olympics as one of the most household American names, and I do think he attracted a lot of attention to skating especially on social media.
Yeah, because he was on Dancing with Stars with Tonya.
 

bardtoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
I said he came out of the Olympics as one of the most household American names. DWTS was after the fact; it was not because of that or because of Tonya. Try again.
Then say what you mean 😉 I'm not a mind reader.
 

bardtoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,559
I said what I meant and you chose not to read it.

Placement and medals don't always have much to do with attention brought to a sport. Sorry to tell ya.
Yeah, I know skating is really a competitive audition, not a sport, that is only not dumped by the IOC because it happens to be commercially marketable.

The program with the hardest content doesn't necessarily win. The program with the best program components doesn't necessarily get the highest pcs ...
 
Last edited:

VGThuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
41,020
It really is interesting to see who came out of the Olympics as the biggest stars.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top
Do Not Sell My Personal Information