Billy’s Blog: Sasha Cohen: February 22, 2006

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Teddy Roosevelt said, “Speak softly but carry a big stick.” US figure skater, Sasha Cohen, had no choice about speaking softly…she was our clean-cut favorite, no drama, no extra hype.  Emily Hughes immediately assumed the Cinderella story and the whole ‘possible family repeat?’ story line; Kimmie Meissner already owned the ‘long shot’ slot. 

So, everybody had the highest hopes for Sasha, but nobody ‘talked’ about her. Boring in a way.

Not anymore…after an outstanding skate, she is three one hundreths of a point ahead of second place Russian skater Irina Slutskaya heading into Thursday’s long program finale.  Way to go Sasha…she is now carrying a big stick and the showdown all the serious figure skaters wanted, has arrived.

I just rewatched Sasha’s performance on Euro Sport TV from last night…WOW!  Total dominance.  She has a bit of a reputation as a feisty cat…can be curt and snippy, but it may just be a by-product of her passion and focus. Picture the jubilation in the NBC Olympics Executive suites last night.  It’s on and the ratings should pop on Thursday as “must-see Sasha” tries to finish the job.

Finally, What do Sasha Cohen and Bode Miller have in common?

Nothing.

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