SASHA!!! WHY?!?!?!

It was the pressure.

It was not the lack of training, concentration, or skill. To pick yourself up after a fall and skate a flawless second half, fighting exhaustion, groin injury, and the knowledge that you've blown your chances for gold, just shows the amount of strength and concentration that girl has. Miss Sore Russian Loser fell too, but the media focus will be on Sasha, that she's betrayed her potential "again" even with an Olympic silver medal. But she worked hard and she is still #1 in the world in my eyes. I just hope her career isn't over. There's great things in your future, Sasha! If you give up, the sport will be doomed to mechanical Russian robot-type zombies, unartistic American teenagers and Japanese skaters with no fire or emotion.

Stay in the game, girl.

Figure Skating. >->

I have gone crazy. I am obsessed with figure skating. It's not because of the Olympics - I've been watching all season, since the Campbell's Classic in the fall. It's because of Sasha Cohen: beautiful, artistic, full of energy and attitude, she rocks my socks!!! She won nationals for the first time last month, but she had the flu, and was slow. So there I was yesterday at work, casting furtive glances behind me and to the sides, pulling up the Torino 2006 window that automatically refreshes itself every time new marks are posted (Italy, of course, is 9 hours ahead of us, which I'm sure NBC regrets very much). Just my luck, Sasha was the last to skate, and someone strode by as the second-to-last lady was about to take the ice: "Editorial meeting! Editorial meeting, everyone!" So I sat in the meeting, laughed at the editors' jokes (which are quite witty, actually), and twenty minutes later, what do I see but Sasha's in first place, above Miss Russian Perfect Gold Medal Favorite. YAY! I try to remain dignified (fortunately my boss is finishing a story and is firmly ensconsed behind his frosted-glass door).

Because the overpaid executives over at NBC (who I'm sure are all fat. Ha.) decide to intersperse the most popular Olympic event with really thrilling sports like bobsledding and, get this, curling, Sasha didn't come on until after 11 pm. But wow! Woweeee! Spectacular! (Video at nbcolympics.com). So now I'm gearing up for the same tomorrow, only much more pressure, because it's the long program, and will decide everything, and Sasha doesn't have a triple-triple jump and the other top ladies do. But I will still be at my desk at the magazine, heart beating like mad, refreshing the Olympics page every few minutes. As long as she hangs on to those jumps - and skates with abandon - anything can happen. That's right, folks. And now, the end of my little figure skating hoopla. I am so busy right now (task force editing - six papers to do! - introduction to write, history paper to write (UGH)) but I can't help but be caught up in this competition.

GOOD LUCK SASHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!