Author: Kat (Page 12 of 89)

The Massachusetts Connection To Olympic Ladies Figure Skating, Edmunds’ Layback, & U.S. Predictions

18 February, 2014 / Kat

Here are my random notes on the Olympic ladies figure skating event, which begins Wednesday.

– You may have already heard it mentioned that American Gracie Gold was born in Newton, Massachusetts. In reality, she spent a relatively short time in the Boston area, and was raised in Missouri. However, there is a skater with stronger Massachusetts ties in the ladies event.

Elene Gedevanishvili will represent the nation of Georgia for a third Olympic Games. Gedevanishvili, who finished 29th in last season’s World Championships, has spent a significant amount of time training at the Colonial Figure Skating Club in Boxborough, Massachusetts with coach Konstantin Kostin.

Gedevanishvili moved to New England last year to reportedly to spend time with family, as she has a brother who is a competitive skier and attends school in Maine. However, her International Skating Union biography says she recently moved to Toronto to train under the eye of two-time Olympic silver medalist (and one of the most successful coaches of late) Brian Orser.

If you watched the 2006 Torino Games, you may remember Gedevanishvili because her tumultuous training and living situation was the subject of NBC attention. She had been training in Russia, but her mother was deported back to Georgia, so young Elene moved to Canada on her own. She has trained in the United States or Canada for most of the years since. She has been up and down in competitions throughout the years, but continues to soldier on.

Although Gedevanishvili had earned an Olympic spot at the Sochi Games via September’s Nebelhorn Trophy, it was questionable for a bit if either herself or any other Georgian athletes would compete. Russia and Georgia have not been on the best terms, with the two being at war with one another in 2008. According to ESPN, the flight that brought the majority of Georgian athletes to Sochi was just the second flight from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi to Sochi since the war.

Gedevanishvili will skate 16th in Wednesday’s short program, at approximately 12:15pm Eastern time.

– I am interested in seeing an international judging panels take on Polina Edmunds’ short program layback spin. Those who have followed skating a while know that Dick Button would not approve of it, but that is not exactly the issue. If you watch her short program from US Nationals, I am not sure she holds the middle position eight times before switching into the Biellman position. A skater has to hold each position for eight rotations. I am most likely wrong, because the judging panel did not deduct on the element and awarded it a Level 4, but it might be interesting to watch what a senior international judging panel might do in regards to it. But that is just my opinion – I’ll just be interested to see her scores all around.

– I think this is the most wide open Olympic ladies competition in years. I usually am one to go out on a limb on Olympic predictions (my 10th grade English class can attest my Tara Lipinski prediction back in 1998), but I have no strong ones here. Gracie Gold is poised to be the leading American lady, and I could see her finish fourth if she hits everything she is capable of and others falter. Ashley Wagner will be in the top eight, and Edmunds is a dark horse – she skates so early in the short program that even if she completes all of the difficulty she is able to, I don’t know if it will hold up over the groups of skaters who come after her.

I do hope that somehow, one of the American ladies wins a medal. It would be a much needed boost of caffeine to a sport that desperately needs it in this country.

Your Women’s Hockey Crash Course

10 February, 2014 / Kat

The opening faceoff of the 2013 Women’s Frozen Four semifinal between Minnesota and Boston College. (Photo: Kat Hasenauer Cornetta)

You have probably been watching some morning Olympic women’s hockey games and want to learn more about the players you’re watching. Well, you are in luck. I’ve watched a lot of women’s hockey over the past few years, and for the last two, I have written about it. Here is a quick guide to some relevant pieces of mine that will help you learn more about the women’s hockey you are watching.

I spoke to US head coach Katey Stone and several members of her squad for an overall preview of their Olympic hopes. I also spoke to Stone when things weren’t looking too good for the US team this past fall.

Want to learn more about Kendall Coyne, who scored two goals Monday morning against Switzerland? Here’s a feature I did on her before her sophomore season at Northeastern University that speaks about her amazing work ethic.

You may have heard NBC commentators talk about Coyne playing with amazing Swiss goalie Florence Schelling (she really is one of the best you’ll ever see) at Northeastern. Here’s my story from their 2012 overtime women’s Beanpot win.

I’ve had quite a few chances to interview Alex Carpenter, who has a goal a game so far in the Olympics. Here’s a profile of her sophomore campaign at Boston College, and here’s an Olympic preview piece I wrote about her last week.

Amazed by the USA’s Amanda Kessel and Finland goaltender Noora Raty? I watched them play for the University of Minnesota last year as they closed out their undefeated season with a NCAA Championship. Here is some of my coverage. More can be found on my clips page.

You may have heard that the US and Canadian teams have quite the rivalry and have had some all out brawls in some pre-Olympic games. Here’s a piece I wrote this fall about a referee’s take on fights in women’s hockey.

Besides Stone, there are quite a few Harvard connections on this US Olympic hockey team. Here’s a piece I wrote about those connections.

Have questions about what you’re watching? Need someone knowledgeable to comment on women’s hockey? You are always welcome to email me or Tweet me (@sportsgirlkat). I am always happy to answer questions when I have the time.

Also, I urge you to seek out the work of the following media members who cover women’s hockey outside of Olympic years. I understand it’s easy to turn to higher profile writers who are currently paying attention to the Olympic tournament, but there are many writers out there who have devoted a lot of time to covering the sport and can offer some nuanced commentary. Here are their Twitter handles:

– Gabs Fundaro, The Hockey Writers

– Nicole Hasse, SBNation’s Bucky’s 5th Quarter

– Matthew Semisch, every publication on the face of humanity

– Arielle Aronson, New England Hockey Journal

– Candace Horgan, USCHO (USCHO also has a great women’s hockey writer named Arlan Marttila who I don’t think is on Twitter.)

The Last Month

31 January, 2014 / Kat

When a colleague asks how you’re remaining so calm after losing your engagement ring, and you respond, “Because it’s not the worst thing that has happened in the last 24 hours,” you know it’s been a bad stretch.

The month of January has left me defeated. My Grandmother passed away days after my 32nd birthday, after I believed I’d have at least a few more months with her. I struggled with my most important relationship. I lost my engagement ring in the snow outside of Ristuccia Arena while trying to get cell service to post a score update during a BC High-St. John’s Prep hockey game. I lost one of my favorite writing jobs because of my own gosh-darn stupidity and belief I can do everything in the world in a mere 24 hours a day. I completely bombed an interview for a writing job that could have changed my life. I pulled all-nighters. I typed so much my fingers hurt. At my full-time job, I had many people question my decision-making and planning abilities, and people who said they would help with events never following through and then blaming me for their lack of success.

And on top of that, I continue to see people who I believe I have just as much talent as passing me by in the sports media realm.

I was tired, discouraged and had many times where I wanted to just stare into space and let woe overcome me. Sitting in my loveseat cradling a bag of generic Chex Mix and tons of beer looked like the most viable option.

But there was also great points that never would have happened if I let myself wallow. I covered the US Figure Skating Championships, something I’ve wanted to do since I was a VHS tape collecting, Blades On Ice subscribing, jump memorizing teenager. I met journalists I had always looked up to, and was able to prove to them that yes, this random girl who appeared in the mixed zone out of nowhere actually knew about figure skating. I had headlines on the back page and entire spreads in the Boston Herald. I had papers contacting me from all over to freelance when they found out I was at Nationals.

I problem solved in all lines of my jobs. A U.S. Senator came to an event I planned (don’t ask how that came about, because I’m not even sure.) I eulogized my Grandmother and didn’t sound like a bumbling idiot. I somehow kept my apartment clean. I stole an hour away here and there to hang out with two friends who have been so giving with their time and ears. And just yesterday, I snagged the Holy Grail of cell phone numbers of a most elusive interview subject and got him on the phone to talk for 25 minutes.

January was awful, but in another way, it wasn’t. It proved to me that I’m resilient. It proved to me that I have some big decisions to make, and I can’t keep putting them off. It gave me a chance to make peace with the fact that this might be as far as I get in sports writing. I realized I need to be a better friend. It taught me to stick up for myself, but to admit when I’ve made mistakes.

January could have been a lot worse.

Three Red Sox Prospects Worth Watching in Vacationland

7 July, 2013 / Kat

I just got back from a few days in Portland, Maine, where I caught a few days of Portland Sea Dogs baseball. I wrote up some brief thoughts about three players who caught my eye on my Tumblr.

My choice to share it on Tumblr is because there seems to be a strong Red Sox community there who I wanted to engage with the post. Also, I need to get in the habit of writing quicker, more casual posts on all the baseball games I catch over the summer (I end up at a lot of them that I never end up talking about!) and I am hoping the “Fisher Price” quality (big, bright and easy) nature of Tumblr will encourage me to do so. Enjoy!

Pink Sneakers That Don’t Feel Like Pink Sneakers

3 July, 2013 / Kat

I am in the first stages of a search for new sneakers. I may have promised friends that if my pesky right knee holds up (like it has been), I’ll actually run the Allston Brian Honan 5K this September. I would like to look like the put-together serious runners my friends are at this race, even though they’ll be at the head of the pack and I’ll be coming in second to last. But right now, that put-together status is hampered by my current sneakers, which were purchased in 2006 and currently look like a dog ate them (but I haven’t owned a dog since 1994.)

My current sneakers, when they weren’t a mangled mess, were grey and a ballerina pink. I’ve decided that while I don’t mind pink shoes, I’d rather my next pair not match the color of my old pointe shoes. These two pairs of recent adidas Energy Boost sneakers caught my eye. Their pink isn’t perfect for ballet class – this pink is meant for the zip of running.

The adidas Energy Boost in Black-Black-Blast Pink:

The adidas Energy Boost in Blast Pink-Black-White:

These two will definitely be making it to my list of shoes to try on when I go shopping in the next few weeks. Around the North Shore of Massachusetts, you can find them at Dick’s Sporting Goods (across from Danvers’ Liberty Tree Mall and in Saugus’ Square One Mall) and The Sports Authority (in the Liberty Tree Mall.) They’re available other spots as well, including adidas.com

Let the hunt for sneakers begin!

Disclosure: The photos and product information provided in this post were made available to me in a press release, but I was not compensated for mentioning them.