Am I the only one on here who likes Emily?

[candygirl559]

When I saw her skate her SP at Nationals this year, I was very impressed her. She has fast and beautiful spins, a beautiful lutz, good extension on her spirals, good basic skating, and very good expression in her body and face. I'd love to see her make the Olympic team this year and I wouldn't even mind seeing her medal at the Olympics as well.

[Goebel fan]

I also like Emily Hughes. I would love to see her make the olympic team.It would be great if she medaled at the olympics. Her skating is so beautiful.

[honey827]

I liked what I saw of Emily last season. I saw her new lp and although it had some nice moments I had hoped to see more improvement. It will be interesting to see if she makes it onto the Olympic team.

[Puce]

i like emily. i thought that she proved to be the one to watch moreso than kimmie last season. in my opinion at least. LOL! and who knows? she just may be on the olympic team!

[nymkfan51]

Well, there you are ... the answer to your question. We know of at least 3 other people who like her too.

[aaronts]

nope :)

[Anahi]

I like Emily, she has a really nice smile when she skates.

[iloveskating]

I liked EMily at Nats, which was the first time I'd seen her (I think). She has lots of power and fire in her skating. I think she will go far. Oly team, maybe; Oly medal, a stretch this year, IMO.

[GoldenMichelle]

I don't like her, but I don't dislike her either. I'm pretty indifferent to her at this point. I'll let you know when I see what she does this year.

[EigthAv]

I like her,but I don't love her. I do appreciate that she came through for the USFSA at World Juniors.

[JaneC]

I was impressed with Emily after Jr Worlds last year. I think her enthusiasm on ice will take her a long way!

Jane

[FlashOBlue]

I like Emily, too. But then I always liked Sarah and was happy she made the Oly team...until she won which I didn't expect. I don't want history to repeat itself. Emily can win in 2010.

[lillyfly]

I like Emily. I was suprised at Nats that they put Kimmie ahead of her. I thought she did very well. As for the Oly team I am hoping for Jenny or Bebe.

[Krista]

From what Ive seen, I like her personality, but Im not sure about her skating yet. Although she has a lovely layback, like her sister :)

[ceap]

Agree with others...great personality and quite a talent, but not a fan of her skating. I wasn't a fan of Sarah's either. Don't get me wrong. Emily has a great layback and is very talented, but she doesn't have the artistry just yet and isn't overly pretty to watch. Just MY opinion.

Now remember before I get ripped for my reply and some people on this board think I'm bashing Emily or it's because I love Michelle...I LIKE EMILY A LOT and think she's talented, but I'm just not a fan of her skating. I adored Tonja Sweshenko (spelling) from Germany and thought she had such an infectious personality and smile, but I wasn't a huge fan of her skating.

[RainbowR]

How would Little Hughes be received if she wasn't Sarah's sister? I don't think she would stand apart from Katy Taylor and Kimmie, but the hype sets her apart on her sister's merits.

[candygirl559]

I think Emily would still be hyped up as much as she is now if she weren't related to Sarah Hughes.

She's more consistent with her jumps than Katy is and she's more expressive than Kimmie. Emily also has better spins, spirals, and footwork than that of Katy and Kimmie.

[michelle2006]

Based on the Marshalls spring, there are aspects of her skating that I prefer over Sarah's, but then again she reembles Sarah in skating style in many ways. I like her spins, she has a lot of passion when she skates. I think her artistry, arm movements, and jumps need to improve. Her jumps are powerful but the landings are not that great.

I like her better than Kimmie, but I think overall the USFSA is dying for there be a young discovery made, perhaps so she can match the young Japanese girls. They have used Kimmie's 3 axel to make her big news, though I feel Emily has a maturer style......and better presentation.....I am probably alone on this, but I don't see how Kimmie's porture is that exquisite, and she needs to make thise landings better because they are usually very tight.

I like Emily, and I like her skating more than Kimmie's.

[ceap]

Michelle 2006,
I agree with your post. I prefer Emily's skating over Kimmie's and feel she is more polished than Kimmie. I'm still not crazy about Emily, but I feel she has better technique than Kimmie right now. They are both very talented, but Kimmie is still very juniorish to me.

[cestlavie000000]

Michelle2006 I agree with you 100%. Peggy Fleming kept saying Kimmie had such great posture well I did not see it--nor do I see powerful stroking, relating to the music, or centered spins. I did enjoy Emily at Nationals and Jr. Worlds and got a great surprise when I was getting my skates at Kilingbeil's she was there as well with her Dad and just seemed like a kind regular "kid".

She does do a Beillman so maybe she can just do that over and over again for 4 minutes and beat everyone?!

Ha!

[Sparks]

I like Emily's skating better than I liked Sarah's...Emily doesn't cheat her jumps and has good over-all technique.

[mr pru]

What you said Sparks!!

[candygirl559]

michelle2006,

There goingn to use the new scoring system at the Olympics rather than the old system and the judges seemed to like Emily better than Kimmie under the new system and the Japanese girls who have 3axels aren't necessarily favored by the new system. So I think this favors Emily over Kimmie.

[TarotX]

I wasn't a fan of Sarah but I think Emily has potential.

:RB

[sandrakae]

Shes fat. I like the elegance of figure skating. I don't really like the stocky built skaters that are just going to turn it into a jumping competion.

[Vinluvskwan]

Shes fat. I like the elegance of figure skating. I don't really like the stocky built skaters that are just going to turn it into a jumping competion.

Sandrakae, if you observe closely and compare Emily's bodytype to that of Irina, Julia Sebestyen (HUN), Bebe Liang, and past skaters like Tonya Harding, Tonia Kwiatkowski, and even Midori Ito before she lost weight, THEY ALL almost have the same body type that allows for explosive jumps with greath height but awkward lines and pumping of the body during crossovers.

Anthromorphologically (science of human shapes) speaking, their body types range from what is called mesomorph (medium stocky, say Bebe and Emily) to exomorph (more stocky/pear-shaped, which exactly describes Tonia Harding). It does not mean they are fat, it's just that their fat deposits are more concentrated in the upper (breast, shoulders) and lower (hips, thighs) body.

If you watch gymnastics, some of the stockier (read: more muscular ladies) look FATTER on TV than they actually are.
The fact that TV figuratively adds 10 lbs further exacerbate their image onscreen.

In retrospect, didn't Michelle look puffy in the face around 2005 Nationals? Can we call her fat back then? I rest my case.

[SGuntur]

double post

[SGuntur]

Emily Hughes jumping is not very appealing IMO. They do not seem effortless like with some other skaters, and the landings are far from gentle and springy.

[chipso1]

I really do love Emily and her skating! She skates with speed, attack, and determination and I love those qualities! I think she needs a year or two to continue to polish her skills, but I wouldn't be surprised to see her atop the National podium at least once between Torino and Vancouver (same goes for a spot on the World podium as well).
:)

[Dragonlady]

The last time I looked, Mao Asada (the Japanese girl with the 3A) was the winner over Emily Hughes by more than 40 points at Jr. Worlds, so I don't understand why anyone would say that the international judges prefer Emily. I can understand why the international judges prefer Emily to Kimmie though. Emily has better edges, more speed, bigger jumps. Kimmie still has a juniorish quality to her skating while Emily's skating appears more developed and mature.

Emily's first international competition was Jr. Worlds, and her performance there was brilliant. Emily was the only American lady to receive a standing ovation from the international audience.

[candygirl559]

Dragonlady58, I meant Emily over Kimmie. I didn't say that Emily was the top ranked skater in the world on either the junior or senior circuit.

But I do think she has a shot to make the US Olympic Team in 2006.

[amielou]

I should be grading grammar papers but they always put me to sleep, so I'm reading MKF instead!! Bad teacher!

Anyway....I was reading this thread and trying to decide why I don't really like Emily. And now I feel bad because it isn't Emily from what I have seen of her personality of skating that I don't like. I am simply tired of all the overblown fluff that ESPN and other media has forced down our throats about the wonderful Hughes family. And maybe they are lovely people, but do we have to hear about what a terrific family they are all the time? That is why the fluff pieces need to be dramatically decreased in skating coverage; after about so long, they become distasteful. The Hughes' cannot be that perfect; they probably all fought over the bathroom quite a bit!!:b

[berthesghost]

" The Hughes' cannot be that perfect; they probably all fought over the bathroom quite a bit!!"

:rollin

Yeah, the whole Brady Bunch angle is getting pretty stale, but what can they do. Not to be snarky but...when faced with a celebrity as criplingly boring as Sarah, "But she's so normal!" is about the only sound bite a spin doctor could muster. Even if Emily is a little feistier, she probably has to reigh it in a little to protect her more famous sister's pollyanna image.

[gatzbee]

She does do a Beillman so maybe she can just do that over and over again for 4 minutes and beat everyone?!
:lol

[boggartlaura]

I really like Emily (and Kimmie). Her SP this year is unbelievably good.

[kwanette]

Not everyone felt that Michelle looked "puffy" at Nats...And there is a big difference between puffy and fat..

I like Emily's skating more than I ever liked Sarah's..But, then again, I like my skating more than I ever liked Sarah's...

[missmarysgarden]

kwanette, :lol :lol :lol :lol

[TarotX]

I just watched a early Sarah program. It was almost like watching Emily. I don't think that bodes well for her-well for me liking watching her skate that is. Sarah was Olympic champion so I guess she would think it's a compliment. But it isn't.

I though Michelle looked like she was on medication at nationals. Her face was a little puffy but the only reason I notice was because I just watched a tape of the 2004 nationals where Michelle was super fit.

Early nationals week I head a report that Michelle hurt her back on the loop which lead me to believe she was on medication when I was watching the program live. But nobody mentioned it here so I then figured it was wrong. Especially when reports came out saying she was doing 3-3's in pratice.

:TOS

[taf]

I thought Emily was ranked exactly right at Nationals. Her SP was clearly inferior to both Kimmie's & Katy's but she did have a pretty good LP. (OT-I thought Bebe did better than any of these 3 though.) Funny thing-when I got home from Nats & was watching my tape Peggy was gushing over Emily while she was being shown skatinng. Right when Peggy went into full gush mode Emily was landing an extremely cheated 3sal. LOL

I agree that she is not that pretty to watch and she is quite a bit stockier than many of the other girls. In person, Bebe is very tiny-much smaller than Emily. In fact, I have never thought that Bebe looked stocky on TV. I would not have put her in the group of larger skaters like Tonya H, etc.

BTW, I don't know where this perception started that Michelle was puffy, or looked puffy, at 05 Nats, but that is a ridiculous statement. Maybe her eyes looked puffy from crying over Angela's mom (if indeed she did cry) but her body was in fighting trim, as it always is for major competitions. In fact, I have never seen Michelle look overweight in any part of her body. Maybe someone can post a picture of "fat Michelle". IOW, put up or shut up.

[candygirl559]

I thought Emily was ranked exactly right at Nationals. Her SP was clearly inferior to both Kimmie's & Katy's but she did have a pretty good LP. (OT-I thought Bebe did better than any of these 3 though.) Funny thing-when I got home from Nats & was watching my tape Peggy was gushing over Emily while she was being shown skatinng. Right when Peggy went into full gush mode Emily was landing an extremely cheated 3sal. LOL

How was Emily's SP clearly inferior to Kimmie and Katy's SP when Emily had better spins, better skating skills, better choreography, better expression, better footwork, and a better spiral sequence to both of them?

I didn't see Emily's LP, so I have no opinion of that.

[taf]

My ranking after the SP:
Michelle
Sasha
Jenny
Bebe
Katy
Kimmie
Emily

Actual results:
Michelle
Sasha
Jenny
Kimmie
Bebe
Katy
Emily

Emily is in 7th either way. IIRC Emily had a deduction or maybe 2, I would have to get out my tape. The others didn't.

[shirleyprice1]

RainbowR, I must say that I agree with you and for the same reasons. does she cheat her jumps and have a bent leg spiral like Sarah ? I haven't paid much attention to her.:rolleyes

[chipso1]

I agree that Emily was ranked just right in the sp. Her lutz combo was shaky and her flip was more than a 1/4 cheated. Doesn't take anything away from her, it just wasn't her best performance. I'm glad she came fighting back in the long, though! :)

[GinnySmith]

kwanette, :rollin

Oh, my. We are back to the “puffy” discussion. Well, I guess everybody sees things differently.

I just have to shake my head and laugh. When I read some of these comments, it sounds as if Michelle looked liked the Stay-Puff Marshmallow man, but she didn't.

I was at the 2005 Nationals, sitting in the 6th row not too far from the Kiss and Cry, and Michelle looked awesomely fit. She didn't look anorexic either, and that IMHO is a very good thing.

For me, it was only the ultra close-up on TV at the end of Bolero (which provided quite a distorted version of reality) that made MK appear "puffy" and then only slightly so. Even Jenny Kirk seemed to have a fuller than normal look to her face with those close-ups. Now that I think about it, I believe those camera folks could have made Calista Flockhart look as if she’d been on an eating binge, but I digress…..:lol

Here are some photos of the alleged Miss Puffy One at the 2005 Nationals:

i3.photobucket.com/albums...ometoU.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/ladywalker68/WelcometoU.jpg)

i3.photobucket.com/albums...Spiral.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/ladywalker68/SpartacusSpiral.jpg)

i3.photobucket.com/albums...roOpen.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/ladywalker68/BoleroOpen.jpg)

i3.photobucket.com/albums...urtsey.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/ladywalker68/GoldMedalCurtsey.jpg)

Compared to the much younger Emily Hughes, Michelle had far better muscle tone and endurance. Emily seemed to be breathing heavily about 3/4 the way through the long program. You could see her fatigue by the end of the performance. Not so with Michelle whose speed, ice coverage and over-all technique were superior.

Now if we want to compare apples to oranges body-types, then one might see some alleged puffiness in this photo at the Sarah Hughes Fan Center:

p078.ezboard.com/bsarahhu...efancenter (http://p078.ezboard.com/bsarahhughesonlinefancenter)

And in this photo of Sarah taken last winter at SOI:

i3.photobucket.com/albums...0de7cb.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/ladywalker68/280de7cb.jpg)

But then again, those who saw Sarah in person at SOI, could provide counter points that she really appeared to be very physically fit and not be out of shape.

And of course, all of these photos were taken, in figure skating clock-time, “ages ago” and conditioning improves or deteriorates in the blink of the eye. Judging by the latest photo of Michelle taken at her rink a day or two ago and posted in MK Fan Chat, she seems to be quite trim right now:

viewmorepics.myspace.com/...0818221536 (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=13032699&imageID=195281941&Mytoken=20050818221536)

As I said at the beginning, I guess everybody sees things differently. And in the immortal words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I have to say about that….”

:SE

[EigthAv]

Berthe,right on about the "I'm just normal" approach to promoting top USFSA skaters.Bore-Ringgggg! It baffled me no end.All those gains from post Harding scandal 1994 through 1998 Olympics.Then "they" got together and decided to fix things which weren't broken.The USFSA went into the "me so normal" phase and Skating Magazine reflected the changes.It was as if they assumed it would be years before they ever had anyone who could challenge Michelle,Michael and Toddie da Bottie Eldredge.Oh ye of such little faith! :eek Within 2 seasons,Goebel,Big Hughes and Cuzzin Cohen were making a lot of noise,but the USFSA pr machine didn't have a clue as to how to use it.The current USFSA senior ladies' regiment is probably tougher per capita than same of 1997.In 97 they were allowing the "ladies" to take off the gloves and take on the rest of the ISU by any means neccesary as long as a girl didn't break the law(and get caught) :lol I'm not so sure a Bobek would be possible now.In 2005,it seems a bit fixed.Almost scripted.It's like look at your top 3 thru 6 ladies and somewhere amongst the 4some is your "3rd spot". I liked it better when I could honestly believe Sydne Vogel and her buddie Shelby Lyons had an honest fighting chance of making the big O team.I think Jen Kirk,Amber Corwin,B B Liang and Katy Taylor are already written out.It's Meissner or Little Hughes as long as one of them can keep it close enough to please the average casual fan.I like both girls,but don't like the politix of it all.

[TarotX]

When I replied to the "puffiness" in agreement I in no way meant to imply Michelle was going to the fat at last years nationals. It's kind of laughable actually. I've seen the Michelle in the bikini shot for god sakes!! Michelle is fit and gorgeous on her worse day. At Nationals 2004 Michelle was super fit and I had just watched that before watching 2005 where she was not soft by any means-just puffier as I watch it on tv. All I can go by is what I watched on tv. I didn't mean to frustrate you guys. Really. Michelle is the "hottest" female figure skater.

Topic...nothing sorry. :TOS

[EigthAv]

Michelle has a drop dead gorgeous bod, imho. I can say it openly because she is 25 yrs olde.When a poster referred to Little Hughes as fat,I was tempted to argue and didn't.Catch 22 scenario. Say nothing and feel guilty for saying nothing or say something and risk being accused of liking girls too much.:lol I like the full spectrum. I love it when the "regualar sized gals" can rip off a big triple.Tonia Kwiatkowski and Latecia Hubert weren't waifs and when they landed the big jumps,big turned into HUGE. Lipinski was my favourite waif.Low line drive yes,but she could darn near take requests.:eek I think that over the years,because Michelle has so often been associated with art skating,that folks fail to notice she is also a big jumper.I have seen the woman live in Nats competition.Plum wicked! When she is on,look out! She took 3 votes from Tara with slightly less than her best stuff.Fully loaded,she'd have taken all 9............well,at least 8.I think the French judge had a thang for Tara.I also believe Kwan's very best trumps Cohen and Slutskaya's very best. Lay it on down as she did at the 98 and 04 Nats and she is our next OGMist.Call your bookies! :hat

[GinnySmith]

I think that over the years,because Michelle has so often been associated with art skating,that folks fail to notice she is also a big jumper.Mike--ITA! Michelle's jumps are gorgeous and she blends them in so well, she makes them LOOK easy, but they aren't. In fact, I'd wager it is more difficult to make them look so effortless and easy than it is to work up to them and make them look like a big deal. :lol

[candygirl559]

I wish I could've gotten to see Nationals in person this year. But I don't have enough money right now. Oh well.

It's awesome how Michelle looked in those photos.

[lillyfly]

I remember watching the Ladies LP in my hotel room right after being at the live event and wondering what happened to the skaters. They looked all squashed. This is the first time I could compare the live to video.

When my husband and I went to a practice session and saw Michelle for the first time my husband said "She's so tiny". She looked great.

[graciesfriend]

If I recall correctly, the only poster(s) who thought Michelle looked "puffy" at '05 Nationals were people who weren't there.

[epoibim]

:eek
Ginny, I was *just* getting over my aversion to feathers after last years' invasion of the swans.

After seeing that photo, I feel the nightmares returning...you will not be soon forgiven for this one:lol

[EigthAv]

Television does have tendency to distort human bodies..........make them look thicker.Most people probably look better in person.

[Amber11]

YUP. In my book you are the only one(just joking). she is a sweet kid, just not anything special in the skating world. She has nothing special to make herself stand out. She does nothing spectacular. She just puts her all into every performance and that's is so sweet. Just sweet,not great. Hopefully, she will skate until her heart is content, be satisfied, and go to college. She will not be a big draw at the ice shows unless she pull a Sarah hughes, which is win when no one is looking and win the big ones when it count. I just don't see that happening. I hope she proves me. Her time to shine will be after the olympics, leading up unto the next olympics. If sasha is still around, forget get it. She won't win a national championship because Sasha can fall all the way through her programs with MK being gone and win the nationals until she retires. So good luck Emily, go to college and get an education.:)

[EigthAv]

Her time to shine will be after the olympics, leading up unto the next olympics. If sasha is still around, forget get it. She won't win a national championship because Sasha can fall all the way through her programs with MK being gone and win the nationals until she retires. So good luck Emily, go to college and get an education
<!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END--><!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END-->I can recall a certain ISU board poster saying similar things about Amber Corwin and Angela Nikodinov in the 1999/2000 season,except he was a bit more blunt.......more like "give it up and go on to college".I think Amber went to college and by now probably has a degree.<!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END-->
Emily Hughes has GP assignments and will be in the upcoming made for tv USFSA fluff event,so she has the opportunity to rock the cradle.She dominated a fairly tough field at the Liberty event and is already off to a good start. <!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END-->
Big Hughes proved that Sasha Cohen wasn't bullet proof and Cohen didn't have to play human zamboni to lose to Sarah.Little Hughes could do some World shaking this season.Giving it your very best best in the clutch often turns underdogs into winners.I'm counting on the "darkhorses" to push the big cats and hope the big cats are up to the task.

[lasaslav]

I liked what I saw so far from Emily; she had that "fire in the belly" (for lack of a better phrase) that is missing from so many young skaters. She really tried to connect with the audience (I thought, successfully) and has some really good skating skills. Let's hope she keeps up her triples well, and see what she does this season.

I'm sure having Sarah win the Gold can only help in her confidence level.