Stojko & Cranston on Canada AM, Sept. 18

[moragc]

A heads-up for Canadian TV viewers (this information is taken from another skating list): CTV's morning show Canada AM will "catch up" with Elvis Stojko tomorrow, and will also interview Toller Cranston about his new book, "Ice Cream".

[Suzanne]

Thanks moragc! I'll set the VCR.

Toller's usually pretty entertaining. Should be worthwhile seeing what he says this time. :D

[jcspkbfan]

There's a little more information about Elvis and Toller's Canada AM appearances on CTV's official website:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/HTMLTemplate/!ctvAM2/AM2/comingUp/comingUp.html

I glanced through Toller's book at my local bookstore last weekend and for those of you worried about him neglecting "the younger generation" in his "25 most interesting" list, the entire epilogue is devoted to the 2002 Olympics. In short, he thought S&P deserved to win (and considered filing complaints about judging results at his own events when the whole scandal broke out--LOL!), was unimpressed with the ice dancers' programs and with the men's event except for the top three (he had especially nice words to say about Alexei) and was impressed with Sarah Hughes' LP. Toller also had nice things to say about Michelle, basically saying her SLC bronze medal didn't diminish her popularity or her worth as a skater or role model.

BTW, even though Toller said he thought S&P deserved the Olympic gold, he also heavily criticized other Canadian judges throughout the book for what he considers to be their own blatantly biased judging decisions!

This book should also be avaliable in the States if the inside front cover is any indication--it costs $35.99 Canadian compared to $24.99 US. 8O

[skatingfan3]

If you remember, can you post some of his quotes on Alexei, Michelle and Sarah??

Deborah

[iceboy]

what time is the show on?

thanks!

[jcspkbfan]

Just bumping this up so Toller and Elvis fans will remember to tune in (they weren't on during the first hour of the show, from what I could tell).

Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what Toller said about most of the skaters because I didn't buy the book...although I probably would have bought it if I was able to pay in US money (LOL!)

BTW, fans in the Toronto area may be interested to know he's giving a free book reading at Innis Town Hall tomorrow (Sept. 19). You can find more information about it here:

http://www.newsandevents.utoronto.ca/events/event.asp?ID=5169

or here:

http://www.uoftbookstore.com/online/events.ihtml

[kimkom]

I just started reading the book, and I'm loving it!

He's speaks his mind in typical Toller fashion, but at the end of each chapter he states why he picked them to include in his book and is basically complimentary. Lot's of interesting tidbits (The Dorothy Hamill Chapter was a surprise to me!) So far the only skater he hasn't really said anything negative about was Scott Hamilton. He loved his commentating in SLC by the way!! 8O

kimkom

[Ultrasuede]

Will someone please recap what he has to say on the show? And if anyone makes it to the reading, I'd love to hear about that, too.

The book is already available in the US for $19.57 at www.amazon.com

Mine is on order! :D

[Ultrasuede]

Just bumping this up in hopes of someone recapping what was said on the show.

[memememe76]

I too enjoyed Toller's book. Some choice quotes:

* On the Protopopovs inviting him to dinner after a show: "I remember dressing to the nines, presuming that we three great stars would dine in Philadelphia's grandest restaurant. Imagine my surprise when the Protopopovs created that dinner on a hot burner in their room and served it up on plastic plates."

* On Peggy Fleming's Olympic gold-medal performance: "The routine contained several major flaws, including a fall on the double Lutz, a poorly landed double flip, a popped double Axel, and an omitted double Salchow...Peggy enjoyed such enormous support, and her mystique so persuasive, that Gabrielle [Seyfert] and Hana [Maskova], although both were from influential Communist countries, stood no chance of beating America's superstar, even if they had skated on their heads."

* On T&D's Bolero at Sarejevo: "Silver medalists Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin, at least on a technical leval, gave the great performance of the evening. However, the Torvill and Dean victory was a foregone conclusion."

* One flaw in T&D's skating: "Jayne and Christopher, but Jayne to a greater degree, failed to stretch their legs and point their toes. That was flaw that prevented them from truly becoming dancers on the ice. It made me think of them as entertainers rather than modern dancers."

* On Scott Hamilton's much maligned commentating at SLC: "It was interesting to me as a television viewer, no longer a commentator myself, to listen to Scott's enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and precise analysis of the skating events in Salt Lake City. He demonstrated a unique style of commentary and analysis, and I felt strangely aligned with him. The essence of what he said was exactly what I myself believed and would have said on the air if I had been given the chance."

* On Judge David Dore awarding Martini and Underhill 2nd after their disastrous 1984 Olympic short: "I wanted to mention his Ottawa address, hoping that he would receive hate mail. Fortunately for Mr. Dore, and even more fotrunately for me, I did not have his address at my fingertips."

* On the Duscheneys' free skate in 92 Olympics: "I mentioned that the Duscheneys' big mistake at the Olympics had been to try to win the gold medal by playing it safe. Isabelle happed to hear my remark and refused to speak to me for a number of weeks while we toured Canada with Stars on Ice."

* On Sally Ann Stapleford's judging of Josef Sabovcik at the 86 Euros in Copenhagen: "Stapleford's own amateur career was based entirely on a certain talent for school figures...She also delivered primitive long-program performances. Anyone who had been such an inferior skater should have had the eyes to see and understand genuine virtuosity. [She] was a generally intelligent judge, but I found her evaluation of Jozef at Copenhagen petty, stilly, and cruel. For years I have wanted to admonish her. Now that burden is off my chest."

* On first meeting and talking to Elizabeth Manley, who was suffering from hair loss at the time: "I instantly presumed that the poor girl suffered from leukemia and had undergone chemotherapy. A great compassion welled up within me. Evidently she planned to skate bravely on until the very end of her life."

* On Phillippe Condeloro: "Phillippe, of course, was not the only skater to offer cheap entertainment. There were number of others, including Elvis Stojko, Christopher Bowman, and even sometimes Viktor Petrenko. The difference between Phillippe and the others was their corny exhibitions never crossed the line of decency, while Phillippe took great pleasure not only in crossing the line but leaping right over it and playing jump rope."

* "If Lucinda Ruh (with somewhat mediocre jumps) could astound audiences with her many spin variatios, why wasn't she the equal of Tara Lipinski (with mediocre spins by comparison), who astounded audiences with her triple jumps?"

* On ice-dancing today: "The ice-dance event was the low point of the Games, both technically and emotionally. Grotesque costumes and choreography, coupled with frightening makeup and hair, horrified anyone unlucky enough to be a witness. Well, at least I can speak for myself. Unless the rules governing costuming, music and choreography are changed immediately, ice dance is in serious jeopardy of losing its status as an Olympic sport. It has become more than a farce."

* On Marie-Reine LaGougne: "I have known the occasional Frenchman to be hysterical and erratic, but it boggles the mind why this judge admitted her crime."

* On Kwan not winning the Gold: "Michelle Kwan's failure to win a gold medal may have disappointed her, but the outcome was just. Michelle exemplifies all the finest qualities, both of character and of skating ability. Her bronze medal was certainly not a tragedy. It was one more honor that this exceptional athlete and artist can add to her countless other awards."