Talk:Sasha Cohen

message: Is it true that "Sasha" is a Russian nickname?  I thought it was specifically Ukrainian when applied to females.  All the Russian Sashas I've heard of before are male.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.163.235.71 (talk) 11:00, 25 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Nickname

message: In the "trivia" section I made reference to American actress Natalie Portman's spoof of Sasha Cohen's Olympic skating routine on Saturday Night Live. And, I pointed out that Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel. This reference to Portman's place of birth is relevant as the episode of Saturday Night Live had many Jewish cultural themes; including the spoof of Sasha Cohen. For some reason, however, the "Jerusalem Israel-born" reference to Portman was deleted. Why?
Please see my comments under the heading "Kabbalah." --Lance6968 18:44, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I suppose if you put it that way it could be relevant. I deleted the bit about Portman's heritage because this is an article about Cohen and not Portman. But if you put it in context like that it could be meaningful. Is there perhaps a way of moving it out of the trivia section and into a better-named section like "Other activities"? Has Cohen even met Portman? How is this spoof relevant? These are just my ideas. We eliminated a great deal of "trivia" at Michelle Kwan because much of it was non-encyclopedic or better placed elsewhere. --Fang Aili talk 19:41, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

text: Perhaps a section titled "Ethnicity and cultural heritage"? That could include her knowledge of Russian, her Kaballah beliefs, her Jewish heritage, etc. --Fang Aili talk 21:17, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

text: Cohen's own website focuses on skating and her acting. She doesn't talk a lot about her ethnicity (or Judaism). Why should you? I've read the Barbra Streisand article and it only mentions her jewish heritage once. Again the article is focusing on the most prominent attributes of notability. Being jewish in itself is not a prominent attribute. —Pelladon 07:44, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Jewish and Ukrainian Heritage

message: wow all u ppl gotta get ur facts straight sasha cohen is indeed jewish but wtf does it matter in the first place? what signifigance does judism in her life hold? as far as im concered this topic has no importance in relation to her in the first place. she is a magnificant ice skater and her being jewish does not make this possible but rather all the hours of training that she has completed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.236.21.148 (talk • contribs) 
Her background >_> --72.226.224.251 22:41, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: ok

message: was she in the movie Ice Princess as one of the skaters? if so it should be noted
*No, she wasn't.  It was Michelle Kwan and Brian Boitano.
she was the skate double for the lead actress, her face was cgi'ed over with the star.
But according to what the newspapers now, she may be doing an ice skating comedy. Ben Stiller asked her if she wanted to do one and she said sure.
::Sasha Cohen is having a small "acting" career. She was in a movie about horses, and is now in a figure skating comedy. However, she was not in Ice Princess. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.183.40.221 (talk) 00:30, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Movie ? 

message: Is Sasha's mother Russian or Ukrainian? In the article, she is listed as both.
Jimbo (not THE Jimbo) 22:35, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: My understanding is that her mother was a Russian-speaking Ukranian citizen of Jewish descent.  Under the Soviet Union, most Ukrainian citizens were Russian-speaking.  This was particularly true -- and has continued to be true -- for those of non-Ukrainian ethnic background, including Jews and ethnic Russians within the Ukraine. AnotherBDA 13:29, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Russian or Ukrainian? 

message: Since I, as an anon user, am not allowed to edit it myself, could someone please clean up the "However, on February 23, she fell twice in the finals of the ladies' event, where she ended up with a siver medal" phrase? It deserves more attention than that and there's a typo. Also, didn't she only fall once? She fell on one but I thought she only stepped out of the other. 65.92.205.116 00:15, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Fixed --Pelladon 02:45, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

text: Sorry about that. I was basing it on what I initially heard, as I was updating the article (there were three different places that mentioned that she was leading after the free skate, and there was plenty of stuff about spoilers without proper tags as well). ErikNY 03:24, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

text: NBC is now calling Sasha Cohen the "Silver Belle."  LOL!  I love the sappy stories.  I would've been happy seeing either Cohen or Slutskaya win, and I just knew one was going to and I'd feel bad for the other.  Now neither did and I feel bad for both.  I definitely feel dumb for underestimating Arakawa. Juppiter 08:07, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

text: It is consistency: I checked Michelle Kwan's article, and her athlete infobox is at the top, just like Cohen's is. —C.Fred (talk) 01:09, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm also talking about other olympic medal winners, not just skaters. —Pelladon 02:45, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually, Kwan doesn't even have a medal box. It just lists here Olympic results in the infobox with her other results. —C.Fred (talk) 03:19, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Excuse me, what does Kwan's medal box have to do with Cohen's? The olympics in figure skating is the biggest achievement for a skater. For many sports, it's the greatest recognition for an athlete. It's a major factor in notability for a biography. —Pelladon 03:25, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Other than that they're both Olympic medalists? I was looking for some measure of consistency—and seeing her article, realized there isn't any. —C.Fred (talk) 03:30, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Uh, who made the Kwan layout the standard? Not me. The olympics isn't just about skating, it's recognized by non-sports fans. It's bigger than skating. —Pelladon 03:33, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't know that it's bigger than the person, though. That's the problem with the current version with the medals first: the medal list comes above the athlete bio and picture. —C.Fred (talk) 03:40, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: That's the way the world works. The whole world knows what an olympic medal is. It's significant in sports to warrant that. For most people, they only know someone because they won a medal. Like I said, it's recognized by non-sports fans.—Pelladon 03:54, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Olympic Silver Medal Section

message: I'm wondering why Phil Boswell felt it was necessary to move Cohen's Olympic infobox when every other olympic athelete's infobox is on the top? Certainly not because of consistency. —Pelladon 00:22, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: It is consistency: I checked Michelle Kwan's article, and her athlete infobox is at the top, just like Cohen's is. —C.Fred (talk) 01:09, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm also talking about other olympic medal winners, not just skaters. —Pelladon 02:45, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually, Kwan doesn't even have a medal box. It just lists here Olympic results in the infobox with her other results. —C.Fred (talk) 03:19, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Excuse me, what does Kwan's medal box have to do with Cohen's? The olympics in figure skating is the biggest achievement for a skater. For many sports, it's the greatest recognition for an athlete. It's a major factor in notability for a biography. —Pelladon 03:25, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Other than that they're both Olympic medalists? I was looking for some measure of consistency—and seeing her article, realized there isn't any. —C.Fred (talk) 03:30, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Uh, who made the Kwan layout the standard? Not me. The olympics isn't just about skating, it's recognized by non-sports fans. It's bigger than skating. —Pelladon 03:33, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't know that it's bigger than the person, though. That's the problem with the current version with the medals first: the medal list comes above the athlete bio and picture. —C.Fred (talk) 03:40, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: That's the way the world works. The whole world knows what an olympic medal is. It's significant in sports to warrant that. For most people, they only know someone because they won a medal. Like I said, it's recognized by non-sports fans.—Pelladon 03:54, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Olympic Infobox

message: Whoa, that picture is gigantic.
Could someone fix the picture after the article has been unlocked?
Thanks,
J.H.
:The problem was with :Template:Infobox figure skater.  I don't know what the editor of that template was attempting to accomplish, but I reverted it.  The image should be thumbnailed again now.  Jkelly 05:30, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Whoa 

message: I saw Cohen do an interview and she had such a nasty attitude that I didn't care what she won tonite. She deserved what she got because she fell twice. I'm actually surprised she even medaled given her mistakes. That Japanese girl skated a perfect program and put Cohen in her place. As far as the Michelle comment above. Michelle has won 9 U.S. National Titltes and 5 World Championships so I think it's foolish to insult her or even compare Cohen's skating ability to Michelle's. It's just not comparable. Michelle is the Michael Jordan of her sport while Sasha is like the Kobe Bryant.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.72.100.137 (talk • contribs) 
:If we're going to compare basketball to figure skating, then basketball's World Championships are equivalent to the Olympics in figure skating. (I know that basketball also has a World Olympics, but for some reasons, American basketball players tend to not care and even pass up chances to play.) Michelle is more along the lines of Patrick Ewing or Charles Barkley - one of the best, with plenty of records/titles, but always beaten at the last minute when it REALLY counts. :Actually, to compare the two is silly. One is a team sport; the other, individual. If Michael could do it alone, the Washington Wizards would have a few rings. There's no reason to dump on Sasha just to lift Michelle up. Rattlerbrat 09:02, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree that Sasha Cohen is no Michelle Kwan, but I thought her silver was well deserved.  Her program was flawed, and I kept waiting for someone to do better.  But besides Arakawa, nobody did. Juppiter 08:05, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

text: Hello and welcome to Wikipedia.  Please use the article Talk pages to discuss improving the article, not to discuss your thoughts about the subject of the article.  Thanks for understanding.  Jkelly 05:27, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nasty Attitude and not a humble person 

message: If she wasn't so into it, she should NOT be wearing it at all.  In all actuality, she is VERY much into it, having had more than one bracelet (when one fell off, she immediately replaced it with another), and follows all the basic tenets (superstition, if you will) of it.  It's misleading (lying) to hide (deny) something that is so apparent to everyone else.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.188.116.72 (talk • contribs) 
:Please see Wikipedia:No original research.  If you have a reliable source for this, we can reference it properly.  Jkelly 02:26, 25 February 2006
The previous comment is clearly bigoted. The reference: "...basic tenets (superstition, if you will) of..." Kabbalah is similar to referring to Jesus or Mohamed as a superstition. So the above comment should be read with this in mind. Kabbalah is an ancient form of Jewish mysticism; and this is not the place for a discussion of Jewish theology. 
It seems that many celebrities, notably Madonna, have taken an interest in Kaballah with much corresponding media coverage (some of this coverage, unfortunately, is antisemitism masquerading as celebrity mocking); and this media attention to Kaballah may explain Sasha Cohen's interest in Kabbalah; i.e., this is more a manifestation of popular culture than any interest in religion in general, or Judaism in particular. As far as I can tell from media reports in respect of Sasha’s religiosity, she appears to have not taken a serious interest in Judaism. She is, however, still a young woman, and such an interest can develop as she matures; but, again, besides from Sasha’s surname, there doesn’t appear to be anything really Jewish about her.
Sasha's surname, "Cohen," is so distinctively Jewish, (in the Hebrew language, "Kohane" means priest, and Sasha's paternal ancestors were, according to tri-millennial Jewish tradition, as her name suggests, priests in Jerusalem's ancient Jewish Holy Temple), that it, perhaps, invites speculation regarding the interaction of Sasha Cohen and Judaism.
It needs to be stated, however, that in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, a girl, or woman, could not be a figure skater. Modesty customs would not permit the scantily dressed outfits that woman skaters wear.
Editors of this article have to be careful not to let unwarranted references to Judaism creep into this article. It just gives ammunition to Judeophobes who see Jews everywhere. With that admonition, Jewish people are naturally interested in a daughter of Israel who has made significant accomplishments. Indeed, many young Jewish girls are likely to be inspired by Sasha to take up figure skating. That is clearly part of the attraction of Sasha Cohen.
What I am saying is that a balanced, informed, and clearly justified reference to Sasha Cohen and Judaism is warranted; but, such references must be considered in light of the ugly problem of antisemitism. --Lance6968 18:35, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Is [source. Nearly everyone in the world saw her wearing the bracelet at the Olympics. It's not something she hides. savidan(talk) (e@) 00:52, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

text: In replying to email on the nbcolympics site that's currently cited in the wiki article, Cohen writes:  "Yeah, Evan Lysacek tied it on for me. I'm not deeply into Kabbalah, but I appreciate the principles of it, to ward off evil and not think negative thoughts about people. I had a Kabbalah string before this one and it fell off -- which is good luck. Johnny Weir tied that one on me the year before". Evan_Lysacek and Johnny_Weir are teammates of Cohen's. Ajasen 05:45, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Kabbalah

message: According to this(http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5061879/detail.html?qs=;t=11;tab=Bio) she recently purchased a house in Newport Beach, CA. I think that should be put in. IndyFan32589 09:24, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Residence

message: She is indeed a beautiful skater, beautiful and talented, passionate and Juliet. She is very very humble and admits her mistakes, and I honestly think she is a good description of how we try to do our best but sometimes make mistakes. She is a ballerina on ice and has a cute personality. She is humble, so be quiet. She has funny times too. I think she deserved the silver medal for throwing herself into the music and feeling for it, passionate and graceful, like a swan.
—Ballet is totally different from ice skating. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.231.78.4 (talk • contribs) 22:48, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sasha is Juliet and has a humble attitude 

message: In the Olympics it was announced that she's 22.  But her DOB given here indicates that she's 21 at the moment.  Who is right? -- Smjg 11:12, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Have you got a more specific source that "in the Olympics"? NBC's coverage in the USA referred to her as 21. —C.Fred (talk) 12:47, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  I'm sure it's something that was said during the figure skating (at least as it was on British screens).  Probably on one of the last two days of this competition. -- Smjg 13:49, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  DOB 

message: An anonymous editor has listed Sasha weight at 147 lbs. That could be right, but I can't find a citation on the web for it. Has somebody out there got a citation to support that figure? —C.Fred (talk) 23:50, 10 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  it's really not a question of accuracy or "trust" :), but of truth.  skaters aren't like wrestlers -- they don't have officially regulated weigh-ins, so they can write whatever weight they wish.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.163.100.7 (talk • contribs) 
She can't be heavier than me, I'm only 114 lbs 5'3.5", which is tiny for a guy, but she is at least 10 lbs lighter than me, so 95 is about right, though I thought she'd be up to 100.TimHowardII (talk) 04:20, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Weight 

message: I corrected the awkward wording of this section (both grammar and diction).--Lance6968 01:39, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Television and Film 

message: Need more pictures!!!!! :) Jonemerson 08:43, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Provided you can find public domain pictures, sure. I don't think more than one fair use image will fly, unless it illustrates some specific event in her career. —C.Fred (talk) 23:21, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pictures 

message: Why are citations needed for her autobiography and her Grand Prix Final info? Her autobiography info can be looked up thru the ISBN link and the Grand Prix Final, all you have to do is open up the Navigation box with the Grand Prix Final champions and read. Or is that not clear enough for some people? —Pelladon 01:32, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Both sources are on the MAIN page, that's what I'm trying to point out. —Pelladon 03:00, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Then they should be there as References and not External Links! I referenced the assertion about Sasha understanding Russian—and removed the unsupported statement that she speaks it. NBC never explicity says she can speak it. —C.Fred (talk) 04:20, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Citations 

message: This section is unclear:
"Reuters reported that Cohen was "stunned" to learn from news reports that a U.S. high school choir had been ordered by police, at the instigation of a public official, to stop singing Christmas carols at a holiday show on December 12, 2006, because, according to this official, she is Jewish.[7] Though Cohen's parents are both Jewish,[1] her mother, who is also her manager, described Sasha as "half-Christian" and said she "celebrates everything" during the holidays.[8]"
The choir was ordered because Cohen is Jewish? Umm, OK, what does Cohen have to do with the choir? And the police ordered the choir not to perform carols? Really? The police take orders from a "public official" to dictate to a choir what songs not to sing?
Also, is this really a "controversy"? Who says?
The source listed is a cobweb link. 
Mdbrownmsw 20:19, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I am not sure if this "controversy" is even relevant for this bio, very minor in importance. —Pelladon 07:36, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I think that it should be removed. Perhaps, the external links to the news articles can be left on the page. The first time I read that paragraph, it made no sense whatsoever. And I agree, it's a very minor event that doesn't need it's own headline. All in favor for removal? Byxbee 13:26, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: It was probably notable as news for a while, but I can't imagine why it would be important to note now. V-Man - T/C 01:03, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: No one seems to think it should stay (it seemed pretty dumb to me too), so out it goes.  KarlM 04:21, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Hooray! Byxbee 05:22, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, this sort of thing seems to happen on a lot on Wikipedia: there's some stupid or even wrong bit in the article that everyone agrees should be deleted, but no one actually does it.  KarlM 18:08, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Christmas carol controversy 

message: The caption of Sasha's picture is wrong. She didn't wear that costume at the 2004 Worlds. The picture was probably taken during one of the 2003 grand prix events. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 219.95.40.178 (talk • contribs).
:She must have worn it during 2004 Worlds, since she was wearing it when the picture was taken! The picture was taken by the uploader, who says he took it while at 2004 Worlds, and the timestamp on the picture backs that up. How can you be sure she didn't wear it at any time during worlds—short programmes, preliminary rounds, even practice—where she might have been photographed? —C.Fred (talk) 15:19, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Caption is correct, she wore that costume during her qualifying round at Dortmund. Pelladon 05:36, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Caption of Sasha's picture 

message: This was part of somewhat of a moral panic that was rife in the U.S. at the end of 2006, largely, but not exclusively, fueled by Bill O'Reilly, and others, who asserted that Christmas was under attack in the U.S. Sasha had recently won a silver medal in the Olympics and was quite newsworthy. Her Jewish identity was used somewhat to attach substance to a situation that completely lacked any substance.
This particular story, however, got alot of press coverage. The reference to Reuters as a source was deliberate in that the story went beyond the borders of the continental U.S. It also brought out into the open a certain lack of genuiness displayed by Sasha's mother/manager Galina who rather oddly referred to Sasha as "half-Christian." The importance and relevance of including the controversy is that Sasha is being made into something of a product; and Wikipedia does not exist to market Sasha Cohen the brand or product. This biographical info, consequently, should not have been removed from the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.211.195.54 (talk) 22:20, 20 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: How, though, is the story particularly relevant to Cohen? If O'Reilly really used it to stir the pot, maybe it's relevant for him, but I don't think it really relates to Cohen at all. —C.Fred (talk) 00:51, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Again, Wikipedia articles are not advertisements. This article is looking more and more like it was written by Cohen's publicist.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.211.195.52 (talk) 16:35, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reopen Christmas carol controversy