2017 Four Continents Ladies FS

[Mathman]

But right now it seems like Kaetlyn is this frustrating mixture of Sasha Cohen and young Carolina Kostner..

Could be worse. The young Sasha Cohen and the young Carolina Kostner grew into the old Sasha and Carolina. Between them they have two Olympic medals and nine Worlds medals.

 

[lavender]

I've been rooting for Mirai but Mirai usually skates well at 4cc but not at any other competition. She got a silver last year right.

 

[matcha]

Kaetlyn's free skate was scary, she's had such a good season, I did not expect that.

Never forget

 

[skatespin]

Does anyone know what's going on with Li Zijun? She was so devastated immediately after the FS. I don't think I've ever seen her so upset. IMO she was underscored, her FS was pretty decent, especially compared to what many others put out at this specific competition. She was crying even before the scores though. Is she injured? Also, where is Mishin? I feel so sad for her. She is really special and has the goods to move up in the rankings, but she can't ever seem to put it all together.

 

[ManyCairns]

Even though she fell four times, you could tell that this was a champion on the ice. Once she sat down after the jump was landed, once she seemed to stumble after tghe element was long done. That fall on the triple Salcho hurt and she wasn't able to continue at the same pace. But the first minute or so was enough, for me, to tell that this was the cream of the crop who just had a bad day.

W-E-L-L, I agree so much that Kaetlyn has all the goods (and always has!) HOWEVER Gabby Daleman is developing that champion look to me, also -- I think Daleman's free is a wonderful blend of a COP program with something of an old 6.0 vibe in the best possible way -- flowing and smooth and with PRESENCE -- again much like Osmond has with her LP (just not in this performance, of course, sadly).

I had to quit watching Kaetlyn's performance after the fourth fall, it had to have hurt the way her legs and hips got torqued so.

 

[Heleng]

Just finished watching NBC's coverage on DVR. Yay Mirai!!!! (Johnny's commentary p****d me off though ) Felt terrible for Kaetlyn...kudos to her for keeping her beautiful smile and brave face on. Also sad for Karen, it just wasn't her competition. Hoping that both of them rebound and put in a fantastic performance at Worlds. Congratulations to the medalists!

 

[Mathman]

(Johnny's commentary p****d me off though )!

Plus, he had stupid hair. :yes:

 

[Mathman]

HOWEVER Gabby Daleman is developing that champion look to me, also -- I think Daleman's free is a wonderful blend of a COP program with something of an old 6.0 vibe in the best possible way....

Gabby really made that Serenade in Blue music work for her. Perfect vehicle for her -- fierce and flirty at the same time.

Miriah Bell, on the other hand, has a lot to live up to with East of Eden.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Plus, he had stupid hair. :yes:

Ouch! Have we stooped to hair shaming? THATS gonna leave a mark on his self esteem! (I am coming up with all sorts of names for the local NBC affiliate that replaced figure skating today for boys dribbling in their shorts....and the NBC network that geoblocks me from watching over the web. How can I attack JW's comments if I cant hear them?)

 

[Mathman]

Speaking of Johnnie and Tara, did anyone besides me think that it was an awkward moment when Tara mentioned that living legend Patrick Chan won nine -- count 'em, nine! -- national championships. A silence followed, into which I could not help interposing, "I wonder if any American has ever won nine U.S. championships?"

I really do think that the NBC crew has a rule never to mention the name of Michelle Kwan, even at U.S. Nationals coverage, an event that she dominated for a decade. (Tara did manage to work in the fact that she (Tara) won the U.S. title, somewhat unexpectedly, in 1997, so she could appreciate the pressure that Karen Chen probably feels.)

 

[Mathman]

Ouch! Have we stooped to hair shaming? THATS gonna leave a mark on his self esteem!

Plus, his pants were too tight. How dare a tight-pants silly-hair fellow like that dare to criticize Mirai.

 

[ramurphy2005]

Speaking of Johnnie and Tara, did anyone besides me think that it was an awkward moment when Tara mentioned that living legend Patrick Chan won nine -- count 'em, nine! -- national championships. A silence followed, into which I could not help interposing, "I wonder if any American has ever won nine U.S. championships?"

I really do think that the NBC crew has a rule never to mention the name of Michelle Kwan, even at U.S. Nationals coverage, an event that she dominated for a decade. (Tara did manage to work in the fact that she (Tara) won the U.S. title, somewhat unexpectedly, in 1997, so she could appreciate the pressure that Karen Chen probably feels.)

During nationals, I don't think they showed a picture of Michelle at all when they would show pictures of past champions. I watched all the TV coverage, so I'm pretty sure I didn't blink and miss it.

 

[Art&Sport]

Only in the dreams of the Mirai fans, who once again prove that they are more than happy to strip team selections off other skaters when their skater doesn't have the goods to be selected in the first place...

I really like Mirai, but I'm not one of her most ardent fans. I'm not sure why you are jumping in knee-jerk fashion to that conclusion.

Of course, Mirai didn't perform well when she had the opportunity to win U.S. Nationals herself. The problem is that so many of the current U.S. ladies to a great degree are inconsistent and haven't figured out how to maximize their opportunities. It's also a very difficult and tough sport, figure skating. There's tremendous depth these days too which also adds to pressure, not to mention the specter of politics. Skaters have to learn how to filter out the distractions and manage their nerves.

 

[jenaj]

Speaking of Johnnie and Tara, did anyone besides me think that it was an awkward moment when Tara mentioned that living legend Patrick Chan won nine -- count 'em, nine! -- national championships. A silence followed, into which I could not help interposing, "I wonder if any American has ever won nine U.S. championships?"

I really do think that the NBC crew has a rule never to mention the name of Michelle Kwan, even at U.S. Nationals coverage, an event that she dominated for a decade. (Tara did manage to work in the fact that she (Tara) won the U.S. title, somewhat unexpectedly, in 1997, so she could appreciate the pressure that Karen Chen probably feels.)

John Coughlin mentioned Michelle during the pairs commentary. He said Sui was like Michelle Kwan reincarnated as a pairs skater.

 

[Icey]

Speaking of Johnnie and Tara, did anyone besides me think that it was an awkward moment when Tara mentioned that living legend Patrick Chan won nine -- count 'em, nine! -- national championships. A silence followed, into which I could not help interposing, "I wonder if any American has ever won nine U.S. championships?"

I really do think that the NBC crew has a rule never to mention the name of Michelle Kwan, even at U.S. Nationals coverage, an event that she dominated for a decade. (Tara did manage to work in the fact that she (Tara) won the U.S. title, somewhat unexpectedly, in 1997, so she could appreciate the pressure that Karen Chen probably feels.)

Well, she could have mentioned Maribel Vinson, who won 9 US titles too. lol

 

[momrk]

I so agree!

I don't think it's exactly true that Mirai has had her chances. She went through some difficult stuff. Being coached by Frank was not a good experience for her. She was under a lot of pressure to be the next Michelle Kwan, instead of being nurtured to just be herself. U.S. got spoiled by years of Michelle Kwan dominance and expected that it would continue with Caroline Zhang and Mirai Nagasu, without any consideration for their youth, their unique differences, and the over-exposure they received at too young ages. I do not blame either Caroline or Mirai for what they have gone through. They have weathered the personal storms and the attempts by U.S. fed to phase them out with determination, courage and grace.

According to Tom Z, people in skating community actively told him that he shouldn't bother coaching Mirai because she was trouble. Cool of Tom not to listen to them, but to meet with Mirai, talk to her, get on the same page about mutual expectations and help guide her to where she's at now. All I see now is that Mirai too often second guesses her abilities, as if she's in the mode of constantly having to prove herself. She needs to get over that. U.S. fed is still not in her corner though.

Great post- I so totally agree with what you said, especially in the first paragraph

 

[brightphoton]

Speaking of Johnnie and Tara, did anyone besides me think that it was an awkward moment when Tara mentioned that living legend Patrick Chan won nine -- count 'em, nine! -- national championships. A silence followed, into which I could not help interposing, "I wonder if any American has ever won nine U.S. championships?"

I really do think that the NBC crew has a rule never to mention the name of Michelle Kwan, even at U.S. Nationals coverage, an event that she dominated for a decade. (Tara did manage to work in the fact that she (Tara) won the U.S. title, somewhat unexpectedly, in 1997, so she could appreciate the pressure that Karen Chen probably feels.)

I think Johnny isn't that good at (or refuses to) finishing Tara's sentences.

During Caroline Zhang's free skate, Tara said, "wow! Look at that triple loop-triple loop! That's really hard to do, especially in the middle of the program. *awaits compliments about her own triple loops*"

*silence from Johnny and Terry*

You gotta toot your own horn. No one is going to do it for you.

 

[Osmond4gold]

Plus, he had stupid hair. :yes:

And his hair was his best feature! The outfit looked like a 70's craft, gone bad. Macrame anyone?

 

[brightphoton]

During nationals, I don't think they showed a picture of Michelle at all when they would show pictures of past champions. I watched all the TV coverage, so I'm pretty sure I didn't blink and miss it.

Maybe they would have to pay Michelle a royalty, and they don't want to? Hmmm interesting

 

[Mathman]

Maybe they would have to pay Michelle a royalty, and they don't want to? Hmmm interesting

I don't think so. The network probably is the owner of all the footage and commentay from previous nationals. Unless they have to buy it from ABC.