GP Final - Long Programs

Your comments,

This might be considered an odd post, but is anyone going to be eating dinner while watching the broadcast? I eat dinner late and I love to cook!

I was just curious to see if anyone is cooking/eating while they watch skating AND chat on here!

I am having:

Greek Salad (I love feta cheese!)
Lamb Meatballs
Summertime (California) Merlot 2004

ilovepaydays said:

I am having:

Greek Salad (I love feta cheese!)
Lamb Meatballs
Summertime (California) Merlot 2004

Click to expand...

How do I get to your house? Right away - before the lettuce goes mushy?

MAN I wish I could sample the Meatballs. And I LOVE Greek Salad, and Merlot.

DG

Dinner and a good LP

Hi there Joesitz - I've been home now for about 5 days straight and have been looking forward to seeing the LPs..... caught the SPs and was very impressed with Monsieur Lambiel.

ilovepaydays: love the greek salad idea and what a great idea to share the contents of your meal. I especially hope you enjoy the CA merlot (being a proud Californian).

Joesitz - Oh, oh, oh had not EMan refrained from crowning his own LP a masterpiece a few weeks ago. I understand he needs to be proud of his program, I really do not like this kind of trash talking - save it for the NCAA where it fits. JMO - but I find "Timepiece" empty choreographically and emotionally. Anyone else find the piece not all that and a bag of chips?

I can't imagine in the heat and intensity of the Olympic fervor that this post-modern tinkling score would be able to swoop up Emmanuel into the kind of emotional state to help transcend his nerves....... its soooo dry. I do like abstract, but in that Arena di Torino I know I'd want some help - does this make any sense? You real skaters out there, don't you need help from your music sometimes to get over your anxiety?

Without the big e-ticket elements "Timepiece" comes off --- I will try to say something other than empty --- frozen; that's all I can think off.

Does anyone think that Emmanuel will be able to stand the pressure and land the quad-combo and quads?

He has the line, the edging, but god-glorioskie that Short Program! Yikes - was that amateur or what? He is so talented - I'd hate to see him Diva himself to death and lose this upcoming opportunity.

Mmmmm - lamb. Tonight, I'm eating heartsmart and made fresh oatmeal with raisins from scratch Not instant, but the kind that takes 10 minutes to settle into a really good paste and then loaded with some fresh butter and just a hint of cinnamon and sugar. Them's good eats.

Tenorguy

Hmmm, a nice salad with a very light coating of home made buttermilk ranch dressing (left over from Christmas dinner), which was good. Then a bowl of chips and salsa, which would have been ok if I hadn't been compelled to mix in a bit of sour cream into the salsa to cut the hotness .

Oh...skating? Yeah, I watched that. I don't quite know what it is about Lambiel that I don't like. He was clearly the winner here, but yet I don't think he's Oly champ material. I still have this feeling that when I watch him all I'm going to see is wonderful quad toes, great spins, and very little else (like the other five jumps). The "WOW" skating just isn't there for him (at least for me), and I was rather shocked at how high his PCS scores were. Maybe I just have some sort of weird bias against him :sheesh: .

I thought that Mao Asada was absolutely wonderful. I wasn't on the Mao-train earlier, but this program showed both great technical skills and good presentation skills for one so young. It's a pity that she's not eligible for Torino, and I hope she can still be around in 2010 - it seems tougher for girls to have that sort of longevity. I found it interesting that Irena called her a child (true, but interesting - usually skaters mouth platitudes and wriggle out of hard questions).

sk8er1964 said:

I thought that Mao Asada was absolutely wonderful. I wasn't on the Mao-train earlier, but this program showed both great technical skills and good presentation skills for one so young. It's a pity that she's not eligible for Torino, and I hope she can still be around in 2010 - it seems tougher for girls to have that sort of longevity. I found it interesting that Irena called her a child (true, but interesting - usually skaters mouth platitudes and wriggle out of hard questions).

Click to expand...

Irina answered the questions honestly- that could be her personality or her culture. I saw nothing wrong with her answers. She did compliment Mao by saying she could be a future world or even Olympic champion.

Mao has it all, but I am not totally sold on her yet. She is lovable and a great jumper, and I am waiting for her to mature into the great skater I hope she will be some day. I see a little of Kristi Yamaguchi in her.

Vash

My overall impressions:

Ladies:

I won't rehash Irina's comments (I agree with her). She had a decent skate, but Mao had the jumps and she won fair and square.

I do believe Sasha can beat Irina. The loss here would put some doubts in Irina's mind.

Alissa: A question mark still. Can she skate well in the big competitions?

I have started liking Yukari. It's a pity they are sending Miki to the Olys- she seems to be going downhill, while Yukari seems to be improving.

Men:

Stephane is skating like a world champion. He lacks the intensity of Plushenko but he can land 2 quads in his LP. He is a serious threat for OGM.

I disagreed with Buttle's high marks. Four mistakes on jumps really ruin the overall impression of a performance (Takahashi had a similar problem at NHK and he placed 3rd!). I would have placed Takahashi second. He too had difficulties on the landings of some of his jumps (and of course the fall on the quad really cost him), but at least he landed them on one foot. I do believe Buttle is being held up in a lot of competitions.

Oda- exciting but still not quite there yet.

Pairs:

Paul Wylie's frequent comments about T&M rotating together like G&G on their jumps bother me. T&M have good unison on the jumps but IMO the best unison on sbs jumps belonged to B&S (G&G were a close second IMO). I saw more intensity in T&M's skating than ever before. I do agree that Maxim has started looking like Sergei Grinkov, particularly with that hair style. They totally deserved to win.

I still don't like Zhang & Zhang, but they are contenders for OGM (rather, challengers to T&M). We cannot forget S&Z who are likely to compete in Torino. So T&M are not clear favorites for the OGM in my mind at least (although I like T&M a lot). S&Z are the wild card but Z&Z definitely have the technical goods to give T&M a run for their money.

I don't feel Savchenko & Szolkowy are quite there yet. They are being touted as a pair for the future. Since they did not show Obertas &Slavnov, it is hard to say if there will be a strong competition between these two pairs next year. IMO O&S will be ready to challenge by next year. Aliona Savchenko looks so different from the way she did in SLC 2002 that she is almost like a completely different person. S&S look a lot like Woetzel and Steuyer- that is understandable since Ingo is their coach. I am not totally sold on S&S yet. Pet-Tik had a disappointing LP, but no major mistakes. I wonder what will take for them to deliver two strong performances? I do like this pair and I want them to do well in Torino.

Ice dance: D&L were wonderful- definitely deserved to medal. So did GrushGon and N&K. I thought D&L had the most artistic and meaningful interpretation of the music. Can Belbin-Agosto beat N&K? At this point I am wondering if they can beat Grush-Gon and D&L? Hopefully they will be ready and at least make it to the podium. One thing that has bothered me for a while is the backless outfit of many ice dancers. IMO a covered back looks a lot nicer- just a minor point (and personal taste).

Vash

Irina's final comments were pure MEEEE-OOOWWWWW!!! "Let her try to win World Championships and Olympics at age 25...." And Terry Gannons comments, in reaction to Irina's on Mao, were spot-on: "Mao doesn't have to wait until she is 25. She is winning now!"


BRAVO, TERRY GANNON. IRINA - YOU SHOWED YOUR CHARACTER.

Mao is not of this world. She was fantastic. She's beaten Irina and Sasha (the two contenders for OGM) and she will not be in Torino to clinch the title. I think Sasha and Irina and their multitude of fans can relax because the rule says that Mao might hurt herself. hmmm. There should be no problems with ladies at 16 years of age and above. hmm.

The only skater in that competition I would say had any kind of maturity was Alissa. It was NOT Irina's best skate. She plowed through the whole routine, and Miki looked space out throughout.

Tenorguy - I have oatmeal and oatbran combined (non instant) every other morning with whatever berries I can get a hold of.

Stephane is, imo, the greatest male skater ever but he doesn't sell that lyricism. It's not like Evgeni who sells every move he makes and demands his audience reaction. Advantage Plushenko. Stephane will do 2 quads one in combo but he wont stop and look up at the audience for applause. Disadvantage: Lambiel.

Eman - What can anyone say? I think you may be right, though. It's his ego that gets in the way.

Joe

Mao and Irina

I agreed with Irina's comments. Mao is a kid and she skates like a kid who can jump. She is a very immature skater and as far as I am concerned the best skater there was Irina. Let's see how well Mao is doing at age 25 in 10 years. I would bet money she is long gone because she has pounded her hip into oblivion. At least when Tara pounded hers into oblivion, she did it practicing the triple loop-triple loop which WAS awesome. You can take the triple loop-double loop-double loop. It was underwhelming to me. Her triple axel was nice and that's it. The quality of Irina's jumps. spirals and spins were superior to Mao's, as was her footowork. Irina should have placed ahead of Mao and I can understand why she was confused by the mixed signals she is receiving under CoP- a mess of a judging system.

kyla2 said:

I agreed with Irina's comments. Mao is a kid and she skates like a kid who can jump. She is a very immature skater and as far as I am concerned the best skater there was Irina. Let's see how well Mao is doing at age 25 in 10 years. I would bet money she is long gone because she has pounded her hip into oblivion. At least when Tara pounded hers into oblivion, she did it practicing the triple loop-triple loop which WAS awesome. You can take the triple loop-double loop-double loop. It was underwhelming to me. Her triple axel was nice and that's it. The quality of Irina's jumps. spirals and spins were superior to Mao's, as was her footowork. Irina should have placed ahead of Mao and I can understand why she was confused by the mixed signals she is receiving under CoP- a mess of a judging system.

Click to expand...

In Mao's defense- her triple axel was one of the few completed triple axels by a lady. Tara could not do even a decent double axel (no height, no distance covered). A 3R-3R combo is awesome, but that alone should not be the criterion for a great skater (neither should be a triple axel). Mao was total confidence and charm there, as a young kid who has no pressure would. That does not make her performance less impressive to me. I find her presentation skills to be more developed than Tara's were in 1998.

Irina skated well, and I can see why she was confused by the scores. It was a tough call (mature, powerful skater vs. high energy young skater with more jumps content) . The judges went for the cutie skating at home. I had no problem with Mao's win.

Vash

I got a kick out of Irina saying Moa is a "kid"...and thats exactly what Moa is.. Don't get me wrong..it's great seeing such a young firecracker and fresh young face on the ice... I think she is wonderful, but to me she does seem and look like a little girl because thats what she is.. I do have to say that Irina's spins looked alot faster than Moa's (even if it's the same spins Irina has been doing forever lol). Like Irina said...lets see where Moa is in 10 yrs... Let's wait and see if she can stand the test of time like Irina and Michelle..

I have to say I love Stephane's Vivaldi LP and his SP.. I think he is amazing! If he can land those TA's he is the only one that can upset Plushy.. I LOVE the intensity of the last few seconds of Stephane's LP.... The power of the final headless spin witht he music is a masterpiece....

Vash

Yes, I agree that the judges gave it to the cutie at home. But I feel bad for Irina who has struggled with illness and upped her game substantially (at the age of 25 no less), and who I feel was the better overall skater that night. Mao's triple axel was wonderful, but that shouldn't have been enough to beat a complete skater like Irina, who's overall skating was so much better (and this is coming from someone who isn't a fan of her skating style per se). What kind of message is that?? Do the one trick wonders win over the complete skater, who also has strong jumping ability(and in my opinion the quality of Irina's jumps were better that night)? I think the outcome is a sad reflection on where figure skating may be headed.

kyla2 said:

Yes, I agree that the judges gave it to the cutie at home. But I feel bad for Irina who has struggled with illness and upped her game substantially (at the age of 25 no less), and who I feel was the better overall skater that night. Mao's triple axel was wonderful, but that shouldn't have been enough to beat a complete skater like Irina, who's overall skating was so much better (and this is coming from someone who isn't a fan of her skating style per se). What kind of message is that?? Do the one trick wonders win over the complete skater, who also has strong jumping ability(and in my opinion the quality of Irina's jumps were better that night)? I think the outcome is a sad reflection on where figure skating may be headed.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately at the last two Olympics the judges have traditionally ignored the maturity aspect and given the gold to the skater that landed more jumps, regardless of the overall quality of the jumps or the program. Mao did have other jumps;not just the triple axel. The home field could have been a factor too. I don't expect that at the Olys unless Carolina has a fantastic performance.

Vash