Ladies Short

Carolina

I think she peaked at 05 Worlds and is currently headed on the down hill train.

And Julia- JUST made the FS! I was like Huh?! when it was possible that she might not make it!

Crap. I have to mentally prepare myself once again for dissapointment. Oh, and if the skate gods also happen to rule over college b-ball in the same way, I would like to say I do not want Villanova to win the national championship.

password said:

Crap. I have to mentally prepare myself once again for dissapointment. Oh, and if the skate gods also happen to rule over college b-ball in the same way, I would like to say I do not want Villanova to win the national championship.

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Nah, you've got basketball gods for that stuff

As for coping with disappointment, for a fan of any skater I would say guilty till proven innocent...assume she will make a mistake and you will feel good if she doesn't.

slutskayafan21 said:

Was Joannie's only mistake the single axel or did she make another mistake?

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According to this report, she had a turn between the jumps in her combination.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060324/ap_on_sp_ot/fig_world_championships_nikodinov_3

Herm (sk8ngnutt)

Will be rooting for Fumie, Yukari and Elena!

I would be very happy for Fumi if she won. She has defiantly paid her dues in the sport and I think it's her turn to win and then retire. Same goes for Sasha.. It would be nice to see Kimmie on the podium as well. Her skating as an art is still developing, but I like her youthful presence. Here is my prediction..lol Gold: Fumie (skate clean and win), Silver: Sasha (silver again due to a fall or two), and Bronze: Kimmie (if she puts in a 3/3) or Rochette (if she skates clean)... Sorry, but Sokalova has never done a thing for me. Hmmmmm, I wonder where a (steady eddie) Kwan would factor in all of this?

equestrianguy said:

Yepp, Sasha's headed for another silver medal!

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For me it was, "I've seen this show before."

equestrianguy said:

Hmmmmm, I wonder where a (steady eddie) Kwan would factor in all of this?

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I wonder if we will ever get to see Michelle compete performing both COP programs Tarasova choreographed for her last August? I wonder if we will ever get to see Michelle compete in another COP event, especially an international one?

This is not to imply anything negative about Michelle. In fact the opposite. As far as I'm concerned, Kwan doesn't have one atom of a thing left to prove. (Olympic gold medal, shmolympic gold medal.) Still, I confess to being curious about seeing her do the programs she had planned for the Olympics when she's healthy.

You know, if Sasha ever competes again, they should have her skip everything but the LP. Just give her a 1 to 5 point lead depending on how the competition skates and then have her skate the LP to determine which other skaters will get the gold and bronze.

However, lest we forget, I just got an e-mail from Irina Slutskaya that said, "Is not over until is over."

Happy landings ladies.

Rgirl

[This is not to imply anything negative about Michelle. In fact the opposite. As far as I'm concerned, Kwan doesn't have one atom of a thing left to prove. (Olympic gold medal, shmolympic gold medal.) Still, I confess to being curious about seeing her do the programs she had planned for the Olympics when she's healthy.

I don't care in the least that she never will probably have an Oly gold medal. What she has done for skating proves far beyond one medal that she is missing. I just wish she would come back healthy one last season and end with a bang. Since there is no Irina, no Shizuka at this years worlds and a very shakey Sasha...it just seems like this would have been her worlds again to me. I could be wrong? I guess I just miss seeing her there as someone to count on..

equestrianguy said:

Rgirl said:

This is not to imply anything negative about Michelle. In fact the opposite. As far as I'm concerned, Kwan doesn't have one atom of a thing left to prove. (Olympic gold medal, shmolympic gold medal.) Still, I confess to being curious about seeing her do the programs she had planned for the Olympics when she's healthy.

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I don't care in the least that she never will probably have an Oly gold medal. What she has done for skating proves far beyond one medal that she is missing. I just wish she would come back healthy one last season and end with a bang. Since there is no Irina, no Shizuka at this years worlds and a very shakey Sasha...it just seems like this would have been her worlds again to me. I could be wrong? I guess I just miss seeing her there as someone to count on..

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I understand exactly what you're saying, Equestrianguy--at least I think I do--and ITA; but obviously the way I expressed it in my previous post conveyed something else. Sorry if the wording of my response to your comment about Michelle came across as if I thought you felt she had something to prove in terms of the Olympics or anything else. My "Olympic gold medal, shmolympic gold medal" was intended to be my jokingly sarcastic comment on how the OGM didn't matter one "atom" in terms of Michelle's career.

And ITA, if I understand you correctly, that it would be great and somehow make things right with the world, at least metaphorically, if Michelle skated her last season healthy; ended it with a "bang," as you said; and as far as these Worlds are concerned, yes, it would have been terrific to have her presence as a truly consistent skater, ie, "someone to count on," and, IMO, a great veteran.

I thought my agreement with you was clear--obviously it wasn't. In my post I jjust wanted to say, besides agreeing with you, that I would love to see a healthy Michelle compete with the programs created by one of the great COP choreographers, skating as she always does, with her superb technique and all her heart and soul.

Rgirl

Mafke said:

A lot of skaters do better in the SP or LP consistently, I get the impression that Rochette is just an LP skater (after Turin and QR) and her achilles heel is the SP (again Turin and here).I wouldn't be surprised if she can pull back up to podium range.

Cohen, on the other hand, tends to do better in the short and have problems appear more in the LP.

Suguri is the most balanced of the very top skaters here.I think so I wouldn't be surprised if she can go all the way.

I'd be happy with either Cohen or Suguri winning and would prefer to see Rochette, Sokolova or Meier on the podium with them rather than the first timers Meissner or Nakano (both are still too unfinished though I think Nakano is very appealing) I wonder if either will go for the 3ax? Or is Meissner's gone?

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Kimmie is quite a polished skater already. She does remind me of Sarah Hughes at 16, but with better jumps. She does deserve a medal, and who knows, she might be the one going home with the gold in Vancouver 2010.

coolio said:

Kimmie is quite a polished skater already. She does remind me of Sarah Hughes at 16, but with better jumps. She does deserve a medal, and who knows, she might be the one going home with the gold in Vancouver 2010.

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ITA, Coolio. I was especially impressed when I saw Kimmie skate live with COI. I felt she skated with a sophistication beyond her years. I also think she uses those long limbs, especially her arms, very, very well.

I agree with the comparison to Sarah Hughes in terms of great basics, but for me, Kimmie has a softer strength than Sarah. And at least so far, she hasn't had a monster growth spurt, which is very much to her advantage. Of course she still has time for one between 16 and 18, though her body doesn't show indications of having one and I hope she doesn't. I do like her skating.

Rgirl

I agree that Kimmie has a different quality than Sarah Hughes. Their body types alone make them look different on the ice. Meissner has stronger skating skills and more consistent jumps, IMO.

Sasha was Brilliant

She absolutley radiated. Now she's way ahead in points.

Joannie boo booed on the double axel and ruined an excellent skate.

Fumie hanging in there. She skated very well.

Kimmie was super but still lacking in maturity, imo. She should be ripe by next season. It's quite possible she'll get her first Worlds medal here.

Emily was oik. Bigest surprise was Mira Leung. She's 100 per cent better than in Skate Canada.

Can't wait for the long programs tomorrow.

Joe

Rgirl said:

ITA, Coolio. I was especially impressed when I saw Kimmie skate live with COI. I felt she skated with a sophistication beyond her years. I also think she uses those long limbs, especially her arms, very, very well.

I agree with the comparison to Sarah Hughes in terms of great basics, but for me, Kimmie has a softer strength than Sarah. And at least so far, she hasn't had a monster growth spurt, which is very much to her advantage. Of course she still has time for one between 16 and 18, though her body doesn't show indications of having one and I hope she doesn't. I do like her skating.

Rgirl

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Miki Ando certainly shows that. I couldnt believe the difference when I saw her skate in Torino. Kimmie is quite mature for her age though, and if she does not have that growth spurt, I am sure that she is going to be one to contend in the future. BTW, I think Carolina had some sort of spurt too, otherwise she was also had a strong skate in WP when she was 16 some time ago.and showed gerat potential.

coolio said:

Miki Ando certainly shows that. I couldnt believe the difference when I saw her skate in Torino. Kimmie is quite mature for her age though, and if she does not have that growth spurt, I am sure that she is going to be one to contend in the future. BTW, I think Carolina had some sort of spurt too, otherwise she was also had a strong skate in WP when she was 16 some time ago.and showed gerat potential.

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Carolina will be 19 this year. So I doubt she's had a growth spurt lately.

Hmmmm....

Sasha skated well but not perfectly. Joe, I think she is still having problems with her groin and I will be surprised if she lands all her jumps in the LP. If Fumie skates cleanly and Sasha doesn't, I will be rooting for Fumie to win. I want a clean skate to win this year. I am over flawed skates winning the gold medal. I would die of shear joy if Sasha were to win with a clean skate.

Sasha made her move in the SP, just as I thought. But she has been a great SP skater for a long time. The LP is her problem, so I'm not making any predictions.

ITA again, Ogre Mage. To quote Hannibal Lecter's quote of a quote to Clarice Starling, "People will say we're in love."

Everything has been said about Sasha's inability to "hit a big one." So instead I'll talk about Peggy Fleming. It was so nice not to hear the SOS from her in Torino, even though Bezic also annoys me. I say replace both Peggy and Sandra with Suzy Wynne.

Here's what bugged me about Peggy's comments after Cohen's SP: "She ruins it for us all by making us expect mistakes... She won't be happy with this performance. At this point, she is persuing perfection."

Cohen had one error that I saw or heard reported, which was the double-foot on her first jump. All season Cohen has said in every interview that she used to be obsessed with perfection but that over the last year [meaning '04/05] she came to realize that she just has to work on being better, not perfect. Cohen has said again and again that she is not trying to be perfect and, in so many words, that having that "perfection" mindset was causing her to make more mistakes.

Peggy, where the hell have you been?

Back to the skaters:
--Let's see how long Sasha can stay on the bronc.
--If Fumie has improved the TES difficulty and Nichols has improved the overall choreography of her LP. (Off topic: I think Suguri has hyperflexed knees--anatomically bent knees--and possibly femoral anteversion--anatomically turned-in hips. If so, there's almost nothing Suguri can do to improve her line except by using choreographic techniques and costuming to hide those problems. I think she did this wonderfully in her "Paint It Black" SP a couple of seasons back.)
--What will fall on Sokolva's head this time to cause to have the skate of her life. Just kidding. Head injuries aren't funny, I know. I have no idea what to expect from Cupcake.
--Don't know what to expect from Meier either.
--If Kimmie will come out fighting with just the right balance of determination and concentration.
--If Nakano's will pull out and hit her 3Axel and if the rest of her "meh" LP, IMO, will hold up, done well, for a medal. (Ooh, that wrap bothers me.)
--And if Rochette will have the right combination of skate of her life and mistakes from those ahead of her to set Canada rockin' and rollin'. Would love to see her win a medal.

Rgirl

Is it just me or were the sp scores ridiculously inflated? Especially compared to the Olympics. Kimmie with a personal best in the short program with a shaky 3 - 2 instead of her 3-3. It's almost laughable.