Just got through watching this on NBC (got over at 12PM PST).
Here are my thoughts:
MEN
Oda rules!!!!! I recall seeing his face once before at Worlds last year, and he impressed me a bit then, but nothing like today. Everything was perfect ~ program, personality, magnificent jumps, et al ~ his coach/choreographer/et al found the perfect vehicle in which to present Oda. Charlie Chaplin is Oda.
Rippon ~ he reminds me a lot of Tim Goebel with his high shoulders, wish he would lower them a bit, otherwise not bad, not bad at all. I LOL when I heard Scott Hamilton say that Adam wants to call his 3L the "Rippon Lutz" due to the fact that he does it with *both* hands over his head.
Sorry, no thoughts really on the rest of the men, thought the results were spot on.
LADIES
Zhang ~ watched this live on icenetwork the other day (btw my IN reception in terms of quality of picture is just as great as my HD television one; really not that much difference at all, so glad I have an automatic subscription renewal to IN). Back to Caroline, my feelings are exactly the same as yesterday, she's exquisite. Just needs to fix the technique on her jumps & also her SPEED. If she can fix these to a passable level by Nationals, continued with her strong mental toughness & land the jumps, then she belongs on the Team.
Gilles ~ great senior debut on the international scene by Alexe! Just needs to continue to improve on landing her jumps (her technique & speed are good, no problems there, but could always do with improvement & being better). And the Eggbeater I Spin at the end has got to go, doesn't look good at all IMHO. Other than that, very good, the future of the US Ladies doesn't look as dismal.
Asada ~ very good comeback by Mao! Not soup yet, gradually getting there one-by-one, has improved from Japan Open, but more importantly it was good for her psyche to recover from the disastrous start to her SP on Friday. What I love about this program is that THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO REST STOPS!!!!!!!! Seriously, 99% of skaters take little rest stops here & there, either to breathe/catch their breath after a spin(s), or to shake their booty & flirt with the judges. Not Mao, not Mao, she literally does a full out sprint from beginning to end, her legs don't rest once, ask any skater & they will tell you that takes incredible athleticism! Her legs must have been burning at the end, especially after that incredible complex fast step sequence. That is what I call an athlete, combined with her tall supple body with beautiful posture & super fast speed, all which makes for a Queen (& Tatiana Tarasova outfits her as such, reminiscent of a young Marie Antoinette when she first ascended the throne at age 19 in 1774). When Mao lands all her jumps, this will be a masterpiece... I bow to Tatiana's genius.
Nakano ~ nothing more I can say, perfect music & choreography, et al, for the perfect powerful FIREBIRD skater! Those spins are out of this world, Yukari! WOW!!!!!!!!
Kim ~ Yuna didn't even have to skate clean, as she built up such a huge lead in the SP (deservedly so btw), that she could've just taken it easy & did doubles with a few triples thrown in, but she didn't. She skated like the World Champion she is, with the requisite triples thrown in for good measure. Easy win, well deserved. All the other ladies have their work cut out for them due to the high bar Yuna has set!!!!!!!
THANKS TO ALL THE SKATERS FOR TAKING PART IN TEB & GIVING US SKATING FANS A TERRIFIC START TO THE OLYMPIC SEASON!!!!!:thumbsup:
Here are my thoughts:
MEN
Oda rules!!!!! I recall seeing his face once before at Worlds last year, and he impressed me a bit then, but nothing like today. Everything was perfect ~ program, personality, magnificent jumps, et al ~ his coach/choreographer/et al found the perfect vehicle in which to present Oda. Charlie Chaplin is Oda.
Rippon ~ he reminds me a lot of Tim Goebel with his high shoulders, wish he would lower them a bit, otherwise not bad, not bad at all. I LOL when I heard Scott Hamilton say that Adam wants to call his 3L the "Rippon Lutz" due to the fact that he does it with *both* hands over his head.
Sorry, no thoughts really on the rest of the men, thought the results were spot on.
LADIES
Zhang ~ watched this live on icenetwork the other day (btw my IN reception in terms of quality of picture is just as great as my HD television one; really not that much difference at all, so glad I have an automatic subscription renewal to IN). Back to Caroline, my feelings are exactly the same as yesterday, she's exquisite. Just needs to fix the technique on her jumps & also her SPEED. If she can fix these to a passable level by Nationals, continued with her strong mental toughness & land the jumps, then she belongs on the Team.
Gilles ~ great senior debut on the international scene by Alexe! Just needs to continue to improve on landing her jumps (her technique & speed are good, no problems there, but could always do with improvement & being better). And the Eggbeater I Spin at the end has got to go, doesn't look good at all IMHO. Other than that, very good, the future of the US Ladies doesn't look as dismal.
Asada ~ very good comeback by Mao! Not soup yet, gradually getting there one-by-one, has improved from Japan Open, but more importantly it was good for her psyche to recover from the disastrous start to her SP on Friday. What I love about this program is that THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO REST STOPS!!!!!!!! Seriously, 99% of skaters take little rest stops here & there, either to breathe/catch their breath after a spin(s), or to shake their booty & flirt with the judges. Not Mao, not Mao, she literally does a full out sprint from beginning to end, her legs don't rest once, ask any skater & they will tell you that takes incredible athleticism! Her legs must have been burning at the end, especially after that incredible complex fast step sequence. That is what I call an athlete, combined with her tall supple body with beautiful posture & super fast speed, all which makes for a Queen (& Tatiana Tarasova outfits her as such, reminiscent of a young Marie Antoinette when she first ascended the throne at age 19 in 1774). When Mao lands all her jumps, this will be a masterpiece... I bow to Tatiana's genius.
Nakano ~ nothing more I can say, perfect music & choreography, et al, for the perfect powerful FIREBIRD skater! Those spins are out of this world, Yukari! WOW!!!!!!!!
Kim ~ Yuna didn't even have to skate clean, as she built up such a huge lead in the SP (deservedly so btw), that she could've just taken it easy & did doubles with a few triples thrown in, but she didn't. She skated like the World Champion she is, with the requisite triples thrown in for good measure. Easy win, well deserved. All the other ladies have their work cut out for them due to the high bar Yuna has set!!!!!!!
THANKS TO ALL THE SKATERS FOR TAKING PART IN TEB & GIVING US SKATING FANS A TERRIFIC START TO THE OLYMPIC SEASON!!!!!:thumbsup: