Championship Ladies FS

[janetfan]

To me Mirai was the champ tonight. COP isn't going to change my mind on that. She was the best overall. Rachael just does not have the whole package.

CoP has definitely changed skating. It is still new and needs time for the skaters to adapt to it.

There should be a more realistic sense for marking presentation and artistry though.
Skaters like Plushenko are getting the same marks as Jeremy and Patrick for artistry and that is just a big joke and a reason fans have been turning out.

Talking a few posts ago about "America;s Sweetheart" - well we don;t want a robot for our sweetheart. Maybe that is good enough for some countries but we are used to expressive and artistic skaters.

Carol, Peggy, Janet, Dorothy, Kristi, Michelle and Sasha all brought something very special to the ice.

I think Mirai does too. I think she will be the next one.

[Iscariot]

sasha cohen still is the attention point of this competition on the live feed they are still taliking about her

[Sasha'sSpins]

I'm calling BS on this one. Mirai should've won the FS (and overall), the only triple that should've been questionable was that final 3T.

I'll second that. Total BS. Mirai was the true Champion tonight and in the SP. Actually-COP is BS too.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Maybe they'll announce Flatt and Cohen. After all, if they're concerned with having an "America's sweetheart" who better than the last holder of the title?

[ImaginaryPogue]

CoP has definitely changed skating. It is still new and needs time for the skaters to adapt to it.

There should be a more realistic sense for marking presentation and artistry though.
Skaters like Plushenko are getting the same marks as Jeremy and Patrick for artistry and that is just a big joke and a reason fans have been turning out.

Talking a few posts ago about "America;s Sweetheart" - well we don;t want a robot for our sweetheart. Maybe that is good enough for some countries but we are used to expressive and artistic skaters.

Carol, Peggy, Janet, Dorothy, Kristi, Michelle and Sasha all brought something very special to the ice.

I think Mirai does too. I think she will be the next one.

Dude, you come so close to condescending in this post

[janetfan]

If you are able to comprehend the posts here then it is pretty obvious who won our hearts tonight.

It was Mirai.

Nobody is calling for Sasha. Many of us like and admire her but most here think Mirai won.

You may love CoP robot skaters but not all of us do.

[museksk8r]

I can't believe what people are saying about Flatt. Damn, I really hope she just goes out and knocks 'em dead at Olys.

I can believe it. This girl has had a wall of crap fall on her everywhere as far as skating fans are concerned. I've seen the most awful stuff written about her, in particular, the nasty personal attacks. I hope she makes those people eat their words.

[ImaginaryPogue]

If you are able to comprehend the posts here then it is pretty obvious who won our hearts tonight.

It was Mirai.

Nobody is calling for Sasha. Many of us like and admire her but most here think Mirai won.

You may love CoP robot skaters but not all of us do.

Sigh. As someone who isn't from America, apparently, robotic skaters are "good enough" (to use your words). I'm not expecting you to agree, or share my admiration for what COP celebrates. However, I do think you're above comments like

"Talking a few posts ago about "America;s Sweetheart" - well we don;t want a robot for our sweetheart. Maybe that is good enough for some countries but we are used to expressive and artistic skaters"

I would love you to name a nation that would enjoy a robot for a sweetheart without sounding like a stereotypical "ugly American." Find one. Canada? Nah, the reasons our skaters are acquiring a degree of popularity has to do with their success and their stories. Russia? Doubtful - they're skaters are pushing the bar in terms of what they compete to and with an unparalleled level of vigour. Japan? South Korea? Italy? Please name me a country that fits your description, just so that I can understand what you mean.

Hell, the points I made about Flatt (which you ignored, by the way) were pointing out how unrobotic she is: her enthusiasm, her "go for broke" mentality, her work ethic, her intelligence, her bright personality. If that doesn't come through for you, than fine. But don't tell me she's a robot, because that's actually offensive.

[janetfan]

It's official - it will be Rachael and Mirai for the Olympic team

[rallycairn]

I can believe it. This girl has had a wall of crap fall on her everywhere as far as skating fans are concerned. I've seen the most awful stuff written about her, in particular, the nasty personal attacks. I hope she makes those people eat their words.

Tell me. We sure do like to eat our own in the U.S., don't we? Rachael is definitely a COP skater, and she knows how to skate within the system. With some exceptions such as PCS scoring being too consistent within skaters and used kind of like the old artistic mark, and things like very big names getting UR's not called, COP is a check-off-your-boxes, count-your-rotations type of system. Weir called it like mathematics instead of skating, Sasha mentioned not liking that aspect of the SP herself just yesterday. There's not a score for "it" or "wow." Rachael checks off her boxes. They may not be the same boxes as skaters who don't have the jumps but do have the spirals or the spins or whatever, but she checks enough of them and she's the winner.

She got 5th at Worlds last year, the best performance by a U.S. lady in a couple of seasons. No reason to expect it will be too much different this year; in fact, with the U.S. title she may be even more confident than ever, plus she's continued to improve each season. She actually finished ahead of Mao in the freeskate at that one GP event -- have any of our other ladies beaten one of the big guns like Mao or Yu Na in any phase of any competition? I don't think so, if so please do let me know if I'm misremembering. Anyway, I think we have every reason to believe she'll represent the U.S. respectably if not dazzlingly at Olys/Worlds. And that may be all we can hope for at this time.

All the poor girl's done is skate solidly for 3 years running ...

[magicalwords]

yay Mirai! Well deserved Olympic spot.
But sad for Ashley :(

[cornell08]

In an ideal world the team would be Mirai,Ashley and Alissa-- with Sasha, Caroline, Bebe as alternates.

But at least Mirai gets to go. I love you ladies! And Gao and Dobbs, they are adorable.

[silverlake22]

It's official - it will be Rachael and Mirai for the Olympic team

Woohoo , they've earned it! Did they say anything about worlds?

OMG Mirai must be SO excited. I also like how she did the 3-2a sequence in her LP tonight. If her 2a-3t isn't getting ratified she should just turn that into a 3t-2a sequence as it will get her the same amount of points and shouldn't get DGed as easily.

[Gymfan15]

Does anyone know when they'll announce the 4CC's and Worlds teams? The press thing for the Olys was very quick; less than ten seconds. They didn't announce anything except for the Olympic team.

Anyway, SO happy for Mirai and Rachael. Can't wait to watch them skate!

[jovani2293]

yay Mirai! Well deserved Olympic spot.
But sad for Ashley :(

IK!!!!