Ladies sp 7:15 est!!!!

[kyla2]

Wonderful job by all the ladies. They should be very proud of their skates. The results are exactly right. I think Agnes was overmarked. Her triple-triple was great but she lacks presentation and finesse, which I hope will come with time. Her costume was unlovely. Whoever designed that needs a creative time out.

Mirai was exceptional and her program was sophisticated, intricate and beautifully executed. Alissa was, as usual, elegant and graceful, with powerful spins. Just lovely. Rachael was a nice surprise. She is working on her presentation and her jumps were nice, but the arm flailing wasn't great. I am sure she meant them to be expressive of the uplifting music but this where a choreographer should have refined the program a bit. But still, she did well and she has improved. Happy to see that.

Ashley is such a wonderful skater. But Scott was right, she has to stop wanting it so much. She has many gifts and I love to watch her skate.

I hope they all do well tonite. Their hard work is paying off.

[Serious Business]

Mirai claimed in the truth booth that she is "the best that the US has to offer." I would rather her show me that on the ice where it counts and let me determine that for myself rather than her tell me that. She's a spunky firecracker, no doubt.

She didn't claim that. She said, "I hope the judges find that I'm the best the US has to offer". So does every skater skating there. And her SP performance did just that.

The edge call on her flip is baffling. The slo mo clearly showed an inside edge. And it's not like she's even done a true 3lutz. From that and the audio of last year's tech call (where Sasha's egregious flutz was called OK), I think tech callers are instructed to check the edge at a specific moment, like the moment the pick hits the ice, and if the edge is correct at that one moment then the jump is correct, if not it gets an edge call, regardless of reality.

Rachael's SP lived up to the hype. She's not a skater I've felt much for, but she really poured her heart into that SP. I've never seen her skate with so much abandon without losing a bit of control. That great spread eagle in the footwork was inspired and beautiful. A lot of the moves (like the spread eagle mentioned just now) and of course, the music itself is a call back to Michelle Kwan. Why not just outright call it a tribute to Kwan? After that performance, it certainly is a worthy one.

[R.D.]

Mirai claimed in the truth booth that she is "the best that the US has to offer." I would rather her show me that on the ice where it counts and let me determine that for myself rather than her tell me that. She's a spunky firecracker, no doubt.

But that's what's so GREAT about Nagasu! Just raw emotions. No sound bytes.

[lavender]

I'm seriously amazed she didn't throw her arms out of their sockets the way she was tossing them about all over the place. I guess Rachael is still trying to find her style, but to me, it seemed way too much like she was trying to imitate Lysacek. I don't recall seeing Rachael spaz out with her arms ever like that before; it didn't come across as genuine to me.

The program is nice enough but that footwork had me

[Olympia]

Rats, I missed Alissa! I can only depend on the kindness of YouTubers. But I finally got to see Christina and Agnes, and it was great to see Nagasu and Rachael. Marai did a splendid job, and I am thrilled to see how her abilities mesh with Lori Nichol's inventiveness. Her speed is truly impressive.

Rachael...well, I have to say that although she was very good, I don't go for her interpretation of East of Eden. That footwork sequence seemed almost frenzied, and it neither worked with the tempo nor reflected the emotional shading of the music. Her spreadeagles and her layback are beautiful, though: she has such a nice line in those moves.

By the way, Museskater, I think (though she spoke so fast I couldn't bet on it) that Mirai said that she hoped the judges would think she was the best that the U.S. has to offer, not that she actually is the best. I think that if she ever made an actual boast about herself, her coach and her parents would vie for the task of washing her mouth out with soap.

[Layfan]

I do like Rachael's donut spin when she does it, but yeah, her spins are easily her weakest point. That's another "What If". What if Rachael didn't get a back injury when she was starting out in Juniors?

It's funny how Rachael is not bad at backbends - the layback, ina bauer - but not so good when it comes to back position on arabesque type moves like the arabesque spiral and the catchfoot spin. I wonder if it has more to do with flexibily in her legs and hip flexers than her back.

[Jammers]

Mirai likes to talk a lot but with her problems with nerves she would never claim to be the best the US has to offer.

[kyla2]

museksk8r, Mirai IS the best, but she didn't mean it quite way it came out. I understood how she meant it. She meant it as in "I want to be the best." Sometimes when you are in front of the camera it's easy to get flustered. I find all the skaters to be very nice young women, without any hard edges. A lovely group, makes us proud to call them U.S. skaters.

[Chemistry66]

It's funny how Rachael is not bad at backbends - the layback, ina bauer - but not so good when it comes to back position on arabesque type moves like the arabesque spiral and the catchfoot spin. I wonder if it has more to do with flexibily in her legs and hip flexers than her back.

It could also be the specific parts of her back that give her issues could be affected in different moves.

[jaylee]

They chacked Vanessa Lam from the NBC broadcast.

They showed: Alissa (+ fluff), Christina, Agnes, Mirai, Ashley, Rachael.

[Layfan]

Rats, I missed Alissa! I can only depend on the kindness of YouTubers. But I finally got to see Christina and Agnes, and it was great to see Nagasu and Rachael. Marai did a splendid job, and I am thrilled to see how her abilities mesh with Lori Nichol's inventiveness. Her speed is truly impressive.

Rachael...well, I have to say that although she was very good, I don't go for her interpretation of East of Eden. That footwork sequence seemed almost frenzied, and it neither worked with the tempo nor reflected the emotional shading of the music. Her spreadeagles and her layback are beautiful, though: she has such a nice line in those moves.

By the way, Museskater, I think (though she spoke so fast I couldn't bet on it) that Mirai said that she hoped the judges would think she was the best that the U.S. has to offer, not that she actually is the best. I think that if she ever made an actual boast about herself, her coach and her parents would vie for the task of washing her mouth out with soap.

Haha! You are probably right.

Do you really think Mirai's SP is inventive? I think it's cute but not the most original thing I've ever seen. I think Mirai is easy to choreograph for and I wish she would get something a bit more... out of the box. Or memorable or something. Lori's choreo does look good on Mirai, that's true. But I want more I guess.

Olympia, I wish you had seen Alissa. I would have liked to know what you thought. the more I watch it the more I'm grumpy that her PCS were a smidge higher. But it's okay. She did so well and she's in 2nd!

[brightphoton]

Yeah, on Universal in the around 7! You missed them on NBC, not Universal! (Unless you don't actually have Universal, then you'll have to hope YouTubers are kind.)

Is that 7 pm Eastern? I just caught the tail end of Rachael's last spin. Now I'm seeing Ice Dance. I've never watched it before, but it's pretty cool, even without jumps or lifts. Meryl and Davis are really good. Now some people named Madison and Greg are skating ...

I can't believe I've watched all the Japanese and European ladies on HD, but I have to watch Mirai and Alissa from a guy taping his TV.

[R.D.]

Nooooo I missed the ladies' short programs on Universal! Will I ever get a chance to see them again? :(

I think it is being repeated later.

[Chemistry66]

Is that 7 pm Eastern? I just caught the tail end of Rachael's last spin. Now I'm seeing Ice Dance. I've never watched it before, but it's pretty cool, even without jumps or lifts. Meryl and Davis are really good. Now some people named Madison and Greg are skating ...

I can't believe I've watched all the Japanese and European ladies on HD, but I have to watch Mirai and Alissa from a guy taping his TV.

Yeah, go look at the thread I made earlier that has all the scheduling of US TV Broadcasts. The NBC one was Pairs-Ladies SP-IceDance so I'd imagine the block on Universal is the same - and should be airing Pairs at 6, ladies SP at 7, and Ice Dance around 8.

And I'd also imagine that since stuff was broadcast on TV finally, there'll be better YouTubes up later.

[brightphoton]

Yeah, go look at the thread I made earlier that has all the scheduling of US TV Broadcasts. The NBC one was Pairs-Ladies SP-IceDance so I'd imagine the block on Universal is the same - and should be airing Pairs at 6, ladies SP at 7, and Ice Dance around 8.

And I'd also imagine that since stuff was broadcast on TV finally, there'll be better YouTubes up later.

Oh my goodness, I just took a look at that thread. Thank you!! I get to see everyone skate!