What do you want to see at Worlds for the Men?

[pangtongfan]

1. Takahashi- since this is probably his last year of amateur skating.

2. Verner- since I like him.

3. Oda- since he is overdue for a medal

4. Chan- since he deserves some bad karma for his farce win at Skate Canada.

5. Kozuka- since I would prefer this be the year of the older Japanese, he can have his turn next year.

6. Amodio- since I want him to be the top French.

7. Dornbush- since he should have won U.S Nationals.

8. Sawyer- since I like him.

9. Bradley- since he can do quads.

10. Joubert- since I want him to retire already.

[BackStage Barbie]

I can't help thinking after 4 Continents that this would have been a good year for Jeremy Abbott to make a run at a bronze medal. The only men who have beaten him internationally are Takahashi, Chan, Verner, and Hanyu (who won't be at Worlds) so Jeremy would have been a favorite for a top 3 or 4 finish.

[pangtongfan]

Abbott hasnt even met Oda or Joubert so it is not like there is anything that indicates he is above them. Since Oda and Kozuka both made and medalled at the GP final (which Abbott didnt even qualify for) both are clearly above him, despite that Abbott beat Kozuka at 4CCs after Kozuka bombed the short. The only other noteable he beat was Amodio, who still beat him out of a spot in the final too.

I still wish he was at Worlds and had the performances of his life to win the bronze though. It is a shame he wont get that chance.

[mot]

I am not thinking about the final placement - well, just yet - but I want (in no particular order)...

• Daisuke to dance his socks off in his short, and make me fall in love with his free programme yet again (I have done this many times already this season, but not enough!);
• Patrick to take my breath away with another perfect performance;
• Tomas to charm all figure skating fans in Japan and the rest of the world as he did four years ago in Tokyo;
• Joubert to show us there are lots more left in him (and bring out the best in the free programme which I believe has a lot of potentials yet to be achieved);
• Michal to regain his strength and awe everyone with his marvellous short programme;
• Amodio to make the whole of Yoyogi National Stadium want to dance with him;
• Ryan to entertain everyone and make them smile with his wonderful performance;
• Takahiko to land his first clean quad and repeat what he did at TEB, which I was delighted to see in front of my eyes - live;
• Nobu NOT to jump too many combos!
• All young skaters to show us that they are the future of figure skating;
• All experienced skaters to go home believing they are not finished yet and determine to continue for another year;
• All skaters to have clean skate and wonderful time, and enjoy Japanese spring (which I miss!)

[Layfan]

I hope Daisuke lands his quad and wins. But I also hope Patrick Chan does what he did at Canadian nationals because it was so astonishing. And if he does, I think he'll be impossible to beat. Besides, if Patrick skates cleanly it'll save from another tedious debate over whether he is overscored.

I hope Brian Joubert doesn't fall apart again. He's not my all time favorite but there is something about him and I just can't stand seeing him fall apart.

Lord, please, please let Ryan Bradley hold it together. I hope Dornbush and Miner have great debuts.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Ah, but I wish to be able to see an interviewer tell Chan that he really needs a Biellmann to win And that won't happen if he is better than 6th. So he needs a lot of falls and every one else to skate great.

OTOH, it is perhaps a bit churlish of me...but he's young and has time. This is about it for Verner, Joubert, Dai & Ryan, so I definitely want them all to go out on their best efforts.

You wished on your list that Patrick Chan fell four times.... yeah, I think churlish covers it. Then again, my list is a little churlish too, so might as well post it.

Gold: Patrick Chan
WHY: Because I think his growth this season has been nothing short of phenomenal and maybe even unprecedented. Because I think to lose he would need an actively mediocre skate (or worse) and I don’t want to see that after all the hype. And here’s the thing: I still revisit the Nationals thread to relive the collective excitement of what he demonstrated in Victoria. I'll rewatch that program as long as I'm interested in the sport.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: SP to Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick” (I need to see footwork set to that monster drum solo); LP to “Jupiter: Bringer of Jollity”

Silver: Takahiko Kozuka
WHY: Because while the narrative this season has been the old vs the new (Verner vs. Brezina; Joubert vs Amodio), he’s often been the forgotten one from his nation. I love his range and even if I don’t love his programs this year, I’m noticing improvement in terms of his ice command and performance skills.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: SP to “George’s Waltz” from A Single Man; LP to music from “2046”

Bronze: Daisuke Takahashi
WHY: I entered this season wanting him to win, but he hasn’t quite brought it this year. Plus he doesn’t have a bronze medal from worlds, and I’m big on complete sets (seriously).
WHAT NEXT YEAR: Team up with Stephane Lambiel and create a skating spectacular. Choreograph for other skaters.

Fourth: Nobunari Oda
WHY: Despite his many lovely qualities, his LP is a bore. But he’s at home, so I want him to do well.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: ...learn how to count. A 4-3-3 in competition.

Fifth: Brian Joubert
WHY: Because there’s something really intriguing about his desire to reinvent himself ten years into his senior career. Because I want the passing of the baton to occur next year.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: Comfort zone. 2012 looks like it’ll be your retirement and doing what made you popular is a fine way to go out.

Sixth: Florent Amodio
WHY: He’s a superstar in the making, but I don’t particularly love the direction he went this season with the MJ program (even though it is an entertaining one). Sixth would be a good result and set him on his way to Nice.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: Something a little more lyrical (he can pull it off) and skating-skills-y.

Seventh: Tomas Verner
WHY: You know, he as an enjoyable short but I’m surprised at just how nonplussed I am regarding his LP. I don’t love him a lot either.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: Eh, either way. I don’t know how much longer he’s planning to skate for, but two GP medals and another Euros spot seems like as good a way to head out as any.

Eighth: Michel Brezina
WHY: The injury was such a huge set-back. I think he might be a more talented jumper than Amodio but it’s a shame he wasn’t really able to demonstrate that.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: A quad in both programs. More artistry in general

Ninth: Shawn Sawyer
WHY: I think “Assassin’s Tango” and “Alice in Wonderland” are wonderful programs that if he hits could/should place him in the top ten. It would be such a fantastic ending triumph for him to have a great Worlds experience to follow his stunning Nationals performance
WHAT NEXT YEAR: Join Dai and Takahashi in their Skating Spectacular. You could take over the world

Tenth: Javier Fernandez
WHY: Because it’ll assure Spain two spots for next season and one of the way figure skating grows in non-dominant nations is by having the opportunity to compete at the highest stage. Because he deserves a good result after being set back by injuries. Because I was hoping for the European next generation (Amodio, Brezina, Fernandez, Gachinsky) to have their epic battle royale.
WHAT NEXT YEAR: No Morozov choreography.

And....

• For the American Men to go down to one spot: This sounds mean and I don’t wish anyone ill will (though I really really don’t care for Bradley’s skating.) but I’m VERY curious if there would be a change in how the selection works. Going down to two isn’t good enough to check. And honestly, I’m not really impressed with Miner or Dornbush to not hope that you know, fifteen skaters don’t beat them. I would be totally fine with the aforementioned ten plus Russell, Contesti, D. Ten, KVDP, Gachinsky, Schlutheiss et al beat Bradley, Dornbush and Miner (presuming they deserved to, of course).
  
• For Kevin van der Perren to have a skate that makes his as happy as he was after his Euros SP. His excited expressions are really adorable. Plus I’m surprised he didn’t dislocate his shoulder.
  
• A happy Schlutheiss 

[MrScroogeMcDuck]

I hope Bradley does extremely well. And, unlike the poster above me, I certainly don't want the American men to go down to one spot. Pfft.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Heh. You can say my posting name, you won't turn to stone :D

[Mathman]

For the American Men to go down to one spot: This sounds mean and I don’t wish anyone ill will (though I really really don’t care for Bradley’s skating.) but I’m VERY curious if there would be a change in how the selection works.

I, too, don't wish anyone any bad luck, but I agree that this would provide an interesting scenario. I am, however, quite sure that the USFSA would not consider making any changes in the selection process even if all three of their guys finished last.

Stuff happens, ice is slippery, we'll get 'em next time, onward and upward! The next year they would wrap the U.S. champ up in the flag and ship him off to worlds to do his best.

For Kevin van der Perren to have a skate that makes (him happy).

[ImaginaryPogue]

If that ended up bein true, I'd take it back.

[Spun Silver]

whole post esp.
[*]Daisuke to dance his socks off [...]
and
[*]Nobu NOT to jump too many combos!
[*]All young skaters to show us that they are the future of figure skating;
[*]All experienced skaters to go home believing they are not finished yet and determine to continue for another year;
[*]All skaters to have clean skate and wonderful time, and enjoy Japanese spring (which I miss!)[/LIST]

What a lovely post.

And Layfan, I feel exactly the same way about Brian.

[Bluebonnet]

If that ended up bein true, I'd take it back.

Yeah, if one spot still can't make USFSA change mind, that's truly suck. Then better give US two spots, so next year, Jeremy Abbott could be able to go to the worlds.

[Mrs. P]

And....
[List][*]For the American Men to go down to one spot: This sounds mean and I don’t wish anyone ill will (though I really really don’t care for Bradley’s skating.) but I’m VERY curious if there would be a change in how the selection works. Going down to two isn’t good enough to check. And honestly, I’m not really impressed with Miner or Dornbush to not hope that you know, fifteen skaters don’t beat them. I would be totally fine with the aforementioned ten plus Russell, Contesti, D. Ten, KVDP, Gachinsky, Schlutheiss et al beat Bradley, Dornbush and Miner (presuming they deserved to, of course).

1.) For the one spot to happen the following scenarios would have to happen from least likely to most likely.
a. All three guys don't qualify for the LP. This is really unlikely. All three would have to miss all their jumps and botch a few spins in the process.
b. two skaters miss the LP and the skater that does ends up finishing outside the top 10.
c. One doesn't qualify, and the two remaining skaters end up finishing below 14th place.
d. All three qualify for the LP, but all end up finishing below 14th place.

Out of all those choices, I say C and D are the most likely scenarios, should such a scenario happens.

But here's some things to consider.
1.) Ryan Bradley, with an injured foot and a non-existent triple axel still managed to finish in 18th place.
2.) Miner did not do well at the GP, but people forget that he was AT the GP. His eh-ish short program score will easily be enough to make the LP.
3.) Dornbush, I think has the capacity to surprise. His season's best score from the JGPF is just outside the top 10 (11th) despite high scores at 4CC.

Can they finish worse? Yes. Can they finish better, definitely Yes.


Also IP, I don't understand why you're so about the USFSA changing their system when Skate Canada pretty much does the same thing. I mean in 2004 they left Buttle at home for a skater name Ben Ferreira. Granted Buttle was only 15th in Worlds the previous year, but he did have a successful GP series.

But then again, I don't know the innerworkings of Skate Canada, so maybe there's something I don't know about.

[Mrs. P]

I realized, I never gave my list:

1.) Takahashi -- Love the comeback he's been having since his sub-par GPF.

2.) Chan -- Think he's gotten all the falls out of his system and he's the only top skater who has done a quad consistently.

3.) Kozuka -- He is a great skater, and when he's on, he's on.


4.) Oda -- I'd like him to podium too and I love his 4-3 combo. So I guess those two are interchangeable.

5.) Amodio -- He's been pretty consistent all season. Not crazy about all the pelvic thrusts, but he's been great with the jumps and he made GPF and is Euros champion.

6.) Dornbush -- I think if any one can sneak to the final group, it's this guy. As I said before, he's 11th on the the SB's list, and three of the folks above him won't be at Worlds. Verner and Joubert will be his main competition, me thinks, but I think he has the skill and tech content to beat them.

7.) Verner -- That said, I do like the comeback story and he's had a good season -- Winning TEB, making the GPF and a bronze at Euros, not bad after that disaster of a year last year.

8.) Joubert -- He's had an up and down season, but he did finish with a silver at Euros. Plus I really like to see his LP clean! It's a winner.

9.) Bradley -- He tech content is very competitive and while his skating skills and speed is not as good as the top men, I think it's no worse than the likes of KDVP, Contesti and others. This placement will also keep 3 spots for the U.S.

10.) Schultheiss -- Like the others, I want him to be reminded why skating makes him happy.

11.) Sawyer - Love his Alice in Wonderland program. But I think season fatigue is getting to him.

12.) Miner -- If he skates like he did at Nationals, I can see him being in the second to last group.

[dorispulaski]

IP, I perhaps ought to amend my churlishness: I want either Patrick to skate perfectly (in which case he will of course win, and should win, despite the fact that he bores me to tears) or to fall four times. What I do not want is for him to fall 3 times and win. And based on the way the season has gone, he could fall 3 times and would win. So it has to be 4 times.

I have seen him skate a number of times at Liberty, and he doesn't knock my socks off. He impresses me, and his basic skating has many admirable qualities, but I would not pay to see him skate.