Men's LP

[bibi24]

Thank you! I hope he does decide to continue. I love his skating and I think he needs some sort of redemption song.

http://ontd-skating.livejournal.com/1085525.html

[BigJohn]

Hopefully people who do not appreciate Chan will be quiet now.

Well done, what a talent he is. How unfortunate for Takahashi though.

It weird that some individuals claim to be figure skating fans, but can't appreciate one of the all time best in the sport.

Chan was magnificent.

[genki]

Hi Guys:

I am so sad for Dai, But you know what? He said that he can not quit this way!!
Yes, Dai is skating to Sochi. I am so glad.

I started to think that this incident must be a divine intervention so that Dai will skate to gold in Sochi. He said that he checked his blades and tightened up the screws as usual before going to bed. What else can you think of ? It is god's work!
I always see god hands, when he skates, do you?

Anyway, so happy for Kozuka, perfect program at worlds. But his PCS should be higher than that. I saw him live and to my surprise, he seems to be levitating on ice just about quarter of an inch. So smooth and so beautiful. His skating skills is defensively as good as chan's. IMO.

He is only 21. if he works on his expression a bit more, I guess his future is really bright.

[aftertherain]

http://ontd-skating.livejournal.com/1085525.html

Ahhh! ONTD_Skating! I totally forgot about that site! Thanks again!

"I have to work really hard to compete against the younger skaters. I might not be able to stay on the top, but I will give it my best, thinking that it will be a good life experience for me."

Stay classy, Daisuke!

Hi Guys:

I am so sad for Dai, But you know what? He said that he can not quit this way!!
Yes, Dai is skating to Sochi. I am so glad.

I started to think that this incident must be a divine intervention so that Dai will skate to gold in Sochi. He said that he checked his blades and tightened up the screws as usual before going to bed. What else can you think of ? It is god's work!
I always see god hands, when he skates, do you?

Anyway, so happy for Kozuka, perfect program at worlds. But his PCS should be higher than that. I saw him live and to my surprise, he seems to be levitating on ice just about quarter of an inch. So smooth and so beautiful. His skating skills is defensively as good as chan's. IMO.

He is only 21. if he works on his expression a bit more, I guess his future is really bright.

Agreed! And I thought he was 22?

[Art&Sport]

I don't know if his PCS should be that high but I don't see how Patrick isn't a musical skater and doesn't interpret his music. He is not the natural performer that Dai is or Lambiel and Yagudin were. But to me he certainly seems to feel his music and interpret it well. Personally, I thought he projected more than Kozuka today. (I know that Kozuka also isn't a masterful projector but just noting that because some people seemed to think the opposite.)

I don't find his Phantom LP the most masterful or original thing I've ever seen but there are intricacies there. Hopefully, he will have a program for the ages one of these days. Something truly memorable and distinctive.

The choreo and the music worked very well for Chan. I don't think anyone is saying that Chan is horrible at expressing the music, but it is an area where he doesn't have as much facility, however he has been working on that aspect of his skating. It is all a matter of opinion, perception and subjectivity. Being animated and making hand gestures doesn't mean you are projecting more than another skater who has a better facility with expressing the music. The feelings and emotions we get from watching skaters' performances are often difficult to describe. What works for one group of fans, may not work for all.

[Layfan]

The choreo and the music worked very well for Chan. I don't think anyone is saying that Chan is horrible at expressing the music, but it is an area where he doesn't have as much facility, however he has been working on that aspect of his skating. It is all a matter of opinion, perception and subjectivity. Being animated and making hand gestures doesn't mean you are projecting more than another skater who has a better facility with expressing the music. The feelings and emotions we get from watching skaters' performances are often difficult to describe. What works for one group of fans, may not work for all.

That's true - the music and choreo does suit him perfectly. But it's not going to go down as a skate for the ages. I hope that is still to come for Patrick. I hope it is.

[Bluebonnet]

Totally random, but did anyone else notice that Takahiko Kozuka's TES (98+) was more than Patrick's (96+)? And his quad toe got +2.29 GOE vs. Patrick's +1.29 GOE. It's definitely Patrick's PCS (91+ vs Kozuka's 82+ and Daisuke's 82+) that sealed the deal for him.

What do you mean?

Patrick's PCS in SP got 3.75 higher than Kozuka's. His PCS in LP got 9.26 higher. Total he got 13.01 higher than Kozuka's PCS. But Patrick's final score is 280.98. Kozuka's final score is 258.41. The difference is 22.57. If you take all Patrick's advantage in PCS away, Patrick is still 22.57 - 13.01 = 9.56 higher in total score than Kozuka's. Patrick is still the gold medal winner.

[Blades of Passion]

I think aftertherain was only talking about the Long Program. BTW, I believe Kozuka deserved to win the LP, but I actually would have put Chan a little bit ahead in PCS.

[aftertherain]

What do you mean?

I think aftertherain was only talking about the Long Program. BTW, I believe Kozuka deserved to win the LP, but I actually would have put Chan a little bit ahead in PCS.

Ah, yes! My mistake! I meant in the free skate as I was only comparing free skate scores. Patrick definitely deserved to win overall; I won't discredit that!

[rain]

Well, Gachinsky still has a ways to go in terms of equalling the basic skating skills of the top contenders, IMO, but none of the others reached out and grabbed it, so the bronze is his fair and square.

I find his choreography and whole look to be old-fashioned. I would like to see him do some better, less affected choreography. With his facility to land even wonky jumps, he is a talent to be sure. I just hope that under Mishin he doesn't stall out where he is now artistically.

Oda has got to be the most frustrating skater to coach. He keeps making those silly mistakes, again and again, not counting his jumps properly and taking himself out of contention. He clearly had, I think, the third best freeskate, but due to losing all those points with the disallowed jump combo torpedoes himself.

Kozuka has improved a lot already in terms of presentation, and his skating skills are certainly not in doubt. Great performance.

Chan was stunning. I just hope he's being smart about training his jumps, so as not to injure/cause some kind of chronic condition that so many of the men seem to suffer from the pounding they take on the quads and axels. Socchi is still a ways off, and it's a long time for him to keep on top of his game. But what a magnificent championship for him!

[quikrush]

Rotten luck for the two Japanese men. My heart goes out to Daisuke who has been my favourite male singles skater ever since Stephane retired from competitive skating. I'm so glad to hear that he isn't quitting, though.
Patrick was phenomenal out there. I've always been overwhelmed by his skating and underwhelmed by his program, but this time the former was good enough to make me forget the shortcomings of the latter. I think he'll dominate the next quadrennial, with that kind of skating skill and a reliable quad he'll be very hard to beat.

[Krislite]

You didn't ask me but I think I have an explanation... According to the latest published ISU rulebook, lyrics in music is still a deduction outside of ice dancing. They could've made the rule change and issued it in a memo that I missed.

However, this is how a vocal music deduction would actually happen:

The entire judging panel including the referee must vote on whether there should be a deduction. A majority of them must agree on a deduction. Even if it's a 50:50 split, there is no deduction.

We don't see the results of that vote on the protocols, but it's possible enough of the judges/referee gave Amodio a pass here. If that's the case, there's no guarantee that the same music wouldn't get a deduction at a subsequent competition.

Thanks for the explanation, Serious Business. This has huge implications, and could definitely open the window for exhibition-like program music into the competitive programs. I hope the ISU clarifies this rule soon.

Personally, I'm ambivalent about this possibility. The last thing I want to hear when watching skating are the most popular pop songs of the moment. I already cringed a bit hearing Britney, Kesha and Gaga repeatedly played in the background in between programs.

[aemeraldrainc]

Who were the commentators on IN, Universal, CBC TV?

Anyone got copies of those on YouTube? I only have the taped of EuroSport.

I would upload the Universal Sports coverage, but I have no idea how to transfer from my dvr to the computer. Not very tech savvy at all. Sorry. And I imagine I need something like a tv card?
Anyways, commentators for Universal Sports are Andrea Joyce and Peter Carruthers.

[bibi24]

Commentators for Universal Sports are Andrea Joyce and Peter Carruthers.

Any thanks those two are always solid, was hoping for some stars like Tara Lipinski X Johnny Weir again

[aemeraldrainc]

Any thanks those two are always solid, was hoping for some stars like Tara Lipinski X Johnny Weir again

Yeah, like last year they had "The Loft" or whatever they called it.
Maybe Tara Lipinski will show up today for the ladies. I thought they had announced her as part of the team. Maybe I just imagined it.