Senior Men's Short Program, Fri. 1/27 at 10 pm EST

[SLouise]

dare i fathom JW was actually nervous earlier? he gets chatty/rambles when he's not sure what to say...

You're probably right about that. He did tone it down, and was a lot better after the first group.

[Jammers]

I love how Tonia kept quiet most of the night because she was horrified at what Johnny was saying.

[genki]

Jeremy is a god.

I am soooo- happy for him. I can not wait for Free. Go go go, Jeremy

[icebeauty]

Gashinski has the jumps but i'm not impressed with the rest of his skating.

ITA. everyone touts him as the next Plushenko...but he's far from it.

[MK's Winter]

Great skates from Jeremey, Adam, and Armin! Very excited for the long program. LOVED Johnny's commentating! Tonia's silent momenta were pretty funny Jason Brown is my new favorite

[macy]

I'm watching the ice desk now, OMG JOHNNY IS JUST HILARIOUS. he's so entertaining! and I thought he did such a wonderful job being a commentator for the first time. he was so knowledgeable and did a great job. love him.

Peter carruthers was soooo uncomfortable and annoyed lolol I couldn't stop laughing. Kristi and Ryan were basically like, uhhhhhh....

I think I have a new found love for Johnny.

[FlattFan]

GREAT JOB, KEEGAN, GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!

What I love about Keegan is his powerfulness and quickness, light on his feet, one of the fastest skaters out there, and his jumps are powerful. No quad, but he saved the 3L/3T combo. and his 3A was amongst the best in the world as well.

ps: Johnny comments are really starting to crack me up, especially that opening salvo "for those not paying attention, he just shot an arrow".

Just got back from watching the SP live. Keegan is the fastest. His speed is incredible. My favorite program of the night.
Abbott has better skating skill and is the second fastest of the night. But Abbott is slow compare to Keegan.
From a scale 1-10, Keegan speed would be 10, Abbott 7, the rest of them in 5-6 range.

The slowest of all of them: Adam Rippon. His speed going into the triple axel is even slower than Caroline Zhang into her 2A. He did not deserve that score seeing him live. He seemed to be crawling out there. I'm surprised.

Another surprise thing was how fast and fluid Brandon Mroz was during warm up. From watching all 5 of them at once, Brandom seemed to have the best skating skill. Then during his program, he was just awkward and clumsy. I think it has to do with the choreography. Maybe find the right program, bring the lightness and effortlessness out of him. I've seen it. wouldn't believe it if someone tell me.

[Tonichelle]

Keegan's always been incredibly fast... which is amazing considering the rink he trains at a lot of the time is super small compared to the arenas nationals normally take place in.

[icebeauty]

Another surprise thing was how fast and fluid Brandon Mroz was during warm up. From watching all 5 of them at once, Brandom seemed to have the best skating skill. Then during his program, he was just awkward and clumsy. I think it has to do with the choreography. Maybe find the right program, bring the lightness and effortlessness out of him. I've seen it. wouldn't believe it if someone tell me.

funny you mention this...it validates what i've always thought about Brandon. You can tell he has the talent and skills to be a very good skater, but his competitive programs just haven't suited him. At least he doesn't look comfortable and as though he's thinking very hard while skating.

[Nadine]

Just got back from watching the SP live. Keegan is the fastest. His speed is incredible. My favorite program of the night.
Abbott has better skating skill and is the second fastest of the night. But Abbott is slow compare to Keegan.
From a scale 1-10, Keegan speed would be 10, Abbott 7, the rest of them in 5-6 range.

The slowest of all of them: Adam Rippon. His speed going into the triple axel is even slower than Caroline Zhang into her 2A. He did not deserve that score seeing him live. He seemed to be crawling out there. I'm surprised.

Another surprise thing was how fast and fluid Brandon Mroz was during warm up. From watching all 5 of them at once, Brandom seemed to have the best skating skill. Then during his program, he was just awkward and clumsy. I think it has to do with the choreography. Maybe find the right program, bring the lightness and effortlessness out of him. I've seen it. wouldn't believe it if someone tell me.

Thanks for this, FlattFan (we are simpatico)! I'm still on a high and can't settle down from this awesome night of skating; wish IN had the replays already up & ready to go b/c I'd be there watching my fav performances over & over again & over again. :D

It's good to hear a first-hand experience right from Nationals. Here's hoping you enjoy yourself, I unfortunately recall how you had planned to go to Worlds last year to see Rachael skate live for the very first time, but then that awful quake & tsunami hit. I'm glad you finally get to see her skate live. She is something else, especially when she's on & raring to go, I'll never forget seeing her live at 2010 Skate America. I'll always contend she deserves first place there.

ENJOY!

Can't wait to hear your comments for the Mens FS!

[SkateFiguring]

So all the As are leading after the SP: Agnes, Alissa, and Ashley in Ladies; Abbott, Adam and Armin in Men. Interesting.

[alexeifan]

So all the As are leading after the SP: Agnes, Alissa, and Ashley in Ladies; Abboott, Adam and Armin in Men. Interesting.

wow that is freaky

and all A grade skaters haha

[ryanbfan]

I would like to just say that the banshee you heard during Keegan's program was actually me and not an animal.

Everyone in my section was like "omg what is wrong with this girl"

[FlattFan]

Thanks for this, FlattFan (we are simpatico)! I'm still on a high and can't settle down from this awesome night of skating; wish IN had the replays already up & ready to go b/c I'd be there watching my fav performances over & over again & over again. :D

It's good to hear a first-hand experience right from Nationals. Here's hoping you enjoy yourself, I unfortunately recall how you had planned to go to Worlds last year to see Rachael skate live for the very first time, but then that awful quake & tsunami hit. I'm glad you finally get to see her skate live. She is something else, especially when she's on & raring to go, I'll never forget seeing her live at 2010 Skate America. I'll always contend she deserves first place there.

ENJOY!

Can't wait to hear your comments for the Mens FS!

Thanks Nadine.
It was awesome watching them live. I'm just happy to see her live.
Will report back for the Men's FS.

[missysays]

Just got back from watching the SP live. Keegan is the fastest. His speed is incredible. My favorite program of the night.
Abbott has better skating skill and is the second fastest of the night. But Abbott is slow compare to Keegan.
From a scale 1-10, Keegan speed would be 10, Abbott 7, the rest of them in 5-6 range.

I totally agree with you here. I just saw it live and what you don't see on IN or TV is that Keegan completely commands that ice with his drive across it. He instantly got my attention during the warm-up. I couldn't take my eyes off him- the other guys in his warm-up just kind of faded away. When he just skates around it's like he's gathering and harnessing the wind- just incredible to see in person.

While Jeremy might not motor across the ice as quickly as Keegan, he was the other person who captured my attention as soon as he got on the ice- but it was for his flow and the way he moves his body is just so sensitive and beautiful. I watched him just do these really simple backwards strokes like he was caressing and feeling out the ice. And he does this curving edge move with his head tilted up towards the ceiling that's just really gorgeous- I could watch it for days. Every beat of his music was acknowledged with a movement of some kind- just an incredibly nuanced program with fantastic finesse.

Keegan and Jeremy were definitely my favorites of the night- with Jeremy in a well deserved first place.