No kidding, there was no one else who even came close to winning over Jeremy.Originally Posted by mskater93
No kidding, there was no one else who even came close to winning over Jeremy.
BELLISSIMA CAROLINA! She's so enchanting and I am so in love with her programs this season!
Zhang way better than Agnes in international competition. This girl is fearless and mentally tough.... especially internationally,, and well experienced..
Abbott was amazing at nationals. I was talking about Rippon. And Czisny. THEY got held up at nationals. Jeremy earned his victory, idk if his scores should have been that high, but when you skate clean, it's okay for the judges to get excited and hand out huge marks. Zhang should have been 2nd IMO and Miner should be going to Worlds instead of Rippon. The disparity in PCS between Rippon and Miner at nationals speaks to the issue of US nationals because internationally they get the same PCS.
Wasn't talking about Jeremy, that's why I don't think he should be replaced. Even if his score at nationals was inflated, internationally his PCS are miles better than any of the other US men. I was talking about Alissa and Adam and how I don't think their 5 point cushions in PCS over Caroline and Ross were justified, especially because Ross and Caroline performed skates that were technically cleaner. I'm sick of the USFS's love affair with Czisny and Rippon and their weak jumps. Maybe they will adjust their views after Worlds this season if things go as I fear they might...
Last edited by silverlake22; 03-10-2012 at 06:56 PM.
I should probably go to sleep, and sorry of this has a load of typos but; short report from The Hague!
Men: Kim Lucine was the biggest crowd-pleaser hands down. It was brilliant to watch someone have the guts to point his backside at the jury and scratch it. His 'Jungle Book' is just really epic. I'm glad Brian had such a strong performance: there was a confidence there that I haven't seen in him in a while! Not a great skate for Jeremy, but not a disaster either. Jorik is such a promising talent, I'm thrilled about that.
Ladies: Carolina had a lovely, polished, mature performance; though probably substantially overscored (but I admit I'm biased because I rather liked the idea of Ashley holding the SB in the LP before). I'm happy for Valentina, I think I didn't give her performance the attention it deserved, because I was still trying to process Kostner's score; but good for her to bring something so solid! Alissa.. yeah ouch. She took a while to get up from her second fall (I mean for a fraction of a second it seemed as if she was considering giving up - which probably wasn't what went on her mind but maybe she really hurt herself in that fall). I took some video footage of the warm-up, you can see she's struggling, especially trying to get the 2A-2T (which she managed perfectly in the last minute of the warm-up). I was prepared for some errors, but still... that was a little alarming :s I honestly feared she'd lost her medal! I hope Jason and Yuka know what to do. She still has such a lovely smile! And she signed my photograph ;-)
All in all I definitely had a good time! Brian and Carolina are great veteran winners with lovely solid performances that even an audience of people that probably didn't know much about figure skating could really appreciate. The atmosphere in general was pretty relaxed and as a fan/spectator this was a good trial run for worlds :-) Next time I'll have a Belgian flag and Belgian chocolates with me! Can't wait!
If Czisny bombs Worlds she is finished. With Wagner, Gold, Zhang, Agnes, possibly Nagasu and Gao, they have ample enough options to not need an aging headcase with weak jumps. She found comebacks easy in the past since the U.S women were so weak but that is changing. Worlds is a huge event for her.
Rippon will be in big trouble if he fails at Worlds too. Out of Abbott, Miner, Dornbush, and possibly Lysacek, they also have many other options to go to.
Thanks for the first-hand reports, Trewyn.
(Poor Alissa.)
Has there been a video of Czisny's lp yet?
Short and to the point.....I like that. By the way, did they forget to open the doors for the fans?Thanks for the first-hand reports, Trewyn.
(Poor Alissa.
There are more people at a 7am Four conts dance practice than there were at this rink.....
Anyone who can explain to me how to get on Alissa's tweet list? I am computer challanged.....
That wasn't how it was written - you mentioned Abbott and then you mentioned held up and didn't explain you were referring to the other 2...For the men, the only one who stood a realistic chance of beating Rippon was Miner, but he had too many mistakes at Nationals.Rippon wasn't great, but he skated better than the alternatives.
As for Alissa,it's not like Zhang was THAT awesome (still slow and has skating issues) or that Zawadski was clean and Alissa was held up over a clean Agnes...
Carolina has no "big" trick to make up for a missing Lutz. Yuna had no triple Loop but she consistently landed big 3/3's. Mao Flutzed and had problems with the Salchow but she could do the 3Axel. What is Carolina's big trick these days? Good skating skills and artistry? Yuna and Mao had those, too. She's hardly on par with them, and not just on the medals count.
But her most recent tech content is pretty decent.
Skating Skills and artistry? I'd argue that she's definitely on par with Mao and Yuna in that category, even if she hasn't been as successful.
I believe you mean that Asada has a 3A<, which is not quite the same thing. Why does a skater need a big trick? I don't think any of the recent men's champions can be identified as having a single big trick. And really, the whole point of Yu-Na is that she was strong across the board; her skating wasn't about having a specific wow element.
Yet again: Kostner had a good 3F (including in combo) for years. She lost it, and her 3Lz, when she was injured and couldn't practice the jumps, and by her own admission has not gotten the 3Lz back consistently. Why is it worse to be missing a harder jump rather than an easier one? If Carolina should hang her head in shame, how about the ladies who can't do 3S or 3R? Are they the same as novice or intermediate or whatever lower level you want to use?
Kostner has plenty of strengths: her jumps are with the proper technique, and she rotates them; she is fast and has great skating skills and steps (IIRC she was the first lady to get level 4), and she has pushed herself artistically with interesting music choices.
What was Ando's big trick last year-when she was missing a 3flip????? And how many of the girls everyone mentioned were really flutzing/had true lutzes.
Don't get me wrong though I DO think having all the jumps should be rewarded more.
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