ESPN2 4CC Televised Thoughts... | Golden Skate

ESPN2 4CC Televised Thoughts...

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Yes! :)

I missed yesterday's ABC coverage, so was extremely delighted to find out that repeat coverage on ESPN2 was being broadcast today. :)^)

MEN

Evan Lysacek - great job on the jumps.....best of the bunch.....just needs to improve his presentation and he'll be right up there with the rest. Would have placed him 4th in the FS.

Ryan Jahnke - better presentation than Evan & pretty good jumps. Nice. Would have placed him 1st in the FS.

Emanuel Sandhu - best presentation in the world (bar none)........except for America's Johnny Weir........too bad about the jumps. Still, I would have had him 2nd in the FS.

Jeffrey Buttle - nice presentation.........not so nice jumps........would have placed him 3rd in the FS.

WOMEN

Cynthia Phaneuf - first time seeing her.......reminded me exactly of Tara Lipinski (an adult one btw).......nice presentation & great jumps. Just wondering if she has Tara's consistency. So far so good. Definitely one to watch in the future ~ impressive 7 triple performance! ***Note: btw love the gold skates - Miki Ando has been wearing them for the past couple of yrs. now due to seeing Irina Slutskaya's.***

Amber Corwin - nice presentation & pretty good jumps......too bad about the two falls, especially the latter one........still, I'm impressed with her fight & determination. GOOOOOOOO Amber! :)^)

Yukina Ota - lyrical presentation......right up there with the best of them (aka Sasha Cohen & Michelle Kwan).......except tends to overuse those gorgeous arms IMHO. Too bad about the rather weak jumps & the fall. Still, like Sandhu, she dominated the field on the second mark. Well deserved win.

Angela Nikodinov - good job........liked the fight she had in coming on rather strong at the end........too bad about the mistakes at the beginning. Still, she's come a long way since her shoulder surgery last year. Has it all, just needs consistency.

All in all, a rather anti-climatic competition. It was more exciting following it on the net & reading others' comments, but reality was another matter. :( Nobody blew me away.......either in the jumps/technical department nor the presentation/artistry department......hoping for better come Euros. :)^)

Peace & Love, Nadine
 

insecureedge

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Thanks for starting this topic, Nadine. I'm glad that you got the chance to see 4CC with the addition of Jahnke for the ESPN2 broadcast. After reading about all the controversy on the internet, I was happy to finally see things for myself. Detailed results link for reference.

MEN

Evan Lysacek-The best in terms of jumps for the men, with two good secure triple axels, and no falls. However, probably the weakest in terms of presentation, with lots of two-foot skating and extraneous arm movements to cover the rather uninspiring choreography to Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 for Piano.

Ryan Jahnke-Interesting choreography to a Brazilian medley. This is one skater I admit I still don't get what the excitement is all about. Although I've been trying all year long, unlike the reports on the internet say, I don't feel a great "danceability" to his movement, and the steps fall off in the slow middle section. Perhaps he is unable to generate the excitement to match the music that is necessary to keep a program going. Nonetheless, great that he was able to actually land the jumps, which does count for a lot, though even the first triple axel attempt, though not a fall or step-out, was not pretty.

Emanuel Sandhu-Like Terry Gannon is fond of saying, you never know what your're going to get with Sandhu, except that (unfortunately) there will be mistakes. While I'll not deny that Sandhu is among the world's best in terms of presentation when on, today was definitely not one of those days. Hardly any of the jumps were securely landed, and without the energy that completing those elements would have given, the rest of the program, eclectic at best but disjointed otherwise, fell apart at the seams.

Jeffrey Buttle-Buttle has probably the best designed program for the men this year, with interesting steps that work well with the music and with his style. Although only landing 4 triples with no clean triple axel, this was a great show of the strong choreography and superior to Jahnke in presentation IMO.

Some difficulties arise when ranking these men. Lysacek was the strongest technically but also the most juniorish in terms of presentation. Jahnke was probably the closest to acheiving the full potential of his program, with okay but completed jumps and good steps, even if I don't think they worked to the best effect. Sandhu had an off night all around. Buttle, while having a bad jump night, showed how far good choreography can help you even when the jumps go south. My ranking in the LP would be:

1. Jahnke or Buttle
2. Buttle or Jahnke
3. Lysacek
4. Sandhu

for an overall Buttle win and medals for Jahnke and Lysacek. Better consistency for Sandhu in worlds, but IMO he was very held up. Too bad we didn't see Daisuke Takahashi's 4th place LP to see how it would shake up the standings.

WOMEN

Cynthia Phaneuf-Excellent senior debut, with 7 triples, though not quite up to the standards of Kwan et al. I liked the choreography, but it was not presented to its full potential. Also, something about how she strokes and her posture (especially during spins) shows her to be still somewhat juniorish. A well deserved 1st in the LP and 2nd overall after a disasterous 8th in the SP. Still to early to gauge her ultimate potential, but definitely a promising start. Here's to hoping puberty and pressure doesn't get to her.

Amber Corwin-Corwin's secret weapon (3toe-3toe) seemed to abandon her, as the pressure of being first after the SP seemed to get the best of her, as exemplified by the fall during the ending footwork. Still I'm sure she's quite proud of the year she's had, as she should be.

Yukina Ota-Agree with Nadine's assessment that Ota's "lyrical presentation......right up there with the best of them (aka Sasha Cohen & Michelle Kwan).......except tends to overuse those gorgeous arms IMHO." However, to a large degree breaking into the top echelon of skaters is still all about the jumps; she needs to correct the underrotation, which she has plenty of time to do. Although Phaneuf's program is somewhat better choreographed and has more "stuff," Ota's presentation trumps that. The Japanese women are in excellent hands.

Angela Nikodinov-After seeing Giselle in 2001, this year's version is watered down. Combined with Nikodinov's declined jumping skills this season and her unfortunately too common tendency to double jumps, her performance was pretty much dead after the first mistake. I do give her props for completing some triples later in the program, but too little, too late. Rest up for next year!

Overall, 4CC sure missed the big guns (Kwan, Cohen, Kirk, Weiss, Weir, Savoie, Shen and Zhao, Suguri, Arawaka, Ando). Hope their working hard on their programs for Worlds.

Anyone in "tecnik" want to comment on ice dance? Briefly, while D&L program is better constructed (I hate the music cuts B&A used for West Side Story) and was the most emotional, B&A had enough technical merit in their footwork and the mistake during the lift by D&L to win, although I would'nt lose any sleep if they switched places.

I look forward to Europeans next week so we can start making serious informed predictions for Worlds. (Yes, I know the results already, but there is something to be said for seeing the event for oneself...)

InsecureEdge
 
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Antilles

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Insecureedge. I was at 4cc's, and Takashi's program was nothing to write home about. He had jump problems all week.
 

brenlynn

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 9, 2004
Antilles said:
Insecureedge. I was at 4cc's, and Takashi's program was nothing to write home about. He had jump problems all week.

ITA. he should have been 5th, not 4th. I did not understand that placement AT ALL. :confused:
 

Bijoux

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
cynthia and ota

This was my first view of her. Wonderful performance and she's full of confidence. I love Josee and am lukewarm on j.Ro, but this girl could be a real threat to the elites.

I am afraid Yukina Ota will ruin my plans for our ladies perfect podium in 2006. She is a lovely skater. One to watch!
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Definitely, Evan has the tricks over the others. Big problem, for me, is I do not see a budding style.

Ryan - Easy win for him although he didn't.

Emmanuel - Too busy a program. He need to think more flow, and that will help him make less mistakes.

Jeffrey - Plenty of flow but lack luster. He can do better.

Yukina - Will she beat Bebe at the 2006 Olys gold rush? I see them as battling it out for first place.

Cynthia - Canada, treat her well and carefully. She's special.

Joe
 
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