Looking forward to next season

While the excitement and fabulous skating of this Worlds is still with me, I can't help but think of the things to look forward to next season!

Michelle under the CoP (please compete in the GP's, and with a 3/3)
Arakawa w/more time under Tarasova
Goebel and Honda being injury free
Plushenko skating hopefully without his knee problem
Johnny Weir on the GP circuit (hopefully with a quad)
Sasha with more time under Wagner (I do think Robin helps her remain calmer than TT did, even though I liked TT's choreography better)
THE LITHUANIAN DANCE TEAM COMING BACK!! I had read last year that they were going to start competing in the 2004/2005 season.
The Men! I thought they were fabulous at this years Worlds! When Goebel and Honda come back they will have a lot to contend with.


I am sure I am forgetting things,...

eliza88

eliza88 said:

THE LITHUANIAN DANCE TEAM COMING BACK!!

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I pretty much agree with everything you said, but I dropped my cookie when I saw this! REALLY?!? I love the Lithuanians!!

BTW, "dropped my cookie" is not a metaphor - I was really eating a cookie.

guinevere

I also read that D&V wanted to come back next year, hopefully so thyey could earn a spot on the 2006 Olympic team. I love them, but I think they'll set themselves up for more disappointment.

I'm very much looking forward to the return of COP. I hope they do some necessary tweaking.

Nice list, Eliz!!

I'd like to add

Joannie Rochette to stop with enough triples and do the combos. She's good.

Suzana Poykio to start winning Finnish Nats so we can see more of her in the international competitions.

Julia Sebastyen - hang in there; you're with the best of them.

Gregory and Petukhov - keep it going; you're moving up to the Podium Side

Watanabe and Kido - Looking good for Japan.

Stephane Lambiel - You're going to be on podium, hang in there.

Min Zhang - You have no place to go but up; go for it.

E-man = C'mon guy, if you can do two, you can do three.

Daisuke Takahashi = You can get the Japanese men moving up.

Kevin vd Perren - Your LP was stunning; stop with the flubs in the Quali and SP.


ALL THESE GUYS LISTED ABOVE, IMO, HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MOVE UP IN THE RANKINGS

Joe

Ooh, I definitely want Lambiel to move up. I'd love to see Emanuel pull it togher too.

Dance

• N&K Increase difficulty. I love this team, but this year their gold was a gift they did not deserve. I prefer them to the Bulgarians, and I want them to win fairly.
• D&S Fair judging. I don't mind them loosing to N&K, but I want competitions to be judged fairly.
• B&A Continue to mature and improve.
• Faiella & Scalli, Domnina & Shabalin, Gudina & Beletsky Those young teams are so promising. I'd like them to stick together, and to continue to improve and challenge the old guard.

Pairs

• T&M Tanya to be healthy. I think they can be true challengers to the Chinese, but they really have to push for that.
• Obertas & Slavnov, Borzenkova & Chuviliaev. Can't wait to see what Moskvina can do with those two teams. It's not healthy for the sport to be so dominated by one school -- the Chinese. Hopefully, one or both of those teams will eventually become credible challengers.
• Jenny & Fedor. OK, so I am dreaming. But, as they both have had only limited success as singles, and they training in pairs... Same comment about benefits of diversity as above.

Man

• Plushy Heal.
• Tim Come back!!!
• Eman Show us what you can do!
• Brian Become a consistent challenger to Plushy.
• Griazev and Lyscaek(sp?). Have a successful season as seniors.

Ladies

• Sasha Have a season without jumping coaches, and with some consistency.
• Shizuka See what she can do!
• Irina Be healthy, and skate like she used to.

Ptichka, I liked the format you used so I am going to borrow it! Although, I'm not much of a dance expert so I'll leave that to the pros. However, I do really enjoy N&M and I find the Bulgarian team so exciting to watch.

PAIRS

• T&M - They were a different team this year. The programs were much more exciting and they seemed to have improved so many elements. I also think they could be great challengers for the Chinese if they continue to improve and skate with emotion.
• S&Z - WOW! Their past two free programs have been spectacular. I hope to see them continue this trend of excellence all the way to Italy.
• Pang & Tong - Again, they were almost like a new team for me. They were so much better this year and I loved both of their programs. They just need to get those SBS spins under control and they'll be viable medal contenders at every event.
• I&B - Just get it together! They have the potential to be one of the most exciting U.S. pairs teams in recent memory.
  
  MEN
  
  • Joubert - Believe it or not, this was my first glimpse of the much touted Joubert and I was very impressed. He has great jumps and style. But, I'll agree that he needs to steer away from all of the Yagudin-esque movements. At any rate, I definitely see him as Plushenko's main rival heading into the Olympic Games.
  • Weir - Get a quad, then maybe you can challenge the top 3! Otherwise, I like his clean lines and elegant style. I'd like to see him skate with a little more fire.
  • Plushenko - I liked his LP this year, but I wasn't thunderstruck like everyone else seemed to be. He is still the best all-around. It will be interesting to see what he does next year.
  
  LADIES
  
  • Arakawa - I've always been a fan and expected steady improvement, but what she did at Worlds this year was just amazing. She put together 3 of her best performances and finally gave it some heart. I hope everything works out with TT. I also really hope she builds on Dortmund and continues to improve. She's already terrific, but she could be magnificent.
  • Cohen - Her "Malaguena" SP performance at Worlds was her best yet. She was having a ball and it showed. I hope she and Wagner don't go for the watered down approach to choreography next year, Sasha is far too talented for that.
  • Ando - Her SP at Worlds was sensational, and that 3lz/3l is truly one of the most beautiful 3/3s I've ever seen. But, I felt her LP didn't suit her at all. Hopefully, she'll do more programs like her SP. I'd also love to see her nail that quad next year....that would really shake things up.
  • Kwan - She had two solid performances at Worlds and I was proud of her. She still is the best out there for me. But, I'd love to see something different next year. Hopefully, she and Arutunian will create two masterpieces for 2004-2005...I think this pairing is absolutely the right one for Michelle.

eliza88 said:

Goebel and Honda being injury free...
The Men! I thought they were fabulous at this years Worlds! When Goebel and Honda come back they will have a lot to contend with.

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One of the women in our section at Worlds said that she had spoken to Honda at 4C's, and he said that was it, and he seemed very sad. I know this is hearsay in a court of law, but it may turn out to be true.

Sadly, Takahashi got squeezed a couple of places in each phase of the competition, and barely missed top 10. As a result, Japan will only be able to send one man next year. I think Takahashi is the future of Japan's Men's skating. He's got speed, flow, charisma, musically, punch, and is an all-around skater. He needs to get the 4T/2-3T and 3A landings a little more consistent, but by next year, he could give a lot of men a run for their money.

I don't go much for pairs or dance...but, for women, I'm looking forward to seeing how they all fare under CoP, and seeing what the American women do to compete technically. I also want to see what TT will do next with Shizuka! That girl has got it all!

Men, I would love to see Sandhu more consistent (wouldn't we all???) I also want to see Weir with a quad, to see him be more of a challenge to the big names in skating! Let's get Plush, Honda, Goebel back to healthy, and see how everyone does! I also am excited at the thought of watching Lysacek and Griazev mature into full senior skaters, and hopefully seeing more of Ryan Bradley and Jordan Brauninger!

Kasey

Orscher & Lucash - Improve, Improve, Improve! These two have the goods, they just need polish (and new boots ) and they need to work on their presentation. They are equiped with some of the best and most difficult throw jumps and their spilt twist aren't too shabby either... just need to get it together. If they can stay healthy over the summer, unlike last year, next season will be their season to shine! did you think i'd leave them off my list?!

Lysacek - I can't wait to see how he does at Nationals next season, I just love his skating!! I think he definetly has the potential to be one of the next great things in men's skating and I am looking forward to a rivialry between him and Johnny Weir!

Cohen - Will be interesting to see after more work with Wagner, so far it seemed to be working very well and Sasha just seems so much more relax under her guidance.

Galler-Rabinowitz and Mitchell - I love these two and they have great chemistry together. I'd love to see them just keep improving... our future in dance never looked so bright!! These two are great!!

Joe, for your enjoyment I can tell that Poykio has won Finnish Nationals twice (as well as Finlandia Trophy). This past season she suffered from an injury and was not able to participate in Nationals. Fortunately she had participated in GP and because of her skating there she was together with Alisa Drei selected for 2004 Europeans.

It will be the Europeans 2005 which very probably will decide which of the Finnish skaters is going to Worlds 2005. In Europeans we have three ladies competing for that one place...

I´m looking forward very much to see Evan Lysacek competing in US Nationals so well that he will get into the World team.

It will be also very interesting to see what Tarasova and her team will create for Arakawa. She is a good girl in the hands of a good coach!

For Cohen, I´m looking forward to what effect Robin´s coaching will have for her skating. Sasha was already now great in Worlds, and her short programme was really awesome and skated with so much feeling!!!

Stephane Lambiel, my big favourite in men, I would expect to see him competing on a very high level, as it will be the first season he will be able to be fully concentrating on skating.

Already dreaming of what great freeskate Shen & Zhao will be performing in Moscow...

Marjaana