VCR Alert (the 16th)

Yikes Idle, thanks..............I thought it was Sunday.........42

Thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten that it was going to be on today!

Also at the same time, CBC is showing the Pairs Free Skate from 2005 Worlds.

It's actually on at 4pm in the San Diego area.

did anybody watch?

So, did anybody watch Marshall's? I have decided (for the moment, of course) that Biatrisa (sp?) Liang is my favorite of the young women up and comers; that I want to see Sasha skate all the time but not in competitions...I just want to watch her line, extension, spins etc; that I want Michelle to win OG more than I was aware (so, already bracing myself) but find her lack of transitions particularly troubling; Peggy's commentary drives me nuts because it's basically the same for everyone (solid, strong, nice etc), and she picks a favorite and forget any kind of attempt at objective comparison (it was Sasha, now it's Kimmie); and Dick was on fire with his criticisms today....I LOVED IT!!!

My impressions (I posted this in the Events folder, too):

Dick and Peggy really got on Michelle's case for doing triple/triples in practice but not putting them in the performance. Dick was certainly on track when he said that she has to decide if she is really going to go for it next year or not.

I agree with Dick's summary of Jenny Kirk's performance. Very nice, but it needs to have more impact. I don't know exactly how to accomplish this. But as pretty as Jenny's performance was, like Emma I was drawn into Bebe's a lot more. I thought Bebe should have got fourth.

Can you believe how much Emily Hughes looks like Sarah at that age? I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of all of the youngsters.

Do you think Tim Goebel can ever get back anywhere near where he was three years ago?

I will be curious to see what the television ratings turn out to be. Especially compared with the Kristi Yamaguchi show that was on at the same time on NBC.

Mathman

ooops! sorry I didn't notice that you were discussing Marshalls elsewhere.

Actually, it was the Ray Charles special that was on NBC during the same time as Marshalls but maybe that wasn't the same all over the country. :scratch:

That said, I was surprised by the somewhat harsh commentary today of just about every single skater. It was kind of annoying to me actually. This was not the National championships, it was the last cheesefest competition of the year and something people aren't probably going to remember right away when we start next season. The only thing on the line here was money and how much you got by where you placed there. Someone (I forget who) ent on about Timmy having the flu and having a difficult time while he was there and then ripped his performance apart anyway. That kind of thing was just odd to me. Peggy going on and on about how much MK is feeling the music and then Dick chimes in saying that she's flat and not at all with the passion of the music. I found myself wanting to shut them up because they couldn't say anything helpful, it was just random criticisms or remarks that weren't even relevant to what was going on. It was all very odd to me. :banging:

That said, I really enjoyed MK and thought that was her best peformance of Bolero all season and that did make me happy.

Emma - ITA with Beatriza. She and Emilie were the only ones competitive. The others just did exhibitions with Kimmie just practicing her 3A in public. I'm afraid Beatiza is never going to get the scores she deserves.

Joe

Marshalls

I found myself thinking the same Emma and Joesitz. I could get into Bebe and love her skating. I also wonder why she is placed so low each time. I love Dick and even though he has little tact he is right on with his comments. I am a Michelle fan and I can hear appropriate evaluations of her skating. I so want her to win OG but she has to make a firm decision to do on the ice what she can do in practice. I think she can rise to the OG level but does she really want to. I must admit I enjoyed Dick slapping Peggy evey time she did her gushing which at this point Im tired of hearing. Sasha and her exquisite line blah, blah. Kimmie is blah, blah and she is still very immature and doesnt relate on the ice. Let her grow up. Kirk buried her Mother blah, blah. He make accurate statements about the skaters and what they need to do and maybe Peggy will stop the gushing over her favorite skaters which she overhypes. I did enjoy Michelles skating though.

It's sad that Bebe is mostly marked lower...maybe she is just another American Chinese girl came after Michelle Kwan...maybe she does not have or has no money to hire an agent to coach her what to say and how to say things in the right time...I love her skating...she has the best technique among the American ladies now...

jesslily said:

It's sad that Bebe is mostly marked lower...maybe she is just another American Chinese girl came after Michelle Kwan...maybe she does not have or has no money to hire an agent to coach her what to say and how to say things in the right time...I love her skating...she has the best technique among the American ladies now...

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I really like Bebe but she makes a lot of mistakes, esp in the second half of her program. Looking at that huge double axel, I wonder if Bebe can get a triple axel; her double axel has more speed and lift than Kimmie's double or triple axel jumps. Still Bebe's choreography was excellent and I hope she keeps this program and leaves the 3-loop out. If MK can do it , so could Bebe (esp with her hurt hip).

I thought Jenny should have won this whole competition or at least finish second. I didn't like this version of Bolero at all and Dickie got it right by saying it was last year's choreo recycled. Jenny's program was lovely and the soft Beatles music really fits Jenny's delicate look on the ice. Too bad she can't skate like this at Worlds.

I don't know what to say about Sasha. I don't agree with Fossi on anything (esp the Sarah love) but he/she nailed it on the head by saying that Nicks taught Sasha how to two foot her jumps instead of fall. That's an ugly habit that Sasha is picking up and I hope she straightens out these jumps. I'd rather see her fall while going for a one foot landing rather than two footing all of these jumps. She's going to fall into that habit like Michael Weiss did on the quads and then she'll never be able to fix it.

Michelle was boring as usual though I love the beautiful costume. I think she waited too long to embrace COP but the good thing is that she recognizes that and it seems as though she's finally accepted the scoring system. I'd like her to go back to Kawahara and get a kick a$$ program like Bebe's and NOT water it down.

I still like Emily over Meissner. I don't think Kimmie is all that.

Very sad commentary during Tim's program, esp the thoughtful question Terry posed to Dick about what Timmy should do to get back to form. Looking at Timmy's skating, I still see a lot of the old Tim. He has really fast , well centered spins and the tight, fast revolutions in the air. I don't think he is far off from being the Quad King again. Timmy has been doing a lot to improve his presentation on the ice and I hope he can regain his quads and possibly medal again at the Olympics. I like him a lot better than Weir and Lysacyk.

Looking at that huge double axel, I wonder if Bebe can get a triple axel; her double axel has more speed and lift than Kimmie's double or triple axel jumps.

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I was really impressed with Emily's double axel. I like both Emily and Bebe's skating better than Kimmie's.

I think that Kimmie does not have much of the flow on the ice. She is good at jumping and I assume that she spent most of her training on jumps.

Jenny Kirk must have been woriking very hard and does not want to miss the chance making the Olympic team.

My notes:

I actually enjoyed Kirk; she pulled it off, and I somewhat like her. However, that said, I thought the program needed some more content.

Cohen was boring. Nothing else to say there. But props to her for not falling; even though she made other obvious mistakes, it's always better than falling. And that's a step forward.

Kwan's Bolero was the best I'd seen her do it, but she still doesn't really get into the music like I know she's capable of doing. She's done it so many times before. It's a personal shame since this is a song I like a lot.

Hughes- OK, but I'd give her more before she's ready for prime time.

Liang- missed her. Have to watch again.

Meissner- missed her too, however I saw her (failed) attempt at the 3A. She sort of kneeled/squatted down on it. I think she might be a force in the future nationally, but I don't know if she's competitive enough for world-class competition yet. I say give her two more years.

Well I agree with some of you that Beatrisa Liang is underscored at times. Her short program at nationals was beautiful. Fast and centred spins. Clean edges in and out of her jumps, with good height. Decent spirals and footwork. Good connection with audience and music, ease of movement.

I would not have had Kirk higher than 3rd, I agreed with the judges. In my opinion the lack of height on her jumps, her lack of general speed, and the overall awkwardness, and lack of sophistication in her skating, will keep her below the international contender level. Still it was great to see her skate so well, she must be happy after her skating at Worlds.

Here Goes...

I didn't catch all the men, so I'll rewind later for that part.

I think the ladies all have plenty to work on for next season.

I thought MK and Jenny's programs had a lot in common this year - pretty empty. ITA with the poster who said Jenny "shows" better to upbeat music. So I didn't care for MK nor Jenny's music choice. And I thought both programs were pretty empty choreographically. I was glad to see both MK and Jenny skate clean. That's a nice high note to end the cheesefest portion of the season.

All that two footing is a huge problem for Sasha. I hope she can get that fixed. I also think she NEEDS to pick a different type of music next year. Whether it's perception or reality, her programs are starting to seem recycled.

I still think Kimmie is being way over-hyped. I think she has a lot of potential, but is nowhere close to deserving the amount of GUSHING coming her way from Peggy.

I enjoy watching Emily - she really does look like she's enjoying herself out there. I hope she carries that freshness (for lack of a better word I can think of right now) into next season.

Of all the younger skaters, I enjoy watching Bebe the most. I really hope she can build on what she's already got, come up with good programs for next year, and skate them clean. I wish I knew what it was that the judges seem not to like about her. Yes, I know she's had trouble with mistakes but it seems like of the younger girls, she gets punished more harshly for them. Any ideas??

DG