Spoilers Ladies SP | Golden Skate

Spoilers Ladies SP

AP and Bebe fell; Michelle wobbly on 2axel. Michelle in 2nd, Sasha 1st, Angela third so far.
 
So far
1. Sasha Cohen
2. Michelle Kwan
3. Angela Nikodinov
4. Amber Corwin
5. Ann Patrice McDonough
6. Beatrisa Liang
7. Alexandra Patterson
8. Jane Bugaeva
9. Erica Archambault
10. Felicia Beck
 
did Angela fall or double anything? She must have skated cleanly please tell if you have the imfo.
 
I hear 2 different reports on Angela. She was on tonight with the jumps. The other said she landed her jumps but had no spark and was a little tight on the landings. So I'm not sure exactly how it actually went.
 
Okay, top five (I think)

1. Sasha
2. Michelle
3. Jenny (wow)
4. Angela (double wow)
5. AP

What a line-up for Saturday. It's a toss up between Michelle and Sasha....the one who skates clean wins!!!!! 42
 
standings...

1. Sasha Cohen, Orange County FSC
2. Michelle Kwan, Los Angeles FSC
3. Jennifer Kirk, The SC of Boston
4. Angela Nikodinov, All Year FSC
5. Amber Corwin, All Year FSC
6. Ann Patrice McDonough, Broadmoor SC
7. Beatrisa Liang, All Year FSC
8. Alissa Czisny, St. Clair Shores FSC
9. Jennifer Don, Texas Gulf Coast FSC
10. Alexandra Patterson, St. Clair Shores FSC
11. Jane Bugaeva, SC of North Carolina 12
12. Aanya Reiten, Lakewood Winter Club
13. Andrea Gardiner, Houston FSC
14. Danielle Kahle, All Year FSC
15. Stephanie Rosenthal, Utah FSC
16. Louann Donovan, The SC of Boston
17. Yebin Mok, All Year FSC
18. Suzy McDonald, SC of New York
19. Natalie Mecher, Wagon Wheel FSC
20. Erica Archambault, Colonial FSC
21. Felicia Beck, All Year FSC

What happened to Ye Bin?

Was it just me, or did AP lip her flip? So-Cal well represented in that field :) Robyn Wagner's hair looks to have gotten grayer than last year; they need to get that woman who's doing the backstage interviews.

"I'm here with (fill in skater's name). BLAH BLAH BLAH- What happened?"

I thought most journalists had a degree, and had taken English classes that would help them be able to be more verbose, and therefore, able to come up with things other than "what happened."
 
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Oh, dear, looks like Ye Bin Mok had a terrible skate. Bummer.

I liked that Michelle had a totally new kind of dress on--it's just a shame that she appeared to be falling out of it on a couple of occasions. Sasha was just fantastic, as was Jenny. Michelle didn't have the same energy in that program that she had last year. GREAT to see Angela in good form! I'd like to see all 4 of them go to Worlds. Too bad that can't happen! :(

I don't understand the repeat of last year's SP, especially with regard to Michelle. She hardly competes, she takes about 1 class per year. What on earth keeps her so darn busy that she can't get a new SP together?
 
no new sp

ITA, neighbour =)

I compete in speech/debate, and we have a rule- no old speeches. You can compete with it for a year, but after a year, scrap it and come up with something new. I'm sure she can do it.

Also- the camera seems to find its way down the skater's dress during their spiral sequence... (very evident during Michelle's)
 
I wish they would have shown Alissa Czisney.

Way to go, Sasha! A perfect skate. She deserved her placement, since Michelle had a wooky landing on her double Axel and didn't finish with her music.

Great skates by Angela and Amber.

In spite of everything, Michelle still blew me away with that performance. What was the phrase? Menacingly sexual?:love:

Mathman
 
Re: no new sp

thisthingcalledlove said:
ITA, neighbour =)

You can't even imagine how apt that statement is...

Also- the camera seems to find its way down the skater's dress during their spiral sequence... (very evident during Michelle's)

Yes, I noticed that, too! On another board, someone wrote how it looked like her tatas wanted to come out and say "hello." I almost fell over in hysterics over that one! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :D
 
I thought that was the point of ladies figure skating. They used to shoot spiral sequences from behind, until the ladies started wearing those loose-top dresses with no illusion fabric.

MM

PS. The presentation marks were 4 judges for Sasha, 3 for Michelle and two ties (both 5.9s). I think this bodes well for Michelle going into the long. I think that if they both skate cleanly the judges are prepared to go with Michelle. Sasha has to be as perfect in the long as she was in the short.
 
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I noticed that Angela had 5 4th place ordinals and 4 5th place ordinals, while Amber Corwin had the reverse of that. Very close.
 
MEN:

***Note: wasn't able to watch all of them b/c I was babysitting my niece & nephew. (:^)***

Johnny Weir - to me, he is America's answer to Canada's Emanuel Sandhu.......in every way........great job!

Timothy Goebel - too bad, better luck next time. :(

Michael Weiss - good job.

Ryan Bradley - pretty darn good job for an up-and-comer.

Sorry, can't remember his name, the tall young man that was dressed as a matador was also pretty darn good.......loved his flair & pizzazz (not to mention the outfit).........looking forward to seeing more of him in future.

LADIES:

A-P McDonough - gorgeous dress.....immaculate make-up et al.......too bad about the fall. Nevertheless, she has great spins & a lovely quiet sort of presentation.

Bebe Liang - what a little mighty mouse.......unleashed power.......reminiscent of Midori Ito in a way. And that's a compliment b/c Midori is someone I greatly admire (no lie).

Sasha Cohen - weird, this is the first time I've ever held my breath & felt nauseous in regards to Sasha Cohen skating.......that's definitely a sign that she's growing on me (lol).........I now feel a part of her skating. And breathed a sigh of relief when she completed all her elements (no lie). I am now a full fledged fan (lol). :D

Angela Nikodinov - yes, great job Angela! {two thumbs way up} Lovely skate.

Amber Corwin - WTG! WTG! Feels great to see the ones that have been around a long time do so good.......nice 3T/3T.......and that at the age of 25. It's easy to see how much Amber loves to skate (beautiful). (:^)

Michelle Kwan - ah, the grand dame of skating comes through once again........lovely........everything (except the 2A) was perfect. (:^)

Tara Lipinski look-alike (sorry, forgot her name) - what a little spitfire......just like Tara......too bad she doesn't have her consistency w/the jumps though. Looking forward to seeing more of the up-and-comers in the future ~ grateful that ESPN at least showed us one. Thumbs up.

Jennifer Kirk - I don't know what it is, but this is the second time (not counting the pros.) that I have cried this season watching the eligibles. And it has been Jennifer each time (no lie)........first at Skate America........and now here. BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! :love:

Peace & Love, Nadine

:)GREAT NIGHT OF SKATING!:)
 
[COLOR=0080FF]As usual, Angela still gets the award for best layback spin, but this time, I'm gonna have to give best cleavage to Michelle. During that spiral, the look on her face combined with that outfit, made her appear a bit like a comic book hero skating to the rescue of someone in distress. She looked like she was about to shoot lazer beams out of her eyes at the evil-doer. Putting Jenny Kirk on right after Danielle Khale, with very similar music was an interesting move. It was almost as if Jenny were saying to her..."Oh, is this what you were trying to do?"[/COLOR]
 
Great skating, girls!

AP McDonough: Look, Mom! No sequins! So nice to see AP in a nicely cut but unsparkly dress. As for her skating, I don't know if it's the injury or what, but it looks as if someone let the air out of it since last season. She can be so exquisite. I hope she can regain whatever it is that seems to be lost. I'd hate to see her go.

Bebe Liang: "Mighty Mouse" is a great nickname, Nadine. Yes, a lot of power. Hopefully she'll gain the control and polish she needs in the next couple of years. I love her face, too. If she were six feet tall, she'd be a top model. Very exotic and beautiful, IMO.

Sasha Cohen: Nadine, it sounds like you get morning sickness when you become a fan;) Like her or not, Sasha has certainly put in the time "out on the road" on the GP series over the last few years--I know, other skaters have too--and I was hoping that the experience would pay off. But especially with the coaching change, I felt she was even more iffy than usual. The main thing I noticed was that this was the best I have ever seen Sasha land her jumps. The jerkiness that is so often on the landings wasn't there, not even on the 2Axel. Still flutzing, but other than that I sure hope I was especially pleased to see her jumps just be clean instead of "clean and jerk." I noticed a little of the difficulty was taken out of the choreography--no change edge spiral, no half tuck Axel during the footwork--but obviously it was a good strategy. Watching it on tape, when I wasn't wondering if she was going to fall, I really appreciated this skate. A well-deserved standing O and a well-deserved first place. I even felt a little "aww" for her because she seemed to have such genuine joy in having skated so well in a way that was almost separate from the competition, as if she'd finally won an important personal competition with herself. I also felt she showed a vulnerability in that performance that I hadn't seen before and that I liked. The gymnastics style is to push and stretch beyond your maximum and I think this style may make Sasha's style seem hard=edged to some people, as if that extreme extension is a kind of armor that says, "I HAVE to be the BEST!" I thought she was softer tonight, as if she finally felt she was good enough as she was. I don't mean in a lackadaisical way, but in a "I don't have to push SO hard every minute" kind of way. I felt good for Sasha that she overcame all the criticism of her ability to focus, the doubts, and the disaster of the IFSC and the disappointment of the GPF to have this SP at Nats. Of course, doing this in the LP is another story, but I thought it was a wonderful first step for her in reinventing herself and at the same time becoming more herself.

Angela Nikodinov: From the practice reports, I realize I expected Angela to look "great" as in Angela in '01, which was unrealistic. So when she first started skating, I admit I was feeling a little let-down. But that's my own fault. As she kept skating and I realized, "Wait a minute, she hasn't been at Nats in two years! Plus she's been injured!" I was very pleased with her skate. Of course I was just glad to see her back. She's understandably a little rough around the edges, but still so beautiful. I'm really hoping she can keep the jumps going in the LP.

Amber Corwin: Great job and was happy to see her so happy. For me, she has a jerkiness to the way she moves on the ice and lack of line that makes it hard for me to enjoy her skating as much as I would like to. But she hit the 3/3 and was clean and she's got to be thrilled.

Michelle Kwan: First impression: Vera Wang is finally earning her money. LOVED the costume, though they do have to address the "hiya!" factor. After the 2Axel I thought, "Oh, no! Artunian's changes in her jump technique are going to hurt her! But then her jumps were as smooth as glass. I didn't mind that she used the same SP from last year. One of her goals was to take some time off and relax and getting up a new SP takes time and is nervewracking, even for someone like Michelle. She seemed to have only really committed to going on to '06 since going with Artunian, which was only late November. Anyway, I like "TFB," she does it beautifully, and I think now that she's regained the fire she won't repeat her SPs. As for the rest of it, perhaps not the sizzle of last year, but still a great steak.

Jennifer Kirk: FINALLY I get to see Jenny's SP which I'd heard so much about from SA. First things first: Jenny is absofreakinlutely gorgeous. With her hair down in the interview, I thought, "Just keep this girl on TV any way you can." Hair for SP: Down to half a loaf--MUCH better. Jef Billings' costume on Jenny--that's where Michelle's sizzle must have gone. Wowee! But, and this is for every program I've ever seen using music from "Chicago": I hate them. I loved the musical, but out-takes from the overture to me inevitably end up resulting in programs that remind me of the kind you see at dance recitals. Too cute by half. Please let me be clear, it was not Jenny at all. I hated Oksana doing "Chicago," I hated that cute little Tara look-a-like doing "Chicago," I even hated Bourne & Kraatz using "He Had It Comin'" in their tango OD. However, I realize most people love this music and love the style of program it evokes. It's peppy, it's foot-tappin', Jenny looks gorgeous, she skated extremely well, what's not to love? Nothing unless you have the "I hate skating programs to 'Chicago'" gene, which I have. But like I said, Jenny skated beautifully and I was thrilled for her.

Ladies LP predictions--I actually think the wonky 2Axel was good for Michelle. Didn't hurt her, but I think it was just enough of a reminder, "Hey, I'm at Nationals with a new coach!" to get her back in the zone, where I believe she will stay through the LP. While I'm very happy for Sasha, I just don't know if she can keep up her jump technique for the entire LP. Jenny is the wild card, IMO. She hit all seven triples at SA, including the 3/3 but that was her only clean LP. But she could do it. I don't know if Angela is in good enough shape yet to do all her triples well enough to be on the podium, but I think a decent skate and 4th place would still be a great comeback for her. Next year, though...
Rgirl
 
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