2014-2015 GPF Pairs Short Program 12/11

[whatif]

:shocked:
I hope he's Barca fan! Wow, they're so lucky. I wish I was there. Although I have a lot of pictures from Camp Nou, I've never been on actual real match there.

And I meant American Football I can see him as TE

OMG, YESSSSSSS!!!! Totally. Somebody please photoshop for my viewing pleasure.

 

[apple123]

That is Moser's style. It is most effectively done by V/T. Elements. Huge, sharp, bold, good lines and unison with exceptional SS, but nothing much in between. That's it.

I can't agree more. Most of V/T's programs are incredibly DULL. But at least they have the huge elements. Now S/K didn't even have that. Look at their twist and throw. Painfully done, and still got GOE +2/+3.

 

[Snow63]

I can't agree more. Most of V/T's programs are incredibly DULL. But at least they have the huge elements. Now S/K didn't even have that. Look at their twist and throw. Painfully done, and still got GOE +2/+3.

Their throw is very good. Much better than D/R half-jump/half-throw.

 

[deedee1]

on Yuko/Sasha....
Persoanlly, don't care their placement at thsi point. just no falls and no more injuries, skating gods, please. They've suffered more than enough in their career. Don't want to see her sad face anymore.

Hope they somehow regain power and confidence to skate a clean free. Good luck to them in the free!

 

[apple123]

Their throw is very good. Much better than D/R half-jump/half-throw.

S/K's throw is not good. She is always tilted in the air, she doesn't travel high or far, and she never has a smooth landing. How is that very good?

 

[Sandpiper]

S/K's throw is not good. She is always tilted in the air, she doesn't travel high or far, and she never has a smooth landing. How is that very good?

She doesn't get as much height as the Chinese teams, but she does cover a decent amount of ice and her landing here, at least, was smooth. (Did you even watch the performance?). It's no worse than D/R's--better, in fact.

 

[Snow63]

She doesn't get as much height as the Chinese teams, but she does cover a decent amount of ice and her landing here, at least, was smooth. (Did you even watch the performance?). It's no worse than D/R's--better, in fact.

I agree. He throws her pretty far (I've seen it live, it's huge), she rotates fast, I'm sure they'll do quad throw soon, maybe next season. And their throws are consistent. I didn't said it was better than Chinese's teams throws, just better than D/R.

 

[eli60056]

As a skating fan I appreciate the Russian pair skaters and their rich history Max needs to be more professional in his commentary. Dissing the competition comes across as childish andsour grapes.Arrogance is not flattering it is a sign of weakness.

Why would he have sour grapes? He has always beaten D/R! Besides, he doesn't diss them. He actually also says what their strong sides are and is always quite positively speaking about them, as he is of most skaters. I don't know why some enjoy taking his words out of context, but I have long stopped being surprised by this. Probably because he just refuses to "shut up and just skate and leave all the commenting to the FS forums" .

Since Trankov actually knows the pair skating sport more than most (anyone going to disagree with this?) he, more than most, has earned the right to comment. He has all the titles he needs to back him up on this.

Can anyone honestly say that there is any chemistry on the ice between D/R? I can't see any.

 

[lao1234]

Me too. Actually, when I look at Eric he is not that bad, has good interpretation, but unfortunately I still have the feeling ,that Meagan skates with music somewhere really far from the ice rink.

Agree - clearly, D/R are excellent technical skaters and pushing the envelope on the SBS jumps - however, it's not the size difference, in my mind...it's the completely different styles. You don't have to have romantic chemistry to be a successful pair (Tai/Randy, the Carruthers, even S/K...) but you do need to appear to be skating to the same music.
Ahhh...pairs skating has so many factors that contribute to the success of a pair. D/R very successful, but for me, they'll never be in the highest echelon...unless they find programs that highlight their tech skills and offer more of a point/counterpoint style where they can complement each other...

 

[Alba]

Ahhh...pairs skating has so many factors that contribute to the success of a pair. D/R very successful, but for me, they'll never be in the highest echelon...unless they find programs that highlight their tech skills and offer more of a point/counterpoint style where they can complement each other...

I think the "problem" (if that is a problem) is that Eric is very much a classical pair skater. He does have beautiful lines and movements, while Meagan looks more an athletic. It's like they have two different styles of skating.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

She doesn't get as much height as the Chinese teams, but she does cover a decent amount of ice and her landing here, at least, was smooth. (Did you even watch the performance?). It's no worse than D/R's--better, in fact.

Stolbova's throw lands are always smooth with a ton of speed going out of them -- more than any other team, IMO. It's actually kinda of weird how she's able to generate so much speed/flow after occasionally going up-and-down on her skate and not so much being thrown "across".

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I think the "problem" (if that is a problem) is that Eric is very much a classical pair skater. He does have beautiful lines and movements, while Meagan looks more an athletic. It's like they have two different styles of skating.

Exactly. However, there aren't many, or any, classical style female pair skaters who are capable of landing a triple lutz. I think Meagan's athletic build/nature helps her out in this regard and if she were slim/delicate there's no way she'd be able to pull off that SBS jump.

 

[Alba]

Exactly. However, there aren't many, or any, classical style female pair skaters who are capable of landing a triple lutz. I think Meagan's athletic build/nature helps her out in this regard and if she were slim/delicate there's no way she'd be able to pull off that SBS jump.

True. I wonder if she can work a bit on that part though, or maybe there is nothing she can do about it.
I always thought that the criticism Irina Slutskaya got for that was a bit too much, because I thought maybe she can't do that much to change that. Although Meagan is better than her in terms of movement, IMO.

I was thinking that Stefania Berton would've been great for Eric. Not a strong skater technically though.
Oh well, you can't have it all.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

True. I wonder if she can work a bit on that part though, or maybe there is nothing she can do about it.
I always thought that the criticism Irina Slutskaya got for that was a bit too much, because I thought maybe she can't do that much to change that. Although Meagan is better than her in terms of movement, IMO.

I was thinking that Stefania Berton would've been great for Eric. Not a strong skater technically though.
Oh well, you can't have it all.

Irina was always a strong, power skater in my mind and she would have been VERY out of place as a pairs skater.

 

[Alba]

Irina was always a strong, power skater in my mind and she would have been VERY out of place as a pairs skater.

No of course. She just came in my mind because she too had more or less the same problem, in terms of lines etc., and she got very much criticised for that. I'm thinking maybe the girl couldn't do more to change that. That's what she was.

 

[Orange Cat]

I think the "problem" (if that is a problem) is that Eric is very much a classical pair skater. He does have beautiful lines and movements, while Meagan looks more an athletic. It's like they have two different styles of skating.

Yup. This is definitely how they come across to me. They both skated with fantastic energy so that the vocals didn't overwhelm their performance, so that helped 'cover' their different styles of skating a bit, but it's evident that they have different styles even from the way they warm up (she does these fantastically deep swizzles etc while he strokes into jumps and spins etc). They have chemistry - otherwise the vocals would have overwhelmed them, I think - but there's an odd disconnect in their skating styles.

Stolbova and Klimov were fantastically smooth and clinically precise - which worked for their SP. I was fine with all the placements. Interested to see how things pan out tomorrow!

 

[Violet Bliss]

If only we can merge Meagan and Nurami........ and for that matter, J10 and Reynolds, Balde and Rogozine, Brown and Aaron..........

 

[Excidra2001]

Trankov said when he commented on Russian Eurosport 2 yesterday that they really have problems with skating together. They skate on parallel lines almost all the time, or they just doing simple dance holds. He thinks it's easier in transitions and overall, and there's even a joke about them around professional skaters that they're two solo skaters who skate as pair.

Is Trankov encouraging the bullying? Because making jokes about ones abilities or lack thereof
Is not funny and it is a form of bullying.

For those who said he is offering a fair assessement of D/R skate, the bystander is just as disgusting as the bully.

Geta grip, Trankov.

 

[peg]

Is Trankov encouraging the bullying? Because making jokes about ones abilities or lack thereof
Is not funny and it is a form of bullying.

For those who said he is offering a fair assessement of D/R skate, the bystander is just as disgusting as the bully.

Geta grip, Trankov.

I'm sorry, but how is this bullying? Are you saying that a commentator isn't allowed to comment on a pair's weaknesses? Just because you happen to disagree with his assessment doesn't mean it's bullying

 

[wallylutz]

Is Trankov encouraging the bullying? Because making jokes about ones abilities or lack thereof
Is not funny and it is a form of bullying.

For those who said he is offering a fair assessement of D/R skate, the bystander is just as disgusting as the bully.

Geta grip, Trankov.

Being over the top patriotic is a must these days for Russian TV, whether it's sports or otherwise. Can't blame them really, there is nothing else to talk about when things are as dire as they are in the motherland. Rouble hitting another historical low today against the U.S. dollar and Euro, inflation zooming way past 10% and food prices are skyrocketing with threatening shortages and Russian banks on the verge of collapsing with their foreign currency denominated debts being called by the end of this month and next year. Trankov is probably told to "spice" it up by the network, following Putin's speech in Russia's State of Union last week. Nothing like glory in sports to keep the country's morale up. Besides, these prize monies given out in US dollars just worth a lot more these days for Russians, so the difference between winning the GPF and finishing 2nd does make a huge difference. I feel sorry for them, these Skaters who are State sponsored must be under tremendous amount of pressure and they don't get to keep the prize money they win. Even when Slutskaya was commenting, she was over the top patriotic as well. What Trankov said is mild in comparison.