Men's Free Skate - Thurs, 18th 8pm EST

[Dark-Eyes]

I was so upset about Johnny's scores I couldn't enjoy anything after. It was like I cried because his skating was so stunning, and then I cried again because his scores were tragic. So sad.
I'm sick of scoring under this system. I don't agree with many of the placements.
Evan deserved the gold, but not with the PCS he was given, and some of the other scores were ridiculous.
Plushy was throwing out URs left and right, and Lambiel's jumps were questionable. I'd like to see all of the calls on those.

 

[Big Deal]

This Olympic should be remembered as bad organized one, with one death and ridicolous judges. Plushenko is not only a genius, he is a legend, Lysacel is nothing comparing to Plush. A lot of sportsmen from lot of contries talking about bad room, awful food, and a lot of other memorable moments. The Best one was at the opening ceremony. I can not understand that. Canada has enough money, so what's the problem to do it properly...

Dear Ice-Lady! Your "sportmanship" is well-matched with your favourite skater's one.

 

[chiocciola]

A good article in Russian forum where a professional explained to ordinary fans why Plushy did not win)))

2 hours after naming Evan a champion Russian mass media started talking about antiPlushenko war.

You say - men skating can not be without a quad,
ok, let’s give a gold to Lambiel, who made two quads, not without errors, but his twirls, transitions footwork are the best.

You say – how come, he had errors both in the short and in the free, a champion must be consistent,
Ok, than Evan was the most consistent.

You say – but Plushy did 4+3
Ok, but Evan got overall better scores, we’ll make a parallel: Greece became Euro champion in 2004, but the Portuguese were more spectacular and won over the English, but the rule is that the one who scores better, wins, not the one who is more risky and interesting.

The sport is called figure skating – not jumping on the ice to music. It’s like combosports where you swim, ride a byke and run and overall fastest becomes a winner.
Evan won not because he’s a great sportsman, but because he found a balance.
New system has stimulated progress in skating but jumps became unwanted. 4 years ago we had 7 quads for three medalists, now 2 – regress, no, progress but in other direction and crisis…
Crisis in lack of physical training.
I wish our authorities paid attention to this fact and hired professional doctors, coaches who could help in this matter but not to those who are already twenty, gradually, starting from boys and girls.
To those to whom this system may seem unfair, Dura lex, sed lex.

I still would have given gold to Daisuke((( He could have got better PCS

 

[jennylovskt]

Evan deserved the gold, but not with the PCS he was given, and some of the other scores were ridiculous.

If it wasn't that PCS, Evan won't have the gold, you know.

 

[screech]

Ottavio Cinquanta's take on Plush's comments (from after the SP but fitting now)

Ottavio Cinquanta of Italy, president of the International Skating Union, thinks Evgeni Plushenko’s attitude toward skating makes him like a virtuoso pianist who wants to play only Chopin.

Whether the judges agree with Cinquanta may be a factor in the outcome of the Olympic men’s figure skating Thursday night.

"Of course, Plushenko would like to decide the gold medal only on the basis of jumps," Cinquanta said Thursday morning. "But we have to respect the abilities of a skater like Johnny Weir as well.

"We ask a pianist to perform more than Chopin. We ask a figure skater to do not only jumps but spins and footwork. Figure skating is not only jumping, otherwise we become guilty of the accusation we are only an acrobatic sport."

I think that's a pretty good simile actually.

"The best restaurant doesn’t offer only the best steak," Cinquanta said. "It also offers the best wine and the best vegetables."

Both Plushenko and his coach, Alexei Mishin, have been on a soapbox about the quad, trying to sway opinion with the assertion that skaters who do not do one belong to a bygone age.

"That’s the future of figure skating," Plushenko said after his short program. "Without the quad, it’s not men’s figure skating."

Cinquanta feels Plushenko, the reigning Olympic champion, is "absolutely not wrong and absolutely not right."

"Plushenko cannot snob footwork and spins," Cinquanta said. "He doesn’t like it, but I am not here to serve Plushenko.

Cinquanta said Russian skating officials were right in asking to have images of Plushenko’s weak points at the 2006 Olympics removed from instructional videos that would be used in seminars for judges. USA Today first reported last week that Plushenko was taken off the videos.

"I believe that is an acceptable argument," Cinquanta said. "He was saying, 'I am a skater entered in the Olympic Games. [To] use my image in what you consider not a very positive way and show this on the occasion of a seminar is not fair to me. It informs the judges that Plushenko is weak in this area.' "

More good statements from Speedy

Cinquanta also said Plushenko wants to have it both ways -- to have a quad worth even more points than it is now but not be penalized as harshly for failure if one tries it.

"He is saying, 'I try the quad. If I don’t make it, give me nine points; if I do, give me 15,' " Cinquanta said. "No, no, my friend."

I kind of like how Speedy is basically saying to Plush 'it's not all about you'. And I like that he responded to the criticisms that Plush and Mishin had.

 

[Ice-Lady]

Chan? Wait. Are you talking to me? I didn't say anything about Chan either ... I said China .. you know, the country that borders Russia and is the country with the biggest population in the world ...

But if you're not talking to me, then oops.

LOL. I know the difference between China and Chan. But thank you very much for your explanation. I said, what i wanted say.

 

[PolymerBob]

Way to go Evan !!!!! You're the winner !!!!!!! Great job !!!!!!

Of course, somebody used to say there was a gentlemen's agreement that ISU judges would not reverse the order imposed by National judges. I guess that doesn't apply anymore. : )

 

[Alatariel]

whole post

Yes, well OC is in a bit of bind at the moment. He was after the SP, and in an even bigger bind now. Way too many negative comments on the mediocre drone's victory so yes...

 

[bibi24]

Congrats Lysacek!! Great job

Plushenko would have won had he done the second quad like he stated previously at Euro's.
Also no triple flip.... interesting. He could have also done the lutz/flip - 2A sequence....

Awesome showing by all men in the long program!!

Fantastic judging!!

Dai chan's SP is definitely my favorite program of the YEAR!

Johnny Weir.... his skating is too show to garner the necessary PCS, still unbelievable showman :thumbsup:

 

[screech]

I'm not Evan's biggest fan (though I believe he deserved his win) and all I can do is think of the Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady won over fast and flashy. Same thing here. A story with a moral that came true at these Games.

A good article in Russian forum where a professional explained to ordinary fans why Plushy did not win)))

Great post with the explanation to the general public. But alas, no matter what we say or do, people are going to believe what they want and have their own opinions. That's what happens when you're a fan of a sport that has a subjective aspect to it.

 

[Dark-Eyes]

If it wasn't that PCS, Evan won't have the gold, you know.

Yeah I know, because Plushy's program was over-scored.

 

[nghtvsn]

My 2 cents.

Dennis Ten is going through some rough growing pains but it was good to see his performance. I hated the program though. I liked another version of this that had more powerful music rather than the slow version he was putting out there.

Abbott at least finished in the top 10 and pulled the 2nd half of his program together. I'm sure we'll see him in Russia.

Weir skated alright but it was just a decent average performance to me. Scott tried to claim that's the best he's EVER skated. C'mon Scott. Where's the 3a/3t combo?

Lambiel had a nice program but Sandra and Scott were right in that it was a flat performance. His jumps were to shaky. I really would have liked to see him nail his quads more cleanly though.

Evan's performance reminded me of Sarah Hughes in that he skated early so had to watch what all the top contenders were going to do later. He like Sarah skated without hesitation and just laid down the gauntlet and no one was able to overtake him. That was impressive and I was happy with his performance. I don't think the program was that memorable however.

Takahashi didn't need to do the quad in order to win and that fall nearly cost him the bronze. I think a clean program as Sandra was mentioning would have been more challenging to Evan and Plush but he still had a nice performance overall but again it wasn't very memorable.

Oda had a nice program but I again agree with Sandra in that it felt a bit Junior-ish or maybe I just didn't get it. It was cute and all but I perferred the more power and display of his speed that he showed in the SP. It was a shame that he had that break in the program too.

Plush had a very front loaded program like Sandra and Scott mentioned. His 4t/3t was a nice combo but it wasn't the best quad he's ever done. In fact, his program like most of the other skaters wasn't that memorable to me. All I can really remember besides the jump barrage was some very slow spins and hip grinding at the end. He earned the correct medal.

Overall, I thought it was a good competition that was fairly judged. I still think Weir got jobbed in the SP though. I'm wondering what happened to the 3a/3t combo and why most of the top men don't appear to do that anymore.

 

[ManyCairns]

Would someone mind describing what Johnny did? ISU doesn't have its site updated, NBC just lists results as far as I can tell, and I won't download NBC's video player because I use Mozilla and anyway video practically crashes my slow connection. I see he skated clean and well and someone said he was gracious in trying to calm a booing crowd, so I guess his scores were in wuzrobbed land in many folks' view, but could someone just give me a plain English description of how he did? What did he do jumpwise? Did he rock it and enjoy himself? Thanks~

Congrats to the medalists, can't believe Plushy didn't win, good though for Evan (and really for Frank!) and so happy for Dai all in all.

 

[Ice-Lady]

LOL, that's it, that Plushenko has it all, steps, jumps, spins, artistry, just everything. This transition stuff is ... Transitions are some connecting elements between Programms, so if you don't have the Elements, you don't have to connect them. Weir siad, that Plushenko was the best this evening, so...

 

[bigsisjiejie]

It's no problem to see black or white in this question. It's definitely Plushenko, the real OC. He did everything and did it well. Not as brilliant, as he can do it, but brilliant compare to Lysacek. But it's normal for the Games in NA, Let me say Slutzkaya 2002 or Sale Pelletier. Maybee it's fair, because USA pay a lot of money for Olympics, so they want to have their own laws...

Such sour grapes from you! Such Russian sour grapes! Plushenko didn't do everything, and he didn't do much particularly well. Even his jumping wasn't up to his usual standards. Dai should have had the silver over Plushy. May I respectfully suggest you put your Russian flag down and get an examination from a good eye doctor.

Also, do keep your crying towel handy, as you will need it when the Russians again come up short in the dance competition, just like in the pairs. )

 

[Alatariel]

I'm not Evan's biggest fan (though I believe he deserved his win) and all I can do is think of the Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady won over fast and flashy. Same thing here. A story with a moral that came true at these Games.

The only moral here is that if the games are in N.America the rest of the world needn't even bother coming.

 

[screech]

Still re-watching, Evan also did more jumps after the 2 minute mark I think than Plush did. If Plush did a jump a bit later on, that could have made a difference as well. To me it's a matter of him expecting the system to bend to his will, rather than him bending to what the system rewards.

If Plush had skated (IMO) in a way that deserved the gold then I'd be defending him. but his shaky landings and lack of making the most of the system (which he's more than capable of doing) is what cost him.

IMO he's lucky Dai went for the quad and missed it, because if Dai had played it safe, I think that Plush would likely have won a bronze instead of silver.

 

[Ice-Lady]

Such sour grapes from you! Such Russian sour grapes! Plushenko didn't do everything, and he didn't do much particularly well. Even his jumping wasn't up to his usual standards. Dai should have had the silver over Plushy. May I respectfully suggest you put your Russian flag down and get an examination from a good eye doctor.

Also, do keep your crying towel handy, as you will need it when the Russians again come up short in the dance competition, just like in the pairs. )

I never said, that he was brilliant, but he was better than the rest. It's not national opinion, I am living in Germany and commentators said it's no way Plushenko is not an Olympic Champion.

 

[bibi24]

I'm wondering what happened to the 3a/3t combo and why most of the top men don't appear to do that anymore.

Only allowed to repeat two jumps in the LP, with a maximum of 8 jumping passes/sequence/elements.

Most choose to repeat Axels and Lutz as they are worth more than the toe.

Real SHAME as 3A-3T used to be the staple combination for men's competition 80s-90s-2000....

 

[Hadria]

Fell asleep last night, it's hard for us Europeans.
Woke up and checked the news . WOW! My heart goes out for Stephane and Daisuke. I hoped Dai would win. But cheers to Evan!
A nice qoute from NYT about Evans ethics

But before this Olympics, Lysacek had put a note on his wall that said: Mind your own business. It was his reminder to keep his focus off other people and focus on his own skating. And it worked.

Lysacek, a two-time national champion, and Carroll never even talked about winning the gold medal. They just talked about work. Lysacek said he spent hours and hours on the details of skating, like footwork and spins, though that work was often mundane.

Many times, I resisted doing those things and practicing such simple moves, but, in the end, I know it's well-rounded skating that counts," he said.

It's a comfort to know that arrogance finally does one in.