Can Chan be on the top again?

[Caustica]

To me it sounds like Patrick only watched the free skates of Yuzu and Javier. Both their free skates this year can reasonably be said to be similar in style to their free skates last year. Their free programs are very different though... Hopefully he gets around to watching them sometime.

I guess he has no obligation to watch the complete programs of his biggest competitors (although to me it would make a lot of sense to watch them closely... know your competition) but it's just so him to say something that sounds totally offensive.

Not sure exactly what Patrick means by "pushing the boundaries, program-wise" because every year people come up with many different styles of programmes. And this year should have been especially exciting if change is what he's after, due to the inclusion of lyrics. Oh well,

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I wouldn't put too much stock into anything this author writes. He totally failed to capture the correct tone of Ashley Wagner's interview prior to GPF. That article caused a lot of drama also

 

[fallingsk8er]

I like the fact that he says what's on his mind and doesn't give those cookie cutter responses. He is a trash-talking athlete just like in any other sport. Also, I agree with him that the programs this year for the top men were nothing special ...well, except for Jason Brown.

 

[daphenaxa]

Won't Chan keep his Chopin FS?
How is that pushing the boundaries for the sport when a lot of people including Yuzuru (whose skating is apparently boring and not worth Chan's time) did really good programs to Chopin?
How is it pushing the boundaries for Chan himself, when he has been skating to Rachmaninov his whole career?
Don't get me wrong, I love Chopin and I love Rachmaninov but these are not groundbreaking choices.

It is difficult to explain how much I despise what he is saying here. Also it kinda makes me laugh how Max Trankov was crucified by Canadian media because he criticised the high PCS Duhamel and Radford got. And then Chan comes and say something 10x more disrespectful and it's ok.

 

[silverfoxes]

I cannot imagine what Patrick remark will be if someone ask him about Plushenko returning :hopelessness:

He can say whatever he wants. Plushy is the last person who would lose sleep over anything that comes out of his mouth.

I like the fact that he says what's on his mind and doesn't give those cookie cutter responses. He is a trash-talking athlete just like in any other sport. Also, I agree with him that the programs this year for the top men were nothing special ...well, except for Jason Brown.

And what was so special about Jason's programs? I thought his programs last season were 100% better.

Javi's Black Betty, Misha Ge's programs, Denis's FS, Tatsuki's Symphony No. 9...these were "nothing special"?

It is difficult to explain how much I despise what he is saying here. Also it kinda makes me laugh how Max Trankov was crucified by Canadian media because he criticised the high PCS Duhamel and Radford got. And then Chan comes and say something 10x more disrespectful and it's ok.

Where's CSG? He's in every thread ranting for pages & pages whenever a non-Canadian skater expresses their opinions (in dozens of threads, even years after the fact ).

 

[Marin]

Yuzuru's Chopin Ballade was nothing special ?! Patrick being Patrick forever....

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

It is difficult to explain how much I despise what he is saying here. Also it kinda makes me laugh how Max Trankov was crucified by Canadian media because he criticised the high PCS Duhamel and Radford got. And then Chan comes and say something 10x more disrespectful and it's ok.

Being disrespectful isn't okay coming from anyone, Chan, Trankov, whoever. And I've acknowledged many times that I don't like Chan's comments. Doesn't take away from the fact that he's a sensational figure skater.

 

[Ophelia]

Never forget - http://i58.tinypic.com/xlj9qw.jpg

 

[sabaism]

*sighs* why does Patrick have to be so negative? He should really put his feet on the ice instead of in his mouth -.- ETA: I can't support a skater who consistenly says such things. Seperating the artist from his art is much easier than seperating the skater and his skating I do think he can be on top again. The men's field is all about whether everybody can keep it together and whether everybody is injury free or not. It's kind of unpredictable, which makes it really fun to watch!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I cannot imagine what Patrick remark will be if someone ask him about Plushenko returning :hopelessness:

Not that Patrick isn't known for outrageous remarks, but he has actually been far classier with regards to Plushenko than vice versa... certainly hasn't said anything akin to Plushenko saying Chan's federation won him his World Championship in 2013. Chan could have easily retorted by saying Plushenko's reputation with his federation got him an Olympic spot instead of him earning a spot by competing at Euros.

And Chan hasn't been a poor sport when he's lost, compared to Plushenko's whining after losing to Lysacek in 2010. If I recall correctly, he was actually highly complimentary about Plushenko appearing in Sochi.

 

[andromache]

One of the nice parts about his comments was his discussion of working with Nam and realizing that mentoring is a two-way road as far as listening and learning goes.

Just trying to show that there were some positive things said in his interview

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Will the tape of the conference call be made available? Or has it already?

 

[Mrs. P]

One of the nice parts about his comments was his discussion of working with Nam and realizing that mentoring is a two-way road as far as listening and learning goes.

Just trying to show that there were some positive things said in his interview

I'm interested in the new ice wine! That sounds tasty!

 

[silverfoxes]

Not that Patrick isn't known for outrageous remarks, but he has actually been far classier with regards to Plushenko than vice versa... certainly hasn't said anything akin to Plushenko saying Chan's federation won him his World Championship in 2013. Chan could have easily retorted by saying Plushenko's reputation with his federation got him an Olympic spot instead of him earning a spot by competing at Euros.

And Chan hasn't been a poor sport when he's lost, compared to Plushenko's whining after losing to Lysacek in 2010. If I recall correctly, he was actually highly complimentary about Plushenko appearing in Sochi.

Really, you want to go there again? Plushenko was FAR from the only person to express that opinion. Why are you so fixated on him? It's borderline obsessive.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...ds-20130317_1_yuna-kim-gracie-gold-free-skate

Chan has said enough other questionable things over the years to at least put him on par with Plushy.

edit - anyone remember this? As I said earlier, if PChan wants to criticize others he has the right to do so, but the hypocrisy is astounding.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com...-disses-joubert-his-french-skating-rival.html

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Anyway, he says he doesn't care about the medals... it actually sounds more like he does but he's trying to make it sound like he doesn't

Hard to say. He's already won everything except Olympic gold, so his motivation next season isn't necessarily trying to win (although I'm sure he hopes to).

I think he's genuine about actually trying to improve as a skater because he's actually intending to show up in the middle of the quadrennial to compete in multiple events, instead of just showing up in an Olympic season to try to improve on his silver.

I really dislike his comments towards the men's field, though. I get what he's trying to say in that the envelope isn't being completely pushed... but he's really neglecting fantastic performances by Fernandez in his SP and by Ten in his 4CC FS (Machida also had good programs). Even Hanyu's SP was a demonstration of trying to push himself artistically. And it's very offensive to say that he skimmed through other skaters' programs, waiting for the jumping passes or whatever. I also find it really unfortunate that he makes a sweeping opinion about the field being not very special, but then admits to not even seeing the field's final performances at Worlds, when they usually bring their best.

As Trankov is towards D/R, I don't like Chan disparaging somebody like Fernandez for playing to their strengths and doing what it takes to win. It might not be the way Trankov or Chan would themselves win a competition, but it's still legit and deserved.

 

[demarinis5]

I'm interested in the new ice wine! That sounds tasty!

That comment caught my eye, wondering if he was serious or playing with the interviewer.

Patrick's comments do not surprise me as he does have a bit of foot in the mouth syndrome.
He has made comments that have made me cringe in the past but I believe he is a good guy and
is well liked and respected by other skaters.

Can he be on top again, sure he has the goods but it will be tough with the current crop of skaters
including Jason Brown who imo right know is the one to watch out for. Patrick will be playing catch up
but heck maybe that is what is motivating him.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Really, you want to go there again? Plushenko was FAR from the only person to express that opinion. Why are you so fixated on him? It's borderline obsessive.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...ds-20130317_1_yuna-kim-gracie-gold-free-skate

Chan has said enough other questionable things over the years to at least put him on par with Plushy.

edit - anyone remember this? As I said earlier, if PChan wants to criticize others he has the right to do so, but the hypocrisy is astounding.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com...-disses-joubert-his-french-skating-rival.html

My response was in response to somebody else's post about what Chan's reaction would be to Plushenko returning. And I said that he would probably be complimentary about it, as he was with Plushenko showing up in Sochi. But the poster assumed Chan would be negative about it, to which I retorted it certainly wouldn't be as negative as anything Plushenko has asserted about him.

As I will reiterate, it's never okay when any skater says disparaging things and whether it's Chan/Trankov/Joubert/Plushenko/Weir/etc. it really reflects poorly. Also when authors like Hersh suggest things like Chan's championship was homecooked that is never good for the sport either. It completely dismisses things like Chan having a strong SP, having two quads in his LP to Ten's one, and Ten doubling two triples. Ten still should have won, but to say that a federation orchestrates that stuff without any actual proof is wrong. Saying the judges got it wrong is one thing (since, hey, that's figure skating for you) but you can't claim tampering by a federation unless you can prove it -- that's practically libel/slander.

 

[daphenaxa]

Not that Patrick isn't known for outrageous remarks, but he has actually been far classier with regards to Plushenko than vice versa... certainly hasn't said anything akin to Plushenko saying Chan's federation won him his World Championship in 2013. Chan could have easily retorted by saying Plushenko's reputation with his federation got him an Olympic spot instead of him earning a spot by competing at Euros.

And Chan hasn't been a poor sport when he's lost, compared to Plushenko's whining after losing to Lysacek in 2010. If I recall correctly, he was actually highly complimentary about Plushenko appearing in Sochi.

lol are you kidding? Chan was ABSOLUTELY not complimentary of Plushenko when he appeared at Sochi. He made pretty clear he didn't think he was a rival, said competing in both Team and individuals must be "a lot of work, because he is what? 30?" and also let know that he thought he didn't belong there : "Who would have thought, after what happened at nationals, that they would have sent him?"
I can appreciate the snark but these are not super classy remarks!
Also he isn't the best sport either with his "I let him win" GPF 13 remark or when he said he left room for Takahashi and others to beat him but they didn't step up at WC12.

 

[beki]

I disagree with Chan. The men's field was more thrilling this year than last, even without him. I don't think Yuzu and Javi have reached their max potential yet, but that's more of a plus than a minus, since it's exciting watching them progress. We have a lot to look forward to, and it will be a challenge for him to top them.

 

[HanDomi]

Well.... old "good" Chan...............:disapp: