Adam Rippon Out of Nationals

[StitchMonkey]

Not really. It only takes one person off Jason's back, he's still got Max to contend with. Three into two is a marginally nicer equation than four into two, but it's still going to be one heck of a battle.

Well I think we can all agree that Nathan, Jason and Max's chance to go to 4CC has gone up dramatically.

 

[mrrice]

From Karne,
Not really. It only takes one person off Jason's back, he's still got Max to contend with. Three into two is a marginally nicer equation than four into two, but it's still going to be one heck of a battle.

Correct, it certainly makes his job easier but, I still have Max as the #2 skater. Frankly, I'd love to see Max take the title but, as long as he earns his ticket to Worlds, I'll be happy. The thing about Jason is that when he's healthy, he's very tough to beat as he rarely makes mistakes. Nathan and Max can certainly beat him from a TES stand point. However, if Jason can his land quad in the LP, his PCS number could push Max and Nathan down one spot. Even without Adam, the US still has a very strong chance of keeping 3 spots as we head into the Olympic Season. I feel bad in not having Grant or Ross on the podium but, they really haven't delivered a strong program at any events this season. Adam will be back.

 

[zschultz1986]

Not really. It only takes one person off Jason's back, he's still got Max to contend with. Three into two is a marginally nicer equation than four into two, but it's still going to be one heck of a battle.

I doubt Max will get the scores necessary to get close to Jason, unless Max is skating two pristine programs, and/or Jason makes numerous mistakes. Max's season best is 24 points lower than Jason's. Adam's was less than a point. I'm not hating on Max, I'm just giving you the numbers.


BTW, if Worlds places were done by season's best scores, right now the US would have three spots for next year. (Nathan 4th, Jason 8th) Obviously though, we will have to see how Worlds shakes out.

 

[Mrs. P]

Well I think we can all agree that Nathan, Jason and Max's chance to go to 4CC has gone up dramatically.

And this year 4CC is not a bad consolation prize (for No. 3) considering its a test event for the Pyeongchang venue. And given the level of competition that will likely be there, getting a 4CC medal might be just as tough as getting one at Worlds.

I doubt Max will get the scores necessary to get close to Jason, unless Max is skating two pristine programs, and/or Jason makes numerous mistakes. Max's season best is 24 points lower than Jason's. Adam's was less than a point. I'm not hating on Max, I'm just giving you the numbers.


BTW, if Worlds places were done by season's best scores, right now the US would have three spots for next year. (Nathan 4th, Jason 8th) Obviously though, we will have to see how Worlds shakes out.

We haven't seen Jason in a while, so it's hard for me to tell if we'll see SA (which earned that #8 SB) Jason or NHK (where he got his lowest senior score EVER) Jason. If NHK Jason shows up and Max continues his upward trajectory, it's not out of the question for Jason to be the one staying at home.

 

[gravy]

Hopefully his ankle sprain is minor because some are just really gnarly.

On the positive side, if his broken foot is his biggest issue he should be back to 100% in a couple of weeks. Bone fractures will always heal back to full strength while ligament injuries never do.

He was really coming into his own this season, too. Hopefully his recovery goes according to plan; you can't really get any better facilities for sport injuries than the OTC.

 

[Hyena]

I'm heartbroken for Adam. I was really struck by his confidence and drive on the call. I agree that he should definitely keep his long program, which still has so much room for growth. I kind of hope he keeps his short too, or does something similar. He's the only male skater I can think of doing something along those lines right now.

I have to say, I totally agree that Phil Hersh's questions was inappropriate. I generally have no problem with Phil as a journalist even when I disagree with what he writes, but that question had absolutely nothing to do with Adam and was very insensitive. Phil didn't ask about Nathan driving Adam (something Adam actually did speak about) but only about Nathan's growth this season. Fine as a second question to Adam if the mod had asked for a second round of questions, but not as the first question from Phil or so early on in the call.

 

[Tavi...]

I think if PH had asked Adam if he would be looking at Nathan's recovery as inspiration for his own, or something like that, he would have gotten a very different answer - and one that may well have encompassed the answer Phil actually wanted. It's simply that implied in the question as asked was "Nathan's the only one who really matters."

And Moria Polonius you have fantastic English - to the point where I forget it's not your native tongue. You and TMC put me to shame!

 

[mrrice]

Sounds like Phil embarrassed himself more than anything. He could have easily asked something along the lines of, "Who do you feel is the favorite now that you've withdrawn?" and would have probably gotten the answer that he wanted.

Completely true. It's journalism 101. The question should have been "With your sudden withdrawal from the Championships, who do you think is next in line to be Champion?" Then Adam could have said, I've been focusing on myself and my results but, we have a great team of skaters and any one of them could be the next Champion. That way, he answers the question without really answering it. It's an interview tactic. Kind of like saying, "It was a great experience and I learned a lot" When they ask you how you liked the horrible tour you just returned from.

 

[topaz emerald]

Maria Sotskova posted a sweet get well message to Adam with a picture of the two of them hugging.

https://instagram.com/p/BPDix54gOeX/

just love her skating, the real russian queen

eta: loved Adam's bird program, and I wish him a strong comeback.

 

[noskates]

The thing about Jason is he gets better as the season goes on and is usually very well-prepared by the time Nationals rolls around. Don't ever count him out or think that quads alone are going to beat him - both Nathan and Max need to bring more than that to the table. What I'm going to miss the most with Adam being out is his artistry. While I liked last year's program more (probably because the music was engaging) he still is a joy to watch when he's "on!" What worries me is his age and his ability to recover quickly.

 

[karne]

The thing about Jason is he gets better as the season goes on and is usually very well-prepared by the time Nationals rolls around. Don't ever count him out or think that quads alone are going to beat him - both Nathan and Max need to bring more than that to the table.

But the opposite has been true this season. Jason started out beautifully, with those great skates at Glacier Falls, Lombardia, and then Skate America, before the complete meltdown at NHK. Max started very slowly, barely breaking 200 at Collegiates, rough at Lombardia and ACI, having to scramble his way back up at CoR, and then missing a medal by one point at CoC. But Max's scores have been increasing steadily, his FS gets better with each outing and now he has a sparkling new SP. I really think that he's going to do a whole lot better at US Nationals than people are giving him credit for.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Back on topic: I'm really sad to see that Adam is out of Nationals and hope he heals up 110% for next season. I also think he handled the :dev2: AKA Phil like a boss. :2thumbs:

 

[SnowWhite]

Hopefully his ankle sprain is minor because some are just really gnarly.

On the positive side, if his broken foot is his biggest issue he should be back to 100% in a couple of weeks. Bone fractures will always heal back to full strength while ligament injuries never do.

He was really coming into his own this season, too. Hopefully his recovery goes according to plan; you can't really get any better facilities for sport injuries than the OTC.

A couple of weeks? He said he's expected to be off the ice for 8 to 12 weeks and he'll have more images done of his foot in a month to make sure it's healing well and he still doesn't need surgery.

 

[gravy]

A couple of weeks? He said he's expected to be off the ice for 8 to 12 weeks and he'll have more images done of his foot in a month to make sure it's healing well and he still doesn't need surgery.

Yes, I can read. My point was to emphasize the fact that a bone fracture is not some catastrophic event. 8-12 weeks isn't that long compared to something like 6-12 months after a ligament tear to feel somewhat back to normal. But that's if his bone fracture heals as expected.

 

[MarkusNJ]

Perhaps his theme, the bird with the broken wing who can still fly, was a bit of foreshadowing for this season, into the Olympic season....

 

[Spiralgraph]

Surely, Phil prepared more questions than one about Nathan Chen (or maybe he didn't) that he could have asked Adam instead. It was inappropriate, especially after Hersh's latest write-up about Mens figure skating. I'm waiting for the day Phil turns his back on Nathan.

I agree Phil is a sourpuss much of the time. If a skater disappoints him, Phil will turn on him or her so fast Phil would probably suffer whiplash in return.

 

[da96103]

Adam's teleconference started off with him reading a statement about his injury and withdrawal. Then the journalists began to ask questions, e.g., when are you going to Colorado to start rehab.

Phil Hersh then asked out of the blue something like, can you tell us what changes you've noticed in Nathan over the past year?

Adam: that's totally inappropriate Phil.

Dead silence.

Go Adam! And get well soon.

I don't understand the rationale of Phil's question. Would Adam have some idea of changes in Nathan that we did not see throughout the year? Nathan made his debut and managed to perform a four quad FS.

Is that what Phil wanted Adam to say?

Any other changes that occur after GPF should not be revealed by Adam since he is not involved in the coaching. Adam has no locus standi to talk about Nathan.

Phil should already know that as a veteran reporter. The question is a throwing shade manœuvre.

 

[Tavi...]

I don't understand the rationale of Phil's question. Would Adam have some idea of changes in Nathan that we did not see throughout the year? Nathan made his debut and managed to perform a four quad FS.

Is that what Phil wanted Adam to say?

Any other changes that occur after GPF should not be revealed by Adam since he is not involved in the coaching. Adam has no locus standi to talk about Nathan.

Phil should already know that as a veteran reporter. The question is a throwing shade manœuvre.

Though I don't know for sure, I assume he was looking for something like, wow, Nathan was super at the GPF and has made amazing progress on the consistency of his jumps and in his artistry in such a short time and he's poised to be a contender for world medals - something that fits with Phil's narrative that Nathan is the only US male skater worth paying attention to and it will be a crime if he's not national champ this year and on the World and Olympic Teams.

I dont mean to sound dismissive of Nathan - he's done amazing things this year and he doesn't control Phil or other journalists.

 

[ice coverage]

I don't understand the rationale of Phil's question. Would Adam have some idea of changes in Nathan that we did not see throughout the year? ...

Duhhh ... I think it is a reasonable premise that compared to fans like us who see Nathan for the most part only in competition, someone who has trained with Nathan for several years could indeed have a different perspective on and/or extra insight into this season's changes in Nathan. YMMV.

[ETA: Speaking for myself, I don't think I am alone among fans in not knowing a lot about juniors in general. I had relatively little awareness of Nathan until last season, whereas Adam and Nathan have been training together for quite a few years.]​

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In his announcement at the top of the call, Adam spoke proudly (justifiably proudly) of being a "professional" skater (with a wry aside to acknowledge that professional skaters technically still are amateurs).
I like Adam a lot, and my heart goes out to him that he is injured. When I had the pleasure of meeting him in person, I indeed was very favorably impressed by his professionalism in many respects.
It was Adam's prerogative to dislike Hersh's question and to not want to address it, but even so, I feel that in this case, Adam (even with his very recent and season-ending injury) could have responded with greater professionalism than he did. YMMV.

Regardless of that opinion: As I said before, I regret -- for Adam's sake -- that he missed the opportunity to do himself a favor and give reporters a good quote to help keep him in the conversation as others go forward without him to compete for the U.S. title and for spots on the World team (and as a team at Worlds, for the number of slots at the Olympics and 2018 Worlds).

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ETA:

... ... Phil's narrative that Nathan is the only US male skater worth paying attention to ....

If there were truth to your opinion that Phil's narrative is that Nathan is the only U.S. man worth paying attention to, why did Phil in fact live-tweet five times (more than any other reporter on the call) to report on Adam's announcement of his injury?

 

[skylark]

If there were truth to your opinion that Phil's narrative is that Nathan is the only U.S. man worth paying attention to, why did Phil in fact live-tweet five times (more than any other reporter on the call) to report on Adam's announcement of his injury?

I would say Phil clearly felt guilty for being such a jerk, and tried to make up for his insensitive question.