Dear friends, I thought I would go man by man... and give you a report of how i felt things were at the rink... however... well everyone is pretty gloomy about the men event so I will just chime in with a general post for now... and perhaps a few details...
I had to walk from TD place to my hotel which is a pretty good distance... all the buses were full and there is no point waiting at this time of the day for the next bus... which may risk being full and is 30 minutes later... so I was reflecting about the men on my way back...
First, let's go back to the first competitor... Shaquille Davis... he was so much fun to watch, almost landed a perfect 4S and his triple axel was also almost there.... I thought we would be in for a treat...
Well let's go back before the competition.... when knowing that the 1st guy to skate can land a quad... and that many more guys can too... including a 15 year old boy... and that Kevin has 2 planned in his program... it think that everyone got really nervous about their SP. For instance, how often have we seen Nam struggling on his combo??? His 4S has been a very stable jump for him as well... I mean many guys struggled with their combo which in theory, is the easiest element for many in the SP... (compared to a quad taken out of steps and a 3A)
Laurent Guay skated really well... His program was so refined... His Base value is way too low for him to get anywhere but he was a definite pleasure to watch.
Samuel Morais has a very nice 3A...
I really disliked Anthony's music... fake medieval boom box music sounds so bad in a rink...
Edrian Paul Celestino is so much fun... Nice 3-3
Mitchell Gordon skated well to a very sleep inducing program.
Bennet is so nice to watch... but he usually does a bit better technically... I hope he redeems himself tomorrow, just like his "gal"
Joseph : I don't think he has a 3A yet.... anyways he did a double near the very end so I guess he doesn't.... well get one soon because you have tons of potential
Roman is special. His speed, his edges, his presence.... i loved watching him.
Elladj : OMG he is so smooth.... like he is gliding on the ice without any effort. his 3a and combo were great and his skate was the highlight of the men's event... I wasn't sure I liked his spins much though.... but the rest.. WOW... He got a huge standing ovation and you could see how emotional he was.... As he always bombs at Canadians, I think he was pretty happy with this skate.
Keegan... oh why....
Nic... OMG OH WHY... gorgeous but gorgeous 3A.. it was amazing.. the rest... UGH... He kept us connected though because he is a great showman.
Nam : well I have my answers : he is slower... but not by much... the issue is that he does slow down before the jumps... I have no idea how he managed to land the 3a.... he had no speed at all... he just went up and landed it.... If he learns to acquire speed and then use the momentum of the speed in his timing , he could be a superstar. The biggest question we all had was ? OH??? He is done with Polina's coach in California and back in Ontario??? WTH??? I was surprised by his spins in a positive way... he is not below average here compared to the other guys tonight... some struggled with centering and speed much more than him. So I wish him to feel happy in his new environment... He has a great showman personality and I hope we get to see him reach his full potential one day.
Kevin... I have always been a huge fan of Kevin... I still am but it was easier to see why sometimes he doesn't get the judges' love... Seeing him live exposes a lot of issues....Beautifully constructed program though that hides his lack of speed. He had very slow spins though and his footwork didn't do it for me.
Liam.. If you are going to strip for us, do it after you skate.. before can work too... but not during...
PATRICK ohhh my chiddy.... I think he felt the splat fest that was happening... still... despite the small errors, it was a gorgeous skate. Patrick is true magic.... he is carving in the ice like his blades are knives into butter... so smooth... the way he moves.. he is constantly turning and turning...
i have always loved Patrick's Skating... but now it's even more

when you have watched 21 men, and you see patrick... you just give the high scores... he deserves every point he gets. As I said, I was impressed by his spin. they are nicer than on tv...
I am falling asleep as a type and I haven't had my drink

nor organized my day tomorrow.... and i was hoping to watch tennis... and write two more reports... so that will be it for the men

ladies and dance later
