As for TSL, my problem is that they aren't really snarky, they're mean. There is a difference. So I choose to ignore them but everyone has a right to their opinion. I would also second the idea of Phil Hersh having a podcast- that I would listen to.
I don't think people understand the lingo being used. I listened to the thing linked about Ashley being called "TOS" and it's not meant to be taken literally. Rather, it's an accurate assessment of someone slipping in their technical ability, named with an exaggerated term to playfully highlight the issue. This is even explicitly stated, so I don't understand how people are still confused. It's just a more colorful way of saying "this skater is probably not going to get back to the technical peak of their career."
A Phil Hersh podcast would be awful, why would you want to listen to that? I've never once heard him say anything insightful about the artistic worth of a program or what a skater could do to improve, particularly in terms of skating these days. He doesn't understand the system or even skating in a more objective sense. He's just someone who is paid to write about it, a literal armchair critic.
Well, we do know where the jump takes off
But you don't, nor do the tech callers many times it seems:
On the lutz, it's pretty clear the direction Karen is moving into the jump, that she has a great take-off, and she lands roughly right at 1/4 turn short, as her blade is flat and perpendicular compared to the direction the jump moved through the air.
Again I will repeat what I said:
When you do a real curved back outside edge takeoff on the Lutz, the blade is counter-rotating from the direction of the jump. When a skater glides backwards into a Lutz and takes off with ideal technique, they don't actually takeoff in the direction of that back glide, they take off "before" that point.
And no she usually doesn't land 1/4 "short" on her opening Lutzes of the program, those are usually perfectly backwards. She sometimes does land 1/4 "short" on her last lutz of the program though, or unfortunately even more than 1/4 turn "short" sometimes, which is when she does deserve to get the < call, based upon the current rules. She usually falls on the jump whenever she lands too short, but if she did manage to land the jump cleanly like that, then judges should be taking into account the other aspects of the jump and score the GOE accurately - the height, the takeoff edge, the lack of pre-rotation.
. The usfsa picks the people they decide they like, and considering I’d never heard of this girl before doesn’t bode well.
