Men's Free

[oleada]

I just went back and skimmed through other posters' opinions and found it really surprising so many people had found Evan's program aweful. I understand this program doesn't fit Evan's style "naturally" but I think this program had more personality than any of Evan's previous programs, and compared with how Johnny skated today Evan had more spark. I guess I am the only person in the world who enjoyed it.

.

Actually today I enjoyed Evan more than I have in a long time! I thought he would win or at least get silver. I'm glad Kozuka won though.

 

[Medusa]

Actually today I enjoyed Evan more than I have in a long time! I thought he would win or at least get silver. I'm glad Kozuka won though.

The judges enjoyed Evan too - they gave him 2 points more PCS than Johnny and 6 points more than Kozuka. He even got better Skating Skills than Johnny (maybe justified, because boy, was Johnny slow towards the end) and Kozuka (never justified).

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

A long and waited showdown between Johnny and Evan which resulted in a basically no decision. Neither one was crowned top man at SA. Not unlike Kozuka who skated rather tentatively (not like his SP), he gave them the room to battle it out. They didn't. Well, in less than 3 months we will see them at it again.
I for one, will not be anxious.

Kozuka threatened in the SP and deserved his win in the LP, too. (btw, I liked his non-costume. For me, it makes it look more like a Sport.)

One could forgive Adam for his errors in the SP but to repeat them again in the LP just wont do. Reynolds was knocking at the door for a medal. Do not underestimate him. Schultheiss was in pain. Don't underestimate him either. Shawn Sawyer was also skating well. Hope he can keep it up.

I'm thinking, with all seriousnes, what if Kevin Van De Perren had skated?

 

[Buttercup]

to answer the question though, his costume was like a waiter's uniform(white shirt, black slacks, black waistcoat, sparkly red bow-tie) topped off with a woman's sequined shrug with bat wings. seriously, like something a drag queen would wear on stage (just the shrug).

I have a lot of respect for Tatiana Tarasova and her accomplishments as a coach and choreographer, but I don't think she is someone to take fashion advice from.

That was hideous.

I'm thinking, with all seriousnes, what if Kevin Van De Perren had skated?

He could definitely have won it. And I for one would have been more than happy.

 

[Okami]

KOZUKA!!!!

And another Japanese beats Evan at SA!

You know, that was my first thought when I saw the results. There must be some curse on Evan in the SA event.

Congrats to Takahiko! I haven't seen the videos yet, but I'm happy to see him win. I've enjoyed his skating since NHK 2006 (what a lovely LP he had back then!).

 

[Medusa]

I have a lot of respect for Tatiana Tarasova and her accomplishments as a coach and choreographer, but I don't think she is someone to take fashion advice from.
That was hideous.

Will he change it till Skate Canada? He really looked mad after the long... Not because of the costume, but because of everything.
I liked what the icenetwork article said that

the technical panel rated both of his footwork sequences a Level 2, saying that the reigning U.S. champ didn't move his upper body enough, although he did flail his arms

Somehow it's nice that someone realised that. Now I wish that they will realise that with other skaters too, especially if Plushy comes back.

And of course KVDP could have won it. But I think it was wise not to compete, he is not the youngest anymore (26) and really should be careful with his hip. He will be back at his second assignment or at least at Europeans.

 

[Jaana]

I have watched the Kozuka, Weir and Lysacek clips and thought that Weir should have won. Lysacek can be very pleased and happy with his high PCS scores, best of the evening, WOW. There apparently are lots of areas to correct in the technical part of his programme! I´m very surprised, didn´t Lorrie Nichol go through the Tarasova choreography to get the levels up? Or maybe this competition was just a try-out?

About the costumes, I thought that Lysacek´s both costumes were not more awful than Weir´s girlish looking costumes. Anyway, I´d hope that Lysacek drops his both costumes and has something which really suits him and especially he feels comfortable with. He could also do something about his hair, way too much gel, in my opinion.

Anyway, this is early season and both Weir and Lysacek should be pleased with the result, it is not the right time to really shine this early. What ever nasty things a certain group of skating fans are saying on the forums, apparently the huge majority of the live audience really loved Lysacek´s programme as they did the short programme also. It is great to have the audiences behind you!!!

 

[demarinis5]

Congrats to the medalist. Off to watch the men's competition on Icenetwork's on demand, hope it is up..

 

[Bennett]

Yuka Sato definitely knows what she's talking about! I agree 100%; I'd rather see a plain outfit that doesn't distract and or detract from the overall effect of the program...than to see someone look like a black Christmas tree (as Medusa put it) which causes me to be almost entirely unable to see what they're actually doing.

Takahiko's costume was just as simple as it could ever be. This reminded me of Jeff who wore an extremely simple costume in his SP at Worlds 2008 (I thought it a practice outfit when I first saw it). I would personally prefer something a little bit more interesting. Yet, if a skater could charm the audience in the simplest costume like that, it is a real honor for him/her.

I wonder if this happens to ladies though. Imagine a lady skater showing up in a black costume of plain material and black tights with absolutely no decorations and no makeup on the face. Can she still be a contender?



BTW, when I first watched only Takahiko on YOUTUBE, I thought he won because Evan and Johnny failed. But after watching both, both did fairly well. So I think that Takahiko should be really proud of himself. He said that neither he nor others around him expected this so that he had no idea what to do. I hope that he would be a contender on the world podium (a bit too early to start talking about it though).

Yet, I still think that Johnny could have won; so could Evan. But Johnny planned and excuted less combos than he could have, which has been a wonder. I also wonder if Evan maxed his elements as planned.

ETA: I checked the protocol and it seems that the downgrade on 3A combo really hurt Evan. He also failed to put three combos because of the fall on the quad combo.

I don't understand why Johnny wants to plan a much lower base value than his competitors. He didn't miss many jumps, but he couldn't have beaten Kozuka with that jump layout unless Kozuka had failed.

I also wonder why Kozuka could not get higher levels on his steps even though he clearly looked so strong in steps. hope he could address this by the next event.

 

[mycelticblessing]

I just went back and skimmed through other posters' opinions and found it really surprising so many people had found Evan's program aweful. I understand this program doesn't fit Evan's style "naturally" but I think this program had more personality than any of Evan's previous programs, and compared with how Johnny skated today Evan had more spark. I guess I am the only person in the world who enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it too! He skated really well today, and I agree that this program has personality. His cut of music was very different from Ilia Kulik's and it worked really well for him. Evan usually skates to loud, forceful music (Carmen, Tosca), but this version of Rhapsody in Blue was more subtle at some parts, and I think he was wonderful skating this program.

As for his costume, It looks hideous close up, but I think it looked OK while he was skating..

 

[Bennett]

makeup?

? Why shouldn't they wear make-up - the women do too!

I love men who care about their skin, fashion, and any other things that enhance their beauty.

Just wondering if any man was wearing make-up at this comp?

Evan looked as if he had been wearing cheek blush. But I guess he just got tunned. With that rounded sleeves, subtle choreos, long hair, and red cheeks, he looked a lot softer and less macho than usual.

Kozuka obviously had no makeup (he didn't even have anything at all to add onto his simplest costume).

Johnny certainly looked most beautiful and prettiest, but I could not see any make-up on him even on TV close-up. If this was a case, I totally envy him for being so naturally beautiful! Like many other women, I would not want to go outside without wearing any makeup. Even some of face models can look rather plain without any makeup at all.

 

[Tonichelle]

most skaters wear a bit of make up so that they look "better" for the cameras... Scott Hamilton wrote in his book that he hated the practice and gave it up early on (though he used mascara to try to hide his bald spot early on, not sure how that worked lol)

I think if you consider it stage make up it's not weird, but I'm not into guys wearing it as an everyday thing... just my preference.

 

[psycho]

Isn' it funny how American boys were touted for a sweep, and they, amongst the three of them, couldn't even manage to win a gold! LOL

 

[Tonichelle]

Don't worry, I'm sure Evan's mom enjoyed it too.

oh, but isn't she one of those parents that can't watch him skate when he's competing?

honestly, though, from the few pics I've seen I like this better than his SP costume... haven't seen the program yet, though.

 

[Mathman]

If the ISU followed its own rules, everyone except Kozuka would get a costume deduction. "Costumes must be appropriate for an athletic competition."

 

[bekalc]

If the ISU followed its own rules, everyone except Kozuka would get a costume deduction. "Costumes must be appropriate for an athletic competition."

Honestly I didn't mind Evan's costume so much while he was skating......Johnny's though ick! That being said I was disappointed with the way Evan handled the loss. And Johnny was classy.

 

[Medusa]

^

I love men who care about their skin, fashion, and any other things that enhance their beauty.

I also like that. But here in Germany you won't find any guys who do that... But what I like most is people just being tolerant about all this. I like guys who wear make-up and groom themselves a lot, but I also don't mind guys who prefer to look natural. I also don't mind women who don't wear make-up and have a ponytail everyday.

Honestly I didn't mind Evan's costume so much while he was skating......Johnny's though ick! That being said I was disappointed with the way Evan handled the loss. And Johnny was classy.

What happened? What did Evan do? I get that he is disappointed but it shouldn't surprise him that much that at some point he has to suffer from his wobbly jumping technique. Plus, his Axel got downgraded before (last year CoC if I am not mistaken).

Did the Japanese press report about Kozuka's win? He wasn't that well known before, should make a tiny splash at least. And the chances for a Japanese sweep in LA or Vancouver are increasing... I hope Kozuka can keep it up for TEB too, I want to see Brian fighting for the victory. I can't wait to see Kozuka live.

 

[ae9177]

Here's Evan's original quote:

Lysacek had some problems of his own, and had to settle for the bronze medal in a controversial decision that had the audience perplexed.

"I have not seen the score sheets yet," said Lysacek. "So I have to assume that the result was fair. I am just disappointed that the crowd was disappointed. We are trying to get more people to come watch skating, and something like this can cause people to turn their backs on the sport. I hope that the results are explained well on television so that people can gain some clarity."

"I'm quite happy with where I am so early in the season," the 23-year-old later stated. "I now know what needs some work, and it will only get better from here."

He gave a classy answer regarding audiences' dissapointment of the final ranking, and addressed a good point here. I didn't see anything wrong with his answer, he showed full respect to the judges decision.

I have friends who watched it live at Everette and Evan was definitely the crowd's favorite, he got standing ovations on both his performances, which are very apealing to the audiences. Everybody thought he won (even with the fall).

As to the FP, I don't get all the bash on him. He showed great showmanship in the performance, his quality of skating and interpretation of the music improved a lot. IMO, he's the most transformed male skater of the season (so far), I'm very impressed with all the changes he's made so far (except the costumes, I have to say although I have lots of repect to Tarasova, she has bad fashion taste!)

Congrats to all the medalists, great start of the new season, can't wait to see what's coming up next.

 

[Wrlmy]

Congratulation Kozuka. I predicted a bronze for him, but wow!
I really like Evan's long program, even with that hideous outfit. His arms are doing different things than in the past, and he's really feeling the music. I noticed timidity on a few parts of choreagraphy, and he's not fully into it, yet. But I think he will be, and when he does, it will be a great program.

 

[MissIzzy]

I hope that the results are explained well on television so that people can gain some clarity."

A noble sentiment indeed, but it's not very likely, is it? More likely NBC commentators will pay no attention to the facts and all cry outrage. I'm not looking forward to this...