Thoughts, Feelings, Reflections, on the competition in general

[cloudkicker09]

I would have to say that I was very disappointed with the competition. Usually the Cup of Russia is where all of the top skaters go to compete during the Grand Prix, and instead all of the fields were especially weak.

Plushenko won with his usual well, 'crap' , same program, and similar sounding music. I swear you could interchange any of his programs with any music and it will be the same program.

 

[Shaba22]

Poor Granny.

 

[ann918]

Ashley was awesome

 

[evangeline]

Plushenko won with his usual well, 'crap' , same program, and similar sounding music. I swear you could interchange any of his programs with any music and it will be the same program.

Well, I agree....but then again, he's not like the ONLY skater who can be accused of such.


Anyways, I think Mao's off-podium finish is the biggest shocker--she gets the silver in a field as deep as TEB, but finished 5th in a field as weak as CoR? If anything, I thought she'd medal here in Russia but fail to make the podium at Paris.

I wonder what the JSF is going to do.

 

[skfan]

i pray the japanese media does not start camping outside miki's apartment, transferring the monkey to her back. i pray.

 

[snowflake]

I am very, very happy for Ashley. There is something so likeable about her.

And would I love to watch the US nationals

 

[mel66]

I saw the future for Ashley
Her program and herself were just adorable.

But it was not interesting as I thought it would be.

 

[Spun Silver]

i pray the japanese media does not start camping outside miki's apartment, transferring the monkey to her back. i pray.

I second this. But at least we can hope it will be easier the second time around.

 

[cloudkicker09]

Posted elsewhere but belongs here

From Johnny's twitter:

"Very embarrassed about today. Don't know what happened. I apologize to all my fans for the way I performed. Next one will be better."

Poor Johnny, I just want to give him a hug

 

[Hsuhs]

Takahiko Kozuka's short program to 'Bold as love' is incredible. His skating skills are to die for.

 

[gold12345]

Posted elsewhere but belongs here

From Johnny's twitter:

"Very embarrassed about today. Don't know what happened. I apologize to all my fans for the way I performed. Next one will be better."

Poor Johnny, I just want to give him a hug

Aw that's sad. He doesn't owe anyone an apology. His true fans would appreciate him regardless of how he skates.

 

[Trewyn]

I'm very excited and happy for Ashley! She looked great out there; very much improved from last year; not a single two foot that I could see!
I thought she lost a little bit of attack at the end of the footwork of her SP and little bit as well in the LP; but when she attacks everything a little more and adds at least one more triple (I think she will probably go for a triple-triple at Nats) she'll have a good shot at the Olympic team! I just hopes she gets a confidence boost from this and keeps the momentum for the rest of the season!!

Men's; I was just beginning to like watching men since last season; but now with Plushenko back it's the same as having Yu Na in Ladies. I'm not too fond of his skating; but his jumps are spot on; so I guess he's kind of entitled the arrogance.

I understand why people are complaining about the lack of depth in this field; and yes we were spoiled with TEB; but the field didn't look too weak on paper (before Chan dropped out); Mao and Miki are tough competitors! If you look at the Ladies field for COC and SA it looks even weaker! The thing is; every GP has only a couple top, top skaters; and if they skate badly (ie Mao and maybe Johnny to a lesser extent) than the field does seem to fall apart. However I think it's sort of minimizing the performances of the skaters that *did* medal. Of course none of us expected the likes of Leonova and Borodulin to have medalled (though I always thought Leonova had a great shot). But they stayed on their feet when it mattered; and their performances would have stood out no matter how deep the field. (just my humble opinion of course)

 

[yelyoh]

I'm not a fan of Plush but I think he was scored fairly except for choreo and interpretation. There was no there there. Nothing, nada. Oh yeah, and his spins stiink (4s?!? WTF) and his footwork, if you ducktape his arms, is nothing great. Other than that..... Bring on the other top men.

Mao saddens me. She is so gifted but what the hell is going on with her? Ashley I am happy for. Johnny I talk about on the "Whither Johnny" thread.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

1. I don't see how anyone can be a fan of figure skating and NOT be heartbroken by Mao's decline. I've always found the rivalry, as played out in the media/internet/via stupid fanboys with nothing better to do, ridiculous simply because I love both. How can you not love a skater who's competitive verve is strong enough to win worlds after completely biffing a triple axel attempt. Who can go out and post the winning long program despite being a longshot for worlds gold? Whatever pressure she's under, I hope she gets the help to deal with it because she's too talented. Most figure skaters should be proud to have the career she's had (national champion, world junior/senior champion/silver medalist, GPF winner), but a season like this.... thus far, it's heartbreaking (full disclosure: I didn't finish her long program).

2. So Rippon nails TEB but Weir and Mroz both disappoint here. American Nationals is gonna be so much fun this year. Or nervewracking, depending on who you support. Only Lysacek is safe. Would it be overstating it to say Weir is on thin ice (or just a bad pun)?

3. The best thing Plushenko could do for me is inspire the other guys to new heights. That's all I really hope for. He really is one for the all time lists, no matter what I think about him.

4. Belbin/Agosto better have something up their sleeve, because Davis/White... holy hell. They made me not hate Phantom for four minutes. I may not appreciate that when I start singing "Angel of Music" or anything, but invigorating program. Hell, forget B/A. V/M, D/S, D/S etc.... watch your backs. I've been rooting for Virtue/Moir ever since I first saw them (Worlds FD 2008), but I've got enough love to share. When people complain about figure skating being all the same, I wonder if they know what they're talking about - do they just not care about ice dancing? Crazy cool lifts, huge variety (compare D/W Phantom to V/M Mahler to C/L Requiem to K/K Linkin frickin' Park), exquisite artistry. I blame history here, but still.

5. Oh, and what I said about Men's at American Nationals? Reapply it to the ladies. Flatt's the closest thing to a sure thing (and we know that here, that doesn't mean something). But I had pretty much dismissed Wagner and Czisny. We live in a topsy-turvy world when it's more likely that the USA scores two medals in ice dance than one in womens.

6. I forgot Pang/Tong peaked earlier. I thought there skate was strong even if I didn't see much Aldonza in it.

7. Oh yeah, American Nationals for pairs should be pretty interesting too. Inoue/Baldwin were only two points behind McLaughlin/Brubaker in terms of TEB vs COR. It'll be neat to see those I/B and D/B head-to-head at NHK.

8. American Nationals for ice dance won't be that interesting, though. If it isn't B/A, D/W and S/B, I will probably collapse from shock.

9. It's too soon to start talking about next cycle, but the "new" Russian teams look pretty good.

 

[Phoenix347]

I thought it was a pretty interesting competition. Probably more so than TEB due to the competitiveness of the ladies and return of Plush. I can't but help like Plush... he's just so darn funny. Even his arrogance is funny. I know... I know, his "choreography" is ... minimal... if not perfunctory. But I actually think his real "choreography" is not his arms but his arrogance. Just love it. I think he's going to be the favorite for the gold at Vancouver for sure. I felt bad about how Johnny fared here in front of his special Russian fans. Still like him but I want him to get his head straight and get those techniques down. Don't apologize to us, just practice harder and have confidence. I thought you were over you're depression about the last US championship?

As for pairs, looks like Tong and Pang are back... they still need to polish up before the Olympics but they can be a medal contender with a bit of work.

I don't really follow Ice Dancing much so I cannot comment.

As for the ladies, I've already commented in the ladies LP thread but I'll congratulate Ando... she might even have win two GP victories this season. Looking solid if not spectacular. I really like Ashely Wagner and glad that she did so well in this tournament. Bravo! Now just fix the flutz and UR issues! I'm also relieve to see that Alissa Cizny did not fall apart like she has in the past. She can be a beautiful skater and maybe she'll get it together soon. We'll see how she'll do at Skate Canada. Get those jumps right, Alissa!! We'll see how she looks compared to Zhang and Nagasu. As for Mao... I wrote enough about her in the ladies LP thread but my heart goes out to her. Such a beautiful skater,,, just need to fix whatever that is wrong. If she says it's mental, then get some home comfort while in Japan and straighten things out. Hate to see you struggle dear. I also feel a little sad for Julia Sebestyen as she was doing so well in the SP and falling apart in the LP. It was nice to see an older competitors doing well in figure skating.

 

[hikki]

1) My adrenaline went so high seeing Plushenko back on the ice. Loved it all, the excessive wiggling and the arrogance included. Sure there's room for much more in-betweens, but with him, Takahashi and Lambiel back the men's competition is looking a lot like Lillehammer: the newbies vs. the camback kids!

2) Agree with Tracy WIlson about Kozuka- a skater's skater but hee needs a bit of an oomph to get out there.

3) Loved the young Russian guy- Artem!

4) Granny's (sort-of) comeback! She looked amazing, the skating and the hair

5) Miki's first internaional win since 2007 Worlds! She looked much better in practice clips, so here's hoping she'll skate with her 3lz/3lp (to me Miki isn't Miki without it) with more speed across the ice later this season. Her arm movements and positions in the elements looked lovely!

6) Mao's meltdown I'm not gonna write what's been discussed by so many people here, but just a few things. TAT did bring something positive to her. Who would've thought Mao would skate with beautiful arms, expressive face and strong solid balance between upper and lower body a couple of seasons ago? That said, I hope she will get a nice rest, stop being in denial (re: Her interviews), make radical changes (coaching, programs, etc.) get those jumps back. Can she do all these by February? I sure hope so.

7) Discovery of TVU broadcast!!!!!!!!!!!! If only I knew earlier that I can enjoy skating LIVE from Down Under! :agree:

 

[R.D.]

Ladies only, of course:

- Asada has truly hit rock bottom. An event that she should have easily won, or at least grabbed a silver behind a strong Ando, and where does she finish? OTP!!! This is almost reminding me of Meissner's decline. Not one, but TWO former world champions quickly becoming irrelevant. That said, a true champion uses this as motivation and bounces back stronger than ever. I don't think we've seen the last of her by any means. (Same with Meissner, actually!)

- As many posters have hinted at already, Wagner was a highlight for me. She really surprised me- a very strong performance, but for Olympic team/medal contention she'll have to step it up a notch- (i.e. rotate all jumps) Still, for the first event of the season, she made a statement. She's definitely in the mix and we'll have to see how the other Americans do. Hopefully everyone can make it to Nats, this could be a classic.

- I was actually impressed by the fight I saw in Czisny during her FS. Normally, she falls once and that's it, she wipes the ice. Not this time- she really fought for everything and didn't let the mistake unravel her.

- Leonova: the new Russian to keep an eye on?

 

[gopatrick]

Just knew that Paul Poirier got a stomach flu during the competition. Good for him to pull off the Free Dance:thumbsup: Please take the time to recover and don't push too hard after returning home.

Last time I got a stomach flu, I spent most of the week in bed Youth is really the greatest asset

 

[mishieru07]

In no particular order:

1) Ladies LP was much more exciting to watch because once the short was over in TEB, Yu na had already run away with the gold.

2) I want my 06-07 Mao back. I want the young lady who wowed me with her effortless skating and pure joy in her Worlds 2007 LP. Please. She's a lovely skater - it's really sad to see her doing so badly.

3) Well done Ashley and Alissa! Never really cared for Ashley but her programmes were . Good one for Alissa too; she really stuck it! Now go fix those URs and edge calls and they'll be on a roll. (If only it were that easy)

4) D/W blew the field away! Hate their POTO music cuts but the performance was amazing. Can't wait to see them again at NHK and how they'll stack up to B/A next week. Loved C/P and C/L too.

5) YAYE MIKI! Loved her since she came back after the Torino implosion to win Worlds in 2007. A fighter if there ever was one; IMO, she could be a dark horse for OGM and definitely a contender to medal.

6) Plushenko is the same old plushy. I'm a bit "HMM" about those PCS but guy can really jump.

7) Good for Kozuka! I thought he was a little undermarked in the SP for PCS. I think we'll see him at GPF and the Olympics and hopefully the judges appreciate him better then.

8) US nationals should be really interesting. Between B/A vs D/W in dance, the whole load of ladies fighting for just 2 spots and the men fighting for 3, this is exciting.

9) I LOVE the Korean uber fan who streams the competitions live on TVU! Thank you!

This season just seems to get more and more interesting. Wonder what lies ahead in CoC next week.

 

[adamlondon]

i pray the japanese media does not start camping outside miki's apartment, transferring the monkey to her back. i pray.

i think she is used to this monkey by now- or i hope so. with asada flaliling fast i think miki may get this new attention again slowly