Reactions and criticism of judging by Network commentators - NBC, CBC, BBC, etc

[apgold]

Overall, I enjoyed Johnny, Tara, and don't forget Terry Gannon!

I didn't think they had any business commenting on ice dance, and wish they had brought in Tanith (even though she's with Charlie). I think I enjoyed Johnny more, b/c he did a great job explaining why certain jumping passes were difficult (such as the one with the half loop that Polina did in her FS), or why someone fell without being too technical about it. He did over-use the words "exquisite" and "fabulous" but that's a small quibble, LOL.

I thought Tara did a good job of balancing Johnny out - for instance, he was saying that Polina should've scored ahead of Akiko. Akiko is retiring and Polina is 15 and new to the international senior scene, so you can't really compare those two in terms of artistry. (Of course she didn't use that argument when comparing Yuna, Caro and Adelina!)

Of course each brought their own personal biases to the commentary, which was a bit annoying, but skating has never been objective as we know!

 

[jenaj]

Tara and Johnny were pretty worthless on pairs and ice dance. They were better with the singles skaters but their appeal was still more for entertainment value than technical knowledge. There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that Johnny, who never won an Olympic medal, is generally considered a better and more accomplished skater than Tara. Or at least I consider him better.

 

[jenaj]

Sorry, she was my fave! From the beginning when she was consistently beating Kwan until today!

She beat Kwan a total of four times (three times in 1997 and the Olympics in 1998; Michelle made mistakes three of those four times) and lost to her five times (1996 Nationals and Worlds; 1996 Trophee Lalique;1997 Skate America, 1998 Nationals; she also lost the free skate to Michelle at 1997 Worlds). That is hardly "consistently beating" her. If she was really that dominant over Michelle, she should have proven it by beating her again at '98 Worlds or later competitions.

 

[pangtongfan]

That's a pretty broad statement to make and I don't agree with it at all

Then you have a short memory. She was more vilified by U.S skating fans than Sarah Hughes, and didnt even scrap the popularity of Kwan, Kerrigan, Yamaguchi, Cohen, and others of that period. Meanwhile the day after her win at the 97 World Figure Skating Championships (which I actually agreed with) there was an article in the Times "The flea that melts the ice" tearing into her skating and win, while about half of the top 20 took potshots at her, and some prominent coaches- Carlo Fassi pre event (before his tragic passing), Frank Carroll, Laetita Hubert's coach, all chimed in.

I thought the Nagano Olympics was a toss up result, nothing like the Sochi farce, but the fact there was such an outcry from so many people over that win despite it probably not being that wrong, shows again her total lack of popularity with skating fans, especialy in the U.S. Irina Slutskaya has had many far worse wins over Michelle, the 2001 Grand Prix final where she made only 8 triples over the 2 programs vs 12 for Michelle, and it is far less debated and brought back than the Nagano Olympics. Irina is even more popular and accepted by U.S skating fans than U.S skater Tara, never mind the rest of the world.

 

[pangtongfan]

Tara and Johnny were pretty worthless on pairs and ice dance. They were better with the singles skaters but their appeal was still more for entertainment value than technical knowledge. There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that Johnny, who never won an Olympic medal, is generally considered a better and more accomplished skater than Tara. Or at least I consider him better.

Agree on all that, especialy the bolded part. It just shows yet again how medals and titles are worthless to the value and quality of a skaters greatness and legacy. The corruption displayed at these Games just makes it even more apparent (the one good thing about the farce of a skating "competition" at these Games).

Tara was a much better competitor than Johnny though, will give her kudos for that. She sure knew how to get the most out of herself and her scores. She was like Witt in that sense, although nowhere near the star or legend Witt is.

 

[NYscorp6]

Wow I wasn't expecting the nastiness in this thread, it is one thing to have a favorite skater over another, is it really necessary to be rude and resort to name calling on such a low level. Tara and Johnny weren't competing, they were working.

I happen to think they did a very good job, Terry included. I enjoyed them much more than listening to Scott, (I don't mind Sandra). In fact when my dvr was maxing out on available space, I deleted the prime time coverage and kept NBCSN. The only problem with that was it won't allow me to transfer to a dvd. My mistake.

For the record since 1998 Tara is and always be an Olympic Champion, it is now 2014, get over it already.

 

[SkateToronto]

Then you have a short memory. She was more vilified by U.S skating fans than Sarah Hughes, and didnt even scrap the popularity of Kwan, Kerrigan, Yamaguchi, Cohen, and others of that period. Meanwhile the day after her win at the 97 World Figure Skating Championships (which I actually agreed with) there was an article in the Times "The flea that melts the ice" tearing into her skating and win, while about half of the top 20 took potshots at her, and some prominent coaches- Carlo Fassi pre event (before his tragic passing), Frank Carroll, Laetita Hubert's coach, all chimed in.

I thought the Nagano Olympics was a toss up result, nothing like the Sochi farce, but the fact there was such an outcry from so many people over that win despite it probably not being that wrong, shows again her total lack of popularity with skating fans, especialy in the U.S. Irina Slutskaya has had many far worse wins over Michelle, the 2001 Grand Prix final where she made only 8 triples over the 2 programs vs 12 for Michelle, and it is far less debated and brought back than the Nagano Olympics. Irina is even more popular and accepted by U.S skating fans than U.S skater Tara, never mind the rest of the world.

I recall Nagano well. And like most of your posts, your view is one-sided in the extreme and you recall only the "anecdotes" that support you.

 

[Olympia]

Nagano really was almost a toss-up; I think there was a tiny margin between the final results of the two skaters, and I was one who would have given the gold to Michelle. I don't think that makes me crazy. But Tara won it, and it was a fair judgment. Any longtime fan learns to live with occasional disappointment. As a totally subjective reaction, I always preferred Michelle's skating to Tara's. But that doesn't mean that I hate Tara. And, as it turned out, the lack of an OGM did not hamper Michelle's career. We got to see an extraordinary artist create a multi-dimensional body of work, and that's been more than enough for me. So both skaters came out winners.

As a commentating pair, Tara and Johnny are a hoot. They work together so well as a team. Definitely an example of the whole being more than the sum of its parts. I can't be too strict in my evaluation of them because they're still new and inexperienced, but each of them has given some interesting commentary. She's quick and articulate and doesn't depend on snark. There's room for improvement, but Peggy Fleming didn't start out sounding like Walter Cronkite or anything, either. Of the roster of analysts on NBC, my favorite is Tracy Wilson because I feel I learn a lot from her. And I actually like Scott and Sandra most of the time.

 

[Panpie]

I don't have TV at home, but I was staying with my mother during the Olympics and got to see most of the NBCSN coverage of figure skating. I must be in the minority, but I found Tara and Johnny were okay at first, but as time wore on, they grated on my nerves. It seemed as if they became aware of themselves as some sort of cute commentary team, and started acting as such. Sometimes they were informative; other times not so much. Were they better than Scott and Sandra? Yes, but not my much, in my opinion. My mom and I enjoyed the ice dancing so much that we watched it both during the day and in prime time. I really enjoyed Tracy Wilson's commentary on ice dance during NBC's prime time coverage. I've always liked Tracy Wilson, however, so perhaps I'm a bit biased in that regard. I wish Wilson or Tanith Belbin would have done commentary on ice dancing during the day.

 

[cocofeliz]

I think Tanith is a much more knowledgeable and objective commentator and I was very surpised when she was passed over for Tara Lipinski but I guess the gold medal does matter. I felt a bit bad for Tanith because I think she has been commentating much longer than Tara and I think she deserved this spot more than Lipinski

 

[Blondie12]

I think Tanith is a much more knowledgeable and objective commentator and I was very surpised when she was passed over for Tara Lipinski but I guess the gold medal does matter. I felt a bit bad for Tanith because I think she has been commentating much longer than Tara and I think she deserved this spot more than Lipinski

Tannith is dating Charlie White so that might be a conflict of interest. She may even live with him. I think Tanith will join to do ice dance next time if Chariie is not competing

 

[usethis2]

I turn the channel whenever Johnny/Tara show up now. (If anyone from NBC reading this, please know that your commentary and cover-up job are a disgrace) Johnny especially is a bad taste. He made so much noise playing victim of the establishment's (judges and federations) bias and systemic corruption, then now he is joining them with no self-awareness. I get that it's his job and I can accept him covering his a** to a degree, but the way he talks now shows he completely deluded himself. He will believe whatever he's told to say.

 

[ice coverage]

Tannith is dating Charlie White so that might be a conflict of interest. She may even live with him. I think Tanith will join to do ice dance next time if Chariie is not competing

Belbin and White have been living together for a few years now, so she most definitely had a conflict of interest re ice dance.

Regarding the comment from cocofeliz, I would not say that NBC "passed over" Belbin. She was the voice and/or face of quite a number of Sochi features and field reports for the NBC Olympic Zone. NBC gave her the opportunity to expand the range of her on-air experience, which should serve her well if she has ambitions for a more versatile broadcasting career beyond ice dance commentary or beyond skating as a whole.

 

[bebevia]

conflict of interest.

NBC does mind...
I don't know, Tara is still a pretty bigger name.

 

[FlattFan]

I am sure the "fat" and insecure Tara Lipinski on a suicide watch, in her spa at her Malibu mansion and million dollar NBC contract, over the sour grapes by Yuna fans. Haters will hate.

LOL. Okrrrr!

 

[fairly4]

adelina and yuna reminded me of michelle and tara.

michelle however did 7 jumps and had artistic. yet due to bias judging in my eyes they gave it to Tara due to fact tara skated the best she ever could and never skated better even in shows. she skated faster did triple/triple that was it . they overlook tara mistakes due to her being reign world champ and the one the usfsa back behind scenes more than michelle. michelle didnn't do a triple/triple but did 1-2 more jumps than tara.
tara couldnt have skated it better. michelle however could skate it better, in fact most people thought she skated it better at nationals . michelle skated deliberate and not wanting tomake a mistake.

personally based on artistry and overall technical i would have given it to michelle.
tara had good artistry but not the nuance like michelle did and didn't interpret as well.
she skated like a kid around the ice. like adelina. like adelina who had highter technical content and a bit faster than yuna she won simply because she skated faster, higher content because i remember once being said on tv that it is harder to do jumps faster, interpret than a bit slower.

if you went by artistry, i could have went with carolina yuna over adelina, but the overall effect went to adelina like tara. it seem they both enjoyed it better out and judges overlooked their mistakes and nailed the older ones mistakes as little as they was.

they both skated well. in fact the top 10 skated well. lit was a good night for ladies figure skating.

besides i think the judges want controversy in hope it help with the public, instead it hurts.

like yuna who kinda of skated deliberate and was off, like fighting to keep second/not win gold again. she skated clean however did less technical program than adelina

 

[moviechick]

I agree. I also think she's fat.

Most figure skater post-retirement gain a lot of weight. Katarina Witt and Michelle Kwan aren't exactly slim waifs either.

 

[parma]

NBC's conflicting narratives: the judging was fair vs. we need to fix the judging system

The commentators at NBC promoted in every opportunity they had that the judging at the ladies events were fair and square. They also said in numerous occasions after the free program event that ISU needs to fix the anonymous judging system as well as how judges are selected and trained. If the judging was fair, why need for changes?

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

The commentators at NBC promoted in every opportunity they had that the judging at the ladies events were fair and square. They also said in numerous occasions after the free program event that ISU needs to fix the anonymous judging system as well as how judges are selected and trained. If the judging was fair, why need for changes?

I think they were addressing Ashley's comments, which criticized anonymous judging. They agreed with this. It doesn't mean they necessarily disagreed with the result. Ashley didn't like her placement behind Gracie and Julia but her scores suffered mostly from her tendency to UR and 2 foot landings, which can quickly add up.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

LOL. Okrrrr!

With her real synthetic hair...