Watching Campbell's on TV

It's such a shame about Alyssa Czisny's jumps failing her, because her spins are unbelievably fast and beautiful--just what I want to see in a spin; and her positions and stretch are first rate. I don't know what can be done. New coach? Sports psychologist? She should be a competitor and she is not.

Sasha was fabulous, and that costume is exquisite.

Kimmie has already matured considerably in her presentation. She needs to work on her s-t-r-e-t-c-h. That spiral position is hideous with that bent knee. Also, more speed on her spins would help. They lack energy and passion.

Very unimpressed with Shizuka. She lacks fire. As I'm watching her, she doesn't even look like she wants to be on the ice.

Too bad about Joannie's fall. I enjoyed her skating for the most part, she really is energetic, and I would have liked to see her win the bronze.

Tanith and Ben's program was gorgeous, love the Spanish theme. I hope that is their free dance for this season.

Men: Missed Johnny and Michael, unfortunately. Was considerably underwhelmed by Evan. What did Frank mean by "There are things in your program that no one else in the world can do..." Like WHAT? The choreography was dull and the presentation even more dull.

Nice to see Takeshi back, but he still seems a shadow of his former self. He wasn't wearing toilet paper, but that costume looked like it was held together by bandaids.

I'll have videos up of this event as soon as I can.

Unfortunately because I have everything hooked up I can't really watch it right now, but I'll get a chance while I make the videos. I'll offer my insight later.

Erm, you didn't miss Michael. He got chacked, along with Timmy and Eman. Moi is still puzzled by that. Not that I particularly wanted to see Mikey or Timmay again, but they did finish 2nd and 3rd, so, uh, yeah.

The comp was just badly produced.

From 1:30 to 1:55 all we saw was B&A. I really wanted to see new programs of MW and TG and ES, bad or not. What a waste of airtime. And who were the "three men" of the US who would be fighting it out for Oly spots? There are more than three contenders.

The women were okay. Sasha has never looked more relaxed and I liked her not grabbing the bait re: the Michelle Kwan question. Really tasteless of Peter.
Thought Joannie R should have gotten third place. Liked her a lot.

Bring on the Grand Prix.

ABC's coverage was horrible. They did not show the 2nd and 3rd place men- Weiss and Goebel. Both had pretty respectable skates. Instead, we had to sit through Emily's junior level skate (believe me, I like her but this one was not worth watching) and Alissa's 4-fall skate. The worst decision was to show Evan Lysacek who finished LAST in the mens field.

What is ABC trying to do? Build up media support for certain skaters? During the ladies warm up you would have thought Kimmie was the only one on the ice. Later they showed some of Alissa but all others were missing. They even raved over Alissa before her skate, and presented her as a future star. She has the spins to rave about but that's about all. Without the jumps she will never make the US world team. The commentator even had the nerve to talk about Kimmie's commentary during last year's worlds (that infamous event during Miki Ando's SP)!

They showed B&A's new FD which was only an exhibition, and fluff pieces/interviews with Sasha and Kimmie (mercifully both were short; the last interview was well deserved for Sasha). They did not show the other exhibition- by Inoue & Baldwin who skated their SP quite well. If they had to chack something, they needed to do that with B&A's exhibition and the fluffs, but they wanted to mention for the one millionth time that Tanith is hoping to get her US citizenship in time for the 2006 Olympics. They could have done that during Skate America next weekend.

Very often, after seeing a competition or show live, I am deeply disappointed after seeing it on TV. Last year's SOI was a classic example. I thought they would at least show the top 3 performances but the men were not so lucky. Some would have thought they skated horrible, but that was not the case.

Vash

I can't believe they didn't show Weiss and Goebel! I'm not a fan of their skating, but they came in ahead of Evan and Johnny, they should have been shown.

I really dislike seeing skaters blowing their nose and spitting (Sasha!), I don't need to see that. Some bad camera work. I liked hearing what the coaches say to their students.

Evan: Why, Evan why? This program is horrible. I can't think of one positive to say about it. Choreo, bad. Costume, bad. Music, beyond bad. I love his skating, but this is so dissapointing.

Johnny: After reading bad reviews of Johnny's program and music, I really expected to hate it. I am surprised that I actually really like it, and find it to be the best LP that he has had. Of course, it needs work and he has to get into it more, but by the end of the season, I think it will be great. I hope he sticks with it and works on improving it.

Takeshi: Nothing really good to say about his skating, but I'm happy that he won after having so much trouble the last couple of years.

Sasha: Meh. Not impressed with the program. Nice performance. I liked the ftwk. and spirals. Spins were ok. Bielmann looked really strange. It will probably improve as the season goes along.

Alissa: Like her program, love the music. Her spins were fantastic, the best of any of the ladies there. She has some very odd jumping technique. I'm surprised she lands anything, with the way she jumps. Her spirals were nice (a change of edge Yspiral! ), I don't like the position of her arabesque, though.

Kimmie: Not impressed with her program, or her way of presenting it, but Wow! her improvements in her stroking are really impressive. I just kept watching her blades and she is a great SKATER. Artist not so much, but with time it'll come. She has good spins, her 3f/3t was really well done, and her skating is really starting to smooth out.

Shiz: I like the music, and some of the choreo, but she really didn't skate well. 3s/3t looked great. Spins were really slow and sloppy, but I saw some improvement in her camel spin, so that's a plus. If she can get her jumps together, I can see this program kicking all kinds of a$$.

Joannie: I love her program!! The nuance and detail in it is great. She is such a powerful and athletic skater, I just love watching her. She still needs to work on her spiral, and ftwk. Her ftwk. seems to slow down a lot. I love her program, especially the 2nd half. Very good start for her.

Emily: I really like Emily, but she just didn't skate well here. I see some improvements though, she looks smoother, stroking is better, and arms are less frantic.

Overall I didn't like a lot of the music the skaters chose, and really hate seeing the Bielmannia with the ladies, and the pancake sit spin in the men. Really sad. My favorite part was just watching their different stroking styles. LOL.

bdreampixie...thanks for the detailed report, I actually missed missed it on tv :no:

This may not be a question you (or anyone) wants to answer here or even can answer, but what do you look for in stroking and how do you identify different stroking styles...when you say Kimmie is a 'really great skater' what do you see (and I'm asking so I can learn to identify this, not because i have any doubt you are correct). thanks.

What a dissappointment today's coverage was. They can't find time to show Wiess and Goebel, each whom has won National titles and World medals. But they can show Hughes, Czisny and the whole ladies warm-up! What idiot made that descision? And they wonder why the ratings are going down.

As for the skating, I really liked Rochette's program the best. The music, choreography, costume and everything about it was first rate. I was a bit suprised she didn't beat Arakawa. Shizuka just has no expression what so ever to the music or the audience.

I was expecting to not like Wier's program based on previous reviews but I did. The jumps weren't there but it has potential later in the season. On the other hand, Evan's program doen't have potential. I can't see him on the Olympic team with that.

emma said:

bdreampixie...thanks for the detailed report, I actually missed missed it on tv :no:

This may not be a question you (or anyone) wants to answer here or even can answer, but what do you look for in stroking and how do you identify different stroking styles...when you say Kimmie is a 'really great skater' what do you see (and I'm asking so I can learn to identify this, not because i have any doubt you are correct). thanks.

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Well, I'm not an expert but usually I look for depth of edge, how much lean there is on the blade, the length that each stroke is held, the security of it (no wobbles), and I always try to listen (even on TV sometimes you can hear scratching) you shouldn't hear the stroking. Also the knee action is important (the bend of the knees in relation to the ice, does that make sense LOL). Maybe someone who actually skates can explain it better. But I think if you watch skaters feet more when they skate you start getting a better sense of what really good basic skating looks like.

BTW, I forgot to mention B&A in my review. They looked very slow, but their program is filled with so much difficulty. I like the music, and the program not as much as last seasons, but it's good. I feel this program really showcases Ben more, or maybe he just stood out more to me this time, but he's looking great.

Ooh, I have to mention Joannie's 3salchow!! Wow! It was absolutely beautiful and powerful!

itofan said:

What a dissappointment today's coverage was. They can't find time to show Wiess and Goebel, each whom has won National titles and World medals. But they can show Hughes, Czisny and the whole ladies warm-up! What idiot made that descision? And they wonder why the ratings are going down.

As for the skating, I really liked Rochette's program the best. The music, choreography, costume and everything about it was first rate. I was a bit suprised she didn't beat Arakawa. Shizuka just has no expression what so ever to the music or the audience.

I was expecting to not like Wier's program based on previous reviews but I did. The jumps weren't there but it has potential later in the season. On the other hand, Evan's program doen't have potential. I can't see him on the Olympic team with that.

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Rochette's points total was actually higher than Shizuka's but she had a one point deduction for the fall, which placed her lower than Shizuka.

Shizuka did not skate well at all but she had more footwork going into her jumps, while Rochette had simple entrances into her jumps. I agree that Rochette skated more with heart and Shizuka had no expression.

I too can't believe they didn't show the 2nd & 3rd place men.

Evan's music is not the best for competitive skating and his program was......lets just say it needs a lot of work.

Johnny's program was the same old thing with the same old costume, same music, with the same old hair-I was hoping for more.

Takeshi's program was better then the above two, but nothing to get too excited about. Glad to see him back skating.

Sasha's program was ok,well better then ok-I like it. Some nice jumps, some nice spins and always beautiful spirals. Very pretty costume. I would think this program will get better with time-hope so.

Alyssa was a last minute replacement for Michelle so maybe she didn't have enough time to prepare. She sure can spin but she needs those jumps. I felt her costume didn't go with the music

Shiz-zzzzzz.

Emily-not a very good skate. Her program has a lot of stops, I like to see continued skating.

Joannie-I really like her skating (should have been 3rd imo). One of the best choregraphed programs.

There were too many bielmen spins, and sit spins that were all hunched over.

dlkksk8fan said:

Johnny's program was the same old thing with the same old costume, same music, with the same old hair-I was hoping for more.

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What were you watching?????

Same program?- This was probably the most bashed Weir program on the boards. I liked it, but it seems most people did not. Yet you say it is the same program, so I suspect you either hated both or liked both.

Same old costume?- There was no resemblance at all with the Otonal (blue & white) costume. Johnny wore black with gold and silver.

Same music?- Isn't this the music many posters were unhappy about? (not me!)

Did you expect to see a different hair style? Why?

Vash

Beillmania is right, Bdreampixie and unless I've missed it somewhere else, YOU are the winner of this season's first "Name That Thing!" award. As winner, you receive an all expenses NOT covered trip to the disaster area of your choice (no rudeness intended to the incredibly courageous victims of recent ones), plus the coveted golden Beaver Cleaver, which you get to keep until you pass it on to next year's winner. Congratulations Bdreampixie! Well deserved.

Runner-up is Dlkksk8fan for "Shiz-zzzzz." (I love Shizuka, BTW, just not today.)

I agree with much that's been said, so I'll only cover other areas. That will be long-winded enough.

The only thing I could see that Frank Carroll might be referring to referring to as one of the "things" only Evan Lysacek can do is the back spiral, 3 turn into a 3Lutz(flip?) all on the same skating and take-off leg that occurred about 2/3s of the way through his program. "Things" plural--I agree, snoozer program even if he had hit the quad.

Not a good Johnny Weir performance, but still, I could watch this guy skate all day. The way he moves just moves me--pun unavoidable.

Nice opening to the season for Sasha. I still think she's too thin and that this continues to keep her from achieving true power in her jumps and in her stroking. I'd like to see her with about 3-4 more pounds of lean mass. Either that or she was too relaxed going into her first combo. That should be solid for her, first of the season or not. OTOH, I loved that she/Nicks FINALLY put a triple jump, the 3sal--done very well--right before her final combo spin (the Blahmann).

More muscle mass would, IMO, help her get a true 3/3. People were right. No way was what was intended to be a 3toe, 1/2 loop or falling leaf (I've heard both) 3I-forget a sequence. Her face looked "cornfused" after the first jump and she was either off balance or off on her timing and couldn't get whatever the middle of that sequence is supposed to be in. That didn't bother me as much as the overall lack of power in her jumps. What Meissner has in her jumps is what Cohen needs.

On the good side, although I prefer the Prokofiev "R&J," if she was going to use the Rota version, she picked one with oomph. Her edges are greatly improved, IMO. Her spiral sequence used to be 90% extension and 10% edges. Now I'd put that ratio at 60/40. Again, would like to see more power there as well as speed, but for this point in the season, Sasha's spiral sequence is now, IMO, something truly to be reckoned with on several levels.

Choreography was commendable but not a grabber, but then nobody's really grabbed, though I thought Rochette's was the best. I hate to look to the past, but Tarasova's B&W "Swan Lake" becomes more and more "the one that got away" for Cohen. But them's the breaks. Sasha is also still not down into the ice, something Rochette was gorgeous at and that would also, IMO, greatly help Cohen's jumps. Finally, Sasha seems to have worked out the last remnants (I hope!) of her gymnastic habits that inhibited her skating while keeping the ones that enhance it, such as the Russian split; extension, amplitude, and form on positions; and her strong back work. And even though she ended with a Blahmann, at least she put the BC in the middle of the program.

As I've said before, I saw Meissner live last spring at COI. IMO, she comes across much stronger live than on TV. Although emulating Michelle is certainly a great role model to choose, I don't think the angularity of the choreography emphasizes Kimmie's strengths. To me, she looks better and moves stronger with round open movements than angular closed ones. But her basics are so strong (two healthy 3/3s plus the 3Axel threat, underrotated or not, all her jumps, her stroking, and what I call her natural authority on the ice) that even though she needs to smooth out the roughness of her presentation, I have no doubt she'll get there. Better make this your year Sasha. Meissner's a force and I think she's moving fast.

Shizuka absolutely broke my heart. I love Shizza and the word that came to mind the moment she skated onto the ice was "dolorous," i.e., sadness. Dick Button talked about a "bubble" around her that she doesn't come out of nor does she let people in. This is not typical of the Shizuka of two or three years ago. I think what's in that bubble is sadness. And this girl used to crack me up, in a good way, in the K&C, she was so animated and happy. I felt no connection between her and Tarasova. Shizza is so beautiful and has so many strengths, but Rgal, ITA. She looked like she didn't want to be there and I mean not anywhere near there. Of course I don't know what's going on with Shizuka, but I just hope she gets to a better place. She reminds me of AP the last season she competed--no there there.

ITA that Rochette should have won the bronze. Even though it was very close between Joannie and Shizza, I felt Joannie was very undermarked. And unless I missed an opportunity, damn US figure skating coverage: This is the first time we who don't get Canadian TV have had a chance to even see Rochette. But don't get me started on ABC/ESPN. Rochette, IMO, is this generation's Yuka Sato, that is, their "skater's skater." Man, this girl has musical phrasing to make you weep with joy. And like Meissner, great fundamentals. She's never going to have spectacular line, but she already has a lot of other spectaculars that SHOULD be rewarded by the judges under the COP, except perhaps a 3/3--or did she? I can't remember. I found her to be mesmerizing.

Alissa Czizny has that long and lean body type like Karen Kwan that makes jumps difficult, but wowee, what a spinner. Adored the layback with the fully extended free leg virtually horizontal to the ice. I'll chalk this up to short notice to skate and early season jitters. Would love to see her get those jumps, but she's got a tough body type to deal with for triples. Lucinda Ruh had a similar problem.

Won't comment on Emily Hughes. Skating a competition after having meningitis is an act of sheer will.

Peter Carruthers: You're a dink, you've always been a dink, and that "message to Michelle" while Michelle's injured question to Sasha proves you continue in your pursuit of dinkness. High-five to Sasha for showing what to do with a dink.

Rgirl

Cisny gets my vote for best Bielmann outside of the Original and Ruh. That she is attending college gets bonus points. Why is it that TT was able to bring out the best of Yags but with her female skaters after a season the life seems to go out of them? MK should take advantage of her for one season and get the heck away. Irina please ignore this woman when she starts working for the RF. Sasha's costume was gorgeous....classy answer to PC's question or was that CB in drag? Kimmie's costume reminded me of a bell hop's for some reason. OTOH agree with the other comments about her skating. She IS the future of U.S. ladies FS. Needs to straighten out the Sarah Hughes cheat on her spirals......and lowering your chest toward the ice doesn't help just makes you look like you're losing your balance. Loved Joannie. Does Shiz always have a bondage thing going with her costumes? You could tell Peggy wants to continue her Sarah lovefest with Hughes2.

Evan...I love all things Grease but that was hard to take. Johnny has that John Currey vibe...I like it! Have always thought MW's Beethoven was his best LP is this the same one? Sorry to have missed Mike and Timmy.

Can Tanith get any more gorgeous? Ben is looking good too. Loved their dance. The U.S. media is probably trying to give them as much exposure as possible to help with the push for her citizenship....couldn't hurt.

well, i just became a bonafide sasha cohen fan. of course i always liked her style and uniqueness...but she just racked up huge points with me so far on another level. her new program this season has awesome potential. she means business. i just loved how a few of the other gals were all trying to 'emulate' some of her positions...with ridiculous effect. not even coming close to her polish... but nice to see how they were trying nevertheless.

oh, sizuka needs to go to the drawing board...straight back to the drawing board this season. her pathetic attempt at spinning a la cohen during the ending was a shame too.:scratch:

imo, the only competition this season sasha will have to deal with is kwan (a question mark right now)...and maybe slutskaya (we'll see how her programs are).

PrincessLeppard said:

Erm, you didn't miss Michael. He got chacked, along with Timmy and Eman. Moi is still puzzled by that. Not that I particularly wanted to see Mikey or Timmay again, but they did finish 2nd and 3rd, so, uh, yeah.

The comp was just badly produced.

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ok good at least i know all I missed was most of Evan


I think Evan's program just needs more time it'll do fine later on in the season I have faith

Opinion

Sasha skated very well and she IS hanging onto her landings(despite the fall out on the loop), whereas before she would have ended up sitting on the ice. Although she is thin, her legs look stronger to me. Her spiral section is to die for. The spins were wonderful with multiple postions, but could have been faster. The program itself is a little front loaded but I don't find this to be a major problem. It is well choreographed otherwise. The Russian split right before the footwork is stunning. It may be too soon to predict the rest of the season, but I suspect she is a real contender this year for the gold at any competition. The music plays to her strengths. I think she was nervous even without Michelle there, but she is handling it better with John Nicks at the boards. She seemed very mature, poised and likeable in the opening interview segment. He dress is gorgeous.

Kimmie did fine and she does have a her jumps down solidly. She is no SALOME though and it showed. She still has an unpolished style that will mature with time. I actually like last year's program much better. But even having said that, she doesn't have Michelle's ability to relate to the music. I wonder if we will ever see that again in another skater.

Shizuka's heart is either not into skating/competing right now, or she is having confidence problems. She did not seem to relate to Tatiana either in the kiss and cry. Her program is put together well, but I didn't love the music at all.

Joanie's music was horrible. Pure elevator music. She is a gifted jumper with lots of ability, but I was underwhlemed with her program. She also tends to muscle through it. I almost feel like I am watching Tonya Harding again. I liked last year's program better and I don't see her winning a medal at Torino with this one.

Rgirl said:

Beillmania is right, Bdreampixie and unless I've missed it somewhere else, YOU are the winner of this season's first "Name That Thing!" award. As winner, you receive an all expenses NOT covered trip to the disaster area of your choice (no rudeness intended to the incredibly courageous victims of recent ones), plus the coveted golden Beaver Cleaver, which you get to keep until you pass it on to next year's winner. Congratulations Bdreampixie! Well deserved.

Rgirl

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OMG!!! (waves w/ tears in eyes) I'd like to thank the little people

As much as I'd like to take credit (cause I'm arrogant, LOL) I've seen quite a few mentions of Biellmannia on this board.

So I happily pass my Golden Beaver Cleaver (umm ) to Dlkksk8fan.

It's such a shame about Alyssa Czisny's jumps failing her, because her spins are unbelievably fast and beautiful--just what I want to see in a spin; and her positions and stretch are first rate. I don't know what can be done. New coach? Sports psychologist? She should be a competitor and she is not.

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I'm wondering if its a result of the hinged boots. I don't remember her wearing them last year, and I"m willing to bet that's what's throwing her jumps off.