- Joined
- Jan 6, 2007
Now I have seen it all... I think the quality of the free program wasn't as good as e.g. Cup of Russia.
Reynolds: there are always a few skaters who I just can't stand to watch because they don't seem to know what they are doing out there. He doesn't seem to know what he is doing - he was just told: at this point flail your arms, here do a turn... Everything looks disconnected to me. And the quality of his jumps isn't good, not even the quality of his Quads, no speed out of the jumps, no good edges on the landing. I am glad that they don't give him much PCS. And note to his team: a horrific "artistic" costume doesn't make an artistic skater.
Mura: a powerful skater who looks way stronger and taller than all the other Japanese boys together. His style is also quite different from Dai's, Oda's and Kozuka's. His skating looks aggressive at times, a bit rougher... I like him, great potential.
Carriere: bleh. I am not really sorry that he didn't make the GPF. The program was okay in China when the jumps were halfway on - but here? And can't they give him a real make-over, I always have to think of Scott Hamilton when I see Carriere. He may be good for a spot on the US World team if others really screw it up. Even the guy who became his successor on the Worlds Junior Podium seems more exciting and to have more potential, despite the till now mercurial 3A. Carriere seems to be a really nice guy, but his skating does nothing for me.
Ponsero: Yannick!!! The speed, the edges, the flow... Gorgeous. Great musicality too. And that Quad - to all the Quad haters out there: watch the flawless Quads of Verner and Ponsero this season, aren't they things of beauty? Ponsero's was so amazing: the height, the speed, the incredible smooth landing. And compare this to that Canadian gnome, his Quads look ugly and barely squeezed out. I am glad that one judge gave the Quad a +3, give credit where credit is due. About the other jumps, is it possible that Ponsero has a rather small amount of prerotation compared to other skaters? One of the smart guys on these boards once said that Kurt Browning had so much trouble with landing a good Triple Lutz because he really did 3 rotations in the air. Ponsero's Lutz looks similar and he also had much trouble with it - plus the Flip is still a no-show in Ponsero's programs.
The German Eurosport guys made a sound a bit like Ponsero got robbed - despite all the stuff I loved about him, I just don't think so. He got fairly good PCS, not very much, perhaps not as much as he deserves but he got here as much as Kozuka at TEB. Their styles are comparable in my opinion, except for the fact that Ponsero seems to be a bit more powerful over the ice. Ponsero's long program doesn't have a real wow-factor, it's probably really great when done flawlessly - but he popped two jumps, stumbled on another and started to look a bit anxious after the halfway mark. And the jump layout was rather weak, after the stunning beginning with 4T, 3A, 3Lz - he only landed two more Triple Salchows and one Triple Toe - that's not much. I really agree with the placement.
Weir: His 3A is notoriously underscored, other guys get much more for lower-quality Axels - the British Eurosport guys once suggested that Weir should get positive GOE for the unique landing and arm position. It can't be the lack of transitions with Weir, other guys haven't much transitions into their 3A either - is it the height? But the rules say good distance equals good height.
Then: too much PCS. I am glad that the judges still seem to like him - but he got a bit of a present here, just like Verner did last week. And after having seen the judges sending Joubert away with 73.6 points PCS at TEB - I am really amazed that Johnny got one of the highest PCS so far this season. That said - the program was okay, the jump layout was on par with Ponsero's. But it was nothing special, and I don't think he was really in the music during the step sequences - that was way better in his short program. But kudos to him for fighting through the program and making the GPF.
Oda: I just hate it when the judges want to crown "overwhelming favourites", it nearly put me off Takahashi last season when they showered him with every point they could find at the overscore-4CC. It makes me eye the Superchan with suspicion because I just don't think that he deserves that much more than the others. And the PCS is a joke with Oda, the judges were generous with Weir - but they gave Oda PCS that I cannot understand in any way. Plus the GOEs in the second half? +1.2 GOE for that Double Axel? Oda doesn't deserve more PCS than his compatriot, Kozuka. He has no showman qualities à la Joubert or Takahashi, his interpretation was bland, the only musical part of the program was the last step sequence, he was tense and had 3 very visible mistakes. Give him the 8 or 8.5 for skating skills, shower his spins with GOE because they are that great - but don't make the skaters better than they are. Oda would have won anyway, Weir and Ponsero popped jumps and that's so much more costly than stumbling.
So the placements are correct; I would have had the PCS 72 for Oda, 75 for Ponsero and 74 for Weir. That would have given Ponsero the edge over Weir in the free, but Weir would still have been 2nd overall. It would look much fairer in my opinion.
Overall a rather disappointing freeskate, I liked Ponsero but wasn't overwhelmed by him either, Mura looks like someone with a bright future...
Reynolds: there are always a few skaters who I just can't stand to watch because they don't seem to know what they are doing out there. He doesn't seem to know what he is doing - he was just told: at this point flail your arms, here do a turn... Everything looks disconnected to me. And the quality of his jumps isn't good, not even the quality of his Quads, no speed out of the jumps, no good edges on the landing. I am glad that they don't give him much PCS. And note to his team: a horrific "artistic" costume doesn't make an artistic skater.
Mura: a powerful skater who looks way stronger and taller than all the other Japanese boys together. His style is also quite different from Dai's, Oda's and Kozuka's. His skating looks aggressive at times, a bit rougher... I like him, great potential.
Carriere: bleh. I am not really sorry that he didn't make the GPF. The program was okay in China when the jumps were halfway on - but here? And can't they give him a real make-over, I always have to think of Scott Hamilton when I see Carriere. He may be good for a spot on the US World team if others really screw it up. Even the guy who became his successor on the Worlds Junior Podium seems more exciting and to have more potential, despite the till now mercurial 3A. Carriere seems to be a really nice guy, but his skating does nothing for me.
Ponsero: Yannick!!! The speed, the edges, the flow... Gorgeous. Great musicality too. And that Quad - to all the Quad haters out there: watch the flawless Quads of Verner and Ponsero this season, aren't they things of beauty? Ponsero's was so amazing: the height, the speed, the incredible smooth landing. And compare this to that Canadian gnome, his Quads look ugly and barely squeezed out. I am glad that one judge gave the Quad a +3, give credit where credit is due. About the other jumps, is it possible that Ponsero has a rather small amount of prerotation compared to other skaters? One of the smart guys on these boards once said that Kurt Browning had so much trouble with landing a good Triple Lutz because he really did 3 rotations in the air. Ponsero's Lutz looks similar and he also had much trouble with it - plus the Flip is still a no-show in Ponsero's programs.
The German Eurosport guys made a sound a bit like Ponsero got robbed - despite all the stuff I loved about him, I just don't think so. He got fairly good PCS, not very much, perhaps not as much as he deserves but he got here as much as Kozuka at TEB. Their styles are comparable in my opinion, except for the fact that Ponsero seems to be a bit more powerful over the ice. Ponsero's long program doesn't have a real wow-factor, it's probably really great when done flawlessly - but he popped two jumps, stumbled on another and started to look a bit anxious after the halfway mark. And the jump layout was rather weak, after the stunning beginning with 4T, 3A, 3Lz - he only landed two more Triple Salchows and one Triple Toe - that's not much. I really agree with the placement.
Weir: His 3A is notoriously underscored, other guys get much more for lower-quality Axels - the British Eurosport guys once suggested that Weir should get positive GOE for the unique landing and arm position. It can't be the lack of transitions with Weir, other guys haven't much transitions into their 3A either - is it the height? But the rules say good distance equals good height.
Then: too much PCS. I am glad that the judges still seem to like him - but he got a bit of a present here, just like Verner did last week. And after having seen the judges sending Joubert away with 73.6 points PCS at TEB - I am really amazed that Johnny got one of the highest PCS so far this season. That said - the program was okay, the jump layout was on par with Ponsero's. But it was nothing special, and I don't think he was really in the music during the step sequences - that was way better in his short program. But kudos to him for fighting through the program and making the GPF.
Oda: I just hate it when the judges want to crown "overwhelming favourites", it nearly put me off Takahashi last season when they showered him with every point they could find at the overscore-4CC. It makes me eye the Superchan with suspicion because I just don't think that he deserves that much more than the others. And the PCS is a joke with Oda, the judges were generous with Weir - but they gave Oda PCS that I cannot understand in any way. Plus the GOEs in the second half? +1.2 GOE for that Double Axel? Oda doesn't deserve more PCS than his compatriot, Kozuka. He has no showman qualities à la Joubert or Takahashi, his interpretation was bland, the only musical part of the program was the last step sequence, he was tense and had 3 very visible mistakes. Give him the 8 or 8.5 for skating skills, shower his spins with GOE because they are that great - but don't make the skaters better than they are. Oda would have won anyway, Weir and Ponsero popped jumps and that's so much more costly than stumbling.
So the placements are correct; I would have had the PCS 72 for Oda, 75 for Ponsero and 74 for Weir. That would have given Ponsero the edge over Weir in the free, but Weir would still have been 2nd overall. It would look much fairer in my opinion.
Overall a rather disappointing freeskate, I liked Ponsero but wasn't overwhelmed by him either, Mura looks like someone with a bright future...