Yahoo sports!: The night they killed figure skating | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Yahoo sports!: The night they killed figure skating

Dark-Eyes

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
The judges seemed to give Johnny props if you look at the score sheet.

He got + GOEs on most of his elements, the elements just had lower base values. He got an edge call on the flip and stepped out of a spin half way through so those two got -GOE.

They gave him +GOE on everything else! How can you say they screwed him????

The problem is they are not consistent with every skater. If t hey want to give him hard edge calls, then call Plushy's URs. URs are serious- remember Mirai losing the National title because of them? Now suddenly, OBVIOUS URs by Plushenko don't count.



The biggest problem with this scoring system is the rules are not applied consistently, and there is too much freedom in the PCS marks. Johnny was canned hard on his PCS, and Evan + Lysachek were gifted on it. There were no + points for Johnny having a spectactular skate. It was a great performance. I'm sorry, but there should be some + for that.

Evan was smart and worked the system. He won fairly under the current judging system.
 

DesertRoad

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
The real travesty would've been an Olympic champion who won without level 4 footwork, like Plushenko. :p If you like jumping so much, go to track and field. This is skating.

The only good Elvis is Costello.
 

SweetPea21307

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 27, 2009
The real travesty would've been an Olympic champion who won without level 4 footwork, like Plushenko. :p If you like jumping so much, go to track and field. This is skating.

The only good Elvis is Costello.

Couldn't agree more. Evan deserved that gold medal. Plushy seemed to think that the quad alone was enough for him to win the gold medal. Evan had it ALL last night. Johnny was screwed by the judges, he should've been 4th at the very least.
 

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Arm Chair Skate Fan
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Or maybe they simply didn't like Plushy's arrogance and sense of entitlement...........42
 

gfskater

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 4, 2009
Or maybe they simply didn't like Plushy's arrogance and sense of entitlement...........42

Or maybe his program was not really that great. I think they gave him more + than they should have. His jumps were sloppy. I am sorry but just because woooweeee he held on to that one, amazing... If he have a good entry and good air position we would not have had such a crash landing on those jumps. I would have given him -GOE and he got + so the judges gave him props.

After reading the article at the top of this thread I thinks he and his coach are imagining these enemies... He says he thought he won in the article but look closely at his face at the end of the LP. He knew he lost.

Shame Takahasi fell apart, his skills are amazing! His short was remarkable.
 
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DesertRoad

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
I linked a Canadian acquaintance to the article, and I feel compelled to share his reaction:

"Maybe Stojko is just bitter that skating got in the way of his years of karate lessons and collecting Asian swords."

Ha!
 

sarukou

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
The real travesty would've been an Olympic champion who won without level 4 footwork, like Plushenko. :p If you like jumping so much, go to track and field. This is skating.

The only good Elvis is Costello.

You can't be serious? Evan did not receive level 4 footwork all year and the suddenly gets it at the Olympics. Hmmm...

I thought this was a sport... But it seems the jumping has regressed to a 1988 level. Or even worse - Boitano's jumps were way better than Lysacek's.

This is the future of skating? Some extremely pre-rotated triple axels, a triple double double combo, and a level 4 footwork full of flare kicks and arm flailing?

Lysacek is easily the weakest Olympic Champion in 20 years... Thank You C.O.P.
 

DesertRoad

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
I must've missed the part where skaters get to skate their Olympic programs months in advance and have all their technical elements adjudicated then. If so, perhaps Plushenko should've gone back to a time where he sucked less and used one of those performances.
 

sarukou

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
I must've missed the part where skaters get to skate their Olympic programs months in advance and have all their technical elements adjudicated then. If so, perhaps Plushenko should've gone back to a time where he sucked less and used one of those performances.

And maybe Lysacek should have been a tad less average and taken some risk. Perhaps, just perhaps, an Olympic MENS champion should have more technical difficulty than a Lady. What an absurd thought, no?
 

jcoates

Medalist
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
What a sad, bitter man. Really pathetic. He clearly has no respect for anything in skating other than jumps, despite any of his protests to the contrary. My level of respect for him drops each time he puts pen to paper or opens his mouth. He appears to have a lot of unresolved baggage, still fighting the battle of 1994.

Seems to me like he is approaching his thinking with the same narrow sledge hammer approach that he used in his skating. Skating is cyclical. Standards evolve over time and preferences come and go. The same is true in football, tennis, basketball or any other sport. The goal is not always to put more points on the board. Sometimes, it's to restore balance or sound fundamentals. For example, tennis went through a nearly 20 year period when serve speeds were ratcheting up exponentially. It seemed the other players were never going to catch up and fans were getting bored. That does not negate any of Pete Sampras' or Boris Becker's titles, it's just that there were other ways to play the game that did not get sufficient attention. Still, they were the standard of their era and the powers that be endorsed that approach by building faster courts and using lighter balls knowing full well that the rallies would be shorter or even non-existent. Eventually though, the baseliners started to adjust and at the same time officials started using different surface technology to encourage more balanced play. If they hadn't, it's arguable that Rafael Nadal would never have been the star that he is, and to a lesser extent Roger Federer (the most balanced player of all time).

The 70s were mostly about pushing artistic boundaries, while much of the 80's and 90's were about pushing jumping boundaries with less and less attention on anything else. In both periods, whoever lived up to the in vogue ideal tended to win. Now the system in place is attempting to show that there is more than one way to win. There is NOTHING wrong with that. That makes the sport more legitimate in my opinion because it is fair to the widest range of people. For example if Verner had Plushenko's competitive drive, he'd be in the running for every major title, if not the favorite because he would have no real weakness.

IMO, skating has been totally damaged by this soundbite era that we live in. Too many people can only focus on one thing at a time and seem incapable of stepping outside themselves to look at situations from different perspectives or to judge other people with out bias. The hate displayed for Evan and other skaters throughout this forum in countless other threads is shameful and frankly the type of juvenile behavior you would expect from first grade children. They want a short, narrow explanation and if they don't get their way, they throw a temper tantrum Stojko and Plushenko clearly appear to fall into this camp. Maybe they should start posting here. They'd be welcomed with open arms.

It's figure skating not figure jumping. While some people may not realize this, this battle for balance in skating has been raging for 60 years with different opinions holding sway. That will always be the case.
 

jcoates

Medalist
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
And maybe Lysacek should have been a tad less average and taken some risk. Perhaps, just perhaps, an Olympic MENS champion should have more technical difficulty than a Lady. What an absurd thought, no?

What sexist statement that IS totally absurd. During her peak, Ito was the technical equal of any man in the world, so was Denise Beillman. They were both doing their hardest jump (axel and lutz respectively) whan many man still couldn't complete them in practice or competition.

Considering the fact that Mao can't due a good lutz or toe loop (unless in combination) and is limited to doing only four different triple jumps, I'd say she has not technically equal to the men. So who else are you referring to? Even if she did include those jumps, that would be a credit to her, not a slight against any man.
 
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UM84

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
The QUAD has killed figure skating, there is way to much emphasis put on this 1 element
 

piano18

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
lysacek USED the music, played the program, used his body to go through that sequence thus earning more points technically AND for interpretation.

.

Is that supposed to be a joke. :laugh::laugh::laugh: Since when is Evan Lysacek considered a musical, interpretative performer. Evan Lysacek brings zero artistic value to his routines. Zero. Enough of the bruahaha.

Silly Americans.
 
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silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Is that supposed to be a joke. :laugh::laugh::laugh: Since when is Evan Lysacek considered a musical, interpretative performer. Evan Lysacek brings zero artistic value to his routines. Zero. Enough of the bruahaha.

Silly Americans.

Compared to Plushenko he's pretty damn artistic...
 

skatemom1122

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 22, 2009
Is that supposed to be a joke. :laugh::laugh::laugh: Since when is Evan Lysacek considered a musical, interpretative performer. Evan Lysacek brings zero artistic value to his routines. Zero. Enough of the bruahaha.

Silly Americans.

Congrats Canada on your 5th and 24th place finishes.
 

Justafan

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
And maybe Lysacek should have been a tad less average and taken some risk. Perhaps, just perhaps, an Olympic MENS champion should have more technical difficulty than a Lady. What an absurd thought, no?

So you think he should have attempted the quad and risked re-breaking his foot? I would say it was a smart decision. Your comment is also sexist. I'm not a huge Evan fan but he skated his heart out and was simply better than Plushenko...whose idea of choreography is swiveling his hips like a male stripper.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
A lot of new members on the board. I have been using my ignore feature for the first time.

Jcoates great post. :agree:
 

show 42

Arm Chair Skate Fan
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Maybe we should go back 20 years ago when figure skating was 60 per cent "figures" and very little artistry let alone jumps. Maybe figure skating is exactly where it should be now, a balance of jumps, footwork, spins, and figures. You have to have a little bit of "everything" to win...........42
 
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