2013 US Nationals Senior Men LP | Page 13 | Golden Skate

2013 US Nationals Senior Men LP

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
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Jan 1, 2013
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Josh was good but he needs better choreography. He did so much arm reaching. I wasn't sure what he was trying to grab and bring close to his body.

Why, his beautiful first love, of course. ;)

I always feel sorry for Josh when people criticise his choreography since he did most of it himself. :(
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
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Dec 27, 2009
Australian :(

I can't wait to see his LP now. I love his Liebestraume. If there was a program I could happily see a skater keep for two or three seasons, that's it.

Seriously I hope you get to watch it. Mistakes and all it as absolutely gorgeous -- you can tell the audience was taken in. And I really do feel like he's improved even more in the artistry department. He really projected himself out there -- you could be in the last row of that arena and be touched by his skating.
 

Kitt

Final Flight
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Feb 1, 2007
Country
United-States
Great showing today by Alexander Johnson and Jason Brown. I really enjoyed their skates.

Maybe Jeremy was in shock and didn't think to congratulate Max, he was in his own depressed bubble.

The torch has been passed. Max was on fire!
 

ForeverFish

Medalist
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
similar to Miria having to be dragged out of the kiss and cry.....

I'm assuming you mean Mirai, and--not to turn this thread into a discussion about the ladies--she wasn't "dragged" from the Kiss & Cry. If you watch the video of her reaction, she very gracefully stood and exited the arena through the tunnel.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
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Dec 27, 2009
Great showing today by Alexander Johnson and Jason Brown. I really enjoyed their skates.

Maybe Jeremy was in shock and didn't think to congratulate Max, he was in his own depressed bubble.

The torch has been passed. Max was on fire!

Yes Alexander Johnson was amazing! I don't think anyone noticed that he finished 5th in the free skate! I will definitely be watching that one again!
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
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Jun 16, 2010
Stick a fork in Abbott. He is done. He can join Weir and Lysacek on the scrap heap, they are done too. It is all about the newcomers from now old. No point holding on to ancient old relics whose time is either long up even if they dont get the clue (Lysacek) or who for years has failed to produce when it matters (Abbott). Next years Olympic team will be a fight between all the younger generation of men, both the middle aged (Miner, Dornbush) and the really young (Brown, Farris, et al).
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
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Seriously I hope you get to watch it. Mistakes and all it as absolutely gorgeous -- you can tell the audience was taken in. And I really do feel like he's improved even more in the artistry department. He really projected himself out there -- you could be in the last row of that arena and be touched by his skating.

I made the investment for IceNetwork this weekend and even though I'm geoblocked from the live stuff, I'm glad I did. I'll be headed straight for JAson's skate when the men's LPs are put up though! :love:
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
I do think this team is solid, but I think Abbott is certainly capable of pulling a Gachinski (either way). At this point I think giving the young kid some experience is a good idea for USFSA's long term future....And sending Miner who is reliable is too. I frankly thought Farris was the one who really got hosed. Although I find Farris a bit boring. Still the most likely of the top USA four to be a champ.

I actually do love Abbott's skating and would love for him to pull a Kostner and get his act full together...But Kostner's "act together" didn't happen magically after a mess of a season... It happened over the course of two season of more consistent like performances)... I think the USFSA is smart to tell Abbott to either get i together-or go home.
Kostner often or the majority of times also found a way to medal whether you call it good skating skills or good no amazing luck she somehow is lie that mosquito that won't go away eventually she will get a bite, even a nibble and enough for a medal. I am sure everyone is in shock..I have heard - did the USFA name the world team. I am not so sure thoug this combo is likely to earn three spots (Aaron and Miner).
 

Art&Sport

Medalist
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
My bottom line is I really love Ross, Jeremy, Adam, Richard, Jason, Josh and truly all of these guys, all of these skaters. Whoever thinks figure skating is a sissy sport -- they know absolutely nothing about what it takes, OMG!

But the real bottom line pretty much is that the stakes are quite high these days, the landscape is completely different, and the ground is shifting beneath our feet. Moreover, even though ice is slippery and backing a young gun with no top senior international experience might be a recipe for disaster, the fact is the U.S. is bringing up the rear in the development of quads, so when you have strong guys who've dedicated themselves to mastering quads while still trying to develop all aspects of their skating, if you don't reward them now, WHEN? I absolutely love Jeremy, but he was overshadowed in the fp at these championships, even with his beautiful skating.

I never thought I would be saying this, but the kind of heart on fire, determination and desire that Max Aaron showed cries out to be rewarded. Yes, and stuff the over-hype Sandra, and Scott, because Max doesn't need any of that. Like I said in an earlier post, from what I've seen at this Nationals, Max Aaron is the real personification of Honey Badger, and he will need to demonstrate that now on the Worlds stage. Max has never been a favorite skater of mine, and I wasn't overly impressed with his skating last year despite being charmed by his eyebrows and his personality. I've got to say though, as I saw Max sitting in the athletes' lounge holding a towel anxiously to his face as the final men completed their programs, I wanted to give Max a huge hug, just like Ross Miner did. :agree: :)

Such a beautiful, beautiful skater is Jeremy with a seemingly sensitive spirit. Conversely he can be very goofy one minute and soulfully serious the next. I guess in some ways, similar to Matt Savoie, Jeremy is a skater out of his time. He's a well-rounded skater who can do all the jumps with sublime artistry but the extra pressure of the high intensity quads, along with his own over-thinking or self-doubt in important moments has combined to snatch defeat from victory on too many occasions. In the old days, with his well-rounded talent, Jeremy might have prevailed even on the international stage. That was when fs scoring was more about the whole package rather than the sum of its parts, and when top skaters' reputations anointed and cushioned them, and equally talented but reputation-less skaters were required to wait their turn It was when it was expected that there were only so many years to make one's mark which allowed younger skaters the opportunity to move up once veterans automatically moved on to the Ice Capades (if they had won enough medals and attention to land a decent contract).


Max obviously seemed near tears during the press conference, but all of the guys handled themselves really well, especially Jeremy during what is surely an excruciatingly difficult time. But Jeremy knows the mistakes were his alone. Max keeps referencing the fact that he's trained with Patrick Chan who has been generous in helping explain to him what competition is about on the big stage. Now, however, Max needs to remember that Patrick will be one of his biggest competitors on that stage in March.

If Ross hadn't popped his second triple axel, he might have won. Still Ross is consistency personified, and he has a similar desire, fire, and willingness to strategically go all out in mastering the quad because there are no longer any if ands or buts about needing to master them. Ross and Max are talented enough and focused enough to go to Worlds and skate their best, and the rest is out of their control. ISU judges are fickle and skating is political. The thing is to lay it all out there and let the chips fall where they may. That's how Ross won a bronze medal two years straight at NHK Trophy (and this past year in a loaded international field).

It's about time to show the rest of the World that the U.S. guys have got the consistency, the jumps and the gumption to compete for the podium, especially since these days when it comes to figure skating, refined artistry simply isn't enough. And I don't want to hear anyone tell me that Brian Joubert, or Michal Brezina, or Florent Amodio, nor even Javier Fernandez are better presentation-wise than Max Aaron, because they aren't. Sure they have more Worlds experience and more name recognition, but that's where PR needs to come into the picture. Promote and politik for your team USFS, in a smart and productive way. Don't take anything for granted in terms of thinking ISU judges are going to automatically respect your skaters, just because you've stamped their tickets to Worlds.
 
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pangtongfan

Match Penalty
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Jun 16, 2010
I am sad Ross Miner didnt win. I would have much rather him won. So I am not happy about the result. I also think Max's PCS were way too high.
 

Art&Sport

Medalist
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Apr 28, 2011
I am sad Ross Miner didnt win. I would have much rather him won. So I am not happy about the result. I also think Max's PCS were way too high.

Yeah, I get you. I too love Ross so much. He let it slip out of his hands by popping that second 3-axel, which has been a money jump for him. At least Ross is going to Worlds and has a chance to skate great there. The U.S. title is still up for grabs next year in Ross' backyard. :)
 

MarkusNJ

Rinkside
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Feb 13, 2011
Ross would have won with the 2nd 3axel....and I really wanted him to win:frown:. Regardless, he is going to worlds (I think? when will we know???)
 

evangeline

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Nov 7, 2007
And I don't want to hear anyone tell me that Brian Joubert, or Michal Brezina, or Florent Amodio, nor even Javier Fernandez are better presentation-wise than Max Aaron, because they aren't.

Brian Joubert, Florent Amodio and Javier Fernandez are better "presentation-wise" than Max Aaron. Michal Brezina we can negotiate.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
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Dec 27, 2009
Yeah, I get you. I too love Ross so much. He let it slip out of his hands by popping that second 3-axel, which has been a money jump for him. At least Ross is going to Worlds and has a chance to skate great there. The U.S. title is still up for grabs next year in Ross' backyard. :)

Count me in the "Sad Ross didn't get the U.S. title" club. But I too am glad he did not get bronze for a third year and moved up a spot! And that would be amazing if he got his national title at home!
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
I thought Josh should have won bronze at least. His free skate was miles better than Jeremy's. But he looked so happy, so I'm happy for him.

Sad that Jason didn't have a good skate, but no doubt he's happy to have improved his finishing position once again and is off bouncing and smiling somewhere.

I think what happened re: Josh, was that Max skated lights out so early, got a huge score. I don't think they were expecting Ross to pop a 3a or Jeremy to make as many mistakes as he did. So then you're in the situation where Josh skates, and could easily be 2nd or 3rd, but after no one more seasoned beat Max, to put Josh in 2nd and have a Worlds team with 2 newbies is maybe too risky, so they issued him edge calls that could have been ignored (were ignored for others) and kept the PCS conservative, in the end this meant 4th place. I feel like he definitely deserved 3rd and a case could have been made for 2nd, but I do think Ross landing his quad and Josh falling on his made the difference, even though Josh landed 2 beautiful 3axels while Ross popped one and had smoother landings on his jumps compared to Ross. But this way, he's not in the discussion for the Worlds team but is in the mix for the 4CC team and on the radar to make it to Sochi next year so, really, I think it's a decent position for him to be in. And he still had quite an impressive score, and one that, for me, was actually reasonable and he'd be capable of replicating or coming close to matching at an international event, which I can't quite say for the others b/c I don't think Max or Ross will get that kinda PCS internationally and even Jeremy for a flawed mistake might have trouble accumulating such high PCS. But I do think that Max & Ross is actually a good World team b/c we've seen other skaters like Song, Brezina, Fernandez, etc. climb up the rankings quickly and improve their PCS, not originally a strong point for any of them, considerably just through consistently landing tough content at big events. I tend to think the same will be true for Max. If he lands the big tricks, he will do very well. It's more if he doesn't, he'll get hurt more than others might. But he's pretty consistent so I think there's not so much to worry about.
 

Art&Sport

Medalist
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
I too echo those who speak of all the wonderful moments of this Nationals, including Wesley Campbell's Ave Maria, both of Adam's program, especially his revised fp with a different look for him, Jason Brown, Alexander Johnson, and so many others in all the disciplines.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Also I sort of feel with the placements at this year's nats, the judges are sending messages to the guys.

Max - Keep jumping like this and you will be rewarded and likely get on the Olympic team.

Ross - You're our go-to guy. At this point, you're the solid number 2, and you can become the number 1, but if you want to do that, you've got to keep working on the quad and developing more personality, artistry, etc. But you've been so close to number 1 for awhile, that you must know we'll give the spot to you if you can prove to us you DO have what it takes to be the top US man.

Jeremy - You better get your act together if you want to go to the Olympics next year. One youngster has blown you out of the water with his technical arsenal and another one with a similar arsenal and similar strengths is hot on your heels, and the Steady Eddie whose not the national star (or not yet at least) has beaten you for the second time in three years. We'll reward you for what you do well, but you have to earn it or someone else will take advantage of your mistakes and place ahead.

Josh - We notice you and admire you're potential. You're in the back of our mind regarding the 2014 Olympics, but we want to make sure you stick around and stay hungry for 2018. You can compete with the big guys already, and with more consistency on the quad, you can definitely be higher up on the podium. Keep improving and working hard and your efforts won't go unnoticed.

Dornbush, Rippon, Brown - We like your skating a lot and will reward you for what you do well, but to get on the podium and close the score gap to get there, you need to be upgrading the content (Adam, Jason) - getting those 3axels rock solid and consistently putting the quad out, or really work on keeping the errors to a minimum (Ricky), because with the international field the way it is, you're gonna need everything you've got to be competitive.
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
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Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
I would also like to say:

FREE MAX AARON!

Staying with Tom Z is not going to do anything for his PCS. But leaving him could. Follow Josh's example!
 

Art&Sport

Medalist
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
I know, and Aaron was actually cleaner than Bradley was. But Bradley actually was a performer. Aaron landed everything effectively and backloaded the bananas out of this program, but this is a program that will score 6s internationally for it's choreography and transitions, not eights.

Exactly. The guy that was perfect was perfect to his abilities, but his abilities aren't the best. The overscoring alone on transitions and choreography handed this title to him, and when you add in the other PCS (three components above eight?) it's ridiculous.

Unfortunately, Bradley did not "perform" to his own standards at Worlds 2011, plus the Moscow crowd simply did not get his fp. It was dead in the arena which made it doubly hard for Bradley to skate the heck out of that program. Also, don't forget that Bradley too was coached by Tom Z. A young Bradley had potential to be as elegant as Josh Farris, but Bradley stuck with Tom Z his entire career and any chance for artistry went out the window. At the least Max has been working with Pasquale Camerlengo.

Yes, some of Max's scores were a bit much (but he did land some wonderful jumps and the program was exciting). The high PCS for him won't necessarily be repeated at Worlds, but you never know, what with Florent Amodio getting high PCS (with all Florent's lousy Morosov choreo and posing, he sure ain't better than Max Aaron PCS-wise, IMHO). But there enters fs politics. U.S. team just have to go out and give it all they've got. It's a completely different game being played now and the stakes have anted up.
 
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