Replay Lounge 2025 GP de France

[Mathman]

They're not the same people...

I can't fault your logic. Similarly, Ilia Malinin is not Ashley Wagner and never will be.

 

[Arigato]

Dream on!

He will never be me, either. Or do you really not get what I am saying?

 

[Mathman]

He will never be me, either. Or do you really not get what I am saying?

No, I do not. You seem simply to be acting silly.

This is the point..We are not opening auditions for GOAT status here. As for expectations about skating contests this season and going forward, there are three possibilities for anyone hoping to overtake Malinin.

1. Someone, say Adam SIAO Him Fa, could upgrade his jump content.

2. Ilia might mess up.

3. The ISU might instruct its technical specialists and judges to start giving Malinin a bunch of downgrades and qs, and to lower his GOEs and PCSs.

Of these, I think that #3 is the least likely to happen.

 

[4everchan]

After a nice walk under the sun...

I have watched a few men

Andrew : gorgeous skater with bizarre musical taste. You already know this but I do not approve of Moonlight sonata inserts whenever some less talented artist needs some good notes to make their song. Good redemption skate for him.

Mio Frangi. : just watched because of the eye candy and fun attitude despite the scorecard scares

François did well that costume is out there

Lukas : another redemption skate. I am not too sure what his personal musical taste is as his programs are always so far away from what seems to be him culturally. His spins are incredible.

Adam was worth watching. What a performance. So happy for him !!!!! Bravo.

I skipped the two Japanese and Nika.

On to Ilia, I am disappointed he kept the voiceovers. At my venerable age, I don't need a 20 year old's musing when I watch skating. But whatever floats his boat . Good jump but the salchow which was tilted. His rotation speed is so fast and his air position is so tight which is the key to land all these quads. I simply wish there was "music" in there... not just voiceovers and cello arpeggios. He wins by a landslide. Well deserved and I think it's fair to not like his program and say that he deserves the win. I am not even sorry to say that I don't like his skating yet, I recognize he deserves to win. I just wish his PCS score reflected what is really happening there. He would still win but yeah. I am not sure I'd give him 12 points more than Andrew or place him even with Adam.

So there. I have done my share.

 

[Arigato]

No, I do not. You seem simply to be acting silly.

Since you are resorting to personal insults, I'm out.

 

[TontoK]

He will never be Yuzu. He will never be Plushenko.

I genuinely don't understand.

Why would we want that? If we want to watch Yuzu or Plushenko, we have YouTube. I want Ilia Malinin to be the best version of himself and forge his own legacy if he can, not copycat another legend.

Edit: I see further down the thread that the person I asked has left the thread, but it's an open question for anyone.

 

[TontoK]

He wins by a landslide. Well deserved and I think it's fair to not like his program and say that he deserves the win. I am not even sorry to say that I don't like his skating yet, I recognize he deserves to win. I just wish his PCS score reflected what is really happening there. He would still win but yeah. I am not sure I'd give him 12 points more than Andrew or place him even with Adam.

So there. I have done my share.

I'm fine with this. I don't particularly like the programs this year either, but then again, other than Yuma's Turandot masterpiece, are there really any programs that are much better? Everything seems pretty run of the mill, and not Olympic level (as I interpret that term).

I like Jason's short to Riverdance, but that's really a stroll down memory lane, and I don't know about his long. I like Max's programs, but I'm the first to admit I am completely biased on that score, and I don't even care that I'm biased (and despite the mediocre result this week, my mission to wish him on the Olympic Team is still in full force.) Despite the oohing and aahing about Adam, I think his programs are just weird.

And I don't even remember what the Canadians and the rest of the Europeans and Japanese are skating to. They're that bland.

 

[noskates]

Tonto - completely agree with your post. First of all, Yuzu and Plushenko were in another time and another place. Ilia is the here and now and it seems like nobody can touch him if he skates clean. You don't have to like him, his skating, his voiceovers, his choreography or his frou frou shirt but you (the universal you) can't deny his talent and ability. In a head to head competition with the 2 former skaters I would bet the bank on Ilia at this point in time with all of them in their prime! But what does it matter? As we keep saying, we all have our favorites and we have them for different reasons. I didn't enjoy all the skaters this weekend because of weird music, boring choreography or lack of heart in their skating. But there were many in all 4 disciplines that were enjoyable whether they medaled or not. I DO enjoy skating and will never stop watching it.

 

[Sai Bon]

Wow, for once it seems to have been the ladies who brought the excitement. I couldn't watch live, because I went away to the beach (first holiday in several years) for three days without my computer. Looking forward to catching up when I can. Strangely enough, I've had insomnia for the last 4 nights! Maybe I should have just stayed up watching the replays.

 

[CoyoteChris]

I don't know if this is appropriate for this thread or not but was anyone else shaking their head and rolling their eyes at Meghan Duhamel chomping on gum in the kiss & cry?

IIRC (its been awhile) but I used to stand with Yasa Netcheava, who coached Evan Bates and Emily at the olys, and chat about the skaters while watching them and I think she chewed gum, mouth closed. I think its probably a way of dealing with stress. I am old school and personally dont think it "attractive" in men or women, but what do I know?

 

[CoyoteChris]

Wow, for once it seems to have been the ladies who brought the excitement. I couldn't watch live, because I went away to the beach (first holiday in several years) for three days without my computer. Looking forward to catching up when I can. Strangely enough, I've had insomnia for the last 4 nights! Maybe I should have just stayed up watching the replays.

I think it was the ladies who were most exciting for sure. ( Insomnia is aweful and I have been on drugs for 20 years) Its not that IM wasnt exciting...he was...but the drama was in the ladies.

 

[lariko]

We don't know what future holds, but given how much Malinin-Skornyakov family holds together as a figure skating team/coaching team, odds are good that they will not be sidelined after Malinin stops competing. Unlike Chen, Ilia will likely be visible in the figure skating world due to that. And, unlike Hanyu, I hope he will be able to pursue personal happiness without the extreme harassment by the insane fans.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Well, it looks like we have a new Olympic favourite. Sakamoto couldn't have done much more, judges weren't harsh or anything, and still came up short to Nakai.

Brilliant GP debut for Nakai, especially with the pressure of the facing the 3 time world champion. Talk about intimidation.

Sumiyoshi was great too.

Levito was a long way away, I was surprised they didn't hit her with an underrotation on the 2T in that 3 jump combo, and got great GOE too. I'm completely baffled that they could miss that. I would have had Schild ahead in the free skate -- who had the skate of her life.

It seems this is the Japanese era. Total dominance.

Pretty much my thoughts. I have no idea who is a front runner for olys, given skaters will be able to skate as independants, but Kaori is at an awkward point where trying to learn a 3A or quad might be a bad way to end her skating life with a bad injury. She has had to fight these last few years. I still love her. I hope C. K.'s injury heals....I really enjoyed the Korean brand of artistry and interpretation. Levito is obviously very talented technically and artistically..I actually enjoyed her gala number more than her comps as she is still having issues with her before and after hunches during her triple jumps (What Ted and Mark call "Posture") and I find it very distracting and anoying.

 

[4everchan]

Tonto - completely agree with your post. First of all, Yuzu and Plushenko were in another time and another place. Ilia is the here and now and it seems like nobody can touch him if he skates clean. You don't have to like him, his skating, his voiceovers, his choreography or his frou frou shirt but you (the universal you) can't deny his talent and ability. In a head to head competition with the 2 former skaters I would bet the bank on Ilia at this point in time with all of them in their prime! But what does it matter? As we keep saying, we all have our favorites and we have them for different reasons. I didn't enjoy all the skaters this weekend because of weird music, boring choreography or lack of heart in their skating. But there were many in all 4 disciplines that were enjoyable whether they medaled or not. I DO enjoy skating and will never stop watching it.

well.. you can bet the bank on Ilia but the comparison is not really fair... it's like saying Ilia in his prime would have beaten Kurt Browning in his prime... of course, other era. The sport has evolved tremendously in the last few years. Patrick, for instance, didn't bother with the quad salchow which he could land because he thought he didn't need it... well when he came back, he learned it because he had to.... and yet, he couldn't keep up with this part-time training mate, Nathan who was jumping pretty much all the quads.

As a matter of fact, Misha and Adam also bring so many quads to the game. It's another playing field. Yuma is working on his too... and there are a bunch of guys, even in juniors landing the quad lutz now... it's a different era. No need to compare with the greats of the past. They are all unique.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

I will save detailed observations for his Fan Fest, but I must give Andrew props here for jumping from 12th to 6th!!! He got help from other men menning, of course, but he also laid down a good skate as the first one on the ice. He was ever so close to 5th. Well done! I hope he is well; he was invited to the gala but didn't do it.

 

[noskates]

4everchan - unknowingly you made my point! You can't compare "eras" in figure skating because the sport has evolved so much.

 

[Magill]

Or deteriorated, depending on which side you're on and what you want from it, lol!
"Changed" is probably the right word.

 

[readernick]

To be honest the only discipline that rewarded PCS fairly here was the pairs. Those results were completely justified imho given the programs and the execution of those programs. I've never responded to the Hungarians before but I liked their SP here. That was a huge improvement artistically even if the music they chose is overused. The Japanese were great in both programs. Like the Canadians SP. I really really like Katie Mcbeath. She might be the best pairs girl in the USA. The jump mistakes she made here were out of character but all pairs mess up the side by sides sometimes. I think her partnership has long-term potential.

Loved the top five women here but I did not agree with the PCS given particularly to Ami. Ami is an amazing jumper and has good SS but her programs are so empty. She's getting far too high of PCS for what she puts on the ice. (TES is deserved..her jumps are great). She should not be getting similar PCS as Isabeau and Rion who have complex choreo, great programs, and who are better performers. That's the magic of high TES that we always see in the mens. However, while men's PCS is often a joke (as it was here) in rarely actually changes the results. I think the PCS given to Ami may have been the determining factor in her winning over Kaori. I realize my opinion about this is unpopular and I've never been a huge Kaori fan so its not really about that. But, to me, the difference in programs was stark and not fairly marked.

The men's winner was expected and deserved. Ilya's skating isn't something that I personally like, but what he does is incredible. Happy Adam skated well. I don't find him that much better than Ilya PCS wise except for his SS which are clearly better. I think Andrew and Lukas were the two skaters who actually deserved the highest PCS. But, they received 12 and 8 points lower PCS respectively than the top 2. That's not correct PCS juding, but I don't think either would have made the podium with correct PCS so it is what it is.

The ice dance results were upsetting and made me question (which I honestly usually don't) if ice dance is actually a sport. The two best technical teams here were the French and the Italians. They are both strong teams but one had their scores ridiculously inflated and the other had their scores ridiculously dropped. Given the mistake in the RD by the french and the low levels the Italians got in the RD, F/G (whose skating I don't even like) probably should have won this by a few points. They didn't because the judges gave ridiculous GOE and PCS to the French. Especially, on the lifts and twizzles which weren't very good. Other teams would have gotten +1 for those elements and they were getting +4/5. Just wrong. OTOH, the Italians skated a beautiful, technically sound program that demonstrated their wonderful SS and partnering and the judges refused to reward them. Usually, the ridiculous PCS judging is just a minor issue, but this kind of judging almost makes me hate the discipline. I felt the same after the Olympic qualifier. Several teams where dumped for the Chinese from Montreal who were clearly inferior from a SS perspective. It's easy to dump smaller fed skaters to benefit skaters who come from a powerful coaching team. On a positive, I really liked the Lithuaians and I felt they actually got rewarded here. So, that was nice but they shouldn't have been above the Italians.

 

[midori green]

Was there ever a good theme since they've scrapped the real pattern dance steps sequence ? No. Madonna is definitely not the most chosen artist from the 90s... there are so many Ricky Martin or Back Street Boys programs. Madonna was just over represented at this GP event . However, I think the 90s is probably the best option for the Olympics. It brings together the crowd that had money to spend, not too young and not too old. The music from that decade was fun and upbeat. The problem doesn't necessarily reside in the decade but in the laziness of coaches and choreographers who have picked the same 4 or 5 artists for everyone to skate to.

Here is something nobody (as far as I know) has picked up and that would have been Very (pun intended) fun

and that's just one example... do not dare me to come up with many more because I just can but would rather not burden this thread. There are a lot of options which were not chosen.



and another one.. just because I can

I would've recommended "Whoever You Are" by Geggy Tah. It's one of my favorite random songs from the 90s.

 

[4everchan]

4everchan - unknowingly you made my point! You can't compare "eras" in figure skating because the sport has evolved so much.

What I am saying is slightly different. I was responding to your bank bet we certainly can compare skaters from different eras but not in terms of competition scores. Anyways, is dead