Calgary Worlds revisited on ESPN2

[Jhar55]

Forgot it was on miss everything but the ladies.
Sasha just didn't seem to have any fire in her like she really didn't want to be there. Loved her program and dress she should have wore it at the Olympics, seemed to bring out some color in her face the gold dress made her look dull. I still amazed that Kimmie won gold, but she did have the best skate that night and deserved the win.

 

[R.D.]

Loved her program and dress she should have wore it at the Olympics

IIRC she did...?

 

[Ravyn Rant]

One thing that turned my mind around after seeing the Worlds again was Pet and Tik. I have never liked this team from day one, but in Calgary they not only skated their best - they skated better than any other Pairs. A totally clean performance and with enough ammunition, I am sure to satisfy the CoP.

I would also have put Rene and John on the podium for their almost spotless routine. Zhang and Zhang were held up, imo, as they were in Torino.
While I enjoy Pang and Tong very much, they did have too many boo boos in that final skate.

Team to watch in the Future: Dube and Davison.

Joe

ITA, and even more so after reviewing the competition last night. Never thought I'd see the day when I'd say this, but the Russians wuz ROBBED. And on the second viewing, I/B made me cry with their performance. (Something else I never thought I'd say.) It was their best skate EVER and they put everything they had on the ice. As much as I admire both Chinese teams, neither of them brought their "A game" to Calgary.
And Dube and Davison were wonderful. Way to move up!
All in all, a much better competition than the Olympics.
Rave

 

[CDMM1991]

The chemistry that Dube and Davison have on the ice reminds me so much of the same chemistry Sale and Pelletier had in the early years of their relationship that it's scary. And I think there's a very decent chance that Dube and Davison could turn out to be just as successful as Sale and Pelletier as well, if not more successful, because they seem to be very consistent, which is one of my favorite attributes in a performer that I'm going to be a "fan" of. I feel like I can trust them to put it down, I think that's why Michelle has so many fans -- you can trust her to put out her best every time.

 

[Kwanford Wife]

The chemistry that Dube and Davison have on the ice reminds me so much of the same chemistry Sale and Pelletier had in the early years of their relationship that it's scary. And I think there's a very decent chance that Dube and Davison could turn out to be just as successful as Sale and Pelletier as well, if not more successful, because they seem to be very consistent, which is one of my favorite attributes in a performer that I'm going to be a "fan" of. I feel like I can trust them to put it down, I think that's why Michelle has so many fans -- you can trust her to put out her best every time.

I couldn't agree more... that's all I thought last night watching this team... whatta future these two have... the program was complete, tight, and interesting to watch. Great job!

My other thoughts on last night...

Kimmie - for some reason she reminds me of Maria B. I don't know why and cannot for the life of me figure it out... But she definately earned her win. I cannot wait to see how she progresses.

Emily - She wasn't "on" at Worlds and since I love her attitude on the ice, when its missing I can't enjoy her skating as much... without the smug confidence (which I LOVE!!) she's just not fun to watch and you start nitpicking her skating skills which is too bad because that layback is the whip!

Sasha - I wish she'd fallen on the first jump and gotten it out of her system... all the little mistakes and lack of passion really take away from R&J and that's too bad... I did after her program when she mouthed the f-word after her final bow.... only because that's the first time I ever really felt her pain... I also loved the look she gave Peter C. during that final interview. She should've kicked him in the shin with her skate...

And seriously, what's Peter's deal? He's so nasty and mean, espcially to Sasha. You'd think she stood him up for the Prom the way he goes after her... what an a** .:disapp:

Fumie - I loved her performance but after reading the other thread on what's missing with her skating, I gotta agree with those who said she needs to point her foot during spins...

JoRo - Unfortunate performance on home ice... but the thing that really bugs me is her music choices... I don't understand why she skates to piano music when you just know that something different would highlight her unique-ness... I'd love to see her skate to Rush... or something more modern. That elevator music just doesn't do her justice...

 

[SeaniBu]

Tugba doesn't impress me as much now that a poster has corrected my views on Turkish lifestyles. I guess I should have known better from "Midnight Express" and things of the like. Interesting story, but nothing like they drum it up to be, yah, she is a pretty good skater. Good for her and the family. Skippy.

My feelings about Kimmie have not budged one bit. I really feel like she is all that she is "cracked up to be." And she seems real, herself, classy and youthful. Her parents must be some of the best and proudest people in the world, without letting it get to Kimmie's head. I would love to she her cheats live, I can't tell from TV and need to see it now that I am learning more. - throwing in the 2l at the end of he 2x2 WOW!

I really believe Sasha gets over marked these days. Maybe another important factor in seeing her skate live.

That frickin "ticker" the whole time...eegh! You would think the camera could compensate because they know the thing will cut some off at some point in any broadcast. I want to see the skates Now!!!

Elena vs YElena, I have seen this spelled both ways and have no assurance which is "proper." Her LP was "Alive" IMO.

Kinda sad to watch HP, and D & D ones to watch, how couldn't I totally agree. I think they made some good choices on what to rebroadcast.

 

[Kwanford Wife]

This would be in the assumption that I agree with the scoring - not.

Classic... Exactly!!! We all know what the judges thought based on their scores... we simply don't agree with the numbers... this is probably the third biggest gripe I have with Cop & the Boards... we act like the numbers are infalliable ~ that scores are fair ~ that the judging has REALLY changed ~ the Emperor has new clothes...

Sorry. My need to stamp my feet & pound my head over-rode my self-preservation of staying outta technical conversations...

 

[Ptichka]

Inouie & Baldwin had the best technical score, and should have gotten bettern components as well (their only component that came to over 7 was P/E).

Now, let's compare the technical of the two P&T's (number after comma is average GoE):


_______________Pang/Tong___________________Pet/Tik____________
COMBO:_________2A+2T, 0.16__-> 4.74____3T+2F, 1.08 -> 5.74
JUMP:__________2T, -3_______-> 0.30____2A, 1.0____ -> 4.16
TWIST LIFT:____3Tw3, 1.3____-> 6.10____2Tw3, 0.75__-> 4.29
THROW JUMP 1:__3STh, 1.75___-> 5.90____3STh, 1.5__ -> 5.50
THROW JUMP 2:_3LoTh*, 1.83__-> 6.90____3LoTh, 1.5__-> 6.00
DEATH SPIRAL 1:BoDs4, -0.5__-> 4.30____BoDs2, -0.41-> 3.30
DEATH SPIRAL 2:FiDs4, 1.6___-> 4.70____FiDs3, 0.83 -> 3.80
LIFT 1:________5ALi4, 1.25__-> 7.79____5ALi4, 1.33 -> 7.79
LIFT 2:________5TLi3, 1.08__-> 6.14____5TLi4, 0.75 -> 6.36
LIFT 3:________3Li3, 0.75__ -> 3.93____2Li4,0.75__ -> 4.43
FOOTWORK 1:____CiSt3, 1.16__-> 3.74____SpSt3, 0.41 -> 3.39
FOOTWORK 2:____SpSt3, 1.08__-> 3.60____SISt3, 0.25 -> 3.10
SBS SPIN:______FCFcSp3, 0.5 -> 3.36____FCCoSp2, 0__-> 2.50
PAIR SPIN:_____PCoSp3, 0.58 -> 4.21____PCoSp3, 0.33-> 4.14

So, Russians have better jumps; Chinese better twist lift; Chinese slightly better throws; Chinese - better spirals; almost equal lifts and footwork; slightly better spins for Chinese.
Looking at this, I'd say the only thing I don't agree with are the lifts. Perhaps also their components should have been a bit higher, pushing them to silver over the Zhangs. Beyond that, much as I hate to say this, it does appearto be fair.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

As one poster before me said, it's hard to believe that I think the Russians was robbed!

One can look at those points scores, but one doesn't have to swallow them. They are all opinions on what each judged noticed and then combined to give an opinionated total.

Pet and Tik were the best team that night, imo, and Z&Z had nothing to offer except high lifts. I presume high lifts are the equivalent to quads in singles whereby the contestants win extra undeserved points on other elements.

Joe

 

[attyfan]

I think reasonable minds can differ over whether the gold should have gone to P/T (Russia) or P/T (China), but I was really disgusted during the "round table" where, in response to Terry's "were the Russians robbed", there is no mention of Z/Z being overmarked, or the Russians, if not deserving the gold, then at least deserving the silver. IMO, if Anton's little bobble at '02 Olys caused such a humongous outcry, then Z/Z repeated errors should also have caused some commotion.

 

[Mathman]

Classic... Exactly!!! We all know what the judges thought based on their scores... we simply don't agree with the numbers... this is probably the third biggest gripe I have with Cop & the Boards... we act like the numbers are infalliable ~ that scores are fair ~ that the judging has REALLY changed ~ the Emperor has new clothes...

Still, I do like one aspect of the NJS. Under the ordinal system, all we could do if we disagreed with the judges' placements was whine and cry along the lines of, "How dare the judges say that Tara was the best? I thought Michelle was!"

Now we can whine and cry, "How dare the judges give a 0 GOE on Elena Sokolova's triple filp? The lack of flow out of the landing edge should have got her a -1!!!!!!!"

In Chuckm's post, he wasn't saying that he agreed with the judges, just that Sasha was so far ahead of Elena (pointwise) after the short that she was unable to overtake her despite her superior LP -- espcially since Sasha was overmarked in PCSs in the long.

This was in response to the question, "After re-watching the Ladies FS I am still totally confused on how Sasha took the Bronze." That's how.

MM

 

[76olympics]

The Eurosport guys really love I and B. I love to hear their commentary and they were ecstatic when I and B skated so well at Worlds. I almost feel like Rena and John would have been encouraged to continue just by hearing such an honest and enthusiastic assessment of their performance. It was so funny when one of them figured out that Rena was calling the spins. They thought that was great. They also stated that their jumps were really in sync in that long program and the program got better and more energetic as it went along.

I have to say again that I really LOVE those British Eurosport guys.

 

[demarinis5]

Thank you Chuckm for your post with Sasha's numbers.
Ditto to Mathman for your expertise explanation.

 

[Ptichka]

Pet and Tik were the best team that night, imo, and Z&Z had nothing to offer except high lifts. I presume high lifts are the equivalent to quads in singles whereby the contestants win extra undeserved points on other elements.

But Z&Z did not medal because of FS. In fact, they placed 4th in FS, behind I&B. They won due to their lead in SP. So, I'd say that under the old system the Russians should have won, but under CoP it was fair.

 

[SeaniBu]

This was in response to the question, "After re-watching the Ladies FS I am still totally confused on how Sasha took the Bronze." That's how.

MM

As always, insightful and correct. I in humility to the fine powers of observation I alas do not posses at this time. Particularly taking into consideration the QR and SP, I was foolish to speak with my heart.

I would believe to a slight degree that the SP and QR were also a little "nice to" Sasha. But again an assumption that I can not review. The most interesting thing to me was I was in agreeance in March with everything but Fumie I believe being a little underscored.

Caught up in the moment. But that LP of Sasha's was 20% not so attractive. Even her spiral seemed a little wobbly..anyhoo I stand corrected and have to deal with the facts.

 

[antmanb]

JoRo - Unfortunate performance on home ice... but the thing that really bugs me is her music choices... I don't understand why she skates to piano music when you just know that something different would highlight her unique-ness... I'd love to see her skate to Rush... or something more modern. That elevator music just doesn't do her justice...

That SP to Like A Prayer was just awful...did not one person say to her - listen up, love, generic female ballad's are rarely good to skate to, even in exhibitions, why on god's green earth have you decided to take a murdered orchestral version of a well known pop song and skate to it????

I hope she gets better music selections for next year...unfortunately the problem with ladies skating is the amount of "pretty pretty" piano music all the baby ballerina's want to skate to. Don't even get me started on the ridiculous pieces of music Yoshie Onda was skating to this season...or the costume for that matter!

Ant

 

[antmanb]

As one poster before me said, it's hard to believe that I think the Russians was robbed!

One can look at those points scores, but one doesn't have to swallow them. They are all opinions on what each judged noticed and then combined to give an opinionated total.

Pet and Tik were the best team that night, imo, and Z&Z had nothing to offer except high lifts. I presume high lifts are the equivalent to quads in singles whereby the contestants win extra undeserved points on other elements.

Joe

Joe i'm confused...when you say high lifts do you mean the twist lift rather than the overhead lifts?

I had a funny image in head of Male skaters going out in stilts to get higher lifts!!

Ant

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Zhang throws and lifts Zhang higher in the atmosphere than other men skating in Pairs do with their partners. It's quite obvious.

 

[Mathman]

http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/images/four_continents/4C2004 Zhang&Zhang SP.jpg

But Pang and Tong are no slouches, either. http://www.passionplus.net/imagettes/archives/patinage/couples/pangton/pangtong01.gif

 

[evenstar]

I'm not sure if this was on the rebroadast, but on youtube I found Sasha's interview with Peter Carruthers after her short program. I have to say I was for Sasha! Sometimes I find Peter to be a total jerk. Props to Sasha!