Campbell's International FS Classic

[R.D.]

Alright... *waits 15 minutes*

AAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLriiiiiiiiiiity, 15 minutes UP!

(Now Sasha, be sure to fall at the next couple of events to balance things out. I'll even make Kwan magically get better so she can challenge you and you actually have some competition. Oh, and let me add, there's no way you're winning OLY Gold. And Kwan is GUARANTEED to win her 10th US title, so you can forget about that one too. )

Hehe...

Of course, this is all TIC.

 

[brinababy87]

Michelle Kwan WILL win the nationals and Olympics. She's just making us think she's out of the picture.

 

[Doggygirl]

Woo Hoo! Congratulations Sasha! Glad to see that she skated well tonight. Everyone was so down that there would be no one worth watching. Can't wait to see this program. I always wanted her to skate to R&J as a competition program.

DITTO!!! I can't wait to see it either!! Here's to many more solid skates for Sasha this season!!

DG

 

[R.D.]

Ready for the ULTIMATE Sasha party crasher?

OK...Cohen won this event ONLY because she didn't have Kwan or Slutskaya to challenge her!



(Now to post this at SashaFans...*snicker* )

 

[purplecat]

So happy for Sasha! So sad for Johnny!

 

[R.D.]

Pictures

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=figure+skating&c=news_photos

I bet they'll add as they go along.

 

[Tonichelle]

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=figure+skating&c=news_photos

I bet they'll add as they go along.

Is it just me or is Kimmie's costume Channelling one of Kwan's?

 

[RealtorGal]

Is it just me or is Kimmie's costume Channelling one of Kwan's?

You just TOTALLY read my mind! I was JUST thinking of that, and I even stuck my face up to the screen to see if it was Kimmie or Michelle, even though I know Michelle wasn't competing!

 

[R.D.]

Is it just me or is Kimmie's costume Channelling one of Kwan's?

In fact, yes it does!

It looks like one of those costumes she wore a while back (1996, maybe?)

 

[Eldredgefan2001]

It looks too much like the Salome costume that she wore in '96, the year that she won everything but that competition in Russia. :scratch:

 

[SailorGalaxia518]

Campbell's Classic Kicks Off the Season in St. Paul

http://www.usfsa.org/event_story.asp?id=31065

Here is the press release

 

[Zanzibar]

My miniature Ladies Review:

Okay, after seeing this event live tonight, Joannie Rochette is my a new fave. So different than the others - not a little 'baby ballerina girl' but a woman out there, with impressive muscle definition and pipes to die for! Plus, she's nice - has manners - and a killer accent. Joannie - you rock.

Cohen really was on fire tonight - right out of the gate.

Emily Hughes unbelievably lackluster.

Meissner - good choreography, some very cool poses.

Alissa Csizny - much more talent than was displayed with the multiple falls - probably the fastest spinner of the night - one to watch.

Arakawa - great costume, fab ina bauer layback, otherwise - blah.

Brief Mens review:

All I really have to say on this was that if Plushenko can even lace up his skates in Torino, he could trounce all over tonight's performances. Gentleman: you have four months remaining to get it together!

Would have been really interesting to see Joubert here tonight because with the shape he's in right now, it would be hard to imagine he couldn't have easily challenged for first. Happy for Takeshi - he's had a rough two years - but let's not forget he's the guy who landed - THREE quads at Four Continents - nice for him to come away with a 50K check and a victory.

And of course, hard to not be happy for Mike - who at age 29 - will be the oldest of the men in Torino - an accomplishment to stay in the game this long.

IF you could have seen the sheer height of Sandhu's jumps at practice....you'd have never believed he couldn't transfer those great jumps to the event ice - a shame.

Cohen was the only athlete of the night to skate like an Olympic champion.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Now that everyone has predicted the outcome on past performances, and the results are not exactly in those predictions. BIG QUESTION: Will you continue to predict future competitions on the last skate you saw the contestant?

Takeshi wins jet lag an all.

How much have we dumped on Michael this year?

Tim with recent accident and basically washed up according to our forum.

The wonder boys of Moscow: still think they are wonder boys?

E-man Sorry fans, but he seems true to form.

Sasha Cohen - No surprise.

Kimmie beats Shizuka. Could be jet lag

Joannie - giving it a fight.

Emilie - Where was Bebe?

Are you going to rethink your predictions based on this, eh, competition? I hope not.

The next stage of this, hmmm, invitational will be shown on TV and that is what I am looking forward to. Not for the costumes. That's just not my thing but for the skating: choreography, musicality, improvements in: style, flow, and any change in technical, i.e. quads or 3x3s.

Then I will start taking this information for an Olys prediction along with what I see in the GPs, 4 CCs and Euros

Joe

 

[Doggygirl]

To Zanzibar...THANKS!!

I know I'm not alone in my appreciation for your comments after you saw the event live. I'm sure even the TV view next weekend isn't quite the same as seeing it first hand.

I'm glad to hear that Sasha is on fire. I hope she can keep that going through the season.

I'm also VERY encouraged by your comments about Joannie. I really enjoyed her skating last year, and I hope she got some "nerves out" last night and will have a solid season going forward.

:scratch: For everyone else. Here's hoping they all just got their *worst* performances for the season out of the way.

LOL Joe - I haven't made any predictions yet for Oly's, and don't believe I will even try for quite some time yet! I sure hope everyone can get their nerves and programs together so at least Oly's is an exciting and close competition to watch!

Side note - I posted a question last night on the USFSA site about judges score sheets. The response was that they *hope* to have them up today.

DG

 

[nymkfan51]

Thanks Doggygirl ... I will be very interested to see the protocols.

Congrats to Sasha, seems she was the only one to really skate well last night. Hopefully Shizuka can work the kinks out. What a total disaster for Emily. I think maybe she will be the one who lost the most last night. Fighting for an Olympic berth, this was the worst thing that could happen to her.
The men's event seems to have been a complete disaster. I don't know what's up with Johnny, and Evan has set himself back some, I think. Someome mentioned that his music is much more suited for an exhibition and does not come across well at all as an Olympic program.

Having said all this, it is very difficult to make judgements from these really early competitions. Hopefully there will be much improvement over the next few months.

 

[RealtorGal]

Thanks much Zanzibar for the live review! Very much appreciated.

 

[Mathman]

I am ready with my Olympic predictions, based on the season so far.

Men:

Buttle, gold
Scott Smith, silver (135.70 for his LP at the Ondrej Nepela)
Honda, bronze

Ladies:

Sasha
Irina
Kimmie

You read it here first! :agree:

 

[emma]

The problem now is that I don't much feel like watching this event next week, with the exception of catching Sasha and Kimmie, it really would be better if we could see this stuff live, like 'real' sports.

Random thoughts: Eman just breaks my heart...and my heart breaks for him...; I like Sasha's dress a lot, but am not a huge fan of Kimmie's dress (like the color, just not the look, yet at least); I am really happy for Honda, I hope this just gives him a boost to skate (much) better this season; I'm thinking Shiz was jet lagged...when's here first GP event? And I really do hope that Weiss has a great season...I've said before that he has never been one of my favorites, but I do respect him quite a bit, and he is off to a good start!

 

[Mathman]

Obviously we don't want to make too much of one single competition. Anything can happen down the road.

But I am impressed with how naturally Sasha seemed to step up into the Michelle role of show saver. Just when the audience is grumbling about wanting their money back -- "Have no fear, Sasha's here!"

She's worth her weight in gold to sponsors and event organizers.

MM

 

[nicole_l]

Honda's back!!!!