Grand Prix Final Preview

[Mathman]

Oldskatermom is not saying it's about the art. She is saying it's about the long term.

Lysacek is willing to risk a fall or two now as the price for developing a reliable quad for the future.

 

[jennylovskt]

... Weir won CoC over Lysacek by only two points. Even with a fall on the quad Evan could have won if he hadn't underrotated his 3A. Evan's lower score at SA was due to missing the quad in his SP. However, he landed it in the FS, and won the FS. He landed the quad combo in his SP at CoC, and won the SP.

Evan isn't about winning medals this year, although he would certainly like to. He is about training the quad in competition. However, eventually both quads in both programs will come together at the same time and you never know when that will happen. When it does, he can win it all because all of his other jumps are consistent.

I have to say that you are extremely biased, so your argument won't have a solid ground to stand on.

Not all the ifs go to Evan alone, and others remain with the same mistakes and regrets. It's not going to happen. The judges have been so generous to Evan so far to his traveled spins and sometimes cheated jumps, not to mention his questionable PCS scores. Evan can win it all? Is he the only one who works hard and the rest of the men will remain at the same level of their skating? No harm to keep this wishful belief but Evan is not going to win the next Olympics for sure.

 

[sillylionlove]

The men's competition is too close to call for me. Anyone could medal and anyone could win. It's going to be exciting!!

 

[slutskayafan21]

It pains me to say but after reading his fan forum I cant expect anything from Lambiel at the GP final. His jumps and mind, and possibly body, are all a complete mess right now. His terrible performances and terrible results on the GP circuit have shattered his confidence it looks like. Some skater I never heard of even outscored him in the LP TES at his own Nationals, he still won easily since his PCS were over 20 points higher. He was crying in practices and cried at the end of his performance basically. He is a mental wreck at the moment. It is sad to hear.

 

[kittyjake5]

It pains me to say but after reading his fan forum I cant expect anything from Lambiel at the GP final. His jumps and mind, and possibly body, are all a complete mess right now. His terrible performances and terrible results on the GP circuit have shattered his confidence it looks like. Some skater I never heard of even outscored him in the LP TES at his own Nationals, he still won easily since his PCS were over 20 points higher. He was crying in practices and cried at the end of his performance basically. He is a mental wreck at the moment. It is sad to hear.

Do you think he will withdraw from the GPF? I do feel bad for him. I hope he can get back on track and find some motivation to continue. IIRC he had some similar problems a couple of years ago or was that due to injury.

 

[jennylovskt]

It pains me to say but after reading his fan forum I cant expect anything from Lambiel at the GP final. His jumps and mind, and possibly body, are all a complete mess right now. His terrible performances and terrible results on the GP circuit have shattered his confidence it looks like. Some skater I never heard of even outscored him in the LP TES at his own Nationals, he still won easily since his PCS were over 20 points higher. He was crying in practices and cried at the end of his performance basically. He is a mental wreck at the moment. It is sad to hear.

What was the reason?! I know skaters have to go to GPF if they are qualified, and not sick or injured. What about the Euro's and the Worlds? I think Lambiel needs sometime to get away with the competitions. It is very depressing.

 

[Mathman]

What's striking about this thread is that almost every post is about the men. I can't remember any previous competition where the men reigned supreme and the other disciplines only brought a big yawn.

So, Caroline Zhang is predicted to finish dead last? Where are the Caroline fans to dispute that? Meissner off the podium?

Personally, I think that Asada's sure lock on second place is not so secure after all.

 

[Brandi_DeLain]

LOL, Mathman. The women are kind of boring. It's all about the men (for me anyway).

Drama Kings rule!

 

[Vodka Shot]

The problem with ladies is they all have the exact same program. Yu-Na and Mao are amazing skaters, but ZzZzZz. Kimmie is well, Kimmie. I honestly don't think she's got a snow ball's chance in hell of winning. Caroline is somewhat interesting to watch, but that's mostly due to the bendy spins she gets herself into. For me Kostner is the only one that I can watch with-out getting bored and I think that's because her jumps are big and she skates so fast.

 

[jennylovskt]

What's striking about this thread is that almost every post is about the men. I can't remember any previous competition where the men reigned supreme and the other disciplines only brought a big yawn.

:agree:

 

[taylorfax]

LOL, Mathman. The women are kind of boring. It's all about the men (for me anyway).

Drama Kings rule!

Yeah, the men, er, jump higher, are faster and, eh, prettier?
No, seriously. The ladies are nice to watch, and when I was younger I mostly watched the ladies, but at least now I find their programs all strikingly similar. (It also doesn't help that at the one skating event I've seen live I nearly fell asleep during the ladies, and that hasn't sparked more interest in them.)
The men have more difficult elements and are just more exciting.
For me.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

The problem with the Ladies, that I see, is that they are trying to be stage ballerinas which is a no no. They are figure skaters and they should work at beging the best figure skaters. Kwan was never a ballerina; she was the best figure skater with proper legs, toes, fingers, and body line. together with flow and musicality. Her replacement has yet to arrive.

The Men are the most interesting to watch as far as sport is concerned. They are figure skaters with their own style and not trying to be les danseurs nobles. From Kevin to Brian there is so much to discuss about the Sport.

Joe

 

[momjudi]

Johnny's coach is quoted as saying that Johnny is having a minor foot problem, anyone know what that means?

 

[feraina]

What's striking about this thread is that almost every post is about the men.

Well, this thread is in the wrong place, which may be part of the reason why not more fans of the ladies GPF skaters are paying attention. It is placed alongside a whole load of threads arguing about Weir vs. Lysacek, and cites an article that throws down a very controversial claim: Weir is one of the favorites, and Lysacek will be lucky to medal. Of course it's getting the attention!

And, as you said in your first post, this article was spot-on re: ladies. So what's there to argue about?

So, Caroline Zhang is predicted to finish dead last? Where are the Caroline fans to dispute that? Meissner off the podium?

Was that meant to provoke the ladies' fans into loud protest, since the article itself was so fair? Elvin Walker doesn't predict Caroline Z to place last, far from it, he predicts that she could skate off with a medal if she corrects her flutz. I do think Caroline has some chance to medal, but it doesn't depend on a correct lutz (I think it's impossible for her to relearn the lutz in such short amount of time anyway). It does, however, depend on her fully rotating the triples and getting credit for them (which I think possible), as the < penalty is so much more severe than the 'e' marking.

Meissner... her 3A is probably gone forever, her 3/3's haven't been ratified once this season, and jumps were her forte to begin with, so yeah, she might well finish off the podium.

Personally, I think that Asada's sure lock on second place is not so secure after all.

Who do you think has a good chance of beating her? She hasn't skated a single great program all season, and still she has won 2 golds. Is it Yukari (with her wrap, -GOE jumps, and low PCS) or Kimmie (with her downgraded jumps, not-as-good PCS, and lower level spins and step sequences) that you imagine could beat Mao to the silver? Or the lovely but still quite slow Caroline (no way she can build up enough muscle or speed in such short amount of time, in order to up her PCS or jump GOE's), or the never-consistent Carolina?

Not impossible, but unlikely.

 

[Jaana]

Oldskatermom is not saying it's about the art. She is saying it's about the long term.

Lysacek is willing to risk a fall or two now as the price for developing a reliable quad for the future.

Yes, and this article explains about Lysacek´s long term strategy:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2007-12-13-3362783668_x.htm

If Weir, Lambiel, Takahashi, and Evan all did bring their game Evan wont medal. So which do you really hope for, Evan to prove the author wrong or all those guys to bring their "game". The two dont go hand in hand.

In the unlikely event that all those guys bring their "game", I´d expect it would be Weir who won´t medal.

 

[Wrlmy]

Yes, and this article explains about Lysacek´s long term strategy:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2007-12-13-3362783668_x.htm

I really hope his longterm strategy pays off. I wish he would not go for a quad in short program though. He could win SA if not for that fall.

 

[temperboy28]

In the unlikely event that all those guys bring their "game", I´d expect it would be Weir who won´t medal.

Well this is how it occured Lambiel would win, Takahashi would be 2nd, although with Lambiel not trying a triple axel probably it would be close between them. 3rd would be between Weir and Evan in that case. It would come down to whether the judges value Weirs more beautiful and complete skating or Evans quad. I would hope the judges would show a total package is more important then just one jump and give the bronze to Weir instead in this case.

 

[slutskayafan21]

The mens event is pretty open now, it is not open to just anyone though, there is a select group of elite contenders who are much better then the larger bulk of the field, but it is pretty open among that group depending on the day. Any of Joubert, Takahashi, Oda, Lysacek, Weir, Lambiel (my own favorite), or Verner, are capable of winning depending how the skates go down on that day. Some of those guys like Lysacek, Weir, Takahashi, and Joubert are quite consistent, to varying degrees, but none is of yet a Plushenko-like machine who pretty much never misses a single thing (and I am no Plushenko fan, so I am not saying I miss him either, but competitively he was that, a machine). Lambiel, Verner, and even Oda are wildly inconsistent but can be brilliant and have a chance to win among the current field on their better days, especialy Lambiel. Chan might be close to entering this group. Buttle is no longer part of this group IMO.

 

[dlarry1]

It is posters like you who are responsible for turning these threads into Johnny vs. Evan forays, because you come along and attack whatever I have to say. I was just stating my opinion, which I an entitled to do, regarding the GPF, which this topic is about. I am getting very tired of this.

Pot, this is kettle. Kettle, this is pot.

And just for the record, if you are "entitled" to an opinion, those who disagree are "entitled" to do so.

Now go and poison a few more threads...

 

[OldSkaterMom]

Pot, this is kettle. Kettle, this is pot.

And just for the record, if you are "entitled" to an opinion, those who disagree are "entitled" to do so.

Now go and poison a few more threads...

Yes, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, and I have no problem with that. Everyone may agree or disagree. What I object to, and was referring to in my post, is the personal attack on someone's opinion. I have no problem if someone simply says that he/she disagrees and states why without getting personally offensive. But to say that my position has no solid ground to stand on when, in fact, it is based on accuracy.....what actually happened, is not someone's opinion, but a personal attack.