I think Weir and Lysacek must consider they are not the only guys at US Nats.
And I think they might have noticed that themselves.
But first of all, the US-people here should celebrate. All that whining about the Ladies - but the Men won 6 out of 9 medals on the GP-circuit so far. That's freaking amazing. And they do that while being themselves, they are lyrical, they are corny, they are hyperactive, they are athletic, they are artistic. It's really great to watch.
Abbott is a top contender, no question about that. He is so complete as a skater, it's awesome. The spins are Buttle-Lambiel-children, his musicality is outstanding - I would love a bit more extension sometimes, but then again relaxed body movements are also his forte. That Triple Loop deserves a place in the Figure Skating Jumps Hall of Fame, right next to Lambiel's and Asada's. He needs zero preperation for that jump, just adds it at the end of some footwork, it's incredible. We also know that the guy had a good Quad at the end of last season. So I don't think that Abbott is just a top contender for the US-Nats - with efforts like these two - he is a top contender for Worlds.
I love lots of skating styles, from Joubert to Lambiel, from Yagudin to Weir, from Abbott to Préaubert - but I don't really like
Carriere's. He has fantastic elements, the variations on his jumps are good and impressive, he is quite fast over the ice. His spins are average, jumps are a bit low over the ice, he has fast rotations though. But something's missing. Perhaps he just needs a bit more time to develop a distinctive skating personality. But if he is on - and the others are not as on - he can very well compete with the best.
Don't forget
Bradley! He has monster high-scoring elements with that powerful 3A and 4T, he has definitely a distinctive skating personality - and he got not too low PCS (considering his lack of skating skills). I just loved his presentation last week, I don't think he should be underestimated.
Rippon - well. Perhaps he should have done a Borudulin and tried his first Senior outing without the 3A. Though I don't think it will be a good long term strategy for Borudulin, it just worked at COC. But Rippon also seemed to be a bit blocked at SA, extremely nervous - there was no flair, it wasn't as enchanting as he was last season. I hope that he will - with all the pressure basically off at COR - just skate and be himself again.
I was deeply disappointed with
Mroz at SC though. I remembered someone else from last season, I actually thought that he would be the one who can challenge for a spot on the Worlds team. And he got the Quad over the summer - but his presentation was zero, a big big zero. He was way too slow, his jumps looked tentative, even the ones that were landed well. I thought that Mroz had the potential to be the US-Joubert. But his coaches also didn't help with those programs, they should have given him Matrix, Metallica, a Beatles - Medley, techno music for heaven's sake... Something that would give Mroz some reason to be out there. That's it - he looked as if he didn't know why he was out there on the ice. A man without a mission.
And about
Johnny: the question is - SA - is that all he can do? Is a tentative, slow 7,5 Triple performance with a botched Quad and lackluster spins all Johnny can do - or did he just need more time to really fill the choreography? Can he actually do a real Quad? Can he actually pull off a program like Nationals this year, with power, emotions and drama - on a regular basis? Because that's what he needs, to be really convincing, to be a top contender, not someone who picks up the left-overs if the big guns don't deliver or Abbott, Bradley and Carriere get the jitters at Nationals. I never thought I would say that about Johnny, but he needs to upgrade his presentation, his speed, the execution on his spins... He has the means to be up there, he has good Triples except for the edge problem on the Flip, his spins have good positions and are well-centered, his edges are good during the footwork - it just didn't seem to come together at SA, or at Worlds this year for that matter.
Evan needs to fix his jumps. He always needed to fix his jumps and suddenly the tech-people noticed it too. I am no fan of his, but the programs this season are typical Evan-programs and with good jumps should be good enough. I still can't explain the PCS drop at Skate Canada (Evan lost 6 points PCS in the matter of one week) - perhaps they had musical judges there and they noticed that Evan is not that musical. I do think though that the PCS will be higher again and SC just a fluke.
That's my 2 cents!
