Ladies SP

[Buttercup]

^^Hey! Medusa slept this night. She missed ice-dance! :yes: I slept for 8 long hours.

I find Joannie sleep-inducing, but I would really like to see her rock the house, if only to make things real interesting and less predictable. If she really lands all 7 Triples and Yu-Na falters a bit - who knows what might happen?

I immediately spotted the reason why you slept so well . I don't get Joannie, either. She's talented and lovely but nothing about her really grabs my attention. I certainly have nothing against, her, though.

I hope Carolina surprises us today and maybe shakes things up a bit. I've been hearing Yu-Na, Joannie, Mao for the last couple of months, and I would appreciate some surprises! Laura or Miki in the spolier role would be fine, too.

Danale, when was it shown? I couldn't find it on the schedule. Oh well, I'll have to catch it on Youtube .

 

[i love to skate]

Did anyone catch the CBC broadcast last night? They had a great fluff piece on Joannie. What a great support system she has in place; Mannon, her parents, boyfriend, Shae, Lori Nichol, and a sport psychologist. I'm happy she has developed her interests outside of skating and that she is continuing with school. She is amazing and seems incredibly happy! Here's hoping for good things this afternoon :thumbsup:

 

[museksk8r]

Did anyone catch the CBC broadcast last night? They had a great fluff piece on Joannie. What a great support system she has in place; Mannon, her parents, boyfriend, Shae, Lori Nichol, and a sport psychologist. I'm happy she has developed her interests outside of skating and that she is continuing with school. She is amazing and seems incredibly happy! Here's hoping for good things this afternoon :thumbsup:

Oh, I would to see that! Hopefully, someone will upload it to youtube. I agree, best wishes to Joannie tonight in the LP!

 

[Alicja]

Oh, I would to see that! Hopefully, someone will upload it to youtube. I agree, best wishes to Joannie tonight in the LP!

I'll second that.

 

[PolymerBob]

even of she skates a clean LP no way will we get 3 spots. I knew this would happen to her, as did many others on this board. Zhang would have done it. Look what happened to evan and he skated at home!

I am certain Caroline and Rachael could have gotten us our 3 spots. But I won't criticize the USFSA. They followed their rules and policies when doing so was difficult. That alone deserves our respect and admiration.

Looking forward, Caroline needs to continue what she has begun .... she must establish herself, beyond question, as the top American lady. She has to make a strong showing at the team competition in Japan next month, fix her problems over the summer, hit the Grand Prix like a hammer, crank out standing ovations to the point of monotony, and cruise into Nationals with the judges ready to hand her the gold before she even skates.

( But Bob, how do you REALLY feel? )

 

[AwesomeIce]

I am certain Caroline and Rachael could have gotten us our 3 spots. But I won't criticize the USFSA. They followed their rules and policies when doing so was difficult. That alone deserves our respect and admiration.

Looking forward, Caroline needs to continue what she has begun .... she must establish herself, beyond question, as the top American lady. She has to make a strong showing at the team competition in Japan next month, fix her problems over the summer, hit the Grand Prix like a hammer, crank out standing ovations to the point of monotony, and cruise into Nationals with the judges ready to hand her the gold before she even skates.

( But Bob, how do you REALLY feel? )

I doubt that even Caroline could have gotten us three spots for next year. She has so many ugly issues to deal with before she is truly a top-tier skater.

 

[gofigure79]

Does anyone know where I can get clips of the British Eurosport? I don't see anything on youtube.

 

[niviola]

"I doubt that even Caroline could have gotten us three spots for next year. She has so many ugly issues to deal with before she is truly a top-tier skater"

Maybe she is not a top tier skater yet, but she definately has proven that she can place well internationally against the best skaters. Her placements at 4 Continents and Junior worlds prove that.

 

[PolymerBob]

I doubt that even Caroline could have gotten us three spots for next year. She has so many ugly issues to deal with before she is truly a top-tier skater.

Yes, they let her skate in the exhibition at 4 Continents ............

........ because of her pretty face. :sheesh:

 

[creamso10]

watching tv and watching in real

is way~~~ different.

Yuna's performance looks like something's missing on tv (in SBS version)

but if you watch in NBC ver. it is way~~~ better.

if you watch her live... it's totally stunning!!!

TV, it's all depending on the camera work.

personally, japanese camera work is the best

 

[dancingqueen]

I forgot to say about one more skater, Elene GEDEVANISHVILI !!

I also enjoyed her performance last night. I haven’t been inspired with her skating since Olympics, but I love her artistry. It was a fun program. Even though she made a mistake, I’m glad she did good job. Go, Elene !

 

[goldenpleasures]

I'm glad to know I am not the only one. She might be good, but leading by almost 10 points!!! We might as well not watch the LP--

They can't give her less than she deserves just in order to make the LP more exciting!

 

[ks777]

They are showing the ladies' SP on CBC now.

 

[shallwedansu]

Hey, wasn't Mirai supposed to do some kind of commentary/reporting for Japanese coverage? Is there any follow up to that? I'd love to know her thoughts on the competition so far.

 

[astimegoesby]

Did anyone catch the CBC broadcast last night? They had a great fluff piece on Joannie. What a great support system she has in place; Mannon, her parents, boyfriend, Shae, Lori Nichol, and a sport psychologist. I'm happy she has developed her interests outside of skating and that she is continuing with school. She is amazing and seems incredibly happy! Here's hoping for good things this afternoon :thumbsup:

CBC rebroadcast this Joannie fluff piece during their highlights broadcast this afternoon, so hopefully some of you who missed it last night saw it today. I agree it was a well-done fluff piece, although I when Shae asked Joannie to read "The Secret" at the beginning of the season since I'm not really a fan of that book. But, hey, it certainly seems to be working for Joannie this year! :agree:

And I have to give Joannie a big for how she managed to save that 3-lutz combination! I was sooo sure she'd go down when she took off, but was very happy to be proven wrong! Hope her good luck holds out for the LP!

I was also happy with Cynthia Phaneuf's SP. Despite the fall on the 3-lutz, she looked so much more confident and happy than her last Worlds experience in 2005. I hope she and Alissa Czisny both come back strong in the LP!

And I can't help but smile every time I see Brian Orser react when Yu-Na lands a jump. I don't remember Brian acting that excited during his own eligible career...and it sounds like Brian's almost as famous in Korea today as he was in Canada during his eligible career!

 

[LeCygne]

Looking forward, Caroline needs to continue what she has begun .... she must establish herself, beyond question, as the top American lady. She has to make a strong showing at the team competition in Japan next month, fix her problems over the summer, hit the Grand Prix like a hammer, crank out standing ovations to the point of monotony, and cruise into Nationals with the judges ready to hand her the gold before she even skates.

I'm all for it. I think Alissa's mini-meltdown so far is already helping Caroline. I mean, of course we would all like 3 spots, but for Caroline fans, I think in the end 2 and 3 spots are the same.

If we get those 3 spots because both Rachael and Alissa go out there and completely nail it, then all they are doing is strengthening their own case for Vancouver. In addition to 2010 Nationals, performances at 2009 Worlds do weigh very heavily on Olympic team selections. So if they both nail it here, then there goes two out of three spots for Vancouver.

But if say Rachael does fine and Alissa melts down completely tonight (not unlikely), then that's not a very good statement for Alissa to be sending out. USFSA will think "look what happened the last time we trusted her..." and there would still be 1 spot open for Caroline, assuming Rachael solidifies her chances for spot #1.

And of course we don't know what the deal with Ashley and Mirai will be, but you get the picture.

 

[PROKOFIEV]

Kristi Ymaguchi's comment on ladies short program.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2009/03/kristi-yamaguch.html

 

[R.D.]

I'm all for it. I think Alissa's mini-meltdown so far is already helping Caroline. I mean, of course we would all like 3 spots, but for Caroline fans, I think in the end 2 and 3 spots are the same.

I dunno...let's face it, after all, if the US had three spots this year, Caroline would be skating tonight. And, frankly, I think her and Flatt would have given us the best chance at three Olympic spots. So, not having that third spot really hurts for SOMEBODY. Besides, the past two Olympic champions (Arakawa, Hughes) got there via that very third spot.

Of course, it could be argued that the FS scoring at nats should have been manipulated to put Alyssa in 3rd (overall). But that's over and done with.

But if say Rachael does fine and Alissa melts down completely tonight (not unlikely), then that's not a very good statement for Alissa to be sending out. USFSA will think "look what happened the last time we trusted her..." and there would still be 1 spot open for Caroline, assuming Rachael solidifies her chances for spot #1.

A lot can happen in a year. Last year Nagasu was national champ, this year she's nowhere to be found. I agree that Rachel is the most consistent of the Americans thus far, and barring injury, will be in the fight for an Olympic spot, but you know...I don't care if Alyssa wins again next year, I would NEVER, EVER even THINK about sending her to the pressure-cooker that is the Olympic Games, which has unnerved even solid competitors in the past. Look what happened last night. In Vancouver she would have self-destructed!! Probably would have fallen on every jump!

 

[ks777]

I read in a japanese paper that After Mao skated her SP, someone threw a shoe on the ice... Mao didn't notice because there are flowers and other stuff thrown at the same time. Glad that it wasn't a snake or something, I would scream and run!

 

[Tonichelle]

shoe...snake... ??? yeah, I see the similarities there..

hello, random!