Men - Long Program

[hongligl]

I think the rule is really stupid. It should be changed to count the first jump of the extra combo, not the entire pass being ignored.

 

[museksk8r]

I don't disagree that Daisuke should have the highest PCS of the evening, necessarily. But I do think they're too high. Daisuke has great energy, but he's just sloppy at times. He's an artist, but he's not a technician. I stand by the fact that his jumps just don't have the flow that others have - look how quickly he has to step out of his combinations. His spin positions are fairly middle of the road IMO as well. Given his huge technicial deficiencies - and despite his fantastic presentation skills - I just have a hard time standing behind his wins.

Me too. I actually felt Jeremy should have won NHK and Nobunari should have won Skate America. Takahashi IMO was sloppier than both Abbott and Oda in both events. Dai had more magic last season! I'm just not buying his programs as much this season. I'm still a fan of him though.

 

[sorcerer]

Nobu always finds ways to surprise us.

You can say that again, LOL.
Hope he surprises us with winning the Final.
If possible with a beautiful 4-3-3 at the very end !

 

[gold12345]

Good experience for Rippon. He needs to know what it feels like to skate after someone who skates very well and receives a standing O.

 

[evangeline]

I don't disagree that Daisuke should have the highest PCS of the evening, necessarily. But I do think they're too high. Daisuke has great energy, but he's just sloppy at times. He's an artist, but he's not a technician. I stand by the fact that his jumps just don't have the flow that others have - look how quickly he has to step out of his combinations. His spin positions are fairly middle of the road IMO as well. Given his huge technicial deficiencies - and despite his fantastic presentation skills - I just have a hard time standing behind his wins.

Hmm, after examining the protocols more closely, I would agree that 85 PCS is rather high for the performance Daisuke gave (looks like all those smoldering glances he kept shooting to the judges are working), I would've marked him a bit lower on PE and TR especially.

But about his TES, it's not like Daisuke's getting giant +2 or +3 GOEs on his jumps or spins--for instance, even the 3Lo he did well tonight received a mostly +1s for a total added GOE of 0.70--and overall in the LP, Daisuke only placed 5th on TES. I wouldn't say that he was terribly overmarked on TES, at least not tonight.

 

[hongligl]

Adam is adorable and has a bit aristocratic feel, good choice of music to show that side of his skating. However I don't like his basic stroking, looks bumpy and cripple-like. Also the strokes appear not very efficient. Hopefully he will ask Tracy to fix it for him.

 

[lavender]

PCS were high...85 for Dai tonight was high and a 79 plus for Oda is too high imo.

 

[evangeline]

Adam is adorable and has a bit aristocratic feel, good choice of music to show that side of his skating. However I don't like his basic stroking, looks bumpy and cripple-like. Also the strokes appear not very efficient. Hopefully he will ask Tracy to fix it for him.

Ouch! Adam's back-pumping isn't that bad, IMO, he's disguising it rather well for the most part this season (though it's pretty discernible from time to time).

 

[FlattFan]

PCS were high...85 for Dai tonight was high and a 79 plus for Oda is too high imo.

About right compare to everyone else. Like fartistry from Rippon and non-existent skating skill from rest of the guys, save Armin.

Rippon needs to drop the stupid Rlutz and Tlutz quick. Those hand waving jumps make him unstable and both jumps should be called for URed.

 

[Blades of Passion]

It's really not a stupid rule. Or it's no more stupid than the Zayak rule.

It is a stupid rule. The first jump of his combination was not "extra". It should have been counted. Only the jumps afterward were extra.

The rule should be changed even further than that, actually. In the Long Program ("Freekskate") if a skater does too many technical elements, the highest scoring ones should be counted first and the lowest scoring ones should be what gets discounted. Reward skaters for what they do. Under 6.0, if a skater popped a jump or fell on it, they could attempt to change their choreography and try to add the jump in again. It was very exciting in 1995 when Todd Eldredge missed his second 3Axel but then added it in at the VERY end of the program. That kind of spontaneity needs to be kept under CoP.

 

[lavender]

About right compare to everyone else. Like fartistry from Rippon and non-existent skating skill from rest of the guys, save Armin.

ITA. The pcs scores are comparible so therefore there's nothing wrong with dai pcs if Oda can get 79 pcs.

 

[bekalc]

I have a bad feeling that Armin screwed out Adam of the GPF

If Adam wants to make it to the GPF, he should try not bombing the free skate. And a third placement here, probably wouldn't have cut it anyways.

 

[Nadine]

Hi guys, I'm at here at the hotel, and wanted to type down my thoughts ASAP.

First off, I highly recommend NOT attending a skating event/competition live if one has the flu, or is just getting over the flu. I'm a prime example, unfortunately, as you will see.

Okay, on to the competition! Btw, I'm just writing down my impressions, I don't recall everyone so just going by memory, thanks for understanding.

Kevin Van Der Perren -- I swear you have to see this man in person to believe how he commands the ice, skates fast, and has the most awesome jumps in the world! He was my favorite to watch during the warmup (he reminds me of Vaughn Chipeur of Canada when it comes to the jumps). Lol, I didn't understand his costume, even when the big screen said he would be skating to the Mummy. But I loved seeing it firsthand up front wherein I could actually reach out & touch it. The swarvoski crytals were dazzling, ahhh. And what I loved about Kevin's skate is he was one of only two or three men that actually utilizes the ENTIRE ice, from one end to the other, impressive. ^) Great job!

Song of China -- Omg, he's another one you have to see in person to appreciate his musicality, the way he moves like a ballet dancer, his HUGE jumps, his lightness of being. I was totally impressed by him, just awe inspiring the way he moves on the ice reminiscent of Jeremy Abbott in a way. Can't explain it, have to see him skate live...

Adrian Schultheiss -- ah, skating right in front of me I just wanted to reach out & grab him, lol. Seriously, he presents a long ghostly shadow on the ice highlighted by the bright blue costume & black pants reminiscent of Marina Anissina & Gwenal Peizerat's costumes that they wore for their masterpiece unforgettable 1998 Olympic LP to R&J. Such a gentleman, it was lovely to view his skating again firsthand.

Adam Rippon -- Rippon skated so fast during the warmup it blew my mind! I actually liked him better in practice than in actual competition. I was prepared to be blown away by seeing him skate live for the first time, but came away a little let down. He didn't really stand out, which surprised me, I think he comes across better on t.v. than in person. Jmho. But he does have an elegance about his skating. I just can't wait to see him fully grown, a man, and then blow the field away, lol.

Viktor Pfeifer -- my gosh, he's so tall & lanky in person, with a nice kind smile. I loved his ending spin, especially seeing it live!!!!!

Denis Ten -- so sad to see him fall apart after each fall, heartbreaking, right in front of me. Seeing a skater fall in person just solidifies in my mind how badly it affects the overall performance, and thus the scores should greatly affect it. The highlight was seeing the audience cheer him up & applaud him! YES!

Daisuke Takahashi -- what can I say, he is honest to God like a movie star in person, and that's the truth. Seriously, not only does he look like a movie star but he also has this aura/charisma about him, hard to explain, you will understand when you see him skate live for the first time. Funny, I saw him skate live at the Olympics but he didn't impress me then, ONLY Zhenya, only Zhenya. My eyes were glued to him & his magnificence/aura/whatever you want to call it. Okay, back to Daisuke, he's like Apollo Anton Ohno of figure skating. And my niece fell in love with him, totally, all thoughts of Johnny Weir gone! She couldn't get enough pictures of him, sang his name all the way back to the hotel, et al. (8^O No surprise he got the most gifts thrown onto the ice after his skate. His appeal is so all encompassing that I think the judges overlook some of his mistakes because he's like a phenomena. But I noticed that he's one of those skaters that practices great, but when it comes to the competition he doesn't utilize the entire ice imho. My only complaint. I see another World Championships in the bag for him due to his PCS (aka personal charisma specialty). ^)

Nobunari Oda -- he's another skater you must see live in order to see he really is a better s-k-a-t-e-r than Daisuke. But Dai's appeal is so awesome that Nobunari's skating gets overlooked imho. And in order to defeat Dai, Nobu MUST skate clean! And that's all I have to say about that. (;^)


Okay, now I must confess I had a coughing attack due to my still having the flu (still getting over it), so I had to embarrass myself and get up and leave during the other Japanese skater's performance. I barely climbed all 50+ stairs before I made it to the bathroom in time to vomit. However, I knew he did well because of the applause. Afterwards, I bought some water for $3.75 and then tried to watch Armin's performance from up above because I dare not walk down all those stairs again only to embarrass myself. And it's a good thing because I vomited again. However, I heard the thunderous applause for Armin so I KNEW he did well!!!!!

After that though I said I HAVE to go back to my seat to watch the last three top skaters (aka Rippon, Takahashi, Oda). And I'm glad I did. ^)


That's all for now, hopefully I'm feeling better for the ladies FS tomorrow at 11AM, wish me luck!

 

[dorispulaski]

Nadine, beyond the call of duty! What a lovely report. Please, I hope you get well soon!

 

[sorcerer]

That was a great report, Nadine! Thank you!

Well I've seen Nobu practice his jumps too, and indeed he lands every jump like a cat! When he's on his jumps are completely soundless.

BTW I noticed Nobu lost $5,000 ($18,000-$13,000) for not counting his combos, and that's a BIG penalty given to such a foolish goof. You can drink 1000 bottles of not-so-bad wine and that's like 5 years of booze to me....

 

[gmyers]

Oda and Takahashi too tired for quads? I know Oda hit a quad in practice but couldn't in competition. I don't know what that is about. Takahashi hit a quad at Japan Open and NHK but gone at Skate America? Mahbanoozadeh is not even up to quads and actually he starts with a 3T as a tactical move because he does a waltz jump first. I think it was a waltz jump. So after THE QUAD IS BACK!! reports no medalist in mens in Skate America does even one. Pfft to the whole competition. Waste of time.

 

[bibi24]

Nadine get well soon :thumbsup:

Dunno if 4F in practice messed up DT's 4T routine

 

[skatinginbc]

It's really not a stupid rule. Or it's no more stupid than the Zayak rule.

It is a stupid rule. It is supposed to be a skating competition, not a who-can-think-on-the-foot competition. Such scoring lacks "validity" from the standpoint of Testing Theory, and hence it is beyond my wildest ken that the skating community has quietly accepted its existence for so many years.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

PCS were high...85 for Dai tonight was high and a 79 plus for Oda is too high imo.

In Figure Skating there is nothing wrong in Singles with Falling especially among Top skaters. A -1 takes care of the Technical mishap and any ensuing PC evaluations are ignored. The ignorance is based on reputation which keeps judges within the corridor.

 

[iluvtodd]

Feel bad for Adam, but I'm glad Armin is going to medal.

I love Adam's skating, too, but I have also always been pulling for Armin. haven't seen the coverage yet (we were at Eastern Sectionals all week), but congrats to Armin!