Thanks mot – that’s part of the difference then in Brezina’s marks, if he landed quads. Per Plushy's directive: Quads = Manhood, and the ISU embarrassed by the quad controversy, gives the quad more points. Quads are just an extra revolution, not always visible to the eye, unless seen in slo-mo. Too bad that extra revolution has caused so much havoc, injuries and controversy for the sport. IMO, the quad does nothing to help the sport and quite a lot to hurt it. Brezina didn't skate badly, but even with quads, I don't see him as a complete skater. His performance lagged at the end, and overall he did not skate better than Fernandez, Dornbush, or Miner, and not even Joubert. Amodio has more style and is more interesting than Brezina, although I didn't care for Amodio's lp (rap vocals are allowed!?). It's quite obvious the judges favor Brezina (no Czech lobby needed). Gachinski’s rough around the edges, but fun to watch and he has that Russian flair. With quad in arsenal and Plushy in the home arena (and Putin no doubt watching closely) the G meister lands in third. All things equal, I doubt that would have been the case if the event had been held in Japan (minus earthquake).
Brian's costume reminds me of Johnny Weir's Dr. Zhivago outfit -- there were lots of Johnny Weir-inspired outfits in this competition. BJ's performance was poignant to watch. Toward the end, it brought me shivers because his performance was full of determination and brio, and one could feel his love for skating and see how hard he has strived to improve his skating. Bravo, Brian, and thank you for gracing this sport.
OTOH, that shot of Speedy sitting next to Scott Hamilton and mimicking the Japanese contingent's effort to tighten the screws in Dai's errant boot, in time for him to get back out on the ice, was priceless -- and not in a good way either.
Love, love Kosuka. He's absolutely a complete skater, and his style on the ice, in my estimation trumps Patrick's, in spite of Patrick's exquisite blade work and quads. Patrick deserved to win of course, but by 22 points -- ridiculous. The points system is ridiculous altogether of course.
Daisuke did not have good luck here, and yes he is getting older, but I wish for him to come back strong next season. Like Brian, Dai's love for the sport and desire to improve is very evident. Oda loves to jump and apparently could jump all day. He's not a complete skater. Maybe he and Kevin Van der Perren should have a jump shoot-out, and Plushy could reward the winner with one of his gold medals.
Miner and Dornbush performed extremely well and should be very proud of their efforts -- they just weren't viewed as having enough rep, and of course lacked the manly quads. I feel for Ryan -- he did not seem to have the energy and excitement he needed -- and maybe the extra time actually did not serve him well. He's worked on his spins, but they are still fairly weak, and he doesn't have great stretch or line in his skating, but kudos to him and his fans. He should be proud of his Nationals win. I suppose the U.S. Fed gambled by leaving better known and talented veteran, Abbott off the team. He did falter in his lp at Nats, and maybe they were afraid he'd run into the same problems at Worlds. However, leaving Abbott off the team was definitely a gamble. If Abbott was on the team and had performed to his capabilities, he might have placed at least 3rd or 4th and salvaged 3 spots. Perhaps the U.S. feels they can regain 3 spots for the men in time for Sochi. Certainly, Dornbush and Miner are as good or better than some of the men who came ahead of them. Oh, but for the demanding quad … and Lysacek’s quadless Olympic win.
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