Pairs long program

[slutskayafan21]

I dont know what they are capable of in the long, but I think they are definitely capable of more then 60-62 in the short. She fell on the triple salchow, and it was underrotated, so from a base value of 4.5, she got 0.3, plus another point off for the fall. That is already 5.2 points automatically, but likely some additional PCS, and possibly a bit of additional GOE (although that is more iffy). Their score as it was was a 59.22. So definitely capable of mid-60s with a clean short IMO.

 

[SailorGalaxia518]

We will have to wait until NHK to see what happens , Also Pang and Tong are also competing in NHK as their additional event

 

[slutskayafan21]

We will have to wait until NHK to see what happens , Also Pang and Tong are also competing in NHK as their additional event

It will be an interesting event. Dube/Davison trying to repeat their Skate America upset of Pang/Tong with probably harder odds to do so since Pang/Tong were definitely subpar at Skate America, the Ukranians probably underdogs to Dube/Davison despite their highest finish at Worlds trying to defend their World Championship standing by beating them out for silver, and the young Americans trying to knock off perhaps the Ukranians for 3rd place.

 

[netnuts]

It will be an interesting event. Dube/Davison trying to repeat their Skate America upset of Pang/Tong with probably harder odds to do so since Pang/Tong were definitely subpar at Skate America, the Ukranians probably underdogs to Dube/Davison despite their highest finish at Worlds trying to defend their World Championship standing by beating them out for silver, and the young Americans trying to knock off perhaps the Ukranians for 3rd place.

Pang & Tong are not competing at NHK, they are going to TEB. I believe NHK is S&S' third event.

 

[slutskayafan21]

Pang & Tong are not competing at NHK, they are going to TEB. I believe NHK is S&S' third event.

Awww ok. Even less chance of another big upset for Dube/Davison then. I just hope they improve again on their SC performances, as I felt they did from SA to SC.

 

[SailorGalaxia518]

Pang & Tong are not competing at NHK, they are going to TEB. I believe NHK is S&S' third event.

Oh yessssss. That's right. They will duke it out with the Zhangs


NHK is also Dube and Davison 3rd Event as well with SA and SC already done for them. BTW Dube/Davison are already qualified to the GPF which means 5 spots left

 

[netnuts]

Oh yessssss. That's right. They will duke it out with the Zhangs


NHK is also Dube and Davison 3rd Event as well with SA and SC already done for them. BTW Dube/Davison are already qualified to the GPF which means 5 spots left

Actually only 4 slots are left. Pang & Tong are also in...

 

[slutskayafan21]

It seems pretty obvious Zhangs and Savchenko/Szowkoly will make it. Will be interesting to see who gets the last 2 spots.

I actually think McLaughlin/Brubaker are close to a lock too now. Looking at the assignments left of Yawaguchi/Smirnov and Mukhortova/Trankov, it almost seems unrealistic for either team to do better then two 3rd place finishes. Does anyone really think either team has a chance to beat either any of Pang/Tong, Savchenko/ Szolkowy or Zhang/Zhang? If your answer is no, then that means the best either team could do is two 3rd place finishes, which means McLaughlin/Brubaker would be gauranteed to finish over both with even a 4th place at NHK. Volosozhar/ Morozov could end up 2nd at NHK, but there is a good chance they wont do better then 3rd, and while they might have an outside shot to beat 1 Chinese pair at Eric Bompard (they did beat Zhang/Zhang at Worlds after all) it is still quite unlikely they will; so a good chance the best they end up doing is two 3rd place finishes too; however even if the Ukranians did get a 2nd at an event and finished over McLaughlin/ Brubaker, the Americans would still be into the GP final with a 4th barring the minor miracle of one of the two Russian teams getting a 2nd place finish in one of their event. The biggest thing for McLaughlin/ Brubaker to worry about is to atleast make sure they finish over Langlois/Hay at NHK, but they need to be careful to skate very well there since Langlois/Hay are still higher calibre then any team that finished behind them at COC.

 

[SailorGalaxia518]

Actually only 4 slots are left. Pang & Tong are also in...

That's right to....Don't know where the hell I am

 

[netnuts]

It seems pretty obvious Zhangs and Savchenko/Szowkoly will make it. Will be interesting to see who gets the last 2 spots.

I actually think McLaughlin/Brubaker are close to a lock too now. Looking at the assignments left of Yawaguchi/Smirnov and Mukhortova/Trankov, it almost seems unrealistic for either team to do better then two 3rd place finishes. Does anyone really think either team has a chance to beat either any of Pang/Tong, Savchenko/ Szolkowy or Zhang/Zhang? .

I actually think M&T were quite impressive at Finland Cup(?). They have definitely improved a lot both technically and artistically. They now have triple twist, two sets of triple jumps. They almost did a clean long program. I think they will get much higher PCS than previous seasons. So if any of the top teams flounder(P&T are not consistent in their jumps), they can definitely step up to the plate.

I don't believe Yawaguchi/Smirnov have any chance. They are sloppier than ever, the 'fresh-face factor' has definitely worn out. At Skate Canada, they already got lots of level 3, 4 for non jump elements, even if they skate clean, I don't think their TES will improve much since not many of their elements get +GOE. Their PCS is actually a step backward compared to last season, many are in 5s range. At 2007 worlds, they scored many 6s. They will probably get a break at 'Cup of Russia' though.

 

[rain]

Just caught a youtube vid of Pang and Tong's LP. I thought in spite of a couple of glitches it was much improved over SA. It was much more coherent as a whole, which is think is really important for this program. That said, I think they need some work on stamina. Their final pair spin in particular just crawled. And they appeared to have to work really hard to gain speed. I'd like it more if it appeared more effortless.

Actually, on the whole I find most pairs spins to be barely adequate these days (not the side-by-sides, the two-as-one). They are often very slow, laboured and with unattractive positions. On the flip side, the ice dancers are now on the whole much better pair spinners than the pairs. Perhaps the pairs need to take a few lessons from the dancers.

 

[emma]

I agree with rain that P/T seem to have stamina issues. They have 'refuse to point' toes and really stretch in some places issues too. Having said that, this program, IMO, is really, really cool. I know the music is overused - but the shapes they make and the constant motion, turning, circling around each other is, again IMO, truly beautiful not to mention super athletic at the same time.

Question: does anyone know why the Zhangs didn't skate here? Was it to let other chinese pairs get some exposure?

 

[rain]

Question: does anyone know why the Zhangs didn't skate here? Was it to let other chinese pairs get some exposure?

I don't have it from any official source, but yeah, I assume the Zhangs didn't skate here because they were selected automatically to two events already because of their world placement, (which they're expected to medal at quite easily) and the Chinese wanted to give a shot to some very young teams.