Predictions

[Violet Bliss]

Via Free Dance Cup of China thread on p.9, Chuckm stated, "Madame Piseev was at CoC and sat on the PAIRS and the LADIES judging panels. While she was there, I'm sure she bent the ears of the UZB, UKR and RUS judges on the Ice Dance panel.... "

Oh I see. Somebody is sure of it.

 

[CARA]

Oh I see. Somebody is sure of it.

I am not certain about the placements at CoC. But can you with absolute certainty trust the near 8 point disparity between the B/S & the Shibs (SD), and near 7 point disparity between those two teams? (FD) I certainly can't, especially given the proven cheating behavior of Russian judges/federation in the past.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion just like I am to mine.

To the very least, though, CoC judging infused unnecessary doubt. Given the shady history, ice dancing cannot affort much more "unfortunate accidents."

 

[Mirunna]

Mao news, some short moments from her SP and some jumps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3nD0eIIlG8&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2dfoMDZh30&feature=youtu.be

Is it just me, or her 3F seems much improved? Her take-off looks much smoother(no hammer toe) and the jump itself covers more ice than it used to do

 

[Okami]

Mao news, some short moments from her SP and some jumps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3nD0eIIlG8&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2dfoMDZh30&feature=youtu.be

I posted those on the previous page. Yes, Mao seems to be in good condition. I hope she skates well at NHK!

 

[Mirunna]

I posted those on the previous page. Yes, Mao seems to be in good condition. I hope she skates well at NHK!

Oh, you are right, I don't know how I missed it sorry
Let's cheer for Mao to win next week in Japan!

 

[burntBREAD]

Something I'm noticing on these clips is that Mao's jumps are looking great and her speed is as well; however, regarding the jumps, on some of them (the solo loop in one of the clips, and the solo flip in the other) she appears to be delaying the jump a little bit too long and so when she comes down she lands in the gray area of whether it was underrotated or not...

 

[100yen]

I wonder if the short seconds of music in the one video are from her actual program...if so, it sounds very charming and refreshingly different from the symphonic Scheherazade we are so used to. It's exciting...I feel like Mao can really relate to this music

 

[Blades of Passion]

Men
01. Takahashi
02. Kozuka
03. Mroz
04. Verner
05. Contesti
06. Miner
07. Menshov
08. Machida
09. Mahbanoozadeh

Ladies
01. Asada
02. Suzuki
03. Wagner
04. Zawadski
05. Leonova
06. Korpi
07. Phaneuf
08. Gedevanishvili
09. Meite
10. Ishikawa

Pairs
01. Savchenko/Szolkowy
02. Kavaguti/Smirnov
03. Takahashi/Tran
04. Iliushechkina/Maisuradze
05. Denney/Coughlin
06. Castelli/Shnapir
07. Berton/Hotarek
08. Purich/Schultz

Dance
01. Weaver/Poje
02. Shibutani/Shibutani
03. Ilinykh/Katsalapov
04. Zhiganshina/Gazsi
05. Kriengkrairut/Giulietti-Schmitt
06. Reed/Reed
07. Paul/Islam
08. Alessadndrina/Vatun

 

[blue_idealist]

Men: Takahashi or Kozuka as 1-2 in some order, then probably Verner.

Ladies: Mao, Akiko and Ashley on the podium.. let me guess probably in that order, although I'm not at all positive with that guess.

Pairs: Kavaguti/Smirnov'll take it with Savchenko/Szolkowy a close second, then probably Denney/Coughlin in third.. if not D/C then I/M.

Ice Dance: The podium will be Ilinykh/Katsalapov, Weaver/Poje, and the Shibs, I think, but I can't even begin to guess the order after the surprising result at Cup of China.

 

[blue_idealist]

Btw, I love that some people are forecasting an upset medal for Lynn/Logan. I love that team, but I didn't think they had a chance at beating I/K, until I read that some people who had actually SEEN I/K skate this season said they were struggling. I have not seen I/K's programs yet (or Lynn and Logan's, actually).

 

[jatale]

I don't want to make predictions, but I think that Agnes Zawadzki and the Shibutani's will win medals at NHK if they skate well. I'm really excited to see Agnes skate this year, she has a great personality, impressive jumps, height (she's a welcome 5'6"), and when she's confident, a wonderful presence on the ice. The Shibutani's skate with energy, excitement, and wonderful flow. Best of luck to all of them.

I'm very interested to see how Mao fairs. I admire her commitment and desire, although I wonder if she is too fixed (in the worst case "obsessed") on winning a OGM that she is missing a lot of life along the way. Obsession is a detrimental mental state, it will lead to failure not success. So I hope that Mao has a healthy desire to just skate her best, be a happy skater, and enjoy her competitions. When she skates with freedom she is a lovely vision on the ice and one of the most talented skaters in the world today. Two solid performances at NHK will land her in 1st place without a doubt, and be a treat for all of us skating fans.

 

[miki88]

I'm very interested to see how Mao fairs. I admire her commitment and desire, although I wonder if she is too fixed (in the worst case "obsessed") on winning a OGM that she is missing a lot of life along the way. Obsession is a detrimental mental state, it will lead to failure not success. So I hope that Mao has a healthy desire to just skate her best, be a happy skater, and enjoy her competitions. When she skates with freedom she is a lovely vision on the ice and one of the most talented skaters in the world today. Two solid performances at NHK will land her in 1st place without a doubt, and be a treat for all of us skating fans.

While Mao may be determined (you really have to be to get to where she is in her career), she is in no way obsessed. From her recent interviews, her present goal is just to skate her best at NHK.

 

[pangtongfan]

After being destroyed by the Russians this weekend I see the Shibutanis falling to a determined Weaver & Poje here. I see the Germans prevailing over Kavaguti & Smirnov in the pairs event. I see a triumphant return to Asada in this relatively weak field (well where isnt it in women skating these days). I see Kozuka coming back from a poor Skate America to victory here, with Verner 2nd, and old man Takahashi 3rd.

 

[demarinis5]

After being destroyed by the Russians this weekend I see the Shibutanis falling to a determined Weaver & Poje here. I see the Germans prevailing over Kavaguti & Smirnov in the pairs event. I see a triumphant return to Asada in this relatively weak field (well where isnt it in women skating these days). I see Kozuka coming back from a poor Skate America to victory here, with Verner 2nd, and old man Takahashi 3rd.

I don't think that old man Tomas will beat old man Dai (they are both 25) lol.

My prediction: Taka, Dai, Mroz, Verner. I put Mroz in 3rd because I believe that his tes will put him on the podium.

 

[silverlake22]

Speaking of "old man tomas" does anyone know how his injury is healing? I assume he's fine because he's still on the roster, but he pulled out of Nebelhorn and Nepala earlier this season allegedly because he was still recovering. I have him 3rd b/c Mroz is just so zzz and last season Tommy was a lot more consistent. If he can skate well, his PCS should be much higher than Mroz which should make the difference. But who knows. Anything can happen with Takahashi and Verner...

MEN:

1.) Takahiko KOZUKA JPN
2.) Daisuke TAKAHASHI JPN
3.) Tomas VERNER CZE
4.) Brandon MROZ USA
5.) Ross MINER USA
6.) Konstantin MENSHOV RUS



LADIES:

1.) Akiko SUZUKI JPN
2.) Mao ASADA JPN
3.) Kiira KORPI FIN
4.) Agnes ZAWADZKI USA
5.) Ashley WAGNER USA
6.) Alena LEONOVA RUS

PAIRS:

1.) Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY GER
2.) Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV RUS
3.) Lubov ILIUSHECHKINA / Nodari MAISURADZE RUS
4.) Narumi TAKAHASHI / Mervin TRAN JPN
5.) Caydee DENNEY / John COUGHLIN USA
6.) Natasha PURICH / Raymond SCHULTZ CAN


DANCE:

1.) Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE CAN
2.) Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI USA
3.) Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS
4.) Cathy REED / Chris REED JPN
5.) Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT / Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT USA
6.) Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM CAN

 

[BackStage Barbie]

Ladies:
1) Asada (my heart wants Mao to win)
2) Suzuki (my mind thinks Akiko will win)
3) Wagner (she could go clean and still finish behind a flawed Asada & Suzuki)

Men:
1) Takahashi (outstanding programs and huge PCS)
2) Kozuka (home ice/crowd and huge PCS)
3) Mroz (if he hits the Quad Lutz and all other jumps cleanly)

Pairs:
1) Savchenko/Szolkowy (they'll look even better against the Russians in head to head competition)
2) Kavaguti/Smirnov (beautiful programs but not the power and speed of the Germans)
3) Denney/Coughlin (I don't know why, but I think they'll be the cleaner then T/T and I/M)

Dance:
1) Weaver/Poje (perfect combination of programs, 1 hot and steam and 1 romantic and elegant)
2) Shibutani/Shibutani (they are being held down in PCS because siblings can't do Latin justice and their Free is too similar to last season)
3) Ilinykh/Katsalapov (they're a judge favorite when they are clean)

 

[fairly4]

All right, so far the way the skaters have been skating-it is hard to predict.

ladies
Mao, Akiko for the title. I am hopeful for Mao
other ladies include ashley, alena,
possible kira, cynthia, anges.

1) mao
2) akiko
3) alena
4) ashley
5) kira
6)cynthia
7)agnes
8) elene
9) mae bernice
10) shoko
if the top mess up. it is anyones ball game. the younger set can move in with the clean jumps.

Men
1)daisuke
2) takahiko
3)thomas
4) brandon
5)konstantin
6)samuel
but it can move depends on skates, clean
with ross might medgal
7-10-ross minor, tatsuki machida, armind mahbanoozadeh

Dance
i would like the
1)shibutania
2)weaver poje
3)ilinykh and katsalapov, for me any of those 3 could win.
more likely medal
with zhiganshina/gazsi, alessandrini/vature have outside shot at medals

Pair
1)savenchko/szolkowy
2)kavaguti/Smirnov
3)takashashi/tran
with iluishechkina/maisuradze, denny/couglin, have outside shot at medals

 

[Mathman]

Mao Mao Mao, m'm'Mao Mao Mao!

 

[CoyoteChris]

Mathman, a person has to be really old to figure out THAT song.....

 

[Spun Silver]

That MEANS something??