Irina was being given a considerable lead margin in the SP early in the season. Certainly, she was the class of the field in many of those situations, but I personally don't agree with 8s in PCS for Irina. She has matured considerably over the years, but to me she is still sloppy and unfinished at times. The only instance where I felt 8s were warranted was her 05 Worlds LP. She put her heart into that performance and it came through so clearly.
As for Evan.....hmmmmm. At times I think he is slightly overscored, but honestly, if you look at the whole picture and take into account everyone's scores vs. performances at these particular competitions, I think you'll find that he ends up where he belongs and isn't gifted a position. In the Olympic LP, he skated a solid program and was 2nd in TES and 5th in PCS. I think that is exactly where he belonged. Plushenko, Buttle, Lambiel, and Weir all soundly out-scored him in terms of PCS. At Worlds, he once again skated a solid LP and was third in TES and 5th in PCS. Again, I feel that is exactly where he belonged. Lambiel, Joubert, Sandhu, and Weir all out-scored him in terms of PCS. I see nothing to be all that troubled about. Evan is placing where he should in my opinion and he is doing so without being grossly overscored. Now, if you want to talk about a team that consistently has received incredibly generous PCS scores.....I would have to say T&M. They are good....but they aren't 8.30 PCS skaters, IMO.
She cant be compared to Plushenko though in that regard. Irina NEVER is given a 20-point cushion or more over her chief competitors to start with, before any mistakes are made.
