SophiaD

<choke> Thanks for this! My guess is that he's upset about Valieva. I hope Nathan is walking around with earbuds in and is paying no attention to social media whatsoever. I'm nervous and I'm a fan sitting on a couch half a world away.

I'm just glad that that interview was yesterday, not today. Nathan is probably used to it, but it seems as if Andrea was just digging to get some kind of response. Also, what is Johnny wearing? OMG! USA is carrying the earlier group life, for non-Peacock people. Right now, though, it's mainly speculation and filler.

I'm really appalled by how they're going after Mikaela Shifrin. Did they learn nothing from Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles this summer? I hope it's okay to also comment NBC's commercials here. It is fun to see Morena Baccarin and Renee Zellweger camping it up their upcoming Evil Villain Roles. OTOH, the Amazon Alexa ads are kind of horrible. I am fond of Walter the cat, though.

Jason is adorable. I have to admit, I've never heard the phrase, "Put the oil to the fire," but he's way more coherent than I would have been. So lovely to see them skating so well. I want Nathan to win gold, but I'd be very happy to see Kagiyama win the silver. And if Jason grabbed a surprise bronze, well, that would be awesome.

They're switching to late-night coverage here. It's a lot more fun watching Nathan skate his short after I know how he did. :)

ALL RIGHTY THEN! I can only imagine how mentally tough he must have to be to skate that brilliantly under that level of pressure. YAY, NATHAN!!!!!! SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!

Oh, man, she looks incredibly relieved and stressed out at the same time. Her jumps are astonishing. I disagree that the fall was the only mistake, though. Some of the elements are kind of sloppy. But her jumps are so outstanding, it doesn't matter.

First? Seriously? I liked Karen's skate better. Congratulations to her, though.

I hope she can get it back. I'm actually worried for her.

When Karen is on, she is just charming. She really pays attention to all of her elements. That was also a lovely jump sequence just now and her spiral is reminiscent of Sasha Cohen or Michelle Kwan. It's also just nice to see her enjoying herself.

This poor girl looks so petrified. I wish she wasn't making her debut on home ice at a home Olympics. She has a lovely quality. ETA: I would love to give her a hug and take her out for tea.

Thanks for the reminder, @absnow54. Hopefully, that takes some of the pressure off of her and she can enjoy herself. I am just so delighted for Chock and Bates! It's nice seeing the Americans continuing to excel in Ice Dance.

Me just now: Did they win? THEY WON! Yaaaaaay!!!!!!! Okay, Karen, it's on you. STAND UP! (No pressure, though). <3 So nice to have a good moment in a tough evening!

I know it's heresy, but I actually like Tara better than Johnny. He's just so opinionated. Tanith and Terry are both really good.

Yes, they just said Japan owns the tiebreak now. I'm happy for them, but this is pretty depressing for the US team. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, yet again.

NBC is back live now. And Tanith is commentating.

Poor Mikaela. What a horrible way to start your Olympics. I have to say, that was quite a decent interview, both from her and the interviewer.

Yes, he does. They need to get them both to a doctor, stat.

This is horrendous. Is it over yet?

Kagiyama was the highlight of the evening for me. I'm bummed for Vincent. And for Karen. The Russians are pretty much a lock for gold, so now it's just a question of whether the USA can maintain their lead over Japan. Kamila really is an incredible skater. So much difficulty and she made it look very easy.

Wow, Knierim and Frazier! What a time to find your best skate ever! I can't remember the last time I saw as US pairs team skate with such fervor - Meno and Sand, maybe? It was also awesome to see how happy their teammates were for them. I hope they keep this up.

I adore this show. Bruno is so patient and kind and not scary at all, and Kyla is delightful. And both of them have tons of knowledge but aren't annoying with it. Alan and Ann are fantastic, too. I wish they could host the GBBO. It really hasn't been the same since Mel, Sue, and Mary left (although Prue is fine). I'm rooting for Aimee, too. She's incredibly creative, an excellent baker, and just really, really charming.

So, I'm watching a repeat of the men's World Championships all-around, and it's really delightful to see all of the athletes from other countries. I wish the Olympics were covered like this. Also, without the pressure of a high-profile event, Tim and Nastia are coming across as delightful and knowledgeable, especially with John Roethlisberger serving as the main anchor. I'm very impressed. While I was typing this, Belgian gymnast Noah Kuavita just did the most insane dismount I've ever seen on the high bar - a triple pike. I yelled, "WHAT?' so loudly, I'm afraid my neighbors will think I'm weird. I don't think it's online yet, but it's definitely worth seeing. Edited to add: It's especially hilarious that both Nastia and John are ribbing Tim about his endless, "Fly high, and stick the landing!" Unless I missed something, we didn't get to see Yul Moldauer's fourth-place-clinching pommel horse routine. How weird.

So glad this is starting again! I was a little surprised when Kunal, not Marian or Alina, was eliminated, but I thought they all struggled. It's always so hard when the first person leaves, because they barely got to bake at all. Maybe they need to do a CBBC alumni event, where they invite people back who got eliminated early on. Or an all-star week! Steve's bee cake really was adorable. I wasn't surprised he got Star Baker, but Aimee (I think?) was right up there with him.

I agree that the teens themselves are mostly fine. They put in the work, they have causes they support, they seem like nice young people. I'm not just thrilled at it becoming the "American Ninja Warrior Family show" featuring affluent families who can afford to support their kids' ninja habits, rather than quirky adults who figure out a way to train and have a life. OTOH, I suspect that the whole Drew mess had a lot to do with the shift in focus. With the influx of teens, though, the whole Safety Pass thing (faster is better) and the consistent (over) use of upper body strength in Stages 2 and 3, I'm not sure any women are going to progress much further than we've already seen, which makes the show even less interesting to me. Then again, I'm not its target demographic anyway. Maybe some of the young women coming in will be the next Flex/Jesse Graf. I hope so. Right now, it's pretty much just Flex, at least it was this season, especially with Jesse hurt, Meaghan wiping out on the first obstacle, and Allyssa not being competitive this year.