Figure Skating

[Lady Whistleup]

The issue with the TE is how close it's cutting it for the men's event. Many of the medal contenders (Nathan, Hanyu) are wary of participating in the TE for this reason. 

[carrier76]

36 minutes ago, jrzy said:

I wish they would just stop with the worship of all things Russia,  we get it, they have a good team.   No mention whatsoever of what happens to all those young skaters when the new flavor comes up the pipeline.  Johnny ought to just apply for a job with Russia Media Group.   

They make me actively root against Valieva. I already root against the Eteri skaters, partly because of their constant lauding of HER, but here is a girl who really is great, and their grating commentary makes me want her to fail. But you’re right - where will she be next year? Who will be the next teen sensation? 
 

Add me to the list of people who wasn’t that thrilled with Kagiyama. Clean performance, charming kid, forgettable program.

 

The Russian man should have gotten a costume deduction. Dude.

[Lady Whistleup]

Switch over to the peacocktv stream. No Tara and Johnny. Much better.

[Jillibean]

9 hours ago, Jeddah said:

Where would Ilia Malinin have placed?

Even if they had sent him instead of Jason, I think they still would have used Vincent for the team. But it’s hard not to wonder where Ilia could have placed. Both Japan and Russia had their young, up and comers deliver when it counted, so it makes me wonder what Ilia could have done.

I do love Jason though! I’m sure the minute I see Sinnerman I will be enraptured and feel guilty for even entertaining the idea of someone else in his place!

I thought of that too, actually, but I agree that even if he were in Beijing I don't think they would have used him for this event. Aside from pairs where there isn't a lot of choice, the people named to the team have always been veterans or well-established in some way. Malinin has such little experience at the senior level; the chances that he would have placed better than Vincent are about even with the chances he would have done worse, in my opinion. Vincent didn't get to be part of the team four years ago, so they were going to give it to him this time. At least he didn't have a Nationals or Worlds style complete disaster. 

Even if Nathan had wanted to do the long, and he didn't--can't emphasize that enough--Jason Brown in the short wouldn't have made logistical sense. The short is really where you can maximize points because there are ten skaters competing. Jason, in his quadless glory, could potentially have been placed not just behind Japan and Russia, but also any team that managed a clean quad--which could have included Georgia, the Czech Republic, and China. While you'd like to assume one of those guys is going to fall, if you're wrong, you have the potential to absolutely bleed points. 

 

[lurkerbee]

1 hour ago, jrzy said:

I wish they would just stop with the worship of all things Russia,  we get it, they have a good team.   No mention whatsoever of what happens to all those young skaters when the new flavor comes up the pipeline.  Johnny ought to just apply for a job with Russia Media Group.   

Amen! This is why I watched the ladies short program on the commentary-free Peacock feed last night and will do so again for the individual ladies competition.  Jury is out for men and pairs individual competitions. At least with dance we have Tanith. Not sure why they’re pairing Johnny with her for that but he seems to tone it down a bit with her rather than Tara. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by lurkerbee

[Lady Whistleup]

Kamila Valieva is trending on twitter. She is incredible.

[lurkerbee]

31 minutes ago, carrier76 said:

They make me actively root against Valieva. I already root against the Eteri skaters, partly because of their constant lauding of HER, but here is a girl who really is great, and their grating commentary makes me want her to fail. But you’re right - where will she be next year? Who will be the next teen sensation? 
 

<SNIP>

The Russian man should have gotten a costume deduction. Dude.

I feel the same about the Russian girls. At this point, I want anyone else to win and it’s all because of Johnny’s & Tara’s OTT worship.

Glad I wasn’t the only one turned off by practically everything about the Russian guy’s program. Acting out the whipping sounds? Really?

[Sarahsmile416]

26 minutes ago, lurkerbee said:

I feel the same about the Russian girls. At this point, I want anyone else to win and it’s all because of Johnny’s & Tara’s OTT worship.

Glad I wasn’t the only one turned off by practically everything about the Russian guy’s program. Acting out the whipping sounds? Really?

There is something messy looking about the Russian guy’s skating to me as well…so yeah, honestly just a no from me all the way around 

[BlackberryJam]

Johnny has worshipped all things Russian since back when he was skating. He's just pulled Tara along with him. 

I mostly feel bad for Eteri's skaters. If they want to succeed, I'm not sure there are any other options for them in Russia. Or they don't have the money to go elsewhere. Like the Chinese gymnasts from 2008. I understand not wanting Eteri to have nice things and wanting Johnny and Tara to shut up, though.

I cannot invest in the American ladies for this Olympics. I love Mariah Bell. I love everything about her skating. I know she's at best a bronze, and that's only if she has a great day and someone else falls. 

I hope there are some other women who can challenge the Russians, but Valieva is just a real talent. Now, maybe next year, she'll grow 2" and lose all of her jumps, but right now, I love watching her skate.

[iMonrey]

Question: how do they determine which countries compete in the team event? There seem to be only nine of them.

Also, I watched a replay of the men's short on NBC On Demand. No commentary. I didn't like it. Yes, Johnny and Tara can be annoying but sometimes I do need some background info or for them to call out the elements. They are not showing the element in the scoring box. 

They also showed a "world ranking" for each skater and Nathan Chen was #4. Someone I didn't even know was #1. WTF? How can Chen be #4 when he's current world champion?

My DVR cut off just as Vincent started to skate last night. What happened?

[absnow54]

Caught up on Men’s free skate, and I was kind of surprised how far Vincent was behind the Russian. I know he popped one quad (and lost 11 points…) but were all his jumps downgraded? Looks like he lost 10 points between the initial technical score to the final. 

[Sarahsmile416]

23 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Question: how do they determine which countries compete in the team event? There seem to be only nine of them.

Also, I watched a replay of the men's short on NBC On Demand. No commentary. I didn't like it. Yes, Johnny and Tara can be annoying but sometimes I do need some background info or for them to call out the elements. They are not showing the element in the scoring box. 

They also showed a "world ranking" for each skater and Nathan Chen was #4. Someone I didn't even know was #1. WTF? How can Chen be #4 when he's current world champion?

My DVR cut off just as Vincent started to skate last night. What happened?

I feel the same way in regards to the commentary…as irritating as it can be, I find I appreciate knowing what might be going wrong and more about the technical aspects that the no commentary feeds lack.  I liked the Peacock feed from the Olympics during the summer, but not this time around.  

[ShellsandCheese]

4 hours ago, jrzy said:

I wish they would just stop with the worship of all things Russia,  we get it, they have a good team.   No mention whatsoever of what happens to all those young skaters when the new flavor comes up the pipeline.  Johnny ought to just apply for a job with Russia Media Group.   

I would imagine the same thing that happens in all sports, they either rise to the occasion are they get overtaken. The world is full of former (insert sport here) phenoms  who were relegated to footnotes because someone faster, quicker, more athletic, etc etc etc came along. That’s not a phenomenon that is specific to Russia or reserved for young female skaters. Personally I think competition is great and I necessarily need to see the same person win and dominate for a decade to enjoy something…..

And let’s be real outside of maybe Yuma Kim, Michelle Kwan, Carolina Kostner, and maybe Eugenia, women’s figure skating has been a revolving door for some time. 

There’s been a new OGM every Olympics since 1992! Sarah Hughes didn’t stick around very long, ditto Tara, Shizuka, Alina, Oksana…..

Also, while there is a lot to critique and dislike about Eteri and her methods; rooting against someone like KV simply because Johnny and Tara are annoying is certainly a choice, lol. As if she has any control over two over enthusiastic and slavish American commentators. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by ShellsandCheese

[KittenPokerCheater]

Just saw a crash during for the pairs online.  It looked painful, and I hope everyone is okay.

Sartorial question:  Does anyone know why so many of the men are having skin problems?  Is it their age (I don't think so) or stress or whatever vitamins they are taking.  And I mean actual supplements, not illegal PEDs.

 

[Lady Whistleup]

8 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

Just saw a crash during for the pairs online.  It looked painful, and I hope everyone is okay.

Sartorial question:  Does anyone know why so many of the men are having skin problems?  Is it their age (I don't think so) or stress or whatever vitamins they are taking.  And I mean actual supplements, not illegal PEDs.

 

Probably stress. I break out whenever I'm stressed. That and most of them are teen boys. 

[nittany cougar]

2 hours ago, lurkerbee said:

I feel the same about the Russian girls. At this point, I want anyone else to win and it’s all because of Johnny’s & Tara’s OTT worship.

Tara acts like people are watching the Olympics for her commentary.  I swear, as soon as the program starts she comes in yapping.  She is one of the only sports commentators that I turn down.  Yesterday she kept going on about whether women had triple jumps. My problem with this is that Tara didn't do triples.  She was also about 4'8" and 85 pounds when she won the Olympics, and she never competed as a full grown adult. Her small size advantage was very real.

I am totally over the Russian skate-bots. I'd like to see Japan's Wakaba Higuchi get a medal.  She has an amazing ability go make her program connect and flow.

Edited February 6, 2022 by nittany cougar

[Lady Whistleup]

8 minutes ago, nittany cougar said:

Tara acts like people are watching the Olympics for her commentary.  I swear, as soon as the program starts she comes in yapping.  She is one of the only sports commentators that I turn down.  Yesterday she kept going on about whether women had triple jumps. My problem with this is that Tara didn't do triples.  She was also about 4'8" and 85 pounds when she won the Olympics, and she never competed as a full grown adult. Her small size advantage was very real.

Tara did do triples ... she did more triple triples than the current crop of American ladies.

Also ... as annoying as Tara and Johnny can be, I prefer them to Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic, who would only plug dancers that were on Stars on Ice.

[wintrygal]

So pleased for Canada's Madeliene Schizas, wonderful skate for her first Olympic outing, and I hope she can carry that into the woman's competition.  I'm looking forward to following her progress in the future.

I watched the skating last night on Sports Net, the commentators were British and I really enjoyed listening to them, the woman was very good, that's not to say I don't enjoy Kurt Browning and company's commentary also, it was just something different.   I'm in Canada and don't know if those Sports Net channels are exclusive to up here or not.  

I really wish Keegan could have made it in time for the team event, Roman is a beautiful skater when he's on, just couldn't pull it off here feel bad for him. 

[specialj67]

24 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

Caught up on Men’s free skate, and I was kind of surprised how far Vincent was behind the Russian. I know he popped one quad (and lost 11 points…) but were all his jumps downgraded? Looks like he lost 10 points between the initial technical score to the final. 

Aside from the obvious popped flip, the other 3 jumping passes in the first half of his program were all either under rotated or on the quarter turn. His jumps in the second half were clean but didn’t get much GOE bonus, plus his step sequence was a level 3, compared to Mark’s level 4. 

[nittany cougar]

5 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Tara did do triples ... she did more triple triples than the current crop of American ladies.

Also ... as annoying as Tara and Johnny can be, I prefer them to Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic, who would only plug dancers that were on Stars on Ice.

Okay, thanks I didn't remember because she annoyed me as a skater, too. Agree about Scott, especially when he gets excited and does his high-pitched yelling.  

[Avaleigh]

14 hours ago, ShellsandCheese said:

I’m still pissed that Trusova is skating the long for the team event and not Anna. Anna is the reigning world champion and the three time Russia National champion and they go with Trusova? The hell? Anna’s long program at Euro’s was really good. 

Anna had the best program at Europeans hands down. It makes no sense to me why they'd go with the girl who is good for a fall or more in every program. 

I feel so bad for Roman. I'm bummed for Karen and Vincent but super sad for Roman. Good Lord that was hard to watch. It gave me vibes of Leticia Hubert in 1992 where she fell on every jumping pass. It was the first Olympics I ever watched and I remember feeling terrible for her.

Kamila was awesome. I'm glad that all of her hard work paid off.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Avaleigh
Cuz worm and work are totally different things lol

[Crs97]

There was an article in which Michelle Kwan talked about her five favorite Olympic moments.  She really did a historical dive, which made me do one as well.  For one Dorothy Hamill skate, you listened to the music and the announcer just named each element she did.  No comment on whether it was good or how she had been screwing it up all week in practice or whether it was supposed to be something else.  It was lovely.  Save all that trivia for the replay while we wait for scores.

Personally, I think I might blame Dick Button for the commentators now talking over the music.

[perkie1968]

6 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

I’m still pissed that Trusova is skating the long for the team event

Valieva is skating the long.  

https://results.isu.org/results/season2122/owg2022/SEG012.htm

Sui/Han are not skating the long.  Smart choice I think.  

https://results.isu.org/results/season2122/owg2022/SEG014.htm

Long program for team dance:

https://results.isu.org/results/season2122/owg2022/SEG016.htm

Edited February 6, 2022 by perkie1968

[perkie1968]

Start order for the men's short/individual.  Poor Roman

https://results.isu.org/results/season2122/owg2022/SEG001.htm

 

[Sarahsmile416]

14 minutes ago, perkie1968 said:

Start order for the men's short/individual.  Poor Roman

https://results.isu.org/results/season2122/owg2022/SEG001.htm

 

Always first…that cannot help with his nerves.  This poor guy cannot catch a break…

[perkie1968]

8 minutes ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

This poor guy cannot catch a break…

And there isn't enough time between the team and the individual for him to get it out of his head.  

I don't understand why there isn't a day between team and the start of the individual.  

Keegan will get off the plane and head to the arena to skate the short by the look of things!

[CeeBeeGee]

4 hours ago, lurkerbee said:

Glad I wasn’t the only one turned off by practically everything about the Russian guy’s program. Acting out the whipping sounds? Really?

Sloppy skating and for God's sake, wear some foundation.

[Thumper]

Hello, it’s me again, your every four years viewer of figure skating! 😁 Enjoying your commentary, even if I don’t know most of the skaters, their programs, or the techniques.  I’m here for watching pretty programs and getting the dish from all of you!

[redpencil]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Question: how do they determine which countries compete in the team event? There seem to be only nine of them.

Also, I watched a replay of the men's short on NBC On Demand. No commentary. I didn't like it. Yes, Johnny and Tara can be annoying but sometimes I do need some background info or for them to call out the elements. They are not showing the element in the scoring box. 

They also showed a "world ranking" for each skater and Nathan Chen was #4. Someone I didn't even know was #1. WTF? How can Chen be #4 when he's current world champion?

My DVR cut off just as Vincent started to skate last night. What happened?

I also need commentary. I watched some of the GP events without commentary and didn't really like it. I watch by myself, so I need someone to feel like I'm watching with, and who will tell me things. I also don't mind Johnny and Tara as much as others do (and I think Johnny especially can be quite good when he wants to).

The scoring box inconsistency is weird. I think whatever the box is without the element must be from the ISU feed. The box on the NBC broadcast has the element. So maybe something NBC actually did right?

My understanding about the world ranking is that it's very dependent on number of events. So skaters who competed in 4CC or European Championships have more chances to rack up points. But it is weird when you have clearly better skaters below those who were clearly worse.

I agree with everyone who finds the Russian men's skater (Kondratiuk) messy. Not even just his jumps (which I'm not sure how he lands sometimes). But all of his other elements, too. It really comes across to me like he's racing through everything to get them done and get to the end. That combined with his fluttery shirt and his floppy hair just came across so sloppy.

[annzeepark914]

Has anyone heard how the two pairs teams that collided are doing!

[Blue hues]

On 2/3/2022 at 11:37 PM, anniebird said:

I came here to ask if Madison Hubbell is actually a bitch or if she just has Resting Bitch Face - she always looks mean.

Hubbell gives me Tonya Harding vibes.  Even in the team cheering box, she comes across hard and cold.  

[Sarahsmile416]

9 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Has anyone heard how the two pairs teams that collided are doing!

I was wondering that…the woman in particular looked pretty bad.  She didn’t look like she could put weight on that one foot.

[annzeepark914]

16 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Has anyone heard how the two pairs teams that collided are doing!

I was just over at Golden Skate & learned that Vanessa will be able to compete in the T E free skate.

[Quickbeam]

Hi, I am watching the first night of ice dancing (rhythm) on Peacock. No commentary. Some are dancing sort of disco, some rock styles. I’m pretty old….I remember when ice dancers danced to the same music…..has that changed? 
 

I’m kind of put off Tim Koleto who seems to roam the world looking for a country to medal with. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Quickbeam
Typo

[Crs97]

5 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

I’m kind of putt off Tim Koleto who seems to roam the world looking for a country to medal with. 

I had no idea he had moved around that much (born in the US but competed for S Korea, Norway, and Japan - wow!), but I do like that he took his wife’s last name because he said it wasn’t fair to her to take on his foreign last name when he was becoming a Japanese citizen.

I know the ice dancers’ first program had to be “street dance,” which seems very close to “anything goes.”

[specialj67]

7 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

Hi, I am watching the first night of ice dancing (rhythm) on Peacock. No commentary. Some are dancing sort of disco, some rock styles. I’m pretty old….I remember when ice dancers danced to the same music…..has that changed? 
 

I’m kind of put off Tim Koleto who seems to roam the world looking for a country to medal with. 

The ISU did away with the dedicated compulsory dance ( what you’re thinking of) after the 2010 Olympics. They merged it with the original dance (everyone must skate to a program with a certain music style/theme). Now it’s called the rhythm dance. There is still a set pattern all teams must skate, but it is only one component of the program. This year, the pattern is the Midnight Blues (I think??) and the music/dance style is street dance—which can mean pretty much whatever a team wants it to mean, it seems like.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, Blue hues said:

Hubbell gives me Tonya Harding vibes.  Even in the team cheering box, she comes across hard and cold.  

She looks like and reminds me of the Theranos lady, trying to come off as relatable, but there's something cold and sociopathic lingering below the surface. 

[choclatechip45]

I think Hubbell has a resting bitch face because I never liked her until the On Edge series were she comes off so much better at least when she is away from Zach. I did find it interesting how much Zach/Madison argued while practicing maybe she just dislikes him as much as we all do. 

[nittany cougar]

46 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

I think Hubbell has a resting bitch face because I never liked her until the On Edge series were she comes off so much better at least when she is away from Zach. I did find it interesting how much Zach/Madison argued while practicing maybe she just dislikes him as much as we all do. 

I felt the same way after seeing them in On Edge.  

She and Zach do argue a lot on the ice but they joked around in the off ice parts. In the series, she said that their personal partnership was like "fire and fire," and that's why it did not work.  But she seemed to love talking about how they dated before.  

Edited February 6, 2022 by nittany cougar

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, Quickbeam said:

I’m kind of put off Tim Koleto who seems to roam the world looking for a country to medal with. 

Cross-nationality partnerships are pretty normal in skating, particularly if you're a skater from a smaller federation who may not have anybody at the elite international level to partner up with.

In Tim's case, he I think could fairly be called a modestly talented dancer, he's not somebody who would ever make a US national podium or Olympic/World team. By skating with women from other countries it's mutually beneficial, both get to compete internationally when they otherwise wouldn't.

Misato actually skated for Italy for a few years, rather than Japan, because of the lack of Japanese men who do ice dance.

[absnow54]

23 minutes ago, nittany cougar said:

She and Zach do argue a lot on the ice but they joked around in the off ice parts. In the series, she said that their personal partnership was like "fire and fire," and that's why it did not work.  But she seemed to love talking about how they dated before. 

I just find it odd that there’s so much focus on their “relationship” when Chock and Bates have been dating for years. Maybe the “will they/won’t they” narrative is more interesting. 

[Lady Whistleup]

1 minute ago, absnow54 said:

I just find it odd that there’s so much focus on their “relationship” when Chock and Bates have been dating for years. Maybe the “will they/won’t they” narrative is more interesting. 

Chock and Bates are like an old married couple. There's no drama to that lol.

[Rootbeer]

8 hours ago, jrzy said:

I was thinking that too,  Jason is such a beautiful skater and Nathan can bring those jumps.  I wonder if they wanted Nathan to be the first one in order to shake off that vibes from the last Olympics, get his nerves settled.

 

Supposedly, as the US champion, Nathan was given a choice as to what he wanted to do and he wanted the short.  I agree, though, Jason would've done well in the short and Nathan is far more reliable than Vincent for the long.

[redpencil]

Just now, Lady Whistleup said:

Chock and Bates are like an old married couple. There's no drama to that lol.

Plus they don't play it up via lovey dovey programs.

1 minute ago, Rootbeer said:

Supposedly, as the US champion, Nathan was given a choice as to what he wanted to do and he wanted the short.  I agree, though, Jason would've done well in the short and Nathan is far more reliable than Vincent for the long.

Eh, Jason wouldn't have beaten Shoma and probably not Kondratiuk (and maybe not a couple others if he had a mistake), so it probably would have been a wash in points even if Nathan finished first in the freeskate (not a guarantee given how well Yuma skated).

[irisheyes]

14 minutes ago, Rootbeer said:

Supposedly, as the US champion, Nathan was given a choice as to what he wanted to do and he wanted the short.  I agree, though, Jason would've done well in the short and Nathan is far more reliable than Vincent for the long.

Let’s be completely honest. While I’m sure Nathan wants the US to do well in the Team Event, he has bigger goals. 

[Lady Whistleup]

Nathan is a gold or bust athlete. There's not going to be an "in four years" for him. Papadakis/Cizeron are the same. 

I don't envy them. The pressure has to be enormous and overwhelming.

[Jillibean]

1 hour ago, Blue hues said:

Hubbell gives me Tonya Harding vibes.  Even in the team cheering box, she comes across hard and cold.  

 

36 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

I think Hubbell has a resting bitch face because I never liked her until the On Edge series were she comes off so much better at least when she is away from Zach. I did find it interesting how much Zach/Madison argued while practicing maybe she just dislikes him as much as we all do. 

I'll say this about Madi H--the women she trains with absolutely love her. And I don't think that happens if you're not a kind and somewhat humble person. It does seem like she and Zach are less close off the ice than some of the other dance teams, but that could also be a consequence of being exes who skate together. I appreciate that she has the guts to stand up to him and assert herself. He has the kind of personality that could run right over someone less confident. All this to say, I feel like I have a new appreciation for Madi H this year. 

I won't say anything about her partner. 

17 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Chock and Bates are like an old married couple. There's no drama to that lol.

And I love their love. Their easy dynamic and clear comfort with each other are "relationship goals" to me, as the kids would say. Plus you can just tell that he's so completely in love with her. (Sort of like Zach and Madison H. Oops.)

[Rootbeer]

Just now, irisheyes said:

Let’s be completely honest. While I’m sure Nathan wants the US to do well in the Team Event, he has bigger goals. 

Exactly.  As we've mentioned already in the thread, the men's competition starts tomorrow and it is asking a lot to expect Nathan to skate his long program on Sunday morning (in Beijing) and then turn around just 48 hours later and skate his short program.  I don't blame him, he is smart to prioritize, especially with the tight timeline.

[Avaleigh]

4 hours ago, perkie1968 said:

Valieva is skating the long.

You quoted me but that wasn't my post lol.

Anyway, since they're going with Valieva I guess they aren't worried about a Julia Lipnitskaia situation happening again. 

As for arms over the head during jumps--

I think there should either be a limit or you only get extra points on doing it once or twice. If some people prefer jumping that way that's fine but I don't think extra points should be given if it's simply easier for some skaters to jump that way.

I'm okay with one tano and one rippon per program because that's a skater showing that they've mastered multiple ways to complete a jump. Maybe even three separate arm accents per program. One rippon, one tano and one of the two if it comes on the second jump in a combination as it can sometimes be more difficult to do it on the second (triple) jump.

[choclatechip45]

12 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

 

I'll say this about Madi H--the women she trains with absolutely love her. And I don't think that happens if you're not a kind and somewhat humble person. It does seem like she and Zach are less close off the ice than some of the other dance teams, but that could also be a consequence of being exes who skate together. I appreciate that she has the guts to stand up to him and assert herself. He has the kind of personality that could run right over someone less confident. All this to say, I feel like I have a new appreciation for Madi H this year. 

I won't say anything about her partner. 

And I love their love. Their easy dynamic and clear comfort with each other are "relationship goals" to me, as the kids would say. Plus you can just tell that he's so completely in love with her. (Sort of like Zach and Madison H. Oops.)

I also think Madi H is super competitive you can tell with the stuff she says about Papadakis/Cizeron.