Figure Skating

[Mittengirl]

For those who have Comcast/Xfinity, if you hit the Xfinity button on your remote, then go to “Apps”, then “New on X1” and scroll to the end, they list something called “Break the Ice with Adam Rippon”.  No idea what it is, but I thought some here may be interested.

[ML89]

8 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

For those who have Comcast/Xfinity, if you hit the Xfinity button on your remote, then go to “Apps”, then “New on X1” and scroll to the end, they list something called “Break the Ice with Adam Rippon”.  No idea what it is, but I thought some here may be interested.

This is a sort of talk show thing that Adam did in 2018, I think - he skates with minor celebs and they talk. They're about 10 - 20 minutes.

[AuntieDiane6]

On 12/27/2020 at 10:12 PM, emmawoodhouse said:

They don't have broadcast rights to show the greats of the past.

Well, surely US FIGURE SKATING has something they can use.  Geez... Lazy!  And why aren't ESPN and CBS running old Olympics themselves? It makes me so mad that CBS now has a dedicated Sports Network and doesn't show ANY Olympics, skating or gymnastics.  Geez, right after Lillehammer, you could see those skating exhibitions/pro competitions on EVERY channel!  Pick a pro competition and use footage of that!  Gee, I guess I should make copies of my BETA tape of ABC's Wide World of Sports tribute to figure skating (narrated by Jim McKay!) 

End of rant.  I make the same complaints about gymnastics.  I mean, there have been multiple shows about Nadia, Kurt Thomas, Olga etc.  A few years ago, there was even an ESPN episode of the 1972 Olympic gymnastics.  (Luckily I taped that too!)

[caracas1914]

On 12/27/2020 at 5:51 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Why would Johnny care about Michelle being such a fantastic skater? I was wondering how Miss Tara would handle a video of Michelle skating to music she could no longer hear due to the incredible noise that the standing, cheering audience was making.

Mildly shocked they didn't try to  insert a couple of Russian skaters just  so Johnny could oh so confidently overenunciate their names.

[displayname]

On 12/28/2020 at 6:30 AM, JES004 said:

Doing older stuff would require Johnny to acknowledge Michelle Kwan. He nearly choked the last time he mentioned her name. I guess he didn’t want to take the risk.  

??? Is there a story I am missing???

She had more skating talent in her pinkies than either of those two lol

[annzeepark914]

13 hours ago, displayname said:

She had more skating talent in her pinkies than either of those two lol

I wish I could "like" this a gazillion times!

[Jeddah]

On 1/9/2021 at 9:39 AM, displayname said:

??? Is there a story I am missing???

She had more skating talent in her pinkies than either of those two lol

Johnny was an immensely talented skater. Even Frank Carroll said Johnny was the most talented skater he’d ever seen. Johnny squandered his talent on many, many occasions, but it’s ridiculous to say he didn’t have talent. 

As for Tara, talent comes in many forms. Going out and skating lights out with a technical program that nobody else can do, under an enormous amount of pressure, on the world’s biggest stage, takes a lot of talent. She had the talent to go for it, and not play it safe, and that made the difference on the night.

[annzeepark914]

I didn't know Deanna Stellato was skating for Canada now. She & her partner, Maxime Deschamp, placed third at the Skate Canada Challenge, a qualifying event for nationals. 

[Growsonwalls]

This is silly. Michelle and Tara follow each other on social media and often like each others' posts. Nagano was 22 years ago. Michelle has had a very successful career in politics. I can't believe fans are still foaming at the mouth about the other skater.

[displayname]

5 hours ago, Jeddah said:

but it’s ridiculous to say he didn’t have talent. 

Well, I didn't. I just said Kwan had a lot more talent than him.

 

5 hours ago, Jeddah said:

As for Tara, talent comes in many forms. Going out and skating lights out with a technical program that nobody else can do, under an enormous amount of pressure, on the world’s biggest stage, takes a lot of talent. She had the talent to go for it, and not play it safe, and that made the difference on the night.

OK. But I didn't say she didn't deserve her Nagano gold medal. Just that Kwan had a lot more talent than her.

[Jeddah]

16 hours ago, displayname said:

Well, I didn't. I just said Kwan had a lot more talent than him.

 

OK. But I didn't say she didn't deserve her Nagano gold medal. Just that Kwan had a lot more talent than her.

I totally misread your comment then! Sorry! I’ve never heard someone use the “more talent in their pinkies” phrase used in a context where they thought all involved parties had talent.

I’ve always felt like I’m missing something when it comes to Michelle. She was a beautiful skater, but I definitely didn’t feel like she was exponentially more talented than everyone else.

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Jeddah

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Jeddah said:

I’ve always felt like I’m missing something when it comes to Michelle. She was a beautiful skater, but I definitely didn’t feel like she was exponentially more talented than everyone else.

 

Michelle was very talented but she had Lori Nichols whose taste in music and genius with choreography boosted Kwan's presentation scores and appeal. After she left Lori (I can't remember who she went to...it was a former skater...Sara K..?), that specialness, IMO, was almost gone. It must've been Lori who taught Michelle all those theatrical gestures, the beautiful use of her hands, facial expressions, etc., that were so memorable and went with her music. 

[displayname]

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

.it was a former skater...Sara K

She was mostly choreographed by Nikolai Morozov and Karen Kwan after she left Lori. Wikipedia says she only ever used Sarah Kawahara for her Shcherezade.

[Tippi]

I remember Peggy Fleming made the comment about Michelle "that she takes you on a journey of emotions."  That was the case for me.  I have quite a few skating favorites, but the ones that can draw in the audience are rare gems.  I know mileage can vary!  Interestingly, Johnny could do that for me as well during the period of his first two national titles.  He did not reach out to the audience at that time, but the sheer beauty of his skating, that incredible posture and line and carriage he had, forced you to watch him.  I read a comment somewhere on his Zhivago that won his first title that someone just happened upon the broadcast and was transfixed.  She said the house could be burning down around her, but she just had to watch him skate.  I recall that during his Swan short program at Torino I realized I wasn't breathing, it was so beautiful! 

In current news, I'm reading that Alysa is recovering from a hip injury and trying to adjust to her growth spurt.  She won't be attempting the 3A or any quads at Nationals.

 

[annzeepark914]

I know one thing--I'm ready for a long weekend of figure skating.  Hope everyone has their best skate ever & that they all stay healthy for Worlds!

[emmawoodhouse]

Let's hope there IS a Worlds. 

[Avaleigh]

I'm glad that Alysa is still competing even though she won't be trying the triple axel. Some people in her position might have withdrawn. She sounds like she's more focused on delivering a solid skate and isn't worried about what people will think if she doesn't win again. I was worried that this would be a tough one for her emotionally, but she seems like she's in a good head space. 

There aren't going to be any surprises with the men but I do look forward to watching Jason and Nathan. In dance we know the two top teams just not the order. (I'm really hoping Chock and Bates win again.) The ladies though I feel are kind of up in the air. Amber, Bradie, Mariah, Audrie, Karen, even Alysa all have a reasonable shot at this. It's more exciting to watch when the results don't feel like they're already set in stone.

I'm pulling for everyone and I want all of the skaters to have a great skate but my personal hope is that Amber gives the performance of her life. She's so fun to watch when she's on. It would be awesome if she could get some high level experience before the Olympic season.

10 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Let's hope there IS a Worlds. 

I hope so too but I'm not holding my breath. I was really bummed when I read they cancelled Canadian nationals. How disappointing for all of those skaters. I was especially thinking of Piper and Paul. All those years of coming in second, they finally win last year but they don't get a chance to add another win before the Olympic season due to things that are out of their control. Must be frustrating. 

[specialj67]

Re: US nationals

I agree that the women’s field is the least predictable this time around, which will make for (hopefully) exciting viewing. I’m also more interested in the pairs completion than I have been in a long time, what with no more Kanye/O’Shea and the addition of Knerim/Frazier. Alexa and Brandon have loads of experience, and Alexa is one of my favorite pair skaters to watch; but Calalang/Johnson have the benefit of being a team for a lot longer. If both teams skate clean (or make a similar number of errors, which seems more likely), I’m interested to see which team could be anointed.

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, specialj67 said:

I’m also more interested in the pairs completion than I have been in a long time, what with no more Kanye/O’Shea and the addition of Knerim/Frazier. Alexa and Brandon have loads of experience, and Alexa is one of my favorite pair skaters to watch; but Calalang/Johnson have the benefit of being a team for a lot longer. If both teams skate clean (or make a similar number of errors, which seems more likely), I’m interested to see which team could be anointed.

I haven't enjoyed pairs in a long time but the new team of Knierem & Frazier looks good. Even though each one was a nationals champ with previous partners, their gelling as a team in such a short time + dealing with less ice time thanks to the pandemic, has been astounding. Also, Alexa doesn't look so tense skating with Brandon (maybe because he's happy competing whereas her husband may not have been for quite some time). Who knows?!?  Glad they connected. I can't believe we have 4 hours of figure skating tonight (w/ a 2 hour refrigerator break).

[emmawoodhouse]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I haven't enjoyed pairs in a long time but the new team of Knierem & Frazier looks good. Even though each one was a nationals champ with previous partners, their gelling as a team in such a short time + dealing with less ice time thanks to the pandemic, has been astounding. Also, Alexa doesn't look so tense skating with Brandon (maybe because he's happy competing whereas her husband may not have been for quite some time). Who knows?!?  Glad they connected. I can't believe we have 4 hours of figure skating tonight (w/ a 2 hour refrigerator break).

Less of a fridge break if you have Peacock. They start about an hour earlier than the NBCSN coverage. I will be eating dinner in front of the TV tonight. 😁

[HartofDixie]

Results link for Nationals!

https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2021/27989/index.asp

[annzeepark914]

Johnny said what I was thinking about Knierem-she goes out there with so much confidence and you can feel it. Watching this team...I am not nervous. They're amazing. I also really enjoyed watching Chan/Howe. The only music that sounded good to me was during McBeath/Bartholomay's program (Buble?). No matter who his partner is, I always like Bartholomay's music choice. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

Are the judges lowballing Caine/LeDuc?

Kirenen and her partner are really really good.  And they look consistent.

Some of the other pairs looked slow, which I have never really noticed before.

[specialj67]

So pleased for Alexa and Brandon! Her shoulder shimmy when they got their score was delightful. Of the other lower ranked teams, Chan and Howe were my faves. I love it when both skaters on a team are equally attention-grabbing.

A bit surprised at the standings in the women’s short, if only because I thought the judges would try to help Mariah a bit more than they did with her score. Also, maybe it was just the music, but I found Alysa’s program to be quite charming. I think this may be the first time I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching her skate. And there’s the added layer of her and Bradie being essentially even in terms of technical content right now. I look forward to seeing who can deliver a cleaner skate in the free.

[alexa]

Gracie just doesn’t seem to enjoy skating at all.  Even when she first comes out, she is lacking so much energy and joy.  It is sad to see.  As for the other routines I love all of the ones that aren’t female ballads.  Lol!

[specialj67]

Great RD competition today. I’m surprised the judges placed Chock/Bates ahead of Hubbell/Donohue. I love both teams, but I thought Hubbell/Donohue seemed faster. Plus their RD this season is a big improvement over last season’s Marilyn Monroe nonsense.

Random costume quibbles: I miss Madison Hubbell’s gold dress from Skate America! I though it was the best kind of over-the-top. Maybe they got feedback that this isn’t the European Championships in 2001? Alas. And the second-to-last team to compete today, while charming, I couldn’t fully pay attention to because the skirt part of the young woman’s costume looked like a GD trash bag (shiny+angular cut+dark color). 

[Tippi]

I thought Alysa did very well!  It was my favorite ladies short program that I saw last night.  I liked her costume and hair and music.  She has a really nice presence on the ice.

If Amber had skated clean, even without the 3A, I'd have been tempted to put her in first place.  And if only Karen didn't have that tendency to underrotate!

 

[annzeepark914]

53 minutes ago, alexa said:

Gracie just doesn’t seem to enjoy skating at all.  Even when she first comes out, she is lacking so much energy and joy.  It is sad to see.  As for the other routines I love all of the ones that aren’t female ballads.  Lol!

In Ladies programs, dismal songs seem to be the rule. You'd think some of them would try to stand out from the crowd by choosing instrumental (which doesn't distract from the skater). Glad to move on to ice dance. Yay for Chock & Bates! That straight line lift demands such strength & balance but they do it so elegantly that it looks easy. 

[CeeBeeGee]

Alysa did great, I'm super happy for her. I'm a little confused that Bradie outperformed Mariah, even with that bobble. Mariah is so much more spectacular on the ice IMO and Bradie just does nothing for me.

[ChicksDigScars]

No Carreira and Ponomarenko. Missed their energy. 

Chock and Bates break the 90 point barrier. Heeeee! Love it. 

[emmawoodhouse]

It's only half a point difference between first and second. Should be a fantastic free dance. Team #Madithesnake!

[annzeepark914]

2 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

It's only half a point difference between first and second. Should be a fantastic free dance. Team #Madithesnake!

I loved that program last year and was sad they couldn't use it at worlds. Fingers crossed that they can this time.

[emmawoodhouse]

They kept last season's programs because of Madi's concussion earlier this season that kept them out of Skate America.

[alexa]

I am just wondering why Gracie struggles through all aspects of the routine.  She has been back long enough to do well at her basic skating, spins, and all of the in between skating —-but she was was not good at any of it in the long program.  I am sure some of it is that she looks defeated the moment she steps on the ice, but most former good skaters still skate beautifully even if they can’t pull together a program.  I just wish she would do something she enjoys.  It is hard to watch, and though she says her goal is the next Olympics, they would never want to send her, along with being unlikely anyway.  

[CeeBeeGee]

23 minutes ago, alexa said:

I am just wondering why Gracie struggles through all aspects of the routine.  She has been back long enough to do well at her basic skating, spins, and all of the in between skating —-but she was was not good at any of it in the long program.  I am sure some of it is that she looks defeated the moment she steps on the ice, but most former good skaters still skate beautifully even if they can’t pull together a program.  I just wish she would do something she enjoys.  It is hard to watch, and though she says her goal is the next Olympics, they would never want to send her, along with being unlikely anyway.  

THIS. She's always been heady and it's always been difficult to watch her but it's torture now. She looks absolutely miserable when she steps out there.

[honeywest]

Aww, Mariah.

[annzeepark914]

Well...I have to admit I really didn't enjoy the ladies competition, and the frosting on this sad cake was Mariah. She did so well at last year's nationals and winning Skate America. Geez--5th place. Good for Bradie, though. And I hope Alyssa will soon be able to handle the triple axel and maybe a quad. 

[specialj67]

My sentimental fave, Karen Chen is back on the podium, which is all I really wanted from this competition. So I’m happy about that. 
As for the rest of the girls/women:

Bradie isn’t necessarily my favorite skater, but she is my favorite competitor. She does not throw away a performance if she can help it. I’m happy for her that she gets another national title. She really earned it.

Too bad about Mariah, but she’s never been the best when the pressure’s really on. Watching her skate right after Bradie did so well really showed how weird it must be for all of them to compete in a virtually empty arena. You don’t get to feed off the audience energy. You don’t get that intangible push. It seemed like Mariah could never really settle into her program.

I was honestly shocked the judges didn’t try to help Alysa more with her score. But without a showstopper element like a triple axel, and some squirrelly jump combinations, I guess reputation will only get a skater so far.

Dear Amber Glenn, congrats on your medal. Please pick some more upbeat music for next season.

[Jeddah]

Poor Mariah. That was rough. Not even a pewter medal!

[Avaleigh]

I thought the competition was exciting and I was so happy for the skaters who did well. 

First the good--I'm so happy for Bradie! She nailed it and even though she isn't one of my super favorites, she's proved again and again why she shouldn't be counted out. I like the way the program built itself up and thought she really sold it especially in the second half. 

Amber was my favorite of the night. It was so awesome to see her do well. A silver medal right before the Olympic season? She has to be beyond thrilled.

So great to see Karen back in it. Artistically, I actually think that she's the strongest of the US ladies. Her spins, the layback especially are the best in the country IMO. 

Alysa had a lot of energy. She actually had my favorite short program of the ladies and I think overall she's really improved in terms of presentation. I could see how disappointed she was when she saw her scores but I'm glad they aren't overlooking downgrades and underrotations just because of her status as being one of the best hopes the US has for the Olympics. Hopefully she'll be able to clean up the jumps and get back the triple axel by next nationals.

I hope that Lindsay works on the speed, artistry and personality. There's definitely potential there but my god is she slow! She also looks so expressionless in the eyes like she isn't enjoying herself at all. The choreography was so minimal and underwhelming. Hopefully she takes the steps to really address her artistry because she has a lot of good qualities in terms of the jumps and spins.

The bad and sad--I'm so bummed for Mariah. No way did I predict that she wouldn't even make the podium. I feel like this was her best shot. This isn't to say that she won't have more opportunities over the next couple of seasons or so but she really missed an opportunity here and I can't exactly see it getting easier.

Starr...I'm always rooting for her and I always walk away disappointed. I can't even comment on how frustrating that short program was.

I hope Gracie finds something else that she loves doing. It's like she can't envision a life where she isn't competing. 

Hanna Harrell--that was a 1992 Leticia-Hubert-at-the-Olympics style meltdown. It's unfortunate because she has so much potential. More potential than most.

 

[displayname]

10 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

So great to see Karen back in it. Artistically, I actually think that she's the strongest of the US ladies. Her spins, the layback especially are the best in the country IMO. 

This.

11 hours ago, specialj67 said:

My sentimental fave, Karen Chen is back on the podium, which is all I really wanted from this competition. So I’m happy about that. 

And also this.

[Jeddah]

Add me to the list of Karen fans! I feel like USFS started counting her out when she started college, but they shouldn’t have. I hope they realize she’s still very much in it!

I thought Mariah and Bradie would be the ones going to the Olympics, but I’m not so sure now. I think it’s going to be a fight, and I didn’t expect that. A lot can change in a year though!

I’m curious who they’ll pick for Worlds. As awesome as Amber was last night, I’m not sure she’ll be dependable when Olympic spots are at stake. And fifth place was bad, but Mariah did win Skate America. I doubt Worlds will happen though.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Gracie just doesn’t seem to enjoy skating at all.  Even when she first comes out, she is lacking so much energy and joy.  It is sad to see.  

Seriously. On the one hand, you want to commend her for the way she keeps fighting and keeps trying. But she looks miserable out there and it makes you wonder why on earth she's even doing this. It's almost like it's some sort of therapy for her, and I am uncomfortable watching her go through it.

Quote

  As for the other routines I love all of the ones that aren’t female ballads.  Lol!

Good grief the music was just dreadful, especially in the short program. Maybe it was a mistake to start allowing vocals. So many ballads, one after another, it was just an awful lot of weepy wailing. 

Oh, Mariah. She's the Sasha Cohen of the new era. Beautiful skater but she can never seem to put two clean programs together. 

It doesn't look like any of the American ladies have a shot in hell of an Olympic medal against the Russians. I really wish they would ban quads from the ladies' discipline. 

[specialj67]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

 

It doesn't look like any of the American ladies have a shot in hell of an Olympic medal against the Russians. I really wish they would ban quads from the ladies' discipline. 

I used to be anti-quad in the ladies discipline, but the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that I just don’t care for the way that most of Eteri’s female students do them. They’re often pre- or under-rotated, and delivered with cluttered choreography. When I stopped to consider that many of the big name skaters doing these quads come or came from Eteri’s program, I realized my annoyance wasn’t with the elements so much as these skaters delivering these elements in these particular ways. 
 

Hopefully, in the future as more skaters start working in these elements seriously, we will get a variety of top tier females skaters delivering beautiful, substantial quads. At least, I hope so.

Edited January 16, 2021 by specialj67

[justmehere]

So happy for Vincent Zhou. His short program was beautiful, and he was great. I like Nathan Chen's a lot, too, but...  OK - I'm pretty far from knowledgeable about figure skating, but Jason Brown's choreography looked far more difficult, and the performance that much better because of it. So while his component score was higher than Nathan's, I expected a much bigger difference. He's obviously not going to come near on technical points, but it always feels like he still gets less than he deserves on the component scores. I thought it was spectacular with even greater artistry than usual for him.

[annzeepark914]

4 minutes ago, justmehere said:

So happy for Vincent Zhou. His short program was beautiful, and he was great. I like Nathan Chen's a lot, too, but...  OK - I'm pretty far from knowledgeable about figure skating, but Jason Brown's choreography looked far more difficult, and the performance that much better because of it. So while his component score was higher than Nathan's, I expected a much bigger difference. He's obviously not going to come near on technical points, but it always feels like he still gets less than he deserves on the component scores. I thought it was spectacular with even greater artistry than usual for him.

Oh yeah! Jason Brown, a skater of renown. I didn't take my eyes off this skater throughout his entire program & that's unusual for me these days. He never stopped--it was continual expressive movement, & not just moving from jump to jump. Vincent & Nathan have really improved in presentation, plus they have their perfect quads. But Jason is #1 in presentation. I hope he's got one quad in his LP. 

[Tippi]

The top 3 men were great!  Jason's program is STUNNING--a real masterpiece.

[alexa]

On 12/28/2020 at 10:04 AM, Avaleigh said:

Did anyone watch Russian nationals? 

I'm so happy for Anna. Considering how stiff the competition has been the past few years, three national titles in a row is an incredible achievement even with the absence of Kostornaia. She was breathing so heavily after the short I was worried about how she'd make it through a long but I thought the performance was great. Ridiculous that she can do a 3lutz/3loop so late in the program and make it seem effortless. 

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Trusova, I thought she was unfairly placed in the short program. Daria had a very noticeable error in the step sequence (including a hand down on the ice) and Kamila had a straight up fall (not to mention a dodgy looking edge on the lutz) but the GOE and PCS didn't really reflect this. Elizaveta Nugumanova was very strong in the short too but it seemed like she was low balled because she isn't one of the chosen ones.

I really like Kamila but I wasn't super into them choosing Bolero for her this season. Still, she definitely brought her A game and it's hard to imagine her not being chosen to be on the Olympic team when the time comes. If they give her the right programs her natural artistry will truly have the chance to flourish. She definitely has the best spins right not out of the Russian ladies.

Really bummed for Elizaveta. I thought she had her mojo back. I should've known based on how shaky she was during the warm up. She didn't completely give up but once she missed both of the axels it was like her heart wasn't in it. 

I like Kolyada but he can't hold a candle to the Japanese and American men IMO.

I just went online to watch the top 3, and they are pretty amazing.  What I found funny was watching how the coaches all wear their masks while watching the skater, and then take them off when the skater is done and comes in, and they all hug.  Just so different from everywhere else.  And the stands are full with people.  Their case level isn't low for Covid--so it seems a bit much, but I guess that is what they want to do.  

[displayname]

37 minutes ago, justmehere said:

Jason Brown's choreography looked far more difficult, and the performance that much better because of it. So while his component score was higher than Nathan's, I expected a much bigger difference.

This.

Edited January 16, 2021 by displayname

[emmawoodhouse]

So, Karen is picked over Amber for the Worlds team. How are we feeling about that?