Figure Skating

[annzeepark914]

Olympic Channel at 4:30 PM today, the Free Dance from Cup of Russia. 

[HartofDixie]

On 12/4/2020 at 1:57 PM, Jeddah said:

Other than Medvedeva, they were all at Rostelecom together two weeks ago and have had positive tests in the past day or two.

They also had a banquet after the event - no masks, sitting close together, sharing food.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH50BGTpPGO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Alena Leonova had a birthday party and she just tested positive too. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/KiraraChin/status/1334227002136604675
 

https://mobile.twitter.com/LiftLoopLunge/status/1334506861656158219

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by HartofDixie

[annzeepark914]

Lots of variety in programs during the free dance. The Ukrainians were so acrobatic & entertaining--if they never medal at international events, I bet they'll still have a future in shows. By the time Sinitsina/Katsalapov began their program, I was ready for non-angsty music & dance. NK is my favorite ice dancer but I see that he's dropped all the OTT drama (it was time). To the people wearing masks below their schnozzolas...you don't get any points. I found that really irritating. Your nose is the source of potential viral droplets.

[HartofDixie]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2020/12/08/sexual-abuse-french-figure-skater-morgan-cipres-charged-florida/6490137002/

[MaryMitch]

23 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2020/12/08/sexual-abuse-french-figure-skater-morgan-cipres-charged-florida/6490137002/

Why oh why do some men think anyone wants to look at their junk?

[healthnut]

If you want to be a one of the cutout fans at Nationals in January, here’s the info:
Cutout Crowd at US Nationals

[legaleagle53]

8 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

Why oh why do some men think anyone wants to look at their junk?

Because they think they're God's gift to women (or whomever) and can't understand why anybody wouldn't want to see their manhood in its full glory.

[justmehere]

https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/news/2020/12/10/figure-skating-tarah-kayne-and-danny-o-shea-end-partnership.aspx

[healthnut]

So apparently Danny O’Shea isn’t retiring, they are breaking up....interesting.

In other news, ISU has cancelled Europeans

[annzeepark914]

9 hours ago, healthnut said:

So apparently Danny O’Shea isn’t retiring, they are breaking up....interesting.

In other news, ISU has cancelled Europeans

Re: Danny O'Shea? Strange.  I wonder if Tara will try out with N. Bartholomay (he's always been a favorite of mine). Very sad news about Europeans. Could be a bad omen re: World's.

[healthnut]

16 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Re: Danny O'Shea? Strange.  I wonder if Tara will try out with N. Bartholomay (he's always been a favorite of mine)

So apparently she’s dating Balazs Nagy, who’s also a pair skater and recently split with his partner also. Certainly seems like they may be teaming up...

I feel bad for Danny, who could’ve tried out with Alexa, although I really like her pairing with Brandon. 

[HartofDixie]

On 12/11/2020 at 5:04 PM, healthnut said:

So apparently she’s dating Balazs Nagy, who’s also a pair skater and recently split with his partner also. Certainly seems like they may be teaming up...

I feel bad for Danny, who could’ve tried out with Alexa, although I really like her pairing with Brandon. 

Maybe we can get Deanna back and pair them up.

[HartofDixie]

https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/news/2020/12/15/us-figure-skating-and-nbc-sports-announce-broadcast-schedule-for-2021-toyota-us-figure-skating-championships.aspx

[SeanC]

Jordan Cowan's latest video success is the free dance from the junior sibling team Oona & Gage Brown, which has now logged over 1 million views (a lot of them Russian, judging by comments).  Power of Metallica, I guess.

 

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/news/2020/12/15/us-figure-skating-and-nbc-sports-announce-broadcast-schedule-for-2021-toyota-us-figure-skating-championships.aspx

Thanks!

[peachmangosteen]

On December 26th at 2 pm et, NBC is airing a special ‘celebrating 100 years of figure skating’ in case anyone is interested.

[SweetSable]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

On December 26th at 2 pm et, NBC is airing a special ‘celebrating 100 years of figure skating’ in case anyone is interested.

Thanks for posting this.  I went to set my DVR to record it and found that it's actually showing on the 27th at 2:00 p.m.

[peachmangosteen]

Oops lol.

[Good Queen Jane]

US Figure Skating has announced the list of competitors who will be at Nationals in January 2021. This includes the skaters who were given a bye and those who qualified through the US Championship Series. Notable among qualifiers is Gracie Gold, who placed 7th among the Senior Ladies.

[justmehere]

Japan's Nationals w/ lovely performances by Shoma Uno and Yuzuru Hanu. 

https://www.rockerskating.com/news/2020/12/25/2020-21-japan-nationals-play-by-playresults-mens-free-skate (Final results listed)

Other programs available here: https://www.rockerskating.com/playbyplay 

So good to see Shoma Uno do well, especially in his free skate.

Particularly enjoyed Yuzuru Hanu's short program.

[annzeepark914]

And Daisuke & his partner winning silver! 

[Maelstrom]

Ah, thanks for the links, justmehere! I was thinking I'd have to trawl through YouTube to find anything. Much appreciated!

Edited December 27, 2020 by Maelstrom

[alexa]

For 100 years of skating so far they have only made it from the last five years.  They chose Starr Andrews and Adam Rippon as highlights?  No offense but think of how many older performances of US skating there are.  Very disappointing they couldn’t pull out anything older than the last few years.  

[BelleBrit]

In fairness, I believe they did specify that they were only covering the past 10 years leading up to this "celebration", but including Starr (as much as I like her) over others...Hubbel/Donohue? Jeremy? Bradie? Mirai? Seems rather questionable.  And as much as I liked Mariah Bell's silver performance at last nationals, I do think she was *rather* held up at Skate America this year, and I am already yawning at how they seem to be setting her up to win nationals.

[emmawoodhouse]

I don't know about Mariah. Her LP is horrible. I know they took out Dancing Queen, but will that be enough to salvage that program? 

[Maelstrom]

My DVR decided not to record the special even though it acted like it would, so I missed it. Sadly I'm not surprised to hear I didn't really miss anything. I can understand needing to narrow their scope (100 years is a LOT of skating to cover after all) but still. Why not just have a special about the current "big names" in American skating if that's all they want to show? Sheesh.

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, alexa said:

For 100 years of skating so far they have only made it from the last five years.  They chose Starr Andrews and Adam Rippon as highlights?  No offense but think of how many older performances of US skating there are.  Very disappointing they couldn’t pull out anything older than the last few years.  

I guess I missed that this was going to be a "history of just the past 10 years". Adam's and Starr's skates kicking the whole thing off puzzled me...especially Starr skating to her own singing. The highlights for me were Cain/Leduc, Mariah, the Shib Sibs, Davis & White, and Jason's "Riverdance".  Didn't he really bring down the house when he performed this LP at Worlds in Boston? 

[annzeepark914]

11 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I don't know about Mariah. Her LP is horrible. I know they took out Dancing Queen, but will that be enough to salvage that program? 

She needs music better suited to competitive skating than anything by ABBA (even though I love Dancing Queen). I was so disappointed by her LP at Skate America.

[peachmangosteen]

25 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

My DVR decided not to record the special even though it acted like it would, so I missed it. 

Mine oddly did the same thing but my sister caught it quick enough that we were able to record it.

Like everyone else though, I was really disappointed in it. Everything was mostly like only 5 years old. I wanted to see older stuff. 

[JES004]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

Mine oddly did the same thing but my sister caught it quick enough that we were able to record it.

Like everyone else though, I was really disappointed in it. Everything was mostly like only 5 years old. I wanted to see older stuff. 

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.  
 

I have my DVR set up to record Figure Skating, but oddly, it didn’t record this. I came here to see if it was worth me searching for another airing, since the article seemed to suggest we would get Button and Kwan. I was looking forward to Fleming, Lynn, Randy and Tai, Debi Thomas. I’d of been happy with Bobek and Bowman. The Carruthers, Boitano, and so many more.  Looks like I don’t need to bother. 
 

 

 

[annzeepark914]

45 minutes ago, 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.  
 

I have my DVR set up to record Figure Skating, but oddly, it didn’t record this. I came here to see if it was worth me searching for another airing, since the article seemed to suggest we would get Button and Kwan. I was looking forward to Fleming, Lynn, Randy and Tai, Debi Thomas. I’d of been happy with Bobek and Bowman. The Carruthers, Boitano, and so many more.  Looks like I don’t need to bother. 
 

 

 

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.

[legaleagle53]

I don't know  how they'd have gone all the way back to 1920 anyway, since the Winter Olympics only go back as far as 1924. The earliest i can think of for figure skaters who would be well-known today would be Sonja Henie in 1928.

[KBrownie]

25 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Why would Johnny care about Michelle being such a fantastic skater?

 

I too would also love to know what Johnny's beef is with Michelle Kwan . . .

I don't recall them ever crossing paths and there's no comparison between his skating career and hers, so what's his problem?

[Jaded]

The only thing I've found online so far is a thread from years ago on the DataLounge forums mentioning that he said Michelle scolded him when he refused to go to the White House in 2006 when GWB was president.

[alexa]

I just think for two skaters growing up knowing those that helped make skating what it is, they have to know the special looked stupid to ignore the skaters people actually wanted to see. They acted like the routines they showed were what people wanted to see.  Kind of sad they can’t recognize the greats of the past.  

[emmawoodhouse]

9 minutes ago, alexa said:

I just think for two skaters growing up knowing those that helped make skating what it is, they have to know the special looked stupid to ignore the skaters people actually wanted to see. They acted like the routines they showed were what people wanted to see.  Kind of sad they can’t recognize the greats of the past.  

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

[CeeBeeGee]

5 hours ago, JES004 said:

I have my DVR set up to record Figure Skating, but oddly, it didn’t record this. I came here to see if it was worth me searching for another airing, since the article seemed to suggest we would get Button and Kwan. I was looking forward to Fleming, Lynn, Randy and Tai, Debi Thomas. I’d of been happy with Bobek and Bowman. The Carruthers, Boitano, and so many more.  Looks like I don’t need to bother. 

Right? Because if we're going to celebrate 100 years of US Figure Skating--the glory days when we dominated the competition (especially in Ladies') is in the past. Sasha Cohen and Kimmie Meissner were the last gasp of wholescale dominance--Ashley Wagner pulled out the Worlds silver in 2016 and good for her, but it remains to be seen if anyone can truly compete with the Russian baby ballerinas. Mirai's "I don't GAF if I didn't skate my best, it's only the Olympics, when can I book Dancing with the Stars?" attitude sure doesn't give me any confidence. (And please don't @me--I was a Mirai fan, I LOVED that 3A, but that interview left a very bad taste in my mouth.)

So if you're going to celebrate 100 years if US Figure Skating--let's see some Michelle Kwan, some Christopher Bowman, heck, even some Tonya Harding and Nicole Bobek. All World and/or Olympic medalists.

[Avaleigh]

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.

[SeanC]

26 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

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. 

She had COVID-19 less than a month ago, so unfortunately this was another season where health problems derailed her at the worst possible time.

Fourth place at Japanese nationals was Rino Matsuike, the bronze medalist from NHK Trophy earlier this season (as well as the junior national champion).  This kid is going places; she has a 3S-3T-2T as her penultimate element.

 

[ChicksDigScars]

17 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

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

Right. The proper name should have been "The History of Figure Skating on NBC." Anything on ABC and CBS, which covered a lot of Olympic Game broadcasts, was not shown. Even the Olympic Channel just showed the Figure Skating event from the Olympics that NBC has the broadcast rights to (2002 through 2018) over Christmas. 

[Enero]

I watched some of the LP performances of Japanese Nationals. Did anyone else check them out on YouTube?
 

Ladies:

Miyahara – Her program has potential, but it wasn’t her best performance. Some of her jumps seemed low and tight, and she struggled at the end. Also, I don’t think she has the difficulty of some of the other top ladies out there. However, I’ve always enjoyed her presentation. 

Sakamoto – This program is just not good IMO. Though she did look to have more choreography than Rika’s program. She struggled with some of her jumps and the footwork was almost at a standstill. Perhaps if skated better this could be a descent program.

Rika – She was perfection. She landed the Quad Salchow! Good for her! With her 3Axels perhaps she can give the Russian ladies a run for the podium. I liked the music to her LP but it seemed to be lacking in choreography. It seemed to go from jump to jump without much in between, but she has a natural presence on ice, which if cultivated I think it will serve her well. 

 

Men:

Uno – Oh my, this guy is looking so much better than he was looking last year when it really seemed like his career may be at the point of no return. I love the music. The choreography is strong. The passion and excitement is back in his skating! He wasn’t perfect but he’s improve so much since last year. I think Lambiel has done wonders for him. 

I wanted to see Shun Sato’s performance but could only find clips. He looks to have done well though. I think he placed third. 

Hanyu – Looked amazing. I think this is the best he’s looked, especially in a LP, in over 3 years. The skate was perfection. It’s interesting though, he’s dropped the Lutz and Flip from his programs. I’m guessing the horrible injury he suffered a couple of years ago practicing the Quad Lutz may be the culprit. I don’t know how his arsenal of jumps line up to Nathan’s but this guy is definitely not out the game. He’s still skating like he was in his prime 6 years ago and some may argue he’s still in his prime. Good for him!

Overall it looked like it might’ve been a good competition. I think the season being cut down to almost nothing might’ve helped some of these skaters obtain more healing from any lingering physical and mental ailments, and reinvigorate their passion for the sport.

[annzeepark914]

21 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

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

So how hard is it to get permission to show skaters whose performances were shown years ago on ABC?  I'm sorry, but NBC really did a crappy job promoting this as a "history" of figure skating when they never showed "the greats", the ones who made figure skating a sport to follow, year after year.  Button, Fleming, Hamill, Hamilton, Wylie, Tai & Randy, Kristi Yamaguchi,  Michelle Kwan for pete's sake, and I missed some from the 1960 Olympics who brought home the gold. I'm surprised they didn't showcase our 1998 Olympic champ. This program was really just a promo for US Nationals next month.

[SeanC]

13 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

So how hard is it to get permission to show skaters whose performances were shown years ago on ABC? 

They’d have to pay ABC for it.  Whereas here they’re using footage they already own.

The older competitions are also in much lower video quality than modern TV is accustomed to, which may also have been a factor.

Edited December 29, 2020 by SeanC

[CeeBeeGee]

5 hours ago, SeanC said:

They’d have to pay ABC for it.  Whereas here they’re using footage they already own.

The older competitions are also in much lower video quality than modern TV is accustomed to, which may also have been a factor.

I guess but just think of how they could've hooked a new generation with some well-written and -delivered commentary on someone like, say, Christopher Bowman. A complete mess in so many ways but MAN, could he deliver when he felt like it. They should just ditch Tara and Jonny and hire Aunt Joyce David Lease.  THAT one can pique your interest, knows how to write a narrative.

[emmawoodhouse]

Dear god, not Dave Lease. 

[Good Queen Jane]

Johnny Weir is one of the 2021 inductees in the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Because of Covid, the induction ceremony won't be held until the 2022 Nationals in Nashville.

[Avaleigh]

13 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

I guess but just think of how they could've hooked a new generation with some well-written and -delivered commentary on someone like, say, Christopher Bowman. A complete mess in so many ways but MAN, could he deliver when he felt like it. They should just ditch Tara and Jonny and hire Aunt Joyce David Lease.  THAT one can pique your interest, knows how to write a narrative.

I like that Dave and Jonathan are at least talking about skating. I might not agree with everything Dave says but I appreciate his enthusiasm for skating since there's so little (American) interest in the sport these days. I also like that he covers the Russian drama (even though his "Russian" accent is annoying AF.) There aren't many places I can go for that. Also, to be fair, he doesn't have to worry about what NBC thinks about any given topic so he has the freedom to be a little bit more controversial and that can be refreshing at times.

I liked Johnny and Tara when they first started on NBC but I feel like Tara doesn't really have a mind of her own. Johnny is so obvious about who he prefers that it's a little frustrating after awhile. 

[CeeBeeGee]

31 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

I like that Dave and Jonathan are at least talking about skating. I might not agree with everything Dave says but I appreciate his enthusiasm for skating since there's so little (American) interest in the sport these days. I also like that he covers the Russian drama (even though his "Russian" accent is annoying AF.) There aren't many places I can go for that. Also, to be fair, he doesn't have to worry about what NBC thinks about any given topic so he has the freedom to be a little bit more controversial and that can be refreshing at times.

I liked Johnny and Tara when they first started on NBC but I feel like Tara doesn't really have a mind of her own. Johnny is so obvious about who he prefers that it's a little frustrating after awhile. 

I will admit I have watched only a couple of episodes of The Skating Lesson--my enthusiasm for him stems from his now-defunct blog which was absolutely hilarious and very well-researched. I wish he still kept it up, it's kind of boring listening to such long interviews. I only listen when he has on someone awesome who hasn't been heard from much, like Mattie Larsen or Daniela Silivas.

[TVbitch]

Just chiming in to say how gutted I was by that "100 Years of US Figure Skating" special. I did not record a NFL game I wanted to see because I REALLY wanted to see all the great skates of the past. I was shocked when most of them I remember seeing in recent years or even this year! I held out hope I would at least get a gorgeous Jeremy Abbot program or even just Evan's Firebird since those are not THAT long ago, but no. I enjoyed the Shib Sibs "Fix You" and the other older numbers, but I ended up FF a lot of it. : (

Edited December 30, 2020 by TVbitch

[JES004]

On 12/27/2020 at 8:51 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.

He has made a few statements in the past about Tara, throwing shade at Michelle. Tara doesn’t seem to have an issue, that I have seen.