Figure Skating

[specialj67]

I'm really looking forward to see how the Shibutanis and Papadakis/Cizeron do in direct competition. Really disappointing about Poje's foot down during his and Weaver's FD, which is very cool. I would love to see a world podium of these three teams in any order.

Love Satoko Miyahara's LP this season. Would love to see a world win for her over the Russian teen jumping beans, if only because her choreography isn't reliant on windmill arms. After seeing Mirai Nagasu's performances at 4CC, it's disappointing that she's only 1st alternate on the US world team. Here's hoping she brings it this much next season, because she really is a joy to watch.

[honeywest]

I hope Papadakis and Cizeron clean Virtue and Moir's clock. Special snowflakes indeed.

 

Tara Lipinski had the nerve to criticize Satoko Miyahara for her small jumps.

[Minneapple]

Oh God not Virtue and Moir and their WE'RE REALLY IN LOVE, CHECK OUT HOW MUCH IN LOVE WE ARE routines again. It was nice when they did it in Vancouver but it's pretty much all they ever did and it got old after awhile.

No wonder those crazy-ass fans think they have a secret love child hidden in Tessa's mom's basement.

Edited February 21, 2016 by Minneapple

[ChicksDigScars]

I love how they talked up Montreal being the "hot spot" and "the place to be" for ice dancing, now. Sorry, Michigan. I guess Canton and Ann Arbor are "so over." I had to wipe the smug off my IPad after reading the article I found posted on Twitter.

Dear Weaver and Poje. Don't let them push you around. Make them work for it.

[WhitneyWhit]

Which is all kinds of hilarious to me because they whined to anyone who would listen how they felt ignored in Canton, so now they're running to coaches who have the reigning World Champions who could very well (and probably will) win it again. I have a feeling they're going to end up in the same situation in Montreal. P/C are young and very talented, they could win in 2018 and keep going for a few years, I can't imagine Dubreil and Lauzon giving them anything less than their full attention, and Lord knows Tessa and Scott don't like to share.

[honeywest]

Patrick Chan gold, by one point over Boyang Jin. Han Yan bronze.

 

Jin's technical score was 30 points higher than his presentation score.

[Shades of Red]

I agree with you, Shades of Red, and want to add that I'm hugely disappointed in the direction that dance has gone. It's just an offshoot of pairs now. I mean, sit spins?? We are so far gone from the glory days of T&D, when you got a real dance, and not just mandatory twizzles and spins.

The spins don't annoy me nearly as much as the lifts do.  A time limit on the lifts as well as restrictions - I'm not sure but at one point I believe there was something about how high a woman could be lifted or how high a guy's arms could go - something about shoulder height.  Not clear about that but I thought I heard that/read that some place.  The entrance and exists of lifts looks really stupid in many cases and the poor couples are very limited in what they can do making it impossible to be really original.

 

So I wasn't imaging things about Tessa and Scott coming back!!!  I was on the phone and watching this in the background when CBC put something on their screen about this.  I thought it was an old post or something, guess not.  I don't believe they're friends with Andrew and Kaitlyn - or at least not anymore.  The reaction of Scott during an interview segment on that "reality show" he did with Tessa wasn't very good with Andrew and Kaitlyn sitting right next to them.  They didn't look like they were friendly then and if they did become "friends" I'll bet it's only because Scott and Tessa were completing.  You don't have to be best friends with your team mates/competitors, but I think it's wrong to talk smack about them.  Take the high road, you'll look better for it.

 

Maybe this format of competition has some good points, but I have to say it would be nice to see some of the top teams compete against each other more throughout the year instead of at the end.  I don't know about the teams, but I think it gives a false impression of what teams are capable of and how they compare to each other.   There have been some surprises especially in the dance competitions with some of the younger teams which wouldn't have happened under the old system, but there has to be a happy medium somewhere doesn't there?

[attica]

Wait...there's our Resting Bitchface. It's on Frank Carroll.

 

Oh, I gotta disagree. There was nothing restful about Frank's Bitchface. It was an active. mangy scowl.  Hee!

[iMonrey]

NBC's coverage of Four Continents was weird. They showed the men's short and the ladies' long? WTH? 

[AuntieDiane6]

 

I stopped watching the men skate years ago when it turned into a jumping competition.  I want some artistry and not elements that are connected with some skating.  The pairs sadly is starting to turn into the same thing, but with pairs' elements, not just jumping.  All the lifts, spins etc are starting to look the same to me with pairs.  No room for originality.

 

Sorry, kids.  Fans have been complaining about that since the 1970s.  Olympic champion Anett Poetzch?  How about that "oak tree on blades (tm tNYT) Jan Hoffman? Suraya Bonaly?  US champion Timothy Gable?  Elaine Zayak?  Right now, among the men we have PATRICK CHAN, Usuru Hanyu, Javier ... And Sasha Cohen would have easily won if she had just stood up for an entire competition--and it wasn't that she couldn't do the jumps, she had mental errors. I bet we would all agree that skaters who train with Brian Orser in Canada have excellent choreography as well as the ability to jump when it counts.  

[Avaleigh]

Sorry, kids.  Fans have been complaining about that since the 1970s.  Olympic champion Anett Poetzch?  How about that "oak tree on blades (tm tNYT) Jan Hoffman? Suraya Bonaly?  US champion Timothy Gable?  Elaine Zayak?  Right now, among the men we have PATRICK CHAN, Usuru Hanyu, Javier ... And Sasha Cohen would have easily won if she had just stood up for an entire competition--and it wasn't that she couldn't do the jumps, she had mental errors. I bet we would all agree that skaters who train with Brian Orser in Canada have excellent choreography as well as the ability to jump when it counts.  

Isn't this the truth? I never understood what was going on in that girl's head. A perfect example was a performance at worlds when she was skating to Rachmaninoff's concerto #2. She goes along fine and even hits IIRC the triple lutz triple toe. Then she loses her balance and has to touch down with both hands after a flying camel or something. Just truly ridiculous stuff sometimes outside of the falls on jumps where it truly seemed like she'd forgets that she's competing or maybe she was so nervous that she couldn't think about anything else. She once had a great short program where I thought she was home free because she hit all the jumps only for her to fall on her ass at the end of some straight line footwork.

 

Sometimes she'd put viewers out of their misery and just fall on the first two jumping passes and other times she'd wait until almost the end and you'd think that she was about to make it for a change only to blow an easy triple toe. She was the kind of skater where you couldn't relax watching her for a single moment.

 

With Michelle (especially if it was at nationals) you could typically sit back and watch her hit everything save her triple triple and even that she'd sometimes hit. (One of my favorite Michelle performances that I feel is underrated is her Song of the Black Swan routine. I'd actually argue that Michelle was at her height in that performance. It was elegant, she hit the triple triple, and she truly seemed like she was on fire.) That's why her two most notable on ice meltdowns (Nationals 1997, and Olympics 2002) were so shocking because she was usually so damned reliable. I'm sure the entire block heard the collective gasp that came from my mom's house when we saw her miss that flip. With nationals in '97 the fall on the toe combination seemed like a fluke. I was sure she'd recover and it just seemed to get worse and worse and finally she seemed like she gave up and wrote off the entire performance. It was the only time I felt like I saw her give up.

 

Sasha and Alissa were easily the biggest disappointments to me in terms of ladies skating because there's no reason why other of them couldn't have been a world champion. The crazy thing about Alissa is that she actually made Sasha seem like a stable competitor in comparison. Even Sasha didn't fall seven times (short and long) during a world championship event. That program had to be one of the saddest things I've ever seen. Only Leticia Hubert back in Albertville 1992 was comparable. I watched that nightmare program of Alissa's on youtube with Italian commentators and I still remember after the third or fourth fall the female commentator say 'Oooh no, mamma mia!' 

Edited February 21, 2016 by Avaleigh

[honeywest]

Leticia Hubert, the Human Zamboni. (Even she called herself that.) I watched those Olympics with my mother, and I remember she said, "Oh, turn off the TV. Put that poor girl out of her misery."

Edited February 21, 2016 by honeywest

[AuntieDiane6]

That's how I used to feel about Paul Wylie!  I remember being disappointed when he got named to the Olympic team, but boy, he finally swung and hit it out of the park at the Olympics.  That is still one of my favorite competition performances EVER!

[Rick Kitchen]

Paul is still one of my all time favorite skaters.

[MostlyC]

Patrick Chan's LP was breathtaking.  I now understand why people rave about him.  When he is on, he is a true skater.  

 

I hope everyone brings their A game to Worlds.

 

I wish MIrai was going to Worlds.  Instead we get Polina, who has yet to impress me.

[attica]

The camera caught a lovely little moment when Mirai finished her program, just before judges' curtsey: A little closed-fist hand gesture and you could see her mouth the word "boom!' It was a wee little mic-drop, which I loved. Go on with your bad self, Mirai.

[selkie]

I've got my DVR set to record any skating I can find and NBC Sports apparently did an hour of coverage of the men's long during late night hours. Would keep an eye out on the NBC Sports streaming app to see if it gets put up there for a bit in the next few days. It'll be interesting to see if Jin can bring the artistic side up over the next few years because the jumps are so good and as Johnny sad, the rest of the program is so juniors.

Edited February 22, 2016 by selkie

[Libby96]

Did any of the 4CC pairs competition air anywhere? I was surprised that Universal HD didn't show it. I guess I don't get the station that aired the men's long program either. My DVR is supposed to catch whatever skating is on, but I didn't see it. Chan must have had quite a free skate to pull up from fifth.

The Shibs and Mirai both made me very happy. I wish Mirai was going to worlds. The Shibs spot on twizzles right at the crescendo of their music gives me chills. Perfection.

[selkie]

They showed Scimeca/Kneirim at the end of the men's long coverage and I guess that was our pairs.

[ChicksDigScars]

I saw the two Chinese pairs as well as Castelli-Tran. I think it was on NBC's afternoon coverage?

[annzeepark914]

I can't wait for all the bitching and moaning that is for sure heading our way over the next two years. They're friends with Weaver and Poje, but I'm sure that's coming to an end now that W/P are seen as legit contenders, and poor P/C, they have no idea the hell that is about to be unleashed on them should they beat V/M, and I certainly hope Dubreil and Lauzon are prepared to treat them as the most special snowflakes to ever exist and to basically ignore all their other students, that is the only behavior V/M will accept from their coach.

Oh their fans have already begun over at Golden Skates forum.  I made a little comment about how the obsessive V&M fans are coming out of the woodworks and some of them got me for it.  One stupid trend V&M started that seems to have almost died out (thank God) are the little chats and casting adoring eyes at each other as they approached center ice to start their programs.  I guess it was supposed to say to the judges, "Hey, we're a couple, we're really "one" or somethin' like that.  Now, only Chock & Bates are still doing it.  Geez, I thought we were through with those poor sports and their fawning/vicious fans.

[HartofDixie]

This is interesting...

https://www.gofundme.com/gwne485g

[Silverglitter]

I've lamented what ice dance has turned into since CoP came around. Not that I didn't like any teams. I did enjoy a few like Belbin & Agosto and Ilinykh & Katsalapov,  but I haven't really loved anyone. Until now with Papadakis & Cizeron. They're the first team since probably Anissina & Peizerat that I feel really has the passion and artistry and chemistry that I look for in a great dance team.

 

Honestly, I've been losing interest in all of skating for a long time now. In ladies, men, and pairs all of the skaters that I had been sticking around for are pretty much gone now. At least with dance there's P&C.

 

I know I'm in a huge minority, but at this point I can honestly say that I preferred skating under the old system. I miss 6.0 and I don't care who knows it.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Silverglitter

[ChicksDigScars]

I miss it, too. It's all about racking up points. I can't say that I enjoy ladies doing three jump combinations, or the splat fests when it comes to the men and their quads. I hate watching women grabbing their skates constantly because Biellmann spins (and the like), rack up the points. I hate the constant crotch shots in the pair lifts. 

 

But most of all, I hate that you can fall on your ass and still win, because you ATTEMPTED something (and failed), while others skate cleanly. But, then we have a result like the Men at U.S. Nationals, which still has me scratching my head. How exactly did that happen? It looked more like a gift, not an actual tally of points. It's just harder to explain how some win (hello, Adelina Sotnikova))

Edited February 26, 2016 by ChicksDigScars

[KFC]

Dick Button is/was one of the loudest voices against the new judging system.

 

The IJS makes it easier to cheat because it gives the judges more places to hide their bias, and there's no flag attached to the scorecard. I miss the old days when you could laugh at the Russian judge giving Slutskaya a 5.9 for presentation and Kwan a 5.7. Or you could scratch your head when the British judge (remember her?) would always score every skater a good .3-.5 lower than all the other judges. 

 

All that being said, my main criticism of the IJS isn't the cheating, it's how cookie-cutter every program is. Even the music selections have become more predictable. I don't ever recall there being this much reliance on the same 5 or 6 pieces of music from nearly every skater.

[Silverglitter]

CoP has made everything look samey hasn't it?

 

The ladies all do that same layback/Biellmann/pearl combo.

Spins have just gotten really ugly in general. I used to love seeing single sustained spins. Angela Nikodinov had the most gorgeous Biellmann with a perfectly turned out free leg. So many of the guys had these wonderful, blazing scratch spins. Now it's all about being a contortionist.

 

Spirals have suffered as well. I'll take a Bobek or Kwan spiral anyday. You know, the kind with only one position that traveled most of the ice surface. 

[Avaleigh]

Angela, Sasha, Sarah Hughes all had beautiful layback spins that didn't need to have a Biellmann attached. I don't think a person should be penalized for choosing to do one over the other if it makes more sense in terms of the choreography. 

 

I miss it, too. It's all about racking up points. I can't say that I enjoy ladies doing three jump combinations, or the splat fests when it comes to the men and their quads. I hate watching women grabbing their skates constantly because Biellmann spins (and the like), rack up the points. I hate the constant crotch shots in the pair lifts.

 

 

So much of this. 

 

It's made programs look too similar. There's a lack of freedom because a person will be penalized for not doing what everybody else is doing.

 

I understand keeping up when it comes to jumps and combinations. Quads, triple triples, the triple axel for ladies--I don't want the sport to stop progressing but I also don't want it to only be about how many times a person can do a 'tano arm position on any given triple jump--I'm looking at you Evgenia.

 

I think there's something to the idea suggested upthread that there should be a maximum amount of points that a person can receive. 

 

I miss the old days when you could laugh at the Russian judge giving Slutskaya a 5.9 for presentation and Kwan a 5.7. Or you could scratch your head when the British judge (remember her?) would always score every skater a good .3-.5 lower than all the other judges.

 

I miss this too. So true about 'be careful what you wish for.'

[attica]

I think there's something to the idea suggested upthread that there should be a maximum amount of points that a person can receive.

 

The problem with this is, then judges penalize athletes who perform early in the competition to 'leave room' for later (or more elite) skaters. Which happened all the time in the old system.  If you instead impose a limit on how many possible points can be written in to a program, you make it harder for skaters who falter early to throw in stuff later to make up for it, or worse yet. Or maybe have to deal with tied scores. 

 

Presumably, cramming you performance with point-suck after point-suck will degrade your Grade of Execution on each, unless you're really so freaking good you get fours on everything, and the points ceiling is blown right off.

 

They tweak requirements every year, though, right? I mean, sooner or later the catch-blade move will be replaced by some other requirement that will soon bore us all. :)

[Growsonwalls]

Psst according to the crazy blogger V/M now have THREE kids locked in the basement.

[KFC]

Psst according to the crazy blogger V/M now have THREE kids locked in the basement.

Well at least they have someone new to play with.

[HartofDixie]

Bobrova/Soloviev missing Worlds due to failed drug test at Europeans!

 

http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2016/03/07/ekaterina-bobrova-fails-drug-test-dmitry-soloviev-pairs-figure-skating/

[attica]

Wow, meldonium is taking everybody out! You'd think people would keep up with newly banned drugs better than they do...

[selkie]

I think it might stay in the body longer than the athletes had realized it would.  Be interesting to see how the big crop of positives across a number of sports gets sanctioned. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Psst according to the crazy blogger V/M now have THREE kids locked in the basement.

Wow. Two more pregnancies since Sochi? Doucheface must be forcing Tessa onto the elliptical eight hours a day to get her back into shape.

Does the crazy blogger have a new target for her vitriol now that Meryl Davis isn't a threat? Is it Weaver or Papadakis that is weird looking, untalented and a total bitch?

[specialj67]

So, Plushenko was eying the 2016-17 season, but a neck surgery ruled that out. I wonder how serious he is about yet another comeback, and how much of this is the Russian Federation and/or media?

[COESpiral]

I think he's just nuts. The guy either can't find anything else to do with his life or he's determined to cripple himself. I'm not one to tell any athlete when they should gracefully bow out, but...give it up, man. Cripes.

[MaKaM]

The problem with this is, then judges penalize athletes who perform early in the competition to 'leave room' for later (or more elite) skaters. Which happened all the time in the old system.  If you instead impose a limit on how many possible points can be written in to a program, you make it harder for skaters who falter early to throw in stuff later to make up for it, or worse yet. Or maybe have to deal with tied scores. 

 

Presumably, cramming you performance with point-suck after point-suck will degrade your Grade of Execution on each, unless you're really so freaking good you get fours on everything, and the points ceiling is blown right off.

 

They tweak requirements every year, though, right? I mean, sooner or later the catch-blade move will be replaced by some other requirement that will soon bore us all. :)

 

One way to fix it is to allow them to count a maximum number of elements (similar to the short program) but keep the length the same. So if you can only do 5 jumping passes and two spins and 1 footwork sequence and they will count your highest ones (so you could really do 15 jumps and 18 spins but only 5 and 2 will count) there would at least be some variety. Maybe you make a "free element" category that counts as a set number if you do one but you can do a jump for 5 points (or 10 or whatever) or an Ina Bauer or a spread eagle or something. The skaters could do whatever appeals to them rather than being stuck in the currently established point categories. Definitely capping the number of jumps will reduce the stroke, stroke, set-up, jump, recover, repeat. that goes on in the first few minutes of most programs.

 

I've stopped watching a lot since the Sochi Olympics because I thought the results from the ladies competition was such bullshit. The artistry marks on one skater were several points different (someone giving a 7, someone giving a 10) and no foul was called. Or someone does an obviously scratchy jump and gets +2s on it. And I simply DO NOT understand how a skater who falls on their ass can be given 9s for interpretation unless they are interpreting a Zamboni. The artistic marks never seem to reflect the technical mistakes even though those mistakes definitely affect the quality of the performance. Nowadays, I watch, shrug and say, okay, whatever, who cares who wins? It has all just felt so phony since 2014--maybe because there is a new Russian star (or 3) each year and they all get the points of the seasoned veterans (and maybe they deserve them, I don't understand the artistry marks at all).

[Good Queen Jane]

There already is a limit of the number of jumps a skater can do in the Free. There can only be 7 jumping passes. There can only be three combinations. A  jump can only be done once alone and once in a combination. A number of skaters have been given no credit for jumps because they tried to add some and lost count.

[MaryMitch]

 A  jump can only be done once alone and once in a combination.

I should know this, but just to clarify: When you say "a jump", do you mean flip vs axel vs lutz... or is a double lutz considered a different jump than a triple lutz or quad? 

Edited March 15, 2016 by MaryMitch

[Good Queen Jane]

Sorry. The rules refer to double, triple and quad jumps as separate jumps. So yes, a double lutz is a different jump from a triple  or quad lutz. Here's the actual ISU language:

 

Repetitions: Any double jump (including double Axel) cannot be included more than twice in total in a Single’s Free Program (as a Solo Jump or a part of Combination / Sequence). Of all the triple and quadruple jumps only two (2) can be executed twice. If at least one of these executions is in a jump combination or a jump sequence, both executions are evaluated in a regular way. If both executions are as solo jumps, the second of these solo jumps will receive 70% of its original Base Value. Triple and quadruple jumps with the same name will be considered as two different jumps. No triple or quadruple jump can be attempted more than twice. If a third repeated jump is executed in a combination or sequence, the entire combination or sequence will be treated as an additional element and therefore not considered (but this element will occupy a jump element box if one is empty).

 

By the way, Men get 8 jump passes and Ladies get 7.

[MaKaM]

There already is a limit of the number of jumps a skater can do in the Free. There can only be 7 jumping passes. There can only be three combinations. A  jump can only be done once alone and once in a combination. A number of skaters have been given no credit for jumps because they tried to add some and lost count.

I actually did know this which is why I said 5 passes. If they reduce what is allowed to count and people have to figure out what else to do to fill the time, some creativity will have to come out. Maybe. Reduce the categories for the artistic mark because I am not convinced the judges know how to apply it. :-P

[HartofDixie]

Tonya Harding film: http://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/margot-robbie-attached-to-tonya-harding-film/ar-BBqLaRI?form=PRHPTP

[Avaleigh]

Margot Robbie? Really? Nothing against Margot she just looks nothing like Tonya. 

 

If I were to cast it I'd go with someone like Evan Rachel Wood. 

[Good Queen Jane]

Below is the broadcast schedule for Worlds on NBC, NBCSports Network, icenetwork, and the CBC. I’ve also added information about a broadcast after Worlds is concluded.

 

Please note a couple of things:

 

- NBC is providing the live telecast around the world to countries who will not have their own cameras in the arena. As a result, people in the U.S. get the benefit of having a live broadcast too. Unfortunately, a lot of the live broadcasts are during the day, so if you are working or have plans next week, remember to set your DVR.

 

- Except for Saturday night, which is on NBC, the live broadcasts in the U.S. are going to be on NBCSPORTS NETWORK (NBCSN), not Universal HD which provided coverage of the Grand Prix and other skating events. Check your cable or satellite listings for the NBCSN channel in your area.

 

- NBC and NBCSports Network will be showing only the last groups in each discipline. Icenetwork will provide coverage of all groups in an event, including the “not ready for primetime skaters”.

 

Here is the schedule of broadcasts for Worlds. All times listed are EASTERN. As always, check your local listings for the times in your area:

 

NBCSPORTS NETWORK

 

Wednesday, March 30

12:00 noon - 3:30 pm: Short Dance (live)

12:00 midnight - 2:00 am: Men’s Short (tape delay)

 

Thursday, March 31

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Ladies Short (live)

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Free Dance (live)

 

Friday, April 1

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Pairs Short (live)

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Men’s Free Skate (live)

 

Saturday, April 2

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Pairs Free Skate (live)

 

Sunday, April 3

2:00 - 4:30 pm: Exhibition of Champions (live)

 

NBC

Saturday, April 2

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Ladies Free Skate (live)

 

Sunday, April 10

3:00 - 6:00 pm: Recap of performances and results

 

ICENETWORK LIVE STREAMING

 

Wednesday, March 30

10:45 am - Short Dance

5:00 pm - Opening Ceremony

6:15 pm - Men’s Short

 

Thursday, March 31

12:10 pm - Ladies Short

7:30 pm - Free Dance

 

Friday, April 1

1:15 pm - Pairs Short

6:45 pm - Men’s Free Skate

 

Saturday, April 2

12:45 pm - Pairs Free Skate

7:00 pm - Ladies Free Skate (Groups 1 & 2)

 

Sunday, April 3

2:00 pm - Exhibition of Champions

 

CBC (Note: Broadcasts on Tape Delay in Western Time Zone)

 

Wednesday, March 30

2:00 pm - Short Dance

9:00 pm - Men’s Short

 

Thursday, March 31

4:00 pm - Ladies Short Program

9:00 pm - Free Dance

 

Friday, April 1

3:00 pm - Pairs Short

9:00 pm - Free Dance

 

Saturday, April 2

4:00 pm - Pairs Free Skate

 

Sunday, April 3

2:00 pm - Ladies Free Skate

8:00 pm - Exhibition of Champions

                         

For those not going to Worlds, you will be able to watch a lot of the competition at home. For those going to Worlds, start setting those DVRs for the competitions you want to watch again when you get home.

[ariel]

Does anyone know who will be doing the skating commentary for NBCSN?

[UYI]

We're getting a Tonya Harding movie...with Margot Robbie.

 

http://jezebel.com/margot-robbie-to-play-disgraced-olympian-tonya-harding-1766360347

 

I'm not going to lie...I am looking forward to this so much. 

[catray]

Polina is withdrawing from the World Championships; Mirai is taking her place!

 

I am sad Polina is injured, but I'm really hoping Mirai performs spectacularly.

[ChicksDigScars]

Gotta agree with the assessment that the only things that Margot Robbie and Tonya have in common are "white and blond." Did they let Harding cast the role? "Oh. I want HER."

How about Jonah Hill as Shawn Eckhardt? I hate Jonah Hill. He'd be perfect. Simon Helberg (Wolowitz, Big Bang Theory) as Gillooly?

Please frizz up that hair! Authenticity is key!

[WhitneyWhit]

UO, I guess, but I actually thought Tonya was quite pretty in her younger, competitive days.

[ronaround74]

 

I am sad Polina is injured, but I'm really hoping Mirai performs spectacularly.

 

Same! Mirai's had a pretty consistent season so hopefully she can perform at Worlds as well as she did at Four Continents. Wouldn't it be something if she were the one to break the US ladies' medal drought this year.