Figure Skating

[annzeepark914]

I sent an email to NBC today suggesting that they replace the Tara & Johnny Show with some serious commentators like John Coughlin, Charlie White and Tanith Belbin + any other retired US skaters.  Maybe Tanith talks too much but that can be easily corrected.  What about Tania Kwiatkowski?  She's had experience commentating.  I am so sick of Tara and Johnny, the outre outfits complete with cutesy poses.  I said that NBC would never dream of having such people commentate other sports so why should competitive figure skating be subjected to this silliness.  Haven't heard back from them yet (someone was supposed to forward my comments as I'd just sent an email to NBC.com asking for help since they don't provide you with a real contact us link.  So, if you'd like to join in, please do.  I really don't want to endure another Olympics with these two.  Johnny could be a decent commentator but I think he's a bit distracted by the fashion aspect and as some folks have noted, maybe he's a little too close to his competitive days to be totally objective re: the men's competition.

[BlackberryJam]

Tara and Johnny are better than Scott and Sandra. It's rare that commentors don't get stale, old, boring, or too invested in themselves and their own thoughts. If we replace T&J, we'll be sick of the new ones soon enough.

[AllAboutMBTV]

Tara and Johnny don't bother me. I thought they were fairly invaluable during the Sochi Games, especially for the flights shown out of prime time. I just fast forward through their intros with Terry Gannon as nothing important gets said in those anyway. You be you, Johnny, and I'll be me with my finger on the FF button.

[COESpiral]

Meryl Davis and Charlie White are ending their competitive careers.  We all knew they were done but they made it official on the Today Show this morning.  They've both moved on and are enjoying where they are in their lives right now and I'm happy for them.  They won pretty much everything there is to win in figure skating and they can walk away with their heads high and with no regrets.  Maybe now they can finally get their Bachelor's degrees.  Ten years is a long time to be an undergrad.  ;-)

[caracas1914]

Wouldn't mind Michelle Kwan giving it a shot.  

[kitmerlot1213]

15 hours ago, COESpiral said:

Meryl Davis and Charlie White are ending their competitive careers.  We all knew they were done but they made it official on the Today Show this morning.  They've both moved on and are enjoying where they are in their lives right now and I'm happy for them.  They won pretty much everything there is to win in figure skating and they can walk away with their heads high and with no regrets.  Maybe now they can finally get their Bachelor's degrees.  Ten years is a long time to be an undergrad.  ;-)

I'm glad to hear this and I'm sure they're anxious to get on with their normal lives.  While I'm sure they'll always have a role in US skating--probably as coaches--it's time to move on and let the younger competitors have their shot at the big time.  I wish Virtue and Moir had that same mindset.

[Mittengirl]

John Coughlin can replace Johnny Weir any time, IMO.  He is very knowledgeable, doesn't jabber incessantly and has a pleasant voice.  Same with Charlie.  Tanith and Ryan need a voice coach, but just for a few tips.  They show promise and they certainly have the knowledge, both of the sport and when to shut up.

I think Johnny, and Tara to a slightly lesser degree, have fallen in love with the media attention they have gotten for being "wacky"/"quirky".  If they stuck to being ice skating commentators who talked about the sport, rather than courting attention for themselves, I think I could like them again.

Edited February 24, 2017 by Mittengirl

[Harry24]

Quote

I think Johnny, and Tara to a slightly lesser degree, have fallen in love with the media attention they have gotten for being "wacky"/"quirky"

I suspect they are also being coached/encouraged to bring the "big personality" stuff instead of just letting it happen organically the way it was at first.  Everything gets spoiled on TV over time.  Sigh.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

Tanith and Ryan need a voice coach, but just for a few tips.  They show promise and they certainly have the knowledge, both of the sport and when to shut up.

No, Tanith no longer knows when to shut up.  She's only quiet when watching ice dancers SHE wants to see.  If she thinks skaters are boring, she immediately starts a stupid esoteric conversation, dragging poor John into it. 

[caracas1914]

The novelty of Johnny and Tara wore off a long time ago.  As side commentators they seemed a bit different and quirky, but less is more seems something that eludes them.

[carrier76]

I actually like Johnny and Tara a lot, especially with Terry. I don't watch ice dancing enough to comment on Tanith, but John Coughlin was great during his Four Continents commentary. I have grown really tired of Ryan Bradley and his tics. He has the same comment for every botched landing, and just irks in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. I always liked him, too, but his commentary during Europeans was almost intolerable at certain points.

[Harry24]

Quote

I have grown really tired of Ryan Bradley and his tics.

He has the tone of a kindergarten teacher reading a story to the class.

[greendog78]

T and J wouldn't be so bad if they didn't talk all over the routines. I know NBC can't have dead air... And I don't need to be reminded every five  minutes the Tara has a gold medal (from a different era!!!) or that Johnny wears crazy clothes and loves Russia (perhaps a little too much). The Eurosport guys seem the strike the right balance. Who are they?

[Maelstrom]

I really enjoyed Tara and Johnny during Sochi, and up until the point when they became Media Personalities. Since then they definitely lean more toward inane chitchat and catty comments than I personally care for. When they actually stick to talking about figure skating (and I don't mean what they think of a skater's music or costume) they can still be interesting.

I watched all the 4CC coverage on NBCSN, and then the tiny little dregs regular NBC aired as well, and found the differences in commentary interesting, especially when it came to Jason Brown. While we all know Jason needs to add the quad, John Coughlin made a point of saying that Jason needed to first get healthy and then get the quad, whereas IIRC Tara and Johnny just made a snarky comment about him being obsolete without the quad, or some such.

It's nice to see a rotating roster of commentators on NBCSN, actually. Keeps us from getting too sick of any of them too soon. ;)

[carrier76]

9 hours ago, Harry24 said:

He has the tone of a kindergarten teacher reading a story to the class.

This is so right.

[Libby96]

Finally made my way through all the 4CC coverage on my DVR.  I was very happy to see Nathan and Mirai's results.  Hanyu was great too; I thought Coughlin's insight into Hanyu not letting himself get overly emotional was spot on.  I would have loved to see the Shibs win dance, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.  Virtue/Moir are amazing too, but I did not see  anything that made them finish 5 points ahead of the Shibs.  Am I missing something?  I was also a little surprised they breezed by Papadakis and Cizeron so easily at the GPF.  I thought P and C were the anointed ones, but apparently V and M snatched up that mantle the minute they stepped back onto the ice this season.

[CeeBeeGee]

On 2/20/2017 at 3:18 PM, annzeepark914 said:

It really annoys me when I hear Tara making snarky remarks about any of the ladies looking juniorish.  She always looked juniorish to me.  When she'd land her jumps, I could almost hear a ka-lunk as her skates hit the ice (she never landed gently--maybe from all the years jumping in roller skates?).  Tara's skating style didn't improve until after she'd skated with Stars on Ice for a year.  I wish NBC would replace Tara and Johnny with Ryan Bradley or John Coughlin and any of the other retired ladies skaters!

Right?! Tara, FFS you skated to Anastasia in a goddamn dirndl. (And got a shitload of snark for it.) Your step sequence was you catching snowflakes. That is as junior-ish as it gets.

On 2/24/2017 at 6:56 PM, Mittengirl said:

John Coughlin can replace Johnny Weir any time, IMO.  He is very knowledgeable, doesn't jabber incessantly and has a pleasant voice.  Same with Charlie.  Tanith and Ryan need a voice coach, but just for a few tips.  They show promise and they certainly have the knowledge, both of the sport and when to shut up.

I think Johnny, and Tara to a slightly lesser degree, have fallen in love with the media attention they have gotten for being "wacky"/"quirky".  If they stuck to being ice skating commentators who talked about the sport, rather than courting attention for themselves, I think I could like them again.

Very much agree.

[iMonrey]

Quote

John Coughlin made a point of saying that Jason needed to first get healthy and then get the quad, whereas IIRC Tara and Johnny just made a snarky comment about him being obsolete without the quad, or some such.

Unfortunately, Tara and Johnny are on the money about Jason Brown, and I prefer the frank assessment to the sugar-coating. There was some wonky scoring on the men's event at last year's nationals, and Johnny rightfully called BS on it and pointed out it seemed like the judges were trying to save a spot for Jason Brown on the world team. 

Don't get me wrong, Tara and Johnny drive me nuts too, especially when Johnny goes on and on about the "esoteric" virtues of the Russian ladies. But if they'd just stick to frank and technical assessments of the skating elements they'd probably be the best commentators we've ever had. I just don't know if they're capable of doing that (or whether NBC sports even wants them to), and whether it's worth putting up with some of their bullshit just to get a truth bomb every now and then.

Quote

Tara, FFS you skated to Anastasia in a goddamn dirndl. (And got a shitload of snark for it.) Your step sequence was you catching snowflakes. That is as junior-ish as it gets.

Yeah, but Tara was 15 years old when she won the Olympics (and 14 when she won Worlds) - her numbers were more or less age-appropriate for her. She's making these comments about ladies who are 17 or 18, or older (I think - who's she talking about?)

Edited March 2, 2017 by iMonrey

[caracas1914]

The issue for me was that Tara's skating seemed so juniorish,  her presentation left a lot to be desired as she didn't have much extension.     I really don't want to rehash the old Kwan/Lipinski debates, but it wasn't just Tara's age that made her programs so cheesy and immature.

[HartofDixie]

Throwback to Sochi - final group practice.  Which of the 6 will be back next year?  At this point it's just Ashley.

[HartofDixie]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2017/03/06/michelle-kwan-on-her-storied-skating-career-the-simpsons-and-international-womens-day/#5bdef8bb111c

[annzeepark914]

Thanks for the link.  I only found parts I & II.  I've always been a fan of MK's.  It was a big thrill to see her skate her SP & LP just 10 days after '96 Nationals when she appeared in Champions on Ice (today she probably would've stayed home and trained for Worlds--which she won anyway!)

[MaryMitch]

14 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Thanks for the link.  I only found parts I & II.  I've always been a fan of MK's.  It was a big thrill to see her skate her SP & LP just 10 days after '96 Nationals when she appeared in Champions on Ice (today she probably would've stayed home and trained for Worlds--which she won anyway!)

part 3: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2017/03/07/michelle-kwan-says-yes-to-kids-and-the-old-6-0-skate-judging-system

[annzeepark914]

Got it--thanks!  She's right about that infernal judging system.  I wish they could come up with something like the old system. Cripes...when the numbers come up, I just wait to see what place my skater(s) made.  I try to study the results later when I go to the results page but too often my eyes glaze over ;>(

[HartofDixie]

Part 2!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2017/03/07/michelle-kwan-on-her-involvement-with-the-democratic-party-sasha-cohen-and-missing-olympic-gold/#3101bd7bfde6

[caracas1914]

MIchelle Kwan, God how I miss her...

[iMonrey]

TV schedule for Worlds:

NBC Sports Network:

3/29 11:00a - 3:00p - Ladies and Pairs short

3/30 11:00a - 3:00p - Mens short, Pairs free

3/31 1:00p - 3:00p - Ladies free

3/31 8:00p - 10:00p - Short Dance

4/1 12:30p - 4:30p - Mens free, Free Dance

4/2  2:00p - 3:30p - Exhibition

NBC

4/1 8:00p - 10:00p - Ladies free

4/9 3:00p - 6:00p - Recap

Ice Network

3/29 4:40a - Ladies short 

3/29  11:15a - Opening Ceremony

3/29 12:10p - Pairs short

3/30 6:10a - Men's short

3/30 12:55p - Pairs free 

3/31 5:00a - Short Dance

3/31 12:00p - Ladies free 

4/1 4:50a  - Men's free 

4/1 10:35a - Free Dance

Edited March 16, 2017 by iMonrey

[Tippi]

Three cheers for Vincent Zhou.  He came from 5th place after the short to win the gold medal at Junior Worlds.  I haven't seen the performance yet, but I read that he skated clean with 3 quads in the long, including a perfect quad lutz.

ETA:  I just watched his performance.  He was brilliant!  His performance was worthy of a senior medal, IMO.  Casablanca is big music, of course, and he was tight at Nationals but this was fluid and beautiful.  Can't wait to see what he can bring next year.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Tippi

[Good Queen Jane]

Parsons and Parsons had a perfect season in Junior Dance, winning Jr. Grand Prix, Juniors at Nationals and now Gold at Junior Worlds. The US is really excelling at Dance these days. I can remember when they could barely get six Dance pairs to skate in Seniors at Nationals. The elimination of the 6.0 scoring and with it the "wait your turn" philosophy has really made a difference in Dance.

[HartofDixie]

http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2017/03/23/figure-skating-world-championships-broadcast-schedule-nbc

[HartofDixie]

Worlds results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1617/wc2017/index.htm

[Maelstrom]

Thanks to my DVR messing up yet again (why does it hate me?) I missed most of the women's short program. I only tuned in during Ashley Wagner's short. Did I miss anything good enough to look up on Youtube? Thanks everyone :)

[HartofDixie]

1 hour ago, Maelstrom said:

Thanks to my DVR messing up yet again (why does it hate me?) I missed most of the women's short program. I only tuned in during Ashley Wagner's short. Did I miss anything good enough to look up on Youtube? Thanks everyone :)

1tvDance has the ladies and pairs shorts posted.  https://www.youtube.com/user/MaidanUkraine/videos

[Good Queen Jane]

The ice was really slippery in Helsinki for Pairs.

Spoiler

Denny & Frazier failed to qualify for the Free, which means S-K & K have to end up in 10th or lower for the US to send 2 pairs to Worlds/Olympics next year. They're in 8th after the Short. Duhamel & Radford of Canada are in 7th. Sui & Han are in the lead.

[Mittengirl]

If you can use the NBC Sports app, you can view it live and then a full replay of each event.  I use the app both on my iPad and Roku.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Mittengirl

[AuntieDiane6]

I have to give Tanith kudos for listening to my critique:  she must have stopped the Adderall because she is talking slower and is allowing us to enjoy the performance!  She actually kept SILENT during some of the performances!  

[specialj67]

The men's competition in the short program was impressive. Even Boyang Jin's ridiculous Spider-Man routine charmed me--this one time. Aside from Javier Fernandez, I have no solid feeling about who will finish on the podium, which is exciting.

My fave performance in the pairs free skate, aside from the top 2, was definitely the French team. I love the feel of both of their programs for this season and that their execution and consistency has improved. Of all the current pairs, I hope they can make that big move up to the top group.

The women's short was ho hum except for the 2 Canadian skaters in the top 3. I hope they both do a better job of skating clean in the long than they did at their nationals.

[HartofDixie]

Did we keep two spots for pairs?

[Rear Window]

42 minutes ago, HartofDixie said:

Did we keep two spots for pairs?

I heard no. Unfortunately, the US drew the short straw and since they were last to qualify skaters, they will send one pair to the Olympics and two to worlds. Sad.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Rear Window

[Mittengirl]

Can someone explain Kevin Reynolds look to me?  Because I am baffled.

[Quof]

Kevin's hair?  He has worn that hairstyle since he burst onto the national scene in his young teens.  He likes it.

His costume? His short program is skated to Finish folk music, the costume goes with the theme.  

I like the wee elf.  

[flingle]

Was anyone else bothered by Sui's hair? I'm amazed she could see where she was going half the time!

[MaryMitch]

15 hours ago, specialj67 said:

The men's competition in the short program was impressive. Even Boyang Jin's ridiculous Spider-Man routine charmed me--this one time. Aside from Javier Fernandez, I have no solid feeling about who will finish on the podium, which is exciting.

I really enjoyed the Spider-Man routine - he looked like he was having fun, and the audience enjoyed it too.  I often wonder how many in an audience "get" those cultural references. And for Javier Fernandez - I could watch him skate all day. Pure pleasure!

3 hours ago, flingle said:

Was anyone else bothered by Sui's hair? I'm amazed she could see where she was going half the time!

It bothered me too. I really like the haircut itself - cute and edgy - but I don't know how she can skate with it flying in her face like that.  ( I just flashed back to the 70s, when a top skater would have a beautiful costume and then ruin the look by putting 20 bobby pins in her hair!)

[Good Queen Jane]

Well, that was scary, but the USA holds on to three spots in Ladies for 2018 Worlds/Olympics. And good for the Canadian Ladies!

[wintrygal]

So happy for the Canadian ladies, well done girls!  Be proud!

[Moxie Cat]

Didn't get to see the ladies, but damn Canadians! So happy for those gals! I was expecting three Russians on the podium, so well done.

And Karen Chen - fourth is not bad at all, and we held on to our spots.

What happened to Anna Pogorilaya? Bad falls? I expected her to sneak in there.

Can someone with more knowledge than I have explain why US pairs are so weak, in general?  Very disappointed with Denny/Frazier. (Sad more for the Knierems - they did well and don't deserve all the blame.)

Looking forward to men's free but Nathan has his work cut out for him. At this point, I'm just hoping that Jason Brown can stay in the top 10 to keep the spots.

ETA: Damn, Shibs. But Hubbell/Donahue were fab. 

Edited April 1, 2017 by Moxie Cat

[ChicksDigScars]

Ugh. The Marie France bodice ripping, face clutching, mooney looks, romance novels on ice are the darlings of the competition so far. And I'm strangely resentful of Virtue and DoucheMoir's presence. Don't you have some secret children hidden away back home to take care of? Did Weaver and Poje leave Montreal for Russia? I remember us talking on the other board that with V and M coming back, along with the French, that the rink in Montreal may get a bit crowded. Someone was going to feel slighted. 

I don't think the Sinatra-Jay Z mashup translates well to the ice. Tanith and Ben mentioned that the Shib's speed was down.  Hubble and Donahue's music was much more fun.

Does Johnny Weir get a little tickle up his leg every time he gets to say Medvedeva?

[redpencil]

4 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

What happened to Anna Pogorilaya? Bad falls? I expected her to sneak in there.

It was an absolutely disastrous performance. It was truly ridiculous, and she completely fell apart when the music stopped.

I really don't like Medvedeva's program. I find the music distracting and manipulative, in combination with her faces. She performs it well of course, but I don't want to see it ever again. And I'm with those who have commented here in the past about using the arms over the head jumps way too much.

Good for Karen Chen. It will be fun to see what she can do over the next year.

[annzeepark914]

Was anyone else bothered by the (once again) weird camera work?  So many times we were treated to views that we'd have gotten if we were sitting in the nosebleed seats.  Then the camera would zoom in for a close up of their upper torsos.  It was as bad as in S. Korea during 4 Continents.  NBC needs to get its act together production-wise for the Olympics.

I feel badly for all the top tier ice dancers that V/M decided to return to competition.  Sure Virtue & Moir have the right to compete and they're still competitive.  But they will have gone to 3 Olympics this time next year. IMO, once or twice is enough as it's such a big deal for athletes because it's so much more than a competition (and yeah, I'm looking at you Michael Phelps, Katarina Witt, even my all time fave, Michelle Kwan, etc).

Tanith & Ben did a good job commentating the  SD tonight.  They said enough to let us know what was going on with each pair of ice dancers but didn't yak all through the program (like Tara did this afternoon during Ladies LP).  Loved Weaver/Poje, the Shibs, both Italian teams, Hubble & Donahue, and Piper/Gilles (love that  70's disco SD--burn baby burn!!)

Re: Ladies:  So, what happened to Ashley Wagner at this competition?  Yay for Karen's World's debut getting 4th place.  Loved Mariah's LP (which I barely got to see as it was already taking place as I turned on the TV).

[redpencil]

Quote

Was anyone else bothered by the (once again) weird camera work?  So many times we were treated to views that we'd have gotten if we were sitting in the nosebleed seats.  Then the camera would zoom in for a close up of their upper torsos.  It was as bad as in S. Korea during 4 Continents.  NBC needs to get its act together production-wise for the Olympics.

I don't know if it was the same here, but I'm pretty sure at 4 Continents NBC wasn't doing the camera work. They (and I assume most everyone else) were all using an international feed.