Figure Skating

[annzeepark914]

I plan to have the remote close by today & tonight as I watch pairs & the FD. Don't want to implode as Terry, et al, go on & on re: our new ladies champion. Sheesh, last night when Alyssa came off the ice after her LP and was actually keening, and no one shut off the wretched audio at the K&C even though the next skater was on the ice, I began to ponder my future as a skate fan. 

Edited January 26, 2019 by annzeepark914

[Mellowyellow]

Anyone know much about Mariah's coach? Her interaction with him after her skate was so funny. He could not stop lecturing and ranting but she was so chilled. I couldn't help but laugh even though I know he was telling her off. She seems to know exactly how to handle him though.

[displayname]

1 hour ago, Mellowyellow said:

Anyone know much about Mariah's coach?

Raf? Chen's coach? Wagner's? Rippon's?

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, displayname said:

Raf? Chen's coach? Wagner's? Rippon's?

Only really got into skating after the Olympics this year because of Alina and Zhenya (before that I watched during Olympics only). No idea who those people's coaches are! Rarely watch K&C.

[Ruby Gillis]

6 hours ago, Darknight said:

Omg they were so annoying with it. See look Russia and Japan we have Alyssa. She is the future of USA skating. O look, she is training quads too. Well see, she is only 13 years old. She can do 3a's when most ladies can't. Look, see, she beat two 20 year olds. See look Russia and Japan remember the name Alyssa Liu. Ugh! 

I haven't watched the NBC broadcast in awhile and I was horrified!  The broadcasters sounded like spoiled children.  "Hey, Russia, we have one too"   So juvenile and it makes theses skaters sound like objects.  

If Mariah hadn't fallen, I think she would have won.  I love watching her skate.  But it doesn't seem like she has that killer instinct, which is probably good for her mental health, but not for our viewing enjoyment.  It would have been so exciting if she had pulled it out last night.

[Jillibean]

I can’t really blame the judges for Alysa’s abrupt rise to the top. I think they would have happily given it to Bradie or Mariah with a clean skate. But you can’t have the national champion be someone who didn’t deliver their easier planned content when you have someone who landed two axels, one in combination, and then lutzes as well. As for Johnny and Tara’s lunatic ravings about everyone having to watch out, I’m sure those were mandated by the gods of US figure skating who are desperate to increase interest in the sport again with a new ice princess. As the NYT article on Gracie pointed out, when Sasha Cohen retired and the run of Olympic medals in ladies’ ran out, interest dropped precipitously and with it the money printing machine. They want to get everyone hyped on Alysa whether she turns out to be the real thing or not.

I thought Madi C and Evan were fantastic given it was only their second competition back. I’m happy we’re done with the tango for this competition because I found some of that music really grating. I’m wondering how hard it might end up being for the Shibs to fit back into this very competitive landscape when they return.

[Enero]

10 hours ago, displayname said:

They got "cancelled" recently, too.

6 hours ago, displayname said:

Because James posted an IG story saying she was sad about the deaths of Denis Ten, Jean-France B., and Coughlin, in the same sentence.

Eh. I think that's likely a vocal few. She  (and Cipres) seems to still be getting a LOT of support from what I've seen and heard. 

Anyway, it’s too bad Kolyada had such a disastrous skate. Did he successfully complete even one of his jumps? However, I am so happy for Javi! What a great way to end his career with a 7th European title. It wasn’t his best skate, but it was very strong. Again, I will miss his on ice bromance with Hanyu and his interactions with Brian. They (him and Brian) seem genuinely close.

Congrats to Alysa. She’s a talented girl, but her flailing arms throughout the program was distracting. It will be interesting to see how her skating evolves and matures as she gets older.

Mariah is a good skater, but her program put me to sleep. It had nice choreography, but she does nothing for me. Same with Bradie. She is a descent skater, but an awkward looking skater. I think it’s her lankiness and perhaps her not having the best posture? She has no ump on ice either.  

IMO, Ting Cui has potential. Her jumps looked great. She appears to have solid technique and really beautiful arms. With more work she may be a contender.  Hannah Harrell was good too.  Strong jumps. Descent presentation. Nice clean skate.

Overall it was good to see Nationals not end in a splatfest for the ladies.  Yes there was a fall here and there, but most of the top ladies pulled themselves together after a mistake and went on to perform well. Nonetheless I’m not really impressed with any of the U.S. ladies right now. They are all, for the most part boring. Definitely no Taras, Michelles or Sashas in this bunch. Perhaps that will change as some of the youngsters get older and as a result they develop a stronger presence when performing, but right now I'm just not seeing any phenoms. 

[displayname]

1 minute ago, Enero said:

I think that's likely a vocal few.

It's always a vocal few. :P It's just at a weird point of hysteria currently.

 

Cui was lovely here.

Edited January 26, 2019 by displayname

[EVS]

1 hour ago, Mellowyellow said:

Anyone know much about Mariah's coach? Her interaction with him after her skate was so funny. He could not stop lecturing and ranting but she was so chilled. I couldn't help but laugh even though I know he was telling her off. She seems to know exactly how to handle him though.

Her coach is Rafael Arutyunyan who also coaches Nathan Chen and several other skaters. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Arutyunyan

[ChromaKelly]

11 hours ago, displayname said:

They got "cancelled" recently, too.

What for? I've never heard anything negative about them. Nevermind, saw the post above. I think one can be sad that someone died, that their life is over. Doesn't necessarily mean they support everything that person did.

Edited January 26, 2019 by ChromaKelly

[Darknight]

Too bad USA skating isn't talking about Hannah. Her jumps are gorgeous but maybe it's best not to hype her up. . I also agree with Enero. I know some will disagree but US nationals is boring. I haven't been excited for it or US skating in over 10 years. I was excited to see the juvenile levels but the seniors are boring. I wish Starr would get better coaching because she can grow so much. None didn't really catch my eyes.  Who ever picked out Hannah's costume should be in costume skating jail.  With the new upcoming talent, I'm sure they'll keep Brandie and Mariah for now until the juniors and soon to be juniors become seniors. 

 

Congrats to Javi. Too bad Kolyada couldn't pull it together. I could've been ok with him winning because he's really growing on me but I'm happy for Javi. I'm just sad he will retire. 

 

Mariah and her sense of humor is so cute. Raf is stern but in a good way I guess. 

 

Johnny and Tara, please stop comparing our ladies to Russia. They're American ladies not Russian. We have a different system here. I don't want USA figure skating to be like Russia. Our system isn't perfect but I think it's ran much better than the Russian system. 

 

It's interesting USA fed sent Alyssa and her coach to the GP final to watch the Russians. They're really investing in this kid. I guess they didn't learn their lesson with Nathan and other skaters who were hyped up at young ages. If anything, I hope Alyssa ignores the hype and media to focus on herself. 

I don't know if this is accurate or not. I heard at Europeans, they were casually listing off all the skaters that were pushed aside by Eteri. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Anyone know much about Mariah's coach? Her interaction with him after her skate was so funny. He could not stop lecturing and ranting but she was so chilled. I couldn't help but laugh even though I know he was telling her off. She seems to know exactly how to handle him though.

RAF is always like that. His reactions are funny too. He is a very smart guy and coach in my opinion. His interviews are very interesting. 

Edited January 26, 2019 by Darknight

[ChicksDigScars]

1 hour ago, EVS said:

Her coach is Rafael Arutyunyan who also coaches Nathan Chen and several other skaters. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Arutyunyan

And he's very "intense." So the interaction in the Kiss and Cry with Mariah entertained the crowd, most of whom know how he is. 

 

I can't say that I'm excited over a U.S. LADIES champion that's too young to even compete in the Junior Worlds. I can't stand the kiddie parade out of Russia and I hate seeing it here. She's adorable, but THIRTEEN YEARS OLD.  And the USFSA inevitably shoving her down our throats is going to be nauseating. 

 

 I just loved Mariah's performance. I didn't want it to end. 

 

At first, I wasn't too excited about Chock and Bates coming back. I wanted to see those four younger teams take over (behind H/D of course, since they're now the "chosen ones" of US Ice Dance). But yesterday, I really enjoyed their Rhythm Dance. I was actually rooting for them to upset Hubbell and Donohue.  And I see that Madison Hubbell's creepy sex sneer is back with a vengeance. You know, the sneer that Tanith thinks is "smoldering?" I just can't with them. 

Edited January 26, 2019 by ChicksDigScars

[ChicksDigScars]

12 hours ago, specialj67 said:

I feel like a bit of a shithead for not being as enamored by Alysa Liu as the NBC hype machine tells me I should. 

 

May I join you in your shitheadedness? :)

 

Is it me or does anyone else feel a bit deflated re: the ladies outcome?

 

Edited January 26, 2019 by ChicksDigScars

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, Darknight said:

It's interesting USA fed sent Alyssa and her coach to the GP final to watch the Russians. They're really investing in this kid. I guess they didn't learn their lesson with Nathan and other skaters who were hyped up at young ages.

World Champion Nathan, you mean?

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, ChicksDigScars said:

And he's very "intense." So the interaction in the Kiss and Cry with Mariah entertained the crowd, most of whom know how he is. 

I can't say that I'm excited over a U.S. LADIES champion that's too young to even compete in the Junior Worlds. I can't stand the kiddie parade out of Russia and I hate seeing it here. She's adorable, but THIRTEEN YEARS OLD.  And the USFSA inevitably shoving her down our throats is going to be nauseating. 

 I just loved Mariah's performance. I didn't want it to end. 

At first, I wasn't too excited about Chock and Bates coming back. I wanted to see those four younger teams take over (behind H/D of course, since they're now the "chosen ones" of US Ice Dance). But yesterday, I really enjoyed their Rhythm Dance. I was actually rooting for them to upset Hubbell and Donohue.  And I see that Madison Hubbell's creepy sex sneer is back with a vengeance. You know, the sneer that Tanith thinks is "smoldering?" I just can't with them. 

 

@ChicksDigScars:  Yup, yup, yup, and yup! And also, may I join the folks who feel like a sh*thead for not being in love with the kiddie parade?  I'm so glad for this forum so I know I'm not crazy or the only one who is bothered by what's going on in figure skating.  And ice dance? I've loved it since the days of the Ponomorenkos ('84 bronze O; '88 silver O and '92 Olympic champions--my favorite ice dancers of all time).  But this OTT "smoldering" style of H/D seems to put the focus more on them as opposed to their skating (maybe I'm not explaining this well...that sounded odd). Hope next season the CD will be German folk music--lots of oompah band ;>)  

2 hours ago, Darknight said:

Mariah and her sense of humor is so cute. Raf is stern but in a good way I guess. 

RAF is always like that. His reactions are funny too. He is a very smart guy and coach in my opinion. His interviews are very interesting. 

 

That was so hilarious (and sure helped lots of us Mariah fans after such a disappointment).  Raf can be a real grumblestiltskin but Mariah seems to know how to get him to lose his bad mood. 

Edited January 26, 2019 by annzeepark914

[Libby96]

Now we will get to see how much of the remaining Nationals coverage is devoted to gushing about Alysa and replaying her free skate rather than, you know, actually showing athletes is the other disciplines skating.

[ombelico]

Agree with those who see that Alysa is obviously talented but aren't that thrilled about her winning last night. Sorry, but I just can't get excited about a win by someone who hasn't gone through a single ounce of puberty, and isn't eligible for junior worlds, but yet is somehow allowed to compete in the "senior" ranks. I just don't find it artistic to see a child doing jumps that are likely going to ruin her body because she's doing them so young. Let's see how those triple axels hold up over the next 3-5 years, and then we can talk. 

US gymnastics obviously has its issues but at least they enforce the birthdate rule and only let gymnasts compete domestically as seniors when they meet the international age minimum.

[Guest]

I feel like the year after almost every Olympic year, there is a super young skater that makes a huge impression in the ladies event (not always winning). Very few last until the Olympics though because of pressure, injuries, or puberty. 

So while I think Alyssa did great, I’m never going to be too excited by someone too young to compete internationally. 

[ChicksDigScars]

32 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

@ChicksDigScars:  Yup, yup, yup, and yup! And also, may I join the folks who feel like a sh*thead for not being in love with the kiddie parade?  I'm so glad for this forum so I know I'm not crazy or the only one who is bothered by what's going on in figure skating.  And ice dance? I've loved it since the days of the Ponomorenkos ('84 bronze O; '88 silver O and '92 Olympic champions--my favorite ice dancers of all time).  But this OTT "smoldering" style of H/D seems to put the focus more on them as opposed to their skating (maybe I'm not explaining this well...that sounded odd). Hope next season the CD will be German folk music--lots of oompah band ;>)  

That was so hilarious (and sure helped lots of us Mariah fans after such a disappointment).  Raf can be a real grumblestiltskin but Mariah seems to know how to get him lose his bad mood. 

I did a little SQUEEEEE when they showed Marina Klimova and explained to the viewing audience who Anthony Ponomarenko was, by showing video of his parents. And Anthony reminds me of his father. I think it's his build.  I think that's why I also like Stepanova and Bukin. I love seeing the second generation, especially since I'm old enough to remember Klimova/Ponomarenko and Bestemianova/Bukin. Back when the Russian ice dancers weren't banging each other and causing drama....thanks Usova/Zhulin and Grishuk/Platov. 

[Souris]

1 hour ago, ChicksDigScars said:

A I was actually rooting for them to upset Hubbell and Donohue.  And I see that Madison Hubbell's creepy sex sneer is back with a vengeance. You know, the sneer that Tanith thinks is "smoldering?" I just can't with them. 

I hate H&D. Haaaaaate! That over-the-top sex sneering is not my cup of tea. Unfortunately, that seems to be the chosen presentation in ice dance. Blech. That's part of why I loved the ShibSibs so much -- they COULDN'T do that, so they were like a breath of fresh air to me.

U.S. figure skating has had so many Next Big Things that didn't pan out, so we'll see about Alysa. I hope she's able to capitalize on the promise and grow artistically, but I'm not holding my breath. (Nathan Chen is one of the few who actually DID pan out, regardless of how he fared at the Olympics -- I remember the excitement about him at Nationals when he was 10.)

I think Mariah Bell is such a lovely skater. Darn that one jump! I think she'd have won if not for that.

[Darknight]

1 hour ago, ChicksDigScars said:

And he's very "intense." So the interaction in the Kiss and Cry with Mariah entertained the crowd, most of whom know how he is. 

 

I can't say that I'm excited over a U.S. LADIES champion that's too young to even compete in the Junior Worlds. I can't stand the kiddie parade out of Russia and I hate seeing it here. She's adorable, but THIRTEEN YEARS OLD.  And the USFSA inevitably shoving her down our throats is going to be nauseating. 

 

 I just loved Mariah's performance. I didn't want it to end. 

 

At first, I wasn't too excited about Chock and Bates coming back. I wanted to see those four younger teams take over (behind H/D of course, since they're now the "chosen ones" of US Ice Dance). But yesterday, I really enjoyed their Rhythm Dance. I was actually rooting for them to upset Hubbell and Donohue.  And I see that Madison Hubbell's creepy sex sneer is back with a vengeance. You know, the sneer that Tanith thinks is "smoldering?" I just can't with them. 

Thank goodness I'm not the only one who feels like this. Everyone else I know is like what's wrong with you for not supporting a 13yo winning. Um, she is 13. That's the issue. If we can talk about Russia having 3 juniors on the podium and doing quads at 13 and 14 then we need to talk about Alyssa too. 

 

Why is Alyssa learning quads? Her 3a isn't that great. She has so much talent but I'm not on the hype machine. She has so much growth to do and I would hate to see USA fed and the media ruin her. Not calling her out on her UR is a huge issue with USA skating. So many USA ladies have UR issues. 

 

Off topic a bit but this reminds me of the younger dancers who were amazing at 7,8,9,10,11 years old. They won everything. They were amazing. By the time they were teens they burned out. I remember Caroline Zhang being the next best thing. Look what happened to her. Mirai, Gracie, others. The pressure and attention at young ages isn't healthy. 

27 minutes ago, ombelico said:

Agree with those who see that Alysa is obviously talented but aren't that thrilled about her winning last night. Sorry, but I just can't get excited about a win by someone who hasn't gone through a single ounce of puberty, and isn't eligible for junior worlds, but yet is somehow allowed to compete in the "senior" ranks. I just don't find it artistic to see a child doing jumps that are likely going to ruin her body because she's doing them so young. Let's see how those triple axels hold up over the next 3-5 years, and then we can talk. 

US gymnastics obviously has its issues but at least they enforce the birthdate rule and only let gymnasts compete domestically as seniors when they meet the international age minimum.

If figure skating becomes a little girl sport like gymnastics was, they're going to have to change the age limits or limit what young skaters can do. I don't understand why quads aren't banned for juniors. We can't keep having 13,14,15 year olds winning then burn out as they go through puberty and become adults.

53 minutes ago, SeanC said:

World Champion Nathan, you mean?

Yes. Nathan Chen. 

[displayname]

7 minutes ago, Darknight said:

Yes. Nathan Chen. 

Sean was being somewhat derisive. He's implying that the hype wasn't wasted on Chen because he won last season. 

 

His Olympic showing was poor though, and this season most competitors were struggling again. USFS is great at getting its main contenders good GP spots and into the finals. Let's see what happens at worlds this season with a full field.

[annzeepark914]

48 minutes ago, Libby96 said:

Now we will get to see how much of the remaining Nationals coverage is devoted to gushing about Alysa and replaying her free skate rather than, you know, actually showing athletes is the other disciplines skating.

Just keep your remote w/in grabbing distance and hit mute.  That's what I'm going to do.  I must preserve my sanity!! ;>)

[Jeddah]

Let me be petty for a minute:

 I hate illusion fabric,and Hanna Harell’s “crop top” look for the short program was the worst. What is the thinking there? Does she think we can’t actually see the illusion fabric? Like we really think she’s wearing a crop top?

[ChicksDigScars]

8 hours ago, ombelico said:

Agree with those who see that Alysa is obviously talented but aren't that thrilled about her winning last night. Sorry, but I just can't get excited about a win by someone who hasn't gone through a single ounce of puberty, and isn't eligible for junior worlds, but yet is somehow allowed to compete in the "senior" ranks. I just don't find it artistic to see a child doing jumps that are likely going to ruin her body because she's doing them so young. Let's see how those triple axels hold up over the next 3-5 years, and then we can talk. 

US gymnastics obviously has its issues but at least they enforce the birthdate rule and only let gymnasts compete domestically as seniors when they meet the international age minimum.

A-fucking-men!

It's just not a good thing. Sofia Samodurova finished SIXTH at Russian Nationals, yet just won Europeans, because the entire Russian podium hasn't experienced cramps yet and are ineligible. The ISU can enforce an age limit for World's, Euro's, 4CC and the Grand Prix, but different country's championships are not under the ISU rules, so even if the USFSA grows balls and enforces an age limit, we KNOW Russia won't. 

Edited January 27, 2019 by ChicksDigScars

[Dr.OO7]

American women used to OWN ladies figure skating--23 Olympic medals, including 7 golds, 74 world medals, including 26 golds, including that legendary 1-2-3 sweep in 1991. No other country can boast these statistics. It's been very depressing seeing how badly they done over the past decade, particularly the horrible results in Pyeongchang, but I hope we might be making a comeback.

It's funny how from 1991-1992, it was all about the triple axels and how Midori Ito and Tonya Harding were sure to triumph at the Olympics because they could land one. Fast forward to 2018 and attitude is that Mirai Nagasu MIGHT win a medal if she could land one.

It's also funny that Ito and Harding were the only women who could do one back in the early 90's and nowadays it seems like a lot of the female skaters can. 

This little girl is phenomenal--13 years old and not only can she land a triple axels, she pulls off THREE?

Edited January 26, 2019 by Camille

[displayname]

There is zero artistic emotion in Chen's skating. They are giving him good packaging, but it's not helping him open up in the slightest. He has dance training, but he's not a dancer.

Edited January 26, 2019 by displayname

[CeeBeeGee]

Jason Brown's short program was spectacular! So good!

[SeanC]

2 hours ago, ombelico said:

I just don't find it artistic to see a child doing jumps that are likely going to ruin her body because she's doing them so young.

This is inherently a group with a small sample size, but training the triple Axel at a young age has not been an issue for girls who did it previously, e.g., Mao Asada, who had a long career.  Or Rika Kihira, for that matter, who triple Axel'd her way through juniors and is comfortable in the senior ranks now.  Miki Ando tried the quad Salchow throughout her junior career and likewise had a long and successful senior career.

There is certainly a need to be careful with training jumps for developing skaters (something that Eteri definitely doesn't do), but I haven't seen any evidence that Alysa's coaches aren't conscious of that.

Edited January 26, 2019 by SeanC

[annzeepark914]

Hey hey hey...did you see the new Jason Brown? No ponytail. His SP is so stylish. No quad. Wish he could get one cause the rest of his skating is stellar. Back to the SP...

[displayname]

Just now, annzeepark914 said:

Hey hey hey...did you see the new Jason Brown? No ponytail. His SP is so stylish. No quad. Wish he could get one cause the rest of his skating is stellar. Back to the SP...

Brown got so much freer this season. Good for him.

[Bewitched]

Jason looked comfortable in his own skin and that showed in his performance.  I'm liking this new maturity (almost looked sultry?).  It really sets him apart from the other skaters, plus he looks effortless across the ice.  Even if he doesn't have the jumps, I appreciate the artistry.

[SeanC]

Sigh, Torgashev.  He has some of the best skating skills since Chan, but just cannot jump.

[displayname]

1 minute ago, SeanC said:

He has some of the best skating skills since Chan, but just cannot jump.

You mean "Chan in juniors"? Even so, he has decent enough edging, and his glide is good for his age, but this seems like exaggeration.

[Darknight]

46 minutes ago, displayname said:

There is zero artistic emotion in Chen's skating. They are giving him good packaging, but it's not helping him open up in the slightest. He has dance training, but he's not a dancer.

I said the same thing. He has no emotion or musicality at all. 

[displayname]

Zhou needs work on his jumps, and I just don't see it happening for him.

[Darknight]

Can anyone please explain to me why it is appropriate to tell the whole world that 13 yo Alyssa Liu was born via surrogate and egg donation. Shouldn't this be private for the sake of the developing 13 year old. There is no need to promote information like this. What does this have to do with her skating? Now everyone keeps mentioning it. Especially  USA fed. Ugh. Do people understand she has friends and goes to school. Maybe she didn't want that shared. 

I adore Jason. I love seeing him grow. I can watch him over any quads any day. 

[displayname]

4 minutes ago, Darknight said:

I said the same thing. He has no emotion or musicality at all. 

Yeah. I think ALL the other top men have better presence than him (Uno, Hanyu, Jin, Brown). I doubt any of them have his dance training, but either due to maturity, or sheer ability, they are able to bring more soul and connection to their skating. Even Kolyada who impresses me more with his technique than his artistry seems better in this regard. Sigh.

[sweeks]

I just tuned in to the coverage of the pairs' free skate this afternoon, and I can't help but wonder what happened to the Knierims. Did they completely implode in the short? Seventh place is very low, particularly since the US is not known for depth in pairs.

[Chaser]

So happy for Nathan and Jason! 

I remember thinking a little too late when Jason switched coaches but they took his skating next level. His short is my fav.

Nathan going to Yale and still putting down. Happy fan.

Edited January 26, 2019 by Chaser

[sweeks]

2 hours ago, Souris said:

I hate H&D. Haaaaaate! That over-the-top sex sneering is not my cup of tea. Unfortunately, that seems to be the chosen presentation in ice dance. Blech. That's part of why I loved the ShibSibs so much -- they COULDN'T do that, so they were like a breath of fresh air to me.

U.S. figure skating has had so many Next Big Things that didn't pan out, so we'll see about Alysa. I hope she's able to capitalize on the promise and grow artistically, but I'm not holding my breath. (Nathan Chen is one of the few who actually DID pan out, regardless of how he fared at the Olympics -- I remember the excitement about him at Nationals when he was 10.)

I think Mariah Bell is such a lovely skater. Darn that one jump! I think she'd have won if not for that.

Souris - I agree 100% with your entire post! 

I despise H&D, particularly in their last two seasons. Hubble's "sexy" expressions are just painful to watch. They seem to be trying very hard to be V&M 2.0. However, as someone rightly pointed out in the Olympics forum, Tessa and Scott 's chemistry didn't seem forced (I say this as someone who was not a huge fan of them). Hubble in particular seems to be trying so hard.

[sweeks]

I just saw the Knierims' long program, and it was awful. There were issues throughout their skate (jumps and lifts). They had some significant problems on both of their lifts (they got out of one early and couldn't even get into the second one). It reminded me a bit of Kerrigan's 1993 Worlds skate, where she made mistake after mistake and never seemed to be fully present.

[annzeepark914]

This was pretty bad, even for the Kneirems. I've always found their programs to be worrisome (never knew which one would screw up a side by side jump). 

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

This was pretty bad, even for the Kneirems. I've always found their programs to be worrisome (never knew which one would screw up a side by side jump). 

When I saw they were being coached by Meno and Sand (who I loved as skaters) I got concerned- weren’t they pretty inconsistent as skaters? Not sure I would choose them to coach an already inconcsistent team.

[sweeks]

12 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

This was pretty bad, even for the Kneirems. I've always found their programs to be worrisome (never knew which one would screw up a side by side jump). 

 

2 minutes ago, deaja said:

When I saw they were being coached by Meno and Sand (who I loved as skaters) I got concerned- weren’t they pretty inconsistent as skaters? Not sure I would choose them to coach an already inconcsistent team.

The commentators said that Chris was injured earlier this season when they were in Germany and that he would need surgery. I hope he recovers, but this makes me wonder why they didn't just pull out of nationals given their coaching issues and the injury. 

Re: Meno and Sand - I wonder if this is just until Chris and Alexa find another coach since things with Aliona didn't work. 

[doodlebug]

9 minutes ago, deaja said:

When I saw they were being coached by Meno and Sand (who I loved as skaters) I got concerned- weren’t they pretty inconsistent as skaters? Not sure I would choose them to coach an already inconcsistent team.

Meno and Sand were the won 3 medals in Worlds, 2 bronze and a silver;  which is far and away the best any US pair in the past 30 years.  They also were US champs 3 times.  They were more consistent than any other US pair of their era,

Edited January 26, 2019 by doodlebug

[annzeepark914]

Cain & Leduc. I really liked their LP. Great side by side jumps, smoothly going through their program, very calm. I felt calm watching them (& that says a lot for someone who finds pairs very scary). Glad they're our pairs champs going to Worlds!

[Dianaofthehunt]

What happened to Kayne & O'Shea? I was walking through the living room with the laundry basket, glanced at the tv, and saw them standing still on the ice while their music was playing. They then resumed skating. She dissolved into boo-hoos in the kiss 'n cry. What happened??

[doodlebug]

10 minutes ago, Dianaofthehunt said:

What happened to Kayne & O'Shea? I was walking through the living room with the laundry basket, glanced at the tv, and saw them standing still on the ice while their music was playing. They then resumed skating. She dissolved into boo-hoos in the kiss 'n cry. What happened??

They had skated beautifully until the final lift of their program which never got off the ground.  He lifted her and almost immediately put her down.  Right after, it looked like maybe she was injured, but it could've just been shock and disappointment.  Had the lift gone as planned, they probably would've won, certainly would've medaled.  They were leading after the short, although it was tight.

Edited January 26, 2019 by doodlebug

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, sweeks said:

I just tuned in to the coverage of the pairs' free skate this afternoon, and I can't help but wonder what happened to the Knierims. Did they completely implode in the short? Seventh place is very low, particularly since the US is not known for depth in pairs.

Two things happened:

1)  They had a very bad short, with their usual SBS jump issues as well as Alexa crashing out of the triple twist, which is usually their money element.

2)  Everybody else skated really well.

1 hour ago, Darknight said:

Can anyone please explain to me why it is appropriate to tell the whole world that 13 yo Alyssa Liu was born via surrogate and egg donation. Shouldn't this be private for the sake of the developing 13 year old. There is no need to promote information like this. What does this have to do with her skating? Now everyone keeps mentioning it. Especially  USA fed. Ugh. Do people understand she has friends and goes to school. Maybe she didn't want that shared. 

Her father is a gay (if I recall correctly) single dad, so I don't think anybody in her regular life is unaware that she wasn't born into a traditional nuclear family.  Biographical stuff like that is part of the package that the skater's team puts together with the USFSA.

8 minutes ago, Dianaofthehunt said:

What happened to Kayne & O'Shea? I was walking through the living room with the laundry basket, glanced at the tv, and saw them standing still on the ice while their music was playing. They then resumed skating. She dissolved into boo-hoos in the kiss 'n cry. What happened??

They were at the very end of the performance, having been almost perfect (one comparatively minor error at the outset) and then couldn't get their closing lift up, which deflated the whole thing, as that was supposed to be the triumphant finale.

Since Ashley and Tim went after them and were completely clean it might not have cost them gold, but it absolutely cost them silver (and a medal, period).