Figure Skating

[Shaynaa]

Aimee Buchanan is skating in a bit.  She's American but representing is Israel because she gets to go to more international competitions and is Jewish.  I guess that is still better than the Irish flag bearer who was American but had an Irish grandma.  I understand many countries do not have their own fascities to train but I just find nation shopping annoying. 

[SophiaD]

Jeeze, Tanith, we know you adore Virtue and Moir.  Give it a rest, already.  

I thought the Shibs were judged pretty harshly, but maybe I missed something.

[scarynikki12]

I don't claim to know much (anything) about ice dancing but the Russian duo was really boring.

[absnow54]

1 minute ago, Shaynaa said:

Aimee Buchanan is skating in a bit.  She's American but representing is Israel because she gets to go to more international competitions and is Jewish. 

I think all of Team Isreal is either from the US or Ukraine. 

[mehtotheworld]

Did Scott lose a bet or something? Those costumes weren’t awful, but I really hope they switch it up next week. Just kind of a confusing theme.

I hate Latin patterns in ice dancing because most teams, even the really good teams, look so awkward. I wish we could have seen the full program for the French since it seems like they actually got the crowd into it.

[Dots And Stripes]

Friendly reminder that Tanith is married to Charlie White aka Tessa and Scott's longtime rival. She competed against Tessa and Scott as well. I give her credit for not trying to tear anyone down.

[SophiaD]

Well, the Shibs are in second place.  Good for them.  I thought Alex's reaction during the interview was perfection.  

Good luck, Bradie!

[herbz]

Guys, the Shibs really really weren't underscored relative to the competition so far (and I have said multiple times that they've been underscored in the past). V/M just laid down one of their best skates and were 2.5 points under their World Record, as well as getting Level 2 on a pattern (same as the Shibs) for the first time since about...2008? Just a tough nut caller (I've just checked, she's from the UK)

Edited February 11, 2018 by herbz

[stealinghome]

3 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

I don't claim to know much (anything) about ice dancing but the Russian duo was really boring.

Seriously. I do not think they achieved the "don't get too sleepy before the end" goal the announcers were talking about. Virtue/Moir and the Italian team were both MUCH more engaging/charismatic.

[voiceover]

I ask this without snark: why are Virtue/Moir back? 

[Moxie Cat]

The great thing (or frustrating thing, if you win) about the team comp is that ranking is the only thing that matters. That's why the Knierims did great - even 5 points higher, they still would have gotten 7 points. Shoma Uno didn't get any credit for a super-high score. The Shibs landed exactly where they probably would have, below V/M. It's a little different mindset than regular scoring, but a little refreshing too.

[herbz]

1 minute ago, voiceover said:

I ask this without snark: why are Virtue/Moir back? 

Younger than Meryl and Charlie, felt they had more to give, weren't thrilled with their 2014 programs and wanted to go out on a better note. 

[voiceover]

Aha!  Didn't know about the age thing.  Makes sense.  Thanks for explaining.

[Vera]

Not one team scored a season's best here and I think all the top four had a Level two rhumba. That panel was harsh! 

[herbz]

Interesting to see if this continues to the individual event- both V/M and the Shibs have cleaner patterns and NtMiSt than P/C but P/C haven't got a Level 2 like this all season, and shouldn't be seeing Level 4s if panels carry on in the same manner. I'm off to scrutinise V/M's pattern, how that was a Lvl2 (couldn't properly see Tessa's chocktaw though, was probably that...)

Edited February 11, 2018 by herbz

[ombelico]

NtMiSt - what does this mean? 

[Vera]

Just now, ombelico said:

NtMiSt - what does this mean? 

No touch mid-line step sequence. 

[herbz]

2 minutes ago, ombelico said:

NtMiSt - what does this mean? 

No touch midline step sequence- it's the part where the couple does a series of turns and steps across the ice in unison without touching each other. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by herbz

[Jeddah]

8 minutes ago, herbz said:

Guys, the Shibs really really weren't underscored relative to the competition so far (and I have said multiple times that they've been underscored in the past). V/M just laid down one of their best skates and were 2.5 points under their World Record, as well as getting Level 2 on a pattern (same as the Shibs) for the first time since about...2008? Just a tough nut caller (I've just checked, she's from the UK)

I agree the judges were strict across the board, but I don’t think Bobrova and Soloviev should be that close to the Shibs. I know it worked out because the placement is all that counts for now, but the Shibs should have been more than .7 over B/S.

[HartofDixie]

Edited February 11, 2018 by HartofDixie

[MaKaM]

Interesting that OAR got the final spot in 3 of the four disciplines. 

Wonder if that score was an eff-u to the Shibs and one of the other American teams (or OAR) is the new flavor of the month. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by MaKaM

[scarynikki12]

6 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

I agree the judges were strict across the board, but I don’t think Bobrova and Soloviev should be that close to the Shibs. I know it worked out because the placement is all that counts for now, but the Shibs should have been more than .7 over B/S.

Skating While Russian strikes again!  Can't wait to see the overscoring for the ladies skate.

[Moxie Cat]

Has it been announced yet if Med is doing short and free, or will Zag do free? (Sorry, abbreviations are easier, and more fun.)

[BitterApple]

Wow, I thought the Russians were horrible. I didn't pay much attention to the scoring other than seeing where everyone ranked at the end, but I'm shocked to read they were only .7 behind the Shibs. 

[Moxie Cat]

Ok, so maybe there isn't a penalty for "skating while American," but rather a penalty for ""skating while non-Russian" (and non-Chan).

[herbz]

26 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

I agree the judges were strict across the board, but I don’t think Bobrova and Soloviev should be that close to the Shibs. I know it worked out because the placement is all that counts for now, but the Shibs should have been more than .7 over B/S.

I agree that B/S were overscored by quite a bit in PCS. They hadn't skated when I wrote my original post.

Edited February 11, 2018 by herbz

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

Switching between this, slopestyle snowboard and curling should quality as an Olympic event.

 

1 hour ago, PoshSprinkles said:

NBC needs a quad cam so you can watch multiple sports at one time. 

 

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

I'm in Canada so I have CBC, TSN in English, RDS and Radio Canada in French AND NBC.  What I need is that TV from Back To The Future part 2 where Marty had 6 screens on his TV.

I DVR everything & watch later, but ATT UVerse has an NBC TV Olympics Experience channel that includes a multiview function so you can watch all channels airing Olympics coverage at once, and switch to whatever you like on the larger screen format.  I've tried it, and it's pretty cool.

[MaKaM]

So is 5th what we are hoping for for Bradie? 

[irisheyes]

She stayed up on her feet!  Works for me.

[SophiaD]

WOW, Bradie just slayed that!  Green marks across the board.  

If some of the other ladies struggle, I could see her finishing higher than predicted.  (Would love to see her on the podium, but given the strength of the Russian and Japanese teams, not to mention Kostner and Osmond, that seems to be a tall order).

[scarynikki12]

Great job Bradie! That’s the kind of start every skater wants and something she can build upon.

[Dots And Stripes]

I like women skating in pants in theory, but I'm not not sure how I feel about this outfit. 

[Moxie Cat]

16 minutes ago, SophiaD said:

If some of the other ladies struggle, I could see her finishing higher than predicted.  (Would love to see her on the podium, but given the strength of the Russian and Japanese teams, not to mention Kostner and Osmond, that seems to be a tall order).

Well (not that I am hoping for anything bad for anyone!) but you never know. Look what happened to poor Mao Asada in 2014. All Bradie has to do is her best, and let the chips fall as they may.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Moxie Cat

[MaKaM]

Guess we are seeing more skating because the skiing was cancelled. Sad not to get to root for Aksel Svindal, but not disappointed to see more skating. (and the snowboarding was exciting too, I'll admit it) 

[Shaynaa]

Just now, MaKaM said:

Guess we are seeing more skating because the skiing was cancelled. Sad not to get to root for Aksel Svindal, but not disappointed to see more skating. (and the snowboarding was exciting too, I'll admit it) 

I do like that NBC offers a livestream of nothing but skating that doesn't skip anyone or go to other sports.

[Matryoshka]

1 minute ago, Shaynaa said:

I do like that NBC offers a livestream of nothing but skating that doesn't skip anyone or go to other sports.

Where?!

[Shaynaa]

http://stream.nbcolympics.com/figure-skating-team-event-ice-dance-short-dance-ladies-short-program-pairs-free-skate-standard

[Matryoshka]

Thank you!!!

[Bewitched]

The South Korean’s program was lovely.  If she felt the pressure of the home crowd, it didn’t seem to hurt her.  

Edited February 11, 2018 by Bewitched
Wrong pronoun

[Shaynaa]

I loved everything about the skate.  So lovely and it must be amazing to do that in front of the home crowd.

[healthnut]

Loved Choi’s program, I would’ve scored her above Bradie. 

[stealinghome]

5 minutes ago, Bewitched said:

The South Korean’s program was lovely.  If she felt the pressure of the home crowd, it didn’t seem to hurt her.  

The women could teach the men a thing or two about composure!

How wonderful to knock it out of the park on your home ice. She was so overcome when she saw the score, I choked up a little!

[scarynikki12]

Not a fan of Kostner’s music choice. It’s very her but it dragged down the program for me. I wish she’d picked something a bit faster. But I prefer those programs in general so I’m biased.

[scarynikki12]

I’m not a skater but I am glad the technical judges are being anal. I agree that Kostner’s toe loop looked underrotated and maybe this will encourage her to improve that combo by ladies short. 

[kittykat]

50 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

Ok, so maybe there isn't a penalty for "skating while American," but rather a penalty for ""skating while non-Russian" (and non-Chan).

I'm going to carry over one of my favorite summer Olympic phrases chatting with you lovely people. Is Russia the winter equivalent of China where we pray for TEARS OF BRONZE?

[Jeddah]

I like how long Carolina has been skating, and she is a gorgeous skater. But with all the talk about Russia’s doping, why doesn’t anyone ever mention how Carolina was banned for over a year? Supposedly she wasn’t the one who was doping, but she lied to hide her boyfriend’s doping. That’s really sketchy.

[blackwing]

For those that are more knowledgeable, was Carolina Kostner really that much better than Tennell and the Korean girl?  Her score was way higher and she looked like she almost fell.

[scarynikki12]

Miyahara was lovely. She’s another I hope will build upon this competition. 

[greendog78]

1 minute ago, kittykat said:

I'm going to carry over one of my favorite summer Olympic phrases chatting with you lovely people. Is Russia the winter equivalent of China where we pray for TEARS OF BRONZE?

LoL I'd like it to be Tears of Nothing but bronze is okay too. ;)

[scarynikki12]

Just now, blackwing said:

For those that are more knowledgeable, was Carolina Kostner really that much better than Tennell and the Korean girl?  Her score was way higher and she looked like she almost fell.

I think she had the edge in artistry.