Figure Skating

[caracas1914]

33 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I was really disappointed to hear Johnny trashing the Japanese girl's performance (can't think of her name, but she was in the last flight). I thought she was great and her costume, music and choreography blended together beautifully. I guess it really is a matter of taste when it comes to this sport.

She’s not Russian.

[carrier76]

The guest on the men’s program episode of TSL this week alluded to Chen’s family being overly involved in decision making. That is a real shame.

[absnow54]

Does anyone know if the exhibition or gala or whatever it's called will be airing anywhere and if so when?

Saturday on NBC at 8PM EST

[galaxygirl76]

Damn, I imagine it's not great for a coach to have a family heavily influence your athlete to the point where they basically dictate what jumps to do.

[Avaleigh]

I too wonder why the US ladies field no longer has the depth it once did. Is there a general lack of interest? Is it linked to the domestic decline in viewership? Is it financial? Is it because it's been so long since there's been a star to inspire the younglings? Yuna was the last big star and her reign was kind of disrupted for various reasons. She was fabulous but she didn't quite have the longevity of someone like Michelle Kwan. Mao was a true star too but her career kind of ended on a sad note so maybe it isn't as inspiring as it might have been. Mirai and Gracie have/had such potential but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Thanks for posting that interview with Raf, Growsonwalls. That was a great read. Wow, he didn't hold back, did he? It sounds like Nathan's family pushed him to go against the advice of his coach. Hmm. Lol at how bluntly he said that the axel is Nathan's worst jump. We kind of already knew that but it's still interesting to get confirmation from a coach. He sounds pretty frustrated to me at not being listened to. I wonder if Nathan's family will let the coach do his job when they get to worlds.

I also kind of gasped when he basically said that Adam is too "heavy" and that's why he can't do a quad. No wonder Adam had eating issues. 

He didn't hold back about Ashley basically being a two footer who doesn't have the technical strength. Still, he maintains that it was a "political" decision as opposed to USFS making the right call regarding Ashley not being named to the team. 

[specialj67]

7 minutes ago, LadyKenobi said:

WOOOOOOW, Growsonwalls. That interview! Thanks for posting it. I’d like to hear more about Wagner’s training. But the big bombshells were about Chen. I heard Scott Hamilton (gently) ask him about communication with his coach, and Chen said “He gave me my space, we didn’t talk after the short,” which I thought was strange. Wonder if Scott knew there was all this going on.

Wow.

Me too—I wonder if she was putting in enough training time inbetween the various sponsor obligations and whatnot? I get that that’s how she earns a living, but still.

[Growsonwalls]

I had heard on other figure skating boards that Nathan Chen has Overly Involved Skating Parents (even compared to other skating parents, who tend to be over-involved anyway). But wow at that interview. I do wonder how well this bodes for Nathan's future if his coach can't even tell him what program to do and he insists on doing quads when he's injured. To me he's headed for Burnout City.

[caracas1914]

Yikes that Raf interview....
 

Quote

 

RA: First of all his family. Chen announced before the Olympics he will be doing this season all that his family will decide. He told me that flat and square. Explained how much he owes his family for all they have done for him. Hence he decided to dedicate the Olympic season to his family and follow every wish of his beloved ones. We'll see next season whether he'll change his mind. Then we'll decide how to continue working.

 

Ok, that is disconcerting on so many levels...

[galaxygirl76]

2 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

I had heard on other figure skating boards that Nathan Chen has Overly Involved Skating Parents (even compared to other skating parents, who tend to be over-involved anyway). But wow at that interview. I do wonder how well this bodes for Nathan's future if his coach can't even tell him what program to do and he insists on doing quads when he's injured. To me he's headed for Burnout City.

It's not good at all if his family overrides his coach, who knows what's going on both training wise and physically and knows what Nathan can and can't do with that injury. It also read like he'd been doing the original jumps all season until his family decided it needed to change, that can't be good either and unfortunately it showed in that short.

Just now, LadyKenobi said:

Maybe that’s a translation issue? I took it as a comment about body structure and build, not necessarily weight.

That's how I took that as well.

[HartofDixie]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I only saw Bradie last night. I am just burnt out and needed to sleep after staying up so late to watch all the other figure skating. And sadly the ladies in general just don't excite me like the others this year. I'll probably stay up tonight though since it's the last event.

Does anyone know if the exhibition or gala or whatever it's called will be airing anywhere and if so when?

The gala will air Saturday night. Not sure if it’s live or tape delay.

https://pagesix.com/2018/02/20/sally-fields-son-apologizes-to-adam-rippon-over-setup-attempt/

[Growsonwalls]

Well if you read the interview Raf says that Adam has physical limitations but it seems like Raf respects Adam for the hard work, the respect Adam has for Raf as a coach, and is very happy with Rippon's performance at these games. Many coach's "favorites" are not necessarily not the top contenders. 

I read that Nathan is the youngest of four siblings. I would imagine that his parents sacrificed a lot for him (and his siblings might have had to make do without) as AFAIK the Chens are not very wealthy. It's a tricky situation.

[MostlyC]

Suddenly it got very dusty.

 

https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/966138525363023872/video/1

[ChromaKelly]

3 hours ago, absnow54 said:

Last night I switched from NBCSN to NBC at the exact moment it switched Figure Skating coverage without realizing it, which means NBC has broken me and I don't like it. I do miss the Sochi coverage when skating aired live in the early afternoon when everyone was supposed to be at work. I think it even lined up with an East Coast snow storm, because I know I worked from home most of that week and watched ALL the skating. This time around they already have these skaters starting at 10AM to start with East Coast prime time, I'm not sure they could move it any earlier without the first group waking up in the middle of the night to start warm ups.

I would have rather the skating go on at the Olympics at whatever time worked best for them locally, not factoring in the worldwide broadcast, and then NBC airing it in primetime. I really don't care about being "spoiled". If so-and-so got a gold medal, I'll be excited to watch. The way they have it set up with these Olympics, sure the events start at 8:00pm Eastern, but the top skaters aren't on until after 10:30. I completely missed the men's short because my DVR cut off, and last night for the ladies', the local news started and I just gave up. It's been really hard to follow the figure skating events and that's my main interest in the winter Olympics. There's only so much skiing I can watch.

[Bama]

10 minutes ago, MostlyC said:

Suddenly it got very dusty.

Aw, sweet Mirai!  She's seems so grounded and appreciative!  For all I know, she could be a total behind the scenes diva but I don't think so.

I'd love to take her out for a Girl's Day and just hang out, get our nails done, get massages and makeovers, go to a chi chi girly lunch place, and end the day drinking wine in bathrobes in a fancy hotel, laughing and talking.

She's just seems like such a snarky, fun, cool sweetheart.

[mtlchick]

21 minutes ago, caracas1914 said:

RA: First of all his family. Chen announced before the Olympics he will be doing this season all that his family will decide. He told me that flat and square. Explained how much he owes his family for all they have done for him. Hence he decided to dedicate the Olympic season to his family and follow every wish of his beloved ones.

It makes it seem Chen had the skate of his life, not for himself and personal pride, but for "thanks mom and dad for putting the money into me even telling me how many quads I should be able to handle?"

 

It's interviews like this that remind me that figure skating is a demanding sport physically, but beyond draining mentally.  

[SoCal Mema]

For once, I'm very happy with the coverage because I'm on the West Coast and it's right in our prime time.  We are usually the ones that get the sucky coverage during the Olympics (and many other sports programming).

[Growsonwalls]

1 minute ago, mtlchick said:

It makes it seem Chen had the skate of his life, not for himself and personal pride, but for "thanks mom and dad for putting the money into me even telling me how many quads I should be able to handle?"

 

It's interviews like this that remind me that figure skating is a demanding sport physically, but beyond draining mentally.  

Well it's draining on the family too. Remember Nancy Kerrigan, whom the media thought was this perfect ice princess with the Vera Wang outfits? Turns out her dad worked two jobs of 12-hour shifts and the amount of money and time poured into Nancy made a younger sibling resentful and mentally not well. The father ended up dying after a physical altercation with Nancy's younger brother. It was a tragedy all around. 

[choclatechip45]

Wow that interview with Raf raises so many red flags. Reminds me of all the rumors that surrounded Gabby Douglas leading up to the 2016 Olympics. I agree it’s a tricky situation when these young athletes feel the family financial burden something they really shouldn’t have to worry about at 18.

[Libby96]

12 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

I can't wait to see what the judges do after Alina and Evgenia fall off the face of the Earth after this Olympics just like their predecessors.  

They will immediately start lavishing skating-while-(not)Russian PCS on whomever Eteri plops onto the ice next year.

[potatoradio]

Dang, Lipinski. Way to bring the mean girl for Kostner's skate. I know art is dead to figure skating, but saying, after Kostner skated, "that's a lovely program...for a show." Yeeowwwwch. I get it. Artistry was never your strong suit. But it's not a good look for you to get all Regina George on a skater who has different strengths, even if those strengths are no longer the "it" thing. 

The Russian skaters waste money on choreography. Why bother when it's pretty much a checklist? Skate, spin, jump with hands over head, spin. Game the system, spit the formula. I miss the days when artistry could bolster a score enough to overcome a mechanical jump fest, but then that's what happens when a sport gets an inferiority complex and tries to shore up its objectivity.

So, is it only OK for men to splat on an attempted quad and still score higher than a clean program? If a woman attempts a triple and splats, she's dead to the competition but a man splats and he's the next genie in a bottle? I can't keep this bullshit straight.

[Jaded]

I didn't think to DVR NBCSN later on last night after the usual first groups of skaters aired because I thought most of the rest would air on NBC. I've seen that the ratings keep dropping for these Olympics and wonder if it's all the channel hopping NBC is making people do.

[specialj67]

2 minutes ago, Jaded said:

I didn't think to DVR NBCSN later on last night after the usual first groups of skaters aired because I thought most of the rest would air on NBC. I've seen that the ratings keep dropping for these Olympics and wonder if it's all the channel hopping NBC is making people do.

I wonder ignorance streaming numbers are factored in? I know I watch almost all of it via livestream in order to see all of the skaters.

[Jaded]

1 minute ago, specialj67 said:

I wonder ignorance streaming numbers are factored in? I know I watch almost all of it via livestream in order to see all of the skaters.

My sleeping schedule is all messed up so I've had the DVR set up to record as much of it as I could in case I fell asleep or wanted to watch something different. I kinda like being able to FF'd through the boring programs or when a skater splats more then once. I'm not sure if streaming numbers are counted or not. 

[Daisy]

5 minutes ago, potatoradio said:

Dang, Lipinski. Way to bring the mean girl for Kostner's skate. I know art is dead to figure skating, but saying, after Kostner skated, "that's a lovely program...for a show." Yeeowwwwch. I get it. Artistry was never your strong suit. But it's not a good look for you to get all Regina George on a skater who has different strengths, even if those strengths are no longer the "it" thing. 

The Russian skaters waste money on choreography. Why bother when it's pretty much a checklist? Skate, spin, jump with hands over head, spin. Game the system, spit the formula. I miss the days when artistry could bolster a score enough to overcome a mechanical jump fest, but then that's what happens when a sport gets an inferiority complex and tries to shore up its objectivity.

So, is it only OK for men to splat on an attempted quad and still score higher than a clean program? If a woman attempts a triple and splats, she's dead to the competition but a man splats and he's the next genie in a bottle? I can't keep this bullshit straight.

 

 

ouch.  re: Lipinski's comment. I agree. I've said this during gymnastics, and it's so more here - I am team Artistry. yes. I want to see the physicality, and the attempts, but it shouldn't just be about the moves. I agree with you re: the Russian's game plan. I remember one Olympics, Kurt Browning said he wasn't really sure why Evengi Plushkeno called him to choreograph a programme because they'd never mesh fundamentally, (and Evegni ended the partnership soon after). There are some lyrical Russian athletes for sure, but it's always so interesting that for a country that is renowned for ballet, how it doens't always translate to figure skating. 

 

I would say the ISU needs to do something to tweak a routine that ends up with ALL of these jumps having hands over heads (it doens't always look nice) or 50%  of the jumps happening in the 2nd half of the programme. just a tiny tweak. it doesn't have to be that much. 

 

also there needs to be a music registry or something. if i have to hear Carmen one. more. time....
basically. plan your routine register you music, no one else can use it that season. (though honestly i'd flat out retire Carmen period). 

[potatoradio]

9 minutes ago, Daisy said:

ouch.  re: Lipinski's comment. I agree. I've said this during gymnastics, and it's so more here - I am team Artistry. yes. I want to see the physicality, and the attempts, but it shouldn't just be about the moves. I agree with you re: the Russian's game plan. I remember one Olympics, Kurt Browning said he wasn't really sure why Evengi Plushkeno called him to choreograph a programme because they'd never mesh fundamentally, (and Evegni ended the partnership soon after). There are some lyrical Russian athletes for sure, but it's always so interesting that for a country that is renowned for ballet, how it doens't always translate to figure skating. 

 

I would say the ISU needs to do something to tweak a routine that ends up with ALL of these jumps having hands over heads (it doens't always look nice) or 50%  of the jumps happening in the 2nd half of the programme. just a tiny tweak. it doesn't have to be that much. 

 

also there needs to be a music registry or something. if i have to hear Carmen one. more. time....
basically. plan your routine register you music, no one else can use it that season. (though honestly i'd flat out retire Carmen period). 

Right? Especially when Russian skaters (at least they used to) train by taking ballet classes. Wasted effort. And I agree with you that not only is an arm-over-head jump hard to do technically, it is damn hard to make it look anything but awkward and uncomfortable.

I will sign any petition to ban Carmen, Swan Lake, Moulin Rouge and Hallelujah. My ears can't take it and I don't like wasting good wine throwing it at the teevee. 

[carrier76]

I agree with Tara, except that I would never pay money to watch Carolina skate that boring program, or any of her boring programs. Carolina is a skater whose appeal I have never understood. Dull. Telling me how she and Chan are True Artists is not going to sell me on a boring, technically lacking program.

 

I also think that Bradie Tennell is a big miss. Not that I necessarily think Ashley deserved to go (see Raf’s comments), but Bradie is not dynamic at all. And those arms! Propping up her PCS scores at Nationals did her no favors.

 

”Mean girl” has lost all meaning. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

So, is it only OK for men to splat on an attempted quad and still score higher than a clean program? If a woman attempts a triple and splats, she's dead to the competition but a man splats and he's the next genie in a bottle? I can't keep this bullshit straight.

Not really. Bradie did a triple Lutz triple toe and fell but still got more points than a triple toe triple toe with a fall or a triple toe double toe without a fall. You get credit for the rotations. Whether or not that makes sense is a different issue but it's the same for men and women - it's just that men are doing quads so they get even more points for the rotations.

Quote

The Russian programs are emotionless and sterile to me. Sure, everything is "perfect" but watching the first half of the program with just skating around and doing little arm movements is so boring.

I totally agree with this. I don't think I've seen a Russian skater I liked since Yulia Lipnitskaya. They all seem like robots. And I have no idea what the commentators are talking about when they go on and on about their "artistry." Their artistry is no better than other leading ladies from other countries. There's just this weird bias I don't get.

Since it's pretty much a showdown between Medvedeva and Zagitova I suppose I'd rather see it go to Zagitova, just because the last two years have been essentially one long road to the coronation of Medvedeva as Olympic champion and it will tickle me to see her pushed aside by the latest Russian sensation. They're all so disposable.

[Growsonwalls]

Carolina Kostner is also a phenomenon I don't "get." With others like Papadakis/Cizeron, Adam Rippon, I do see the "artistry." With Kostner I just see a skater that's gotten even slower with age rocking a program that would have been competitive about 4 quads ago.

[Mindthinkr]

7 minutes ago, carrier76 said:

also think that Bradie Tennell is a big miss. Not that I necessarily think Ashley deserved to go (see Raf’s comments), but Bradie is not dynamic at all. And those arms! Propping up her PCS scores at Nationals did her no favors.

While I might agree that she’s gone into this level of a competition a bit too soon, I do think that in 4 years when she’s had a chance to develop her artistic self, she will be a contender at the next Olympics. She usually nails the jumps with ease.  

[Blakeston]

I DVRed the prime time Olympics on NBC last night, and watched this morning, and didn't see any of the top performances. When did they air?

[Jaded]

4 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

I DVRed the prime time Olympics on NBC last night, and watched this morning, and didn't see any of the top performances. When did they air?

NBC decided to go back to NBCSN last night to air the TOP performances. I'm going to try and watch some of them online in a bit. Not happy about NBC's decisions when it comes to airing some of these events though.

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Jesus Christ. If you were playing the Olympic Ladies Event Drinking Game, and having to take a shot every time Terry, Tara and Johnny enunciate “Medvedeva,” (especially Johnny), you’d be dead of alcohol poisoning right now.  Was there a freaking quota that they had to hit? 

SNIP 

At least Adam wouldn’t be getting that little thrill up his pant leg when ever he gets to pronounce a Rssian name.

Oh, yeah, I'd be long gone, under the table.  There's something about Johnny showing off his Russian pronunciations of those hard to pronounce names that makes my skin crawl.  I'd be happy with a replacement team of Tanith and Adam (if I couldn't get Tanith and Ben).  And now even Terry's doing the Rrrrrrrrrrussian pronunciations. Makes me wanna hurl.  I'm ready for the O's to be over (and to think, in the past, I'd get so sad the last few days of the O's).  I'm not even watching any of the other sports (I used to love the men's downhill) cause I'm tired and cranky ;>(

[NUguy514]

4 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2018/02/21/2018-winter-olympics-worst-short-program-ever-u-s-womens-figure-skating/357458002/

I often like Brennan, but make no mistake: this was a passive-aggressive slam at USASF for not naming Ashley Wagner to the team.  Brennan is a total, unapologetic Ashley-stan and was furious when Wagner wasn't named to the Olympics team.

Oh, and Johnny's verbal orgasms anytime he says anything Russian are making me want to stab him just a little bit.

Edited February 21, 2018 by NUguy514

[Daisy]

24 minutes ago, potatoradio said:

Right? Especially when Russian skaters (at least they used to) train by taking ballet classes. Wasted effort. And I agree with you that not only is an arm-over-head jump hard to do technically, it is damn hard to make it look anything but awkward and uncomfortable.

I will sign any petition to ban Carmen, Swan Lake, Moulin Rouge and Hallelujah. My ears can't take it and I don't like wasting good wine throwing it at the teevee. 

 

 

Bolero, Carmen, Swan Lake, Moulin Rouge, Hallelujah,Don Quixote, Man of Marancha, Moonlight Sonata, Les Miz anything. 

[dankesean]

7 minutes ago, Jaded said:

NBC decided to go back to NBCSN last night to air the TOP performances. I'm going to try and watch some of them online in a bit. Not happy about NBC's decisions when it comes to airing some of these events though.

They ultimately did show the final group on NBC, but it wasn't live, and took the place of the usual hour of coverage that comes after the primetime broadcast and news and before the primetime repeat.

Still really poorly done considering NBC's the one who insisted skating take place live in primetime in the first place.

[Quiet1ne]

NBCSN announced at the start of the night that they were airing the entire ladies program.  There was no need for any viewer to change the channel unless you wanted to watch a different sport.  

 

As a west coast viewer, I am loving the east coast feed.  Everything is done by 10ish and then they start it over again so I can catch what I missed while commuting.

[BitterApple]

35 minutes ago, carrier76 said:

I agree with Tara, except that I would never pay money to watch Carolina skate that boring program, or any of her boring programs. Carolina is a skater whose appeal I have never understood. Dull. Telling me how she and Chan are True Artists is not going to sell me on a boring, technically lacking program.

 

I also think that Bradie Tennell is a big miss. Not that I necessarily think Ashley deserved to go (see Raf’s comments), but Bradie is not dynamic at all. And those arms! Propping up her PCS scores at Nationals did her no favors.

 

”Mean girl” has lost all meaning. 

It's funny because I don't even find Kostner to be particularly artistic. She reminds me a lot of Kerrigan with the slow, plodding way she moves around the ice. I almost feel like the announcers who praise her are just throwing her a bone because there's something kind of sad about a 30 year-old who won't hang it up and move on to something else in life.

[Daisy]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

It's funny because I don't even find Kostner to be particularly artistic. She reminds me a lot of Kerrigan with the slow, plodding way she moves around the ice. I almost feel like the announcers who praise her are just throwing her a bone because there's something kind of sad about a 30 year-old who won't hang it up and move on to something else in life.

Well i know for a lot of countries - they need athletes like this to continue to qualify X amount of athletes so they can get experience. this could easily be that situation. 

[vixenbynight]

33 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

I DVRed the prime time Olympics on NBC last night, and watched this morning, and didn't see any of the top performances. When did they air?

Well after midnight EST. I also missed the final top group. 

[SweetSable]

24 minutes ago, Quiet1ne said:

NBCSN announced at the start of the night that they were airing the entire ladies program.  There was no need for any viewer to change the channel unless you wanted to watch a different sport.  

 

 

NBCSN didn't show the 2nd to last group of skaters in my television market, and we had to switch over to NBC to see that, and then back to NBCSN to see the last group live, which was also shown later on repeat on NBC (after the local news).  It was very confusing.

LADIES' FREE SKATE - Some folks have referenced watching this tonight (Wednesday), but it's not happening tonight - it will be shown live Thursday night (Friday in PyeongChang). 

[alexa]

15 minutes ago, vixenbynight said:

Well after midnight EST. I also missed the final top group. 

Yes, isn't it great that the best performances are well after many people go to bed?  lol  I realize the timing issue they have, but in no way does it benefit me for it to be live if my choices are--you could actually see it if shown at a better time or it can be live and you miss most of it.  NBC basically made them have the event in the morning over there to allow for a live prime time event--but with the late timing for ET and the changing of channels, etc, they don't even allow people to properly DVR it, if able.  Last night they switched from NBCSN to NBC, and back to NBCSN.  

[Eyes High]

Great interview with Raf.

I thought the comment about Adam being heavy was Raf pointing out a physical limitation of Adam's build in the context of how hard Adam had worked for his program and why he wasn't attempting quads.

Sad to hear that Nathan's family talked him into that disastrous choice for his SP jumps. I hope they're happy. With Raf's comments about what Nathan said about how he owed everything to his parents and was going to abide by their wishes, I wonder if there's a Chinese cultural influence at work (filial piety, e.g.). Not that Chinese athletes have the monopoly on feeling beholden to overbearing parents, of course.

The interview made it sound as if Raf would only continue to work with Nathan if he agreed to trust Raf's judgment in the future. Can't blame him. With Nathan overriding Raf's advice for the SP, that sounds like a loss of confidence crossroads. Not much to be done after that except walk away.

[Quof]

Quote

Remember Nancy Kerrigan, whom the media thought was this perfect ice princess with the Vera Wang outfits? Turns out her dad worked two jobs of 12-hour shifts and the amount of money and time poured into Nancy made a younger sibling resentful and mentally not well

And did you know her mother was BLIND????  BLIND, I tell you.

[Jaded]

2 minutes ago, Quof said:

And did you know her mother was BLIND????  BLIND, I tell you.

I feel bad for not doing very well at a laugh after reading your comment. I remember her mom being shown sitting with a TV only a few inches away from her face.

40 minutes ago, Quiet1ne said:

NBCSN announced at the start of the night that they were airing the entire ladies program.  There was no need for any viewer to change the channel unless you wanted to watch a different sport.  

That doesn't do much for someone who's already set their DVR and isn't watching live to see/hear them announce it. I take part of the blame for missing what I missed too.

[basiltherat]

If NBC wanted ratings, they should have put the star attraction -- figure skating -- on its main (free) network rather than on cable.  Biathlon and Lindsey Vonn can go on MSN.  Figure skating will ALWAYS have drama, but the other disciplines no one cares unless there's an American involved.

Also, dead-badger-on-his-head Johnny should remember that Russians are not universally known for their love of gays.  A gay Russian (especially one as "flamboyant" as J) would not have an easy life in Russia.  And you might have to go out and get a REAL job, John.

[Mumbles]

45 minutes ago, LadyKenobi said:

No one thinks more of Johnny W than Johnny W, and no one thinks more of Adam Rippon than Adam Rippon, so NBC may have created a situation for itself with its constant attention on Rippon. I feel like he has sucked up the spotlight at the expense of Mirai and Vincent, who after all is the first person to land a 4l at the Olympics and is getting no love. None. 

There's a piece on Page Six about how Weir is sick of the Rippon attention.

On Sunday night they spent a whole segment with Rippon during "Olympic Ice" and he is not witty off the cuff. He tries but his ”bons mots" fall flat and are non-sequiturs.

Johnny knows his skating and other than the outrageous getups - which we really only see at the beginning and end (and which I get a kick out of) - he keeps it about the skating and skaters.

And yeah, on the day Mirai landed the triple axel Rippon had to bring himself into it ("Four years ago Mirai and I were watching the Olympics and eating In-and-Out...."). Just ugh.

The fact that Ross Miner had a quad jump and Rippon has none makes me side-eye that USFSA decision even more.

15 minutes ago, Quof said:

And did you know her mother was BLIND????  BLIND, I tell you.

Yes, CBS had to include a shot of her mother with her face against the partition at least a few times a night. And while we're walking down memory lane on constant TV shots, I remember the obligatory camera footage of Michael Weiss's wife. My friends and I used to call it "Hetero-Cam."

And yes, Sandra Bezic was useless. I remember her banging the Ashley drum pretty hard in 2014 ("I spoke to Ashley this afternoon and she told me (voice drops to serious tone)....that she wants to skate like the champion....she knows she is."

[Avaleigh]

3 hours ago, Daisy said:

Bolero, Carmen, Swan Lake, Moulin Rouge, Hallelujah,Don Quixote, Man of Marancha, Moonlight Sonata, Les Miz anything. 

I definitely understand the frustration over the war horse music. I'm tired of all of the above too but I'm not quite sure that I want them thrown onto a list of forbidden music. Ultimately I want skaters to have the freedom to choose the music that feels right for them. 

Rachmaninoff's Concerto #2 has been done to death but it worked so much better for Tarasova and Morozov than something new like Candyman. 

Virtue and Moir had a terrific Carmen and to me, it was nice to see their take on it. Mirai absolutely shined when she skated to Carmen. 

Swan Lake has possibly been done more than any other piece of music but it's still cool to watch when it's done well just as the ballet is fun to watch even though countless performances have been done. one of Ashley's best programs was to Swan Lake. The same with Sasha. Ilinyk and Katsalapov's free dance in Sochi was a thing of beauty. These programs wouldn't have been allowed if the music in question was thrown onto some arbitrary list. 

Carolina came alive with Bolero and even though it wasn't my favorite program, most people loved it and the response was positive. 

Mao skated to a long list of war horse music (Swan Lake, Concerto #2, Liebestraum, Carmen, Clair de Lune, Masquerade Waltz,  Scheherezade, etc) but she made each one of those programs special.

Back to Virtue and Moir, fair enough that they used music that's been done to death for this Olympic season. But isn't it also fair to say that they made it their own and it ended up being an exciting and memorable performance that will go down in skating history? Moulin Rouge music has been trending since their skate and the audience was into it. Sometimes familiarity can be a good thing. 

This doesn't mean that I don't think skaters should try new things, I just think that they should be allowed to do their own take on a classic piece of skating music. 

Edited February 21, 2018 by Avaleigh

[iMonrey]

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NBC decided to go back to NBCSN last night to air the TOP performances. I'm going to try and watch some of them online in a bit. Not happy about NBC's decisions when it comes to airing some of these events though.

I can't imagine how furious I would be if I didn't have NBCSN in my cable package. I've watched almost the entirety of figure skating on that channel. NBC's coverage of the Olympics has been horrendous for several years now. They're only interested in showing the US athletes and switch away whenever someone from another country is competing. It was just as bad in Rio.

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I often like Brennan, but make no mistake: this was a passive-aggressive slam at USASF for not naming Ashley Wagner to the team.  Brennan is a total, unapologetic Ashley-stan and was furious when Wagner wasn't named to the Olympics team.

I doubt Ashley would be much higher, if any, in the standings than Chen, Tennell or Nagasu. 

But Brennan isn't wrong: this is the worst placement US ladies have had in Olympic figure skating ever. I honestly don't know why we're having such a tough time producing someone competitive. 

[Good Queen Jane]

4 minutes ago, Mumbles said:

The fact that Ross Miner had a quad jump and Rippon has none makes me side-eye that USFSA decision even more.

Adam does have a quad; he's just so inconsistent with it, that he decided to leave it out for the Olympics, figuring a clean program would get him more points since his strength is in the component score. Ross does have a quad, but he is as inconsistent as Adam. I think Nationals was the first time he hit it in two years.

 

30 minutes ago, Eyes High said:

Sad to hear that Nathan's family talked him into that disastrous choice for his SP jumps. I hope they're happy. With Raf's comments about what Nathan said about how he owed everything to his parents and was going to abide by their wishes, I wonder if there's a Chinese cultural influence at work (filial piety, e.g.). Not that Chinese athletes have the monopoly on feeling beholden to overbearing parents, of course.

I have a friend who has known the Chens since Nathan was a novice skater and she says they and he are among the nicest people she knows. Rafe is not exactly known as a  tolerant coach. I have a feeling there is two sides of the story that he is telling.

[caracas1914]

1 hour ago, carrier76 said:

I agree with Tara, except that I would never pay money to watch Carolina skate that boring program, or any of her boring programs. Carolina is a skater whose appeal I have never understood. Dull. Telling me how she and Chan are True Artists is not going to sell me on a boring, technically lacking program.

 

I also think that Bradie Tennell is a big miss. Not that I necessarily think Ashley deserved to go (see Raf’s comments), but Bradie is not dynamic at all. And those arms! Propping up her PCS scores at Nationals did her no favors.

 

”Mean girl” has lost all meaning. 

Of course its all subjective but I wouldn’t lump Carolina, Patrick Chan and, say, Rippon, in the same category.  Patrick Chan, while I don’t really like him, I respect what the brings to the ice as far as presentation and sheer skating skills but with him it’s more he doesn’t deliver competitively.  IF he had skated a clean SP even with less quads I think he would have been in position to perhaps medal, maybe silver but definitely for the Bronze because Javi isn’t really a quantum leap ahead of him technically.   So a clean SP and LP with a total of 3 quads might have done the trick for Patrick but he didn’t deliver.

 

Carolina is another story, I don’t think she’s EVER recovered her full arsenal of jumps since Sochi, and really Sochi was an aberration for Kostner as far as consistent jumps.  What I like about her is that what appears languid and slow to some is smooth stroking where  is she fucking half way across the rink with a couple of strokes, live you can see she is FAST.  However she has 2 or 3 triples at most in a LP and so I think her composition is way over inflated but I do think IF she could skate a clean LP her composition is competive with the Russians and others.   A huge IF that I haven’t believed is  possible since Sochi.   NOw watch her surprise me (does she even have a 3lutz these days?)

 

Rippon is another story.    Beautiful presentation but from the getgo zero quads is not going to get the job done , no way no how.  

 

I think the  leading Japanese skater and the Canadian gal in the SP had the best balance of technical and good skating technique and composition skills,.  The Edith Piaf choreography was fantastic in that it involved SKATING, moving across the ice, not pseudo ballet poses.

Which leads me to the two backloaded gals.

My problem with the Russian gals is they don’t hold moves, way too many busy hand gestures, their jumps lack some flow and pop and distance, and they seen slightly disconnected with their music.   However if they win it’s not a travesty, but it is annoying how overinflated (ala Patrick Chan) their composition can be graded.  Both gals getting the best SP scores ever was ridiculous.