Figure Skating

[displayname]

5 minutes ago, HartofDixie said:

Evgenia before Alina... Hmmm. Want to make sure she has enough energy to not botch her 2A.

Alina needs to be perfect to get a lead. Making her usual mistakes in the SP will make judges really go down on her GOEs.

 

Bradie Tennell in group 1? Bye to her PCS.

[stealinghome]

1 hour ago, AshleyN said:

Okay, France was expected, but what did Tessa and Scott ever do to that US judge?

Maybe she’s the one in charge of their 2-3 secret love children.

[herbz]

1 hour ago, AshleyN said:

Okay, France was expected, but what did Tessa and Scott ever do to that US judge?

Lol at the blatant homerism all around though. Can they just let Japan and Israel judge the competition alone? They seem reasonable enough.

 

That US judge is Sharon Rogers and she hates Virtue and Moir pretty inexplicably. Been lowballing them for years. At one competition last year (think it was 4CC) she gave them a 8.75 in Skating Skills and Chock and Bates a point higher. She's always been out of line with the rest of the panel on them at every competition.

Still irritated by those PCS scores. It may very well gift that OGM to P/C. Feel terrible for Gabriella though, that's rotten luck.

Edited February 19, 2018 by herbz

[mehtotheworld]

I was behind on my DVR and had to fast forward through P/C’s program after reading about the wardrobe malfunction via twitter. Poor Gabby! I was really rooting for them. Hope they can put it behind them and just kill it in the free.  

Whats with all the H/D hatred? Am I missing something? He’s always seemed super supportive of his partner and his friends (with a dash of deserved arrogance), but she’s always seemed like a sweetheart. Plus, their free is so good. What gives? 

[NUguy514]

9 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Herbz I really respect what you have to say about V/M's skating skills. I do. However, I find their 'emoting' to be ridiculous, their expressions to be laughable and their programs to be boring. I have long since before they won a gold medal. I almost feel like I'm watching a SNL bit about "ACTING" on ice. It's just so...bad. If they'd stop ACTING and just skate and have fun with it, I think I'd like them so much better. There is no one drop of genuine emotion in their skating. It's all calculated and robotic. 

Watching V/M decreases my interest in the sport. I'd rather switch over to short track or cross country skiing when they are on. I don't know where "dull as dishwater and like watching a fourth grade play" falls into the scoring system. I suspect it really doesn't because it's a subjective, visceral reaction.

Because of that, I do not want them to win. I want to enjoy watching Ice Dance and watching V/M takes away that enjoyment. I felt like this with a few others, Meno/Sand specifically, Debi Thomas, Elvis Stojko, Nancy Kerrigan. There are more, I'm sure.

All that being said, I'd like fair judging and if I were a judge, I'd have to mark down V/M on whatever "entertainment and interest" mark I could give them.

This is exactly how I feel.  I find myself rolling my eyes at V/M and their awful overacting so much that I end up not caring about their terrific technique.  The silliness obfuscates everything else.  I'd rather see anyone else (well, other than H/D and the terrible Russians) win.  HOWEVER...

5 hours ago, herbz said:

Higher components than V/M. An absolute outrage. 

I told you they'd hand it to them if they went clean. They'll apparently hand it to them if they're not. This has been building for 18 months.

 

It is truly ludicrous and laughable that P/C had a slightly higher PC score than V/M.  I felt horrible for Gabriella and her wardrobe malfunction, and I still enjoy watching them a lot more than I do V/M; however, P/C's PC score is hilarious(ly high).  V/M really should be (much) further ahead overall.  I hate saying that, but the truth is the truth.

Also ridiculous?  The Shibs being in fourth.  I enjoyed watching their program the most, and I'd have them in second.  The GOE on their twizzles is...indefensible.  They tied V/M, and while V/M had a typically great sequence, the Shibs' twizzles were so far ahead of everyone else's.  The fact that the scores don't really reflect that is more evidence of the judging chicanery that we all knew would occur.

I really, realllllly don't enjoy watching H/D.  I found the short dance to be a weird amalgam of boring and overdone.  They also just seem like such smug assholes on and off the ice, and it bums me out so much that they're clearly going to get the bronze.  I can only hope one or both of them fall; that would wipe those smirks off their faces.

I so loved the ice dancing in 2010 and 2014 and felt like the medals were (mostly) correctly awarded, but we've regressed to the norm.  Tonight is why so many people can't take ice dancing seriously.

16 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

Unfortunately not much has changed for dance with IJS. Even the skaters have that “wait your turn” mentality.

LOL, Tarasova/Morozov deserved bronze over Duhamel/Radford?

Edited February 19, 2018 by NUguy514

[herbz]

It's so bizarre to me if it's true that the Russians genuinely believe that they deserved bronze in Pairs. Presumably they have eyes?

[Tdoc72]

5 hours ago, kili said:

 

Usually, the videos are available right away to replay, but not tonight. I wonder if they are doing some editing in post. 

I think NBC did. I taped the 2am replay and they cut to a very wide shot (like camera at the top of the stadium) right before the lift. I saw no nip!

Edited February 19, 2018 by Tdoc72

[herbz]

36 minutes ago, Tdoc72 said:

I think NBC did. I taped the 2am replay and they cut to a very wide shot (like camera at the top of the stadium) right before the lift. I saw no nip!

I didn't notice until the slow motion of the end pose. 

I still can't get behind their score, but I have serious serious respect for Gabriella Papadakis, she didn't even flinch in the most awkward situation and tbh I felt like she still sold it better than Guillaume.

[Tanichka]

Don't get the hatred for Virtue Moir, they are far superior to the rest of the field.  As for the facial expressions - it's ICE DANCE - drama, you know.  If they had no expression, everyone would be saying they weren't feeling it.

As for the French woman, how about a double fastening or pasties.  There was a close up shot at the end of the program where she leaned back & nip was right in everyone's face.  As for their skating, I sure wasn't impressed.  

7 hours ago, Thumper said:

Why do many of the male skaters wear the deep-vee open-chest shirts?   It is icky-1970's-ish to me.  Add a porn-stache and gold chains to add to the effect.

Thank you!  Exactly my thoughts.

[kayma]

I loved V/M at the 2010 Olympics but was turned off by Scott's attitude in 2014 and even questioned their comeback. But, they are so far ahead of everyone else to my untrained, casual observer eyes that the scores are ridiculous. P/C should be in 4th (or lower) after V/M, Shibs, and H/D. I can't believe they are going to push a P/C win even with obviously less than perfect skating and a wardrobe malfunction. 

[Mumbles]

1 hour ago, herbz said:

 

It's so bizarre to me if it's true that the Russians genuinely believe that they deserved bronze in Pairs. Presumably they have eyes?

 

They certainly didn’t this time but if the stereotypes of Russians holding grudges for years is true, perhaps they’re still sore about being forced to share a gold in 2002 with a technically inferior Canadian team because said team whined like crazy?

[absnow54]

Why do many of the male skaters wear the deep-vee open-chest shirts? It is icky-1970's-ish to me. Add a porn-stache and gold chains to add to the effect.

Evan Bates is usually so cute, but that tight deep V look was not at all flattering.

As for the facial expressions - it's ICE DANCE - drama, you know. If they had no expression, everyone would be saying they weren't feeling it.

They play to the cheap seats, which doesn't really work for the audience at home who get a much closer view. It's like when stage actors try television, and have to spend a few years learning to tone it back. But Virtue/Moir are skating for the people in the arena, not for the people at home thinking "What's with the faces?"

Bradie Tennell in group 1? Bye to her PCS.

That's what happens when you go in with little international experience. I don't think Bradie has the technical content to climb as high up the rankings as Vincent Zhou, but hopefully she can hold onto a top score through the first few groups.

[galaxygirl76]

1 hour ago, herbz said:

It's so bizarre to me if it's true that the Russians genuinely believe that they deserved bronze in Pairs. Presumably they have eyes?

These are the people that gave Plushenko a 'platinum' medal. 

[BitterApple]

12 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

These are the people that gave Plushenko a 'platinum' medal. 

I actually had to Google that and my goodness, right when you think you've heard it all....

[nextian]

I've never been a huge V/M fan, but even I can admit that they were light years ahead of everyone else on the ice last night (except the Shibs twizzles)! The fact that C/P could be ranked ahead of them by two judges is completely absurd. If I was judging it would be V/M, Shibs, P/C, then H/D (who might be technically proficient, but leave me completely cold).

[ChicksDigScars]

7 hours ago, Vera said:

Sharon Rogers. Last year, she marked them below all three of the U.S teams. 

The highest and lowest scores get thrown away. 

Thank Christ, because the Turkish judge? WTF? The Shib's short dance is SIXTH?  Someone check his coffee cup for some hooch, because I think he (or she?) is drunk. 

 

 If I was judging it would be V/M, Shibs, P/C, then H/D (who might be technically proficient, but leave me completely cold).

THIS right here. 

Edited February 19, 2018 by ChicksDigScars

[legaleagle53]

8 hours ago, Thumper said:

Why do many of the male skaters wear the deep-vee open-chest shirts?   It is icky-1970's-ish to me.  Add a porn-stache and gold chains to add to the effect.

That's just the nature of Latin, which encourages the showing of as much skin as the rules will allow.

[Jillibean]

I felt bad for Tanith having to go from pointing out what seemed like a blatant and clear twizzle error for P/C only having to  gamely follow it up with, “Luckily, they still earned the highest possible level on that element.” Luckily indeed. I get that it was always going to be between those two teams, but for P/C to have a significant lead on the Shibs and H/D when the latter teams skated cleanly and P/C did not makes this embarrassing to watch wth my non-skating-fan friends who are already questioning why ice dance is an Olympic sport. 

I feel like H/D being ever so slightly in front of the Shibs creates a recipe for H/D to skate their best while putting pressure on the Shibs. I’m surprised that wth all the politics they would potentially allow a coaching sweep of the podium. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the Shibs squeak by in the free dance for that reason. I felt bad for C/B. They can’t be happy with their placement. That said, it’s cute that Madi likes to design costumes, but maybe hire a professional next time. I haven’t liked either of her costumes for the short dance and Evan’s Olympic version was not flattering. 

[peachmangosteen]

I'm so sad that the ShibSibs are pretty much guaranteed not to medal. Them and the Italians are the only pairs in the top 5 that I enjoyed. Scott/Tessa are somehow boring and completely ott to me, the French team did nothing for me, and I have completely forgotten H/D's program lol.

[herbz]

14 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

I felt bad for Tanith having to go from pointing out what seemed like a blatant and clear twizzle error for P/C only having to  gamely follow it up with, “Luckily, they still earned the highest possible level on that element.” Luckily indeed. I get that it was always going to be between those two teams, but for P/C to have a significant lead on the Shibs and H/D when the latter teams skated cleanly and P/C did not makes this embarrassing to watch wth my non-skating-fan friends who are already questioning why ice dance is an Olympic sport. 

I feel like H/D being ever so slightly in front of the Shibs creates a recipe for H/D to skate their best while putting pressure on the Shibs. I’m surprised that wth all the politics they would potentially allow a coaching sweep of the podium. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the Shibs squeak by in the free dance for that reason. I felt bad for C/B. They can’t be happy with their placement. That said, it’s cute that Madi likes to design costumes, but maybe hire a professional next time. I haven’t liked either of her costumes for the short dance and Evan’s Olympic version was not flattering. 

I'll have to rewatch, but P/C getting the Level 4 doesn't seem outrageous to me because weirdly enough for the synchronised twizzles, synchronicity isn't part of the requirements for levels. But the break should've been reflected in the GOE and they got +3 from 3 judges, including one (French, obviously) who only gave V/M +2 for theirs. That's not right. Same goes for the GOEs they received for the lift where she- understandably-wobbled. They were let off too easy on a couple of those elements before you even get to the issue of the insane PCS. The Rhumba was very well done though. 

[Growsonwalls]

Hmm one thing about V/M ... I just went to Tessa Virtue's instagram page and it is remarkably free of the chummy selfies that athletes like to take with other athletes. Even Tom Brady (known as a rather self-absorbed athlete) has more of these "me and my buds" posts than Tessa. I don't know how Tessa and Scott are in person but it seems as if they very much keep to themselves and I wonder if that's the reason the skating scene cooled towards them. Skating is a small close-knit community.

Just a thought.

[Athena]

You can post wardrobe malfunctions here, but people read these forums at work or in public, so we'd appreciate putting such images under a spoiler tag. Some posts have been edited with spoiler tags as a result. Thanks.

[greyhorse]

Still a little unclear why the female skaters with the skimpy tops don't use pasties if they are concerned about exposing a nip just in case of a wardrobe malfunction.

[Minneapple]

6 hours ago, mehtotheworld said:

Whats with all the H/D hatred? Am I missing something? He’s always seemed super supportive of his partner and his friends (with a dash of deserved arrogance), but she’s always seemed like a sweetheart. Plus, their free is so good. What gives? 

Nothing. I just have a constitutionally protected right to irrationally hate random celebrities. It is in the Constitution, right? If not it should be.

2 hours ago, Tanichka said:

Don't get the hatred for Virtue Moir, they are far superior to the rest of the field.  As for the facial expressions - it's ICE DANCE - drama, you know.  If they had no expression, everyone would be saying they weren't feeling it.

For me it's not just the expression, it's more like the overwrought "WE'RE IN LOVE, REALLY WE'RE IN LOVE" expressions. 

[annzeepark914]

25 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

Hmm one thing about V/M ... I just went to Tessa Virtue's instagram page and it is remarkably free of the chummy selfies that athletes like to take with other athletes. Even Tom Brady (known as a rather self-absorbed athlete) has more of these "me and my buds" posts than Tessa. I don't know how Tessa and Scott are in person but it seems as if they very much keep to themselves and I wonder if that's the reason the skating scene cooled towards them. Skating is a small close-knit community.

Just a thought.

But at least they participated in the Team Event and were there supporting fellow Canadian team members (unlike Hubbell & Donohue who didn't appear at any of the team events to support their fellow Americans).  Someone upthread asked why all the hatred for H/D--this is one of the reasons.  Another reason is the attitude they both showed when the Shibs' SD score came up at Nationals, besting their score. H/D's faces turned extremely ugly.  Oh--and in an interview the other day they referred to V/M and C/P as their "teammates", a Freudian slip if ever there was one!

[Dots And Stripes]

I don’t read that much into facial expressions or instagram pages.

[HartofDixie]

The Skating Lesson: This and That: 2018 Olympic Games Men's Recap with Doug Haw

[anniebird]

I have another general figure skating question - what is the physiological reason that men can do quads and women can barely do a triple axel? 

[GeminiDancer]

1 minute ago, anniebird said:

I have another general figure skating question - what is the physiological reason that men can do quads and women can barely do a triple axel? 

Hips.

[Tanichka]

The thing with facial expressions is that they don’t play as overly dramatic at the arena, only if the camera is in your face.

[anniebird]

1 minute ago, GeminiDancer said:

Hips.

I appreciate your brevity but both sexes have hips - could you elaborate a bit?

[GeminiDancer]

1 minute ago, anniebird said:

I appreciate your brevity but both sexes have hips - could you elaborate a bit?

Women's hips tend to be wider than men, so it's going to take more time for a woman to make a full rotation in the air than a man would. Take notice of the jumping beans who struggle with jumps once puberty hits and they have hips. It messes with your timing. Also, the amount of torque required to get around would do damage, so it's almost not worth it (Tara retired because of hip injuries). There's also only so much time that's spent in the air, so those two factors make it not worth doing.

[Chaser]

Thinking thru the short. I'm not a fan of V/Ms artistic expression but they are clearly the class of the field in ability. 

P/Cs short is even worse on replay. They were visibly distracted and elements were shaky. Ridiculously overscored. I wouldn't have put them in the Top 3, maybe 5th.

Shibs v H/D makes me mad. For Shibs to get a lvl 2 on an element they've been getting a lvl 4 on all season ticks me off. And H/D had messy twizzles and got a big increase to their seasons score. Just nope. The judges took away Shibs short dance cushion they've been getting all season. My guess is because the Shibs finally hit something with Paradise in the Team Final. Ugh this is so disheartening. 

[absnow54]

I have another general figure skating question - what is the physiological reason that men can do quads and women can barely do a triple axel?

There's an article here.

The biggest reason for the stagnation: simple biology. Female skaters often reach their pinnacle by the time they are 20 years old. Their power-to-weight ratio peaks before puberty, and the rapid changes to their bodies during their teenage years often throw off the intricate timing that they've worked years to achieve. The men, meanwhile, get stronger when puberty hits. Their ability to fly higher and spin faster only grows in their early 20s, allowing many to go quad crazy when they step on the ice.

I think it has a lot to do with puberty changing a woman's center of balance to closer to their hips while men's stay high up in their chests. So while women are relearning all of their jumps post-puberty, men are just getting stronger.

[BitterApple]

I feel so badly for the Shibs because it seems like no matter what they do, the judges are never going to put them in that category of "favored darlings" who are given the opportunity to medal. I don't think they're in the same league as V/M, but their performance was much cleaner than H/D and P/C. They should be in second right now.

[MostlyC]

Hoping the Shibs and P/C can slay it tonight (and Chock/Bates).  H/D do absolutely nothing for me.

Also, nice that the photos of the slip are being spoiler tagged.  Because they are NSFW- especially mine.

[annzeepark914]

10 minutes ago, Chaser said:

Shibs v H/D makes me mad. For Shibs to get a lvl 2 on an element they've been getting a lvl 4 on all season ticks me off. And H/D had messy twizzles and got a big increase to their seasons score. Just nope. The judges took away Shibs short dance cushion they've been getting all season. My guess is because the Shibs finally hit something with Paradise in the Team Final. Ugh this is so disheartening. 

So I guess The Fix is in already.  I've been trying to prepare myself for H/D to be on the podium and the Shibs to be given the proverbial shaft. Makes me ill.  And you just know H/D will hang around until the next O (hopefully the Parsons & the other young team will quickly pass them by!) I've got a bad case of The Extreme Dislike of H/D ;>(

Edited February 19, 2018 by annzeepark914

[absnow54]

So I guess The Fix is in already. I've been trying to prepare myself for H/D to be on the podium and the Shibs to be given the proverbial shaft.

I wonder if USAFS made a deal that the Shibs would get a team bronze and H/D would get an individual bronze. Nobody told NBC though, because they've been going full throttle on ShibSibs promotions.

[blackwing]

10 hours ago, Thumper said:

I thought Tanith said that the P/C woman had someone sew her neckline up before they went on the ice, because it had appeared fragile or somesuch.  Then her partner's hand somehow accidentally opened it up at the beginning.  Was she really mad at him?  I didn't see it, but then I didn't see the nip slip either.  Sorry, I don't remember their names -- casual viewer.

Why do many of the male skaters wear the deep-vee open-chest shirts?   It is icky-1970's-ish to me.  Add a porn-stache and gold chains to add to the effect.

I didn't see the nip slip while it aired but ahem went back and researched.  Now I am laughing.  I really should have sympathy for her but I can't find it in me.  If you're going to wear a skimpy costume I would assume you have some way of making sure it stays in place, cover yourself with pasties, or simply don't care.  Who knows, maybe it was on purpose.  She's certainly getting a lot of attention for it.  I bet she has a lot more fans now than before.  And perhaps some judges will try and compensate for their score in the free dance, because people are going around saying she could have done better if she hadn't been so distracted by her nip.

I was wondering about the men's shirts too.  Whereas I found some of the men's costumes in the pairs event a bit strange (still wondering about the appeal of the sheer full back), I guess I can understand them more here since all the dances were Latin dances.  But this plunging open shirt thing that I saw on the likes of French guy, Bates, Donahue was strange considering none of them have much muscle to show off.

[blackwing]

Re that chart showing the Russian judge ranking the Not Russian team 3rd, so much higher than the other judges ranked them.  What a crock.  Why does Russia even get to send a judge?  There's not supposed to be a Russian team here!   

Since it is probably impossible to find judges from countries that are expert and yet unbiased since they have no good competitors (we would end up with panels from the likes of Norway, Mexico, Egypt, India and Panama)... does figure skating do what the judges in snowboarding and freestyle skiing do and throw out the highest and lowest scores?  Wouldn't that avoid bias affecting the results?  

Also, because I am dense and must have missed the explanation, what does the green and red numbers mean?  Doesn't seem to be judges' highest and lowest.

Why isn't the Russian judge being questioned on this obvious bias?

Edited February 19, 2018 by blackwing

[mehtotheworld]

40 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

But at least they participated in the Team Event and were there supporting fellow Canadian team members (unlike Hubbell & Donohue who didn't appear at any of the team events to support their fellow Americans).  Someone upthread asked why all the hatred for H/D--this is one of the reasons.  Another reason is the attitude they both showed when the Shibs' SD score came up at Nationals, besting their score. H/D's faces turned extremely ugly.  Oh--and in an interview the other day they referred to V/M and C/P as their "teammates", a Freudian slip if ever there was one!

There was hatred toward H/D before the team event though! They expressed support on social media, but they were away from the village training. And I’d love to see the nationals footage of their expressions, I missed that when I was half paying attention to nationals. Anyone have a link? Just tried YouTube and it didn’t cut away from the Shibs.

Does anyone follow them on social media? It really doesn’t seem like they have any issues with their fellow US skaters. 

[Tanichka]

20 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I didn't see the nip slip while it aired but ahem went back and researched.  Now I am laughing.  I really should have sympathy for her but I can't find it in me.  If you're going to wear a skimpy costume I would assume you have some way of making sure it stays in place, cover yourself with pasties, or simply don't care.  Who knows, maybe it was on purpose.  She's certainly getting a lot of attention for it.  I bet she has a lot more fans now than before.  And perhaps some judges will try and compensate for their score in the free dance, because people are going around saying she could have done better if she hadn't been so distracted by her nip.

I was wondering about the men's shirts too.  Whereas I found some of the men's costumes in the pairs event a bit strange (still wondering about the appeal of the sheer full back),

I was wondering that myself!  Make sure the darn thing stays on!  I'll bet they will try and overcompensate.  I found their routine not spectacular!  The men's shirts - sheer and low cut is not attractive, same for women's behinds hanging out.

[ChicksDigScars]

19 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

I wonder if USAFS made a deal that the Shibs would get a team bronze and H/D would get an individual bronze. Nobody told NBC though, because they've been going full throttle on ShibSibs promotions.

Probably because they're more fan friendly. Hell, they're more FRIENDLY, period. There's only so much you can do with promoting a couple who cares more about promoting their training team, than their country's team, who bitch faces when they don't get the scores that they want, and who sneers through their routine, because to them, that's sexy (who knew that sneering was a sex face?)

 

And oh yeah. I totally believe that's what's going on. This way, both teams get a medal. Likely bronze, unless another wardrobe malfunction causes a face plant. But with these judges, I don't think it would matter. The PCS scores on the face plant landing would get at least a +3.  

[doodlebug]

45 minutes ago, anniebird said:

I appreciate your brevity but both sexes have hips - could you elaborate a bit?

A woman's weight/center of gravity is lower, she also has smaller muscles.  That means that it is far more difficult for a woman to have the strength to launch herself up into the air far enough to complete 4 rotations in the air before hitting the ice again.  If you look at women singles skaters, you'll notice that most of them are tiny, and, especially the Russian women, look pre-pubescent.  That's because they haven't developed a woman's body yet.  A woman's breasts and hips are less aerodynamic than a man's and they create some drag that isn't there in young girls and men.  Most of the young Russian girls skating now will be done once they hit puberty (presuming the Russian figure skating people allow that to happen.  There's been speculation that there is some hormonal manipulation going on that prevents the Russian women from hitting puberty until after they go to the Olympics).  Anyway, it's all just physics and women aren't built for the strength and speed needed to perform quad jumps.  Eventually, one or more of them will figure it out, but its a lot tougher than for a man.

[Vera]

1 hour ago, Growsonwalls said:

I don't know how Tessa and Scott are in person but it seems as if they very much keep to themselves and I wonder if that's the reason the skating scene cooled towards them.

 

V/M are close to W/P and get along with C/L. I do remember though Tessa once saying that the women's dressing room was not a friendly place to be. 

Last year, Fournier-Beaudry and Sorenson gave an interview where they talk about what P/C and V/M are like as training mates. 

 

I've been going over the protocols. I don't get. I wish the tech panel had to explain the levels they assign. The Shibs lost about 2 points there. B/S have higher PCS than the Shibs and H/D. It's like the judges were planning on giving it to P/C, but they flubbed, so they had to mark them down which they did to a bare minimum. For spots 3-7, it's like they were playing Ip dip dip.

[HartofDixie]

20 minutes ago, mehtotheworld said:

There was hatred toward H/D before the team event though! They expressed support on social media, but they were away from the village training. And I’d love to see the nationals footage of their expressions, I missed that when I was half paying attention to nationals. Anyone have a link? Just tried YouTube and it didn’t cut away from the Shibs.

Does anyone follow them on social media? It really doesn’t seem like they have any issues with their fellow US skaters. 

8 minute mark.

[herbz]

10 minutes ago, Vera said:

V/M are close to W/P and get along with C/L. I do remember though Tessa once saying that the women's dressing room was not a friendly place to be. 

Last year, Fournier-Beaudry and Sorenson gave an interview where they talk about what P/C and V/M are like as training mates. 

 

I've been going over the protocols. I don't get. I wish the tech panel had to explain the levels they assign. The Shibs lost about 2 points there. B/S have higher PCS than the Shibs and H/D. It's like the judges were planning on giving it to P/C, but they flubbed, so they had to mark them down which they did to a bare minimum. For spots 3-7, it's like they were playing Ip dip dip.

 

Tessa just always seemed like more of an introvert to me. Scott was good friends with Charlie when they were at Canton, and they're both close to Patrick and Eric. Tessa's Instagram just reads very 'professional brand' to me, not sure how much you can really read into that.

They definitely planned on giving it to P/C, and judging by their GOE and PCS with errors at a World Record at that. 6 out of 9 judges apparently believed that what they put on the ice was worthy of higher components than V/M. Almost like they'd made their mind up before or something. 

I was going to be quite annoyed when they won against a couple I consider better skaters if all went clean. Cynical me thinks they'll get 122 and the gold tonight and I'll be quite a bit more annoyed because I think the gold should've been all but out of reach if they were judged properly. 

The ISU really do need to look into tech panel accountability. Chock and Bates' twizzles, I can't understand how that was missed...

Judge 5 seems pretty spot on IMO. Where was Judge 5 from? 

Edited February 19, 2018 by herbz

[Growsonwalls]

7 minutes ago, Vera said:

V/M are close to W/P and get along with C/L. I do remember though Tessa once saying that the women's dressing room was not a friendly place to be. 

Last year, Fournier-Beaudry and Sorenson gave an interview where they talk about what P/C and V/M are like as training mates. 

 

I've been going over the protocols. I don't get. I wish the tech panel had to explain the levels they assign. The Shibs lost about 2 points there. B/S have higher PCS than the Shibs and H/D. It's like the judges were planning on giving it to P/C, but they flubbed, so they had to mark them down which they did to a bare minimum. For spots 3-7, it's like they were playing Ip dip dip.

Thanks for that interview. Interesting to read that Tessa and Scott are apparently a lot friendlier than expected. I did hear of a lot of tension between Tessa, Meryl Davis and Tanith Belbin back when they were all skating together. But then again it's hard to be friendly when you;re all competing for the same thing and also having to share ice team with one very busy coach.

I noticed this is in gymnastics -- back in 2008 Nastia and Shawn were apparently not on good terms at all. But Nastia was at Shawn's wedding and they appear to have a nice relationship now.

[HartofDixie]

1 minute ago, herbz said:

They definitely planned on giving it to P/C, and judging by their GOE and PCS with errors at a World Record at that. 6 out of 9 judges apparently believed that what they put on the ice was worthy of higher components than V/M. Almost like they'd made their mind up before or something. 

I was going to be quite annoyed when they won against a couple I consider better skaters if all went clean. Cynical me thinks they'll get 122 and the gold tonight and I'll be quite a bit more annoyed because I think the gold should've been all but out of reach if they were judged properly. 

The ISU really do need to look into tech panel accountability. Chock and Bates' twizzles, I can't understand how that was missed...

Judge 5 seems pretty spot on IMO. Where was Judge 5 from? 

Japan.

[herbz]

3 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

Thanks for that interview. Interesting to read that Tessa and Scott are apparently a lot friendlier than expected. I did hear of a lot of tension between Tessa, Meryl Davis and Tanith Belbin back when they were all skating together. But then again it's hard to be friendly when you;re all competing for the same thing and also having to share ice team with one very busy coach.

I noticed this is in gymnastics -- back in 2008 Nastia and Shawn were apparently not on good terms at all. But Nastia was at Shawn's wedding and they appear to have a nice relationship now.

Marina Zoueva's son going out with Tessa during the 2006-10 quad and then Meryl from 2010 onwards (they're engaged now) probably didn't help with that :P Meryl's definitely not friends with them now, she's been hilariously formal when referring to their performances on Twitter. Everyone's cool with Charlie, because how can you not be?

Edited February 19, 2018 by herbz