So I said I would post my comments about the Free Dance on Tuesday...yeah that was over two weeks ago. Upon returning to work, I was deluged with tasks and the blog had to take a back seat. I have to get these things cleared away before heading off to Nice!
But finally...I'm back with my thoughts...and I've had a change of heart. I had tweeted I disagree with the fact that Meryl and charlie had lost...I watched both programs back a couple of times.
After careful thought, I came to the decision that I agree with the judges and believe Tessa and Scott deserved the win. It looks a bit different on tv vs in the arena and up close you can see the minute details of Tessa and Scott's FD. The real clincher for me was Scott and Charlie. I suspect the altitude played a part but at times Charlie looked less engaged musically while Scott was fully committed through the whole performance...something I couldn't necessarily tell from up in the arena. As far as the levels not being there for Meryl and Charlie...well I'll leave that to the technical panel.
The exhibition just wrapped and the Four Continents Cup has come to an end. I'll post my thoughts on the Pairs and Dance on Tuesday...I have to get to sleep as I have a long trek back to Illinois tomorrow.
Today capped the end of the single events and the beginning of the team events in Colorado Springs.
The day kicked off with the pairs short program. Right off the bat Denney and Coughlin killed it! And then right behind them Marley and Brubaker have a solid skate and for the longest time they were 1-2 in the standings. But Sui and Han came along and spoiled the party. They breezed through their short program like it was nobody's business and slipped just ahead of Caydee and John. Those would remain the top three. Skating later Takahashi and Tran, despite a couple wonky technical errors, managed 4th place ahead of Evora and Ladwig who for the first time in a while stood up on their side by side triples (still a little two feet for Amanda but I'll take it). Certainly an improvement from Nationals. Full Results here.
The Dancers took the ice next and in a very close race Meryl and Charlie bested Tessa and Scott by less than a point. Both gave inspired short dances. The two of them will no doubt have an epic race to the gold. The bronze medal race is tight as well with Weaver and Poje inching ahead of Team Shibby. And the crowd was not happy about Maia and Alex's scores...many felt they were way under marked, twitter blew up, and the judges in arena were super booed. Some even thought they should have challenged for the lead. I don't know about all that but I think maybe a touch under marked. After the top four the scores take a super dive, see full results here.
The fireworks really came with the ladies free when Ashley Wagner...ASHLEY WAGNER...killed it and took the title! So confident, so trained, she not only won, but she beat Mao Asada on both the technical and component mark. Talk about a step up! She flew across the ice and owned it hardcore. I had to stop tweeting I was going crazy! In fact Caroline Zhang got the fireworks started with the performance of her life to open the group. Caroline has done a complete reversal from her poor performances the last two seasons. With her skate she nabbed the bronze and the U.S. went 1-3. The tweets started flying in, U.S. ladies are back! I hope that Ashley can usher in a new era of American women champions, she (along with Caroline) was just amazing. Full Results Here.
My day started with me rapidly trying to figure out how to get/keep the WiFi connection going so I could keep tweeting from the Arena (my phone died because I was using it as a mobile hot spot). After consulting @csworldarena, @PCFClub, and various other tweeps...it was decided that we would continue with the Phone-Mobile HotSpot-bit. Only this time, I had a mobile charging device to keep the phone fully charged. I ran to Best Buy, purchased one, it charged during the Ladies short, and @TimDavid_Sk8 let me use his while it charged. In the quick break between ladies short and mens free I ran back to the hotel...grabbed my charged charger...and presto...live tweeting! I told @csworldarena to invest in paid mobile service for the arena...they took it under advisement. Speaking of @csworldarena...they've been very cool about putting my blog on shout and I appreciate it. They even let me create the word "prescriminate." That is, to not discriminate against any press.
So the ladies short program...Mao Asada finds herself in a super close race with Ashley Wagner. The two sit one-two respectively and both had solid but just slightly flawed short programs. Mao kind of had some trouble landing her triple axel cleanly while Ashley two footed the triple toe behind a triple flip. Other than their slight technical bobbles, both gave determined and inspired performances. In third, and believe it or not, the only lady out of 30 to skate clean, is Kanako Murakami. She skated after Mao and Ashley and everyone thought for sure she'd be the leader. When the judges put her in third (less than a point behind Mao and Ashley), Twitter blew up. Phil Hersh went on one of his rants...people were calling for the judges to be hanged. It was all a bit much, but I dubbed it #KanakoGate. Caroline Zhang continues her comeback. She had a wee bit of trouble on the second triple loop in her triple-triple combo but did everything else well. She's in 4th and had good crowd support (she is so easy to root for). China's Kexin Zhang snuck in for 5th place edging Agnes Zawadzki who is 6th. You can check the full results here.
The Men closed the evening with their free skates. I tweeted earlier in the night Patrick needed to skate lights out to shut me up about his inflated scores. Well...he skated lights out. Two quads, one with the triple toe, axel was good, all the other trimmings and finishings. The only minor issue was with that weird lutz near the end of his program that is mid ice...its awkwardly placed and rarely works...he needs to move that jump. He didn't fall, he just struggled with landing it...but did so. His score was huge and rightly so...so there you go...Chantasticness at its best. I will say, and I feel very firmly about this, as amazingly perfect as Chan is...there is still something mechanical and methodical about his performances. It is very hard to put a finger on...but I feel often that while his movement is brilliant (and ridiculously difficult), I don't know if he "feels" it. Does he become one with the music or is he just so well trained he knows where to put each edge and step? No matter which it is and I'd love to see that debate play out...when he skates like this ain't nobody beating him...and I can't even argue with that.
Finishing out the top three was Daisuke in 2nd place. Another tweet I sent out that I got some pushback on referred to Daisuke's footwork sequence. I tweeted: "I'm sorry, Chan couldn't "feel" footwork like that if his life depended on it!" One of the things I think Daisuke does excel over Patrick is that "feeling" of music. He just becomes the music and it all happens so organically. He two footed his quad and singled the first triple axel but it was easy breezy from there. Ross Miner snuck in for 3rd ahead of Adam Rippon who place 4th. Both had a couple technical issues but Ross had the advantage of skating last and also had a lead over Adam coming into the free. I compared Ross Miner to Todd Eldredge...saying he was always reliable. Mura and D. Ten had technical issues and finished 5th and 6th. Christopher Caluza and Misha Ge, who skated earlier in the evening...had some pretty stunning performances that were real crowd pleasers.Full Results here.
I guess the best place to start is the top...where of course Patrick Chan (did we doubt?) is. As has been his modus operandi this season he made a major mistake...kind of falling on his quad. His saving grace was it wasn't really considered a fall since when he crashed to the ice he put all his weight on his forearm and managed his way back up.
I think with a problem like that on a quad...you shouldn't be in the high 80s and basically untouchable. And he has a clear advantage in the free...this is home turf for him and he will not have the altitude struggles the others have. I feel like the judges need to equalize the scores and bring him a little closer to Earth.
Team Japan came to play...they are 2nd, 3rd, and 4th right behind Patrick. Takahiko Mura with an amazing skate to finish second. Gorgeous quad combo! Daisuke also fell on his quad but still managed 3rd. Tatsuki Machida was also amazing and barely behind Daisuke in 4th.
I feel like a broken record, Denis Ten fell on his quad, but pulled it together for the rest to place 5th. I was scratching my head on this placement. He got ahead of Ross Miner who was brilliant!
Adam Rippon, who oddly earned a season's best despite crashing on his lutz, was 7th. Richard Dornbush wasn't able to cast out his demons...he's 13th.
Finally, special shout out to Christopher Caluza who represents The Philippines. Really nice skate, had the crowd with him, looked like he was having a good time out there. I know Tim David (@TimDavid_Sk8) is very happy!
So I'm enroute to Colorado Springs for the Four Continents Cup. I decided to pack of the car and see the Great American Plains and drive to the event (note to self...fly next time). I'm taking a pit stop for the night and am writing this blog from somewhere in the middle of Nebraska!
I'll make it a priority to post every night after the event. I'm hoping to be able to use my iPad in Arena to post/tweet in realtime! Not sure what the WiFi situation is but the fall back will be my phone.
So I'm going to try and figure out what to do in North Platte, Nebraska...and I'll be posting/tweeting/facebooking tomorrow.
OMG...Nationals could not have gone any better if I was to have scripted it myself! You should have seen me screaming during all the free skates! I was a hot mess...turns out I win the San Jose 2012 'Queen Out' Award!
As far as dance, I found it kind of boring and all so predictable. My heart really got pumping however in the free dance. First, huge props to Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt! What amazing strides they have made in just a year! For a second there I thought they were going to hit the podium and make the world team. What an effort! I think I tweeted after Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue's dance I needed a cigarette. That was hot. For Maia and Alex, their Free Dance is still leaving a little bit to be desired...it feels safe and I want them to take big risks. The improved short dance I think puts them back in the running for a possible bronze at worlds but they are going to have to find a way to be more exciting in the free. and Meryl and Charlie...what can I say...Virtue and Moir can 'fuhgetaboutit!'
Pairs couldn't have gone more perfect. I'm a huge Rockne Brubaker fan...huge! I didn't expect him and MaryBeth to win, so I was really shocked when they won the short! While the free didn't pan out as expected (it was odd to see him make the mistakes) I was please as punch when they placed second and punched their ticket to Nice! My goal is to find them in Nice and get a picture with them because I'm a fan! I also don't care what people say...Denney and Coughlin's free skate is beautiful...I smell what they are cooking! Evora and Ladwig...I love them too but they can't continue to get a pass on the poor technical elements. They've got to figure that out...it's a must! I'll be rooting for them in Colorado Springs...Amanda...land a sbs jump!
The ladies event was very exciting. Can I just gush for a few moments about Caroline Zhang! This girl has transformed...I was shocked at how well she competed here...shocked I say! Still some work to do but the difference is magnificent! I'm uber excited I get to see her at 4CC...I'm going to make lots of noise! I've never been so happy to see someone place 4th in my life. Agnes...oy! You know, I partly blame NBC for tinkering with the skate orders (had it been a true open draw and not simply a draw amongst the top three she might not have drawn last); Agnes is notorious for skating poorly last and stated she hates it. Even still, I think she's come far since the disaster that was the Grand Prix series and I think she now has a place to grow from. Alissa, again, was fragile not fierce. I wonder if she's still not extra healthy (as she isn't competing at 4CC). I love her but I still doubt her...and that's not a good thing. And Ashley Wagner...she's the one I was rooting for and she didn't disappoint...at all! Love her free skate...LOVE HER FREE SKATE. I wanted to pinch her for messing up the salchow but I guess I'll forgive her. Add a triple triple, put that triple toe behind the double axel on one foot, and pray for world medal. I'll be a mess in Nice should that happen.
And I was screaming during the men's free skate. Forget the rest, Jer Bear! I was pacing around skating his free with him. That quad off the top was the most swish thing I've ever seen. I love what Scott Hanilton said when he was worried that Jeremy might skate perfect like he did in 2010 and peak to soon. He was relieved it was a good skate but not a perfect one so he has room to grow. That is so true. Each time Jeremy has hit the ice it has been steadily better. He's building towards Worlds which is perfect. I'm gonna say it...if both Patrick and Jeremy are completely clean at Worlds, I think Jeremy is better because he feels his music better and is less robotic. There it's out there...take it or leave it. Happy that Rippon was second with a good skate. Johnny Weir was correct in stating we need to send the two guys with the most experience and that is definitely Abbott and Rippon (perhaps because he needs them to earn him a berth next season?).
Well it's a wrap in Sheffield. I reported last week that Volosozhaar and Trankov won the Pairs title at Europeans and Pechalat and Bourzat took the Dance title.
The ladies title was captured by Carolina Kostner. This girl has had the worlds busiest schedule this season. She did three Grand Prix Events, the Grand Prix Final, now Europeans and she'll compete at worlds...not an easy schedule to keep. She's been dominant this season despite the fact she needs a little more technical umpf in her program (read: she needs a lutz). I guess when the field makes mistakes and you do what you do well enough, it get's the job done.
Kiira Korpi and Elene Gedevanishvili made their way to second and third. I have no idea who the Russian lady that finished 4th is...their team must be getting deep! Full Results here.
Amongst the men...Plushenko won...Plushenko Jr. was second...that is all...I'm over it. Full Results here.
Look at the top ten below. This is a tremendous group of skaters. I'm disappointed Brezina and Fernandez didn't do better...sad face.
