What's Happening?

Can some explain to me what's happening in this video? Compulsory steps?

Best of the 2011 Worlds

Just decided to throw up my fave performances from last week.

What were your faves?

The Nagano Rundown

My Deep Dive continues this week with a rehash of what went down at Japanese Nationals.

Let's start with the ladies and the fairly triumphant return of Mao Asada. She won the short program in Nagano and posted her best free skate this season by far. While she only captured the silver, it was the perfect medal at the perfect time for her. She seemed content...solid skate under her belt but not forced to be the perfectionist...having come to Nagano and completed her goal, two solid skates,; something she had yet accomplished this season. Kanako Murakami has been turning heads all season and she continued to do so by turning in a near perfect free skate to nab the bronze. That effort bumped her ahead of Akiko Suzuki...and likely bumped her on to the World Team. Top honors, however, went to Miki Ando who, if you ask me, turned in her finest performance ever. There was a definite sense of sophistication in that program that has been absent all season. Everything seemed under perfect control and she paid great attention to detail. If she turns in a program like that in Tokyo in March, she'll be tough to beat. Trivia: When did Miki Ando last win the World Title? Answer: 2007 in Tokyo. They do say "What goes around comes around..."



For the men, going in most people would have put the good money on a Nobunari Oda/Daisuke Takahashi showdown for gold...I would have. Instead, Takahashi had to get scrappy and fight his way back onto the podium. He pulled off a barn-burner, opening with that "almost trademarked" quad flip and never looking back. He was so in tune with the choreography it was ridiculous. His effort paid off with a bronze medal. The other co-favorite coming in, Nobunari Oda, did not skate his best. Despite taking the polar plunge on his opening quad and second axel, he managed to keep ahead of Takahashi and grab the silver. In the end, it was Kozuka who stepped away from the dust with a gold medal around his neck. Like Oda, he wasn't perfect, taking a spill on a quad and a salchow, but what he did do was delivered so well it made up for the other mistakes. Takahiko has shown a tendency to skate better in the front half of the season as opposed to the back half. Perhaps this win at Japanese Nationals will propel him forward to success in the upcoming ISU Championships.



Tomorrow: A rundown of the upcoming European Championships

Cup of China Wrap

A very fast wrap-up of Cup of China. I'm on limited blogging time!

Ice Dance was a runaway for Pechalat and Bourzat of France. They had a nice lead out of the Short Dance and just extended it in the free. Bobrova and Soloviev of Russia surprised many by taking the silver. Faiella and Scali had to settle for the bronze after a nasty slip in the free dance. Three bland programs at this point for the top three teams but I think Faiella and Scali's Flamenco has potential.

Pang and Tong put experience to good use in Beijing besting their Chinese teammates Sui and Han for the win. It was as unusual meeting of experience vs youthfulness as the senior most competing Chinese team took on the youngest. Sui and Han provided some fireworks with a very solid throw quad salchow attempt and a flair for performance rarely seen in Chinese competitors. Americans Yankowskas and Coughlin improved their 4th place finish at NHK to a bronze in Beijing and have a slim shot at making the Grand Prix Final, also in Beijing. Pang and Tong are the first skaters to earn a trip to the Grand Prix Final.

It was Japan full steam ahead in the ladies competition. Miki Ando showed a jumping clinic to take the ladies title. Akiko Suzuki was in tow in second with a solid effort and a beautifully choreographed program. Russia's Alena Leonova backed into the bronze medal after Mirai Nagasu, leader after the short, tanked in the free to finish 4th overall.

Japan again was on top in the men's division as Takahiko cruised to an easy victory with two programs chock full of strong components. American Brand Mroz surged in the free skate with a tremendous skate that included a clean quad to take the silver.
Tomas Verner managed to hang on for the bronze with an entertaining (but somewhat lacking) skate to Michael Jackson. The big story in the men's field was Brian Joubert, with a decent performance, dropping down to 4th due in major part to only receiving level 1's for his spins.

My Fantasy picks weren't horrible...I tied for 222nd for Cup of China which doesn't sound great...but I moved up to being ranked 139th overall. I'm just going to stick with it...

You can see the full Cup of China Results here.

Skate America starts tomorrow.

XXI Olympic Winter Games Figure Skating Mens Preview

An extremely deep field of men will vie for the title of Olympic Champion in Vancouver. Who do I see as the top 12 contenders? There is:

Jeremy Abbott (USA) - Jeremy enters this event as the reigning U.S. National Champion, a title he successfully defended in Spokane. Every time he has competed this season he has looked stronger and stronger. The move from Colorado Springs to Detroit to train with Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen is paying dividends. He has shown when he skates clean he is a force to be reckoned with. Not only does he have solid technical ability (including a quad which has looked rock solid in his free skate) but his component scores are always some of the best in the field. If he repeats what he did in Spokane, he might be the guy to beat.

Patrick Chan (CAN) - When he hits the ice the roar will be deafening! He enters these Olympics as one of Canada's top Gold Medal hopefuls and will have the support of the Canadian people. Like Abbott, he has a knack at grabbing top component scores but his technical ability has come into question recently as he has been working his way back from an injury early in the season. He also had a recent coaching shake-up with he and Don Laws parting on iffy terms. Patrick has reported that the quad will not be in his programs in Vancouver, nonetheless, he remains a threat for the top spot on the podium because of his artistic skill. Again, the home-crowd advantage can help or hurt; it will be interesting to see how Patrick handles the pressure.

Samuel Contesti (ITA) - While he hasn't had the season he had last year with a surprise European Silver Medal and a top 5 finish at Worlds, he continues to skate consistently and could be a dark-horse medal threat. He has crowd pleasing programs that will no doubt go down well in Vancouver and a new found consistency on triple jumps, but he lacks in the component score department. Still, if he skates clean, gets the crowd on his side, and others make mistakes he may find himself in the running for a medal. He has nothing to loose and everything to gain and that may be his biggest asset.

Brian Joubert (FRA) - He looked positively angry on the podium at the recent European Championships where he managed only the bronze medal. Since winning the world title in 2007 it seems like he can't catch a break. He lost Worlds in 2008 despite a clean skate with a quad. Dropped down to 3rd last year after some odd mistakes. He's had to pull out of two consecutive Grand Prix Finals. If all that wasn't enough, he had to deal with a foot injury in December. Oy! Still, he comes to Vancouver with one of the most consistent quads and loads of Olympic Experience. Hopefully, he learned some hard lessons from his failures in Torino that will serve him well in Vancouver. If he is as mad as looks about losing European's, he may come out in Vancouver swinging!

Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) - Part of arguably the strongest men's team (some might contend that Team USA is the strongest), Takahiko is one of several skaters that is easily capable of playing the role of spoiler at these Olympics. This season, however, hasn't been his best. He failed to qualify for the Grand Prix Final (an event that he took Silver in the prior year) and was just third at Japanese Nationals. Despite the recent downturn, his greatest strength is a lack of a weakness. He's solid technically as well as artistically. This season he's fiddled with putting the quad in his free skate, I think sensing he needs a little extra 'umph' to really be a medal threat. If he can complete that jump and skate well...watch out!

Stéphane Lambiel (SUI) - A member of club comeback, Stéphane enters the Olympics coming off a successful European Championships. While he only won the silver medal there, he debuted a well received free skate to music from the opera La Traviata. Lambiel's technical ability is suspect without a triple axel, but he is a brilliant artisan who can rake in the points in the component scores. He is also the most gifted spinner in the competition. He's proven himself to be a clutch competitor, often times pulling off great performances when the lights are on and the chips are down. Like many of the top competitors he has dealt with injury in the run-up to these Olympics. If he can get through the gauntlet of triple jumps, complete his quads, and charm the audience, I don't see how he isn't on the podium.

Evan Lysacek (USA) - The reigning World Champ has looked Olympic ready all season. The only time he looked vulnerable was at the recent National Championships in Spokane where a late decision to rearrange his free skate and add a quad led to some inconsistencies and just a Silver Medal. Nonetheless, he has stated over and over that his goal this season is Vancouver and it is there he wants to peak. Up until nationals he was simply cruising along with big wins at Cancer.Net Skate America as well as the Grand Prix Final. Many are touting Evan as the best chance the U.S. has at a Gold Medal and he is certainly garnering the most American media attention. If he can continue to be as steady as he has been most of the season, he'll give everyone a run for their money in Vancouver.

Evgeny Plushenko (RUS) - The 2006 Olympic Champ is looking for second helpings here in Vancouver and he is, for many if not most, the favorite to win Gold. He made his comeback at Rostelecom Cup with the confidence that only Plushenko can display. Many were unsure of how solid he would look after being away from competition for nearly four years and he waltzed back on the scene...with quad and arrogant #1 finger waves. He has been plagued with some slight difficulty with his knee but it didn't stop him from winning Russian Nationals and Europeans. Despite, in my opinion, having a one dimensional approach to choreography, the judges love him and if he manages a clean skate I can't imagine him not winning.

Nobunari Oda (JPN) - When Nobunari debuted his new free skate at Trophee Eric Bompard, I was impressed! Nobunari has found his stride this season with a beautiful Charlie Chaplin program that suits him brilliantly. He's one of only two skaters that have been successful at getting past World Champ Evan Lysacek; he did so at Samsung Anycall Cup of China. Even though he enters this competition as the #2 ranked man from Japan, I think he is a legitimate Gold Medal threat, especially if he attempts and lands the quad in his free skate. He missed making the Olympics in 2006 because of a scoring snafu at Japan's National Championships that ended up reversing the placement at the top and leaving him at home. This time, he gets to show the world what he's got.

Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) - He has had a roller coaster season to this point. A poor skate at home at NHK Trophy followed by a great skate at HomeSense Skate Canada. He then had another meltdown at the Grand Prix Final but rebounded with a great skate at Japanese Nationals. It's hard to predict where Takahashi will come out in Vancouver. The early season issues were attributed to his being off last season with a meniscus injury but stamina issues have continued to plague him. However, when he is in top form, he is hard to compete with. His program is also well suited to him and full of character and his footwork is some of the best in the world.

Tomas Verner (CZE) - I almost considered not including Tomas in this post and instead focus on his teammate Michal Brezina. Tomas started the season promising but it has been down hill ever since. After winning the Silver Medal at Trophee Eric Bompard, he was just 4th at Cancer.Net Skate America. Then he finished last at the Grand Prix Final, lost the Czech Championship to Brezina and finished a disappointing 10th at Europeans...a far cry from the win he was able to produce in 2008. It would be easy for anyone to write him off at this point but Tomas has an amazing resilience to adversity and an ability to put himself back together after disappointing performances. He's humpty-dumpty if you will. If he stays on his feet and rotates his jumps he has a shot at a medal, if he falters...he's toast.

Johnny Weir (USA) - He has already made the headlines and he hasn't even stepped on the ice. Johnny will take the ice with the distraction of having to deal with Friends of Animals, an animal protection group that slammed Weir for his use of real fox fur on his Free Skate outfit. He's decided to replace the fur with faux fur. In a statement he said:

I made this decision after several threats were sent to me about disrupting my performance in the Olympic Games and my costume designer, Stephanie Handler, was repeatedly sent messages of hate and disgust. I do not want something as silly as my costume disrupting my second Olympic experience and my chance at a medal, a dream I have had since I was a kid.

So far this season Johnny has been okay...not stellar. He barely made the Olympic Team with a 3rd place finish at U.S. Nationals. If he is going to be a medal threat in Vancouver he will have to up his game. He does have a flair for the dramatic so he may shock us all yet.

Showdown in Osaka

My title sounds like a Quentin Tarantino movie!

So this week brings about one of the most highly anticipated National Championships of the season. Of course I'm talking about Japanese Nationals.

I predict that Reed and Reed will win the Ice Dance competition and Takahashi and Tran will win the Pairs competition. But that's the easy part...

What isn't easy to predict is arguably the deepest singles fields in the world. A Clash of Titans, if you will, are set to do battle in Osaka. Here's who to look out for:

Fumie Suguri - She hasn't had the best season this far but she is a veteran and she's won this event before. Also, aside from Ando, she's the only other competitor in the field that has Olympic experience. It's worth noting that she has a track record of skating very well at the Olympics; 5th in Salt Lake City and 4th in Torino. I think to make the Olympic Team she'll assuredly HAVE to win and even then she may yet have to prove herself at the Four Continents Cup. Don't count her out...her experience may serve her well.

Yukari Nakano - She's kind of been the ugly step child of Japanese women's skating (figuratively...not literally). She tends to be consistent enough to always place decently in competition but never seems to breakthrough and be the shining star (except at the 2008 Worlds where I feel she was positively robbed!). Her jump technique gets her in trouble often. Last season at this competition she won the short program only to fall apart in the free. Like Suguri, I think a win is a MUST in order to even be considered for the Olympic Team.

Akiko Suzuki - She's been the surprise this season. A win in Beijing put her on the map. She squeaked into the Grand Prix Final and then did it again with a show stopping performance at the Grand Prix Final landing her on the podium there with the bronze medal. She's proven this season she can be a contender but we are all still wondering if she can keep this up? She seems to be the sentimental favorite this season and most people are pulling for her. I think if she hits the podium at Japanese Nationals she will have made a strong case for herself.

Mao Asada - The other surprise this season...but unfortunately the exact opposite of Suzuki. By her standards, a disastrous finish in Moscow coupled with a failure to make the Grand Prix Final all have us scratching our heads. She's had an extended period of time to train and get her head together. I have a sneaky suspicion she's is going to come out like gang-buster's at National's and be back on form. If she falters, however, her disastrous season may continue. She needs to prove that this fall was a fluke and it's all behind her.

Miki Ando - She doesn't have the Olympic pressure the other ladies have as she already has a guaranteed ticket to Vancouver but she does have the pressure of expectation as the top Japanese woman this season. Miki, I think mostly for herself, needs to win this competition to bolster her self confidence in being the top Japanese woman this season. If she gets beat here, especially a bad beat, it might crumble her confidence and we could see a Torino repeat where she went to pieces. She has the goods...she's a World Champion, she was very close to Kim at the Grand Prix Final, she beat Asada at the World Championships to make the podium. She needs to own this and I think the sky is the limit...a failure could prove costly.

The men seem less dramatic with most believing that Kozuka, Oda, and Takahashi will assuredly make up the Olympic Team. But the order of their finish at Nationals seems up for grabs...

Nobunari Oda - He needs to just keep doing what he's been doing. His program is charming and it works. If he manages to get that tricky 3-jump Quad Combo in and skates clean, I get the feeling he wins. If he struggles at all, the others will have an opportunity to capitalize.

Takahiko Kozuka - He hasn't had the season like he had last year but he's still a threat. He has those solid basics that make him formidabble. "A skater's skater" as Scott Hamilton would say. Quad has eluded him to this point but he often gives it a valiant try. If he can just stay steady and consistent he'll be just fine. I love his music choice this season, it's one of the most imaginative and original picks.

Daisuke Takahashi - Hot and cold this season. He was cold at NHK Trophy, hot at Skate Canada, and both at the Grand Prix Final (won the short...lost the free). Stamina would appear to be an issue this season. Coming back from an entire season off due to injury can't be easy and the rust has shown. But, he is one of the most gifted skaters on the scene and has every ability to lay down stunning performances. If his conditioning is good I believe Takahashi is the one to beat. May come down to the quad...if he hits it he's in good shape. Missing it could be the deal breaker.

I'm not as up on the Japanese 'B-Listers' but I'm sure, as with any national championship, there is the opportunity for a spoiler or two.

Skate America Report 2

LET ME BE CLEAR...I'M NOT AT ALL HAPPY WITH THE JUDGING TODAY!

Now that I got that off my chest, let me begin with the Original Dance (OD). Summersett and Gilles still find themselves in 8th place but they had a wonderful OD that the crowd really got behind. Although they are in 8th, the spread between 6th and 8th is nill so they have plenty of opportunity to rise. The French team of Carron and Jost slipped to 5th after Samuelson and Bates of the U.S. turned in a stellar OD, complete with fancy tap dancing. For me, this was the program of the night (afternoon actually) and by the crowds reaction, I think it was theirs as well. The Kerr's have closed the gap just a little on the top two, in part, because they placed second in the OD. The Kerr's had a very strong OD and actually beat Tanith and Ben who are in second still overall. While it's still close at the top, Tanith and Ben lost a wee bit more ground to the French Delobel and Schoenfelder. They seem to be heading the wrong direction but they have the Free Dance to redeem themselves. In my opinion, their OD lacked the spark we've seen from their skating in the past...seemed a bit...Russian? In defense of Tanith and Ben, I thought their program should have been good enough to get past the Brits...this was my first juding dissaproval of the day! The French did this crazy old man, naughty nurse program that lost me a little bit...but all the footwork, lifts, and dance spins were spot-on, so they remained in the lead.


The pairs event went basically as everyone thought it would. First, the young Americans Yankowskas and Coughlin put on quite a show. Skating to 'Dracula' they started their program with this amazing lift that went all the way around the arena and they never looked back. They were pumped after their program having skated so well. On the reverse, finishing one spot above their teammates in 5th, Inoue and Baldwin had a terrible skate. They are still using that hideous (yes...I used that word!) program from last season and it go them nowhere. In truth, they are lucky they beat Yankowskas and Coughlin, I certainly would have placed them behind them! Duhamel and Buntin stayed in 4th after an up and down program. The leaders after the short, Russians Mukhortova and Trankov had a complete meltdown and are lucky to have one the bronze medal, they were terrible. But, Keauna and Rockne were stellar. First, I was weary because they are using 'West Side Story' and all us skating fans know this has been used over and over and over and...you get the point. But they are using the best cut of this music I've ever heard. The choreography is great and they skated great! A little hand down on the triple salchows but otherwise good...they had everyone out of their seats. As expected, the German's breezed by everybody with an easy skate to victory, however, they did have a major error when she singled the throw salchow near the end of the program. I'd like to point out I accurately predicted the Pairs Podium!

Between the end of the Pairs competition and the start of the Ladies short I went and grabbed some dinner. Upon returning to the Arena, I found a sea of Korean flags! I must tell you I've never been to an event where Yu-Na Kim competed. I asked a couple who was sitting near me who also travel to lots of skating competitions and they said "Oh yeah, she has a traveling entourage of superfans! Where she goes, they go!" Once we got inside the Arena, the walls were instantly decorated with Yu-Na signs and messages. It's like the Arena underwent an instant transformation. At the same time, all those people outside with the flags took seats bunched together in one corner of the arena...suddenly Yu-Na had a pep squad!

Speaking of the ladies short, this was where I went from being annoyed with the judges to full blown mad! The first of the U.S. ladies to skate was Rachael Flatt and she was stellar! Beautiful skating, spot on jumps, just amazing yet her score was just so so...huh? She's currently in 5th but she should be in second! Kimmie Meissner's big comeback hit a snag when she went down on her triple flip. I notice she's changed the entrance into the jump, I think to avoid taking off the wrong edge, but I don't think she's used to it yet. She's in 6th, but not all is lost, more on that in a moment. Mirai Nagasu took the ice and she had had problems too. She two footed the lutz, which was supposed to be in combination with a triple toe on the triple toe never happened. She had the frame of mind to make her solo flip jump into a combination, but it was only a triple/double. Despite the varied mistakes, she went ahead of Flatt...I was quite confused and dumbfounded by this! Yukari Nakano came out and made a couple boo boos of her own. Her triple/triple became a triple/double and then she doubled her triple lutz. But then she went ahead of Mirai and Rachael (at this point I'm wondering how the only skater to have a clean performance is now being pushed to third by skaters who aren't skating half as well)...puzzling? Miki Ando was just crusing through her performance until she took a spill during her foot work (I was watching Nikolai Morozov her coach during it and he winced as she fell!), yet she managed the lead. Between Miki in 2nd and Meissner in 6th there is less than three points separation so they all are still in the hunt for a medal. Speaking of medals, I think the Gold is wrapped up already. Yu-Na Kim was mesmerizing. She had a little flub up on her double axel but nobody cared because the rest was just so good! When the marks went up she was close to 12 points ahead of Miki Ando! The Korean pep squad went berserk! Yu-Na just sat there in the kiss and cry and shyly waved at the camera...geez! As soon as she left, the superfans quickly dispersed. I asked the couple behind who had some experience with the superfans and they noted they were now on their way to the hotel to stalk Yu-Na there!

And the men...ARRGGGHHHH! Adam Rippon stayed in 8th. I think his 'Pagliacchi' music is a bit heavy. Also, it appears to me that he has attempted to become Johnny Weir's clone, complete with sequined outfit with red broken heart on chest...just an observation. Two Canadian men turned in great programs. Shawn Sayer finished 5th with a program set to 'Amadeus.' There wasn't a beat of the music he didn't hit and he was one of the crowd favorites of the night. Kevin Reynolds placed 4th, he was also the only skater to land a quad (it was a salchow) on the evening. I think he surprised himself with his performance looking quite in disbelief in the kiss and cry. The podium was whack! What a joke! Evan Lysacek got the Bronze with the best performance on the night. He crashed and burned on the opening quad but went on to complete everything else yet his technical score was only 4th best on the night (I have no idea where the dinged him?). That was one of the loudest judges boo I've ever been a part of...how ridiculous. I ask everyone to watch his and Kozuka's performance and tell me who's better. I'd like to know which judges scored what, oh wait, I forgot, THEIR ANONYMOUS! Johnny Weir got the silver, which is what he deserved, but he too was better than Kozuka. Johnny, after stepping out of his quad attempt, went on to complete everything else. His new program, like his one from last season, back loads a lot of the triples in the second half of the program. Apparently, didn't matter. Takahiko Kozuka won it all with a so so program set to 'Romeo and Juliet.' I'm trying to understand where he amassed this huge technical element score...he didn't land nearly the jumps that Lysacek or Weir (or Reynolds for that fact!). I think he deserved the Bronze if not 4th place...big gift for the young man from Japan (that rhymes!) was given tonight! We'll be talking about this one for a while! The men's standing should have been flip/flopped with Weir staying in second...hands down poor judging!