Who'd a Thunk It? I Finally Get Out an NHK Recap

Why is it taking so long for me to post some notes on NHK? Am I really that mentally winded from 6 weeks of back-to-back competition? All I had to do was sit here, turn my modem on and off until it found an IP address the Ice Network liked (!!), and watch things unfold. I didn’t even do it that well, at least in terms of predictions-- 4 for 12 again this week; nailed the Dance podium and Asada’s victory, missed everything else. Who would’ve thought I’d have to really concentrate just to remember an event that happened only a few days ago?

Hey, wait, I think I’m onto a theme…

--Who would’ve thought a virtual unknown named Akiko Suzuki would take silver behind Asada? OK, so she took silver waaaaaay behind Asada (24 points, to be exact). But criminy! Yet another sensational representative of the NHK’s home country is on the move. So how long until the ISU allows 5 Japanese women to compete at Worlds?

--Who would’ve thought Inoue and Baldwin would finally nail that throw triple axel again? Oh, wait, let me check that slo-mo replay… nope, it was two-footed. I guess Rena got tired of crash-landing—I surely would have.

-- Who would’ve thought one could cough through an entire free skate (as Johnny Weir says he did) and still manage a silver medal? Ugh. Sounds miserable.

-- Who would’ve thought the best quad of the men’s free skate would come from Yannick Pansero? (Note to self: yes, he might blow the free when he lays down an excellent short… but if it’s only an above average short, he’s likely to rally.)

-- Who would’ve thought Samuelson & Bates could still win bronze when they botched their dance spin so badly in the final phase of competition?

-- Who would’ve thought the winners of the Dance division (Faiella/Scali) essentially earned their gold medals by winning the one portion of competition we were unable to see on Ice Network this time? (They edged France’s Pechalat/Bourzat by nearly 2.5 points in the compulsories.)

-- Who would’ve thought presumed rivals Nakano and Asada would both turn up for the short program in similar shades of lavender… and both sporting long sleeves? Isn’t this kind of like being nominated for an Oscar, only to show up for the ceremony and discover a fellow nominee is wearing your gown?

-- Who would’ve thought Oda could rejoin the ranks of competitive skating with such a bang? (Apparently not me; I had him finishing 2nd.)

-- Who would’ve thought six weeks could come and go so quickly? Even if we’ve been through all this several years running?

For the Clip of the Day I’ve got Asada’s FS from last year’s GP Final—a skate that lifted her from last place all the way to 2nd. As she showed over the weekend, she’s quite capable of erasing any bad performance in recent memory with a great one.