Tick tick tick… SKAM keeps getting closer, so I studied its schedule today. If I’m going to make some predictions, the least I can do is get them in before each particular event gets underway.
So before I get to it, I should offer the disclaimer that I have a proven track record of inadequacy when it comes to podium predictions, Oscar/Emmy/Grammy guesses, forecasting the future for friends, etc. In other words, you might want to seek out a more reliable blog if you plan to do some wagering.
As long as you understand that, I’m ready to roll with two of the four disciplines:
PAIRS: Gold- Savchenko/Szolkowy (GER)
Silver- McLaughlin/Brubaker (USA)
Bronze- Duhamel/Buntin (CAN)
None of last year’s medalists in this event are returning, so I’m choosing (unsurprisingly?) the #1 ISU-ranked pair in the world to win. And I’m putting Inoue/Baldwin out of the medals because this is their first time performing so early in the season in quite a while—I just don’t expect them to be at the level they might be at for, say, NHK Trophy.
Mukhortova and Trankov (Russia) could work their way into a medal, but if there’s still the acrimony with this pair that reportedly existed last season, I’m suspicious it could turn up in their skating.
MENS: Gold- Johnny Weir (USA)
Silver- Evan Lysacek (USA)
Bronze- Kevin Van Der Perren (BEL)
If you saw my GP Showdowns to Watch post back in June, you know I mentioned the Johnny/Evan “rematch” as the main event of Skate America. What I didn’t do back then was pick a winner of said rematch. I’ve gone with Weir to win here primarily because I figure he might be a little hungrier to beat Evan than vice versa. I know he bettered him at Worlds last spring, but I think it means something a little different on U.S. soil. Or ice, as the case may be.
I’m picking Van Der Perren for the podium based on his track record, or the simple fact that he has one compared to most others in this event. It wouldn’t surprise me much, though, to see one of the relative newbies break away from the pack and take an upset bronze.
The clock keeps on ticking, so I’ll be back with ladies and dance predictions sometime before compulsories start on Friday…
Until then, enjoy this Clip of the Day featuring Evan Lysacek’s free skate from 2007 Skate America.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
All Systems Go? The ISU Grand Prix Checklist
omigoditsalmostHERE!
Finally! Time to say screw football… the Grand Prix is starting! No, not that Grand Prix (why does it have to be synonymous with a Formula One Racing event?)… Skate America! Skaaate AMEEERIIIICAAAA!!!!
Well now that that’s out of my system, it’s time to break out the Grand Prix Checklist:
+ Tape of last year’s SKAM… check.
+ Time to watch and review last year’s SKAM…um… whoops. Need to work on this one.
+ Check to see when SKAM airs and highlight it with a big yellow neon marker… check.
+ Grimace when I see SKAM only gets two hours of air time… check.
+ Cry when I remember I should be grateful for those two hours, because it’s the only two hours of air time the Grand Prix will get in the U.S. all season… check.
+ Look up list of competitors to see who’s dropped out and who’s replacing them… check. (5 replacements so far, by the way.)
+ Be the first skating blogger to make predictions on who will win medals… oh, crap, I’m too late.(Should I still try if I promise not to consciously crib my blogmates?)
+ Subscribe to Ice Network for the first time… oh, crap, now I’m too early?!
Wow—who knew prepping for 120 minutes of sequins and spirals could be so complicated? Oh, wait, that would be me.
Which leaves only one more thing to say: BRING IT ON.
(But not before watching this lovely Clip of the Day featureing Miki Ando’s silver-medal winning from last year’s event.)
Finally! Time to say screw football… the Grand Prix is starting! No, not that Grand Prix (why does it have to be synonymous with a Formula One Racing event?)… Skate America! Skaaate AMEEERIIIICAAAA!!!!
Well now that that’s out of my system, it’s time to break out the Grand Prix Checklist:
+ Tape of last year’s SKAM… check.
+ Time to watch and review last year’s SKAM…um… whoops. Need to work on this one.
+ Check to see when SKAM airs and highlight it with a big yellow neon marker… check.
+ Grimace when I see SKAM only gets two hours of air time… check.
+ Cry when I remember I should be grateful for those two hours, because it’s the only two hours of air time the Grand Prix will get in the U.S. all season… check.
+ Look up list of competitors to see who’s dropped out and who’s replacing them… check. (5 replacements so far, by the way.)
+ Be the first skating blogger to make predictions on who will win medals… oh, crap, I’m too late.(Should I still try if I promise not to consciously crib my blogmates?)
+ Subscribe to Ice Network for the first time… oh, crap, now I’m too early?!
Wow—who knew prepping for 120 minutes of sequins and spirals could be so complicated? Oh, wait, that would be me.
Which leaves only one more thing to say: BRING IT ON.
(But not before watching this lovely Clip of the Day featureing Miki Ando’s silver-medal winning from last year’s event.)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Agony of an Injury-Based Retirement
Sometimes it’s hard to leave the sport you love, and sometimes it’s downright painful… in the most literal sense of the word.
Earlier this week, U.S. skating fans heard the sad news that Naomi Nari Nam—first a teenage singles phenom, then a pairs skater making a stellar comeback—is retiring from competitive skating for good. Turns out the hip injury that ended her singles’ career several years back (and prompted surgery last year) is to blame for her somewhat premature departure.
Then a couple days ago, word gets out worldwide that the senior men are losing yet another reigning Olympic medalist. Stephane Lambiel, citing a persistent leg injury, called a news conference to call it quits.
I know there’s a lot that can—and has—been said about such departures and the commentary they make on the state of skating in general. The thing that struck me as most poignant, though, was the timing. These were announcements that came on the edge of a new season. These are not typical retirements; rather, these are ones that come after a special kind of soul searching. I can only imagine the way both Nam and Lambiel continued to train over the past several months, hoping and praying they could keep working through the pain; knowing, perhaps in the back of their mind, it would be very unwise to do so. Still they tried, till the last possible week/day/hour, to make it work.
How do they put out that fire? How do they grind it to a halt when they’re not ready? The funny thing in Lambiel’s case, as you’ll recall, is that he did grind things to a halt midway through the 2006-7 season (citing a lack of “inner fire”, wasn’t it?), but then rebounded in time to snare the bronze medal at Worlds.
Once you start a year’s worth of something you’re so passionate about, I guess it’s hard to stop. Even if it’s agonizing to continue.
In these two cases, though, it was too painful to begin. That’s the sort of thing that makes all of us ache for them.
For the Clip of the Day here’s NNN and her partner Themistocles Leftheris at the 2007 Four Continents. (Sigh… I miss trying to pronounce, or even type, that name already.)
Earlier this week, U.S. skating fans heard the sad news that Naomi Nari Nam—first a teenage singles phenom, then a pairs skater making a stellar comeback—is retiring from competitive skating for good. Turns out the hip injury that ended her singles’ career several years back (and prompted surgery last year) is to blame for her somewhat premature departure.
Then a couple days ago, word gets out worldwide that the senior men are losing yet another reigning Olympic medalist. Stephane Lambiel, citing a persistent leg injury, called a news conference to call it quits.
I know there’s a lot that can—and has—been said about such departures and the commentary they make on the state of skating in general. The thing that struck me as most poignant, though, was the timing. These were announcements that came on the edge of a new season. These are not typical retirements; rather, these are ones that come after a special kind of soul searching. I can only imagine the way both Nam and Lambiel continued to train over the past several months, hoping and praying they could keep working through the pain; knowing, perhaps in the back of their mind, it would be very unwise to do so. Still they tried, till the last possible week/day/hour, to make it work.
How do they put out that fire? How do they grind it to a halt when they’re not ready? The funny thing in Lambiel’s case, as you’ll recall, is that he did grind things to a halt midway through the 2006-7 season (citing a lack of “inner fire”, wasn’t it?), but then rebounded in time to snare the bronze medal at Worlds.
Once you start a year’s worth of something you’re so passionate about, I guess it’s hard to stop. Even if it’s agonizing to continue.
In these two cases, though, it was too painful to begin. That’s the sort of thing that makes all of us ache for them.
For the Clip of the Day here’s NNN and her partner Themistocles Leftheris at the 2007 Four Continents. (Sigh… I miss trying to pronounce, or even type, that name already.)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Affording Vancouver... in (Wow!) Less Than 500 Days
Is it me, or does 500 days seem a pretty small increment of time?
An article that ran in the Kansas City Star a week ago counted a little less than that—497 days, to be exact—till the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Which surely translates to a small lifetime for those who want to watch it… no time at all for those hoping to participate in it… and something in between for those of us that want to write about it.
If you hope to go to said Games this is the article you’ll want to read, as it contains an easy breakdown of the cost to attend the 17 different events. Among the most pricey (leaving out the opening/closing ceremonies, which top out at well over $1000):
+ Hockey ($25-$775)
+ Figure Skating ($50-$525)
+ Ski Jumping ($80-$210)
As for those of us who are budget-minded and plan to blow most of their money watching quad-jump attempts, here are the cheapest three to catch in your down time:
+ Biathalon ($25-$70)
+ Cross-Country Skiing ($25-$70)
+ Bobsleigh ($30-$85)
Is it any wonder the Olympic TV coverage seems to favor the more “expensive” events?
And I was surprised to see hockey tickets run even higher than figure skating tickets, until I remembered where the Olympics are being held! :-) (Hey, I spent my honeymoon in Canada AND attended a hockey game while there… I get it. At least a little.)
So if you’re making plans, go sit down with your 3 or 4 grand (in Monopoly money, if necessary) and figure out the best way to slice that pie up. Three days of skating here, two days of skeleton there… who could ask for anything more?
For the Clip of the Day I thought I’d go back to the last time the Winter Olympics came to Canada… and go with a pairs skate for the first time in a while. This is the Watson and Oppegard free skate that won them the bronze medal (that’s Peter Oppegard, perhaps better known nowadays as a coach).
An article that ran in the Kansas City Star a week ago counted a little less than that—497 days, to be exact—till the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Which surely translates to a small lifetime for those who want to watch it… no time at all for those hoping to participate in it… and something in between for those of us that want to write about it.
If you hope to go to said Games this is the article you’ll want to read, as it contains an easy breakdown of the cost to attend the 17 different events. Among the most pricey (leaving out the opening/closing ceremonies, which top out at well over $1000):
+ Hockey ($25-$775)
+ Figure Skating ($50-$525)
+ Ski Jumping ($80-$210)
As for those of us who are budget-minded and plan to blow most of their money watching quad-jump attempts, here are the cheapest three to catch in your down time:
+ Biathalon ($25-$70)
+ Cross-Country Skiing ($25-$70)
+ Bobsleigh ($30-$85)
Is it any wonder the Olympic TV coverage seems to favor the more “expensive” events?
And I was surprised to see hockey tickets run even higher than figure skating tickets, until I remembered where the Olympics are being held! :-) (Hey, I spent my honeymoon in Canada AND attended a hockey game while there… I get it. At least a little.)
So if you’re making plans, go sit down with your 3 or 4 grand (in Monopoly money, if necessary) and figure out the best way to slice that pie up. Three days of skating here, two days of skeleton there… who could ask for anything more?
For the Clip of the Day I thought I’d go back to the last time the Winter Olympics came to Canada… and go with a pairs skate for the first time in a while. This is the Watson and Oppegard free skate that won them the bronze medal (that’s Peter Oppegard, perhaps better known nowadays as a coach).
Monday, October 13, 2008
ISU Take Note! Five OTHER Ways to Save Money
So you may have heard that the ISU announced an already-controversial decision last week to shrink the judging panel at several major competitions in an effort to cut costs.
Me? I think there’s got to be a better way. So allow me to place my tongue firmly in cheek as I share with you “Five OTHER ways for the ISU to save money…”
5) Remember the Boston “Cheesefest”, where fans voted for the winners American Idol-style? Just do that for all Grand Prix events this season, with the in-house audience as the votecasters, THEN go back to the traditional judging (and number of judges) for Worlds. Hey, it’s not like it’s an Olympic year or something… and with the exception of Skate America, they’re not even going to be televised in the traditional fashion. Where's the harm?
4) Until further notice-- instead of real gold/silver/bronze medals, craft all the non-Olympic year medals out of delicious chocolate… maybe Godiva for gold, Lindt for silver, Hershey for bronze?
3) Three words: GET MORE SPONSORS!!!!
(Kinder version: Try harder to GET MORE SPONSORS!!!)
2) Change the rules so that judges are paid by the hour rather than the event, then shorten every program… by every skater… by one minute. It’ll put weak skaters out of their misery sooner, make strong skaters leave us begging for more, and just think of how it’ll help everyone in high altitude areas!
And 1) Request that Vera Wang design a line of “budget” competitive wear, with all skaters passing their costume savings along to the ISU. Five dresses to choose from for the ladies, three outfits for the men. Think of how much simpler it would make things for the skaters! Think how much it would bum out bloggers like me who might otherwise be dishing the skaters’ choices :-(
But hey, if Wang can do it for Kohl’s department stores, she can do it for skaters.
And with the help of this Clip of the Day, might I suggest the ladies’ choices look something like… this?
Me? I think there’s got to be a better way. So allow me to place my tongue firmly in cheek as I share with you “Five OTHER ways for the ISU to save money…”
5) Remember the Boston “Cheesefest”, where fans voted for the winners American Idol-style? Just do that for all Grand Prix events this season, with the in-house audience as the votecasters, THEN go back to the traditional judging (and number of judges) for Worlds. Hey, it’s not like it’s an Olympic year or something… and with the exception of Skate America, they’re not even going to be televised in the traditional fashion. Where's the harm?
4) Until further notice-- instead of real gold/silver/bronze medals, craft all the non-Olympic year medals out of delicious chocolate… maybe Godiva for gold, Lindt for silver, Hershey for bronze?
3) Three words: GET MORE SPONSORS!!!!
(Kinder version: Try harder to GET MORE SPONSORS!!!)
2) Change the rules so that judges are paid by the hour rather than the event, then shorten every program… by every skater… by one minute. It’ll put weak skaters out of their misery sooner, make strong skaters leave us begging for more, and just think of how it’ll help everyone in high altitude areas!
And 1) Request that Vera Wang design a line of “budget” competitive wear, with all skaters passing their costume savings along to the ISU. Five dresses to choose from for the ladies, three outfits for the men. Think of how much simpler it would make things for the skaters! Think how much it would bum out bloggers like me who might otherwise be dishing the skaters’ choices :-(
But hey, if Wang can do it for Kohl’s department stores, she can do it for skaters.
And with the help of this Clip of the Day, might I suggest the ladies’ choices look something like… this?
Friday, October 10, 2008
Alexe Gilles: One Tall Order
When it comes to knowing “3 Things” about current U.S. Junior Champion Alexe Gilles, here’s what I feel like telling you outright:
1) She’s tall!
2) She just won gold at Junior Grand Prix South Africa!
3) Did I happen to mention she’s TALL!
You’ll have to excuse my excitement, but in my mind, it really is newsworthy that Gilles checks in at a stately 5 feet 7 inches (that’s approximately 2 meters, I believe). She may not be THE tallest lady to ever compete among the elite—Lisa-Marie Allen comes to mind as one who is likely to hold that distinctive title—but once Gilles enters the senior ranks, she’ll be an inch above Carolina Kostner… three inches above Kimmie Meissner… and a solid 5 to 8 inches above most of the others. And she’s only 16-- she might not even be done growing!
As someone who pretty much lost the small array of jumps she DID have when she reached 5’7” (en route to being 5’10 ½”), I just have to marvel at “giants” like Gilles. Even if she only makes it to the final flight at Nationals one time, she’ll prove to a wide audience of so-called lanky young girls that you don’t have to be a pixie to succeed in figure skating. (And likewise, you don’t have to learn to play basketball if you don’t really want to!)
So anyway… two other things to know about Ms. Gilles (for real this time):
1) She has two other sibs in skating—and they’re both ice dancers, though partnered with others.
2) Jill Trenary is listed among her coaches.
And one more thing—her free skate music is simply noted to be “bongo music”, which I found amusing… and then refreshing, after watching her in action at this year’s Liberty Open (the Clip of the Day ). No warhorses here!
1) She’s tall!
2) She just won gold at Junior Grand Prix South Africa!
3) Did I happen to mention she’s TALL!
You’ll have to excuse my excitement, but in my mind, it really is newsworthy that Gilles checks in at a stately 5 feet 7 inches (that’s approximately 2 meters, I believe). She may not be THE tallest lady to ever compete among the elite—Lisa-Marie Allen comes to mind as one who is likely to hold that distinctive title—but once Gilles enters the senior ranks, she’ll be an inch above Carolina Kostner… three inches above Kimmie Meissner… and a solid 5 to 8 inches above most of the others. And she’s only 16-- she might not even be done growing!
As someone who pretty much lost the small array of jumps she DID have when she reached 5’7” (en route to being 5’10 ½”), I just have to marvel at “giants” like Gilles. Even if she only makes it to the final flight at Nationals one time, she’ll prove to a wide audience of so-called lanky young girls that you don’t have to be a pixie to succeed in figure skating. (And likewise, you don’t have to learn to play basketball if you don’t really want to!)
So anyway… two other things to know about Ms. Gilles (for real this time):
1) She has two other sibs in skating—and they’re both ice dancers, though partnered with others.
2) Jill Trenary is listed among her coaches.
And one more thing—her free skate music is simply noted to be “bongo music”, which I found amusing… and then refreshing, after watching her in action at this year’s Liberty Open (the Clip of the Day ). No warhorses here!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Election Daze, NBC Olympics Style
As I sat there with the latest U.S. Presidential Debate ringing in my ears last night, it reminded me to remind YOU to vote. If you haven’t voted already, that is. And IF the poll is still open…
Of course I could only be talking about the NBC Vancouver site, which you can find right here. What event are you looking forward to in Vancouver in 2010? is the question they posed approximately one month ago. It was a nail-biting time back when I voted; as I recall snowboarding was in the lead for several days. (Curses, you crazy snowboarding bloggers and newsgroups who were trying to stuff the ballot box!)
But at last glance, figure skating held an overwhelming lead with 84% of the vote. Good thing, too, as the last thing a TV network needs right now is the message that no one’s that interested in this sport.
Ever since I voted, I’ve been unable to tell whether the poll is still open (all I’ve seen are current results). But even if it’s closed, go check it out anyway. Not only might it do your heart some good to be reaffirmed of skating’s continued popularity… you have to see the funny-but-not-really mistake that NBC made. As pointed out at the Required Elements blog on September 9, NBC gushes (rightly so) about Mao Asada being the one to watch when it comes to predicting possible Olympic medalists in Vancouver… but uses a photo of Yukari Nakano instead. You’d have thought someone at NBC would have caught the mistake by now. But as of this post, they haven’t. Now paging ridiculous, party of two…?!
If anyone finds an effective e-mail link to point out the mistake to NBC, please pass it on. My previous attempts to contact them via one of their websites was unsuccessful, so this time around I’m choosing to simply mock them a little. :-)
From the now-for-something-completely-different files: the Clip of the Day is Emmanuel Sandhu’s elimination from SYTYCD Canada. The bad news is that this clip doesn’t show much more than, well, the bad news and his requisite “this isn’t the end, it’s only the beginning” sound bite. The good news is that it all happens in the first 90 seconds of this lengthy clip.
Of course I could only be talking about the NBC Vancouver site, which you can find right here. What event are you looking forward to in Vancouver in 2010? is the question they posed approximately one month ago. It was a nail-biting time back when I voted; as I recall snowboarding was in the lead for several days. (Curses, you crazy snowboarding bloggers and newsgroups who were trying to stuff the ballot box!)
But at last glance, figure skating held an overwhelming lead with 84% of the vote. Good thing, too, as the last thing a TV network needs right now is the message that no one’s that interested in this sport.
Ever since I voted, I’ve been unable to tell whether the poll is still open (all I’ve seen are current results). But even if it’s closed, go check it out anyway. Not only might it do your heart some good to be reaffirmed of skating’s continued popularity… you have to see the funny-but-not-really mistake that NBC made. As pointed out at the Required Elements blog on September 9, NBC gushes (rightly so) about Mao Asada being the one to watch when it comes to predicting possible Olympic medalists in Vancouver… but uses a photo of Yukari Nakano instead. You’d have thought someone at NBC would have caught the mistake by now. But as of this post, they haven’t. Now paging ridiculous, party of two…?!
If anyone finds an effective e-mail link to point out the mistake to NBC, please pass it on. My previous attempts to contact them via one of their websites was unsuccessful, so this time around I’m choosing to simply mock them a little. :-)
From the now-for-something-completely-different files: the Clip of the Day is Emmanuel Sandhu’s elimination from SYTYCD Canada. The bad news is that this clip doesn’t show much more than, well, the bad news and his requisite “this isn’t the end, it’s only the beginning” sound bite. The good news is that it all happens in the first 90 seconds of this lengthy clip.
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