First, a quick JuniorWorlds update (and I DO mean quick; can’t find any of these performances on You Tube yet…)
The Pairs event is in the books; the top 3 look like this:
GOLD- Wenjing SUI / Cong HAN (China… looks like they have their Next Big Pairs Thing already)
SILVER- Narumi TAKAHASHI / Mervin TRAN (Japan)
BRONZE- Ksenia STOLBOVA / Fedor KLIMOV (Russia)
As for the U.S. teams: We got a 5th (Britney SIMPSON / Nathan MILLER), a 10th (Felicia ZHANG / Taylor TOTH), and 14th (Brynn CARMAN / AJ REISS)
And the flags must’ve looked very similar for the men’s medal ceremony…
GOLD- Yuzuru HANYU (Japan)
SILVER- Nan SONG (China)
BRONZE- Artur GACHINSKI (Russia)
While the U.S.’s Grant HOCHSTEIN and Keegan MESSING were 1-2 heading into the free skate, Messing wound up in 4th (with the 4th best skate) and Hochstein went all the way down to 5th (with only the 7th best performance).
As for names you might be more familiar with: U.S.’s Armin MAHBANOOZADEH had a rough couple of days, finishing only 8th in the SP and 12th in the FS (10th overall). And Kazakhstan’s Denis TEN—surely one of the only 2010 Olympians to be competing here, and consequently favored to do well -- managed a 4th after the SP, but a staggering 15th in the Free Skate placed him in 9th overall. Poor guy; it must’ve been exhausting just to show up there so soon after Vancouver.
Ice dance is underway; the top U.S. team is Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI (in 4th after the OD).
Ladies start tomorrow.
And the withdrawal news pertaining to Senior Worlds has a new entrant: Canada’s Vaughn Chipeur, 25, will have to sit it out with a foot injury. Kevin Reynolds, 19, will be taking his place. You’ve seen Reynolds before; he’s the one that jumps quads like Tim Goebel did a decade ago… and looks like Clay Aiken. J
And speaking of recent Worlds withdrawals of late… Johnny Weir doesn’t appear to be squandering one second of his 15 minutes worth of mainstream fame. Today brought this article which has Weir “slamming” Kate Gosselin, claiming he has cousins that used to live behind her house and citing the an event they were both involved in last Fall where he found her to be “very rude” among other things (I remember hearing about that at the time…). Oh, and by the way, Weir has already found his primary Dancing with the Star to root for this season… wait for it…
Buzz Aldrin.
Well, sure… why not?
For the Clip of the Day I have Sui/Han as they skated the Junior GP Final this past December. Very young… endless possibilities.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Weir Outta This World(s)... Let the Rippon Begin
Sometimes the blog just writes itself.
I was looking at the calendar, studying the difference between the dates of Junior Worlds (which runs this week over in The Hague, Netherlands) and the dates of Senior Worlds (March 22-28 in Torino Italy.. 2 weeks from now)…
And thinking hmm… right about now would be when some of the Olympians-turned-World championship competitors might start to drop out for reasons other than getting a better gig with another network.
Then, as if Johnny’s Angels had been listening to my very thoughts…we get word this afternoon that the fabulous Mr. Weir has scrapped his plans for Torino. Lots of articles abound already; here is what appeared in Entertainment Weekly(online), for example. But they all center Weir’s press statement… here’s a bit of it:
“…And while I am still embracing my Olympic memories and have the momentum to move forward, I have decided that it is not advantageous at this time for me to partake in the World Championships in Torino, Italy. After my sixth place finish in Vancouver, I believe that I must take time to reassess my strategies and goals. While I understand the importance of competition, I feel that a short break at this time would be personally beneficial to me. I know all may not share my stance, but I can assure everyone that I will be re-energized after I’ve had time to rework my technique. I want to be a better competitor and win medals for my country and I hope everyone can respect my decision to take this time off.”
I must admit, the first thing that sprang to mind for me upon reading this had precious little to do with Weir… sorry… instead it was more like WAIT—DOESN’T THAT MEAN ADAM RIPPON GETS TO GO IN HIS PLACE???
Being nowhere near IceNetwork at the time, I went instead to check and see what Rippon had Tweeted of late… and saw this:
Torino, I'M COMING!!! :D
So I guess that’s a yes.
I’d been wondering if Weir was truly going to go, if only because he seems to be discussing the Olympics and promoting his show via the talk show circuit more than he is training at the moment. Also, with all his talk about wanting to put down two clean programs at Worlds so he could dare the judges to put him down in 6th again… maybe he’s come to terms with the programs not being as COP-friendly as they could be? (I’m not analyzing; I’m just repeating what I’ve heard several other places.)
In any case, what a great time to have such a deep men’s team in the U.S. Adam Rippon has truly had the kind of breakout season that Jeremy Abbott was blessed with back in ’08-09, so to get that “pack your bags” call to round out the year must be very gratifying.
Oh, and not to belittle this other bit of news for the day… but according to this, Stephane Lambiel has now “officially retired” from amateur skating. Of course, the announcement comes a couple weeks after Lambiel turned in a 4th place finish at Vancouver, and a couple weeks before Lambiel makes his “official” pro skating debut with ABC’s Thin Ice, so smack yourself in the head with the palm of your hand if you didn’t see that one coming.
I think I featured Rippon’s 4CC’s-winning Free Skate from about 6 weeks ago as the Clip of the Day once before, but if you check out this version, you’ll see the protocols for each element appear on the lower third of the screen. First time I’ve seen that… wonder if they’ll ever try to incorporate that into U.S. broadcasts?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Skating Moments of the Past Few Weeks
As I sit here wondering if Evan Lysacek will do any Tweeting from the Oscar parties he’ll reportedly be attending later… I’m prompted to get on with that list of “non-Olympic Olympic TV moments” while I still have it handy:
THE TOPICAL…
From The Daily Show: John Hodgman (aka That Guy in The Macintosh Commercials) did a bit on how he’d improve the Olympics which included making figure skating “glitzier” which featured Olympic Men’s Final stills of Florent Amodio, Kevin VanDerPerren, and Plushy (heh)… then moved on to the ubiquitous photo of Johnny Weir with the crown of roses he wore in the Kiss’n’Cry, with Hodgman taunting “Was that really as gay as you could come up with, Johnny?” (OK, I don’t think he was the first one to say that.)
THE HILARIOUS…
From The Colbert Report: in addition to various mentions of Weir, Colbert did an interview with Scott Hamilton discussing (what else?) the men’s event that was a lot of fun (Colbert: But no one did your back flip, Scott… shouldn’t the gold medal go to YOU?)
He also had a great one-liner about Davis/White’s Bollywood OD that implied it was one more thing Americans had “stolen from the Indians.” And even better was the Twitter response it got from Charlie White himself (“We were made fun of on the Colbert Report!!! Woohoo, haha I've made it!!”)
THE ANNOYING, Part 1…
Not that I miss them at all, but I just want to say how barbaric it is to try and convince us that you’re “eating like an Olympic athlete” if you dive into a box of Chicken Nuggets with a certain new kind of dipping sauce. I haven’t fed my face at one of their restaurants in over 20 years, so I’m not interested in promoting them any further… I’m sure you know which place I’m speaking of anyway.
THE ANNOYING, Part 2…
As if it wasn’t enough that every comment about Rachael Flatt had to be followed by some kind of mention about her AP classload… and then, the news about her first college acceptance letter… we had Ann Curry standing there in the cold pre-dawn of The Today Show with Flatt (and others), chirping to her, nearly a week after the fact, “I just heard you were accepted to Stanford!”
Ann, Ann… don’t you watch your own network??
Finally… there were so many great moments on The Figure Skating Review/Preview Show (over on Universal Sports) that I’d need a separate post to list them all… (which I might be able to do since I still have several episodes recorded; if anyone wants to “hear” more highlights, say the word)
But here are five quick things that spring to mind:
+ Tamara Moskvina precariously balancing herself (in a way I will simply call “gymnastic fantastic”) on the desk
+ Terry Gannon shooting hoops (and by that I mean a teeny tiny “hoop” that was held at the end of the desk by, most likely, a production assistant) with the likes of Peggy Fleming and Dick Button
+ Scott Hamilton coming by and “loitering” on the set
+ Co-hosts Peter Carruthers and Kristi Yamaguchi busting out some of their own fashion mishaps from their competitive days
+ And finally, back to Davis/White again as White delivered my favorite line of at least one week: while watching a playback of their Phantom of the Opera FD, he explained as he and she blazed down the ice in a flurry of traveling, synchronized one-foot spins, he explained (I’m paraphrasing here) “Here we have to think: how would Raoul and Christine (the characters they play from Phantom) skate… twizzles?”
Admittedly it loses something in the translation… White had perfect timing with it!
If you have other fave “non-Olympic Olympic TV moments” be sure to leave a comment about them!
Since I put Evan in the Clip of the Day last time, I’ll put Johnny’s Regis & Kelly appearance as the Clip today.
THE TOPICAL…
From The Daily Show: John Hodgman (aka That Guy in The Macintosh Commercials) did a bit on how he’d improve the Olympics which included making figure skating “glitzier” which featured Olympic Men’s Final stills of Florent Amodio, Kevin VanDerPerren, and Plushy (heh)… then moved on to the ubiquitous photo of Johnny Weir with the crown of roses he wore in the Kiss’n’Cry, with Hodgman taunting “Was that really as gay as you could come up with, Johnny?” (OK, I don’t think he was the first one to say that.)
THE HILARIOUS…
From The Colbert Report: in addition to various mentions of Weir, Colbert did an interview with Scott Hamilton discussing (what else?) the men’s event that was a lot of fun (Colbert: But no one did your back flip, Scott… shouldn’t the gold medal go to YOU?)
He also had a great one-liner about Davis/White’s Bollywood OD that implied it was one more thing Americans had “stolen from the Indians.” And even better was the Twitter response it got from Charlie White himself (“We were made fun of on the Colbert Report!!! Woohoo, haha I've made it!!”)
THE ANNOYING, Part 1…
Not that I miss them at all, but I just want to say how barbaric it is to try and convince us that you’re “eating like an Olympic athlete” if you dive into a box of Chicken Nuggets with a certain new kind of dipping sauce. I haven’t fed my face at one of their restaurants in over 20 years, so I’m not interested in promoting them any further… I’m sure you know which place I’m speaking of anyway.
THE ANNOYING, Part 2…
As if it wasn’t enough that every comment about Rachael Flatt had to be followed by some kind of mention about her AP classload… and then, the news about her first college acceptance letter… we had Ann Curry standing there in the cold pre-dawn of The Today Show with Flatt (and others), chirping to her, nearly a week after the fact, “I just heard you were accepted to Stanford!”
Ann, Ann… don’t you watch your own network??
Finally… there were so many great moments on The Figure Skating Review/Preview Show (over on Universal Sports) that I’d need a separate post to list them all… (which I might be able to do since I still have several episodes recorded; if anyone wants to “hear” more highlights, say the word)
But here are five quick things that spring to mind:
+ Tamara Moskvina precariously balancing herself (in a way I will simply call “gymnastic fantastic”) on the desk
+ Terry Gannon shooting hoops (and by that I mean a teeny tiny “hoop” that was held at the end of the desk by, most likely, a production assistant) with the likes of Peggy Fleming and Dick Button
+ Scott Hamilton coming by and “loitering” on the set
+ Co-hosts Peter Carruthers and Kristi Yamaguchi busting out some of their own fashion mishaps from their competitive days
+ And finally, back to Davis/White again as White delivered my favorite line of at least one week: while watching a playback of their Phantom of the Opera FD, he explained as he and she blazed down the ice in a flurry of traveling, synchronized one-foot spins, he explained (I’m paraphrasing here) “Here we have to think: how would Raoul and Christine (the characters they play from Phantom) skate… twizzles?”
Admittedly it loses something in the translation… White had perfect timing with it!
If you have other fave “non-Olympic Olympic TV moments” be sure to leave a comment about them!
Since I put Evan in the Clip of the Day last time, I’ll put Johnny’s Regis & Kelly appearance as the Clip today.
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Latest Olympic Victory Laps: Johnny Weir on "The Bonnie Hunt Show"
The promised “Favorite lines from non-Olympic TV coverage about the Olympics!” will have to wait… because I didn’t realize until this morning that an Olympic TV Appearance would be happening on a show I actually do watch sometimes.
And it seems like a good idea to draw attention to it anyway, since the show I’m talking about (The Bonnie Hunt Show, a syndicated gem you may or may not have heard of) is not a huge ratings-getter as I understand it. In fact, it’s been common knowledge for a while among the fans that Bonnie’s show will not continue beyond this season. But she’s terrific, and while Evan Lysacek “tweeted” this week about taping a BH episode around mid-March… Johnny Weir spent five minutes on the episode that aired today.
Bonnie’s website contains a clip right now of the interview. I admittedly didn’t yet see Weir’s Live with Regis & Kelly appearance from earlier this week, but here are some of the things discussed on Bonnie’s show today…
+ His fashion sense (he wore a spiffy black & white jacket and shoes he wanted to show off, so he swung his legs up on the couch alongside him (I never got a good look at them, in spite of this… sorry)
+ The Olympics (duh)
+ Plushy’s haircut (“that would be… a mullet,” Weir diplomatically declared)
+ Johnny’s own hair, which they agreed was a variation on… a mullet
+ The Plushy quad/man debate…Weir started out by claiming he thought the extent of Plushy’s comments were lost in translation. Me, I’m thinking there was no need to translate some of his expressions, gestures and actions since then… but Weir ultimately broke it down to the athletic vs. artistic progress debate. (He preceded all comments by adding that Plushy was a friend of his…)
+ Weir’s reality show (Be Good, Johnny Weir), which was what he was there to promote first and foremost (complete with a clip of him vacuuming and talking about loneliness… yeah, kind of hard to explain)
+ Understandable, then, why they didn’t spend any time talking about this guy’s reality show
+ Oh, and near the very end of the segment Bonnie made Johnny “promise” he’d be in Sochi for the next Olympics… and then he invited her to join him over there. He went along with the whole thing, stopping short of giving some variation of the I’m-not-retiring-well-maybe-I-am speech.
Cute stuff.
And while I’m here… I haven’t seen much about this yet, but while poking around TVGuide.com I came across this announcement about a Dancing With The Stars “spin-off” that comes off sounding like Ice Dancing With The Stars…and is apparently now being planned for ABC in the Fall. No, I’m not talking about Thin Ice (which airs on ABC in a couple of weeks)… and no, I’m not flashing back to 2006, when Skating with Celebrities had it’s brief run on FOX. This is an all-new (for the U.S., anyway) effort by the same BBC people that have imported DWTS so nicely, and have been having such a great time with the skating version of it over in the U.K. Will let you know if/when I hear anything more about this.
Until then, enjoy Lysacek’s Top 10 Reading on Letterman’s Show as it ran here, earlier in the week, as the clip of the day.
And it seems like a good idea to draw attention to it anyway, since the show I’m talking about (The Bonnie Hunt Show, a syndicated gem you may or may not have heard of) is not a huge ratings-getter as I understand it. In fact, it’s been common knowledge for a while among the fans that Bonnie’s show will not continue beyond this season. But she’s terrific, and while Evan Lysacek “tweeted” this week about taping a BH episode around mid-March… Johnny Weir spent five minutes on the episode that aired today.
Bonnie’s website contains a clip right now of the interview. I admittedly didn’t yet see Weir’s Live with Regis & Kelly appearance from earlier this week, but here are some of the things discussed on Bonnie’s show today…
+ His fashion sense (he wore a spiffy black & white jacket and shoes he wanted to show off, so he swung his legs up on the couch alongside him (I never got a good look at them, in spite of this… sorry)
+ The Olympics (duh)
+ Plushy’s haircut (“that would be… a mullet,” Weir diplomatically declared)
+ Johnny’s own hair, which they agreed was a variation on… a mullet
+ The Plushy quad/man debate…Weir started out by claiming he thought the extent of Plushy’s comments were lost in translation. Me, I’m thinking there was no need to translate some of his expressions, gestures and actions since then… but Weir ultimately broke it down to the athletic vs. artistic progress debate. (He preceded all comments by adding that Plushy was a friend of his…)
+ Weir’s reality show (Be Good, Johnny Weir), which was what he was there to promote first and foremost (complete with a clip of him vacuuming and talking about loneliness… yeah, kind of hard to explain)
+ Understandable, then, why they didn’t spend any time talking about this guy’s reality show
+ Oh, and near the very end of the segment Bonnie made Johnny “promise” he’d be in Sochi for the next Olympics… and then he invited her to join him over there. He went along with the whole thing, stopping short of giving some variation of the I’m-not-retiring-well-maybe-I-am speech.
Cute stuff.
And while I’m here… I haven’t seen much about this yet, but while poking around TVGuide.com I came across this announcement about a Dancing With The Stars “spin-off” that comes off sounding like Ice Dancing With The Stars…and is apparently now being planned for ABC in the Fall. No, I’m not talking about Thin Ice (which airs on ABC in a couple of weeks)… and no, I’m not flashing back to 2006, when Skating with Celebrities had it’s brief run on FOX. This is an all-new (for the U.S., anyway) effort by the same BBC people that have imported DWTS so nicely, and have been having such a great time with the skating version of it over in the U.K. Will let you know if/when I hear anything more about this.
Until then, enjoy Lysacek’s Top 10 Reading on Letterman’s Show as it ran here, earlier in the week, as the clip of the day.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Good News: The Ratings are In... and the Olympics Are Not Getting Cancelled.
I think we have a pretty good picture now of the overall TV ratings for Vancouver, and all in all things look happy for NBC. With most of the days accounted for (and ALL competitive skating days accounted for), here are some of the numbers according to zap2it.com:
Friday Feb 12 (Opening): 34.5 million watching/18.1 rating
Wednesday Feb 17 (No figure skating; Lindsey Vonn & Shaun White were among those winning gold): 29.3 million/16.7 **
Sunday Feb 14 (pairs SP): 26.3 million/14.4
Monday Feb 15 (pairs final): 25.5 million/14.4
Thursday Feb 18 (Men’s Free): 25.3 million/14.7 **
Friday Feb 19 (ice dance compulsories): 23.2 million/13.4
Thursday Feb 25 (Ladies final): 22.5 million/13.3 *
Sunday Feb 21 (ice dance OD): 22.4 million/12.8***
Monday Feb 22 (ice dance final): 21.1 million/12.7
Tuesday Feb 23 (Ladies SP): 21.2/12.6 *
Tuesday Feb 16 (Men’s SP): 20.4/12.2 *
Sunday Feb 28 (Close): 19.8/11.3
*= These were days where the average viewership was defeated by the average viewership of American Idol. It should be noted that Idol aired in the first hour of the evening most everywhere; numbers for hours 2 and 3 (when more and more figure skaters actually skated) were much higher.
**=These were days where NBC and the Olympics defeated Fox, which means it defeated Idol. As I mentioned before, I think it’s the first time Idol ‘s been defeated. (One night was attributed to the superstar U.S. medals racked up; the other was attributed to the men’s free skate.)
***= The night of the OD (original dance) was the same night as the first US vs. Canada hockey game… and apparently it was a controversial decision to air the OD on NBC while the hockey game was relegated to MSNBC. And according to at least one report I saw, the MSNBC numbers were higher in some regard. (I’m going to blame it on the Russians J
But did you see the even bigger surprise here… Compulsory dance night pulled in bigger numbers than any other part of the ice dance competition! Maybe they should reconsider this whole compulsory phase-out thing…
NBC promised a 14 rating (on average) to its advertisers; as it turns out the rating averaged a 13.8 according to USA Today. That’s good news for NBC, and good news for anyone who wants to see NBC get the 2014 Games.
Which I know isn’t everybody.
But be pleased anyway, for outstanding skating shone through when it needed to the most. Always a sport that's great in the clutch, isn't it?
Coming soon: Favorite lines from non-Olympic TV coverage about the Olympics!
Friday Feb 12 (Opening): 34.5 million watching/18.1 rating
Wednesday Feb 17 (No figure skating; Lindsey Vonn & Shaun White were among those winning gold): 29.3 million/16.7 **
Sunday Feb 14 (pairs SP): 26.3 million/14.4
Monday Feb 15 (pairs final): 25.5 million/14.4
Thursday Feb 18 (Men’s Free): 25.3 million/14.7 **
Friday Feb 19 (ice dance compulsories): 23.2 million/13.4
Thursday Feb 25 (Ladies final): 22.5 million/13.3 *
Sunday Feb 21 (ice dance OD): 22.4 million/12.8***
Monday Feb 22 (ice dance final): 21.1 million/12.7
Tuesday Feb 23 (Ladies SP): 21.2/12.6 *
Tuesday Feb 16 (Men’s SP): 20.4/12.2 *
Sunday Feb 28 (Close): 19.8/11.3
*= These were days where the average viewership was defeated by the average viewership of American Idol. It should be noted that Idol aired in the first hour of the evening most everywhere; numbers for hours 2 and 3 (when more and more figure skaters actually skated) were much higher.
**=These were days where NBC and the Olympics defeated Fox, which means it defeated Idol. As I mentioned before, I think it’s the first time Idol ‘s been defeated. (One night was attributed to the superstar U.S. medals racked up; the other was attributed to the men’s free skate.)
***= The night of the OD (original dance) was the same night as the first US vs. Canada hockey game… and apparently it was a controversial decision to air the OD on NBC while the hockey game was relegated to MSNBC. And according to at least one report I saw, the MSNBC numbers were higher in some regard. (I’m going to blame it on the Russians J
But did you see the even bigger surprise here… Compulsory dance night pulled in bigger numbers than any other part of the ice dance competition! Maybe they should reconsider this whole compulsory phase-out thing…
NBC promised a 14 rating (on average) to its advertisers; as it turns out the rating averaged a 13.8 according to USA Today. That’s good news for NBC, and good news for anyone who wants to see NBC get the 2014 Games.
Which I know isn’t everybody.
But be pleased anyway, for outstanding skating shone through when it needed to the most. Always a sport that's great in the clutch, isn't it?
Coming soon: Favorite lines from non-Olympic TV coverage about the Olympics!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
More Penultimate Olympic Ladies... But Hey, Did You Hear What ABC is Doing With Our Skaters?
Hot!! Hot hot!! Strike that iron, Evan Lysacek!! Strike it now!!!
(So hot, you see, that I must post at least a little about very recent developments before I continue with my breakdown of the rest of the top 15 Olympic ladies… no dull moments these days!)
GOLD MEDAL NEWS: Evan has decided to follow in the shuffling footsteps of fellow skating gold medalists Kristi Yamaguchi and Apollo Ono… and join the latest cast of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. (Let the “he’s a ringer!!” commentary begin…)
Here’s the TVGUIDE.com article that announces the cast; one of many articles out there today… but the question is how many will, like this one, have reader comments that will automatically lapse into calling him “Evan the Figure Skater” because Lysacek seems too hard to figure out? I think we should all call him Evan The Figure Skater for the duration of his time on this show, which could be until… May? Depends of course on how well he does. With Kristi and Apollo having both won their respective seasons, what sort of pressure will poor ETFS be to capture that little disco ball trophy??
We’ll surely be discussing this more in the days/weeks to come, including some of his dancing peers (Kate Gosselin? Really? Talk about someone I’d like to see leave early…)
And no, I’ve no clue how he’ll work this with his SOI headliner commitments. But keep in mind that this is a show that has literally brought the rehearsal TO the dancer, in the past, when they’ve had to spend a few days away…
SILVER MEDAL NEWS: Lysacek is also slated to read the Top Ten list tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman. I saw a sneak preview; it's awesome as expected... the only thing I'm going to tell you is that Guitar Hero gets a mention. Heh.
BRONZE MEDAL NEWS: Not to be outdone with that DWTS news (but, um, sorry, they WERE outdone big time), the upcoming ABC “reality show” Thin Ice was reportedly hoping to firm up its cast after the Olympics were over… and the one they’ve snagged is Stephane Lambiel. Go here to find out more about this 2-episode program that’s scheduled to hit the air 2 weeks from Friday (and see for yourself how ABC included a mention of Lambiel in the cast without a mention of his world titles or 2006 Olympic Silver Medal. Niiice.)
Hmmm, is it a slap in the face if OGM Lysacek preferred a dancing show to this one as his vehicle? That’s one random thought on this whole thing. Here’s another: I wonder how many skaters in the Thin Ice cast are on board because they said “Well… if you get through the Olympics and you can’t pull in anyone else…”
Just kidding. I admit the whole thing sounds decidedly cheesy, but it’s been so long since pro skating turned up on prime time TV… I hope it goes well!
And ooh, late-breaking PLATINUM MEDAL NEWS (that one’s for Plushy, heh heh): according to a Domnina/Shabalin “tweet” from a little earlier this evening… (which was actually a link to a message on their website):
Unfortunately we will not be participating in the 2010 World Championships in Turin: it is now time for us to rest, and take care of our health. But this is not a goodbye! Please keep checking the website for reports, and for updates on our future plans.
Yours, Oksana and Maxim
Not shocking, but there you go. So who’s getting bronze at Worlds this time? The Italians? Early guesses, anyone?
OK, now back to the faux commentary on some of our unseen Olympians…
KIIRA KORPI, FINLAND (skating to Crooked Room and Passenger to Copenhagen in navy cap sleeves & scoop back, studded with rhinestones and edged on sleeves in crimson and black skirt—kind of understated, but for cap sleeves I really liked it)
3lutz/2toe… steps into 3salchow, straight (no hop) into 2axel… 3flip… then flying combo spin… then 3loop that’s OK, but doesn’t hold the landing for very long… Spirals, level 4…triple loop that was supposed to be in combination was popped, but 5 seconds later she turned her next jump (2axel) into the combo 2axel/2toe/2loop…flying sit level 4…straight line steps level 3…another 2axel…change foot combo spin level 4.
In looking at her scores, it’s interesting in how average they are compared to how satisfied she seems (which is to say VERY). Just a couple of negative GOEs of less than a point (one on the popped loop)… and only one notable positive GOE (a +1 on her spirals)… the moral being, I guess, look what decent scores you can pull off if you just do your jumps…?
I’ve been fond of that music for a while now—pretty snappy. Raise your hand if you think this is the kind of music Rachael Flatt should use in her FS (as opposed to classical)…
SCORES: 108.61/161.57 TOTAL. FINISHED 11th.
LAURA LEPISTO, FINLAND (skating to Adios Nonino and Fuga Y Misteri, in bright red sleeveless with silver sparkles)
Looks very confident when she starts (when she finally gets to her starting position), like she’s about to kick some Finnish tango muzak ass… if that’s possible. But then what happens… false start on the music? She gives someone a little cue that looks like “rewind”…They re-introduce her. Sounds like maybe the music was just a little miscued past the first several seconds… but good for her for being cool about it and asking for a re-start; some might have decided on the spot to just go with it and then been off-balance the rest of the program. 3toe/3toe to start, and good for her because I’ve never seen her go 3/3 on that before. 3lutz is next, not stellar but good enough (it’s the only thing she got a slight negative GOE on)… 3loop/2toe, into flying spin level 4 with good speed… shortly after that is a level 4 layback, but it’s the kind of layback that doesn’t have good roots (not much arch and a leg position Dick Button would ridicule in a heartbeat)… double axel very nice… triple loop in the “slow-er” section (this music doesn’t seem to have the traditional tempo changes until it pumps up a little at the end)…level 4 spirals that look OK, not remarkable extension though… into 2axel… next is supposed to be 3sal/2toe/2loop but she doubles the salchow. Still does the whole combo, but seems a little behind the music when it’s over because she plunged right back into choreography… oh, I see, this is her circular FW (level 3) she’s into already… change foot combo spin level 4 at end… and, she’s done.
SCORES: 126.61, and she and her coach are floored (no doubt; this ended up being scored the fourth-best free skate of the night). 187.97 TOTAL. FINISHED 6th.
KSENIA MAKAROVA, RUSSIA (skating to 13th Warrior by J. Goldsmith; wearing blue longsleeves with nude mesh on one arm and a gold/blue/pink(?) sprig-like thing on the front… this kind of looks like it might have been in Kostner’s closet first. Oh, and looks like her buddy Johnny Weir has given her a neon orange tassle to hang at the waist…)
3toe/3toe landed, not particularly well… 3flip looked a little bit wide on the free leg but landed… 2axel good…3loop with the multiple 3’s setup Slutskaya used… good… 2axel… level 4 layback spin that looks infinitely better than Lepisto’s… level 4 spirals…3salchow/2toe/2loop… 3 salchow/2toe… flying spin that completely got away from her; too bad (she put both hands down on it) in the end it was given a level 2… straight line steps level 3… stars to change foot combo spin level 4 (no one ends with anything else anymore, do they?)…
Ah, no wonder Johnny Weir tweets about her…Galina and Petrenko are on either side of her. SCORES: 112.69/ 171.91 TOTAL. FINISHED 10th.
Since you’re less likely to know this last skater (who beat out Alena Leonova for the title at Russian Nationals), here she is in the Clip of the Day .
(So hot, you see, that I must post at least a little about very recent developments before I continue with my breakdown of the rest of the top 15 Olympic ladies… no dull moments these days!)
GOLD MEDAL NEWS: Evan has decided to follow in the shuffling footsteps of fellow skating gold medalists Kristi Yamaguchi and Apollo Ono… and join the latest cast of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. (Let the “he’s a ringer!!” commentary begin…)
Here’s the TVGUIDE.com article that announces the cast; one of many articles out there today… but the question is how many will, like this one, have reader comments that will automatically lapse into calling him “Evan the Figure Skater” because Lysacek seems too hard to figure out? I think we should all call him Evan The Figure Skater for the duration of his time on this show, which could be until… May? Depends of course on how well he does. With Kristi and Apollo having both won their respective seasons, what sort of pressure will poor ETFS be to capture that little disco ball trophy??
We’ll surely be discussing this more in the days/weeks to come, including some of his dancing peers (Kate Gosselin? Really? Talk about someone I’d like to see leave early…)
And no, I’ve no clue how he’ll work this with his SOI headliner commitments. But keep in mind that this is a show that has literally brought the rehearsal TO the dancer, in the past, when they’ve had to spend a few days away…
SILVER MEDAL NEWS: Lysacek is also slated to read the Top Ten list tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman. I saw a sneak preview; it's awesome as expected... the only thing I'm going to tell you is that Guitar Hero gets a mention. Heh.
BRONZE MEDAL NEWS: Not to be outdone with that DWTS news (but, um, sorry, they WERE outdone big time), the upcoming ABC “reality show” Thin Ice was reportedly hoping to firm up its cast after the Olympics were over… and the one they’ve snagged is Stephane Lambiel. Go here to find out more about this 2-episode program that’s scheduled to hit the air 2 weeks from Friday (and see for yourself how ABC included a mention of Lambiel in the cast without a mention of his world titles or 2006 Olympic Silver Medal. Niiice.)
Hmmm, is it a slap in the face if OGM Lysacek preferred a dancing show to this one as his vehicle? That’s one random thought on this whole thing. Here’s another: I wonder how many skaters in the Thin Ice cast are on board because they said “Well… if you get through the Olympics and you can’t pull in anyone else…”
Just kidding. I admit the whole thing sounds decidedly cheesy, but it’s been so long since pro skating turned up on prime time TV… I hope it goes well!
And ooh, late-breaking PLATINUM MEDAL NEWS (that one’s for Plushy, heh heh): according to a Domnina/Shabalin “tweet” from a little earlier this evening… (which was actually a link to a message on their website):
Unfortunately we will not be participating in the 2010 World Championships in Turin: it is now time for us to rest, and take care of our health. But this is not a goodbye! Please keep checking the website for reports, and for updates on our future plans.
Yours, Oksana and Maxim
Not shocking, but there you go. So who’s getting bronze at Worlds this time? The Italians? Early guesses, anyone?
OK, now back to the faux commentary on some of our unseen Olympians…
KIIRA KORPI, FINLAND (skating to Crooked Room and Passenger to Copenhagen in navy cap sleeves & scoop back, studded with rhinestones and edged on sleeves in crimson and black skirt—kind of understated, but for cap sleeves I really liked it)
3lutz/2toe… steps into 3salchow, straight (no hop) into 2axel… 3flip… then flying combo spin… then 3loop that’s OK, but doesn’t hold the landing for very long… Spirals, level 4…triple loop that was supposed to be in combination was popped, but 5 seconds later she turned her next jump (2axel) into the combo 2axel/2toe/2loop…flying sit level 4…straight line steps level 3…another 2axel…change foot combo spin level 4.
In looking at her scores, it’s interesting in how average they are compared to how satisfied she seems (which is to say VERY). Just a couple of negative GOEs of less than a point (one on the popped loop)… and only one notable positive GOE (a +1 on her spirals)… the moral being, I guess, look what decent scores you can pull off if you just do your jumps…?
I’ve been fond of that music for a while now—pretty snappy. Raise your hand if you think this is the kind of music Rachael Flatt should use in her FS (as opposed to classical)…
SCORES: 108.61/161.57 TOTAL. FINISHED 11th.
LAURA LEPISTO, FINLAND (skating to Adios Nonino and Fuga Y Misteri, in bright red sleeveless with silver sparkles)
Looks very confident when she starts (when she finally gets to her starting position), like she’s about to kick some Finnish tango muzak ass… if that’s possible. But then what happens… false start on the music? She gives someone a little cue that looks like “rewind”…They re-introduce her. Sounds like maybe the music was just a little miscued past the first several seconds… but good for her for being cool about it and asking for a re-start; some might have decided on the spot to just go with it and then been off-balance the rest of the program. 3toe/3toe to start, and good for her because I’ve never seen her go 3/3 on that before. 3lutz is next, not stellar but good enough (it’s the only thing she got a slight negative GOE on)… 3loop/2toe, into flying spin level 4 with good speed… shortly after that is a level 4 layback, but it’s the kind of layback that doesn’t have good roots (not much arch and a leg position Dick Button would ridicule in a heartbeat)… double axel very nice… triple loop in the “slow-er” section (this music doesn’t seem to have the traditional tempo changes until it pumps up a little at the end)…level 4 spirals that look OK, not remarkable extension though… into 2axel… next is supposed to be 3sal/2toe/2loop but she doubles the salchow. Still does the whole combo, but seems a little behind the music when it’s over because she plunged right back into choreography… oh, I see, this is her circular FW (level 3) she’s into already… change foot combo spin level 4 at end… and, she’s done.
SCORES: 126.61, and she and her coach are floored (no doubt; this ended up being scored the fourth-best free skate of the night). 187.97 TOTAL. FINISHED 6th.
KSENIA MAKAROVA, RUSSIA (skating to 13th Warrior by J. Goldsmith; wearing blue longsleeves with nude mesh on one arm and a gold/blue/pink(?) sprig-like thing on the front… this kind of looks like it might have been in Kostner’s closet first. Oh, and looks like her buddy Johnny Weir has given her a neon orange tassle to hang at the waist…)
3toe/3toe landed, not particularly well… 3flip looked a little bit wide on the free leg but landed… 2axel good…3loop with the multiple 3’s setup Slutskaya used… good… 2axel… level 4 layback spin that looks infinitely better than Lepisto’s… level 4 spirals…3salchow/2toe/2loop… 3 salchow/2toe… flying spin that completely got away from her; too bad (she put both hands down on it) in the end it was given a level 2… straight line steps level 3… stars to change foot combo spin level 4 (no one ends with anything else anymore, do they?)…
Ah, no wonder Johnny Weir tweets about her…Galina and Petrenko are on either side of her. SCORES: 112.69/ 171.91 TOTAL. FINISHED 10th.
Since you’re less likely to know this last skater (who beat out Alena Leonova for the title at Russian Nationals), here she is in the Clip of the Day .
Monday, March 1, 2010
NBC Didn't Call the Penultimate Group in the Olympic Ladies' Final... So I Did it Instead
Aah, so much Olympic stuff still to talk about… must strike while the iron is still relatively warm; we’ve got Junior Worlds starting in about a week and Senior Worlds starting up March 23!
(By the way…if you look at the very bottom of this article at USFS.org you’ll see that Ashley Wagner has withdrawn from Junior Worlds, to be replaced by Novice National champion Kiri Braga. Sounds like a good move on Wagner’s part; I don’t quite understand how they returned her to Junior Worlds last year when she’d been at Senior Worlds the previous year (finishing 16th)… and now they wanted her back at Junior Worlds a third time? Doesn’t it count for anything that she was the only U.S. female to make the GP SENIOR (not Junior) Final this season? (Sigh) Anyway…
Since it’ll probably be a while before Olympic performances start stumbling onto YouTube, I went ahead and downloaded the Silverlight software program so I could see some of the stuff I missed at the NBCOlympics.com website (it’s no biggie to download that, by the way…if you can tolerate and/or mute the screen through even MORE Marriage Ref promos, you’ll be fine).
Consequently, I’ve got the rundown of what we missed with the penultimate group while Nordic Combined had its moment in the sun…three for you now, and three more later (I’m throwing Kiira Korpi in there tomorrow since she had a decent finish, though I think she skated a group earlier).
Here’s who we’ve got today:
ALENA LEONOVA (RUSSIA; skating to cuts from the Chicago soundtrack in the same deep blue, one-gloved outfit she’s had all year):
Started with nice 3toe/3toe… then came a level 4 spiral sequence… triple lutz with a double-3 out…then came a double axel with a double-3 out (somone’s not checking those landings!!!)… a level 3 flying combo spin that came off well… triple loop that looked OK to me, but got a .20 negative GOE…a 3 flip/2axel sequence done nicely… then a flying sit spin that only got a level 2 (I’m guessing she was aiming higher)… Level 3 straight line steps… then a 3salchow/2toe/2loop that she pulled off, but the loop was downgraded (no flow coming out, among other things)… 3 flip with another double-3 out… and a level 4 change-foot combo spin that went well. Leonova goes so bonkers with joy she doesn’t really even hold her end pose for a millisecond—I guess she’s thrilled because she got through it without falling. But with at least 4 points lost in unchecked landings, I’m not sure going bonkers with joy would be my initial reaction.
SCORES: 110.32; 172.46 TOTAL. FINISHED 9th.
AKIKO SUZUKI (JAPAN; skating to cuts from West Side Story in sleeveless red w/black accents; she’s had a few variations on this outfit so I’m not sure if this is new or not):
Nice 3Flip/2toe/2loop to start…then 3toe/ 2axel sequence, also nice…then triple loop (all three of these passes had a +1 GOE, by the way)… then a level 4 change foot combo spin…Level 4 spirals… then a doubled 3flip; one of only two minor mistakes…then 3lutz… then 3loop/2axel sequence, and the crowd really starts to sound excited for her at this point… then a downgraded 3salchow (had a wonky landing, the only mistake that was truly noticeable)…Level 4 flying camel spin… then comes this straight-line FW that I honestly could watch all day… surprised it’s only a level 3, but it’s so effective!... ends with a flying level 4 change foot combo spin, and I think the cheers have been building steadily since the footwork…Suzuki is clearly moved by the crowd’s reaction. It’s a damn shame that her “story” (specifically her battles with anorexia) weren’t able to be shared with the NBC audience—this performance, like Joannie Rochette’s, was inspired and true. SO happy for her.
SCORES: 120.42/181.44 TOTAL. FINISHED 8th.
CAROLINA KOSTNER (ITALY; skating to Bach’s Air on a G String and Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in a blue and flesh-toned dress that makes me miss her “snowflake” outfit from 2006 Torino) :
She looked like she wasn’t feeling well when she took her opening pose. Anyone know? Had a 3flip/2toe/2loop planned to start, but put both hands down on flip so nothing more happened… then 3lutz downgraded, with a fall… already wigged out by this start, her 2axel/3toe became a single ax/2toe…a flying camel spin became a “flying combo spin level 4”… spiral sequence was only a level 2…next was another 3flip; since she messed up her first combo it’s assumed this one will be a combo of some kind…until she falls again. Yikes. Gets up relatively quickly, then heads into a 3Loop, which she just plain sits down on like she’s lost the bones in her legs for a moment. Sigh. This is painful. (By the way that loop was downgraded too.) Somehow she regroups well enough to land a 2axel… then moves on to a 3salchow/2toe that is fine. Flying back sit looked good… then straight line steps that were level 3 (Suzuki had a slightly higher GOE on this)… finally her change foot combo spin; perhaps because she got a bobble of some kind going in the middle this she only got level 2. Rough, rough, rough. At the end she throws her hands over her eyes and stays that way for several seconds, like she’s praying to God it was a nightmare. It wasn’t.
Question: does Christa Fassi now coach her exclusively? I know Kostner moved to Frank Carroll last summer, but does she now work solely with Fassi? Or did he simply keep Fassi with her that night because he needed to focus on Mirai?
SCORE: 88.88, with a tech score of 34.84 (big OUCH). She puts her hands up in the “whaddayah gonna do?” pose. I have some ideas on that, Ms. Kostner…
TOTAL 151.90. FINISHED 16th.
I’ll post details of three more very soon… in the meantime, I guess it’s time to revive the Clip of the Day! This time it’s Kiri Braga (the one replacing Wagner at Jr. Worlds) as she skated in the Junior Grand Prix this past fall.
(By the way…if you look at the very bottom of this article at USFS.org you’ll see that Ashley Wagner has withdrawn from Junior Worlds, to be replaced by Novice National champion Kiri Braga. Sounds like a good move on Wagner’s part; I don’t quite understand how they returned her to Junior Worlds last year when she’d been at Senior Worlds the previous year (finishing 16th)… and now they wanted her back at Junior Worlds a third time? Doesn’t it count for anything that she was the only U.S. female to make the GP SENIOR (not Junior) Final this season? (Sigh) Anyway…
Since it’ll probably be a while before Olympic performances start stumbling onto YouTube, I went ahead and downloaded the Silverlight software program so I could see some of the stuff I missed at the NBCOlympics.com website (it’s no biggie to download that, by the way…if you can tolerate and/or mute the screen through even MORE Marriage Ref promos, you’ll be fine).
Consequently, I’ve got the rundown of what we missed with the penultimate group while Nordic Combined had its moment in the sun…three for you now, and three more later (I’m throwing Kiira Korpi in there tomorrow since she had a decent finish, though I think she skated a group earlier).
Here’s who we’ve got today:
ALENA LEONOVA (RUSSIA; skating to cuts from the Chicago soundtrack in the same deep blue, one-gloved outfit she’s had all year):
Started with nice 3toe/3toe… then came a level 4 spiral sequence… triple lutz with a double-3 out…then came a double axel with a double-3 out (somone’s not checking those landings!!!)… a level 3 flying combo spin that came off well… triple loop that looked OK to me, but got a .20 negative GOE…a 3 flip/2axel sequence done nicely… then a flying sit spin that only got a level 2 (I’m guessing she was aiming higher)… Level 3 straight line steps… then a 3salchow/2toe/2loop that she pulled off, but the loop was downgraded (no flow coming out, among other things)… 3 flip with another double-3 out… and a level 4 change-foot combo spin that went well. Leonova goes so bonkers with joy she doesn’t really even hold her end pose for a millisecond—I guess she’s thrilled because she got through it without falling. But with at least 4 points lost in unchecked landings, I’m not sure going bonkers with joy would be my initial reaction.
SCORES: 110.32; 172.46 TOTAL. FINISHED 9th.
AKIKO SUZUKI (JAPAN; skating to cuts from West Side Story in sleeveless red w/black accents; she’s had a few variations on this outfit so I’m not sure if this is new or not):
Nice 3Flip/2toe/2loop to start…then 3toe/ 2axel sequence, also nice…then triple loop (all three of these passes had a +1 GOE, by the way)… then a level 4 change foot combo spin…Level 4 spirals… then a doubled 3flip; one of only two minor mistakes…then 3lutz… then 3loop/2axel sequence, and the crowd really starts to sound excited for her at this point… then a downgraded 3salchow (had a wonky landing, the only mistake that was truly noticeable)…Level 4 flying camel spin… then comes this straight-line FW that I honestly could watch all day… surprised it’s only a level 3, but it’s so effective!... ends with a flying level 4 change foot combo spin, and I think the cheers have been building steadily since the footwork…Suzuki is clearly moved by the crowd’s reaction. It’s a damn shame that her “story” (specifically her battles with anorexia) weren’t able to be shared with the NBC audience—this performance, like Joannie Rochette’s, was inspired and true. SO happy for her.
SCORES: 120.42/181.44 TOTAL. FINISHED 8th.
CAROLINA KOSTNER (ITALY; skating to Bach’s Air on a G String and Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in a blue and flesh-toned dress that makes me miss her “snowflake” outfit from 2006 Torino) :
She looked like she wasn’t feeling well when she took her opening pose. Anyone know? Had a 3flip/2toe/2loop planned to start, but put both hands down on flip so nothing more happened… then 3lutz downgraded, with a fall… already wigged out by this start, her 2axel/3toe became a single ax/2toe…a flying camel spin became a “flying combo spin level 4”… spiral sequence was only a level 2…next was another 3flip; since she messed up her first combo it’s assumed this one will be a combo of some kind…until she falls again. Yikes. Gets up relatively quickly, then heads into a 3Loop, which she just plain sits down on like she’s lost the bones in her legs for a moment. Sigh. This is painful. (By the way that loop was downgraded too.) Somehow she regroups well enough to land a 2axel… then moves on to a 3salchow/2toe that is fine. Flying back sit looked good… then straight line steps that were level 3 (Suzuki had a slightly higher GOE on this)… finally her change foot combo spin; perhaps because she got a bobble of some kind going in the middle this she only got level 2. Rough, rough, rough. At the end she throws her hands over her eyes and stays that way for several seconds, like she’s praying to God it was a nightmare. It wasn’t.
Question: does Christa Fassi now coach her exclusively? I know Kostner moved to Frank Carroll last summer, but does she now work solely with Fassi? Or did he simply keep Fassi with her that night because he needed to focus on Mirai?
SCORE: 88.88, with a tech score of 34.84 (big OUCH). She puts her hands up in the “whaddayah gonna do?” pose. I have some ideas on that, Ms. Kostner…
TOTAL 151.90. FINISHED 16th.
I’ll post details of three more very soon… in the meantime, I guess it’s time to revive the Clip of the Day! This time it’s Kiri Braga (the one replacing Wagner at Jr. Worlds) as she skated in the Junior Grand Prix this past fall.
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