Yuzuru Hanyu and other figure skating talk part 21

Previous thread

Thank you so much for the new thread! Love the preview comments too.

Paganini is scheduled for Challenge Cup in the Netherlands on 21-24 February

[quote] Will quad doc show the world that you can go to school and be an elite skater?

he is getting his PhD tomorrow. Dissertation on "Genetics of diverse phenotypes in Hirschsprung disease - extension of aganglionosis, heredity and medullary thyroid carcinoma"

R4 We have our fun here with him, but what he's doing is really impressive.

Yep, r5, I guess being a (almost) GP level skater while skating is your hobby and not a career, while having a pretty demanding career, is quite impressive. (But then again it says quite a lot about the state of figure skating in Finland, that you can be the best skater jn the country while skating is just you hobby.)

How many retelling of this scene is Brian going to give to the press. Now Yuzu had tears in his eyes while looking at the Spanish flag and saying he missed Javi.

R7. The next time Brian will say Yuzuru was sobbing when looking at the Spanish flag so I asked him what's wrong? He turned to me and hugged me and said. I just really miss Javi.

r7 It's funny how Orser talks of other people crying about Fernandez, but continues to bring up the skater's laziness when talking about his own relationship with him. We all know he sees Fernandez as his son and has been bawling his eyes out. I also wonder how well Orser can pick up Japanese subtlety after coaching Hanyu all of these years, because I would interpret that comment/move from Hanyu as more than just about Fernandez.

Someone was asking about the study (abstract) on Midori Ito's axel Hanyu had been reading. I've linked to it below. It's from the 35th Japan Society of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences Conference (1984/10/18 - 1984/10/20) and authored by Nobuhiko Yoshioka and Mitsumasa Miyashita from the University of Tokyo's Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education. Since the paper is quite old, there's no English translation available. I'm too tired to go through it right now and probably can't understand the science, but they used some kind of high-speed camera from two different positions and 3D coordinates to analyze Ito's double axel.

Yoshioka, by the way, is an ISU judge who has written about Hanyu and given lectures on Uno. He's also talked about judges being wined and dined, going easy on certain skaters, and how the technical controller can usually see all of the underrotations even if they don't call them.

"An Attempt to Analyze Figure Skating's Double Axel Jump (5. Biomechanics, General Research)":

Oh you're my hero, JDC, as ever. Don't worry about the translation - I wouldn't get it anyway. It's just cool to look at the diagrams and know that Yuzuru was studying the great Midori Ito, a female skater! He also said that one of his aides to learning the 3A was watching Mao Asada - especially as she was so thin/small (it made him feel like if she could do it, maybe he could - something like that.)

R8 Everyone was doing group exercises except Yuzu. I noticed he'd just stopped and was wailing and rending his Under Armor in front of the Spanish flag. I asked him what was wrong, and he ripped his shirt fully in half and cried "I just really miss my formerly lazy training partner Javi who would always come in five minutes late with a coffee but under your tutelage developed into a mature and responsible world champion." I was like, "aww."

LOL R11. One more tidbit from "In the Loop" which might have already been posted:

Kite: So Mishin said RusFed told him to train Liza for Worlds. If she’s healthy I think she’s going to get the second spot.

Tuktamysheva is doing Dragon Trophy & Tivoli Cup next week

Entries

Sophia SCHALLER

Hana CVIJANOVIC

Bethany POWELL

Kristen SPOURS

Anna MEMOLA

Marina PIREDDA

Greta MORKYTEt

Julia SAUTER

Anastasiia GULYAKOVA

Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA

Dasa GRM

Marusa UDRIH

Sinem KUYUCU

R9 [quote]I would interpret that comment/move from Hanyu as more than just about Fernandez.

Okay JDC, you can't leave that little nugget without telling us how you would interpret it. Is he annoyed by the newbies? Does he mean Raya?????

Meanwhile, Med is doing Stars on Ice for Kurt Browning (and Buttle and Bezic). Well, she's probably doing it for the money. I have a hard time believing they're gonna send Med to Worlds instead of Samodurova, Zagitova, and Tuk. But what do I know about the Russian fed? Oh, and isn't there just as much justification to send Konstantinova as Med?

They are not going to replace Samodurova now that she won Euros.

For the poster in the last thread who was wondering when Coughlin's Mother died (because there were so many mentions and photos of her in his Instagram) --she died in February of 2010. I wonder if he had also been battling depression and/or other mental health issues.

I think they should educate all FS coaches on how to respond to potential victims and have a mandatory reporting structure for those who come forward, like they do in colleges. Coughlin’s ex coach is a prime example of why this is needed.

You gotta feel bad for coach Delilah and those who were friends with John Coughlin. I still want to know what the allegations were though. His suicide makes me think he was guilty of the accusations.

As for Javi, he got lucky that Kolyada and others imploded. I've never gotten into his skating and didn't like his hokey Chaplin and exhibition routines.

R10 No problem. They used two Photo-Sonics 16mm-1P cameras. Diagram 1 shows the camera positions and 3D coordinate calculations. Diagram 2 is the change in position of the body’s center of gravity. Diagram 3 is the change in position of the shoulders. The duration of Ito’s jump (who was 14 at the time) was 0.68 seconds, with a distance of 2.94m, height of 0.82m, elevation angle of 31 degrees, and rotational speed of 5.2m per second at take-off. Yoshioka analyzed her axel again 10 years later, although I think that was for the 3A.

R14 I think he’s implying he misses how things used to be before all of the chaos and changes over the summer (people leaving or joining, meltdowns, Boyang drama, Eteri vs. Orser vs. Russian media drama, Orser stressing out).

R19 Wasn't the coach threatening and trying to expose the accusers including minors?

I have some good news (or bad news if you live in Hokkaido). The Liberal Democratic Party has suddenly stopped backing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism’s Hokkaido bureau chief Akihiro Izumi for governor of Hokkaido. Two nights ago, at a meeting between Hokkaido assembly and Diet members, Hashimoto reportedly announced she was considering running for governor. If Hashimoto wins, she will have to step down from the JSF and give up running for Tokyo mayor in 2020. But I don’t know what would stop Hashimoto’s opposition from just reprinting those Sochi photos. Besides Izumi, her other competition so far is current mayor of Yubari, Naomichi Suzuki, who’s backed by the Komeito (AKA Soka Gakkai party) and some LDP members. By the way, Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital, is one of the cities in the 2030 Winter Olympics race.

R20 Isn't Hashimoto in line to be JOC president as well? Will she have to give that up if she runs for governor? Thus far, she's been in mostly appointed positions or positions within JSF, is that right? No one in those circles seems to care about the Dai/Sochi thing. Do you think it will play differently with the general public?

Soka Gakkai is the cult that people suspect Murakami of belonging to. Does it still look like she's a member?

Someone subbed the entire NHK documentary (not just the Javi parts). Here are the links.

R21 She’s one of the possible successors for JOC president, but I think she’d have to give up the JOC and JSF if she becomes governor. She might be more interested in the 2030 Olympics now and believes that if she wins, she could be reelected governor until the games occur or become JOC president by then and have both titles on her CV.

All the general public thinks about when they see her is the Sochi-Takahashi scandal and it should’ve ended her career. But it’s just been reported that Izumi backed out of the election on Thursday, the same day Hashimoto announced her possible candidacy to party members. If Hashimoto does decide to run, it could cause a split election with Suzuki (who’s not a Hokkaido-native) since Suzuki is also backed by LDP members and Komeito is a coalition party. The opposition party candidate is starting to look like a former Diet member who also had a huge financial scandal involving a much-hated politician, so Hashimoto does stand a chance of winning. Arakawa could replace her as JSF president, but most skating fans don’t want Arakawa because she’s represented by USM. The election is in April around WTT.

There’s no way to tell if Murakami is still in Soka Gakkai if she really joined. She might not be a particularly strong believer and only joined for job connections, but she’s gotten a lot of work lately (to the point where people find it strange) and she’s just started acting, so it wouldn’t be in her favor to leave right now.

R11 Days later, Javi posts a photo with his girlfriend that leads to his Instagram account getting suspended.

Is Dalilah Sappenfield Hispanic? She's often posting stuff in Spanish. Was she ever a top skater or pair skater herself. Anyone demanding to expose the accusers, especially the ones who are minors, is a callous fool. Obviously just because someone is nice and seems normal doesn't mean that they can't be also guilty of sexual assault or inappropriate behavior.

How are the sales of Takahito Mura's skating photo book? It's amazing how a national bronze skating medalist can be like a celebrity. They should have chosen a more flattering picture of him for the front cover. Anyway it's like having someone like Ross Miner hosting shows and getting invited to red carpet events. Mao Asada seems to still have a thriving career with her shows and publicity too.

But what about the Reeds. What is Chris Reed going to do with himself as a 30 something year old ice dancer without a partner. Maybe he should pair up with the other little sister who is still skating around for another country.

R24 I don't know if she was a skater but certainly she wasn't a skater of any relevance.

R22 I can't think of a better candidate than Arakawa. Why would skating fans not want her in that position? Is it out of fear she'd politic for Uno, beause of the USM connection?

R20 thanks for answering my question.

Standings after Ladies SP at Rus Jr. Nats. Trusova fell and is in 7th.

Did Pogosplat officially announce her retirement and I missed it? In any case, she's now going to coach.

Standings after Men's SP. In first is the 13 year old coached by Eteri.

Second is "Peter Hummenik" on that chart and I thought his name was Petr Gummenik. Maybe something to do with translating from the Russian to the English alphabet?

And I've heard of Savosin and he's way down in 7th. I can't remember his skating though - but I do remember Peter's and I thought he was great. Will the Russian men finally rise again?

Thanks for all the updates and the poliltical info about JOC etc. This thread is great!

R27 it's genuinely shocking to see Trusova in 7th!

Rumour has it that Trusova injured herself last week. But Eteri being Eteri still sent her to compete, of course.

R31 Sprained ankle, apparently, according to her doctor. My source is Twitter, so them's the facts.

I really like this crop of junior Russian boys. But little Daniil Samsonov is not very modest, is he?

[quote]- You are younger than many of your competitors that you beat today. Young age - not a barrier to success?- No, we're all in the same category competing. Age is not important here. I am just ahead of my peers, but it’s not my fault that I m stronger than older guys, ”said the 13-year-old skater.

I thought Plushenko might show up to support his student for once, now that he doesn't have the excuse of a show...but no. What kind of coach never goes to ANY competitions with his skaters? And if he isn't really coaching Tarakanova or the others, why should he get any of the credit?

[quote]As for Javi, he got lucky that Kolyada and others imploded.

It's not really "luck" when Kolyada implodes every single time, is it? He's the one who got lucky that time in China when Javi came down with food poisoning...the only way Kolyada could ever beat him.

r33 It'd be kinda cool if he actually managed to break through in the future, we need someone arrogant who wins to hate on. Gogo just seems to shy.

r34 I'm with you about the luck. Is it luck when you take a look at competition and go, "hmmm, with their track record, what do I need to beat them? 2 old programs and 3 weeks of training?" As it turns out, he calculated correctly.

FS is a combination of ability and mental strength. These skaters have all run CLEAN programs in practice. If they screw up, thats the same as being an inferior skater AT THAT MOMENT both skills wise and mentally. So in that sense no one has wins handed to them, it rightfully earned.

One exception- crooked judges.

The documentary from R21 is a good watch and not just a rehash like a lot of Hanyu docs. Just finished it. Lots of insight on Hanyu, especially from Button, the guy who knows him the least but probably understands him the best.

Why would he understand him the best? Just curious.

R38, just curious -did u watch the documentary

R24 Mura's book is a photobook, something that only hardcore fans would buy, so it's not a big seller though I don't think his team was expecting it to be. Almost all of his TV and event appearances are skating-related, so he's not that recognizable to the general public, unlike Oda and Murakami. But he's been doing a lot of small fan and promotional events, and even picked up some of Kozuka's work. He's commentating 4CC for Fuji.

R26 Uno is part of it, but it's more USM in general. The over-promotion or special treatment of their athletes, their connections to Dentsu and Fuji, who don't treat other skaters very well, etc. The agency began with Arakawa, so some people believe everything that USM does is with Arakawa's approval.

Ge mysteriously deleted his Rostelecom photo of Hanyu. I haven't hear of any drama lately.

Plushenko said Tarakanova might be jumping the 4Lz and 4T by next season, though it's Plushenko talking. He also said he's scaling back shows to focus more on coaching, though he'll still be doing the ice shows in Japan over the summer.

Kozuka Blades is facing some new competition. The “Tsubame City Figure Skating Blades” made their official debut on Thursday at the 74th National Winter Sports Festival in Hokkaido. Development began in 2017 in cooperation with the Niigata Skating Federation, Niigata Sanjo Techno School, the Industrial Research Institute of Niigata Prefecture Technology Support Center, and the Tsubame Sanjo Regional Industries Promotion Center. ISU technical specialist (and apparently one of Uno’s coaches according to TV news?) Makoto Okazaki tested the first prototype in 2018. The Niigata Prefecture Tsubame-Sanjo region is famed for their high-quality metalwork and a different manufacturer is involved in each process of making the blades.

R22 R40 Thanks for answering my questions and for all the info. I've wondered about Arakawa and what's she's like behind the scenes. I think you said people thought she might have leaked the Hashimoto pictures. Sounds like she's definitely up to the job of JSF pres.

R40 Ge has a picture of him and Hanyu in his new coach/fan account with the hashtag #closestfriend. I don't have anything against Ge, but he seems too old for all the sns dramatics.

Ge has another account where? Why does he need one? #closestfriend? Good grief...

R43 It's this one.

Maybe this is part of his campaign to be an ISU official.

I should send them a screengrab of that Weibo post where he's cyberbullyiing Yuzuru with the picture of him and Med hugging and Yuzuru looking over angrily. Misha has Yuzu saying "Your faces are too close, take you hand down!"

I'll try to link it but may not be able to. (just trying to do my part to help Misha get this gig - he's obviously a great friend of Yuzu's.

oh that didn't work. First post under the tumblr account yourcajunlady

Ah, I think I figured it out. Sorry to be a pest - just think this should be saved for posterity.

Daniil Samsonov, 13, won Russian Junior Nats with 249.33. He did a 4Lz with a stepout and 2 3As. He's a lot more interesting than Gogolev, in my opinion.

He already has the eteri flutz

any livestreams or rabbit rooms for Russian junior nationals? Nothing up on the figure skating tumblr or Planet Hanyu.

Live stream is on Youtube.

TSL Feb 2 Part 1. US Nats. Guest Scott Dyer. His first year not competing in US Nats. S thought Alysa LIU’s 3As were great – better than some of her other jumps which he thought were a little dicey. He liked how she knew how to get in her air position very quickly. S thought she used legs more than Russians. D thought she looked slower. S: Mariah was zooming down the ice; you cd really tell the difference. J was there in person – Liu was slower and didn’t fill ice but audience really wanted her to succeed. D: Her father previously had a partner/then egg-donor surrogate story. 10 About her jump technique. Her coach Laura’s first main student – she worked with Frank Carroll before Nats. They asked him to go but he thought Laura shd have her moment/she raised her forever. Her Dad brought in Tom Dickson for skating skills and Frank for jumps. 14 She has been trying quad Lutz and eyeing the Russians. Lori Nichol program next year? Scott wd think it’d be great. 15.45 BRADIE. S loved her short. She was “out of her knees” in the FS. S thinks her trip was shocking and she panicked. Being defending champ and "can she beat Alysa": put pressure on her. But S thinks super-improved from last yr. He wanted things to be simpler, like make her dresses more sophisticated.

TSL Feb 2 Part 2. D: Benoit gets non-lyrical skaters to emphasize weirdness but is this working? D didn’t like Bradie’s dresses either & (D&S): progs too busy. 20 Some uncomfortable moves in choreo. 3Lz-3Lo: D says she shd take it out. J: But internationally does she need it? D: Zag having trouble w/same combo so D says take it out. 23 D thinks it’s positive she was upset when she didn’t do well – will motivate her. S: yes & she may come out swinging in 4CC. D: They need Bradie to keep 3 spots. 26 MARIAH: S Bummer she fell on Lutz – she wd have been champ if she hadn’t fallen. Beautiful landings/entrances. 3Lz3T – they were generous to her. Great speed/She always seems to have 1 little hickup. D thinks she needs more aggression. S: yeah, shd be grittier. So much more refined and sophisticated than a year ago and than others in field. J said in person she’s much more impressive. 29.20 TING: D: Lot of potential. S: All or nothing kind of girl. J: out of body experience during her FS (in person), extension for days, he’s excited she’s at 4CC. S: Arms beautiful, listens to music. She’s worked w/Raf in past, maybe in future? She’s in prog with Tammy/Tom and D thinks she has best potential 32 D: beautiful movement quality. S: use those long arms/long legs – D: send her to Lori! Get the Kostner knockoff programs/dresses/etc.

TSL Feb 2 Part 3. 33 GRACIE: D what do you think of the Instagram stuff? (her coach’s posting) D thinks it’s exploitative. S when he saw the videos and coach’s comments, S thought coach was setting it up to say we’re not competing but we're in it for long haul. S hopes it’s HER idea. S thought NYT article felt honest; he hopes it was. D recommends she write a memoir/ppl are rooting for her. He just finds Vincent’s comments troubling. S hopes her team are being honest w/her. D Ting goes back and does club shows – hopefully Gracie will. 38 J liked Hannah Harrell – delightful FS. S Younger female skaters know triple triples are important – looking at tough int’l comp – he’s encouraged. D thinks jrs need a lot of work and coaching is problematic. The girls from Dallas do jumps but need to emphasize SS. 41 STARR: D: SS not there, technique iffy. Amber Glenn great short/has potential but something holding her back. 42.30 S: Japanese skaters have a real understanding of where they are on the blade; but SS have been sorta forgotten in USA. Mentioned Med talking about how hard it is to get around the rink; Zag’s labored Lutz entry.

TSL Feb 2 Part 4. 45.50 MEN. So many men stuck but NATHAN in a league of his own. S: Security on landings great; calmness; shockingly good. He loved JASON’s short – so much improvement, also security on landings like 3A. S heard Jason is landing some quad sals but he hates Jason’s long. 48 VINCENT D doesn’t agree w/Tom – D thnks Zhou’s jumps are Urs. S thought FS was dicey. 4Lz: he almost landed forward on his toe; 4F better; but the judges called 4Lz ok, 4F bad. So how can Zhou ever trust the judges? Is this messing w/his mind? D struggles with Zhou’s artistry – Mie Hamada is working w/him. D thinks he may have maxed out – J thinks he was faster last yr. 52 D/S hate Jason’s shirt for FS. D: But Jason looks more trained/confident & he connects w/Tracy really well. J: To see Tracy call him over during his rough practice was so cool – so supportive. Better landings, more height, more speed. S: Added difficult entry to 3A so good to see. S/D thought major improvements. 54.30 TOMOKI looking better. Huge step forward. S: He’s fully invested, 100%. Hates his camel position though. Needs flexibility work. Great jumps. A big moment for him. J hopes 4CC goes well for him. 57 D thinks the Colorado boys are having too much bromance fun – Camden, Torgashev etc. - like it’s more of a social thing. They need to step up. Like Jimmy Ma.

TSL Feb 2 Part 5. 58.20 Nathan vs Yuzuru. Dave asks what S thinks? Mention of Weir’s controversial comment. S thinks Nathan cd beat Yuzu but doesn’t have the same presence Hanyu can bring to a performance – S: Hanyu has a little sloppiness to some of his movements and w/injuries there cd be a window of opportunity for Chen to win. J: will come down to the day. D: Nathan looked a lot better since the autumn, when his technique was getting dicey – jumps were so crisp here. S thinks it’s good for Nathan’s body to go back to college for a break and skip 4CCs. 1.01 Showdown at Worlds between Hanyu/Chen will be epic. They’re coming for each other. J: Which is amazing that we have two marvelous talents. D Tho Yuzu has more presence, Nathan has grown leaps and bounds in two yrs. 1.02 PAIRS: Deanna Stallano? Laughter/what do you think of her intensity? S: Everyone was too intense. They kept ramping up too much which caused mistakes. She was upset about missing a level?? Deanna was so ticked when partner acted like everything’s cool. D: She thought they’d get screwed over and then it happened and she was “I knew it! I predicted it!” Then she gave the press conference of all time. D loves it!... [I'm taking a break - got to 1hr6min - does anybody even want pairs/ice dance?] -- sorry to interrupt the Russian jr nats convo.

R44. Are you sure that's him? I followed the account and it followed back. lol.

R42 I doubt it was her. Apparently she's friends with Daisuke and it was a precarious situation for him too, because he had to issue a statement wether he thought Hashimoto abused her power. Had he accused her of sexual harassment without that leading to her suspension or her own resignation, the choice of wether to continue or end his competitive career would have been taken out of his hands. And Arakawa couldn't know for sure that he'd retire shortly after even if he told her of his intention in advance. There was an ever so slight possibility he would've gone back on that decision. His comeback would've been out of the question under those circumstances too. Not to mention Arakawa would've risked her own career within the JSF with a stunt like that.

Besides, Takahashi is also managed by USM. He has been with Arakawa's "Friends on ice" as a key performer since the first show in 2006 and took over the lead in 2014 when Arakawa couldn't perform due to her pregnancy. His participation generates PR and a lot of revenue (tickets + merchandise). It would have been a very unwise move on Arakawa's part to compromise their good relationship.

R40 Thank you for the explanation. Is everyone, who isn't managed by USM treated unfavourably by Fuji/Dentsu? In which ways? Does that include Hanyu? Not saying that's bogus, I'm just genuinely curious why Arakawa would play dirty against persons, who are instrumental in furthering her career (what with the PR around her supporting upcoming talent, saving the Sendai ice rink and the only two japanese OGMs in figure skating being from the same city etc.) That is, if she's really that deeply involved in USM's politics. Which pieces of the puzzle am I missing?

Btw Takahashi is not appearing as a special judge on "Super Japan Cup" due to "personal reasons". USM expressed dismay at how his participation was announced through various "Dance View" communication channels without awaiting his response if he's interested in the gig.

Thanks R51, Russian Junior Girls are on now.

Anyone know why skaters like Trusova are allowed to compete at nationals at the junior and senior level? In the US, Alyssa Liu had to choose between the levels.

R57 Someone here posted that it might be his new account so I went with it, but I'm not sure.

That is obviously a fan account ...

And Misha is his own #1 fan! Now that I look at it closely, I think it's a fan account too. Or Misha trying to sound like a fan.

Results of Russian Junior Nats

R61 Now that I think of it, who would be a fan of Misha's coaching except Misha himself. Some of the tags sound an awful lot like him - #sensei #choreographer #coach.

R63 I have the same question. If it is not Misha Ge himself, who would be a fan of COACH Misha ? Kazuki Tomono ?

If only you knew how many fans Misha actually has on Instagram and Twitter .. It's puzzling, really. They hail him as the best artist of figure skating. Of all times.

Ge has 111,000 followers on Instagram

For comparison some of the skaters higher than him

Rippon 887k

Medvedeva 707

Zagitova 524

Yuna Kim 517

Honda 393

She-Shib 389

Virtue 367

He-Shib 337

Gracie Gold 304

Chen 300

Fernandez 254

Wagner 210

Nagasu 196

Moir 195

Brown 125

Chan 121

Kostner 119 ....

maybe a few others but generally I can't find many more over 100k

For instance Vincent 42k

Kolyada will do the Tallink Hotels Cup 2019 at the end of February

Entries

Yakau ZENKO

Daniel-Albert NAURITS

Aleksanr SELEVKO

Samuel MCALLISTER

Mikhail KOLYADA

I guess he can't lose this one!

You never know R67.

R50 I was joking when I asked if the Misha Coach Fan account was actually his, but whoever runs the account speaks Russian.

R66 But how many of Ge’s followers are just hoping to see photos of Hanyu, Medvedeva, Tomono, and other skaters?

R67 I think you’ve just jinxed him.

On his official IG, Ge also deleted the post about how he helped Hanyu through the injury and dark times until the second OGM. His photos with just him and Medvedeva at FaOI, and of the signed sneaker, are also gone. Supposedly, some (but not all) of his other photos with Hanyu and Medvedeva have been removed, as well as photos of his John Wilson blades and some other Japanese skaters (it wasn’t specified which skaters). Maybe he’s cleaning up his account for the Athletes Commission?

This misha account must be a fan account. Well it's following me now so I might as well suck it up. 😱

R70 ask them something in Mandarin and if they respond that's another clue! What other languages does Misha speak? Lmao we are all bored this Sunday afternoon.

Sorry if this has been posted already, but who's running against Misha for Athletes Commission?

R71

Single and Pairs

Misha Ge

Eric Redford

Ice Dance

Yuri Hulitski (elected unopposed)

Eric Radford could teach Misha a thing or two about getting votes. Will we soon see bulge shots on Misha's instagram? Sorry to make you all vomit.

One of these days, I have to sit down and download (and watch) that latest Hanyu documentary before it gets taken down. Not really interested in once again other skaters giving their latest psychology analysis on Hanyu, but I'm up for seeing which anti-comments gots exposed. I hope they picked good ones.

All the discussions about factions and alliances in JSF makes me wonder how Hanyu even made it to the top in Japan. I thought Arakawa was untouchable. So is Nobu the only retired skater from the Golden Era of Team Japan who is the real sweetheart to all the skaters?

If Shoma gets a silver at 4CC, he is cursed,

LOL R74, so true.

Some of Fuji’s treatment of Hanyu has been covered here and we already talked about their treatment of the men during nationals, but their poor treatment of Mao is actually more known outside the skating community, and even sparked protests and conspiracy theories about who controls the channel. (It also probably contributed to some of the ugly nationalism around Mao.) Fuji often talked her down and would use the strangest photos (jump faces, awkward moments) of her alongside normal photos of Yuna. They even made a cutout of one of her falls that they displayed in front of her when she was a guest on one of their shows, while showing the same exact photo of the fall beside her on a big screen (see link). There was a comedian on Fuji who’d imitate the weird faces she made during jumps, who also did his act on Korean television.

USM also has connections to certain publishers and tabloids, which I think I mentioned before but will talk about some other time. One of the tabloids is supposedly publishing an interview with Takahashi soon.

Hashimoto is a member of the Japan Ballroom Dance Federation and there were many whispers when it was leaked that Takahashi and Arakawa would be judging Super Japan Cup. Arakawa still appears to be judging.

R72 If Radford doesn’t win, there won’t be anyone from North America on the Athletes Commission and Yang Zhou (short track) will be the only non-European.

From a different Fuji show. Here are the photos they chose to show the evolution of her 3A:

R76 What assholes. That was the fall on her second triple axel, where some jerk yelled something like "fall" just as she was setting up the jump. You can hear him clearly in the videos. And it's not just the fall, it's the reminder of a disappointing worlds for her where she finished off podium after winning the year before. Arakawa should thank her lucky stars Mao was ineligible to compete in Turin.

But nevermind Mao, has our second favorite famewhore sibling taken herself off the market yet?

Japanese pair withdraw from 4CCs. During the weekend Aussie and North Korean pairs also withdrew.

It is down to only 8 pairs (3 USA, 3 Canada, 2 China).

Damn, I'm glad I didn't buy 4CC tickets even though it's fairly close to me. Pretty crappy lineup and the cost of the tickets was absurd.

At least one of the American teams is sure to medal in that field! haha.

R81 They are Americans...they can always lose to both Chinese pairs and Moore Towers/Marinaro.

By Season Bests:

Cheng PENG / Yang JIN 216.90

Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO 200.93

Tarah KAYNE / Danny O'SHEA 191.43

Ashley CAIN / Timothy LEDUC 181.56

Evelyn WALSH / Trennt MICHAUD 172.53

Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER 170.22

Camille RUEST / Andrew WOLFE 164.10

SUI/HAN with no international competitions this season but if in shape they will walk over all those pairs

Spanish team for Worlds:

Valentina Manos;

Laura Barquero & Aritz Maestu;

Sara Hurtado & Kirill Jalyavin.

Javier Raya will attempt to get the minimum required at Challenge Cup. But I doubt he can get it given his latest outings.

[R83] But Raya was at Milano Worlds, and tech. minimum from the prevoius season is valid, i think?

R84 yes, but to go to Milan he used the scores of 2016-17

36 in SP and 66 FS are needed for 2017-18 scores and he has 36.53 and 56.04. SO he is ok for SP but not for the FS. He needs to score 64 with the new scoring system. His best this season is 45.05

That's sad that without Fernandez no man in Spain can even get the tech minimums.

Who funds Raya’s training and living expenses?

R78 This interview was after Worlds 2008, which makes the treatment even stranger. Instead of celebrating her first Worlds win, they focused on her mistakes. The cut out is of the slip and fall into the 3A at the beginning of her Fantaisie Impromptu FS.

Mai and Taka’s engagement is expected to be announced anytime now, but there’s speculation Mai’s pregnant. Not only did she suddenly retire from skating in the middle of Mao’s tour, she also abruptly quit her sportscaster job to spend more time on her "private life.” Curiously, she deleted her IG and twitter accounts a couple of weeks ago.

Kihira, Zagitova, and Masaru were on TV Asahi’s “Mi ni naru toshokan.” Takeshi Honda was also on the show to talk about the differences between Japanese and Russian (Eteri) jump technique, and why he thinks Trusova can do quads but not the 3A. The Japanese staff visited Zagitova’s home and Sambo, and asked her if Eteri is trying to imitate Julia Roberts (in Pretty Woman.)

Zagitova’s part (haven’t found a full video of the show):

Bump - and upcoming schedule/very partial list of skaters assigned:

Feb 4-10 Four Continents in Anaheim, California. (Bell, Cui, Tennell - Brown, Hiwatashi, Zhou - Uno, Tanaka, Tomono - Sakamoto, Kihira, Mihara - Nam, Keegan, Nadeau - Chartrand, Mallet, Austman)

Feb 18-22 Cup of Russia (Med and Konstantinova for sure – maybe Tuk – to decide Worlds?)

March 4-10 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. (Tatsuya Tsuboi, Koshiro Shimada [Subs: Yuma Kagiyama, Shun Sato] - Yuhana Yokoi, Tomoe Kawabata, Yuna Shiraiwa-but needs Jr. minimums [subs: Nana Araki, Wakana Naganawa, Yuna Aoki])

March 4-9 Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. (Konstantinova, Tuk [Med's a sub] - Kovtun, Samarin, Lazukin [Aliev's a sub] - Tomono, Shu Nakamura, Hiroaki Sato - Mai Mihara, Hina Takeno)

March 18-24 Worlds in Saitama City, Japan.

April 11-14 World Team Trophy in Fukuoka, Japan.

Feb 4-10

Bavarian Open

The Nordics

Sofia Trophy

Dragon Trophy & Tivoli Cup

15-17 Feb

Jegvirag Cup

20-24

Challenge Cup

Ice Mall Cup

TallinK Hotels Cup

25-03

Cup of Tyrol

15-17 March

Coupe du Printemps

28-31

Egna Spring Trophy

8-14 April

Triglav Trophy & Narcisa Cup

Skate Victoria

Oh to be in Egna in the Spring!

Thanks for cornucopia of upcoming skating delights! I'll be looking for Dr Valtter!

Dr Valtter PhD is doing

Bavarian Open

Cup of Tyrol

Chance to go to Worlds as the other Finnish boy who has beaten him at Nationals doesn't have the minimum yet while Dr PhD can use last season' scores

Men have Shin Amano in the Tech Panel at 4 Continents

MEN

Tech Controller: Ms. Deborah NOYES (Australia)

Tech Specialist: Ms. Anett PÖTZSCH (Germany)

Assistant Tech Specialist: Mr Shin AMANO (Japan)

LADIES

Tech Controller: Ms. Deborah ISLAM (Canada)

Tech Specialist: Mr. Ricardo OLAVARRIETA (Mexico)

Assistant Tech Specialist: Ms. Evelyn ROSSOUKHI-SCHNEIDER (Austria)

PAIRS

Tech Controller: Ms. Rita ZONNEKEYN (Belgium)

Tech Specialist: Ms. Whitney GAYNOR (USA)

Assistant Tech Specialist: Mr. Simon BRIGGS (Great Britain)

ICE DANCE

Tech Controller: Ms. Halina GORDON POLTORAK (Poland)

Tech Specialist: Ms. Marie BOWNESS (Canada)

Assistant Tech Specialist: Ms. Svetlana LYAPINA (Russia)

R87 Oops. I guess I saw the Los Angeles 2009 sign and the back of her dress and immediately thought of WC 2009.

R92 LOL When was the last time Shin was on a men's panel?

R94 A minor event in 2017: the Philadelphia Summer International

On major events: 2016 Cup of China.

Time to remember NHK 1994

R95 Thanks for answering my question and for the video. Were those the original purple pants of sin?

at 3.29 Shin has basically his purple pants up his ass

R92 ooooh. Most exciting thing in the event. Shin calling Uno and Zhou... I'm salivating thinking about those protocols. Maybe Brown will attempt a quad for him to call ur. ... Or better yet, maybe Vincent will actually get his forward takeoff toe jumps properly downgraded

R88 I wonder if RUS fed is seriously still deciding the world team or if they're just following through with this because they already stated they would decide after this event. After winning Euros and being so consistent, I don't see how they can deny Samodurova. I suppose they need to make sure Tuk is in good condition after her illness but don't see how they can deny her either after the season she's had. And Zag's had the best international results so can't leave her off the team, though of the 3, she seems to be the biggest wildcard considering the downward trend of her skating.

I see no argument for Konstantinova - worst overall results and lower medal potential than Med.

The 3rd spot for the men should be a tough decision too. I wonder if RUS fed is still deliberating or if they don't really care since no one outside of Kolyada or Samarin have a shot at medaling anyway.

Thanks for the insights on Russian ladies and worlds R98. I was really perplexed but I think you're right, it's probably just lip service. How can Worlds not be Samodurova, Zags and Miss 3A Tuk?

I also hadn't thought about the men being in doubt - I thought Kovtun was a lock for some reason... I hate to see Aliev drop so low after such a great Olympics - the short anyway. And Samarin almost seems the most unlikely of top man ever, but... well, here we are. Kolyada who moves like a dream can't wake up from his nightmares and ever skate clean! (not sure I really get rhinitis going on for months but then, I guess if he was never really healed w/antibiotics, I'll buy the story.) I'm tired of wishin' and hopin'

Oh and would Mishin lie when he said the RusFed told him to get Tuk ready for Worlds?

It has been reported that Samodurova and Zagitova are not required to participate to Russian Cup finals

[quote] Oh and would Mishin lie when he said the RusFed told him to get Tuk ready for Worlds?

the Fed need to check if she is ready

US Junior Worlds selection

Tomoki Hiwatashi

Alex Krasnozhon

Camden Pulkinen

Alternate 1 – Ryan Dunk

Alternate 2 – Andrew Torgashev

Alternate 3 – Dinh Tran

2019 U.S. World Junior Team

Ladies

Ting Cui

Hanna Harrell

Alternate 1 – Starr Andrews

Alternate 2 – Gabriella Izzo

Alternate 3 – Audrey Shin

TAT will work their ass off at her own political game so that Med can be sent to Worlds.

R105 I'll cry if that's at Tuk's expense (if she's well enough, anyway)

I can't stand Tuk's skating but it would be extremely unfair if she is well and they send Med instead.

Med needs to chalk this season up to a learning experience and start anew next season. If she is selected, I think it would leave a bad taste in people's mouths and backfire on her going forward.

They have now edited to make Torgashew the first alternate

Krasnozhon's Neanderthal ass got Junior Worlds? He hasn't aged out yet? Ugghh. Should have been Torgashev.

Can't wait how Zhou will fare with Shin Amano on the panel. I just wish Amano was drawn for Worlds, not just 4CCs.

But let's not forget that Amano also is inconsistent and has favorites. Uno might get this if Amano likes him as much as he likes Satoko.

Is Boyang Jin not going to 4CC?

Boyang is in 4cc. I saw him in official practice today.

Speaking of official practice, I saw Vincent Zhou on full display and his skating is like his poetry materialized. He skates as if he owns the ice no matter whose music is on, gets in everyone's way without making any effort to look out for other people, takes up 70% of the ice at any given time, and just acts like no one else exists there with him. I thought he was just an immature kid but seeing the way he acted today my narcissist radar started going off. Self importance, delusions of grandeur, victim mentality... ugh. I can't decide which I dislike more, him or the "God chose me and shut up about assault survivors" Knerims. Ge is just amusing in comparison to these two.

R112 LMAO

[quote]his skating is like his poetry materialized. He skates as if he owns the ice no matter whose music is on, gets in everyone's way without making any effort to look out for other people, takes up 70% of the ice at any given time, and just acts like no one else exists there with him.

Reading that quote before the op I was sure op was talking about Hanyu Now having read the Op I'm just laughing at people's double standards.

I never got to see Hanyu live so I can't comment on his ice etiquette. I saw a lot of skaters today and no one really stuck out as particularly rude except Zhou. 5 other skaters were in a small corner of the ice avoiding him.

Here's Boyang's short-program run-through from today (or yesterday?)

Beautiful, easy, quad lutz, with great height. Look out Shoma! (who I guess is the favorite? I haven't really kept up)

Junhwan is scheduled to be there too, but I don't know for sure. Wonder if Brian has lugged himself to Anaheim - just before off to Cup of Russia. I'm beginning to think he's stretched way too thin, because of the globe-trotting issues if nothing else, but maybe he had it just as bad in previous seasons. I know he's hurt, but the Gogo mess may be a blessing, especially if there was tension building. Didn't someone say the girl skating for Poland was the last straw? If so, I'd assume he'll be going with her - can't remember if he went with her to that four-country nationals though.

Anyway, with his flushed face and weight-gain (I think?), he hasn't been looking healthy to me. And he's mentioned drinking or being in a bar a few times - not saying he has a problem - it just doesn't suggest a Meagan-Duhamel sort of lifestyle. And lord knows he's got stress.

[quote] If so, I'd assume he'll be going with her - can't remember if he went with her to that four-country nationals though.

no, she was alone with a Polish official in the K&S there.

If Gogo skates for Russia does the Canadian curse go away?

Thanks R117. She won, didn't she? I read somewhere she was working on a quad, but I'm beginning to think they 'all' have at least tried - there was a youtube of Tursy doing a quad salchow at TCC and it looked pretty darned good (she's at 4CC btw.)

Anyhow, both of them could have long careers now, a la Carolina, if they're even so-so and have the finances sorted. I still wish Med had been able to go that route - not that I'm even a fan, but it just seemed like an obvious route, with that horde of juniors in Russia coming along. She's already such a big "name" and doing ice shows and such, seems like she could have had a lot of years, with her gift for dramatic miming and all and her fanbase... Lots I don't know though. Maybe her life would have been hell if she'd "defected" (and maybe they never would have let her but maybe TAT could have wrangled her out and into Armenia's hands)

R116 I think Brian's red face may be due to rosacea. And his weight gain isn't at all unusual for a man (or a woman) his age.

Hope so R120. What was that surgery he had a few years ago when he couldn't be with Yuzuru - maybe it was year before last, when Yuzuru hurt himself at NHK. Gall bladder surgery I think? Though I suppose that's not serious.

Hanyu's UA training uniform really delivers.

R122. He knows what his fans want. His body is out of this world.

R123 LOL

Brian and Tracy are both at Anaheim. They were watching Jason practice yesterday and stayed for Junhwan who was next. They looked really happy with him.

Ladies starting order at 4CCs

Chen from China

Mallet

Austman

Isadora Williams

Montesinos

____

So

Cui

Lin

Yelim Kim

Perticheto

::_____

Han

Craine

Lim

Hanul Kim

Chartrand

Leung

::::::

Tursynbaeva

Bell

Kihira

Sakamoto

Tennell

Mihara

Spot the mistakes at Bavarian Open Junior Ladies event...

Judge 1: +3

Judge 2: +3

Judge 3: -5

Judge 4: +3

Judge 5: +3

-.-

Judge 1: +2

Judge 2: -2

Judge 3: +2

Judge 4: +1

Judge 5: +1

___

a downgraded jump

Judge 1: -3

Judge 2: 0

Judge 3: -4

Judge 4: -3

Judge 5: -4

r116 119 There's video of Kurakova landing a 4S+3T in practice last year and I think she’s hinted she’ll be doing quads in competition next season. Due to the country change, she can’t compete in ISU events until summer and I thought she said Orser won’t be accompanying her anywhere this season. In her latest interview, she said he decided to take her on before Medvedeva, but the visa process delayed her move to Toronto.

r127 Janice needed a break after judging all of those novices. But Young You is free to hate her now.

Kihira injured her finger a la Hanyu yesterday, the same finger she broke last year. She fell on a jump and her left ring finger got caught in a hole in the ice. Apparently very painful. She missed her run-through this morning and didn’t do any 3As. Her ring finger and pinky were taped up.

It's only been a few days, but Hashimoto has already changed her mind and won't be running for governor of Hokkaido after all...

Bavarian Open livestream:

May be the lighting but in the ISU IG Story about Japanese skaters' arrival...Tanaka's new hair colour looks quite bad..he is almost orange

R128 At least Janice was spared of Junior Men

The Swiss woman judged Novice Girls I at 10.30, Novice Boys at 13.30, Junior Men at 15 and Junior Ladies at 18.00

German man (judge#2 above) tomorrow will judge 27 Novice Girls FS, 20+21 Junior Ladies FS (both groups) and finally 8 Senior Pairs SP. But today he did 27 Novice girls, 41 Junior Ladies, 19 Junior Men...and he was throwing around random marks

R130 Wow. Isn't that against German labour laws or something? I guess they 're technically volunteers. Why would you subject yourself to such torture? What are the incentives?

Some Jason news (below link is to Los Angeles Times - paywall but if you haven't used up your free articles, maybe you can read it? It's about his dream to land a quad sal at 4CC). Also Ice Talk has a podcast or whatever up - includes an interview with Tracy Wilson where she talks about Jason Brown, starting soon after minute 14, when Jason's first mentioned.

Oh and here are Jackie Wong's notes from Jason's practice at 4CC (from Feb 5 tweet):

Brown: 3F, 3Lo, 3F2T, 3F3T, 3Lz2Lo2Lo, 3A, 3A3T, 3A3T, 4S(fall), 3S, 4S(fall), 4S(<<,2ft), runthru (3S, marked A, 3Lo, 3A), 3Lo

He'll skate first in the final group. Good luck Jason! Jason's GS dedicated thread has video of his short program run-thru.

So one of the boys will be cut after SP....who???

Good lord some of these white male skaters are aggressively straight. And painfully boring to watch. Who is this Nadeau guy? For someone with so much muscle he can't seem to control them well. He stands out like a kangaroo among a flock of deer for how big he is. I bet someone would love to get lifted by him.

Men SP starting order

Manko

Ip

Lee

Wong

Zhang

----

Carillo

Tang

Lee

Lynette

Webster

---

Dodds

Chew

Yes

Hiwatashi

Nadeau

----

Nguyen

Cha

Tomono

Kerry

Tanaka

---

Brown

Uno

Zhou

Messing

Jin

R127 in late night Junior Ladies group we had

Judge 1: +5

Judge 2: +2

Judge 3: +3

Judge 4: +1

Judge 5: 0

Judge 1: +4

Judge 2: +2

Judge 3: +1

Judge 4: -1

Judge 5: -2

Judge 1: +3

Judge 2: 0

Judge 3: +1

Judge 4: 0

Judge 5: -1

Judge 1: +2

Judge 2: 0

Judge 3: 0

Judge 4: -1

Judge 5: -2

all these elements were spins

Judge 1 is Japan . Judge 5 is Belgium (first time judging internationally with new GOE system). Both of them with International qualification (so they can't judge in major championships....thankfully) Japanese woman judge 81 skaters yesterday. Belgian woman only 70.

r136 How are those Japanese and Belgian judges not brain dead yet.

I think IP is the one at risk of finishing last

We love the photoshopped presentation photo of The Nordics

Apparently after spraining his ankle at Nationals, Shoma suffered two more sprains in January, the last one 2 days before leaving for 4CC.

The most unbelievable thing is he still got on that plane instead of recuperating and trying to fix that ankle before Worlds. I could understand him skating at Worlds last year, but this is 4CCs. Even Yuzu was always reasonable enough to skip 4CCs when he had fucked up his foot. Any insights into Shoma's motivations?

R140 I highly doubt Yuzuru had any intention of competing at 4CCs like Shoma.

So I'm not sure 4CCs has anything to do with his health.

r141 I'm thinking of 2015 when Yuzu had that stomach operation, he didn't try to push it, the same when he had a foot injury in 2016 (reportedly, he had been feeling it even before Nationals). I think Yuzu would have competed in those had he been healthy. Yuzu is crazy competitive and we all know to what lenghths he'll go if the stakes are high enough. But 4CC was never something to make him push himself.

So, Shoma's insistence on participating in 4CCs of all things despite multiple sprains seems a bit extreme.

Maybe to finally get a ISU Championships title? He gets a lot of flack in the Japanese media for being a "silver collector."

[quote]Any insights into Shoma's motivations?

Maybe he's just a fool who doesn't understand consequences? He never came across as one of the sharper knives in the drawer.

I think Silver Shoma needs to try and break the curse. He messed up GPF, he likely won't get gold at worlds, so this is another season without a GOLD in an international comp if he doesn't win at 4CC. It probably wouldn't be such a big deal if he was in his second or even third senior year, but this is his 6TH YEAR in seniors.

And isn't Rika Kihira skating with a sprained ankle (plus her finger injury)? Breaks my heart. I wonder if quads put the extra-extra strain on the ankles, especially if you have bad luck early one and one or both become vulnerable?

I remember watching a video of a very young Yuzuru - in juniors I think - showing his bare ankle with a whole lot of taping on it.

There have been no reports of Rika skating with a sprained ankle, where did you get that, R147?

R144 "Silver Collector" is what skating fans had been calling him, which the media only recently noticed. Uno has been completely overshadowed by Kihira since she won her first GP, so the pressure to compete is coming from himself and/or his team and family. It'll be interesting to see what Kozuka and others have to say about it.

R147 Kihira thought she sprained her pinky but it turns out it was partially dislocated. That's the sprain you're probably thinking about.

R148, about Rika's possible current ankle issues, I got it from this tweet (which was reported at GS)

Rereading it, it says "it hurts when she walks" - and now I'm thinking she was talking about her finger but when I first read it, I thought the only thing that was sprained and might hurt when she walks would be an ankle ??

Oh I don't know - I'm just neurotic about my faves and all theirs spills and ills.

Thanks JDC - you keep me sane - and entertained!

Competing at 4CC on a sprained ankle. Uno probably knows he can't beat Chen or a healthy Hanyu at Worlds. Is Kazuki Tomono first alternate? Hopefully he is still training because one of these Japanese men could drop out.

Of course Kihira is the bigger story. Honestly, just based on interviews Kihira deserves to receive the torch from Hanyu, bypassing Uno. She seems much mature than Uno will ever be. Or at least I don't think she'll ever fall asleep at an event. Not that I can't sympathise with Uno on that since those can drag on and are so boring, and he's probably not coveting the top limelight anyway.

[quote] Is Kazuki Tomono first alternate?

Tomono's one of the three JPN men competing: Uno, Tanaka, Tomono.

The alternates are Hiroaki Sato and Sota Yamamoto, though I'm not sure which is the first alternate (the thing I'm looking at appears to put the alternates alphabetically - but they have Sato first, in case that means anything.)

Sheesh I'm an idiot. You were talking about Worlds! Here's JPN's team:

MEN: Yuzuru Hanyu, Keiji Tanaka, Shoma Uno

(alternates: Kazuki Tomono, Sota Yamamoto, Koshiro Shimada) - Daisuke Takahashi declined

If you can't get it otherwise, this stream might work for you for 4CC - it's working for me

Ting Cui in first place with 66.73 - Amy Lin just finished - Yelim Kim is up now

r156 Thank you!!!

Austman is 0.02 points ahead of Mallet, 54.99 to 54.97 (in 3rd and 4th)! Yelim Kim is in second. Tom Z said sweet stuff to her when she left the ice - "You were smiling! Enjoying yourself! Right on that flip! Right on time!" Despite all of Dave Lease's assertions, he's won me over :)

Next group has Eunsoo. Then the final group with all the bigwigs.

Austman failed to get the minimum TES for Worlds by 0.01.

Mallet already had the minimum

They're showing an interview with Alysa Liu now

While resurfacing I guess - between rounds

Judge4 for Pairs at Bavarian Open thought he was witnessing the last group at Olympics judging by his PCS marks compared to others.

Oh shit R160 - I forgot how many places CAN women have - does this mean Larkyn can't go? Wonder if Kaetlyn will? (if she can?) Or Gabby... has she met minimum?

Eunsoo looking great in warmup - Raf looked supportive. Not Tom Z level but good for him. And here comes Chartrand! looking cute with pony tail

R165 3 spots

Chartrand already assigned.

Cotop is attempting to get the minimum at Bavarian Open this weekend

Austman was attempting to get it here. I don't think she is entered in other events this month (24/2 is the deadline to achieve it)

Daleman and Mallet have the minimums.

Osmond said she won't make competitions this season.

Does Mallet have the free skating minimum, too? Sucks that Larkyn just missed it. I enjoy watching her, she's a true diva on ice.

R168 yes, she scored 55.82 at Finlandia Challenger. Minimum is 49 for FS

In the SP she has 30.81 in Finlandia (minimum is 29)

Thanks R167. Eunsoo now!

69 for Eunsoo

The judges today for Ladies

Anny Hou (Taipei)

Dan Chen (Hong Kong)

Rebecca Andrew (Australia)

Nobuhiko Yoshioka (Japan)

Yumin Wang (China)

Yuri Guskov (Kazakhstan)

Jung Sue Lee (South Korea)

Leanna Caron (Canada)

Kevin Rosenstein (USA)

Chartrand with 2 invalid jumps. Second to last

Chartrand back to her old tricks it seems.

Chartrand's jumps looked so labored and heavy. score 45.89 and 14th - she looked miserable in K&C. Tom Z was great to Yi Christy Leung too - "Good thinking on combo - nice triple toe!" (I think she fell on 3Lz that was supposed to be combo and thought to add 2T at end). Happy K&C for them.

Raf and Eunsoo looked confused by 1 point deduction (time?)

68.09 for Tursy. Hanged on the 2A in negative GOE

Bell into the lead with 70.02

Kihira popped the Axel

68.85. third so far

33 PCS

Sakamoto first. Over 73

People at Planet Hanyu are so mad that Tennel got ahead of Sakamoto, lol. They're so biased in favor of Japanese skaters it's ridiculous. Sakamoto's got the most boring program along with Kihira but it's Tennel who is bland? C'mon.

To be fair, though, Tennel should be nowhere near Sakamoto on TES.

They're practically neck and neck, which is fair IMO. Bradie isn't the most exciting skater, but her short program is genuinely awesome and highlights her power and strong lines. Much better than her LP.

I love Bradie's SP. I love the way it builds and builds and builds--it's the sort of program she should also do for her FS.

Kihira looked extremely nervous to me - she was supposed to keep her skate down, in place, till time to start, and she couldn't do it - at least I think that was what was going on. And even before getting on the ice, she looked like she was about to jump out of her skin. Good on her for pulling herself together after the popped 3A. Raf was kinda affectionate with Mariah - rubbed her back twice and hugged her. Nice to see. She was great.

I loved Kaori's wild abandon and athleticism/jumps - and I loved Bradie. The eccentric bit really suits her and I'm glad she went to Benoit - he suits her. That spin where the girl brings her leg straight up with shin basically against the face (A spin?) - anyway, hers is the first one I loved - usually I think they're uglier than men's butt spins. Their faces often look so contorted. I sorta forgot Eunsoo's but I love the way she moves, her elegant line.

r184 I believe it's an I-spin. Lipnitskaya had a mind-boggling one, although not exactly beautiful one. A-spin is the ass spin.

Ensoo Lim wins the fashion contest today.

I think I'm mixing up Kaori and Mariah a bit - but both of them have a freer, wilder sort of movement, and I'm happy to see that in ladies' skating, which can be a bit precious and constrained or something - or maybe I'm just not the Satoko type of fan, though she's great at what she does. I like to see joy.

Thanks R185! You're right!! I need to re-watch - I've always hated the I-spin but I really sat up when Bradie did hers, I think at the very end, it was superb. Maybe it's the long legs, that I'm in love with. And she'd be very beautiful except for the buck teeth. I enjoyed Mariah's arm movements too, some artistry there today I think - though ppl are running together a bit for me. This is a great ladies' comp imo. Who needs Russian prodigies?

Bradie ahead of Kaori is just ridiculous. She is not anywhere near Kaori in ss, presentation and everything else. Kaori also should get bigger goe than Bradie for jumps and spins.

I LOVE MIRIAH BELL's SHORT !!!! Why do skaters hire D.Wilson, Misha Ge... when we have Adam Rippon ? He did greattt job for Bell.

r187 Sakamoto's GOE on jumps should be 3 times as high as Tennel's but not her spins. Tennel actually has very good spins. Frankly, Sakamoto's step sequence is terribly run-of-the-ill, Tennel's better. Sakamoto's got better skating skills, Tennel's got a better program. I'd put them about the same on PCS, but Sakamoto higher on TES because of way better jumps.

Bradie URed her second jump in combo. Not exactly surprised judges didn't see this.

I despise Mai Mihara's song "It's Magic". Is that Doris Day or Judy Garland or some other big star of the 1950s? The song is such an old-fashioned piece of shit and I swear I think the singer is off key half the time. Reminds me of some piece of garbage David Wilson would pick - like Orange Colored Sky, which may be worse. Why can't skating just fucking move ON from such dated crap?

China, USA and Korea put Sakamoto 1st

Taiwan put her down in 5th place

PCS

Taiwan: Tursy

Hong Kong: Kaori

China: Mai

Australia: Kaori and Mai

Japan: Kaori

Kazakhstan: Bradie

Korea: Kaori

Canada: Bradie

USA: Kaori

r191 I feel ya.

R191 Well, didn't D.W pick It's Magic for Mihara ?

Sakamoto won SS and Transitions over Tennell

Sakamoto was 4th in Interpretation and Tennell 4th in SS

R191 It's Doris Day

and yes, choreo by Wilson

I didn't even know he picked it R191, I was just guessing. That man drives me crazy. What is he, 85 years old?

Thanks to those doing the real time updates. Can't watch rn so it's fun to see what's going down.

Wilson was born in 1966

All three of JP girls' SPs were choreo by D.Wilson. Such a flop. I can imagine I sleep through those performances and wake up in March.

Another testament to how astute Yuzuru is, to break away from the Wilson vice grip and get somebody decent.

what in the world is this schlock?!? I thought this was supposed to be the men's SP.

I could be wrong but I think the men's short starts in 15 minutes - 6.15pm in Anaheim.

Gotta find me a stream.

Here's a stream

Donovan Carrillo is slow as molasses, but he is awfully charming...crowd loves him

Nobody's watching here, huh?

R206 I was watching but my stream just died. Anyone find something besides R204 - I can't watch that guy b/c I have to download flash.

Did someone get to our Shin? He's not doing his thing.

Jesus christ, when did Jason Brown get so hot.

Try this Youtube stream, R207.

R209 Thanks so much!

[quote]Jesus christ, when did Jason Brown get so hot.

When he climbed out of Kori's lap and cut off that dreadful ponytail? I still don't find him hot IRL, but he sells that SP very well.

Wow, Shoma's probably going to be behind Cha. Hand down, step out. I still enjoy his skating though.

So Nam has ankle issues too? He picked through thin ice onto concrete last week.

If Vincent goes into first I'm going to throw my laptop out the window. WTF @ those GOEs...

Oh for fuck's sake. The scoring here is absolutely ridiculous (and not just for Zhou).

this is a fucking joke. I need for Boyang to do well.

So we're supposed to believe that Zhou's short is up there with Hanyu, Kolyada and Chen? Who else got at least 100 this season?

Well, Boyang and Jason were the most enjoyable for me by a mile, despite the mistakes. The rest of the competition was just depressing

The scoring was so foul, even Dave Lease said something.

R218 Same, although I enjoyed Uno too. Doesn't look like he's going to get his gold is he? Not that he can't make it up in the FS, but he just doesn't look like he's doing well.

Protocols for Men's Short. Two judges saw fit to give Zhou 9s in SS. Who is Judge 1?

Answering my own question at R220 - Judge 1 is Samuel Auxier, former president of USFS. Of course he is.

Here are enhanced protocols from Skating Scores. LOL at the Korean judge putting Zhou 11th in PCS.

4cc is turning out to be a damn joke.

Carillo made the TES for Worlds, quite comfortably having landed the 3A

Woww if this scoring continues, Japanese men will be in trouble at Worlds.

The Technical panel was sleeping during Zhou and Cha.

r244 Hopefully, there will be homecooking at Worlds as well, to even things out.

r225 I couldn't watch Men, just saw protocols, did Zhou and Cha underrotate? Maybe Zhou actually improved his jumps?

Watched top 4 at Jackie Wong’s. I have to admit I liked Vincent’s skate. He had more flair tonight than the other four, to my eyes, and for once, I liked his costume.

Shoma’s jumps were so off except 3A which he landed on quite a slanted edge – his ankle seemed to wobble on the rest. I think that messed with his conviction in the program which he relies on – and he did a LOT of explaining something to Fluffy, which I don’t remember him doing before – so something major was an issue imo. And he needs sequins on that boring costume – I miss the wedding-dress top.

I love Cha and Brian seemed pleasant but sort of ‘meh’ about it - “so relaxed” I think he said, while Tracy had the upbeat “That was awesome!” They were shocked by high score, so, well, like Shoma, it didn’t feel like he was at his best – he’s noodly and when so tall, that sticks out, but the jumps seem great to me considering his fairly-new height of 5’11 or whatever. (though somebody on Twitter said he was underrotating too)

It's a shame Boyang bobbled landings in the quad and combo – and I don’t think he’s fluid enough for Guitar-Gently-Weeps (all his energy needs a peppier song and he needs music that pops, like Spiderman, to pull out his personality, or substitute for it; at times he looked quite wild tonight which doesn’t suit the song at all) but he did better than he’s done lately – hope he has a good freeskate, to restart his stalled career and maybe get him out of his funk he spoke about in that distressing interview. But... I thought he looked hurt coming off the ice – back or ankle or somethin’ - hope I’m wrong.

IF the jumps were/had been called fairly, I’d be fine with Zhou’s lead but like everybody says, oh dear with the urs. Zhou’s landings look like they’re intended to land at extreme angles and then straightened, like he doesn't know any other way to land – wonder if they’ll be called elsewhere.

* more flair than the other THREE. Arithmetic is not my strong suit. And I think the wedding-dress was on Shoma's freeskate, but I think I remember the plain purple was a substitute for something - Shoma's blocky - you'd think a solid color would help with the height deficit but I think he actually needs more flash, even with a break in colors, to draw the eye away from how short and blocky-square he is.

Lol @ someone who thinks that falling asleep in a press conference is "immature". It's just getting sleepy, stop projecting.

Also, this isn't Shoma's 6th senior year...what a strange way to do math. He left Juniors at 17, he's 21 now.

Sakamoto was far superior to Tennel. I have to admit that all the Japanese ladies' programs were boring, and Bradie's was more interesting. But the running edges, the height, the landing, everything about Sakamoto was a cut above the rest, even new superstar Kihira. I never liked her or even noticed her much but seeing her live today really made me appreciate how superior she is technically.

Uno understandably didn't seem to be feeling well, and that SP looked like a struggle, but it often is because it's so full of muscling his way through rotating against his own momentum. RIP his new costume that wasn't a bondage eggplant. His steps and spins and speed are still great to watch though, bad landings or no.

Cha did well today. Call him underrotated, but I can't think of anyone who skated cleaner or more effortlessly. What a joke that Vincent got such scores. PCS over 40, ridiculous.

R229 Of course it is immature that's part of his job. You would be okay if a waiter would take a quick nap while taking your order cause they were sleepy? He's 21 not 5. How many other athletes have you seen that fall asleep/doze off during official meetings?

That being said what a mess the mens event was. Zhou...okay then, Jun good skate but seriously tech panel?, Boyang as always a late starter to the season, Shoma should have withdrawn and healed his ankle, things don't heal like they did once you turn 20 but when you're young you don't see it as a problem until it becomes a permanent one ala Hanyu. I was really hoping for a good outing to Nam and Tomono, but alas. Just like last year worlds Donovan is a rough diamond. Someone get him funding and a good tech coach. Though at 19 he might already be too old to learn the quads and ends up another Jason Brown a great skater without the competitive tech. I can't remember does he have quad toe or not?

Amano is just the assistant TS this time. I can’t remember if there’s a way to check if calls were disputed by the ATS. Any background info on the TS and TC for Men and Ladies? Hardly anything was getting called and so many level 4’s.

R211 Auxier was also Judge 3 for Men SP and Judge 7 for Men FS at nationals. So maybe fans were right to be worried about nationals inflation affecting international competitions. According to a Japanese translation of a recent Spanish interview, Fernandez outright said he thought the call on his 4S at Euros was a deliberate attempt to help another skater win, so he’d (the other skater) have momentum going into worlds.

Zagitova, Tuk, and Cha have been added to SOI Japan. More skaters to be announced. Current lineup in the link:

Kai Xiang CHEW from Malaysia was the one unlucky man not to advance to the free skate.

[quote] Zagitova, Tuk, and Cha have been added to SOI Japan. More skaters to be announced.

Wow what a lineup with yet more? Javi/Shoma/Kaori/Chen/Chan/Satoko. I'm not in the know at all - is this the one that Hanyu never does, while he tends to do "Fantasy on Ice"?

No uncles yet except ever-present Oda - so waiting on Plush, Weir, Elladj, Lambiel and his boytoy Deniss - nor aunties Carolina, Miki, Akiko - though I think Kanako was on there.

I guess Mao never does these things but her own instead? And Dai? With all his fundraising efforts, surely he'll be a staple of the shows. Or maybe some of these others do Hanyu's? And some do both? Sorry to ramble - I'm fascinated by the number and success of ice shows in Japan when they're downright pitiable in the US. Do we even have any, on half that scale? How the mighty have fallen... no Tonya's to knock some sizzle back into the scene I guess. Our scandals are nervous breakdowns, eating-disorder rehabs, and... well better stop there.

r233 Well, it appears that the Japanese don't need scandals, just skaters who do well in competition. You can't deny USFS are doing everything they can to get those.

At this rate US judges would be sanctioned just like the Chinese judges. They’re favoritism is systematic and should be called out internationally.

Don’t worry, Shoma will come back to take silver

R226 US skaters will be immune from Japan homecooking. Japan's Golden and Silver boys still will be in trouble anyway.

R227 Brian's "so relaxed" comment to Cha means that he was very pleased. That's how he wants all his skaters to skate so they don't screw up because they're so tense.

Agree with everyone about the scoring. Sam Auxier is one of the judges? Man, this sport really does deserve all those empty seats.

Someone should ask Jackie Wong what he thinks about the judging and US judge's scores.

Could Zhou's scores actually be the omen that internationally they might also uphold Chen's PCS from Nats as well?

I'm not sure I'd take Vincent or Bradie's high scores too much as gospel for worlds. This event is in the US, so the American skaters have home court advantage. At worlds, Japanese skaters will have the advantage. In 2018, Choi Dabin finished 6th at the Olympics in her home country of South Korea, then at worlds she fell to 21st after the short program, with URs getting called again, and WD before the free skater.

r240 "This event is in the US, so the American skaters have home court advantage"

It's ridiculous that that statement is taken as the norm. I disagree about Japanese home inflation. Japan Nats did not equal the HYPERinflation of US Nats- not even close. Unless the ISU gets these crooked/biased judges under control, it'll be another judging scandal waiting to be revealed. Seriously Zhou with 9s in SS?!?! WTF

R239 as much as I like Jackie, he's very much US biased and probably wouldn't call this behaviour and scores out.

R240 Dabin's boots broke at Worlds and it's why she had so many problems in the SP and why she withdrew.

R239 That would be interesting tbh. That would give whoever underestimates the power of dumb judges in large groups a good, loud slap. It's funny that people have seen judges boost a particular skater's scores many times but they are constantly in denial, "that won't happen at .....", "no way he/she gets that huge score internationally" and when it happens... well how despressing.

[quote] Amano is just the assistant TS this time. I can’t remember if there’s a way to check if calls were disputed by the ATS.

the deliberations of the technical panel are never made public. Only ISU Vice President can request the audio tape if the calls are under investigation in order to check if the 3 decided by majority or unanimously.

People are not in denial, r243. Those "no way" comments are always countered with "I'm afaid they/it will".

I'm afraid these ridiculous scores from U.S. nationals and 4cc will carry over to worlds. I am not happy. They may as well crown Nathan now if this scoring continues. When I saw Vincent's score I thought wtf? Must be some mistake. Maybe they got the wrong score up. But nope they gave him that score. 😈

Checked Jackie Wong's timeline. He was very upset at the judges over Mariah Bell's scoring:

Jackie Wong‏ @rockerskating 17h17 hours ago I'm still like, 31.55 for Mariah Bell's SP PCS for a clean program?

Jackie Wong‏ @rockerskating 15h15 hours ago Performance 8.00 8.00 8.25 8.00 8.25 8.75 7.75 8.50 8.25 Composition 8.00 7.75 7.75 7.75 8.00 8.50 7.50 7.75 8.00 Interpretation of the Music 7.75 7.75 8.00 8.00 8.25 8.75 7.75 8.00 7.75 Maybe watch this program again and tell that to me in my face

But he seemed to think that Vincent was clean:

Vincent Zhou USA CLEANEST quad lutz and quad sal we've seen from Vincent Zhou in competition all season - 4Lz3T, 4S, 3A - lutz and sal looked very clean, axel slipped off the edge just a bit and will be reviewed, but also looked clean from this angle - what a time for him to skate his best short of the season!!

And him commenting on Cha:

Junhwan Cha KOR 4S, 3Lz3Lo, 3A - this is gonna go 90+, that was a phenomenal skate; much sharper than he was at Korean Nationals [said Brian/Tracy practically jumping up & down during Cha skate - little cartoon characters leaping on a trampoline or something]

So I guess Worlds is just going to be America votes America is #1 then. Hanyu and the rest of the skaters should just slide about on the ice on their bums because it really doesn't matter what they do when the scoring is stupid af.

Hanyu should have retired from competition after the Olympics. It's ridiculous for him to continue to cripple his body for this corrupt sport. Fuck the quads; I want to see him mature as an artist.

R249. I agree. I don't want him hurting his body anymore for these idiots. And once he retires it's goodbye for me too. This is ridiculous. Yuzu has given too much to this sport.

It is ridicolous . A guy cannot get 100 points coz Hanzyu's record is 112 (or something llike that) and that difference is too small because Yuzuru is almost the only one who has right to score over 100

On GS, someone said if Zhou and Cha's jumps have been called, Jin would be leading. Btw, Jin won 4CC last year.

Kaori also won 4CC last year, this year slotted behind Tennell in the SP.

Amurrica! The pretty sad judging here means that the two may get robbed and not get a fair chance to reclaim the title.

Orzel at Bavarian Open SP behind Dimitrescu, Shiamada and Hallam. Actually Dimitrescu leading with 72 points

Americans are hypocritical, self-righteous cheaters. That's why the rest of the world hates us, yet we always pretend not to understand why.

Some streams?

I've always found a live stream at this site, but they offer so many choices that sometimes it takes a while to try a bunch to get a good one - and when your good one dies out, you can go back and try yet another and another... Not this time, but in the past the Russian "Match" streams have been the best for me but they don't let me go to "full screen" so I just watch the little box without enlarging it. Lots of Russian yammering but easy to ignore. You have to click on the competition you want to see and often click again on "Read More" to get a long list of stream links, usually by country.

R251. No. People are upset because Vincent didn't deserve what he got. Nathan didn't deserve what he got. I don't care if someone goes over100. I care about the bias judging going on. I guess with the new rule change these judges can cheat.

Maybe it's because most of the time she ends up winning, or at least on the podium, but Kihira popping her 3A in the SP should not be surprising at all to anyone. If she goes clean she's got a medal secured. The color depends on what the others do.

R257 It is everywhere. Medviedeva for years got what she didn't deserve . Wake up. You re offended because your Hanyu is "hurted". But every fan of particular skater feel that way sometimes. Because he/she thinks that only his/her favoutire should get high scores, other get TOO high. Anyway, you cannot compare scores from different events

R257 Psst, I think you're talking to Daitroll because R251 and R259 are not showing up for me.

R258 Yes, Rika fucking up her 3A has become expected this season. I think GPF was the only time she didn't miss it in competition this season.

R229 Maybe I have a little more experience with people that are only human. My boss dozes at his desk and I don't call him "immature", I call him "tired". If another guy puts up his feet and lies down on the company wait room couch with intent to sleep during work hours, yeah I'd call that unprofessional. But nodding off in spite of yourself after an athletic feat? I'd hardly call that intentional or anything to do with maturity. You have a weird view on maturity.

JFC, Zhou's interview. He thinks he deserved that score. Thanks, judges.

In other news, Pairs SP: the Canadian couple that came out on top - the girl looked very surprised at her score. And confused. Sui/Han and Peng/Jin both had falls from the women, but they were the only two worth watching. The others were painfully boring. Why weren't the Kinerims in the competition? Not that I would have liked to see them overscored to the top.

[quote] Why weren't the Kinerims in the competition? N

because God decided to place them 7th at US Nationals

R260 thank you for letting me know. I got a new phone so nobody is on ignore as of now.

R264 Don't believe it

Not even Bavarian Open is immune. Shiraiwa was shafted again in PCS over another Tom Z student, particularly by the American and Belgian judges. It wasn’t even necessary with You’s higher tech.

r226 Check the link. You don’t even need to slow down the video.

R233 Hanyu hasn’t done SOI since 2014 and probably won’t this year. Plushenko and Oda were the only retired skaters last year. You’re probably thinking of FaOI’s cast. The last time Lambiel was in SOI Japan was in 2009, 2013 for Weir. Balde and Vasiļjevs have never participated. Takahashi has regularly been in ice shows since his retirement, so I don’t think his return has anything to do with needing more show opportunities. His last SOI appearance was 2016, same with Ando. Kostner only appeared once and that was in 2014. 2017 for Suzuki. Mao’s tour is still ongoing until May (or later if they add more dates).

r244 Thank you. That's disappointing.

R247 Funny thing about Jackie, he listed all of the women by PCS after their SP, but not the men.

The stands looked almost completely empty during the 4CC opening ceremony and Alysa Liu’s performance. By the way, Liu’s multiple hip injuries was not just a rumor but reported in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Zhou's poetry is going to be even more insufferable!!! But good for DL, maybe.

[quote] Not even Bavarian Open is immune. Shiraiwa was shafted again in PCS over another Tom Z student, particularly by the American and Belgian judges. It wasn’t even necessary with You’s higher tech.

how does it work in Bayern? It was basically 2 Junior competitions to be considered separtately, one won by Shiraiwa and one by You? The panels were different in the 2 competitions. Belgian and US judges were not present on You's part.

R267 You're right. The groups were considered separately. Last year was just the first time in a long time that they didn't divide them into two groups. I don't understand why the low PCS especially from the American and Belgian judges at all then.

R266 Liu performed at 4CC?

I worry for Hanyu's health. Personally, I think he should do the quad axel in Japan at Worlds and retire right after the competition.

R270. God I worry about him too. However, I don't want him to do the 4A if he isn't ready yet. That jump can be dangerous.

6 minute warmup now for next to last group of ladies in Anaheim - Larkyn Austman up first.

Leung or whatever is first - Hanul Kim second (and that was the worst dirge sung by an opera singer with extreme vibrato - I kept wondering, how is this even a song? probably some famous piece I don't know about but it made me miss Doris Day for god's sake).

I'm sure there's a better stream but this is the one I'm watching (Jackie Wong probably has a better one)

Mallet in lead – she’s athletic! Great jumps.

Now Craine, then Yelim Kim, Ting Cui, and Mai Mihara. Then final group: Tursy, Eunsoo, Rika, Mariah, Bradie, Kaori.

It’s so sad. Most people aren’t watching 4CC but just following results. FS is going down the dumper when YUzu retire, unless there is a dominant woman skater. Chen,Boyang. Uno have some great moves but they won’t be able to obtain idol status like Hanyu to keep the sport popular.

I think it's too late for ladies free - it's past midnight in the eastern part of u.s.

Tom Z. is such a douchebag.

Ting Cui trainwreck. 3 falls, seemed to keep pulling her top's strap up, off balance, one of the worst I've ever seen. Tom Z was telling her, "you don't want to let these things get away from you like that." OUCH. 98.11 for free; 164.84 total in 4th place. (Yelim Kim 187.93 - first)

And all this orchestral music is a colossal BORE.

I still can't stand Mai Mihara's ill suited pretty princess packaging, but she skated a fantastic long program. Could we still get a Japanese sweep of the podium?

The 4A is dangerous, but if he is ready, this is the time and place to do that jump. I am very concerned about that ankle long term.

R277 Tom Z is an asshole. Did you notice how he glanced away from Ting for a moment to see if the camera was on him while he was scolding her? She needs to find another coach ASAP.

Tursy fell - I swear I think the little box said 4S - so she tried a quad!

Agree R280 - she had just been thru hell and he just slammed her straight off the ice. Ugh.

I can't stand Tom Z. Who could Ting work with who'd be supportive and help her build up her competitive steel and confidence? She's so gifted, it's hard watching her bomb a program at every event.

Tursy ahead of Mai and in first - Eunsoo next

Awww Raf saying, "It's ok. I know you tried" to Eunsoo who got negative goe on most of her jumps. She's 3rd with 191.85 but now Rika!

Gorgeous 3A from Rika - her others jumps great. 221.99

uh oh Mariah just fell

Sloppy skate from Mariah. She seemed stiff on her blades and oddly disengaged from the music. Normally she performs this program so beautifully.

And all the top three ladies after the short program finish off the podium. It was a rough day for Kaori, Bradie, and Mariah.

Gold: Rika and the amazing triple axel, Silver: Lilbet and the quad that looked like a triple, Bronze: Mai and the pretty princess programs

Wow, Rika coming back to win it is not unexpected, but the complete overhaul of the SP podium to this one. I guess having both a SP and FS in skating is what keeps this sport interesting.

[quote] And all the top three ladies after the short program finish off the podium.

[R287] Let's hope that happens tomorrow night with the men! :)

Apparently, Johnny (and Tara's) commentary for the Ladies FS was also gold. Unfortunately, Rika and Kaori doesn't have Hanyu's fanbase to drag him and call him out.

I hope there are surprises for the men's event.

R290, what did Johnny and Tara say?

r269 She was invited to perform in the opening ceremony. I haven't seen video, but some reporters and fans have tweeted photos.

I missed Tursy. 4S was fully rotated but fell?

She landed it in warmup - fell on it in the freeskate but he didn't put any "<" marks so I guess that means he thought it was rotated?

Jackie Wong ‏ @rockerskating

Elizabet Tursynbaeva just landed a quad sal!!!

12:51 AM - 9 Feb 2019

Jackie Wong ‏ @rockerskating Replying to @Adaneth73 @mad4skating

She landed it in warmup

1:05 AM - 9 Feb 2019

Jackie Wong ‏ @rockerskating 1h1 hour ago

Elizabet Tursynbaeva KAZ 4S(fall), 3Lz, 3F, 3Lo(2ft), 3S3T, 2A3T, 2A1Eu3S TES 75.97, PCS 64.40, -1.00, FS 139.37, TOTAL 207.46 into 1st

1:00 AM - 9 Feb 2019

Johnny Weir said Kaori is lacking in artistry

R293 Thank you. Jackie didn't call any of Zhou's or Tennell's jumps in the SP, so I don't know what to make of it, but I do kind of hope she's the first senior to land a quad and would love to see Orser and Eteri's faces.

r290 r294 But Hanyu's fan base love Rika and Kaori (though their fav seems to be Higuchi) so I imagine they'll say some things on twitter too.

Btw I was in Helsinki GP with a friend of mine, she's a rather casual fan and it was her first competition live. I imagined that she'd be more into an upbeat Carmen from Zag but Kaori was her favorite by far. I think she lliked Kaoro kore than I did.

Basically, what I'm saying is that Johhny Weir talks shit. If Kaori can make an unexperienced casual fan enjoy the fucking Piano, it means she's artistic enough.

Yeah, Johnny is blind if he doesn't see Kaori's artistry. If she's not to his taste, that's a different issue.

Tuktamysheva SP at Dragon Trophy and Tivoli Cup

65.66

Fell on 3A

Weir is not any different from the rest of us. He's biased for the Russian girls and has to talk up the American ladies. The Japanese ladies threaten his favorites.

I have nothing against Bradie or Mariah but lol at the USFS trying to prop up their skaters here and still not managing to get one lady on the podium. Unfortunately I'm afraid that means they're going to push Vincent even more now...ugh!!!

I'm glad I have the NBC gold pass. I don't have to listen to Johnny and Tara. It's great.

Tuk's 3A was called UR. The combo got negative GOE (fair, she was slipping away after first 3T)

R300 Except Weir is not "us." Weir is being paid for his analysis and we're not. I do realize though that he's pressured to talk up the US skaters so I'm willing to cut him some slack about that. But his comment about Kaori is ridiculous. The knees on all these Japanese women are extraordinary--they just seamlessly melt into the ice.

Also, Weir shouldn't even be using the word "artistry." There is no score for that in the current scoring system.

R302 I have the NBC pass too and agree that it's great to watch the skating without commentary.

There is a bunch of fun seeing Yuzuru fans on PH and Twitter shit on Elizabeth and her 4S (which she rotated just fine not to get UR called) and ramble about how deteriorated her skating and her jumps are after she left Orser. She had been skating boring shit done by D.Wilson, being inconsistent because of injury under Orser for years but it's just fine, nobody gave a shit but when she's with Eteti, attemped a quad and became more competitive a bit, everything went wrong with her. Sure.

Just wanted to add that anyone who wants to learn more about how jumps are scored--or should be scored--should check out the In The Loop podcasts on YouTube (they also have full transcripts of every podcast on their website which is what I prefer). Those women really seem to know their stuff and did a good job not just calling out the ridiculous scoring at US Nationals but also giving very specific examples as to why they believed that was the case.

R305 Are many fans on PH really saying that about Tursy? I followed her when she was with Brian because I was following Hanyu (also followed Nam for the same reason).

And just as I was delighted to see Nam win his Nationals, I'm also very happy for Elizabet. Who cares who her coach is? And unless Brian and Tracy are really terrible people, I find it hard to believe that they aren't happy for her too. My understanding is that they did part on good terms.

R306 Those girls on In The Loop podcast might know a thing or two but nothing that hasn't been said before. A lot of the things they say are blatantly wrong, too.

Tursy quote about her quad: “After the short, being sixth, I had nothing to lose so we decided I had to try it (the quad Salchow). I still have work to do on it but it wasn’t bad for a first time in competition: I rotated it but didn’t land it. I’m happy I attempted it and will keep trying until I land it.”

R308 Dave Lease, I presume? LMAO

Satoko beaten by Yuna Aaki in the SP at Bavarian Open. 68.43 to 67.79

R311 Whoa!

Aurora Cotop from Canada just met the SP tech minimum for worlds at the Bavarian Open and is in 3rd place. I think she needs the LP minimum too.

R296 But it’s only a fraction of his fan base. And if you’re basing it on PH, it’s a handful of the more active members. I personally think Rika is devoid of personality and has boring programs. If it weren’t for her tech, I wouldn’t take a second look at her. Kaori is pretty loose in her posture and movements (kind of reminds me of young Hanyu and present Jun). But they’re still miles better than Bradie and Tursy.

R307 Most were actually really impressed by the 4sal attempt - the complaints are more that the tech panel didn’t call any of her jumps in spite of a lot of the jumps being landed with a hook. And didn’t someone here say that the first video of her 4sal was when she was still at TCC? I personally always thought she was a stiff skater with no expression and ugly jumps so don’t care enough to analyze her closely. Boring skater with Orser. Boring skater with Eteri.

The real popcorn is in the men’s thread. There’s one nutter having a shit fit because people dare to say that Zhou’s jumps are under rotated. Pretty sure it’s someone from here because she’s ranting about how people are criticizing Zhou for his personal views and the TCC skaters are immune to criticism. At PH, I’ve literally never seen Zhou get mocked for anything other than UR his jumps and getting over scored but he's one of our favorite punching bags here.

R314 Thanks for the tip. Off to PH to see some shitfitting.

Swiss and Belgian judge tied Aoki and Miyahara in PCS

protocols from Bavarian Open

Judge 1 is Switzerland

Judge 2 is Israel

Judge 3 is Netherlands

Judge 4 is Japan

Judge 5 is Belgium

Judge 6 is Germany

Galay just failed to get the minimum in SP at Nordics

Sondre is trying tomorrow in the FS. He is in the lead after SP.

Majorov must have bombed to be in third. he has a -2 deduction. I guess he fell twice and maybe missed the combo. His TES is lower than Cotop

Catching up on pairs. Who's seen LeDuc up close? I assume he just has giant ab muscles but that "beer gut" is so distracting. I've never seen a currently competing skater shaped like him.

She seems pissed about their score in spite of it being a season's best. Must have drank too much of the Nationals kool aid

Japanese girls are boring without personality or memorable programs. Eteri girls are robots with messy skating and soulless programs. US ladies are mechanical without artistry.

The subjectivity in figure skating is really insane. It just depends on which fan groups you identify with.

And even more funny is that no one seems to really understand the scoring system. Neither the armchair judges who can't make sense of some of these scores. Neither the judges who throw random numbers down inconsistently irregardless of guidelines. Not even ISU with their inept meetings and coffee breaks. This sport is so fvcked.

Who's pissed about their score R320?

And R314, here's a video from two years ago at TCC of Tursy doing a quad Salchow-triple toe combination (there's another video of a single clean quad sal) - just search for Tursynbaeva quad to find the videos - but here's a link to the quad in combo:

r322 Ashley Cain. I actually really liked their program but I was surprised to see such a negative reaction when the score came up. She made a sour puss face and asked "why?".

Moore-Towers/Marinaro had gorgeous skating but holy shit are they fucking boring.

R322 I hope she can land it cleanly in competitions, she actually rotated it yesterday, it was a good attempt given she resumed practicing it a couple of weeks ago.

R314 I think Tursy said she started training the 4S in 2016, then had to stop b/c of injury and started landing it a few weeks ago.

R314 I don't understand shitfitter's argument comparing the reaction to Cha vs. Zhou. Zhou is billed as an emerging "quadster" with an arsenal of the most difficult quads, but he can barely rotate most of them consistently, Cha doesn't write/make lengthy, self-aggrandizing comments about his journey and his skating on sns and in interviews, Orser doesn't write long facebook posts bitching about how the judges are unfair and Cha doesn't have a problem (in fact, Orser has acknowledged Cha has an issue), and finally, Cha doesn't have a big fed behind him pushing this narrative that he's grown so much artistically, doesn't have a UR problem and is now ready to parlay with the big boys. So of course people are going to focus on Zhou when his URs don't get called. He asked for it and quads are what he's known for. For most people, I don't think the Zhou hate vs. the Cha shrug off has anything to do with blind love for TCC/Orser. Cha just doesn't put himself out there the way Zhou does.

R299 Poor Tuk. I hope she does better in the FS. I'll be so annoyed if she doesn't get to go to Worlds.

r314 r315 It's all so polite it hardly deserves the name "shitfitting", lol.

But seeing shanshani there reminds me of when a few weeks ago on reddit shanshani decided not to go to the 4CC from China and just give her tickets away and admit it was because Yuzu wouldn't be there, which brought the wrath of misskarne, the diehard Australian who apparently did make the trip, for not respecting other skaters.

I can't decide whether or not I should like karne or not. She used to be a bit nasty about Yuzu but she changed her mind about him in Boston, although she still doesn't like his fans. She can be a nasty cunt on reddit, like when a girl admitted to having a performance anxiety, and misskarne went all "you spoiled bitch be grateful you can perform, I'm injured and I can't!", and she's so single-minded about her favorites and painting them as victims - but then again lots of Hanyu fans are exactly the same. On the other hand she can be such a marvelous bitch on GS and get into catfights with some of the more insufferable regulars there. CanadianSkaterGuy be like "some people here would just call a jump underrotated before even seeing it" and karne "don't pussy out, call me by my name, and I saw that jump and it was underroted". lol

r325 Cha was pretty much shrugged off on GS too, even there people focused on Vincent.

Has Karne recovered from Craine bombing and Han withdrawing yesterday?

r327 Fair. But that's practically raging out by PH standards. To me, it's more that she kept going on and on about it until the other people involved finally said they're done. But also to be fair, it's half their fault for engaging in it for so long.

I like Karne to balance out the cunty Canadian regulars on GS but, you're right, Karne is a giant fruit loop herself. I have a smidgen more respect for her though because at least she's straightforward about what she is and what she's doing unlike the smug, preachy hypocrites like CSG and 4everchan.

I read this on Goldenskate - I really want to know what this is about, seems juicy!!

[quote]Did anyone hear the screaming occurring during Elizabet Tursynbaeva‘s free skate? It was on the judges side of the arena and seemed to be coming from the locker room area. A bunch of press left the press box area (where Jackie Wong was) in a rush right then, I assumed to cover that story. But I don’t see anything about it. Anyone know?

R314 Thanks to your post, I came to read the men's thread. As soon as Cha's uncalled URs and wrong egdes edge out Hanyu, those Hanyu fans who are defending him now will come after him. I assure you.

What I'm worrying about is Koreans getting after Hanyu when he and Cha go head to head. If I remember my short-track speed skating fandom, uh, hell hath no fury...

R333 Koreans are very forgiving peoples in my experience.

R334 You're a has been. I didn't even directly compete against Queen Yuna but Korean fans love to acknowledge my World Records.

Kayne/O’Shea - couple mistakes. She looks upset. Y

Walsh/Michaud. Gross - starting to get sick of hearing Kissing You. 3t/2t/2t clean, 3 twist - crashy on catch, sbs 3s - hand down for her/bad landing for him, aborted lift - no points, fall on throw 3lo, throw 3t - hand down? - bent very forward on landing. 3rd

1 Denney/Frazier 184.18

2 Kayne/O’Shea 180.36

3 Walsh/Michaud 159.05

4 Ruest/wolfe 158.91

Does Canada not have a 2nd tier pair? Their pairs look as bad as the US.

R335 Koreans don't hate Medvedeva that much. She has a lot of Korean supporters like other Russian skaters Alina, Elizaveta, Yulia, Trusova... Who call her out on bad technique and undeserving scores/ WRs are actually Eteri-antis, Russian skating antis speading across countries, mostly Canadian/ American skaters die hard fans.

Even though he's injured, I will be very shocked if Shoma Uno finishes off the podium. I can't remember the last time he did, except his first Worlds. It could also hit his reputation among judges if he finishes below Zhou and Cha. I wonder what his team is even thinking.

Besides Sotnikova, only Mao Asada could reach such intense hatred.

PH is not a Hanyu-only forum? Who runs In the Loop? Who’s the guy with the podcast or youtube channel who posts in the TSL thread on FSU? And who’s Fran/Franny?

R330 Shhh. Don’t encourage 4everchan/CSG/Synesthesia and friends to start posting here again.

R316 Did Tamura reject Ann’s advances? (Sorry, I forgot to remind Tamura fan club here that he’s in Germany with Shiraiwa and Miyahara.) It’s the same Belgian judge who gave Shiraiwa under 7.0 for PCS. Under 8.0 for Miyahara and Aoki? Ann does seem to be hard on everyone, but there should be a bigger difference between Miyahara and the rest (including Aoki to a smaller extent), and Miyahara and Aoki shouldn't share the same composition score. Aoki’s SP would probably upset a few of you here. 7.0 for transitions?

r326 If Medvedeva is selected instead and bombs, it's going to be worse than when she left Eteri. Her return to old habits and latest interviews have also sparked more anger in Japan and complaints to FaOI.

Kayne/LeDuc. Hate these costumes. Especially unfortunate on him. They both doubled the salchow in 3 jump combo - ugly jumps. 196.82 overall 1st.

Peng/Jin. Step out on sbs 3s for her - really far apart. 3t/2t clean but weak landing for him. Great 3tw. Th3lo like butter though with a long set up. Completely disconnected with the music except for choreo sequence and near the end - following Nathan’s example. Perfect th 3s. Overall good program. 135.94/205.42. 1st

r340 most of the talk is about Hanyu but there is a sub-forum for other skaters and competition threads that are pretty active

r340 PH is Hanyu-focused but many members, especially the former GS dwellers, are also general skating fans so the site has a a general-skating sections whose singles threads get very decent traffic duri8ng competitions time. Extremely pro-Japanese biased though.

What did Med say that it angered Japanese fans? Sorry if it was mentioned before and I missed it.

Sui/Han. 3 tw, arm above her head. Perfect. Sbs 3t/2t - slow on landing but clean. Th 3s perfect. She falls on sbs 3s. Huge th 3f but I think she 2 footed. Wow. So much more expressive than any other pair out their while still being polished. Made it worth sitting through the pairs event. Are they still using Lori Nichol? - Are they actually so good that they made her cookie cutter crap look good? Did she actually manage to shit out a diamond instead of her usual turds? - loved the program.136.92/211.11. 1st place

R340 Miyahara's PCS look quite low. 31.80, when she went over 35 this season. If I look to the Swiss girls, Rodeghiero, Roth, etc, their PCS are in line with what they usually get. So it is not that it was a very strict panel. Just a strange one. Ann marked 6.75 SS for Rodegheiro and then 7.75 for Miyhara

R343 yes, they still have Lori. Peng/Jin are also Lori's.

Moore Towers/Marinaro close second, I guess. Sui/Han should win by PCS

God. 0.06 difference

Moore-Towers/Marinaro. Small 3twist. Sbs 3s/2t/2t clean- really far apart. Th 3 lo smooth. Sbs 3 toe. Carry lift looked a little scary. Th 3s. Solid throughout. Clean. Nothing special on anything. I like their music but still find them boring. 136.39/211.05. 2nd. They’re disappointed - missed the gold by .6.

1 Sui/Han - 211.11

2 Moore-Towers/Marinaro - 211.05

3. Pen/Jin - 205.42

4. Cain/Leduc - 196.82

Marinaro should learn how to do lifts, sooner or later

r343 I think it's a bit of both, the choreo is better than Lori's average - definitely above their Over the Rainbow program, or their Hallelujah program... or their Turandot program... - and they interpret really well. There's that rising dynamics to routine, and the last makes for a fantastic crescendo - I don't remember seeing a lift like that. To be fair though, the first spin was butt ugly. Lori can occasionally produce something good - Like Boyang's SPs or Blues for Klook. Peng/Jin's SP last season was good too.

Peng/Jin's SP from 2 seasons ago was good too

R340

[quote]Who’s the guy with the podcast or youtube channel who posts in the TSL thread on FSU

I think you're talking about Tony Wheeler. Aside from his own yt channel, he's often on PJ Kwong's podcast too. Here's an interview with him. He calls himself a FS "Fexpert" (part fan/expert).

Satoko's PCS are infuriating. Yuna's too, but I'm more pressed about Satoko. That said, Tamura is the only reason I watched Bavarian Open. And uh, also Valter. I watched it for Valter too. Tamura is not huggy or touchy with skaters at K&C, even though during comps he watches them all like a hawk and is great at anticipating people's needs to allow Hamada to focus on her coaching. The very opposite of Misha Ge who does jack shit but likes to make his presence known.

But Jesus Christ, the sections behind judges were COMPLETELY empty. They didn't even put them up for sale? I remember at Worlds they were reserved for VIP package holders, and would fill up for the last groups of free skates, but here not so much.

The Ladies Free looked to have a good turnout though. Pairs not so much.

r341 r342 Thanks. Are the non-Hanyu threads taking traffic from GS?

r342 In her latest Russian interviews, Med was asked about the shipping with Hanyu and she claimed she didn’t know why it was happening, that Hanyu is shipped with everyone, and made it sound like it was coming from his side/fans. This started a while ago, but she’s also been visiting and liking comments from Hanyu-Med shipping accounts again, while blocking accounts that ship her with her Bulgarian friend. She seems particularly preoccupied with the yuzuzhenya IG.

R344 That’s very strange. I can’t think of a particular agenda, either.

R352 Thank you. I'll look into it later. Even if his criticisms are valid, I just find it weird to see him commenting and getting emotional in a competitor's thread.

R354 Looks like the PH folks are launching a new FS website. I don't check PH often, but I think the site is really organized and well run, so this should be interesting.

It is odd to see Tony get super involved in the TSL debate. I usually don't go to that thread, but was curious after the whole Coughlin thing. Has he always been a presence in that thread or just recently b/c of Coughlin?

r354 I think those threads take away the traffic in the same way PH takes away GS traffic in general, meaning PH members would otherwise post at GS. I don't think people who are not Hanyu fans go to PH to use the competitions threads, the Pairs and Dance threads have very low post count, unlike singles.

GS traffic in the competitions threads is down by about 30% but it's because those threads are paid, even though the fee is dirt cheap. In order to make up for that, GS staff opens pre-competition threads in the general forum, and post-competition threads. So, I'm assuming the competition threads themselves are pretty much active only during the competitions themselves.

Aaaand, when I go to check whether there was post count difference between the 16/17 and 17/18 season, it turns out GS is down.

British SKating Association Chairman in his peak moment...minute 0:50

R357 looked like it could have hurt, but he was a sport about it. Commentators were funny too: "that's your reward if you've stuck with us the whole time. ...That's why he's in the office."

Yeah, I'm not a paid member at GS and I feel like the site is generally dying a slow death. I barely visit now. Too many other options out there now that aren't so heavily modded (and free!). It was starting to feel like TWOP. Who needs it? Only the Russian ladies thread is super active, but it's also full of crazy conspiracy nuts. I can't stand the hyper nationalistic American and Canadian fans either.

To get ready, I'm watching some of the men's shorts I missed - Tomono had a pretty rough time and looked really rattled. And his coach looked worse! Misha Ge wasn't there and I thought it was interesting that Tara and Johnny said the music for his short did not suit him - that he needed something livelier. I wonder if Ge picked it? If so, ha ha. I want to believe that Misha being there and Tomono and his real coach looking nervy means there's a problem with the Ge situation and he's about to be kicked to the curb.

* I mean Misha NOT being there...

Misha is doing Art on Ice right now. But that didn't stop him from tweeting this:

[quote]@mishageofficial Feb 8 Is good to see your skater on SP all lv4 improvements, but big competitions psychology need to step up. It not always can work, even when you in the rink with them. But at least you can analyze “live” their mindset, tec and rhythm. And then give them feedback to try to fix.

Does anyone know of another "coach" who talks about "his" skater that way on social media?

R362 What a cunt. That's very disrespectful to both Tomono and his coach.

Oh, I missed this gem from his feed posted just the day before on Feb. 7. LOL! He must read here (of course like all narcissists, I'm sure he googles himself).

[quote]@mishageofficial This is why we become less saying about our opinions, words and thoughts. Because these days, no matter which way you will say, it will be no good anyway.

I'm still waiting for him to become "less saying"...sometimes less is more, dude!

Where's my sick bucket. Looked like the real coach (Taijin Hiraike?) needed one too. Thus must see that this guy's bad news.

It's not Misha's fault that Tomono hasn't improved. His quad isn't reliable, and he still looks and skates like a scrawny 14 year old. Last year he seemed promising, but now it looks like he's not able to reach the top.

Johnny called Keiji a “fashionable” skater with great knees who struggles w/consistency. Hadn't really thought of him that way (the fashion thing.) Oh well - seems like a nice guy. Tara said Keiji calls Daisuke his hero.

Tara said Shoma sprained his ankle three times in the last six weeks. Two days before short was the last time. All sprains on his right foot. He took quad flip out of his short. Johnny played that down – the skate holds your foot so so what? I don’t know though – why so many sprains then if the boot is keeping the ankle secure?

R366 No one is faulting Ge for Tomono's bad season. The problem is Ge constantly posting self-important messages on sns, acting like he's Tomono's main coach, talking up all the work he's done with Tomono (when he's been associated with him for all of a few months and who knows in what capacity), publicly chiding Tomono for not "step[ping] up" his "big competitions psychology," and making a show of coaching him through social media when his actual coach is there at the actual event.

Remember when Ge also made a deal of "choreographing" for Kozuka, said something like "we've talked about doing this forever so it's great we finally found time to do it!" When actually, as Kozuka apparently told it, Ge just approached him at some mall skating rink and ask to show him some moves and Kozuka thought he was just some rando?

r367 any news on "how" Uno is spraining his anke? Considering how he's always torquing his landings it's more surprising that he doesn't sprain it more often. The boot can only support so much or they wouldn't be able to skate.

I never would have used the word "fashionable" to describe Keiji either but I'm thinking that Johnny is using it in the same way others would say "stylish" and I would agree with that. Keiji has great knees, posture, and lines. If only he could get his jumps and nerves under control

On Shoma: Johnny said Shoma’s reputation made his messy landing only lose him 0.83 and with a lesser skater it would have been minus 2 or 3.

Johnny On Zhou: “He will land up on his toe and complete the rotation that way... He does land up towards his toe pick and it's easier to hide a UR when you land that way, and that's a technique and also a physical thing for many skaters" - commenting on his quad sal: "Again he lands way up on the toe, and that's not something that can necessarily be fixed by your coach. That's something that your ankle naturally will do." Tara thinks he can evolve out of that due to the strength of his technique.

They both think it's "unfortunate" that it's focused on (his URs) - Tara: "It certainly can be a distraction and for someone who's working so hard on the artistic side of his skating, you don't want to have that reputation, because it isn't fair. With many of the other skaters, the judges wouldn't have even taken the step to review [they reviewed two of his jumps during his short] but because there's so much attention on it, they're going to do it every time, and technically I guess that isn't really fair."

R362 Was this in English or Japanese? Is Tomono adept at English?

Highlights of Johnny and Tara wrapping up the discussion after men's short:

Johnny says Boyang’s jumps are classic Chinese technique – striaght up and straight down. They’ve always been like this: Get the rotations going up and down, boop boop, more about jumping really high as oppposed to the finesse we see from skaters like Nathan Chen, or a Shoma Uno on his best days, a Yuzuru Hanyu, that have the finesse of the movement of the quad. Jin comes “w/the sassy wiggles – he really chooses music that he’s entertained (so we can be too)– not the most classically artistic but he makes it fun.” Tara: on paper this is not the kind of artistry the judges are looking for but she likes it.

Johnny thinks Zhou’s reviewed and ratified clean quads may help him at Worlds - perhaps he won’t be looked at as suspiciously, so "perhaps Vinnie Zhou has thrown his name into the hat as a top contender for the world championships" (and this is why 4CC can be really important in setting the stage and expectations of the judges).

Tara: Cha took advantage of this opportunity to say to the World: hey I’m a contender too. Johnny: Making a name for yourself now – yes Hanyu/Chen will be there – but names like Cha and Zhou – they “can actually make themselves a favorite for the next few years, and that’s how figure skating works. It’s all about street cred."

Johnny: Shoma was cautious when he usually has a bit of wild, messy quality, either super chic or a disaster. Today he was paying too much attention to his ankle so he cdn’t let himself go. On Jason, he said there will come a time when judges tire of Jason not trying to one-up himself by going for a quad so he needs to be seen at least trying a quad and show that he wants to be on podium at Beijing – so he needs to be careful he’s wasting 4 years of his life on something that won’t happen

OK I'll shut up about two days ago... gonna go look for a stream!

R371 I think I heard Misha Ge say he spoke to Tomono in English, when he did the interview with Dave Lease.

And I've got the men on NBCSN! Johnny and Tara commentating. Leading after first two groups: Andrew Dodds AUS - 191.40.

First two groups are done - so coming up: Nadeau, Kerry, Tomono, Hiwatashi, Nguyen, Tanaka. Then final group: Uno, Messing, Brown, Zhou, Cha, Jin.

During break between groups, they re-show Rika's FS w/commentary. Tara said she's wearing skates from two different sets - one of her skates was too broken down. Johnny: "Rika has very few weakness but her artistic strength has not quite yet been cultivated. However, this FS is choreographed perfectly to every beat of the music and it makes her appear much more artistic than she may naturally be. We saw the same sort of choreography for Alina Zagitova at the Olympics - every element was placed on the music perfectly to create that moment. An absolutely brilliant skate - a triple axel at the top was a stunner... what she needed to do here to get to the top of the podium was skate perfectly clean and she was wonderful."

Shoma magnificent! Thought he was going to faint at the end, he had poured so much of himself into it, he collapsed onto the ice.

Keiji good. Shoma GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (others flubbing badly)

Shoma Uno got the GP Skate Canada gold and 4CC gold Hanyu still needs in his collection. Lol Maybe their lucks are flipped.

Jason Brown on or near the podium in Beijing??!! His skating/jumps are not improving at all, and his botched quad attempt showed that he reaally doesn't even have the jump. He would've been competitive in what... 1998? I like the guy and his skating skills and spins are gorgeous, but he doesn't have the jumps to be competitive anymore. Meanwhile Vincent's busting his ass and risking serious injuries doing the hardest quad jumps, and you get arm chair, loser fraus like "Karne" hemming and hawing about him and underrotations like a racist broken record.

Judging/calls were inconsistent and messy, but the standings were great. Uno can now lord his 4CC GM over Hanyu; Boyang looking a lot better; Messing and Tanaka with great skates; Zhou's scores dropping 20 points before he even got to the KC. Uno just gave it everything he had, which I've never felt from him before. Only downer is no calls for Uno, so it seemed they were determined to prop him up.

R377 We're supposed to give Zhou extra credit points for trying?

The panel still loves Uno. I still don't get it, but at least he doesn't poetically lament about how it's all him and much deserved like Zhou. He put great effort out there. I worried for nothing.

Even though there were problems, it's 4CC > Euros and the fans still calling Euros much more prestigious and on a higher tier than 4CC are delusional.

[378] I think the point is that Zhou going for tougher content while he's still young will pay off in the long run.

[377]In fairness to Jason his skating skills and jump quality have improved, but he still has the same SP layout from juniors.

Shoma's landings are so unattractive, esp. when compared to Messing who skated after him. Zhou's FS is clearly a second-rate seimei. Guy has zero charisma, and his URs can be seen from space.

So Uno got a WR? I guess the judges were itching to give it away, also overlooking his UR.

Oh, look at whoever is congratulating Uno for his FS World Record over at GS. Why, isn't it Mr. There are no World Records in FS hypocrite? Pretty sure he bolded it just to dig at Hanyu fans though. I wonder if they'll take the bait. Anticipate drama!

Are PH fangirls crying over it btw?

I was thinking of you, Tanaka-fan, when he landed those quads.

Poor Boyang. That lutz was beautiful until the step.

r356 Thank you.

r360 The music was Ge’s idea, but Tomono said he loved it.

r364 I think it might be related to the photos he recently deleted or the Athletes Commission survey he posted even though he hasn’t been elected yet.

r366 That public tweet and whatever stupid email he sent was a shitty thing to do and mental sabotage while the competition was still ongoing. He won’t take credit for the SP performance, but he sure did take credit for Tomono’s FS at Rostelecom which he did not choreograph.

R367 Lipinski was mistaken. Uno sprained his ankle for the third time two days before he left for 4CC and he arrived on the 31st. The first sprain was while he was warming up before he went onto the ice for nationals official practice, so he might've been wearing his sneakers at that time. (He was already injured before he fell during that 6-minute practice.)

R368 Close. Kozuka didn’t say he thought Ge was a rando, but said Ge was like a random old man passing by giving unsolicited advice.

Just got back from men's 4 Continents. Shoma was fantastic with only one visible error. Boyang moved up to second with an inspired skate.

Silver Shoma no more, happy for him. Scoring at worlds will be very interesting

Any word from Vincent on his scores? He had like 3 UR calls?

What I need now is Yuzuru is healthy and compete at Worlds. It would be exciting to see what he will do. How does his layout look ? Can he get back 4lo and 3lz ? Will he ditch risky 4T3A? His last skate is disastrous technically. fall and pop on his most consistent jump 3A, unclear edge call on 3F, an injury caused by a fall on 4lo, unknown 3Lz condition. Shoma's major title win ( with a WR!!!!), Nathan's monstrous scores at Nats, Boyang being back to his form, the rising of consistent Cha, how all of this affect him ?

govincentzhou

What. A. Competition!!! My biggest thank you goes to the unbelievable audience. I am so grateful to you guys for your support and enthusiasm. I am so proud of myself this week for overcoming obstacles I did not expect--a knee problem and having to switch to my backup skates for the competition. Resilience is a cornerstone of success in anything, not just sports, and I learned much about that through the last few days. Looking ahead to the coming month and Worlds in Japan, I look to train consistency of the quality elements I performed here in Anaheim and continue the upward curve I've been on. Thank you all again, and see you soon!!

Meanwhile, Satoko scored 204 overall in Bavarian Open

4CCs Men Victory Ceremony

Cotop achieved the minimum TES

So I guess Canadian ladies for Worlds will be Chartrand, Cotop and...Daleman if she is ready..otherwise Mallet

[quote]Meanwhile Vincent's busting his ass and risking serious injuries doing the hardest quad jumps, and you get arm chair, loser fraus like "Karne" hemming and hawing about him and underrotations like a racist broken record.

LOL, fuck off. Most of us who hate Vincent are fans of Boyang, Yuzuru, etc. Nothing racist at all about pointing out the obvious and hating Zhou for being a pretentious little shit. I love watching his tech score drop like a stone.

r377 However cuntish Karne can be, she's not an "armchair" frau. She actually skates and takes part in adult competitions. Do you?

And yeah, refusing to acknowledge you underrotate, calling your underrotated jumps "quality elements", proclaiming focus on "artistry" and then doing nothing in that dierction, sure is going to endear his "busting ass" to people.

And btw, I actually quite like Vincent's programs and I think he'd be very enjoable to watch if he wasn't such a little self-aggrandizing shit. Compare with Cha: he's got a multitude of problems too but people are able to enjoy his loltastic warhorse because he's not a prick. Vincent's like Patrick Chan 2.0, when personality actually impedes tbe reception of his programs.

omg Vincent is totally Patrick Chan 2.0.

I'm the Silver Prince no more!

392, actually, I do skate and compete. Vincent's jump landings looked a lot better at 4CC so he is trying to improve. Cha- how do we know he's not full of himself or whatever? Does he have social media, or write and speak English well enough? Boyang seems to not speak English and Yuzuru's is not good. Hard to determine who is Patrick 2.0 unless you know them personally and speak the same language.

Nobody is perfect, but not everybody behaves arrogantly in interviews or embarrasses themselves on social media. You are judged by what you present to the public, for better or worse. And it's never just a one-time thing with people like Vincent, Misha or Patrick. Or Courtney Hicks...etc.

Boyang, Cha, Hanyu, etc could also be pretentious pricks with dubious political affiliations but at least they're keeping it to themselves.

R397 so thats make them better? LOL

392, I do skate and have competed. I think Vincent's jumps showed improvement at 4CC. Meanwhile, injured ankle or not, Shoma still has the same bad landings. 389, thanks for the ceremony video. Sportsgold didn't even show it.

R398 Of course. I'm not going to be a fan Zhou just because hypothetically he could be the sweetest boy and the best person alive. Please. As someone said, we only get what he chooses to present to the public, and I base my opinions on that, that's all.

R395 Junhwan's English is actually good, he has a Canadian tutor who teaches him English. And you still don't see him write similar posts as Vincent. Maybe he should be like Junhwan.

Well. Imo shoma was over scored again. At this point it looks like the judges will keep pretending they didn't see things. I guess as a Hanyu fan it irritated me because Hanyu always has to work harder than every other skater. Sometimes I wonder why? Is it because they dislike his style? His costumes? 😞

Happy to see Zhenya on Instagram watching and supporting Jason and Junhwan.

188 score for Tukt in Lubljana

I've been thinking about the posts here and elsewhere about Shoma's lousy technique and wondering why it doesn't bother me - and I'm still such a big fan (though I'm fonder of Hanyu, but anyway... I had to laugh when I saw this header on the Japan Times article: "Shoma Uno captures Four Continents title after flawless free skate"

An excerpt: "He collapsed to the ice at the end of the program, which was more out of relief than elation. “I think I was able to do everything I can,” Uno said. “There weren’t a lot of happy emotions when I collapsed, it was like ‘I really did it.’ I thought about how I was injured after Nationals and how I can bring my skating to the next level.”

Anyhow, I know they are paid to exaggerate but I took these notes from Tara and Johnny, and maybe somewhere in there is why I really love his skating - or maybe I just love his personality and his cute face? Could be that - btw, in the article, there's a photo of Boyang and it's the first time I thought, "Hey, he's handsome!"

Johnny and Tara's comment: J: Shoma skates w/a lot of speed and a lot of drama – T: and a lot of power. J: Messy landing of quad toe, he broke at the waist...another messy landing..." Tara loves the way he moves on the ice – "a power and intensity unique to him. He brings it up a level – with the shapes that he makes and the speed that he gets – he grabs your attention. But one of his problems is the wildness of his landings." Johnny: He has a strange habit of either not checking his free leg on the landings – rarely do they both not check – but usually one is a problem..."

Oh well, that's my ramble about Shoma. I guess he's just cute and he doesn't brag. And maybe I'll understand Dai's "bulldozer" analogy someday (never gives up?)

PCS in the FS

Korea judge: 1) Uno 92.50. 2) Cha 91.50 3) Messing 89.50 4) Brown 89.0 5) Jin 86

Japan: 1) Uno 92.5 2) Brown 89.50 3) Messing 87 4) Cha 85.0 5) Jin 84.5

Taiwan: 1) Uno 92.0 2) Brown 89.0 3) Zhou 87 4) Messing 86.50 5) Jin 86

Kazakhstan: 1) Uno 93.5 2) Brown 90.50 3) Messing 88.50 4) Cha 83.50 5) Tanaka 80.0

USA: 1) Uno 95.0 2) Brown 93.0 3) Messing 89.50 4) Zhou 88.0 5) Jin 86.50

Canada: 1) Uno 96.50 2) Brown 93.50 3) Messing 88 4) Tanaka 85 5) Hiwatachi 84.0

Mexico: 1) Uno 95.0 2) Messing 89 3) Brown 88 4) Tanaka and Chan 85

Australia: 1) Uno and Brown 89.0 3) Messing 88 4) Cha 87 5) Tomono 85

China: 1) Uno and Brown 89.0 3) Messing 88 4) Jin 86.5 5) Zhou 86

North America sure does love Shoma. That surprises me R406. Thanks for posting it.

R395 LMAO, almost everything Yuzu says is translated even his farts. The fact that most people think Zhou is a narcissist is because of the words that come out of his mouth.

Zhou is not even close to a Chan 2.0. He doesn’t have the medals to back it up like Chan did.

GALA

Local novice girl

ice dancers

group performances by Ladies and Pairs

Mai Mihara

ice dancers

Messing

Cain/LeDuc

Tursy

ice dancers

Carillo

Peng/Jin

Tennell

ice dancers

Cha

syncro skarters

INTERVAL

Sean Rabbitt

group performance by men and ice dancers

Jason Brown

ice dancers

Boyang

Bell

Moore Towers/Marinaro

Lim

Zhou

ice dancers

Kihira

Sui/Han

Shoma

Wow what a trooper. With a bum ankle he just stressed for the comp, he still does the gala. Come on, Sho. You got Worlds coming up!

Do you have stream for ice dance?

Sean Rabbit ? Was he in the comp? Is he retiring? WTF? And leading off the second half?

R412 here

R413 special guest....."local man"

ahahah

R414 Thank You!

Vincent doesn't disappoint

Holy shit! Hubbell/Donahue drop from 1st to 4th place

R418

The tech panel downgraded the first lift to base value. And the spin went down to level 2. In the end they got the the lowest base value of the night, even lower than the Aussies who skated first.

Why is Donohue so reviled? I don't know or care anything about him but I'm curious as to why I'm seeing so many people celebrating his downfall.

r420 Not sure if you're referring to me but I don't really feel anything toward them. I'm just expressing shock. I've never seen the top dance team fall so far in a single competition. As far as I know, people just don't like this free dance. Perhaps someone can enlighten me if there's more reason to dislike them.

R421 Nah, I meant on Twitter, not you. I've always seen people talk about Donohue with the same disdain they talk about Zhou and I was wondering what he must have done to warrant everybody being so happy he lost. It's not both of them, just seems to be him.

r420 I just remembered. Wasn't Zach the one that said something about "giving away the bronze medal to the Shibs" at worlds or something? So maybe it's Shib fans that hate him?

R423 Might be. I don't follow any dedicated Shib accounts but maybe they're fans.

Lease is going to be on Fuji TV.

r389 Russian judge made me forget about Bettina and Ann. Highest GOE given to Aoki: +1. PCS: 6.25-6.75. Much kinder to Sakhanovich... The men must have been a mess looking at the judges scores, but at least Shimada landed the 4T+3T and Orzel can take a moldelesque photo with his silver medal.

R404 That score is painful, but the jumps in the second half of her FS were good and the 3A with the turn didn’t look too bad. We know she landed them in practice. But does this mean she'll have to do another competition and is there still time to join?

R425 Interesting that you mention the Russian judge...because I didn't remember any Russian judge in the SP and in these Senior Bs they don't usually rotate the panels like at Worlds/Euros.....it turns out that the Russian judge replaced the Israel judge

The final moments of Ice Dance competition

R426 She judged both pairs programs. So something happened to Israeli judge and brought in at the last minute?

Chock , that bitch glad she won , ahahha

Blood in Baviera

at the end of the FS of the Finnish ice dancers...

from 4m50s

at 3m40s they splatted on ice

R428 We can hope in something juicy!

But I notice that also Pairs had some changes...Bettina came in the FS to replace another Swiss woman. And a German judge popped out of nothing between SP and FS

Junior Ice Dance changed 2/3 of the technical panel between RD and FD. But I think I get what happened with Ice Dance. Senior event have a German Technical contoller, while Junior a Canadian one. Junior started on Friday while Senior on Saturday. The Canadian woman must have not arrived in time...and they had to draft the German controller in for the Junior event. However, no Fed can have 2 member on the Technical Panel (to have the results recognized at international level), so they had to replace Caruso (who is Italian but switched to Germany when competing and still have the German passport and is in "Germany" quota) with Margaglio (who was on site as he trains the Finnish team). Then they switched back to the planned panel for the FS on Saturday.

Hubbell was really channeling Ashley Wagner in Sochi there...lol. I find them likeable enough - never heard anything really bad about either of them. But I don't follow ice dance very closely. In fact, I didn't watch this comp because I figured it would be so predictable and H/D would win no matter what. Shows what I know.

This is very bad. Fuji was the broadcaster for 4CC in Japan. They did a 10-minute mini documentary on each Japanese singles skater for 4CC leading into the competition, except for Tomono. If you remember, they also snubbed him in their promotions for nationals. But this is more blatant and unthinkable.

By the way, one of Tomono's fans said his contract with Ge is for two years.

R431 Maybe the judges were collapsing from fatigue (or boredom) from all of that judging.

R433 I still remember Tomono's face in the KC after his FS. UGH. Any ideas why Fuji is snubbing him?

On why Zach is reviled - he apparently lost to the Shibs and said he gave "his" medal away. He and Hubbell both look pretty b*tchy and look like they're made for each other, just like the hypocritical god-touting Knerims are. This is all my personal bias from what I've seen but none of those four look particularly smart but sure do make up for it by being b*tchy.

On Shoma's charm - I think a part of why he's popular may have something to do with how utterly unpretentious he is. He skates within an inch of his life with an injured ankle and wins his first major gold with a huge upset and he interviews with words like "I can't really do this quad OR that quad, it's hard stuff". He doesn't seem interested in packaging himself at all. I don't really get the whole Hanyu fan vs. Uno fan thing. Both of these skaters have more in common than not. They both say "I sucked today" after a win and are hard workers. I don't get why Uno's great comeback has to be met with bitterness from Hanyu fans. I've never seen Uno fans doing the same for Hanyu's wins, despite Uno having some strengths Hanyu doesn't. But maybe having a bigger fanbase just automatically means having some crazies coming along too.

On Cha supporters hating on Hanyu - I don't think it's fair to assume that Koreans are going to automatically hate Hanyu because of Cha any more than they "hate" other skaters that are competing with their own skater, or any more than Japanese fans hate on Cha for competing against Hanyu. There are lots of diehard Yuzu fans in Korea and lots of diehard Yuzu haters in Japan too, but of course it doesn't fit the "Koreans hate our poor Yuzu and K-pop is toxic btw" narrative. The biggest insult the Japanese haters hurl at Yuzu is a conspiracy theory on him being Korean so there's a whole racist thing going on there.

On whether Cha or Boyang are c*nty in their own language - I don't know Chinese but I do know Japanese and Korean and Cha is known to be a pretty level headed, humble boy. Personality wise he's closer to Uno than Hanyu, doesn't get distracted by stuff and just keeps his head down and focuses on skating. Quiet kid, not cripplingly shy like Uno was but seems content with his own company. Less of a flip-switch than Uno, it seems, and more generally stable. Doesn't think very highly of himself though.

Lots of Fanyus are mad on twitter because 4cc doesn't have Hanyu in it and Uno broke a world record. Lol everyone's gotta be mad about something I guess.

You're so good R435 !! Thanks for being here!

I was the Uno fan upthread (who's an even bigger Hanyu fan), and I really appreciate your take. I was also the one worried about Hanyu/Cha and Korean fans. My fear comes from a prejudice - I was an Apolo Ohno fan, the short track speed skater who won in the Olympics. I'm embarrassed that I've forgotten the details but there was some race or something that they thought he cheated in - the Koreans I mean - at least I think that's what was going on - and Apolo himself said Koreans were cheating by "team skating" -- where one skater would be designated as the spoiler and would try to take Apolo out of the race so his compatriots could win.

Well, since, I've kinda figured out Apolo was no boy scout himself and it's kinda the way things go in that sport, but it's so HUUUUUGE to the Koreans - anyway, death-threats, body-guards, it was terrifying at the time (as a fan).... I'll try not to bring those fears with me, looking foward w/Hanyu & Cha competing - probably being at TCC together will dilute any fanbase warring.

Sorry to ramble as is my wont (but I'm the TSL troll so congrats to myself for weaning myself away from that!) Also super glad for some background on Cha.

[quote] Lease is going to be on Fuji TV.

I can't resist - he's going to be interviewed? Move to Japan and have a show?? Must admit, whatever he's doing with Fuji, I'm shocked. Just a couple weeks ago, he was shutting down in disgrace...so it seemed. Canceled his trip to Nationals, though Jonathan went - and Jonathan's at 4CC too. I've been restraining myself but I'm sure I'll have to listen to This and That... well, anyway, thanks for the scoop!

R435 Oh dear, aren't you the one who also tried to characterize Yuna's Korean fans as "mild"? On one hand, you've defended Korean bitterness and hate by explaining that they're rooted in historical grievances (and I don't disagree with that); on the other, you've tried to argue that this is an unfair stereotype and untrue. Can't have it both ways. Cha has a great personality (as far as I can tell) and I enjoy his skating. I absolutely do not buy that his emerging fandom will be sane.

Maybe they're not on my TL, but I don't see many Hanyu fans getting mad at Uno. There are, however, some pissed off Boyang fans who thought the failure to call Uno's URs cost Boyang his gold. I'm always of two minds about Uno. I actually love his skating, despite the flawed jumps, so I'm not too upset when his URs don't get called. On the other hand, there's starting to be a line of skaters judges have fucked over to prop Uno up. Has anyone crunched the numbers to see if calls on Uno would have changed the result at 4cc?

R427, thanks for that clip! Comic gold there, the the shock on H&D AND C&B's faces was hilarious. I've never been a big Chock/Bates fan but am happy for them winning their first major title after injury. Happy for Shoma too, even though again he's not my favorite. That win was long overdue for him.

I stayed up all night to watch the ladies Friday night (I'm in Europe), then was too tired to do that for the men or ice dance. The ladies weren't great, looks like I should've stayed up for men and/or dance instead.

r430 Whoa.

R435 Let's not pretend fans of other top skaters putting asterisks next of Hanyu's wins don't exist. Dai ubers joined Uno's fandom to hate on Hanyu. Uno has his ubers as well. Unfortunate for Cha, he might also get ubers who only support him to hate on the other skaters. Hanyu fans did not create toxicity in figure skating and will not be the last fandom that is petty, toxic, and bitter.

r435 the fanatics are a minority but are the loudest, many fanyus love the TCC brotherhood and Shoma. Also lots of fanyus can admit that they are surprised the Helsinki FS record held for so long ( has URs and 1st GP for Yuzu).

R423 he did say “medals are dust” so he must be okay with losing this one

speaking of Yuna Kim, who is considered the Female GOAT, Henie or Witt maybe?- based on OGM, they both repeated. Is this argued as much as Buttons/Plu/Hanyu?

I think people dislike Donohue because he tends to say shit like this:

[quote]Hubbell and Donohue are secure that they have “the right recipe,” said Donohue, to dethrone defending world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France. “We have fantastic programs, if not the best in the world,” said Donohue. “There’s no need to go back and change anything. The only thing is going back and double-checking what we already know. Just making sure there’s not even an ounce of question in anyone’s mind that’s watching. And otherwise continue.” And if there is a question, he said, “I’d rather have it here and have a whole month to prepare for what’s to come, because there’s not going to be any wiggle room if we’re trying to take out the champs.”

R435 I don't really see any hanyu fans complain about Uno win, but I did see complaining about Uno's ur jumps that rarely get called, at 4cc if his ur jumps get called , it's Boyang who would get gold , same as Olympic, it's Javier who would get silver.I heard that in football, the coach can ask to see at camera if they suspect something goes wrong.I think in figure skating they should have a rule that the coach or athletes can ask about ur, wrong edge of other athletes right away,in this case the technical monitor will be shown on TV ,making drama happen and end within competition, not after.Actually this rule will make this sport more interesting,because people always think that skating is self competing.The result of each skaters has nothing to do with other skaters.But if they make this rule happen,it will make the real "battle against each other,more interesting than each one do than own show and just wait how the judges will give the scores. It may attract more viewers who love to see real sport and drama.

R446 Boyang was ripped off the gold at a prior Asian Winter Games for Uno, so seems Uno will become very good at collecting those medals that has nothing to so with the skating but all about the judging.

Well, Itsuki cares nothing about fancy shmancy rotated jumps and... makes a cake and cleans the house for Shoma's return?

I've seen Hanyu fans (among others) complaining about the judging, but I haven't seen any complaining about the FS world record. It was only a record because of mediocrity and/or floppage all around, so an okayish skate from Hanyu was enough to top the heap for a while. I was surprised it took until February to break and I expect multiple men will surpass the new record in Saitama.

Junliet

With Japan's snazzy ice scope technology measuring jump height, distance, and speed, you would think it'd be much easier to start really analyzing degrees of PR and UR too. I would assume this wouldn't happen though, as some of their biggest stars (namely Uno and Miyahara) are notorious for one or the other, but it'd be interesting to see what kinds of conversations will come from it.

Worlds will be interesting though and I hope they'll be a stream of the Japanese broadcast to see how the numbers actually look for some of the athletes we haven't seen any data from yet, especially for the usual top quad jumpers (consistent or not).

r435 is the person who claimed in previous threads to have lived in Japan for a long time, but in another thread said they didn’t know how Japanese interact online and pulled a temporary disappearing act whenever questioned why they’d said things no one who’s lived in Japan would claim. I think they’re a big Yuna and Cha fan from the way they’ve continually described those skaters. (To be fair, no different from the way Hanyu’s butt is constantly described here.) Just check thread 2 and 3. For no apparent reason, they often bring up kpop when talking about Japanese figure skaters.

R436 Hanyu already has his Korean haters. They were posting death threats on the official Olympics IG after his last gold medal. But if they start supporting Cha, they’ll no longer be able to justify their Hanyu hate with his Orser association and Cha was recently added to Stars on Ice Japan.

R437 Lease tweeted he was interviewed about Kihira, but didn’t elaborate.

R438 There were Hanyu fans complaining about the Uno fans who‘d mocked Hanyu’s injury and criticized him for skating injured. But pretty much everyone (including some of Uno’s own fans as well as skaters and coaches) has complained about the lack of calls on Uno’s jumps.

R448 Itsuki has been taking notes from Deniss! Oh, but he still threw shade about his comics not being returned.

I haven't read the thread in a while, so apologies if this was posted before...but it's quite funny!

Zhou and his coaches are digging in, blaming bad calls, faulty equipment and unfair scrutiny for his URs. Excerpts from a recent article:

“The more I show consistency, I guess, the less scrutiny I’ll get,” the 18-year-old said. “But that’ll take a lot of hard work on my side and not blaming others for giving me bad calls.”

------

Christy Krall, one of Zhou’s coaches in Colorado Springs, Colo., agrees Zhou must continue to work hard for consistency. Still, she thinks many skaters – not just Zhou – have fallen victim to bad calls from technical panels.

“If you can’t really see the truth, how can you call the truth?” Krall said. “If you are going to measure it, measure it with the best piece of equipment you can.”

Krall, a 1964 Olympian and former coach of three-time world champion Patrick Chan, believes the ISU must invest in better equipment to ensure technical panels have the high-quality replay footage they need to review skaters’ jumps.

“They are not using the proper equipment to measure these drastic calls that can make or break your career,” Krall said. “They need to find the tool that is accurate and not some mystery, because skaters’ lives depends on this.”

R453 I don't think anyone's posted it here, but I've seen it elsewhere and it is funny: "So I just, like, squirm back in. What else am I supposed to do?" Haha.

R444 You might be interested in this measured, vintage DL discussion re the GOAT in ladies figure skating. There is a tussle between an Ito fan and a Yamaguchi fan, with one telling the other to pull their tampon out because it's full(?) and someone comparing Yamaguchi to a used tampon. There's some discussion as to whether Hughes was fat. Someone insults someone else's vagina. The insult "pig fucker" is hurled. Accusations of someone being crazy as the result of an untreated venereal disease. Just some highlights.

R456 LMFAO, thank you for that. It was bitchery at its best! These recent posts are so measured ... snore

R448 Itsuki doing the PR work and leeching off his brother's fame and everyone calling them cute is something I'm immune to. If it was a casual rare thing I get it, but it's coming off as so calculated that it's cringe especially when their fans soak it up.

Hanyu is as dependent on his mother and he's lucky she's not a fame whore or coming out with a book on how to raise a ogm son.

Good thing I wasn't around when Mai and Mao was a hit.

Well, a little bit to "bump" and a little bit of TSL on Vincent Zhou, because I have OCD.... In TSL's 4CC edition, they talked a lot about Vincent. Jonathan said he wondered why "Tara and Johnny were really 'squashing' Vincent and putting him in his place – Dave: the fed wants to put him in his place even though, unlike Max Aaron, he’s not keeping a better skater from worlds or any kind of thing like that...."

They did talk a lot about his URs and because of his reputation, he'll be reviewed more often. Dave continued with his continuing obsession that Tom Z and his crew are terrible: "In colorado, tammy and tom z, there’s a lot of yelling among the coaches instead of a team approach. there’s a ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ kind of approach, so no one is looking at the big picture, there’s not an overall manager. Shoma Nathan and Yuzu look at the big picture; even Kolyada looks at the big picture, but Vincent just misses the stuff – he misses some of the trees for the forest, because of mistakes. But I think with Vincent, it’s just the detail work" (D thinks Boyang is better artistically – ss, projection)

Zhou’s mother is also a strong presence in the rink. He tried going to mie hamada, who said " you know the skating skills are lacking" -- he’s worked w/tom dickson – maybe he needs to train in ice dancing for a while?

"Tom Z has proven time and time again that he’s missing the big picture. D: "With Vincent, you see the stiff leg, then some of the spins are plus one instead of plus 4, and then you see someone like Messing who maybe has some Elvis Stojko like qualities but unlike VZ, he’s going for the spins and he’s going for the performance, and he’s skating w/abandon and aggression. VZ’s quad lutz was good – the other ones were not. He just a little bit nails on the chalkboard – so you see the hook on the landings which haven’t been addressed despite their explanations and excuses."

Bit more shade on Tom Z: Things are going badly for Ting Cui in Colorado – the K&C at 4CC was awful – and what happened afterwards was awful – expect a coaching change. Dave thinks it desperately needs to happen).

Shoma will win the worlds and Yamada will shade Hanyu forever.

French team for Worlds

Aymoz

Lecavelier

James/Cipres

Papadakis/Cizeron

Lauriault/Legac

SafeSport ended its investigation into Coughlin. Here's the Phil Hersh article.

Thanks R459. I agree with TSL on Tom Z for the most part. I was appalled at how he was dealing with Ting in the K&C. It's a shame to think of a skater making another major coaching change so quickly, but in this case I'd welcome it. When I heard she went to Tom last summer I was really disappointed.

[R463] How many coaches has Ting had?

R462 from article

“Interim measures are communicated to responding parties directly, in writing, at the time they are issued and include the following:

• The reason(s) for the interim measure(s), the allegation(s) the Center received, information about the investigation process; and

• The responding party’s ability to appeal any interim measures to an independent, trained arbitrator at any time (which the Center must accommodate within 72 hours if requested), the right to an advisor, and the opportunity to speak with an investigator about the allegations, ask questions, share an account of the situation and identify witnesses and other relevant information and evidence.

In no way does the Center restrict individuals from speaking for themselves, though it may advise caution in the interest of protecting individuals’ privacy and safety, especially that of minors.”

So Coughlin lied, he could have spoken up. He also had the write to appeal and tell his side. His stupid supporters should think about being more compassionate to the potential victims. They don’t even realize fuckin KC/ MAGA hats were form of bullying potential victims.

R465 I don't think this shows Coughin lied, even though he should have worded his statement (that SafeSport rules "prevent[ed]" him from speaking "since the case remains pending") more carefully. The interim measure you quoted above says that while Safesport doesn't restrict individuals from speaking, it "may advise caution in the interest of protecting individuals’ privacy and safety, especially that of minors." What could he have said at that point besides, "I didn't do it." Should he have gone to the press and identified the victims or called them liars but not by name? We're talking about young victims here. If he did that, the public would have had him for dinner, whether or not he was actually innocent. We would have accused him of trying to influence the investigation and intimidate the victims and rightfully so. So yes, he should have kept his mouth shut until he and his team knew more about the allegations.

It fucking sucks that the victims will get no closure and at least some of them will be made outcasts by the skating community through rumor and innuendo. If some of these people are willing to rally around Coughlin the way they did publicly, imagine how horrible they might be to the victims in private. It's disgusting that all this disrespect for the victims and the process has been paraded so brazenly and now they're just going to try to bury it. Yet, when some USA gymnastics type scandal inevitably breaks out, they're all going to pretend to be shocked and disappointed.

Not all were minors and committing suicide is very sad, but anyone who comes for the potential victims should reassess their souls.

There's a ~discussion~ on GS in the post-4CC Men's thread, in the main section. People noticed there were a lot of empty seats. A troll said it was because Hanyu was not there. CSG said a true fan watches all displines. Another person said that if you buy an all-event ticket, you should watch all events because it's a privilege to watch elite skaters. People were not having it. Lots of tl;dr from CSG.

R468 this argument is so old and stupid especially for 4CC. Yes, Hanyu sells more tickets then any other skater BUT plenty of tickets were available even after everyone knew he wasn’t going. Hanyu fans try to resell and even give away tickets- not their fault other skaters can’t sell as many tickets. Also “true fans” can do whatever they want with their time and money. It’ll be interesting to see ticket sales after Hanyu retires.

Competitions like 4CC are long and exhausting. Not everybody is willing to park their ass in a freezing arena for 3 full days (or more) eating the crappy overpriced food. Locals have lives and maybe can't go to every event - plus, a lot of those tickets were sold for individual events on Groupon because the all event ticket prices were ridiculous! So it's not surprising at all that there were some empty seats. Hell, there were empty seats at the GPF (and yes, I'm sure a lot of those were Hanyu fans). It would be nice if those unused seats could go to local underprivileged kids or something, but it never happens.

LOL at the people in that thread saying those who buy all-event tickets should be obliged to attend every event and watch every flight. Hell no, I'm not sitting through a bunch of terrible rhythm dances from low-tier teams. Sorry. I wonder how many competitions these people have actually gone to. Sure, I'll try to watch everyone at a Skate America where there's 12 skaters/pairs max, but you try doing it at a junior GP or 4CC/Euros and see how much you enjoy it.

When I occasionally go to skating events, I don't usually even buy all event tickets, I just pick and choose. Back when I lived in the Bay Area nationals was there at some point, and I just bought individual tickets to a few events on the weekend. I didn't have that much time off work and wasn't going to use it to attend anything happening during business hours.

Jesus, GS is so fucking tiresome, especially now when fewer people are posting and you get the same old posts from the likes of CSG et al. I actually find FSU more amusing. I don't post there either, but the posters can be very funny, wear their insanity on their sleeve and have a hilarious appreciation for the arcane trivialities of fs history.

I have a question about the Coughlin investigation - I read an article that said SafeSport received the complaints in December (and posted the restriction on their website shortly thereafter). The guest on TSL suggested they had been investigating since October. Has anyone seen a clear timeline of how this all went down?

I'm a skating fanatic too, and even I would not buy all event tickets or want to sit through every single event & competitor. I have work to do, not being retired, and a lot of the lower ranked skaters are bad and boring. Plus, from a physical standpoint, those arena seats are often cramped and uncomfortable. Add in the cold, lousy arena food, high ticket prices, and possibly getting constipated from sitting too long--- no thanks. Anyone crowing about fans being disrespectful for not sitting through everything is an idiot.

R473 here, To clarify, I should say that SafeSport received "a" complaint in December and posted the restriction in December.

R474 People making these arguments are either assholes trying to stir up shit or someone who has never been to a skating event and had to sit through everything you're describing. With respect to 4CC, it's the organizers' fault - the tickets, especially the all-event ones, were incredibly over-priced; there was a computer glitch that made it seem a whole swath of tickets were sold out when, in fact, they weren't. By the time Groupon started selling tickets in December, there were hundreds left. At that point, it was clear Hanyu was injured and unlikely to go, so fans of other skaters were free to buy those tickets at a heavily discounted rate, but they clearly chose not to.

r475 Let's not forget Nathan Chen's absence either.

I looked at that discussion and I think the cries "oh figure skating is not popular in the US" is a bit exaggerated. The turnout at Nationals looked good. Not Japan or Russia good, but pretty good still. Those empty seats at 4CCS are totally the organizers' fault. Overpriced, not the great location, trying to bank on Hanyu and Chen's appeal, badly marketed.

R473

Pre-investigation Rumors of John Coughlin and minors for years

October Investigation with first allegation of sexual misconduct begins

Dec 17 SafeSport posts interim restriction

Jan 4 TSL tweets restriction after alerted by a coach and former skater

Jan 7 Christine Brennan from USA Today publishes article on restriction

Dec 17–Jan 17 SafeSport receives two more allegations of sexual misconduct involving minors

Jan 17 SafeSport elevates restriction to interim suspension

Jan 18 Professional Skaters Association emails all members about suspension

Jan 18 John hangs himself in father’s home

Shoma's reaction to the cake. Photo #3t tkes the, uh, cake.

R477 Thank you! Aside from the TSL guest, did you see anyone else reporting that the first complaint was filed in October? I've linked the article I read stating that SafeSport "received a complaint about Coughlin in December. SafeSport imposed an interim restriction on Coughlin at that time as it began to investigate."

I guess I'm curious because I wonder whether SafeSport had been investigating Coughlin before the first complaint was filed, knew about the allegations and encouraged the complainants to make it official. As you stated, there have been rumors about Coughlin for years.

Shcherbakova's SP from the EYOF. We can squabble about her not holding positions, lack of artistry, forgettable music but holy shit. From this camera angle, with her being so small and thin, and yet so fast, some of those elements look like magic tricks. Like, wait, what, what did she just do?

Like a gawking philistine that I am, I think I enjoyed that more than all Japanese and American ladies put together. How realistic is my hope that she won't end up as one of Eteri's flashes in the pan?

Forgot the video

R480 r481 LOL, she’s another junior skater with talent to be sure, but no superhero. Liu and Rika, just as talented

r482 They're boring, though.

Alysa Liu is an adorable girl and congrats to her on the 3A, but she needs a ton of work and polishing before I would say she is on the same level as Eteri's girls or Rika.

Sean Rabbitt is unabashedly begging to join shows in Japan. JDC, how is he viewed? Who's actually giving him work in Japan? Jason Brown is also learning Japanese. Guess they know where the money's at.

And JDC, what happened to Yasu-something Nanri, who complained about not making enough from ice shows and broke up or got dumped by Miki?

R484 I get your point currently. But with the exception of rika, who is already winning senior comps, the juniors are a big ????? A lot of people think eteri girls are boring, Liu needs finesse, the speed at which these gals progress is unknown. IMO, that video was just another talented junior no better or worse than others.

Plushenko and son are at TBS studios filming for “Honoo no Taiikukai” as we speak.

Hanyu is getting a new monument in Sendai, most likely of him in his Seimei costume.

Itsuki is going to be a guest on “The Sekai Gyouten News” on NTV next Tuesday. It’s a variety show where they show shocking (trashy) news stories and youtube videos from around the world.

Did Radford, boyfriend, and Abbott remove their photos with Judge Bulge?

R485 I think Rabbitt’s Japanese sister-in-law has been trying to help him appeal to Japanese audiences. Rabbitt became well-liked after he organized a charity show for the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, but he never became that popular. He’s only done a couple of small workshops and (free) shows in Japan. He’s been hanging around Honda a lot since she moved to Raf and people do see his behavior as desperate lately. That tweet naming specific shows like Continues was a terrible idea. In his following tweet, he also said he’d be in Japan during worlds, but doesn’t have a ticket, so… and since SOI Japan is right after worlds and his birthday is around the same time, it’d be a great birthday present if he was invited, you know?

Brown has said he wants to be an English teacher in Japan someday and he’s been studying Japanese for at least five or six years, but he’s still a beginner judging by his most recent videos.

I don’t think there’s been any news about Yasuharu Nanri for years. He supposedly sued Ando after their breakup for 15,000,000 yen. He likely won, but probably not the full amount. Ando and her mom pressured him to quit skating to support Ando and her daughter, and he was quite attached to the little girl. But on Nanri’s birthday, a tabloid published photos of Ando kissing Fernandez and that was the end of their relationship.

R478 Hold on. What happened to Itsuki’s cake? He baked a chocolate cake and the handwriting on that strawberry shortcake is the same as the cakes from their usual dessert shop.

Kevin Reynolds also speaks Japanese and has a lot of Japanese fans, as I understand it. Sean's behavior is very cringeworthy though. There are a lot of skaters who are a lot more accomplished than him that don't get invited to shows. Maybe he should have spent some time and energy learning a 3A or a quad. If you can't even get a GP invite after all these years, then who is going to pay you to be in their shows? And he was never even higher than 8th at US Nats? And he's 28??? LOL.

Rabbit performed at the gala for US Nats, so I guess he's got some sort of pull, somewhere. Seemed kind of random to me. Maybe if it had been Rippon, Abbott, Nagasu, Gold, Aaron, Wagner, well ok, but Rabbit?

And poor Junhwan. South Korea is making him compete in YET another comp, the Winter National Sports Festival , apparently his tenth of the competition, on February 19, even though he's also trying to get ready for Worlds. And apparently still is having boot problems and is in need of rest. WTF? According to GS poster, apparently he's not allowed to skip this!

Why are they mean, especially to their budding stars?

* I meant his tenth of the SEASON

[quote] Brown has said he wants to be an English teacher in Japan someday and he’s been studying Japanese for at least five or six years, but he’s still a beginner judging by his most recent videos.

The people I know teaching English in Japan did not speak Japanese before going over. Only the most basic of phrases to get around. Definitely not a requirement.

From what I gather teaching English in Japan is kind of a low wage, dead end job. You don't really need any qualifications besides having some sort of college degree and native level English. But, unlike Rabbitt, somebody like Brown probably has enough accomplishments where he could be invited to skate in some shows. And Brown comes from a wealthy family so money wouldn't be an issue.

I wonder what "Continues " will be like this year. Likely won't recycle last year I would think.

R480 I like Shcherbakova too, but she looks so fragile, I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes another one on the list of Eteri flameouts. She just had a hard fall and might withdraw from the FS at EYOF.

R487 Didn't Fernandez and Ando also announce their relationship with some overwrought SNS message about how they were going to build a happy family? Seems pretty jerky and insensitive given someone else clearly thought he was part of that family.

I guess reports of Shcherbakova possibly withdrawing were wrong - she just won the whole thing. Good for her.

Fall on the 4Lz. Downgraded.

UR also 3Lo of the first combo.

Rest good except for 3F+1Eu+3S which was ok

202 overall score

Second place to Beccari with 173

Lambiel and Vasiļjevs have been added to SOI Japan. I guess Shimada’s presence should’ve been a clue. It’s been 10 years since Lambiel last performed on the tour.

R488 I think Reynolds has only been invited to one ice show in Japan and that was the year he won 4CC. But he is an advanced speaker and I think he’s actually moving to Japan for further study or non-skating work after he graduates from university.

R491 r492 That’s the case if you’re just an assistant or teach at an English conversation school, which is what most foreign English teachers do, but you need several qualifications (education degree, Japanese teaching license, training, etc.) to teach at a regular school or university. I assume (hope) Brown was referring to the latter.

R494 Yes! Ando announced it right before NHK Trophy! Some tabloids even mistakenly reported that they were engaged because of that “building a family” part, which was confusing because they’d just been engaged to other people and pretended the kiss was a “friendly greeting among skaters.”

Name that author:

Entry 1

[quote]Steep stone spires erupt from earthen green / Hues of blue sleep upon an untouched bed / Lush viridity weaves in patterns imperfect / Soothing textures define paradise / Smoky gray erupts from manufactured black / Shades of steel shift restlessly upon deliberate fabric / Structured chaos delineates itself into braided shapes / Above all, a sparrow in the wrong sky / Fly, fly away.

Entry 2

[quote]Strangely, this photo displays the city as the cage for people, with occasional windows towards the freedom of nature. And though we're supposed to treasure it, isn't it almost better to stay in our cages for as long as we're still re-learning how to live with nature and not against it? For people still tend to bring havoc wherever we set our feet. Sometimes for the better, often for worse.

R493 I doubt there will be another one this year. Hanyu said that he didn't think he'd do another until he retired

Joseph Phan starting early the slut path

R499 can u tell me where u read that

I was looking for what R499 said - I have some vague recollection of him saying he would do another CWW - just don't remember the details. But it does sound about right - that the next time would be when he retires.

While hunting, I found this Yuzu quote from some old interview that I thought was interesting (don't know what year it was, but when Patrick was still in his hay day I'd assume):

Hanyu shared his view on this matter, "Skating varies with each person. Patrick's skating requires a great amount of power. Takahiko Kozuka genuinely rides his edges, he has a light and agile quality to his skating. Takahashi's is extremely slick. Of course it's unthinkable to try to be any of those skaters, but if I'm pressed to choose, I'd like to aim for Takahashi's skating style, who's capable of abandoning himself to the flow [of the program] without exerting any effort."

For R501: Some translations of Yuzuru of Continues with Wings performances (at the end) - people on PH, GS and/or Twitter:

Yuzu: "If I am able to do something like show again, please come and see me again" ... "Everyone, truly, thank you so much. Where's the camera? To the people viewing live, thank you for watching until the end. I have a lot I want to say but I can't say it well. The first people to talk to me about this show was TV Asahi, and because of them I was able to do the live viewing for those who can't watch my ice show live. It's a show with a different atmosphere to a usual show. Also, can they hear me, the people commentating up top? I received a lot from you." [Camera turns to Nobu, who sort of gestures: "Let me skate a bit geez!")

Yuzu: "...if I can maybe do it next year...I don't know when but... what I really feel is that I couldn't have done this alone. Maybe one day when I finish competition and become a pro skater, maybe this show will continue so please come and see it then... I'm truly happy I'm alive. Then...I'm going to say thank you. One day, please come again."

R503. Thank you for posting that. When I read it I smile. He says the same thing again several times. I find that so cute. I am glad he said he is truly happy to be alive. I don't think I'll ever forget what he told us all at his show. I know it made me see him as human like the rest of us. He can get hurt and be depressed just as we all can be. I'm glad he found the strength to stay with us. We all just want him happy and hopefully one day he can give us another show.

Another translation that includes the controversial part:

Yuzuru: "And, can you hear me? The person who’s commentating right now, Nobu-kun? I’ve also received a lot from you, thank you. (Nobu: thank you very much) Can you hear me? (Nobu: I can hear you! Yaaay~) Thank you (Nobu: Let me skate a little too~) How many minutes do I have left… I’m curious… (giggles) Really, really, I wonder what it is, gathering skaters I love, skaters I love and want to watch, being able to watch them myself and enjoy it - becoming someone who is able to hold an ice show like this really makes me happy. The people who allowed me to become this person are, without a doubt, the people here, and also those who may be frustrated they were unable to come. I really think it’s thanks to those people. Thank you for all your support. Continues ends this year for now, but perhaps, next year or the year after, I might do it again. But what I really think is, because I’ll be competing, I might not be able to be involved with producing and and create such a rich three days of show myself. However, someday, when I stop competing and become a pro skater, I want to do a show even better than this again at Continues. Come watch then too! Please come watch!

I looked at the clock and I have another 4 mins… I really have a lot I want to say, though. I asked Plushenko-san about this earlier during the talk show, and I talked about it with Johnny so I said something yesterday too. Johnny has also had disagreements with fans and done various things, and he does talk show work now so he’s attacked no matter what he says. I have a little experience with that too. No matter what I say, people will say (negative) things. Even if I’m just skating, (negative) things will be said. Things like that don’t just happen to me. I have attention gathered around me so it seems like it’s a lot, but I think it happens to people living normal lives as well. However, in the midst of all that, everyone here came to watch the show I held like this, raised their voices and released their stress, and I hope the show was able to become a part of everyone’s happiness. That’s why, at one period, when a lot happened including with the weekly magazine, I thought “why am I living” and “I’ll just die” countless times. But, but in the end, everyone gave me lots of support like this, and above all, what made me the happiest was when the people I admire sent messages to me. It happened right after the disaster as well, and everyone gave comments like “Yuzu, you’ll be okay.” I was really thankful, and I thought “I’m happy I’m skating.” Right now, I truly think “I’m happy to be alive.” Truly, thank you very much.

Well, here I go. I’m gonna say “thank you very much,” ok? Those at the live viewings might not understand, but when I* say “thank you” please say “thank you very much” together. For today as well, thank you very much!!! (audience: thank you very much!) Truly, thank you very much. Someday, someday, please come watch me again!

(*He slips and uses 俺 (ore), which is more casual, but he corrects himself and says it again with 僕 (boku), which is what’s normally used in public appearances.)

r505 Not to beat a dead horse but what happened with a weekly magazine?

We need JDC to explain! I found this possible explanation - I'm just quoting someone else so I can't vouch for it - please skip if you don't want to go down this rabbit hole again, but I guess if Yuzuru publicly called it out, it's hard to never go there, but there was some male critic (some kind of director?) of Yuzuru who published something in Japan Weekly (maybe not the name of it?--- and maybe not even what Yuzu was talking about but this is what I found as an explanation - hopefully to be corrected by JDC or someone in the know (and this might be just one of the articles or ugly gossipy stories that this "weekly" was responsible for):

[title: Flaming "Director of Gintama" I am going to prince on ice! We are not good at Hanyu stringing "→ apologize for criticism and rush"]

There was some back-handedness and sarcasm. Paraphrasing here but the director began by saying “Yuzuru is so amazing but he’s just not my cup of tea. I mean, there’s probably just something wrong with me but…” and then went on to describe Yuzuru’s various actions and comments as insincere and narcissistic. “Maybe it’s the way he spoke to the ice and thanked his leg after his performance, or maybe how he seemed to deliberately face the camera to show off tears in his eyes… It was like he was too into himself and creating his own world. As a director, creating fiction is my job and maybe his words would make some good lines in a film, but this is real life and it’s so embarrassing. I prefer Shoma. I also loved Daisuke Takahashi when he was around.”

A week later, the director came out with a follow-up in the next issue of the magazine, where he said he’d gotten in trouble with his wife and Yuzuru’s fans, and apologized in a joking manner. Almost two weeks after that, he tweeted he regretted what he’d written, hinting that Yuzuru’s fans had pressured him into apologizing on twitter. This was then picked up by major news sites and forums.

But the article didn’t actually receive a reaction and only came to light after the director’s tweets, which made the true purpose of the follow-up and the entire point of the original article suspicious. Why would a film director, who has nothing to do with figure skating or Yuzuru, bother to write such an article? Why would a Shukan Gendai bother to publish it, especially right after Yuzuru had recently returned from the Olympics triumphant? Why bring it up again when it had gone unnoticed?

The particular director has a reputation for attention-seeking behavior on social media and it was suspected he was trying to get a reaction to drum up interest in his upcoming film, Gintama 2. Sadly, some people also came out in support of the director saying they also find Yuzuru insufferable and accused Yuzuru’s fanbase of harassing yet another non-fan. There were other stories in weekly tabloids leading up to the Olympics, but I think this was the most recent article and very unexpected since it was written by someone famous and somewhat influential.

R507 I'm not JDC, but I highly doubt Hanyu was talking about this incident, which happened well after Pyeongchang (sometime in late March) and less than a month before CWW. In any case, far worse has been said about him in the tabloids. I doubt he would care that much about the ramblings of some attention whore director.

So anything new on Hanyu or are we still beating a dead horse?

R509. Maybe we have some new people here. Not sure if this was posted but Hanyu is nominated for the Laureus comeback award. I doubt he will win but it's nice to see him nominated along with some other greats. Except Tiger Woods.

Well, since I brought up ancient history at Yuzu's ice show, I'll try to change the subject. Tuktamysheva gave what I thought was a hilarious interview (very long, linked below) but below are my favorite parts. I also thought she and Med were going head-to-head at a Russian competition this coming week to decide Worlds, but I can't find anything about it on the Internet and can't even remember where I found it listed but I thought it was supposed to be Feb 18-22. Anyhow, take it away Liza:

3: 05 Will you go to the worlds?

Liza: I can’t say exactly, but if I am in good condition, then there is a high probability.

5: 47 You did not make the Olympic team in either 2014 or 2018 but each time you came back stronger the following season. How did you manage that?

Liza: Who the hell knows? (laughs)…

10:39 Why do you think that skaters like Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya were not able to return to their level, and we see it after Pyonchang too?

Liza: Interesting question. I hadn’t thought about it. I think it is because these two skaters train with Tutberitze, who doesn’t let them relax after a big victory. Here is Zhenya Medvedeva, who won Worlds twice, and Zagotiva, who is learning to adjust after Olympic victory, they can’t relax because there is always someone else who can win…

15: 53 Who in female figure skating jumps best of all, besides you?

Liza: Probably… (pause) me. (laughs). No, I don’t want to be so egotistical, but I can say that I do like my jumps.

16: 18 You have said you’re bringing sexy back to skating - why did women's figure skating become asexual?

Liza: Probably because it’s getting younger.

19: 32 Do I understand correctly that you are among those girls who don't hesitate to talk about sex?

Liza: That’s right.

-When I saw your LP I thought this girl is fire. How many times in a week would you say a girl needs to have sex for health?

Liza: (laughs) Every day… it depends on the desire. For health, I’m 22 years old, I don’t know how often you need it for health, but I can tell you everything is in order!

-Have you heard that some soccer coaches prohibit sex before big competitions?

Liza: Yes, there is such a theory not to have sex before training and competitions.

-But why?

Liza: Who the hell knows. Guess the problem is in some countries’ mindset.

-And can you tell us in general, not your salary but what kind of money one can make in shows?

Liza: You can earn enough to buy a decent car.

-Seriously?!

Liza: That’s for about a month on tour.

27: 51 Will you skate next season?

Liza: Next season, definitely.

27: 57 How many jumps do you do in training? Is there a limit?

Liza: Depends on the time of year. During off-season you may do it 60 times. During mid-season, while preparing for competitions, not more than 20-30 because you need to keep in form. During off-season you can allow yourself to get fatigued.

I'm not trying to diss Liza but when I first saw her, her appearance reminded me of a Russian whore.

R512 oh Andrei, you are so romantic!

One of the TCC boys - can't remember if it was Nam or Phan or Shingo... but anyway, they said that Yuzuru would sometimes do 60 quads in a day's practice. I figured that was exaggerating - well, I hope it was - but I think Liza's saying she would do 60 jumps in practice in the off season.

I've always wondered how much shows pay. I'd imagine it varies a lot for different skaters and countries.

R515 In another thread, Dirt Czar said it's believed that Hanyu gets 20 million yen per show and Mao gets 2 million.

Today’s gossip:

Kanako Murakami was on “Kinsuma” on TBS last night to talk about her skating and television career for two hours. She was the number 1 breakout TV talent in rankings last year and has become a regular on four variety shows in addition to being a guest on numerous shows.

Promotions for “Kinsuma” and TV listings mentioned Hanyu. The first segment of the show was about how Mao and Hanyu helped Murakami become a breakout star, yet they only showed Murakami talking about Mao and even Hanyu’s face was blurred in footage of the three skating together while the telop (I don’t know the English word) said, “The secret to her big break was Mao and Hanyu.”

Other footage (Oda announcing his retirement at nationals gala) where Hanyu was present was strategically cut to look like he was never there. Then they showed an interview with Takahashi who wasn’t even in the listings.

At the end of the show, Murakami finally talked about Hanyu and how she used to think he was a narcissist (when he was performing), but now believes he’s a strong person who can make his own words come true unlike herself and… instead of showing a single photo or footage of Hanyu, they showed a clip (her fluke fall in her FS at 2009 JGPF) of how “unlike” Hanyu Murakami is instead.

On another show, Murakami supposedly said that she hangs out with her hot but gay friend all of the time since she moved to Tokyo, and for some reason that bothered some Takakashi ubers. (But gay friend is probably not a skater.)

R514 I think Nam said 80, but I doubt anyone would be counting and I don’t think Hanyu’s asthma could take it, not to mention, it’d be very difficult to jump that many times sharing the ice with several other skaters and classes. His profile and past articles have all said he only practices about 2 hours at most on ice a day.

Fantasy on Ice 2019 website has been updated with dates and prices: www. fantasy-on-ice. com

The “other” Murakami’s new hair and eyebrows?:

We’ve been through some of this before, but there were issues with both translations. I’m not going to go through everything. The original text is between the first two photos of Hanyu in the link below.

R503 He said they might do Continues next year (2019) or the year after, but since he’s still competing, he can’t create such a complete show again on his own. He’d like to put on an even better Continues after he’s retired and gone pro.

R505 “Johnny has also had disagreements with fans and done various things” - He said Johnny was aware of the fights between fans. “I thought “why am I living” and “I’ll just die” countless times.” - He didn’t say “I thought ‘I’ll just die.’” He said he tried to die. Please consult the older threads if you want to know more.

R507 He was most likely referring to the Josei Seven story about his engagement to a classmate because Fuji TV picked up the story on a popular morning show and suddenly tabloid reporters were following him everywhere. Josei Seven wouldn’t stop stalking the classmate and printing new articles even after the girl and Hanyu denied the rumor several times. (They also tried to get the classmate to say Hanyu forced her to get an abortion.) Check the older threads. There were other tabloid stories between Sochi and Pyeongchang, but I think the classmate one was the only one that got mainstream attention.

Speech transcript:

R517 What do you think is the reason for the Hanyu blackout? Daisuke Murakami's glasses look good. They even make that hair look good.

Thank you so much JDC! Yes, it's all in the old threads and a retread of a retread.... I'm so anxious for Worlds and at the same time, rather terrified. After the ankle before Pyeongchang only to be repeated this year at Rostelecom, my nerves are frayed when it comes to our thread-pet goat. WHY does he have to be so mistreated in Japan? (rhetorical question) And Kanako's comment about narcissism - Miki Ando said that about Hanyu - that he's a narcissist but the good kind (or in a "good way") That's rich coming from her (or anybody connected to Dai or Patrick or hell, Plushy... I mean just look around at the others before they throw tar and feathers on poor Yuzu....

Anyway, I need to muster the courage to face Worlds, and if nerve-fraying, Hanyu makes it so damned exciting. Chen Uno Jin Kolyada... it would just be Milano Worlds II or something, a businessman stoically landing his five quads, Uno torquing his knee to oblivion (and to silver) and either Jin or Kolyada splatfesting, probably both. Just all so predictable and, well, annoying. Between the four of them, you 'might' have a personality that popped with charisma (if you added them together.) And I'm being rude - I love Shoma! But other than on the ice, it's like there's no there there. Chen's that way on AND off the ice, and the other two are so gloomy since the Olys. I do wonder what men's FS will do when Yuzu goes - it sure looks like the women will rule the rink-roost.

BTW, I was pleasantly surprised at the lesser Daisuke. He looked so much better than the days of four layers of too-dark foundation. Maybe his skin finally cleared up? Or he got a chemical peel or something. (I'll hush now - been spending too much time with Dave Lease)

Miss Yuzu and his fabulous ass...Without him competitions are lacklustre.

Hanyu came out of hiding to deliver this message.

Whoa! a Hanyu sighting!

r522 Remarkable that he got out of his cave to acknowledge the nomination.

R522 Now two more follow up tweets, one asking for gifs in response to his message and the other a twitter Moment. Laureus suddenly ramping it up with the fanyus and fraus....it's probably the most social media attention they've gotten in a while.

R525. I wonder if he will win. Laureus could get a whole lot more of attention if he wins.

R526 All this is making me suspect that the award is in the bag for him. Weird to release a special fan targeted video of acknowledgement plus followup hype tweets about one of the nominees two days before the ceremony. I imagine the Laureus people started salivating looking at the stats on their previous Hanyu posts.

R527 I seriously doubt it. Marketing department is just milking the fanyu internet engagement. Fans of the bigger stars don't give a shit about the Laureus awards or sightings of their fave. Sports journalists vote on the award, not fans.

Anyway, Javi 2.0 also came through with an instagram story with Hanyu today so my TL is in hysterics. I guess fanyus are not known for their cool detachment. lol.

R522 why his body doesnt look amazing like on those zoomed pictures? LOL Where are his wide arms?

Hanyu appears behind Raya in one of latest's Raya IG stories

It is Yuzuvier ver.II from now on.

Whoa, boy is going wild with that media presence.

Jason Brown and Med aren't at TCC or what ? Why did Yuzuru suddenly become active on SNS ?

If only Hanyu can get sns account one day. Maybe after he retires.

R527. Yes he could be the winner. He's been through so much. It would be nice to see him win. R529. ?? He's wearing a jacket and I believe he's sitting down. His body is out of this world.

Hashimoto has endeared herself to the public once again. While giving a lecture at an event for the 2020 Olympics, she said swimmer Rikako Ikee’s leukemia diagnosis was god’s way of telling us to look at the bigger picture (of the Olympics and Paralympics). Instead of fussing over “small” issues like governance and compliance, the god of the Olympics is using Ikee’s body and words to tell us to be more positive and forward-looking. Hashimoto later backtracked when questioned by the press, claiming she was actually trying to say that we need to have “proper” governance and compliance to create a better environment for athletes like Ikee.

r519 It most likely means the show was unable to get permission from Hanyu’s team, but I don’t think that’s ever happened before. Mura was also blurred out. It also doesn’t explain why the show still added that pointless segment about him at the end, but didn’t talk about him at the beginning with Mao which looked like the original plan according to the telop.

To add to the mystery, Murakami posted an apology on twitter before the show even aired. She said speaking is hard and it’s difficult to share your ideas and feelings in a short amount of time. She gets nervous on television and says one thing when she means something else. She needs to work harder and she’s very sorry if her words cause discomfort.

R520 Murakami clarified she thought he was a narcissist because he always skated like he wanted everyone to look at him. (I think there was some heavy editing, too.) She didn’t come across so great in the Mao segment, either. While Hanyu’s segment was, “I could never be a narcissist like Hanyu when I skated and that’s why I couldn’t make it as a top skater,” Mao’s segment was, “I could never be competitive like the other girls because I loved Mao too much and was too busy being happy for everyone else.” She did share that Coach Yamada was always late to practices.

R527 Other nominees already posted videos on their own social media accounts. Since Hanyu’s message is in Japanese, I think it’s more about getting attention from Japan/Asia since Laureus has been criticized for being too Eurocentric for years.

R533 I think Tracy and Medvedeva are in Moscow for the Russia Cup Final. Orser is staying at TCC. He mentioned he was preparing Gogolev for Junior Worlds in an interview not long ago.

R536 Orser is training Gogo again?

R537 I can't even remember if the interview was in English but it was fairly recent, maybe during 4CC. At the end of the interview Orser said he was preparing Gogolev for JW.

Why did Nanri sue Miki Ando and her mother?

I thought Kanako and Yuzuru were long time childhood friends. One of those Japanese shows filmed her watching him skate at the Olympics on a TV, and she was cheering and in tears watching him skate.

Also, are we sure Alysa Liu's dad is gay, or did he just want to buy and create his own kids? In one of those Today interview videos on youtube, someone who seems to know the family says the "partner" helping to raise the kids is some sketchy older Chinese lady who is a friend of the family.

Dice Murakami looks ok, but I fear he is poisoning himself dousing himself in bleach. What's he doing now?

R535 R536 Thanks for answering my question and for clearing up all the stuff I've seen on my tl about Hashimoto and Murakami.

R537 R538 Here is the interview where Orser mentions he's preparing Gogo for JW.

R539 Where did you hear about the sketchy Chinese lady? I read that it was Arthur's mom who helped with the kids when they were younger. My question is how he can afford surrogacy 3 times, raise these kids on his own, and pay for one to participate in an expensive sport. He doesn't practice the kind of law (small firm immigration) that generates a lot of money.

It's going to be interesting whether Orser's name appears next to Gogo's at JW. Maybe they came to some satisfactory arrangement. It'd be quite logical if Gogo stayed with his long-time coach Barkell with Orser in the consultant position. The TCC still gets the credit.

Hanyu he wants everybody to look at him when he's on the ice? Lol, duh. I actually think he wouldn't be as successful as he is if he wasn't the right amount of an attention whore.

r512 We need more whorish-looking people in this sport. Especially in Men. Rippon did a decent job but overall it's all pretty sterile.

duh...

Comments to this Today show segment mention the old rich Chinese lady:

Article on the Coughlin case from the Kansas City Star (linked below). It's based on interviews with his sister, father and best friend, so obviously biased, but it contains some new details:

-Family and friends said Coughlin categorically denied that any of the relationships SafeSport was investigating involved sexual misconduct. Each, they said, was a “peer-to-peer” relationship from his earlier skating days, none from when he was a coach.

- The first [allegation], his family and friends said, occurred when he was in his mid-20s and the skater was in her later teens, old enough to legally consent. The allegation was made by a third party, someone who reported Coughlin over suspicions that Coughlin was “grooming,” or manipulating the female skater into an intimate relationship.

- But the second set of allegations involved two minors. Varner [Coughlin's best friend] said Coughlin told him that the girls were young when he was also young; they were no more than a few years apart. Yet it was unclear how many years older Coughlin was, or whether the alleged victims were old enough to legally consent. One of the girls was someone he knew well from 14 years prior. They were still friendly and had even been in contact in recent years, Varner said. Family and friends were unclear whether either of the girls or a third party had made the allegation.

- In the highly competitive world of amateur sports, they think the accusation came from a jealous rival whom they refused to name, but whom they believe wanted to conjure the specter of a sexual accusation to hobble Coughlin’s career in coaching and television commentary.

- had no history of previous depression or mental illness.

R544 Thanks for the link! I always assumed he was gay, but the shady older partner rumor makes some sense (in terms of where the money comes from). Here's the youtube comment: "The reason he didn’t marry is because he has been living with a very rich old Chinese lady. This lady now is in her 60s. The lady got her money through some illegal channels. Anyway, how could he afford to have 5 kids? Just think about it." The person who makes the comment doesn't provide sources though.

I also expected a Chanel purse to fall out of Arthur's mouth when he spoke, but he doesn't really ping for me (in dress or demeanor) in that Today show interview.

"With SafeSport guarding details to protect the privacy of potential victims, all that his family and friends know comes from what he shared, from his point of view. He would have received a letter from SafeSport detailing the general accusations. The letter would have included the initials of the purported victim."

"SafeSport notes that when athletes receive letters saying they are under investigation, they also are sent policies that tell them that an investigator will be in touch to get their side of the story, and that they have the right at any time to contact an investigator. Athletes also have the right to ask for an official hearing before an arbitrator, which SafeSport will grant within 72 hours."

"It is unclear whether Coughlin was aware of these rights, but his family and friends said he did not speak to an investigator. "

Sorry to break the somber mood - but I was looking as this picture of Shoma, as you do... and I think he breaks the rule that short people look better in one solid color. I think the current eggplant bondage suit makes him look worse than this outfit with the top a different color. And dammit I miss that wedding dress top he had earlier in the season! That was exquisite! This blue one is very pretty on him too imo.

R464, Ting Cui just changed coaches from Vincent Restencourt to Tom Z last summer. So if she changes again it'll be 2 coaching changes in 2 years. No idea what her history was before that.

Mercy how have I missed this gorgeous Japanese skater who skated second at this 2012 Sendai ice show - I think his name is Yamato Tamura. He's beautiful! Takeshi Honda, who skates first, uh, isn't, but oh well. Skating third and fourth are 17 year old Yuzuru and then Shizuka Arakawa. The stars skate at the beginning and then at the end.

Oh god I'm an idiot. I knew he looked familiar - he's one of the hottie coaches! (I think the other hot one is Tomono's - the real one - not the braggart Ge)

Oh and Yuzuru and Shizuka do side-by-side Ina Bauers at the end of that short ice show. So sweet :)

Tamura was in the Negano Olympic team along with Takaeshi Honda.

Arakawa was the lady rappresentative

Marie Arai and Shin Amano did Pairs. And they were almost embarassing

I can't recall who did Ice Dance. I guess they were weak too

Nagano

15 Honda 17 Tamura

13 Arakawa

20 Arai/Amano (last place)

23 the ice dancers, Kawai/Tanaka. They beated the Armenians

Nagano was 1998 - wow! Yuzuru would have been 3 years old then lol. Even though that video was 14 years later, I think Tamura was still skating (and jumping!) very well! Honda's jump was ok but he looked so clunky. But then, 14 years - for a skater - it's like 50 years of aging otherwise. Well, maybe not, there's Plush and Midori Ito still competing I guess...

I need to find that embarrassing pairs video - Arai/Amano - isn't Shin Amano like a judge or tech specialist or something? What am I forgetting? He's one of the "cheaters" among the judges - something like that? Sorry to be so addle-brained but... well, I am addle-brained... and new to skating fandom, just since Pyeongchang, so I don't know what I'm talking about. Other than Tamura being a dreamboat! (then and now)

r554 Shin "this ass isn't rotated enough" Amano is the best known carrot detective amongst the technical specialists. Quite hot too, if I remember his more recent photos well.

Streaming and other info for Russian Cup. Scroll through the tweet for YouTube streams for individual events.

List of participants for Russian Cup.

R555 Shin was looking decidedly not hot at 4CC and not just because he failed to call Uno's URs. Couldn't find a pic for 4CC, but this is him last year. Also not hot. Coach Pouty Face, on the other hand, is an ageless hunk. I've suffered through so many fucking unsubbed shows on Satoko in a language I cannot understand just to catch a glimpse of that guy.

R554 Amano at Nagano Olympics

here we go..the Short

the choreo movements at the beginning....

her splat in the SBS

the twist where he barely throws her and she crashed on him

the out of sync spin

the super slow exit of the lift

FS had another botched lift, a super slow spin, a disastrous death spiral: w ww . youtube.com/watch?v=XJcpTd88JcU

Oh thanks R559 - that was fun! They didn't seem too upset or anything - and they're cute as buttons. What is it with Japan and pairs. Speaking of which, I was surprised to see hottie coach Tamura did pairs and was even national champion as a pairs skater with Marie Arai (in 1997)!

Does anyone know why he didn't compete in the 2002 Olympics? He didn't retire till 2004 - and some guy named Yosuke Takeuchi was the second Japanese male skater (Takeshi Honda was the other one.) But Tamura had a better record than Yosuke and Tamura was only 22 at the time.

r555 Yeah, I must have confused him with someone else.

r557 No Kolyada or Kovtun on the list. I find that surprising because only Samarin is a lock at this point, I think. If Aliev kicks ass there, Kovtun might be in trouble as to making the team.

That about Amano was directed at r558.

New thread created.

R561 Kolyada is doing the Tallin Hotels Cup this weekend with 2 Estonians, 2 Belarussian and 1 Irish guy

R560 probably because Takeuchi won Nats that year. Honda wd from nats but he was the big star at the time and had already been named to the Olympic team.

Also, even if Tamura had a better record, I'm guessing it wasn't that much better. He wasn't exactly successful internationally, god bless him.

[quote] If Aliev kicks ass there, Kovtun might be in trouble as to making the team

That would be wild though - Kovtun won Russian Nationals (with Samarin 2nd at Europeans), but then last year, it was Kolyada ahead of all of them, third at Worlds, Europeans, and GPF.

I'm excited about seeing if Tuk or Med go to Worlds - it's been sounding like people (Mishin, herself) already know it's Tuk.

Haha, Laureus doing damage control on Twitter because the award went to Tiger Woods. Gotta be honest, would've thought it'd have gone to McMorris. Didn't Woods win it a hundred times already in different categories?

R568 What surprised me is that there are people who did care about that fucking award. Good thing I have never give a shit about it.

Damn, but the drama if Med got picked would sustain us until Worlds despite the assman's disappearing act.

Seriously? Tiger fucking woods? These award shows are usually fixed from the beginning.

If Tuk is still showing obvious signs of being out of form from illness and Med is brilliant, perhaps they can justify sending Med. But in any other case they'd be nuts not to send Tuk, she had a fantastic season up until pneumonia.

I feel for Tuk, I had bronchitis for 2.5 weeks in January, and when I came back to running I could barely run 5 minutes at a 10 minute mile pace. The day before I started getting sick I ran 2 miles in 20 minutes. I can't imagine how tough it's been for her to come back quickly to an elite level from pneumonia.

R569 I bet even Hanyu was like "what the butt is a Laureus" when he was nominated.

R571 I mean, did we honestly think it would be any different though? Woods has huge sponsors and I'm pretty sure the majority of Laureus members are golfers or involved in golfing.

Anyone remember or care about Sarah Hughes? She's working as a law clerk for a big law firm in NYC. I gather that means she didn't pass the bar exam last summer.

R574 She's on pass list for the bar exam. Usually a lot of law clerks until spring since it takes time to do the application to be admitted.

R575 Actually, that's not true - ordinarily you get admitted soon after you get the exam results, usually in December. Maybe her application was held up because of character fitness! Unfit to practice law b/c you were a fucking forgettable OGM.

Finland selection for Worlds

Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis

Viveca Lindfors

Valtter Virtanen

Sorry, she is on the list of those who passed the bar exam, but usually people get admitted in the fall. So it's weird that she's still a law clerk. I wonder if she and her sister still skate. Sarah's jumps went downhill fast after the Olympics. Good for her getting an Ivy League education.

r577 The thing I love most about the Finns are their names. Almost high fantasy.

R576 and R578 Maybe I knew too many laggards but most people seemed to get admitted in the winter / early spring. It looks like over 30 law clerks at her firm though.

I don't know what that L award that Tiger Woods won is, but it's entertaining me thru these slow times to see the fanyus on fire. I hope they throw a ton of shit on those sponsors for the lulz (and also the people behind the awards seem shitty to use Hanyu's hype). Honestly, Hanyu probably have no clue what that award is.

R578 R580 This year, the admittance dates for people who sat for the July 2018 bar are January 2019 and June 2019. She probably just didn't get her forms in on time.

R581 I totally thought McMorris would win. Tiger was a dumb choice given the other nominees. Can you imagine Hanyu hobnobbing with that crowd in Monaco? LOL.

R578 Isn't Sarah Hughes an Ivy League legacy kid? From what I heard she and sister Emily were not exactly great students during their skating years. But their daddy has great connections.

r581 Eh, if they're on fire, it's because of Tiger Woods, they seemed fine with anybody winning other than TW.

I need Tuk to make it to Worlds so that I can read some GS people clutch their pearls about her vulgar slutty program. But I guess I'd be fine reading pearl-clutching here if Med got picked too.

Did Tiger Woods come back from the golf mental breakdown he had after his sex addiction came out in 2009? Yeah, that is more impressive than someone coming back from a near broken back or ankle injury to make history. Good choice Lauratis or whatever your award name is.

Jesus, when will Valtter Virtannen finally go away? I guess I'll always have a built-in restroom break...

But we would be deprived of yet another hokey Chaplin program! He makes Keegan Messing's free skate look like a Hanyu masterpiece.

Who cares about the Laureus Award when Hanyu is one of the coach options in a newly proposed exercise app (“Teach Me, My Coach!”) that was recently awarded the Excellence Award by the Japan Sports Agency. Hanyu will help you get into shape and you put cat ears on him. Link below. (There’s also a pdf if anyone’s interested.)

It was also reported that Hanyu’s donations have now totaled to over 100 million yen (about 1 million USD).

In other news, Yuzurenai is changing his stage name and open to suggestions.

Medvedeva was added to the Stars on Ice Japan cast and will be performing at all shows.

Supermodel Itsuki appeared on morning shows “Sukkiri” and “Baguette” to promote his appearance on “The Sekai Gyouten News” (@gyoten_ntv) later tonight. He retold the story about Shoma putting wet laundry away because he didn’t know that laundry had to be dried after washing. The older brother also said “Please cook the meat more!” in his sleep the other night after they had steak for dinner. And Itsuki revealed that he and his brother are both completely tone deaf and often bathe together.

R538 He sued Ando for infidelity, as well as financial and emotional distress since Nanri quitting professional skating to support Ando and her daughter was one of the conditions of their engagement, and Ando led him to believe that he’d officially become the father of her little girl when she was planning to dump him for Fernandez all along. Hanyu and Murakami did used to call each other good friends in the past and Murakami never would’ve called Hanyu a narcissist to his face when they were young if they didn’t get along.

R540 That’s the interview, thank you.

R560 Takeuchi won nationals and Tamura only performed slightly better at the GP that season. Neither were medal contenders and Tamura had already experienced the Olympics.

r584 But what if it’s Konstantinova?

R586 Excuse me. It’s Doctor Valtter Virtanen.

“Teach Me, My Coach!”:

Re Sarah Hughes, maybe she prefers clerking to being an actual lawyer? I'm surprised she's working at all actually, I can't imagine she needs to given her OGM and wealthy family.

[quote]The older brother also said “Please cook the meat more!” in his sleep the other night after they had steak for dinner. And Itsuki revealed that he and his brother are both completely tone deaf and often bathe together.

How does he know what is said when Shoma is sleeping and bathe together???? Is he trying to ship his brother?

"And Itsuki revealed that he and his brother are both completely tone deaf and often bathe together."

This shit better be "often go to the onsen together" otherwise.....

One of those Japanese shows should give Shoma an IQ test. He seems a bit...special needs.

who bathes with who?

A figure skater, who needs to skate to the music, is tone deaf? I find it hard to believe.

Hanyu looking really good here. He does have some style.

At least Hanyu is aware that laundry is supposed to be dried after washing...Is the 'retarded' Shoma persona meant to be cute..?

Honestly fans like to joke that if Hanyu decides to get married (whether he's gay or not) he's probably looking for a housekeeper.

In Uno's case, he needs a caretaker and nurse.

It's cute for the fans but neither sound like great partner material.

japaneses men are losers

A recent (apparently controversial) interview with Daniil G.

R598 Daitroll, why do you bother clearing your cookies or using a different browser when it's your mental illness and not the ignore button that gives you away every time?