Yuzuru Hanyu and other figure skating talk part 26

So glad to be first in thread before it get fat, like donut-stuffed American piggies! Now thread can really fly. Spread your wings, little slugs!

I guess Shoma not so injured if he’s already doing shows. So he honestly just choked at worlds then?

r2 I'm confused by this. I thought he was injured, but he's doing shows and WTT. I guess he may think he has to do both even if injured.

On the topic of Yuzu unifying coaches all over the world, I find it so funny that he managed to get both Yagudin ('I will become a flower girl if he goes to Beijing') and Plushenko ('you are forever the champion of my heart') to agree on something. Same with how he had Raf asking for his autograph a few years ago at 4CC and looking like a (creepy) overly enthusiastic fanboy. And of course him being the original 'Eteri girl' according to Eteri herself or Daniil Gleikhengauz still waxing poetics about him during the gala a week ago.

Rafael Arutyunyan interview in Russia in November: There is something special in Hanyu - his ability to be beautiful, not only on the ice. He has his own line of conduct which his sports team with his coach unlikely could suggest. Maybe the secret is in his parents' genes - or something given to him from a supreme being. Somebody maybe will win over Yuzuru on the ice, but he is inimitable in life.

R5 That was in November, before Hanyu got fat with blubber pocket almost splitting Sakura costume. I am disgusted now.

R5 And what I find most beautiful about him is that he is not fat like a cow.

Who has a pic of the hot young coach (not Danil) that is in Eteri's comp.

I would look unimpressed in a K&C with this Hanyu you are talking about

[quote] You prop someone up artificially like this and they have no incentive to improve their imperfections.

Tell that to Raf who encourages a complete disregard for the protocols and fucking boring skating from Nathan. He may fanboy over Yuzu but it seems he doesn't ask for the same kind of skating from his skaters, fat cows or not.

R2 Maybe he's just doing simpler stuff in the shows...no jumps perhaps? I just think he overdid it at 4CC so he had nothing left in the tank for Worlds, both mentally and physically.

R4 I'm curious, what did Daniil say about Hanyu in the gala?

R6 On this point I find it really annoying how genuine curiosity or concern over why Yuzu was wearing his heart monitor during his gala performance is dismissed with comments like 'duh he is an athlete ofc he wants to collect data and improve'. As far as I know it was the first time he was wearing it during a perf and what important data could he collect during a slow paced gala program where he only jumps a 3l and single axel. The only athletes I know who use it during a performance and not during practise are marathon runners for obvious reasons.

*ALERT* R7 is fake Raf. Hanyu is so fat now that it not charisma that draws mass of fraus to him, but gravitational force. Ask Newton.

Silver Shoma won at 4CC because there was no Yuzu or Nathan. Then this poor showing at worlds. He needs a better management team and maybe a sports psychologist. As of now, Japan really doesn’t have a competitive successor for Yuzu.

Where’s JDC when you need him. What’s the general view of Shoma and Yuzu after worlds?

R9 When will we next see you, Marilu?

Dave Lease said Shoma should switch coaches. Not to the Chicago guy - Ourashov or whatever. He suggested Mie Hamada. (I thought she and Fluffy were part of the same camp??) Anyway, Dave said Shoma needed Hamada’s “hard ass structure” (TSL, March 24)

R13 It's his uterus, HIS UTERUS. It isn't fat. The heart monitor is to hide his uterus.

R16 I think he should use different choreographers, but I think his coach is good for him. I don't know that Shoma would thrive under Hamada frankly. He probably still has PTSD from the "hard ass" mom.

JDC, if you're still around and haven't been chased off, you mentioned in a previous thread that Hanyu has other health issues (plural?) that require (or motivate) his mother to stay with him and live a life of sad, sad celibacy. We know about his asthma, but what else is wrong with him? This talk of heart monitors has me wondering.

Please don't go to Raf, Shoma! He would fat-shame you all day long!! What was it Adam ate - just one apple in a whole day?

R19 LMAO. Sorry, Yuzuru is definitely not celibate. I won't tell you how I know, but will give you hint: my body tingles tell me otherwise. Shushhh. keep it between us in thread, okay?

R16 Should we really be listening to Dave Lease though? Should we?

R21 Zhenya, I believe the person was referring to me not getting laid, not you. Not everything is about you, okay? And keep your wannabe whore hands off my son.

With all those notebooks and carefully monitored data - I think it's the OCD in Yuzu that has him wanting to get readings, doing all sorts of things. He probably planned to do a certain layout a certain way at the gala and wanted the heart-rate numbers - plus your condition changes all the time, so checking it every day in different conditions isn't really too odd.

I find it hilarious how Yuzu will not give Vincent any hug and barely any attention either. It was the same right before the medal ceremony. He barely acknowledged him and then went for the hug with Nathan.

R24 maybe he’s working on a thesis to finally graduate from university. By the way -did you know Nathan goes to Yale?

[quote] Should we really be listening to Dave Lease though? Should we?

LOL. I can't help myself.

R27 TSL Troll, I salute you. Because I wouldn't be able to listen to TSL for more than 10 seconds. God bless.

[quote] By the way -did you know Nathan goes to Yale?

Wait, WHAT?!?!?!?!?????? Nathan goes to YALE? I had absolutely, no fucking idea he attends an Ivy League university full-time whilst juggling elite training. I've never heard this before, not even once!!!

Krasnozhon 74.17

R25 Who's Vincent?

Aw thanks R28. Maybe I'll work up the energy to listen to their Worlds' wrapup for Pairs and Ice Dance - which I think are an hour plus each!

R24 Could be but once again it's a gala performance it will not give him useful info compared to a practise or run through of his sp or fs programs. Also I find it strange because in his attention to detail he even didn't wear his necklaces during Haru yo koi. But somehow he was ok with leaving this small box under his costume, knowing his fans would likely see it (it's hard to miss in pictures) and wonder why he kept it.

I'm not fat, I'm fabulous.

He did one of those high, delayed single axels during the gala - didn't he? Maybe he's gauging how much energy it takes to launch himself into that compared to a 3A or 4A? Oh who knows. I'd be shocked (and distressed) to find out he had some sort of heart condition.

R35 I don't think he has anything serious tbh. Might just be related to his regular asthma issues. I'm just curious.

R33 He didn't wear his necklaces the last time he did Haru yo koi either (in Helsinki). I wonder if perhaps R35 might be onto something...I wouldn't put it past him to be running experiments or testing something out.

SP in Egna

Alexsei KRASNOZHON 74.17

Nicola TODESCHINI 68.92

Catalin DIMITRESCU 67.80

Andrew TORGASHEV 66.97

Jari KESSLER 64.33

Davide LEWTON BRAIN 62.45

Maurizio ZANDRON 61.75

Marinov RADOSLAV 60.80

Mattia DALLA TORRE 59.45

Tom BOUVART 58.50

Philip WARREN 58.04

Michael NEUMAN 56.74

Alexander LEBEDEV 53.76

Manuel DRECHSLER 46.82

Daniel ENGELSON 38.86

Serhii SOKOLOV 37.07

Top 3 has the highest TES. Highest PCS to Torgashev followed by Krasnozhon and Kessler

R34 Ew. Put fat away.

R37 - and you heart rate would always be different in a performance in front of a crowd - compared to practice, so he wouldn't have as many opportunities to have that situation in order to test something. Could even be a new entry to a jump or a change to a spin or step sequence.

I can't really figure out what your heart rate would tell you? How to pace yourself?

R38 I watched Egna on and off today and it was...entertaining. Will go back to it later. Anybody noteworthy?

Who said I was fat, again?

R42 He really wanting to fly, but cannot. Sad.

[quote] For an exhibition I wish he'd tackle Misha Ge. That fellow has been wanting to put together something for Yuzu for ages.

I can't with those other FS forums. This is just plain offensive.

Protocls

___

Judge 1 is Mr Massimo Orlandini from Italy (who is also the Referee to save money)

Judge 2 is Ms Gabriella Benini from Italy

Judge 3 is Mr Runas Espen Rotterud from Norway

Judge 4 is Mr. Lawrence Mondeschein from USA

Judge 5 is Ms. Susanne Sjoquist from Sweden

Technical Panel: Julia Andrea is the Controller. The specialists are Edoardo De Bernardis and Ivana Jakupčević.

____

AZ got an edge call and an under-rotation on the combo.

Judge 1 (who showed off a leather jacket at Skate America) apparently like Nicola Todeschini very much.

Spins are difficult to judge...because some of these GOEs look a bit random

r22 David Lease told me that Ghislain Briand would stay with Hanyu in Japan for a month.

Meanwhile, Hanyu jumped into a plane back to Canada and into Orser's loving care as fast as his feet could carry him whereas Briand went off to fuck around with Lambiel's students.

On the side note, I like both Hanyu's programs this year and wouldn't mind if he kept either. The FS has the potential to be great, although I think his best interpretation was at Rostelecom.

r46 Must pain you to see it, Raf.

R46 I don't think Orser is in Toronto right now if his IG is anything to go by. He's seem to be in Vietnam.

R46 Brian's on vacation, so he's in my loving arms actually

R48 Not if I have anything to do with it.

r47 r48 Oops, my bad. Back into Med's, I mean Tracy Wilson's loving care then.

r48 Sorry, Lesser Javi, for a moment there I thought Orser was in your loving arms, which my brain blocked due to being too disturbing. You go boy.

R48 Aren't you busy stuffing yourself with ramen in Osaka at the moment and pretending Alina's popularity doesn't bother you, Med?

R12. I'm really wondering if it's because of his asthma. Does he have any other health problems besides asthma?

Do purses fly out of Cizeron's mouth?

R52 I may be in Osaka turning into fat cow, but my heart is million miles away in bosom/uterus of my love. He knows this, we do not need to speak. I have ways of returning to my Sakura blossom, don't you worry. And Alina, she know to stay out of my way. I threaten her stupid dog if do dumb things...let's see how popular she is without fat animal.

I was thinking again about the results at World and the info that Yuzu has been on painkillers for the past 2 months to be able to prepare for the competition. Honestly that's fucked up. I hope that whatever medicine it is, it doesn't create any kind of dependency because 2 months is a pretty long time. And I wish someone at tcc will manage to change his mind regarding the 4lz and 4f because that is madness.

R55 whore! You touch dog, I whip you with my Olympic gold medal! I try stay quiet because I not attention getting fat cow with huge organ to make baby, but now must. Yuzu waiting for me. He say he marry when he 26, I be 18. Evgenia- please support us.

I worry about that too with Hanyu, R56. I hope the medical reports are correct that his ankle can heal in 2-3 months. It's been messed up for so long that I admit I've been skeptical he can fully heal.

We have so many questions about Hanyu's health!! Where is JDC?!? Please don't leave us.

I'm sure we're all worrying about nothing. He is probably perfectly healthy and the heartrate monitor is just for the baby......... Med wouldn't be happy if he overexerted himself in these crucial first few months, after all! Little Kinmedaru Hanyu's got to develop properly so she can betray both her parents, run into Eteri's loving arms, and become the third consecutive Sambo gold medalist in 2026! She may be pushing the boundaries agewise by that Olympics but I think her Japanese genes will carry her sagging and ancient body through.

Besides being a cutie, Alexander Enbert seems really sweet. At every kiss and cry, he always says hi to "mom and pop" before anyone else.

R61 I love Enbert, but as he ages, his eyes get closer and closer together. Will he still be a cutie when he only has one eye by the age of 35?

R56. I was thinking the same. He hurt his ankle in November. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they also say 2-3 months? Apparently that didn't happen. I am not sure I'm buying the 2-3 months story right now. I think it might be longer. I really think he needs to rest and forget the ice shows.

Agree that Hanyu needs to rest more. I think Uno should too, he could barely walk after the FS at Worlds. But he's known to bulldoze his way into performing because he thinks if he pretends his injuries don't exist they'll fade away while he's distracted. Then again most elite level skaters are hiding some sort of injury we don't know about.

Some people were talking about some of the programs exposing vs. hiding Hanyu's weaknesses. I agree he has postural issues but was it the programs' doing that 'masked' vs. exposed them? I thought he just worked on the programs to polish them into a perfect package, including posture, instead of depending on choreographers to cover up his posture issues. Am I understanding wrong? Would love to hear your opinions.

Yuzu said his back was curved like a cat's - so really, what can he do? But his catty properties sure help him save his landings, though they haven't been easy on his ankles (see also Uno Shoma)

Weren't some of his postural issues related to stamina? I think it was Kurt Browning who was commentating on one of Yuzu's FPs from 2012 or 2013, and he noted that as he gets increasingly more winded, his posture gets progressively worse. Because I don't think Hanyu has purposely choreographed his programs to mask that, he's just worked on both his stamina and posture together since then to improve it.

Raf can give some surprising interviews, at least to me.

Excerpts from a Rafael Aryutyunian interview 27 Feb 2019:

“I see a serious problem in that people who come up with the rules do not really understand figure skating.” “...no one thought that for nearly 16 years, coaches raised their athletes in the previously existing rules that are not very well connected with new ones.” [Q: How will this affect Nathan Chen?] “yesterday we were offered to grow up fearless racers, and when we did this, we were suddenly told that now we don’t need racers, we need slow movers” “What could be interesting here? We are offered to stop storming the most complex elements and start to show off in public. Is it not noticeable that almost everyone lowered the bar. and began to flaunt?”

And I don't know who he was talking about with this:

“For success, it is very important that the athlete has complete confidence in the coach, and not engaged in the activity behind his back.”

R67 Do you have a link to the interview? Maybe it's due to the translation, but I don't really understand what Raf is trying to say except that the people that write the ISU protocols are stupid and that standards of skating have dropped?

Trennt Michaud is so hot. Def one of the best looking skaters out there.

R68, I found it here.

Well - someone else summarized it and linked to there - and I kept their notes but just the link... Anyway, that's where they got it.

I'm trying to figure out if I like Shoma's new sexy one-sleeve plain, one sheer with oodles of glitter, costume. Is he copying Satoko? Yuzuru? Certainly not Nathan.

R72 I like it tbh. It is an interesting design.

R72 You are correct. I genuinely dislike sequins. I prefer the snoozefest known as a Vera Wang original.

You guys are posting so much I can barely keep up. I don't like Shoma's costume. He's looking stockier now. He needs to heal whatever latest injury he has, or else the 2022 Olympics won't be a reality for him, much like Hanyu.

Nathan's costumes are ok, although that weird black and bright orange thing was tacky. Good thing it was uncomfortable so he didn't end up wearing it in competition.

Good lord, how could so many Japanese women want to sleep with Yuzuru? Have they no gaydar? Everything he's wearing, short of his suits, screams flaming twink. Plus his penchant for sitting in men's laps, holding hands with Javi, being carried by men... Duh.

r75 you are culterally insensitive. Japanese men can be feminine then rage on the heterosexual side. If you don’t know why women want to sleep with him, you don’t know women

Johnny Weir‏Verified account @JohnnyGWeir 32m32 minutes ago

I’ve decided that 2022 will most likely be my final year of performing. I’ll go live on Instagram tomorrow to discuss it. I know my final performance will be “The Story” by @brandicarlile We’ve had a long and glorious run.

R76 sure, because being culturally sensitive is what we're all about here. Congrats for winning Frau of the week with that comment. You had stiff competition here with all the talk of uteruses.

Unless you're joking. Please be joking.

We don't know anything yet and on whether who will do GP, retire, or not - but some things stuck out to me because of the placements of men at Worlds.

Medalists cannot meet, so after 2 seasons Chen and Hanyu won't meet during their 2 assignments. That also means Zhou probably won't go to Skate America since they might very likely choose Chen thus Zhou won't get his prop up. Uno will go head to head with one of the medalists 2x or against two different medalists. Japan most likely will pull a deal so he doesn't meet Hanyu. This will be interesting. If Hanyu does GP pretty likely he'll go back to NHK over Uno. Uno is national champion but Hanyu is OGM and has a World medal.

Is China back to doing the GP next season of are they still throwing a fit?

R78 just joking , and I will accept frau for the day only. To many freakin fraus for me to take the title for a whole week.

R80 thank you! I was at my breaking point.

I like any Nathan Chen top, sequins or no sequins, that slides up and reveals his abs.

R82 bonus when the shirt slides up to cover his face too.

R77 He's announcing this 3 years in advance? That is peak attention whore. Never change, Johnny.

R79 Cup of China is back on the GP schedule for both the 2019-2020 and 2020/2021 seasons, so I think China's on board for now. Also 2020 GPF is in China.

[quote] He's announcing this 3 years in advance? That is peak attention whore. Never change, Johnny.

And using the royal "we".

He's been a bit odd lately on Instagram. He was in the hospital for something - "exhaustion" I think? Flu? Right after filming that skating show for Netflix or whatever. I'm a little concerned for his mental health.

Koshiro Shimada wants to break free.

Are his parents going to let him stay with Stephane?

R87 Shimada is listed at 5'9 now. I think he's even taller than that. And he's only 17 and still growing. I know he's only been with Lambiel for a year or so, but I don't see a difference. Maybe he's just dealing with the growth spurt and other changes.

R88 Shimada's father passed away when he was 13. He's there in Champery by himself. I think it won't be the mom who will nix Stephane, but maybe JSF or pressure from his sponsor if he doesn't do well his first senior season.

R88 Oh, I just realized you were talking about concern over the cross dressing rather than his competition results. I doubt that would raise any eyebrows - isn't cross dressing kind of a skating show tradition in Japan? I remember Uno went all in with his little pink pocket book last year.

R91 This?

Why does Japan produce the gayest men (even if the are straight)?

R92 Thanks, that's what I was talking about. For some reason, I thought the purse was pink. Love how he swings it over his shoulder.

R93 Aww. Why does god hate you so much, Scott (even though you're a fundie cunt)? So many questions to ponder.

R93 I agree! It's simply appalling what's happened to figure skating in my absence.

R95 It's tragic really, that the Japanese boys can't act like real men.

At least I was only gay for pay (and blow, and meth and sometimes just for kicks)

For the last time, I was only going for a jog in The Ramble!!

Uno borrowed Shimada's wig.

r96 Is that pic from when Brian was still competing? Surprised at how often skaters have that layer of pudge

R100 What are you talking about? Brian looks super svelte to me.

[quote]Why does god hate you so much, Scott (even though you're a fundie cunt)?

God loves me. I prayed every day for the gay to go away, and He granted my wish. Amen.

R102 You're wrong, Scott. I've been trying to kill you off since at least 1960. Get the fucking message already. Also, you're still gay.

I want Yuzu to ruin ISU. P.S. the pic is for aesthetic purposes only.

Scott Hamilton’s bias is kind of gross. I know he wants to promote figure skating in the US, since his Stars in Ice tickets all have to go to the discount bin, but what he says about Nathan in comparison to Yuzu is so blatantly misleading.

I think hamilton’s always pushing the “masculine” crap since everyone always thought he was gay when he skated. Is it true he never let Weir skate in his show cause he was too gay?

Johnny Weir was not allowed to join SOI because he wasn't "family friendly." If he'd been gay and more macho presenting and/or closeted, he probably would've been fine.

I'm glad today's hetero male skaters largely seem more open minded (Nathan Chen) then the more homophobic ones from the past (Hamilton, Kurt Browning, Michael Weiss, etc).

Krasnozhon squeaks ahead of Torgashev to win the Edna Spring Trophy. Torgashev won the LP with two quads.

Perfect body.

R108 lol , that left everyone speechless

Mssimo is thirsty for that body too.

R110. Lol with him dropping his tissue. Poor guy didn't even realize it. R108. Like I've said before. His body is out of this world.

I wish Yuzu would keep Origin.

Did we see this element executed?

Beat me up with sticks but I want to see Hanyu work with Richaud on choreography for a new program. Something totally different, abstract and unique. Hanyu owns basically any music and creates a piece of his own but would like to see something unconventional from him (so that fucking judges won't know where the choreo sequence begins and ends lol). I just don't want to see a one more free skate from Bourne anymore. A newer, fresher approach is needed to create something otherworldly once again.

[quote] (so that fucking judges won't know where the choreo sequence begins and ends lol).

it is not nice for me who have to pre-call all elements.

R113 I didn't even think of Benoit Richaud. Now that you mention him, that would be interesting. He's also a big Hanyu fan...another one who waxed poetic about Yuzu after Worlds, if I'm not mistaken.

R113 Agreed. I started to get bored of what Bourne choreographed for Yuzuru. And after watching Kaori,... I desperately want Yuzuru to work with Benoit. SP Libertango he did for Mai Mihara is still her best program so far. Tom Dickson or Lori Nichol would be interesting too.

R113 R115 As intriguing as that concept is, based on Hanyu's track record, he seems to me the if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it-creature-of-habit sort when it comes to a lot of things. He's many things but whimsical isn't one of them, possibly because it's not so easy for him to find people willing to bend to his own ideals, or whom he trusts enough to help him reach them. So if Buttle and Bourne work for him and he's comfy with them (up to and including English communication), I highly doubt he'll be budging from either of them pretty soon, as far as competition programs go, especially if he's gonna be upping his tech. I'm not against being surprised but I just don't see it happening. He may try other choreographers someday for non-comp stuff, tho, who knows. We can always hope.

So many bad takes. Shae Lynn gave us Seimei and Hope and Legacy aka 2 of the greatest free skates ever. The only problem with Origin was that Yuzu could only perform it 3 times before World and didn't have time to tweak it as he could with his other programs in the past and even then the stsq was great imo. Also he adores her and she him and I'm all for him to continue working with people he is comfortable with. She and Jeffrey were parts of the list of his special people last year for CWW.

R118 Does that has anything with wish him to do something newer, fresher with other choreographers ? Just let his mom do choreo for him, anyway ?

Personally, even if a Richaud choreo could be interesting, I don't mind if Yuzu sticks with Buttle and Bourne. In fact, I hope he'll stick with Buttle forever, and never goes to Wilson/Nichol/Dickinson. I have liked everything by Buttle and Bourne so far, including PotO, and I love Origin too. To be honest, my least favorite has been Hope and Legacy, but it's many others' favorite so it seemed to work really well. Both Buttle and Bourne give him different programs from what they did for him before: Origin is very different from both H&L and Seimei and PotO. I definitely think it ain't broke so I don't see the need for Yuzu to change the choreographer.

R119 Shae Lynn is someone who managed to get not only Yuzu's ideas but the essence of Seimei (the movie and character) or Hisaishi's pieces and created something unique out of them. I can't think of many Western choreographers that would research Japanese mythology to do a reinterpretation of Nijinski for instance. I don't think her creativity when it comes to Yuzu has dried up and I trust that whatever they come up with next will be be both enjoyable and something Yuzu himself will have wanted.

Yuzu, call me. See what I did for Med?

R119 Even if Yuzu might wish to do something with a new choreographer, he is also very pragmatic and with his intended goals for the upcoming season (with the added angle of his ankle injury), I don't foresee him realistically changing to anyone new. He knows the learning curve that would come along with using new choreographers and might not want to risk doing something in unknown territory. Buttle and Bourne really get him and they've had pretty spectacular results in the past, so I think he'll stick with them.

R121 What you said is exactly why some said a DIFFERENT APPROACH is necessary to create something fresher and newer. For the record, I'm absolutely okay if he continues to work with Bourne and I agreed that it is unlikely he would change choreographers. I didn't like Origin but I find it just fine, much better than D.W trash.

Isn't Yuzu supposed to release a Kose blog post today talking about his interests (such as pussies) and things he enjoys doing like playing with himself on a Friday night?

R125 The Kose blogs come back in early April.

R125 Yes, please Yuzu. Tell us more about what kind of toys you enjoy playing with on a Friday night. If you can also attach a picture to help us visualize the scene better would be great.

Actually, I'd like either Buttle or Bourne to choreograph an EX for Hanyu. With the man's skill and flair and their imagination and penchant for creating some really cool moves, it could be great.

R125 Specifically, April 2.

R128 That would be great but Wilson would be upset.

I don't know if Meryl really talks too much when doing interviews - or if it's just that her baby-talk voice drives me up the wall, but here's the scintillating 18 minute interview shd did with Javi, where he points out such interesting details about Worlds as "the programs were great", "Nathan is young", "Yuzuru wants to win" and Meryl's: "seven European titles is more impressive than six European titles", "Spain is not a major figure skating country" - and towards the end, they're both Med ubers apparently sheesh.

His Worlds commentary makes Yuzuru's blogs sound like Vincent's.

R131 Yeah, Javi sounds like a broken record nowadays. I almost miss the times when he was a dick and saying shit like 'Yuzu is a nice guy but his entourage...', 'it's not my fault we aren't friends' etc. His commentary of Yuzu's fs at World was even more boring. I don't get how so many Yuzu/Javi fans on Twitter and elsewhere still lap it up as the greatest demonstration of love or affection. It was pure PR and boring one at that. But even Yuzu became like that sadly. He used to sound super sincere when talking about Javi but that video message he did to cheer for Javi for Europeans 2 months ago felt so rehearsed. I guess that's what overbearing shipper fans will do to a potential friendship.

r131 Lol, thanks for the summary, I'll give it a pass then.

R131 Yeah I can't sit through 18 minutes of Javi being diplomatically dull. Speaking of Twitter, some of the fanyus are going in on the ISU and reading them to filth after they tweeted about the men's event. It's entertaining, albeit very tiring, skimming through all the complaints.

I was hoping to see some more complaints along the lines of "Kaori's SP and her tear-stained face when she realized that just because she objectively did better than others doesn't mean she's good enough to podium". Cos that is what stood out the most to me, even above Hanyu's performances. Don't have a Twitter and don't intend to get one anytime soon tho so the mad rioting of Hanyu fans would have to do.

Sorry. That was in reply to 134

Face it. The Japanese women choked.

I want to laugh in the face of the Japanese antis who were butthurt about Yuzu getting the third spot for Worlds when it was announced around Nationals. In the end he was their only medal. Same last year when he was selected for the Olympics.

It's only 12sec long but I cannot watch it till the end. So much second hand embarrassment.

I never knew that Scott Hamilton was a die hard republican and closet homophobe who can’t speak out against homophobia. What’s coming out of his mouth, makes so much more sense now.

R140 Excuse me, but would a closet homophobe wear this?

R140. I didn't know he was a republican either. Sad! Now I can see why he's a big jerk.

Wait, so Scott Hamilton is really not gay? Ooops...

R139 prepare for another Javier I'm straight photoshoot

[quote] It's only 12sec long but I cannot watch it till the end. So much second hand embarrassment.

The best part is at the end! Javi letting his freak flag fly!!

There's a lot of Christian skaters of the evangelical and born-again varieties. Along with Scott Hamilton, Paul Wylie, Janet Lynn, Rosalyn Sumners, Ryan Jahnke, the Knierems, and Courtney Hicks are all known to be quite religious.

Figure skating in North American is somewhat odd in that it features a disproportionate number of both hardcore Christians (often right-wing and homophobic) alongside a disproportionately high number of gay men.

Just a few oldies but goodies to pass the time while people debate the masculinity of men's figure skating.

R141 - I believe that’s a ski racing suit! Scott chose it because it was “athletic” and not a FS costume, but those suits only look athletic when worn with bibs.

The little perky ass ignored my lap so I had to switch to Redford.

R147 pat pat

R148 Hmmm...that sounds eerily similar to Vera Wang saying she makes "modern interpretations of athleticism" and not costumes.

Alysa Liu quad Lutz !

R149 El senor Fernandez needs to know to choose the right moment for this kind of things. For instance here, it would have been so easy to gather Yuzu in his lap and let him cry all the tears in his tiny body and pour snot all over his jacket, instead of pushing him away with a pat on the back after the third time he let himself collapse in Javi's arms. Missed occasion really.

A new episode of Yuzuru vs. English. He's really got the "Thank you very much" down pat!

R138 Weeeellll, we could argue that if it weren't for that dipshit Hanyu our Shoma would've gotten bronze in Saitama and an OGM already to boot. AND he would've deserved it, unlike a certain someone. It's all that 3A hentai's fault our poor Shomakins had to settle for silver.

The only thing he deserves a gold medal for over Shoma is his ass. We'll give him that.

What? We're insane, not blind.

R153 Missed occasion indeed, amongst many might I add. Now Yuzu doesn't give a shit and has relegated him to manner hands. Too bad for you Javi, you could have been a part of something magical but you threw it away for your no homo moments.

R154 I always find the judging of his English level from situations like this where he is both exhausted, upset and/or under stress from the media really unfair. The only way to get an idea of his level is by listening to him with his coaches during practise for instance and from what I have seen he is doing ok. Ofc he still makes many mistakes but he can communicate what he needs and can even joke around, and it's obvious he understands everything. I think he has drastically improved since 2017 and if he stays a few more years in Toronto it will help. It will probably never be great but as long as he can get by and feel comfortable talking with the people around him who cares really. I don't get why he gets so much shit for his English when you have someone like Ohtani who has had his personal 24/7 interpreter with him since he moved to LA 2 years ago and still can't say even 2 words in English. And many footballers in European clubs speak really badly the language of the country they train and live in. Yuzu, baby, if you lurk the DL, don't listen to the meanies. You are doing great.

R157 c'mon comments on his English here are in no way mean spirited.

R156 Yeah, sad, although they seemed a bit closer during the banquet. Difficult to judge if there was any overhand but Yuzu was basically moulding his hip to Javi's.

R158 I know. It was more of a general comment as I see it happen very often in other places. I just don't think you can really get an idea of his complete grasp of the language from such videos.

Who cares if he can speak English or not. He’s already has an international fanbase and when he retires he’s never leaving Japan. He’ll just make millions doing shows like he deserves.

R161 We'll see about him retiring in Japan. Given a lot of his comments in the past year I wouldn't be so sure. He called Japan a place he goes to work or something along those lines recently which shocked some of his fans. That and what he said about wanting to teach skating internationally and that he will need to learn English even more for this. Doesn't sound like someone who intends to quietly stick to Japan. Not to mention that he will need to wait a long time for his popularity to decrease enough for him to be able to live a normal life there. Even Ghislain mentioned that Yuzu is always extra nervous going to Japan because of the fan attention (some are even stalking his hotel bedrooms) and media.

R162 I didn't know all this. I hope he can teach skating internationally. I think many can learn so much from him. I did however hear how he wanted to improve his English. I doubt he would want to improve his English so he can stay in Japan.

Yuzu will move back to Japan. He admittedly never felt comfortable in Canada even after several years (Javi documentary). He still only eats Japanese food. He’s a narcissist in a good way. He’ll use his celebrity to have his own show like Mao and make a butload of money. Learning English is the only way he can communicate with his idols and other skaters.

Plus mama Hanyu needs to get her mojo back.

R164 He has changed a lot in the past 2 years in many ways also in regards to living in Canada but believe whatever you want to believe. I take the bets that he won't go back to Japan, at least not fully. He is a very different person from Mao. Actually he is different from any other Japanese skater and that's part of why the JSF does not like him. He is difficult to control, both the most Japanese and un Japanese person I have ever seen. As for him eating Japanese food as a proof of lack of integration. What a stupid argument. I have lived abroad half of my life and still favour my birth country's food. Taste acquired as a child is difficult to change.

R162 He was stalked in Toronto, too, which is why he can't take the subway/bus to TCC anymore and needs to be driven everywhere. I'm sure it's nowhere near what it would be like in Japan though.

R165 I’m putting my 2 cents in, you sound like a psycho who wants him living next door. It’s one thing to favour your native food and another to mostly only eat your native food. If you think he’s “integrated” into Canada, you’re high

r167 You don't sound sane either, to be quite honest.

R167 I'm starting to think you are Dai troll so that will be my last answer and now on ignore you go. You are the one who brought up this weird argument that because he eats Japanese food, it means he doesn't like living in Canada. Well, duh he lives with his very Japanese mom who cooks for him. Obviously he won't be getting poutine at home. As for wishing him next door to me. I don't live on the American continent so whether he lives in Toronto or Sendai will not change anything to my life. I have just been getting these vibes from him especially since the Olympics. Before that I was also convinced he would go back to Japan for sure. In any case I just wish that wherever he chooses to live will be his own decision and not because he was pressured. Japan does not seem that kind of place for him imo at the moment and in the foreseeable future but we'll see.

well I'll be darned, Alexei Krasnozhon won the Egna competition! Torgashev got silver but won the free skate with 2 quad toes. I was just about to say he's like Camden Pulkinen, having bad skates and not being able to land jumps, despite being musical and nice to watch. Izzo won and Starr Andrews placed 2nd in sr ladies. I've never heard of 99% of all the other competitors, but these victories must be a boost for these skaters' confidence.

Another Dai troll? I thought i am the second one.Is there a third one already?

r170 Obligatory grimace at the mention of Krasnozhon.

R171 nah you're the only one. Don't worry.

People never learn. Tensions run high here sometimes. When you call someone’s argument “stupid” get ready for a fight beetches.

Missing posts again.

Do you see white mouses , too?

R175 The troll woke up

Before R175 I posted one message, not postS. Whats your problem???

Too many sensitive fraus, that’s the problem

DL fans, thank you for much concern. It is settled - we split time between Russia and Japan. No need for English when we speak language of love. And for those wondering, Yuzuru not only eat Japanese food, but also loving Russian oysters. You get my meaning?

Med we have nothing going on. I already had to embarrass you and tell the world you were delusional. Everyone knows my heart belongs to pooh bear. My one and only love.

R181 But...but...I thought we had something going....all these years, Yuzu, all these years...

R182 Oh, bother.

Our beautiful swan. Please help the fraus get along. Please tell your psycho stalker Med - she can have the hidden necklace but stop talking about eating Russian oysters. Although for dL- probably heard worse. Someone- please put us back on track with the appropriate Yuzu pic.

Apparently Yuzu has inspirational quotes on his training shirts....never noticed even though I'm always staring at his ass.

R169 he could also have the opportunity to work at TCC. I wish he could take care of himself already so mama Vango back to Japan. I could also imagine him training in Japan internationally and help others benefit from what he learnt in Toronto.

Did Yuzuru just come out in those P&G questions? It's not clear though. Could just be a translation fluke?

Question #12. _is it good for men? You want a woman?

Yuzuru: I wonder if men would do better because they could use what they experienced now.

Oh at the bottom it said translations by Google lol.

If anybody can read Japanese, would be grateful for help.

R187 I think the translation is really bad because the one I read was like "what is better, a man? Or woman?" and that also makes zero sense.

Basically it's related to the previous question about what he'd be in another life and he replied human then they ask him if he'd like to be a man or a woman in the new life then says man

What he'd like to be in another life

R187 Apparently the previous question is "is it better to be human/ an animal or anything in your next life( another life) " Then the next question is "if human, so man or woman is better ? ". He said it would be better to be a man in his next life because he would know better and do better thanks to what he exprienced in past life (where he was also a man)

Ah thanks to all who cleared that up.

Can someone clear this up: how do you fall from a fucking waterfall at an amusement park?

Looks like baby Yuzu was traumatized by this...

I don't understand the obsession one (I hope it's only one) poster here has with Hanyu's mother's sex life. You should go post with those crazies over at FSU. I was just reading through their comments about the Mariah bullying incident and most of them sound seriously deranged--especially that crackpot attorney who keeps saying Mariah should sue Lim for defamation. What a fucking idiot--telling someone to escalate this nonsense into an expensive lawsuit she wouldn't win anyway because Mariah was not the physically injured party.

R196 who talked about Hanyu's mother's sex life here?!..

R197 I'm pretty sure all the comments about it were jokes after someone commented about how difficult it must be for her to be separated from her husband most of the year

A friend of mine is first generation Chinese-American, and her parents were an arranged marriage. Her parents don't particularly like each other and have limited contact. My friend lives with her mother, and her father and brother live a few blocks away with her in-laws in another house. The arrangement works for them. I wonder if Hanyu's parents come from a similar setup? It might explain why she has no problems living in Canada with her son.

This is a personal anecdote but I know two older Asian couples (my friends’ parents) who were perfectly fine living in separate bedrooms in the same house. It wasn’t like they were on bad terms, they just didn’t feel the need to be physically close as they got older. Plus it’s pretty common for Asian parents to prioritise their children over everything else. If Mama Hanyu were missing anyone I would say it would be Yuzuru’s sister rather than her husband.

Papa Hanyu is a dick anyway. Threatening his young son to bring him to the mountain where the scary yokai spirit with cannibalistic tendencies lives.

r197 it started with lots of criticism about how selfish Hanyu is. That he can't take care of himself and his mom basically is forced to live away from Papa Hanyu. Since he returned from Worlds so quickly without going to Sendai to allow them to have a conjugal visit. Back and forth leading to something like Asian people don't have sex after 40 and odd fixation on Mama Hanyu's sex life. Can't remember if 24 or 25, this this lounge goes so fast.

R196 I believe the two or three people who raised a stink about Yuzu's living arrangements and wringing their hands over the state of the Hanyu marriage are quite young and culturally ignorant. They had a hard time wrapping their heads around the fact that a marriage might extend beyond their definition of two people living together. Then it snowballed into jokes because it just became absurd. It's not really worth it to revisit (even though I kind of just did).

For those who haven't read Hanyu's P&G interview, here's a translation (sorry it's coming from Iron Klaus, I know how some of you feel about this person, but they posted one of the better translations out there).

R203 I was one of the people bringing it up and I am neither young nor culturally ignorant. I know Japan very well. I actually was not even thinking about Hanyu's parents bedroom life when I shared my curiosity about that arrangement. Call me naive but even without that aspect of life, living separated for 80% of the year on a whole other continent with a 13 hours time difference makes just normal communication difficult. I also was wondering if at some point Yuzu could start taking his first flight away from Yumi's protective wings but if the arrangement works for them even after so many years then good. But yeah let's not go back to that discussion. I much prefer the absurd derivative jokes about papa and mama Hanyu's marital life.

R205 Apologies then. I know there were a sprinkling of just curious folk such as yourself, but there were a few problematic comments (the bedroom life ones) that were simply so ridiculous that the only likely explanation was just not having enough life experience/common sense.

So Hanyu basically said that he sleeps in pajamas top only. It is kinky af ;P

R207 I'm more interested/concerned about stepping on a scale being the first thing he does in the morning, though I suppose in his case it's more about needing to gain weight than the opposite. He clearly loses weight very easily when he is not training for some time as could be seen by his form at World compared to Rostelecom.

R207 He manages to make even a duvet photoshoot session with full pajamas look kinky.

I heard you crying Brian.

R196 Jesus, why did you point me to that discussion?!! I'm team no one, but those people are so lacking in common sense. I had to stop when that crazy long-winded cunt aftershocks started talking about Bell's "pixie-like mien" (and I started backwards, so I could barely get through a few pages).

So much for all the people thinking Eteri would start ignoring LilBet with the 3As going senior. If I were Eteri, I'd shower attention on her. She can go to worlds until she's 35 if she wants, while the Russians will be lucky to last one Olympic cycle.

R209 Isn't it wonderful to watch Yuzu make love to bedding? His pillow commercial remains my all time favorite.

R211 They're all pissy because the In the Loop podcast women refused to side with Mariah and were less than thrilled with the over scoring Nathan and Vincent got at Worlds. I think the ITL women did a great job, especially when they explained that Nathan's problem is his stiff knees--it's why his jump landings are so awkward and have so little flow. But they also said some nice things about Nathan too, which those losers at FSU conveniently dismissed.

R208 He once mentioned he tends to lose muscle very quickly in the off-season when he can’t train as much, though I’n afraid I can’t remember which interview that was from. When quads put as much stress on the joints as they do, every difference in weight counts so that’s probably why he does that every morning.

R210 I'm glad Tursy's career is getting a boost. She was really stagnating with TCC - whether because of his injuries or inattention, who knows, but it clearly wasn't working out for her.

R214 Yeah, the parts of the Bell/Lim thread I read was very jingoistic and racist frankly. Who is aftershocks? When I read her posts, they sound like satire, like someone mocking an FSU poster, but apparently, this weirdo is not joking.

Another variant of translation of P&G interview...I like how answers to questions 2 and 31 sound.

that in the loop podcast for worlds was right on! Knee-jerk victim blaming (reminds me of Coughlin). Nice reminder the Eunsoo is a 16y old kid and the Canadians ( I'm talking to you Meagan) should stay out of it and quit bullying a kid. PCS scores is and will be the downfall of figure skating. Agreed Zhou should be in the 70s, Chen in 80s, and Hanyu 90s and H&L and Seimei should have both been 10s. *claps*

R208 And yet, despite his thin appearance at Worlds, Xinyu claimed Yuzu was heavier than before lol?

R211 R218 I like In the Loop....they're a great deal more tolerable than TSL, that's for sure. They might not be right about everything but at least they try to be reasonable and balanced in their assessments and not thrive on gossipy nonsense.

r216 aftershocks has been on FSU forever. I'd wager that if they ever made a poll who to kick out, it'd be him/her because I have no idea how they can stand all those walls of text.

R219 The last time Xinyu carried Yuzu was 2 years ago. He clearly increased in weight/muscle mass since then so ofc he would feel heavier to Xinyu but compared to earlier this season it's visible he has lost quite a bit of weight.

r219 i want to know how the hell he remembers how Hanyu felt 2 years ago, that's quite the memory.

[R214] I stopped giving the In The Loop girlies any attention when I found out they were partially behind that hate list on tumblr of skaters who needed to be canceled because they expressed sympathy over Coughlin's passing. Their favorite skaters apparently didn't make any mention of it. Mariah commented so she was screwed.

R222 Quite the memory indeed. [quote] Once, after Yuzuru finished his performance and had gone back to the changing room he shared with Liu, he was drenched in sweat and his costume was all stuck to him, so he asked Liu for help in taking it off.

R223 Can you explain how you think ITL was partially behind that tumblr blacklist? Never heard of this.

R224 LOL I feel bad for Hanyu and anyone offering personal anecdotes about him. No matter how innocuous the comment, they always end up tapping into some kind of collective Hanyu wet dream. I'm thinking more of the P&G Q&A because I admit, the Liu story was a little suggestive.

R225 Hanyu being one of the most inaccessible athletes social media-wise (and in general) fuels that collective wet dream. Knowing so little about his life outside of the rink is also bound to make imaginations run wild....there are just so many blanks to fill when it comes to Yuzu.

Okay, we make jokes about Luis F here, but I wouldn't blame him if he were getting a little annoyed by the Fernandez/Radford lovefest on ig.

When an opportunity to pose comes along, always seize it.

R225 This particular Q&A was one of the less boring ones with a few actually funny and cute anecdotes. In general I find this type of content he puts out for his fans really stale. I don't blame him though. It's clear he cherishes his privacy and since fans, in particular in Japan, will take whatever crumb he throws at them, why should he reveal more of himself. He can write something like 'today was beautiful. I hope tomorrow will be even better' and call it a post and still have fans crying over it.

R229 "Today was beautiful" because we make sweet love on concrete bench with squirrels watching. "Tomorrow will be even better" because tomorrow, I am peak fertile for making HaMed babies.

[quote] When an opportunity to pose comes along, always seize it.

That's just Yuzuru being his beautiful, inimitable self, in real life.

R229 It's so smart on his part. He's doing a great job keeping people at arm's length with stuff that humanizes him and sounds illuminating but actually isn't illuminating in the slightest. Telling people that his nickname is Yuzupon and that he likes the kaomoji with the bear face costs him nothing and delights his fans.

R232 True, everything Hanyu does is cause for celebration with the fanyus. Now, I say I wouldn't be like them and scream when he does his costume reveal in the 6 minute warmup, but if I saw that happen in real life before my very eyes, I know I'd not only scream, but I would commit psychological warfare and launch my fat ass onto the ice in excitement. Raf, better watch it.

R233 The costume reveal hysteria is funny and you can tell he loves it. I don't know how he feels about random people on the internet thirsting over every inch of his face and body though (I saw a whole thread on the veins in his arms and hands, wtf?). That might be amusing at first, but could get kind of disturbing. I know that's hypocritical to say on this thread, but Hanyu's not going to be looking at DL. I wonder how bad the Japanese sites are. AHEM, where's JDC???!!

R234. I wonder where jdc is too. I really hope our misunderstanding on the other thread didn't cause them to leave. I'm feeling bad right now.

When JDC comes back- everybody better kiss his ass and shut their pie holes if they are gonna spew negative comments at him. JDC- we’ll be good, promise!!

As for Hanyu-did he really say “ today is beautiful, tomorrow will be even better”- that’s freakin deep and I love him for it. Didn’t he also say “it’s Friday , the end of the week”? I swooned over that too and I’m not being sarcastic.

[R225] It was all over tumblr from their individual accounts.

JDC is a tough bitch who could duke it out with the best of them, so I doubt it was the name calling. But could be that they were just tired of telling us to calm down over Hanyu's ankle when they've told us time and time again that Hanyu is an intelligent adult, knows the risks and doesn't need all the crying and second guessing. Also, might be all the whining about how Japan doesn't love Hanyu enough. In any case, we hope you're just annoyed or busy or getting laid and it's not something else.

Can we take some bets here. I say he does FaOI. I can’t think of anyone else headlining it.

I hope he does Sendai only and doesn't jump.

R239 2x World Champ; owner of most magical vagina can headline FaOI easy.

JDC only comes over when there's something interesting/important to report. There's not much going on during the off season.

He'll definitely do FaOI, especially because I think it's shorter this year than last? Everybody seems to think this recovery/treatment period is the same as after NHK when he was off the ice completely, but he's on the ice now if Javi 2.0's video was anything (looked like the sweatshirt he always wears). He probably needs to take it easy with the jumps and keep having physio.

Anyway Hanyu's latest blog was just posted and he's talking about "investment in the future." Maybe he's being smart.

Here is a nice ass for you all.

R243. He should skip the jumps if he does go. He is such a beautiful skater even without the jumps. I made a comment on his new blog post but it probably got buried with the thousands of comments already there.

R243 Dammit, nothing about what games he plays in bed? Fine, I'll take "investment in the future" for now.

R244 Thanks so much! I've been looking for that video forever. He just shoves his hand right in there and gives everything a good whirl doesn't he.

Kolyada out of WTT. Replaced by Lazukin

R248, is he injured?

I forgot about the DL cookies when I cleared my history and had to start from 0. Just when I wanted to point out that Chika Suguri’s face looked different again when she was commenting on Hanyu’s practices during Worlds for Fuji. (New nose?)

I can assure the Most Want to Banged By ranking is not accurate at all. It’s from Shukan Josei and they only surveyed 1200 women (Hanyu had 104 votes), and those 1200 women were probably 5 out-of-touch staff members given some of the names on that list. Depp? Kimutaku? Tokui?? How the hell did Sanma make top 20?! There’s always a lot of politics involved in these “rankings.”

Hanyu has a P&G talk show with a secret guest planned in conjunction with FaOI, so he’ll still most likely appear, but maybe no jumps and not all shows. Candeloro will be there again, too. Uno is in All That Skate. First time for a Japanese skater maybe?

(By the way, a lot of top athletes and celebrities in Japan don't do social media, so it's not a Hanyu-only thing.)

As for why Uno’s fans are freaking out, he pissed off an entire prefecture. At a press conference to promote SOI, a reporter from Ishikawa asked him what foods he was most looking forward to eating when the show goes to there this weekend. If Uno had simply said, “I don’t know what they’re known for” or “I’m not that interested in food,” it wouldn’t have been a problem. But he said: “Look, I’m going to be frank here. I don’t have any impression of Ishikawa. I know this sounds really rude, but I’m also not interested in their food.” (It sounded more abrupt in Japanese.)

SOI tickets haven’t been selling well in Kanazawa (Ishikawa pref) and the entire point was for Uno to appeal to the folks and sponsors there. Still, even with the same content, if he’d just worded his answer differently, it wouldn’t have caused an uproar. Ishikawa is a popular tourist destination and has important historical sites that he would’ve studied in history class, so his not knowing anything about the area is also rather embarrassing. On top of that, he’s actually been there before.

So Uno no longer gets a pass for his quirkiness and his latest comment also brought out some old gems like… “Pyeongchang is in South Korea?” “What is a ‘Mar-seilles’?” “(Just months after 2017 Worlds) I’ve never been to Finland before.” (The Finnish Embassy’s official twitter account actually responded to that one: “Uno, how could you forget? You even arrived early and stayed a long time!”)

Luckily for Uno, the name of the next era in Japan was announced yesterday and everyone’s forgotten about him, but for a while, his comment garnered more attention than anything recent from Hanyu and it wasn’t his antis who were talking about it. (Why didn't English twitter cover this?) I think we can expect to see a photo of Uno eating Kanazawa crab and Kanazawa gold-leaf ice cream on Itsuki’s twitter soon.

There was also a long interview with Ge I’ll get to later, but he identified himself as a young coach on Medvedeva's team.

r251 I thought Uno was from a very media-savvy family? How the hell could he have remained so clueless? Alternately, if he's so clueless - and the thing about Finland doesn't sound just clueless, it makes him sound downright dumb if it wasn't a joke - why does the family keep pushing him in media?

New interview with Orser by ITL. The link provided has its transcript.

R251 JDC!!!!!! We are not worthy. Thank you!

R250. I agree. I also think Hanyu will be at the shows. Hopefully he doesn't jump. From what I'm reading on Twitter this morning it looks like he is aware that this injury is going to take longer to heal than the injury before the Olympics.

R247. You're welcome! I wasn't even looking for that clip and saw it on Twitter. It's actually new for me so I was excited to share it lol.

Uno is really "special," isn't he?

Kolyada supposedly had to go back in the hospital for sinusitis again.

Nothing too illuminating or new in this interview, but as R255 mentioned, he is clearly well aware of the severe limitations his health is bringing to his training and will tweak his approach. I'm sad that he thinks he lost "his basic abilities" now, but that might be part and parcel of having not been able to train full force prior to Worlds? Finally, can they PLEASE let it rest about the Beijing Olympics? He literally just said I need to be super careful and not fuck my ankle up more, and then it's "but Beijing, Hanyu....what about Beijing?" Give the guy a break for crying out loud.

[quote] There was also a long interview with Ge I’ll get to later, but he identified himself as a young coach on Medvedeva's team.

Oh boy....this will be interesting.

So Uno's oblivious attitude is finally biting him on the ass uh

R257. I wish they stop with 2022 already. I will be surprised if he even makes it to 2022. It also sounds like he isn't too sure on the 4A anymore. I think he wants to do it but at the same time I believe he is realizing the risks to his ankle.

Welcome back JDC!

r260 People are going to keep asking Hanyu about 2022 because they know he's the cash cow. I think it's unlikely that 4000 Japanese fans will travel to Beijing to see Shoma. So unless some other international star emerges (highly unlikley) they'll keep asking Hanyu.

I guess the question is will FaOI still be as popular without Hanyu?

R257 I like his reply to the Beijing question. Tbh while I don't rule out him being there because he clearly is addicted to competing in the way Plushenko was, from all the replies he has given about it in the past year I really feel it's not on his radar (yet). In the past whether it's Sochi or Pyeongchang he had a clear goal. Actually winning both Olympics was his childhood dream and aim. Whereas with Beijing it feels more like an extra thing he is not yet sure about. Obviously there is also the issue with his ankle so it must be difficult for him to even know if he will be physically able to participate in an event 3 years from now.

R260 Nah. Didn't you get the memo? Hanyu's old news. Chen's the new cash cow now. Thousands of fans from the US and all over the world will flock to see him in Beijing. If it weren't already a foregone conclusion that he's going, they'd be hounding him instead. They're just hounding Hanyu now cos the spectacle of the new main attraction's rivalry with him and the very real possibility of seeing said main attraction take down a past giant would only make the event an even more glorious one. ;)

Whoops. I meant r261. Missed that by a hair. Sorry.

Poor Shoma. He was supposed to be the heir apparent. Jin and Kolyada crapped out - but here comes this Tiger-mom puppy to pull the rug out from under him.

Hanyu risks further injuring himself permanently, and tarnishing the 2 Olympic golds by continuing to wear himself out on the road to Beijing. Look at skaters like Chan and Ten, who did poorly in 2018. I wish he'd relax and heal, and enjoy himself skating in shows now. 4x is impossible and not worth crippling himself over.

He could have so many more years of ice shows, perfecting his artistry and giving back to his devoted fans - but he endangers that option.

Noooo! You don't understand! I *need* do this. I just find for the again new purpose and now you say me to stop??? Psh! You know nothing. Ice shows don't give me same purpose feeling I feel for the competitions. You know, I am just only do ice shows because free practice venue and also I have the fun with other skaters. Without the competitions, my life plus my all medals have the value zero. No competition high feeling, no life! Anyway, it's my life so you can't say for me what I do. (｡+･`ω･´)

Ice shows don't give you the thrill that competition does. I just hope that Yuzu isn't naive and realizes that the US war machine is going to be full force against him from now on. They never liked him but were more or less forced to accept his dominance in the past but after finally managing to prop up one of their own, they are going to keep pushing outrageously. No limit to their shameless hypocrisy. And I don't want to see Yuzu destroy his body in what might be a vain fight against people who could care less if they kill the sport as long as they stand with a gold medal over the still warm dead body.

R268 Get off the rink, Yuzu. You are supposed to rest that leg.

I remember Nathan saying, and I think he's said it more than once, Yuzuru helps the sport.

But the US is a big market and was traditionally a major figure skating country - so Nathan helps the sport too, no?

Shoma, Rika, Kaori, I mean Japanese skating has its future secure. It's DYING in America, the wealthiest market in the world.

I mean, I'm a big Hanyu fan, but I sorta get it. At some point, you have to be pragmatic and cynical, to help all the skaters - or as Nathan said, to help the sport.

Newsflash: The United States of America declares war on Yuzuru Hanyu, 24, men's Japanese figure skater. Guilty of: encouraging psychological warfare using stuffed animals, namely Winnie-the-Pooh; being too feminine; winning too many Olympic medals and World titles as a non-American; wearing too many sparkles; having a nice ass.

R271 As you said Yuzu is helping the sport like no one else in a very long time. Why would you try to bring him down just to artificially prop up some young skaters when you could let them emulate him and grow and mature as skaters. What's wrong with having a star in the sport. The argument that when he retires his fans will stop coming is wrong. What is going to stop me and a lot of fanyus from following fs once he retires will be the unfairness and complete circus that is the current application by judges of the rule book. Fs has always been corrupted but when you have someone as insanely talented as Yuzu who gets hit unfairly by judges time and again, it's all the more visible.

Oh I agree with you R273. But I think the promotion of Nathan is partly a business decision - and partly one by the executives in the sport to prepare for the future. They probably see Yuzuru as an iffy proposition for the rest of this quad and certainly the next. I imagine every sport is always looking for the next big name, especially if the star(s) show any signs of petering out (like Yuzu's ankle issues).

Nathan will have a following, but it won't be the total fluke that Hanyu was. He's an anomaly. Who would have thought his glitz and Poohs would be this popular today.

R273 You want the United States to take the longer, higher road where everything will end nicely and sustainably for everyone when there's a shortcut that will give immediate gratification to just the US right there?

Nathan is the new cash cow. Koreans, Japanese and of course Americans love him.

It's quite amazing, really. How no matter how high Hanyu manages to reach, he still somehow manages find himself somewhat back in square one as the underdog. The guy must be thrilled. No sarcasm. I'm actually beginning to think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy on his part.

Nothing against Nathan but his 'no homo, nor transitions, bro' programs completed with the Vera Wang monstrosities are basically everything that is wrong with this sport.

[quote] The guy must be thrilled.

Hanyu did mention something like that in an interview. It's part of why he feels a renewed sense of purpose to his skating. He didn't necessarily use the word "thrilled", but he seemed not to mind being reset back to the beginning so to speak (to his "Origin", if you will....uggh, I'll show myself out).

R277 Wow. Just in time for the promotion in my inbox for further discounts on SOI tix, starring Nathan, Shibs etc. They're now over 50% off. What's your proof? That he's been invited to some ice shows?

R278 As someone wrote about Yuzu a few years ago: 'if not for his tremendous jumping talent, he would have been buried like Johnny Weir was.' No matter how many homos there are among the skaters themselves, the whole fs structure (feds, judges, coaches, media) and a big chunk of the fans are deeply conservative not to say worse.

R282 Then why has the USA been trying to erase the stain of my quadless, but no homo victory for almost 20 years now???? Whyyyyyy

R281 He's the cash cow, or he will be, if the USfed and media have got anything to say about it. Doesn't matter what reality is.

For example, he's the current WR holder by far because people with influence, interest and funds say he should be. Doesn't matter if his performance doesn't exactly reflect those scores. Proof is optional.

Get with the program already.

r284 I read it as "Ge with the program ready". I got fucking brainwashed.

R283 Because a quadless victory is the homo-est victory of all, Evan.

Hello, it's me, Yuzuru Hanyu. It is Tuesday, almost the middle of the week. I want to talk about cash cows. Nathan may be new cash cow with his gold medal and USFS may want to break me in half, but people still want to hear about my obsession with cats and what I wear to bed. Nathan is nobody without Yuzuru Hanyu. Have a happy day!

R283 We don't remember remember you winning the 1998 nor the 2002 men's individual for us, Lysacek.

Btw, if we can win with just "art" and 0 quads, we can also win with just quads and minimal art. Just you watch us, rest of the world.

lol many jealous bitchies here

R269. That's what I'm afraid of. That Hanyu will keep going. Push his body so much that he will hurt himself very badly. To the point he may not even be able to do shows. I hate worrying about him. He is a grown man. But I do sometimes see the child in him still. That's probably why I feel i want to protect him.

All those who say Nathan will be FS cash cow is underestimating the US penchant for homophobia and racist/bias tendencies. In the US, men’s FS has never been as popular as women. When our third generation American Kristi Yamaguchi with Japanese heritage won the Olympic gold in1992, people still commented “I wish the American girl Nancy kerrigan would have won.” Japan will embrace good skaters but not like their own. It is highly unlikely that thousands of Americans or Japanese will travel to see Nathan skate, although they may buy a ticket in their home town. Nathan may have popularity like weir or lambiel but he won’t be able to sell out shows on his own.

None of this is to say Nathan is not a good kid or talented-because he is both. But to say he will be the next “cash cow” for figure skating means you do not know the American audience.

IF your argument is well that was years ago so things are different now? I say look at who the US elected as their president.

r252 I would characterize them more as media-hungry than media-savvy. If they were savvy, I don’t think we’d be seeing Itsuki the supermodel talking about Uno’s inability to dry his laundry on national television.

r257 The AERA article seems to be a compilation of comments Hanyu made during worlds because I recognize his answers (word for word) from press conferences and other interviews. The question about Beijing was from the press conference after the SP. However, AERA took out the beginning of his answer where he said he hasn’t even planned out next season and needs to think about the condition of his ankle first. So you’ve all read and discussed these same exact answers from him before.

During worlds, Hanyu also said he loves figure skating because of the competition and shows don’t do it, so to enjoy skating is to compete for him. In the past, he’s said he knows which judges don’t like him. It’s highly unlikely fans know more about figure skating politics than him. It probably makes his wins all the more sweet.

Chen is the most popular (currently) competitive foreign male skater in Japan right now, but even Masaru is more famous among the general public and probably bringing in more money with her commercials and merchandise. I don’t mean that as an insult to Chen, but the men lose to the ladies in ratings when Hanyu isn’t around. (I also wouldn’t be surprised if the US fed puts all their focus on Liu when she goes senior, over Chen and Zhou.)

Chen had a long interview with Canon where he talked about Hanyu and shared his daily schedule with school and practice:

Ge had a long interview with Hitomi Hasegawa again.

Orser emailed him three weeks before Russian Nationals while he was in Armenia for a show and asked him to come to Toronto ASAP to choreograph Medvedeva’s SP. (This part is old news.)

Medvedeva told him that there were several choreographers the team considered using for her new SP and Orser decided on him in the end. But he was never told why he was chosen.

Ge, Elena Pollack (his own costume designer), Orser, Tracy, and Med decided on all of the details of the Tosca dress.

He thanked Orser and Tracy for allowing a “new young coach” (himself) to join the team.

He said he’s also Tomono’s coach, not just his choreographer. He’s sent Tomono 7-10 songs to choose from for his next program. (So only one program?) He wants Tomono to spend more time with his (Ge’s) mentors. Not a single word of thanks or appreciation for Tomono’s coach or team despite gushing about Orser and Tracy.

He choreographed 32 programs this year. He was invited to an ice show this year, but had to turn it down because he’s too busy.

Full interview:

That pisses me off so much, that Ge won't give any credit to Tomono's coach. I'm so glad Yuzuru got out of his clutches, not that he was ever in them - but even as a buddy, it seems to be ovah. Good!!

Thanks so much for the link! Partly because it's funny but also because I was anxious to see what Nathan said - here's the Google translation of the second and third questions (I don't know if Yuzuru comes up in the rest of the Nathan's interview):

Q: Free was a good match with Hanyu Yuzuru, who remains in skate history.

Nathan: Yul is a player that I truly respect from the bottom of my heart. He has developed the figure skating sport, is my model, and is also a motivator This time, it was a wonderful opportunity to fight with Yue in this land of Japan. As Yul was missing from last year's World Championships, even if he won, he did not feel like a champion somewhere Yul is a two-time Olympic champion. This is a title that can not be taken away or surpassed by anyone. There is no day when I did not respect the unit.

Q: The free run was the next run order of Hanyu, and it took time to collect the presents.

Nathan: Even so far, I have experienced running just after the roll. I could expect a lot of stuffed animals to come down from the audience, which is rather a pleasure. Oh, I think so many fans love to skate. The fact that you are a fan of Yule is paying attention to my performance. In that sense, while taking a shower for Yul, I will do my best and I will feel like watching my performance. There is a sport that is loved by fans like this, and it is rather lucky to be able to perform in front of those fans. It's a lot more exciting than a game that has no players and no fans.

@JDC. Hi there. Really appreciate all the dirt you always so generously dish out. Please don't ever stop.

Now regarding he cash cow debate (not sure there ever was one, tbh), I dunno bout the others but I'm calling Chen a cash cow with not just a hint of irony. My main point is as far as the US media is concerned, he already is the new Hanyu. It matters not whether or not he really is or will be. It's the platform they seem to be selling him on. And quite a few seem to be buying it.

Well maybe... but didn't the Olympic Channel just announce something like, "Yuzuru Hanyu IS the Olympic Channel."

Oh that's not it but something pretty extreme. Isn't the Olympic Channel an American channel?

R296 I dunno if the OC is American-originated or not but the committee they answer to isn't so their interest doesn't seem to lie solely on American athletes. So I think what they say would be a lot closer to the objective truth than the things American-centric media is spinning.

R297 the press conference did say USA created the most traffic and now followed by Japan AND Hanyu is the still the OC.

R298 OC = Olympic Channel

And Hanyu has a lot of American fans. That's not exactly news. Most of his English-speaking fans are from the States. Imagine though if these fans are fans of an American skater instead. That's probably what the US media is trying to build for Chen.

Anyway, I was originally talking about the American hype machine a la US media. Not the fans. Can we stop the topic deviation here?

Rachel Parsons is apparently retiring due to an eating disorder. Her homely brother will have to find another partner.

R294 As much trouble as I give Nathan about his costumes and such, he's an alright kid. I don't think he's ever had a bad word to say about other skaters, though at the press conference he fell back into that "Team USA" rhetoric especially since Vincent was also on the podium, which I just rolled my eyes at.

R292 Yeah, as soon as I posted that AERA article, I realized it was a repeat of everything he's already said. AND it was from Iron Klaus. Shame on me.

All this talk about cows here, and Raf hasn't weighed in yet... I miss you, Raf.

Well, that's a pity. They seem to have been together forever, maybe another Shibs in the making.

Those of you who see Nathan Chen as the sport's new "cash cow" are either delusional or have no understanding of American figure skating. USFA wanted Gracie GOLD and Jason BROWN (notice non-Asian names) to be their new stars and the saviors of American figure skating. But that didn't happen so they have no other choice but to push Chen, the human jump machine, now.

I agree about what's being said about Nathan Chen and popularity. The US just isn't that into male figure skaters. Sadly, there's still the stereotype that any male skater is an unathletic, overly effeminate gay man who flounces around the ice. He will enjoy relative popularity and fame if he wins the Olympics, but it'll be nothing compared to had a pretty blond young woman like Gracie Gold won.

Lazukin was the one who supposedly screamed at Boyang during one of the worlds practices. Multiple people have said he nearly skated into Boyang while Boyang’s music was playing and screamed in his ear. After that, he kept skating into Boyang’s path whenever Boyang tried to jump. When Boyang tried to approach him, he turned around and skated back to Mishin. Maybe Lazukin’s current visa trouble is Karma.

Medvedeva seems yo have a new Japanese sponsor. The first photo (photoshopped?) resembles her past diet product posts and has a PR hashtag. She’s eating Topvalu’s low-fat cherry yogurt. Topvalu is a private brand from the supermarket chain Aeon known for their low prices. (Aeon is one of the sponsors of FaOI Makuhari. P&G is the main FaOI sponsor and also happens to sponsor Med.) She just recently gave an interview about how she’s gone vegan to control her weight. Aeon is a legitimate company unlike Rivaland, although Topvalu is associated with cheap quality.

Didn’t someone post that the NBC announcers didn’t even attend worlds but just announced watching the videos. They didn’t even show the short programs on tv. Also for US nationals, the women free skate had much better viewership then men, talking about 3million versus not even rated. Although Nathan got some press, the bulk of it was for Alysa Liu.

I think things may change in the future BUT only if USA wins Olympic gold.

R306, med looks like she’s trying to force feed herself. Lol

I'm going to start thinking he is trolling. I hope he continues because it's extremely entertaining watching fans take all of these posts very seriously.

R305 Even if Gracie Gold had been successful, it wouldn't have made any real difference for American figure skating as a whole--or for figure skating in general. One of the dirty little secrets no one wants to admit about the sport is that most skating we see now is repetitive and boring (not to mention corrupt). I only came back to it because I accidentally came across some Hanyu videos back in 2015. But once he's out, I'm out again too.

Maybe is Yuzu’s cousin had whacked Nathan in the shin with a crowbar before worlds free skate, the popularity in USA would have increased. Not that I was really thinking that.

Look out Tonya, I'm out to single handedly revitalize the sport with my blades and perfect timing.

How is Med supposedly vegan while eating yogurt? Unless this particular yogurt is so low fat and cheap as to contain no dairy?

Cow bell, I like attitude. Maybe there's hope for you yet, even though you barely get off ground.

R313. I don't think that's how vegan yogurt works. I'm vegan. They use coconut milk and almond milk. They might use other kinds but I haven't seen them. I would have to research the brand that med is eating.

R315 You do realize I was being flippant, right? I'm perfectly aware low fat/inexpensive doesn't render a yogurt vegan.

R316. I never know anymore. But thank you for replying. You would be surprised how many people out there don't understand a lot of the vegan stuff (food)

In this interview she said she still eats some dairy products. You all never quit trying to find things to criticize with her, no matter how petty or insignificant, do you?

R317 For sure. There's so much misinformation and stupidity online, it's hard to know when people legitimately don't know or are just joking.

R318 It's not criticism. I was genuinely wondering if she became vegan. Sheesh. You must be fun at parties.

R318. She can't call herself vegan if she still has dairy sometimes. She's plant based not vegan.

Agreed with R321, that would make Med a vegetarian (possibly a lacto vegetarian who doesn't eat eggs).

But big (like cow) question is, will she lose enough weight to fly? If works, I must tell her diet to elephants in my rink. Ice already damage enough from their bulk.

Mr. Hanyu on importance of "sleep".

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Will there be a selfie in pajamas t-shirt in bed, Mr.Hanyu..? Pretty please!

R318 questioning someone who supposedly said she was vegan for eating/endorsing a dairy product is hardly unreasonable. In any case, there is no detail too petty or insignificant for this board to fixate over, especially when they hint at financial desperation, hypocrisy and material for fat jokes.

R306 Thank you for clearing that up. Honestly, of the 3 who were there, I could only see Lazukin doing that. What a massive dick.

r306 can someone explain the Lazukin/Jin incident? Was there something that happened before the yelling ?

[306] Where have you seen this about Lazukin??? Nobody has said it was him and it would be very strange given he's known for being very, very quiet and shy - to the extent Russian journalists/fans wondered why somebody like Tuk (more extroverted) would be interested in him.

Joji Miller (formerly known as "Filthy Frank") tweeted about Vinzent Zhou:

I forgot the other two guys who were on the ice with Boyang - one was Aymoz. Was Kolyada the third?

Like Mariah, I'll never feel the same about that guy (though I can see the attraction for Tuk - he's cute!). These things really bother me. They ought to immediately be sent to time-out or something.

R331 The other guys were Aymoz, Brezina and Lazukin.

Disqualified - that's it! They should be kicked out of the rink and sit out that tournament.

And I hate Mariah even more because she's not cute - just a cow bell. Wish Liu could move up this season.

Thanks R322. Glad to hear the details - I was thinking it was probably Aymoz. No reason other than he's a bit outre or something, and the other two seemed more chill.

I actually like Mariah more now -- she showed her strength when half of Korea was cyberbullying her, her friends and her family. (For example, I saw comments on Adam's IG like "I hope you die of AIDS", "murderer" etc. Just unhinged.)

I can never feel the same about Eunsoo, even though I believe it was ATS behind the ridiculous accusations and not her. As all the competitive skating world knows that those "stabbing" claims are bogus, I wonder how they will react to Eunsoo from now on. That's why I feel bad for her, was it really worth it?

Also, I can't understand how those who buy ATS's claims of Mariah bullying Eunsoo can justify ATS publicizing something like that at the most important competition of the year, between SP and FP. They were supposed to back up their claims after worlds but it's just radio silence now.

Yamaguci was/is popular with the public. She didn’t get many sponsors because she and her agent were lazy. They admitted to sitting back and waiting for phone calls. That’s not how it works.

Nobody was rah rah Kerrigan. She inconsistent.

R334 You can feel bad for Eunsoo, believe Mariah should have apologized properly and be appalled at the insanity coming from Korean fans at the same time, you know. On that last point, they have always been batshit. Mariah is not having any kind of special treatment. Poor Adelina still receives hate from them on a daily basis and they were also posting death threats after Yuzu won last year.

Poor Adelina still receives hate from them on a daily basis ???Very good, slut was so full of herself with winning that day, it was awful. If someone with other attitude won,koreans wouldnt have been so angry

Okay, I'm still not really understanding the Lazukin/Jin situation other than Lazukin suddenly started yelling at Boyang and harassing him in practice. Why though? Did they previously have beef or something?

Javi, shave that pornstache, please. You are starting to look like Freddy Mercury.

I don't think anybody knows, R338. Maybe Lazukin is just a jerk. Rattle Jin and he might fuck up - and maybe Lazukin could be one place higher - just a guess - who knows?

Based on Mariah's behavior after what happened, I still think she's an asshole and it makes me tend to believe the bullying allegations.

R341 I think you're probably right. A shame because I used to like her.

Lazukin almost collided with Boyang before he screamed in his ear, so he may have blamed Boyang for being in his way and wouldn’t let it go. r329 It was all over Japanese threads.

r318 In the first Russian article and first part of your quote, Medvedeva says “I don’t eat meat. I don’t eat dairy protein.” She’s also eating instant noodles and seafood, so maybe she’s genuinely confused vegan with a no-meat diet. She’s the spokesperson for unhealthy diet shakes and another company that sells diet and bust-enhancing pills, so I think you can understand why people feel her team has been sending mixed messages.

Chen is appearing in All That Skate, so maybe things have been smoothed over with Raf’s camp. Did ATS ever release a photo of the wound? I’ve only seen photos of a small plaster on Lim’s leg.

R343 I'm meat! I have feelings!!

Liza is a mess in this SOI performance. Popping all over the place. I wonder what her problem is? Only 1 week until WTT.

I love Hanyu's bare minimum beauty blogging ass. His latest voice post is the least informative yet.

R346 "Hanyu's bare...ass. ..." This is all I saw. You have my attention now. What did he say?

R347 Here you go. He's on a roll today...I've learned a lot of beauty tips and tricks from him like I need to sleep and maybe weigh myself in the morning.

Yuzu is so beautiful.....*swoon*

R349 half joking

R345 She's lost a lot of weight. In some of the pictures, she looks skinny, even standing next to Satoko, and everyone looks fat next to Satoko. Maybe she will just make up in PCS what she loses in TES.

I thought y'all were trolling with the blog thing lmao

Let's predict tomorrow's blog post.

"Hello again, this is Hanyu string.

Nutrition is very important. Each morning after waking up and stepping on the scale, I like to eat some food. Food helps power me through the day. Do you like to eat food in the morning?

Let's all work hard together this Friday!"

R353 Alright:

"Hello everyone. It is Hanyu string.

It is Thursday, one day away from Friday, the end of the week. How do you spend Thursday?

Have a nice day for everyone today!"

R353 Why should Yuzu have all the fun?

Hello, this is Javier Fernández, bicampeón del mundo de patinaje artístico, y bien amigo de Yuzuru Hanyu, el mejor patinador de todo el tiempo.

Love is very important. Now that I’ve moved back to Madrid after many years in Toronto, every morning after waking up and stepping on the scale, I like to have sex with my pretty Spanish girlfriend, M*****. Sex helps power me through the day. Do you like to have sex in the morning?

But right now, I do not wake up to have sex with M*****, as I am touring in Japan with my very good friends Eric, Alex, and Stéphane. I post old vacation photos of me and M***** on Instagram so that she knows I’m thinking about her (and not possibly having sex with prettier people who also happen to be fellow Olympic medalist skaters).

Let's all work hard together this Friday!

"Hello everyone. Ziz iz Hanyu ztring.

I leally love cute animalz, like catz, puppies, zquirrelz, budgiez, red pandaz, pangolinz, hedgehogz and Shoma Uno. He iz zo smooz.

Have a nice day for everyone today!"

*swoon* I mean seriously

Oh dear, calm down already. We get it: your ass is nice.

Yuzuru next blog entry:

It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday Everybody's looking forward to the weekend, weekend. Friday, Friday. Getting gay on Friday. Everybody's looking forward to the weekend.

Yesterday was Thursday. Today it is Friday, Friday We-we-we so excited. We so excited. We gonna have a ball today. Tomorrow is Saturday And Sunday comes after... wards ....

Great that they are finally starting to get a hint that he might not be there.

i hope this really takes traction. US Figures skating is turning out to be complicit by not being proactive about this.

here is Brennan's article

That Senator went on the attack on USFSA also last year on the Chris Pottenger situation but it didn't get traction given that case didn't end up in a suspension by SafeSport

R361 My guess is they'll blame the dead guy, maybe require some trainings to prevent "future" inappropriate behavior and be done with it. I don't see USFSA investigating itself unless lots of people come forward all at once (that aren't just accusing Coughlin). We've known about Richard Callaghan for 20 years now. Donald Vincent will be in prison until he dies. Have any of these cases caused USFSA to do any soul searching? Maybe after Nassar, things will be different, and that's why I mentioned they might do some "trainings" (i.e., make people watch a 30 minute sexual harassment video that's only available on VHS).

r364 maybe with more recent cultural awareness and Nassar, they'll do more. It would be nice if more US Figure skaters would come out and speak on the inappropriateness of this, but they're all being quiet. I guarantee, they have witnessed some of these inappropriate relationships and reasoned them away as "it's just the way things are".

R343

[quote]Chen is appearing in All That Skate, so maybe things have been smoothed over with Raf’s camp. Did ATS ever release a photo of the wound? I’ve only seen photos of a small plaster on Lim’s leg.

Nathan's appearance was likely arranged before the whole Lim/Bell incident, so I don't think it says much. Also, it looks like the show is supposed to be a splashy return for Yuna (I don't think the previous ATS shows had such big names), so I doubt ATS would let a little kerfuffle involving minor client foil their plans.

Here's a picture of Eun Soo's gash that was shown on SBS.

Nathan is on the east coast most of the time anyway, so I don't see what any of the Bell/Lim stuff has to do with him. If he tried to get out of the contract it would probably just fan the flames even more and the Korean nuts would probably start going after him.

Ando’s ex-fiance Nanri has returned to figure skating and now coaches in Fukuoka. I don’t think he was ever able to return to doing shows, however. (Rumor has it Ando had him blacklisted.)

Ge has been in Fukuoka since Worlds, so maybe we'll see him at WTT.

R366 Thank you. Any chance there’s a link to the SMS video for a clearer picture? The wound is small but looks deep enough that Bell could’ve felt some impact. R367 Chen recently posted a photo with Bell that only garnered a couple of negative comments unless he’s been deleting them. He shouldn’t have anything to do with the Bell-Lim situation, but some of the more enthusiastic fans were looking at the entire Raf team and Bell’s family during worlds.

This is one of the most intriguing Hanyu portraits I've seen. (Before you get excited and scroll down, it isn't his ass.) There's a Mona Lisa quality to his face here. When you shift your focus around he looks like he's smiling and not smiling at the same time, and his eyes are completely unreadable. What a candid.

I don't have the patience to sit through 25 minutes of Adam Rippon, but here he is on Larry King. He has a memoir coming out? I mean, I guess if Karen Chen wrote one, then anyone can...

Oh, you can already pre-order his book. WTF is that cover and title? "Beautiful On The Outside"? Time for this narcissistic kween's 15 minutes to be up already.

And he's on Ru Paul tonight. I'm watching it but he hasn't appeared yet - I think he's choreographing one of the two teams in some kind of dance challenge.

I think he wants wier’s job

R373 What's Weir's job? To commentate remotely twice a season from his living room?

R374 and get paid and be the face of NBC for figure skating, duh!!

R374 Adam- r u trolling on this site

Jealous, bitches?

Adam is living his best life. I like his floral suit.

R373. Did you or anyone else here happen to watch weir live on Instagram last Sunday? He was talking about his retirement from skating in 2022. If I recall correctly he mentioned he might stop his commentary too at some point. He wants to focus on maybe getting married again and not having to travel. So maybe there is an opening for Adam in the future. I personally would want to puke if I had to listen to him on tv.

R368 Miki Ando, Our Lady of Magical Vaginas isn't just a whore, but also a massive cunt? How thematically on point! So she gets the guy to quit skating to support her and the kid, dumps him for Fernandez, and then tries to prevent him from making a living? Does she have that much power?

R368 Here is a video showing Eunsoo's wound. It's still a little blurry, but is at the :56 mark. I don't have an opinion on the whole thing, but I do find it odd that Mariah could gouge out someone's leg like that and not even notice. You have to feel some resistance.

No, Adam, we are not envious. We can actually do things better than 14 year old girls. You, on the hand, can't even do a quad whereas 14 year old girls in your sport can do multiple quads. How embarrassing for you!

"Hello, everyone. This is Yuzuru Hanyu. It is becoming my habit to weigh myself every morning! Do you all have morning habits, too? Let's keep doing our best on Thursday as well!"

Just realized that TSL made sure to write Eunsoo's name in Korean in the heading of their "Much Ado About Nothing" video. They're just baiting the Korean fans right now for clicks.

R379 Is this the interview you're talking about? Posting for others who might want to watch. Johnny's doing the interview shirtless, in bed and looks stoned. It all seems very desperate, so I couldn't watch. Hopefully, you guys can tell me I'm wrong.

Some people are really calling Yuzu anorexic because he weights himself every morning. Wtf. Obviously as an athlete whose weight can have an impact on jumps (and on his ankle) he needs to monitor it. I know Oda said in the past that Yuzu has no interest in food and eats very little but I always felt it was due to his single mindedness when it comes to skating. I'm sure he enjoys a good meal from his mom like everyone else.

I wonder who the ghostwriter is of Adam's book.

R369 Goddamn he's so photogenic !!! [starts fanning self]

R388 Not just photogenia. In life, up close (if you get my meaning), all Yuzuru parts are amazing, especially pleasure organ. Shhhh. Just between us. Don't tell Mama H. She look like nice lady, but has filthy mouth.

Why are Radford and Wagner getting into twitter fights with fans over Chen's PCS and GOEs. Have a little dignity, Athletes Commission Rep. or whatever you are.

Maybe he was just busy, but Chen stayed away from "liking" Mariah's IG message about the incident which attracted the "like" of the likes of Zhou, Brown, Rippon, Bates, Cain, Hawayek, Nguyen, Chartrand, Kayne and O'Shea, Jimmy Ma, Dolenski, Wang, Rabbitt, Hicks, Ponomareko, Carreira, Olivia Smart, Zagorski, Glenn, Meite,

R390 Radford was one of the skaters looking extremely unhappy when Yuzu skated so well his SP in Sochi. There is a fancam of the whole thing. I thought he had gotten over it with how friendly he seemed with Yuzu last year but maybe not.

R392 How was he supposed to be happy when the top rival of Patrick Chan who was his teammate skated well ?

Anyway Misha Ge looked so so happy when Hanyu skated well, no wonder he is Hanyu's best friend.

R391, I feel like Chen is the type who likes to avoid drama and focus on himself.

Duhamel/Redford weren't a team known for their artistic side

Eh, Radford bring unhappy about Hanyu skating well in Sochi is very human of him. Maybe he just likes Chen? It's easy for us to point out all the wrong, but skaters often have personal entanglements which color their opinions.

If only Chen's skating was more interesting, he'd be a pretty good option to get behind.

You can support your teammate and country man without looking like someone killed your cat because a competitor did better. I have never understood supporting an athlete just because he is from your country tbh.

[quote]Nothing against Nathan but his 'no homo, nor transitions, bro' programs completed with the Vera Wang monstrosities are basically everything that is wrong with this sport.

This is quite a homophobic statement.

What do you mean no homo? And what would you consider “homosexual skating” ? 🤔

R399 Ask Vera's husband

R399 what’s homophobic about it, the poster is saying Chen purposefully stays always from parts of skating considered more “feminine” and thus related to “gay”like costumes that actually have flare and are related to the programs

Radford pretty much admitted that GOE and PCS candies can be given to your biases when defending Chen PCS then deleted his tweets when he realized what actually came out of his mouth.

Here’s snapshot

So Radford was pro-Chen PCS and Ashley was against? I would have thought the opposite...but I don't see any of the tweets you're talking about.

Click on r403 tweet and it has snapshots of radford’s deleted tweets. Not sure what side Wagner was on

What makes Nathan skating 'no homo' exactly? He strikes me as a guy who prefers minimalism in his artistry and costumes. He's taken ballet so not averse to activities seen as traditionally feminine and doesn't seem homophobic. When I think of skaters with no homo style, my mind goes to Elvis Stojko, Michael Weiss, and to some extent Lysacek.

R406 His skating is boring like a dude bro, he hates sequins and told people interesting in artistry to go watch ice dance. Not him asking Vera Wang of all people to do his costumes. I don't think he is homophobic but he participates in bringing back this boring 'manly', 'straight' skating narrative back.

I didn't know male skaters had to wear sequins not to be called homophobic. You can't expect every single skaters to wear sequins !!!!! Some skaters wearing ruffles, frills, flounces throughout their career are horribly homophobic.

Yuzuru and his string of shocking revelations: "Hello everyone. It is Hanyu Yuzuru. Today is Friday, why not take some time to relax? My way to relax is to listen to music with my favorite earphones and play games. Please spend a weekend that everyone charges well well!" translated into Human: "I am the most boring man in the Universe. Savvy? Go stalk someone else."

I agree that Nathan's skating is boring, but it's really dumb to think that you either have to be a supersensitive, flaming queen in sparkles and sequins, or you're a "dudebro," like there's nothing in between. How about if we just let people be themselves.

R385. Yes that's the livestream he did. I thought he sounded sad especially talking about leaving skating. Which i understand.

R408 Which part of "I don't think he is homophobic but he participates in bringing back this boring 'manly', 'straight' skating narrative back." did you miss. It's just sad that we are in 2019 and we are back to jump borefests by skaters wearing dark jumpsuits being praised as ultimate artistry.

R412 I dont think we need more faggots and copies of Weir like yuzuru

R407, I do find Nathan's skating can be boring, but that's still different from extreme macho styles. I found Matt Savoie's skating style often boring to watch as well, and he never wore sequins or flashy costumes. He's an out, married gay man.

r411 Yeah, I don't think he/she gets it either. obviously chen is not homophobic, but he's feeding into those who want to "masculinize" FS which indirectly seems to convey the message that there is something wrong with the theater aspect of skating.

r413 daitroll is back- blocked

R415 What you mean by" being back"? You dont know how to block people, for gods sake?? You re retarted? Block me once for all and stop pretending that again you see my posts again or "she is back"

i do think though that other "masculine" skaters like elvis still tried to match the costume to the program. Lysacek with his snake. Whereas not sure that Vera Wang/Chen get this at all. What does black tights with a white bib have to do with a carnival theme?

surprising since wang designed the snake costume so maybe this is more Chen's decision

Chen's skating is so boring I can't even bring myself to engage in a discussion about his boring skating. Can't believe USFSA has managed to gaslight people into actually thinking he is an artistic skater or that he even cares about this aspect of skating. Believe your own eyes people.

no hetero men like hanyu or others" artistic " skaters like him. Seriously. He is loved by gays like you or japanese women who love effeminate me,n whats more they find them attratice. in japan , men looks terrible(for hetero white woman)

R412. I think you're responding to some troll. I see the posts but it's obviously trolling here. It might be Daitroll or a new troll.

R417 I'm sorry you don't understand artistry, but Chen's costume is an homage to Rothko's rendering of the sublime. It's so deep I can't explain it with human sounds. You just have to let yourself go and FEEL.

R409 Yuzu is doing exactly what Michelle Kwan used to do when she was skating and winning endorsements. It was boring then and it's boring now.

R414 You're not seeing the forest for the trees. Sure, there have been no frills skaters in the past and yes, what is more "masculine skating" is open for interpretation. But you're forgetting one important factor in all of this which is the US media/USFS. They have been actively pushing their no homo agenda every chance they get, and now with a good skater on their hands, they have a poster boy for their homophobia and it is working with the ISU, not just to the detriment of Hanyu but other skaters as well. In an ideal world, yes, Nathan is allowed to be as "minimal" as he wants in his styling and skating without criticism, just as Hanyu should be free to utilize an entire store's worth of stones on his costumes and to skate as Juliet as well as Romeo. But don't forget how much the US media has wanted to masculinize skating and now with the scoring actually reflecting this, it is not unreasonable to be just a little annoyed and troubled by it.

R423 You're right, it is boring. He should follow my lead and compose masterworks of poetry on IG.

r425 oh and also the isu should allow artistry such as knee skating

USA is glad they have a Chen and not a Weir. It's true.

R426 Vincent, if you want to be a champion like me, you should do more crossovers. It covers all artistry necessary for skating like a man. Just ask the judges.

R402 Of course it's no big deal if skaters have their own favorites and defend their biases. Radford isn't a judge after all. But to go the way of "Everything's Subjective" is both mentally lazy and ignorant of the issues that have been pissing people off about FS since the beginning of time and that this current system was supposed to ameliorate somewhat. Radford also wrote this, apparently: "I asked many judges what the video fo a +5 jump or element looked like assuming that's how they knew what they were looking for and they would chuckle and told me there is no video for anything like that!" What did we all watch this summer when the rules came out? I'm sure he wouldn't be so amused by the "chuckling" and the flippant attitude if it were his career on the line.

R429 It's true, my place in sports history is secure.

[quote] What did we all watch this summer when the rules came out?

In Ice Dance we watched the videos showing examples of +5...and even of -5

In Pairs and Singles they didn't show that kind of analysis. They showed videos of "gold standards" for each bullet point but not a whole element where they said "it is +5, all bullet points have been hit"

R431 LOL so you're saying it's too much to ask the judges to put all those individual bullet points together to figure out what a +5 jump should look like? If they're so confused about the system, then why keep it?

R432 I am not saying that. I am saying that we did not watch video of +5 jump last summer when the rules came out. Instead we watched this

R433 Yes, I know you weren't saying that. I was just commenting on the absurdity of it.

R433 Ah, ok. They didn't even make effort on trying to show a whole element and considering all bullets. Anyway, if you ask a judge to show you a +5 video, they should be able...I mean, they should just go back and find a +5 they have given

Video of Hanyu briefly discussing his and Chen’s protocols, and the new rules. He’s very careful with his words, but you can tell he has a lot of opinions about the current judging and scoring system, and admits this season was quite difficult with the changes. At the end, he points out he does do a lot of detailed worked in both of his programs, such as using different jump entries in different parts of his programs, and changing up the music and timing. But that’s his style and what he thinks makes him a good skater, and he’s not going to change that, though he’ll also try consider the judges’ opinions when he makes his next programs.

And i think it is lousy that Yuzuru kept his programs for 3 seasons(!) lol It is not fair and makes him a ...

Isn't the whole point of the new +5/-5 system that the judges are supposed to assess the bullets individually and depending on which bullets are satisfied, award the appropriate GOEs? They can figure out what +5/-5 jumps look like by considering the individual bullets. I mean, I understand that this can be confusing and asking A LOT of someone who's just eyeballing an element after all (that image of the broken bicycle was absurd). But to say, "they need to show me a video of a +5 jump for me to know what a +5 jump is supposed to look like, and since they haven't, I'M GONNA DO WHATEVER" is lazy and disingenuous. Of course some of it is subjective - and I think that's what Radford was getting at - but at least try or pretend to be fair.

R436 Thanks for this and for the translation. He's incredibly mature and principled in his approach to skating and competition. I always respected that, even when I wasn't a fan of some of his programs.

Here is another translation of that video by Iron Klaus. The thoughtfulness of Hanyu's response vs. Radford's careless and entitled hot take is striking.

R436 I feel so sorry for him. As much as I love seeing him skating, I wish he would retire and let this dumpster fire of a sport die. It's so fucking disheartening to see him pour his heart and efforts into perfecting his programs and following the rulebook point by point, only to have judges themselves admit they don't have a clue nor give a shit about it and it's all subjective/who pays more. When he was looking at the GOEs for his 4lo and Nathan's 4lz you could see his brain racing to try and understand the fuckery.

r440 I love this Yuzu shade…

“the steps, turns and one-footed skating which are referred to as transitions” – which Chen AND his coach admit to not having much off if any

“ I hardly ever do my jumps in the same place”- unlike you-know-who

“my trajectories into my jumps are different “- AKA I don’t telescope my jumps like all the others

He is so full of himself, nah. And fake. He is so nice to others , but it is only before the cameras. He lost once and he cannot stand it. Life is so unfair, right Hanyu? In that interview he is so frustrated.

also Yuzu "you're not a real champion unless you win the Olympics"

I hope "GOE is subjective" is enough for Javi "what the fuck is this bullshit point spread" Fernandez to dump that man crush once and for all.

NA fans trying to dismiss the complaints on scoring as fanyus being mad that Yuzu lost clearly don't remember how pissed we were after World 2017 even though he had won and broken a WR there. It's about unfairness and double standard and how the judges sit their ass and shit on the rules most of the time. Other skaters have been victims of this shit. The next time a dude bro dismisses fs as a non sport I won't say anything because they are right.

R441 I could not agree more.

If everything's subjective, why bother with competitions at all? Just make the whole thing one giant ice show that no one will attend and be done with it. I wonder how long this is going to continue. Fans have access to videos and sns and certain sites like skating scores make the judging chicanery a lot easier to spot. At some point, skating will just be a source of aggravation and no one will care.

R441 That video makes me sad for him too. He never lashes out or feels sorry for himself, so it's the sincerity that gets me. He sincerely wants to understand and sincerely wants to meet them half way. Of course he should skate for as long as it makes him happy, but selfishly, I want him to be done with it so I can be too.

Evan Lysacek is now engaged to a Vietnamese American woman. I thought a bunch of skaters were always making snide comments about him being a closet case. Can't help but now be reminded about David Messerschmitt (Soft butch sous chef victim) and Chris Burrous.

OMG Chris Burrous - to die with meth rocks AND a fist up your ass is to go with dignity. RIP

R441. I also feel sorry for him. This us just bullshit what is happening. How many here will leave once Hanyu leaves? I'll be saying goodbye once he retires.

Evan Lysacek is now engaged to a Vietnamese American woman. I thought a bunch of skaters were always making snide comments about him being a closet case. Can't help but now be reminded about David Messerschmitt (Soft butch sous chef victim) and Chris Burrous.

Get with the program R449, on DL marrying an Asian woman = coming out.

R441 This is probably the most vocal I've heard Hanyu be about the protocols as far as I know? Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Hanyu has ever blamed the system for any of his past losses or complained about it in the way Javi did after the SP at Europeans this year, which makes me respect him all the more. I do feel bad that it has come to this and he still seems to want to find a way to be his authentic in his skating despite the whole system going against him (and that includes the USFS, ISU, and all those people who are writing off his past achievements as flukes just because Nathan won this time). I feel even if he were to dumb down his skating to be closer to what the judges want, they'll still nail him while others can skate the same way and be rewarded (as this Worlds has shown us already with Nathan and Vincent).

So in answer to your question, R451, at the risk of sounding dramatic, I don't see the point in keeping up with this sport once Hanyu retires. He's the only reason why I can tolerate what the judges do because we still get to see him skate competitively. Once he leaves, why should we suffer through this mockery of a judging system?

Once Yuzu retires I will only follow ice dance to see Papadakis/Cizeron get the Olympic gold in Beijing (which they should have gotten in Pyeongchang).

R455 so basically out of the frying pan and into the fire?

R455 We believe in hegemony of VM. They were rightful winners! Hooray!!

R455 Thanks for summoning me out of retirement. Snip snip. ✂️

My kink is Yuzuru speaking Japanese. I like to listen even if I don't understand anything.

He certainly seems well read and articulate. Does anyone think Yuzuru looks like an Asian Elena Liashenko?

Another blog post! Sorry, R459, he's not speaking in this one.

R46O No, but in this picture she looks like Johnny Weir.

Just finished watching the HTTYD trilogy again and seeing this whole thing from afar, the parallels struck me. Hanyu is basically Hiccup, the NA faction and Chen stans are like pre-character development Snotlout Snotlout Oy! Oy! Oy! Jorgensen, ISU is basically all the villains rolled into one and Hanyu fans are like the audience sympathizing with the protagonist.

Oh yeah, and Pooh is Toothless.

R463 Is this a porn? Is toothless the scene-stealing blow job queen?

R465 Yes.

Not related at all but but does Zhenya learn Japanese? She's passionate about Japan and post in this language now so I'm wondering. That could be interesting :)

Yuzu would be a great ambassador for his country (already is, kind of) but I hope he keeps away from muddy politics and only interact with politicians when absolutely necessary (like last year when he received the reward from Abe.

R451 I can’t wait. So tired of the Hanyu fans turning the FS threads on DL into the discussion about what color was the poop in Hanyu’s diapers today.

R469 Soo? What color was it!!???

R470 gotta be purple!! R469 you know, there’s the other FS thread where you don’t have to endure poop color discussions. You will find more joy there

R449, I knew Evan (not closely) when he was a teenager in Chicago, and he dated women then. He could be bi, but I'm not shocked to see him engaged to a woman. More surprised it's not Vera Wang.

R471 Hanyu doesn’t poop or fart, he’s perfect.

R469 this thread will slow down and die too when Hanyu retires

[quote]this thread will slow down and die too when Hanyu retires

Ugh. You're wrong there. When Hanyu retires, the thread will finally focus solely on me, as it should have from the very beginning. And to answer the question on everyone's minds: I sharted. It was glorious (and brown, with bits of corn).

The last time I shat was junior worlds. Should I eat more fiber?

next week we finish the season in glory

Skate Victoria 2019 in Sofia

or Tirglav Trophy 2019 in Slovenia

Snore-let’s go back to talking about Hanyu’s poop. I bet he does poop and it smells like Sakura blossoms.

r465 Alright, I'll admit I walked right into that one.

R471 R478 Y'all lame. His poop would be whatever rainbows smell like.

R479 You would eat his poop?

Just wait for Hanyu's beauty blog post on the benefits of regular bowel movements. All your questions will be answered.

Daitroll must be awake, I’m missing post 480

Hanyu’s blog is short and bland, but I can’t get enough of it. And that commercial....

I had already heard about this recently but good if it finally comes out in the open and everyone can see this insanity and hopefully put a stop to it.

More about this.

R484 I don't think any of that is true. There's enough hate online already. Why pay for it? It's nonsense.

R485 You hate on other skaters, moron. Everywhere. Why hanyu cannot be hated, huh?

R485 You must be really naive if you think this kind of initiatives don't exist. Yes, some people will do this for free but for such a popular figure if you want for the effect of the downplay campaign to be visible, you would need a lot of those negative comments. Especially since Yuzu is not someone with a trashy lifestyle or bad behaviour which are usually fuel enough for people to hate. He has no sns, does very little interviews and no t.v. shows, stays away from everything and everyone and yet the proportion of his antis in Japan keep rising. Meanwhile his 'rivals' keep being artificially propped up.

Sorry it still sounds like a conspiracy theory to me. Also, we spoke about this in another thread not long ago. If I remember correctly JDC thought some of it looked suspicious and non-legit.

Lol. We will sure miss his life changing posts.

[quote] I can’t wait. So tired of the Hanyu fans turning the FS threads on DL into the discussion about what color was the poop in Hanyu’s diapers today.

[R469] You can try the other thread.

R488 JDC talked about the job posting in thread 23 starting with reply 522. I guess the ad caused J cast to do an investigation.

Shoma's quiet love affair with drag continues.

R492 He looks adorable in that wig--rather peaceful and content. So is that the real Shoma?

R492 My eyes were out of focus for a moment and I thought I was seeing someone bound to a chair.

r476 Skate Victoria should be lit! "San" McAllister will peak here and take the competition by storm, mark my words. Did Lazukin withdraw from this competition since you posted yesterday? What a pity, since there's a Chinese guy for him to scream at.

R495 He had to withdraw because he has been called to replace Kolyada at WTT

I am confident Basar Oktar can give San a run for his money

R496 Thank you. I had forgotten about WTT. Seriously, you Baser Oktar ubers need to sit down. That little shit is totally overscored. In a fair world, a clean San beats a clean Basar any day.

R497 I think you're underestimating the PCS boost Oktar will get after his 9th place finish at Dragon trophy.

Anything that guy does always ends up looking stupidly sexy just like himself. Also viva el pink underwear. Vamos, Javi.

Manta and Johnson may not be able to compete this season for financial reasons. Here is their gofundme https://www.gofundme.com/mantajohnson

R500 maybe it’s a good time for joe Johnson to take a break from competitive skating. He has such wonderful insights on the sport based on what we can see from that goodtalk chat, he probably can be sidekick for TSL.

Read it and weep, for 'tis Yuzu's final blog post on beauty itself.

R502 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!??? But why!!!!!!!???!?!??????

Part 1

r483 R484 (Isn’t the owner of the first twitter account one of the Chinese fans who moved to Toronto to be near Hanyu and visited TCC to see him?)

The J-Cast article talks about two separate issues. The first one refers to the twitter post we already discussed. J-Cast was unable to verify the existence of the recruitment ad and the original tweeter (who posted screenshots of the ad allegedly taken by her brother’s friend’s classmate) still won’t share the name of the company supposedly behind it or which site carried the ad.

There’s also speculation the DMs the tweeter claimed to have received from antis telling her to take down her tweets were faked as they were all sent and screenshotted within ten minutes of each other, and their account icons strangely resemble Takahashi, Uno, and Mao fan accounts that did not in fact message her. (She hid the account names in screenshots so they could not be identified.) When she was asked to post the account names behind the DMs to avoid confusion with known fan accounts, she did not respond. I’ve already mentioned several other reasons why the ad and email seem almost too good to be true.

So now Hanyu antis are using the suspicious nature of the tweets to claim Hanyu fans have resorted to faking ads to get sympathy for their skater and to put down other skaters. Looking through her tweeting history, I don’t think the tweeter of the ad is a Hanyu uber (although she could’ve cleaned up her account before posting about the ad), but she might be an attention seeker who’s taking advantage of Hanyu’s fans, so better to wait for evidence than to take her for her word.

Part 2

The postings on CrowdWorks, a Japanese crowd sourcing site, calling for blog articles about Hanyu, are real, but it isn’t the smoking gun fans are making it out to be. Of the many listings, only one is truly negative and asks for ten articles calling Hanyu gross, narcissistic, or unlikeable (Feb 15, 2018 by a “shinmotsu” who supposedly runs several sites and mainly seeks articles on TV dramas). The only other controversial posts are three listings from two different companies asking for users to write articles on Hanyu’s love life (November 29 and 14, 2017 by “daram,” April 25, 2017 by “QM Creative Office”).

There’s definitely something nefarious going on with certain members of the media considering the way they treat and fixate on Hanyu, but the vast majority of listings on CrowdWorks ask for neutral to very positive articles about Hanyu. No negative talk allowed. (One was even looking for someone to write about Hanyu’s “beautiful” abs.) Someone could easily argue that it’s Hanyu ubers who are abusing CrowdWorks given that there are a number of listings asking for articles that praise him, but only one truly negative post. The listings about Hanyu’s love life were more likely to help increase the popularity of another skater than to damage Hanyu’s image. (Remember the weird Rivaland articles about Mao and Hanyu using their drinks?)

There are also listings about Uno, Miyahara, Marin Honda, Tanaka, Mihara, Higuchi, Muramoto & Reed, Suto & Boudreau-Audet, and others. And CrowdWorks has nothing to do with anti twitter accounts or comments, which have been around for much longer, even before Hanyu began appearing in tabloids.

Now, J-Cast is notorious for publishing anti Hanyu articles and making his fans look crazy, which is why Hanyu fans (including international fans) should be extra careful about how they react to their latest story. J-Cast could very well turn around and make their next article about the overreaction of Hanyu fans or how some companies are paying people to write fake blog posts to make Hanyu look better. Nagashima also has a connection to J-Cast and their previous article on Hanyu was on the extreme reaction to Nagashima’s tweets.

CrowdWorks listings (not all about Hanyu):

Link in r505 shows all listings. This should show all Hanyu listings and a few about other skaters/celebrities:

JDC, Wow. Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive explanation. I'm curious about this: "There’s definitely something nefarious going on with certain members of the media considering the way they treat and fixate on Hanyu." What do you think is going on?

Thanks JDC. Oy... so much to worry about. I feel like Tracy - who had a thought, skated up to Yuzuru, and reminded him of the Japanese rugby team and said, "At least you're not going to be hit!" A weird little vignette... well, there are so many when it comes to him.

And I can't get the weird little personal expose from Johnny Weir, lying shirtless on his bed. I wasn't really clued in during his skating career so I can't interpret the bit where he says he was never an Olympic or Worlds champion "but he should have been!" Is he joking? or is he harboring bitterness and resentment over being mistreated and underscored?

Then the shade on "certain skaters" who go on past their prime and just show up at ice shows, not at their best, and he was going to quit before he got to that pitiful state. WTF? There's more to skating than performing 3As and quads - I think people are perfectly happy to see Plushy and Lambiel and Mao, etc., even if they're not performing their most difficult elements anymore - hell, even if they're not jumping anymore - so I don't really understand. Aren't these people his friends? Doesn't he understand why skaters would continue to appear in shows -- like HE does -- I mean, that's sort of an ugly take on things imo.

And finally the weird state of his head. It looks like he's going bald. That was more than a receding hairline on either side - it was like the whole top front half of his head was completely bald, which I think he normally manages to hide with combovers or whatever. Oh well, that of course doesn't matter, but it's just so unlike him to not be decked out, with hair coiffed and full make-up. And talking about wanting a new husband and to have a baby! And his recent rather odd hospitalization. I worry that the guy might be losing it. I did wonder when he bought that horse farm or whatever in rural PA. Curious and curiouser.

I think this is a nice shot. Don't you think this is a nice shot?

Edea knows the shit.

This picture will never not be funny. And I still can't believe that Javier made what should have been the happiest moment in Yuzu's career also be the saddest, just because he couldn't wait 1h to tell him he was retiring. Or maybe he was not expecting such a reaction from Yuzu.

I was not understanding what these 2 were saying. I just wanted to take a nap and these two were not going away

R510 yet Wilson blades is off their mark. Hanyu never fights for silver , only Gold.

r510 From the point of view of skates manufacturer, the only better shot would be if he was kissing his boots.

I think it was Nathan who said he chose John Wilson's because they looked cool. Which I totally agree, those are cool looking blades and look good on rock star Yuzuru.

Yuzu in another Mean girls moment.

R516 He's so cute when he mocks himself.

So we already have 2 Moulin Rouge programs announced for next season. UGH!!! Konstantinova, and now Misha Ge has choreographed a program for Kazuki.

I guess he deleted and reposted it for some reason.

Just passing by, don't mind me.

Kim Kardashian who?

R520 always appreciated.

R519 Euww Ge's face made me feel threatened.

R519 these are the subtle things that bring criticism. Why doesn’t he just show a picture of his student.!?!?

Does anyone know what Nathan Chen wrote on Instagram? I think he edited the post. Did he say he was the greatest? I'm reading the comments and wow some are pissed at whatever he wrote originally. If he said that then shame on him.

I'm all for Yuzu trying a tango/latino program next season but I can't believe there are fans who seriously want him to do Moulin Rouge. Moulin Rouge and Carmen should be banned from fs playlists for at at least 10/15 years.

R525 I might be wrong as I don't really follow Nathan but didn't he post a picture with Michelle Kwan with goat emojis but instead of being like 'with the goat xxx' it seemed more like he was including himself with that caption. I might be off though. I only saw some comments about the whole thing on Twitter.

R527 what you said except after someone questioned the goat emojis, he explained that he was talking about Kwan, not himself. That should have been the end of it but apparently it wasn't. Why are people so fucking crazy?

R528 That's why I think Yuzu is smart not to have any social media. God knows he receives enough hate already. Nathan is a smart guy. He will learn to be more careful next time and hopefully he can block the crazies.

R529 If he doesn't already, he might want to think of having some sort of social media manager to wade through all the crazy shit that will come his way now that he is in the direct line of fire of the mega fraus and fanyus.

R530 hell no. I'm sick of bland posts by PR managers. I enjoy Nathan's IG. He better post whatever he wants and ignore/ block crazies.

R530 Tbh he could have easily avoided the heat by saying that he was with the goat and I did not see the original caption but didn't he put 2 goat emojis? (That's what I understood from some of the comments). If so, it's kind of asking for a beating.

R531 I don't follow what Nathan posts, but from what I've seen it seems as bland as his costumes. He should hire Vincent Zhou to add some poetic touches to his IG.

R532 Yeah, he did put two goats originally, which then unleashed the shit storm that was "How dare you call yourself that without an Olympic gold" to which his explanation was the double goat emoji was referring to Michelle because she cannot be represented by one goat emoji alone.

R533 sorry, no. I am my only muse.

R535 What the fuck is this? I feel very attacked!!!!

there are intimate pics of tuktamyshava and lanbiel on Tuk’s insta stories and she captioned “My love” for lambiel..I thought Stephane was gay...but are they dating?

Michelle doesn't have an Olympic gold, either...

R538 Are you trying to inject logic into this, because you're on a hopeless mission.

may be Chen was trolling ubers? He doesn't look like (Ś̕͏̴̀h̨͘̕͠o̵̴̸͝m̢̛͡͡á̴̴̕ ) an idiot unable to predict the shitstorm

R534 Sorry, Nathan but that was a bs excuse if I ever saw one. Own up to your thinly veiled arrogance and admit you were including yourself with that description. Tbh since his whole tirade on how people who want to see artistry should go watch ice dance, I have a feeling he is not as nice or humble as he is pretending to be. Still prefer him over Shoma though.

R537 I think this answers your questions.

R537 They aren't dating. Tuk just has the hots for everyone and everything. Can't contain herself.

R541 He went on a tirade? Oh please do tell. (Sorry if this has been covered but I am all for tirades).

Kwan a GOAT? Then I can he how Nathan sees himself as one too. Again American ethnocentrism at its best.

Sorry Tuktik san but that ass is mine.

R537 He's wearing an actual caftan

How can you follow these skaters on social media and not know that Liza has been with Andrei Lazukin forever and that Stephane is a big old queen who is touchy-feely with absolutely everybody?

R544 From 2017 but given his current programs I believe he didn't change his mind since then.

R547 Sweet, sexy Guillaume. Will never accept that ferret face Scott Moir won an OGM over him because of some snip snip sabotage behind the scenes.

R450 I like you and I respect you, Nathan. But that's a bad take.

If Nathan had 2 goat emojis then how can one not think he is referring to himself as one of the GOATS? Maybe he isn't the sweet guy most think he is.

R551 Meanwhile Yuzu: "when we consider the relationship between the artistic and technical parts of the sport. there needs to be a match. artistry is based at having strong technique and foundation - without this foundation, it is not possible to have that artistry."

Makes you wonder who actually did ballet out of the 2 of them because Yuzu's comment is precisely what ballet is about.

R549 Hey, he won major titles with these programs which jugdes enjoyed and appriciated. Why did he have to change anything ? Hanyu next season will have to follow him. Just see.

R549 surprised to hear that from our yaleballetic prodigy

R554 lol Yuzuru skating to a program like Nathan's? he's too proud for that.

When Hanyu was competing against Patrick Chan, he focus on refining his SS to keep up with Chan who had great SS. It's understandable if he decides to throw away some transitions and difficult steps to match Chen's jump ability. And he should because transitions count for nothing nowadays. Fight fire with fire.

R556 Also Yuzuru would be extremely bored to skate like this. No fun at all.

R557 He already said that he won't give up on transitions or anything that is intrinsically part of his skating.

And the part about him trying to beat Patrick by focusing on ss is only partially true. Yuzu was always a well grounded skater. When he first joined Seniors he was first known for his excellent spins (not just the Biellmann) and the speed of his skating, his incredible knee bend and how he could get speed out of nowhere. He always had good skating skills and natural musicality. What he became better at through training at TCC is edge work and blade control.

For the anon concerned for Johnny's wellbeing.

There was this story in the NYT Magazine--I think it was in 2014--that had figure skaters talking about how cult like their sport was. Reading through these comments it certainly does seem like that to me. It all sounds so junior high.

As for who is GOAT, definitely Torvill and Dean for ice dancing and Hanyu for men's singles. I really don't see Michelle Kwan as the GOAT for ladies singles though--she was overall quite good but also, IMO, not all that memorable. Good jumps, good artistry, good competition nerves. But there was also a tiresome sameness to her skating. Perhaps if she had dumped Frank Carroll sooner she could have developed more individuality. But ultimately she seemed more concerned about racking up the medals and getting as many endorsements as possible. Which is understandable given that she had her entire family to support. Seems rather sad that, post Trump win and post being dumped by her husband, she has returned to skating at the age of 38.

R561: Knteresting. Any considerations then for ladies (if not Kwan) and pairs?

Come on, there's no reason to feel sorry for Michelle Kwan or look down down on her. I'm sure she has millions upon millions of dollars and she doesn't need to work at all, unlike the vast majority of former competitive skaters. What does she do anyway? Travel here and there being the ambassador or special guest at multiple places/events, and occasionally skate at her family skating rink, right? I think it would be great for skating if she would run some clinics and skate in a few select shows, that could really draw an audience, but it seems like she doesn't need the money anyway. Also, what are her dating prospects now. Too bad it was only her sister Karen who had a couple of unfortunate-looking children.

R554 No, Hanyu won't do that. He already made that clear through his comments after Worlds and even his silly blog post was about dignity and being steadfast in your beliefs. It seems out of character for him to ditch transitions just because it will get him titles. He's not Raf or Nathan...skating well actually matter to him.

R559 From his tone, apparently he's thinking about adjusting next programs to keep up with "the trend". He sure won't skate an empty programs but somehow more breathable programs. During Patrick Chan Era, skating skills and transitions at least counted for something. Patrick Chan's PCS saved his ass many times. Hanyu was awared that to beat Chan, Daisuke, Kozuka he needed good SS, besides improving consistency and stamina. No doubt he worked hard on these aspects after moving to Canada. NDP and PW programs were visibly more jam- packed and difficult than the ones Nanami choreograped for him. He's smart, he must have realized that eveything changed, PCS are rewarded for skaters who can consistently jump as many quads as possible, so he can't reply on PCS with Chen getting amazing PCS now. He should have realized what Chen's doing hasn't been the best he can do yet, Chen can jump 5 quads, can add second 3A, can repeat 4Lz,... And what he might get in the near future is very probably his inflated scores at Nationals. Anyway as I said fight fire with fire, he might have to follow what most of skaters are doing.

Michelle Kwan is the Goat of slow, boring old cunts who fail in sport and life. I feel nothing but pity in my heart for her. #sad

[quote] Anyway as I said fight fire with fire, he might have to follow what most of skaters are doing.

Most skaters? I don't see most skaters making purposely making boring programs as Raf has admitted doing for Nathan. I see most skaters actually trying to include program components and follow the ISU protocols in their skating, though they may not execute it so well.

R565 You are arguing with Yuzuru himself. He said very clearly that he won't change his style of skating no matter what.

Once Yuzu retires, will there really be no one to take over his fabulousness and sensitivity and will we be stuck with dozens of guys wearing jeans and dark shirt during every gala and skating to some generic music. If so the future is looking bleak.

R563 You think Michelle fucking Kwan and her doughy, gay-faced husband would have produced non unfortunate looking children? Humanity's gene pool begs to differ and thanks Michelle and Pell for being considerate of other people's eyeballs, this one time.

The last bit of that interview was interpreted in different ways but the gist of it, as far as I can tell, remain the same. He will keep on carefully determining what judges award scores to because it may presumably change again according to the judges' whimsy (though, ironically enough, I think there's probably a very logical and old reasoning behind said whimsy). This season, he's learned that they give bonuses for high BV content skated clean ergo his resolve to bring back the 4Lz and possibly even train the 4F, on top of the 4A. And given toe-based jumps are not as heavily affected by ice condition as edge-based ones are, perhaps once he manages them, his consistency would go up as well. It certainly seemed to have worked for the others, most of the time.

R568 I think that person is being obtuse on purpose to fit their rivalry narrative. Yuzu will not sacrifice his artistry just because judges are being willingly blind. He will do it all: jumps and the entire package if only his ankle will hold on. Because that's the main issue for him not just now but for the rest of his career, how to keep training around a fucked up ankle. I hope he and his team find the answer to that one.

Hanyu is also very well aware that if he follows Chen’s Americanism minimalist strategy in his skating, the judges will knock him down to low 8s in PCS with extra GOE deductions as the cherry on top.

So I'm guessing this means he'll give them what those they seem to be favoring are giving them while keeping his intricacy, which gives him back the edge over others. Guy can't fight fire with fire cos there's always a chance he'll lose despite exhausting his fuel. He needs to fight fire with a storm of epic proportions.

R571 r574 Can't tell if you're an unrealistic uber or anti. But either way, you sound immature, stoned and removed from reality

Patrick Chan is much better skater in SS than Hanyu

R567 Purposely or not, their programs are empty in comparison with Yuzuru's. Boyang, Shoma, Kolyada, Vincent,... all of them. And who knows if they could do many quads, would their programs be much different from Chen's ? But we know for sure they won't do something risky which could lead them fail on jumps like doing some steps before quads, transitions in and out of all jumps,...

R572 I hope so too. I guess they have a plan already cause I noticed some changes in his landings.

R577 Yuzuru does only more transistions... You think programs of other skater are boring because they do less transistions? Transistions are so fascinating for you?

Made a new thread.

R577 You clearly don't watch fs outside of Nathan or US skaters if you are seriously putting together Vincent and Kolyada. Kolyada might be a professional splatter but his programs aren't empty and he has great ss. He also has great technique on his 4lz and all his jumps (when he lands them). Much better than Nathan's actually. Same with Boyang's jumps.

R578 I don't think they have a plan yet. What you saw at Worlds was Yuzu skating through the pain. He has had to train since 2 months prior to that comp using painkillers because his injury wasn't healed (but obviously those cannot be too strong or he would stop getting a feeling in his legs so he still has to skate and jump with a bit of pain).

R581 R579 What made you think I find their programs boring ? I actually enjoy Nathan's SP, Boyang's SP, Kolyada's FS.

R575 I really don't know why you'd think that when I'm only presenting what I think Hanyu's planning based on what he said, and based on his daunting competitive spirit, in which case he'd be the stoned one here and you're take it up with him directly via the link below.

R577 There's a difference between weighing the risks and not making as intricate a program based on your skater's abilities, and flat out aiming for empty. To hear Raf say that he knew Nathan could just go with "setup, jump, exit, setup again, jump, exit again" as a free skate and to essentially ignore the protocols is such a slap in the face to everyone else who works NOT to do that. As if Hanyu would stoop down to that level in his skating.

R584 I can't tell what you're talking about by the link, but if you're referring to his comments right after competition, after seeing Chen's inflated scores, after training through injury and pain, then I'd cut him some slack for being pumped up and emotional and not thinking everything through. Also, I don't think he said he would be training those jumps "on top of" the 4a. If you noticed, he's a lot more careful revealing what his plans are in the later interview. You, however, have had a few weeks to think this through, and hopefully some emotional distance. And yet you persist. This is why you are immature, stoned and unrealistic.

R575 You can tell him directly exactly what you thought of my conclusion of what his plans are but I also think it's probably nothing he's never heard before, since he's been declaring unrealistic and immature drivel since he was very little like wanting to win 2 ogms back to back, wanting to meld his big jumps seamlessly with his choreo, wanting to get multiple wrs, wanting to etch his name in history, and now wanting the 4A, wanting all the quads together with all his precious transitions and intricate details, all with his junk heap of a landing foot. But you should go tell him anyway.

Whew. It's getting intense here. Have some Hanyu in boy and girl drag to lighten the mood.

R588 Someone really needs to put him in drag and I don't mean the half assed thing he did at that ice show years ago but the whole thing: dress, wig and make up.

R586 well thanks for explaining that. You could have done it right from the get-go instead of going the high-horse route. to be honest, I'm not confident he can pull it off either, if that is indeed what he was planning at first. Like you said, maybe he's calmed down somewhat and is rethinking certain things, like he had to for PyeongChang. But I wouldn't put it past him to try achieving all that he's said either. I'm all for him coming up with a more level-headed strategy to win, if there is indeed one, because with the current trend in scoring, it's quite possible that that's what he has to do in order to stay on top. And it being unrealistic is exactly what certain parties are banking on.

R588: Sorry about that. I was trying to keep things light but couldn't help myself when the discussion took a serious turn. I managed to avoid taking part most of the other times it did but in a moment of weakness, gave in to temptation. Will try not to be tempted again. Thanks for the pic. Guess we all needed that. Though I've come across that before and think that the guy look unexpectedly too with a beard. Especially when his hair's all swept back.

R590 No worries, we've all been there. Hanyu's a dramatic queen, he brings out the drama in all of us.

That would be an image to die for. He is extremely gorgeous that way...This man is something else. Damn...He needs to do an EX dressed that way and in a full make up so that Lakernik would have a heart attack and ISU would crumble from his queenness and flamboyance and there will be peace and fairness restored in the realm of FS forever ever after... #YuzutheSavior

R588 he looks good with that beard

R588 he just has perfect features...boy or girl version...works either way. So beautiful

Meh. it doesn't look like the same photo. In the girl version his eyes and mouth look altered, not just made up.

I prefer a nice high res photo of his ass and thighs.

As for Hanyu’s jumps, it’s just prettier and straighter in the air compared to other male skaters. It’s hard to explain, but most men keep a knee bent or something which makes the spins look a little wonky. Hanyu’s is something special...and that’s not even including the amazing height and distance he gets.

The 3A scope stats were really revealing compared the chen’s at worlds.

He really is beautiful. It still tickles me no end that Raf said he was beautiful, and not just when he's skating but in general. I don't know why I find that so funny - and surprising. Guess I think of him as a gruff old homophobe - but I guess not... I mean, he is in figure skating.

The girl picture has the lips slightly parted R595 - that's all I noticed at first glance. Does look fab, either way.

And when he stood there in Pyeongchang wanting Yuzuru's autograph on that book on Yuzu's photo - and he went out of his way to say "I am a FAN!"

R595 It's the same photo, the person just used one of those beauty apps that lets you change the facial features as well as put on makeup.

R597 Chen's landing do look improved to me. I used to be startled at how erect and stiff he landed, like he was going to break his spine one of these days. I 'think' he's smoothed them out somewhat - more knee bend. And at least lately, he seems more consistent with his quads than anybody else I can think of, including Hanyu. I think that gives him quite an edge, if he can keep it up. I assume his ankle/knees are in pretty good shape - though I know he has a history of pretty bad hip problems, Not sure about his back.

Anyway, being five years younger - with all that quadding - is a pretty big factor.

I HATE what they did re PCS and GOE - but Chen landing his quads solidly, especially the first one, sort of sets the stage in a judge's mind - makes them probably score everything that comes after higher. If you fuck up at the start - like in Yuzu's short when he popped the quad sal - and even in the FS, when he nearly sat down on his quad sal (and I thought the quad loop looked a bit iffy like he hit just barely hit a squatting position on the landing but managed to pull himself out of it and save the jump... still, it was a little worrying for a split second... Things like that set the stage for the judges' impression of the whole skate. Sadly. Well, at least I think that's what might have happened.

If Yuzu had really slam-dunk nailed all his opening quads - I think his beautiful quad toes would have scored more GOE. It's kind of like what they say about first impressions - they're very powerful (JMHO and a lot of conjecture)