Yuzuru Hanyu and other figure skating talk part 27

Reset

Bless you for sharing those, and bless Hanyu's beautiful body.

Jeffrey of you lurk the DL, get him to do a Queen sp next season.

The first underwhelming program announcements come rolling in. Konstantinova and Tomono are both doing Moulin Rouge FPs.....the latter being naturally courtesy of our beloved Coach-Choreographer.

r4 Ugh

To the anon who brought up Raf's weird fascination with Yuzu in the previous thread, and how curious it is for a gruff old man, look at how Yuzu's crying affected that camera guy in this video. Poor guy almost gave him his dirty handkerchief (it's at around 7'30). There are also quite a few Japanese photographers who became his fans after following him from one comp to another and getting to know him. There was this sweet moment last year during some practise at the Olympics where he went to hold hands with some of them. I think apart from his looks, it's what appears as childish innocence that draws everyone in.

R4 I wonder if choreocoach is going to do Med's Memoirs of a Geisha program?

R7 Is Med actually doing Memoirs of a Geisha, though? I thought I read another Russian lady was doing it and assumed there were some crossed wires somewhere.

R6 He does seem to like the photographers.

R8 Med said it herself in an interview after Worlds. Not sure if it's changed since then though.

R6 childish innocence? Angelic maybe? What could you possibly mean??

R6 R9 I remember David Carmichael (the old white-haired Canadian photog who's always around) once kissed Hanyu's hand like he was a princess after he won something. Possibly NHK.

R9 Maybe I'm remembering something from another season. Who knows anymore.

(I just noticed David Carmichael is actually in R9's photo, ha.)

R9 He seems to love teasing them for sure.

He loves all the attention, of course he loves the photographers.

Not sure who that guy is or what he was refering to but that gave me a good chuckle.

Forgot to add, even worse because it was just a team bronze. Poor Javi getting erased like this in Murrica.

For the record, Olympic team medal in figure skating is not the same as an individual medal. It should be announced as “Olympic team (medal color) medalist.” You can suck (ahem...Chen) and still get your ass pulled up to medal status on backs of others.

And yes...I am being a snarky frau!

And in figure skating, you CANNOT even be considered a GOAT without an OGM. That’s in the by laws of figure skating gods.

By the same token, that Canadian skater who always falls on his butt is not a true gold medalist.

To be fair, Rippon once said something like he made everyone believe he's an olympic champion. He's self-aware.

Synchro is the only real team event in figure skating. It can be quite interesting too, especially for the "casual" fans TPTB of this sport seem so desperate to attract. They should dump the phony team event they have now and allow Synchro instead.

R20 Nancy Kerrigan has said that many people she runs into think she won Gold at the Olympics. Many probably think that about Johnny Weir too.

Americans are very good at overhyping their creds to the point of delusion.

R22 Precisely. I'm not even the biggest Javier fan but this erasure seriously pisses me off. Want a real individual bronze medal for the US fs team? Remember everyone's favourite siblings, the Shibs.

Who thinks Michell Kwan is the GOAT except Americans? I think most can agree that Yuna would be more in that caliber.

The Team event at the Olympics is a big joke anyway. Its sole purpose is to guarantee that the US, Canada and Russia all get one additional medal. It shouldn't exist in the first place.

r4 Nooo! And why does Ge keep wearing the TCC jersey with non-TCC skaters?

Hanyu said his blog is done “for now,” so there must be a plan for more vague entries in the future.

Thank god Itsuki hasn’t given up his TV career. He’s going to be on the next episode of Honoo no Taiikukai to do a field hockey challenge! He also interviewed Sakura Japan, the women’s national field hockey team, for Model Press (sponsored by Kikkoman?). https://mdpr. jp /interview/detail/1827526

[quote]He remembers the dress, the glittering white dress that oscillated with the wind and swept along the ground with every step, the beautiful dress that boarded a ship departing without him.

Who is this mysterious woman in the glittering white dress and is our Vincent growing up? Miyahara…? (The previous poem had a sparrow.)

Seeing Ge wear the TCC jacket makes me want to burn it down. Whoever gave it to him to begin with is an idiot.

Wait ... JDC- are you saying v. Zhou is plagiarizing ?

R27 I just assumed he bought it at the club store.

R28 Interesting, I never considered a plagiarism angle. I thought maybe he's developed something for Miyahara after spending time with Hamada's team in Colorado and Osaka. (She wears a glittering white dress for Song for a Little Sparrow.)

Have you been missing out on all the fun, R28? artworkofthemind is our resident artiste's own account. The sparrow JDC referenced isn't from someone else's poem but from the previous poem in Vincent's account.

Goddamn, Vincent... there are tears in my eyes.

R29

[quote] I thought maybe he's developed something for Miyahara after spending time with Hamada's team in Colorado and Osaka

I want to vom on Miyahara's behalf.

R28 How dare you. I never plagiarize. My ideas are original, from the heart, my own truths. It is...how shall I say it...the artwork of the mind if you will.

R29 "Plagiarize" means someone else would have to admit they wrote this. Even if a 2 year old accidentally ate a thesaurus and shat out this masterpiece, it would be too ashamed to claim authorship.

R31 It gave me a headache.

His uterus looks enlarged

R36 I had eggs and rice. Why r u fat shaming me. My ankle is fucked up and I need to watch my weight. U hags r a bit too much. No?

R37 Disgusting. I am no longer fanboy of you because you are now fatter than all my girl cows combined. No wonder you cannot beat my boring boy cow. Fat.

Raf - I hate you

I laugh everytime I see this on my Twitter timeline. Nathan is like whatever and Hanyu is so into what he will be doing on the ice lol

That's hilarious. Gives us some new warm up moves to try in the rink lobby.

Somebody toward the end of the last thread was talking about how much more enjoyable Kolyada is over the other guys. It's too bad he lands his jumps like only 10% of the time. He looks absolutely miserable and devasted after most of his performances. I'd rather see an ecstatic Vincent Zhou than ice-wiping, puke face Kolyada.

R36 enlarged uterus or not, the shape of his thighs and ass looks very nice.

[quote] Synchro is the only real team event in figure skating. It can be quite interesting too, especially for the "casual" fans TPTB of this sport seem so desperate to attract. They should dump the phony team event they have now and allow Synchro instead.

ISU have propose IOC to include Synchro skating. And as expected IOC have turned it down. They don't usually allow new disciplines in established sports that mean an increased number of athletes entered.

Suzaki/Kihara (Japan) have split

Stellato/Bartholomey (USA) too.

Both ladies seem to want to continue. Both men have a long lasting injury they should take care first

If you watch till the end of this video of Yuzuru walking down corridors, the door to the dressing room is open and you can see Kolyada in his underwear! Woohoo!!

Yuzu. Retire already.

I'm here to stay, so deal with it, bitches.

R46 hi nathan

prettymuch what we saw on the ice too, lol

A Junior Russian ice dancer nobody has heard of, Mrs Anastasia Shakun, has tested positive for doping at 2018 Pavel Roman Memorial . She is suspended for one year

Next time go full drag, Yuzu.

R50 interesting. They found furosemide, which is usually banned because it's used as a diuretic or a masking agent for other drugs. They found her explanation for why she had it in her system credible and that she took it unintentionally. So, a fatty with high blood pressure, maybe?

David Wilson is choreographing a new program for Mai Mihara again. Ugh

Rumor has it Kostornaya is leaving Team Tutberidze. I thought it was because of her injury, but apparently, Gleikhenhaus likes to play favorites and only has eyes for Zagitova and Shcherbakova, and Kostornaya (or her mom) thinks he gave her crappy programs this year because of that. I don’t know, to me it seems like he is capable of producing only one sort of crap, even for the skaters he prefers.

Apparently Shoma is doing 4 seasons for his SP instead of STH. Changed his ISU bio.

R54 I hope she does. Maybe better for her long term career.

What would you better like to see Hanyu doing a photoshoot in this or him landing a pitch perfect 4A in a competition..?? Hmm...

R54 I like Kostornaya and I wouldn't want her to fall by the wayside due to being overlooked by the Tutberidze machine. Wonder who she'll move to though if the rumour proves to be true.

R56 Why not him landing a 4A wearing this?

R57 again, according to rumors, she’s switching to Buyanova (as Sotskova vacated the place).

I hope the move ( if true) work for Kostornaiya. I don't know how much she can do without Eteri who lifted her from 16th-17th to one of top juniors.

After placing 16th ( or 17th, not sure) at 2017 Junior Nats, she moved to Eteri, after 7 months or so she competed at JGPs, won JGPF Silver, Junior Worlds Silver.

Good for her!! Hope that's true. R56, photoshoot for me please. Can't wank to 4A.

Nathan's PCS are really a joke.

R54 I hope it will work out for her because girl is crazy talented with a skating quality most senior ladies do not have. I understand why being in the relative shadow of Anna and Sasha would not feel nice but on the other hand as shitty as the training environment with Eteri seems to be, she actually manages to achieve good results for a lot of them which is not the case for most Russian coaching teams. So I hope Alena and her family really thought this through.

r62 But I think *I* could wank to a 4A. I'd like at least to be given the opportunity to try.

If Kostornaia moves to Buyanova, she's over.

R62 r64 you should ask the backcounter 3a guy for tips.

R65 why?

R65 I think it's just a groundless rumour

She better stay with Eteri if she wants to stay relevant next season. She's building good reputation with Eteri and Eteri undeniably did miracle for her. If she leaves Eteri, I'm afraid she would become Anastasia Gubanova 2.0, no reputation, no boost or Polina Turskaya 2.0, can never regain old consistency and struggle with UR.

Officially, the Yuzu drought

But a good sign that Fantasy on Ice is in Sendai from 31 May to 2 June 2019.

So now Japan has no competitive pairs teams? Was that the team where the guy was crossed eyed? Maybe they should get Mervin Tran to compete for Japan again then. He and his current partner were last at US nationals, which must've been a real bummer for him.

Yuzuru in the ice show... let's see what he does. I thought it was weird and reckless at the Olympics, where he was jumping like crazy in exhibition practices, although he was still not fully healed.

[quote] Was that the team where the guy was crossed eyed?

are you talking about me??

R68 Tsurskaya has never really recovered from her injury, plus Eteri said she suffers from hereditary exostosis. Gubanova was hit hard by the puberty, which not only affected her jumps, but also robbed her of all the specialness she used to have. Same thing happened to Sakhanovich, and Eteri could do nothing to help her.

Yeah that's the cross eyed skater. Odd that they never fixed it. That's a problem that can be remedied during childhood, right? Never cared much about the pair but it's too bad that depletes team Japan. Who will they have for pairs at WTT then.

As for those young Russian girls who can't jump as well anymore, guess they didn't follow Zagitova's advice of just keeping their mouths closed to stave off puberty.

r74 Miura/Ichihashi are skating in their place. Suzaki is looking for another partner and Kihara hopes to come back if he can eventually fully recover from his shoulder injury and concussion. Suto/Boudreau-Audet split last year. I think Suto was on partner search until very recently, so maybe she’s found someone.

r69 He’s back in the public eye next week!

Did Ge reveal someone else’s program by posting a video of himself skating it? (Meanwhile, Takahashi is supposedly considering Ge and Bourne for his next choreographers, although Ge might be for an ex. I can’t imagine Takahashi not using Richaud again.)

Practice Group 1

Kihira

Sakamoto

Tuk

Samodurova

Tennell

Bell

who will Mariah hit this time?

R76 Lazukin is also Group 1 for men with the Italians and Americans.

This will upset some of you, but PCS for top 7 men from 2010-2019:

I can write a poem about Lazukin shouting at me and my glittering white dress

R77 ISU should name this abstract painting "PCS becoming a joke" and auction it at Sotheby's

R77 Apart from the ridiculous inflation of the recent years with newcomers not having to do anything to get 8s, it really hit me how long Yuzu has been in the game. He started as Senior at 15. Looking back even if the first season wasn't very good, it was really the right call for him to move to seniors that early and gave him the mileage needed in the road to Sochi. Also interesting to see how interlinked his and Javi's line are.

R84 awwww their lines are interlinked.

PCS are a joke. No single skater(except Patrik) should get a 9 in skating skills those should be left to the ice dancers. Hanyu should be getting 8.5-75 when he's doing good and most single skaters should be closer to 5-6. Flat jumped edges and twizzels with knee action. Transitions should be seperated from the PCS and be put as part of the technical elements and rank them from crossovers to Eteri girls. Performance has always confused me. Is it the same as choreography because I've always understood interpertation as how well you have executed the program on that day. No judge follows the actual composition of the program or we wouldn't have programs like Nathans FS where he does the same jumping patern seven times.

PCS are the 6.0 of CoP the judegs give them based on how they want to rank skaters instead of what they actually do on the ice. There were couple small fed judges this season who had a 1-1.5 point differences between different components but 99% of judges seem to be dumb fucks who don't know the differences and are +/- half a point in all of the different components. I preferred the harsher judging in the early days of CoP compared to his mess. In my opinon it's very rare for a single skater to actually perform a program worthy of any nines in PCS. High tech most of the time drops the performance so why are the judges trying to convince people it's therewhen it isn't just be honest. Even Yuzus 2017 WC FS is a gorgeous technical program but it can not compare in performance to Torvill & Dean, Anissina & Peizerat or Rahkamo & Kokko(especially their EX's were amazing), and the list goes on.

R82

I think choreography falls under Composition (An intentionally developed and/or original arrangement of all types of movements according to the principles of musical phrase, space, pattern, and structure).

Performance is supposed to be

Involvement of the Skater/Pair/Couple physically, emotionally and intellectually as they deliver the intent of the music and composition:

Physical, emotional, intellectual involvement

Projection

Carriage & Clarity of movement

Variety and contract of movements and energy

Individuality/Personality

Unison and “oneness” (Pairs, Ice Dance)

Spatial awareness between partners (Pairs, Ice Dance)

While Interpretation is The personal, creative, and genuine translation of the rhythm, character and content of music to movement on ice: Movement and steps in time to the music (Timing)

Expression of the music’s character/feeling and rhythm, when clearly identifiable

Use of finesse to reflect the details and nuances of the music

Relationship between the skaters and reflecting the character and rhythm of the music (Pairs, Ice Dance)

Skating primarily to the rhythmic beat for Rhythm Dance and keeping a good balance between skating to the beat and melody in the Free Dance (Ice Dance)

R82 Skating skills aren't just about how deep your edge is and Yuzuru is on par with Patrick on all points apart from that one. Javier is below them and anyone else is even lower. Even Shoma although he has great edges. Nathan shouldn't get anything higher than 7 and that's being generous. Anyone this discussion is moot because inflation is here to stay.

R81 I did not mean it in a shipping way. Just that training together for years clearly made their progress happen in similar stages.

But if you wanted some shipping yuzuvier content, here you go.

R84 Hanyu is on the same level as Patrick??? lol. Only in your dream

Patrick's been the GOAT all this time. We've been blind.

Blinded by his glutes. Who wouldn't be? Even crotchedy old Raf succumbed, so to speak...

r87, can't be GOAT, no Olympic gold, **team** doesn't count. didn't we cover this already

R84 R87 Who said anything about Patrick being the GOAT? The difference between Patrick and Yuzu is how they stand on their leg. The line between Patricks toes, knee, hip and upperbody is most of the time just absolutely correct while Yuzu has a tendency to break the line when trying to emulate the Plushenko-esque fast paced step sequences(And I mean only the fast pace. In my eyes Plushenko had no real step sequences. Toepick kicks don't count.) and also in other parts of the program when he loses focus. I'm only basing my opinion on what I see in competitions and not what they can do outside of it. I know that most likely Yuzu can keep the correct line and openness in the hip when practising his skating skills but it about transforming it to the competitive arena. Now if Patrick had been able to take the stick out of his ass and use his body more in different levels or if I could fuse Patricks carriage to Yuzus overall skating... Don't get me wrong I love Yuzus skating and everything it represents and it's nitpicking it but get those lvl 3 step sequences sorted Yuzu you're better than that.

R90 isn't me. In case someone mix up her with me who occasionally complaint about Yuzuru's postures and upper body movement :3

Useless observation of the day but Yuzu's so called phoenix eyes on top of giving the impression he has make-up on at times, also make it seem like he is giving a come hither look to people very often.

R90 and R91 Yes, let's move goal posts since clearly he can't be attacked on ss, towards his absolutely non existent posture or carriage issue. Basically it's like old school ballet teacher whining because a contemporary dancer is more fluid and does not have so called proper 'port de bras'. What you criticized about him is precisely what gives him that free and ethereal quality to his skating and flow, the 'flying over the ice' impression. And comparing it to Plushenko on top of that. Meet me in the parking lot.

R89 I know I was using sarcasm

R92 I'm not talking about wanting him to skate like Patrick or with a stiff "clasical" posture just so that we can all see that he is a man. I'm talking about his body carriage in steps. I swear I've seen Orser demo it on some clip somewhere but basically it all comes down to figures and doing those perfect figure eights. If he didn't lose it once in a while then why does he hop his loop so often and loses his lvl? The only way that happens is if he wasn't standing on his leg correctly if it happens during a transition it doesn't really matter but in step seq he loses points for it. He's trying to be so quick in his step seq that sometimes he get a head of himself or falls behind on his marks in the music and trys to catch up because he cares about those things. The Plushenko reference is because he was know for those fast paced sequences(which like I said weren't even real step sequences even though most people I knew were wowed by them) and maybe tiny Plushy fan Yuzu saw and wanted to do the same kind of super fast step sequences(until he found out that CoP wouldn't give him any points for those kind of steps sequences).

There used to be a rule about using all the body levels (low-neutral-high) during a step seq to hit that lvl 4. Yuzus this seasons sp step seq hydroblade-jump was an epic demonstration of that. I wonder why that was removed I thought it really showed who deserved to hit the lvls or was that only for ice dancers?

Just passing by, don't mind me.

R95 Thank you. I would like to add to the collection.

Perfect peach 🍑🍑🍑

The only good answer to that shitty question.

R98. Ugh. Why can't they just leave him alone? It's just as bad as the. 2022 Olympic question.

It's worse. The Olympic question will be settled in a few short years. The other one portends all manner of intrusions into his private life.

r99 It's an old interview, at least few years. The last time I remember anything of the sort is the after- Pyongchang media conference when he was asked about his plans for starting a family, to which he replied that dating was off the table because of his idol-like status and some of his fans would feel hurt. Tbh I thought Yuzu found himself a convenient excuse for not dating girls.

I have almost no talent at judging skating (hey, I could probably get a job with the ISU) - anyway, I found this 1965 youtube of Tatiana Tarasova and some guy doing their LP at Europeans. They got ok scores (I guess) - 5.3 to 5.7 I think. However... she looks unsteady on her feet to me, like she might fall over just any minute. Was skating really that horrible back then? Or am I being too hard on her? Egads I thought she was terrible.

R101 I remember that and I still hate that answer with a burning passion. The worst thing he has ever said.

But the answer suggests he can't date boys either, R101. Wouldn't that be just as bad or worse to his ubers?

I'm so happy to see Eunsoo on vacation and SMILING. I've felt sad and worried since that incident with Mariah and Raf.

Maybe she'll be ok. (I'm still on Team Eunsoo, and will never feel the same about MB or Raf again. Fuck 'em. You're supposed to act like you give a damn even if you don't!)

R104 You're right, The fangirl army would absolutely lose it. R102 I think she's ok. Though, maybe it's the video but the guy's legs look super long and it freaks me out lol

R102 She did look tentative in spots. Especially when she wasn't in contact with her partner. I have not watched much 1960s pairs footage but they both looked like they were afraid of building up any speed, compared with pairs these days. That arms-out old school skating posture also adds to the idea that they were focusing hard on balancing. It's something I always disliked about PChan's skating.

R104. If Hanyu dated guys then most of his female fans would be ok imo. They would see that none of them had a chance with him.

Do J-pop stars actually lose fans when they start dating? Do Japanese people really think that they're pure and innocent until 25? Pretty sure most of the English speaking fans ship him with guys or just don't care.

I just took the "disappointing his fans" thing as a way to keep his privacy without outright lying or seeming rude. As far as I can tell, the last time he answered that type of question was when he was 17 or 18 but since then he seems to want to evade rather then lie. Seems odd to me considering how often he does lie in interviews but maybe in his mind it's different if it falls under the category of strategy.

Watched this video. Was it because of injury, Eunsoo needed like 29392 staffs to help pack her things or she always needs them ? Meanwhile Zagitova was alone and did it by herself.

I recall a huge press conference soon after the Olympics where the same old topic about whether he still wanted to "start a family" was asked. He gave an artful answer saying something about how he wanted to devote all his time to skating and the sport to reach or touch more people. Well, given how people don't remember or care as much 10 years after Olympic wins (look at Evan L., Adelina S., etc), I think eventually he can have a normal life, living in Canada, or maybe even Japan again.

R109 Maybe I've missed it, but when has Hanyu ever outright lied, much less "often"? He's been vague, possibly misleading, and strategically omitted revealing certain things, but when has he just lied?

We don't forget. Adelina S. will be in our prayers til she die.

R45 LOL You weren't kidding - we got to see Kolyada in his tighty-whities/blackies. So his underwear matches his costume? Too lazy to rewatch - any bets on sizemeat?

Also amusing to see Orser greet Jin's coaches with pursed lips.

R105 I'm with you, I'm frankly stunned at the sheer number of people who conveniently ignore the bullying allegations and dismiss it as "I saw the video and it was an ACCIDENT, case closed". Imagine being bullied and being met with that kind of attitude, poor girl. It's telling that not only did MB not apologize until absolutely forced to but went onto Vincent Zhou herself about how proud she is of her own strength or whatever, mentioning nothing of her injured rinkmate after it was all over. So cringe.

R108 You are underestimating how casually homophobic many of his Asian fans are. They might jokingly ship him with Javier but just insinuate he might not be straight and the pitchforks are out. A few weeks ago there was ugly drama on Twitter about this. In any case whether he ends up dating a boy or a girl, a huge portion of his fans are going to take it hard.

TSL 4/9 – Post-Worlds -- Part 1 – First, what the US fed could do to increase interest in figure skating (e.g. copy gymnastics events) 17: An “extended family member” of one skater emailed Dave and said they were inappropriate because they said they didn’t like her dress: “Uncalled for! How dare you!” (but D also said this skater finished 3rd when she shd have been second [Med]). This is not the first time a family member of this skater has gone off on a rant about ppl not liking her dress. And about another skater, D got a 5 page rant from someone because he said she needed to bend her knees more and shd work with Lori [Bradie?] 20 D said the HANYU fans were trying to trap him on Twitter (and bullied him for saying Chen was better that day.) 22 D says Hanyu fans shd take a step back. Then to Deanna/Nate split. 27 D: When Jim Peterson’s teams do well, he makes it about himself and he’s a control freak (they’ve done interviews w/Jim that he later didn’t want aired.) “Nate looks like Max Aaron doing pairs.” Then lots about mismatched US pairs. KMT and her lesser partner. Then 38: Rachel Parsons quitting/size mismatch w/brother & other size mismatched teams like Jean-Luc & Kaitlin and Cain/LeDuc. 41 It’s cruel that there’s pressure on the females to get skinnier in that case.

TSL 4/9 – Post-Worlds --Part 2 – 45 Alysa Liu’s quad lutz: Eteri mentioned her so she’s aware. Unlike the mismatched pairs, Liu and her team are dreaming big. J: Lipinski had that arrogance AND she backed it up. 47 They enjoyed Aliev’s IG in his skimpy red underpants playing with his dog – and he posted his 4T+3A that D wants named “the Hanyu” 49 Eteri’s 11-yr-old did a 4T & Tursy did a good 3A; D thinks TURSY may pass Zags up. Would Russian ppl turn on Eteri then? 52: Eteri said “Asians have a better body-type for skating.” D: Frank Carroll said that too when he took on Michelle. Eteri also said Asian respect their coaches more. D thinks Eteri is being tacky by continuing to issue jibes toward Med – and that she shd act like a grown up. D thinks Eteri is upset that Med didn’t fail. Orser is apparently saying Med will get the quad sal. 54 Stolbova coming back; TAT’s on her side. They think Med’s Geisha music will endear her to Japan. D thinks Med can get Kostner level performance and sophistication (but can’t match the other top ladies in tech). 59 Tursy said, “Orser’s nice but he never swears. It’s up to the athlete to push themselves” and she prefers Eteri’s fieriness. Also from Eteri’s interview: the reason Zag cdn’t produce urine for a drug test was she was dehydrated because Eteri still denies them water. Eteri said Meldonium (sp?) is not doping because it only helps recovery, and “the only doping in Russia is good genetics and good coaching.”

TSL 4/9 – Post-Worlds --Part 3 – 1.02 D: You knew Gracie’s recent two Exes were bad when people were saying “She’s feeling the music so well” J: It was like watching masochism. Lots of advice for Gracie esp: drop Vincent. 1.13 Suzanne wd make skaters stay within bmi range she set for them. 1.16 Karen Chen got in Cornell but posted jump videos so is she still gonna compete? She’ll probably WD a lot. 1.18 MIRAI was told she cdn’t get a book deal because she didn’t have enough social media following, but Karen got one. But Mirai’s internship for a network is the way to go. 1.21 Virtue/Moir yet another (31-city) tour “rockin’ it” w/live band which D says never works – Abbott, Kostner, Stojko, Chan, Osmond… 1.28 T/M leaving Trankov: “She cd at least try to look like she likes skating while she’s performing...” 1.30 D: “All quiet on the EUNSOO front” J: “We questioned how supportive USFS was (of Mariah)” Her sister was supposed to go to Korea to do the Frozen on Ice tour but there were “complications” MB says she’s looking forward to Beijing. D: Why silence? J: It’s smart. 1.32 Manly/Coughlin situation: USFS response “subpar” 1.34 Egna Spring Trophy! Izzo clobbers Andrews! They dread WTT but “the skaters do earn a lot of money” - they discuss the poor pay in skating compared to tennis etc. They’re judging the ‘02 Olympic Pairs & Men on their Patreon. END

[quote]They think Med’s Geisha music will endear her to Japan.

A book written by an American, made into a movie by an American, casting Chinese actresses, with music composed by the guy who also did Jaws and Star Wars (and is American). I hope someone convinces her to skate to music from The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise. I'm sure more shit shake endorsements will follow.

[quote]They think Med’s Geisha music will endear her to Japan.

For the love of god!!

R114 here's an oldie but a goodie from 2014: Kolyada in Speedos! If you scroll through his Instagram account (which doesn't have all that many pix), you'll see several of him in tight little speedos. Gorgeous Thunder Thighs!! How can massive legs like that let him down so often?

He's almost rockin' Yuzu's hourglass figure in this picture. Just a bit shorter and thicker.

Tech Panels for WTT

Men

Controller is Wendy Enzmann (USA). Specialists are Olga Baranova (Finland) and Robyn Burley (Australia). Referee is Bianchetti (Italy)

Ladies

Controller is Deborah Noyes (Australia). Specialist is Olga Baranova (Finland). Her assistant is Igor Bich (Russia). Referee is Laimute "my monitor doesn't work, let's talk with Babenko" Krauziene (Lithuania)

Pairs

Controller is Deborah Noyes (Australia). Specialist is Igor Bich (Russia). Assistant specialist is Marie Arai (Japan, the crap girl with Amano at 1998 Olympics). Referee is Bianchetti (Italy)

Dance

Controller is Linda Leaver (USA). Specialist is Sylwia Novak (Poland). Assistant Specialist is Nakako Tsuzuki (Japan). Referee is Garry Hoppe (Great Britain)

But more importantly at Skate Victoria we have two old fave in action:

Mr. Sviatoslav "ah was it was a reprimand? I thought it was a friendly advice" BABENKO

and Ms. Ece "she threw my papers in the trash during the ice resurfacing! And anyway. do you pretend I can rank all these Ice Dance teams on spot?!" ESEN

R122 Uhhh, you're looking at his thighs?

R125 LMAO thanks for the reminder.

Yuzu's career is not as reliant on his fans as an idol's and he doesn't actually have a social contract with them to not date as idols do. He could afford dating if he wanted to. He might lose some ubers but I don't think it'd hurt him much. But he can't say "I'm not dating because I'm not interested in women and dating a guy might actually hurt my career" so he uses his fans as an excuse.

Well, of course, his other explanation of wanting to reach the pinnacle of figure skating, which basically amounts to "I have no fucking time or opportunity" could be true, but then why play the fan card.

More info on Evan Lysacek's hetero engagement.

I forgot to add, on FSUniverse some posters are saying Jenny Kirk outed Lysacek on TSL and are confused that he's engaged to a woman. I don't watch TSL, can anyone verify what Kirk said about him?

[quote] Well, of course, his other explanation of wanting to reach the pinnacle of figure skating, which basically amounts to "I have no fucking time or opportunity" could be true, but then why play the fan card.

That's the excuse Dai used - that he didn't have time for a relationship and a skating career. But I don't know what he said post-skating (or if he said anything?) I've read that he came out in his autobiography but then I read somewhere else that wasn't true. Does anybody hassle him about it? That would be a sign of what awaits Yuzu, no?

I'm the TSL Troll but didn't watch in the Jenny days - except for one old one I found somewhere when they interviewed Tracy Wilson and Jenny fussed about Yuzu not pointing his fucking toes. Sheesh. I bet his ankles are bound up with tape so tightly he couldn't point his toes with a gun to his head.

R127 My recollection isn't fool proof and I cannot be arsed to dig up the video and find the exact part where the family question popped up but I remember the impression I got of that part was more him teasing some of his more ardent fans about their idol worship of him cos I think he followed it up by saying he's not an idol but an athlete which gave the impression that he doesn't get how his popularity branched off towards the other direction instead (he's alluded to this confusion on other occasions). He's also quick to follow up with something along the lines of all appreciation is good appreciation and he's thankful for the support and then somewhere later on in the conference proceeded to defend them since their unhealthy fixation on him sometimes make them the butt of jokes in the eyes of the media.

To get back on topic, I happened to come across this the other day, while innocently searching for older articles to read about the guy. Don't think it's an angle we see a lot of so gotta appreciate the few we have.

[quote] Uhhh, you're looking at his thighs?

Yeah I know... But someone said ewwww when wad watching was brought up on one of these threads so I've tried to restrain myself. Just tryin' to read the room.

Dang, the link isn't working any more. Guess I'll just have to run some less innocent searches to see if i can find it again. The things I do for this community...

Well take a synopsis! (can't read Japanese anyhow)

R131 You have a good memory. Hanyu didn’t say anything about not dating. The question was about starting a family. He joked some fans would accuse him of betraying them if he started a family now even though he’s not an idol. It was a Fuji reporter who posed the question and Fuji was also responsible for blowing up the Josei Seven story about his engagement to a classmate. Hanyu went off on a tangent and never fully answered the question. He also refused to answer one of their other questions about food in Pyeongchang. The Fuji reporters were highly criticized at the time and the stupidity of their questions became news stories themselves. If you want to look at the transcript, it’s the part with the title “今、分かち合える幸せを大切にしたい” and “記者12” (Reporter 12).

[quote] My recollection isn't fool proof and I cannot be arsed to dig up the video and find the exact part

Pretty sure that was the Foreign Correspondents press conference right after Pyeongchang. I remember him sort of slowing saying, "How can I answer this..." and then carefully proceeding about the fans' sentiments. Some older Japanese guy said "Don't you want to be a papa?" or some such rude question. It was actually the reporter I thought was teasing/intentionally provoking. Isn't it kind of a thing among Japanese men to make fun of Yuzuru and his Pooh-toting hordes of women, many middle-aged?

A female American reporter did a story on Yuzuru and asked some lady in her 50s if she thought of Yuzuru as a son -- she said, No! As a lover!! I do think he has a sort of a Rudolf-Valentino like following - can't think of a modern equivalent lol.

R136 Nope, I don't think it was that one? I think It was that other one with the green backdrop for Japanese reporters only.

Anyway, note importantly, I found what I was looking for!

You're probably right - I do remember the reporter asking the question was Japanese.

And that's a good one! Now if we can just get him to go swimming in Speedos with Misha (Kolyada - God not Ge). Though as tight as he wears his practice clothes, we get a better view than with most of the others with their baggy pants. There's one photo of his bare thighs with Plush in his "Sexbomb" costume - Yuzu rolled up his shorts or something - anyway, he's got nice muscles too. Obviously. I do think Misha has bigger thighs but not as peachy a derriere. There's just something about Yuzu's curves - I don't know if I've ever seen another man with his shape. Misha comes close.

Here it is - the link might work if you have a Pinterest account?

R117 R118 R119 Thank you for the recap, TSL troll. Some of the skaters were gossiping about Deanna in the warmup area during Worlds. I wrote about it in one of the threads, but wasn’t able to figure out who was gossiping because they were behind the camera. They said someone told Deanna to stop doing something, or Deanna told someone to stop doing something.

R120 Yes, it will be even more appreciated if choreographed by Ge and no, it will not bring back memories of last WTT when she refused to apologize for the hotel mess, and told them to chill and watch her Japanese ex instead.

R121 Careful, they’ll call you a cunt!

R124 Arai was also Tamura’s partner when he tried pairs. They won nationals! And not by default, unlike when she was with Amano.

R128 So it’s true, they haven’t been dating for that long.

r136 r137 It was the Japan National Press Club. I linked to the transcript in r135.

god i wish i had nathan's legs... and ass... and mouth...

Thanks JDC! We've missed you!!

Dave and Jonathan said some more stuff about Deanna, especially Dave. That she's miles better than Nate, has her eye on greater things while he's just happy to be along for the ride (and he's holding her back). Some snide remark that Alexa made about them? How can I forget what I just heard tonight -- but yeah, I have. Dave is quite taken with Deanna and her fieriness (and with Eteri as well). He was so gleeful relating the gems in her recent interview - he said something about it I couldn't make out (lots of cross-talk) - like she gives good shade, though he did get after her for picking on Med so much.

He did love her naming Brian Boitano as her favorite skater, lol. Didn't we all? She reminds me of Cruella in 101 Dalmations. I worry a bit for those girls. I may have read this here - apparently, Kostornaia is leaving Eteri for Gubainova - oh that's probably not the name of the coach but something like that. Love her - as Eric Radford said, she's an exquisite skater.

* Oops - I was wrong about Kostornaia (or it changed.) From her GS thread, it looks like she posted some answers to fan question today, including:

"Would you agree to go to Tutberidze if she calls?" (I am actually skating there)

and

Q - Do you have any ideas about the programs for the next season? A - Yes. Q - And Danya will be the choreographer? A - Of course.

[quote] god i wish i had nathan's legs... and ass... and mouth...

There are fans of Nathan and Yuzuru on here. I know because I am one. Nice guy. And good looking guy too! Not to mention smart.

What's not to like?

Starting Order

Siao Fa

Lazukin

Aymoz

Grassl

Nguyen

Tanaka

(warm up)

Rizzo

Samarin

Messing

Zhou

Uno

Chen

LADIES

Piredda

Rodeghiero

Chartrand

Meité

Lecavelier

Samodurova

(warm up()

Tuktamysheva

Daleman

Bell

Kihira

Tennell

Sakamoto

Judges for Men are

Ms. Susan BLATZ (Canada)

Ms. Sakae YAMAMOTO (Japan)

Ms. Elisabeth LOUESDON (France)

Ms. Taffy HOLLIDAY (USA)

Ms. Olga KOZHEMYAKINA (Russia)

Mr. Walter TOIGO (Italy)

Ms. Dan FANG (China)

Ms. Ulla FAIG (Germany)

Ms. Nadezhda PARETSKAIA (Kazakhstan)

The Italian one was once banned for 2 years. A decade ago, more or less. It was Junior GP at Courchevel. He was filmed by stands looking at the scores from judges sitting next to him before entering his mark

Ladies have

Ms. Christiane MOERTH (Austria)

Ms. Nadezhda PARETSKAIA (Kazakhstan)

Ms. Chihee RHEE (Korea)

Mr. Kenji AMAKO (Japan)

Ms. Taffy HOLLIDAY (USA)

Ms. Elisabeth LOUESDON (France)

Mr. Walter TOIGO (Italy)

Ms. Nicole LEBLANC-RICHARD (Canada)

Ms. Elena FOMINA (Russia)

R144 I think we all can agree Nathan is quite a catch.

Nathan's personality is boring. Not my type

R144 What' not to like about Nathan? His multitude of crossovers and lack of transtiions. I agree he seems like a nice kid though, just hate the US Fed and media hype.

Hanyu did say he wanted to be married at 25-26 and be a father. From Guys Talk.

r151 around 10:00min in

He should marry Yuna Kim and make super skating babies.

R151. When was this? Things obviously have changed. I can't see him married at 25 or 26. He'll be 25 in December. R116. You're right. I guess we will never know when he is in a relationship. That would be best especially because of how crazy some of his fans are.

r154 i think what has changed is his rock star status. if it is anything like KPOP, the fans often hypercriticize the women they do date. I think Hanyu just wants to avoid this subject altogether now and focus on his skating. I wouldn't be surprised in the next couple years or so, he announces an engagement without any prior news of dating.

R151 That was 4 years ago. He never mentioned it since then. I also always found most of his talks around that time (same with Kenji's room) not natural, like he was trying really hard to project that 'cool guy' image. The only exception is his reply to the 'ideal type' question which seemed more sincere. Tbh if he is straight (which I doubt) then I wish he did not cater to his crazed fans by doing things like over hands. Like he said he is an athlete and should be allowed to date and live his life as he wishes. In that regard I don't think he handled the whole bullshit dating rumor back at the end of 2015 really well. Whether she was just a friend he was hanging out with or more who cares. Instead of denying it he should have told gossip rags and angry fans to shove it. He is only making things more difficult for himself.

r156 not sure what you mean by "more difficult for himself" . He has an incredible fanbase and a frau crazy DL that can't seem to stop talking about his every move, the color of his poops, and multi angled body parts. I think whatever he is doing is fine, which is skating and not much else. It's the fans and antis who are trying to create narratives that likely are not part of reality.

R157 What I mean is that by acting like girls have cooties (and some boys too) and refusing to even touch them by fear of how it's going to be interpreted, he is actually playing right into the hands of the craziest of his fans. I also saw it happen time and again with Japanese and Korean idols. The more they act like the act of dating itself is completely removed from their reality, the harder the fans take it once they start dating. Whereas celebrities that were never doing this, would get no heat once it was revelead they were seeing someone.

Maybe Hanyu is Poohsexual...I guess only he and Pooh-san know.

r158 I think he's an anomaly. Unlike Jpop or KPOP, he is an OG medalist x2 with fans of all ages, not just the young crazies. I doubt PH will go bonkers if he starts to date.

R158 you do realize the rumor back in 2015 include talks of that girl having an abortion? And since they are classmates, she might even be underaged when the alleged abortion happened? And abortion is illegal in Japan with limited exception case. So it’s not some teenage love nonsense that he can just shove it up media and crazy ubers ass. This is a serious allegation whoever is trying to setup against him. Not to mention fuji tv was running this headline in their morning news programs along with other legit news.

R156 Uhmm Tu as raison. If he's straight but tries to act like a monk, it's only getting more difficult for him to date a girl and get married in the future. Not that he would care once he makes up his mind to get married anyway but if he does, he just needs to act like Adam Rippon, Jason Brown,... who are close to every girls in the world, people would think he's either gay or a total chick magnet. Then he can go either way :>

R161 I did not remember that that dating rumor was linked to the abortion thing. I thought the abortion rumor was at another time. In any case, it doesn't change the fact that the whole overhand thing is ridiculous and doesn't help.

R161 Exactly this. A big issue is how it hurts other people - they get harassed and their reputations damaged. The newspapers were harassing the girl and making up stories about her. The tabloids don't just go for Hanyu, but everyone in his general vicinity, including his family. And then you have Med, who has bravely volunteered herself as tribute - don't let this gem get away Yuzu!!

R163 The dating/abortion rumor involved the same girl (the classmate).

[quote]the whole overhand thing is ridiculous

I agreeeee. A little handsiness never hurt anyooooone. It's a gooooood thing Americans don't care about these siiillly thingssss!!!!

R146 Surely, you can give us some dirt on "Ms. Taffy HOLLIDAY (USA)." Is that her porn name or is she just a wealthy socialite, or both?

R166 Taffy is the woman at Jonny's left here

R128 From the People article on Lysacek: "Lysacek and Bodiratnangkura met in 2011 through friends and “immediately connected,” he said in his statement to PEOPLE. They stayed close over the years “but really reconnected last summer” and have been splitting time between New York City and Los Angeles."

Lord, they've been dating for less than a year? I give this charade 2 years before Lysacek is spotted at a Days Inn with a massage table, some disco lights and a leather pig mask.

Why have a rulebook, why have points, why have competitions if anyway everything is subjective and depending on how much money a judge received. I wish fs would completely die in the US so they would stop caring and trying to mess things up for the rest of the world. One reason why I like football (the real sport, not the obese rugby version).

R167 Thanks. She was once a US assistant team leader. I find it so odd when these people are on a judging panel, like Samuel Auxier (former VP of USFSA) on the men's panel at Nats. American judges are among the most brazen cheaters, yet they never seem to be called out.

I miss the Swan costume. His pink one this season isn't bad but the black part in the front bothers me. Hopefully in his quest to appeal to NA judges next season, he isn't going to sacrifice the sparkles and ask Vera Wang to design his next set of costumes. That would be more tragic than the current overscoring issues.

R168, I also read somewhere that Evan's fiance is in her 40s. Between her, Tanith Belbin, and Vera Wang, maybe what he actually has a taste for is older women.

For comparison sake only.

R172 Ohhh, Evan's engagement makes more sense now. In other words, older, desperate women who have enough money to buy him and their own engagement rings.

R174 What a whore!!!

R173 Junhwan wants to touch the frills.

R176 Looks like he might want to do more than that.

More on Evan's fiancee.

A massive Los Angeles spec home designed to resemble an airplane propeller is coming on the market for $56 million. --- The unusual design was created to make the most of the views in every direction, from the surrounding canyons to the Getty Center to the downtown skyline, said seller Duangpatra Bodiratnangkura, a developer who said she goes by the name "Dang." "I want to deliver homes that are peculiar and anomalous in terms of architecture," she said. "I’m thinking outside of the box—literally." --- Dang said she hails from a family of hotel owners and textile manufacturers in Thailand, but has lived in Los Angeles for 15 years. While this is her largest project, she has built smaller homes, and has been a landlord of rental buildings, she said.

So basically, she's the Thai, real estate version of Vera Wang. I'm sure we'll hear about Evan's appointment as VP of creative development of Vera Dang's company, followed by years of IG pics of him lounging on a yacht. Congrats on the new gig, Evan!!!

Related to the discussion from earlier. These are the type of fans who would not take it well if it was revealed he was gay. I mean look at this shit. As if teenagers know themselves better than adults do. They should tell that to all the gays or trans people who behaved the way society taught them was normal until they learnt more about themselves and others like them. Next they are going to say that it's Orser's fault.

R178 Why would a successful woman like that go for a fake OGM with no quad credentials.

Because he's white and likes living the high life? I guess Evan decided this route was more favorable than the life Johnny Weir has had. I don't know anything about Jenny Kirk outing him, other than a comment years ago somewhere like, "How come all the guys i date turn out gay?" I thought she was referring to the pairs skater who wound up marrying Meryl Davis, as well as Evan. There was also a mutual giggle during the interview with Naomi Nari Nam, when they mentioned Evan sending Naomi flowers. Don't know if they were insinuating anything, but Johnny did give a wink on a talk show when he said Evan was "straight."

So JSF made Shoma the captain of Team Japan for WTT although Keiji is there and in terms of seniority it should have been him. I mean they used seniority as a reason for Mura to be a captain over Yuzu last time. Amazing really.

R182 According to ISU the captain is Misato Komatsubara, the female ice dancer

R183 Thanks for the info. Someone must have been spreading fake news then. I guess Twitter really can't be trusted for news anymore.

R179. You probably missed the drama weeks ago. I forgot the Twitter user but they basically said that because Yuzu said this and that (can't remember exactly what) it proves he is 100 percent straight. I will see if I can find those tweets. It was a few days of drama.

Gracie Gold recent exhibition. Double toe, 2 footed triple toe?, single axel. Nice to see her but her competitive years are over.

https://youtu.be/zdtC49pqJR4

R185 I know about that drama. I mentioned it here.

In other news, another day, another terrible take from a US stan. I have no words left at this point to comment this fuckery.

r187 It actually makes a lot of sense, his constant cutesy shit reeks of attention seeking.

And the way he's constantly posting suggestive selfies of himself on Instagram and will not shut up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instastories... oh wait...

R188 Oh yes, it makes total sense that he would choose to spend his life training hard, risking further injury just to seek attention. Maybe he should just seek attention the American way by getting fat, appearing on DWTS, and whoring it up on SNS.

R189 Exactly. He is such an attention seeker that he has no social media nor social life and stays hidden from the public eye for most of the year. It's like saying Federer or Messi are attention whores because they keep competing even though they have won a lot of trophies and are considered legends in their respective sports already. What about Phelps. How many Olympics did he compete at? Why didn't they tell him to stop hogging all the attention and retire already. Oh right, that's because he was winning medals for the US, in which case being an attention whore is a +.

R190 Whoring is hard work and has injury risks!!!

I got fat and whored, but no one paid attention. Until it was tooo late.

R187, I really didn't need to see more proof that some people are dumb as fuck....

Yuzu to US stans and Japanese antis: die mad about it.

r168 And some meth crystals up to shove up his ass for the maximum entertainment.

R196 You forgot the fist. There should be a fist up there too.

r197 The key to all the action, of course.

R198 We'll just have to agree to disagree. I think the disco lights are key.

R195 HAH never seen that gif before. Perfect!

R187. Oh Ok. I missed your post about that then. I have no words on that new drama you just posted. It honestly upsets me that they make up these fantasy stories. They don't know anything about Hanyu. Absolutely nothing.

r187 C'mon, that butthurt is so severe it's hilarious.

Uno's 3A-4T. Unlike Yuzu's 4T-3A it'd get full combo credit. Tbh I hope Yuzu abandons the the 4T-3A.

The link

TV Asahi (https://www.tv-asahi.co. jp/ figure-wtt2019/) is the official Japanese broadcaster for WTT. Their twitter has photo and video: @figureskate5ch

If you’re in Japan and watching via TV, you can play a game with the official Asahi FS mascot, Go-chan, using your remote control, and enter to win a poster signed by Team Japan, a lotion and moisturizer set from Shiseido’s Elixir, or some Go-chan goods. (Check the TV Asahi FS page)

Sponichisports (@sponichisports) is tweeting practices.

Actress Yuki Amami is the special guest. Shuzo Matsuoka is the main sportscaster. Shizuka Arakawa, Nobunari Oda, and Aya Kawai are commentating.

Teruji Kakuzawa, Jyunya Shindo, and Yohei Onishi with other Asahi staff will be reporting from the floor. Hiroki Mikami is the main reporter.

Sui/Han, Tatsuya Tsuboi, Hikari Sato, Yuhana Yokoi, and Ami Nakai are performing in the exhibition. (Nakai is a novice from Niigata, Chubu area.)

TV Asahi has an app that will stream a second cam (“2nd Screen”) on the skaters in their booths as they cheer on their teammates. I don’t know if it’s Japan-only, but it’s free and available in Google Play and iTunes. It will only stream when one of the skaters is performing. It can take up to 30 seconds for the video to load if your connection is poor. No sound.

TV Asahi App:

Ticket price for FaOI Sendai can reach to 230,000 yen (2,000 USD) with no confirmation that Yuzu will attend or not, but he should attend I guess.isn't that crazy high? While ticket forWWT19 for all event ticket now is 20,000 yen

r158 He did the manner hand with Fernandez one time after a sweaty practice, but you’ll never forgive him! (There were no manner hands in another photo taken that day.) I’m surprised the photo of Fernandez with his hand on his girlfriend’s belly didn’t get more attention. Poor girl. Not even a pregnancy rumour can break Yuzuvier.

R165 R193 Naughty.

R168 Someone at FSU said they’d only been dating for two months and it was a huge shock at Vera Wang.

Speaking of Yuzuvier, there’s an article about what Fernandez learned from Hanyu in the May issue of Bungeishunju. You can purchase the kindle version from Amazon JP.

Fans of Kolyada’s speedo, the skater would like you to email music suggestions for his next programs. Please include audio files or links to youtube videos and send to m.kolyada1@gmail.com

WTT Schedule:

R206. I thought Nathan was the new cash cow?

My boy cow is the GOAT now (and my cash cow - don't care about artsy-fartsy Oriental ice show)

R207 I mean, if you want to get technical, we're not really "fan[s] of Kolyada’s speedo," but more like speedo antis. I'm now completely fixated on the fact that little, sweet-faced Kolyada is packing such a big Kolyada. Or was he "fluffed" for the IG shoot, because he wasn't looking like that in his jester thong in R45's video. Okay, that's gross given the kid wrapped around his shoulders; or maybe more gross if he wasn't artificially fluffed? I don't know anymore. This is annoying, because now I will be too obsessed about Big Kolyada to appreciate Little Kolyada as a person or a skater. Is this what it means to be dickmatized?

Clearly, Kolyada should do sex bomb.

R208 Nathan prob has a lot more influential on the US tix market, given he’s now seen as the leader of men’s field. The wtt tix were mostly sold out prior to worlds, so the attendance should be decent.

R211 Well, US tix market isn't much better since they're practically giving away US SOI tickets (about $20 last time I checked).

R212 it seems he has gained a lot of fans in the past year, at least it seems the case on SNS and forums, surprise that didn’t translate into actual sales.

R213 To be fair, I'm just talking about the ticket discounts in my area. I haven't looked at Nathan's other SOI stops. I think someone on twitter pointed out that there are lots of seats left, but maybe they'll get snapped up later.

R210 I can appreciate both Little Kolyada and Big Kolyada just fine.

I'm gonna send Stravinsky's Rite of the Spring to Kolyada.

R210 I was rather mesmerized with Kolyada's "speedo" but after looking for a while I realized that an optional illusion caused by a shadow was making it look more impressive

R217 For science, here is Little Kolyada wearing baggy pants, yet BK still manages makes himself known (what an attention whore!).

Here is LK telling us that BK is as big as Kvitelashvili's head.

Now LK is just toying with me.

Somehow it makes me feel better to see Nathan acknowledging the artistry deficit thing:

..."I think over the past year, from the Olympics, I have improved artistically and those are things I have focused on a lot. That being said, I still have a long ways to go and I don't want to limit myself. I can improve a lot in that regard."

A new scoring system was implemented this season that aimed to punish failed elements (like fallen jumps) more, but continue to reward risk. Chen said the new system seems to value the overall program more, but high-risk elements like quadruple jumps are still necessary.

"But it's also important that I continue to develop my artistry," he said....

Here is BK in the water. For most of us, there would be shrinkage. BK, however, is like one of those novelty toy dinosaurs that just swell up to 300xs their size when you put them in water.

R222 loving it. Can't believe we've been sleeping on BK all this time.

R216 I'm all for the Right to Spring, thanks.

R221, that's not what he said before. He used to say stuff like FS is a sport so jumps are the only thing that count and if you want artistry you can go watch ice dance. Clearly someone from his PR team got in touch with him.

R221 OR he simply wants max PCS next season so sends this message to judges. I don't believe in "nice" Chen anymore.

R225 He said something like this at the beginning of the season. Then, as usual, he dropped all his choreography as the season went along. He can say whatever he wants; let's see what he actually does. What's the incentive for him to work on the "artistry" when his scores are already top notch?

R226 I don't have anything against Nathan, even though I hate his skating. I doubt he's just pretending to be a nice guy and is a raging cunt underneath. Never thought I'd say this, but damn, I miss Patrick.

"Nate looks like Max Aaron doing pairs." - this is the best thing I read today.

Why is this thread always the most active at sleeping hours in the US? It makes no sense.

R229 Yeah, makes no sense. I didn't know the interwebs reached the rest of the world outside the US. Amazing what the kids can do these days!!!

R206 Since it's Sendai I think it's a given for most people that Yuzu will attend in some form, hence the rising prices.

R229 Grandpa, do you go to bed immediately after catching the 430 early bird special at the Cracker Barrel in West Virginia? Because it's not bedtime in all of the US right now.

R229 Who cares what time it is in the US, when it is 8:48 am in Russia and my new fave, BK is likely stirring and rising from his peaceful slumber.

Would you look at this shit. It makes me so mad, I want to forcefeed the rulebook on every single judge who allowed for this to happen. I hope once Yuzu retires, his next plan will be to take over the ISU and to force all of them into retirement.

[quote] Then, as usual, he dropped all his choreography as the season went along.

Yes, my idea, always. I saw he could not do both skate and jump without falling on ass. So I say to him, "just jump, for fat cow's sake, don't do the rest...take lots of time, jump and land, wink at judge". Now you see...gold medal.

Rhythm Dance

Papadalus/Cizeron 87.31.

Sinitsina/Katsalappv 84.57

Hubbell/Domohue 82.86

Guignard/Fabbri 80.25

Weaver/Poje 79.60

Komatsubara/Koleto 60.93

Free World Team Trophy stream (blocked in the US, Japan, and Russia).

Ladies starting...

Officials presentation

Larkin is there

what is the announcer wearing?

Taffy is a blondie now

the male Italian judge looks like a lesbian

Nathan is still homely. Those ears. That hair. Those crappy knees and his Vera Wang "I'm not a homo" costumes.

And if all that isn't bad enough, we now know that one can get into Yale by nefarious means.

Why would I spend good money to see that skate in a crappy ice show like SOI?

Polish and Russian judges gave 4 10s to Papadakis/Cizeron.

Well, they gave out 2 10s to Sinitsina/Katsalapov, so they have to be go even higher with P/C

But Japanese judge actually tied Russians and French in PCS

Marina Piredda 60.33

clean with a 3+3

Rodeghiero is slow and heavy on ice. She jumps small

3t+3t she hangs on the second 3t

3flip with step out. UR?

2A small but done.

that should be struggle to pass 50

R241 agree, I saw Nate live at SOI and while he was one of the better ones there obviously - mostly due to jumps and speed - there was nothing really eye catching about his skating. He had a screaming teenage girl fanbase but that was about it.

Still better than Zhou though.

indeed, 48.45

I don't understand the judges' hard-on for straight white skating when this is the most skate that exists these days.

WTT youtube stream in case anyone in the US cares. The play-by-play here is more entertaining. Thanks.

Chartrand 52.36

In between the 2 Italians

most "boring". Forgot the key word.

Meité is cleanish. Should be at Piredda's level. She is not a great PCS skater but she has more international reputation than Piredda. So maybe they will put her into the lead

TES fell. 59.something. Second

Lecavlier into the lead with 62.5

Sofia moves her hands 5 times more than she moves her feet.

Sofia looks tired and like she's run out of steam. She was very overmarked.

I don't want to see another 3T+3T

Beautiful 3A from Tuk. She looks refreshed and fully recovered from pneumonia.

Over 80

PCS keeps Daleman afloat. TES is lower than the Italian girl

tbh I'd watch Daleman perform CArmen any day over that cringy egyptian thing.

Unfortunate pop for Daleman. Great skate by Mariah Bell, 3/3 looked around this time.

You, little lying Korean bitch, this is how to deliver

is Vincent Zhou the one behind Mariah in the K&C?

Kihira finally lands a 3A in the short program. It's a miracle.

Tennell beats Mariah

The Bradie Tennell faces team USA is waving in the K&C are scaring me.

"Heisei" (current era) "Reiwa" (next era) "Yokuyatta!" (You did it! You did good!) - Hamada's sign. I wonder if Hamada had another sign ready in case Kihira didn't land the 3A.

r264 Yes, the most obnoxious one is Zhou.

Shoma is perplexed

Ranking

Russia 29

Japan 29

USA 27

France 20

Canada 16

Italy 14

R268 to be fair that's his default state.

yet again Shoma looks like a weirdo. his teammates were all cheering for Rika, but he stood there barely showing any emotion. time for a nap or a plate of meat?

I'm glad Rika finally landed her 3x in a short program. Mariah skated well but Bradie seemed faster and her spins were so good. While watching Mariah, I can't help but think "entitled white girl" and wonder how Mariah would like a jab with a toe pick though.

R271 I agree with everything you said about Mariah. I can't help but dislike her now, along with her "she's the REAL victim" defenders.

I think Shoma just finds it hard to perform enthusiasm. I'm super introverted and I react in similar ways. I would clap but frankly being in a situation like that itself is exhausting and whatever feelings and thoughts I have just go inward, not outward at the cameras. The other guy standing at the other end of team Japan also looked pretty spaced out when he thought the camera wasn't looking.

I wonder how anyone is going to beat Rika now. Will everyone vie for the triple axel? Or depend on the American overscoring? Only next season will tell, I guess. A shame Kaori's beautiful running edges can't beat the power of the triiple axel even from Tuk.

R271 She landed the 3A in the SP at GPF (but fell in the FS). She holds the WR, but they wouldn't give it to her for the FS at NHK.

Men SP time

Judges presentation

Someone behind the referee has a duck's beak

88.96 for Lazukin

85 for Aymoz. Good quad. problem with combo

Grassl is a very pale Italian.

79.68 for Grassl. Jumps were good. PCS rightly lowish

The ISU stream stopped working.

it has not re-started

It's working again for me. I missed over half of Nam.

Nguyen 87.57

I would give more differences in PCS between Aymoz and Nguyen

Tanaka 89.05

Into the lead

Japaneses so overscored as always

R286 don't worry, the Americans will take that to a new level.

Who holds the WR for men's right now?

R287 Not in japan. Event takes place in japan , so japaneses are so overscored

2 falls and no combo for Samarin

Two falls for Samarin. Ouch.

R288 Yes. I overcame the overscored Japanese with my superior poetic skating in Saitama. As I will again here.

Last place for Samarin

A disaster for Russian chances to beat USA

Messing has lost steam in second half of the season. Struggled on all jumps today

Eek, creepy Vincent heads from team USA. Just as icky as the Bradie ones.

lol. No UR called. Over 100.

Shoma looks like he's lost weight. Either that or his costuming is improved.

Step sequence 2 for Shoma, ouch.

Shoma TES is lower than Tanaka's

It went up compared to that in the box on screen

Second place. 92.78

USA 50

Japan 48

Russia 38

France 27

Canada 26

Italy 24

My watered down program just kicked all your asses. Journal about that, Vincent!

I thought Nathan got rid of that bunchy, uncomfortable looking vest. Good for him not risking a 4z in the short.

R303 but he did risk 4z. SP was totally z-z-z-z.

R303 agreed

I want to see THIS in FS for years to come...So will you please fuck off, ISU & USFSA! Where to sign a petition: "FS needs Yuzuru Hanyu's fab ass to save it from a certain death"...

R306 I can never truly appreciate LGC because even though it's probably the most complex, fast paced and packed sp ever, I dislike the song and the costume too much for me to enjoy it.

R307 not even the ass could persuade you?

Jesus, 47.26 PCS for Nathan. This sport has jumped the shark. Glad I didn't give up any sleep to watch this BS.

I was relieved to see Nathan wearing a normal costume

R309 This is awful, truly. And the worst is seeing all the sheeps in US media and fandom parroting about Nathan's (non existent) artistry as if the points he keeps receiving suddenly means there is something to see there. It's like when an awful song or movie becomes popular because of some intensive marketing strategy, dumb journos will write even dumber articles trying to find reasons for the success when there is only one: people are dumb sheep and easily manipulated. It's pure brainwashing really.

Nathan's a great performer. What are you all raining hate on him for? Whenever I see him skate in person, especially, you can really see his speed and performance quality shine. His edges aren't like Patrick Chan's, but he can land the jumps and do a complete program. If he sucks, what about the vast majority of his competitors?

All this obsessing over Yuzu's ass is odd and creepy. I don't think Keiji looks that good, but his ass is so much better looking than Yuzuru's. Even Keegan's looks more muscular. Appreciate these others instead.

I have seen Nathan live at SA and GPF last season. I was not impressed. The emperor has no clothes.

If performance quality is supposed to equal high PCS, then just give the audience buzzers and let them vote on it.

R312 NBC, please. Nathan's skating skills are non existent. Put him next to any of the top men and his flaws become very apparent. He is also not a great performer. Way too stiff for that. But as I say the brainwashing machine is working. People are now seeing things which are not there. It would be funny if that was not so tragic for the sport and the other athletes.

Sad. The ISU is banking on the US to provide sponsors and viewership that is sorely lacking outside of Japan. Good luck with that.

US will never sell out seats for ISU events. Even WTT had empty seats without Hanyu.

I'm kind of mad at Hanyu for bringing me back to FS after a long hiatus after Baiul's win and during "snore" Kwan years. But I'll keep watching as long as he's skating cause my eyes won't let me stop.

You're more than welcome to provide examples of these oh-so-incredible asses we should be appreciating, R312

R312 Sure, Jan.

R315, the US might sell seats, but only if they have a pretty female star. The US isn't that interested in men's skating.

R315. I'm mad at Hanyu too for bringing me back. I will just have to keep saying to myself Isu is corrupted and just be here as a fan of Hanyu till he retires. I hope he retires soon and before Olympics. Isu does not deserve him there. They already have their 2022 Olympic champion Chen. They should just crown him now. So ridiculous.

R309 And this for a supposedly "watered down" SP. So, Nathan's getting all 10s next season. This "sport" is a complete dumpster fire. Yuzu should just retire. It's not worth jumping hoops for the ISU that gives zero fucks about actual skating.

Maybe if SOI is giving another try for ice show in China this summer Chen can just make a trip to “motherland” so they can host the Beijing 2022 medal ceremony and crown him there. Let’s just get this over with so the scoring system will be back to its less outraged state.

And I am not sad just for Hanyu. I'm sad for all the skaters. They all train hard. Some going to another country to train and I ask myself for what? Train hard. Spend money on this training for what?

R322 So that NBC can spend billions on the broadcasting rights for the Olympics and impose a schedule based on prime time in the 'land of the free' even if it means fucking up athletes' bio clock by forcing them to wake up at 4am to compete in the biggest event of their life. All this to get shitty ratings anyway. I hate everything.

R322 for what? To have a fab, jet set life like me!!

R307, I agree!! I don't like LGC song and costume either! When I see people screaming how they want that program back, I'm here like NOooooo PLEASE I'd rather have PW back, or Etude. I love Etude choreo, song and costume.

R309, you're completely right. The judges should've reserved their PCS at this event for the deeply sophisticated vision I wove into the ice in today's performance.

So who was under the dog's costume

I love LGC. I don't care for the song itself all that much. It's not that I dislike it, but I'm just not a fan, would never put it on my playlist just to listen to. But with the performance it just becomes the whole different thikng: the music, the costume, the choreo (which both fit its campy style to a t), the attitude. And damn, the choreo is good. Other than the steps and jump entries, it's got some of the best choreographed and executed spins in a program ever.

I have the same with hip hop actually. Not something I'd listen to but when I see people dancing to it, it suddenly makes sense and is very enjoyable to see.

I love LGC too. I like how relentless it is.

I love LGC in the swan costume (@6:00 min)

R308 No, even that perfect peach doesn't manage to save that tacky purple jumpsuit. It's so unsexy and just reminds me of Orser who had similar costumes back in the day. The white version was a bit better although it made his legs look invisible on the ice.

Performance - Shoma 8.79 - Nathan 9.54.

WTF? I'm one of those here always saying I'm a fan of Nathan as well as Yuzuru and he's such a nice guy yada yada. But this kind of shit is eroding any positivity I have towards the nerd.

I agree with the poster upthread that other than Hanyu, I have to go back to Oksana Baiul and primarily, Johnny Weir, for any skaters I really was into. The rest I never bothered to follow. When I was real little, there were so few channels and I didn't go out blah blah and I think on a weekend afternoon, you would just find the figure skating. Then came cable but no Internet and I never had any idea when the tournaments were and other than the Olympics, skating fell off my radar completely. Didn't always watch the Olys because I didn't know anybody.

Oh well, I was shocked at how viscerally I was upset at Mariah - I left and did something else - came back too soon and had to put my hand over her on my screen because it made me sick to look at her. Then when Rika came off the ice, I thought I saw Mariah behind her and my heart jumped - DON'T STAB RIKA YOU DAMNED PSYCHOPATH I thought...

Yep. When Yuzuru goes, so doth I. This sport sucks - other than him. Not only sucks, it makes you physically sick.

R332 For you, anon.

Awwww - thanks R333. I love it! I needed that after today (and Worlds).

I fell asleep - did Shoma screw up? His practice jumps looked better than I've seen him do in a long time.

Oh I see now. Shoma screwed up his combo somehow. And his 4F - only the Japanese judge gave it a 3. The others lower, even -1.

He's been Kolyading a lot lately. Bring out the Speedos! You're losing me. But on his worst day, I would never think his performance would be nearly a point below Nathan and his seizures. Sheesh.

Shoma just barely hung onto his 4F, with serious struggle on the landing, so -1 scores were fair on that element. He also had errors in his combination pass. His lower PCS marks reflected the errors in his program.

I wonder if Shoma is injured or if he is starting to develop some mental block.

Unrelated but Yuzu looks so pretty here, although he is looking at the photographer like he or she took away his pooh bear.

R331 I'm with you. I like LGC music tho. He looked like a penis in that costume.

R336 Shoma got what he deserved. Nathan's PCS are insane, especially compared to the Chan, Hanyu programs that got similar or lower scores. The plan is obviously to prop him up until he takes leave from college. Then, when he gets back to training full time, he can try to live up to the scores he's been given. How does USFSA still maintain its influence when it's had no stars and no interest for about 15 years now?

So nobody gives a shit about Vincent's URs now? He's just going to ride Nathan's coattails and hope no one notices?

R339 Money. When US broadcasters with their billions still decide on the what and when of the Olympics, clearly there is then intense pressure and support to get 'Made in US' star athletes to get some returns via ratings/advertisement spot sales.

We need to petition Netflix to commission a documentary on corruption in figure skating.

R342 I hope they get to interview this motherfucker and ask him to clarify what he meant when he said Nathan's programs are boring and it's just jumps since US media told me Nathan is brilliantly artistic and creative.

When a skater is artificially propped up, they never lose the cheater taint. Patrick left a great legacy of some beautiful programs, but no one gives a shit except the Canadians because he should have been a 1x world champ and now he's mostly remembered for skating skills and choking. Adelina gave a great performance and had incredible spins, but now she spends her days fighting off the Korean mob. I actually thought Evan deserved his gold (because his programs were better crafted to collect points), but because of US lobbying and PR, he is mostly a punchline and now spends his time getting passed around from one dragon lady to another.

The cheaters win in the short term, but in the long term it leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouths. Nathan doesn't even need the inflation. It's unlikely Hanyu will stay until Beijing and without Hanyu there, it will be Nathan and a bunch of head cases.

R344 I wish I had your optimistic outlook on this but to me this stigma you mentiom only exists among fs fans. Casuals/4 year fans do not know or care about this and the wow factor of multiple gold medals no matter how undeserved work on them. Not to mention that the undeserving skaters make big bucks via prize money and endorsements thanks to those cheated wins.

We would like to remind that we deserved to win in 2002.

R346 Didier made me do it....eerrrr....I mean, I thought you deserved to win, too. Yes, I did. I believed so. No scandal. Oui?

Since the PCS trajectories graph was brought back from the last thread, for anyone who also missed this previously.

This brought back my astonishment at Zhou winning bronze.

Didier is innocent. The Canadians made me say these things

I think Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze deserved to win. I voted for them. I would do it again

The Russian judge was a nice man. I think he doesn't speak English very well, therefore, he couldn't have not lobbied for B/K

Just thought I'd pass this along, especially for R312, who thinks our fixation on Yuzu's ass is odd and creepy yet when asked, did not produce any photographic examples of what they considered to be proper ass to fixate on. So it's back to being odd and creepy then. Hope everyone's having a good day!

I hope Yuzu goes to Torino just so that he can meet Massimiliano Ambesi and be interviewed by him. The guy has been an unwavering support for such a long time now. He even had to deal with Japanese antis coming after him because of his appreciation for Yuzu at some point last year iirc. And it's not just mindless fanboyism. The guy loves and knows the sport better than anyone else, has studied the rulebook extensively and that's precisely why he considers Yuzu the goat. I wonder if Yuzu knows he has such a big fanboy in Italy.

R353 For all the Ambesi haters who equate him to just being a biased fanboy, at least he seems to know what he's talking about and can even provide detailed analysis. Unlike those who suddenly sees what's not there because the scores say so.

R353 It's insane people are writing off Hanyu's achievements as flukes (especially after this Worlds) given what Max Ambesi just pointed out in his tweet. What do they think he's been doing these last nine years as a senior? Just getting by on luck? Crazy to think that Hanyu already won his first Olympics and World gold medal just as Kolyada turned senior and they're the same age.

Japanese judges helping out the American and Russian skaters once again even though the favor isn’t returned.

Yamamoto placed Zhou first in transitions, performance, and composition. All components 9.00-9.25 (45.75 total). Gave highest GOE of the panel for the 4Lz+3T. Meanwhile, Holliday (USA judge) placed Tanaka ninth in PCS (though French judge put him in tenth) with 7.50-7.75 (37.50 total).

Amako put Tuk first in skating skills, composition, and interpretation, and placed her second overall in PCS with 9.25-9.5 (37.40 total), and gave Kihira the exact same PCS scores. Meanwhile, Fomina (Russian judge) placed Kihira second in TES and third in PCS, with components 8.5-8.75 (34.60 total), while she gave Tuk 8.75-9.5 (36.40). (She placed Sakamoto second in PCS with 34.80.)

Amako was the vice chairman of the JSF in 2006 and one of the officials involved in the financial scandal who received unreported payments from the federation every month.

r340 They’re not URs, they’re triples! (But really, there’s so much focus on Chen when the ISU is making Zhou their plan B, so it won’t matter if Chen flops or eventually loses favor in the future. The USA will have their man.)

There is one point when we should just assume Japanese judges are simply incompetent.

In Ice Dance Japanese judge put Sinitsina/Katsalapov in the lead

But why would they do this with no payoff? They must be getting something in return.

japaneses judges are fucked up, soon sinitsina/katsalopov will be getting PCS as high as V/M's

Ms Takino to S/K

9.50

9.75

9.50

10.00

9.75

Ridicolous. their PCS got up to over 38 already, it was 37+ in Saitama..PCs didnt at all, but lets face it Pc were not at their best today. I hope they do such thing only for WTT, their free is such a bore, stiff, old fashoned russian bore

And whats more Russians starts hating on P/C, now they say that pc were afraid of S/K today

I hate this fucking competition. Even my reliable faves, P/C were kind of boring. I hope they stay on their toes and last until 2022.

R357 not incompetent but corrupted

R364 They will for sure. Maybe even longer. They said that PC will stay at least 3 more seasons

You losers actually watched WTT even though the vanishing-ass man wasn't there? You do like to torture yourselves for no reason.

I didn't even know WTT was happening this week until NBC Gold Pass sent me an email about it. Have zero interest in watching it and zero interest in renewing that pass for next season.

R367 'vanishing ass man'. That's hilarious.

Speaking of ass, here's an angle some will enjoy.

R367 I assure you, I absolutely have no idea who or what you're talking about.

In other news, have you ever seen a split so perfect? Now that's what I call a perfect 100 of a 50/50.

Ah dammit. That wasn't what I meant to post. This was.

312 here. I have a job so excuse me for not following up with ass shots. In WTT, as I said, ya'll need to appreciate Keiji and Keegan's rears. Find the pics on google or something.

R373 Nope. Not doing the work for you. We've all got that special and important thing called a job, too. So no excuse. Get out of here.

R373 Nonsense!

I love the way Keegan can bounce off his ass up to a standing position almost immediately after a fall. I don't think I've ever seen anybody else do that!

Aesthetically though, neither he nor Keiji have the appeal that Yuzuru does - both blocky, like most blokes, instead of curvy. Maybe if they whittled their waists down with Med's shit shakes?

So I'm sure we've all seen bits and pieces of this since Worlds, but here is the Fuji TV special in its entirety. Grab popcorn, it's an hour long.

I tried... Here's Keegan, half naked - well, more than half. You can see his panties under his little skirt when he spins at the end. Nice hefty thighs! But still blocky, like Shoma. Well, I guess they're both about 5 ft 2.

R377 I can't believe he sat down for a long interview after that disappointing loss. He is a remarkably gracious man and competitor.

R379 I know, I would seriously just want to be by myself afterwards. He's a professional, that's for sure. Though I do like how he just got up in the middle of that interview after the SP on hearing Shoma's score and was like "what the fuck is happening here on this day?!??"

Speaking of Shoma, I'm absolutely digging the new costume. I just watched his performance at WTT and it looks fabulous. I almost wish to see Yuzuru wearing something similar.

That costume is beautiful but when I first saw it I thought it just accentuated Shoma in all the wrong places - Yuzu would be much more suited for that sort of drape. But as time goes by I find myself warming to Shoma in it. His costumes have been more boring lately but he's been playing around with more diverse silhouettes and they give him a more mature look in a way.

Thanks so much for the translated long interview R377. I really took special notice when he said something like - I realized I needed to not be humble, to act like a champion.

I've been wondering about him saying something in the press conference after the free, with Nathan sitting right there, that you can't be a true champion unless you win the Olympics. Something like that. I actually thought it was a bit rude and I wish he didn't say that. But... after hearing that maybe he thought he didn't do as well because he didn't have his champion mindset and was maybe feeling too humble - anyway it made more sense then and not so out-of-character like I thought it was when I first heard him.

He also said once that he had to be positive and assert that he could do something - or there might be doubt in his mind. Oh I can't remember the details but something similar. I guess related to all the imaging he does in his mind. He needs to 'see himself' as a winner and succeeding in order to actually do it. Anyway, I still didn't like it - nor did I like Nathan putting the two goats in that tweet about himself and Michelle. But after pchiddy, all this is really nothing when it comes to his excuse-making and hubris so I'll just shut up about it.

R383 We discussed the "true champion" statement in a previous thread and frankly, it wasn't rude or arrogant, in context. He was saying something along the lines of, each quad is like a race to the ultimate prize that ends with the Olympics and so as a figure skater, you don't consider yourself the ultimate champion until you've won the ultimate prize in your sport. He was simply saying, I've been there, it's a great place to be and I'm looking forward to seeing who's going to get there in Beijing. He's a competitive athlete - that is his mindset and he's just stating the obvious. JDC also mentioned that it doesn't really sound so shady and rude in the original Japanese. I'm reposting the comments so you can see the context.

I also wasn't offended by Nathan and his goats. He explained himself pretty quickly after people started complaining and I totally believe him. He is, however, lacking in taste if he thinks that old bore, Michelle Kwan is a goat.

I should add that it's not clear right now whether Hanyu will be in Beijing, so when he's saying, "I look forward to seeing who's going to win it," he's not necessarily talking about himself, but just saying that it is a cool and exciting race to the top, and that it will be a wonderful experience for whoever wins, as it has been for him.

I didn't watch WTT so far but I am worried that ISU is trying to prop up S/K as rivals for P/C which is ridiculous and cringeworthy. I hate this mandatory rivalry business. Anyone with a pair of eyes and half a brain can see how fake it is.

r386 Don't know if they're trying to push the rivalry narrative, but I did think S/K deserved to beat H/D. H/D's skating looked heavy and sluggish in comparison. Also, P/C weren't perfect on their twizzles either so that might explain why the scores are a little closer than expected.

Yuzu looks pretty cozy and happy here (from Pyeongchang I think), no over hand to be seen. He has impeccable taste in men, I must say. That guy is pretty cute.

Poor hanyu, he's getting beat by the better Asian.

Javi: "I don’t know for how long more he (Yuzuru) is going to compete, I have no idea. But I have got a feeling… maybe, he would continue to compete as long as he could move his body. Figure skating is life itself to him. He lives for skating. "

From an interview Javi did for a Japanese magazine that just came out. I sincerely hope Yuzu will not push himself until his body falls apart.

Pairs SP

1) Zabjako/Enbert 75.80. Let's hope to see anymore their weird templars program

2) James/Cipres 73.48. They looked tired

3) Della Monica/Guarise 69.77

4) Moore Towers/Marinaro 68.38

5) Cain/LeDuc 66.91

6) Miura/Ichihashi 44.93 Amen

USA 58 points Japan 55 Russia 50 France 38 Canada 35 Italy 34

I wonder why pairs are languishing in Japan?

R218 R222 such a underrated body of LK/BK

ISU is desperate for any team to come up and dethrone PC, who have been skating the same boring program for ages and have been ridiculously overscored for ages. They cannot retire soon enough.

R394, I imagine P/C plans to keep going through the next Olympics. I agree that they should diversify their material and try a new style. I guess they did for the OD during the Olympic year, and then Gabi's dress came unfastened.

That "new style" wasn't so much a new style for them as it was a requirement for short dance, so...

Free Dance

Papadakis/Cizeron 135.82 SB

Sinitsina/Katsalapov 130.63 SB

Hubbell/Donohue 127.11

Weaver/Poje 124.18 SB

Guignard/Fabbri 122.29 SB

Koleto and Beard 99.31 SB

USA 68 points

Japan 62

Russia 61

France 50

Canada 44

Italy 42

Ice Dance season ends up here

See you in September with....Broadway/Operetta as theme for Rhythm Dance...

10 by all judges to Papadakis/Cizeron in Interpretation and Performance. No mark lower than 9.75

At least 3 10s by all judges except for the Japanese judge

French judge gave 10s and +5 in everything.

Sin/Kats got 10s in Interepration by Japan, Russia, Germany, Poland, France and USA.

Russia and France marked them with 10 also in Performance. A 10 in Composition by Japan.

The problem with P/C is that although they're boring, they actually are miles better than any other team. I'm not much into ice dance but if I manage to keep my eyes open for 2 minutes while they skate, even I can see that.

r398 Broadway/Operetta? I know shit, but I thought Rhythm Dance had to have some fixed rhythm or pattern? How's Broadway/ Operetta a rhythm or pattern?

R398

They have to pick musics that fits Broadway/Operetta and one of the following Rhythms: Quickstep, Blues, March, Polka, Foxtrot, Swing, Charleston, Waltz

Then they have to do Finnstep in the first pattern on Quickstep, Charleston or Swing rhythm. Then immediately after end of Finnstep (step 33), they should start a step sequence on the same rhythm chosen for the Finnstep.

At least I suppose they can't do FInnstep on Phantom of the Opera...or maybe someone will attempt to do it

The French judge is too fat that she struggles to raise to wave to the audience

Taffy looks directly out of the 80s with that hairstyle

oh well, the technical specialist hair color is a mess

Russian judge looks, well, so low key

S/K scores are ridicolous. What the fuck is that? Judges are trying to make rivalrs for them , but there is noone around so whats the point?.. Russians now are master of skates. I would understand that if their program was good, but it is some mediocre copy of French mozart with bad acting. And they are so full of themselves

R395 jesus, it was short,every season dance team has other style in short

Ugh, the Russian inflation of their single women too. I agree P/C is good but why is their skating all the same? It's so boring. But the Russian couple wasn't any more interesting either.

Romeo/Juliet is not a good look on H/D. I'm glad the season is ending.

R407 if people were bored , they wouldnt do SOs all over the world. I think the sceond part of the program this season is something different then "their style"

R407, I'm praying H/D come back with better programs next year so someone can keep the Russians from getting massively inflated marks.

The ISU livestream is down.

It's back up again, just in time to watch French guy #2.

did it go down again?

It's up for me right now R412

Suck it, bitches

110 TES

198 FS for Zhou

Vincent ZZZZZZZZhou goes ahead of Shoma.

Most of the guys looked exhausted out there. It's making me question the wisdom of this event.

R417 You're first questioning the wisdom of this event now?

I came within one point of beating Nathan. I can't wait to pour out my heart in my diary about this!

Vincent should have won. Keegan did very well too. Everybody else looked burned out and ready for a break. Shoma doesn't look like he's improving at all. That fall on the quad toe attempt looked really scary.

R420, my understanding is that Shoma has been injured for ages. The poor guy needs a long break more than anyone. I agree with your overall assessment of the event. Nathan was lucky to finish first over Vincent, but given all of Vincent's uncalled URs throughout the season, it probably averages out to fairness.

Season Best for

Zhou: overall, SP and FS

Rizzo: overall and FS

Tanaka: overall, SP and FS

Nguyen: : overall, SP and FS

Lazukin: overall, SP

These who got SB here were already in top 24. So no effect on GP assignments.

R419 And you should have won, Vincent. You should have won over that Evan Lysachek wannabe in his "manly" Vera Wang costumes. Life is just so unfair sometimes.

So. Can we all predict what is about to happen next season? I feel Hanyu is wasting his time and risking more injury trying to get all the quads back. I feel if he did a 4 quad program and Nathan did a 3 quad program These corrupt judges would score Nathan higher. Poor Hanyu. Please retire. Isu doesn't deserve you!

So now everyone wants him to retire huh? the antis and the fans

Need soneone to refresh this thread and drop some interesting shit here.

r425 And Pc also have to retire, besause others are overscored. Stop making victims of others

I'm really depressed by the dominance of these boring American guys. I wouldn't mind Nathan if they weren't showering him with absurd joke PCS points, but Vincent is pretty much everything I dislike wrapped up in one skater. These are dark times.

I think Yuzu should retire and Shoma should retire along with him. Instead of continuing to destroy their bodies, perhaps they could develop some pro competitions for retired competitive skaters that would recapture the imagination of the public and make figure skating worth watching again. And they themselves could focus on their artistry instead of jump, jump, jump.

On a lighter note synchro worlds are going on and I have no idea on how they judge these but all they all this bad?

https://mobile.twitter.com/CBCOlympics/status/1116694968008048640

Oops

R430 You want artistry? It's called "ice dance". Go watch that, you peasants.

It's sounding more and more like next season will be Hunger Games for the ladies.

Danlil interview:

Q: I heard that Alina Zagitova will also have to learn 3A?

A: No, I haven't heard about it (laughs). There is nothing mandatory - it's a difficult jump, some can do it, some can't. If a person does not have enough ability, of course we will not require 3A. But yes, now we are trying to move in this direction. Anya and Sasha do it every day. Alena just came out recently after the injury and she isn't learning 3A.

Wait, I thought Kostornaia used to do 3A but was injured and had to stop?

My prediction for 2020: Vincent Zhou will shock everyone and win the world title after finishing 2nd to Nathan at nationals. The US press will gush about Vincent's artistry while secretly being bored to tears. Vincent will rhapsodize about the experience on Instagram.

R436 nah The Nathan Domination is just starting.

R437, after getting stunned by Vincent's win at 2020 worlds, Nathan will take an extended leave of absence from Yale and drop any hint of choreography from his programs for insane new technical combos that Vincent could only dream of fully rotating. He reclaims his world title in 2021. Vincent writes a tearful Instagram post about the secret beauty of the silver medal.

R434 Alina proved she didn't have to learn the 3A because her propped up PCS and GOEs got her heads and above the rest. ISU made sure there's a deep cliff between her and others. Now she has collected all the big medals and some of her fans want her to retire before the imminent pounding of next season.

Vincent is only bearable on DL. Thank goodness for DLers who are turning Zhou into the poet of the century. If only there was something at least interesting about Chen (did you know he goes to Yale?)

The kool-aid is really going around. Apparently Chen not only singlehandedly brought athleticism into figure skating. He's the most well-rounded skater currently. Barfs

R431 I am boycotting because France is sending Team Zoulous instead of Team Jeanne D'Arc

R437 What if Vincent pulls a Tonya on Nathan.

govincentzhou Wow wow wow!!! What an incredible night, and the best free skate of my life!!! Thank you so much Japan for your support, and thank you to Hamada-sensei for dedicating your expertise to me in the last few weeks. Your love for skating and teaching has helped me improve so much and has allowed me to enjoy my time on the ice much more. I am happy beyond words to have the chance to learn from you and bring you happiness (and vice versa)! I am so grateful for everything that allowed the end of my season to come together in such an amazing way. ありがとうございました！！

I didn't see it so it didn't happen.

[quote] some of her fans want her to retire before the imminent pounding of next season.

From the same Danlil interview, but seems a little odd that he says "honestly" and " in this moment". When people say "honestly" or "believe me", well, there's room for doubt, lol.

"Alina promised us 'new Alina' in the upcoming season. Whatever will happen in the future, for now I can honestly say in this moment there is no plan for her to miss the next season."

I think her fans are on to something though. She's set up better than most for a post-career success? Here she is, modeling or something. Beautiful girl.

Seriously, is there a reason why American men are always either boring as shit jump machines or the most flamboyant "artistes" who can't do a quad to save their life?

But Vincent is a literary "artiste" - what does he have to do to convince you!

What if Nathan pulls a Tonya on Yuzuru! or viceversa, that would be even more juicy!!!

I just thought that it is 'odd and creepy fixation with Hanyu's ass' time.

R445 American men have the biggest complexes about coming off "feminine" or being professional to mean not having fun. Many of them still can't wrap their heads around Hanyu carrying his Pooh bear.

R444 I'm no fan of Alina, but I want her to stick around just so her level of skating can actually catch up with her scores. Even if the numbers can't get any higher, her skating itself hasn't reached it's pinnacle and potential the scores pretend it is. Of course she might actually get surpassed in PCS when that happens a la Chan who suddenly received lower skating skills than some others, but it is what it is. You win and lose with this type of system, but the quality of the skating speaks for itself.

R447 He doesn't need to do that since Yuzu is already plagued by injuries.

[quote] What if Nathan pulls a Tonya on Yuzuru! or viceversa, that would be even more juicy!!!

I was thinking the Yakuza needs to do something because lord knows the Japanese fed is worthless at promoting their stars.

R428. ??????????????

Am not surprised that the Japanese judges are bootlickers.

R448 I love that tiny tiny waist.

Did anyone see Misha's cryptic Instastory about not taking good deeds for granted? Who or what do you suppose he's talking about? Knowing him, I think he's referring to "good deeds" he himself did for someone else. He put a Russian "smiley" (right half of a parenthesis ) ) at the end of it too. God, he's creepy.

Should Hanyu have to put most of his jumps in the second half to even have a chance now? I'm frustrated with what is happening. R447. Yeah R450 is right. The injuries will one day force him to retire too. 😢

R429. I agree. For me when I see Vincent and Nathan skate I see an empty program. Boring. Boring. Boring.

Hmmm. Has Med not been giving Misha his due? Oh please tell me he's moved on from his Yuzu obsession.

R455 Maybe he did something for Med. When Med won her Worlds bronze did he try to take credit because of his life changing choreographed work on her SP?

Imagine the horror if he choreo her geisha program for her.

R455 "Don't take good deeds that people do for you for granted, like it supposed to. Cause one day they might be gone, but it will be too late when you will realize it."

Oh dear, someone didn't get paid.

Japanese judge tied Uno and Zhou in PCS

The Italian judge put Tanaka ahead of Uno in PCS

R459 Sounds more like he lost someone close but who knows with Mr Ge.

Italian judge (who already got his 2 years ban 10 in 2010) was on fire:

8.25 in Interpretation to Grassl. 8.50 for Composition

Della Monica/Guarise first in PCS

R460 I'm kind of sad about it, but he's been upheld so long, this isn't that bad. It's like getting the Satoko treatment where her PCS went over to help her in TES candies instead.

yuzuru is also boring like nathan ,whats your problem? Thats because he does irina bauer as transistions doesnt make him fascinating skater. transistions are not a requeriment for what we can call a program boring or not..YEars ago , men didnt have any transistions and they were boring??? No. Now men programs are boring, with lot of quads, thats normal. 3/4 of the free skate they only jump jump jump. Hanyu the same. The best part and most catch eyes is step sequnce. The most important is flow, and nice lines hanyu has both, thats why his program are better to look at then nathan or zhou. But thats not make his program fascinating

I didnt explain myself well, Not yuzuru is also boring as well nathan, I mean their programs

R448 Is that recent? He was so skinny at Worlds, and yet that ass is still so round and delectable.

R460 I'm so curious about what's going on with Uno. Is he injured? Is it a psychological thing? What's happened with the judges JSF seemed to have on retainer? Any word from Philippe? I don't remember Meriguet orgasming all over Uno's protocols at Worlds, but I could be wrong.

R461 We're talking about Misha Ge here - if he actually lost someone and could get some sympathy, he would be filming himself skating a tribute at a mall rink, not posting a cryptic message on IG stories.

I just got a bit caught up on today's WTT - Shoma tried a 3A-4T ??

And this: "In the interview after his free skate, Shoma said he wants to practice 4Lz and jumps above that, but he doesn’t think he’s suited to 4A, so... he might want to try practicing 5T."

5T????? lmaaaaaaaooooooooooooooooooooo

yes, I was cold for my standards

The French Synchro team have a random guy in it

[quote] Shoma tried a 3A-4T ??

yes, he had a big nasty splat on the 4T

I see ISU webmaster is a fan of me. I get top pic. And Nathan's pic, well, should I comment?

R470 somebody had three but none of them were hot

Inspired by my recent wins in Japan and one lovely maiden in white who remains a glowing ember in my loins, I wrote a haiku for you, DL devotees:

nate's a used tampon

queefed from a whore's vagina

twirling with stiff knees

R445, have no fear. I am the American total package!

I assumed Yuzu kept his distance from Med, but maybe not? Though it's probably not up to him to schedule group lessons - what am I saying - this is Yuzu. He does whatever he wants, no?

R474 A masterpiece. I can't wait for your book.

He kept the distance in public so people don't get ideas, but now Med went and blowed the cover. Here comes the YuzuMed (is that the ship name?) army

R476 I'm curious what made you think they didn't have same training session ? I mean since off season, we already got to see med in backgroud in Yuzuru video and vice versa.

She also says she's training with Jason 3x / week, let's ship them too!

I didn't know Jackie Wong had the skates posted at his site. I watched Shoma and he sure smiled a lot in the second half of his FS, especially when he screwed up (on the 3A-4T and the second jump of his combo at the end - 3F I think. Then at the end, and he was cutting up in the K&C. Shoma was wilding! Is he coming out of his shell? (just as his skating has hit a skid?)

R479, I guess the way she put it, I was imagining her and those two in a threesome (training threesome of course!) She probably meant that huge stroking class that Tracy does with all the skaters. It just took me by surprise. So modest of her to say she and Yuzu are "poles apart" in their skating ability though lol.

So Med's enlarged uterus could have TWO culprits.

Stroking classes with Tracy have always included all the elite skaters. Even when there was tension between Javi and Yuzu and they had some ice time separately, they still had those sessions together. Contrary to what antis want you to believe, he is no diva. Good on Med to acknowledge the gap the size of the Pacific ocean there is between her ss and Yuzu's and Jason's though. More self aware than her dumb fans.

R466 yes Shoma is injured. There's no way you can sprain the same ankle three (known) times within a month and still jump quads on it and be healed by now. Knowing him he's probably injured worse than he lets on.

That 3A4T attempt was real gutsy, seeing how he knew going in that he wouldn't make it, so I have respect for him for that. If only he had the technique to go with the guts... I hope for his sake that he improves his jumps because a body can only take so much pounding, even if you're a bulldozer.

I wonder if it's pretty much set in stone by now that the US will take gold and silver in 2022 mens?

R484 The turnaround in figure skating is so quick, even with this season gone the way it predictably did, I wouldn't be counting medals yet, unless US has a huge grip on blinding the judges (which they currently are) but I wouldn't put it past China to try something. Afterall, they're just another Russia in national pride who made sure Adelina happened in Sochi and no one saw that coming because Yuna, Mao, and Yulia.

r485 Wouldn't China focus on Sui/Han though.

We focus on everyone! Chen Hongyi will be ladies champion, with help from Coach Ge.

China already got a warning last year

The judge in the Men skating was bound to get suspended. But ISU could have close their eyes (again) on the Pairs judge but they didn't.

TBH I would be mad if Sui/Han DIDN'T win pairs. They're heads and shoulders above everyone else and recently the judges have been trying their damnest to prop up the Russian/Canadian/US pairs in their stead.

talking about serious things

Skate VIctoria SP

1) Maurizio ZANDRON 70.97

2) Alexander ZLATKOV 63.55

3). Niki Leo OBREIKOV 62.07

4) Michael NEUMAN 61.82

5) Alexander LEBEDEV 60.19

6) Basar OKTAR 55.07

7) Alberto VANZ 52.42

8) Radoslav MARINOV 49.6

9) Samuel MCALLISTER 48.93

10) Kwun Hung LEUNG 40.65

r489 That's why they need all the help. The talent alone doesn't always win, as it's been proven again and again.

R489 I am not sure how they can prop up US pairs in Sui/Han's stead.

R483 Rumor has it that Hanyu and Fernandez were actually ordered to attend stroking classes together when tensions are high. They would start off slowly and gently with some light gliding drills, and as the tempo increased, their edges got deeper and deeper and they made sure to use their full blade, now facing backwards, now facing forwards, until the music crescendoed to a throbbing beat and the tension between them released. TCC's got a lot of experience dealing with this stuff, so you guys shouldn't worry too much about how things are going with Med.

r493 Nice fanfic, but the Med ending ruins it.

R489 they are well above everyone else, but Sui is always getting injured, unfortunately, so I think the other feds are getting their ducks in order just in case.

R490 Damnit, your Baser is ahead of my San. But there's still the FS, so don't gloat just yet.

China got Brian and TCC to go to China for classes so maybe they're planning something. Would be surprised if they didn't at least try for another medal for the team event.

R495 you are judge#1 and I claim my 2 cents

R493. I enjoyed reading that except the Med part.

R493 Rewrite!

Did Japanese tv seriously put Shoma as silver medallist at World this year. Wtf.

How tf are these threads going so fast when we only had WTT since? Already at 501. Have DLers just been so bitter about Worlds?

Felt like it took forever to get through either 22 or 23.

[quote] How tf are these threads going so fast

A testament to what over-moderated boards like GS and FSU become (graveyards)

Shoma Bunny

R500 That's fucking ridiculous.

Shoma said he liked to drink Cassis liqueur, at home. Maybe he's using it for pain relief now (after watching his giggling falls during the FS). Did he fall in the short?

I'm seriously concerned about him. Wasn't he particularly grim sounding after Worlds?

Hamada sat with Zhou at WTT and he thanked her without mentioning Tom Z at R442. Is he switching?

I brought happiness to Hamanda

There's a recent article about team usa's experiences in Japan, with lots of quotes from Tom Z talking about Zhou's journey this season, so I guess things are fine with them. Too bad, was hoping for more lady in white musings on fartsofthemind.

Got to hand it to the messy fanyus on Twitter when they want to make a point...they actually spend time editing videos like this. Hanyu, age 19 vs. Nathan, age 19. You be the judge.

r509 The best is when the elements match up. The difference in the quality of footwork makes the judging embarrassing - Nathan's been getting multiple 5's for that every competition

R499 Sorry, but cannot rewrite real life. Here is picture of me getting ready for stroking class. Don't be jelly, DL. Not good look.

Whoops, didn't post Part 2 of R509. Here it is.

These videos gave me opportunity to criticize Nathan's camel spin: his torso and leg drop horribly, yuck.

R509 Absolutely embarrassing for Nathan and disgusting on the side of the judges. Yuzu should say fuck it and go create a rival skating association and let ISU die. The whole thing is rotten so no point in trying to fix it.

R515 you all sound like yuna bots. asians are fucked up

As someone said, Nathan has zero incentive to try and improve his skating at this point. Vincent also. It's just going to be this shit from now until God knows when.

Something which has been annoying me about the whole Yale narrative, is the idea that Nathan somehow has it harder because he trained mostly alone. Newsflash tons of skaters do and many don't enjoy the privileged conditions that Nate does. Actually Yuzu himself for the first few years after moving to tcc still spent extensive time in Japan and trained there on his own for weeks/months at a time. He wasn't even doing Skype calls with Brian because his English was too poor at the time, so they only communicated via emails.

R517 But Nathans fans dont wish hanyu death, like ubers of Yuzuru

R515 I'm glad you called yourself out, daitroll.

R519 Asians are fucked up. They always have problem with something. Their fanatism is disgusting

That shit here is why I can't feel sorry for Shoma's current state. He has been artificially propped up by jsf and Japanese media for years now through a pile of lies like this and overscoring. If there is some Schadenfreude to the Chen/Zhou insanity, that's it.

Honoo no Taiikukai tonight. Can’t wait to see Itsuki on television again! But it’s on the same time they’re broadcasting the ladies FS... (WTT isn’t airing live in Japan.)

The US team brought too many props to WTT that the airline charged them an extra 300 dollars.

Zhou said he was able to land all of his jumps cleanly thanks to Hamada. He probably didn’t see her face when he tried to land that lutz combo in the SP. Actually, he said didn’t think he fully rotated it himself, but he’s already forgotten about that.

R392 No rink space or decent pairs coaches in Japan. Too expensive, especially if they have to move to overseas and employ a foreign coach. Tall boys don’t go into figure skating. Too many injures. There’s more interest in ice dance now among novices.

R455 Is the story still there? I don’t have IG and have to use toopics to watch instastories but don’t see it. The last time he referred to “good deeds” was during the FaOI debacle when he replaced his last photo with Hanyu and long message about their friendship with: “No matter how you do good to people They can turn it into bad.”

R500 They’ve made the same mistakes before, but it’s still not as funny as that time a TBS reporter went up to Lysacek and Kwan at the Olympic figure skating event at Sochi, thinking they were regular spectators, and asked where they were from.

r481 That was the tweeter’s own wording and misunderstanding. The interview was with Canon at Worlds. In the original quote, Medvedeva said there’s group practices three times a week, and when she sees Hanyu or Brown skating, she almost feels embarrassed how much better they are than her. She didn’t say she attends all group sessions or that Brown and Hanyu are always there, but she was referring to the group practices like Tracy’s stroking class.

She also spent half the interview talking about her new lifestyle. She’s embraced natural beauty and prefers not to wear makeup anymore. She’s completely given up meat and dairy for almost two months now, but in answering the next question, said she still has some dairy but is otherwise vegan. (In another interview with Japanese media during this same time, she said she’d just been vegetarian for a month and was planning to eat seafood in Kanazawa.)

R511 Wait, wasn’t that quote from a Chinese commentator describing Hanyu?

Canon also interviewed Tursy and Zagitova. I’ve only glanced through it, but it was the Sambo coaches who encouraged Tursy to add the quad to her FS. She was very complimentary to Orser and her Canadian training despite admitting Eteri is a better fit:

What Med's trying to say is that she doesn't eat any dairy except for certain Japanese milk ;) ;) ;)

[quote]Wait, wasn’t that quote from a Chinese commentator describing Hanyu?

Yuzuru and I are as one. What is said about him, is said about me and vice versus. Think on this, DL whores, when you call me filthy names.

TSL 4/12 – Interview with Lyubov Ilyushechkina & Charlie Bilodeau - L said their first try-out together was this past Sept. She came back to competitive skating from doing Cirque du Soleil because she loves being herself on the ice. With Cirque she was doing 2 or 3 shows a day, and 5 numbers in each half of a show, so she learned to not be too emotionally involved or stressed about details. Charlie took the summer off but said it was “like bicycle, you don’t really lost it.” With his last partnership, he was ok w/finishing 9th at Olys bec they were aiming for top 10. After that, he & Julianne disagreed about what direction to go, so he decided to quit. He’s sad their last comp at Worlds didn’t go well but dwells on the good times. Dave tells L that he’d heard she had looked for a partner before Cirque but cdn’t find one! She said Dylan is taking acting lessons and likes it. D asked how they came to work with Richard and Bruno. C said Montreal was where things were happening for pairs, and it’s nice to be around competition. 11 D: You’ve worked with David Wilson, you’re near Marie France, Julie Marcotte – have you decided who you want to work with for choreo? C: “We will work w/France for programs (like we have before).” They’re already doing shows together – D asks why: C: We didn’t know what to do, but were offered the shows, so it was like “ok, sure.” They plan their first comp to be Summer Provincial at Quebec. C: We each come w/our own baggage; we just put it together and it’s fun. Everything is surprising. L: I’m really pleased with how natural we matched – it makes skating together easy. They’re focused on 2022 and then will take it from there. (D asked if they planned to skate as long as Aljona)

R522 Ge has taken down the IG story, but it was just the text posted at R459. What a weirdo. The guy's almost 30 but acts like a teenage girl.

[quote]What if Nathan pulls a Tonya on Yuzuru!

Lol, gurl please...

Nathan is a cool cat. It’s pretty obvious the man is a part time skater because skating is not his only passion. He’s more likely to be the victim of an “accident” caused by a deranged fan from Japan.

R528 Or from China. Word on Twitter is that crazed Chinese fans on some forum are saying they want to kill Nathan.

R529 ugh

WTH R529? Weren't both of Nathan's parents from Beijing?

R528 Chen (nor Zhou) has no real antis in Japan. Even Mihara and Sakamoto have antis. The worst that's been said about Chen is that his skating is boring. It's probably easier to find antis in his own country. A Japanese uber would go for the JSF instead, but even the threatening comments to the JSF on twitter are not coming from the Japanese fans. They prefer to scold.

R529 More likely it’s quotes from a yuzu anti in China, they’ve been plotting to leech on the recent Chen IG incident to make some noises. Some are also planning to write to Beijing Olympic committee and various Chinese media claiming Chinese fanyus are trying to prevent Chen to come to Beijing in 2022. Probably they will now add Zhou onto the list. From what I’ve seen most are just snarking on the Goat thing, which in my opinion they got a bit too obsessed over it. Who cares if Chen really thinks he’s the goat, that’s how cocky American teenagers behave anyways. But I don’t think anyone is plotting murder on him.

R533 Yeah, from what I can tell it's a small handful of crazies who have found their most recent target in Nathan after Worlds. I just roll my eyes.

R534 it was stupid of those people who went on crazy mode attacking Nathan on his IG over a goat for Chris sake, but there are also some of Nathan’s chinese fans provoking those crazies on purpose so they can make a case of how horrible fanyus were. Not sure why they chose to risk harassing Nathan over this mission, both side should have taken this over at their Chinese sns platform. I just feel sorry for Nathan having to explain himself over this...and keep changing those damn goat counts lol...that was actually hilarious if he’s not being harassed over such a trivial matter.

Korean netizens are scarier imo and since Adelina and Mariah are still alive, I wouldn't worry about Chen.

Sorry, but Nathan and his skating are too boring to rouse the requisite emotion needed for actual violence or even scary internet harassment. It's rich that American fans are so concerned about the crazy Orientals when the most notorious act of violence on a competitor (in FS) was carried out by an American. Koreans might be harassing people on the net, but I don't see any instances of their actually coming at anyone with a 2x4 (or, for that matter, slashing them with a blade lol).

A few crazies complain about goats on Nate's IG and his fans act like the world is against him. He'll learn soon enough to turn that shit off and really, I can't imagine anyone caring enough to go after him personally. Most of the fanyu complaints I've seen revolve around ISU, USFSA, JSF, judges and even Raf, but most people aren't directing their ire at Nathan.

Joseph Phan had some interesting things to say about Hanyu. I guess he was still in bad shape just before Worlds.

The excerpt is from this interview. Haven't had a chance to read the whole thing but Phan has a few things to say about the environment at TCC.

R537 and that’s why I suspect whoever tweeted about fanyus wanting to kill Chen is a setup. As it is quite well aware a group of Chinese Hanyu antis are trying to take advantage of this IG incident and spin it into something bigger than it actually is. They’ve tried to spread some conspiracy theories on Chinese sns but not much splash so far; hence the plan to extend their target to Chinese media and Beijing Oly committee (LMAO). They should consult Ge on how to make the most drama out of this.

Phan, when asked to describe people at TCC: "Yuzuru Hanyu: Lovable. (Everyone loves him, even if he never talks to you.)" Lol

R541 yeah that's the world.

I hope it's just a wacko online making off the cuff remarks about hurting Nathan. There definitely need to be security around the top skaters. Remember when some topless weirdo jumped onto the ice as Michelle Kwan was warming up.

I like Phan's uncensored comments. Here's part of what he said about Yuzuru:

"I try to socialize with Yuzu and Evgenia and I never feel comfortable talking to them. It’s always like, “Hi, hi, how are you, I’m good.” That’s it. I never go further than that. If I go further than that, then it’s a little joke and then we laugh and we don’t know what to say after that and it gets kind of awkward. But with the younger session, we just talk about random stuff and it flows naturally."

He later says Tracy encouraged him to ask Yuzuru about training or something, so they finally had a real conversation. I don't get why he's back in high school when he graduated from a school in Montreal. Were his grades so bad or are the schools vastly different by provinces? Joseph has not been that interesting to me and I find his skating clunky, but it's nice to read an interview with more info than the skater saying the same old, I just want to improve on my season, everything is going well, etc. stuff.

Chen is definitely the GOAT of quads.

Chen is the GOAT of curls. You know, a curly goat.

I'll see myself out.

R543 This is what Phan said about having to repeat classes (basically, different requirements for different provinces): "I graduated in Montréal and I thought when I moved here, I’d be going to university right away, but I wasn’t informed at all. I was prepared to go into either medicine or business because I had all the criteria. I had to go back to high school because I had some courses that I didn’t take to be able to go to those courses in university, even though I could [go to] university in Québec. Ontario’s a little different, so I had to take [the classes] again."

Phan is really candid, especially about his coaching situation I thought. The person who conducted the interview has edited out parts of the interview (she said "for the protection of TCC"). I read it quickly before she did it, and from what I remember, she took out: 1) something he said about Eteri - he expressed feeling a little afraid at first that his coaches would just dump him when he was having a difficult time this season; he realized that they were nice, non-vindictive people, and I think this is where he throws out something along the lines of: "it's not like Brian's Eteri." 2) he basically confirmed that Brian's away half of the time for competitions and isn't working with people on a day-to-day basis; 3) he talked about how his mom hated his program music, basically saying, what the fuck am I paying for?

It sounds like he felt a little overwhelmed and confused when he got there because no one was really looking at his technique or making serious changes. I guess Ghislain is working with him more now. This is what he said: "[My coaches] just wanted to see how I trained and how I did my techniques, so they didn’t really change anything. Now that the season is over, Ghislain, my other technical coach, he is really fixing me in every little detail. Sometimes it’s frustrating because during this competitive season, he never really corrected me and now he corrects every little detail, and I’m like, “Why didn’t you correct me earlier?” But he said he wanted me “to be comfortable and confident before a competition because if I keep correcting you, you won’t feel as good.”

Pairs finished

With only Ladies FS to come

USA 99

Japan 86

Russia 81

Canada 69

France 66

Italy 61

R527 Thank you, that's just like his last FaOI post. Maybe it really was related to FaOI. FaOI announced more skaters yesterday (Plushenko, Candeloro, Volosozhar/Trankov) and I think that might be their last announcement for the male skaters who are retired since there's already eight of them, although Mura hasn't been added yet.

R538 r547 Good thing someone took a screenshot of the part about Hanyu. That's also been edited.

R548 O I thought the American pairs team was supposed to be stronger than the Italians? Anything interesting happen?

I'm petty af and want Zhou to stop attaching himself to the crowd favs in galas and gala practices. You'd think he took lessons from Ge.

Nevermind about the American and Italian pairs. I confused their ISU bios.

R538 This made me sad. I guess we knew Yuzu was in bad shape before World and that he doesn't open up to people but having it confirmed is a bit different. Joseph seems to be a good kid.

In the warm up Daleman crashed into Lecavelier

Chartrand managed to be behind 10+ points behind Rodeghiero...

R553, I orchestrated that. Bwahaha.

R553 Was it full speed? I hope they are ok.

R554, I don't get Chartrand's deal. She's reasonably talented and appears trained, but she's so wildly inconsistent. Even headcases like Gracie Gold didn't make several mistakes per program.

The unknown Italian just went into 1st.

the collision

and I will keep my lead

Thanks R549. No Johnny Weir? He was there last year.

I wonder if this is related to his strange Instastory where he announced he was quitting in '22 and what song would be his swansong - that 'could' be taken as a response to being overlooked for the first time for his major Hanyu-related ice show? (not sure that's true but could be his form of acting out). I still remember reports of him throwing a tantrum when NBC hired Adam Rippon - and he succeeded in changing that situation, so he's a pro-active guy, not one to just shrug and say "This is fine."

Daleman had no more energy left in the second half.

Not even PCS can put her in front of unknown Italian

Gabby was shook by that collision.

My reign continues. Look out in 2020, bitches!

You're over, unknown Italian!

Fat ice on the ice

*ass

Another day, another occasion to admire nature's beautiful creation.

Chen has a "why am I here?" attitude. Zhou is jumping around, what kind of drugs did they give him?

R561 Weir is in the cast. One of the first announced, I think. It's on the website.

R569 Chen has been sick.

and Bredie scores 150

Bradie's program still sucks, but I've gotta hand it to her, she had tons of energy and maintained it throughout the program. Just like the men's event, most of these skaters look exhausted. The exceptions so far are Bradie and Unknown Italian (who I don't think went to worlds?).

R572 yes, I went to World and I didn't make the FS

Jackie Wong thinks Kaori should have been given higher PCS. I agree.

Tuk makes her case that she should've been on the world team.

SPLAT

and SPLAT again. Kihira looked exhausted, and her boots looked ready to fall apart.

USA 117

Japan 104

Russia 102

Pretty embarrassing for Russia to finish in 3rd when we have no pairs or dance teams to speak of.

You can thank me for that, Japan.

Is Yuzuru somewhere saying, "Why the hell are they celebrating a silver?"

Money

1st placed team: US$ 200’000

2nd placed team: US$ 170’000

3rd placed team: US$ 160’000

4th placed team: US$ 150’000

5th placed team: US$ 140’000

6th placed team:US$ 130’000.

to be divided by 8 skaters each

If I were Hubbell, I would move...Chen has the expression of someone who is going to throw up soon

Let's see if Hashimoto is creepy to Uno again this WTT.

R583, I'd pay good money to see that.

Sui/Han will be at the Gala tomorrow

Nathan looking very ill, with his hand on his forehead (click on bottom photo to enlarge). Later it occurred to someone to put him on the end where he could be seen better. Shorty. They had to rearrange Shoma earlier too.

I think the cameraman was also hoping Chen would throw up with those close ups.

Masaru in Don Quijote dress, stealing the show:

The link probably won't work, but this Instagram person says in her Instastories that Keegan Messing is going to attempt a 4A at the WTT gala.

Wonder why he didn't just go for it during the comp? (but glad he didn't - I guess - I'm worried about it becoming Yuzu's ankle albatross... (not sure my metaphor worked there...)

I feel sorry for Tuktik. She should have been at World. There is nothing more hypocritcical than Med fans on sns complaining about Nathan's overscoring and special treatment when their queen's entire career has been built upon those same things. Same with Uno stans.

Yuzuru now wishes he'd done WTT - Shoma being lifted in the K&C:

New thread - Part 28 at link:

I always enjoy reading Cha and Phan's interviews. They always give new insight about TCC training environment which feels very 'real'. Like "everybody doesn't interact much, they just focus on training" instead of what Med, Brian and Brown like to say "everybody is amazing, friendly, we are family, we love and support each other"

R590, hopefully Tuk is getting the last laugh with her massive WTT financial haul.

R583 I read somewhere that Nathan threw up after practice or something. Sorry that wasn't caught on camera for your enjoyment.

That was for R585

Med seems sweet in this 'thank you' video for Japanese fans. She even introduces herself, "My name is Evgenia." Her English is pretty good too. Sounding a bit more natural.

jesus, she looks so old here . Terrible. whats wrong with her?

Dark circles under her eyes - I think she's just tired. All that jet lag. I really don't know how they handle it.

R596, it needs to be on Madisson Hubbell so we can get her full bitchface on camera.

And Nathan wins, sick as a dog.

Will he go back to Yale for his sophomore year? He said in an interview a while back that whether he goes back depends on the results this season.

R593 Med and Brown kind of had each other to lean on when they first got to TCC so their perspective of the training environment might be a bit different from Joseph's, who came alone and didn't know anyone. But I do agree, Cha and Phan give a more complete picture of what it's like to train there.

R597 As much as I make fun of Med, I have to say her English is not too shabby.