For those who follow the results, what are your thoughts? Super disappointed for Johnny withdrawing. I don't see how this injury could be that much better by next week so I would think his spot in Paris should go to someone else. Kozuka is impressing me with his consistency. Without seeing Chan skate, I can't comment on his performance but the judges are certainly on his side. I like, though, that Kozuka is hanging in there. Gracie was great in the ladies! I wonder if usfsa might give her another event just to see if she can rank well enough to compete in the finals? Caydee and John also showed good consistency and although well below the silver and gold, continue to improve. I don't get how the Russian couple (can't remember their names - his hair is always in his eyes!) ranked first with 2 deductions. The ballerina couple who came in second certainly are up-and-comers but she needs to eat a sandwich! Last but not least- ice dance. So, 103 in the fd for Virtue and Moir. This is new ground for them! Is Carmen just so over-used that even they can't convince the judges? Or are the technical elements lacking? I also don't get such high performance marks if there are flaws in the elements. I realize they are two separate categories but it shouldn't be a given that any team is in the 9s.

V/M's TES were very low (almost ten points difference between that and PCS). So the judges are definitely positively responding to their Carmen, but the elements are not racking up the points they way they need to.

This seems to be a consistent problem from Canton so far this season. We'll see in two weeks if D/W improve on their TES from SA (their PCS were on the same level as V/M's). If they slide back or stay the same like V/M did... IGOR? IGOR SAVE US.

Oh, dear.  This doesn't look good for Johnny Weir for the season.  Oh, my.  How sad.

It will be interesting to watch the network broadcast of Nat'ls this year--finally, they have a story and a princess!   They can milk this to pieces on the commercials for the broadcast, and hopefully draw in a whole new generation of fans and their parents.  Gracie is just what the sport needed, and i hope, hope, HOPE that she doesn't get injured.  Go, Gracie Gold!  And Go, Carly Gold!  Sisters--that's TWO princesses!  Woo, hoo--I can see those January Learn To skate classes filling up now!  Ca=CHING!

While i am bummed that Gracie didn't win at COR just the fact that she came back after SC and didn't let that ruin her season shows that she has some guts. A clean program and she beats Korpi which says a lot for a newcomer like her.

My thoughts are if you need to comment on skaters outside the US and Canada the least you can do is memorize their names. The one with hair in his eyes is Maxim Trankov and his partner is Tatiana Volosozhar. The ballerina babe who is perfectly petite and svelte is Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov is her skating partner. Both couples are the top 2 highest ranked Russian pairs which makes them in my opinion, the top 2 in the world. Also highly ranked is the pair from Germany Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. Slight flaws in their elements means nothing compared to reputation and world class. Those are the thoughts of the judges...we can protest and voice our disappointments till the cows come home but at the end of the day the Russians will continue to dominate.

Thank you for the reminder of their names. I agree that the Russians are among the top pairs in the world. My point is why are the second marks so high when a performance is flawed in its content? Maxim and Tatiana's technical marks were full of negative GOEs. Along with two falls they still managed to obtain artistic marks in the 9s from several of the judges. If each performance should stand on its own merit then both set of marks should be based on what was seen not how highly regarded the pair may be. They still may have won but mark them as they perform that day.

I disagree that B/L are one of the top 2 teams in the world.  I would have S/S ranked #1a and V/T ranked #1b.  Then a big drop off to #3.  Maybe P/T since T/T are out right now, but other teams just don't have the same impact as S/S and V/T.  :)

As to whoever suggested USFS "give" Gracie another GP, #1: it's not USFS's to give and # 2: you can't skate more than 2 GP events per season.  USFS only gives bids for Skate America. Let's give her some time to clean up the couple of mistakes she made her for Nationals (which I am sure she will!!).  Proud of her for figuring out how to handle the pressure of a GP event and really proud of how she handled the pressure of skating last after SP.  :)  Yes, a couple mistakes, but still!!

Not sold on Carmen yet. 

 

Thank you for the clarification. I was under the impression that eligible skaters could choose up to 3 events but only 2 would count and most just do 2 because of the grueling travel. My mistake. Meanwhile, I agree that Goldie is in a better place and hopefully can build on this good showing for Nationals. I appreciate Virtue and Moir for their style and artistry. Carmen is just so overdone that I just don't see anything different in their program. Plus, as usual, it's really hard and right now their movements look labored and lack the sparkle that their usual innovative music choices provide. I can't imagine that they'd change mid-season but stranger things have happened.

Last year's rules allowed seeded skaters (1-6 at preceeding Worlds) the option of 3 events.  Few skaters took advantage and they lowered the number of slots per event for singles from 12-10 and eliminated this experiment.  With the rules for 3 slots, Gracie wouldn't have been able to opt for 3 anyway.

Thanks! So I didn't dream it! As you say, wouldn't work for Gracie (why do I want to call her Goldie??) Maybe just as well. She can take the momentum of her performance of the Cup of Russia and build from that with hopes for Nationals. Looks like Ashley is the only US lady with a chance for the GP Final.