2011 Worlds Post Freeskate Men's Interviews

Daisuke talks about his skate problem and continues to have the best broken English ever.



Brian talks about his freeskate & hopes for next season.



Michal Brezina talks about landing two quads in his freeskate for the first time.



Javier Fernandez also talks about landing two quads in his freeskate for the first time.



Florent Amodio talks about his decision to skate a program with LYRICS.

Poll: Who do you want to win the men's title at Worlds?

And the winner is... Daisuke Takahashi, with 66% of the vote! Patrick Chan is the runner up, with 16% percent of the vote.

The next poll is now up! Vote and let me know who you hope will win the ladies title!

Europeans Results: Men and Ladies!

What an interesting few days it has been. Between Nationals and Euros', I've been going absolutely skating crazy! I apologize for not having them up yet, but my thoughts on the pairs, ladies, and men's U.S. Nationals freeskates will be up in the next few days. I did not do a free dance review, as it is by far the discipline that I am least well versed in and I had severe tunnel vision on regarding Alex and Maia Shibutani. For now though, I'll talk about the new Europeans singles champions!

Sarah Meier finished second in the freeskate to win the gold in her home country in what she's said will be her final competition. What a way to go out! She finished with a overall score of 170.60. Carolina Kostner won the free to move up to 2nd overall (168.54), while Kiira Korpi fell to 3rd (166.40) after finishing 4th in the free. Ksenia Makarova and Alena Leonova finished 4th (162.04) and 5th(154.31) overall.

Freeskate Results

Protocols 

Overall Results 

 Florent Amodio won the European men's title with a total of 226.86 after placing third in the freeskate. Brian Joubert (2nd with 223.01) and Tomas Verner (3rd with 222.60) each beat him in that segment, but not by enough to catch him after his lead from the short.
Freeskate Results
Protocols
Overall Results
More pics due to the ridiculous amounts of adorable that Flo exuded.

And here is his reaction to the news. If this isn't adorable, what is?


And his imperfect, but still pretty dang good freeskate.

Skating Updates

It is that time of year again - Christmas AND many countries national figure skating championships. While many have been going on, the most notable thus far (at least, to me) would be France's Nationals and the Czech Republic's (for the men, of course).

At the Czech Championship, Tomas Verner took the gold with 221.20 points after winning both programs, while Michal Brezina, whom is recovering from a fairly recent stomach surgery finished second with 202.76 points.

At the French Championship, Nathalie Pechalat (coincidentally, Verner's girlfriend), and Fabian Bourzat won the ice dancing title to no one's surprise, and by a margin of over 20 points. They finished with a total of 166.44.

In the men, Brian Joubert claimed the title with 231.85 points after Florent Amodio made several significant errors in the short program and found himself playing catch up. Florent did win the freeskate, but not by enough to overcome the 10 point difference between himself and Brian and he finished in second place with 222.55. Alban Preaubert and Chafik Besseghier finished in third (213.90) and fourth place (202.94), respectively. Even more surprising than Brian's victory may be the fact that he did not attempt a quad in the freeskate, although he reportedly did in the short.

While the U.S. Nationals are still a month away, the American men aren't being ignored - Jeremy Abbott recently talked with Universal Sports and talks about the Grand Prix season and Nationals, among other things. I would have to agree that Jeremy is the frontrunner for the men at U.S. Nationals, but I'm afraid that his mentioning that and feeling like he is the leading man in our country may jinx him, as there are certainly some others in the mix, such as Adam Rippon, Brandon Mroz, and Armin Mahbanoozadeh. (Though I don't, by any means, feel that Jeremy is getting arrogant.)

Speaking of Adam, Mr. Rippon has recently spoken to Lois Elfman for Ice Network about his holiday plans and has also written a new blog on his website with some insight about his experiences at Skate Canada and Skate America.

Don't forget, Japanese Nationals is coming up this week and along with it, plenty of excitement and many questions. How will Mao fare? Will Daisuke be back to normal? And how well the youngsters Kanako Murakami and Yuzuru Hanyu perform? I'm really looking forward to seeing the answers to those questions and more!

P.S. Anyone who happens to find/upload youtube videos of Japanese Nationals or comes across any interesting news about it or even the results (as it can be extremely difficult to find results online for other countries' nationals, though I think I know somewhere I can find them for this particular event), please feel free to share in a comment here or tweet me. Thanks!

EDITED 12/21: Practice groups and event schedules are up on U.S. Figure Skating's website and much to my surprise, Ryan Bradley has been listed in Practice Group B for the Senior men. I had no idea he was competing!

Trophee Eric Bompard: Men's Short

 Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and made the most of it! I had a nice Thanksgiving with my family, and mostly just relaxed with them and went out for dinner. But onto the skating... this wasn't really the most spectacular men's short but it wasn't bad either. Let's get started!

Zoltan Kelemen (Romania): Double axel was just okay, and then a fall on the back half of a triple lutz-triple toe (likely downgraded or at least marked underrotated). The camel change camel spin was okayish, not really great speed but the position wasn't bad. Nice triple flip for his last jumping pass, then some decent footwork. Flying sit spin was okay, but the combo spin... meh. Overall Zoltan didn't really leave much of an impression on me, but it is nice seeing a skater from Romania (I can't remember any others). 28.32 TE 25.70 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 53.02 Total (10th)

Chafik Besseghier (France): Pretty decent speed across the ice. Really nice quad toe-triple toe combination, as well as a pretty good triple axel, though it looked a little weird to me in the air, but was landed nicely. I liked the twizzle transition, it was pretty cool. Flying camel was okay, but slow at the end. Slow combo spin after that, with not so great positions. Footwork and sit change sit were both alright. Surprisingly good performance for someone that's never competed at this level internationally. It seems that alot of skating fans, including myself, have never even heard of him! That said, while pretty impressive technically (at least on jumps), his spins and performance quality are still lacking. It also wouldn't hurt to change that costume... very 80's skating! :P
40.59 TE 29.74 PCS = 70.33 Total (4th)

Peter Liebers (Germany): Started off with a triple lutz-triple toe combination; the lutz looked easy, but he had to fight for the toe. Alright triple axel and then a flying camel with a donut position that made it rather slow. An okay Sit change sit with a hopover to change feet, followed by a walley into a triple flip that was really nice, except the unfortunate clear outside edge. I like this music, though Peter isn't selling it that well here. Pretty nice footwork, seemed to have good difficulty, to me at least. good combo spin until near the end, where is slowed. Better than I've seen him skate most of the time, so good for him. Hopefully the freeskate will go just as well. 36.24 TE 30.29 PCS = 66.53 Total (6th)

Anton Kovalevski (Ukraine): Opened with a triple axel that he put his hand down on, and looked at least a little underrotated. Decent recovery with a triple lutz-triple toe, though the latter was wonky. Hard fall on an underrotated triple loop. Flying camel spin, really sloppy. Actually, most of what Anton has done in this program has been sloppy to some extent. Footwork that wasn't particularly well done, but it probably got a decent level on it. Slow combo spin, but the sit change sit after was better. I really question this choice of music not just for him, but in general. He did at least attempt to interpret it though. 28.69 TE 28.10 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 55.79 PCS (9th)

Nan Song (China): Triple lutz-triple toe with a big space in between the jumps, but he eeked it out. Poor flying camel, but decent skating skills. Very nice triple flip, and the sit change sit was definitely better than the prior spin. Footwork was okay, but 'm not getting any kind of interpretation from this program at all. Finished with a combo spin that was alright. Jumps were pretty much there, but there's no zest to this program. 33.83 TE 29.05 = 62.88 Total (8th)

Florent Amodio (France): Beautiful triple axel at the beginning of the program, as well as good speed/basic skills. His triple lutz-triple toe was also nice, and an easy (but wrong edged) triple flip. Flying camel spin was okay, and I really liked the first variation where his torso is twisted upwards. Selling the footwork sequence, which was on the good side. Nice, fast sit change sit in his combo spin, though the solo sit change sit was slower.  Really good performance today; my only issue was the wrong edge on the flip, and Florent could probably sell it even more, particularly in the first half of the program. He kissed a little flower girl on the cheek while still on the ice... how cute. =) 39.52 TE 36.10 PCs = 75.62 Total (2nd)

Kevin Reynolds (Canada): Quad salchow-triple toe; the salchow looked like it may have been underrotated to my eye. Nice triple axel, but then a crash on the quad toe. Flying spin that had a really nice quality in the air and was okay for the rest of it. Slow sit change sit that got even slower at the end. Okay footwork, but not a whole lot of performance to it or this program in general. Ending spin was kinda good. All in all... Kevin needs all his jumps to really contend. Apart from that, not a lot about his skating really stands out to me artistically or technically. He looked confused at his scores - I'm thinking that they downgraded both quads or something. 35.02 TE 32.11 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 66.13 Total (7th)

Brandon Mroz (United States): Held onto the quad toe-triple toe, though both looked like they might be a bit underrotated. His triple axel was alright, but then the heel of his free foot hit the ice and he stumbled a bit. That was pretty weird. Slow camel change camel, but then a big triple lutz. Slow flying spin, and okay footwork. Combo spin at the end wasn't great, but it got better in the last parts of it. Brandon doesn't really do much for me artistically (or technically really), but it does seem like he is trying to be more expressive, at least in his face, and I appreciate the effort. 40.53 TE 31.93 PCS = 72.46 Total (3rd)

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): Opening triple lutz-triple toe was a bit cautious, but fine. He held onto the triple axel, but the following flying sit was nice. Again, his skating skills are ridiculously good, and I love how he moves his body - it reminds me of how Lambiel moves, in a way. Nice triple flip for his last jump. Slow camel change camel, but the positions were okay. Really nice footwork, with fun crowd play thing at the end of the rink. An alright combo spin to end. Not Takahiko's best skate, but he got the job done, and most of the elements were good. I think his expression was a little better here than it has been previously; he did mention to the press that one of his goals this season was to improve on that aspect of his skating. 40.35 TE 37.29 PCS* = 77.64 Total (1st)

*So glad to see that Takahiko's components were scored higher here than they usually are!

Brian Joubert (France): Quad toe attempt, two-footed and badly underrotated. For some reason he tacked a single toe loop onto it. Fallout on the triple axel after that. Flying upright spin was alright, and I think it was different at Cup of China; maybe going for a higher level here? Good triple lutz and surprisingly good speed on the cannonball variation of his combo spin! Footwork was alright, much less frivolous movements than usual for him. Sit change sit at the end of the program got really slow at the end. Poor Brian. It seems like his quad has abandoned him the last couple of competitions, and I'm really surprised that he isn't even managed to rotate it. Artistically, he does the choreography in the program (obviously), but it doesn't really seem to mean anything; he isn't bringing any life to it. I might like it better if Brian put the zest he has occasionally had into this program.  30.84 TE 36.11 PCS = 66.95 Total (5th)

Trophee Eric Bompard - A Preview

Only a couple more days until Trophee Eric Bompard starts! I've dying for this since about halfway through the men's freeskate at Cup of Russia, and I am really looking forward to what will hopefully be a much more exciting men's event. Here's the rundown on who to look out for.

In Pairs Savchenko and Szolkowy are easily favorite for gold - unless they explode entirely, I doubt anyone will be able to touch them. For the rest of the field it will simply be a fight for silver and bronze.

As for Ice Dancing, the heavy favorite is definitely the French team of Pechalat and Bourzat; it is doubtful that anyone will truly challenge them here, but Chock and Zuerlein will definitely be looking to follow up their bronze at Skate Canada with another medal here. Several of the other teams only finished 5th at their earlier Grand Prix showings this season, so it could be interesting to see how they stack up in Paris. 

The Ladies, contrary to the pairs and ice dance events, have no clear favorite for the title here.  Alissa Czisny, Mirai Nagasu, Kiira Korpi, and Cynthia Phaneuf seem to be the most likely candidates for a win here, but none of them are exactly models of consistency. Also, although I wouldn't place any bets on her (or more likely, Fantasy Skating picks), it wouldn't do well to count out reigning World Champion Mao Asada, even with her jump troubles as of late. I really hope Mao really get her feet back under her here; seeing her struggle the way she has is disheartening, especially because she is a much better skater than that. 


And finally, the Men. The men's event in Paris features Brian Joubert, Takahiko Kozuka, Florent Amodio, Kevin Reynolds, and Brandon Mroz. Mroz will be looking to build upon his silver medal win at Cup of China, and possibly qualify for the Grand Prix Final. Joubert, while not one to be counted out, usually doesn't skate well in his home country ( He's even admitted to disliking competing there!), so we'll see what he puts out this time. Also, if he wishes to really challenge for the title here, he better have worked on getting his spins up to a higher level of difficulty - all but one spin were deemed level 1 in the long program at Cup of China, which really cost him. Amodio is another one looking to build on success from his prior Grand Prix this season - his third place finish at NHK is a fairly impressive result, given that he was against Takahashi and Abbott there, and he even beat Abbott in the freeskate! If he can put the jumps together again here, that combined with his performance quality should be enough to get him on the podium. Reynolds, while having multiple quads with a good deal of consistency, isn't exactly consistent in everything else. He tends to land great quads, only to have mistakes on triple axels or simpler elements later on, so I'm not very convinced that he'll manage a medal here.Lastly, Kozuka is a definite threat here, after a solid win at Cup of China. His jumps, spins, and basics are all there - he could just use some more expression in competition (some does seem to come out in exhibition). However, when Kozuka is on, his skating is absolutely mesmerizing.  


All in all, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this event plays out and who the final Grand Prix Final slots go to. Here's to hoping that the skating is better than at Cup of Russia!

Cup of China - Men's Long

Better late than never I suppose. ;)

Peitong Chen (China): Triple axel fallout, same for the following triple lutz. He really gave the lutz up though; it could have been held onto. Good triple loop. Footwork doesn't really stand out. Two-footed the triple salchow, and decent sit change sit. Managed to pull off a double axel-double toe combination, but fell on the triple flip shortly thereafter. Okay triple toe, spin, and another footwork sequence. Peitong really doesn't leave much impression. Fall on his second triple lutz and okay spin to end. Blah. 46.14 TE 51.70 PCS ; 95.84 FS = 150.69 Total

Jialiang Wu (China): A nice opening with a pretty good triple axel-triple toe, and a triple salchow that looked more like a double. Second triple axel was alright, and the first triple lutz was fine. Slowish spin, and alright footwork until he tripped. Ouch. Squeezed out a triple lutz-double toe, and did an okay triple loop. Another slow spin... Double axel-double toe-double toe was okayish. Fall on an underrotated triple flip. Slow footwork and then fell during a flying sit... what?!? Geez, and that was the ending! Poor Jialiang. I liked this program a million times better at his other Grand Prix this season! 65.88 TE 51.92 PCS -3.00 Deductions ; 114.80 FS = 172.56 Total


Peter Liebers (Germany): Sherlock Holmes soundtrack... could be interesting. Very nice opening quad toe. Triple axel-triple toe, alright. Walley into an okayish triple lutz.  Footwork is kind of interesting, and his flying spin was well done. Held onto a double axel somehow, but had a nice triple salchow-double toe combo after. Very crooked triple loop that he fell out of, unsurprisingly. He lost some speed on the next spin, but it really wasn't bad overall. Another fallout on his triple flip, which was marked underrotated. Double axel-double toe-double toe was nice. Footwork was fine, but his final spin died out. Pretty decent overall, and  I like the concept of a Sherlock Holmes program, but Peter could definitely try to sell it more. 59.16 TE 57.00 PCS ; 116.16 FS = 175.94 Total

 Samuel Contesti (Italy): Opening triple axel was alright, as well as his triple flip. Put both hands down on his triple lutz and then had a slow spin. I'm kinda liking the footwork. Much better spin this time (until the end of it, at least,), and an okay triple axel-double toe-double toe. Samuel is mostly getting the jumps, but his technique seems weird to me. Triple loop was fine, and after that he did a nice double axel. Second footwork sequence seems kind of simple to me, and rather lackluster. Triple salchow-triple toe was good, and an okayish triple toe-double axel sequence. Not a whole lot of zest to the performance, which is kind of odd because he's sometimes kinda fun to watch. 73.16 TE 65.08 PCS ; 138.24 FS = 198.84 Total

Jinlin Guan (China): Fell on his first element, the quad toe, but it did look rotated to me. Very nice triple flip, but then a weird hop out thing on his triple salchow. Decent spin. Triple lutz was pretty good, and then a nice spin with good variations. First footwork sequence is alright, if unremarkable. Triple flip-double toe-double loop, okay. Turnout on the triple loop, though after that he pulled of an alright triple lutz-triple toe combo. Light and easy double axel-double axel sequence, and some zest in that second set of footwork, which is great to see. Topped it off with a pretty good ending spin. Not too shabby... Jinlin needs a triple axel or two, but that wasn't bad at all. 70.89 TE 62.08 PCs ; FS 131.97 = 196.92 Total

Tatsuki Machida (Japan): Fall on opening quad toe. Good recovery with a nice triple axel-triple toe combination though, and then a nice enough triple lutz. Footwork was alright, and his flying sit really had nice speed. He seems to have good speed and flow across the ice too. Good triple flip and an okay triple loop. Second triple axel got tilted in the air and he fell. Flying sit change sit into a cannonball position, pretty good. Single lutz-double toe, argh. Triple salchow-double toe-double loop was nice for the first two jumps, but got rough with the loop. Second footwork sequence was much more enjoyable than the first, and he ended with a good combo spin. There's something inherently likeable about Tatsuki's skating to me. I'm curious to see how he'll develop. 69.73 TE 66.44 PCS -2.00 Deductions ; 134.17 FS = 200.95 Total

Ross Miner (USA): Starting with an alright circular footwork sequence, interesting way to start for sure. Triple axel was pretty good, easily the best I've seen him do. Following that up with a good triple lutz-triple toe combination, and then a triple flip-double toe, also well done. Fairly well done spin, and an alright triple loop. Walley into what I thought was a nice triple lutz, but the technical controller called it underrotated. Triple salchow-double toe-double toe. Second footwork sequence was alright, but it lacks flair and his position during the twizzles really drives me insane. High kick pick in for his triple flip, resulting in a fall and was marked underrotated. Nice spin, but afterward his double axel came out on two feet! Weird mistake for a guy who can land a triple axel. Ended with a sub-par spin and finished after the music had already ended. Definitely the better than his previous Grand Prix, but Ross did lose steam toward the end. Still, I'm glad to see him skate pretty well. 64.01 TE 67.02 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 130.03 FS = 197.13 Total

Sergei Voronov (Russia): An attempted quad became a 3 and 1/2 toe loop, and the landing of it injured his knee, leading him to withdraw. Poor guy. I may not be a fan, but who would wish this on any skater?

Brandon Mroz (USA): A nicely done quad toe to open.Triple axel-triple toe was okay, and same for the first triple lutz. Not really a fan of that first footwork sequence. Again, triple loop was done well enough, and his death drop was okay, but it got rather slow at the end. Second triple axel, better than his first. Triple lutz-double toe was alright, as was the triple salchow. Triple flip-double toe-double loop, same as most of his other jumps - fine. Another spin that was on the slow side, but I liked his second footwork sequence better than the first. His final spin was a little better than the others, I think. Very good skate for Brandon; it's really nice to see him smile ( He doesn't usually seem too happy in the K&C, from what I remember.) He does get the jumps done, but they aren't really aesthetically pleasing - at least not to me. They don't sing. I'm not a particular fan of the program either. Oh well. Good for him. 78.98 TE 67.98 PCS ; 146.96 FS = 216.80 Total

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic): Michael Jackson medley. Nice triple flip-triple toe to start, followed by a good triple axel-double toe. Doubled his intended triple loop. Cute footwork, but slow spin after that. Determined to hold onto his second triple axel, which was marked underrotated in the protocols. Scratchy triple lutz, but then a lovely triple salchow. Double axel with excellent timing to the music. Triple flip-double toe-double loop, good, but edge-called on the flip. Nice spin, and great music for the second footwork sequence. I loved the Thriller laugh and his mouthing it! Very fun program, and pretty well skated overall! Tomas even moonwalked on his way off the ice! 68.94 TE 75.56 PCS ; 144.50 FS = 214.81 Total

Brian Joubert (France): Quad toe to start, which was deemed underrotated. Easy triple salchow and an alright triple axel-double toe combo. Okay flying upright spin and variation, but it looked really simple. His first footwork sequence was done well enough, but it was only a level 2. His costume (which he definitely used in a prior season) is really distracting me from the actual performance. It doesn't suit this music well at all, at least I don't think so. Edge called triple flip-triple toe, the latter of which he fell out of. Great double axel and an okay triple lutz. Another simplistic spin and more decent footwork, but it bores me. Triple loop, fine, then a triple salchow-half loop (downgraded)-double salchow. Sit change sit combo spin ending with an upright position, performed well enough but again, rather simple. I'm not really loving this program. Maybe Brian just needs to interpret it more and change the costume, but it was all rather blah to me. Plus I don't understand why he watered down his technical content so much. I mean the flip usually gets an edge call on it, so I understand only doing one of those, but his triple lutz is usually huge and his triple axel is usually fine, so why only one of each of those? His spins were done well enough though, but they were so easy... three level 1's and one level 2. Peitong Chen, who ended up in last place, tried harder spins than that. That, quite frankly, is ridiculous for someone who has medaled at World's as many times as Joubert has. 62.99 TE 72.50 PCS ; 135.49 FS = 210.29 Total

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): Hand down on his opening quad toe and held onto his following triple axel.  Good triple lutz-double toe combination, followed by a slowish spin. Lovely footwork, very lyrical. Triple axel-double toe-double loop, good! Triple flip was well done, and the triple lutz-double toe combination afterward was fine too. Triple loop, well done, and held onto that triple salchow. I love his death drop, he does it so well, and his second footwork sequence was very nice. Ended very well, last position in his final spin being his usual scratch spin. A solid skate. Haha, he's so adorable in the kiss and cry! 81.41 TE 74.70 PCS ; 156.11 FS = 233.51 Total

Freeskate Results 
Overall Results 

Cup of China - Men's Short

Peitong Chen (China): Bad costume... wow. Big double axel to start, and a triple lutz-triple toe combination, the latter of which was underrotated. Spin could have more speed. Managed to hang onto his triple flip, and had semi interesting footwork. Overall, it was alright technically, but all of his spins were really slow, and Peitong didn't leave much of an impression. He is in desperate need of more muchness. 28.75 TE 26.10 PCS = 54.85 Total 

Jinlin Guan (China): Fall on an attempted quad toe. That's a shame. He already has more presence than Chen and he's barely started the program! Triple flip-double toe was good, and a spin with good speed, along with decent positions. Double axel was fine, and I like the footwork; there's some life in it. Shaky camel position, but his sit change sit is well done. Too bad he doesn't have a triple axel in here... definitely would have helped, along with transitions. I did enjoy him though. 36.16 TE 29.79 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 64.95 Total

Ross Miner (United States): He held onto his triple axel ,but had a huge lean foward on the takeoff. I'm surprised he stayed on his feet! Triple lutz-triple toe, fine. Nice spread eagle, and then nice triple flip. Nice spins, but I hate the A-Frame positions SO much. His footwork is alright, but his upper body and arms on the twizzles make me crazy- he looks stiff and unsure. Slow spin at the end. 36.29 TE 30.81 PCS = 67.10 Total

 Peter Liebers (Germany): Triple flip-triple toe good. Fall on the triple axel afterward, which wasn't surprising because of the bad takeoff. Nice spin, and good to see some transitions. I liked his footwork, but he traveled on that last spin. Better than I expected from him, even with the fall. 30.92 TE 29.86 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 59.78 Total


Jialiang Wu (China): Triple lutz- incredibly crooked double toe. Fallout on the following triple axel, maybe two footed? Triple loop was fine though, as well as the following spin. Second spin, eh. Footwork was nice, but slow. The twist position in his ending spin was good. Not a whole lot of presence or attack in this program. I definitely prefer his free program. 30.04 TE 27.72 PCS = 57.76
Tatsuki Machida (Japan): Great triple axel to start, and the triple flip-triple toe was good too (though they edge-called the former. Camel spin was okay, great speed on the second spin. He's really trying to sell this program. Triple lutz, two footed and underrotated. Good flying sit and really nice footwork, though the end started to fizzle out somewhat. 33.16 TE 33.62 PCS = 66.78 Total I thought he should probably have the lead at that point, though the lutz...

Brandon Mroz (United States):Quad toe-triple toe to open, former of which I suspected might be slightly underrotated. Tilted forward on the triple axel and subsequently. I hate his catch-foot spin position. Landed the triple lutz, but it wasn't great. His death drop was nice, but it lost speed at t he end. Okay spin at the end. I wasn't very enticed by this program. I do think the music is better for Brandon than his infamous Mambo sort program last season, but I still don't think it suits him very well. 38.51 TE 31.33 PCS = 69.84 Total

Sergei Voronov (Russia): Strange costume. Some kind of gangster thing possibly? Fallout on quad toe and tacked a single toe onto the end. Triple axel was fine, and very nice triple loop too. First toe spins were alright. Cracked on the drama for the footwork, which is reminiscent of Plushenko, albeit with a little bit less arm waving and no "sexy" hip wiggling. 34.77 TE 33.93 PCS = 68.70 Total

Samuel Contesti (Italy): Already in character before he reached center ice. Triple lutz-triple toe, two-footed and underrotated triple toe (though it seems they didn't call it... weird.). Fallout on the triple axel after slipping on the entrance.Seems to be channeling Ryan Bradley in this program, entertaintment-wise and unfortunately, the jump problems too. One and a half flip. Dang.  I like the footwork, and would love to see this program skated cleanly. Slow spins at the end unfortunately.  Also, his coach has an absolutely insane mustache. Wow. 27.14 TE 33.46 PCS = 60.60 Total

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): Good triple lutz-triple toe to start, as well as a nice triple axel! Lovely death drop, and a nice triple flip to boot. Camel spin did slow a lot, probably due to a change of edge. Really, really pretty footwork and an excellent split jump. Finished the program off well with a great ending spin. Very nice short program, though I have to agree with many in saying that Takahiko could be more expressive. But overall, I really enjoyed it. Plus, he really does have a sweet smile. 41.30 TE 36.10 PCs = 77.40 Total

Brian Joubert (France):Quad toe-triple toe, the former of which I thought was a little underrotated, but otherwise, good. Fallout on the following triple axel. Interesting variation on an upright spin, it reminded me of one that Sasha Cohen used to do. Good triple lutz, as well as on the sit change sit spin. Alright footwork, but still very much in Brian's style, which I'm not too keen on these days. Last spin was okayish, and the flamenco kind of works for him, but I wish he would embrace the character fully. Brian was absolutely buried in stuffed animals in the kiss and cry, and held onto them for awhile, much to my amusement. It was a cute moment. 37.79 TE 37.01 PCS = 74.80 Total

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic): Huge triple flip on his triple flip-triple toe combination, but he had to fight for the toe (the flip was edge-called too.. hm.). Yet another triple axel fallout, but a really great triple lutz soon after. Okay camel spin, and the footwork was fine, but I expected more from him. He isn't playing up the music (Singin' in the Rain) as much as I've seen him do in the past with other programs. Slow sit spin, but the second spin was better. 33.76 TE 36.55 PCS = 70.31 Total