Trophee Eric Bompard: A Preview

Ice Dance: Virtue/Moir will be competing here and are certainly the favorites to win. I'm glad to see that Pechalat/Bourzat are competing after his bout with the flu - they'll likely take silver. I'm curious to see how close to Virtue/Moir they can get and am looking forward to seeing their free dance again. The battle for bronze looks like it will be between Cappellini/Lanotte and Ilinykh/Katsalopov both of whom have already won bronze on the Grand Prix this season (although Ilinykh reportedly hurt her knee last week at NHK Trophy, so it remains to be seen how healthy and ready to compete she will be here.).

Pairs: I think Volosozhar/Trankov shouldn't really have any trouble winning here. Bazarova/Larionov also could place quite well here, but Bazarova often underrotates, two foots, or simply falls on their jumps, so I don't think a silver is a given for them. Duhamel/Radford and Evora/Ladwig look like they could be in it for the bronze. Also, Stolbova/Klimov medaled at Junior Worlds twice consecutively and  finished 5th at Skate America last season and could be ones to watch out for here.

Ladies: Carolina Kostner, Alissa Czisny, and Elizaveta Tuktamisheva have all won a Grand Prix already this season. I think Alissa and Carolina might have the edge due to their stronger PCS, but if they falter technically while Elizaveta is clean or near it, her jumps could put her ahead. Kanako Murakami struggled at her last Grand Prix, but her skating is looking more mature this season. If she can keep her jumps together, she might just be able to grab a medal here.

Men: Patrick Chan will almost certainly leave with the gold here; I'm curious to see how he is scored here in comparison to Daisuke Takahashi's from NHK. It's a bit of a toss up when it comes to who else will medal. Michal Brezina won Skate America, but his score wasn't very impressive, he did not attempt a quad (though he has stated that he definitely plans to try some here) and he isn't the most consistent of skaters. Nobunari Oda is a consistent jumper and has begun to land quads again, but is still coming back from his knee issue. Florent Amodio did not start his season off well at all and will want to get things back on track here; if he gains back the consistency he had last season in addition to at least rotating his quad, he could be a factor. Nan Song surprised just about everyone by snagging the bronze at Cup of China with an impressive technical performance in the freeskate. I'm kind of doubtful that he'll be able to duplicate that here, but if he goes clean, it could definitely be interesting. Lastly, Adam Rippon (my personal favorite at this event) is another one that has medal potential, but he'll likely need others to make mistakes in order for him to do so - he struggled with his triple axels at Skate Canada and while he's attempting a quad lutz, I'm not sure he'll be able to pull it off on competitive ice quite yet.

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Cup of China: A Preview

Pairs: This is possibly one of the deeper pairs fields on the Grand Prix so far, Zhang/Zhang, Kavaguti/Smirnov, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch, and Sui/Han likely being the major teams in contention for the podium. Zhang/Zhang led the field after the short program at Skate America and grabbed silver overall, despite not having competed in over a year. Moore-Towers/Moscovitch also medaled at Skate America and will obviously want to repeat that here, but I think it'll be more difficult this with the two Chinese teams and the Russians to contend with. Kavaguti/Smirnov have been World and Olympic medal contenders before and definitely have a good chance win over this field here if they skate well. Sui/Han are a very young team but they did well on the Grand Prix last season and won Junior Worlds for the second year in a row. They may lack finesse, but their big tricks can be absolutely massive, which often helps them shoot up the rankings. Americans Evora/Ladwig are an outside shot for a medal in my opinion, but a solid showing here would be a great way to build confidence going into Nationals.

Ice Dance: World bronze medalists Shibutani/Shibutani are the likely favorites for this event and look to win their first senior title of any kind here . Bobrova/Soloviev will probably be their main challengers for the gold. Beyond that, it's a bit more confusing with Carron/Jones and Coomes/Buckland having been World competitors and Lichtman/Copely who medaled at Junior Worlds last season. The newly formed team of Emily Samuelson/Todd Gilles will also be competing and I'm interested to see where they'll end up (Samuelson's former parter Evan Bates placed 4th at Skate Canada last week with his new partner Madison Chock).


Ladies: Carolina Kostner has to be considered the favorite at this competition. There's a few girls that could defeat her, but for most of them that will probably require mistakes on her part and excellent skates on theirs. Mirai Nagasu should be considered a threat, but her programs this season, especially her freeskate, are lackluster and she displayed very little fire at Skate Canada last week. If Mirai is on, I think she could take Carolina, but like Jeremy, it all depends on what's going on in her head. Kanako Murakami did extremely well on the Grand Prix last season (beating Kostner at Skate America even) and placed at the top 10 at Worlds; she reportedly is having boot problems but if she can fight through that, it's easy to imagine her medaling. Adelina Sotnikova is the 2011 World Junior Champion and will be making her senior GP debut at this event and will likely be a factor if her jumps stay together. Christina Gao will also be making her GP debut; I like her, but I'm not convinced she'll be in it for a medal. She does has a triple flip-triple toe that's been competition tested before though, so I don't think it's entirely out of the question.

Men: The battle for the podium here will be slightly less difficult than it was expected to be, due to Brian Joubert withdrawing because of a back injury he's been dealing with recently. It seems like there will be four main guys in contention, with a few possible spoilers should they falter. Jeremy Abbott is a fantastic all around skater, but how he places here will depend on his mental game; if he keeps it together he could come out with a massive score, but if he doesn't, he could end up off the podium entirely in this field. Artur Gachinski is lacking in some areas but can be a very consistent jumper and has a solid quad under his belt. Yuzuru Hanyu shocked many by placing second behind Daisuke Takahashi at Four Continents last season and while still developing (understandable because he's still only 16), has nice style and some absolutely gorgeous jumps. Nobunari Oda is not planning to attempt a quad here because of a knee injury he was dealing with a few months ago, which could make medaling here significantly more difficult with Gachinski, Abbott, and Hanyu competing; especially with all three planning to quad (to the best of my knowledge).  Kevin Reynolds, as usual, has the potential to play spoiler here as he'll probably be attempting at least two types of quads, but he lacks consistency and often falls apart in the freeskate. Richard Dornbush also has a quad planned and can be a steady competitor, but unless the others really struggle, I think don't think his odds of medaling are great.

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Grand Prix Assignmets

Let the madness begin.

Men
Ladies
Dance
Pairs

An interesting thing to note about the men's assignments is that Evan Lysacek is listed for both Skate America and the Paris Grand Prix. Hmm...

Grand Prix Final: Men's Freeskate

Florent Amodio (France): Good triple axel at the beginning, followed by his triple axel-double toe combo - he had to hold the axel, but he got it done. A attempted triple loop that looked off from the takeoff was crooked and doubled. Good footwork, albeit with some moments where he just stands and dances, but what actual content was there was good. A flying sit spin with a cannonball variation was okay. Triple salchow-triple toe, the latter of which was at least two-footed, but otherwise done. Triple lutz, fine, and a triple flip that was great, except the wrong edge yet again. I definitely hope he works on that edge in the future; he pretty consistently does a flip on the outside edge, and that results in deductions. Triple lutz-double toe was alright,  as was his last jumping pass, a double axel. Second footwork sequence was cute, and skated well enough. Combo spin was alright, but some of the positions could have been better, and the final sit change sit was okay. Not his best skate, but it really wasn't bad, and it was a pretty decent comeback from his short program.  Florent just has a way of making people smile when he skates; it is evident that he really enjoys performing, even if he wasn't at his best at this competition. He also further endeared himself to me by  pretending to eat a stuffed ice cream cone in the kiss and cry. =) 70.40 TE 69.86 PCS ; 140.26 FS = 201.90 Total (6th)

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic): Started the program with his first quad toe attempt of the season - unfortunately, it was popped into a triple. He got it back together with a good triple axel-double toe combination shortly thereafter though, and a good triple loop. His first footwork sequence was alright, but as noted before by myself and others, while Tomas does the footwork well, his skating skills aren't as polished as the other men competing at the GPF; maybe not even as polished as Florent's. Flying sit spin was okay I guess, followed by a good triple axel. Lovely triple lutz after that; he got a full point extra on GOE. Great triple salchow and a triple flip that was on the wrong edge, but otherwise good. Stepped out on his triple lutz-double toe combo, but he did get credit for it as a combination and not a sequence. Slowish sit change sit spin, another footwork sequence that was fine, if unremarkable, and an okay combo spin to finish up.  I don't think that Tomas had his usual energy and spark artistically that he sometimes has, but it was pretty good technically. Like Florent, he also messed around in the kiss and cry, haha. 74.35 TE 73.92 PCS ; 148.27 FS = 213.64 Total (5th)

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): The choreography at the beginning of the program always seems to highlight how beautifully he moves his body while skating. Opened up with a quad toe attempt that was two-footed and called underrotated; I do think I agree with that call.Triple axel was a little bit tight looking to me, but still good. Triple lutz-double toe was fine, followed by an alright combo spin that was clearly the best up to that point. First footwork sequence was gorgeous; I was really captivated this time around. Triple axel-double toe was managed, but he decided against using it as his three jump combination like he did in Paris. Triple flip was alright, if tentative. Triple lutz-triple toe was again tough at the ending. After that, a triple loop that was fine and a triple salchow that was kinda scratchy looking to me, but it actually garnered positive GOE... maybe I saw wrong? Nice death drop and very nice footwork, followed by an alright combo spin, which had a pretty nice and well center scratch spin at the end. Not as good as Paris, but still a good skate. His main problem was just having landings that didn't have a whole lot of flow coming out of them. One has to wonder if Takahiko was affected by his crash with Daisuke a couple of days prior; everywhere I've read has said that he has apologized multiple times and really feels bad about the incident, so I wouldn't rule it out. 82.25 TE 77.64 PCS ; 159.89 FS = 237.79 Total (3rd)

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): Surprisingly, he started with a quad flip attempt, which was two-footed, severely underrotated and consequently downgraded by the technical specialists (By the way, anyone wondering why Daisuke would attempt this while not feeling his best: when his quad toe isn't reliable, he feels like it is a safer bet to go for the quad flip, because even if he doesn't rotate it, it's worth more than a downgraded quad toe and he falls on it less.). Really good triple axel, which received two points extra on GOE! After that was a triple loop that was okay, maybe a bit rough. Flying sit spin combo was fine, and the first footwork sequence was good, but not as great as usual. Stepped out of a triple flip-triple toe combo, the latter of which was downgraded and a bad fall on his second triple axel attempt, looked underrotated. Flying layback spin was alright, and then a good triple lutz.Triple salchow, maybe underrotated a bit. Fall on the second triple lutz, also underrotated, but I had a bad feeling about that one from the preparation; he really didn't have much speed going into it. Second footwork sequence was definitely slower that usual, but okay as far as the normal standard goes, and the final combo spin was just okay.For some reason two spins were only level 1; he's probably going to want to work on that.

Poor Daisuke. He seemed really tired in the second half and I'm sure he's extremely dissatisfied with his performance. Even the artistic quality to his skating didn't shine through as well as usual. I still think it an admirable effort though; here he was considering withdrawing and then he goes for a quad flip, haha. But, ah well, there'll be other competitions and really, I think the biggest hit to his technical score was that he only could complete one combination; his two falls were on his second attempts on the triple lutz and triple axel, rendering them sequences and causing him to be unable to add any more combos and salvage more points. It seems he's learned from Nobunari's past mistakes; thank God someone has. Here's to hoping that he recovers well from whatever injury he received in the crash and will be ready for Nationals and Worlds.
58.20 TE 81.00 PCS -2.00 Deductions ; 137.20 FS = 219.77 Total (4th)

Patrick Chan (Canada): Opened with an okay quad toe and an alright triple axel-double toe combination. Nice triple lutz and good footwork too, as well as a pretty good death drop. Fallout on the second triple axel, as well as the second triple lutz-half loop-double toe. Good sit change sit spin and he held onto a triple flip-triple toe combo. Nice triple loop and a good double axel. Finished up with good footwork and a good combo spin. Loads better than his other freeskates this season and if he had to win, I'm glad it was pretty clean , but I don't really have much else to say besides ,"Oh, now you don't fall" :P. Oh, and huge scores... too huge, in my opinion. 86.94 TE 87.22 PCS ; 174.16 FS = 259.75 Total (1st)

Nobunari Oda (Japan): He started off by dashing my hopes with a fall on his quad toe (deemed underrotated, though I disagree with that one). He came back soon after with a very nice triple axel-triple toe and a gorgeous triple flip-triple toe. His first footwork sequence was alright, and the flying camel combo spin was nice too. Great triple lutz (though, alas, edge called), followed by a lovely triple axel. The followed triple loop was alright and then a triple salchow-double toe-double loop that lost speed, but was okay. Good double axel, but much to my chagrin, he fell on the landing edge (I think he said he hit a rough spot?) and then missed part of his footwork sequence after. He finished off with a pair of pretty good spins. Ugh. He's an extremely maddening skater. First the combo counting issues, and now this fluke fall on a double axel.79.58 TE 78.64 PCS -2.00 Deductions ; 156.22 FS = 242.81 Total (2nd)

Freeskate Results
Overall Results

Grand Prix Final - Men's Short

*Before I get started, I should note that as many of you may have heard. Takahiko Kozuka and Daisuke Takahashi collided in practice the day before the short program, during Daisuke's freeskate runthrough. Both have said that they are okay and Takahiko was apologetic about the incident. Daisuke seemed rather good natured about the ordeal, appearing to laugh moments after hitting the ice.

 Florent Amodio (France): Rushed the triple axel and popped it into a huge single :-/. That's unusual for him, he's been clean in the short all season. Triple lutz-triple toe was okay and the triple flip was on the outside edge, but okay other than that. Flying camel slowed down toward the end, but the step sequence was alright after that. Good spin on the combo spin and the final sit change sit was okay, not his best. His jumps weren't nearly as good as usual and his performance quality wasn't really there today. I guess Florent was feeling the pressure and it showed. He's clearly unsatisfied with his performance. 28.38 TE 33.26 PCS = 61.64 (6th)

Nobunari Oda (Japan): Really nice speed almost instantly. Nobunari shocked me by going for a quad, and surprised me again by landing it beautifully AND adding a very nice triple toe to the end. I had no idea that he had that planned, but I guess he thought he needed it to be competitive. Solid triple axel after that and a good flying camel with a rather graceful catchfoot position, especially for a man. A little bit much speed and looseness going into the triple lutz - it ended up being pretty good, but it was a little wild (he was understandably very excited). Good combo spin, aside from that hated A-Frame position. He's actually emoting today; this performance was full of energy and excitement, though it calmed down towards the end with an alright footwork sequence and good sit change sit. Nobunari was absolutely thrilled with how he did and who can blame him? That was awesome! I wish that he skated with that kind of life all the time... it really does make a difference. 48.06 TE 38.53 PCS = 86.59 Total (1st)

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic): I'd hate to have to follow a performance like Oda's, so I don't envy Tomas right now at all. Good triple lutz-triple toe to start off, and then he proceed to pop the axel into a single. Ugh. Good triple flip after that at least. Flying camel wasn't very good, but the footwork was alright, maybe a little stumble in there somewhere though. Combo spin was fine and the sit change sit was kinda good. 28.76 TE 36.61 PCS = 65.37 Total (5th)

Patrick Chan (Canada): Lots of speed, as usual. Held onto the quad, maybe a bit underrotated? (It was indeed marked for it.  Okay triple axel - I'm kind of surprised that he landed both that and the quad. Good combo spin and pretty good triple flip-triple toe. Flying sit and camel change camel were also good. Finished up with a nice footwork sequence. Cleanish short for Patrick this time.43.77 TE 41.82 PCS = 85.59 Total (2nd) Probably raked in postive Grade of Execution marks on the spins, etc.

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): Triple flip-triple toe to open, pretty good. Big triple axel, good! Flying layback was pretty good, though a bit of a delay between landing and hitting the position. He's really selling this program today, the crowd is going nuts. Good triple lutz to finish off the jumps. Sit change sit slowed, and he tripped on the footwork a bit, but kept it going pretty well after that. It looks like he is literally dancing out there. Final combo spin was okayish... he's done better. Pretty good overall, not exactly his best but the elements were there and Daisuke had great facial expression in between the elements - he makes it look fun.
 40.57 TE 42.06 PCS = 82.57 Total (3rd) Most likely lost some Grade of Execution on the steps this time, he usually gets high marks on that.Also, while I guess that I understand why Chan got higher technical marks, I think they could have had more of a gap between his components and Takahashi's. That might just be me though O-:-).

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): Triple lutz-triple toe - both were rough, maybe an underrotation on one or both. Held onto that triple axel; it doesn't look like it's his day. Good death drop and triple flip. Camel change camel was alright, slowed down on the final rotations on either foot though. Footwork was good, but near the end of it by the boards he slipped after he stopped and bumped into the boards. Final combo spin was alright. Definitely not how Takahiko had planned on skating this program. Either he was still rattled from the practice collision the day before, or he just let nerves get the best of him. Here's to hoping that he gets it together for the freeskate. 39.43 TE 38.47 PCS = 77.90 Total (4th)

P.S. Thank you to the kind folks of Daisuke Takahashi's fan forum for providing links to the protocols.
Short Program Results
Men Protocols 1
Men Protocols 2

Grand Prix Final - The Preview

After the marathon that is the regular Grand Prix season, it's always strange having this small lull in the action while the skating world waits for the Grand Prix Final to take place. This season is certainly no exception. So far, surprisingly, there have been no withdrawal announcements (although there are still a few days left for that). With the lineups the way they currently stand, the event has the potential to be rather interesting and in the case of the ladies (and the men to some degree), unpredictable. All that said, here are my thoughts.

 Ice Dance Qualifiers
1. Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA)
2. Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat (FRA)
3. Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (CAN)
4. Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev (RUS)
5. Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje (CAN)
6. Nora Hoffmann/Maxim Zavozin (HUN)
Substitutes
7. Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA)
7. Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein (USA)
8. Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Trachenko (RUS)

I think the battle for gold here will most likely be between Davis/White and Pechalat/Bourzat. I'd still give the edge to Davis/White, but the French have come much closer to their point total than anyone expected before this season started. In all honesty, it seems like everyone else will just be fighting for the bronze.And my personal hope? Simply that a team will withdraw so that the Shibutanis get a chance to compete at the GPF this year and so we get a last chance to see them compete before Nationals.

Pairs Qualifiers
1. Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (GER)
2. Qing Pang/Jian Tong (CHN)
3.  Vera Bazarova/Yuri Larionov (RUS)
4.  Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch (CAN)
5. Lubov Iliushechkina/Nodari Maisuradze (RUS)
6. Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN)
Substitutes 
7. Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran (JPN)
8. Caitlin Yankowskas/John Coughlin (USA)
9. Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers (CAN)

 As in the ice dancing event, in pairs the top two teams are the clear frontrunners. Savchenko/Szolkowy and Pang/Tong should be the teams to watch here, but if either team really falters, Barazova/Larionov are the most likely to crash their party. Sui/Han will also be looking to place well in their home country and might be a threat for bronze if all of their tricks are there. Also, a fun fact: Sui/Han also qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final this season, but chose to compete in the Senior event instead (which I feel is definitely a wise choice), and the first alternates Takahashi/Tran also qualified for the JGPF. 

Ladies Qualifiers
1. Miki Ando (JPN)
2. Alissa Czisny (USA)
3. Carolina Kostner (ITA)
4. Kanako Murakami (JPN)
5. Akiko Suzuki (JPN)
6. Rachael Flatt (USA)
Substitutes
7. Kiira Korpi (FIN)
8. Mirai Nagasu (USA)
9. Ashley Wagner (USA)

As I previously stated, the Ladies event is likely to be the most unpredictable in Beijing, which could be exciting or just disastrous. I'd normally say that Miki Ando has possibly the best chance at gold here, but she got injured at Cup of Russia and was skating in pain during the freeskate. How she places will probably be determined by how well she has recovered. If Miki is healed enough to rotate and land her jumps well, it might just be enough for the title. Carolina Kostner will likely still be skating with watered down jumping content but if she lands what content she has, the judges are pretty likely to reward her with a medal. Alissa Czisny is as inconsistent as can be, and while her spins and spirals are very pretty, I really doubt that the jumps will be there for her and consequently am not convinced that she'll manage more than a bronze, if that.

I also think that Akiko Suzuki has a clear shot at a medal if she just lands her jumps and is just a lovely skater to watch; I'm definitely hoping that she can put all the elements together at this event and claim the title. Kanako Murakami and Rachael Flatt are each a bit of a question mark here; Kanako is lively and vivacious, but not necessarily the most consistent jumper, and I still find her rough around the edges, while Rachael is somewhat the opposite; consistent, but never exciting, and the judges haven't been doing her many favors lately (compared to other ladies).

Mens Qualifiers
1. Takahiko Kozuka (JPN)
2. Daisuke Takahashi (JPN)
3. Patrick Chan (CAN)
4. Tomas Verner (CZE)
5. Nobunari Oda (JPN)
6. Florent Amodio (FRA)
Substitutes
7. Jeremy Abbott (USA)
8. Brandon Mroz (USA)
9. Adam Rippon (USA)

As has been the case all season, the men look to be the highlight of the competition. All of these guys have the potential to be on the podium, so this event is somewhat hard to predict, though there's one or two that I find more likely to be on the podium than the others. Patrick Chan may have a harder time getting away with big mistakes in a field this deep, but I have a feeling that he's likely to medal even with those mistakes unless his competitors skate lights out. Daisuke Takahashi hasn't been as clean as he would've liked thus far this season, but his freeskate has been getting stronger at each event, so hopefully it will come together for him here. If Daisuke is clean, that along with his high (deservedly so) component scores will likely give him the win, and even if he has a couple of minor mistakes, he'll probably still be in the mix for a medal. Takahiko Kozuka, the surprise top qualifier for the Grand Prix Final,, will find himself in good stead if he skates as consistently as he has at his two Grand Prix events; if Patrick and Daisuke really fall short, Takahiko potentially could beat both of them and win his first major ISU championship. Even if he doesn't win, he has an excellent shot at medaling.

Nobunari Oda is also a possible medal threat - when he's on, he's great, and he always garners a lot of positive Grades of Execution on his jumps. He'll need to keep track of his combinations in this field though; it might be a close contest and he can't afford to give away that many points. Tomas Verner and Florent Amodio are the wild cards of sorts here; if either skate flawlessly, they could find themselves on the podium, but it may take mistakes by others to make that happen. Also, neither of them have attempted a quad in competition so far this season and if the other guys land theirs, that might end up being the difference between 3rd and 6th. Tomas plans to put a quad in at some point this season, possibly at the Final, but Florent has no such plans (his coach Morozov is leaving it out in attempt to build consistency and thus far, it is working).

Overall, the Grand Prix Final looks like it could really be a good competition, with some of the top skaters facing each other for the first time this season. The action starts Friday morning at 4:15 AM, Eastern Standard time.

Grand Prix Final Entries
Grand Prix Final Live Streaming Times

Trophee Eric Bompard: Men's Freeskate

Today, two men qualified for the Grand Prix Final in an extremely impressive fashion, and I really don't think I could be much more excited! Takahiko Kozuka and Florent Amodio were the clear standouts on a day where most performances were uninspired. However, those two MORE than made up for it.

Zoltan Kelemen (Romania): Started with a fallout on a triple axel that also looked underrotated, though it wasn't marked that way. Triple lutz-triple toe, the latter of which again looked underrotated, in addition to being two footed. Good triple loop and a rather nice sit change sit - that really surprised me. Fall on a triple lutz, followed by a triple flip-single toe-double toe combo that had a weird fallout. Some footwork that was okay, but not great, and an underrotated triple flip-double toe. The triple salchow after that was fine, as well as a combo spin with decent speed. A good double axel for the final element. That was probably one of the most empty programs I've seen in a good while. I think I saw maybe one transition, and there didn't really seem to be much choreography. Didn't really care for the music either, but the crowd really seemed to like him. 58.10 TE 51.58 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 108.68 FS = 161.70 (9th)

Anton Kovalevski (Ukraine): Why are they showing a judge on the screen when Anton is beginning his program? Weird... Fallout on an underrotated triple axel at the start, but came but with an alright triple lutz-double tano toe. His flip and lutz techniques are odd though (I've probably mention it before), he seems to stick his free leg out to the side a bit before picking in. Okay triple flip, and a cool double axel with the tano arm; I've only seen that a couple of times. The triple loop was really crooked in the air, but landed somehow  (little underrotated though). His flying sit spin with a twist variation was okay, and the first footwork sequence was kinda good. Oh gosh, the music changed and there was a random gunshot in it and it made me jump so high! I can't believe I forgot that from Russia. Triple toe-double toe-double toe combo was eeked out somehow and the triple salchow after that was good. Another flying sit with a variation and an okay, but rather blase footwork sequence. Finished up his freeskate with a decent double axel-double toe combo and an okay combo spin. Anton's spins and artistry could definitely use some work, and he could also work on rotating some of those triples more. Fixing the lutz and flip technique wouldn't hurt either. Overall though, he was much better than he was at Cup of Russia. 60.41 TE 57.72 PCS ; 118.13 FS = 173.92 Total (8th)

Nan Song (China): Opened with a triple axel-triple toe that was alright (I was surprised he pulled it off, since the axel wasn't really great), and a triple lutz-double toe-double loop that was okay, but the lutz was a little too big (he didn't control it well). A sit change sit that could have had better speed and positioning, but a good double axel after that. Singled an attempted triple loop and had a slow sit spin with a variation. Held onto that second triple axel, but the triple flip after that was good, but wrong edged. First footwork sequence was okay technically, but there's zero connection to the music or the audience.  Singled a flip after that, but held onto a triple salchow and tacked a double toe onto it. Second footwork sequence... meh. Nice spread eagle into a combo spin, which ended up traveling and being really slow. Not much stood out about this performance, and as far as interpreting the music, it may as well have been a practice session. I'm beginning to think that skaters that lack artistry should take acting classes... couldn't hurt, right? 61.73 TE 56.92 PCS ;118.65 FS = 181.53 Total (6th)

Kevin Reynolds (Canada): Again, the dang camera is fixate on the crowd instead of the one actually skating! Finally, back on Kevin, then he goes for a quad salchow; looked a little underrotated to me (otherwise fine though), but it received full credit. After that he went for the second quad, a toe loop, which he fell on after underrotating it. Triple axel (maybe underrotated)-triple toe was alright - I definitely wasn't expecting him to land that. I like the position in his change foot upright spin that is similar to a layback. Triple loop was fine, but he singled the second triple axel attempt. Tough triple lutz afterwards, also deemed underrotated. Flying sit was alright, but I don't really like the over the top movements in the footwork, especially the way he was using his head. Nice triple salchow, though the triple flip-triple toe-double toe was kind tight. Second footwork sequence was much better than the first, to me at least, and he finished with a combo spin with a bit of traveling, but it had some nice positions. Kevin has nice lines in some of the movements in this program; I think they should emphasize that more. He could probably place really well if they worked more on his spins and components (I've heard that Kevin's been working on it, but I'm not seeing much still). Maybe he'll get the whole package together eventually. 70.42 TE 64.58 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 134.00 FS = 200.13 Total (4th)

Peter Liebers (Germany): Really great triple toe at the beginning, though it was probably a planned quad. Good speed into his first triple axel, but he fell out of it, and put a triple toe on it, but the latter didn't count. Walley into a tough triple lutz, but the footwork after that was okay. Flying sit was okay, but then a fall on a second triple axel attempt which was underrotated, though he didn't get dinged for that. Triple salchow-double toe after that was alright, followed by a tight triple loop. Combo spin was slow, with not so great positions, and then another fall on an underrotated triple flip. He wrapped things up with an okay double axel and second footwork sequence, but that last flying sit combo spin was so slow. That's a shame, I was hoping to see him skate at least fairly clean. This program could be so fun with some more interpretation. 54.37 TE 56.64 PCS -2.00 Deductions ; 111.01 FS = 177.54 Total (7th)


Chafik Besseghier (France): Huge reaction from the crowd was his name was announced. Quad toe attempt opened up into a scarily popped single, and the same thing happened for the first triple axel. I think he's letting crowd expectations get to him, but I can't really blame him - it's his first senior international and it's in his home country! Fallout on a triple lutz, but the footwork after that was done well, though it only received a level 1. Death drop was mostly good, and he held onto his second triple axel attempt and added a double toe to it. It seems like he's regained control of this performance, thankfully. Nice triple loop, followed up by a nice, albeit relatively simple triple toe-triple toe. Triple salchow was also nice, and the second footwork sequence was alright. Pulled off a double axel-double toe-double toe, though it was tight on the back half of the combo. Slow combo spin and a slightly better sit change sit at the end. Not too shabby of a skate, all things considered. Those pops in the beginning had me scared for his safety though. He might really be something with more experience. 55.34 TE 60.02 PCS ; 115.36 FS = 185.69 (5th)


Brandon Mroz (United States): Quad toe as his opening jump, which he leaned a bit forward on, but landed. Triple axel-triple toe was good, and then he landed a crooked triple lutz. Footwork that was nice, but appeared really slow on tv. Good triple loop, and a death drop that was fine. Brandon looks sleepy. Fallout on the second triple axel (it leaned a bit in the air). Triple lutz-double toe was alright, as well as a triple salchow. I really don't like most of the music in this program. Triple flip (edge called)-double toe-double loop, good. Camel spin with a donut variation, had a little trouble catching the foot, but okay other than that. Ended with another alright footwork sequence and decent combo spin. It was a good overall skate, but Brandon just doesn't do anything for me. 76.05 TE 65.80 PCS ; 141.85 FS = 214.31 Total (3rd)


Florent Amodio (France): Really great triple axel to start off, followed by a two footed triple axel-double toe, overall okay. Triple loop was a little rough, at least compared to how his jumps usually are now. The face he makes when he starts his footwork sequence is great - it's funny seeing a serious hip hop look on him, and the footwork was alright overall. Flying sit with okay speed and positions through, followed by an easy triple salchow-triple toe. Good triple lutz and triple flip, but the latter was edge called. Triple lutz-double toe-double toe was alright, and finished the jumps with a double axel. Haha, he was obviously happy after he landed that. Footwork good, (what I saw at least...cameraman went to Morozov. Gr!) and a sit change sit and combo spin that were both alright. That was really good! When Florent is on, his jumps really sing - they look so effortless. Not a whole lot going on transition-wise, especially in the latter half, but he performed it well and was technically solid. Unfortunately, the more I see this program, the more I see how much Morozov rehashed Takahashi's Hip Hop Swan Lake. This program is fun, but not a masterpiece, nor as good as Kozuka's. 77.26 TE 76.50 PCS ; 153.76 FS = 229.38 Total (2nd)


Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): He opened with a quad toe, which was two footed, but looked about rotated and it wasn't a bad two foot (clearly underrotated, scratchy,etc). First triple axel was a little held, but alright. Good triple lutz-double toe, followed by a combo spin that slowed, though it had good positions. Very pretty footwork that was really well done - his skating skills really are highlighted there. Triple axel-double toe-double loop was good, and a great triple flip. Triple lutz-triple toe, also good and really late in the program. Okay triple loop, and fine triple salchow, then a good death drop. Great footwork, again, rather beautiful to watch. Final combo spin slowed but picked up speed on his last scratch position. He's so excited about how he skated! He still could improve more on expression, but he has said he is working on it and I do believe it is getting better. I did see some facial expression starting to occur in this freeskate, and I think the artistry picked up more towards the end. Overall, beautiful performance (there were so many gorgeous movements!), and hopefully just what Takahiko needs to boost his confidence. 89.63 TE 80.80 PCS ; 170.43 FS = 248.07 (1st) Monster score! He couldn't believe it, and his reaction was absolutely priceless.


*Sidenote: Brian Joubert withdrew before the freeskate due to having a stomach flu. I wish him a speedy recovery!

Congratulations to Takahiko, Florent, and Brandon on their medals, and congratulations to the gold and silver medalists on their Grand Prix Final Qualification!

Freeskate Results
Overall Results

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 Russia - Men's Freeskate

Somehow despite Cup of Russia having what was definitely what I considered to be the most lackluster men's event of the Grand Prix season thus far, Tomas Verner has managed to absolutely make my day by defying the odds and defeating Patrick Chan. Kudos to Tomas! That said, here are my thoughts!

Tatsuki Machida (Japan): Started the program off with a two footed quad toe attempt, also underrotated. Triple axel-triple toe combo; the axel was good, but I thought the toe was two footed. Triple lutz was okay and so was the footwork, but nothing really special about it. Flyin sit spin was alright, as well as the following triple flip. Unfortunate slip on the entrance to the triple loop had Tatsuki falling before really getting off the ice. Singled the following axel, which I can't really blame him for since it wasn't long after that fall, which I think may have knocked the wind out of him (or at least really shook him up.). Slow on a flying sit change sit spin, and it was sloppy in general. Triple lutz-double toe was well done and so was the triple salchow-double toe afterward. Second set of footwork was better than the first, but he could use some work on his camel positions in his spins, though the last combo spin was okay overall. That whole performance just seemed really tired, even down to his posture. No life in this program today, which is disappointing because it really seemed like Tatsuki had some connection to it at Cup of China. 60.80 TE 60.84 PCs -1.00 Deduction ; 120.64 FS = 177.01 Total

Anton Kovalevski (Ukraine): Leaned on the first triple axel in the air and fell. Fallout on the triple lutz, but put a double toe with a tano arm variation on the end for some reason (was counted as a sequence, with no credit for the toe loop). Second triple lutz was okay, as well as the triple loop, though the latter leaned in the air. Sit change sit spin with variations was okay. First footwork sequence was alright but half of it really didn't suit the music. There's really no oomph in his skating, at least not today. Triple toe-double toe-double toe, okay. Triple salchow was fine, but a not particularly impressive flying sit after that. Second footwork sequence looks labored to me. Geez, the music in his program is so random! And besides the randomness of it, the stronger parts of the music overpower his presence on the ice. Double axel-double toe was okay, then a sloppy combo spin. Meh. Anton has a strange lutz technique... he goes in without the outside edge and then switches onto it shortly before he picks in. I think some have said Rachael Flatt has the same technique? Either way, not really a fan of it. 56.19 TE 60.30 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 115.49 FS = 175.54 Total

Ivan Tretiakov (Russia): An okay triple axel to start, followed by an okay triple axel-double toe. Triple flip-triple toe combo, but had difficulties on both jumps. Flying camel that was slow as sin... man. What the heck is this music? Nice triple lutz, then triple loop that he held onto. Alright footwork and a triple flip-double tano toe-double toe that was okay too. Singled the salchow, but a good double axel afterward. Second set of footwork was slow, as well as the last two spins. None of the positions were particularly nice either. Ivan's skating is relatively smooth, but it is slow. Overall, that was really, really dull.  There wasn't really a lot to be interested in but the jumps and most of those weren't even very impressive. 66.52 TE 57.72 PCS ; 124.24 ; FS = 189.85 Total

Samuel Contesti (Italy): Good triple axel at the beginning. Skating skills already better than the two prior Europeans.  A good triple flip and an alright triple lutz as well, followed by a slow camel spin with a change of foot. I kind of liked the first step sequence, it was smooth.  Okay combo spin and a good triple axel-double toe-double toe. Two footed the triple loop after that, but recovered with a nice double axel. This second footwork sequence is really slow for this section of the music. An alright triple salchow-triple toe combo and triple toe-double axel sequence, and a slow spin to end. Not bad, but I did think the score ended up a little high on technical.75.11 TE 66.50 PCS ; 141.61 FS = 207.30 Total

Javier Fernandez (Spain): Javier started the program with a quad toe, which he actually did land, but after he landed it he fell... it was really strange.  Pretty good triple axel after that though, but popped a triple lutz into a single in an odd looking manner. Okayish spin and then that drunken pirate footwork, which I thought was alright. Single axel-double toe and a single flip, followed by yet another popped jump, a double loop. His jumps are just gone today. Heard that he may have been injured though, so I'll keep an ear out for that. Recovered with a nice triple salchow-double toe-double toe combo, as well as a good triple toe-double axel sequence. Another set of alright footwork, but his performance quality is lacking today. Finished with a decent sit change sit and a rough combo spin. That was pretty much a mess. Poor Javier. It appears he maintained his sense of humor in the kiss and cry though. 52.68 TE 65.92 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 117.60 FS = 184.06 Total

Konstantin Menshov (Russia): Another Michael Jackson program? Hm. Opened with a triple toe, which was most likely a planned quad. Triple lutz was alright, but it has the same weird technique as Kovalevski. Double toe loop. Music switched from Smooth Criminal to birds chirping. That's not confusing at all... anyway, held onto a triple axel, and did a spin that was actually kind of good. Weird triple salchow, but it was landed. The flying sit spin was okay, but got rather slow at the end. Footwork wasn't terrible but it did seem a bit labored. Just barely held onto to triple loop and fell on a triple toe. Double axel-double toe-double toe was okay, but a sloppy combo spin followed it and there was another footwork sequence that wasn't very good. 51.39 TE 63.42 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 113.81 FS = 181.15 Total

Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan): Triple toe at the start, which was a planned quad toe. Good triple axel, maybe a tiny bit underrotated. I love how Yuzuru's jumps tend to float seemingly effortlessly through the air. It reminds me a lot of how Johnny Weir's jumps were under Priscilla Hill. Alright triple flip, though a little tight , but edge called again - that's something he should probably work on. Sit change sit traveled some but it had good speed and positions.Triple lutz-double toe was okay, not quite the usually ease that he has with the jumps. Footwork was alright, but not really stand out. Good triple axel-triple toe and triple lutz-double toe, but the latter didn't count (due to repeating the triple toe and triple axel already.). Good triple loop, but a little slow on the following combo spin. Random slip and fall at the beginning of his second footwork sequence, but the rest of it was fine. Good triple salchow and a sloppy combo spin to finish up. Not a bad skate at all, but he's capable of better. A lot of his jumps didn't quite have the usual ease to them - nerves maybe? 67.20 TE 66.22 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 132.42 FS = 202.66 Total

Sidenote: I did the math and had Yuzuru managed the quad toe and thus had the second triple lutz-double toe count, it would have added 14.34 to his base value, which would put him at 217.00 total, just barely behind Jeremy Abbott (assuming the rest of the jumps were performed and graded the same as they were). And if Yuzuru had done the quad as well as he did at NHK (where it garnered an 1.29 in GOE) and/or gotten good GOE on the lutz combo, he very likely would have overtaken Jeremy for the bronze. Dang.

Alban Preaubert (France): Began with a fall an an underrotated quad attempt, but followed with a nice triple axel-double toe. Triple loop was fine too, along with an okay flying spin and footwork (those were only level 2's though). Another good triple axel and an alright triple flip-double toe. Doubled an intended triple lutz, and then did a rough triple salchow-triple toe-double toe. Footwork wasn't particularly good again and then a spin with decent speed, but traveled. One last decent triple flip and a much better combo spin at the end. Blah. I still like him better with humorous programs.68.32 TE 66.86 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 134.18 FS = 204.68 Total

Artur Gachinski (Russia): Quad toe attempt popped into a double. Triple axel-double toe-single loop; the first two jumps of the combo were nice. Scratch on the landing on the second triple axel and an okay flying camel, but his donut position is either weird or simply poor. Good triple loop and triple flip. Some of the first footwork sequence was alright, but then it sputtered into simple, silly things. How did that get a level 3? Okay spin and then a doubled lutz. Triple toe was fine, as well as a double axel-double axel sequence. Second footwork sequence was exactly the kind of thing Plushenko does, unsurprising as he and Artur share the same coach (That got almost a point and half on GOE! O.O). Combo spin was so slow at the end. That program, in my mind, was a hot mess. All that was was a rehash of Plushenko on a 17 year old boy. The dramatic arms on landings and the sliding of the hands across the face are NOT artistry to me. I wish Artur's coach would put effort into giving him his own skating style instead of trying to clone Plushenko. 61.43 TE 69.16 PCS ;130.53 FS = 202.94 Total

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic): Triple lutz-triple toe for a nice start. Held onto that first triple axel, followed up with a good triple loop. Footwork was alright, as well as the flying sit. Some of the music cuts are abrupt, but I think this Michael Jackson medley suits Tomas pretty well. It's amusing and just seems to work well on him for some reason or another. Good triple axel-double toe and an alright triple lutz. Very nice triple salchow, but then a fallout on a double axel. Triple flip-double toe-double loop, good enough but got edge called. Decent spin and okay footwork that was fun. The part with the Thiller laugh cracks me up so much. An alright combo spin to end. Pretty good skate! Better than I expected, that's for sure. 78.09 TE 78.12 PCS ; 156.21 FS = 230.11 Total

Jeremy Abbott (United States): Fall on the opening quad toe and it was underrotated :-/. There went all hope of him winning this, unfortunately. Fallout on the triple flip after that too, but got it back together for a good triple axel-triple toe combination. Okay flying upright spin, then nice footwork sequence, followed by a nice double axel. Fallout on the second triple axel. Triple loop-single toe-tight double toe, the latter deemed underrotated. Sit change sit was alright, but the last variation was slow. Fall on the second triple lutz (underrotated). Ugh. The wrong Jeremy definitely showed up today. Triple salchow was good though, as well as the second footwork sequence. I really love that transition where he slides on his knee and turns and looks straight at the judges; it's exquisite. Nice combo spin to end. Poor Jeremy. He looks unhappy. He's way better than this, but I guess it's better than peaking too early again this season. I definitely hope to see a clean performance of this program at some point; it could be gorgeous.  64.26 TE 77.34 PCS -2.00 Deductions ; 139.60 = 217.21

Patrick Chan (Canada): Fall on the quad and it was also underrotated. Triple axel-triple toe was pretty good, tough might've been a little tough. Good triple lutz and footwork with great flow, but again, that highkick needs a break. Nice flying spin, but fell on the following triple axel and triple lutz. What a splatfest he and Jeremy are having today... not good. Okay spin and an alright triple flip.  Triple loop-double toe, good. Double axel-triple toe, with the latter being wonky, but it didn't count anyway because of the second triple lutz not having a combo on it. Alright footwork with the highkick again. Good ending combo spin. 66.95 TE 81.30 PCS -3.00 Deductions ; 145.25 FS = 227.21

So glad to see Tomas edge out Patrick for the title, even if it did take Patrick doing too many combos. I still don't understand why Patrick gets such good scores with so many errors, but I'm just relieved to see him not get gold for it this time - I was convinced he had it, with the scores he gets. Good for Tomas; hopefully this will give him confidence and help him keep getting more consistency under his belt. As for the event as a whole though... Let's just say that I'm already eagerly looking forward to Trophee Eric Bompard next week.

P.S. Something I noticed... in this very underwhelming men's event, there was one common denominator missing that all of the other Grand Prix's this season happened to have; that being that at least one of the top three Japanese men (Takahashi, Oda, and Kozuka) were competing in each of those events . Interesting, no? ;)

Freeskate Results
Overall Results

Cup of Russia - Men's Short

Well, that was fairly underwhelming for the most part. There were a few bright spots though, so let's get started!

Ivan Tretiakov (Russia): Slightly odd entry into his triple axel, but it ended up okay. Triple flip-triple toe ; flip was a bit rough, but not bad overall. Triple lutz was on the good side. Slow spins overall, though the positions were okay. Footwork was fine too, looked like a decent level. Overall, just a rather boring skate, no personality and little speed. 36.43 TE 29.18 PCS = 65.61 Total

Konstantin Menshov (Russia): So much more speed than Ivan, even in the first few seconds of the program. Triple axel looked crooked in the air, but it was landed really well. Triple lutz/flip (I missed which... I don't do mornings!)-double toe, good. Doubled the loop. Slow flying camel with a poor variation. Footwork was alright, but had these weird noises in it, like sirens. Combo spin was on the slow side, but the sit change sit was better, at least until the final variation. Some attempt at entertainment in this program, but I didn't really dig it. I felt like it mostly fell flat. 36.27 TE 31.07 PCS = 67.34 Total

Anton Kovalevski (Ukraine): Awkward costume... it looks really, really, really junior. Fall on the triple axel, then a triple lutz-triple toe with the second foot down on the toe. Maybe underrotated? Triple loop wasn't bad , though his flying camel was slow and that knee catch variation looked terrible. So much arm waving in the footwork... blah. Sloppy change foot spin and the spins in generally weren't very good. 31.01 TE 30.04 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 60.05

Tatsuki Machida (Japan): Fall on the opening triple axel. Huge triple flip- 2 and 1/2 toe... maybe that flip was too huge. Dang it. Slow combo spin and the second spin was sloppy too. Hand down on the triple lutz. Okay footwork, but this whole program felt really rushed. Tatsuki had a lot of speed going into the jumps, but maybe it was too much, or just didn't have enough control. What a shame. I rather liked his freeskate at Cup of China. 26.76 TE 30.61 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 56.37 Total

Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan): Pretty good triple axel, maybe a little bit underrotated? Lovely triple lutz-triple toe. Rather good combination spin with mostly nice positions, except that A-Frame (one of these days I may write a post on that stupid thing!). Good triple flip, though may have been edge called. Alright footwork, and a camel with a donut variation, which was nice enough until it lost some speed. Really nice speed and good positioning on the sit change sit. His basic skating is so pretty too... very smooth. I don't believe I would mind just watching him skate around the rink. 37.86 TE 32.38 PCS = 70.24 Total I definitely would have had him a bit higher on components. If nothing else, the Skating Skills should be in the 7's. Good enough for first at this point.

Javier Fernandez (Spain): His skating seems so slow compared to Yuzuru that I actually wondered if my feed was lagging :-/. Sorry, Javier. Alright triple axel, looked a little far back on the takeoff. Triple lutz-triple toe, rough on the tail end and looked underrotated. Eeked out the triple flip. Flying sit with variations, eh.  Sit change sit was a little better. Footwork stopped a good bit and wasn't particularly good, although Javier tried to interact with the crowd in it. BAD camel positions in the last spin. All in all, a rather messy performance. 34.07 TE 32.39 PCS = 66.46 Total

Artur Gachinski (Russia): Quad toe-double toe was gorgeous! A little forward on the landing of the triple axel, but it was great in the air. Okay triple loop. Sit change sit with a twist variation was okay, as well as the footwork. Donut position in his camel spin is odd, and he almost lost the combo spin entirely during some of the variations. Absolutely no surprise that Alexei Mishin coaches him. Plushenko was in the stands too, by the way. 39.35 TE 33.46 PCS = 72.81 Total

Alban Preaubert (France): Pretty good triple flip-triple toe to start off. Triple axel looked a little weird in the air, but it ended up being kinda good.  Sit change sit was okay, and the triple loop was good. Flying spin was alright and the footwork was kind of fun. Massive traveling on that final upright spin. Pretty good skate for him, and I think this type of music suits him better than the classic he is using for his freeskate this season. 31.21 TE 34.29 PCS = 70.50 Total Slightly ahead of Hanyu... hm.

Samuel Contesti (Italy): Double lutz-triple toe. Oops. Well, aside from the doubling of the lutz, it was pretty nice. Held onto that triple axel, and then I think the triple flip was two footed or something. It was definitely wonky. Flying sit was okay until the end, where it slowed down. Footwork was kind of good I guess, but the spins at the end were mostly slow. Program was sort of fun, but not particularly stand out. Lots of tech problems. 31.12 TE 34.53 PCS = 65.69 Total

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic): The invisible umbrella he skates with on his way to the first jump was really a cute detail. Good triple-triple combo, but I thought the toe might be a little bit underrotated. Triple axel was alright, and his triple lutz was good too. Slow flying camel though, but his footwork was nice. Combo spin was okay but a little on the slow side, and his sit change sit was a lot better. It was a nice performance, but I know Tomas can sell this better. It wasn't quite there yet for me. 36.95 TE 37.15 PCS = 74.10 Total

Jeremy Abbott (United States): Triple lutz-triple toe... good! Followed that up with a gorgeous triple axel - wow! He is really on today. I was afraid that the other Jeremy was going to show up :P. Sit change sit with variation was really fast compared to everyone else's spins. Good triple flip. A little bit of footwork into a flying upright spin, kinda nice, and the footwork sequence was pretty good too. Great combo spin at the end.  (I have heard that both he and Chan had spin issues in the short... I'd love to see the protocols now.) Still a lot of arm movement going on throughout the program, but I liked it so much better here than at NHK. It felt more believable. 39.07 TE 38.54 PCS = 77.61 Total

Patrick Chan (Canada): Quad toe-triple toe was fantastic. And then... a fall on a triple axel. Good combo spin, and a very nice triple flip. Thought his flying spin was good too, and the change foot spin was on the good side , but a wee bit slow at the end (but once again, apparently there was a spin issue I didn't catch.). He really did have nice footwork, but I'm really tired of seeing that high kick move in every program that he does. It's a cool move, but it's getting seriously redundant.  42.54 TE 40.42 PCS - 1.00 Deduction = 81.86

Huh? I didn't think Patrick should be above Jeremy, because of that fall, even with the quad-triple being so well done. I also thought that Jeremy's spins were a lot better. I don't really see much artistry in Patrick's skating either, but oh well. Different strokes for different folks. ;)

Overall... that was pretty boring. My highlights were definitely Jeremy,Yuzuru, and the fact that the seats remind me of legos.

Short Program Results

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 

Skate America: Men's Freeskate

Viktor Pfeifer (Austria):Good triple toe-triple toe to start. I'm rather surprised that he picked that for a combination, but it was performed well. Okay double axel and a triple flip that had a wonky takeoff. Triple flip-triple toe, with a delay between the jumps but otherwise okay. Circular step sequence was so very slow. Triple salchow-double toe - somehow pulled it off despite a bit of a slip on the salchow. Turnout on a triple lutz, but a fine triple loop soon after. Camel spin with a change of edge into a catchfoot that had a nice position, but it lacked speed. Fall on a double axel. A spin featuring a cannonball position was slow, and then blase footwork. Weird sit variation change sit into that weird upright spin that he did in the short as well. That was a really flat performance and he skates really slowly. 53.02 TE 55.44 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 107.46 FS = 162.47 Total

Shawn Sawyer (Canada): Triple axel attempt... two footed but probably the best one I've seen him do! It was marked underrotated in the protocosl though... Boo! Triple flip-triple toe was good, but then a triple lutz that looked two footed and flutzed to me. Triple salchow with a tano arm I think? It was scratchy. Lovely sit with a twist variation and then an amazing spiral. Footwork into a triple loop. Double flip-half loop-triple loop sequence, good aside from the doubling of the flip. Character driven footwork, which is especially cool to see since I love Alice in Wonderland. Nice double axel, and then a cantavalier into an outside camel with more variations.  More good footwork, and then a double axel-double toe-double loop (underrotated) that overall was fine. Another nice spin featuring his split spin to end. Go Shawn! That was actually fairly clean, and it's really nice to see this program without a fall. Someone threw him a Mad Hatter hat which he wore in the Kiss and Cry, haha. I love it. 63.10 TE 66.58 PCS ; 129.68 FS = 186.62 Total

Stephen Carriere (United States): Good double axel in the beginning, but then a fall on an underrotated (and downgraded) quad that had a less common entry. Had a minor slip on the footwork, but it didn't really interrupt it and the rest of it was fine. An alright triple lutz, then a flying camel that could use more height, and the donut variation could be better, though it did have nice speed. Had to hold the triple flip a bit, but it wasn't bad. Double axel-triple toe, nice, then a triple loop-double toe with a tano arm-double toe. Good speed on the sit change sit, but the A-Frame strikes again. Another footwork sequence that was okay, but it didn't leave much of an impression. It seems like a lot of these guys aren't really using the footwork to connect to the audience and draw them into the performance. Good triple salchow, and a rough triple flip, but he managed to eek out a double toe on the end. Spin with a cannonball variation then a hop into a sit variation with a foot held in the back. Pretty good skate for him, best I've seen him do in the last couple of seasons. He needs his triple axel back though. In an icenetwork post-event article, Stephen said, and I quote, "The triple axel hasn't been my best friend; it's been a pain in the butt, literally." 62.28 TE 63.78 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 155.06 FS = 184.20

Nan Song (China): Quad attempt popped into a double toe, but managed a triple axel-triple toe after, despite the lack of speed on the entry. No speed at all going into the triple loop, resulting in a fall. Okay spin with a hopover. Held onto the triple lutz-double toe. Twist spin and another sit variation, not bad. Fallout on the second triple axel, but the jump itself was good. Okay triple flip that was edge called, and pretty footwork, though a bit slow. Another triple lutz that was held onto, but possibly two footed. Triple salchow-double toe was okay, though a delay in between the jumps. Spread eagle to flying camel into a sit that was okay. He really ran out of gas at the end and didn't seem to get his feet under him in general. Cute moment making a stuffed animal wave in the K&C. 60.55 TE 58.34 PCS ; 117.89 FS = 180.10 Total

Kevin van der Perren (Belgium): I'm awfully glad there's mesh on this costume this time and if you've seen it, I'm pretty sure you agree with me. :P Pretty good quad toe to start things off, pitched forward a bit but he absolutely refused to put a hand down. Good for him. Really nice triple axel too! Triple flip-triple toe, the latter being two footed. Much better twist in this program, but there was a slow variation after that. Footwork... meh. Hydroblade into a triple salchow, nice, but he could get down lower in that hydroblade (don't get me wrong though, it's nice to see one again, as they've become scarce.). Held onto a triple loop, then popped the lutz into a double. Triple flip-double toe was good, though the flip wasn't as easy as the first. Flying spin into slow sit change sit, but fine double axel-triple toe. Slow camel variation into sit then variation. That combo absolutely crawled at the end. I forgot about the second footwork sequence somewhere in there... just didn't stand out I guess. He really needs work on the spins, footwork, and maybe stamina. 69.87 TE 62.54 PCS ; 132.41 FS = 194.63

Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden): Solid quad toe, wow. I didn't realize he had one. Triple axel-double was nice too, and the triple lutz-double toe was fine, though he could reach back more on the lutz. Flying camel was fine until he lost the spin on a variation, resulting in only a level 1 and a negative GOE. Doubled his loop after that, then footwork that was alright. Good triple salchow and an okay combination spin but again, level 1. Singled an axel. Triple flip and triple lutz-double toe were managed. Footwork was okay, and then a final spin with a twist position and another variation, a little slow at the end. That was one of the better performances I've seen him do, and it's nice to see after his concerns over his coach the prior night. (Who, by the way, was at the rink for the freeskate and thanked the doctors and crowd for the support in the K&C.) 60.21 TE 64.28 PCS ; 124.49 FS = 188.20 Total  

Denis Ten (Kazakhstan): He has some fight in him, but that was pretty much a disaster. Five falls. Insanity. I feel bad for Denis. :-/ 54.69 TE 61.92 PCS Deductions - 5.00 ; 111.61 FS = 176.11 Total

Daisuke Murakami (Japan): Edge called triple lutz-triple toe, which aside from the edge, was nicely done. Solid triple axel-double toe. Triple flip had a bit of a scratch, then an okay camel spin with a catch foot variation. Footwork was sold nicely, he definitely succeeded in getting the crowd involved, and it was pretty good. He smiles a lot during his programs, at least at this competition, which I do think helps add some expression to it. Another triple axel which was pretty good, as well as a triple salchow that was nice too.  Triple loop, fell out of and put both hands down on, counted as a fall. Good triple toe and double axel, along with another footwork sequence which was alright. Deathdrop was a little slow at the end, but overall it and the final combo spin were okay. More than I expected from him coming into this event, based off his Nationals placement. 68.83 TE 68.16 PCS - 1.00 Deduction ; 135.99 FS = 203.00 Total

Armin Mahbonoozadeh (United States): Music is from Avatar, interesting choice. I think his costume reflects the character well, without looking too over the top. Walley into a triple toe to begin, followed by a lovely triple axel! Next was a great triple lutz-double tano toe, and a good triple loop. He really has excellent speed going into his jumps. Footwork was nice and relaxed, pretty.  Second triple axel in combination with a double toe; well done. Flying sit to twist to a back sit variation, lovely. Spread eagle into a triple flip, nice again! Followed that with a great combination spin with interesting variations. Triple salchow, fine, and then a small mistake in singling the intended second triple lutz, but Armin tacked on a double toe- tano double loop, making up a few lost points. The second footwork sequence was very nice, and the final combination spin featured a lovely donut position, sit position, and then a scratch to end. So much more than what I expected out of him! That program was absolutely awesome. I loved it even more upon seeing it again on the NBC broadcast! He even got a standing ovation. 73.62 TE 69.94 PCS ; 143.56 FS = 211.17 Total

Adam Rippon (United States): The opening of his freeskate really reminds me of Johnny Weir's Otonal :). Adam seemed a little off from the start, and then he singled an intended triple axel and tacked a single toe onto it. Cue Lisa entering the nervous zone entirely. After that he did a spread eagle into a nice double axel, and then a Rippon triple lutz, but had a slight wonkiness on the landing with the free leg. Footwork was really pretty, but not as nice artistically as it has been at his prior competitions.  Flying sit into a twist position was nice, and then a triple axel with a hand down. Triple flip-triple toe, the latter called underrotated was alright aside from that, but he needed to RELAX! Another spread eagle into a tano triple lutz-single toe-double loop with a tano. That lutz was a little off though. A fall on a triple flip was followed with a good spin, and nice footwork, but again, not as inspired as usual. Next was a triple salchow that looked nice, but was apparently underrotated. Another good spin to end. Poor Adam. :/ That was so shaky! I don't think I've ever seen him skate so poorly. He said in the K&C that he had no idea what had happened. Such a shame. 57.94 TE 72.24 PCS - 1.00 Deductions ; 129.18 FS = 203.12 Total

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): Popped open his quad into a triple and stepped out of it. He managed to hold onto his first triple axel, thank goodness. Nice triple loop and an okay flying sit combo. Footwork was good; I think most would agree that his footwork sequences are a highlight of his programs. They always seem to incorporate the spirit of the program and draw you in.After that, triple flip-double toe, okay. Then an unfortunate wipeout on the second triple axel, which was downgraded. Next, a flying layback, pretty with decent speed. Good triple lutz I thought, but edge called? Huh. Good triple salchow, and then a triple lutz (again edge called)-double toe. Again, the footwork was wonderful and then closed with an alright combo spin. Certainly far from his best technically, but with his transitions and interpretation, I thought the actual performance was still pretty good, even with the fall, stepout, and a couple slightly scratchy landings. I dunno about the edge calls though; if the lutzes were on the wrong edge, it wasn't very obvious. Oh, and also like Armin, I enjoyed the program even more on the second viewing. 64.95 TE 85.00 PCS -1.00 Deduction ; 148.95 FS = 227.07 Total

A side note: Daisuke has said something after the competition about adjusting to the spring of his jumps being more powerful again (He had been jumping for again for only a few months before last season started) , so hopefully that is what is making his jumps less consistent than usual.

Nobunari Oda (Japan):Fall on the quad to start. Don't get me wrong, I like Nobunari, but that fall made me retain hope of Daisuke winning (As if you didn't know he was my favorite by now!:P) and thus, breathe a sigh of relief. Triple axel was alright, if a bit held on the landing. Triple flip-triple toe was fine, but didn't have his usual ease to it. Footwork was alright, and the first spin was good. Triple axel again, fine, but no combo on it makes it count automatically as a sequence, leaving Nobu with one legal combination left. Triple lutz-triple toe good, but triple toe was called underrotated. Triple loop, alright, but then he does too many combos with a triple salchow-double toe-double loop, receiving absolutely no credit for it. Good double axel to finish up the jumping, and ended the program with another well done footwork sequence and two spins, including a flying camel combo. I hate when he forgets to count the combinations! I feel bad for him, but I'm also really surprised that he hasn't learned to remember by now; I mean, it cost him a trip to the 2006 Olympics AND two World bronze medals (if I remember correctly.). 68.17 TE 79.64 PCS - 1.00 Deductions ; 146.81 FS = 226.09 Total

Freeskate Results
Overall Results