NHK Trophy Men's and Ladies Results

Daisuke Takahashi landed his first successful quad flip attempt in the 6 minute warmup before his freeskate. (Above is a slow mo clip of it)



He didn't land his quad flip attempt in his freeskate, but he still won NHK by nearly 25 points after a dazzling program. His spins are showing a lot of improvement,  his skating skills (which, in my opinion, were already very good) are better than ever, and his jumps are looking easier.

Men's Freeskate Results
Protocols
Overall Results





Akiko Suzuki held off Mao Asada to win by less than two points overall after the latter won the freeskate with a better performance than she's given in some time and one that should give her and her fans hope for this season.

Ladies Freeskate Results
Protocols
Overall Results

Skate Canada; Men's Short Program

Elladj Balde (Canada): Edge called on his triple flip-triple toe that also had a slight stepout. Triple axel underrotated ,two footed, and fallen on. Slight bobble on the triple lutz too. First spin was nice, the other two weren't as successful. You could see he was trying to really perform, which is nice. TE 28.82 PCS 28.17 Deduction - 1.00 = SP 55.99 (10th)

Ross Miner (USA): Pretty sure this is the same short program he had last year (it's the same costume as last year, at least). Singled axel at the beginning and his triple lutz was a bit scratching and he only managed a double toe on the end of it instead of a triple. He got it back on track with a nice triple flip. Most spins were alright; the last one was particularly nice, and his footwork was okay. I'm glad Ross didn't give up and got the performance back on track, but it still was kind of bland. Something to work on, for sure.  TE 29.62 PCS 31.21 PCS = SP 60.83 (9th)

Denis Ten (Kazakhstan): He has nice speed across the ice. Triple axel was good in the air and initially on the landing too, but he somehow leaned too far back AFTER actually landing it and stumbled a bit (they counted it as a fall on deductions). His triple flip-triple toe was alright, followed by a lovely death drop and a triple lutz that was fine. Camel changefoot camel with an alright donut position but it slowed. Last spin was a combination spin with an A frame position which was done well enough (that position still is a least favorite of mine though). Footwork has some nice twizzles and other steps, but his arms got flaily in a few parts of it, which was probably made to appear worse than it was by the style of sleeves his costume had. TE 38.94 PCS 33.46 Deduction - 1.00 = SP 71.50 (5th)

Andrei Rogozine (Canada): Good triple flip-triple toe and a spread eagle to his triple axel; the landing had to be worked a bit, but that's was a rather difficult entry. The music randomly changed while he was spinning.. it was a little odd. Good triple lutz and a good spin after. His footwork was okay but his last spin was really slow by the time he was finishing it. TE 35.68 PCS 31.60 = SP 67.28 (6th)

Javier Fernandez (Spain): Nice quad toe to start the program! Man... I forgot how fast Javier rotates in the air - it's really something. Very good triple lutz-triple toe after that, as well as a good triple axel. His footwork went was really suited to the theme of the program; it was cute and done well. His spins could use some work. They traveled a lot and were on the slow side. Pretty impressive overall though... those jumps were ridiculous. He was very pleased with his performance; his reaction was adorable, haha.  TE 45.60 PCS 39.11 = SP 84.71 (1st)


Alexander Majorov (Sweden): His costume made me think that he was Richard Dornbush for a second. His triple axel was alright, but some trouble on the triple lutz; he pitched forward a bit on the landing and had to settle for a double toe on the end of it to complete his combination with it. He had more trouble on the triple flip after that, turning out on the landing. Sloppy sit change sit spin and trouble on the other spins as well. He tried to be entertaining with this Austin Powers routine, but it didn't really work for me; the footwork in particularly felt kitschy. TE 33.36 PCS 31.78 = SP 65.14 (7th)


Adam Rippon (USA): Haha, he made a great face before starting... looking confident. Good Rippon triple lutz to start and nice speed in general. It looked like his free foot might have touched the ice a bit on the landing of his triple axel, but it was rotated and he avoid falling out of it, which is still a victory for him. Triple flip-triple toe combo; the flip was alright but you could see on the replay that the triple toe was under. After that was an alright spin and his footwork sequence, which seemed a little clumsy - I'm wondering if he's just not comfortable with it yet. Loved his split jump after that, and it was nice to see his layback spin again. I'm not sure how I feel about this program; I think it'll take a couple more performances for me to know if I like it or not. Another great face after finishing his program. TE 36.61 PCS 36.28 = SP 72.89 (4th)


Kevin van der Perren (Belgium): Triple axel popped into a double to start, followed by a triple flip-triple toe and a good triple lutz. His spins are still pretty poor, but while his footwork wasn't done amazingly well, it at least had a section of one foot turns that are difficult, which is some improvement. TE 31.86 PCS 32.15 = SP 64.01 (8th)


Patrick Chan (Canada): First was his quad toe, which he put his hand down on and turned out of, followed by his triple axel attempt, which was doubled. Good combo spin but it traveled a bit. Triple lutz-triple toe was alright, and his flying spin and camel change camel were on the good side. Footwork had some nice twizzles and edges. As Patrick said in the kiss and cry, "Better than last year". I'm still not a fan of this program (which he kept from last season). TE 40.38 PCS 42.90 = SP 83.28 (3rd)


Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): The crowd absolutely errupted when his name was announced. Good triple flip-triple toe to start. Good triple axel! A flying sit spin that was quite nice and then an alright triple lutz. His camel change camel with a not so great donut variation and it was his slowest spin. His trademark footwork was gorgeous and he ended with a nicely done combo spin. I love the mood of this program; it's intense and  you could see as soon as he took his opening pose that he was ready to perform. This performance was more than I dared hope from Daisuke at this point in the season; it was rock solid technically and he really drew you into the program. I could not be happier with how he skated.  TE 42.41 PCS 42.25 = SP 84.66(2nd)

Post Men's Short Program Interviews

Daisuke Takahashi



Cutest. English. Ever.

Florent Amodio



More adorable English!

Nobunari Oda



More!

Ross Miner



Normal English.

Patrick Chan



Canadian English.

Skating Updates

Sarah and Drew's latest blog, featuring interviews from behind the scenes at the annual Ice Chips skating show in Boston. They spoke to Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao, Stephen Carriere, and Ross Miner.

An interview with Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat on their hopes for Worlds.

An update on Kimmie Meissner. It does not sound like she will be returning to competition.

Universal Sports and Icenetwork will both offer coverage of Worlds online. Article with details here.

Midori Ito will be competing at an ISU adult competition. This is the first time I've EVER heard of a former elite skater doing this, and I think it's quite fantastic. Who knows; maybe Midori will spark a trend.

Jeremy Abbott dyed his hair and talks about boots,quads, and next season.

Skating Updates

Marina Zoueva & Carol Lane talk about waiting for Worlds

A translation of the French Federation's offer to give Japan next year's Worlds

Yu-Na Kim gave a sneak peek of her new short program


& will make a pitch for Korea's bid for the 2018 Olympics

All That Skate Korea announcement

 Finally and most importantly, Worlds has been moved to Russia and will take place April 24th - May 1st!


The ISU announcement

Phil Hersh's take on it - includes snippets with Meryl Davis 

Universal Sports spoke to Ross Miner about Worlds' relocation . Apparently the rink in Sendai, Japan, is gone, which is where World Junior Champion and 2011 Four Continents Silver Medalist Yuzuru Hanyu trains if I'm not mistaken. :-/

They also spoke to Rachael Flatt, Mark Ladwig, Michal Brezina, & Meryl Davis 

Patrick Chan article

U.S. Nationals: Men's Freeskate

Scott Dyer was the first up and did my state proud with a fairly solid freeskate (though like some of the other men in the early groups, he didn't attempt a triple axel.) He finished with a total of 177.15, pulling up to 13th overall.

Lloyd Ting landed most of his jumps, but most of the elements weren't done particularly well, which along with a lack of a triple axel, didn't hold him in good stead. 22nd, with 140.92 overall.

Sean Rabbitt skated much better than he did in the short program and had some energy in one of his footwork sequences, but his spins were poor in general and he had some jump problems. (Sidenote: If memory serves me correctly, he was one of the skaters struggling with the flu that week.) 155.71, 20th.

Parker Pennington struggled, two footing and underrotating jumps. He had some of the better spins at that point in the competition though. 164.68 total, 17th.

Andrew Gonzales, like Pennington, had some jump troubles, but his spins and footwork were pretty good. 162.52, 18th.

Wesley Campbell doubled his lutz and a loop and wasn't particularly artistic. He did have an cool variation on an upright spin though. 176.69, 14th.

Christopher Caluza dedicated his performance to a friend that had been killed. Unfortunately, he had a rough go of it, falling twice, and one of the times was on a spin. Something about his skating appeals to me. 157.72, 19th.

Alexander Johnson landed the first clean triple axel of the men's freeskate and then singled the intended double axel right after it. Sigh. He also did four jump combos, rendering the last one obsolete. To be fair though, he was competing with what he thought was a sprain, which really was a break, so it is likely pain, not combo counting, was at the forefront of his mind. 165.50, 16th.

Joshua Farris had a torn abductor muscle in his left hip, and then if that wasn't enough, he had a severe allergic reaction the day before the freeskate, leading to him being in the hospital til early the next morning. After that, he broke on an axel attempt in the freeskate. Needless to say, his performance overall was disastrous and while I admire his guts, I don't understand why his coach or parents let him compete with the problems that existed before the start of the freeskate. 151.73, 21st.

Jonathan Cassar had a good performance that was probably the most artistic at that point in the event. He landed 4 clean triples & two double axels, putting his hand down on a triple flip and turning out of a triple lutz-double toe. His spins were mostly good as well as his footwork. He was pretty enjoyable. 187.76, 11th.

* I didn't see Jason Wong, Grant Hochstein, or Jason Brown due to NBC broadcasting Jeremy and Ryan's short programs instead. They are on IceNetwork now, but to date, I still haven't seen them.

Adam Rippon: Stepout on the opening triple axel, then tacked a double toe onto it (unfortunately though, he wasn't credited for the toe and it became a +SEQ). After that was a double axel that seemed so easy that intially, in my nervous state, I thought that he'd singled it. Gorgeous Rippon triple lutz, followed by a pretty footwork sequence (though he'd do well to increase the level from a 2), and a nice death drop. After that was his second triple axel, which was pretty great and one of the better ones I've seen him do in competition. Triple flip-triple toe was great, followed by a tano triple lutz-tano double toe, an intended three jump combo which was cut short as Adam was getting too close to the wall. Beautiful triple loop, then the second footwork sequence, done nicely, as well as a nice triple salchow and alright combo spin. Good program, and he was absolutely thrilled. It's no secret that Adam is one of my favorite skaters, so I bummed after his dismal short, & pretty nervous for his freeskate, but he really did deliver a solid performance that both he and his fans can be proud of. 220.04, 5th.

Richard Dornbush: Opening triple flip was good, but almost too big. Triple axel-triple toe was really nice, followed by a triple lutz that looked like a possible flutz, but no edge call. Slow combo spin and some cute choreography after it, and then a lovely triple axel. Sit change sit was alright, followed by a nice triple salchow from a hydroblade transition. Triple flip-double toe-double loop, the latter with both arms over his head, then a double axel-double axel sequence, the latter of which was kinda meh. Triple loop was alright and his second footwork sequence was nice, and he ended with an alright combo spin. Richard did a really great job. I like this Sherlock Holmes program a good bit, and enjoyed Richard's skating more than I thought I would. Definitely a guy that could be a factor for years to come. 225.56, 2nd.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh: Walley into a nice triple lutz, followed by a great triple axel. After that a triple flip-triple toe that was pretty good, and the triple loop after was good as well. Nice circular footwork, though on the slow side, then a triple axel-double toe combo that was alright and a nice spin. Triple flip, maybe two footed, then a good combo spin, nice triple salchow and a double axel-double toe-double loop. He finished up with his second footwork sequence and a combo spin, both nicely done. A more subdued performance than at Skate America, but still a quite solid freeskate.Armin is another favorite of mine who I desperately hoped would make a comeback in the free and like Adam, he delivered. I love how he smiles during his programs; it's nice to see the skaters enjoying themselves. I do think he got shafted on PCS though; while I agree that his performance didn't have the excitement it did at Skate America, his components shouldn't be so close some of the skaters who placed lower than he did and really, at the very least his transitions should have been in the 7's. 215.05, 6th.

Keegan Messing: Managed the opening triple axel and put his hand down on his quad toe attempt, but it was credited as rotated. A spin was fine, and then he did a double axel from a near stand still. After that was a triple lutz-double toe that wasn't great, I thought the latter may have been underrotated, then a really nice stretched out camel variation and okay triple axel-double toe combo. First footwork sequence was just okay (& it was only a level 1) followed by a great combo spin. Second footwork sequence was alright, and the triple loop after that was okay too. Edge call on his triple flip-double toe-double loop and the flip looked like it may have been two footed as well. Last element of the program, a triple lutz, also looked possibly two footed, but it received positive GOE, so I might be mistaken. Keegan did a pretty good job; he's not as sophisticated as the prior three men, but there's potential there. I think putting him on the Junior World team was a great decision and think it'll be interesting to see how he fares there. 213.29, 8th.

Douglas Razzano: First all all - nice costume! He opened with a very nice triple axel, followed by a stepout on a quad toe and stumbled and fell on his second triple axel (SEQing it.). Triple lutz after that was nice, and the following two spins were alright. First footwork sequence was boring, followed by a nice triple toe-triple toe combo. Okay triple salchow and a good triple loop, then another dull footwork sequence. Douglas finished up with an okay double axel-double toe-double loop combo and an alright combo spin. Only one triple lutz and no triple flips (left out to avoid wrong edge deductions possibly?) , which I guess is the reason for the triple toe-triple toe (though I still find it incongruous). He skates like many of the Russian men - jumps are pretty good, but not very exciting to watch. 206.76, 10th. 

Ross Miner: Pretty footwork to start, followed by a triple axel-double toe - the axel was huge! Triple lutz-triple toe, the former looked possibly two footed but again,  maybe a bad angle of the landing. Triple axel alright, as well as a spin. Haha, cute wink the choreography, then a triple loop that was fine and an alright triple lutz. Triple salchow-double toe-double toe was nice, then another footwork sequence which was alright, and a big triple flip. Pretty good death drop after that, as well as a double axel, with finishing with a spin that was just fine. Really good technically and not bad artistically; just not as developed as a few of the others. 224.35, 3rd.

Jeremy Abbott: Started off well with a nice triple lutz and triple flip. He landed a bit forward on the front half of his triple axel-double toe, but it was alright overall. Flying upright spin was okay, and his first footwork sequence was nice and musical. Handdown on his second triple axel, and then a fall on what amounted to a two and 1/2 lutz - the severe underrotation was clearly visible without replay - which also became a +SEQ, lowering the base value and costing him a combo. The following triple loop-double toe-double loop was shaky and he stumbled out of it (the double loop was deemed underrotated). Jeremy got to get it back together with an alright triple salchow, and a nice footwork sequence and double axel. I really love that spiral and knee slide move; the choreography in the program is really nice. He finished with a nice spin, but the damage was done. I love Jeremy, but facts are facts and sadly, Jeremy simply choked. There was a fluff piece talking about how he doesn't want to be the "forgotten" American men's skater anymore and that he is glad to be out of Evan and Johnny's shadows, but when the spotlight was on him, he didn't deliver. I believe that when he is on, his skating speaks for itself and he certainly has had memorable performances. Unfortunately this time, he gave it away.  224.16, 4th.

Brandon Mroz: Fallout on an underrotated quad toe to start, followed by okay footwork. Triple axel-double toe was alright, as well as a triple lutz . Good triple loop, followed by a death drop that was fine, and then a nice triple axel. Triple lutz-triple toe, second foot was put down on the landing of the toe loop. Triple salchow was fine, and same for the triple flip-double toe-double loop. The spin after that was rather poor, but the following footwork sequence was okay, and the final spin was better. The underrotation and subsequent fallout on the quad toe really hurt him along with spins that garnered no positive grades of execution and two of which were only level 1. 213.49, 7th.

Ryan Bradley: Stepped out of both of his quad toes at the start, +SEQing the second, despite his attempt to combo it by tacking on a double toe after the stepout. First footwork sequence was okay, followed by a big triple axel that he held onto, and a good triple lutz. Alrightish spin and a cute second footwork sequence, but it was really simple. Miraculously pulled a triple axel-triple toe out of nowhere, and held onto a triple loop after that. Triple salchow-double toe-double toe was slow, but okay, and then an alright triple flip. A couple of slow spins and he was finished his program. He lost speed after the first few jumps, and not a whole lot was pretty, but Ryan fought and did enough to hold on to the lead to win his first National title. 231.90, 1st.

It could be argued that one of Ryan's quads shouldn't have been credited as fully rotated, but still, I can't bring myself to be angry that he won. And while Richard and Ross certainly did skate incredibly well, I still don't have as much confidence in this World team as I would like to. I do think it would have been reasonable to send Jeremy to Worlds in Ross's place, especially since he missed third by such a small margin. Obviously, Jeremy combusted at Nationals, but he skated even near clean at Worlds, he'd most likely have a better chance at challenging for a medal or even the top 6.

Protocol
Full Results

Skating Updates

Nobunari & Daisuke, via Nobu's twitter

Nobunari Oda won Winter Universiade with a total of 223.15. Sergei Voronov finished 2nd with 204.54, while Daisuke Murakami claimed bronze with 202.83. Nobunari did not attempt a quad in either program and only performed one triple axel in the freeskate.
Short Program Results
Protocols
Freeskate Results
Protocols

 Johnny Weir is claiming to be considering a comeback next season. He mentions his disappointment with Patrick Chan winning Grand Prixs with multiple falls and Vancouver. He also talks about his book and being congratulated on being Olympic Champion.

 An interview with Florent Amodio about his Europeans win. He will be working on his quad in hopes of having it ready for Tokyo.

Article on 2011 U.S. bronze medalist and World team member Ross Miner.He discusses his injury last season, his disappointment with his Grand Prix showings, and Nationals (of course!).

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