Skate America: Ladies Freeskate (Plus a few notes about the event in general)

Skate America as a whole was very underwhelming and, to be quite honest, extremely disappointing this year. It was probably a byproduct of the off season being so short this year and this being the first regular event for top skaters, but even so - I NEVER expected it would turn out to be such a mess. I was busy the day of the men's freeskate and the free dance; I still originally intended to do a writeup on the men, but after seeing the scores and hearing from a few friends what a complete and utter disaster it was, I decided to spare myself the pain of watching the men's freeskate at all (save for Denis Ten, who I'd heard had skated an all around decent program and I actually did enjoy it a good bit). I did watch some of the free dance and I was impressed with Asher/Hill, Pechalat/Bourzat, and Davis/White, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how much the latter two teams free dances develop as the season goes on.

As for pairs, I'm really impressed and pleased with Savchenko/Szolkowy for attempting a throw triple axel in their short program; while obviously, it didn't pay off in that segment, I love that they're continuing to push themselves to improve and it makes me respect them more than I already did. And also, I found their freeskate interesting and hope to see a clean version of it in the near future. One last thing before I get to the ladies - it was nice to see Zhang/Zhang back after a year away from competition! Even if their programs weren't my favorite so far this season, it was strange having such a veteran team away and I'm glad that they were able to come back so successfully. That said, let's get started!

Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia): Pretty dress, (though I think it'd look even better if the skirt was a little longer, because of the ruffles.). Very nice, huge triple lutz-double toe to start, followed by a singled triple flip attempt. Double axel-double toe-double toe, good. Triple toe attempt popped into a double toe-double toe combo. An alright flying sit spin, then a triple lutz she had to hold onto. Nice triple salchow and Y spiral. Two footed triple toe, followed by a combination spin that had some nice positions. Footwork that had some good difficulty to it, but it was slow. I loved her camel positions in his last spin. There were some nice things in this program and it's really a shame about the pops - her jumps can be quite nice.  TE 48.75 + PCS 49.46  = FS 97.61 + SP 42.91  = Total 140.12 (7th)

Valentina Marchei (Italy): Opened with an underrotated and two footed triple lutz attempt, followed by a nice triple flip. Triple salchow with a double three turn turn out between it and a double toe. Her spins weren't nearly as good as Elene's. Okay biellmann spiral, and a telegraphed triple lutz-double toe. Nice triple toe and a rough double axel. I really don't like the music or this program in general. Fall on an underrotated triple salchow that was somehow also telegraphed. Slow footwork and a poor spin to finish. TE 44.21 + PCS 48.77 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 91.98 + SP 43.19 = Total 135.17 (9th)

Joshi Helgesson (Sweden): Triple lutz-double toe, the latter of which was deemed underrotated. Underrotated triple loop that was also two footed (and the technical panel downgraded). Triple toe that was small but okay. Ugly catchfoot position in a spin, same for the spiral. Triple lutz, again small, and marked as underrotated. Triple toe-double toe, the triple was called underrotated. Alright triple salchow and another spin; it's positions and speed could be a lot better. Double axel-double axel sequence that was good. Footwork was kind of meh and the last spin was poor too. Her music got slow and heavy towards the end of the program. Not a good jumping day for her. TE 43.57 + PCS 45.38 = FS 88.95 + SP 45.03 = Total 133.98 (10th)

Ksenia Makarova (Russia): Her dress was a blinding shade of pink. Crash on her opening triple flip. She had nice speed over the ice. Triple toe-double toe was nice, followed by a underrotated triple loop. Very pretty layback position in her layback spin; biellmann could be better but it wasn't bad. Triple loop-double toe-double loop looked alright but they called the triple loop underrotated. Another underrotation on a triple salchow-double toe, followed by a fallout on a double axel and a handdown on a second double axel. Sudden music change to the Fox theme (the one from the beginning of Fox feature films) during a spin .. strange. Finished with a unimpressive footwork sequence and spin. I heard that Ksenia has a hip injury - I hope it heals well and soon! TE 45.20 + PCS 52.52 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 96.71 + SP 45.95 = Total 142.67 (5th)


Joelle Forte (USA): Opened with an okay triple lutz-double toe-double loop combo (double loop was underrotated), followed by a triple flip (underrotated) and a nice triple salchow. Her flying sit spin that slowed at the end and a double axel that was a little swingy on the landing. Her layback could be arched more (you might've noticed that I'm picky about laybacks and spirals, haha.). Extremely underrotated triple lutz that she fell hard on, followed by a nice triple toe-double axel sequence. Footwork wasn't particularly good and was on the slow side, and an underrotated triple salchow-double toe. Ended with an okay spin. A lot of underrotation marks, but I thought it was a pretty respectable effort for a skater on her first Grand Prix assignment ever. TE 45.43 + 46.41 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 90.84 + SP 48.86 = Total 139.70 (8th)


Viktoria Helgesson (Sweden): Those white fuzzy wrist cuffs on her costume..anyway,  opened with a triple toe-double toe-double loop, she had to eek out that last landing. Fall on a triple lutz that looked bad from the takeoff and was underrotated. Held onto a triple loop and then a slow camel spin that did have some decent variations. Big pop on a flip followed by an average spiral sequence. Good double axel and then a combination spin that could use better positioning and speed. Okay triple loop (called underrotated) -double axel sequence. Handdown on her last triple salchow and her final spin was very slow.  TE 44.41 + PCS 51.21 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 94.62 + SP 51.13 = Total 145.75 (3rd)


Haruka Imai (Japan): Nice triple loop-double toe to begin, followed by a triple lutz that looked nice but was called underrotated. I really like the way that she uses her arms; it's very graceful. The music changed from soft to very peppy... I preferred the soft, personally. Fall on a triple toe that looked under to me. Stepout on a triple loop, followed by a combo spin that traveled and slowed. Underrotated triple salchow-double toe and an okay biellmann spiral. Fallout on a second underrotated triple salchow and just held onto a double axel. Okay footwork and then a layback that had nice arch, but her free foot should be turned out and a nice doughnut position in the followed spin (though it could be a bit faster). It's too bad -she's pleasant to watch, even if I'm not a huge fan of the peppy music. TE 39.08 + 50.19 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 88.27 + 54.67 = Total 142.94 (4th)


Caroline Zhang (USA): Disappointing freeskate after a good short program. She had problems on almost every jump, save for her triple loops. Her lovely layback/pearl/biellmann spin is back, which is great to see. She said in the kiss and cry that she doesn't know what happened. TE 38.81 + 49.84 PCS Deductions -3.00 = FS 85.65 + SP 55.05 = Total 140.07 (6th)


Carolina Kostner (Italy): Pretty dress.  Good triple loop and triple flip at the start. She has great speed over the ice (but not overly fast like she's seemed in the past to me.). An alright spiral sequence followed by a good double axel and a spin that was on the slow side. Double axel-double toe combination was nice. Triple toe-double toe, also nice; I wonder if it was an intended triple-triple though. Very nice triple salchow followed by her sole jumping mistakes, doing a double three turn out of a triple salchow on her triple salchow-double toe-double toe and singling the latter. Her footwork was fine and she finished with a couple of spins that were slow, though the second was a bit better. Good skate! I'm not a fan of her skating in general but this was nice; the music suits her. TE 55.45 + PCS 61.67 = FS 117.12 + SP 60.23 = Total 177.35 (2nd)

Alissa Czisny (USA): Opened with her planned triple lutz-triple toe combination, but the toe was clearly very underrotated and consequently downgraded. Fall on a downgraded triple flip attempt, also given an edge deduction. Held onto the following triple loop and her spiral after that was nice, as usual. Nice flying spin, though the camel position wasn't my favorite. Second triple lutz okayish, marked as underrotated, then a double salchow and a turnout on a triple salchow-double toe combination. Nice double axel-double toe-double loop, ending with a nice footwork sequence and two impressive spins, including a gorgeous layback/biellmann. TE 51.37 + PCS 62.91 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 113.28 + SP 64.20 = Total 177.48 (1st)

I personally am not a fan of either Alissa or Carolina's skating, but in my opinion, Carolina deserved the win much more than Alissa today. She DID have less technical content, but almost every single jump was extremely well done, while Alissa dealt with several downgrades, underrotations, and flawed landings. I know the numbers ended up being very, very close and it's not like Carolina hasn't won medals when I hadn't felt she'd earned them either, but regardless - this didn't sit well with me.

Freeskate Results

Final Results

Protocols

Skate America Results

My thoughts on the event overall and in particular, the ladies freeskate, to come!

Men's Short Program Results
Protocols
Men's Freeskate Results
Overall
Protocols

Ladies Short Program Results
Protocols
Ladies Freeskate Results
Overall
Protocols

Pairs Short Program Results
Protocols
Pairs Freeskate Results
Overall
Protocols

Short Dance Results
Protocols
Free Dance Results
Overall
Protocols

Skate America: A Preview

Here are my brief thoughts on who I suspect will be a factor at Skate America this weekend.

Pairs: World Champions Savchenko and Szolkowy should have no problem winning here. The bigger question is who else will be on the medal stand. Zhang and Zhang were out last season after an odd injury so it's hard to say how well they'll skate, but they've been among the best in the world for years and certainly shouldn't be counted out. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch, Russians Bazarova and Larionov, and possibly
Hausch and Wendes will all be looking to medal here as well.

Ice dance: Davis and White are the clear favorites to win, with Pechalat and Bourzat being pretty much a lock for silver. Who will get the bronze medal is more of the mystery - I'm leaning towards it being one of the two Canadian teams competing here (Paul and Islam and Ralph and Hill).

Ladies: There's a lot of ladies here who could potentially medal, but I think that either Carolina Kostner or Alissa Czisny have the most potential to win this event. Joshi and Viktoria Helgesson, Haruka Imai, Elene Gedenishvili, and Ksenia Makarova could all also be in the hunt as well.

Men: World medalist Takahiko Kozuka has to be considered the frontrunner here, with Florent Amodio being the most likely skater to challenge him. Michal Brezina is anything but consistent but he's managed to squish into 4th at Worlds twice, so it's hard to count him out. Last year's surprise medalist Armin Mahbanoozadeh will be looking to repeat here, with teammate and U.S. silver medalist Richard Dornbush will be competing at his first senior Grand Prix ever. Daisuke Murakami and Denis Ten are each a bit of a question mark, but if either go clean and others struggle, I could see one of them medaling.

Skating Updates

 Laura Lepisto has withdrawn from Worlds due to a back injury.

Skate America will be held in Ontario, California, much to my chagrin.

Evgeni Plushenko has been training and working on quad salchows and loops and is hopeful that his ban from ISU competition will be lifted in the near future.

A new article on Nathan Chen. So looking forward to seeing him in the future!

Adelina Sotnikova won the ladies title at Junior Worlds, with Elizaveta Tuktamishiva & Agnes Zawadzki winning silver and bronze, respectively.

Andrei Rogozine of Canada won the men's event, followed by Keiji Tanaka and Alexander Majorov.

Sui and Han defended their World Junior title, despite lingering questions about the formers age eligibility. Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov & Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran rounded out the top three.


Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khaliavin won the World Junior Dance title by a large margin, winning the gold over Ekaterina Pushkash and Jonathan Guerreiro and Charlotte Lichtman and Dean Copely.

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

Brief thoughts of Skate America: Ladies Free (Final 6)

I did not take extensive notes during the ladies free, but I certainly did have a few thoughts on it.

Before I get started, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Ms. Murakami; We're all indebted to her for helping keep Kostner off the top step of the podium, even if she still has some rough patches in her skating. Thanks Kanako!

Amelie Lacoste: Well... there goes that Fantasy pick! (Come on.. if you picked her, you were so thinking it too!:P)

Caroline Zhang: Gorgeous dress. Sorry to see that she's gained some weight... it's not gonna do her any favors on her jumps, especially with the technique corrections still in progress. The triple flip-double toe didn't seem so bad, but then the mega highkick into a 1 and 1/2 lutz results in that spectacular fall into a near split position. Dang Zhang! I don't think I've ever seen a singles girl manage to do that kind of a fall. One bright point though... she really does have a lovely layback spin, unlike most of the ladies I've seen recently.

Rachael Flatt: Her highkick on her flip and lutz made me insane today, worsened by the fact that she landed them cleanly aside from that, excepting the underrotated first lutz. It may sound mean, but I wish that the highkick would give her more trouble on those two jumps so that she'd be forced to learn a better technique for them if she wished to remain competitive. Other than that though, I was bored.

Joshi Helgesson: I kind of liked her dress.I think she underrotated the back end of two of her combos, but I appreciate the fact that she completed a triple lutz without a highkick, very, very much.

Kanako Murakami: She does the high kick too.... good heavens! (Why do these girl's coaches abide in this kind of poor technique? I was working on a single flip before I had to quit skating, and every single time that I would dp the highkick to try to tap in harder for more height,  my coach would screech at me not to do it. Every. Single. Time. And I never even tested!) Watching her and several other of these ladies makes me long for Dick Button's commentary- I can just imagine his reaction to their laybacks. ;)  It's good to to see a lady with some spunk though, although I do think it sometimes makes her skating appear sloppy. There's a glimpse of Yukari Nakano's infamous leg wrap in at least one of her combinations too, albeit to a lesser extent (thankfully!). I quite enjoyed her footwork though; that was pretty smooth, interesting, and well done.

Carolina Kostner: I am amazed that Scott Hamilton and the other commentators are trying so hard to make her lack of difficulty sound like a good thing! The upbeat outlook on that didn't do her many favors though; falling on her first triple loop and doubling the second, and even singled a double axel,  making her scant technical content even more watered down. She even was sloppy on a spin. She isn't my cup of tea to begin with, but that was a really poor freeskate. I'm so thankful that the judges didn't give her the win this time.

Overall, from what I've seen and heard from this event and the other Grand Prix's thus far, the ladies certainly have been lackluster this season. I'm certain that I am not alone in missing Michelle Kwan.

Skate America - Men's Short (Plus a tidbit of Skate Canada)

Okay... I know, I'm really behind, but I promise I will try to catch up on the men's free from Cup of China in the next couple of days (my internet keeps spazzing out during the events and I inevitably have to go back to watch at least a couple of skaters) and post about the men's free from Skate America too. However, there is no forthcoming post on Skate Canada, as I was busy that weekend and only got to see a few of the men. A couple of quick thoughts on it though, for the heck of it.

Adam Rippon had two nice, solid programs with at least some magic to them. Nobunari Oda was good overall, if a little uninspired - as others have mentioned, he really would benefit artistically from programs that draw some sort of emotion out of him, such as his Charlie Chaplin freeskate from last season. And, of course,  Patrick Chan got the Canadian bonus to a ridiculous extent, considering that at that event overall, he was the Chanboni. I'm sorry, but 3 falls in the short program alone should have left him buried, even with his obviously wonderful basics. I must note though, that I'm not one who really sees much semblance of artistry in him that others think is exceptional, which isn't too surprising, skating being a very subjective sport. Short program aside, I don't even think Patrick had a freeskate worth such a high score. Most of his landings were tentative at best, scratchy at worst, and then of course that crash on the triple axel... the only jump I thought was particularly good was the opening quad ( Of course, that may just be me... haha). That went on way longer than I intended... oops ;P. Anyway, onto the actual blog topic: the men's short program from Skate America!

Daisuke Murakami (Japan): Good triple lutz-triple toe to start, as well as a good triple axel! Wow, I really wasn't expecting such a strong start from him! Triple flip was alright, and the following spin had nice enough positions, but was on the slow side. Second spin was much better though, and some nice enough footwork was okay. Okay flying camel, but lost speed on the catch foot variation. Pretty good skate overall! I'm actually kind of impressed. 36.26 TE 30.75 PCS = 68.01 Total

Armin Mahbanoozadeh (United States): Opened with a nice triple axel, but put his hand down for some reason... it wasn't necessary. Triple flip-triple toe was alright, and his donut variation in his flying spin was really nice. Good triple lutz and then a fast sit spin. His footwork was nice as well, and I really enjoy how he  sells the program with his smile; it's rather charming, and somehow not cheesy. Nobunari and Takahiko should take notes from him on facial expression ;). Again, a fast spin with an interesting downward facing camel position with a bent free leg and arms in front. Very nice program, and a pleasant surprise for certain! Armin really has very nice spins - some of the best that I've seen so far this season, for sure. 37.05 TE 30.56 PCS = 67.61 Total 

Viktor Pfeifer (Austria): Good double axel, and triple lutz-triple toe was nice as well. Unfortunately, after that Viktor doubled his flip, pretty much killing his score considering that he didn't even try a triple axel. Fairly nice camel spin and catch foot variation. Fun footwork, but a lot seems to just be arm waving. Okay flying spin, but a weird sit variation and a weird upright spin variation on the end of it. It looked almost like the transitional part of a biellmann, when you are starting to pull the leg up. Also, oddly, it resembled a spin from the Nintendo DS game Imagine: Ice Champions that they called the Yoga Spin (It's a guilty pleasure of a game, okay? Hahaha.). Anyway, scores were 26.82 TE 28.19 PCS = 55.01 Total

Stephen Carriere (United States): Man, he looks older than I remember. Haven't seen a whole lot of him the last year or two though, so that probably explains it. Older Stephen, but same triple axel problem that night :-/. Crash on an underrotated triple axel. He did recover well, with a good triple lutz-double toe combo, and a triple loop. Flying spin and variations were alright. Like Pfeifer, fun footwork, but I'm not used to seeing Stephen with a program quite like this, though he's done something probably not too far off a couple years ago, just a little more subdued I suppose. Very nice sit spin, but variation got slow at the end. Ending spin was fine overall too. I think this program reminds me of Rachael Flatt's short last year, which is more than likely why I'm not quite sold on it. Oh well. 27.17 TE 32.97 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 59.14 Total

Shawn Sawyer (Canada): Triple axel two footed, fallen on, and downgraded to a double by the technical specialists. Good triple flip-triple toe though, and I LOVE his cantavalier (sp?). Ugh, doubled the lutz. Great camel change camel with a catch foot variation, and a flying spin with a sit twist variation. Nice footwork too, and finished with a combination spin that included his signature split spin. Man, everything but the lutz and axel was great! Can we come up with a new discipline to allow Shawn to skate solo, but not jump? Singles ice dancing? Well... I can dream :P. Such a shame. 24.63 TE 33.51 PCS - 1.00 Deduction = 56.94 Total

Nan Song (China): Triple flip, stepped out. It was intended to be his combo. Seems like there's some attempt at expression going on, even if it's not a huge effort. Spread eagle, then a solid triple axel. Flying camel was fine, but lost speed on the variation. Very nice triple lutz, which he really should have tacked a combination onto. Sit change sit with twist variation was alright, and I liked the footwork; it seemed to have some nice dynamics, and did actually suit the music. Final spin had some traveling issues, but it wasn't horrible.  Not too bad of a skate. More transitions and presentation than some of the Chinese guys, which might not be saying a whole lot, but still, it is nice to see some effort is being put forth. 31.23 TE 30.98 PCS = 62.21 Total

Denis Ten (Kazakstan): It feels like I've been hearing his name around for awhile, but he's only 17. Unfortunate crash on the triple axel attempt right off the bat. Then tries a triple lutz-triple toe, but turns out in between the two. However, Denis did manage to hold onto his triple flip at least, and he has a great camel position in his spins, and a nice cannon position as well. Nice sit twist variation also, but lost speed at the end of the spin. His footwork was kind of hyperactive, and maybe a bit too Evan Lysacek-esque for me, which isn't too shocking, given that Frank Carroll now coaches Denis. Good height on his flying spin, but lost speed on the donut position. 32.50 TE 33.00 PCS -1.00 Deduction = 64.50 Total

Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden): Somehow pulled off that triple lutz-triple toe despite an obvious lack of speed. Triple axel attempt, handdown. Flying spin was fine but the variations were kind of weird. Sit, twist variation, change sit was alright. Pretty good triple flip too, and the last spin was fine, except the loss of speed. Ended with footwork that wasn't bad, but was on the blah side. 32.21 TE 31.50 PCS = 63.71 Total

Side note: Later found out that Adrian's coach was missing and he couldn't locate him before the short program, but he skated because he thought his coach would want him to. At some point after that I believe Adrian's coach was found unconscious in his hotel room and was taken to a hospital due to heart palpatations. All things considered, with the stress of having no idea where your coach is, it's amazing what Adrian accomplished in the short. Kudos to him for holding it together.

Adam Rippon (United States): Opened with a fallout and hands down on a triple axel, but it was fully rotated. Nice triple flip-triple toe combo, followed by a lovely Rippon triple lutz, with a flourish and great expression on the ride out. Great spin* after that, and then some pretty nice footwork. I love all of the little details in this program, a head tilt here, a twist of the body there, etc. A good final spin in a sit change sit with a variation, ending the spin with a upright back crossfoot position. A pretty good performance overall, I thought. I am definitely looking forward to seeing it develop further as Adam becomes more comfortable with it. 36.83 TE 37.11 PCS = 73.94 Total

Kevin van der Perren (Belgium): Someone clearly didn't get the 'plunging neckline = mesh' memo. Yikes... how I wish he'd gotten that memo! Anyway, very, very good triple axel at the beginning, with at good triple lutz-triple toe not long after. Doubled the flip soon after that too... Silly! Death drop was okay, but the variations weren't great positions and it lacks speed. Camel spins could definitely use a lot of improvement in position and again, the speed. Uninteresting footwork with absolutely no zest to it :-/. And finally, a combo spin at the end that was ridiculously slow. I was appalled. Great jumps aside from the flip, but his spins are really poor in general. 30.12 TE 32.10 PCS = 62.22 Total

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): Well, I think we certainly know who owns the crowd even before a single element is performed! Great triple flip-triple toe followed by a triple axel that seemed perfectly fine until he had a step out after it'd already glided back some. How very odd. It was called underrotated too... hm. Flying layback was alright, but only got a level 1 because he didn't hit the position fast enough upon landing.Fallout on the triple lutz, I think he just couldn't quite check it out properly. Sit change sit, fine, and footwork... fantastic, as anticipated. Simultaneously very fun, flirty, and difficult; the man certainly knows how to work a crowd. Okay camel, sit variation, crossfoot combo spin to finish. Obviously some problems on the jumps, but in terms of actually performing, it was very fun and alive, lots of spark. Despite the mistakes, still very enjoyable. 35.69 TE 42.43 PCS = 78.12 Total

Nobunari Oda (Japan): Good triple axel in the opening, as well as an easy triple flip-triple toe. Very nice flying camel and variations. Great triple lutz too! Sit change sit with variations and then lost speed on that dang A-Frame I love so much *eye roll*.( I HAVE wonder what possessed someone to think that that position is attractive in the slightest.) Footwork is well done and everything, but there's nothing exciting about it or significance to it aside from it being a basic requirement. Sit change sit cannonball variation, very nice, and loads of speed on basics throughout the program. Excellent technically, but nothing special on a artistic level. 39.60 TE 39.68 PCS = 79.28 Total


*My apologies for lack of detail on some spins, etc. It's hard to catch all of them when variations change so quickly, especially when you're wracked with nerves, hoping for a particular skater to do well. O-:-)
Men's short results