30 Days of Skating - Day 11: Top 5 Favorite Male Figure Skaters

Decisions, decisions... I could probably list ten or fifteen favorite male skaters! I'll try for a top five though, and maybe some honorable mentions, so that I don't fully exclude some that I really like, but that don't quite make the top five. The top five are....

Daisuke Takahashi: If you've read more than one or two posts on this blog, I'm sure you saw this one coming from a mile away. :P What can I say? Daisuke has gorgeous jumps, amazing footwork, very nice basics, and really skates with passion. I first noticed him when he skated at the Paris Grand Prix at least 5 years ago, but not for the reason you'd think; He was having a rather rough free program, even having a wipeout during footwork or something, and I actually heard some people in the crowd laughing, which really made me feel badly for him. After a somewhat disappointing Olympic debut, Dai really amazed me at 2007 Worlds, where he claimed silver after a very inspiring freeskate. He's been a favorite ever since. (Also, may I say; Who's laughing now? ;) )

Johnny Weir: Yeah... I know. The last few seasons haven't been Johnny's best, for many reasons, but he still holds a special place in my heart. I first saw him when I was 11,  when he skated to second place in the short program at 2003 Nationals, but injured himself in the freeskate and consequently had to withdraw. Like Daisuke, I felt terrible for him, but one day when I was about to leave the house, I found Eastern Sectionals on tv just in time to see Johnny on the ice. I was really happy that he came back after the "Dallas Disaster", and was thrilled when he not only made Nationals, but won it with a flawless freeskate. After that, Johnny did have a couple more excellent seasons, and of course some that weren't so great, but he has left me with some magical memories and performances to look back on, along with frustration that he never really reached his full potential.

Jeffrey Buttle: I don't remember thinking anything in particular about Jeffrey, until the 2006 Olympics, where he won the bronze after falling twice in the free, which really didn't sit well with me with Johnny placing behind him with no falls, and whatnot. Now that emotions aren't so high (I wanted a medal for Johnny SO badly!), and I've watched the performances again, I actually can see why Jeff placed ahead of him and why, despite usually making at least a couple of errors, Jeff has so many medals. He really does skate beautifully and has a magic that was rarely tarnished, even when there where technical problems. Thankfully, I did learn to appreciate his skating a couple of years before his retirement, and I was so thrilled when he finally put a clean competition together and won a World title. He really did deserve it, and I have to say, I still miss his presence on the competitive circuit.

Stephane Lambiel: I do remember seeing Stephane win his first World title on tv in 2005 and thinking he did well, but he didn't quite capture my attention at that point in time. Like Jeffrey, I didn't understand his placement at the Olympics at first, with he not even attempting any triple axels. Again though, after some time passed and I rewatched the competition, I really enjoyed Stephane a lot! His musicality, his step sequences, and spins are just wonderful. He paid/pays so much attention to the artistry of the program, I still go back and watch competitions where he'd had technical trouble because the actual performance was still fantastic. Unfortunately, this past Olympic Games were the one exception that I can recall where the life was sucked out of the performances. Even so, as a whole, his skating is pure, lovely, and entertaining, and I will miss seeing him compete.

Adam Rippon: I first heard about Adam right after he won his junior National title. Many people that mentioned him were saying how his style was similar to Johnny Weir's... so I decided to check him out once junior World's videos were up on icenetwork. I was very impressed by his skating; even without a triple axel, he could break the 200 mark! As time has gone by, I definitely think Adam has continued to improve, technically and artistically. He's very comfortable to watch; usually he inspires a sense of confidence that the jumps are going to get done, unlike many skaters. I think that he is becoming an ideal all around skater, as he seems to have few weaknesses. One of the things that stands out most about him for me, is the sense of joy in his skating. I love the freedom and passion in it. It is something that so often gets lost in the grind of competition,so I love seeing it in him; it is incredibly refreshing. I think Adam has what it takes to be at the top of the sport, and I am really looking forward to seeing him compete over the next few years.

Honorable Mentions: Takahiko Kozuka, Jeremy Abbott, Florent Amodio, and Nobunari Oda.

30 Days of Skating - Day 10: Last competition/show you attended

Unfortunately, I have never been to an elite level skating competition, but the last skating show I went to was Kimmie's Angels on Ice on August 25th, 2007. I was extremely fortunate enough to have that show close enough for me to go to, and managed to get VIP tickets, allowing me to see the practice before the show and go to a special dinner, etc. It was a really great experience, and the best parts were definitely being able to be so close to the ice and being able to meet some of my favorite skaters, including Jeffrey Buttle and Johnny Weir. I was really impressed by the skating in general - Jeffrey Buttle left me in awe with his "Go the Distance" program! Even some of the skaters I wasn't as excited to see were really impressive in person, like Steven Cousins and Brooke Castille and Benjamin Okolski. I hope that someone can get a skating tour similar to this running again, now that Champions on Ice is gone. I'd love to see more live skating like that!

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 

Skating updates

It appears that Johnny Weir is making more serious attempts to get his jumps back, after losing some of them due to lack of training following the Olympics.

Triple Axel and triple Axel-triple toe (cheated triple toe)

The axels look clean to me =)!I'm so glad to see that's he's buckled down enough to get his triple axel back. Seeing him do double and triple toes in All That Skate LA was really disheartening. Of course, by no means do I think this means that Johnny is going to compete again, but it'd be great for him to have his normal triples for shows at least.

Also, it appears there are two open slots in the men's competition for Trophee Eric Bompard next week, due to withdrawals by Michal Brezina and Sergei Voronov. Still no word on who will be replacing them, but it seems a recent Grand Prix bronze medalist is certainly willing to go if asked. ;)

Blast from the Past - Worlds 2007:The Men

Of all my figure skating tapes and dvds I've made over the years, I have to say that my dvds of the 2007 World Championship are some of the ones that I have watched the most . That said, it is certainly not without good reason: I quite enjoyed the men's event that year, even with Johnny Weir (yes, a favorite of mine) finishing in 8th place. The highlights are, for me at least, are...

Stephane Lambiel: After a less than perfect (but still fabulous) short program, he went on to have some difficulties on his jumps in the freeskate as well, but despite the mistakes, I love the passion in that performance and it remains a favorite of mine to this day. In addition, there is this fluff that really makes the passion in his programs at that event even sweeter, in my mind at least.

Jeffrey Buttle: Like Stephane, he also had a rough time technically in the free, but as with Stephane, I really enjoyed his overall performance. I think that those performances standing up as favorites even with the mistakes really underscores the fact that these two men were adapt at not letting technical errors ruin the program as a whole, which is definitely something you can't say about very many skaters these days.

Tomas Verner: His freeskate here definitely put him on the map. I didn't have any recollection of him before that, but it was a nice surprise to see a relative unknown step up to plate on the biggest competition of the season. Hopefully Tomas can put the puzzle pieces back together and get back to these kind of results.

Daisuke Takahashi: His near flawless freeskate (save for a hand down on his opening quad toe loop) was absolutely gorgeous, and the best part the fact he pulled it off in his home country! Daisuke skated a lovely program to Phantom of the Opera, which was full of solid jumps and great artistry. Brian Joubert may have won the World title, but Daisuke definitely had the performance of the night.

30 Days of Skating - Day 9: Code of Points - Give your opinion

I'm warning you now, this is probably going to be very wordy. With that said, let the rant begin!

I think there is a lot of good and bad to the Code of Points system. I love that it helps skaters see which technical elements in their skating need work, and I think that it has made footwork and spins so much more important than they were under the 6.0 system. I also think that the Grade of Execution marks are a really good idea generally; I mean, certainly someone who does a really high, easy triple axel deserves to earn more points on that element than someone who just barely lands it . On the flip side, GOE's have clearly been used to prop skaters up before (I.e. Skate Canada 2010, Mr. Chan.), giving positive GOE when the jumps were scratchy or simply sufficient. And of course, there are other instances where GOE marks are used to keep some skaters lower in the standings.

I also feel that underrotation, downgrade, and wrong edge penalties are a nice idea in theory, and I appreciate it encourages better technique,  but there have been several times where I have been absolutely certain a jump was rotated or on the proper edge (rewatching the element several times to be sure, so that I wasn't just blowing smoke), and a skater has been penalized for it being 'incorrect'. That is bogus to me, and possibly a way of helping judge's favorites stay ahead. And again, on the opposite end, sometimes a skater is obviously on the wrong edge or has clearly underrotated, yet doesn't receive so much as a slap on the wrist.

Having the Program Components Score highlight five different areas of focus is another great idea... in theory. In practice however, there is rarely much variation between the different sections, regardless of whether a skater actually performed or not. If a skater has a program full of transitions, of course the Transitions score  should reward it, but if that same skater performed the program without connecting to the music and audience at all, their Interpretation score should be lower, and vice versa. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case; the marks all tend to be very similar, regardless of if there were no transitions or if it was an absolutely lifeless skate.

This system hasn't solved most of the problems with the 6.0 system; it's just made the problems more complex. I think the real issue here is that it is the same people running the sport that made that hot mess that was the 2002 Olympic Pairs scandal. Didier Gailhaguet is the French Federation President again for crying out loud, despite his involvement and being suspended for a period of time. The fact that he can come back after all of that and being in a high position, in addition to the anonymous judging, seems to leave judges without much fear of punishment for cheating. And certainly, now that the system has been in effect for a few years, the judges have learned how to cheat, if they so desire, but now they can do it more effectively using GOE and the PCS.  The system may be new, but the way it is used is exactly the way the 6.0 was used before it. 

I think that the best way to make the judging more fair is to remove the veil of anonymity and make the judges take responsibility for the marks they give out, and putting into effect more severe consequences for cheating (including a lifetime ban for multiple repeat offenses). Unless this happens, I don't think that much is going to change in the way this sport is judged. 


You've heard mine, but what is your opinion?

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