Figure Skating Chat!- Page 15

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 10:50pm

Why, it's uncanny!

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:02pm

I like Dick Button but sometimes he gets tounge-tied when he gets excited, and only like romantic pairs programs.

But I like him.

He talks a lot of theatre because I always hear him say "actor/dancer" when he talks about certain skaters!

I'm glad that Maria Petrova and Alexie T. did a good program! They've been underrated in the past!

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:17pm

Just had on another team where the girl was wearing pants. I love watching the lines when they're both wearing dark pants. This is my new favorite skating trend. :)

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:24pm

The German team is in 7th and below Rena and John who end up in 6th! And they are in reach of a medal! This German were contenders and still are, but 7th is disappointing for them. I'm not sure if their coach, 1998 Olympic Pairs Bronze Medalist, Ingo Steure was allowed into the games or not.


How many times have they shown the Michelle Thing! Between the Olympic Coverage and Olympic Ice too many times!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:28pm

Unfortunately, no matter what Michelle does, they are going to make "news" about it. Like she doesn't have enough to worry about.

I really think the placement of Baldwin and Inuoe should have been slightly higher than 6th.

[jeremykushnier1fan]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:30pm

I'm going to be super mad if Michelle doesn't start skating soon!

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:31pm

Speaking of the pants the girls are wearing. I still perfer the dress, but I think it's more of a short program type of thing. We'll probably see several in the Ladies Short Program. I think Irina Slutskaya and Yelena Sokolova wear them. Or is Irina wearing them in her LP? I hope not.

Speaking of the rule that Sandra said was passed after the 2002 Olympics allowing women to wear pants. Debi Thomas wore pants in her 1988 Olympic Short Program. Although she might have also had a small skirt too. Anyways, maybe singles were always allowed to wear them. Come to think of it Katarina Witt wore pants for her Robin Hood SP at the 1994 Olympics SP. So maybe that rule applied to pairs.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 12:21am

iCurious-what are the things Plushenko can't do that other skaters can?

He's not the greatest spinner out there. He's actually behind a lot of men in that area, and his choreography really is lacking compared to many men, especially in terms of transitions. One thing he has over them, is EXCELLENT jumping. His jumps are out of this world great, and he sells a program like no one else.

BTW, I hate that the media is having a field day about Kwan. She had one bad practice where she fell badly and got a bit emotional. Now she's withdrawing? WTF. Her event is in 10 days, not tomorrow.

Kwan NEVER said she was withdrawing, the comment was taken out of context. She said "no" before she made those comments about listening to her body. Sensationalism is way over the top at these Games. The people causing it don't know what they are talking about either and they don't really have anything to go other than speculation, so they harp on things like the way she talks and her ROBBING Emily Hughes when Kwan at mediocre is still better than what Emily Hughes would offer.

I love this quote here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/13849318.htm

"That's something you guys have to write about - tarnished medals," Kwan said.

This is the first time I've seen Kwan give the media back what they dished out to her. I'm glad that Kwan is finally growing a spine.

The media should write about the pairs SP, if they talk about figure skating, not a practice 10 days away from Kwan's event.

P.S. Thank you for correcting me regarding Inoue and Baldwin, it was bad typo. Gonna edit

Updated On: 2/12/06 at 12:21 AM

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 12:33am

I hate NBC's coverage with the way they chop up skating just to make people stay and watch the other sports. They also don't really give your any bio information or the music they skate to before they skate.

I love Uncle Dickie, but he was annoying me so much tonight. And I usually like his candor...but I think he went way overboard with the negativity. We know the Code of Points makes things ugly, we've known this for the past two seasons, and anyway, saying it AFTER the performance during replay would've done the job.

Shen and Zhao did pretty good considering all of their obstacles. I'm so glad that HE did the triple toe...shame about the bad pivot and Shen putting a hand down in the sbs triple toe. However, I really like their program and hope they can medal in the LP...they are in striking distance.

Petrova and Tikhinov! Just when I was about to write them off as has-beens...here they are showing me they are still medal contenders. Their SP reminded me what they were capable of and am glad they are doing well.

S/S from Germany (I still can't spell their names, sorry!) had the most difficult program in terms of chroeography. Man. They were just doing elements in and out of transitions. I think once all the old-horses from 6.0 retire, these are the type of program we'll see from the generation that breeded under COP. Shame about the mistakes.

Totimianina and Marinin kicked ass. They were so good...technically brilliant and I might even put them on a step below the great Russian pairs now! Their Long PRogram is even better, IMO.

Inoue and Baldwin were so freakin' awesome and I loved her throw triple axel. It was so clean and perfect, much better than at U.S. Nationals a month before. I wish they went for the SBS triple toe loops instead of the double axels. And I wish they sorta upped their difficulty in lifts, because they would be a lot closer to the bronze then. Their SBS are the best of the field...no question.

Zhang and Zhang were rockn' that SP. They are unpolished, but they really had a great program that made them really look good. And their throws were absolutely huge!

Pang and Tong surprised me the most. After a year of having ok results (that were lower than usual), they proved they still got it. Excellent program (though it was weird that they skated to that music for a LONG program 2 years ago in 2004).

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 12:44am

Reading this:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/results/1501431/detail.html

I was wrong about I/B's program being easier. They seem to have had the second highest TES of the competition. They got hosed down in PCS.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 12:45am

Dottie, I agree about Baldwin and Inoue. I really liked their performance. Apparently, we are not alone. Sale and Pelletier are doing commentary now and they said that B&I's scores deserved to be higher, too. (My husband said, "It doesn't matter about this new scoring system, it's still FIXED!" )

I don't think that women wearing "pants" is flattering to every skating pair. It depends on a number of factors...but I bet it really affects the quality of their movement.

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 12:58am

pang and tong looked GREAT in their sleek black costumes. her body suit did a wonderful job of hiding her unusually skinny legs ... and i think he's gained some wait. the commentators described them as a mis-matched pair, but they looked more matched tonite than ever.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 1:03am

I loved that she wore pants to hide Ms. "Sometimes I chew but don't shallow" Pang's skeleton legs.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 1:14am

I agree, her legs are so skinny!

Jamie Sale said the judges only gave Rena and John a level 1 rating(out of a 3) for the throw triple axel!

Way too low! I'm scared for them to do it again in the long!

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 1:20am

There are no levels for jumps. There are only grades of execution and they got 1 and 2s, with one -1 (wtf?). I think it's nearly impossible to get a 3 for Grade of Execution on jumps. They got a 1.14 just in GOE overall, which is really great for them.

Updated On: 2/12/06 at 01:20 AM

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 1:22am

what blind bat gave them a -1 for the throw-axel?? it was perfect!

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 1:26am

I have no idea. It was beautiful.

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 1:33am

they have never skated better in their lives. and Z&Z's placement was a shock.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 3:10am

Kwan withdrew...I was wrong...

http://www.usocpressbox.org/

[LaurenB]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 4:34am

So sad about Michelle. Back to pants...

Debi Thomas did wear pants in 88 in her short program (I think a one-piece unitard). There were a couple others that year too. I believe the rules were changed after the 88 Olympics, because the judges felt that so many of the costumes had become risque, with plunging necklines, bare backs, and high-cut leg openings. Does anyone remember the gal whose breast popped out? I think it was during a spiral. Her bodice had spaghetti straps, and when she stretched her torso, the top of her outfit didn't stretch enough to cover her breast. I commented about the high cut leg comment that Dick Button made earlier in this thread. That was the same year.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 6:34am

What a shame about Michelle. I know I wanted her to pull out all stops and show everyone what a true champion she really is. She has shown a lot of class and I respect her all the more.

[zzannahk]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 6:48am

It sucks because one of the "experts" said that falling during practice isn't uncommon and then in that press conference she evasive and now she quits? I hope she isn't seriously that injured.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 7:00am

A groin injury is very difficult to bounce back from right away. It takes time, especially considering how long Michelle was involved in figure skating. If I'm feeling really bummed about this, I can only imagine how Michelle feels.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 8:34am

Watching Michelle's press conference and her interview with Bob Costas and Scott Hamilton brought the biggest lump to my throat.

To Sally Jenkins, a sports columnist at The Washington Post, who wrote such a scathing and condescending article about Michelle: get a life!

Updated On: 2/12/06 at 08:34 AM

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/12/06 at 9:02am

Sally Jenkins is a hag. She should take her body's advice and eat more cheetoes and do less writing.

Here is an mp3 of her press conference.

http://www.archive.org/download/Michelle_Kwan_out-of-Games/Kwan_Out-of-Games.mp3

I'm really sad right now. i followed her skating when I was 13 at the 1998 Olympics where she handled her silver medal despite giving a near perfect performance with such grace and class, and now she has to face another major disappointment.

Kwan was clearly exhausted and emotionally drained during the press conference, but she was willing to answer the media who asked her pretty tough or tactless questions (I'm looking at you Phil Hersh!, and she showed some glimpses of her personality.

At the Today show, Bob Costas and Scott Hamilton interviewed her and Scott got pretty emotional and got Kwan to cry a bit. Man...