Hanyu and Chan - LP what??

ONskater74 · February 14, 2014, 08:32:48 PM

These two skaters puzzle me. Okay, so I don;t have a TV or time to watch the entire bunch of skaters, so I just skim it on youtube and watch the top few.
Why bother watching anymore? Chan is deaf, it seems, and his music is just background noise. (Nice music though). He falls and trips all the way through.
Hanyu had crap music but seemed to at least try to listen to it. He too falls and stumbles. I'll give him credit for the Ina Bauer, splendid. But gauzy tops with dollar store emeralds and rubies?
These are the best in the world? I really do not understand why this sport is even worth watching today. You just sit there in terror with your heart in your mouth waiting for every skater to crash land.

nicklaszlo · February 15, 2014, 12:06:37 AM

Quote from: ONskater74 on February 14, 2014, 08:32:48 PM
Chan is deaf, it seems, and his music is just background noise. (Nice music though).

Quote from: ONskater74 on February 14, 2014, 08:32:48 PM
Hanyu had crap music

I think you were watching the Martian olympics by mistake.

sampaguita · February 15, 2014, 08:15:45 AM

I agree Hanyu's and Chan's LPs were not their best, and they paid for their mistakes with scores way below their season's bests. But then they had commanding leads in the SP. The SPs were fantastic.

Chan and Hanyu were on time with their music. It might be that the Youtube video you were watching didn't have the audio and video in sync. Remember, these videos were most likely recorded from live streams using Bandicam or similar software, so it's not top quality. Better wait a few months before the HD versions are uploaded.

sarahspins · February 15, 2014, 08:51:55 AM

Quote from: ONskater74 on February 14, 2014, 08:32:48 PMBut gauzy tops with dollar store emeralds and rubies?

You can blame Johnny Weir for that one - he designed it!

icedancer · February 15, 2014, 12:31:39 PM

It was completely disappointing that they both melted down as both skaters are really fantastic.

And Jason Brown 9th? WHAT???

ONskater74 · February 15, 2014, 08:47:07 PM

Here is what a silver medal LP looks like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fHV9agpayQ

Now compare to silver today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnhwHfEf4eM

Robin's arm movements mean something, they tell a story, they are significant. Chan, Reynolds, et al just seem to flail about constantly, constantly making herculean afforts at speed, muscular jumps, it is like trying to listen to someone read a speech off of a paper at double speed as compared to a wise storyteller who knows the value of a measured silence and gentle cadences.

ONskater74 · February 15, 2014, 08:55:48 PM

I really like how he comes out of back crossovers into a forward spiral, so smooth and understated.

icedancer · February 15, 2014, 09:46:47 PM

Don't get me wrong - I love Robin Cousins and loved his skating then - also interesting to note that he choreographed at least one of the men's programs this past weekend and also that one of the skaters used some music that Robin had used as a "professional competition" program for their SP so he is definitely an influence on the sport still today.

But the comparison is kind of onerous - I don't know if you notice but Robin does single a planned triple sal - they didn't mention it in the commentary - I didn't watch the whole program but the whole style back then was so different that it is like comparing apples to... I don't know what...

Plus it is a different judging system - he was coming from behind in 4th place after the figures and short program and I'm guessing that in the 6.0 system that coming to 2nd was about the highest he could have gotten and that he probably actually won the free program but came in 2nd to Tichner because of coming from behind - does this make any sense?

Patrick Chan and Honyu both skated poorly - I watched the programs again this afternoon just to see how bad they were and Honyu basically did look better to me without taking any "points" into consideration - it was very disappointing. Looking at how they scored it looked like Honyu was only about 0.5 points ahead of Patrick Chan in the free program but was ahead by I think 5 points in the short - so he won the event.

This is definitely not the first time something like this has happened - under either the old or the new system - even Scott Hamilton in 1984 won despite having a flawed long program - he would say so himself I am sure - he did not skate his best and may not even have won the free.

Schmeck · February 16, 2014, 10:18:14 AM

Quote from: icedancer on February 15, 2014, 12:31:39 PM
It was completely disappointing that they both melted down as both skaters are really fantastic.

And Jason Brown 9th? WHAT???

Since the event is over, it's not a spoiler anymore to say what happened, right? Spoiler info below:

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Spoiler below:

Brown screwed up big time. Lots of jumps downgraded, he botched a jump and did it again and set his count off. No quad at all really hurts him too. There's only so much you can do with gumby moves and arm flapping. He did get rewarded for his transitions, etc. But he basically brings a women's program to the men's division. It has to be a perfect one to be competitive, and it was not.

icedancer · February 16, 2014, 06:26:07 PM

Quote from: Schmeck on February 16, 2014, 10:18:14 AM

Brown screwed up big time. Lots of jumps downgraded, he botched a jump and did it again and set his count off. No quad at all really hurts him too. There's only so much you can do with gumby moves and arm flapping. He did get rewarded for his transitions, etc. But he basically brings a women's program to the men's division. It has to be a perfect one to be competitive, and it was not.

Wow. Well, a ladies program with a triple axel at that!

Not a fan, eh?

I LOVE this guy - hoping for great things in the next 4 years!

Mergen Tatara · February 17, 2014, 12:43:29 AM

Sir Patrick effectively lost the gold medal when he fell behind Hanyu in the SP. If you analyse his competition wins, he always carries a huge lead from the SP into the LP. So even if he falls (as usual) in the LP, he usually has enough buffer to win overall.

So when he was 5 points behind after the SP, I knew the gold medal was gone.

It might still be possible to make up a 2.5+ points deficit in LP, but 5 points deficit was impossible given Hanyu's calibre.

My biggest disappointment was actually Prince Kevin. What happened

??? The Prince of Quads??? But he's still young and probably has more Games to attempt.

sampaguita · February 17, 2014, 06:10:16 AM

With no quad, what Jason Brown had to do was to give a perfect LP to get the bronze, but he fell many times in his LP. It would have been great if he had performed a perfect program, although I doubt a perfect LP is enough to overtake Denis Ten's. Still, he could have made 4th or 5th.

Schmeck · February 17, 2014, 01:59:39 PM

Quote from: icedancer on February 16, 2014, 06:26:07 PM
Wow. Well, a ladies program with a triple axel at that!

Not a fan, eh?

I LOVE this guy - hoping for great things in the next 4 years!

One triple axel (second one was downgraded) - and women have done triple axels before (Miki Ando), so yes, a women's program.

I love his transitions, and his various jump entries, but not a fan of the gumby spins or his jump technique. I hope to see him improve in the next 4 years as well. But he has to have a stronger 3A and at least one dependable quad.

JSM · February 17, 2014, 04:23:47 PM

Jason I thought did pretty well this season - his first at the Senior Level, right? There was no way he was going to win a medal unless the stars aligned, but he did well. A memorable program and I am looking forward to him as he improves!

His spins are amazing!!! I was on a session with him some time ago and spent half the freestyle watching him from the boards, lol.

icedancer · February 17, 2014, 08:07:07 PM

I never expected the Bronze for Jason Brown. I was hoping for more like 4th or 5th.

irenar5 · February 18, 2014, 09:54:18 PM

QuoteHere is what a silver medal LP looks like.

The whole program is crossovers into mostly double jumps.

FigureSpins · February 19, 2014, 11:55:41 AM

Quote from: icedancer on February 17, 2014, 08:07:07 PM
I never expected the Bronze for Jason Brown. I was hoping for more like 4th or 5th.

I wasn't expecting him to place that high since he doesn't have a quad. Jason is an up-and-rising skater with a lot of talent, but he just didn't have the arsenal of jumps for this competition. He's ticking them off one-by-one in his training, so he'll be ready for the next Olympics, which is the goal.

I remember being at a coaching conference where they were offering him cash to land a triple axel on the harness. He just wasn't ready. His 3A is solid, but he's not yet consistent. The same can be said about the other contenders, lol. That's a difficult jump.

Jason just needs a little more development time and he'll be a contender. I hope Brandon Mroz or Max Aaron develop the same consistency and skill, but Jason's artistry is better, imo.

I saw the cutest picture online - Jason was using a white board to ask a girl to be his Valentine, lol. We rarely see guys doing mushy stuff like that anymore, which is a shame.

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Hanyu and Chan - LP what??