hoodie axel

...He intends on studying Nathan Chen's jumps.

I don't think I have any real fear that he will be knocking people off the podium... On an international stage. Yet. If he pulls out a quad, it could be, and I'm not here for it unless deserved, but his age is a factor here. Nationally... Not looking forward to it.

Highly overscored on PCS for messy skates.

Daisuke receiving Patrick-like scores is exactly what I'd like to not see.

My problem isn't a jerky choreography as such, I think hip hop or popping could be interesting to watch, but he makes it look jerkier than it should be by not moving his arms using the core. He's also really heavy-looking in that clip, somehow, when it looks like it should be light and sharp.

That's really herky-jerky....

Do it Osmond! Critics: Another Piaf song? Do you regret your choices? Osmond: Non, je regrette rien

Which Piaf song remains?

Shoma's and Satoko's jumps, tho I know that Wakaba and Mai are counterpoints... What even

Yeah, I just don't see why he couldn't have NHK, too. O___o I mean, Japan 1+2, and Shoma's probably winning SC, anyway, so... ???

I did consider it, and I think that's in the back of my head, but Vincent's quads and (credit where it's due) effort in the PCS department ought to take the cake. Thing is, Aliev has a great style, but his technique isn't a lot better. Zhou looks like 2+2 to me.

Considered a few possible scenarios. Outside of health/random melt downs, that ought to be the finals list. Boyang's worst might be a 3 (FIN) + 2 (FRA) -- he made it to the GPF last year with a 4+2 (although because Yuzuru withdrew). Made it in 2015 with a 2+2, 2016 with 5+1 (don't care what the "official" "results"/politciking polluted bs says). Yale!Chen might indeed lose to Orser!Boyang, and I'd hardly call it an upset.

Men's GPF predictions: Boyang, Nathan, Yuzuru, Shoma, Vincent, Mikhail Kolyada.

Well, we won't be seeing Gailhaguet's name under "retirements" for another 4 years.

LOL

Within natural expectations. I'm in two minds about his jumps. Good to see him recovering, but also I don't know why he's doing combos in an exhibition.

Oh, it's helpful. My point was simply what I wrote in the last paragraph -- it's targeting, not an actual goodwill effort to fix the judging. If they had suspended more, it might seem like it, but them firing the Chinese judges only despite all these other ones being biased (and there's still the point of the Pairs judge going before Parker), it's almost certainly them targeting the Chinese judges before 2022.

But Yuzuru has never needed the judges' help when he has won either. Even if the Japanese judges had overscored him and underscored the others in the events that he's won, it doesn't really matter. Almost no skater who wins does it because the one judge from their country who might be judging them overscored them and underscored the others. Maybe someone can analyze, but I feel like a single judge doing something like this doesn't affect anything, the biases cancel out. Placements are almost never decided by margins that small. It's when multiple judges collude that it becomes a huge problem (like in Ice Dance). I know that Boyang finished ahead of Nathan by 0.44, but was this literally because of the one judge? And the variables in favour of Nathan wouldn't be canceled out anyway. What would happen if the US and Chinese judges were tossed for both, and then the regular scoring system (so 7 judges, and then toss out the highest and the lowest) were applied to them? The tech calls, and judge collusion, and the faulty application of guidelines and scoring on a global level matters far more. It's why this doesn't sit as any measure they've taken to prevent anything to me currently. The Chinese judges alone can actually never do anything to get their skaters the win -- no single judge can, unless the margin of victory is ridiculously small, and maybe not even then. This just seems like targeting to me. But if someone has any analysis, maybe they can present it?

Sure, but I hope you get your analysis published somewhere. The ISU doesn't have any shame, but it deserves to be shamed anyway. And the skaters might appreciate it.

No one. I let them pick their own faves.

Genuine question: What would go wrong if they really were released when you're asleep?

Ah, you mean this double entendre:

So it's not from the Chinese OC's orders? Or this is what they're supposed to feed the ISU? I'm confused.

This is a good move, because then the CSA has a ready-made excuse to protect its athletes.

Not for one season, of course, but pride for the coming ones. And the opportunity to gain confidence going into the Olympics. And I wanted Boyang to get his plush doll flood this season. And finally the gold he deserved in 2016CoC, in front of his home crowd. That would've been great.