TallyT

Is the sky really that blue?

Sometimes I wonder if the man is really a little blind to just how much he is missed and followed. You would think it was impossible (a quick look at the TV/papers/internet every time he pops his head up would tell him) and he's a good soul... but when he decides to go incognito, nobody does it better.

Thank you for all of this, having been involved in a bunfight on bees over at GS (don't ask) I found this thread of Yuzu and bees wonderfully apt and cheery

I do believe that he will do something, even if it is short and off ice, for 24HR, and given his commitment to its cause, maybe something longer When is that again?

We will diiiiieeeeeeee......

From what I saw, he says he hasn't seen Yuzu (aka done zoom sessions), that doesn't mean he hasn't spoken to him at all...

It's hard this year, I mean we are used to the ninja doing his ninja thing, but with no shows or media day or anything, and him dloing an even better job than usual (white wall, white wall, white wall...) there's absolutely nothing. Surely the Japanese press can come up with something for us...

If anyone knows the story behind the next one, please tell

Every country whose higher education sector makes money from foreign students is either treating them as special cases, considering treating them as special cases, or being pressured by said sector to do so. Our own (I recently retired from a university job) is pushing the Government like crazy and shedding jobs as they lose money hand over fist due to covid keeping the students out. Jason did have to try several times, as I understand, and a land border is easier (one of the reasons Australia is, even with the current crisis down south, relatively low on the covid hit list is that big, very wet border around us. The crisis is in one state and the others are frantic about the land borders within). I'm biased, I just want Yuzu to be able to go to the one he wants most...

I'm not usually the doom and gloom sort (my family call me a Pollyanna) but I really think that Skate America will end up being cancelled at the last minute... and if it goes, so will others.

If I was one of the big names, I'd be tempted to say a polite "thanks but no thanks". Alina has won everything, has nothing to prove, and surely doesn't need the 'joy' of competing again all three of her 'successors' in a faux-Nationals; Evgenia has everything but the OGM, so ditto (okay, maybe if Canada opens borders... but that is not looking likely any time soon). Rika's tweet yesterday was from Switzerland, presumably she's heading back to Japan and Hamada. Shoma... well, maybe if he could get to Switzerland because no one wants a repeat of last year's coachless competitions, and somehow I don't see him as remote coaching; if he did this, he could go to France with a great chance of winning (Kevin will be there but without his coaches). Nathan Chen... is he back at uni? (I thought I read he took the next year or two off but he may have chosen, given the skating wasteland, to head back if they are open). If so, looking at the numbers where the uni is, and at Nevada... umm. Yuzuru, if he is in Sendai, would have first dibs on Sendai Ice Rink, and Brian did say he basically trains himself these days, so with remote (and maybe a temporary Japanese coach, most of them would be more than happy for the honour) I've no doubt he could do it, even with new programs. But even more than Alina, he has absolutely nothing to prove and only the 4A to get. The ISU will be praying that he above all does decide to swallow their pretend GP, because wherever he is will be the only one to get much of an international audience and they know it.

Nah, I'm following it as well here and there. And normally I don't even like soap opera.

Tracey has mentioned how scary it is to see in practice at TCC, so watching it from across the world... poor them. But on the other hand, they are there every day, they know better than we do how he is NOT going to rest till he gets it.

It's evil of me, but I'm beginning to hope Shcherbakova announces she's leaving (though not for Plushy, please) as well, just because the explosions from the Eteri worshipping people twisting their previous praise of each exiting skater into condemnation is getting damn funny... and if all three of the 3A 'family' desert, what will they do???? But she won't. She's now top of the team.

Russian ladies - the never-ending soap opera story.... I can't say I'm surprised, the team system had the seeds of its own implosion inbuilt. Too many OGM wannabes under one roof was never going to work, even before covid wrecked their chances of making a mark this year. And the method did treat the girls as easily replaceable and replaced, which kind of makes Eteri's complaints about lack of loyalty rather... well, sauce for the goose. If Alina chooses not to return, it's going to make things veeeeerrrry interesting, with the invincible team going from too many for the podiums to... one (at least till Valieva moves up). I what Shcherbakova is thinking this morning? She's pretty well become queen bee.