rockstaryuzu

Maybe it looks a little hokey on Youtube, but it really worked as a high-energy open for the show on the big screens at the arena. And yes, Kaitlyn and Kaetlyn opened the show with some great skating.

Popularity isn't what I meant by having many people agree that you're the GOAT, though. What I meant is that in order to be the GOAT, whatever skill, talent, or genius has to be obvious to a reasonably large number of people, from a wide variety of viewpoints on whatever discipline you're in, and that those people would rank your skill, talent, or genius as better than all your competitors. I mean, Jason Brown is popular but he'll never be the GOAT. Plushy is often controversial and not necessarily popular but there are many who would consider him the GOAT.

I think that was the case last year too.

You can see it so clearly with Kurt. His feet are big LOL so his skating skills stand out.

I was thinking exactly that last night. I hope she's just being a sponge and absorbing ALL THE KNOWLEDGE... because even Nam has those skills and you can totally see it in the show. If I had to describe Patrick's technique, I'd say he put his blade down heel first, if that makes sense...except that's not possible in every single step..but that's what it looks like - like the rear half of his blade makes contact with the ice before the front does. But it's so, so, so subtle of a difference - most of the other skaters are making contact in the middle area of the foot I think. I'm not 100% sure even of this observation, because they all move so darn fast. It's like they're playing a game of 'the floor is lava' and stepping so quickly that each foot doesn't touch the ice for long unless they're holding an edge.

Agree. Although whoever choreographed SOI Canada this year tried to include some of that into the group numbers. There was a whole piece with a breakdancing theme that was basically all the skaters pairing off in turn and doing SBS elements. Unfortunately it was nearly impossible to film with my crappy Android and all my videos are blurry.

Well it's not like skaters seem to age all that much.

You sure? I mean, Yuzu's suit fits and everything...

Yes, yes .When you look at that pic, suddenly the "Thousand Years of Death" story is that much more believable.

No, no, no, they're still too busy competing to see who gets to be Yuzu's flower boy...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PLANET!!! Here's to oodles more years of Yuzu-related mayhem and joy!!!

No, that's not what I meant. More like he's obviously at ease with Nam and doesn't hold back. Plus his different expressions are fun.

Still, it's good to see Yuzu and PChan with their arms around each other all friendly-like like that.

Raise your hand if the first thing you did was zoom in to make sure they spelled 'Olympic' correctly...

I just went to Stars On Ice last night and watched two guys in their 50s do 2As, and backflips...two guys who were injured during their competitive careers...two guys who just happen to skate at TCC now...Kurt and Elvis. If they can get back to the point where they're putting on performances that kids half their age would be lucky to be able to do, there's plenty of hope for Yuzu.

Of all the photos to come from World's, this is the best one! I love it. Yuzu showing us what he really thinks...

ACI and Skate Canada International this past fall. But I was comparing to her Olympic performance/appearance. If you look at her now, she's just stronger-looking altogether.

All I can say is that she looks much stronger and healthier than she did, with a lot more muscle in her legs, and if she learns to use that properly and forgets the arm assist nonsense, she is going to soar, and I mean SOAR. But it all depends on how well she is able to take in what she is being taught now.

Well, I wouldn't say that. She does have some skills but they need re-grounding in the basics. If she had those basics she'd be whole different skater. Anyway, I wouldn't go so far as to say she's muscling into the Sal. It looked more like she had either forgotten some of the new techniques she learned this year, or that she was experimenting with trying to get more rotational power so she could quad.

I would love to see that. Because from what I saw at ACI practices, he likes to go fast. Him on the ice with Kurt, Elvis, and Patrick would be a sight to behold. Incidentally, my seat was really close to the ice so I could observe the skaters' feet, and Patrick places his feet down on the ice differently from everyone else. It's so subtle but when you can see him skating with the others, you notice the difference. I wonder if that's what gave him the edge. His skills are far and away better than the others. Or maybe I should say his feet? That one-footed sideways slide and stop that he does... I don't know how he makes it happen. You'd topple over normally. It's got to be in his feet.

I wish I could tell you, but when I watch skating live the jumps happen so fast I can't pick up on details like that. At least one was definitely a Sal.

I personally think that Kaetlyn is skating better now than when she won World's. And she's just a strong woman overall, with a powerful physique. As for Evgenia, there was a cute moment at the end of the show. As part of the finale, the skaters are stroking around in a circle, doing pivots to go alternately forwards and backwards but travelling in the same direction. Paul Poirier was leading and he set a really fast pace, with Kurt bringing up the rear. Evgenia was really trying, but she just couldn't keep up with the Canadians, and by the end when they all peel off and head for the end of the rink, a gap had opened up between her and the others. Because Kurt was behind her, he had to slow down too, and she looks back at him, looks sort of embarrassed. He gives her a smile and a gentle little push to get her back up to speed and she laughs. He was saying something to her, not sure what. Anyway, I don't want to draw conclusions but I couldn't help but remember what Brian said in interviews last season about her speed. This was a graphic representation of what he meant. And it's got to be technique, because even Meagan Duhamel, who is shorter and has shorter legs than Evgenia and is three months pregnant, could skate faster. ALL of the Canadians could skate faster. I guess this is what people mean when they talk about Canadian skating skills.

I already mentioned this over in the Team Canada thread, but I'll add it here too: I saw Evgenia skate in Stars On Ice Canada last night and she was very good! Her performances were wonderful, but I didn't know what to make of her jump technique. She was using both a lot of arm and a lot of leg to get into the jump. It looked kind of wild. She only tried a couple of jumps. Just wondering if anyone else has seen her jumps during the shows and if they can comment because that really confused me. It was like a hybrid technique of her old way and the new stuff she's been learning. Other than that, she looked really healthy and happy and seemed to be having fun.

Stars On Ice Canada is underway. I went to the Ottawa show last night and Kurt stunned everyone by jumping a 2A, a triple something and doing one of his famous back flips! Not to be outdone, Elvis cracked out at huge 2or 3A too. Not bad for a pair of 50somethings! The rest of the show was excellent as well. No weak spots. Just awesomeness from start to finish. I wish Nam could skate like that in competition! He was so good! Evgenia and Kaetlyn Osmond did side-by-side jumps which was verrry interesting to watch. Kaetlyn's jumps are so huge and powerful. You can really see that all her power comes from her legs. Whereas Evgenia's technique right now looks halfway between her old technique and her new one. She's using a lot of arm but trying to jump from the legs too...not sure what she trying to accomplish but it looked a little wild. All that to say, if you have the opportunity to go, it's worth it!!!

Yikes.