rockstaryuzu

I was waiting for one of them to pounce.

Sharing it just for the laugh, even though these are clearly not Yuzu's feet:

Some interesting results there...like Tessa has almost twice as many views as Scott...or Keiji having more than Jason B...

To be fair, Boitano hasn't achieved coaching fame the way Orser has. But the crazy Canuck in me feels like this is merely sweet, sweet justice. Never gonna forgive that Calgary '88 result.

Canada's chances: Right now they're middling when it comes to the team medal, both our men's and ladies singles are in a rebuild phase. And G/P and M-T/M are more like top ten finishers than podium prospects. We've got two years to go but it's a long shot. Even if they don't have to beat the top ice dance teams, I think it would be a long shot for Dai& Kana to even hit top ten by then. It would take 100% commitment starting from now.

So JSF is actually aiming for a team medal at Beijing then. Well, they're not going to get it without at least one viable pairs team and that is something they definitely can't fix overnight.

Yeah, I don't think it would ever happen. Canada has plenty of good ice dance teams and none of them would just step aside for Patrick. For that matter, Tim and Misato are doing okay (although she has that concussion right now) so I find this announcement more than a little rude to them.

I can't see how they're going to do it, myself.

Also, because of his family name, people are probably more inclined to listen when he does speak, and he gets more leeway to speak up in the first place. 'Oda' is almost as noble as it gets. I'm pretty stunned that he got bullied, at all, b/c I would think that coming from such a respected family might make people think twice. It really makes me wonder who is behind it all, ultimately, and how they can get away with it.

You're not, but when some skater you've never heard of surprises you with an amazing quad jumped right in front of you, it's really hard not to cheer. All these athletes are working hard. I say if a cheer happens to pop from your lips, let it happen.

 that's...kind of.. incredible in a way. You'd think there would have been some repercussions. Makes me feel even more sorry for Nobu. I hope he gets a new job quickly.

... Yuzu's ahead of us there, he was using sign language to communicate with the crowd from the K&C at ACI. Imagine the entire crowd at JNats signing 'up yours' to the JSF...

Okay well there's our explanation for Nobu's situation. And what it highlights is that this is going to cost him, A LOT. She and Kansai aren't going to let him just go public without a fight. I fear Nobu is about to be dragged through the mud. I thought this woman was in disgrace after the scandal over her kissing Dai. The fact that she's still around and still getting ever more important sports posts tells me she must be extremely powerful and/or have very powerful connections. This does not bode well for anyone connected to her, whether in her favour or not. Yikes.

Yikes. Poor Nobu! Why anyone would do that to him is beyond me.

No, I hadn't heard about the JNats ban. AFAIK it hasn't been banned at SCI, GPF, or Worlds. Yet.

Well, you're probably not wrong.

Not being Japanese myself, I'm taking a wild guess at the meaning here, but is it something like either a) the American college admissions thing, where educators etc were pressured to smooth the path for children of the elite to get into good schools, or b ) something more overtly political in nature, like 'support this political party/ politician/ ideological stance, or else' ? Because "moral harrassment" does not sound like something as obvious as, say, physical or sexual harassment would be.

I don't think the pooh rain is actually forbidden outright. It's just that not every competition has an army of little flower boys and girls who can sweep the ice clear. Given the fact that Saitama Poohs are still being distributed to places that could use them, it's probably not a bad thing to have a competition or two without them. It will give the good folks who get tasked with Pooh distribution a chance to catch up. I agree with @KatjaThera on this though: Yuzu is definitely focussed inward during the 6 minute warmups. I'd be surprised if he even sees the crowd; his eyes seem to be 100% on the ice. Keegan, by contrast, is noticing the crowd and will actually react if something catches his attention, like a flag or poster -> you can see his eyes moving to look at whatever it is. It's only after his skate is over that Yuzu's eyes sweep over the crowd. At least, that's what I observed. Anyway, guys, I was re-watching R&J 1.0 from Nice and couldn't help noticing just how much Yuzu's Ina Bauer has improved. Of course all his skating has improved since then, but it kind of surprised me that something as straightforward as the IB would have changed so much.

Wow. Things must have been really bad for him to state it so bluntly and so publicly.

I don't think we can expect much in the way of results, given how static ice dancing is. I mean, it's the only discipline where reputation and history still affects your scores in a significant way. How the heck would Dai & Kanna break into the top when they're a brand new pair? It would take years.

Yeah, poor Scott, everyone thought he was drunk but he was just being a hockey fan LOL!

You just reminded me of something I noticed at last year's SCI. A lot of the skaters who are competing will sit in the audience when they're not busy with their events, and will scream like mad for their teammates. Sometimes they're the loudest and most obnoxious cheerers in the arena - for example Team Canada always has a section with posters and flags and jerseys and their family members screaming away. I don't think anyone would or should ever have a problem with this, because cheering for your teammates is an essential part of being an athlete. So while we're busy wondering whether or not cheering is appropriate or out of control, we absolutely must take into consideration who's cheering and why. And of course, govern ourselves accordingly.

This. I agree with this. There are always going to be people in the audience seeing Yuzu for the first time who are overcome and can't control their reaction, and we shouldn't spoil their first experience of seeing him by trying to squelch their joy. At the same time though, he's not a K-pop idol, and I do feel that there are some fans who take their cues for appropriate fan behaviour from that kind of thing, which can lead to crossing the line of what's acceptable. The question is though, what do you do about it? For that reason, I was actually really grateful to the fans who were distributing those yellow "We Love You Yuzuru" banners, because using one gives people the option to cheer without having to scream or yell or even make a noise at all. Anyway, maybe the answer is put a time limit on the loud cheering. Like, do it if you need to, but only for a count of ten or something. If everyone falls silent after that, so will the over-enthusiastic ones, but at least they'll have their chance to cheer.

I don't think you need to apologize for an honest reaction. I was there and I was at ACI last year, and I feel that the screaming for last year's Otonal was worse than for this year's Origin. And an initial reaction upon first seeing such a costume is, as you say, impossible to hold back.

I can't even get into the sit-spin position; never could do it, even as a young and presumably much more flexible child. On the other hand, I was pretty good at two foot spins but could never get one going from a dead stand still. But last year someone put video up of Yuzu casually starting from a one-foot stand still and building up to a pretty fast albeit loose scratch spin. I wish I could find it back. I think it was a practice video.