barbara

Well, I stand informed. And also not interested, either. (Thanks.)

What is a "discord server"? Just curious.....

Thanks - if I become totally overcome by insanity and decide to go.

Thank you.....good info, even if I don't want to go to all the events. It'll come down to cost. The original prices were very reasonable but I suspect most tickets will now be very very expensive.

I would hope that all the TCC skaters arrive as early as possible, just so they have a shot at overcoming jetlag before the competition. A 14 hour time difference puts that Tuesday practice at 10pm-1am skater's body clock time. And Wednesday's starts at midnight, body clock time. I can't begin to grasp just how athletes get themselves adjusted to this huge a time change, but at least they'll have four full days before the Friday competition, which starts at 4 in the morning Toronto time.

I recognize the insanity of even considering 4CC - I've sent an email to the ticket people to see if it's even possible to transfer tickets. I can get there (checked this morning) though have a fear of being stuck there should the virus make it's way to Korea and the US blocks travelers returning. I'd say there's only a 10% chance of me going. It is, after all, only 6 weeks until Worlds. (but Yuzu, Jason, Jun, Camden, Roman, Conrad, Keegan, Nam etc...)

And now, I am, insanely, trying to figure out if I can go. So hard to get tickets, and the way all-event tickets are set-up (not that I want one, specifically) requires an actual physical hand-off which will be impossible for Chinese fans. I am, truly, out of my mind....but all my favorites will be there.

Thank you (and now I feel pretty stupid because I actually know to do that with Youtube videos - though sometimes the sub-titles are in yet another language I don't understand).

And he did. (I can't understand a thing he's saying here, but I love to watch him talk, anyway). In addition to his 4A attempts, he was more gracious (as always) in getting his silver medal than I could ever have been. And that SP still makes me cry.

But with a rope.... I am pretty sure he knows how to protect his ankles with the 4A, without a harness. I was really thinking of quints.... And, I wonder, why did he practice the 4A at GPF when he wasn't going to include it in his FS? Yes, he showed that he knows how to protect himself when he can't quite land it, so maybe it's a sort of intimidation. "I am not doing this one this week, but just wait....".

Yuzu is certainly a world above all other skaters - but I don't see him attempting quints (or even perfecting his 4A) without some sort of coaching. Those harnesses make it possible to practice without risk of injury and I think, there is no way to underestimate the value of a jumping coach. Yuzuru has great confidence in himself, but I doubt he truly believes it would be in any way prudent to push ahead with jumps no one else has done without guidance.

I am reasonably certain that he will not go to Beijing unless he knows he can win. Anything less than gold is losing to him, and that would be a very sad end for him. Plushenko could still win at age 27 and Javi at 26. Plushenko, I'm certain, believes he could have won at Sochi (at age 31!!) if he hadn't re-injured himself (although a part of me thinks he pulled out because he felt Yuzu would win and he didn't want a 19 year to steal his glory, especially in his own country). Yuzu only gets stronger and better - it really is going to be a case of staying injury-free and the ISU reigning in their ridiculously bias and seemingly blind judges.

I had thought of Michael Phelps in relation to Yuzu a while ago - both elite athletes with long careers - but I was thinking about Yuzu and what he will be facing at whatever point in the future he does retire. Michael Phelps has talked openly about how overwhelming his depression post-competition was. That there were times when he didn't want to be alive. Michael Phelps felt, and feels, that the organizations that athletes rely on (for our guy, it would be JSF and the Olympic committee) should be doing something. He "blamed the U.S. Olympic Committee for failing to help athletes transition from the grueling demands of training and competition to the letdown that inevitably follows." Michael started talking openly about this within a month or two after the 2018 Olympics and, at the same time, there was the question about Yuzu and would he continue to compete. Yuzuru is at a very different popularity level, of course, and even when he ends competing, he isn't going to disappear. But it will be, I think, a difficult transition. Yuzuru has a different support system and, I hope, will see the next phase as a challenge he embraces. (And no time soon, please...)

Maybe - but I'd only get up at 3 in the morning to go stand outside in the cold for hours in a crazy long line to see one person.

It's only 13 seconds long - I think it's from Skate Canada. Not NHK and not GP Final - there's the ISU symbol in the ice and he doesn't quite land on that - so SCI. And, yes, I just watched multiple Otonals to see if I could figure it out. But 13 seconds? How does 13 sec get a million views, and on what platform?

Anybody who is anybody was a ACI this year. (And I didn't know either....nor had I heard of her.)

I'd never heard of her (and do not read romance novels - ever) but I'll start following her on Twitter. What an amazing and diverse background (and -as a lapsed scientist, I am particularly impressed with the master's degree in theoretical physical chemistry that she never did anything with, other than doing all the stuff necessary to get it). She does use words so well - I had exactly the same reaction that she did at ACI. Magnetic. I was mesmerized. And in one of the videos I was taking, I was trying to follow Jun and his run-through and then - Yuzu. Immediate shift in the focus of the video. And she's only 43. Wow.

It's okay - couple of Yuzu quotes towards the end but mostly about the sport and Yuzu's popularity and other-worldliness. Also Brendan Kerry. Nothing really new but it's fun to listen to just the same. It was recorded in Kelowna at SCI.

Of course Brian and Ghislain will be at World's with Yuzuru. Also with Jun. Tracy may or may not be commentating - but TCC will have two skaters competing in the men's at Worlds and both principal coaches will be there - GPF was an anomaly.

If he knows about the devastation in Australia, I'm sure he'd be inclined to help support the recovery efforts. Maybe this broadcast will inform all the Fanyus around the world (who now know about this interview broadcast next week) and inspire them to donate to the efforts. They can use all the help they can get and we are all known to follow the generosity shown by Yuzu.

Agreed. It's self-analysis out loud. And he is Japanese so he is never going to boast about doing things beautifully, even when it's obvious to everyone else (except a few really bias and annoying judges). Of course, we all still feel sad when he does, when he thinks he has disappointed US. He never disappoints us, only himself.

I can't believe he was cleared to skate, either. But we know more about concussions now than we did even then. And it was his choice. If a referee stepped in to stop our guy, I wonder what he would have done. Canada has so much more experience with concussions and the dangers associated with them, especially repeated ones, because of hockey and soccer and football. It's tragic what occurs in people, mostly men, who have had their brains so severely damaged after multiple concussions - or even one. (Makes me glad my son wasn't that keen on hard impact sports....) But, no more collisions for Yuzuru. No more injuries, period.

He can do many things very well, but will never be able to even bend backwards halfway while standing on solid ground. (But he totally supports my, what shall I call it, immense admiration for Yuzu.)

I think it's incredibly telling that he has a social following of zero but probably has more social media followers than anyone. Add up Facebook groups and Instagram accounts and Twitter and, of course, us (and there must be other Hanyu-centric sites elsewhere in other languages we don't even know about). edit - i just looked at the entire list - almost everyone has millions and millions of followers. One has something like 687 thousand. Our guy - zero.

It's a better choice than dozens of names celebrities have named their babies in the last few years. You can use any name you like.