22 hours ago, Fay said:

Morozombie's 20 questions - care to answer those? 

http://morozombie.blogspot.ru/2017/11/skate-america-2017-twenty-questions.html#more

 

Thanks for bringing that over, fun idea!

 

Spoiler

20. Is Skate America YOUR pick for the worst men's event of the 2017 Grand Prix season?

Stiff competition for that "title", stiffer then for a lot of actual men's comps we saw so far, but... yes.

19. Did anyone else recoil at the terrible, key-smashing "version" (to use that word loosely!) of Moonlight Sonata Kaori Sakamoto used for her short program?

No.

18. Which program did Lori Nichol spend less time choreographing, Boyang Jin's Darth Vader Goes to a Cantina LP or Gabrielle Daleman's Gladiator Lite LP?

This is a trick question, right? (The only important thing to say is, please sue Lori, both of you!)

17. Given Bradie Tennell's consistency so far, is she the new Anointed Savior of US Ladies Skating to fans of US ladies figure skating this season?

Seen that quite a bit, yes.

16. Does anyone else feel old seeing all those skaters you watched compete years ago now sit in the kiss-and-cry as coaches? O hai Plushenko . . .

Surprisingly no.

15. How much did Kaori Sakamoto's stellar performances at Skate America this weekend throw a proverbial monkey wrench into the Japanese ladies' Olympic team selection process?

Not at all. Pretty set to Satoko + likely Waka, IMO.

14. Before this weekend, when was the last time a ladies Grand Prix event didn't have at least one Russian on the podium?

None this season did. Looking it up - SA 2016. By virtue of only inviting 1 Russian lady, Sima. Way to go USFSA, way to go.

13. Does anyone's eyes also start rolling when the USFS PR machine goes into overdrive and feeds us yet another mention of Nathan Chen's ballet prowess? It's like we have to be constantly told that NATHAN CHEN DID BALLET AND IS TOTALLY ARTISTIC the same way we were constantly reminded that MICHAEL WEISS IS NOT GAY; HAS WIFE AND KIDS or EVAN LYSACEK IS A 'WELL-ROUNDED' SKATER UNLIKE THAT 6.0 FOSSIL PLUSHENKO.

I'm beyond eyerolling and more at close to breaking my PC screen, but yes.

12. Is anyone else sort of disappointed by Satoko Miyahara's programs this season?

Beyond glad somebody else seems to be. Why did it have to be 2 so similar, cliched choices? The styles fit her and given her situation I get risking anything in choreo would be way too much to ask, but then she could have just kept her LP from last season. It was miles better and doesn't fall into the Asian-skating-to-Western-pseudo-Asian-music trap. (I generally don't like that with any skater, sorry)

11. Is Sinitsina/Katsalapov's free dance supposed to be a tribute to Mishkutenok/Dmitriev's legendary LP from the 1993-1994 season? Blasphemous! 

Would require me to watch anything Mr. Katsalapov does, and I refuse.

10. How would Edward Said have reacted to Satoko Miyahara's music choices this season?

No idea.

9. Whose untapped potential frustrates you more, Han Yan or Karen Chen?

Karen. With Han it's more that he's consistently suffering from injuries or something...

8. Has Sergei Voronov successfully cemented his spot on the Russian men's Olympic team with his bronze medal here at Skate America? As a former (doomed) member of #TeamMenshovforSochi, I can't help but amused. 

Not completely against f.e. Samarin yet, IMO, but he's the front-runner together with Mika. He just needs to keep it together at GPF & nationals. Go uncle Sergei!

7. Is it a good idea for Savchenko/Massot to continue working to incorporate the throw 3A into their LP?

Tough call. They can rack up a lot of points in GOE & PCS, and IMO they don't need it against any team but, potentially, Sui/Han. Should completely depend on how it goes for them in practice, IMO.

6. Which is preferable, birds flitting around in the stands (à la Trophée Éric Bompards of days past) or insects on the ice?

Birds.

5. Did the ladies' technical panel mistakenly assume they were at US Nationals instead of Skate America?

Just by sheer leniency in general, it looks that way. Given that they called Karen & Ashely over Satoko though, my guess is no.

4. Should Duhamel/Radford have repeated their Adele program instead of their Muse program this season?

Yes.

3.  Does Karen Chen need a coaching change?

Not sure, but she seems to need a change of some form, so I guess yes.

2.  How does Ashley Wagner's withdrawal here at Skate America affect the calculus behind the USFS' "body of work" criteria for choosing the US Olympic team?

Given that she still has the "biggest" body of work of all the US ladies out there, not too much.

1. Is anyone else thrilled that we're going to see Wakaba Higuchi's excellent Skyfall LP at the Grand Prix Final?

Yes. And no, because now I'm already angst-ing about her please please please being spared from this GP curse and staying healthy and being completely ??? as to what even to expect from her scores. Stay strong Wakabby, you can do it!

 

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Regarding the discussion with Nathans blades, I could see him having to change more often then Yuzu. His take-off technique on most jumps is good, but his landings are really hard (mostly due to stiff knee) compared to Yuzus softer ones. Might indeed make a difference for his blades. But the quad jumpers likely all go through new skates pretty fast, and if anything Nathan really doesn't need to change boots more often because he does anything so much more difficult or so much more amazing in practice. But well... US media.

The Skate America trading cards we've been hearing about!