US Nationals 2013

Chock and Bates beat the Shibs and are in second right now. I'm in total shock. WOW. THANK YOU, judges! And well done, Igor!

Short Dance final 1-5:

Davis/White 79.02
Chock/Bates 70.80
Shibutanis 69.63
M Hubbell/Donohue 67.75
Lynn/Logan 64.69

Of course D/W are ahead of the field but 2-4 seem quite close.

When will the men start?

Men's SP has already started:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/CAT002SEG003.html

US National mens top 8 scores:

Jeremy Abbott, Detroit SC 84.10
Ross Miner, SC Of Boston 80.99
Joshua Farris, Broadmoor SC 79.78
Max Aaron, Broadmoor SC 79.13
Richard Dornbush, All Year FSC 77.66
Adam Rippon, SC of New York 76.65
Jason Brown, Skokie Valley SC 74.05


They're going to have to step it up if they want to beat the guys from Japan, Pattie, and the European guys. Aside from these guys, the rest of crew had terrible scores.

COHK wrote:

Men's SP has already started:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/CAT002SEG003.html

Sadly there wasn't much to see...Jeremy followed by Ross are leading but even their performances weren't as good as they could've been. Jeremy was visibly clean on the whole, but I wouldn't say that the quality was his best.

Lots of falls and stepping outs...not much quads....Maybe Evan should've entered no matter what. If things go on like this in FP too, he would've had a good chance of winning even with no quad.

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

COHK wrote:

Men's SP has already started:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/CAT002SEG003.html

Sadly there wasn't much to see...Jeremy followed by Ross are leading but even their performances weren't as good as they could've been. Jeremy was visibly clean on the whole, but I wouldn't say that the quality was his best.

Lots of falls and stepping outs...not much quads....Maybe Evan should've entered no matter what. If things go on like this in FP too, he would've had a good chance of winning even with no quad.

I absolutely agree Pochi, see comment above.

shar wrote:

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

COHK wrote:

Men's SP has already started:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/CAT002SEG003.html

Sadly there wasn't much to see...Jeremy followed by Ross are leading but even their performances weren't as good as they could've been. Jeremy was visibly clean on the whole, but I wouldn't say that the quality was his best.

Lots of falls and stepping outs...not much quads....Maybe Evan should've entered no matter what. If things go on like this in FP too, he would've had a good chance of winning even with no quad.

I absolutely agree Pochi, see comment above.

That is literally exactly what is going through my head. Why didn't Evan just enter? He knew that the competition was going to suck. And fine - pop the jumps, do singles, do the least you can do. But GET BACK INTO COMPETITION MODE at the very least. USFSA would have understood - he is their pet child that can't do anything wrong because he is sent from the gods. Not an over-exaggeration.

With regards to men's... I posted part of this somewhere else earlier. Here are my thoughts on our skating crowd from the US.

I honestly think that our men's field is nonexistent without Ross. Jeremy has never delivered a decent international performance... like, ever. TEB doesn't count - that was the most laughable men's field ever. Ross at least has won a medal at a major championship and in the GP series this year. I'm rooting for him for this national title. He's our best shot. If Ricky Dornbush gets sent to worlds this year, I might punch USFSA if he isn't in the top three at the very least. By the way... poor Armin. What happened to him?? In the meantime, the Japanese field is so deep it's ridiculous. I mean, Yuzu is pumping off quads like they are nothing! Meanwhile, our best seventeen year old (Josh Farris) can barely do a 3A let alone a quad.

And GO MIRAI!!! MAKE THAT WORLD TEAM AND BECOME A NATIONAL CHAMPION AGAIN!!! I think her being in third place may help with mental issues. I'm going to be glaring at my TV tomorrow and praying that that girl doesn't fall. She should be okay - Agnes will probably have a mental breakdown in the free skate like usual - and Mirai did win a medal at NHK this year. -crosses fingers and prays- I have a feeling that Ashley is going to win even if she has major issues because she is the female goddess that USFSA has needed since Michelle Kwan retired. At least Michelle earned that title consistently - Ashley might get there eventually (I sincerely doubt she will ever be as successful as Michelle), but goddess status shouldn't be at her feet right now.

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

Maybe someone posted this already, but here are the links to some YT vids for ladies SP:

ashley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1mUfXShd0s
agnes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzLFb2QlgXQ
mirai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SA4zR8meDA
caroline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhj4RKMSSH4

Adding to the list above, finally I found:
Christina http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTA2NjgwMTIw.html
Gracie http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTA2Njk3ODYw.html

I hope Christina can come back strong in FS. Not sure about Gracie...but who will USFS send to the world if Gracie doesn't make it to the podium...

Alokya wrote:

Chock and Bates beat the Shibs and are in second right now. I'm in total shock. WOW. THANK YOU, judges! And well done, Igor!

Hell yes!!! I agree, thank you judges!!! Now C/B have an awesome free program and get that silver.

About men: I worry about Jeremy being send to worlds, because he'll just have another melt down, but then US doesn't really have anyone else (aside Ross Miner), so I guess Jeremy is still a better bet than other. Go Ross, grab the title!

And just a question, since I didn't watch men's SP, was jeremy that much better than Ross, that he's in the lead by almost 4 points?

Alokya wrote:

And GO MIRAI!!! MAKE THAT WORLD TEAM AND BECOME A NATIONAL CHAMPION AGAIN!!! I think her being in third place may help with mental issues. I'm going to be glaring at my TV tomorrow and praying that that girl doesn't fall. She should be okay - Agnes will probably have a mental breakdown in the free skate like usual - and Mirai did win a medal at NHK this year. -crosses fingers and prays- I have a feeling that Ashley is going to win even if she has major issues because she is the female goddess that USFSA has needed since Michelle Kwan retired. At least Michelle earned that title consistently - Ashley might get there eventually (I sincerely doubt she will ever be as successful as Michelle), but goddess status shouldn't be at her feet right now.

I agree, GO MIRAI, you know you can do it!
But if lets say Ashley has a fall, double foots something and in general isn't at her best, but Mirai rocks the house, do you still think judges will give it to Ashley? They might, but in this case I wonder what the public reaction is going to be?

US mens protocal:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/SEGM003.html

Can someone tell me why is Jeremy's 3A base value at 9.35, yet everyone else's starts at 8.50. Isn't the base value for the 3a 8.50, or am I wrong?

Max Aaron's 3A has the same base value as Jeremy, so I guess it's normal.

shar wrote:

US mens protocal:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/SEGM003.html

Can someone tell me why is Jeremy's 3A base value at 9.35, yet everyone else's starts at 8.50. Isn't the base value for the 3a 8.50, or am I wrong?

Max Aaron's 3A has the same base value as Jeremy, so I guess it's normal.

Because he did it in the second part of the program and it get's higher base value, in protocol it writes with X symbol.

shar wrote:

US mens protocal:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/SEGM003.html

Can someone tell me why is Jeremy's 3A base value at 9.35, yet everyone else's starts at 8.50. Isn't the base value for the 3a 8.50, or am I wrong?

Because it's in the latter half of his program, isn't it? It's got an "x" in the back of it which means it got 1.1 times value according to the latter half bonus rule for SP which they started this season I think.

polosatik wrote:

shar wrote:

US mens protocal:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/SEGM003.html

Can someone tell me why is Jeremy's 3A base value at 9.35, yet everyone else's starts at 8.50. Isn't the base value for the 3a 8.50, or am I wrong?

Max Aaron's 3A has the same base value as Jeremy, so I guess it's normal.

Because he did it in the second part of the program and it get's higher base value, in protocol it writes with X symbol.

Thanks P&P (Polosatik & Pochinko) I can always rely on you guys to help me. I went back and saw that both guys did the jump in the second half. Why did I not see it before, I don't know.

Just watched Caroline's SP. Someone may have already commented (I'll go and check you guys comments after this) but damn! she was so underscored ! why are the judges so harsh with her ? her 3lo-3lo was gorgeous ! we have to give credit to her for doing this !

and oh I always like her smile. This girl always has a very nice smile when she's in the position to start her SP. It was so painful to watch her smile after she learnt her score. Stupid judges!

shar wrote:

Thanks P&P (Polosatik & Pochinko) I can always rely on you guys to help me. I went back and saw that both guys did the jump in the second half. Why did I not see it before, I don't know.

It's a bit hard to make out if a jump was in the latter half or not in SP since it's so short. IMHO, I don't really think they had to set a latter half bonus rule for SP. For FP of course the skaters should be rewareded for latter half jumps, it must be really hard to do even a TL when you're exhausted. But for SP??? I think ISU just wanted a way to get more 'record-breaking' scores to make news so to advertise the sport before Sochi Olys. And because of this rule, I think there are more men who go for a single quad in the first half and a 3-3 of some kind in the latter half. I personally prefer them to go for a 4-3 in the first half though...

ddmm wrote:

Just watched Caroline's SP. Someone may have already commented (I'll go and check you guys comments after this) but damn! she was so underscored ! why are the judges so harsh with her ? her 3lo-3lo was gorgeous ! we have to give credit to her for doing this !

and oh I always like her smile. This girl always has a very nice smile when she's in the position to start her SP. It was so painful to watch her smile after she learnt her score. Stupid judges!

Caroline's SP scores were way out of line I think, too. I thought that was one of the best of her performances in the past few years, and the 3L-3L seemed fine to me. I read someone posting in another forum that her problem is that she didn't have much speed...and yes, maybe that might've been so since it's hard to figure out how speedy a skater is on tv or video...but even that poster said she was way underscored though. It seems they not only URd and DGd her jumps but gave her a hand full of -GOEs too. This was certainly a particular case of a skater being said he/she was 'robbed'. Caroline had been through so much over the years, but she went on reforming her jumps and working hard through the hardships. It's about time the judges give her a break. But yesterday seemed as if the US Fed wanted to kick her out of the sport no matter what.

It's such a pity they scored her like that esp when you read this article written right before US Nats:

http://www.ocregister.com/sports/zhang-408937-oppegard-ice.html

I hope she still hasn't lost her positive attitude after last evening...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/ct-spt-0126-hersh-us-figure-skating--20130126,0,2238252.column

Phil Hersh rant time. This makes it sound like he WANTS drama in ice dance. What is wrong with this idiot? I got so angry that I actually commented on it.

With regards to whether or not Ashley will win the title even with mistakes - look what happened with Agnes and Mirai. Now that Mirai is no longer a favorite, despite her having more success than any US lady for a long time (well, besides Alissa's GPF win), the federation will no longer be pushing her. They'll be pushing Ashley.

Alokya wrote:

shar wrote:

PochinkoPotanko wrote:

COHK wrote:

Men's SP has already started:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/CAT002SEG003.html

Sadly there wasn't much to see...Jeremy followed by Ross are leading but even their performances weren't as good as they could've been. Jeremy was visibly clean on the whole, but I wouldn't say that the quality was his best.

Lots of falls and stepping outs...not much quads....Maybe Evan should've entered no matter what. If things go on like this in FP too, he would've had a good chance of winning even with no quad.

I absolutely agree Pochi, see comment above.

That is literally exactly what is going through my head. Why didn't Evan just enter? He knew that the competition was going to suck. And fine - pop the jumps, do singles, do the least you can do. But GET BACK INTO COMPETITION MODE at the very least. USFSA would have understood - he is their pet child that can't do anything wrong because he is sent from the gods. Not an over-exaggeration.

With regards to men's... I posted part of this somewhere else earlier. Here are my thoughts on our skating crowd from the US.

I honestly think that our men's field is nonexistent without Ross. Jeremy has never delivered a decent international performance... like, ever. TEB doesn't count - that was the most laughable men's field ever. Ross at least has won a medal at a major championship and in the GP series this year. I'm rooting for him for this national title. He's our best shot. If Ricky Dornbush gets sent to worlds this year, I might punch USFSA if he isn't in the top three at the very least. By the way... poor Armin. What happened to him?? In the meantime, the Japanese field is so deep it's ridiculous. I mean, Yuzu is pumping off quads like they are nothing! Meanwhile, our best seventeen year old (Josh Farris) can barely do a 3A let alone a quad.

And GO MIRAI!!! MAKE THAT WORLD TEAM AND BECOME A NATIONAL CHAMPION AGAIN!!! I think her being in third place may help with mental issues. I'm going to be glaring at my TV tomorrow and praying that that girl doesn't fall. She should be okay - Agnes will probably have a mental breakdown in the free skate like usual - and Mirai did win a medal at NHK this year. -crosses fingers and prays- I have a feeling that Ashley is going to win even if she has major issues because she is the female goddess that USFSA has needed since Michelle Kwan retired. At least Michelle earned that title consistently - Ashley might get there eventually (I sincerely doubt she will ever be as successful as Michelle), but goddess status shouldn't be at her feet right now.

Yeah it's something you definitely have to wonder: Why didn't he just enter? At first I thought maybe he was afraid of reinjuring himself, but then I remembered, "No his recovery time is over. He can skate. His skating just isn't up to his standards yet." So Idk. If I were him, I'd be kicking myself right now.

Alokya wrote:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/ct-spt-0126-hersh-us-figure-skating--20130126,0,2238252.column

Phil Hersh rant time. This makes it sound like he WANTS drama in ice dance. What is wrong with this idiot? I got so angry that I actually commented on it.

With regards to whether or not Ashley will win the title even with mistakes - look what happened with Agnes and Mirai. Now that Mirai is no longer a favorite, despite her having more success than any US lady for a long time (well, besides Alissa's GPF win), the federation will no longer be pushing her. They'll be pushing Ashley.

He wants more drama? Like Tanya vs. Nancy and Evan vs. Johnny? Well I can see why some people would think that. Drama makes the ratings go up. Rivalries are entertaining. In the long run though, some certain dramas may have done more harm than good to the sport though. I would go read it myself, but I can't without becoming a member. I don't remember who it was who told me to just press "no thanks" but that did not work.

Meryl and Charlie just won their fifth national title. Chock and Bates with an AMAZING skate came in second, and the Shibs are third! I feel a little sorry for Hubbell and Donahue - they are quite good - US dance is just a really deep field.

If theres anyone here who wants to see the us womens performance, NBC is showing it now. They are starting with a tape coverage of their short program, and will be going into the live fs at 9pm EST. So if you have access to NBC, go watch it.

And if you don't have access to it, I have a link:

http://livetvcafe.net/video/8XBK9SMHGS9U/NBC

shar wrote:

If theres anyone here who wants to see the us womens performance, NBC is showing it now. They are starting with a tape coverage of their short program, and will be going into the live fs at 9pm EST. So if you have access to NBC, go watch it.

thanks for telling about the NBC coverage!

ballerinamao wrote:

shar wrote:

If theres anyone here who wants to see the us womens performance, NBC is showing it now. They are starting with a tape coverage of their short program, and will be going into the live fs at 9pm EST. So if you have access to NBC, go watch it.

thanks for telling about the NBC coverage!

You're welcome ballerinamao, but my God I don't think I can watch it while listening to Scott Hamilton's annoying voice.

Ps., Angela Wang just did a 3-3-2

shar wrote:

If theres anyone here who wants to see the us womens performance, NBC is showing it now. They are starting with a tape coverage of their short program, and will be going into the live fs at 9pm EST. So if you have access to NBC, go watch it.

Oh yes! Arrived home and saw the short programs first... then Angela skated her long program and wow! I'm really liking this girl. Thank you NBC, you are a lifesaver. (Even though I might have never known had I not opened the television )

Caroline Zhang just did a beautiful performance, she landed EVERY jump, and the judges better give her a high score.

Just 111 for a total of 161, WTF?!!

I want Caroline to skate lights out regardless of the scores she'll get. And I want Mirai to do the same coz I want her on that podium preferably 1st or 2nd.