Monday, October 17, 2011

This and That


Oksana Baiul put together a strong performance at Evening With Champions.  The Koreans in the audience were amused by Oksana's generic 'Asian program,' but you have to remember that this is a girl whose education was tenuous at best.  You always have to hand it to Baiul...she is full of surprises.  Her spins are particularly beautiful.


Thousands of South Koreans flew to Boston to see their girl Yu-Na Kim perform.  Unfortunately, Yu-Na was a sassy girl who did not want to jump this weekend.  Yu-Na may be a girl who doesn't jump for less than six figures.  Paul Wylie asked her to 'do something else' at one point, and Yu-Na did yet another ina bauer.  Girl, it's not THAT nice. Yu-Na's sassy performance was improved; however, she did not receive the biggest post-program applause from the audience.

Evan Lysacek announced that he will not compete at Skate America after being unable to come to a financial agreement with the USFSA regarding his contract.  Skaters of Evan's stature have been paid handsomely in the past.  Without the USFSA cheesefests, the contracts have become increasingly important.  Evan isn't supposed to tour this year, so this is about more than just the love of the sport.

Marlie announced they will be channeling J Lo during the circular steps and lift in their short dance.  Meryl said being World Champions has not changed their everyday lives, as people only care about skating once every four years now.

Adorable and touching photos of the pediatric cancer patients who get to skate at Evening With Champions.

Working with Takahashi

Richard Dornbush article.

As people have been hinting, Martha Karolyi announces she may not retire after the Olympics.  You know she isn't going anywhere until Valeri is done coaching his athletes...  The Olympic Team will be announced at Trials, but Martha isn't excited about letting those girls have a mental letdown.  Everyone practice saying it... 'the prep-a-ra-tion'





More with Martha...


Rachael Flatt is looking like Janet Lynn the pro years at first glance, but then she skates.  The speed and fitness level need a lot of work before her Grand Prix appearances.


Lichtman and Copely's Austin Powers program.


The Shibutanis


Emily Hughes


The Protopopovs


Christina Gao is looking fit after a jumpless off season.


EWC Finale

23 comments:

  1. 1--Flatt makes Emily Hughes look good.

    2--Someone should have told Oksana that the fans and removable geisha cape were tacky.

    3--I'm not tech expert, so someone tell me, does Rachael not have good edge control when she spins or do her blades just look wonky because it is so slow? Perhaps a spinning lesson with Oksana should have been part of her weekend.

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  2. Enjoyed Oksana's program a lot - with so many skaters these days being clueless about using their arms, I really appreciate that aspect of her skating. This is something the Protopopovs understand too.

    Speaking of clueless, Rachel Flatt - ugh. I hope she loves Stamford so much she retires ASAP.

    Christina Gao: If that's her SP I hope she trashes it and gets something better.

    The Shibs program has improved in the 3 times I've seen it - they'll still need to up their energy level quite a bit in the swing parts for me to love it.

    Yuna...uh, what was that - is she lobbying for a singles event in ice dancing or did she attend this to look for a Harvard medical student boyfriend?

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  3. @anon at 10:33

    A squirrel running across the ice could make Emily Hughes look good.

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  4. God, Ludmila and Oleg are 76 and 79 and I'd still rather watch them than anybody skating pairs for the US these days. USFSA should lock all the pairs teams with international assignments into a rink with these two for at least a year to learn line, extension, carriage, edging, and stage presence. This is how it's done, children.

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  5. boy, you clearly didn't watch any other Fever performances in All That Skate. Yuna didn't include any jumps in this program from the first time. Fever Has No Jumps. Don't make Yuna some cheap-minded bitch.

    @October 17, 2011 10:36 AM Well, she doesn't need to look for a financially promising boyfriend and you know it.

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  6. I was there on Saturday. Great show. Everyone loved the Protopopovs... about 95% of the audience gave a standing ovation to them.

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  7. Jumps could've been put in Fever. Easily.

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  8. As someone who attended EWC, I had to chuckle at the IceNetwork article about this event, as about half the things written were blatantly wrong. Yu-Na Kim was terrible, and she looked like she just did not want to be there. She did not "wow" the crowd. She could have just stood on the ice and did 3-turns, and all the crazy Korean fans would have cheered just as loudly. The dance teams were not good, and the Shib sibs were boring. At one point, he skated into her.

    Note to Flatt: If you make Emily Hughes look small, you need to go on a diet! Blake Rosenthal, Oksana, and Emily were the fastest skaters (but they also had no triples). Christina Gao skated slowly (a la Caroline Zhang), but that was after taking a terrible fall on a jump.

    Castelli & Schnapir were by far the best pair team, and they surprised me at how entertaining and gutsy they were. Donlan & Speroff did a frightening throw triple salchow.

    The Haydenettes were mesmerizing. I may have to give this whole synchro thing another look. ;D

    Yasmin Siraj was exciting to watch--lots of potential there. And by far, Shawn Sawyer had the best and most exciting/entertaining program (his Mad Hatter number).

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  9. There are other non-Koreans who thought the Fever number was fun, and that troll is lying about Yuna looking like she didn't want to be there. So fuck off bitch. Go FSuniverse and check out other reports from people who were ACTUALLY THERE at the show.

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  10. What's the fuss about Yu-na not jumping at the show? She didn't jump in her Korean show either.

    Besides, she is probably not in a good condition to jump anyway. Isn't she planning to skip this season?

    Like the wise old man says, get a life. You too Auntie Joyce.

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  11. Geez, Jap trolls flocking again... Make me wanna puke.

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  12. It isn't directed at Yu-Na. AJ comments when Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes don't jump either. It is when thing when Peggy Fleming doesn't jump at 50 on the ice, it is another when the reigning Olympic Champion doesn't It has nothing to do with 'Jap' trolls or Yu-Na. Frankly, she isn't the greatest skater of all time. She is very good, but she has never reached her true potential.

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  13. Wow, after all Yuna's been doing outside of skating, someone thinks "she may be a girl who doesn't jump for less than six figures". That's really crappy of you AJ and shame on other trolls. What Yuna's done this year alone for this sport is enough excuse for her to do anything she wants on ice and let loose herself for once. She's already over there and risen above. Give her some credit.

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  14. "Unfortunately, Yu-Na was a sassy girl who did not want to jump this weekend. Yu-Na may be a girl who doesn't jump for less than six figures. Paul Wylie asked her to 'do something else' at one point, and Yu-Na did yet another ina bauer. Girl, it's not THAT nice"

    I might not even agree with all this, but i have to admit it was funny. AJ you sass.

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  15. When Yu-Na doesn't jump, you realize how much of her brilliance really lies in jumping. Her clubfooted skating needs work. If she is going to just be a performer, she needs to stop being deadpan. People need to get over her publicity stunt at the Olympic Bid presentations and realize she was good, but it wasn't exactly as dramatic as it was blown out to be.

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  16. Yuna is a beautiful jumper with really REALLY good artistic instincts that have made her a great well-rounded skater and a deserving Olympic champion but its not like she's a Denise Beillmann either who can really impress you WITHOUT jumps. Like anon 2:50 said, the lack of jumps really exposes her weaknesses.

    In light of this underwhelming routine, her announcement she is not competing this year is not a surprise. Hope she eventually re-discovers a fire in her belly for competition because I most enjoy her on that level, but if she doesn't, she has had a great career.

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  17. Imagine all Yunabots finally getting a life.

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  18. Flatt is better than fat Emily Hughes.

    Get real.

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  19. geez, Yuna can skip jump or do ina bauer as long as she wants. She's not your clown okay

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  20. @5:33--I can't stand Emily, never could. Or her sister. But she skated with much greater speed than Flatt at this event. And she looks more fit than Flatt, as well. Other than the difference in jumps, I am sad to say that Emily was better to watch on this occasion. Overall, though, my preference would be to not be forced to watch either of them, but USFSA shoved Emily down our throats for years and now they have a new more annoying version in Rachael. I don't care how elite your university is if you can't skate.

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  21. The skating world sure doesn't need a trash like Yuna anymore. I am so glad that the bitch is gone, and so are her crazy fanatics.

    Let the new era of skating begin, with Mao and Russian miracle babies~~~

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  22. plz shut up if you were not there. i think so many japanese are in this blog. 'looking for a Harvard medical student boyfriend????' it's not even funny. i think it is just your own personal wish. She is Yu-na kim who olympic gold medalist and top earning women athlete is. don't forget the reality.

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  23. Yuna Kim - hitting the new lows since 2010, with her bots

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