Figure Skating

[caseysmom]

Maybe they can give Plushenko a gold medal for whining

[Catty1]

Well, I love watching figure skating...but it will be a bit blander from now on.

M24FF - There are so many amateur and pro athletes whose careers are over while they are in their 30s - I am thinking of hockey players here. There are not very many years in many sports careers.

I wonder if coaches push their younger charges too hard at times? No doubt there is room for abuse there.

This may sound OT - but Lyuba Weilitsch was a stunning and promising opera singer decades ago - and had her career cut short by teachers and managers who pushed her voice too far, too soon.

[caseysmom]

Well, I love watching figure skating...but it will be a bit blander from now on.

M24FF - There are so many amateur and pro athletes whose careers are over while they are in their 30s - I am thinking of hockey players here. There are not very many years in many sports careers.

I wonder if coaches push their younger charges too hard at times? No doubt there is room for abuse there.

This may sound OT - but Lyuba Weilitsch was a stunning and promising opera singer decades ago - and had her career cut short by teachers and managers who pushed her voice too far, too soon.

Why will it be blander? Did you think Plushenko's performance was less bland than Evans? I would think focusing just on the jumps makes it blander, to me plushenko was very bland.

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

In the old scoring system, the artistic score broke a tie if there was one. That is how Oksana Baiul won gold over Nancy Kerrigan.

Let's face it, part of figure skating HAS been artistry and presentation!

No matter what sport, each athlete can only push themselves to do what they can do.

I'd give Plushenko two Gold medals if it'd shut him up and send him away forever....for the whining that is, not for his skate!

[Catty1]

With all due respect, Plushenko was far from the only one whining.

Since the scoring system for figure skating has changed, the outcomes will differ now.

I guess change brings complaining and whining. Hopefully it will all run well at the next Winter Olympics.

[caseysmom]

Plushenko showed very poor sportmanship, he is a whiner.

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

M24FF - There are so many amateur and pro athletes whose careers are over while they are in their 30s - I am thinking of hockey players here. There are not very many years in many sports careers.

I wonder if coaches push their younger charges too hard at times? No doubt there is room for abuse there.

I'm sure there are some coaches that push too hard, some athletes that push themselves too hard, and even some parents that push the kids too hard.

Look at the "older" skaters, though. The ones that didn't have to do a bunch of triples, let alone quads. Even after all his health issues, Scott Hamilton has done some training and I heard he appeared in a couple of shows recently. Roz Sumners skated til she was 40, I believe. Kristi Yamaguchi can still skate well, as can Kurt Browning and several others from that era. Sure, they've had their injuries along the way, and yes, Kurt did do some quads in his day....but the skaters from the 70's, 80's and early 90's seem to have better longevity than the ones who have been brought up in this "7 triples or 5 triples and 2 quads are needed in your program" mentality.

It comes down to each skater needing to know what they can or can't do and doing the best they can with what is part of their "arsenal".

I've always been more of a fan of the professional skaters and skating events, where the skaters are skating for the joy and to entertain the fans.

I wish the World Pro competition could come back, though. I don't understand the politics, but someone told me something the ISU did pretty much makes it impossible for that competition to come back. So my question is...why can't a private pro skater organize some kind of professional competition? At one time, there was talk of some new skating organization to be started, for the pro's, about the pro's, run by the pro's, but obviously that never came to be for whatever reasons.

All sports will be controversial in one way or another, all fans will have a different idea of what is good and what isn't. And I don't think the judging will ever be 100% honest NOR 100% NOT subjective.

[Grace]

Within the new scoring system the point is made that jumps done in the last half of the long program get extra credit. Evan did more jumps in the last half than Plushenko.

For the last full minute of his performance, Plushenko did just the fancy footwork - and it wasn't as good as Evan, or Weir, or Daisuke.

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

Within the new scoring system the point is made that jumps done in the last half of the long program get extra credit. Evan did more jumps in the last half than Plushenko.

For the last full minute of his performance, Plushenko did just the fancy footwork - and it wasn't as good as Evan, or Weir, or Daisuke.

You are right! I'd forgotten Plushenko front-loaded his program.

Therefore, no matter what the jump, when a skater does them after the half-way mark, they are going to garner more points because of that!

And I couldn't agree with you more that Plushenko's footwork is not as good as the other skaters'. I think almost any skater does better footwork than Plushenko.

[K9karen]

Maybe they can give Plushenko a gold medal for whining

And just being plain ICKY?

[Bonny]

WOW! Some real skating tonight, don't think I will be able to drift off to sleep after all this. When I watched the Canadians I thought of my mom & how she would of loved them & had tears in my eyes. I think they all did magnificent each with their own unique styles & program. I love Ice Dancing!

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

WOW! Some real skating tonight, don't think I will be able to drift off to sleep after all this. When I watched the Canadians I thought of my mom & how she would of loved them & had tears in my eyes. I think they all did magnificent each with their own unique styles & program. I love Ice Dancing!

I'll preface to say I used to go out of the room when ice dancing was on during all the many, many competitions and shows that were on tv when I first started paying attention to skating (1994). Over the years, certain dance pairs have caught my eye and I've tried to listen to the commentators to understand it better.

They sure gave out some highs cores! When they put Meryl & Charlie's score up of 107.?? (and that was with a 1.00 deduction for something I haven't found out what yet), I thought for sure they'd have first place. But then not only did Moir/Virtue skate really well, they were given a 110.??!

As much as I hate to say it, Belbin/Agosto didn't deserve 3rd place even though I was hoping somehow they'd get it for a N. American sweep on the podium. I also hate saying this, but....they seemed to do a lot of flailing about reminding me of Plushenko. Maybe my mind was wandering too much or something, but I kept thinking as I watched them "where are the difficult twizzles? where are the difficult footwork sequences?"

One of the commentators said Tanith Belbin "Tweeted" "Last Dance" as her song of the day......he speculated it meant this was her last ice dance ever. I wonder if she really meant that or just for today??? She and Ben are slated as cast members of Stars On Ice I think....????

[Catty1]

Joannie Rochette could be skating for Mars, and I would still root for her.

http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/art...p-sheet-day-12

CHRIS ZELKOVICH’S WHAT TO WATCH: There’s been plenty of talk about athletes dealing with pressure at the Olympics, but they all pale in comparison to what Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette is facing. When she takes to the ice Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET) she will be doing so only 48 hours after the unexpected death of her mother. The fact Rochette is skating at all is testament to her strength. If she ends up on the podium it will be one of the most amazing accomplishments in Olympics history.

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

Joannie Rochette could be skating for Mars, and I would still root for her.

http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/art...p-sheet-day-12

There will be a tremendous amount of emotion throughout the building when Joannie skates.
I'm thinking one of two things will happen...The emotions will make her soar or she'll be so overcome that she flounders. I surely hope it is the former. I've always liked Joannie and rooted for her to place well.

[caseysmom]

The russians are just leaving a bad impression this year....last night they had ropes on her to help him lift her...wtf....