4CC Discussions ** SPOILERS **

[MQSeries]

Women SP
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It looked like Alissa had a jump issue ...again :frus:. and is currently in 7th. Flatt was clean but got jump and spin level downgraded. She's currently 8th. Zhang was clean but also had a 3toe downgrade and is in 5th. This is not even Worlds and the American ladies aren't doing that great.

Mao's in 6th :(. She has got to be right behind Yuna in order to overtake her in the LP. It's Yuna's competition to lose now. But better to make a mistake here than in LA.

Pairs SP
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The Americans I&B in 5th. K&R in 7th. C&J in 8th. P&T in 1st.

Dance CD & OD
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V&M are 1st. D&W 2nd. S&B 3rd. Good showing for the Americans so far in this discipline.

[Artemis]

For anyone who cares how the non-Americans are doing ... (sorry MQSeries, couldn't resist the dig) ...

Joannie is sitting in 2nd behind Yuna, not too surprising, I expected her to be in the top 3. Still it's good to see, since her short program has given her problems all season. But what is surprising is that Cynthia Phaneuf is in 3rd! Her short program is her strength, mind you, so I don't think we'll be seeing her on the podium, but still, nice going!

And nice to see Fumie in 4th. (I was happy to see her reappear this season after being absent a while. I like her maturity, makes a change from all the baby ballerinas.) Does anyone know if the Japanese federation is using the results of 4CC to determine who goes to Worlds?

BTW, it's not just 6th place for Mao that's relevant, it's the fact that she's over 14 points behind Yuna. That makes it tough for her to even reach the podium, never mind win. She does have some huge point-earning jumps in her long, but unless she's changed her choreography the artistic points will hold her back I think. (BTW, although I like Mao, I'm rooting for Yuna. I think she's a better overall skater, and I just love watching her when she's on.)

And in the Pairs, it's 1. Pang/Tong, 2. Dube/Davison, 3. Zhang/Zhang, 4. Duhamel/Buntin. And there's less than 4 points separating the top four teams, so it's anyone's game. Nice to see that Jess&Bryce are having better luck with their SP, they've been struggling with it all season.

[Mariko88]

Does anyone know if the Japanese federation is using the results of 4CC to determine who goes to Worlds?

It will be a deciding factor.

[Artemis]

Men's short results:

1. Patrick Chan, 88.90
2. Evan Lysacek, 81.65
3. Takahiko Kozuka, 76.61
4. Jeremy Abbot, 75.67
5. Brandon Mroz, 75.05
6. Nobunari Oda, 75.04

Chipeur is 7th, Ten is 9th.

WTG Patrick! I believe that's a season's best SP score, so to get it from an international panel is great.

[doofsy]

Patrick's Short Program score from 4CC's is not only a season's best (0.01 higher than his SP score at Canadians), it's the highest men's SP score this season, and the second highest SP score EVER in an ISU event!!! (only Evgeni Plushenko scored higher- 90.66- at the 2006 Olympics)

That's according to the ISU website...... look under "statistics"

So really.... WAY TO GO PATRICK!!!!!!

[MQSeries]

Good job from Lysacek. If he can place above Abott here then it'll give him confidence for Worlds. All three U.S. men are in good positions.

[doubletoe]

I'm still amazed that Kozuka's score was that far below Chan's, particularly since 7 points of the 12 point difference is actually in the TES. Kozuka skated a clean program with similar content, but I guess the points add up when one skater gets a -1 on one or two jumps and the other gets +1 or +2 (the 3A in particular). I also think I recall Kozuka's CCoSp only having 3 features so I'll be interested to see the scoresheets and see what level it got.

[Artemis]

Pairs final results:
1 Pang/Tong, 194.94
2 Dube/Davison, 185.62
3 Zhang/Zhang, 174.98
4 Duhamel/Buntin, 168.43
5 McLaughlin/Brubaker, 164.01
6 Denney/Barret, 161.69
7 Inoue/Baldwin, 157.38

Looks like I was right to pick Pang & Tong for gold at Worlds -- they're going to be very tough to beat. They haven't been my favourites in the past, but this year they've really upped their artistic side to go along with their incredible tricks.

I wouldn't have thought Jess & Bryce would finish ahead of the Zhangs, so I'm pleased for their showing. They've had so much focus this year on getting back their 3twist, now that that's more-or-less in place for them they've been able to relax and deliver great programs.

[Artemis]

I'm still amazed that Kozuka's score was that far below Chan's, particularly since 7 points of the 12 point difference is actually in the TES. Kozuka skated a clean program with similar content, but I guess the points add up when one skater gets a -1 on one or two jumps and the other gets +1 or +2 (the 3A in particular). I also think I recall Kozuka's CCoSp only having 3 features so I'll be interested to see the scoresheets and see what level it got.

There's a pretty good description of the programs here:
http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,4844-128610-19728-18886-293611-3572-4771-layout160-129918-news-item,00.html

As you say, Kozuka had a bit of a wobbly landing on his Axel, so the GOE would have been down for that. Plus Patrick, when he's on, scores +2 and +3 for most of his elements, which is part of why he's done so well in the past two Grand Prix seasons. And he really loves a home crowd, so I think that had a lot to do with it too.

[CreativeSkater]

I was so sad for Mao :( Her program was so beautiful, but popping one jump and then having a wobbly landing from her triple-triple combination really brought down her scores. :( I'm still hoping she'll get at least silver. I think she will. Her long program is amazing :)

[Artemis]

Dance final results:

1. White/Davis 192.39
2. Virtue/Moir 191.81
3. Samuelson/Bates 180.79
4. Crone/Porier 176.82
5. Weaver/Poje 168.76
6. Navarro/Bommentre 151.82

Tessa & Scott had several problems in their free dance, and actually missed one whole element. No doubt due in part to their very, very late start of the season, but a tad worrying nonetheless. However I know they'll be working hard in the next 6 weeks and I expect we'll see them in top condition in LA.

Big congrats to Meryl & Charlie! I've been loving their work all year, and I think they've proved they're in a position to challenge for the podium at Worlds!

[sk8ergalgal]

I still believe in Tessa and Scott for worlds. I think they will use the 6 weeks in between four continents to really train the programs properly.

[MQSeries]

Women final standing
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1. Yu-Na
2. Rochette
3. Mao
4. Zhang
5. Phanuef
6. Fumie
7. Flatt
8. Suzuki
9. Czisney


Mao won the LP. Yu-Na was 3rd in that segment and Rochette 2nd. I hope Mao gets her SP straighten out for Worlds.

Maybe the USFSA should reconsider the World team and send Zhang and Flatt to LA instead.

[sk8ergalgal]

Can they do that? Change their minds and change the team?

[Schmeck]

1st place is guaranteed the Olympic spot, not sure about the Worlds policy? Please don't send Flatt, her skating is just that, flat...

[MQSeries]

Men's Final Standing:
--------------------
1. chan
2. Lysacek
3. Kozuka
4. Oda
5. Abbott
6. Chipeur
7. Teh
8. Mroz

I looked like Chan had a great skate with just one mistake: a popped second 3A. I won't be able to see him skate at Worlds since NBC is only doing 2 hours of coverage on the ladies final :(

Lysacek also had a great skate for him. He was the only man to land a 4toe cleanly. His only mistake was a downgrade on the first 3A. I love this quote from him from IceNetwork:
"Not to be rude, but I wanted to beat those other guys that were ahead of me at nationals because I wanted to prove the old guys aren't going out," Lysacek said. "I know a lot of my peers have been on the way out, but some of us are still here, still training, and we're adapting to the rules because we've gone through so many judging systems."

Yeah, I know a quite a few non-Evan supporters are going to pick on him for saying that, but he's just saying it like it is :).

[axis]

I'm not a fan of Johnny Weir, but am really questioning the USFSA's decision to not include him on the world team. I can't believe that anyone would think think the US has a better chance of getting the 13 points at Worlds with Mroz instead of Weir. Personally, I think Mroz is great but he's going to need time to develop into a top 7 threat. Weir is just one year removed from a World medal, and this time there will be no Buttle, Takahashi, or Lambiel. I would have sent Mroz to 4CC but not Worlds. This really puts the pressure on Lysacek and Abbott to deliver in LA.

[MQSeries]

I think Lysacek and Abbott will be more than capable of getting 3 men qualified for the Olympic Games. The USFSA is sending Mroz for the experience.

[CreativeSkater]

Does anyone know why Mao Asada's coach was not at 4CC with her?

[MQSeries]

TT had to tend to a sick relative back in Russia.

[CreativeSkater]

Oh... thanks :) That is too bad...I think maybe that's why Mao popped so many jumps...