Grand Prix Final - spoilers ;)

[Schmeck]

Don't know if mentioning who made the GP final counts as a spoiler, but thought I'd be extra cautious...

Link to the various disciplines:

http://www.isu.org/vsite/vnavsite/page/directory/0,10853,4844-136494-137802-nav-list,00.html
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It's got to be one of the strangest years for the US - who would have ever guessed we'd have just one in the ladies event, three men qualifying, and the top two in ice dance????

[sk8ergalgal]

EXCUSE ME?? But I think you are being a little bold on the top two ice dance teams. Yes both Meryl/Charlie and Tanith/Ben will qualify for sure but I think that Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are easily capable of upsetting that top two ranking. They do have the highest compulsory score so far this season. I would have waited to make the ice dance comment until Skate Canada was finished.

[MQSeries]

EXCUSE ME?? But I think you are being a little bold on the top two ice dance teams. Yes both Meryl/Charlie and Tanith/Ben will qualify for sure but I think that Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are easily capable of upsetting that top two ranking. They do have the highest compulsory score so far this season. I would have waited to make the ice dance comment until Skate Canada was finished.

Meryl/Charlie and Tanith/Ben are ranked 1 and 2 in the ISu rankings. The top two are from the U.S. and are qualified for the GP final. That's what Smeck posted. I'm not sure what your "EXCUSE ME??" is about.

[Nicki]

Thank You so much for posting this link. Schmek. Looking forward to seeing the Grand Prix final results, and who appears to be the favorites going linto the Olympics.

[sk8ergalgal]

Well the excuse me is because those ISU rankings are not finalized with the results from Skate Canada this past weekend.

[Schmeck]

True, the US ice dance teams may not stay 1-2, but even having two qualify is pretty amazing, since historically (like when the dinosaurs skated) we sucked at ice dance. US tended to have 2-3 ladies at the top, 1-2 men, and at least one pairs team up in the top 4 before an Olympic year. Now we have the opposite!

[sk8ergalgal]

The qualifiers for the grand prix final are now officially up. I really hope that Meryl/Charlie beat Tanith/Ben at Nationals this year as they deserve too. It will be very close in the final between Tessa/Scott and Meryl/Charlie.

[mdvask8r]

Go! Go! Ashley!! We are SO proud of you!

[Artemis]

I really hope that Meryl/Charlie beat Tanith/Ben at Nationals this year as they deserve too.

Well I won't make any judgments about who "deserves" to win until I actually see them skate on the day. I agree that Tanith & Ben have been held up sometimes in the past, but Meryl & Charlie seem to have been getting their props in the last year or so, so we'll see. I do prefer Meryl & Charlie over Tanith & Ben myself, but it's about more than just taste.

BTW, I'm thrilled that the Kerrs have made it to the GPF. They're such a fun team to watch, and I think they've often been overlooked in the past. They're a pretty long shot for a podium finish as they don't have quite the same technical levels as some of the other teams, but just to make the GPF is great for them.

[AgnesNitt]

BTW, I'm thrilled that the Kerrs have made it to the GPF. They're such a fun team to watch, and I think they've often been overlooked in the past. They're a pretty long shot for a podium finish as they don't have quite the same technical levels as some of the other teams, but just to make the GPF is great for them.

I love the Kerrs! Am I the only one that got a big kick out of their robot ice dance program?

[herniated]

saw on the USFSA website that Belbin/Agosto withdrew from the Grand Prix final.

www.usfigureskating.com

[Artemis]

^ That is not the USFSA web site. This is: http://usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=43853 (direct link to story).

It's too bad, but I'm not surprised that someone has withdrawn. In an Olympic year it seems almost a certainty in dance that there won't be a showdown among the top gold medal contenders until the big day ...

[herniated]

^ That is not the USFSA web site. This is: http://usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=43853 (direct link to story).

It's too bad, but I'm not surprised that someone has withdrawn. In an Olympic year it seems almost a certainty in dance that there won't be a showdown among the top gold medal contenders until the big day ...

Ok, so I made a mistake.

[sk8ergalgal]

And the list of people withdrawing from Grand Prix Final continues...

Former world champion figure-skater Brian Joubert of France will miss next week's Grand Prix final after injuring his foot in a training accident.

Joubert was training in Poitiers on Wednesday when he landed awkwardly attempting a triple lutz and sustained a deep cut to his right foot, the French Federation for Ice Sports said Thursday.

The French federation said Joubert needs a foot operation and will miss the Dec. 3-6 finals in Tokyo.
Anyone like to comment on this??

[AgnesNitt]

And the list of people withdrawing from Grand Prix Final continues...

Former world champion figure-skater Brian Joubert of France will miss next week's Grand Prix final after injuring his foot in a training accident.

Joubert was training in Poitiers on Wednesday when he landed awkwardly attempting a triple lutz and sustained a deep cut to his right foot, the French Federation for Ice Sports said Thursday.

The French federation said Joubert needs a foot operation and will miss the Dec. 3-6 finals in Tokyo.

Anyone like to comment on this??

Uh, Johnny Weir has a chance for bronze?

[herniated]

saw on the USFSA website that Belbin/Agosto withdrew from the Grand Prix final. didn't mean to post this again and I can't delete it. whatev

[MQSeries]

And the list of people withdrawing from Grand Prix Final continues...


Anyone like to comment on this??

It's unfortunate that Joubert is missing next week GPF. He has not been skating that great at all this season, so it would have been good for him to get his new programs out there one more time against his major competitors for the Olympics. I like Joubert, but I just don't think he has what it takes to win the OGM. His quad isn't that consistent. He only landed a 3 quads program once in his life, and it'll take a program like that for him to win. Hopefully he can at least win an Olympic medal.


It's also disappointing that B&A withdrew from the GPF. I really wanted to see how they stack up against V&M and D&W this season. I'm not that crazy about D&W POTO program. I think V&M Mahler program is very good. I also liked what I've seen of B&A Ava Maria program.

[Schmeck]

Ouch for both Joubert (cut his foot?!? Blade must have gone throguh his skate?) and Belbin (infected wisdom tooth not reponding to antibiotics - needs surgery) - hope they both recover quickly, without complications.

[sk8ergalgal]

Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier have qualified for the Grand Prix Final after the replacements for Tanith and Ben also withdrew from the competition.
I found the information off of the ISU website: http://www.isuresults.com/events/gpjgpf0910/Entries_IceDance.htm