Hallmark Skaters Championship

[Bailey]

Ok - a few comments on the broadcast so far...

First, what happened to the pairs event? That was why I was tuning in tonight.

Second, it has been thirty minutes and we have seen one short program - where is the skating, what a waste of a broadcast!!

And finally, what is the big news with Sarah Hughes not arriving an hour and a half before she skates?? Most skaters don't arrive that early, that's not newsworthy IMO. The best was when Sarah was told they were worried and she looked like she didn't have a care in the world. Burn!!

[manleywoman]

I also wonder why the post-skate interviewer kept interrupting Yuka Sato. Grrrr...:evil:

[yogurtslinger]

Yeah I felt so bad for Maria- she's obviously uncomfortable trying to speak in English, and the interviewer had to ask her how she felt after getting those disappointing marks. I mean, even Americans find it difficult to respond with the standard "I tried my best, blah blah blah I had fun".. I think Maria was trying to say something more than that standard reply, and it just made her feel more frustrated not to be able to express herself the way she wanted to.

Oh, I also feel bad for Irina... for obvious reasons. Look at that triple lutz! That American judge obviously had a vendetta... for goodness sakes, jumps count for something.

[Biffer1997]

I did not particularly care for Sarah short program. Is that the one she will use for Nats? I imagine tomorrow they will focus heavily on S&P and B&S (even with them not there). I bet that Michael will turn pro after 2003 Worlds--so he can finish in DC.;)

[Alexeiskate]

Yeah, the American judge seemed determined to give Irina low scores regardless of how she performed.

I really like Yuka but I really thought Irina should have won. Although choreographically I thought Irina's program could have been more subtle ( I still think Kadavy's interpretation of Sampson and Dehlia was the best), this was the best I've seen Irina skated the whole season. She had huge, secure jumps, good spins, good flow and a good feeling for the music. I thought she accomplished everything she needed to win.

I didn't care for MW Rolling Stone program at all. I would have given Todd higher artistic marks than Michael's.

[pilgrimsoul]

Irina looks so much better than she did in the Grand Prix. I was very pleasantly surprised by her interpretive program! I think it's the best presentation I've ever seen from her. If only she could channel whatever she had tonight into La Traviata! I was so impressed with Irina's skate that it actually surprised me when Yuka won. Irina's new haircut was also lovely - definitely a flattering style for her, and I hope she sticks with it. It really gives her a softer, more feminine look and frames her pretty face so nicely.

My heart ached for poor Maria. She appeared to be on the verge of tears. Her face is so expressive, what an actress she would make! Her disappointment was so apparent, and she knew her program wasn't as filled out skating-wise as it should have been. This must be a difficult transitional time for her. I hope she finds fulfillment in her pro career.

Sarah looked better than at Hersheys, but she's still got some training left to do before she's ready to challenge for the National title. I believe she will be ready in January, though. I can hardly wait to see her go head to head with Sasha and Michelle - should be even more exciting than last year's Nationals, and that is saying something!

I was so pleased for Yuka. Her program was gorgeous. No one flows across the ice quite like her. She must have been so proud to win against some of the top eligible ladies today. Quite an accomplishment.

[jcspkbfan]

Well, my TV Guide has two hours of Hallmark coverage scheduled for this afternoon, so I'm wondering how NBC will be able to fill that much airtime with only four pairs competing! O.K., I'm pretty sure they'll devote a good chunk of that time to rehashing the whole SLC pairs scandal, but I'm hoping they can at least find room to show both the short and long programs (unlike tonight). And hopefully NBC will get the urge to rehash the entire SLC scandal out of their system tomorrow so we won't have to sit through it during every single event S&P and/or B&S skated in this year! :roll:

I thought that whole "Where's Sarah? Where's Sarah? Oh yeah, there's Sarah!" thing at the beginning of tonight's broadcast was a big waste of time, too...which NBC could have devoted to, I don't know, showing us a few more short programs. BTW, it was really nice of NBC to tell us the short program standings before showing the actual programs. :roll:

Yuka's win was definitely the most pleasant surprise of this event for me...hopefully her victory will persuade a few more longtime pros to come out of competitive retirement next season! :D

[Excidra]

I thought Irina should've won, her program was more complete then Yuka's IMO.
What was with the American judge giving Irina a 5.6 for presention? I bet a lot of people would've been mad had a Russian judge given Michelle or Sasha a 5.6 pres, for a clean and inspired prorgam.
But on the other hand, I am so glad Irina turned in a clean skate. I really didn't care if she won or not, I just wanted her to be happy with her skating and from the interview she gave, I thought she was.

LOVED Yuka's program though, didn't care for Sarah's or Maria's.

[haribobo]

Anyone know Yuka's FS music? It sounds familiar but I can't remeber what it's called. :/

[CMc]

I have to admit though, I really was worried BECAUSE they were making a big deal about it, especially when they showed Sarah at practice looking very fatigued. I really thought Sarah was pulling out of the competition becasue she was exhausted. I'm glad she proved them wrong, and I was relieved she wasn't sick.

[Debbie S]

A couple of thoughts:

I was surprised by the ladies result, b/c I figured that the judges would never place Irina below Yuka w/o a major mistake, but, IMO, the decision was correct. I felt that Irina seemed to be flailing her arms a lot w/o making a real connection to the music. And I won't get into the rolling around on the ice. Yuka, IMO, showed the best combo of technically strong skating and good music interpretation/choreography.

Not to nitpick here, but given all the programs Sarah would have had to create for her special, couldn't she have come up w/ a new interp free by now? She's used her Fosse program for 3 seasons now. I know she's been a little bit limited b/c of her injury, but she's had to have done some new show programs since last season. I also noticed that she still has an obvious flutz.

From the way Michael Weiss has been skating lately, I'd say he's got a real shot to win Nats. However, I would not have placed him ahead of Todd in any way, shape, or form at this event. This is supposed to be interpretive skating. Between the jumps and assorted tricks, did Michael do anything other than pose? How could any judge give Todd a 5.6 for presentation and Michael a 5.8?

All in all, today was quite a marathon day for skating on TV - all good, but you do kind of feel like you're in a time warp at the end, given the number of times I saw some skaters between the 2 comps and Scott's show. I'm looking forward to seeing the Hallmark pairs tomorrow.

[coco]

Since I live in a one room studio, I don't really "get" refrigerator breaks (I can always see the tv), but nonetheless, I was mopping my "kitchen" floor w/the skating on and I happened to catch Irina's first (?) 3loop. WOW. It stopped me in my tracks. I see some qualities in her skating, her total body expression I guess you'd call it, that seem improved despite the out of shape "ness". I hope that she comes all the way back, it will be interesting.

And while I know she's not everyone's cup of tea, your opinion of her will go up if you see her live. It's like "Swoooooush". I hope she's not upset about this result. I mean sheesh, we all know pro-am judging is soooo much more credible than normal judging, ;)

[TAF2984]

Both Irina and Yuka skated well. The only edge I saw Irina have on her is the 3 triples to her 2, but other that Yuka's footwork, edgework, carriage, and line is definitely better so I agree with the judges. It was still close but Yuka was better overall.

[LadyNit]

I'm in a blurr with all the different competitions and all the names that people are using to identify them. But...I just watched Sarah's first televised skate for Hallmark (don't know whether this is a short program or long...very confused). Anyway, the one I'm talkin about has her in a black costume with illusion fabric...seems kinda retro (yeah all the way back a couple of years ago).

I can't stop myself. Sarah looks really different. It is probably an age-related change...but her butt and thighs are much thicker than last we saw her. Might be due to the injury and being out of shape. Or maybe this is just Sarah's natural evolution. Didn't seem to affect her performance too much tho.

[nits]

I thought both Yuka and Irina skated well and it could've gone either way. Irina has really improved, and Yuka is such a wonderful skater.
I'm not too concerned with the 5.6 that Irina received for presentation, I can understand that score, but I don't understand the 5.9 given to Sarah?

[Biffer1997]

[

All in all, today was quite a marathon day for skating on TV - all good, but you do kind of feel like you're in a time warp at the end, given the number of times I saw some skaters between the 2 comps and Scott's show. I'm looking forward to seeing the Hallmark pairs tomorrow. [/B][/QUOTE]

Actually there were THREE comps on today plus the Scott thing! But, ike you, my head was spinning by the time it was done (and I only saw 30 mins of the Sears one). :)

[yogurtslinger]

Okay, someone could make the argument that Yuka has better "basic" skating skills than Irina... but since when does *Sarah* have better skating skills than Irina? We're not even talking about carriage, etc... we're talking about jumps- if you're not going to pay attention to the flow, height, distance, and *spring* of Irina's jumps... at least give credit where it's due-- those jumps were beautiful triples, not cheated ones with bad technique ala Sarah's.

It's so obvious that Irina should have never won any international competition had that American judge had her way... I don't know, something is way out of wack here.

If *that's* her definition of a "5.6 5.6" performance... geez, I wonder who she thinks deserves a "5.9 5.9" performance? Sure, Irina may not be everyone's cup of tea in terms of her style/choreography, etc. But I hate it when people try to make her out to be some kind of subpar spinner or jumper... because she really isn't. I think a layperson can tell that... but some fairly knowledgeable skating fans still try to make that argument from time to time. Everyone travels from time to time, and it is really hard to do those 3-3 combinations completely cleanly... but that doesn't diminish from the fact that she is a natural athlete with fast spins (& good positions), and very springy high jumps.

Especially in comparison with Sarah... no, I'm sorry Sarah is not the better athlete and should not have gotten higher technical scores.. with that fall no less!

[adrianchew]

The results overall for Hallmark have been spot on, IMO - except for the MEN. I thought for the interpretitive program, Todd should definitely have been ahead of Michael... his speed, energy level and footwork in that program was so far ahead of Mike's gimmicy freedom blading and plenty of posing program.

[Mayra]

Poor Maria! They should have just left her alone. I don't understand the point of being all up in their faces in the K&C anyway. :(

[duane]

with the men, i would have placed todd's interpretive program first. yagudin was excellent when he skated, but IMO he spent way too much time resting. he stood in one spot doing those body movements for what seemed like a good 30-45 seconds. and weiss...what was that?? he wasnt skating, but mainly shaking his hips, and doing head-stands/forward-flips.

with the ladies, i was very impressed with irina. she seemed so smooth and graceful. i would have placed her slightly ahead of yuka. it was great to see maria again!! (i missed most of sarah's performance because of a phone call!! :x )

[Rebekka]

I think Todd was very under marked.

I would have put Yagudin first, but IMHO there's no way Weiss should have been placed above Todd. Weiss's program was just a bunch of silly gimicky moves, while Todd skated an excellent interpretive free program.

[lBrokenAnkle]

Dissenting opinion here. Todd gets high marks for trying something new, but he was obviously not comfortable yet with this style, the jazzy moves looked labored and it realy hurt the interpretive quality of his skate. If this were a technical program I agree about him over Weiss, but though Weiss is not my cup of tea, he did a better job of interpreting the music. And hey, he didn;t call his new move the Weiss Twist or anything. I kinda liked it.

Yags, I forgive for the rolling and because I figured he just needed to ice his hip. I might add that even if money is an issue, I think Yags is inviting more trouble and pain by skating instead of resting. You can always earn more money even if you have to wash dishes or do date entry, but you mess up your health and you can't always get it back. Even with relatively easy jumps, the skating is going to make everything worse, not to mention the travel and the odd hours and so forth. But hey, he's a big boy and maybe he'll dodge the bullet.

Loved Yuka, glad to see the old Irina back, Sarah looked right where she should be for a second competition, not a Maria fan but felt her heartbreak, she is a proud woman. She did pretty good, IMHO, anyway

laura

[cello]

Did anyone see what looked like two judges consulting with each other before Irina's marks came up? I thought Irina's program was great and better interpreted than Yuka's.....maybe a couple of judges gave Irina a deduction for something????? Yuka's music was the Polvetsian Dances. This was kind of a generic version of it (imo) and Yuka's skating was good, but her interpretation was kind of generic too I thought. Irina's presentation was more open and expressive.

I liked Sarah's short. A very different look for her. I like her long this year as well. I think I may be in the minority because I like Robin Wagner's choreography.

[donnamarie]

The afternoon and evening skating was the most I've enjoyed any skating this year. I thought everyone skated great and I liked just about everyone's programs. I totally love Takeshi's program. Brian O should do more choreography. This is the best I've seen out of Takeshi in a long time, and it made me remember what he is capable of.

Todd skated well and seems more loose and relaxed now, it was great to see him again, and I felt a loss that Elvis is not taking part in any of this ...

It's hard to see Yagudin skate in pain, but what a treat to see him skate at all. The laying down went on for too long, but otherwise, I was entranced by his artistic expression. And I enjoyed Michael Weiss' program too. It was a lot of fun, to a Rolling Stones medley. That twisted backflip looks like it could be risky though, if he were to fall or twist his back.

BTW did anyone notice what Sarah wore for practice? It looked like a black bathing suit, although I'm sure it was a leotard, but I've never seen anyone wear such an outfit to practice. It will be interesting to see if that's what people are wearing now, at Worlds.

I also like Sarah's sp quite a bit, I think it could be competitive with Sasha's, although it will be hard for anyone to come up with anything that can equal Sasha's sp. I loved Maria's mid-eastern program, it was skated even better here than earlier in the season. She had plenty of attitude and charm, and the dancing felt authentic. I wonder if she's been studying mid-eastern dance. I felt sorry for her in the k&c, but she should not feel bad to be 4th among such a talented field. I hope she knows that people appreciate her new program.

Yuka is a beautiful skater, it's hard for anyone to beat her. I would have put Irina first though, I thought she had the performance of the night. This is the best I've seen from Irina this season and the U.S. judge was way out of line marking her so low. Did anyone figure out the U.S. judge's ordinals? I wonder what position she placed Irina in. 2nd would be acceptable, but anything lower is really suspect. By the way, I like Irina's hair red and longer, she looks prettier this year and less tomboyish, although she makes a darling tomboy too. I also like Sarah's new hairstyle and costumes. I enjoyed seeing Fosse again, but she was still rough in her skating compared to last year.

All in all, a good night of skating. I've been bored by the Grand Prix this year, especially with the terrible camera angles of ESPN.

[Bailey]

I am so unhappy!! I wanted to watch the pairs more than anything, and they are being pre-empted in my area for a university sports telethon!! I am extremely disappointed - hopefully CBC will air this program soon.

[sk8rzmom]

Did anyone else catch the repaly of Srah's 3-toe? It was way underrotated, and she couldn't save herself the way she usually does. Even my husband who knows nothing about technique saw the "cheat".

[Oreo]

Originally posted by haribobo
Anyone know Yuka's FS music? It sounds familiar but I can't remeber what it's called. :/
Yuka's music was from the Polovetsian Dances, by Alexander Borodin. You may know it better as Strangers in Paradise from the musical Kismet. I don't know who did this interpretation though.

Oreo

[adrianchew]

Originally posted by sk8rzmom

Did anyone else catch the repaly of Srah's 3-toe? It was way underrotated, and she couldn't save herself the way she usually does. Even my husband who knows nothing about technique saw the "cheat".

Most of her triple jumps looked tight - she was doing the triples but at not nearly the level we've seen the in past.

As for Todd/Mike... live, Todd had a huge speed advantage over Mike in the interpretitive. As far as connecting to the audience, Todd's program was the one that clicked, not Mike's - and IMO since its an interpretitive, that's a major plus and should be rewarded.

[Debbie S]

Originally posted by donnamarie
BTW did anyone notice what Sarah wore for practice? It looked like a black bathing suit, although I'm sure it was a leotard, but I've never seen anyone wear such an outfit to practice. It will be interesting to see if that's what people are wearing now, at Worlds.

Last year at Nats, A-P McDonough usually wore leotards at practice. Hers were a little more glitzy than the one Sarah had on yesterday.

[purplecat]

It's funny, I thought Irina should've been last in the Crest event, but I
thought she should've been first here in the Skater's Championship. And just for fun, I think Irina would've won if using the old ordinal system instead of the OBO system. But it was nice to see lined up marks again, both here and at the Crest event!!!

[donnamarie]

Yuka's music is by Izzy - a British singer - the CD is called Ascolta.

I noticed several of Sarah's jumps (over both events) seemed cheated. It was more pronounced than usual, and I don't think she's in peak condition yet.

[Ruth215]

QUOTE]I've been bored by the Grand Prix this year, especially with the terrible camera angles of ESPN.[/QUOTE]

According to ABC/ESPN, camera work for the Grand Prix outside of North America was done by the local TV stations in those countries and they allowed ABC to show their coverage - guess it was cheaper for ABC to buy it rather than to send a full crew overseas.

[memememe76]

Okay, someone could make the argument that Yuka has better "basic" skating skills than Irina... but since when does *Sarah* have better skating skills than Irina? We're not even talking about carriage, etc... we're talking about jumps- if you're not going to pay attention to the flow, height, distance, and *spring* of Irina's jumps... at least give credit where it's due-- those jumps were beautiful triples, not cheated ones with bad technique ala Sarah's

Why are you so upset? Irina beat Sarah.

[donnamarie]

According to ABC/ESPN, camera work for the Grand Prix outside of North America was done by the local TV stations in those countries and they allowed ABC to show their coverage - guess it was cheaper for ABC to buy it rather than to send a full crew overseas.

I did hear them say that, but for some reason all the grand prix events look 100% better on ABC than on ESPN. It's not just because of the shrinking screen when ESPN makes a sports announcement, either. It's the camera angles, the faraway (far-far-far away) shots, etc. ESPN also makes the music quiet so you can barely hear it. I don't think they find it "sports-like" to have music.

[chattykathy]

Bailey-
I am sorry you missed the pairs, they were very entertaining. I am not a fan of David and Jamie and I see you are Canadian, but I was thrilled at Yuka and Jason's performance, actually brought me to tears. I liked the two Japanese pairs who have made progress in the presentation area. Pang and Tong at least act as if they like each other, Zhen and Choa (sp?) barely communicate, on ice or off. (She finally got braces on her teeth and she smiles quite a bit now!)

Hope the CBC comes thru for you.

[JDC1]

Yuka's skating is BRILLIANT. She has the best edges and flow in skating period. I saw her at the World Pros live against Michelle in (98/99 right after Olys when they allowed amateurs) and I was torn with who should win. Michelle had skated beautifully to EOE (interpretive) and the Yuka skated to Hat Full of Stars. My only complaint today was Yuka's lack of spirals, she only had one true spiral and it was lovely but not amazing. Irina has her talents but she does not move and flow across the ice like Yuka, it looks almost like a breeze is pushing her along she is so effortless.

[spiralsrfun]

Comment on thew ladies:

Yuka...is amazing (as always)!
Kudos to her performance and win! :)

Irina had a very nice interpretive free skate.....good for her!

Maria had fun, but it wasn't her best, still I'm happy for her. :)

Sarah....sigh....Fosse?!?!?

[bluejewel]

As a very long time skating fan, who has learned a great deal about skating over the years, I love Yuka's skating, and agree that she is a "skater's skater", but Irina deserved to win. Her program was more complicated technically than Yuka's, for example. I thought it was also artistically lovely.