The Joshua and Jason Uber Thread!

[misskarne]

MOON LANDING!

[manleywoman]

The doubled flip surprised me. The flip is unquestionably (IMO) his best jump, his money jump - so to see him make a mistake on that was O.o

I guess every artist has moment where everyone goes, "what were you thinking?". I think maybe this is Jason's.

As a skater myself local to Jason, I've seen this program a million times. Unless he and his coach changed it in the last two weeks since i was on the ice with him last, he messed up the entrance. He usually does the flip after the two three turns, but it looks like he got lost or something because he added extra steps and was geographically now on a curve in the corner instead of doing it down the center as he usually does. I'm guessing it was a brain-fart.

And I love the program. Dont' get those people here who don't like it. It's quite dynamic in person (though i hate the costume).

[misskarne]

As a skater myself local to Jason, I've seen this program a million times. Unless he and his coach changed it in the last two weeks since i was on the ice with him last, he messed up the entrance. He usually does the flip after the two three turns, but it looks like he got lost or something because he added extra steps and was geographically now on a curve in the corner instead of doing it down the center as he usually does. I'm guessing it was a brain-fart.

And I love the program. Dont' get those people here who don't like it. It's quite dynamic in person (though i hate the costume).

Ah! I was thinking that there was a moment where he looked kinda "huh?" and then did turns and I thought...hang on...

I love the skating in the program. I just can't stand the music and the costume.

[Marco]

Besides the mistake on the flip, the lutz combo also seems smaller. I actually wasn't sure when I watched it on youtube (unspoiled) whether he was going to get dinged for UR. Everyone thought the caller who UR-called a couple of his triples at his first GP this season was crazy but somehow perhaps he was just being a tiny little tougher than usual and there definitely was some UR in his jumps every so often...

I seriously love his skating and would hate to see her go down the Asada route - over-focus on the 3axel and lose everything else... I hope I am just being as usual

[Jammers]

The difference is the Men need and are expected to have the triple axel and most Ladies don't need or even try it.

[pinky166]

So after Josh's well, I wouldn't call it a meltdown, but I was surprised to see him skate with that many mistakes, don't think he's skated like that since 2012 Nats, and I was like, "OH NOES he's turning into a headcase." But then I found Damon posted something interesting on facebook in response to a well wish from a friend saying:

Josh had an allergic reaction this morning. Was doped up on Benadryl. Skated ok and finished second. Angela had a great practice today and competes tomorrow.

So that's unfortunate, but I'm less worried about Josh turning into a headcase now knowing that, and considering he had an allergic reaction, he actually did pretty well, landing both 3a (one in combo with 3t) and rotating the 4t attempt. It was really all those little mistakes at the end that surprised me, but allergic reactions suck. He was probably very itchy, and tylenol makes you sleepy. Wishing him a speedy recovery!

[johndockley92]

Josh has a severe milk allergy, when eating out of town (and out of the country) it can be hard to know exactly what you're eating. That (along with the broken leg( is what caused his meltdown at 2011 Nationals.

Good for Jason for landing his axel in the SP, very happy for him. It seemed to have effected his components negatively though, as his focus didn't seem to be there. IDK his program was okay... But usually I am moved by his programs, I hear his FS is nice though, I"ll go watch that..

[museksk8r]

I easily sensed when watching Josh's skate that he was sick. He looked really ill and didn't have his usual bounce and energy. He was off with his music and usually if he makes a silly mistake, he will smile and move on, but he just looked lethargic during his skate. Poor guy! Still, a silver medal under his condition is impressive. I really enjoyed watching Maxim Kovtun! I hope he has a bright future . . . I already like him more than most of the Russian men I've seen come out of the junior ranks in recent years. It goes without saying that Jason needs to resolve his eternal trouble with the 3Axel, and fast!

[olympic]

After seeing Joshua's score in the LP, I was like 'ugh'. Another headcase, but glad to know that there was a logical reason for it!

[dinakt]

I easily sensed when watching Josh's skate that he was sick. He looked really ill and didn't have his usual bounce and energy. He was off with his music and usually if he makes a silly mistake, he will smile and move on, but he just looked lethargic during his skate. Poor guy! Still, a silver medal under his condition is impressive. I really enjoyed watching Maxim Kovtun! I hope he has a bright future . . . I already like him more than most of the Russian men I've seen come out of the junior ranks in recent years. It goes without saying that Jason needs to resolve his eternal trouble with the 3Axel, and fast!

Yes. I had the same impression- that Josh's problems were not caused by nerves, but by physical disability. I thought ankle, but being doped on Benadryl would do it.
Allergies are tough, especially severe food allergies. I wonder how realistic it is for Josh to carry his food with him. Perhaps in dehydrated versions. Especially traveling intenationally one cannot always trust the ingredients lists, even when they are provided.
He did great, considering. Hope his team finds a way to get him all the necessary nutrition without the risk.

As for Jason- I do not love his programs this year as I loved the last two years', but of course he is a beautiful skater. It feels sort of a "leap year" for him; I think his body is changing, he is getting more strength, but it takes a while to adjust. And, of course, he needs many more miles on that 3A, though it is fantastic he got one ratified.

[pinky166]

After seeing Joshua's score in the LP, I was like 'ugh'. Another headcase, but glad to know that there was a logical reason for it!

I felt the same way. I'm sure Kovtun skating so well in front of a home crowd and receiving such a big score and loud ovation didn't help matters any, but the situation was pretty similar at JW when Han Yan scored 222+ and Josh delivered then. The fall on the quad doesn't concern me, that happens, also I think the fact that he was able to pull off the opening 3a-3t and then another 3a late in the program speaks to the issue not being nerves/mental but physical. He hit the big jumps and even managed to rotate the quad he fell on, there were no pops, all those messy jumps at the end are unusual for him and I think can therefore mostly be contributed to the benadryl/reaction. Given Kovtun's skate and score and the allergic reaction, it would have been easy for him to tank and fall off the podium, to 3rd, or barely hang on to his 2nd, but he ended up hanging onto 2nd by over 12 points and still broke 210 points with a not perfect SP and shaky FS skated on benadryl after an allergic reaction. If a skater can go out and skate a program with two 3a and not pop any jumps while in an impaired condition after the skater right before has laid down the gauntlet, I think that's the sign of a pretty good competitor. Idk if he was paying attention to scores, but if he had, he probably knew he could water the content way down and still hang onto 2nd, but he didn't, so I was happy.

I'm also glad Jason seems to have a good attitude and doesn't seem too upset about missing the podium/not being able to defend his title. All in good time.

[misskarne]

Some quotable quotes from the boys (WHOOPS, sorry, YOUNG MEN, sorry Christy )

Joshua:

Farris told the press yesterday that he was capable of much better focus nowadays and that it should prevent him from missing the top of the podium again. Unfortunately for the American, this time it was his body rather than his mind that let him down. The skater is allergic to dairy products and travels with his own food, but it turned out that the soup he brought with him contained some milk.

“I am actually happy, you know,” he said after his performance. “I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but I am definitely weary. I had to take Benadryl (antihistamine) two hours ago, which totally knocked me out. I did pretty good for how I felt.”

When asked what he learned from this event, he joked that he needed to “pay attention to the ingredients a little bit more.”

Despite an obvious disappointment, the World Junior silver medalist remained optimistic overall: “The Final is the Final. I learned that if you do well at JGP events, there is this kind of bonus round. It’s like icing on the cake. I skated a little bit worse than last year, but I still improved my placement, so I cannot be too disappointed about it. I hadn’t had an allergic reaction in a little bit. I don’t know, somehow I am having bad luck with it.”

(source)

Jason:

“I think since last year I have really pushed myself with artistry and my spins,” the World Junior bronze medalist said about his progress. “I am also trying to push my programs in different directions and trying to get more diverse.”

Now that triple Axel is out of the way, Brown is ready to work on his next big goal.

“I’ll start working on a quad when I get home,” he told the press.”Hopefully, I’ll get to do it quicker than a triple Axel. I worked on the Axel for three years.”

(source)


Jason is writing a blog, but he appears to have gotten distracted by all the fun in Sochi and it hasn't been updated since the short program...

[pinky166]

I'm surprised Josh was not more upset about not winning. I get the allergic reaction is unfortunate, but he was happy after JW too when he lost by a fraction of a point. Don't you want to win Josh? His attitude being this way is probably a good thing, I think I just miss Lysacek and his "not content unless I skate my best" attitude . Oh well.

Good luck to Jason on his quad. I feel like he might have more luck with a salchow than toe, his salchow seems bigger. But hey that's good news b/c a 4s is worth more!

Also any predictions as to who will beat who at Nationals this season? I know the technical content is obviously in Joshua's favor, but Jason gets a lot of PCS love from Nationals judges, and Josh hasn't thus far, but maybe that will change if he's finally healthy and skates well at Nats.

[misskarne]

I'm surprised Josh was not more upset about not winning. I get the allergic reaction is unfortunate, but he was happy after JW too when he lost by a fraction of a point. Don't you want to win Josh? His attitude being this way is probably a good thing, I think I just miss Lysacek and his "not content unless I skate my best" attitude . Oh well.

Actually, I very much like Josh's attitude. He wants to win - that much is obvious - but he is aware of physical issues and he is realistic about where his own skating is at. Josh was happy at JW because he skated his best there, and he was happy here because, hello, doped to the eyeballs on Benadryl, most skaters would have just fallen in a heap and been snoring in the corner.

Good luck to Jason on his quad. I feel like he might have more luck with a salchow than toe, his salchow seems bigger. But hey that's good news b/c a 4s is worth more!

Also any predictions as to who will beat who at Nationals this season? I know the technical content is obviously in Joshua's favor, but Jason gets a lot of PCS love from Nationals judges, and Josh hasn't thus far, but maybe that will change if he's finally healthy and skates well at Nats.

Actually, I also disagree with you here. I think Jason's toe jumps are much stronger. His 3S is lovely but not as high as his toe jumps - the 3F in particular is what I'm thinking of, although obviously, it would be better to just get a basic quad first before going for the harder ones.

I think Nationals is going to be fun! I honestly really don't care which of them comes out on top of hte other, so long as they both skate well Of course, with the results having gone Jason's way on the last three occasions, I think it's definitely Josh's turn

[TanithandBenFan]

I'm late to the party, but I've been a huge fan of both Jason and Josh since I first saw them at 2009 Nationals. Jason's free skate at Nats in 2011 was one of my favorite moments of the event, and being in Quebec City last year when he won the JGPF was such a blast! I don't think he stopped smiling the entire weekend. Josh really made me think "WOW" when I saw him skate at An Evening on Ice in the summer of 2011. I hadn't seen him skate since his rough time at Nats that year, and he blew me away with his speed and connection with the music. Had a chance to talk to him after the show, and he's one of the nicest kids around.

I hope both Josh and Jason can skate lights-out at Nationals this year!

[pinky166]

How funny would it be if Jason gets a 4f after taking so long to get the 3a ? Especially with the new rules, 4f< would be worth a lot! I agree flip is probably his strongest jump. Idk his combination toeloops to me always seem muscled/forced so that's why I was thinking the 4s could maybe happen first. We're seeing a lot more 4s these days which I think is exciting! However, I wonder if he is trying to address his flutz? It's not that bad but it's still there. It would appear Josh has worked on getting his lip onto more of an inside edge which I am glad to see where fractions of a point seem to make such a difference these days.

[Finnice]

I saw them both live in GPF Sochi, and while they both are pleasant skaters, I totally fell in love with Jason´s skating style. Too bad for the 3a in the free! I spoke briefly with him, he seems to be a very nice and intellectual kid.
In Finland it is typical that the skaters go to high school and university when they compete at the top level. Both Lepistö and Korpi have done that, any many others. Education takes more time, but I guess they feel that it is wise to have life outside skating, too.

[Sylvia]

Jason, always upbeat , has finished writing his Sochi blog: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news

ETA that Jason Brown is scheduled to perform in a December 16 holiday show this Sunday at 7pm on Long Island (Roslyn, NY) with Johnny Weir and Emily Hughes - info on the cast is published in this Great Neck, Long Island article about Hughes' participation in the show: http://greatneck.patch.com/articles/...liday-ice-show

The show also stars Olympian, U.S. National Champion and World Bronze Medalist Nicole Bobek; two-time U.S. National Bronze Medalist Ross Miner; ice dancing U.S. National Bronze Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donahue [Donohue]; U.S. Junior National Champion and World Junior Medalist Jason Brown; U.S. Junior National Champion Max Aaron and national competitor Samantha Cesario.

[misskarne]

Well, as today is the 15th, it means that it is now Jason's birthday!

Happy 18th birthday!

How time flies...

[Sylvia]

Jason JGP Final SP action photo: http://kimas.gallery.ru/watch?ph=vV8-eomyq
Joshua JGP Final SP action photo: http://kimas.gallery.ru/watch?ph=vV8-eomyE