You’re entitled to your opinion but I disagree with a lot of what you say. Dave has annoyed me plenty, but I also see value in his work, I see him attempting to improve, and I don’t think that every shred of anything good TSL ever did is due solely to Jenny Kirk. Though I enjoyed Jenny. As I said, that’s my opinion and you’re entitled to yours.
I have to say, though, I find it kind of ironic that some of comments here from you and other people who think Dave is pretty much the devil incarnate are as bad or worse than the things he’s allegedly said or done. You know that saying - two wrongs don’t make a right? I think it kind of applies here.
The sport of figure skating is bigger than any one person. We all evolve in our thinking, or we don't. We all have our likes and dislikes, and a lot of the clueless bickering that occurs on Internet forums is indefensible. That's why I appreciate those who are admirably polite in their interactions on FSU. Personally, I always try to take a step back and attempt to realize what's going on and what my motivations are. Most of the time, it's just egos acting out. None of us are perfect. I try never to be personally disrespectful toward any skater. I always try to give skaters credit where it's due and to be thoughtful in my critiques. Sure, I have favorites, as we all do, and yes, I am opinionated. I definitely do not appreciate being bullied for speaking my mind, or constantly being purposely misunderstood with others trying to put words in my mouth. But I try to maintain an open mind, and to admit when I might be wrong or make a mistake.
So much of figure skating is subjective and emotional, so we are never all going to agree with each other 100 percent of the time. But it's helpful to recognize that negativity can get out of hand, and leads to nothing productive. The other thing is that there's quite a lot that goes on behind-the-scenes, which we are not privy to, or may hear snippets and pieces of but not have the full picture of, so it pays to take a thoughtful approach. We may get disappointed in skaters, but not really understand everything they are dealing with. As usual, it's a good thing to treat others, as we would like to be treated. Of course, it isn't a perfect world, so all of us are a work-in-progress.
Another important thing to recognize is that on skating forums, as fans we are speaking off-the-cuff, mostly anonymously. When you take a step of putting yourself out there on a public podcast, it behooves one to try and be more self-aware, more positive, and above all to take personal responsibility for one's actions, behaviors, and commentary. Whether anyone realizes it or not, I've often given DL a pass, and I've made positive suggestions for TSL in this thread. Perhaps you are unaware, but I have shared in different threads points of view DL has expressed that I've agreed with, but you can focus on what you choose to perceive as me attacking him. In actuality, DL has dismissively and irresponsibly voiced unnecessarily negative things about a number of athletes and people in the skating community. That kind of behavior should not go unchecked. He has crossed too many lines and gone too far for me. The worst is that he pretends not to realize what he has done, and he's never apologized. Whether it's his conscious intent or not, I find DL's behavior to be ego-driven, deceptive and untrustworthy. And I'm not alone in that assessment. Still, as I said, it's great if he's trying to improve, and I hope he will genuinely continue to heed the better angels of his nature. That's a challenge for all of us.
Figure skating is a tough, complicated and difficult sport, as can be the skating community itself, despite the fact there are so many kind and decent people involved in figure skating. Honestly, loving this sport for me is not about inciting gossip, name-dropping, dissing skaters when they are down, and stroking my own ego. It's truly first and foremost about supporting and encouraging all of the athletes who dream big, work hard, and give us so many lasting, memorable and magical moments.
Technically, I found the audio to be so much better this week. It was nice not to have to constantly adjust the volume between the two of them. 
but Dave just can't help himself to avoid being gossipy, patronizing and display personal bias. Sometimes it is not what he says, but how he says it. There is a difference to me between a critique (with intent to help skaters improve) and taking them down because of personal dislike of "something". We all do it.. but he is the one with a "public channel", so he should be more responsible.
