U.S. Pairs 2021-22 season - News & Updates, Part X

[Karen-W]

I hope K/F stick around for another season as well. It would be nice to see them improve the spacing between their side-by-side jumps. They seem kind of far away….or it didn’t fit in the frame of my TV…

This week were some of their best SBS jumps as far as timing and spacing, I thought, though the element can still be improved. They really were in a very good, focused space this week.

 

[Xela M]

What wasn’t wrong with the commentary yesterday, honestly.

“We’re very upset about the Russians not being here, we should make sure to bring that up repeatedly.”

“I was an Olympic ice dancer but I can’t remember if that’s called a rocker or a bracket.”

“Did any of the women in this warmup group that is still actively happening right in front of our faces make an impression on you?” “Yeah but I can’t remember which one.”

“What even is a jump rotation anyway.”
“Look, it’s a blonde lady. That reminds me of another time I saw a different blonde lady. I love blonde ladies.”

“Let’s wrap this up by referring to a female pairs skater as ‘heavy’ and misgendering someone repeatedly.”

But they probably would’ve gotten a pass on all of that… if they’d remembered to make sure the camera mic was off before they called Meagan Duhamel “the b*tch from Canada.”

Wow I was listening to British Eurosport. I clearly missed all the fun

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

How does K/F's scores compare with current season bests? Olympics? Past Worlds (I can't understand that SkatingScores site

The number seemed pretty high to me. In line with scores of other world teams.

Also noting Alexa landing 3's at 29 yo. She's nearing Carolina territory. And, she's a pairs, not a single, skater.

 

[paskatefan]

Congrats to Alexa & Brandon for 2 terrific performances & becoming World Champions!

Prayers for Ashley!

 

[Firedancer]

Update on Ashley from US Figure Skating: She has been released from the hospital and is resting at the hotel.

https://twitter.com/usfigureskating/status/1507297244000636932?s=21

 

[I❤️Marina&Sergai]

What wasn’t wrong with the commentary yesterday, honestly.

“We’re very upset about the Russians not being here, we should make sure to bring that up repeatedly.”

“I was an Olympic ice dancer but I can’t remember if that’s called a rocker or a bracket.”

“Did any of the women in this warmup group that is still actively happening right in front of our faces make an impression on you?” “Yeah but I can’t remember which one.”

“What even is a jump rotation anyway.”
“Look, it’s a blonde lady. That reminds me of another time I saw a different blonde lady. I love blonde ladies.”

“Let’s wrap this up by referring to a female pairs skater as ‘heavy’ and misgendering someone repeatedly.”

But they probably would’ve gotten a pass on all of that… if they’d remembered to make sure the camera mic was off before they called Meagan Duhamel “the b*tch from Canada.”

Who were the commentators?

 

[I❤️Marina&Sergai]

What wasn’t wrong with the commentary yesterday, honestly.

“We’re very upset about the Russians not being here, we should make sure to bring that up repeatedly.”

“I was an Olympic ice dancer but I can’t remember if that’s called a rocker or a bracket.”

“Did any of the women in this warmup group that is still actively happening right in front of our faces make an impression on you?” “Yeah but I can’t remember which one.”

“What even is a jump rotation anyway.”
“Look, it’s a blonde lady. That reminds me of another time I saw a different blonde lady. I love blonde ladies.”

“Let’s wrap this up by referring to a female pairs skater as ‘heavy’ and misgendering someone repeatedly.”

But they probably would’ve gotten a pass on all of that… if they’d remembered to make sure the camera mic was off before they called Meagan Duhamel “the b*tch from Canada.”

This is dreadful but finding out that one was Slater sadly doesn’t surprise me. Not only is he a hopeless commentator he is seemingly an awful person.

 

[maureenfarone]

This is dreadful but finding out that one was Slater sadly doesn’t surprise me. Not only is he a hopeless commentator he is seemingly an awful person.

Simon Reed was the other commentator and he mostly called the jumps. Nicky Slater was the former ice dancer and he talked mostly during the video replays. I didn't hear a lot of what Slater said because I found his comments irrelevant so I muted him.

 

[Kateri]

Simon Reed was the other commentator and he mostly called the jumps. Nicky Slater was the former ice dancer and he talked mostly during the video replays. I didn't hear a lot of what Slater said because I found his comments irrelevant so I muted him.

Simon can't call jumps. He can read off a planned element sheet.

 

[olympic]

How does K/F's scores compare with current season bests? Olympics? Past Worlds (I can't understand that SkatingScores site

The number seemed pretty high to me. In line with scores of other world teams.

Also noting Alexa landing 3's at 29 yo. She's nearing Carolina territory. And, she's a pairs, not a single, skater.

I believe K/F's score is an American record if you can compare it to past results under IJS. The problem is that the system's code of points changes every few years

 

[Karen-W]

How does K/F's scores compare with current season bests? Olympics? Past Worlds (I can't understand that SkatingScores site

The number seemed pretty high to me. In line with scores of other world teams.

Also noting Alexa landing 3's at 29 yo. She's nearing Carolina territory. And, she's a pairs, not a single, skater.

Here's the 21-22 SB list from the ISU -

https://results.isu.org/isujsstat/sb2021-22/sbtspto.htm

5th best total behind the 3 Russians and SuiHan, which seems about right. We know for sure SuiHan were skipping Worlds, regardless of the war, and I suspect TarMor would have also skipped, and I suspect PengJin would have also skipped because they've been dealing with injury. I think KniFraz would have been a solid contender for bronze, maybe even silver if BoiKoz had a subpar skate. I don't think PavKho would have beaten them, even skating well.

 

[Xela M]

It's funny how Alexa was never consistent when skating with her husband, but suddenly with Brandon something clicked and she became super solid. Kudos also to him for being a great reliable partner.

 

[Xela M]

The Knierims definitely had a better twist and Alexa always had great exuberance and personality on the ice, but they could never put two clean programs together. You could never rely on them. However with Brandon she started skating so solidly despite it being such a new partnership. Very impressive

 

[sk9tingfan]

I think that we have to remember that during the 2017-2018 timeframe, Alexa was skating with virtually no effective/competent abdominals. She had at least two if not more laparoscopic procedures during which portions of her intestine were removed. It's amazing that she skated at all, let alone helping to secure a team bronze medal at the Olympics.

This world championship is even more of a victory than we know.

 

[Yuri]

What I found quite amusing about the situation is that even though neither Simon nor Nicky actually mentioned her by name over the hot mic, somehow Meghan knew that the barely decipherable "TBFC" comment was about her! While I didn't catch the entire pairs SP broadcast on Peacock, mostly watching just the final two warm-up groups, I missed it completely live.

But seriously, why were Simon and Nicky even aware of Meghan's mean tweets about their less-than-stellar commentary during their live broadcast? You would think all of them should be paying attention to what's going on on the ice instead of checking their Twitter feeds. It seems to me that you should just stay off Twitter in the middle of a competition when you are being paid to be commentating or coaching...

 

[maureenfarone]

What I found quite amusing about the situation is that even though neither Simon nor Nicky actually mentioned her by name over the hot mic, somehow Meghan knew that the barely decipherable "TBFC" comment was about her! While I didn't catch the entire pairs SP broadcast on Peacock, mostly watching just the final two warm-up groups, I missed it completely live.

But seriously, why were Simon and Nicky even aware of Meghan's mean tweets about their less-than-stellar commentary during their live broadcast? You would think all of them should be paying attention to what's going on on the ice instead of checking their Twitter feeds. It seems to me that you should just stay off Twitter in the middle of a competition when you are being paid to be commentating or coaching...

The Pairs SP was over and scores were announced and Peacock kept on streaming. It was a couple of minutes when the comments were made. I wasn't paying much attention at that point when I heard one of either Nicky or Simon say something about well I didn't say her name. So if you didn't let the stream run after the end of the competition you wouldn't have heard it.

 

[carriecmu0503]

How does K/F's scores compare with current season bests? Olympics? Past Worlds (I can't understand that SkatingScores site

The number seemed pretty high to me. In line with scores of other world teams.

Also noting Alexa landing 3's at 29 yo. She's nearing Carolina territory. And, she's a pairs, not a single, skater.

Alexa is 30.

 

[Xela M]

Alexa can still do an "Aliona" and skate for another Olympic cycle. She's still young

 

[Habs]

What I found quite amusing about the situation is that even though neither Simon nor Nicky actually mentioned her by name over the hot mic, somehow Meghan knew that the barely decipherable "TBFC" comment was about her! While I didn't catch the entire pairs SP broadcast on Peacock, mostly watching just the final two warm-up groups, I missed it completely live.

They congratulated themselves for not saying her name as one of the coaches and then when they said Canada, that’s how she knew.

Also - her tweets weren’t mean.

 

[VGThuy]

Alexa can still do an "Aliona" and skate for another Olympic cycle. She's still young

It'd be hilarious if, with the way pairs skating may be looking, Alexa ends up winning the next four World titles and an Olympic gold in pairs, and whatever medal the U.S. may win in the team event. That'll put her dangerously close to Aliona's record. I think it'd be funny because this entire quad started with Aliona calling her lazy or whatever.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

They congratulated themselves for not saying her name as one of the coaches and then when they said Canada, that’s how she knew.

Also - her tweets weren’t mean.

I’ve wondered about this. What exactly had Meagan said, that prompted this comment? (And, needless to say, regardless of what she said, it was unprofessional and unacceptable for Simon and Nicky to respond as they did.) Had she said something which was specifically critical of the commentary?

 

[mackiecat]

I’ve wondered about this. What exactly had Meagan said, that prompted this comment? (And, needless to say, regardless of what she said, it was unprofessional and unacceptable for Simon and Nicky to respond as they did.) Had she said something which was specifically critical of the commentary?

“The ISU YouTube feed commentator said it was sad the Russians aren’t at Worlds ……. And then admitted they don’t watch skating often so they “aren’t sure” about jump rotation. Um. There are better options ISU!”

 

[skatingguy]

I’ve wondered about this. What exactly had Meagan said, that prompted this comment? (And, needless to say, regardless of what she said, it was unprofessional and unacceptable for Simon and Nicky to respond as they did.) Had she said something which was specifically critical of the commentary?

Yes - this is the tweet.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1506608642262454274

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

Yes - this is the tweet.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1506608642262454274

Interesting, because I have heard Ted Barton say on many, many occasions that he does not understand the technical aspects of ice dance, and just this morning, here he was commenting on the ice dance event for the ISU feed. Has Meagan made similar comments about Ted?

If not, maybe she just feels more strongly about it when Pairs are involved, pairs being the discipline which is closest to her heart.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I’ve wondered about this. What exactly had Meagan said, that prompted this comment? (And, needless to say, regardless of what she said, it was unprofessional and unacceptable for Simon and Nicky to respond as they did.) Had she said something which was specifically critical of the commentary?

Something that the fans were already complaining about, was 100% true and I appreciate the catalyst that got rid of the assholes that had zero respect for the competition and the competitors. Their entire commentary had massive problems. It was a summation of the whole from Simon and Nicky that made it even worse than just picking out one line.

 

[just tuned in]

Anytime a person writes, "Um" in a post, it is a red flag. She was trying to get them fired -- on a public forum. I think it was a mean tweet.

 

[Wyliefan]

Interesting, because I have heard Ted Barton say on many, many occasions that he does not understand the technical aspects of ice dance, and just this morning, here he was commenting on the ice dance event for the ISU feed. Has Meagan made similar comments about Ted?

If not, maybe she just feels more strongly about it when Pairs are involved, pairs being the discipline which is closest to her heart.

Ted works at it. You can tell, because he really did a pretty good job this morning. Simon and Nicky were more like "Well, that was some kind of a jump or other. Hey, nice gloves!"

 

[Trillian]

Interesting, because I have heard Ted Barton say on many, many occasions that he does not understand the technical aspects of ice dance, and just this morning, here he was commenting on the ice dance event for the ISU feed. Has Meagan made similar comments about Ted?

This is purely my subjective take, but Ted’s vibe is more “I don’t know the details but I’ll do the best I can and try to be respectful,” and Simon and Nicky’s vibe was “We don’t know the details but we’re going to run our mouths anyway and take no responsibility for anything we say.”

Meagan’s tweet was reasonably polite under the circumstances. I was making much snarkier comments than that in my living room. After watching skating without commentary most of the season, it was pretty jarring.

 

[skatingguy]

Anytime a person writes, "Um" in a post, it is a red flag. She was trying to get them fired -- on a public forum. I think it was a mean tweet.

What. That might be the dumbest thing I've read on the Internet today, but since it's only just 1pm there is still time for something else to come along.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

There are so many people that would do a better job, be more respectful and professional even if they don't know all the sport's details. There is no reason for the ISU any organization in any sport to continue using people like Simon and Nicky.