From Russia with love [#28]: Autumn to Winter 2017

Michael Weiss, really??:lol:
Those were the days?

@Loves_Shizuka how could you forget those flexing biceps and the little finger-wave???

But I actually quite liked him up to a certain point of his career...
 
Congrats to Sergei! :cheer2:

Was there anybody out there who actually thought even for a fleeting second, at the beginning of the season, that the Russian men would win not one but two gold medals on the GP circuit? It's like we've entered some parallel universe :eek:

Interesting facts:
The last time the Russian men won two gold medals on the GP circuit was the 2014-15 season when Maxim Kovtun won in China and France.
The last time two different Russian men won gold medals was all the way back to the 2002-03 season when Evgeni won in Russia and Ilia Klimkin in Japan.

They were handed opportunity on a silver platter and took them. Well done men! :respec:
 
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Miming is a art. There is nothing juvenile, cheap, tacky or unsophisticated about it at all even though fans online keep implying it is. It's a skill that some of the best dancers and actors even struggle with it. It is artistry regardless of what some fans want to think

I held the same discourse way back in the 90’s when ice dancing was way over the top. I like skating for its blend of athleticism and fluidity. Miming wouldn’t irk me so much if it was done while skating. What matters to me is the ratio of standing on two feet miming versus skating while expressing the music.
 
I'm thinking Janny/Zagitova/Tsurskaya make the GPF but then Sotskova wins silver and Polina is 4th at Russian nationals so the CSKA skater gets the approval, I fully believe that Tutberidze's skaters will fully monopolize future worlds/Olympic teams, but i think that for this season Buyanova will get one of her skaters on the Olympic team.
 
Leonova skated so well in the NHK FS, and it was really wonderful to see the skate and her emotional reaction after it. She's long had a beautiful 3T/3T with really fine distance and flow out of the first jump, and at NHK, she got a lone - GOE mark from any judge on any element :cheer2:
 
I'm thinking Janny/Zagitova/Tsurskaya make the GPF but then Sotskova wins silver and Polina is 4th at Russian nationals so the CSKA skater gets the approval, I fully believe that Tutberidze's skaters will fully monopolize future worlds/Olympic teams, but i think that for this season Buyanova will get one of her skaters on the Olympic team.
Given the rest of the field, Tsurskaya has a good chance at gold at SKAM. Russia might well send the two skaters in contention for the 3rd spot to Europeans and let that be the deciding factor. Europeans is so close to the Os, they might keep Med home and let her rest. The downside to that is winning Euros would be excellent momentum. But they might very well send Polina and Maria. I'm really, really hoping ESPN3 will carry Russian Nationals again this year. If not, I will buy a subscription to TVTEKA. Right now, it is the comp to watch.

I suspect Med won't be at Worlds if she wins the OGM which opens Worlds for a new champion. Which could very well be another Russian.

What will be equally interesting is to see who the 3rd pair team will be. Ast/Rog have 2 bronze medals on the GP series to Z/E's none, but if Z/E beats them at Nationals, what will they do? :watch: I don't particularly care which team goes as it's all about Susie for me. It's a given Tar/Mor will go, but it will be interesting to see what happens at nationals.
 
@Eislauffan's interview with Evgenia Medvedeva
http://fsrussia.ru/intervyu/3356-evgeniya-medvedeva-katatsya-bez-oshibok-dorogogo-stoit.html
Evgenia has minor problems with her right ankle , her plans are to gain strength and get ready for GPF

Sorry to hear this, Now I am really worried for her. She could lose her amazing jump consistency. IMO she should skip the GPF because if she falls again, She is going to lose her advantage going into the Olympics. I hope her team will be sensible and careful about her injury and not try to push her. She got the benefit of the doubt at NHK. She won't get it next time.

Zoe was right.
 
Sorry to hear this, Now I am really worried for her. She could lose her amazing jump consistency. IMO she should skip the GPF because if she falls again, She is going to lose her advantage going into the Olympics. I hope her team will be sensible and careful about her injury and not try to push her. She got the benefit of the doubt at NHK. She won't get it next time.

Zoe was right.
No joy on being right but in some way I’m glad to see there was this as a contributing factor rather than just nerves, which I’m sure can also play a role. However I don’t think her advantage melts away after a bad outing. She’s got a lot of talent and she has made mistakes before and come back and did well. Nepala wasn’t a great skate and she scored fine at rostelecom. Kaetlyn Osmond is wildly inconsistent but when she skates well she gets rewarded.
 
But it will be interesting which ladies will participate in the Team event.
I don't think Medvedeva will do both the short and the free programs.
If things stay as now, a possible scenario would be Med for the short and Zagi for the free.
 
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I think we can be surprised by Polina this season, if healthy.
She has the psychological advantage of not being considered a favorite. She comes from behind and after being on the edge she might see things differently. She seems eager to prove herself.
But again health is a big question mark.
 
I think we can be surprised by Polina this season, if healthy.
She has the psychological advantage of not being considered a favorite. She comes from behind and after being on the edge she might see things differently. She seems eager to prove herself.
But again health is a big question mark.

I love Polina but does the RSF favor her over other talented ladies?

I really hope she can have a long and successful career.
 
Love Polina. She is my favorite among the ladies, together with Zagitova. Can't wait to see them in the next 4 coming years. But the MVP of this week is Alena Leonova. :cheer2:
Boy, it was such a joy to watch that girl skate her heart out and give her best. Chapeau!:respec:

p.s. Voronov you sexy thang!:swoon: You did it, a career best by 19 marks at the age of 30. I am so happy for him. :encore:
 
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Michael Weiss, really??:lol:
Those were the days?

@Loves_Shizuka how could you forget those flexing biceps and the little finger-wave???

But I actually quite liked him up to a certain point of his career...

Ya, was quite the babe. Camel spins and lutzes to die for. Would skate to anything.
Took 'keep your shoulders back' too seriously. Back was always so straight it was stiff, shoulders forced back. IMHO he never learned how to relax his back and shoulders to bring fluidity to his movement.
 
Sorry to hear this, Now I am really worried for her. She could lose her amazing jump consistency. IMO she should skip the GPF because if she falls again, She is going to lose her advantage going into the Olympics. I hope her team will be sensible and careful about her injury and not try to push her. She got the benefit of the doubt at NHK. She won't get it next time.

Zoe was right.

I'm not sure if its true or not but somebody on the other forum said she fell during the exhibition gala as well. If true I don't understand why her team is letting her doing jumps and such in the exhibitions. It's dangerous and silly to risk a potential OGM, and her health, for a post-competition gala. They should have been smarter and have her water it down or not do it at all :huh:

But it will be interesting which ladies will participate in the Team event.
I don't think Medvedeva will do both the short and the free programs.
If things stay as now, a possible scenario would be Med for the short and Zagi for the free.

It would be silly and pretty stupid for them to put one skater in both the SP and LP for the team event. The depth is so crazy they don't need to. It's a complete different situation then in 2014 where Julia was the girl heading into Sochi full steam ahead and Adelina was questionable. I do think Evgenia for the SP and Alina for the LP is best scenario if both girls make the team. Showcase them both and if they perform as great as we know they can it will certainly help heading into the individual event.
 
Med is human too. And I like that it gives the other Russian ladies and other competitors some hope that the OGM is not totally out of reach.

Having said that, if this is a minor injury, I think she will recover in no time and will have a flawless Olympics. Why wouldn't she? :P
 
But it will be interesting which ladies will participate in the Team event.
I don't think Medvedeva will do both the short and the free programs.
Think it will depend more on the schedule rather than the ladies. I.e. if the pairs will start 2 days after the team event like it did in Sochi I think they'll change the pair. The 2nd replacement - interesing, surely not men because none of them is aiming for a medal, so who cares, ice dance? not obvious either. Perhaps indeed the ladies, but more like so 2 wonderful ladies would become olympic champions. Then my bet if there is a non Tutberidze girl in the team she will be the one replacing Medvedeva.
 
Think it will depend more on the schedule rather than the ladies. I.e. if the pairs will start 2 days after the team event like it did in Sochi I think they'll change the pair. The 2nd replacement - interesing, surely not men because none of them is aiming for a medal, so who cares, ice dance? not obvious either. Perhaps indeed the ladies, but more like so 2 wonderful ladies would become olympic champions. Then my bet if there is a non Tutberidze girl in the team she will be the one replacing Medvedeva.
It's hard for me to imagine for Zagitova being out of the team event for a non-Eteri girl if she keeps on skating like she does. I think Medvedeva is a lock and will do the SP as she is the only one who can beat a clean Osmond/Kostner/whoever there, and for a LP there's no better candidate than Alina. The only chance for non-Tutberidze girl being on a team event is only if Medvedeva decides not to compete there to concentrate on an invididual event, but I can't imagine it either. It's pretty much a guaranteed Olympic medal, and I don't see her or Tutberidze giving it away that easily. Russian fed can favoure Buyanova all they want, but they also want medals and with so-so dance and men they just need 1+1 from ladies to compete with Canada. And there's Mutko as well who will control the situation no doubt
 

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