The Skating Lesson

This is not something I really care much about, but I'm going to call BS and FUD when I see it:

https://twitter.com/SkatingLesson/status/965277649336700929
https://twitter.com/SkatingLesson/status/965278443956039682

The Russian Fed may not be happy about missing the podium but there is absolutely no way they are under the illusion they should have made it. Dave does not have sources they would know anything. All Dave has is a history of "friendliness" between the French and Russian Feds and wishes to bring attention to it. Fine, but there is practically no chance that any "friendliness" would be a result of the pairs competition because the Russians f'd that up on their own. The "friendliness" would have been worked out long ago.

I've worked in political PR and I've seen this trick before over and over again where you want to bring attention to something known(French-Russian "friendliness") but kind of in the background so you have to spice it up(Oooh, the Russians are Pissed!). Dave the communications guy is acting like a paid political astroturf blogger now being fed talking point to maintain a "narrative".
 
The interviews are what TSL *can* do well. Particularly with someone as honest and refreshing and charming as Meagan. I have not watched all of it, but I adore her commentary in the parts I have watched.

Waaaay more interesting and informative and watchable than who the heck likes you, doesn't like you, texted you, sent you a birthday message on your Facebook wall. and what your wonderful, excellent and ultimately vindicated opinions (in your own mind) were. Waaay better!:saint:
 
I do like watching their interviews because it seems to keep Dave on track, and Meagan is very knowledgeable, so I'll have to watch this one.

@giselle23 I knew he had a feud with Ashley and Adam, but does he now hate Rafael for some reason? I wonder what the story behind that one is - Ashley/Adam's dislike of him changing his opinion or Rafael or if Dave a more personal beef.

ninjapirate said:
This is not something I really care much about, but I'm going to call BS and FUD when I see it:

https://twitter.com/SkatingLesson/status/965277649336700929
https://twitter.com/SkatingLesson/status/965278443956039682

The Russian Fed may not be happy about missing the podium but there is absolutely no way they are under the illusion they should have made it. Dave does not have sources they would know anything. All Dave has is a history of "friendliness" between the French and Russian Feds and wishes to bring attention to it. Fine, but there is practically no chance that any "friendliness" would be a result of the pairs competition because the Russians f'd that up on their own. The "friendliness" would have been worked out long ago.

I've worked in political PR and I've seen this trick before over and over again where you want to bring attention to something known(French-Russian "friendliness") but kind of in the background so you have to spice it up(Oooh, the Russians are Pissed!). Dave the communications guy is acting like a paid political astroturf blogger now being fed talking point to maintain a "narrative".
Click to expand...
Well, even though I don't believe Dave, and I hate judging conspiracy theories, there has been weird stuff going on with Russian skater PCS all season. I have been wondering in the back of my mind if they were cooking the PCS all season (or through the Olympic cycle) for their skaters so that any weird PCS at the Olympics wouldn't look as weird. Certainly at least Zagitova and Kolyada's PCS are far higher than they reasonably should be. If Dave any my conspiracy theory is right maybe the Russian fed was furious that they couldn't cook the PCS well enough.

Still, without any evidence, I'm not going to call this a conspiracy. As we've seen all over the disciplines and of skaters from all countries, higher tech content tends to equal higher PCS even if that high PCS isn't deserved, and Russian skaters tend to push tech content.
 
Willin said:
I do like watching their interviews because it seems to keep Dave on track, and Meagan is very knowledgeable, so I'll have to watch this one.

@giselle23 I knew he had a feud with Ashley and Adam, but does he now hate Rafael for some reason? I wonder what the story behind that one is - Ashley/Adam's dislike of him changing his opinion or Rafael or if Dave a more personal beef.


Well, even though I don't believe Dave, and I hate judging conspiracy theories, there has been weird stuff going on with Russian skater PCS all season. I have been wondering in the back of my mind if they were cooking the PCS all season (or through the Olympic cycle) for their skaters so that any weird PCS at the Olympics wouldn't look as weird. Certainly at least Zagitova and Kolyada's PCS are far higher than they reasonably should be. If Dave any my conspiracy theory is right maybe the Russian fed was furious that they couldn't cook the PCS well enough.

Still, without any evidence, I'm not going to call this a conspiracy. As we've seen all over the disciplines and of skaters from all countries, higher tech content tends to equal higher PCS even if that high PCS isn't deserved, and Russian skaters tend to push tech content.
Click to expand...


Re: Rafael. He called Rafael "Amateur Hour" on Twitter after Nathan's short program. He blamed Rafael for Nathan's poor performance in the short program--for changing the layout, I think. Interestingly, Nathan in an interview said that he made the snap decision during the program to go for the toe instead of the flip--and that it was a mistake.
 
@giselle23 Is Dave one of the people propagating the whole "Rafael makes the jump choices at the last minute" myth? I thought it was well known through interviews with Nathan that he's the sole last-minute decision maker in that respect and that he often makes choices of jumps that Rafael doesn't know about beforehand?
 
Willin said:
@giselle23 Is Dave one of the people propagating the whole "Rafael makes the jump choices at the last minute" myth? I thought it was well known through interviews with Nathan that he's the sole last-minute decision maker in that respect and that he often makes choices of jumps that Rafael doesn't know about beforehand?
Click to expand...

Yes, he blames Rafael.
 
I thought that Meagan was mad at Dave and refused to have anything to do with TSL after he "revealed" that she allegedly nicknamed Trankov "Maxipad". Did he apologize or something?
 
skateboy said:
You sound like you're a little proud of that, maybe? Not sure I understand...
Click to expand...

Almost :D I mean, you have to love a fanbase that chants “Big D*ck Nick” to its QB and means it as the ultimate compliment :lol:

But more so, that sometimes the TSL sycophants or even Dave himself claim that someone (let’s hypothesize a Jason fan;)) is upset with snark about Jason, Kori or Rohene because they can’t deal with harsh language or don’t understand sports talk or “the truth hurts”.

Or it could be that I’ve heard a lot worse and am not clutching my pearls, but just happen to disagree.....:cool:
 
Well, I don't think Jonathan was really needed. It could have helped bring down the time-length.

They're wrong. Mozer has not been sitting with T/M in the kiss 'n cry for awhile, ever since Szolkowy and the other guy have been listed as their main coaches.

As far as whether Vanessa & Morgan are together romantically, they already revealed in an interview with BladeBoy/ Goldenskate awhile ago that she and Morgan dated each other in the beginning of their partnership (see their fan thread on FSU). Vanessa said they found it difficult to date off the ice and skate together on the ice, since their connection is just so hot and it can be volatile. She didn't use those exact words, but that was her meaning. Vanessa has another French boyfriend, and she's posted pictures of him on her Instagram. I would imagine she's still with this other boyfriend, although I no longer see any pictures of the other guy on Vanessa's Instagram, so who knows?

Possibly the difficulty of being partners on and off the ice is also why Zach and Madi are no longer together romantically. Zach seems to still be carrying a torch.

Love, love this pic of Vanessa & Morgan:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BewunMjlKr1/?taken-by=vanessa_james_sk8

And this drawing sings:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcsQxbBFnew/?taken-by=vanessa_james_sk8

Young Vanessa with her twin sis:
https://www.instagram.com/p/2DxKRSG7am/?taken-by=vanessa_james_sk8
 
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el henry said:
Almost :D I mean, you have to love a fanbase that chants “Big D*ck Nick” to its QB and means it as the ultimate compliment :lol:

But more so, that sometimes the TSL sycophants or even Dave himself claim that someone (let’s hypothesize a Jason fan;)) is upset with snark about Jason, Kori or Rohene because they can’t deal with harsh language or don’t understand sports talk or “the truth hurts”.

Or it could be that I’ve heard a lot worse and am not clutching my pearls, but just happen to disagree.....:cool:
Click to expand...
Ok, got it. :cool:
 
Really enjoyed the recap with Meagan! So much interesting information like asking about T/M’s PCS and never getting a response and asking for specific feedback on their death spiral and not really getting that either.
 
I think Meagan would be a great commentator. She really knows her stuff and really does the research necessary. I think she also does a good job of saying what needs to be said or being blunt/sharing insider things without being cruel or nasty.

I was interested to hear what she had to say about other training centers - particularly the Russian system. I had no idea that the skaters "coaches" acted more like managers in some cases, or that Eteri was so intense. Perhaps I should watch that documentary about the Eteri rink - it seems kinda cruel (not to say that the US doesn't have cruel training places as well). It was also interesting to hear about how much less intense Canadian skating parents are. I wonder if that has anything to do with their recent success as opposed to that of the US...
 
I've only watched TSL a handful of times when a relevant skater or conversation that I was interested in came up, but I can't say I'm a regular. What was the reason for the fallout with Jenny? I did get the catty across-the-line vibe from Dave but when I read an article detailing the whole thing, I saw some skaters were screaming at him because he criticized their music cuts. If you can't handle that kind of criticism, which is completely fair game, you are probably not cut out for competing in front of thousands of fans.
 
@ToFarAwayTimes The story about the skater screaming at him apparently was overblown (she wasn't screaming at him) and involved a lot of alcohol. I could totally see the skater in question getting really drunk and getting somehow more passionate about things.

As for the Jenny thing, we don't really know. Apparently she left the show to go to law school, decided law school wasn't for her, moved on to coaching, and is now doing fitness videos? I think she just left because of law school and never had a desire to go back. I don't know if that desire not to go back had to do with anything Dave said or if it was because she wanted a change. It could also be that if she was coaching she didn't want to be a bad example or get bad political stuff going on that would affect her skaters at competition.
 
Willin said:
I don't know if that desire not to go back had to do with anything Dave said...
Click to expand...

Hmmm, it could have been both something Dave said and did behind-the-scenes, right? But sure, you don't know. ;)

I think it speaks volumes that Jenny has cut herself off from the show completely and she has no comment when contacted by media. After the Grenoble bathroom fiasco tweet by Jonathan, TSL stopped using Jenny's old voiceover intro, and it was apparently about time too.

I'm impressed by Meagan going on TSL and being so honest and forthright. She's a mensch, and a very nice person. I think that comes through. I loved hearing Meagan's thoughts on Kirsten & Michael; working with John Kerr & Julie together on their choreo for this season; what Meagan revealed about Ryom/Kim and North Korean skating program, and the fact that R/K's coach trained in Russia; details about Elladj getting a contract to perform at a show in N.Korea twice; the insights about Stolbova; how the skaters get along behind-the-scenes; what was happening in practices; the difficulty of finessing the triple-twist; Meagan's thoughts about Sui/Han, and Aljona, et al. I am so on board with seeing Meagan and Michelle Kwan hooking up to do podcasts or videos on yoga for skaters!

That was also interesting about the Knierims. The background Meagan gave about the skaters being instructed not to make any kind of political statements or protests partly reveals why the IOC would have said something about disciplining the Knierims. However, I think it's unnecessary for the Knierims to be reprimanded. I just think perhaps they were feeling down about their sp placement and then hearing about the school massacre must have been even more depressing (in view of Chris' own recent losses). At the same time, the news appears to have had Alexa putting into perspective the fact that skating is not everything. Still, they worded that sentiment in an awkward way, as it doesn't make sense to dedicate a competitive skating performance to victims of a senseless massacre (especially not a less than stellar performance). They likely meant more that their hearts went out to the family and friends of those who died, and the incident made them put their Olympic experience into perspective

I agree that Vanessa & Morgan didn't necessarily need to reuse their old free program, as Say Something is really good.
 
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Willin said:
@ToFarAwayTimes The story about the skater screaming at him apparently was overblown (she wasn't screaming at him) and involved a lot of alcohol. I could totally see the skater in question getting really drunk and getting somehow more passionate about things.

As for the Jenny thing, we don't really know. Apparently she left the show to go to law school, decided law school wasn't for her, moved on to coaching, and is now doing fitness videos? I think she just left because of law school and never had a desire to go back. I don't know if that desire not to go back had to do with anything Dave said or if it was because she wanted a change. It could also be that if she was coaching she didn't want to be a bad example or get bad political stuff going on that would affect her skaters at competition.
Click to expand...

The version I heard of the Jenny/Dave thing is that they did disagree on content, but the biggest issue Dave had with her is that she left suddenly and abruptly. They had plans to do other interviews and things and she suddenly decided she was done without much warning, which is her choice, but apparently it soured their relationship for good.

I get why Dave would be annoyed if that was the case, and Jenny does seem to bounce around to several different endeavors, but it's an internet blog. It's not exactly life or death and Jenny didn't commit to it for life or anything.
 
Cleo1782 said:
The version I heard of the Jenny/Dave thing is that they did disagree on content, but the biggest issue Dave had with her is that she left suddenly and abruptly. They had plans to do other interviews and things and she suddenly decided she was done without much warning, which is her choice, but apparently it soured their relationship for good.

I get why Dave would be annoyed if that was the case, and Jenny does seem to bounce around to several different endeavors, but it's an internet blog. It's not exactly life or death and Jenny didn't commit to it for life or anything.
Click to expand...

Jenny knew she was going to law school March 2015 and deferred until fall 2016. Not sure how that's sudden or abrupt.
 
aftershocks said:
And the biggest issue that Jenny had with Dave ... :sekret:
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Don't know. Just heard one side of the story. Sorry. I don't think they got along very well in the end. They weren't really 'friends' before TSL-they met on facebook and it grew from there.

rhapsody said:
Jenny knew she was going to law school March 2015 and deferred until fall 2016. Not sure how that's sudden or abrupt.
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She planned on continuing with TSL in some capacity even in school then decided against it. I believe she even says that in her last show. Can't remember. Again, just what I heard about it. Dave is pretty open about it I think (at least his side)-you could probably tweet him or talk to him on fb and get a response lol
 
CassAgain said:
So many great bits in the Meagan's interview, but I think my favorite was the story of Eric texting her, nervous for Patrick in the Team short, and Meagan coming right back at him, "Distance yourself from that right now!"
Click to expand...

I also loved her bit about the rumour being that the two blocks of obnoxious Russian fans in different spots of the arena during the team event were tickets paid for/people sent there by Putin. And she turned to them while on the podium and gave them a big fist pump. :lol:
 
Cleo1782 said:
Don't know. Just heard one side of the story. Sorry. I don't think they got along very well in the end. They weren't really 'friends' before TSL-they met on facebook and it grew from there.

She planned on continuing with TSL in some capacity even in school then decided against it. I believe she even says that in her last show. Can't remember. Again, just what I heard about it. Dave is pretty open about it I think (at least his side)-you could probably tweet him or talk to him on fb and get a response lol
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Yeah, I've heard a few things as well, unconfirmed (not from Dave). But I think one thing we know for sure is that Dave might not be the easiest person to collaborate with if he wants to run the show and make it mostly about himself too. ;) Like I surmised previously, Dave seems to need someone who understands and cares about him to help control his worst excesses, and I'm sure even with someone boss and strict and loving guiding him, that can be a fairly exhausting enterprise. :p
 
overedge said:
I thought that Meagan was mad at Dave and refused to have anything to do with TSL after he "revealed" that she allegedly nicknamed Trankov "Maxipad". Did he apologize or something?
Click to expand...

No idea if this is true but Maxipad is hilarious.
 
I'm surprised Meagan agreed to show up too, but perhaps she never cut off communication with Dave completely. Maybe he apologized profusely and begged to continue being her BFF. I've heard here on FSU that Eric isn't that happy with Dave. Who knows? Some skaters seem to appreciate Dave's passion, interest and knowledge, but apparently mostly everyone could do without his snarky, busybody, thoughtless side, the name-dropping and revealing of off-the-record information.
 
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