After watching Universal Sports' broadcast of the Dance and Ladies short programs, I can't help but to question the judging. Of course, there is still the LP/FD and both competitions are very close between the top skaters, so the current results are not final, but they are a bit ridiculous.
I do really like V/M, but they should NOT be ahead of D/W. Yes, White didn't catch his blade right away on his twizzles, but their Golden Waltz patterns and overall polish were better than V/M in my opinion. Hopefully the judges will get it right in the FD tomorrow, because D/W really deserve to win.
I also like Yuna and was excited for her return, but she should be slightly behind Ando who skated cleanly. Ando was at a disadvantage by being the first skater in the warmup group and was lowballed on GOEs and (dare I say it) the PCS. I actually like her SP and her interpretation/choreo - this is the one time she actually deserves her marks. Yuna's opening jump should have received -3: minus 2 for the step out, and an additional -1 for minimal (none) steps into her Lutz. Those cross in fronts do not count as footwork immediately preceding a jump. Also, Czisny getting less GOE than Yuna on her layback? Maybe they got excited she didn't abort like last year? I have no other explanation.
The worst judging, though, came when Leonova somehow made it into the final warmup. Her costume alone should have gotten her disqualified. Just no. How did that beat Murukami? I just don't understand. Mao and Murukami each got < calls they did not deserve - Mao on the flip, Murukami on the toe, although I do agree with the << on Mao's 3A.
I hope everyone skates well in the LP. Theses are my predictions for overall results:
1. Miki Ando - she has skated clean LPs all year long.
2. Yuna Kim - she will make at least one mistake, possibly pop a lutz...
3. Mao Asada - her LP is 100000x better than her SP, and others will falter
4. Alissa Czisny - she will have one fall, but an overall good program
5. Carolina Kostner
6. Kanako Murukami
7. Ksenia Makarova
8. Rachel Flatt
9. Aleona Leonova
10. Kiira Korpi
This is probably wrong.
Mr. Amano definitely does not seem overfond of the Machiko Yamada school of jump technique. Maybe she ran over his dog in an unfortunate accident years ago?
ReplyDeleteIt is entirely possible and could explain his selective downgrade policy.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I didn't see any issue with Kanako's 3-3 combo. I guess a case could be made for Mao, since it did seem she two-footed it on replay. And Mao's flip technique has changed quite a bit since her Yamada days.
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