2015 Grand Prix Final Recap - Men and Ladies!

Men

After an incredible pair of performances at NHK Trophy, Yuzuru Hanyu broke the world record in both programs again at the Grand Prix Final. I am just in complete awe and have to bow down to this god among men. How long can he keep this streak going? I don't care. I just feel privileged to be watching this level of absolutely incredible skating. How much higher can he go? Yuzu was less than 2 points away from the maximum program components score in the long program. He does have a quad loop in his back pocket, presumably ready to throw into competition at some point in time. But the International Skating Union faces the very real possibility of a skater maxing out under the current system, and discussions about adjusting the scoring criteria are currently underway. Technical accomplishments aside, Yuzu has incredible performance quality. The "Seimei" long program is powerful and exciting, and he gives it 110%. The choreographic step sequence at the end is just so thrilling to watch that it makes you forget it's part of a competitive program. Yuzu has deservedly entered the "greatest of all time" conversation after two incredible showings. I'm not prepared to bestow that title upon him just yet, but he certainly is a once-in-a-generation talent.

In the shadow of Hanyu's mind boggling achievement, it's easy to overlook just how remarkably well-skated this men's event was, especially the long programs. Reigning World Champion Javier Fernandez was a remarkably good sport about his training mate blowing him out of the water in front of a home crowd on a day when Javi skated the best long program of his career. It proves my earlier point that Javi, while very gifted, is still a cut below his rival and probably can't ever hope to defeat a clean Hanyu. I do find Javi to be a more engaging performer. Both of his programs this year are well suited to his strengths, and he sells them. He did get some home ice Christmas gifts. I love Javi, but he's not somebody who should be scoring 10's in program components. Still, it's clear that amazing things are happening in the Brian Orser camp. I would probably send my overachieving adopted child to him if I wanted to raise an Olympic Champion.

Shoma Uno continues to impress and overachieve in his first season on the senior Grand Prix. The quality of his skating is still out of this world for someone so young. Despite a fall on a quad toe in the short program, I even see improvement in Shoma's terrifying jump technique (though I still hold my breath on every jump takeoff). There are so many magical moments in that Turandot long program, particularly the cantilever on the crescendo of "Nessun Dorma." It's rare to see that kind of attention to detail from a first-year senior. I'm a bit perplexed over his program components compared to the other top men. He may not be as naturally charismatic as Javier Fernandez, but he has superior skating skills and detailed, intricate, and difficult program composition. I suppose the scores will rise as he gets older. Either way, I'm obsessed and am rooting for him.

The Grand Prix Final was a bit of a wake up call for Patrick Chan. He is now 0/3 on short programs this season. This was his worst bomb yet. The 3X World Champion found himself a whopping 40 points behind Yuzuru Hanyu, which is frankly embarrassing for someone with his resume. Like at Skate Canada, he came back with a brilliant long program performance, but the writing is on the wall. The technical content is not enough to battle with what his top rivals are presenting. Gone are the days when Patrick could get the quad toe and triple axel out of the way at the beginning of the free skate and call it a day. He needs to repeat one or both jumps in the second half of the program to have a chance. For the first time in his career, Patrick isn't even able to beat Yuzuru Hanyu on program components. Patrick didn't come back to not win Worlds and the Olympics. I'm sure he didn't fathom that he would finish off the podium here. Taking into account Denis Ten's superb performances a couple of weeks ago at a cupcake contest in Croatia (seriously, when will he get it together for a Grand Prix season???), Patrick's path to the Worlds podium is looking dicey.

Jumping wonder Jin Boyang came terrifyingly close to a medal at this event, and he didn't even have clean programs. The base value of his technical content is so high that he can get away with not executing it very well. His program components were crazy high here for what he presented. Judges need to feel comfortable awarding 5's and 6's to skaters who are in the Grand Prix Final and can do a quad lutz. If the skating skills and performance quality aren't there, then the scores should reflect it. The top men should be (and probably are) sweating about this kid heading into the World Championships. I respect the technical ability, but come on. We all have to learn how to actually skate sometime.

Poor Daisuke Murakami was woefully outclassed here. Frank Carroll was looking very over it. Dice has the quads, but there's nothing remarkable to his skating. His long program is like watching paint dry. The music sounds like it was selected from a royalty free catalog. I was perturbed by how ecstatic he was in a short program where he popped the back half of his combination. Gurl, if you aren't going to give me the performance, at least rotate everything. With only two spots to spare at Worlds for the Japanese men, I don't really see Dice faring well against Hanyu, Uno, or a number of other Japanese men.

Ladies

The tyranny of the Russian teenagers continues, though I do like Evgenia Medvedeva more than the rest of them. She deserved to win here, but as usual with these Russian girls, the judges are really embarrassing themselves. Evgenia has good skating skills for her age, but I cannot even begin to justify program component scores in the 9's for her. There is just a frenetic quality to her skating. She has a nice body line (at least compared to some of the other Russian horrors), but she doesn't hold out her movements. I'm missing the maturity and sophistication that I saw from the top American and Japanese ladies in this event, and that was not reflected in the scores. When these girls get such crazy program components so young, they don't improve as they get older. What incentive do they have? However, the girl can jump. No arguing against that one. I trust her jump technique, though Eteri Tutberidze also taught Yulia Lipnitskaya her non-technique, and we all know how that turned out. Evgenia is a competitor, and I think she's been set off on a winning streak that will last through Worlds.

Satoko Miyahara ended 2015 much like she began it: winning a medal no one really expected her to. Despite being the reigning World Silver Medalist, Satoko is never really considered a favorite and tends to fly under the radar. There are many qualities to admire about her skating, but there isn't a lot of "wow" factor. It's easy for her to get lost in the shuffle. However, the girl is consistent, and she was one of few skaters in this event to put together two good programs. Satoko is a perfect little robot who does her run-throughs in practice and knows how to compete. It doesn't matter that her jumps barely leave the ice when she lands everything. I do admire her gorgeous spins, her perfect posture, and her attention to detail - a stark contrast to the dominant young Russians. She'll continue to be a major contender through Worlds.

Elena Radionova.....bless her. Part of me admires the extent to which she fully embraces her own tackiness. That Titanic long program is a camp masterpiece like we haven't seen since the days of Maria Butyrskaya. I also admire the girl's competitive grit. After missing the back half of her opening lutz + toe combo in the short program, she tacked on a triple toe to her triple loop through sheer willpower. It wasn't pretty, but it was rotated. Our American ladies would not be capable of something like that on the fly (Ashley Wagner tried and failed miserably). The quality is just not where it should be for a lady competing on this level. All of her jumps are terrifying in the air, and the landings are not good. I get that she's struggling with a growth spurt, but there is no technique. Her shoulders are always hunched over, and she needs a million crossovers per minute to generate speed. Elena has spunk and a flair for performance, but the lack of refinement is unforgivable. Again, the judges should be ashamed of themselves for showering her with program components in the 9's. At the end of the day, I trust Elena to get the job done, and she will be in the medal hunt at Worlds.

Ashley Wagner has been trying to paint her performance in the Grand Prix Final as a huge personal victory, but she's having a crisis of confidence. Her comfort zone appears to be bombing the short program and fighting back in the long. She was so bad in the short here that she had virtually no chance at a medal, even after she posted a career-best long program score. Ashley is good enough to win medals in this field. She had the second highest program components of the event in the long program even skating first, which is very impressive. She is the most natural performer of the top ladies, and she's really improved her skating skills and transitions over the years. Jump rotations are still a problem. I don't know what it's going to take for her to fully rotate that triple loop + half loop + triple salchow combo. It's never been clean. The judges are ready to put her on the podium if she can ever put together two clean programs at a major international event. It's up to her.

Gracie Gold....ugh. I don't know what to say. By all accounts, she was having great practices heading into the Grand Prix Final. Even after doubling her triple flip (again) in the short, she was realistically still in it for the silver medal with a good long program. What is it going to take to teach this girl how to compete? Frank Carroll is an amazing coach who has done wonders for Gracie, but he doesn't do well with those who can't motivate themselves (see: Mirai Nagasu). Gracie is the only person keeping herself from becoming a World Champion. The talent is there, and she has the programs to do it. Can she get it together? Nationals in January will be telling.

Mao Asada's competitive comeback is quickly veering into nightmare territory. She looked so amazing late in the summer at the Japan Open, and she hasn't come close to replicating that performance. In terms on raw talent, she should be wiping the floor with the current international ladies' field. None of these girls are anywhere close to Yuna Kim or Carolina Kostner, who were really the only skaters capable of beating Mao at her best. Mao skated a killer short program until she singled the lutz at the end. She was still in bronze medal position with that mistake, but the long program was a bit of a disaster. Mao is in great physical shape, and she's proven that she has the jumps back. What's keeping her from putting it all together under pressure? Is she working too hard? I hope she can take a nice spa day after Japanese Nationals. 

2015 Grand Prix Final Recap - Pairs and Ice Dance!

Pairs

After a dismal start to the season at Skate America, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov fully redeemed themselves in the Grand Prix Final with a decisive victory, including a near-world record score in the free skate. It was nice to see the Olympic Silver Medalists with their old swagger back, but the scores got a little out of control. They can barely complete a triple twist, and Fedor's triple toe + triple toe + double toe combo looked underrotated to me, yet they got positive grades of execution on both elements. Their skating skills are superb, but their icy performance quality and lack of chemistry would prevent me from giving them the astronomical program components they received here. Still, the quality of most of their elements is superb. Their throws were the best of the field, and I live for Ksenia's extension on her landing positions. I'm completely obsessed with her. She is not a girl I would want to meet in a dark alley. I love my intense Russian ladies who would probably kill you to get what they want. In a year where all of the top pairs seem to be in an arms race to fill their long programs with quads, Stolbova/Klimov proved that it's still possible to win on quality and refinement. Are they the favorites for Worlds? It's difficult to say. Sui Wenjing and Han Cong withdrew from the Final due to injury, and Olympic Champs Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov only competed in one Grand Prix event. Both of those teams could conceivably take the World Title. It will be exciting to see how things play out in the second half of the season.

This was a tough loss for World Champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. It is well known that Ksenia Stolbova gets under Meagan Duhamel's skin more than just about any other skater. Meagan suffered a somewhat shocking fall on a throw triple lutz in the short program, but they were still close enough to the Russians' score to win the event with a strong free skate. And indeed the Canadians did have a good free skate, only to see their Russian rivals best them by 10 points with easier technical content. What happened? They really lost on quality. It's worth noting that Stolbova/Klimov's picture perfect throw triple flip got almost the same score as Meagan and Eric's scratchy-but-landed throw quad salchow. The Canadians are one of the few top pairs who can do side-by-side triple lutzes, but none of their jump elements come close to matching what the Russians can score for their triple toe + triple toe + double toe combo. Meagan and Eric have improved the layout of their "Hometown Glory" long program by spacing out their throws. Still, it feels like there are long stretches of this program where nothing is really happening. The Russians have some built-in smoke breaks, but at least there is interesting choreography going on. When both teams are skating well, the Russians will have an advantage on program components due to their more classic look and superior skating skills. What can Meagan and Eric do to avoid falling behind? Honestly, they just need to relax. They can get tense and overthink things sometimes. They were fighting for every element in the long program here, while the Russians made it look easy. That was ultimately the difference. I hope they can take a nice vacation before Four Continents.

Like Cher and cockroaches, Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov will still be here contending for medals when the rest of us are gone. Bizarrely, I left this event impressed with their improved consistency after a long program in which Yuko suffered two hard falls. They've at least given us good short programs at every outing, seemingly inspired by their impossibly schmaltzy Barbra Streisand/Bryan Adams musical selection. It's a step in the right direction for them. I still love that Tchaikovsky long program, even if it's never clean. I was amazed that they were able to recover from Yuko's back-to-back falls with their best throw quad salchow of the season thus far. Though we're always tempted to write them off, they find a way to force themselves back into the conversation. They will be in contention at Euros and Worlds.

I was incredibly impressed with the way Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau rose to the occasion after qualifying as the 7th team as a makeup for the canceled long program at Trophee Eric Bompard. This is a team that has continuously surpassed expectations and achieved great results. Julianne and Charlie are very engaging skaters, and I find myself rooting for them even though her lift positions are heinous. International judges give them higher and higher program components with each competition, and they are gradually creeping into legitimate World medal contention within the next few seasons.

Yu Xiaoyu and Jin Yang are now 0/3 in throw quad salchow attempts for the season, and it's been a hard fall for her every time. Does she land these throws in practice? It's casting a bit of a dark cloud on their long programs. They looked emotionally traumatized coming off the ice here. This is a team that possesses a great deal of technical ability, but they still need better packaging. The long program is a snooze on a good day, and it was tough to sit through when they were not skating well here. It's time for some louder costumes, off-ice acting lessons, booze-fueled sexual experimentation. SOMETHING.

This is just not the season for my favorite father/daughter team of Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao. It is well-known that Daughter Peng cannot jump to save her life. Some chalk it up to puberty, but she was eating ice regularly when she was 13. Yao Bin has many coaching gifts, but jump technique is not among them. This is another Chinese team that cannot land the throw quad salchow, and it's interfering with their other throws as well. It's like she's forgotten how to land everything, and this team usually has incredible throws. It might be best to axe it and focus on nailing two triples instead. I would personally quite like to be lifted and thrown around by Zhang Hao.

I was thrilled to see Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim qualify for the Grand Prix Final - the first American pair to achieve that feat in eight years. Sadly, they did not rise to the occasion. The short program was tight, and the free skate was a disaster. The quad twist is this team's money element, and Alexa landed it on her butt. From there, it was a free fall. I was almost impressed by the synchronicity of their side-by-side falls on their triple toes. Alexa and Chris have the ability to be competitive at this level, but they don't believe it. Alexa looked terrified in the short program warm-up while sharing the ice with the likes of Ksenia Stolbova and Meagan Duhamel. If the Americans don't skate like they belong here, the judges will score them accordingly. I'm hoping things go better at Worlds in Boston with a supportive home crowd.

Ice Dance

We all know that I love ice dance, but I'm over it this season. This crop of top dance teams fails to inspire enthusiasm. Nobody has risen to the occasion in the absence of Davis/White and Virtue/Moir to be convincing champions. As I've said before, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje are a good team. They skate like they should be in about fifth place. Technically competent, but lacking in anything special. Their programs are difficult and I appreciate their skating skills the closeness of their dance holds, but they don't move me. This team is coached by Anjelika Krylova, one of the all-time great Russian dance divas. Why can't some of her crazy rub off on her star pupils? I just find nothing about this team to be memorable. Thank goodness World Champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillame Cizeron are back in good condition and looking ready to go for the European Championships in January. Someone needs to save dance from itself.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates reversed the damage done at Cup of China by defeating the Italians here, but I'm not sure I see them winning Worlds. Igor Shpiliband does a good job of hiding Madison's sub-par skating skills (note that Evan always sets her down on an edge because she can't get there by herself), but they just don't cover a ton of ice. One associates champion-level ice dance with speed, power, and command. Madison and Evan's programs are pretty and she is a fabulous performer, but the skating doesn't leave much of an impression. I look at their exhibition program to Beyonce's "Haunted" and wonder why their competitive programs don't go that path. Madison has star quality. Let her serve the sex. Rachmaninoff is nice and all, but it's tired. You need to mask the technical deficiencies with a WOW program. Madison and Evan were scored a bit generously here, and one must never underestimate Igor's political pull. They received positive grades of execution on a twizzle sequence in which Madison visibly stumbled. I expect them to score well at Worlds in the U.S.

Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte.........what is there to say. Pleasant but dull. Her hunchy posture on the dance holds bothers me. Very slow and labored through the step sequences. I think they were way too high here, but I wasn't terribly surprised. They're beautiful people and engaging performers, but I'm bored. It's the same programs every year. Next.

The real outrage of this event was Maia and Alex Shibutani finishing off the podium. "Fix You" is the free dance of the season IMHO (not that there is much competition), and they skated the hell out of it here. They got big scores when they won NHK Trophy a couple of weeks ago, so I deluded myself into thinking they'd repeat in Barcelona. What gives? I've never been a huge fan, but this year they finally have the right packaging to shake off their weird sibling awkwardness. They've always been near the top of the international dance field technically. It irritates me that they're still being held down in program components when they've so visibly improved. Has Marina Zoueva given up on politicking for them? Honestly, if they don't make it back to the Worlds podium this year, it's probably never happening. I'll be praying for an upset at Nationals, but I think they're doomed to win silver again and hope for a top 5 finish at Worlds.

After the dust settled on the Grand Prix, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev seemed to assert themselves as the top Russian dance team in a contentious struggle for dominance. They proceeded to struggle to fifth place in the Grand Prix Final, barely defeating the third-best Americans. This is a team that was third at Worlds behind Davis/White and Virtue/Moir just three seasons ago. Why aren't they moving up in this depleted field? Out of sight, out of mind? International judges don't seem thrilled to welcome Katia and Dmitri back this season, and there seems to be little push behind them from the Russian skating federation. Everyone says their programs are light on content, but that was also true when they were winning medals. I actually find them to be much more enjoyable to watch now than when they were getting better results. It will be interesting to see how they fare at Russian Nationals. The powers that be may be putting their political powers behind Nikita Katsalapov and whatsherface that he's skating with now.

I was thrilled that Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue made the Grand Prix Final for the first time. How nuts is it that THREE U.S. dance teams qualified? When did this become our discipline? Madison and Zach have wonderful chemistry, and I appreciate the maturity and sophistication of their presentation. The "Hallelujah" short dance is one of my favorite things anyone is skating this season, and they skated it brilliantly here. I'm still waiting for them to attack that free dance. It's very pretty, and they have some very eye-catching lifts, but they always skate scared. Madison and Zach are not used to being competitive at this level. They need to own the fact that they're officially a top dance team. They're also a bit slow compared to the other top teams, which hurts their program components.

2015 NHK Trophy Recap! Men and Ladiezzzz!

Men

The big story of the weekend was Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu breaking (no - shattering) the world record score in both of his programs. After a disappointing loss to Patrick Chan a few weeks ago at Skate Canada, Yuzu rebounded and beat his chief rival's winning Skate Canada total by a staggering 51 points. Now, this event was in Japan, and some home ice inflation is to be expected. But Yuzu was legitimately incredible here. He upped the ante by adding a second quad in his short program, which I believe to be a wise choice. Yuzu often nailed his quad toe and triple axel in the short only to screw up the lutz+toe combination at the end. By increasing the technical difficulty, Yuzu is forced to maintain complete focus to the end of the program. The Chopin short program is a breathtaking masterpiece when it's clean. The technical elements are seamlessly woven into the rest of the program, and it's a compelling vehicle for Yuzu's superior edge quality and interpretive ability. The "Seimei" long program is powerful and exciting. It's full of difficult content, but it's captivating in a way that few long programs manage to be in the post-6.0 era. I honestly think this is the first time I've ever watched Yuzu skate and thought, "WOW! That's the Olympic Champion." He is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, but he rarely puts it all together (though he has the ability to score well even when he struggles). Can he keep this performance level up through Worlds? It may not be possible, but I'm glad he gave us two performances for the ages.

Jin Boyang continues to impress with his prodigious jumping ability, but it's time to improve everything else. The deficiencies in skating skills and performance quality are glaring when one watches him back-to-back with Yuzuru Hanyu. The program stops when he is setting up for jumps. I'm not really asking for someone to give me intricate transitions into a quad lutz, but there has to be something going on besides the technical elements. Not much power or ice coverage in the step sequences. Not a lot of real choreography happening in either program. He has the jumping ability to compete with the likes of Hanyu and Chan, but he needs more polish to get the program components he needs to beat them. The Chinese can be very protective of their single's skaters, but this boy needs to get some new eyes on him to get the complete package. With a little refinement, he could be the next Olympic Champion.

Takahito Mura showed much improvement here after his dismal 10th place finish at Skate America, but zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, what? Truthfully, Taka has never been one of my favorites. Good skating skills, but it's like watching paint dry. The packaging is always basic and predictable. It's 2015, and we're all over Cirque du Soleil programs. He doesn't really perform. How long has he been around? When you're 24 and toiling in the second tier, it's time to leave your father and find a real coach. The good Japanese skaters swallow the bitter pill and find themselves a Russian (or Canadian!) coach to learn how to be artistic. In a crowded Japanese men's field, I don't think we'll be seeing much more of Taka this season.

NHK wrapped up a surprisingly good Grand Prix season for Grant Hochstein. Grant has long toiled in the 11-20 group at U.S. Nationals, but he has a fire under his butt and is ready to move to the A-group. Grant even landed a clean quad toe in his free skate here - the first time I can ever remember him accomplishing that. At his best, Grant is an engaging, artistic skater with an innate sense of musicality. That Grant showed up in the long program, and the judges rewarded him for it. Unfortunately, a rocky short program prevented him from winning a medal here, but 4th place was a triumph for a relatively unknown skater in a tough event. The only thing standing in Grant's way to a top 5 (or even top 3!) finish at Nationals is self-confidence. He's a wild card for the World team in a U.S. men's field that keeps getting more and more interesting.

Konstantin Menshov continues to be the most entertaining of the Russian men, but there are times when one must question why he continues. When you're 32, you've never won a medal at a Grand Prix event, and you still can't give us good spins or decent skating skills, it may be time to pack it up. Like clockwork, Konstantin always nails the opening quad toe + triple toe of his long program before everything else goes to crap. I still appreciate the drama he brings to this long program, and I approve of the Donnie Darko angst. Well done.

Sometimes, you can tell when a skater has mentally checked out. There's no other way to describe what's happening to Ricky Dornbush. Ricky has the talent to be a major contender, but he's getting increasingly terrible competitive results. He phoned in both his performances at NHK from outside the rink, and he looked upsettingly unfazed by how poorly he skated. It's frustrating to watch such a gifted skater struggle so much. It makes one wonder how much longer he has before he just quits for good.

The award for most confounding long program of the event goes to Maxim Kovtun. When you're tripping on purpose in a program, I can only assume that you're masking your weak skating skills with gimmicks, which.......was most certainly happening here. There is also a moment where he falls asleep in the middle of the ice. What? It's pure cheese, but Maxim doesn't have the charisma to sell comedy. Maxim has strange jump technique, and he's very prone to popping. He wildly flings himself into those quads and prays he'll land them. He singled out of two jumps here, and he wound up performing too many double axels by mistake, causing one to be invalidated. It was a bit of a disaster performance, but I wasn't terribly surprised. The Russian men always come in threatening to do three quads in a long program, but we know it's just not going to happen for them.

With this weekend's results, our Grand Prix Final qualifiers are:

1. Javier Fernandez
2. Yuzuru Hanyu
3. Shoma Uno
4. Jin Boyang
5. Patrick Chan
6. Daisuke Murakami
Alternates: Yan Han, Max Aaron, Adian Pitkeev

Ladies

In a fairly deep field, the surprise gold medal winner was Satoko Miyahara. Satoko is like a tiny lovable robot with that perfect posture and amazing spin positions. The Lizst long program is lovely, but she needs to project. Because she's so small and doesn't cover a ton of ice, she needs something extra to make more of an impression. I enjoy her skating, but she's an easy skater for judges to bury when other top skaters are doing well (like at Skate America earlier this season). It doesn't help that her jumps barely leave the ice. I had to rewind this program a few times to see if she was doing doubles or triples. As a judge, I would not feel compelled to award her high grades of execution on any jumps. Satoko's greatest weapon is her consistency, and I always have faith that she'll skate well. Her success will always depend on whether or not others make mistakes.

I was thrilled to see Courtney Hicks grab the silver medal here, even if there is still room for improvement. I love that short program, and it was great to see her go out and attack it (minus a turn-out on the flip+toe combo, which was 100% unnecessary). The long program.....why is Elizabeth: The Golden Age so popular this year? Does anyone even remember that camp fest (except for me because I enjoy reenacting Cate Blanchett's "I TOO CAN COMMAND THE WIND, SIR!" scene)?? The music is kind of one-note and doesn't really go anywhere. Courtney is not an artistic skater, and this nothing music does her no favors. Also doing her no favors: the yellow dress. Girl, when your hair is bright red, all I can see is ketchup and mustard. Everyone in the skating world agrees: CHANGE IT. Courtney's jump technique is still a bit wild, though she did a better job of keeping it under control here. The presentation has improved, but there is more work to be done. Courtney is such a naturally powerful and athletic skater, and stronger skating skills could help her be even more impressive. She is in the mix for a spot on the World team, and I hope she does well at Nationals.

This was a disappointing event for Mao Asada, who was the headliner of the whole event. I think skating fans (myself included) got a bit ahead of themselves when they expected Mao-chan to come out of the gate and dominate in a ladies' field that had us all feeling a bit depressed last season. Mao's skating quality is in a different universe from the other top ladies, but she historically struggles at early season events. I wonder if Mao is pushing herself too hard in this comeback. She has always presented very ambitious technical content, and she's taken it to yet another level this year. She got credit for the triple flip + triple loop combo in the short program (literally the hardest combo any lady has ever attempted), but she missed the triple axel and singled the lutz. The long program started with another failed triple axel attempt and never really got better. Even her program components were lower than I thought they'd be at an event in Japan, but that's what happens when you aren't consistently delivering. Mao-chan still made the Grand Prix Final, but this weekend proved that reclaiming her World Title will not be smooth sailing. I'm still rooting for her and know that she has the goods to destroy her competition. The Madama Butterfly long program is beautiful, and I can't wait to see her skate it to its full potential.

The fourth place finish here was a bit of a disaster for Ashley Wagner. With Mao Asada's mistakes, the door was wide open for Ashley to win her 2nd Grand Prix event in a row and enter the Final in 1st place. Ashley can often be her own worst enemy when the stakes are high. It happened last year at Worlds when she was a medal favorite and bombed the short program. Nobody expected her to win Skate Canada, so she skated like she had nothing to lose. The triple flip + triple toe combo is always the first element to go when Ashley is doubting herself, and she missed it in both programs here. She is also very prone to two-footing jumps when she's nervous, which happened too many times to count in the long program. She also starts to rush and loses levels on her step sequences and spins. We all know Ashley's going to underrotate a couple of triples even on a good day, and it all added up to the lowest international scores she's gotten in a long time. To her credit, Ashley never stopped performing. She is an actress on the ice, and she always puts on a show even when she's not skating well. She still barely qualified to the Final, where she has a chance to redeem herself. I'm lighting a candle and praying.

There has been much discussion in the skating fan community about Mirai Nagasu's scoring here. Should she have been ahead of Mao and Ashley? My verdict is no. I love Mirai, but I think some fans watch her skating through rose colored glasses and remember what she was like 2010. Her flip + toe combination in the short program could have gone either way for me, but the technical panel called it underrotated and I think I agree. Mirai is a chronic underrotator, and she does not ever get the benefit of the doubt. From a program components standpoint, I thought she looked very slow and low energy. The performance quality comes and goes. The spins are still beautiful, but that's it. As expected, she had underrotations galore in the long program, and I think all the calls were fair. Tom Zkrajsek is a great jump coach, but he can't undo years of bad habits. I know everyone is rooting for Mirai to make the World team, but I don't see it. I think she's the sixth best lady in the U.S. on a good day. I just think the ship sailed several years ago.

I don't have much else to say about the ladies other than draw attention to Anna Pogorilaya, who had one of those disaster short programs for the ages. This is a girl who can take some big, hard falls. By the third fall (on a step sequence, no less!), I thought she was going to walk right off the ice. I'm not a fan, but I still felt bad. Someone needs a vacation.

And with these results, the ladies' qualifiers to the Grand Prix Final are:
1. Gracie Gold
2. Evgenia Medvedeva
3. Satoko Miyahara
4. Mao Asada
5. Elena Radionova
6. Ashley Wagner
Alternates: Rika Hongo, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Courtney Hicks

2015 Rostelecom Cup Recap! Pairs and Ice Dance!

Elton John posing as a Russian pair coach?? Things to consider....

Pairs

Rostelecom Cup was a do-or-die event for Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov after they didn't even win a medal at Skate America. The reigning Olympic Silver Medalists got it together and delivered two good programs for the first time since the Grand Prix Final last December, and the judges did what they had to do to get them the gold medal and a spot in this year's Final. This is a quality team with much to admire. Their skating skills and unison are among the best in the international pair field. That said, the program components were out of control here. This team tends to leave me cold, as there is no chemistry and limited performance ability. One gets the impression that she really can't stand him, which makes their sensual short program to "I Put a Spell on You" fall flat. The weird Donald Rumsfeld free skate is dark and brooding, which is more their style, but the music is repetitive and they don't do much to elevate it. Even the technical scores got a bit ridiculous. This is not a team that has ever deserved positive grades of execution on their triple twist. Ksenia continues to struggle with side-by-side jumps, which is unsettling as those are typically solid elements for this team. Even with the hyper-inflated scoring, their long program score was well below what we've seen from the top Chinese and Canadian teams. The Russians lack the technical difficulty of their top rivals, which will make it difficult for them to win a medal at Worlds. I still live for ice queen Stolbova and the silent shade she's always throwing. I loved when the cameraman found her sitting stone-faced in the audience while the rest of the arena was losing its mind over Elena Radionova in the ladies' event.

I figured Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov would be held down in second place no matter how they skated, though they didn't do themselves any favors in the long program here. Despite both being Russian, the contrast between the top two teams here was striking. Stolbova/Klimov have the polish and precision we're used to seeing from Nina Mozer's teams. Yuko and Sasha are more artistic souls, and thus more prone to big mistakes. I have to say that I find them much more enjoyable to watch than their compatriots. As the last top team of legendary coach Tamara Moskvina, I find myself rooting for them to do well. I still love the Tchaikovsky free skate, but the two throw quads are a mistake. They missed both of them here, which really took the wind out of the sails in the middle of the program. They still gave a performance, but I think a clean throw triple loop would add to the overall power and impression of the program than a failed quad. They can keep the quad salchow, as they do land it sometimes. There is still a scratchiness to many of Yuko and Sasha's technical elements, and I would likely be very conservative on their grade of execution marks if I were a judge. Still, I'm happy to see this team sail into the Grand Prix Final, and I wish them all the best for a strong showing.

This was a better showing for Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao than they had last weekend in Bordeaux, but they're still struggling. The British commentators mentioned that they hadn't really had time to train between their two Grand Prix events, and it was evident. Peng completely wiped out on a throw quad salchow attempt in the long program, and it took them forever to recover and get back into the program. The quad twist is their money element, and they completely botched it here. Zhang caught his partner before she finished rotating, causing the element to be downgraded. I enjoy the unique long program music selection of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, and I think that program has loads of potential. It's just not coming together in the early season going. It's unlikely this team will make the Grand Prix Final, so I hope things gel a bit more heading into Four Continents. I'm always rooting for my favorite father/daughter duo to find success.

Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea skated as well as they probably could have here, and I think more and more that they'll be the second U.S. pair at Worlds. They may have bargain bin packaging, but you can usually trust them to get the elements done. Tarah is a performer, and I enjoy watching her against my better judgment. She still has some serious flexed feet and a general sloppiness to her skating. I like my pair girls to be gritty and determined, but some refinement would be appreciated. Tatiana Volosozhar has taught us that we can be fierce while having perfect lines.

I'm still living for Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek, even though they didn't skate well at all here. We need to talk about this long program. What do "The Way We Were" and "Stayin' Alive" even remotely have in common? Does it matter when this program is such an amazing vehicle for Valentina to vamp it up and give us face? The side-by-side triple lutzes are their money element, and they missed them here. This season has been an unfortunate step back for a very promising new team, and I hope they can get it together by the European Championships.

Ice Dance

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje's gold medal finish at Rostelecom Cup over the top Italians is a big win for them. After the Italians surprisingly beat the top Americans in Beijing two weeks ago, this makes the Canadians the de facto frontrunners for the World Title. As I said after Skate Canada, I find much to admire about Kaitlyn and Andrew, but I'm not invested. If you're going to do a program about drug addiction, I need 100% more drama. These two are much too safe for me, both technically and artistically. They don't attack their technical elements, and the expression is very muted and internalized. The international ice dance field is positively dull in the absence of Davis/White and Virtue/Moir. I hope the top French team can come back from injury and shake things up. Otherwise, this season will be kind of a waste.

You'd think a showdown between two potential World medalists would be at least somewhat exciting, but I took a refrigerator break during both of Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte's programs. I sometimes have a hard time accepting that these two were ever World Champions. The skating skills are just not where they should be for a dance team at this level. But really, there aren't many stronger teams who can beat them at this point. I can at least appreciate Anna and Luca's chemistry and performance quality, even if they always kind of do the same program. I don't know that they really have the artistic range to do something passionate and dramatic. Even their interpretation of Carmen two years ago was the same romantic comedy-lite schtick they always do. I can't really do much besides shrug.

The more exciting battle here was the showdown of former power team Elena Ilinykh and Nitika Katsalapov with their new partners, though the outcome was a bit predictable given how this season has gone so far. Nikita and partner Victoria Sinitsina are looking much better than they did last year, though I can't really get behind them as a team. For an off-ice romantic couple, their on-ice chemistry is bizarrely chilly. It's still the Nikita show with his partner doing her best to keep up. The gap in ability is at times jarring, particularly on twizzle sequences where he starts behind her and then zooms past her before they are even halfway done. She hits some pretty positions on lifts, but it's nothing to write home about. The programs are conventional and boring.........not what we expect from top Russian ice dancers. It is clear that Nikita and Elena would have been dominant in this empty dance field, and their split has created a power void that no one has stepped up to fill. With their bronze medal finish here, Nitika and Vika have asserted themselves as Russian team #1, and I expect them to close the gap on the top two teams from this competition going forward. They already beat the Canadians on the technical mark in the free dance, and the program components will soon follow.

I enjoy Elena Ilinkyh and Ruslan Zhiganshin more than Nikita and partner, but they shot themselves in the foot here. Ruslan completely wiped out on the short dance twizzles, which put them in a deep hole they couldn't get out of. I still really like the Frida free dance, strange though it is. We don't look to Russian ice dance for coherence. Elena is still a star, and she deserves a better partner than Ruslan. I don't know who that would be in the current Russian field. Marina Anissina went to France to find a partner who could win her the Olympic Gold Medal.........maybe Elena should broaden her horizons. I loved the subtle shade of them blatantly stealing the iconic opening lift from Elena and Nikita's Swan Lake free dance, but it didn't look as good with Ruslan. I was hoping this team could pull out the bronze, but it was not to be. Fingers crossed that they can at least come in second at Russian Nationals.

2015 Rostelecom Cup Recap! Men and Ladies!

Men

As expected, reigning World Champion Javier Fernandez ran away with the gold medal here, though he did have to come back from a pretty rough short program. As he is wont to do, Javi tripled out of a planned quad salchow, and his lack of technical content was too great to be saved by program components. Javi is a strong technician and an engaging performer, but he does not have the killer competitive instinct one associates with a top skater. It doesn't really seem to bother him when he screws up in competition, and coach Brian Orser seems bizarrely zen about it too. The long program was better here than it was a few weeks ago in Beijing, but he still missed his solo quad salchow. Javi may think he needs three quads in that long program to beat Yuzuru Hanyu, but the consistency is never going to be there. I'm a big fan of both the Guys and Dolls long program and the "Malaguena" short. Javi's packaging is more sophisticated this year than it has been in the past, and he can sell a program. Some fans complain that Javi does the same comedic schtick every year, but I don't think he really has the artistic range to give us drama. Don't reinvent the wheel when you're winning. He's obviously a strong contender for the gold medal in the Grand Prix Final on home ice in Barcelona, especially as the other top men have not been terribly consistent thus far.

I was somewhat surprised to see Adian Pitkeev take the silver medal, but this event was in Russia, after all. Adian isn't much of a performer,  but he is more polished than the other top Russian men. I appreciate his lines and posture. Eteri Tutberidze's students may not have the best jump technique, but she does make them pay attention to detail more than the other Russian power coaches. Adian actually won the short program here thanks to Javier Fernandez's mistakes, and I expected him to completely melt down in the long program. The Russian men are not the best at handling pressure. He missed a triple axel, but otherwise it was a strong skate. The Mission makes for good skating music, and Adian uses the music well. He could give us a little more face. I see Adian ascending the international ranks as he asserts himself as Russia's best men's skater. God knows they've been looking for a man post-Plushenko who can win medals at Worlds.

The bronze went to our boy Ross Miner, who looked much stronger here than he did at Skate America. Ross is a very pleasant skater, but he's never going to wow you. The skating skills are good, but he doesn't get as much power as the other top men. The packaging is fairly basic. Ross seems to have the music taste of a middle-aged white woman. The jumps are looking more consistent, but I don't see that quad salchow ever really happening. Legendary Russian coach and commentator Tatiana Tarasova said Ross would be a really good ladies' skater. The shade of it all. Ross is a skater who the U.S. Figure Skating Association has always liked, and this placement bodes well for his chances at Nationals. With Jason Brown out with a back injury, Josh Farris still recovering from a concussion, and many talented teen skaters without much international experience challenging for top spots at Nationals, Ross could be a serious contender for the World team. At the end of the day, we can count on him to place respectably and not embarrass himself on television.

Another fourth place finish has to be a disappointment for Adam Rippon, who has repeatedly stated his desire to win Nationals and medal at Worlds this season. It's time for Adam to abandon the quad lutz. If you can't rotate it, it's not worth getting a measly three points for your solo jump in the short program - plus a one point deduction for a fall - when you could get six or seven points for a really good triple flip. Be a skater who owns being artistic and say "screw it" to the quad. Legend Tatiana Tarasova believes Adam's short program music (Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever") is too "big" for him. I think he gives it artistically, but it would be more effective if he skated faster. Skating skills have never been Adam's strong suit. That Beatles free skate is still a disaster, and I don't understand why he wanted to do it. The music edits are bizarre, and he doesn't really engage with it. He's still in the hunt for a spot at Worlds, but this season may just be a wash for our blue-haired friend.

The Russian and British commentators were all very upset that bronze did not go to Mikhail Kolyada. The Russian argument is that Kolyada had a quad and therefore was superior. He did outscore the two Americans on the technical mark, which is valid. However, they edged him out on program components. The British commentators believed Kolyada had a more engaging performance. I don't agree, but program components are about more than performance ability anyway. The American men are much more polished and mature than the young Russian. Though Kolyada's choreography accentuated the score from Nightmare Before Christmas (a unique musical selection that I appreciated), he seemed to be going through the motions, as many young skaters do. There wasn't an authentic connection to the music. I also found his posture to be lacking, even though his choreography did a good job of masking it. Overall, I think the placements were correct, though Kolyada is a talented skater to watch for the future. I didn't get the spectator outrage over this one. In fact, I think it was a surprising example of good judging, as it would have been easy to bury the quad-less American men behind the Russian upstart.

Something to consider while watching Sergei Voronov skate: are there transitions in this program? Choreography? I enjoyed the British Eurosport commentators mentioning his "old-school" style, which is the nice way of saying there is nothing going on in this program. Next.

This concludes a disappointing Grand Prix season for Nam Nguyen, who emerged last season as Canada's great hope for the future. He actually had a very good long program performance here, but he got crucified on program components. I can't say it wasn't deserved. Nam's skating skills are still lacking for a men's skater at this level, and his presentation is junior-ish. He does not perform with his whole body. He seems focused on delivering the technical elements and forgets about the performance quality. There is some choreography, but it's like he's just checking off boxes as he goes through the program. Spins are still bad. I agree with the British commentators - lose the white shirt. An all-black ensemble would accentuate his lines. When you're landing two quads in a long program and can't pull yourself up to the top 6 of a so-so Grand Prix event, you need to step back and assess what's going wrong. Brian Orser has taught Nam how to deliver under pressure, but it's time to iron out the details and make Nam a complete, mature senior skater.

Ladies

After a disappointing Grand Prix season thus far, I had a feeling the Russian ladies would come out to play in Moscow. I pitied the other ladies who had to face a Grand Prix field on Russian ice with three Russian ladies with the potential to sweep the podium. The big winner was Elena Radionova. Fresh off her bronze medal finish at Cup of China, Elena was out for blood and ready to win. I can at least say that the styling has improved. For a girl who is usually serving us JonBenet Ramsey realness, Elena is looking positively classy these days. Elena had a a moment in the long program. She was screaming and crying like Tara Lipinski in Nagano. The crowd went nuts, and it took her a good two minutes to leave the ice after soaking up the adoration. It was a good performance, but let's be real. Her posture is atrocious, and those jumps were landed on a wing and a prayer. I had to throw some side eye to those 8's and 9's in program components, but we were in Russia. I don't think she's in much danger of winning Worlds (despite what some delusional fans may think), but she's on her way to the Grand Prix Final to deliver some more Titanic drama. I'm here for it.

I have to give my respect to Evgenia Medvedeva. After missing her triple flip in the short program, the girl had the guts to tack on a triple toe to the end of her triple loop to make sure she didn't lose points for not having a short program combo. Evgenia allegedly trains a triple toe on the end of most of her long program jumps just in case she needs to pull out an unplanned combo in competition. This is a girl who trains to win. As I've said before, I appreciate Evgenia's polish compared to the other top Russian girls, and there is a natural musicality to her skating that makes her pleasant to watch. I'm loving Eteri Tutberidze's emergence as the new Russian diva coach. She was looking fierce, fabulous, and positively unimpressed with everything she saw from her star pupil. Like Tutberidze's other (now departed) top skater Yulia Lipnitskaya, Evgenia has scary axel technique and a flutz that international judges are consciously ignoring while she's still Russia's #1 lady. Evgenia is not a girl who enjoys coming in 2nd place, and I'm sure she'll be ready to contend for gold at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona.

Rostelecom Cup marked Adelina Sotnikova's return to major international competition for the first time since her....umm.....controversial Olympic Gold Medal win in Sochi. I'm going to be completely honest. I enjoy this girl's skating much more than I did in 2014. Adelina's time on Russian Dancing With the Stars has done wonders for her performance ability, and both of her programs are much more interesting than the junior-ish dreck that won her the Olympic Title. Sadly, her jumps have completely abandoned her. She couldn't even manage a triple toe+triple toe in the short program, and her triple lutz+triple toe attempt in the free skate was not cute. She completely ran out of steam at the end of the long program and performed a double flip+single toe before wiping out on a double axel. Regardless of the jumps, I really enjoyed Adelina's dramatic interpretation of "Je Suis Malade," and she didn't let the performance quality drop. Note that Yulia Lipnitskaya did not applaud at the end of this performance - as though we didn't already know her thoughts on what went down in Sochi. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes for Adelina. If I were her, I would have cashed in on my fluke gold medal and never competed again. The Russian ladies' field is tough, and I don't really see her going to Worlds. We'll see if the judges give her a free pass at Nationals.

There are fans who are upset that Adelina Sotnikova kept Polina Edmunds off of the podium here. I don't agree. Polina looked better here than she did at Skate Canada, but I think the gap in program components was justified. Polina's skating skills are weak for a lady at this level, and the contrast between her and the likes of Sotnikova and Medvedeva was glaring on that front. She's still too slow across the ice. Tatiana Tarasova let us know that she hates the scratchy sound Polina makes on the ice because she skates on her toe picks. Polina imagines herself as a ballerina. While she is naturally graceful, a real ballerina performs with her whole body and extends all the way to her fingers. There is no energy in Polina's arms - she has dead leaf hands as my dear friends on The Skating Lesson say. Polina got four underrotation calls in the long program. I don't agree with all of them, but it shows that the international judges and technical specialists don't really think much of her jumping ability. Her packaging is moving in the right direction (particularly in the short program), but I still think she needs an overhaul to move up to the next level. The stage mother coach has to go. I hope it's not too late.

Poor Rika Hongo was destined to get railroaded in this field of Russian ladies after a strong start at Cup of China. She didn't have great skates here, but the judges did their part to put her low enough to keep her out of the Grand Prix Final. It was comical to see the Russian crowd not even remotely engage with these programs after the Chinese fans ate them up. Rika is just not a terribly inspiring skater, and there's not much of a reason to care when she makes mistakes. When your selling point is consistency, you're not allowed to fall. I'm not invested.

Alaine Chartrand caught the Curse of the Canadian Ladies in the long program. She had a lights-out short program and found herself shockingly in second place with a career best score. Alaine has good skating skills, and her Pina short program has interesting choreography. She doesn't really sell it, and I'm not sure why some fans are so crazy about it. She doesn't have much performance ability, so it's all a bit boxy and awkward. I had a feeling the wheels were going to fly off in the free skate, and she didn't let me down. Underrotations and falls galore. Why is this girl going for a triple axel? We need to walk before we can run. Let's try to have respectable long programs at international competitions before we crank up the difficulty. I lived for the shady cameraman who gave us amazing audience reactions to this trainwreck.

2015 Trophee Eric Bompard Half-Recap!

I hesitated with what to do about last weekend’s Trophee Eric Bompard in Bordeaux for a couple of reasons. First of all, the tragic events in Paris obviously eclipse a silly figure skating competition, and I questioned the tastefulness of snarky commentary about a competition in France that was canceled halfway through due to the terror attacks. Secondly, it is incredibly unclear what this event means in the big scheme of things, as the International Skating Union is still debating on how to count these results in Grand Prix Final qualification. Is it really fair to use short program results as the final standings? Should the Final be expanded to include more skaters in the interest of fairness? And what to do about the many top skaters who did not have good short programs here? The OCD completist in me will not allow myself to skip this event, so I will give a half recap for this half event.

Men

My adopted child Shoma Uno did me proud this weekend with a lights-out short program. The jumps are still scary, but everything else is fabulous. He reminds me of a young Daisuke Takahashi. That kind of natural performance ability can’t be taught. He flourished here while other top skaters faltered and probably punched his ticket to the Grand Prix Final. I’m obsessed.

Is Maxim Kovtun a skater who should be getting 8’s in program components? It’s fitting that he is skating to a song called “I Can’t Dance.” No performance quality. Poor posture and lots of ugly crossovers. I don’t even want to talk about the sequined guitar top. His jump technique is hit-or-miss, but it worked in the short here. I respect the man for attempting two quads in a short program. He always looks so exhausted when he’s finished skating. Do the Russian men ever practice full run-throughs?

Daisuke Murakami probably could have beaten Kovtun had he not popped the back half of his combo. When you’re not a performer, you can’t afford to give us a single toe. After Frank Carroll and Lori Nichol made Gracie skate to Phantom last year, this year they gave Dice Les Miz. I also like to turn to ‘80s mega musicals when I’m phoning in a program.   

I was surprised to see Denis Ten show up to this event, and Frank Carroll might have been too. He looked marginally better than he did at Skate America, but this was still a pretty rough performance. It doesn’t look to me like he has landed a quad toe in a while – or trained this program at all for that matter. Will he get it together in time this season? I always have my doubts, but he always pulls through. Praying.

Patrick Chan opened his short program with a double toe+double toe combination. I can’t say I have ever seen that combo performed by a top men’s skater in international competition. Patrick does not currently have a technical coach on his team. His dance coach is running the show…..or rather Patrick is running the show himself. For a skater who has never had a good triple axel (which gave him problems again here), I don’t think that’s wise. This is the second event in a row where Patrick bombed the short program, but unlike Skate Canada, other guys skated well and he didn’t get a chance to pull himself out of the hole in the long program. He can’t keep botching short programs if he wants to win Worlds in a much more competitive field than he faced in that 2010-2013 period when he was unbeatable. Question: why do straight male skaters feel so inordinately drawn to Mr. Rogers sweaters? It’s figure skating. Glam it up a little bit. Patrick’s Grand Prix Final fate in unclear. He might be secretly relieved to miss it, as he clearly has some work to do.

After shocking everyone at Skate America, Old Max Aaron came back and bombed badly in Bordeaux. Max has historically been a skater who checks out after he makes a mistake. After botching his opening combo, the program was over. Max had the dead eyes, like he had for most of last season. The perfectionist in me can relate, but a champion knows how to give a performance even when the jumps aren’t working. That’s the biggest difference between Max and the likes of Yuzuru Hanyu, or even Jason Brown. He redeemed himself later in the week at a cupcake competition in Estonia, but missing the Grand Prix Final after winning in a tough Skate America field is a big blow to Max’s international standing. It will be interesting to see how he recovers at Nationals.

Ladies

Gracie Gold proved that she’s in it to win Worlds. Gracie can be her own worst enemy in competition, but I knew she would not let herself lose after Ashley Wagner won Skate Canada. Ashley is the one skater who really has the ability to get under Gracie’s skin (and vice-versa). It’s a rivalry that is fantastic for U.S. skating, and it’s driven both ladies to be better skaters. Gracie showed up to Bordeaux in amazing shape, looked like a million dollars, and nailed that short program like she has never nailed a program in international competition. The judges rewarded her with the highest short program score of the season so far. It’s a shame Gracie didn’t get a chance to back it up in the long program, because I really believe she was ready to nail that too. Let’s hope she keeps the momentum going.

Yulia Lipnitskaya was better here than at Skate America, but she was honestly lucky she didn’t have to do a long program. Even though she landed everything, the flip and the axel were scary, and those aren’t even her worst jumps at this point. Yulia has ditched the Lisa Frank explosion dress and had much classier styling here. She still looks kind of miserable skating to that peppy Elvis music, and she looked murderous in the Kiss and Cry when her much-improved effort was still a good nine points behind what she was getting back in the Olympic season. In the days since she left France, Yulia has fired Eteri Tutberidze and is now training with Olympic Champion Alexei Urmanov. She no doubt hated getting her butt kicked by Evgenia Medvedeva every day in practice, but I question whether she’s just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic at this point.

The half-bronze medal went to someone named Roberta Rodeghiero, who I have never heard of before. I love my Italian girls, but Roberta lacks the majestic skating quality of Carolina Kostner or the flirtatiousness of Valentina Marchei. If you’re going to be portraying Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, you need to give me more than just white gloves. Still, Roberta didn’t embarrass herself, so snaps for her.

Kanako Murakami showed up with her new sassy short hair, but also her single axel and her weird mule kick jump technique. It was sadly not enough to get on the half-podium, and I was really counting on her to pull through for my fantasy team. This is probably the year she finally gets edged out of Worlds in a tough Japanese ladies’ field, though I do find her skating to be much more enjoyable than it was in the past.

There continues to be a dark cloud hanging over the head of our reigning World Champion. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was on fire at every competition last season, but now she looks perpetually exhausted. Much like my girl Tonya Harding, Liza’s success hinges on whether or not she lands the triple axel. If she misses it, the program is over. There were zero clean jumping passes in this short program from a woman who has a reputation as the best jumper in the ladies’ field. No one has ever accused Liza of being artistic, but at least she used to be entertaining. Now she’s just kind of sleepwalking. We need to talk about the new dress. I’m all for bringing the sex to figure skating, but I do not believe nude illusion on one breast is appropriate. I mean, we used to chastise Katarina Witt and Tonya Harding because their skirts were too short. I can’t imagine why anyone thought this was a good idea. Liza’s result here probably takes her out of the Grand Prix Final barring an intervention from the Russian skating fed (not impossible). Let this girl take a nap before Russian Nationals and hope she gets it together.

Pairs

Trophee Eric Bompard saw the return of Olympic Champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. They looked pretty rough at their one early season event, but they were much better in Bordeaux. These two are still the ideal pair team: incredible skating skills, beautiful lines, and a commanding presence on the ice. And now they're skating's favorite newlyweds! They get amazing height on their twist and throws, and she has wonderful extension on those lifts. Their programs are never as good as they are. Bollywood is not an impossible concept for a figure skating program – look at what Meryl Davis and Charlie White in Vancouver. The choreography is kind of phoned in here, and they don’t sell it enough. I can’t really fault them for lacking in presentation, as it is difficult to get the technical elements back after taking so much time off. It might have been wiser to go for something a bit more traditional. Tatiana and Max received the highest short program score of any pair this season. I don’t agree, but it shows that they’re very much in the mix for the World Title. Tatiana allegedly injured herself this week, so they might be out of their next event and the Grand Prix Final. We won’t know how they really stack up with the competitive international pairs’ field until Euros and Worlds. It should be very interesting.

The surprise half-silver medalists were the French team of Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres. I’ve always been a big fan of these two, mostly because he has an amazing body and she is always serving the sass. Their skating is very powerful, but they can be a bit sloppy. At the end of the day, they nailed it when other top pairs didn’t. The scores were higher than I would have given, but they were on home ice. I’m looking forward to seeing how they stack up in a tough field at NHK Trophy next week, and if they can keep the momentum going for a spot in the Grand Prix Final.

I was pleased that Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau backed up their great results from Skate America with a strong performance here. They have excellent performance quality, strong skating skills, and very polished technical elements. I also think they have some of the best styling of the top international pairs. With some wild results from the first several Grand Prix events, these two can conceivably sneak into the Final. I’m crossing my fingers.

This was a disappointing season debut for Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao. I secretly really like them even though they make me uncomfortable. I always call them my favorite father/daughter team because of their extreme age difference. His amazing core strength and her limber physique make for some of the best lifts in the pair field, and they have that pristine Chinese quality on their twists and throws. They normally have some intriguing and surprisingly effective programs (Lori Nichol and those Chinese pairs….), but this short program is a bit of a snooze. I’m never a fan of instrumental Beatles arrangements. It’s a bit muzak-y for my taste. Peng is an exquisite skater, but the girl can’t jump. It’s been evident for several seasons now, and she only seems to get worse. In a very strong Chinese Pairs’ field, these two need to skate much better this weekend in Russia to secure their spot at Worlds.

I figured Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran would get buried in a tough field in Bordeaux even with a good skate. I thought they were much improved here from their performances in Skate Canada, and their program components should have been higher. It’s tough to get great international scores when you’re a new team, especially for the U.S. pairs. We don’t have the best reputation in this discipline.

My girl Evgenia Tarasova has inherited the dark mark of training mate Ksenia Stolbova. Last year, she couldn’t miss an element, and was her partner who usually screwed up. This year, she’s made errors in every single program at every international competition. It’s becoming a bit disconcerting. Maybe the return of Volosozhar and Trankov has sent the Nina Mozer camp into disarray. Tarasova and Morozov don’t have the programs to fall back on when the technical elements aren’t going well. This was the lowest energy interpretation of “Lord of the Dance” I’ve ever seen. With a dismal 7th place finish here, the Grand Prix Final is likely out of the question.

Ice Dance

We were destined to get weird results here when reigning World Champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillame Cizeron withdrew due to injury. I’m just happy the half-gold medal went to my low-key sometimes favorites Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue. Madison and Zach have always been a little behind the curve due to Madison’s chronic injuries. Their skating skills are excellent and they have good chemistry, but the technical elements are not always sharp. They looked very strong and polished here. The move to new power coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon was a positive one. Their packaging is very sophisticated where they've had some real mess programs in the past (thinking of last year's Great Gatsby disaster). With this half-gold medal, Madison and Zach are in the running for the Grand Prix Final for the first time, which means we could have three U.S. teams at that event. When did ice dance become our discipline??

I really thought this would be a win for Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, but international judges are not responding to that short dance. I appreciate their uniqueness, but really....where is the connection between "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Mozart? The neon Sgt. Pepper suits are a little too Halloween for me. The whole thing is just bizarre and not in a fun way.

I'm always surprised that international judges don't have more love for Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. They're attractive and Russian. What more do you want? She has legs for days and knows how to use them. I also appreciate their innovative sitting twizzle position. Their styling is very classy and distinctly un-tacky - a rarity for Russians in ice dance. It's probably time for them to leave their coach and find someone with more political power so they can move up the standings. I'd have had them in 2nd here.

Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland will always look like a pair team to me. The height difference is way too much for ice dance, and their dance holds look very awkward. I found it interesting that this team went for a very traditional waltz, when they usually go a bit more out of the box due to their strange look. It didn't really work for me.