Breaking Down the Elements--Pairs Short Program

The pairs short program consists of 7 elements that must be performed in a maximum time of 2 minutes and 50 seconds.

1. Any lasso lift take off (Group 5), minimum 2 revolutions by lady, minimum 1 revolution and maximum 3 1/2 revolutions by man

2. Double or triple twist lift, flip or lutz take-off only

3. Double or triple throw jump

4. Double or triple solo jump

5. Solo combination spin with only 1 change of foot and at least 1 change of position, both partners must achieve at least 2 basic positions for 2 revolutions, minimum 5 revolutions each foot, change of foot may be in form of step over or jump, change of foot and change of position can be made at same time or separately, may commence with a jump

6. Backward inside death spiral, when final death spiral position is attained both partners must execute 1 full revolution with man in full pivot position, lady must skate on a clean edge with her body and head close to the ice surface

7. Step sequence (straight line, circular or serpentine), fully utilize ice surface, partners should share workload and skate close together and to the character of the music, changes of place and holds, short stops and small jump-like movements are permitted.

Trophee Eric Bompard Recap

Pairs: Bazarova and Larionov turned out a magnificent short program to beat the Germans in the technical score and keep them close in the overall rankings.  Savchenko and Szolkowy impressed with their elements but I'm still bored by their short program.  Zhang and Toth had another respectable outing and if they can improve their speed and the height on their throw elements they could break into the next level of pairs.  Hausch and Wende had two solid programs to win the bronze medal but finished 40 points back from 1st and 26 points from 2nd.  Bazarova and Larionov had a gorgeous free skate but she had some jump problems.  If they can work these out, they have great lines, lifts and performance quality and can easily compete with the best of the best.  Look for them to challenge Kavaguti and Smirnov for the Russian national title.  Savchenko and Szolkowy's free skate was delightful and they separated themselves from the field with a 14 point lead over the Russians.  They had a few blips here and there but their scores have been well above the best teams in the world and if they can clear up their small problems they could be unbeatable this year.

I predicted 2/3 exact podium placements and 2/3 podium finishers.  My Fantasy team finished 1st, 4th and 5th.

Mens:  Kozuka, Amodio and Mroz all had solid shorts to put them in medal contention.  Chafik Besseghier had a suprise short in his first international competition to place 4th in the short.  After jump problems, Brian Joubert landed in 5th place in the short and withdrew before the free skate.  Kevin Reynolds also had jump problems in his short falling on his second quad to land him in 7th after the short.  Besseghier and Reynolds both had jump problems in their free skates.  I think Besseghier needs more experience under his belt and hopefully he'll get more assignments in the future.  Reynolds may need to go back to the basics and focus less on the quad and make sure he can consistently land all his other jumps in the program. Mroz and Amodio both had minor problems in their skates but were mostly clean and were able to gain the bronze and silver medal respectively.  Kozuka impressed with his free skate and scored 17 points higher in the free skate than Amodio and gained the top free skate and total scores for the season thus far.  He has set himself up to be a big threat for the rest of the season and Japanese nationals should be very interesting this year.

I accurately predicted 1/3 exact placements and 1/3 podium finishers (one of my podium finishers withdrew).  My Fantasy team finished 1st, 4th, WD.

Ladies: Kiira Korpi was the surprise leader after the short program with a top score for the season thus far.  She was closely followed by Mirai Nagasu and Haruka Imai with Alissa Czisny still in the podium hunt.  Mao Asada had a tough short program and was in 7th place after the short.  Nagasu was able to conquer her mental issues and skate a clean free to win the free skate and take the silver medal, her first career senior medal.  Kiira Korpi wasn't far behind and was able to maintain her lead and win the gold medal.  Cynthia Phaneuf had a strong free skate and was able to pull up from 6th to 4th.  Alissa Czisny placed 4th in the free skate but it was good enough for the bronze medal here.  Interestingly, Meite placed 7th in the free skate but had the highest total element score in the free skate. 

I predicted 0/3 exact placements and 2/3 podium finishers.  My fantasy team finished 3rd, 4th and 10th.

Dance: To no one's surprise Pechelat and Bourzat won gold here by nearly 15 points.  Their total score is just below Davis and White and it will be interesting to see how much work Davis and White have done since Skate America to clean up their programs and if they will distance themselves from Pechelat and Bourzat or if the French team is a real threat in the future.  Riazanova/Tkachenko were a real surprise here placing 2nd in both segments and posting some of the highest scores thus far, this season.  Chock and Zuerlein had a mishap on their free skate but still placed 3rd in both segments to take home their second bronze medal.  Their scores are still below the Shibutanis and it will likely be a tight race for the silver medal at U.S. nationals.

I predicted 1/3 exact placements and 3/3 podium finishers.  My Fantasy team finished 1, 2 and 7.

Grand Prix Final Qualifiers

Pairs

1. Savchenko/Szolkowy, GER
2. Pang/Tong, CHN
3. Bazarova/Larionov, RUS
4. Moore-Towers/Moscovitch, CAN
5. Iliushechkina/Maisuradze, RUS
6. Sui/Han, CHN

Alternates
7. Takahashi/Tran, JPN
8. Yankowskas/Coughlin, USA
9. Lawrence/Swiegers, CAN

Men

1. Takahiko Kozuka, JPN

2. Daisuke Takahashi, JPN

3. Patrick Chan, CAN

4. Tomas Verner, CZE

5. Nobunari Oda, JPN

6. Florent Amodio, FRA

Alternates

7. Jeremy Abbott, USA

8. Brandon Mroz, USA

9. Adam Rippon, USA

Ladies

1. Miki Ando, JPN
2. Alissa Czisny, USA
3. Carolina Kostner, ITA
4. Kanako Murakami, JPN
5. Akiko Suzuki, JPN
6. Rachael Flatt, USA

Alternates
7. Kiira Korpi, FIN
8. Mirai Nagasu, USA
9. Ashley Wagner, USA

Ice Dance

1. Davis/White, USA
2. Pechalat/Bourzat, FRA
3. Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier, CAN
4. Bobrova/Soloviev, RUS
5. Weaver/Poje, CAN
6. Hoffman/Zavozin, HUN

Alternates
7. Shibutani/Shibutani, USA
8. Chock/Zuerlein, USA
9. Riazanova/Tkachenko, RUS

Trophee Eric Bompard--Mens Free Skate

Group 1

Zoltan Kelemen, ROU

• Turns out of his opening triple axel but hangs on to the landing
• Turns out of his triple-triple combination
• Clean triple with a good flow out of the jump
• Fast sit spin and nice low positions
• Off in the air on his next triple and he falls
• Triple-single-double sequence and he really struggles to hold on to the landing of the final jump
• Footwork sequence lacked variety
• Good triple-double combo
• Another good sit spin with good speed and positions
• Choreographic step sequence was ok
• Nice triple jump here
• Good camel position in his combination spin and he maintains speed throughout all of these position changes
• Solid double axel at the very end of the program

58.10 TES + 51.58 PCS -1.00 = 108.68 into 1st place

Anton Kovalevski, UKR

• Opening triple axel and he turns out of the landing and puts a hand down
• Triple-double with one arm over the head on his second jump
• Solid triple jump
• Triple jump with one arm variation
• Another good triple but not as solid of a landing
• Good sit spin positions and good speed
• I don't think his step sequence went with his music or his program at all
• Triple-double-double sequence
• Double jump
• Another nice low sit spin
• Weird screaming in his music prior to his choreographic step sequence which goes better with his music and fits the character of the program
• Double axel-double combo
• Combination spin and he ends slightly after his music

60.41 TES + 57.72 PCS = 118.13 new seasons best into 1st place

Nan Song, CHN

• Great triple axel-triple combo at the top of his program with great height and landings
• Good triple-double-double combo
• Fast spins but he could work on stretching his legs and getting lower into his positions
• Solid triple jump with not a lot of set up
• Opened up his next jump and only got a single off
• Loses a lost of speed in his second spin and almost slows to a stop
• Close to the boards on the landing of his triple axel and has to keep his leg in on the landing 
• Great triple jump
• Nice step sequence but he could use more variety and better use of his whole body and really power through these steps
• Pops his next jump into a single
• Triple double combo
• I want him to really perform his choreographic step sequence here
• Flying entry into his camel spin with an ugly change of position but good speed through the rest of the combination and he finished after his music.

61.73 TES + 56.92 PCS = 118.65 new seasons best into 1st place

Kevin Reynolds, CAN

• Nice opening quad
• Falls on his second quad attempt
• Huge triple axel at the beginning of his triple-double combo
• Nice layback positions in his upright spins
• Very good triple jump with a nice landing
• Pops his triple axel into a double, two foots it and stumbles
• Recovers into a nice triple
• Nice low sit spin positions with good speed
• Great use of the music in this step sequence but I'd like to see him really look up and perform it and have fun with the steps here
• Nice triple jump with good flow out of it
• Triple-triple-double combination nicely done with almost no air
• Into the choreographic step sequence and well put together with the music
• Good camel position and great changes of position in this combination spin and he really maintains his speed

70.42 TES + 64.58 PCS -1.00 = 134.00 into 1st place

Peter Liebers, GER

• Nice opening triple
• Turns out of the landing of his opening triple axel but tacks on the triple to make the combo
• Forward on the landing of his next triple but hangs on to it
• Into his step sequence and not a lot of use of his upper body here and everything looks very choppy and placed
• Nice low sit spin position and lots of speed
• Lots of chin holding poses masquerading for performance quality
• Falls on his second triple axel
• Triple double combination
• Low landing on his next triple but he hangs on to it
• Slow spins in his camel position and something seems awkward about how his body is placed
• Falls on his next triple attempt
• Lands a nice triple axel
• Choreographic step sequence hits some of the highlights in the music but doesn't really seem to go anywhere
• Final combination spin has almost no speed to it and he finishes after the music

54.37 TES + 58.64 PCS -2.00 = 111.01 into 3rd place

Group 2

Chafik Besseghier, FRA

• Pops his first jump
• Pops his axel attempt
• Has to put the second foot down on the landing of his triple but he completes the rotation
• Step sequence needs a little more difficulty and performance quality
• Great low sit spin position with a lot of speed
• Forward on the landing of his triple axel but he hangs on to complete the double combo
• Nice triple jump
• Double-triple combo
• Double jump
• Into the choreographic step sequence and he has a lot to work with here musically and he's not really performing it
• Double axel-double-double sequence
• Nice camel position but he could use more speed through this combination spin
• Final spin and he could use more stretch through his free leg in the sit position

55.34 TES + 60.02 PCS = 115.36 into 2nd place

Brandon Mroz, USA

• Lands his opening quad
• Triple axel-triple combination is nicely done
• Nice triple jump
• Another great triple jump
• Nice low sit spin position but it could use more speed and it had a slightly awkward exit
• Turns out of his second triple axel
• Nice triple-double combo
• Another nice triple
• Triple-double-double combination
• Nice camel spin position but he could use more flexibility through the donut
• Nice use of his body through this step sequence and he really covers the ice
• Nice speed through his final combination spin and he finishes slightly after the music

76.05 TES + 65.80 PCS = 141.85 into 1st place

Florent Amodio, FRA

• Nice opening triple
• Doesn't quite get the take off on his triple axel and he two foots the landing but manages to add on the double for the combo
• Nice triple jump
• Step sequence comes after an awkward pause in the music and he's really showing off his signature style here
• Flying entry to his sit spin with a nice low position and good speed
• Another awkward musical pause becfore we get into a dance break at center ice
• Triple-triple combo nicely done
• Another nice triple
• Another great triple
• Triple-double-double combo
• Lands his final triple axel
• And another musical pause before some crotch grabs and the choreographic step sequence
• Combination spin has good speed and nice positions
• I'm not really a fan of this program as there aren't great transitions between the music and a lot of the program doesn't really move but it's certainly entertaining

77.26 TES + 76.50 PCS = 153.76 new seasons best into 1st place

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN

• Opening triple and he's low on the landing but hangs on to it
• A little forward on the landing of his second triple
• Triple-double combination
• Nice camel spin positions but not a lot of speed here
• Nice step sequence with a lot of varity and use of his whole body
• Triple axel-double-double sequence
• Great triple
• Nice triple-triple combination
• Good triple
• Another nice triple
• Low sit spin position and good speed through the position change
• Choreographic step sequence and it seems to hit some of the musical highlights here
• I'd like to see more stretch through his legs in the sit positions in his final combination spin

89.63 TES + 80.80 PCS = 170.43 new seasons best and into 1st place

Top 3:
1: Takahiko Kozuka
2: Florent Amodio
3: Brandon Mroz

Top TES: Takahiko Kozuka
Top PCS: Takahiko Kozuka

Gold: Takahiko Kozuka
Silver: Florent Amodio
Bronze: Brandon Mroz

Trophee Eric Bompard--Pairs Free Skate

Group 1

Klara Kadlecova/Petr Bidar, CZE

• Klara has such long legs but it seems like that may be hurting her on some of her jumps during the warmup
• Through the legs to overhead lift and she catches her back foot, nicely done
• Nice double twist with a clean catch and her arms over her head
• Almost put a hand down on the throw triple but she hangs on to it
• He puts a hand down on some transitional steps
• Side by side triples looked clean
• Spitral into lift and she holds same position as first lift with one armed hold and he sets her down with one arm
• She needs more arch in her back in the death spiral
• She falls on the next throw triple
• Double double sequence was a little off unison
• He couldn't get her up on the third lift and she falls to the ice and he trips over her and falls--luckily he missed her skates
• Lack of unison on the side by side spins but nice positions
• I'd like to see more arch in her back for the pairs spin and more speed from them throughout the spin

38.66 TES + 38.10 PCS -4.00  = 72.76 into 1st place

Anna Khnychenkova/Mark Magyar, HUN

• He turns out of their opening side by side triples and can't complete the combination
• Side by side triples looked clean for their second set
• Clean double twist with a nice catch
• She puts a hand down on the first throw triple
• First overhead is rotating very slow and he holds her with two hands and an easy entry and exit
• Nice speed through the side by side spins but they lose their unison in the second half
• She lands the next throw triple but doesn't have great flow out of the element
• Press lift and he skates backwards for a few seconds but still two hands in the overhead position
• I'm not crazy about her death spiral position
• Their faces look a little blank to me and they're not really performing this choreography
• Through the legs to overhead lift and into the fetal position again
• Pairs spin is a little slow

37.14 TES + 33.53 PCS = 70.67 new seasons best and into 2nd place

Felicia Zhang/Taylor Toth, USA

• Fast triple twist but she crashes into him on the landing
• Nice triple double combination but she may have two-footed the landing on the first jump
• Overhead lift with one arm hold and she has a nice air position
• Side by side spins are fast but they are off on their unison
• She two foots the landing on her first throw triple and I'm not sure it was fully rotated--I don't think she got enough height to get all the way around
• Nice positions on their second lift but an awkward exit--I'd like to see more speed from him across the ice as well
• She falls on their last throw triple
• Through the legs to one armed overhead lift and a flip exit
• Nice side by side triples but they were off on their unison
• Nice positions in the pairs spin and decent speed although they're almost stopped by the end
• Nice death spiral position
• I'd like to see them have more speed and power across the ice

46.22 TES + 41.33 PCS -1.00 = 86.55 new seasons best and into 1st place

Group 2

Mylene Brodeur/John Mattatall, CAN

• Their costumes look a little too rock and roll for Embraceable You and American in Paris
• Nice high triple twist and nearly a clean catch
• She doubles their side by side triples
• Good speed and unison on their side by side spins
• Good pairs spin
• Solid triple double with good unison
• Nice death spiral position but she could use maybe a litle more arch in her back especially toward the end
• She falls on the first throw triple
• Nice change of direction on his rotation in the first lift and a good air position for her
• Nice one armed overhead lift with a change of position and a flip exit
• Landed the final throw triple out of a difficult entry with not a lot of setup
• Nice final lift position with a flip exit

52.92 TES + 47.92 PCS - 1.00 = 99.84 new seasons best and into 1st place

Maylin Hausch/Daniel Wende, GER

• Double twist to open the program and she has a tiny bobble on the landing
• Right into a nice throw triple with a great landing
• Triple double combination but their unison was slightly off
• Great speed through their side by side spins but they could use more stretch through their upright positions
• His rotation on the overhead lift is very fast
• Side by side double axel and her hair ribbon comes out--they might receive a costume deduction for that
• Solid throw triple
• Second overhead lift also has great speed but there was a problem on the exit and she came down awkwardly
• Nice press lift with good position for her and a flip exit
• Nice death spiral position into the pairs spin and I would like to see more speed thorugh this element
• Overall a solid program with a few minor problems here and there

53.98 TES + 49.42 PCS = 103.40 new seasons best into 1st place

Vera Bazarova/Yuri Larionov, RUS

• I adore her dress
• She was a little forward on their side by side triples but hung on to the landing
• Huge triple twist with a clean catch and her arms in an overhead position
• The throw was off on their throw triple and she can't hang on to the landing and falls
• They land the side by side triple triples which is very impressive for her because her air position was way off
• Nice speed through the pairs spin and great positions
• One foot take off from her into the lift with a gorgeous position change and he skates on one foot for part of it and a really intricate exit from the lift
• Clean throw triple with a great landing
• Great entrance into their second lift and she has fabulous air positions, a little bobble on the exit
• Nice speed and positions throught he side by side spins but she could be a bit more stretched out on her free leg in the sit spins
• Final lift was nice
• Great death spiral position to end the program

61.83 TES + 7.99 PCS -1.00 = 118.82 new seasons best into 1st place

Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy, GER

• I love how they perform this program
• Started off with a huge triple throw with a great landing
• Triple triple sequence was good
• I don't love her death spiral position, especially the position change
• So much speed on their side by side spins and great unison
• A problem on the landing of the triple twist
• Side by side double jumps
• Interesting positions on their first lift
• Their pairs spin seems really slow to me but has somne great seamless position changes
• I love that she's getting the crowd involved and really performing to them during the second lift
• Their music stops but they keep going into their final lift but then comes back on...not sure if that is how the music is supposed to be
• Another huge throw triple but not as clean of a landing but still solid

65.41 TES + 65.82 PCS = 131.23 and into 1st place

Top 3:
1: Savchenko/Szolkowy
2: Bazarova/Larionov
3: Hausch/Wende

Top TES: Sachenko/Szolkowy
Top PCS: Savchenko/Szolkowy

Gold: Savchenko/Szolkowy
Silver: Bazarova/Larionov
Bronze: Hausch/Wende

Trophee Eric Bompard--Mens Short Program

Group 1

Zoltan Klemen, ROU

• Nice opening double axel
• Fall on the second jump of his triple triple combination
• Nice solo triple
• Good low sit spin position
• Nice use of ice and body in step sequence but he could use more stretch through his free leg
• His final spin was nice but traveled across the ice instead of staying centered

28.32 TES + 25.70 PCS -1.00 = 53.02 into 1st place

Chafik Besseghier, FRA

• Nice triple triple combo to start his program but he could use more extension through his free leg on the landing
• Nice triple axel with great height
• Good solo triple
• Nice camel position and good flexibility through his back in the upright spin
• Nice low sit spin position and good speed
• Nice variety through his step sequence
• He needs more stretch through his free leg on the sit spins and the spin travels

40.59 TES + 29.74 PCS = 70.33 into 1st place

Peter Liebers, GER

• I'd like to see him really perform this program as he's got great music and choreography but it looks like he's going through the motions
• He hangs on to the landing of the second jump in his triple triple combo
• Triple axel with a ncie ride out
• No speed in his camel spin
• Fast and low sit spin position
• Nice solo triple jump with a good flow out of it
• Good footwork with nice use of his whole body
• Good positions and speed in his final combination spin

36.24 TES + 30.29 PCS = 66.53 new seasons best into 2nd place

Anton Kovalevski, UKR

• Hand down on his opening triple axel but he hangs on to it
• Double-double combination? and he hangs on to the second landing
• Bad fall on his solo triple jump and he goes over his shoulder on the ice
• Nice position in his camel spin
• I really like his footwork sequence, there's lots of body movement, character and it goes really well with the music
• He needs to straighten his bottom leg in the upright spin and he loses speed
• Nice low sit spin position, great centering and speed

28.69 TES + 28.10 PCS -1.00 = 55.79 into 3rd place

Nan Song, CHN

• Triple triple combination to start the program and he's forward on the second landing and has no speed but he hangs on to it
• Great triple axel
• Nice camel position but some centering problems on the spin and he has no speed
• Great solo triple jump
• I'd like his sit spin position to be lower
• He needs so much more attack and performance on this step sequence but it's put together very well
• Lots of traveling and ugly positions in his final combination spin

33.83 TES + 29.05 PCS = 62.88 new seasons best into 3rd place

Group 2

Florent Amodio, FRA

• Gorgeous triple axel to start the program
• Great triple triple combination with nice flow out
• He nails the solo triple jump
• Great camel position and nice speed through the spin
• Great step sequence and he really performs it
• Good speed throughout his combination spin
• Nice low sit spin position but he could use more stretch through his free leg

39.52 TES + 36.10 PCS = 75.62 new seasons best and into 1st place

Kevin Reynolds, CAN

• Opening quad double combination?
• Great triple axel
• A fall on his solo triple jump (intended quad)
• Very fluid through his body in his step sequence
• My feed froze during his spins

35.02 TES + 32.11 PCS -1.00 = 66.13 into 4th place

Brandon Mroz, USA

• I finally got my feed back but missed his program but he doesn't look happy as he's coming off the ice

40.53 TES + 31.93 PCS = 72.46 new seasons best into 2nd place

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN

• Some awkward moves at the beginning that were slow and not with the music
• Nice triple triple combo to start his music
• Forward on his triple axel but he holds on to it
• Nice sit spin position
• Good solo triple
• Fast camel spin with good positions
• A bobble on his step sequence and he gives a great performance and really plays to the audience
• Good final spin

40.35 TES + 37.29 PCS = 77.64 new seasons best into 1st place

Brian Joubert, FRA

• Triple-single combination to start the program--he was really foward on the landing of his first jump and just manages to tack on the combo
• Steps out of his triple axel
• He's skating to the same music as Amodio and I don't think he's performing as well
• Clean solo triple to complete his jumps
• Nice low sit spin positions
• Good final combination spin

30.84 TES + 36.11 PCS = 66.95 into 5th place

Top 3:
1: Kozuka
2: Amodia
3: Mroz

Top TES: Besseghier
Top PCS: Kozuka

Trophee Eric Bompard--Pairs Short Program

I'm having some technical difficulty getting the feed up so it may be a few minutes before I get underway.

Group 1

Anna Khnychenkova/Mark Magyar, HUN

• I missed most of their program but tuned in in time to see a nice double throw
• She could use more arch in her back and a more stretched out position in the lifts
• The spins were slow but had good unison
• Nice stretched out death spiral position
• Their footwork sequence is really slow but has good unison--the steps aren't that difficult and they're not getting much ice coverage

22.48 TES + 16.98 PCS = 39.46 new seasons best into 1st place

Felicia Zhang/Taylor Toth, USA

• She could use some more stretch through her free legs on transition moves
• Nice triple twist but she crashes into him on the landing
• On their side by side triples it looks like she misses her take off and doesn't do the jump and puts a hand down so they'll get no credit--on the replay you can see that she hits the side of her blade on the ice while taking off for the jump
• Nice air position in the lift
• She hangs on to the landing of her throw triple
• Nice unison on the side by side spins but they get a little off in the middle
• Nice step sequence but I'd like to see a little more difficult and movement but it has a lovely flow acros the ice
• I like her entrance into the death spiral but her legs could be slightly more stretched out

20.65 TES + 20.28 PCS = 40.93 into 1st place

Klara Kadlecova/Petr Bidar, CZE

• This is a young team at 15 and 19
• Nice double twist with a clean catch
• I believe they did a throw double here but it was landed cleanly--on the replay it was a triple and it was nicely landed
• She puts a hand down on their side by side triples
• Some nice speed in their side by side spins but they're way off on their unison and she gets faster in the upright spin while he slows considerably
• He couldn't get her all the way up on the lift and has to set her back down on the ice
• She looks a little sideways in her death spiral
• Nice use of the music in this step sequence and they're really making use of their whole bodies here
• This team has some nice qualities and if they can up their difficulty they'll be more on par with other teams here

18.82 TES + 20.50 PCS = 39.32 into 3rd place

Group 2

Vera Bazarova/Yuri Larionov, RUS

• Not sure what's going on but the warm up group is off the ice and they've been skating around for about 2 minutes now and they're putting their jackets and scarves back on.  Still no announcement for them to take the ice.
• Nice side by side triples to start their program
• She has a great arabesque position
• Great height on their triple twist and a very clean landing
• Nice landing on the throw triple jump
• He lifts her like she weights nothing
• Nice position in the death spiral--he changes hands and she regrabs behind his back
• Nice positions in the spins, good speed throughout and good unison
• Nice entrance into the lift with her on one leg, great change of position where she is on her side and he's holding with one hand and effortless exit with a flip out of the lift
• Nice intricate stepwork sequence with nice flow and movement

36.47 TES + 27.71 PCS = 64.18 new seasons best and into 1st place

Maylin Hausch/Daniel Wende, GER

• They are skating to Tango de Roxanne and aren't really attacking this music
• Nice side by side triples
• Double twist with a clean catch with her arms over her head
• Nice throw triple
• Into the step sequence and I'd like to see her work on her arm and hand positions as everything is very stiff and it disrupts the line
• Very slow death spiral but I like her free arm position
• She could use a little more arch in her lift position
• Nice transition from the camel to the sit spin in their spin sequence but a little off on the unison at the end
• Ending pose is very smooth which does not go with the build of the music and the dramatic ending

31.37 TES + 22.65 PCS = 54.02 new seasons best and into 2nd place

Mylene Brodeur/John Mattatall, CAN

• Nice triple twist but she crashes into him on the landing
• She falls on the side by side triples
• She falls on the throw triple and I'm not sure she'll get credit for the full rotation as her blade never really came back down on the ice--on the replay it looks like she only got around twice
• Nice unison on the spins but they were slow and I wasn't crazy about the positions
• Interesting entrance to the death spiral and a nice stretched out position for her
• Nice movement in relation to each other on the step sequence
• Final lift could use more arch from her and a nice flip exit

24.80 TES + 22.67 PCS -2.00 = 45.47 and into 3rd place

Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy, GER

• I still don't understand what's supposed to be happening at the beginning of this program
• Huge throw triple and she really nails the landing
• Nice triple twist but she crashes into him on the landing
• She steps out of her side by side triple--on the replay her air position was way off, Kudos to her for hanging on to the landing
• Nice air positions in the lift and she shows off her flexibility
• I like her arm positions in the death spiral and they change hands for extra points
• Nice difficulty in their step sequence but it seems slow and he has a bobble in the middle
• Nice fast side by side spins with good unison but I'd like to see more stretch from him in the bottom leg of his side by side spin

34.62 TES + 32.03 PCS = 66.65 new seasons best and into 1st place

Top 3
1. Savchenko/Szolkowy
2. Bazarova/Larionov
3. Hausch/Wende

Top TES: Bazarova/Larionov
Top PCS: Savchenko/Szolkowy

Breaking Down the Elements--Ladies Short Program

The ladies short program consists of 7 elements that must be performed in 2:50 maximum time.

1. Double or triple axel

2. Any triple jump immediately preceded by connecting steps or other free skating movements

3. Jump combination, double/triple or triple/triple, may not repeat either Axel jump performed or solo jump

4. Flying spin, minimum 8 revolutions

5. Layback or sideways leaning spin, minimum 8 revolutions

6. Spin combination, with only 1 change of foot and all 3 basic positions or any variation thereof, no flying entry, minimum 6 revolutions each foot, minimum 2 revolutions each position

7. Step sequence, straight line, circular or serpentine

Trophee Eric Bompard Schedule

I plan to live blog all the events at this point but this may change and I'll update here accordingly.  All times are Eastern Standard Time.

Friday, Nov. 26
9:25 a.m.: Pairs short program
10:50 a.m.: Men's short program
12:45 p.m.: Ladies short program
2:40 p.m.: Short dance
 
Saturday, Nov. 27
7:40 a.m.: Pairs free skate
9:25 a.m.: Men's free skate
12:25 p.m.: Ladies free skate
2:40 p.m.: Free dance

Trophee Eric Bompard Dance Preview

This should be an easy win for Pechalat and Bourzat and with a second gold medal they'll secure a spot in the Final.  If they can bring their scores up here, they could put themselves in a position to be competitive with Davis and White at the Final.  They also have a lot of room for mistakes as a medal of any color will get them into the Final.  Chock/Zuerlein, Riazanova/Tkachenko and Carron/Jones will battle it out for the final two podium spots.  I give the edge to the Americans and Russians as both countries have had successful outings on the Grand Prix this season.  Chock and Zuerlein have an exciting free skate and that should make them competitive for the silver medal here but if they win bronze, they'll be in a tiebreaker with the Shibutanis for the final Grand Prix Final slot.  Carron and Jones do have home ice advantage here which could boost them onto the podium.  The rest of the field is made up mostly of young teams looking to improve their scores and set themselves up for nationals.

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Pechelat/Bourzat
Silver: Chock/Zuerlien
Bronze: Riazanova/Tkachenko

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Pechelat/Bourzat
B) Riazanova/Tkachenko
C) Cannuscio/Lorello

Information on all the competitors is below.

Kharis Ralph/Asher Hill, CAN: Ralph and Hill placed 6th at the Four Continents Championships.  They won silver medals at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments last season and placed 4th at the Junior Grand Prix Final.  They finished 7th in their Grand Prix debut at Cup of China.

Xintong Huang/Xun Zheng, CHN: They placed 19th at the Olympics and 4th at Four Continents.  They placed 7th and 5th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 5th earlier this season at Cup of China.

Pernelle Carron/Lloyd Jones, FRA: They finished 12 at both Worlds and Europeans.  They finished 9th at Trophee Eric Bompard last season.  They finished 5th earlier this season at Skate Canada.

Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat, FRA: They placed 7th at the Olympics and 4th at both Worlds and Europeans.  They won silver last season at both their Grand Prix assigments in Paris and Canada and won bronze at the Grand Prix Final.  They won gold earlier this season at Cup of China. 

Dora Turoczi/Balazs Major, HUN: They finished 12th at World Juniors last season.  They finished 10th at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 10th at their Grand Prix debut at NHK Trophy.
Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko, RUS: They finished 6th at their Grand Prix debut in Moscow last season.  They finished 5th at Skate America earlier this season.
Isabella Cannuscio/Ian Lorello, USA: They won bronze at both of their Junior Grand Prix assignments last season and placed 6th in the Junior Grand Prix Final.  They finished 10th at their Grand Prix debut at Cup of Russia.

Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein, USA: Chock and Zuerlein finished 5th at Four Continents.  They are the 2009 World Junior Champions.  They finished 8th and 6th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They won bronze at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Trophee Eric Bompard Pairs Preview

Savchenko and Szolkowy started their season strong with a gold medal finish at Skate America.  They still hold the highest scores for the season and should have no problem bringing home the gold here.  They were over 20 points below their personal best, so look for them to bring their scores up here.  Bazarova/Larinov also had a strong first outing posting personal best scores and winning the silver medal.  They should repeat that feat here.  The third podium spot will likely be a toss up between Mylene Brodeur and John Mattatall of Canada and Hausch and Wende of Germany.

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Savchenko/Szolkowy
Silver: Bazarova/Larinov
Bronze: Brodeur/Mattatall

My USFSA Fantasy team is:
A) Savchenko/Szolkowy
B) Brodeur/Mattatall
C) Zhang/Toth

Information on all the competitors is below.

Mylene Brodeur/John Mattatall, CAN: They finished 7th at Four Continents with a personal best short program.  They finished 6th and 5th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 6th earlier this season at NHK Trophy with a personal best total score.

Klara Kadlecova/Petr Bidar, CZE: They finished 14th at the World Junior Championships.  They finished 7th at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments earlier this season.  This is their Grand Prix debut.

Maylin Hausch/Daniel Wende, GER: They finished 17th at the Olympics, 14th at Worlds and 9th at Europeans with a personal best short program.  They finished 7th earlier this season at NHK Trophy with a personal best free skate and total score.

Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy, GER: They won bronze at the Olympics with a personal best short program score and silver at Worlds and Europeans (with a personal best free skate and total score).  They have 2 additional Gold and 1 Bronze medal at the World Championships and 3 Gold and a silver at Europeans.  They won bronze at Trophee Eric Bompard and gold at Skate Canada last season, qualifying them for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze.  They won gold at Skate America earlier this season.

Anna Khnychenkova/Mark Magyar, HUN: They finished 15th at the World Junior Championships with personal best scores across the board.  They finished 15th at their Junior Grand Prix assignment earlier this season.  This is their Grand Prix debut.

Vera Bazarova/Yuri Larionov, RUS: They finished 11th at the Olympics, 8th at Worlds and 5th at Europeans.  They finished 4th at their only Grand Prix competition last season.  They won silver earlier this season at NHK Trophy with personal best scores across the board.

Felicia Zhang/Taylor Toth, USA: Zhang and Toth finished 9th at World Juniors with personal best scores in the short program and total score.  They finished 6th and 11th at their two Junior Grand Prix assignments last season.  Zhang also competes internationally as a junior in singles.  They finished 7th at their Grand Prix debut at Skate America with personal best scores across the board.

Trophee Eric Bompard Mens Preview

Kozuka put out strong programs earlier this season to win a gold medal in his first Grand Prix assignment with personal best scores.  If he can repeat that here, he should be able to reach the podium again and he can qualify for the Final with a medal of any color.  Brian Joubert runs hot or cold and he tends to run into errors especially in his long program.  If he can put less focus on the quad and maintain focus for the other elements in his program and skate clean, he'll make the podium at this event.  Kevin Reynolds put up huge numbers at Skate Canada and became the first skater to hit two quads in a short program.  If he can nail the elements in his free skate that are not quads, he should be a podium threat here.  Florent Amodio and Brandon Mroz also have the ability to land on the podium.  Most of the top skaters here have consistency problems and whoever can put together the cleanest programs will win a medal.

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Takahiko Kozuka
Silver: Brian Joubert
Bronze: Kevin Reynolds

My USFSA Fantasy Picks are:
A) Takahiko Kozuka
B) Kevin Reynolds
C) Jinlin Guan

Information on all the skaters is below.

Kevin Reynolds, CAN: Reynolds finished 11th at Worlds with a personal best free skate score and won bronze at Four Continents with a personal best short program.  He finished 8th and 6th at his two Grand Prix assignments last season.  He finished 4th at Skate Canada with a personal best total score earlier this season.

Nan Song, CHN: Song placed 6th at the Four Continents Championships with personal bests in the short program and total score.  He is the reigning World Junior silver medalist after a personal best score in the free skate.  He won silver at last year's Junior Grand Prix Final.  He finished 10th in his Grand Prix debut at Skate America.

Jinlin Guan, CAN: He is the 2008 World Juniors Bronze Medalist.  He placed 9th at last year's Cup of China in his Grand Prix debut and placed 17th at last year's world championships.  He finished 8th at Cup of China earlier this season. 

Florent Amodio, FRA: Amodio finished 12th at the Olympics with a personal best short program and 15th at Worlds.  He finished 9th and 4th at his two Grand Prix assignments last season.  He won bronze earlier this season at NHK Trophy with personal best free skate and total scores.
Chafik Besseghier, FRA: Besseghier had personal best scores in his Junior Grand Prix assignment in 2008.  This is his Grand Prix debut.
Brian Joubert, FRA: Joubert won bronze at Europeans, placed 16th at the Olympics and won a bronze medal at Worlds.  He is the 2004, 2007 and 2009 European champion and has medaled at Europeans every year since 2004.  He has won one gold medal at Worlds, two silvers and two bronzes.  Last season on the Grand Priz, he finished 4th at Trophy Eric Bompard and 1st at NHK before withdrawing from the Grand Prix Final.  He finished at 4th at Cup of China earlier this season.

Peter Liebers, GER: Liebers finished 25th at last seasons World Championships.  His lone Grand Prix stop last season was Trophy Eric Bompard where he finished 10th.  He has competed in two international B events this season coming in 3rd and 4th.  He finished 9th earlier this season at Cup of China.

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN: Kozuka placed 8th at the Olympics and 10th at the World Championships.  He is the 2006 World Junior Champion and the 2009 Four Continents bronze medalist.  His 2009 Grand Prix season included a silver medal at Rostelecom Cup and a 7th place finish at NHK Trophy.  He won gold at Cup of China earlier this season.

Zoltan Kelemen, ROU: Kelemen finished 29th at the Olympics, 32nd at Worlds and 19th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board.  This is his Grand Prix debut.

Anton Kovalevski, UKR: Kovalevski finished 24th at the Olympics, 16th at Worlds with a personal best short program score, and 13th at Europeans with personal best free skate and total scores.  He finished 12th at Rostelecom Cup last week.
Brandon Mroz, USA: Mroz finished 4th at Four Continents last season.  He finished 7th at Rostelecom Cup and 8th at Skate America last season.  He won silver at Cup of China earlier this season.

Trophee Eric Bompard Ladies Preview

Mao Asada has had two terrible outings this season at Japan Open and NHK Trophy.  She has nothing to lose at this competition as she has no hope of making the Final and could really go out there and attack her programs.  When her triple axel is on the rest of her program goes well but when she misses the triple axel the rest of the program suffers.  If she skates to her full potential, she should easily best the field here.  Alissa Czisny is coming off a surprise win at Skate Canada and is working on her mental game after a coaching change in the off-season.  If she can stay on her feet, she delivers beautiful spins and footwork and really racks up the program components and should be able to medal and a medal of any color will qualify her for the Grand Prix Final.  Mirai Nagasu won the short program at her first event but fell apart in the free skate, which seems to be a pattern for her.  If she can either place lower in the short or keep her head together for the free, she should be able to medal here.  If these three skaters have consistency problems, Cynthia Phaneuf, Kiira Korpi, and Haruka Imai could all grab a medal. 

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Alissa Czisny
Silver: Mao Asada
Bronze: Mirai Nagasu

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Alissa Czisny
B) Cynthia Phaneuf
C) Sarah Hecken

Information on all the skaters is below.

Cynthia Phaneuf, CAN: Phaneuf finished 12th at the Olympics and 5th at Worlds with a personal best free skate and total score.  She is the 2004 Four Continents silver medalist.  She finished 6th and 7th at her two Grand Prix assignments last season.  She finished 4th at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Kiira Korpi, FIN: Korpi finished 11th at the Olympics with a personal best free skate, 19th at Worlds and 4th at Europeans with a personal best short program and total score.  She is the 2007 European bronze medalist.  She finished 8th at her first Grand Prix assignment last year before winning silver at Cup of China.  She finished 4th at NHK Trophy earlier this season.

Candice Didier, FRA: Didier finished 4th at her last Grand Prix assignment in 2008. 

Lena Marrocco, FRA: Marrocco finished 11th at World Juniors last season.  She finished 9th at her Junior Grand Prix assignment last season.  She finished 10th at her Grand Prix debut at NHK Trophy.

Mae Berenice Meite, FRA: She finished 12th at the World Junior Championships.  She finished 6th and 13th at her two Junior Grand Prix assignments last season.  She finished 8th at her Grand Prix debut at Skate America.

Sarah Hecken, GER: Hecken finished 18th at the Olympics, 12th at Worlds with personal best scores across the board and 16th at Europeans.  She finished 8th and 9th at her two Grand Prix assignments last season.

Mao Asada, JPN: Asada won silver at the Olympics with a personal best total score and is the reigning World and Four Continents Champion.  She is the 2007 World silver medalist and 2008 World Champion.  She is the 2008 Four Continents Champion and 2009 bronze medalist.  She won the World Junior title in 2005 and took silver in 2006.  She won silver in Paris last season before placing 5th at her second assignment.  She finished 8th at NHK Trophy earlier this season.

Haruka Imai, JPN: Imai finished 5th at Four Continents with personal best short and total scores.  She finished 5th at her Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate.

Fumie Suguri, JPN: She is the 2005 Four Continents Champion.  She won silver at Worlds in 2006.  She finished 7th and 4th at her two Grand Prix assignments last season.  She finished 9th at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Sonia Lafuente, ESP: She placed 22nd at the Olympics with personal best scores, 20th at the World Championships and 17th at Europeans.  She finished 13th at her Junior Grand Prix assignment last season.  She finished 10th at her Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate.

Alissa Czisny, USA: Czisny finished 4th at her first Grand Prix assignment last season before winning the silver at Skate Canada.  She won her first Grand Prix assignment this season, Skate Canada, with personal best free and total scores.

Mirai Nagasu, USA: Nagasu placed 4th at her Olympic debut with personal bests in the free skate and total score.  She placed 7th at the World Championships after a personal best short program.  She is the 2007 Grand Prix Final champion, 2007 US Junior Champion and 2008 US Senior Champion.  She won a silver and bronze medal at the World Junior Championships.  She placed 5th at Cup of China and 4th at Skate Canada last season.  She finished 4th at Cup of China earlier this season.

Rostelecom Cup Recap

Mens: It turns out that Patrick Chan can fall four times and only lose the gold medal because of an extra combination.  His program component scores are sky high (and he earns all of those points, especially in his free skate) that the technical elements are just a bonus.  Verner's new training routine seems to be paying off and his short is an especially delightful program.  Abbott continues to struggle with confidence issues in international competitions but his free program should be magical when he hits all the elements.  Contesti skated a stellar free skate to pull up from 9th to 4th place and if he can find a way to pull off the magic in his short program he could be a podium threat.

I was 0/3 on exact podium predictions but predicted all 3 of the medal winners.  My fantasy team finished 2nd, 5th and 12th. 

Ladies: Battling a back injury, Miki Ando put out a solid free skate and climbed from 5th place to win the Gold medal.  Suzuki put out two solid programs but errors in her free skate lost her the gold.  Ashley Wagner also had two solid programs and medaled for the first time this season.  Zawadzki again had trouble with her free skate and fell from 2nd to 4th place.  She has all the elements needed to land on the podium but needs more experience to calm her nerves and skate a solid free.  The Russian ladies were mostly a disappointment on home ice but Sofia Biryukova had a solid debut to place 6th in only her 2nd international competition.

I was 2/3 on exact podium predictions and picked 2/3 of the medalists.  My Fantasy team finished 1st, 7th and 8th.

Pairs: Kavaguti and Smirnov put together two solid performances and won gold on home ice and their scores put them in the top 3 for the season, winning by nearly 20 points.  Takahashi and Tran showed that they deserve a place in the senior mix with their second medal this season.  Evora and Ladwig won their first career Grand Prix medal with the highest element scores in the free skate.  Gerboldt/Enbert impressed in their debut season with a 4th place finish only 2 points from the podium.  Lawrence and Swiegers weren't able to capitalize on their success at Skate Canada and finish on the podium again here. 

I was 1/3 on exact podium predictions and picked 2/3 of the medalists.  My fantasy team finished 1st, 5th, and 4th.

Dance:  This event was a mess from start to finish.  Faiella/Scali were in medal position in the short dance but withdrew before the free dance.  Paul and Islam had problems with their short dance including a fall and withdrew before the free dance.  The Hubbells had bobbles in their short dance and also had to withdraw.    The one bright spot was Bobrova and Soloviev's solid programs which earned them a gold medal and could have landed them on the podium at any of the Grand Prixs.  Hoffman and Zavozin also put out strong programs that put them in the top 10 scores for the year and won them a silver medal in their second career Grand Prix. 

Only one team that I predicted would make the podium did not withdraw.  My entire fantasy team withdrew.

Rostelecom Cup Short Dance

Group 1

Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam

• Nice use of traditional tango moves in this program
• Great arm variations in the twizzles, he does an extra rotation on the 2nd set, they do 3 sets for the extra points
• I like this program where the tango and waltz feel like one program
• Good positions and flow in Golden Waltz
• back walkover into split lift
• She falls on midline step sequence and can't get back into it
• Unfortunate error at the end but otherwise, nice program
• Not sure what all the deductions are for

25.71 TES + 23.04 PCS -3.00  = 45.75

Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov

• Fast, unison twizzles
• Nice position on Golden Waltz but it seems choppy
• aborted lift and they take a second to get back into the program
• He falls on a transiitonal move and they take a few seconds to get back into the program
• Nice step sequence
• They may have finished after the music

26.98 TES + 23.16 PCS -1.00  = 49.14 into 1st place

Lucie Mysliveckova/Matej Novak

• Nice Golden Waltz at the beginning of their program and she uses her arms really well
• They start their midline step sequence really far apart and it seems really slow and simple
• They get really close together on their twizzles and lose unison
• A nice rotational lift at the end of their program but it's relatively simple
• This is a nice team but they need to work on adding difficulty to their programs

24.86 TES + 23.59 PCS = 48.45 new seasons best into 2nd place

Kristina Gorshkova/Vitali Butikov

• Twizzles were very difficult with only an edge change between each of the three sets and the unison was good
• they look very tall and I wish they'd use this to their advantage and really extend their movements
• Good rotational lift with her in a hair cutter position
• Great flow through the Golden Waltz and they hit nice positions
• There were a few tiny synchronization problems in their midline step sequence

27.29 TES + 24.68 PCS = 51.97 new seasons best into 1st place

Group 2

Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev

• I hate this music but it's different than what other teams are using
• She does an extra twizzle but otherwise they have good unison
• The step sequence had good unison and goes well with the music but it seems super slow
• I love the way she uses her head in the Golden Waltz and her subtle arm movmemtns
• Great death drop but it almost looks like she's falling
• Great position on the rotational lift but I don't like the big prep they take before getting into it

31.22 TES + 29.58 PCS = 60.80 new seasons best and into 1st place

Nora Hoffman/Maxim Zavozin

• I LOVE her dress and it moves so well
• nice midline step sequence
• A little choppy on the Golden Waltz but they have nice posiitons
• Unison is off on the twizzles and he doesn't grab his blade on the 2nd set
• Great lift at the end of their program but the exit is rough

29.21 TES + 28.03 PCS = 57.24 new seasons best into 2nd place

Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell

• Hair cutter rotational lift was good
• Nice flow in the Golden Waltz but she falls backward at one point--may not get a deduction because I'm not sure she hit the ice--and they jump right back into the program
• Most of their step sequence was on one foot which increases the difficulty
• Jump into their twizzles and he does one extra on the second set

26.21 TES + 24.38 PCS = 50.59 new seasons best and into 4th place

Federica Faiella/Massimo Scali

• Her skirt material looks thinner than last time
• Nice twizzles with a slight synchronization problem on their 2nd set
• great flow and speed to their Golden Waltz
• she does an arch while standing on his foot for their lift with a slightly awkward entry into it
• Nice step sequence with a few spots with slightly different arms

26.93 TES + 30.72 PCS = 57.65 new seasons best and into 2nd place

Top 3:
1) Bobrova/Soloviev
2) Faiella/Scali
3) Hoffman/Zavozin
Top TES: Bobrova/Soloviev
Top PCS: Faiella/Scali

Rostelecom Cup Ladies Short Program

Group 1

Sofia Biryukova, RUS

• Triple triple combination very nicely done
• solo triple with nice flow out of the landing
• layback spin into a haircutter into biellman but loses speed
• Nice double axel
• Needs more stretch through her camel spin position
• Nice footwork but needs more variety through her upper body
• Combo spin needs to straighten her bottom leg and she had no speed at the end of the spins

30.70 TES + 24.29 PCS = 54.99 into 1st place

Agnes Zawadzki, USA

• nice accent work at beginning
• Triple triple combo with small bobble in between
• Hangs on to the landing of her solo triple jump
• nice spiral position
• Layback spin into haircutter into bielmann and keeps the speed
• Sit spin needs more stretch and has no speed
• Lots of one foot moves in her footwork but seems slow
• Nice double axel
• Combo spin into a bow and arrow position at the end

32.03 TES + 24.81 PCS = 56.84 seasons best into 1st place

Myriane Samson, CAN

• Triple double combo
• I missed her axel
• She is a very elegant skater and has nice style
• Solo triple was clean and well done
• Great sit positions in her spin
• Nice layback position in her spins into a haircutter
• Step sequence mostly on one foot and well done
• Camel spin position in the combo spin could use a little work

28.66 TES + 24.20 PCS = 53.26 seasons best and into 3rd place

Elena Glebova, EST

• Triple double combination to start
• Solo triple jump was clean
• Double axel was clean
• Camel spin into sit spin for her combination spin
• Step sequence had a large section on one foot and goes well with the music
• She needs to get lower in her sit spin positions and she loses a lot of speed here
• Nice layback spin but it loks like she finished after the music

23.04 TES + 22.74 PCS = 45.78 and into 4th place

Valentina Marchei, ITA

• Opening combo a triple double, possible two foot on the first jump but it just may have been the camera angle
• Nice triple
• Good speed through her sit spins
• Nice double axel
• Good layback position but she could use more turnout through her hips, goes into a haircutter
• Her fierce face is on for her footwork and she's really performing
• Final combination spin was well done

28.44 TES + 25. 17 PCS = 53.61 new seasons best and into 3rd place

Group 2

Ashley Wagner, USA

• Triple triple combination
• Solo triple maybe two footed landing
• Nice sit spin position
• Step sequence
• 2 camels, 2 sit positons and a layback in her combination spin
• Ina Bauer into a nice double axel
• Layback spin with gorgeous arms into a Biellman and she keeps the speed
• Solid program for Wagner

30.23 TES + 25.94 PCS = 56.17 new seasons best into 2nd place

Ksenia Makarova, RUS

• This girl is fierce enough to pull off Spanish music
• Opening triple and she hops out of it
• Triple double combination
• Spiral into a nice double axel
• She needs more speed and more stretch in her sit spin
• Nice step sequence
• Great speed in her combination spin and good flexibility on her catchfoot spin
• Layback into haircutter into Biellman at the end of the program was well done

26.54 TES + 26.39 PCS = 52.93 into 6th place

Alena Leonova, RUS

• Ugly costume and she's doing a doll/clown theme
• Falls on opening triple
• Pops her combo into a single-double
• Needs a lower position in her sit spin and has an ugly position change with no speed
• Double axel was nicely done
• Layback into haircutter into Bielmann with no speed
• Footwork sequence with lots of arms but no performance quality here
• Final spin and she ends after the music

21.98 TES + 25.63 PCS -1.00 = 46.61 into 7th place

Miki Ando, JPN

• It looks like she has a bandage on her back
• Opening triple double was well done
• Nice solo triple
• Her sit spin seems really slow
• She finished the spin really early and stands at center uce
• Nice double axel and then another pause while she waits for her music
• Zippy footwork sequence but doesn't move across the ice well and she looks tired
• Nice camel into sit into catch front spin
• She has weird arms on her closing layback into haircutter spin but the position is nice

27.03 TES + 26.97 PCS = 54.00 into 4th place

Akiko Suzuki, JPN

• Opening triple-double nicely done and on a musical accent
• Second triple was possibly two footed
• Her camel spin really travels instead of staying in one spot
• Layback into haircutter into 1 handed bielman and she has no speed at the end
• I missed her double axel
• Combo spin was ok but again there was a lot of traveling
• A nice footwork sequence at the end and it goes well with the music

30.13 TES + 27.30 PCS = 57.43 and into 1st place

Top 3:
1)  Akiko Suzuki
2) Agnes Zawadzki
3) Ashley Wagner

Top TES: Agnes Zawadzki
Top PCS: Akiko Suzuki

Rostelecom Cup Mens Short Program

Group 1

Ivan Tretiakov, RUS:

• Nice opening triple axel
• Triple triple combination both landed nicely but a pause between jumps
• Clean and controlled on the solo triple
• Nice positions n his combination spin
• Footwork was done mostly on one foot
• Camel spin slows almost to a stop
• Nice low position on the sit spin but could use a little more stretch

36.43TES +29.18 PCS =65.61 into 1st place

Konstantin Menshov, RUS:

• Nice high opening triple axel
• Triple double combination with a lot of height on the opening jump
• Final jump popped into a double
• Nice position in the camel spin but he loses speed
• Footwork sequence really slows down at the end
• Needs to be lower in the sit part of his combination spins but he shows off some nice flexibility in his upright y spin
• Finishing off with a sit spin combination and he nearly slows to a stop 

36.27 TES +31.07 PCS = 67.34 into 1st place

Anton Kovalevski, UKR:

• He is wearing a piano and musical notes
• Opens with a triple axel but he sits down on the landing and falls
• Two foots the landing on his triple-triple combination
• Lands his final triple nicely
• Nice position in the camel spin with 1 change of position
• Lots of arm movements in his footwork sequence and he hits the accents in the music nicely
• Combination spin shows off some flexibility but he could stretch through his working leg more and get a lower position on the sit spins
• Into the final sit spin and he's showing a nice low position here and some nice changes that maintain the speed

31.01 TES + 30.04 PCS -1.00 = 60.05 into 3rd place

Tatsuki Machida, JPN:

• Falls on his opening triple axel, not sure if he was fully rotated
• Nice triple-double but has a bit of an awkward landing on the 2nd jump
• Needs a bit more stretch and flexibility through his camel position
• Good speed through his combination spins but he really needs to stretch through his legs
• He tilts forward and puts a hand down on his flying triple
• Flying sit spin
• Into his footwork sequence and he has a lot of energy and is moving very quickly with a lot of kicks

26.76 TES +30.61 PCS -1.00 = 56.37 into 4th place

Yuzuru Hanyu, JPN:

• Low landing and a big ice spray but he holds onto his triple axel
• Nice fast triple-triple combination
• Into his combination spin and he has a really nice sit spin position and he maintains good speed throughout the combination
• This is a really awkwardly slow version of this music
• Lands his final triple
• His footwork doesn't seem to go with this music and doesn't really build
• Flying camel spin into a donut position and the music ends and he keeps spinning and now we have some drumming it sounds like
• Final sit spin was good

37.86 TES +32.38 PCS = 70.24 new seasons best and into 1st place

Javier Fernandez, ESP:

• He's wearing a blue jacket, green shirt and bright pink bow tie
• Low landing on the triple axel but he holds on to it
• Nice triple triple and he holds on to the second landing
• He got no air on that final triple and had to turn out of it but he didnt put the foot down
• His two spins here back to back are very slow but his positions are nice
• And we're turning on the personality for the step sequence.  There are a lot of stops and starts in this step sequence which really breaks up the flow.
• Into the final spin with a really awkward camel position and an awkward entry into the donut

34.07 TES + 32.39 PCS = 66.46 into 3rd place

Group 2

Artur Gachinkski, RUS

• Opening triple double--first jump has a ton of height
• A little forward on the landing of his triple axel but he holds on to it
• A little bobble on the footwork leading into his solo triple but he lands the jump nicely
• Nice sit spin positions here
• He goes into a slower piece of music for his footwork sequence and I'm not sure the choreography goes well with the music
• He needs a lot more flexibility in his donut position in his camel spin
• Final combination spin starts with a really ugly position where his leg is stuck somewhere between bent and straight, he needs more stretch through his bottom leg on the Y spin

39.25 TES + 33.46 PCS = 72.81 new seasons best and into 1st place

Alban Preaubert, FRA

• Plushy is watching in the audience!
• The gloves seem to be a popular choice today for the men
• Nice triple triple combination at the top of the program
• Nice triple axel
• Nice position in his sit spin and great speed throughout the position changes
• Final triple jump was clean
• Nice positions through his combination spin and nice speed
• Not a lot of speed through his footwork and it sounds like his music has been slowed down here.  He also doesn't have a ton of upper body work in his footwork
• The first position in his final spin is really ugly but would be nice if he stretched more through both legs
• Overall a solid program for Preaubert

36.21 TES + 34.29 PCS = 70.50 new seasons best into 2nd place

Samuel Contesti, ITA

• I love when skaters use their entrance to get into the character of the program
• Double-triple combo at the top of the program
• Low landing on his triple axel but he hangs on to it
• A little sideways on his landing of the final triple but he hangs on to it
• Nice positions in the sit spin but he loses a lot of speed
• Into the War of 1812 for his step sequence and he's got some nice choreography here and with this music if he would attack the steps a little more it could be spectacular
• Slow camel spins and could use some more flexibility in his donut spin
• Slow final combination spin and he could use a little more stretch through his free leg
• That is some mustache on his male coach

31.12 TES + 34.57 PCS = 65.69 new seasons best and into 6th place

Tomas Verner, CZE

• I love that he holds on to his invisible prop through the beginning of his program
• Nice triple triple combination
• Nice triple axel but no flow out of his landing
• Final triple clean
• Nice camel spin position but no speed and no change of position
• Footwork sequence in the biggest part of the music  and well choreographed
• Nice combination spin
• Final sit spin with a nice low position and good speed
• A really nice program for Verner and put together very well

36.95 TES + 37.15 PCS = 74.10 new seasons best and into 1st place

Jeremy Abbott, USA

• I love the attack Jeremy has at the top of his program with the choreography
• Opening combo a triple double?
• Nice triple axel with a great landing
• Great sit spin position but he lost some speed in the 3rd position
• Final triple was clean and the flow in and out of it was good
• Upright spin had so speed to it but it came out of nowhere which was nice
• Lots of Spanish arms in this footwork sequence and his whole body is involved but there wasn't much one footed work
• Great speed through his combination spin and he struggles to control it into his ending pose
• Not my favorite short program from Abbott but I like that he pushed himself to try something different and all of the elements were solid

39.07 TES + 38.54 PCS = 77.61 new seasons best into 1st place

Patrick Chan, CAN

• Hoping Patrick can stay on his feet and if he does his score should be huge.
• Nice quad triple to start the program and he gets a ton of height
• Fall on his triple axel
• Great camel posiion into a sit spin with a lot of speed and great control coming out of the scratch spin
• Great landing on the final triple and nice flow into his next element
• Great sit spin position and nice speed
• Final spin is a camel with his arms behind his back
• Lots of one foot work in his step sequence and he does a nice job of hitting the accents in the music
• Definitely a better outing than Skate Canada

42.54 TES + 40.42 PCS -1.00 = 81.96 new seasons best into 1st place

Top Three:
1. Patrick Chan
2. Jeremy Abbott
3. Tomas Verner

Top TES: Patrick Chan
Top PCS: Patrick Chan

Rostelecom Dance Preview

Faiella and Scali started their season with a disappointing 3rd place finish at Cup of China after troubles with her skirt in both of their programs.  If they can get these issues sorted out, they should be able to pull off the gold medal here.  Bobrova and Soloviev won their first career Grand Prix medal at Cup of China and if they can repeat their scores here they should easily be able to land on the podium again.  Paul and Islam stole the show at Skate Canda with their captivating free dance and are already being called Virtue/Moir 2.0.  If this young Canadian team can bring up their short dance scores, they should be able to land on the podium as well.  Ilinykh/Katsalapov and Hoffman/Zavozin are also in the mix and could medal if they capitalize on errors made by other teams.  The Hubbells had a disastrous showing at their first Grand Prix and have one of the lowest scores at this competition.  They need a strong showing here to have a shot at the podium at U.S. Nationals.

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Faiella/Scali
Silver: Bobrova/Soloviev
Bronze: Paul/Islam

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Faiella/Scali
B) Paul/Islam
C) Hubbell/Hubbell

Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam, CAN: They are the reigning World Junior silver medalists.  They finished 4th and 5th at their two Junior Grand Prix assignments last year.  They finished 4th in their Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Lucie Mysliveckova/Matej Novak, CZE: They finished 16th at Worlds.  They finished 7th and 9th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 6th at NHK Trophy earlier this season. 

Nora Hoffman, Maxim Zavozin, HUN: Hoffman and Zavozin placed 13th at the Olympics and 10th at the World and European Championships.  Zavozin used to compete for USA and won the World Junior title in 2005.  They finished 4th in their Grand Prix debut at Cup of China. 

Frederica Faiella/Massimo Scali, ITA: Faiella and Scali placed 5th at the Olympics and won bronze at the World Championships and silver at Europeans.  They won silver at their lone Grand Prix, Cup of China, last season.  They won bronze at Cup of China earlier this season.

Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev, RUS: They placed 15th at the Olympics, 8th at Worlds and 9th at Europeans.  They are the 2007 World Junior Champions.  They placed 4th at both of their Grand Prix assignments last season.  They won silver at Cup of China earlier this season. 

Kristina Gorshkova/Vitali Butikov, RUS: They are the 2008 World Junior bronze medalists.  They finished 7th at both their Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 6th at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov, RUS: They are the reigning World Junior champions.  They won both of the Junior Grand Prix assignments last season to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where they won the silver medal.  They placed 4th at their Grand Prix debut at NHK Trophy.

Madison Hubbell/Keifer Hubbell, USA: They won bronze at Four Continents.  They finished 8th and 6th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 6th at Cup of China earlier this season.

Rostelecom Cup Pairs Preview

This is a relatively new/young field as several of the teams are in one of their first senior seasons or one of their first seasons together.  This is Kavaguti and Smirnov's only assignment this season and they should be able to easily pull off a gold medal, provided they are back to their full form.  If Kavaguti and Smirnov are skating at full capacity look for a 20 point or more gap between 1st and 2nd place.  Lawrence and Swiegers skated to personal best scores at Skate Canada and if they repeat that here they should end up on the podium.  Takahashi and Tran won bronze at NHK earlier this season but they'll need to step up their scores here to guarantee another podium placement.  They have had a long season already with 2 Junior Grand Prixs and 1 Grand Prix under their belt and we'll see if their stamina can hold out.  Evora and Ladwig need a podium finish here and their scores keep them in the mix.  If they can land their jumps, they have the best lifts in the world and can really rack up the points in that category.  Their performance scores were also low at their last event and I know they can connect more to each other and the programs and hopefully pull that score up.  Gerboldt and Enbert are in their 2nd international competition together but they won their first assignment and could step onto the medal stand.   

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Kavaguti/Smirnov
Silver: Lawrence/Swiegers
Bronze: Takahashi/Tran

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Kavaguti/Smirnov
B) Lawrence/Swiegers
C) Gerboldt/Enbert

Information on all the teams is below.

Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers, CAN: They finished 4th at World Juniors last season.  They placed 7th at their Grand Prix debut at NHK Trophy last season.  They won bronze at Skate Canada earlier this season with personal best scores across the board.

Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek, ITA: They finished 11th at the World Championship with personal best scores across the board.  This is their Grand Prix debut.

Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran, JPN: They finished 5th at Four Continents last season.  They are the reigning World Junior Silver medalists.  They won two silvers at their Junior Grand Prix assignments earlier this season, qualifying them for the Junior Grand Prix Final.  They won bronze at NHK with a personal best short program earlier this season.

Katarina Gerboldt/Alexander Enbert, RUS: They are in their first season together.  They won Coup de Nice, an international B assignment, earlier this season.  This is their Grand Prix debut.

Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov, RUS: They finished 4th at the Olympics with a personal best short program, won bronze at Worlds and are the reigning European champions with a personal best free program and total score.  They also won bronze at the World Championships in 2009 and a silver and bronze at Europeans.  They won silver at both of their assignments last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they placed 5th.

Tatiana Novik/Mikhail Kuznetsov, RUS:  They placed 2nd and 5th at their two Junior Grand Prix assignments last season to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where they placed 4th.  This is their Grand Prix debut.

Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig, USA: They placed 10th at the Olympics with personal best scores in the short and free programs and 9th at the World Championships.  They placed 7th and 5th at their Grand Prix assignments last season. They finished 5th at Cup of China earlier this season.

Britney Simpson/Nathan Miller, USA: They placed 5th at the World Junior Championships last season.  They placed 3rd and 4th at their two Junior Grand Prix assignments last season and qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final where they placed 6th.  They finished 6th in their Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board.

Rostelecom Cup Ladies Preview

Miki Ando should be able to add a 4th consecutive gold medal to her haul at this event.  She had some problems with her short at Cup of China but came back with a solid free to win Gold.  She'll need to put two clean programs together here to be more competitive against tougher fields.  Akiko Suzuki is proving that she deserves a place among the world's best and should be able to land on the podium again here and qualify for the Grand Prix Final with Ando.  Alena Leonova won bronze earlier this season not because of how well she skated, but because of how poorly everyone else skated.  If the same happens here she might win a medal again, but this is unlikely.  Ksenia Makarova is looking to continue her hot streak by medaling in only her 2nd Grand Prix and Agnes Zawadzki is looking to redeem herself after a disappointing free skate at Skate Canada and make the medal stand in her second event.  Ashley Wagner is another one who could wind up with a medal especially if she pulls off the spectacular free skates she is known for.  This should be a very interesting competion for the medal stand.

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Miki Ando
Silver: Akiko Suzuki
Bronze: Ksenia Makarova

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Miki Ando
B) Ksenia Makarova
C) Myriane Samson

Information on all the competitors is below.

Myriane Samson, CAN: Samson finished 29th at the World Championships and 8th at Four Continents.  She finished 7th at Skate Canada earlier this season with personal best scores across the board.

Elena Glebova, EST: Glebova finished 21st at the Olympics, 21st at Worlds with a personal best short program and 10th at Europeans.  She finished 5th at Skate Canada last season.

Valentina Marchei, ITA: Marchei finished 8th at the European Championships with a personal best short program.  She finished 8th at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Miki Ando, JPN: Ando placed 5th at the Olympics and 4th at the World Championships.  She won her Rostelecom and NHK Trophy assignments last season and placed 2nd at the Grand Prix Final.  She is the 2004 World Junior Champion and 2007 World Champion.  She is the only lady to ever land a quadruple jump in competition.  She won gold at Cup of China earlier this season.

Akiko Suzuki, JPN: Suzuki placed 8th at the Olympics Games with personal best short and free program scores.  She also placed 11th at the World Championships and 2nd at Four Continents.  She won gold at last season's Cup of China and placed 5th at Skate Canada to earn a berth to the Grand Prix Final where she won bronze.  She won silver at Cup of China earlier this season.

Sofia Biryukova, RUS: Biryukova placed 2nd with personal best scores across the board at her Junior Grand Prix assignment last season.  This is her Grand Prix debut.

Alena Leonova, RUS: Leonova placed 9th at her Olympic debut with personal bests in the short program and total score and followed it up with a 13th place finish at Worlds.  She was 7th at the European Championships.  She won bronze at last season's Rostelecom Cup and silver at the NHK Trophy to qualify her for the Grand Prix Final where she placed 6th.  She won bronze at Cup of China.

Ksenia Makarova, RUS: Makarova placed 10th at the Olympics with a personal best free skate and total score, 8th at World Championships with a personal best short program, and 9th at Europeans.  She won silver and bronze at her two Junior Grand Prix assignments last year and placed 4th at the Junior Grand Pix Final.  She won silver at her Grand Prix Debut in Canada.

Ashley Wagner, USA: Wagner is the 2007 and 2009 World Junior Bronze medalist.  She finished 2nd and 3rd at her two Grand Prix assignments last year and placed 4th at the Grand Prix Final.  She finished 5th at NHK Trophy earlier this season.

Agnes Zawadzki, USA: Zawadzki is the reigning World Junior Silver Medalist.  She finished 6th at her Grand Prix debut in Canada with personal best scores across the board.

Rostelecom Cup Mens Preview

Patrick Chan should have no problem winning gold here and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.  The only question is if his scores will be as high without home field advantage.  With this field, he can likely make a few mistakes and still wind up on top the podium.  Jeremy Abbott should also find himself on the podium again if he can continue to skate clean programs.  Tomas Verner was on the podium earlier this season and that should give him the confidence to continue his comeback after his disastrous season last year.  Alban Preaubert, Samuel Contesti and Javier Fernandez also have the goods to medal.  Also look out for Hanyu and Machida, both young Japanese skaters who are looking for a chance to prove themselves internationally to stand out from a deep field at home.

Podium Predictions:
Gold: Patrick Chan
Silver: Jeremy Abbott
Bronze: Tomas Verner

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Patrick Chan
B) Alban Preaubert
C) Anton Kovalevski

Information on all of the skaters is below.
Patrick Chan, CAN: Chan finished 5th at the Olympics and won silver at worlds.  He is the 2009 Four Continents Champion and World Silver Medalist.  He is the 2007 World Junior Silver Medalist.  He placed 6th at his lone assignment last season at Skate Canada.  He started his season with a gold medal win at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate score.

Tomas Verner, CZE: Verner placed 10th at Europeans and finished 19th at the Olympics.  He was the silver medalist at Europeans in 2007 and won the title in 2008.  Last season on the Grand Prix, he finished 5th at Skate America, 2nd at Trophee Eric Bompard and 6th at the Grand Prix Final.  He won bronze earlier this season at Cup of China.

Alban Preaubert, FRA: Preaubert finished 7th at Europeans with a personal best short program score.  He placed 7th at his first Grand Prix in Paris last season before winning bronze at Skate Canada.  He started his season with a 6th place finish at Skate Canada.

Samuel Contesti, ITA: Contesti placed 7th at Worlds with personal best scores in the Short and Free programs.  He also placed 18th at the Olympics and 5th at Europeans.  He won a silver at Europeans in 2009.  His 2009 Grand Prix Season included a 4th place finish at Cup of China and 5th at Skate Canada.  He finished 6th earlier this season at Cup of China. 

Yuzuru Hanyu, JPN: Hanyu is the reigning World Junior Champion.  He won both his Junior Grand Prix assignments and the Junior Grand Prix Final last season.  He started his season with a 4th place finish at NHK Trophy with personal best scores across the board.

Tatsuki Machida, JPN: Machida finished 2nd at last year's Four Continents with personal best scores in the Short and Free.  He finished 5th at his Grand Prix debut in China.   

Artur Gachinski, RUS: Gachinski is the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalist.  He won gold and silver at his Junior Grand Prix assignments last year and placed 6th at the Junior Grand Prix Final.  He finished 7th at his Grand Prix debut Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board.

Konstantin Menshov, RUS: Menshov is making his Grand Prix debut at this event.

Ivan Tretiakov, RUS: Tetiakov finished 10th at Rostelecom Cup last season with personal bests across the board.

Javier Fernandez, ESP: Fernandez finished 14th at the Olympics, 12th at Worlds with personal best short and total scores, and 8th at Europeans.  He finished 11th in Paris last season.  He started the season with a 5th place finish at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate score.

Anton Kovalevski, UKR: Kovalevski finished 24th at the Olympics, 16th at Worlds with a personal best short program score, and 13th at Europeans with personal best free skate and total scores. 

Jeremy Abbott, USA: Abbott finished 9th at the Olympics and 5th at Worlds.  He is the 2007 Four Continents Bronze Medalist.  Last season he placed 5th at NHK Trophy and won Skate Canada to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he placed 4th.  He won silver at his first event in Japan this season.

Breaking Down the Elements--Mens Short Program

For the 2010-2011 season, senior men have 7 required elements in their short program.  The elements can be performed in any order.

1. Any triple or quadruple jump, immediately preceded by connecting steps or other free skating movements
2. Jump combination, double/triple, triple/triple, quad/double or quad/triple.  May not repeat either Axel jump performed or solo jump
3. Double or triple axel
4. Flying spin, landing position different than spin in one position.  Minimum 8 revolutions.
5. Camel or sit spin, with only 1 change of foot.  Minimum 6 revolutions each foot.
6. Spin Combination, with only 1 change of foor and all 3 basic positions or any variation thereof.  No flying entry.  Minimum 6 revolutions each foot and 2 in each position.
7. Step Sequence, straight line, circular or serpentine. 

Rostelecom Cup Schedule

Here is the schedule for this weekend's Rostelecom Cup.  All times are eastern standard time, and I've highighted the events I plan to live blog.  Check back during the week for my previews of each event.

Friday, Nov. 19
7:00 a.m.: Men's short program
8:50 a.m.: Pairs short program
11:00 a.m.: Ladies short program
12:50 p.m.: Short dance

Saturday, Nov. 20
6:45 a.m.: Men's free skate
9:00 a.m.: Pairs free skate
10:40 a.m.: Ladies free skate
12:40 p.m.: Free dance

Skate America Recap

Men:
The biggest surprise of the men's event was Adam Rippon's melt down in the free skate and Armin Mahbanoozadeh skating two clean programs to win the bronze medal.  Overall the men's event was a mess with falls and errors all over the place.  None of the competitors were able to beat previous scores or break into the top 10 scores for the year.  Oda missed out on a gold medal by improvising his jump and doing an extra combination.  Takahashi continued to impress with his performance and was rewarded with stellar program component scores.  Daisuke Murakami proved how deep the Japanese men's field is by finishing 5th here (he is rankee 19th in Japan).  Stephen Carriere showed some good qualities but his jumps continued to fail him here.

I predicted 2/3 exact placements and 2/3 podium finishers.  My fantasy skaters finished 1st, 6th and 10th.

Ladies:
She didn't win the short program or the free skate but Murakami's consistency won her the gold medal in only her second Grand Prix event.  This young lady is one to watch out for, but it will be interesting to see how she does next to a tougher pool of skaters at the Grand Prix Final.  Rachael Flatt's injury affected her performance here, but if she can get that straightened out she should be a podium threat in the future.  Carolina Kostner continues to lack the technical difficulty to match up with the top ladies but her program components keep her in the mix.  She'll likely need surgery at some point this season.  Joshi Helgesson was a surprise 4th here and Amelie Lacoste had another strong showing finishing 5th. 

I predicted 0/3 exact placements and  3/3 podium finishers.  My fantasy skaters finished 2nd, 5th and 4th.

Pairs:
After a blah short program, Savchenko and Szolkowy impressed with their free skate.  Their scores are the best of the year so far and bode well for this team to climb back to the top of the podium at Worlds.  Moore-Towers and Moscovitch proved that their Skate Canada finish was not a fluke and set themselves up to be the team to beat at Canadian nationals.  Sui and Han had another strong outing and another medal at their 2nd Grand Prix event.  Denney and Barrett finished off the podium again but had a stronger showing than their first Grand Prix. 

I predicted 1/3 exact placement and 3/3 podium finishers.  My fantasy team finished 1st, 2nd and 8th.

Dance:
Despite uncharacteristic mistakes and falls, Davis and White again won the gold medal and qualified for the Grand Prix Final.  They finished 7 points ahead of Crone and Poirier, proving that no one is in their class except for Virtue/Moir.  Crone and Poirier had another strong outing to with the silver medal and also qualify for the Grand Prix Final.  The Shibutanis had a minor bobble in the short dance but were able to put out another strong free dance to win their 2nd bronze medal in two Grand Prixs.  They finished less than 5 points behind Crone and Poirier and if they can go clean on their Short Dance, they have the chance to move up the podium.  Weaver and Poje finished 4th after a mistake on one of their lifts. 

I predicted 3/3 exact placements and 3/3 podium finishers.  My fantasy team finished 1st, 3rd and 7th.

Overall, I predicted 6/12 exact placements and 11/12 podium finishers.