I love Shoma's two programs at the NHK trophy. The short program was elegant with a unique ethereality, and the quietness and mesmerizing simplicity of the second part of the long program were brought forward so beautifully by Shoma's interpretation. I was touched. Shoma is one main reason for me to watch skating.

I love Shoma's programs this year. The second part of his free program holds me in a state of quiet reflection and I get lost in it. Just because you can't relate to his personality doesn't mean it isn't as good. I hope the judges are more objective. Going by previous interviews, Shoma is accustomed to going along with whatever music and programs he's given and then he gives it all he's got. And Yuma is simply a joy to watch! I too find him easier to watch because he is more consistent and you can trust his landings (mostly!)

This season, it has taken me a few seconds to react to Shoma's performances. I'm just too blown away to react. What he is doing is mesmerizing.

From what I remember, Yuna Aoki choreographs her own programs which is a large part of why her programs look so fluid and unbounded by the rules.

Shoma's free had me in tears. It was beautiful. Yuma and Shoma are both amazing. Cannot wait for Japanese nationals as always.

The video clearly shows that Alissa doesn't like Shoma. I'm surprised at how cold her expression is when she talks about Shoma. It can't be helped because everyone is different, but many people were moved by Shoma's performance this time.

Loved the Sasha Cohen discussion. I think the thing that hurt Sasha wasn’t so much that Michelle was beloved but that she was so consistent. Sasha couldn’t skate a clean free program when it mattered, but she really didn’t make that many mistakes compared to other talented head cases like Jeremy Abbott, Roman Sadovsky, Amber Glenn, or many of the skaters these days. She usually only made one major or a couple of minor mistakes in the free skate, but she still almost always medaled because she wouldn’t completely bomb a program like the skaters I mentioned. The problem is that her main competitor was one of the most consistent skaters of all time, so that’s who she was being compared to. Those were the expectations she failed to live up to, hence the commentators and press always ragging on her inconsistency from the get go.

Lindsay's program from Sandra fit her like a glove, i think that may be the best ive seen her perform.

Eva Marie Ziegler gives me huge Katelyn Osmond vibes in the absolute BEST way possible! I STILL say Katelyn should have won the SP in the olympics and possibly the gold.

I actually respond to Shoma's free skate a lot, his artistry is just next level towards the rest of the field. Yuma is very endeering and has this really amaizng jumping technique, but there's just something about Shoma's knee bend and his footwork that makes him stand out. I saw Stefan was rather fuming at the score Shoma got for the free, that was interesting. Also, in all due fairness, I believe Shoma's components should have been a bit more praised in comparison to the rest. Sorry, not sorry :) In terms of ice dance, I agree that the Italian pair has visibly better speed and skating skills, but it's also hard not to cheer for Lila and Lewis and all their energy. It seemed kinda that the judges gave an audience influenced verdict there. Or maybe, as Dave pointed out, a Marie France infuenced one ;) also - getting the Rocky program its flowers may be a symptom of a change and pivot in ice dance, that the bolndess and out of the box packaging starts to pay off and be relevant? All in all, very interesting results and it'll be a very action packed grand prix final this year, looking forward to it!

Shoma's programs felt like art. I almost forgot I was watching a figure skating competition. Guinard and Fabbri should have done death drops at the end of their short program :-D!

Shoma is absolutely my favorite male skater currently competing and it's largely because he has the unique ability to make me feel like I'm skating alongside him, taking this grand journey from start to finish. I'm not just watching someone skate to music from a far. Also, the way Shoma uses his entire body from head to toe to emote is so beautiful. It's like he becomes the music. He completely sucks me in to every performance. His FS this weekend literally moved me to tears. While I do enjoy and appreciate a skater like Kazuki Tomono who expresses such natural joy while skating, I personally feel nothing watching Ilia or Yuma. I do respect their jumping ability and Yuma's skating skills of course, but they don't reach out and grab me and take me along on the journey the way that Shoma does. The only other male skaters who sometimes do that for me are Jason Brown and Kevin Aymoz.

On top of the competition, I was thoroughly impressed by Miyahara's Paternera and Kagiyama's Werther programmes at the NHK Trophy gala. They're really worth a watch.

Alissa, maybe the reason you can’t connect with Shoma is because you only connect with superficial outwardness of the acting. You need feel the music and Shoma’s skating connecting with the music. Too bad you can’t relate the beauty of the deep connectivity.

The perfection in Lindsay’s short is partly because the program seems to suit what appears to be an introverted personality so the performance quality seemed to be really coherent.

00:00 Ladies 42:19 Men 59:00 Ice Dance 1:08:18 Pairs

Shoma’s FS is so introspective, I appreciate it like a piece of art. I’m saddened how they’re hammering him politically 😢

The tech caller in the women's was ridiculously strict, especially with Higuchi. And PCS too, 58 while young skaters were getting low to mid 60s? She skated well in the LP, but was really hammered. Oddly the American girls werent judged very hard even though it was in Japan. Lol

Hase/Volodin were much better here than in Finland. Deanna and Max are still superior, but I’m impressed with the Germans given it’s their first season skating together. I think they have a lot of potential and in a couple of years might be the dominant pair. And again, he is hot! He has a muscular build, and a very pronounced and masculine jawline and brow. Nice teeth too

Adam Rippon made an interesting observation that some tech callers have their bugbear and then use the opportunity to make their point. I thought Shoma’s jumps were better here than CoC, and it almost feels like the qs were an overreaction to last comp where the flip was clearly under in the sp and wasn’t called. I love Yuma but 2 quads and a fall winning overall over Shoma feels wrong (I know he was 2nd in the free). Explain that to a casual viewer?’. Yuma scored very high for PCS and he is great, but that music is practically a warhorse. Could Yuma skate to Shoma’s music to the same level? I doubt it. For me, Shoma should have won, but it’s clear JSF and ISU are ready to put their weight behind a new star.

the Japanese men and women are so superior to the rest of the world when it comes to technique and skating skills; just beautiful to watch

Still not crazy about the Fear and Gibson Rocky program... but it's not as "cringey" as earlier in the year. I also thought they looked VERY sharp at this competition. I didn't necessarily see that same sharpness from the Italians. I kind of felt like they were coasting in this competition assuming they would win.

Ava did get credit for that spin that was x'ed out in the graphics. I don't know why they did that, but she got a level four on the spin, so all is well.

Obviously Shoma and Yuma are two of the best skaters in the men's discipline right now and watching them skate back to back was so exhilarating! That being said, I thought the judging here was ludicrous. Yuma's salchow and jump technique is a thing of beauty, but he's still young and has a long career ahead of him. As he continues to gain more experience he'll refine his artistic connection and musical interpretation. Say what you will, but I do believe that he's skated to programs in the past where he was simply performing the choreography given to him. It feels quite precarious to judge him in a way where he simply just needs to add more quads and not fall to win. I personally have been so moved by Shoma's programs this season, and at the same time, I see it as a new endeavor for him to focus on improving different aspects of his skating. He definitely improved from the Cup of China, and I believe that he's laid a good foundation to improve further after the NHK Trophy. I think he can continue to work on his artistry for the next several seasons if he so chooses, and I would absolutely love to see it. Yuma also has phenomenal artistry (especially in the step sequence of his long program!!), and I'm looking forward to seeing where his artistic skills will go in the upcoming seasons. As for Shoma, it makes me very sad and frustrated that his placement here is supposedly a statement by the judges and callers to push him out and force audiences to focus more on the younger skaters. It's really similar to Yuzuru Hanyu's last few competitive seasons where a lot of rules and calls were only being applied to him. It's not fair judging at all. It's just internal politics. I wish there were more specific criteria to award the PCs score and that it didn't cap simply at 50 in the short and 100 in the long. There is no doubt in my mind that Shoma was judged unfairly in this event and I think that's so disrespectful to both skaters. It cheapens Yuma's win and causes unnecessary frustration. It's ridiculous that all of Shoma's quads were given a q, and yet Nika Egadze was in the top four. We all know that the Sambo 70 jump technique is atrocious and Nika had some pretty shaky and scratchy landings, yet he got positive GOE for his quad salchows and first triple axel. Also for anyone saying that Shoma has gotten away with uncalled elements for so long, the same has also helped Yuma. At the 2022 Olympics, Yuma tripped and make a mistake during his step sequence in his short program. But it wasn't called (which he very kindly pointed out to the press and expressed his surprise). Anyway, sorry to go on a rant. Obviously everyone is titled to their own opinion. I just felt the urge to share mine.

Kagiyama's jump landings are just incredible. I think the unders have been so ridiculously called for so many skaters in general that one needs to pretty much overrotate each jump in order to not be called under aside from the favorites of course. This event seemed a bit more lenient when it came to unders, not as many mark downs as most events.

Yuna’s choreography was amazing. And I heard she did it herself. Such joy.

I'm really glad Alissa brought up the crossovers. There are so many skaters getting good components that have super short, bouncy crossovers. I'm also frustrated that it doesn't seem to be called out, because if it's not, the coaches and skaters have no motivation to fix it.

Shoma should have won. The qs were excessive.

I believe Charlene is in fact marginally shorter than Marco, but Marco gets right down into his ankles in his edgework, and Charlene doesn't, and that's what makes (a) Charlene look taller and (b) makes Charlene look clumsy in comparison to Marco. Marco is magnificent, Charlene is the weaker skater of the team.

I am shocked to say that I just looked at the protocols and Shoma's first and second quads we're given a Q, and they now have ZERO GOE! I didn't know you lost that much goe with a q. That seems excessive.

Super excited that Shoma and Yuma both made it to GPF!!!

I'm happy for Lindsay and feel hopeful that this win will give her some much needed confidence. I agree that she's clearly improving. Right now though, she just looks so worried and scared before, during, and after her skating that I'm unable to enjoy or get lost in her programs, especially the free program. I want to see her skate with freedom. I think she'll need that charisma or authenticity if she hoping to eventually qualify for an Olympics. This did persuade me though that she should go to Worlds even if she has a tough time at Nationals.

I remember an interview with Sasha and John Nicks a long time ago, where he said exactly what Alissa said: that the very flexibility that was giving her her amazing spins is what makes the jumps more challenging. It makes sense to me.

I really really enjoy Ava's skating! Loved her Adele programme last year and really like both this year too. Her jump technique is definitely wild, but very exciting, and her edges and just overall skating is gorgeous. Her spins are so fast, beautiful positions, and she has a lot of really unique little moments in her skating. Same with Yuna, just really beautiful and unique, I completely agree with Alissa, she's gorgeous - and did her own choreography in the free! Lindsay was also great here, love both her programmes this year. I thought Haein looked miles better than her last competitions too - she looked really sluggish at the start of the season, but much sharper and on her game here. Yelim still seems to be struggling and the judges aren't doing her any favours this year, so not so sure where she's going this season. Overall I think this was my favourite Grand Prix this year, so many unexpected wins! Was not expecting those results in mens, women's or dance. I don't really follow pairs. I agree Dave about Shoma's Qs, that was a bit interesting... Even in the replays I thought those jumps actually looked fine, if not better than he usually does them. Definitely a bit of selective calling going on here. Yuma and Shoma were both fantastic though. Overall such a great event, and it was exciting to watch some unexpected podiums.

I started relearning my jumps as an adult. Because I’m a dancer and work so much in turnout I was under rotating my jumps. A coach told me to do my jumps more on a curve so my “turned out” landing is actually fully rotated because I accentuate the curve. Alissa is totally right the flexibility makes consistency harder. My flexible dancers don’t always know where their limbs are going.

Idk I thought Shoma was low balled quite a bit...I thought maybe it was the Japanese federations way of assuring Yuma a spot in the finals. Very unfortunate since I'd actually quite liked the judging in singles skating throughout this year's grand prix

You are absolutaely right about Lyla's free leg! It drives me nuts. Her free leg never stretches. And if it does, the toe isnt turned out. And listen, I'm a big Fear/Gibson fan! I want them to won Worlds! Check out in "Rocky right after the dance spin they skate down ice, and around the corner she holds a long inside edge (free leg is just ok but could be a gorgeous moment) and then on the same foot she does a bracket and the free leg after the bracket is bent on the hold. That could be a gorgeous extension moment as well! It's during the "slow" piece for gosh sake. She does that everywhere. I want to yell "Lock your knee"! She never does. Ahhhhh! If she did what Olivia Smart does, which is IF that free leg is EVER in the air, she locks that knee for a gorgeous extension. It makes me think Lyla isnt an ice dancer-but she is! In Dance, if the free leg is EVER in the air you should have a locked knee unless it's not on purpose (like tango). Even in 3 turns she she bends the knee and then widesteps. That's not "Ice Dance!" Thank you for saying that Dave- Okay-Ive calmed down and feel better. Lol.

USFS needs to decide if they want to win or if they want to make Tammy happy because there is zero overlap there.

Ice dancing. The silence of the Japanese public at the score of the Guignard Fabbri pair said it all. Embarrassing is an understatement. Two who work their asses off for years are perhaps the best in terms of technique, depth of blades and many other aspects. Denigrated far and wide for years for their height, guys we are in 2023 gosh, you make posts for same-sex couples dancing but still criticized a couple for their heights. Instead of being enchanted by Marco's strength and skill in lifting Charlene with such grace and precision, you just call him short. They have brought programs of all types and themes but whatever they do the response is always boring. Last year as if they read the evils of the internet they bring a different innovative absurd free dance. Everyone saying it's strange, is disgusting, disturbing. She with a magnificent costume but always the same comments. In fact, let's be honest, sometimes they don't even have the pleasure of having a name, they're just "the Italians". But for nice skaters a Dracula is fine this year. Two weights and two measures. This was just a vulgar political move that they honestly didn't deserve.

Im just really glad people are starting to appreciate Lindsay Thorngren's skating more and more :3

Mark's commentary was sorely missed. Especially when I checked Twitter and saw all the fan opinions - got a bit overwhelming trying to parse through it myself! Made me realise expertly informed commentary that has people's trust AND acknowledges differences of ideas is REALLY important to the community of a subjective sport...

I am team Shoma but I kind of understand what Alissa is saying - I think he’s so shy he finds it hard to reach into the audience in terms of eye contact. His style is more introspective than some others. Look how quickly he gets off the ice. He rarely stands centre ice, taking in the adoration. But that’s just him, and that’s ok. But the program is a masterpiece and he does seem to be connecting more with audience - he waved at the crowd more here. Maybe the summer shows helped him, or he knows this is his last season.

Yes to Yuna Aoki! She was a breathe of fresh air.

Shoma’s work is just next level

I don't think Yelim will win Worlds even if she gets it together by then because she's had such a rough season thus far and didn't even come close to qualifying for the GPF, meaning her PCS will be kept down as she won't be considered a reliable contender by the judges. Consistency is the main way you improve your PCS, as we've seen time and time again over the years. How you did throughout the season matters in skating. You can't just skate lights out at Worlds and hope to win. I'm not saying it should be this way, but it is this way.

I knew Alisa doesn't like Shoma at all. When she talks about Shoma her face looks so icy cold. I don't even want to know why. People are different. But almost every one of the audiences at the venue, not to mention the ones in front of the TV or laptops, were all sooooo connected to Shoma and his soul , music and felt absolutely mesmerized. Alissa does not represent any of them.

Alyssa is such a delight. I just love the way she speaks. It’s like her skating made audible.

Sandra’s work showed how much more sophisticated she is than the other choreographers EXCEPT Lori. She has a vision , not just choreography.

I know there are some people having strong feelings about the ice dance results...but I'd like to remind y'all that at last year's nhk chock/bates were beaten by fb/s as well so it does happen but it didn't necessarily change the ordinals at worlds. To me, the Guignard/Fabbri fd seemed so...generically lovely, it was ultimately bland to me (and i was rooting for them to win worlds last year) The thing that I appreciated about fear/gibson is that their skating seemed so sharp and the program has evolved quite a lot so I actually found it quite enjoyable here.

My favorite ladies long program of this year has to be Yuna Aoki. It was so beautiful. And WAY TO GO USA at this event for the ladies.

I’m a Shoma fan. I can’t help being disappointed that even Dave and Alyssa are on the Yuma train and after talking about the legacy of older skaters in women want to move on from someone who has spent his entire career in the shadow of others until the last two seasons. I know I was looking forward to anyone talking about Shoma’s new free. We’ve only seen it three times and only twice where it was widely broadcast. First there was a tiny mention of it in a TSL weeks ago where D and J mentioned it in passing, saying something like they didn’t think Shoma could outdo his exhibition, if I was understanding correctly? Then Clark Shepherd infamous non-CoC commentary. I never could find where it was mentioned. We get so little in our niche sport. Not every skater skates outward like a Jason Brown. Some skate inward. Seeing Shoma’s program is like seeing an artist alone in his studio. So profound. I get this feeling of being outside and coming upon someone skating on a pond for no one but themselves, just for the expression of mastery of a craft they have spent untold hours and years and literally decades doing. I watch it to relax and think this program, last year’s Air, and Kolyada’s White Crow are masterpieces. They put me almost in a trance. I don’t care about the jumps. People don’t have to agree with my opinion but I want to celebrate the beauty of this quiet, reflective program that flies in the face of the regular build-to-a-crescendo program we’ve seen for decades. The second half brings me to tears, and I see in these comments, I am not alone. As great as Nathan was, and I saw him live, I can’t say he’s ever done that. He’s a performer and invited the audience in. But this for me is special and rare. Plus, Shoma landed four quads. Yuma landed two, and fell. So, even objectively I think Yuma’s fell short. Great that he was able to come back from a season out due to injuries but give credit where credit is due.

I've been watching a lot of free leg extensions in dance lately... watch Lewis' posture and extension when he's doing progressives, his free leg, push under, and knee bend are perfection. And to follow up on a comment from last week when you said the skater who has "the moment" frequently doesn't win, Fear and Gibson had the moment and actually won, I was so happy for their breakthrough. It seems like years since I've seen a crowd get that worked up, their ability to commit to the campiness and sell it without being too mime-y.... I ate it up this time. (I was iffy on it earlier in the season).

I remember seeing Sasha skate live at the 2003 National Championships and I was surprised that she skated her straight line step sequence so slow. It always looked so much better on TV.

Without doubt the Moment was LilahandLewis winning and the photo of all 4 looking shocked in the K&C. It's a pity you can’t give Lilah credit for L4 in the Step Sequence and L3 in the One Foot Turns. They are unique and original and beat the Italians on TES in RD and FD. The Judges were unanimous, apart from the Italian, they were 1st, including US Judge Eric Hampton who has even scored CPom ahead last season and usually has LilahandLewis 5th. So it's got naff all to do with MFD. I'd like to see the other icedancers skate LilahandLewis's programs with their incredible lifts and non stop energy and audience connection. They attract new fans. I think the North Americans betteŕ up their game. LilahandLewis and the Italians were both excellent.

I love the Rocky program. What are we talking about. Do we want people to watch figure skating or not? I enjoy Fear and Gibson ever since they brought that Vogue program, they have a personal style and that's what I am looking for when I watch Ice dance, specificity and entertainment (ofc along the technical aspect, where they improved immensely lately too).

The Peacock feed mentioned Yuna Aoki choreographed her own program.

Great discussion. You both look so lovely! I love any throw back Michelle/Sasha conversation!

LOVED this - Once again, thank you and always appreciate a guest (of course miss Jonathan) - Alissa is great - firm, kind and insightful. Whatever one thinks about Lilah and Lewis - Dave - you were right - they always seem to come prepared - and be "the little engine that could". I'm a Brit so of course I am rooting for them, but I did feel for Charlene and Marco. If this keeps up, Europeans will be interesting for sure. GREAT to see Wakaba and blown away by Yuna Aoki - if anyone missed her go and watch the live ISU feed of the Women's long from 51mins 15secs. That's how you (self) choreograph and express emotion in this system. She's a gorgeous skater. Oh and Yuma's exhibition performance - wow!! Sublime.

Happy to see Alissa again. Yes, Lindsay should work with Sandra again, love her SP. Ava was the surprise of the event, and Nationals will be interesting.

I was at Skate America and after Amber hit the 3A I was like yes you got this girl ,but then it just fell apart. She's just so inconsistent. I was really rooting for her tho.

I think Sasha Cohen had the most talent of anyone. Interesting discussion here!

I loved the ladies podium at this event. Three teenagers, all with so much potential. Among the other skaters, I liked Yuna Aoki's long program a lot. She is another up-and-comer. I also like Haein Lee's long program. I loved this music when Davis and White skated to it. If she gets it together with her jumps, she will be a contender at Worlds.

I am really getting tired of all these "Qs" and URs. It seems to me that if you can't see a Q with the naked eye and have to rely on a slow-motion replay to determine if a jump is fully rotated or not, just let it go. I really dispute those Qs in Shoma's free.

Idk what was worse, seeing the Italians lose or knowing that Jill also saw the Italians lose, just waiting to approach the Italian federation to get a solo for Kendall.

The Italians aren't lyrical. They need big, strong music that shows off their elements, like Dave said they aren't highlighted. They feel rushed. I hate to say it, but after years of bad programs that mute, not highlight what they do well, they need to leave Barbara. She clearly just doesn't know how to show off what they do best. 🤷‍♀️

Thorngren's 3T in the SP was so not fully rotated (slow motion is not even required to see that)...and judges giving +2 and +3

Troy Goldstein, tech specialist, is the president of New York Skating Club and lived in New Jersey.

LOVED the extended Sasha Cohen discussion. also I always suspected there was a correlation between flexibility and consistency, enthralled to hear Alissa’s biomechanical explanation

Regarding ice dance, any word on Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker. Will they come back beginning w US Nationals in January_

Dave - I'd love to see you skate to Mozart's Symphony no 40 in G minor. I think you could express that beautifully.

We talk about skating moms but do we talk about skating Dads? Anyone come to mind? I can think of Jill Trenary's dad and Michelle Kwan's dad (who could forget that skate change for big bucks?!) but can't think of any others. Oh, Elaine Zayak's dad, but I never saw him but we heard stories.

I felt like the judges were working really hard to make sure Yuma won this competition. I'm not sure what the political motivation would be, though...marking Yuma as a Worlds podium contender along with Shoma? Making sure Yuma is ready to take over because Shoma's team is indicating it might be his last season? The protocols sheet is PAINFUL for Shoma's FS. No way were all those jumps on the Q! Though he still won the FS, just one of those questionable calls being reversed would have given him the title. I have no problem with Yuma's skating, which I find very enjoyable, but this felt like an ugly win.

"Tall in the Saddle" is the name of the Kurt's skating special... it was on "old school" PBS. And Alissa Czisny... I was roommate's with your husband's cousin the summer of 2016 just north of Denver. I answered an add for a summer sub-lease and he ended up being a "Maga" Republican... So at first we did not think it was going to work out. Then he asked me if I had any hobbies.... to which I replied... "Well I used to skate and I love figure skating. Understatement. He then said these words. "Kurt Browning is my cousin." We ended up talking a lot of skating that summer! Little after thought... a few years back I ran into my coach after close to 25 years not seeing her. She was teaching a stroking class that I walked in on it. Of all the things we talked about while catching up it was living with Kurt's cousin she was the most interested in mostly Kurt! Lol!🥰

Interesting this point Dave brings up about flexibility and jumping, specially looking at cases like Nini, who in theory has been brought up to be a skating machine, yet seems to struggle SO much with consistency (Still early to tell she’s so young but the rhythmic gymnastics has probably something to do with it)

Seeing Carolina Kostner's work with Yuma, I can't help but wonder what kind of magic can happen if she ever were to work with Yelim Kim. If Yelim sticks it out and lets her maturity and consistency develop, I do think she'll be phenomenal, and a skater to be remembered. I really look forward to a clean FS from her, I think Sandra and David did a brilliant job creating a program that suited Yelim at this stage of her competitive career.

"That's probably why Elvis is so consistent, because he's so stable rather than flexible." Somewhere Chuso just got inexplicably angry.

Great recap!!! What is the story behind Satoko starting as a leftie? Also, it was 1988 Budapest World's where Kurt tried the quad ;)

Loved the discussion about Shoma. I personally find his jumps too round and I often have the feeling he spends the landing struggling to straighten out the jump. So, not really effortless. But I appreciate his skating nonetheless, its been lovely watching him grow into the skater he is today.

I like FG just fine, but still can’t watch the bloody Rocky programme. So much cringe. Sorry, no way. It doesn’t make me watch ice skating, it makes me fast forward the video. If I were Lolo and Nick I would be furious - they were supposed to be “the secondary pair” that does the surprise upset. 😭

Curious to hear what you have to say about the Italians getting robbed considering generally you don't love them...but I think you will also agree they are much better skaters than the Brits.

NHK always delivers! Looking forward to dance at the GP final and the ladies at US Nationals.

Regarding Nina and her quotes- the Belgian Sporza crew love to get headline worthy quotes out of their athletes, I had to laugh when I saw them. It's going to be Remco vs Wout all over again iykyk(although in that situation I'm team Remco all the way).

Ted’s commentary is just SO. HARD. to endure. I’m suspecting that he’s a very nice human, but his commentary is just so nothing- boring, not insightful, “everyone is great.” It’s like listening to your sweet but boring aunt talk endlessly about a topic she doesn’t know.

I love how Alissa is crickets when Dave talks about his “skating career”

Since you are talking about the Japanese skaters; first one whom you are talking about is a Junior medalist, and the second one who had to get her passion back with figure skating and was a full time student last year and also had mental challenges and the third one (Mira) her an angle injury like American Bradie Tennell ( both foot 🦶 injury) and American Lindsay Thorngren had recently a lower back injury and since you are well technically trained, you can do the technical skills automatically according to Kamilia V and every skater gets nervous before competing and since you don't follow American skaters, you are unaware of their challenges and don't know the new rules and regulations and the landing of the jumps has to start and flow smoothly: landing 🛬 is important with transitions and skating has been evolved by Russians and Asian skaters and others are trying to catch up with them!!! The final Grand Prix of the top six contenders in China.. and now there is a physical therapist and psychologist who are working with the US figure skating federation for those mental challenges for sports; Amber Glenn whom medalled from one of the Grand Prix and has mental challenges and she has a different coach named Allen and Colorado Springs Club and with Yuma's coach is Italian Carolina Kostner and Uno coach is a Western as well as Japanese coach; with Ana Maria Zeigher, she had improved and she had competed with the Grand Prix Trophies and Cups last year and this year: Ana Maria Zeigher won gold in Budapest last year and came in six places this year and then Lindsey Thorngren won gold in the Cranberry Cup and also had mental challenges and she improved mentally and physically and still recovering from the lower back injury and both skaters were juniors into the seniors and both are seventeen years old with Isabeau Levito ( Lindsay Thorngren was a bronze medalist for Juniors and Isabeau Levito won gold medalist) so US Nationals would be juniors to seniors and last year juniors to seniors and the VETERAN seniors like Amber Glenn ( whom was a senior silver medalist at National and medalled with a bronze medalist at Skate America last year, and unfortunately, she made mistakes at Skate America in her free program this year and took herself out of medal contender but I was glad that she medalled with a bronze medalist) ... With the Korean skaters, Kim and Lee are beautiful skaters and like Japanese skaters are extremely and highly competitive in competition and like American skaters the juniors are coming in all countries!!! Alyssa, you are contradicting yourself and Uno ( a two time World champion) and Uno is working on his artistic skills now with his coaches and you know that toward the middle of the program a skater is on tired legs and knew how to save his jumps and you know that injuries caused mental challenges as well and don't worry, Uno would be ready!!!! No politics in the judging; checked out Rocker Prediction that would assist you!!!! Lucas B of Belgium challenges himself with his programs and won gold at Warsaw and Cameron of the United States is a full time student at an university and has improved but still working on his consistently!!! The Italians are juniors coming to seniors with the veterans and all skaters are looking for Worlds in Montreal of 2024!!! Ice Dance; the British was good and uphold of their own and their coaches brought out the best and they are well trained in the Montreal professional coaches internationally; British, and the bronze medalist -Laut are in the same Montreal club in Canada: and the Italians are veterans and gave a different free program with difficulty transitioning and the elements and they are silver medalist.. and I am biased and routed for my own country USA and they were good and everyone gets them report card for both programs; and in the pairs, there are a lot of new pairs team and we have a new pairs teams and Lui and Napys, Plazas and Fernandez, Maria and Ivan M. , and others besides the veterans like Kam and Danny O'Shea and Chan are Howe ( Howe is still injured and cancelled all Grand Prix with the I've dance H and Baker had to cancel because of slightly concussion of the United States and K and Frazier had not 🚭🚫 declared that they retired yet and had not 🚭🚫 done any competition so it's questionable what they are going to do: so our trajectory of pairs are going to be exciting at National!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

I loved both the Brits and the Italians in ice dance. I think the clean and sharp lines of the Italians should have won here. But I'm not an expert in ice dance judging.

Dave, can you explain why McNamara/Spiridonov continue to get scored so low? Because I had Ted on Peacock 🙄, I didn’t get any insight as to why they were last in the Free Dance? One of the best recaps this season, by the way! Missed Jonathan obviously but you & Alissa were fantastic

Thank you for uploading the NHK trophy review!🥰

Nina P. seems to copy a lot of Brady T. moves, ( head and arms)…..annoying!

If it was a political decision of lowballing shoma with all the q calls and the time deduction idk what to tell you. Yes japan has many talented good skaters like yuma, kao and even shun but funny how even with all the q calls and getting robbed on the pcs he is still having the best score so far from the japanese field 🤷🏻‍♀️

The Rocky program make Lilah and Lewis look as if they are at a jazzercize class.

Ice dance discussion begins at 58:59.

Mister Ulrich Salchow is turning in his grave every time Rebecca attempts a 3S.

Chock and bates are champions when skaters that can skate , aren’t around.

Watching the competition made me sad for the old days of skating. Too much jumping. I get that the sport needs to progress but how about this idea skating fans: keep the difficulty of jumps but decrease the allowed number of them in each program. In this way, we can get back programs that are more individualized to each skater and skaters will need to put more attention towards pure skating skills. On a totally different topic: did anyone notice in the slow motion replay of Denis V that it looked JUST like Stephan back in the day?

I miss Jonathan this week but Alyssa is such a good commentator. Welcome Back!

alissa! love her commentary. thank you!

So nice to hear opinions of someone like Alyssa who has first-hand experience with the coaches and skaters. Loved your analysis of Shoma and Yuma, and I tend to agree depots having been a Shoma fan (still am) for years. The caller inconsistency between competitions is so confusing. Bring on AI. I’ve rewatched Kostner’s 2012 Chopin thanks to you, Dave. Gorgeous.

There is no universe where the Lithuanians are better than the Finns. The Finns are one thousand percent better in every way & they are the BEST European team. Italians technically strong but artistically lacking, Brits artistically strong but technically lacking, Finns are technically and artistically strong.

I am going to the Japanese Nationals 🎉🎉Do you want me to interview Yuma for u, David 😃😃🤣