The Olympic Games

[TopCatDC]

My rundown of men's figure skating after really looking at the score sheet....

Thanks for that wonderful breakdown of the scores. That puts a lot of the competition in a different light. You would think that national media would have the respect for their craft to do the homework rather than simply parrot the conventional wisdom.

[Critical]

I've looked at the score sheet too and Johnny's program was not as technically difficult as Plush and Lysacek. Their base score for executed elements (ie the start value of each element) was 74.93 for Evan and 75.03 for Plush (because of the quad). Johnny's was 73.21. He also go downgraded for messing up that sit spin and lost points on that triple flip which was supposed to be a quad toeloop. Evan's circular footwork sequence was given a level 4, while Johnny's was only given a 3.

Plush lost GOE points on his jumps because they were sloppy in the air and several landings were wonky. I don't think it was just Evan's spins that were better technically - he landed his jumps better and his circular footwork had a higher start value. Evan skated a great program and was smart about the construction of his program. That's why he won.

Plush and Evan got the same exact score - 82.80 - for the Factored Program Elements. Johnny's score was only 77.10 and maybe he was scored too low, but even if he got the same score as Plush and Evan, he still wouldn't have beaten them - he would have gotten 5th place instead of 6th.

Really though, none of this matters because the competition is over and done. I think the best man won and, although I would have liked to have seen Johnny scored a little higher, he wasn't and I think all skaters are used to the fickle scoring in the sport. Still, it's a helluva lot better than it was, say, 10 years ago when we really had no idea what was behind the scores. Remember the fiasco that was Salt Lake City?

In other news, for Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis and Andrew Weibrecht! It was also fun to see Simon Ammann win on the long hill! I think that makes him the winningest ski jumper in Olympic history.

[Bearcata]

My rundown of men's figure skating after really looking at the score sheet:

Lysacek and Plushenko earned the exact same subjective scores. But when you break it down into the components, Lysacek had harder footwork going into jumps than Plushenko and the judges actually rewarded Plushenko for his artistry. His scores relating to artistry were higher than Lysacek's across the board. A lot of people seem to think that Plushenko lost because of artistry. That isn't the case. The judges liked his artistry more than Lysack's.
Lysacek and Plushenko had nearly identical base values for their elements (jumping, spinning, etc) but when the grade of execution scores factored in, Lysacek was the clear winner. It was mostly his spins that put him over the top.

A lot of people are saying that Johnny Weir lost because his routine was not hard enough. That isn't true either. His technical element scores were 4th best (behind Lysacek, Plushenko, and Oda). He actually beat Chan, Lambiel, AND Takahashi in the technical elements. His only technical weakness came from his transitions and he still scored higher than Plushenko. Weir lost because the judges scored him low in his choreography, interpretation, and performance. So basically, whenever they had the opportunity to lower his score because they disliked him, they lowered his score. Weir already said that he thinks politics came into play with his scoring. I have to agree with him. He delivered technically and there was no question about his artistry. Those scores should not have been so low.

That is a tad ridiculous because Johnny Weir is miles ahead of anyone else as far as interpretation and performance.

[Critical]

Seeing as how I'm not a proctologist, I really don't need those camera shots from behind as the bobsledders are pushing off

[sweetpea]

Awww, heartbreak in the men's short track final tonight. The Canadian brothers finish 4th and 5th. Congrats to Apolo Ono though, on his bronze. I have always liked him.

[jacobson00]

the consensus here is that Johnny won us all over again.
now on to the ladies. A lot of talk about KIm form korea

[Bearcata]

the consensus here is that Johnny won us all over again.
now on to the ladies. A lot of talk about KIm form korea

Ice dancing is next then the ladies. Still I don't think there are any memorable American ladies skating? Isn't the South Korean girl favored to win gold?

[karalott]

Congrats to Apolo on his record breaking Olympics! A well earned medal tonight, and he even knew he cut it really close.

I love Simon Ammann. What a gracious winner, and someone who just absolutely loves what he does. He's so great and pleasant to watch in interviews. I'm also glad Bode has had a bit of redemption here in Vancouver. Belated congrats to Lindsey Vonn and Anja Paerson, especially after Anja's fall during the downhill.

It's been nice that, so far, this Olympics has just been enjoyable with no real controversies or scandals breaking. Just good vibes all around, except maybe from Plushenko, and that Dutch skater/skiier who seemed to have a problem with the American journalist who didn't know who he was.

[CrossingGuard]

Well, one thing is for sure: it wouldn't figure skating with some controversy being involved. So I don't know kara, I would have to say there have been quite a couple of events that have people talking.

Reading over the comments, I agree with ironcat's sentiments. After Plushenko landed that quad, he got sloppy with his other jumps, as if he believed he had it won.

Anyway, as I've stated time and time again, Shannon Bahrke has been my favorite athlete of these Olympic Games so far, with her free spirit. But now, I've found someone I really like as much as her: Noelle Pikus-Pace.

If anyone stood up late last night (well, 2 nights ago, since it's past midnight), then you should have seen women's skeleton. She came in 4th, just .1 seconds out on the podium. It's disappointing, but her story is what got me. She was a favorite to medal in Turin, but because of a bobsled accident in 2005, she had to get metal rods in her shin and couldn't compete in Turin.

After the disappointment of Turin though, she and her husband had their first child, who has provided Noelle with much needed joy after her injury. With that, she came back to these Vancouver games, just to beome an Olympian. A medal would have been nice--she was obviously disappointed to get so close to bronze by .1 seconds--but she her main thing was to get the Olympic experience. There were some shots of her husband with their daughter, and she is totally adorable. I hope Noelle comes back to Sochi; I would love to see her aim for that podium one last time.

CrossingGuard - if you really, really want mittens I can probably send you some - we have tons left where I live. Well, we did last Saturday - they could be gone by now

Oh wow, that would be great! That is, if you can find them, since they're super popular. I wish I had known of them beforehand. Shoot me a PM about more details, like if they're still available or not. But even if they're not, I just think it's so sweet for you to even offer.

[RealityLovesMe]

That is a tad ridiculous because Johnny Weir is miles ahead of anyone else as far as interpretation and performance.

I know. His problem has usually been landing his jumps cleanly. And he finally got that together so he really should have been rewarded. But apparently the judges only reward the more masculine style of skating. That is a shame. His short program scores were low as well. But he performed so much better in his free skate. You would think that the subjective scores were have improved a lot but they didn't.

Having followed the entire competitive season of figure skating, I feel like the scores that Johnny gets are a statement. He is very flamboyant and effeminate on and off the ice. A lot of those involved in figure skating are sensitive about gay stereotypes and often try really hard to prove that make figure skaters are masculine, straight men. I think they score Johnny unfairly low because they don't want to encourage other male skaters to skate the way he does.

Moving on ... I really wanted the gold for Shani. I think he was totally capable of doing it, but I could tell that was a tough race for him. He was really hurting at the end. I guess he just wasn't physically prepared for the race. BUT since he didn't win gold, maybe he will come back in four years. I hope so! He is a great talent. I also really wanted to see Apolo Ohno win gold! I love that guy! I'm not sure what caused him to slip. He looked like he was in good position to make a move. Did the Canadian guy touch him and then he slipped? If so, then I like Canada a little bit less than before! If he just slipped and the Canadian guy lost it because of Apolo, then whoopsies! Sorry Canada! lol! But I don't feel too guilty because one of the brothers was advanced for no good reason! Eek!
I don't think the U.S. is going to get any medals today! Maybe tomorrow!