Comments on: evgeni plushenko’s whining

By: Peggy

Peggy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:00:21 +0000

Evgeni Plushenko should hook up with Tanya Harding, they can piss and moan about what shoulda coulda happened and when no one gives a shit anymore, she can coach him in a boxing career.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:34:15 +0000

Yes, I know I made a grammatical error at the end there. I was typing fast. So sue me.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:31:15 +0000

Kevin, here is the official results page – expand each skater’s scores to see element details

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-figure-skating/schedule-and-results/men-free-skating_fsm010101eh.html

The base value of Lysacek’s elements was 74.93, slightly lower than Plushenko’s 75.03, but Lysacek’s GOE added 9.64 points, whereas plushenko only earned 7.68. Breaking it down a bit further, on the jumps only, Lysacek’s GOE was +5.24, Plushenko’s was +4.44.

I wouldn’t call it a wash…the total GOE difference (2.04 points) is about as significant as Evan’s advantage in the second-half bonus (3.23 compared to Plushenko’s 1.53 for 1.8 points difference). On jumps only, the GOE difference was 0.8 points.

Yes, I’m a nerd.

As for the grace with which our guys have handled themselves: Ohno and Lysacek have both been fantastic representatives for the US this year. In fact, with the exception of the idiot snowboarder who got sent home (Scott Lago, I think, and that wasn’t all that bad), the whole US Olympic team have conducted themselves in a way that has made me proud!

By: termite

termite — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:29:08 +0000

i noticed that (bob costas) as well.

K – did you happen to see how Apolo Ono handled himself?
after he came in third the other night, he was asked if he wished he could do it over again. he said he’d love to, but what’s done is done and he’s just happy to have been in the race.

he’s impressive.

By: kevin

kevin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:36:24 +0000

I completely agree that Lysacek is a total class act off the ice. The way he’s handled himself has been fantastic. Bob Costas was trying to goad him into saying something controversial on national television, but he just kept deflecting the questions.

By: termite

termite — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:48:14 +0000

i’m with Nathan on this. so Plushenko did a fancy jump. big woo. so?
i was bored threw out the entire routine.
also, kudos to Lysacek for his sportsmanship in his followup interview. it speaks volumes of his character.

*johnny weir is an excellent figure skater. i just have a hard time watching him. he’s too over the top for my taste.

By: kevin

kevin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:38:25 +0000

I’d agree with you for the most part. I thought about bringing up some more details about the scores, but the grade of execution scores on jumps were pretty much a wash, even if it seemed like Lysacek was a bit more solid on his jumps. The big technical difference was the bonus points. And artistically, yes, I’d agree with you, but it seems so much of those scores are based more on reputation than anything else. The judges expect certain people to score better on the artistic portion, and judge them accordingly.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:30:23 +0000

I was there – Plushenko was waaaaaay more than 1.8 points worse than Lysacek on that night. Plushenko’s big point-getter – the quad-triple combo – was shaky, he barely hung onto it, and the Degree-Of-Execution score proved it. As you mentioned, Evan won because his technical score was higher, but his artistic score should have been higher, too! Plushenko carried no speed through a program that lacked severely in interesting choreography. He felt jerky – speed up and jump, lose speed trying and look awkward trying to do something besides jumping, rinse, repeat. Lysacek’s program was flowing and emotive – go back and watch it and look at how he pulls emotion out, particularly in the last minute of the program.

If there was a judging mistake here, it was in Plushenko’s favor!