ISU GP - Skate Canada International 2017 - Oct. 27-29

[Elizabeth]

The news out of Regina, other than the skating today, was the hospitalization of Brian Orser who had to undergo emergency gallbladder surgery, about the time the men were skating. Apparently the surgery was "standard", went well, and, according to IceNetwork, he could be out of the hospital as early as tomorrow!

[fred]

Oh dear. That's not a good thing. Recover well Brian. There's a lot of fans out here who care about you.

[Elizabeth]

Oh dear. That's not a good thing. Recover well Brian. There's a lot of fans out here who care about you.

IceNetwork posted overnight:

Brian Orser is resting comfortably. Doctors have decided to operate Saturday morning in Regina. We will provide updates when available.

[Elizabeth]

The ISU has posted updates on the results after the short programs in each discipline at Skate Canada International - you will find them on this page: http://www.isu.org/inside-single-pair-s ... er/news-fs

[Elizabeth]

In a particularly annoying move, CTV/TSN opted not show the first group of ladies free skates today - they didn't even come on the air until almost 1/2 an hour after they started and then spent another 1/2 hour showing replays from yesterday. They joined the live skating during the warm-up for the 2nd group of ladies and only showed a couple of brief snippets from the first group. I've complained via Twitter & Facebook but I'm sure they don't care

Ladies results can be followed here: http://www.isuresults.com/results/seaso ... SEG004.HTM

Sadly, the same situation impacted the men who took the ice for warm-up 10 minutes before the TV broadcast started. When it did start, they rehashed what happened yesterday and earlier today (replaying Kaetlyn's FS + the FD of both Virtue & Moir & Weaver & Poje) before they actually went live. We missed seeing the first 3 men but they managed to go live for Nic Nadeau.

This kind of coverage is what made me decide to go to Vancouver for Canadians!

[Elizabeth]

And yet another FAIL from CTV/TSN - not all CTV stations are showing the pairs free skate! It is not on any of the TSNs and I'm only able to watch because I have time shifting and can pick it up from Winnipeg (or Vancouver). What a mess they've made of this

[Kevin]

I know - I cannot find the pairs free anywhere. I was out this evening and it didn't show in my guide to set it to record, so to try cover my based, I set my PVR to record all the CTV and TSN's. No pairs. WTH?????????????????

[Elizabeth]

I know - I cannot find the pairs free anywhere. I was out this evening and it didn't show in my guide to set it to record, so to try cover my based, I set my PVR to record all the CTV and TSN's. No pairs. WTH?????????????????

Only on Winnipeg & Vancouver CTV for me

[fred]

That's so bizarre. Why would they make such a decision,... or was it just a slip up of a new programmer??? Just guessing.

[Elizabeth]

Thanks to a friend, here's a list of links for almost all of the pairs from last night - Denny & Frazier are missing - there is no commentary:

Meagan DUHAMEL / Eric RADFORD CAN - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl6Cu6NCPA8

Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES FRA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UWQW24S-zo

Aliona SAVCHENKO / Bruno MASSOT GER - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5nMIDd9nHw

Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT RUS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y8njI6wuDg

Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq0WJKqmsg

Liubov ILYUSHECHKINA/ Dylan MOSCOVITCH CAN - https://youtu.be/mSTqLTNPh0c

Sydney KOLODZIEJ /Maxime DESCHAMPS CAN - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9kXl6A5Qow

[Judy]

Just lost what I typed!
Did CTV show a fluff piece with a mother and her two daughters? They are from. Entrap France and are dressed in pink sweat shirts. They made beautiful banners for favourite skaters.
Hope everyone saw the pairs? Like I said love the French! Meaghan has a softness haven't seen before.

[kittykins]

This is horrible!! What were they thinking?!! CTV's coverage has been pretty good in the past, and I mean they had the reputation for being Canada's Figure Skating network for many years. I was watching Megan & Eric's program on youtube last night but so far I have only the one without commentary as well as the Russian broadcast, not the one with Tracy and Rod. I'm going to look now and also see what they have on FS Vids.

I was very sad to hear about Brian Orser's emergency surgery and wish him well. Poor him!!

I feel badly about Patrick and being at the event I've heard so many negative comments. It must be really hard to be in the public eye like that. It's true he was off his mental game for whatever reason. He had lost luggage and even the fact that he's changed his program recently, removing quads probably affected him. Many say he shouldn't be in this position, but he's only human. Perhaps some are making too much of one competition. I hope he can rally and do better. Is the Olympic gold realistic? Perhaps not, but I wouldn't count out a medal. I also think Canada has a strong chance in the team event.

It was so exciting to watch the Pairs live. Megan was so cute in her response. More later.

[Elizabeth]

CTV/TSN was too busy rehashing things from the day before or earlier in the day to actually show skaters, let alone fans! I've found they've done this in he past few years, especially when splitting the coverage between networks. As I may have said above, this type of coverage is a good part of why I want to see Canadians live.

Brian Williams made such a big production of the need to go to CTV to watch the pairs as he signed off at the end of the men's event (which was on both CTV & a TSN) - there was nothing to say he only meant for the West of the country!

In a response to my angry tweet, TSNSkate said:

We don't control what CTV stations we are on he was incorrect in the info it was always check local listings apologies for that

[Elizabeth]

A couple of items FYI from Twitter:

Anna Pogorilaya (RUS) has withdrawn from the Exhibition Gala, she suffers from a back strain following a fall in the Free Skating.

The Exhibition program listing:

Some coverage of the Gala might be on TV next week, according to TSN.

[Elizabeth]

Bev Smith on Patrick Chan's competition performance - https://bevsmithwrites.wordpress.com/20 ... low-point/

But is it "okay"? Only time will tell, I guess.

It was interesting to see the backstage "huddle" captured by TSN/CTV cameras after the men's FS - deep in a conversation while seated in a circle were Patrick, Marina, Michael Slipchuk (SC High Performance Director) and both the current and former Skate Canada Presidents (who are also both judges).

[kittykins]

I was a bit bothered by some of Patrick's responses reported in that article. It's unfortunate he's apparently lost his desire to compete!

[fred]

I don't think he expected to win anything here. He took out some of the quads & still fell and got horrible results, but he can always say he wasn't trying. It sounds like he's rebuilding as the season progresses. Perhaps he'll bring a more serious effort later in the season. I'm expecting so. In the long run, he doesn't owe us anything and taking care of himself has to be job #1.
We love your spirit, Patrick, and the skating is classicly beautiful, still.

[Elizabeth]

I think Patrick's free skate program is beautiful overall but it certainly was not skated well here.

Does Patrick really want to compete? Only he knows.

Is a gold medal at the Olympics out of the question? Probably. Is there still potential for a podium spot? Perhaps.

Canada is slated to send the largest FS national team to the Olympics where there will be both individual and team competition. Obviously it will be best for everyone concerned if all of those on the team actually want to be there to compete on behalf of their country.

Only time will tell how all of our skaters and teams respond to the "pressure cooker" of Olympic season, as Rod Black and Tracy Wilson described it.

For anyone interested, PJ Kwong has posted her "snapshots" from Day 1 & Day 2 of Skate Canada International 2017: http://pjkwong.com/skate-canada-snapshot-day-one/ & http://pjkwong.com/skate-canada-snapshot-day-two/

[fred]

I really doubt that it's a coincidence that Canadian men don't win the Olympics, (no matter how good they are). So it's a given going into it that Patrick has no chance. There is no such thing as a curse, and no nations luck is that bad. Still, I expect he wants to give us a performance that we'll remember and he may be skating for perfection. Is he the last of the classically trained skaters?

[Judy]

Pairs.
Unfortunately I recorded an Eastern not theVancouver feed so don't have the pairs either. Feel fortunate I saw the event live.
If Meaghan and Eric can skate as well at Olympics they will do themselves and us proud. Great confidence boost for them, especially as Meaghan was struggling a bit during practices.

Dance
How can Tessa and Scott get any better between now and Olympics? They were mesmerizing.

Men
I am very disappointed for and with Patrick. Enough said. Keagan Messing brings joy to his skating and to his fans. His feet are as as quick as Kurt's I think. Nic had some problems but he gave it his all and the audience loved his Elvis programme. He must be one tallest men.

Women
Alaine was a deer in the headlights. It's so sad because she is talented. Unlike Patrick, I really feel for her and hope she can get whatever help it is she needs. Osmond you just gotta' love.

[Elizabeth]

Thanks for sharing your comments, Judy. I'm glad you were there to see everything live - it's always different from what the TV allows you to see/feel. This time more than ever! Glad you're home safely.

[kittykins]

I really doubt that it's a coincidence that Canadian men don't win the Olympics, (no matter how good they are). So it's a given going into it that Patrick has no chance. There is no such thing as a curse, and no nations luck is that bad. Still, I expect he wants to give us a performance that we'll remember and he may be skating for perfection. Is he the last of the classically trained skaters?

It's not so much a coincidence but more circumstantial. Brian Orser would be an Olympic gold medalist by the modern judging standards. This is because in 1984 he won both the SP & FS but didn't win because Scott Hamilton was so strong in compulsory figures. In 1988 his transitions might have also given him the gold...it's hard to know with his two minor errors. However he definitely would have been the gold medalist in 1984. I don't know exactly what you mean Fred, but I doubt it's because of the judges per say and its definitely not a curse. Toller Cranston was probably given a bad deal and should have finished higher than bronze perhaps. I believe a Canadian man will win some day, but I don't know if it will be Patrick. It bothers me that he's making comments that certain competitions have lost their "allure". He needs an attitude check. The problem is he tends to say what he's thinking to the media.

I'm right behind Radford's head in that lift picture that has been shown in the news, LOL.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winte ... -1.4377760

P.S. Elizabeth I wish I'd thought to look here before the gala. There were no sheets with the order of skate to be found at the arena.

[Elizabeth]

Tweeted out by TSN:

Skate Canada Gala schedule -

• Nov 10th - 7:30-9:00pm - TSN1/3
• Nov 11th - 3:30-5:00pm - TSN1
• Nov 11th - 11:00pm-12:30 - TSN2
• Nov 14th - 10:00-11:30pm - TSN2

[happyheini]

The "Lady in Red", Kitty?
So, will the Gala not be televised on CTV regular channels?

[Elizabeth]

Apparently not on CTV, at least according to this tweet.