2011 US Figure Skating Championships: Senior Men's Free Skate

I'm back again for my last live-blog of Nationals, the Men's Free skate. We are on icenetwork.com right now but will go live on NBC at 4pm for the final two groups. Best of luck to all the men, I hope we see some fantastic programs!
**Denotes my USFSA Fantasky Skating Team

1) Scott Dyer

   Music: On the Waterfront

• This is the same freeskate music as Brandon Mroz
• Nice double axel, should get a positive GOE
• He has nice stretch in his camel
• Nice triple lutz-got tripped up on the triple toe
• Popped open that triple flip
• Nice triple loop, good quick rotation
• Solid triple lutz
• HE is definitely putting effort into the interpretation
• Good triple loop comination
• I love the wally jump, he uses that as an entrance to a nice triple salchow combination
• He does an interesting sideways sit spin position at the end
• Nice energy and good stamina throughout
• FS Score: 61.65 (TES) + 59.72 (PCS) = 121.37
• 55.78 (SP) + 121.37 (FS) = 177.15

2) Lloyd Ting

   Music: Madness and Asian Dream Song

• Good triple lutz-double toe
• Falls on double axel
• He looks very focused, but like he may be holding back a little
• He gets nice height on his jumps, but the rotation isn't very quick
• He just doesn't really have his legs under him, fighting for all of the jumps and traveling on his spins
• This is gorgeous music, I just wish he'd do more in the way of interpreting it
• FS Score: 51.78 (TES) + 45.64 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 96.42
• 44.50 (SP) + 96.42 (FS) = 140.92

3) Sean Rabbitt

   Music: Long De Chuan Ren

• Can't wait to see a fantastic performance from Sean
• Struggling a bit jump-wise, let's hope he gets his feet under him
• Sean is a dance competition kid, I can totally see that
• What I love about him is his energy and I feel like he is really losing that here
• Nice spread eagle entrance into his double axel
• FS Score: 51.93 (TES) + 52.36 (PCS) = 104.29
• 51.42 (SP) + 104.29 (FS) = 155.71

4) Parker Pennington

   Music: Freedom

• Its great to see skaters choreographing their own programs
• I like this costume, very simple but shows off the body lines
• Huge triple axel, but trouble on the landing
• Nice double axel, triple toe
• Nice triple loop
• He has a lovely camel position, nice twist variation
• Such fantastic emotional connection to the music, this is a skater I could watch for a long time
• Wonky triple flip but holds onto the landing
• I think the jumps hold him back performance-wise, he would be a great show skater
• Great spread eagle into triple salchow, nice entrance to that jump
• I like the wally into the triple lutz double toe double toe with the Tano arms
• This is a gorgeous musical selection
• He is looking tired physically, but he hasn't lost his commitment to the performance
• FS Score: 51.99 (TES) + 58.20 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 109.19
• 55.49 (SP) + 109.19 (FS) = 164.68

5) Andrew Gonzales

   Music: 1492: Conquest

• I love when male skaters choose very masculine pieces of music, that is something the Europeans like Joubert & Van Der Perren are very good at
• Oh wow I thought he had that triple flip, but couldn't hang on
• Definitely picked up as he went along
• I'd love more performance skills from him
• FS Score: 52.05 (TES) + 57.06 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 108.11
• 54.41 (SP) + 108.11 (FS) = 162.52

6) Wesley Campbell

   Music: Man on Wire

• He has given stellar Nationals performances before so let's try to have one of those again
• I love that the opening relates directly to the theme of the program
• What a tall elegant skater
• I love that low position entrance to a triple lutz-double loop
• Feet twisted up in the triple axel leads to a fall
• He has a great camel spin into a donut
• Wonderful grace in his arms and upper body
• Nice tight turns on his footwork sequences
• Seems to lack the confidence he needs to land solid triple jumps
• The costume isn't doing much for me--it looks too "underwatery"
• I love the coach's scarf
• FS Score: 57.84 (TES) + 60.40 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 117.34
• 59.35 (SP) + 117.34 (FS) = 176.69

7) Christopher Caluza

   Music: Warsaw Concerto

• He takes a long time to get into character before taking the ice
• He is shorter than most, explosive jumps
• Fall on a triple lutz
• Nice triple toe to recover
• Whoa he did a Rippon-style loop on his three jump combination
• He has most of his combinations in the back half to get points
• He has some interesting elements for a man, including change of edge spiral and an Ina Bauer
• Tough slip going into a spin, not sure if they'll take away credit for that
• Nice side aerial to end!
• FS Score: 50.58 (TES) + 49.86 (PCS) -2.00 (DED) = 98.44
• 59.28 (SP) + 98.44 (FS) = 157.72

8) Alexander Johnson

   Music: Le Grand Tango/Oblivion

• One of his listed musical selections is the same as Yankowskas/Coughlin in their short
• Strong triple axel-double toe combo
• Pops the second jump
• Nice strong sit spin positions
• Nice spiral into a triple lutz
• He definitely has some strong performance skills, good commitment to the music
• He is really very enjoyable
• He is an easy skater to watch, and by that i mean nothing looks too forced or contrived
• Good fight on the landings for that 3-jump series
• Seems to be doubling a lot of jumps
• He did a second 3-jump combination, so he will not get credit for the second combination, same mistake that Nobunari Oda always makes
• FS Score: 48.70 (TES) + 59.50 (PCS) = 108.20
• 57.30 (SP) + 108.20 (FS) = 165.50

9) Joshua Farris

   Music: Porgy & Bess

• Gershwin's music is so good for skating
• Fall on the triple axel attempt
• He is getting very close to the boards on these jumps
• He is showing a lot of style in the choreography
• Second triple axel, falls and actually skids into the boards
• He has nice presence, I hope he doesn't lose that after the disappointed of the falls
• Hands down on the double axel
• Fall on a triple lutz
• This is a program he'll want to forget
• Wow he is just trying to get through this at this point           
• FS Score: 43.24 (TES) + 50.58 (PCS) -1.00 (DED)= 90.82
• 60.91 (SP) + 90.82 (FS) = 151.73

10) Jonathan Cassar **

     Music: Schindler's List

• He is on my fantasy team so I'm hoping for a nice big score
• I like the choice to open for a step sequence
• Such amazing emotion and musicality from this dance major
• Good solid triple lutz-double toe
• He doesn't have the technical arsenal of other men here, but good clean jumps with positive GOEs could put him ahead at this point
• So far just jumps are very crisp and clean
• Such elegance, he really uses his upper body in addition to his legs
• Great deep spin positions with nice twist variations
• Hand down on the second triple lutz but he hung on
• That inside edge spread eagle is to die for, rides such a nice long curve
• He is just a beautiful skater to watch, so calm, so elegant
• Eeks out the landing of the triple flip-double toe
• Good triple loop combination
• Very nice solid posture
• This is going to be a solid showing from him
• He can now focus with Frank on building his technical arsenal to add triple-triple combinations and triple axels
• His choreographic step sequence is gorgeous
• Lovely double axel to end his jumping passes
• Gorgeous spinning positions
• Lovely lovely performance, some people on their feet
• FS Score: 63.28 (TES) + 68.50 (PCS) = 131.78
• 55.98 (SP) + 131.78 (FS) = 187.76

11) Grant Hochstein

     Music: 

• 
  
• FS Score: (TES) +  (PCS) = 117.61
• 65.76 (SP) + 117.61 (FS) = 183.37

12) Jason Brown

     Music:

• 
  
• FS Score: (TES) +  (PCS) = 144.44
• 64.32 (SP) + 144.44 (FS) = 208.76

13) Jason Wong

     Music:

• 
  
• FS Score: (TES) +  (PCS) = 110.43
• 62.20 (SP) + 110.43 (FS) = 172.63

14) Adam Rippon **

     Music: 

• Come on Adam, get it!!
• He has such fantastic edge work and stroking
• Step out of a triple axel, so titled in the air
• He needs perfection from here on out
• Gorgeous Rippon lutz, now if all of his jumps were like that
• Nice big second triple lutz
• He neesd to light it up to make up the point gap
• Gorgeous triple-triple
• Fantastic spread eagle position
• His artistry is unmatched in the US
• He does really interesting entrances into his jumps which help him rack up more points
• He really rising to the occasion
• The spins are great
• The musicality, and his presence on the ice are phenomenal
• He is killing the footwork sequence and he has the crowd with him
• I like his long edges out of the jumps
• He is so happy about that!
• FS Score: 76.36 (TES) + 77.42 (PCS) = 153.78
• 66.26 (SP) + 153.78 (FS) = 220.04

15) Richard Dornbush

     Music: Sherlock Holmes

• Huge triple flip to begin
• Triple axel-triple toe, very tough technically
• This music suits his performance style well
• His footwork seems slow and doesn't have a lot of content
• A lot of personality
• Huge triple axel, he should get positive GOEs on a lot of these jumps
• He seems to be getting tired in the last part of the program
• His footwork sequences are a little rough for me, he looks like he is flailing
• FS Score:  (TES) +  (PCS) = 157.85
• 67.71 (SP) + (FS) = 225.56

16) Armin Mahbanonozadeh **

     Music: Avatar

• Armin lands a solid triple axel
• He has just really impressed me so much this season, so much improvement
• He was definitely a fighter on that second triple axel
• I've been forgetting to type because this is just such an engrossing performance to watch
• He really uses his entire body in these step sequences, he reminds me of Evan Lysacek in that respect
• Its so nice to see a nice scratch spin 
• Wow, what an awesome performance
• FS Score: (TES) +  (PCS) = 148.28
• 66.77 (SP) + (FS) = 215.05

17) Keegan Messing

     Music: The Hulk

• He blew me away in the short, let's hope he can keep it up in the long
• "Keegan turns figure skating into an extreme sport" -Sandra Bezic
• He is very athletic and energetic
• Wow that triple axel was huge!
• Quad toe, lands it but with a hand down
• He is killing nit so far
• Has a lot of speed on his spins too
• Second triple axel in combination this time
• This section of the music is so perfect for footwork
• I can't tell if he is tripping and stumbling on his footwork of if that's the choreography
• He needs work on choreography and grace, but he has so much attack which is a great building block
• He is just killing these jumps
• He ends with a jump on the last moment, gets so much bonus credit for the jumps later in the program
• FS Score: (TES) +  (PCS) =143.50
• 69.79 (SP) + 143.50 (FS) = 213.29

18) Douglas Razzano

     Music:  

• Gigantic triple axel
• Little turn out, but fabulous quad toe so far
• Odd fall on that second triple axel
• Nice triple-triple combination
• He seems to be running out of speed here toward the end
• He gets a nice low position in his sit spin
• FS Score: (TES) +  (PCS) = 137.15
• 69.61 (SP) + 137.15 (FS) = 206.76

19) Ross Miner

     Music: Casablanca

• He has grown a lot on the senior Grand Prix this season
• He opens with his step sequence, possibly to get the feel of the ice under him
• Triple axel combination was huge
• Triple lutz-triple toe was wonderful
• He is ready to go out there, uses this music perfectly 
• The jumps fit so well where they are placed in the music
• He has a nice traditional quality about him, like a Todd Eldredge
• Solid triple loop
• He looks like he is really enjoying himself out there
• He is making it look so easy
• Great entrance into that triple salchow combination
• This musical selection really suits his performances style well
• Wow, great for him
• FS Score: 81.80 (TES) + 74.56 (PCS) = 156.36
• 67.99 (SP) + 156.36 (FS) = 224.35

20) Jeremy Abbott  

      Music: Life Is Beautiful

• Solid triple lutz to open
• Jeremy seems to be in the zone here
• He seems very invested in the performance
• Triple axel-opens up toe loop to a double
• This musical selection just suits him so well as a performer and as an athlete
• He is really going after this footwork, he doesn't seem to be holding back really
• Hand down on the triple axel, that could have opened the door there
• Oh wow he just took a fall there, that hand down took away his concentration
• He seems to be losing control of the program at this point
• And he was doing so well at the beginning
• I respect that he didn't abandon the performance
• Not the way he wanted that to go
• FS Score: 66.91 (TES) + 79.86 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 145.77 
• 78.39 (SP) + 145.77 (FS) = 224.16

21) Brandon Mroz

   Music: On the Waterfront

• I am never a big fan of Brandon's programs
• Will he Rise to the occasion or feel the same pressure as Abbott?
• Brandon lands very low and steps out of the quad toe
• Sandra Bezic was right, this jazzy music suits him very well
• Triple axel-double toe, same exact thing that Jeremy Abbott did
• He looks timid, like he is afraid that he will make mistakes
• He seems to really be running out of speed in certain sections, his spins look really slow
• He seems to be really running out of stem, has looked tired throughout the whole program
• Amazing triple axel after that break 
• He is landing his jumps, but few of them are very pretty, wont get a lot of positive GOEs
• Did he fall out of that camel, or was that mean to be a change foot camel
• He looks very wild in this foot, and not a Rachael Flatt passionate kind of wild
• FS Score: 73.66 (TES) + 68.2 (PCS) = 141.88
• 71.61 (SP) + 141.88 (FS) = 213.49

22) Ryan Bradley

     Music:

• His entrance to his starting position is just of the performance
• Steps out of both quads
• Huge freaking triple axel
• Triple axel-triple toe loop
• Wow he has the crowd with him in  big way here
• If the crowd had any say at all he'd win by a mile
• Needs to get teh speed back up
• Pulls out his final triple flip
• Now he can really light it up in that last part of this program
• FS Score: (TES) +  (PCS) = 151.51
• 80.39 (SP) + 151.51 (FS) = 231.90