2011 World Figure Skating Championships: Mens Short Program

1) Viktor Pfeifer (AUT)

   Music: The Mask

• Here we go, worlds is underway!!
• I love his coach Priscilla Hill
• Viktor is so theatrical
• Triple lutz with her arm over his head landed in a nice arabesque positions
• A very awkward fall on his last jump, that looks like it could've hurt
• He has such long legs and he hits some really great positions but also some awkward ones
• The costume change is very cool

   SP Score: 29.01 (TES) + 28.67 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 56.68 

2) Min-Seok Kim (KOR)

   Music: Bolero (Moulin Rouge)

• Oh heeeeeey Moulin Rouge
• This is a very Johnny Weir-esque costume
• Nice triple axel to start, very tentative, but landed nonetheless
• Nice donut position on the spin, but he lacks speed coming out of it
• This is very passionate music and I would like to see more commitment to the performance from him
• He seems to be really losing speed toward the end

   SP Score: 31.33 (TES) + 24.86 (PCS) - (DED) = 56.19 

3) Richard Dornbush (USA)
     Music: Elena by Brian Setzer

• Come on Richard, get it!
• Good speed to open
• Wild landing on triple triple, but good speed and height nonetheless
• Same story on triple axel, he really attacked it but couldn't control the landing completely
• Nice job Ricky, landed that triple flip
• He has some really unique spin positions
• He is very much committing himself to this performance and what a great effort for her first senior Worlds
• I like that he is bringing back the hydroblade, what a nice move
• He is very proud of himself as he should be

   SP Score: 38.25 (TES) + 32.29 (PCS) - (DED) = 70.54 

4) Nan Song (CHN)

   Music: Requiem for a Dream

• He looks very tentative, but you can't be when skating to this music, you need to attack it
• His jumps are huge, but his landings could be much more crisp
• I'm starting to see some more fire in him now that he's entered this footwork sequence
• He could stretch out his spin positions much more

   SP Score: 35.56 (TES) + 28.22 (PCS) - (DED) = 63.78 

5) Denis Ten (KAZ)

   Music: Primavera Portento

• First time seeing Frank Carol at this year's Worlds
• Denis is a very talented skater but he lacks self-confidence, at least that has been the story all season
• A very nice clean axel to start
• That triple triple combo wasn't the prettiest, but he definitely fought for it
• This is very dynamic music and I would like to really see  him commit to it and bring out some flavor
• Well that was a really nice effort from Denis

   SP Score: 39.23 (TES) + 31.77 (PCS) - (DED) = 71.00

6) Ross Miner 

   Music: Para Ti by Jorge Gomez

• Come on Ross, get it!
• I love his commitment to the flavor of the piece right off the bat
• He really attacked that triple axel
• Good solid triple lutz-triple toe
• Good clean skate for Ross, its so great to see these young Americans rising to the occasion like this!
• Nice fast spins and elegant positions

   SP Score: 38.02 (TES) + 32.28 (PCS) - (DED) = 70.40 

7) Joey Russell (CAN) 

   Music: 1812 Overture

• Joey Russell is just precious
• Shaky first landing
• Stumble and hand down on the second jump
• This will not be the short program that Joey Russell saw in his dreams
• He fought to land that combo and did so with sheer will
• I like him overall, a very elegant skater, but he couldn't seem to get his legs under him today
• Joey is not pleased with that, he knows he made silly mistakes

   SP Score: 30.90 (TES) + 30.79 (PCS) - (DED) = 61.69 

8) Paolo Bacchini (ITA) 

   Music: Pinocchio

• That axel was very tilted in the air from the beginning, it was not a surprise that he fell
• Both jumps of his combination are very very tilted in the air but he eeeked them out
• Even his solo triple flip is very tilted but he lands it, its not pretty though
• I don't really understand this costume, even though it is Pinocchio
• Definitely not the skate Paolo was looking for
• That was a very "Italian" program, stylistically speaking

   SP Score: 30.77 (TES) + 29.19 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 58.96 

9) Maxim Shipov (ISR) 

   Music: Once Upon a Time in Mexico

• Almost no speed going into that opening axel; very awkward fall
• Hand down on his lutz
• This music is this year's "requiem"
• I appreciate how he is attacking everything, but he is a bit wild and lacks polish

   SP Score: 26.64 (TES) + 24.46 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 50.10

10) Peter Liebers 

   Music: Blues Deluxe

• Right off the bat, he is really committing to the character and feel of the piece
• He has a lot of speed going into that triple lutz-triple toe 
• I love him in this program; very smooth and suave
• Very solid triple axel
• Good lutz, he should put up a very respectable score here
• He could use a little more stretch in his camel, but I'm really only getting that specific because that was such a good program

   SP Score: 36.51 (TES) + 31.22 (PCS) - (DED) = 67.73 

11) Misha Ge (UZB)

   Music: Capone

• Wow that costume is certainly a burst of color in the morning
• He was the final qualifier from the Q round to make it to the short
• He looks so small out there on the ice and I'd really like to see him stretch out his body
• This is very jazzy and he is such a little performer
• Aside from the fall out of the flip, he has been pretty good
• You definitely cannot say that he doesn't have enthusiasm!

   SP Score: 22.80 (TES) + 26.81 (PCS) - (DED) = 49.61

12) Jorik Hendrickx (BEL)

   Music: Feeling Good

• Get it Jorik! Get every fraction of a point that you can muster to get into this free skate
• Nice triple lutz, but the triple toe looked two-footed to me
• Nice speed across the ice
• Stumble out of the loop from footwork; couldn't tell if it was under-rotated or not
• Good low positions in the sit spin
• Good axel, only a double but landed nonetheless
• I really like his footwork
• I picked Jorik for my Fantasy C pick at Europeans and he did an awesome job so I stuck with him here for Worlds
• Jorik's donut spin looks great from that overhead camera angle
• He just made such a crazy face in his last pose; this guy has so much heart

   SP Score: 31.96 (TES) + 28.78 (PCS) - (DED) = 60.74 

13) Ryan Bradley (USA)

   Music: Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

• I'm so nervous! Get it Ryan! Do it like US Nationals!
• The quad was landed a little bit low, so he added a double toe instead of a triple
• Get it triple axel!!!
• Come on Ryan give us some personality now that the tough jumps are over
• His camel spin is looking slow; he seems to be skating really slowly across the ice
• Nice triple flip
• Let's hope he gets full credit for his quad
• Here we go, he is really bringing the personality in the footwork
• Good job for Ryan of staying on his feet, I would've liked more speed but that program should keep him in the running

   SP Score: 38.84 (TES) + 31.61 (PCS) - (DED) = 70.45 

14) Kim Lucine (MON)

   Music: Phantom of the Opera

• Hard fall on opening jump
• I love the way he used the glove as a mask
• This techno arrangement of Phantom is truly heinous
• This is nit-picky but I don't like the way that his cummerbund separates from his pants; I'd go with out it personally
• This sounds like a jock jams remix of Phantom
• This program really is doing nothing for me overall
• The use of the prop (glove/mask) is interesting nonetheless

   SP Score: 31.81 (TES) + 28.00 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 

15) Anton Kovalevski (UKR)

   Music: Stop Time Rag

   SP Score: 34.23 (TES) + 30.93 (PCS) - (DED) = 

16) Kevin Reynolds (CAN)

   Music: Moanin/Drum Thunder Suite

   SP Score: 34.00 (TES) + 31.36 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 

17) Alexander Majorov (SWE)

   Music: Austin Powers

   SP Score: 23.27 (TES) + 30.97 (PCS) - (DED) = 

18) Javier Fernandez (ESP) 

   Music: Histoir de un Amor/Hu Pogodi

   SP Score: 35.77 (TES) +33.39 (PCS) - (DED) = 69.19

19) Florent Amodio (FRA) 

   Music: Once Upon a Time in Mexico

• He seemed tentative going into the triple axel, but the landing was solid enough
• Solid triple lutz-triple toe, his arms were a little wild
• Nice triple flip
• Clean and focused so far
• I love his upturned chest in that camel spin
• Could that costume be any tighter
• I love the use of his head during the footwork, it reminds me very much of Evan Lysacek
• I really love this short program, and that was great execution

   SP Score: 40.46 (TES) + 37.18 (PCS) - (DED) = 77.64 

20) Brian Joubert (FRA) 

   Music: Once Upon a Time in Mexico

• Nice back to back programs with the same music
• I like Brian's choreography better
• Brian lands the quad toe but steps out of it
• Brian's choreography is fantastic; no movements are thrown away
• Great triple axel
• Amazing height and speed
• Great triple toe
• Everything here is completely 100% solid minus that step out of the quad
• Florent threw it down, and then Brian Joubert answered with (in my opinion) an even better program
• Oh wait, I just realized he didn't do a combination, ooops
• He'll be severely penalized for no combination

   SP Score: 34.36 (TES) + 36.92 (PCS) - (DED) = 71.29 

21) Adrian Schultheiss (SWE)

   Music: Nuclear Warhead

• He has struggled this season and even contemplated retiring; I'd love to see him do well here
• Wow he took falls on a jump and in his footwork
• At this point, he is in danger of not qualifying for the free skate
• He is upset with his performance and rightly so 

   SP Score: 29.63 (TES) + 30.78 (PCS) - 2.00 (DED) = 58.41 

22) Patrick Chan (CAN) 

   Music: Take Five

• Alright it's time for Chiddy! Get it Patrick!
• I just love that smile!
• He seems so relaxed from the first movement
• Quad toe-triple toe is as solid as can be
• He is just so smooth in his skating and every movement means something
• A little ice flying off of the triple axel but very solid
• Now this is the way you put a great performance together with great choreography
• Great stretch through his limbs on spins and connecting movements
• Nice easy triple flip
• This piece is a work of art and will give him great confidence going into the free skate

   SP Score: 51.48 (TES) + 41.54 (PCS) - (DED) = 93.02

23) Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) 

   Music: Soul Medley

• Get it Kozuka (that will be a tough act to follow)
• He has definitely improved as a performer throughout the season on this program
• Low landings on the quad toe-triple toe, but landed nonetheless
• Hands down on the triple axel but no deduction
• I always think of him as being so young, when really he is older than Patrick Chan
• This choreography is just so-so, there are a lot of throw away moments

   SP Score: 39.83 (TES) + 37.79 (PCS) - (DED) = 77.62

24) Kevin Van Der Perren (BEL) 

   Music: Art of War

• Fall on opening quad jump
• When a skater like this can't land his jumps, he is in trouble, because he doesn't do much in terms of performance and has to rely on those jumps to hold him up
• Not a great effort from Kevin today
• If that quad was rotated, the fall will only cost him a point and then the negative GOE

   SP Score: 35.73 (TES) + 33.61 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 68.34 

25) Michal Brezina (CZE)

   Music: Japanese Kodo Drums

• Very good height on opening triple axel
• He is looking very calm and focused
• I hate the way those pants bunch at his ankles, they look very child-like
• I really like this music, it is very interesting
• Nice program overall

   SP Score: 41.10 (TES) + 36.40 (PCS) - (DED) = 77.50 

26) Daisuke Takahashi (JPN)

   Music: Historia de un Amor

• Wow does Takahashi know how to work the crowd
• Very solid triple-triple
• Every movement he makes means something
• That triple axel was textbook and his landing was on a great musical climax
• This is probably my favorite short program of the whole season, especially choreographically
• Patrick Chan threw it down and now Takahashi is answering that in the best way he can
• This footwork is phenomenal and his performance is spectacular
• This is exactly what a reigning world champ looks like
• Simply amazing

   SP Score: 39.33 (TES) + 40.92 (PCS) - (DED) = 80.25 

27) Tomas Verner (CZE)

   Music: Singing in the Rain

• Fall on opening quad toe attempt; lets see if that affects the rest of the program
• He is holding onto these jump landings, but they are shaky, and just barely there
• I love the theatricality of the program and he remained committed to the performance

   SP Score: 39.62 (TES) + 37.32 (PCS) - (DED) = 75.94 

28) Artur Gachinski (RUS) 

   Music: Selections by Pink Floyd

• This choreography is signature Plushenko with all the hand gestures
• Quad toe-triple toe into a hand gesture, again signature Plushenko
• Triple axel
• All of his landings look frazzled, just like Plushy
• Wow what was that on the triple loop, he caught the back of his blade and almost ate it, i still really don't get what happened there
• I want this kid to find his own identity as a skater but I feel like they are trying to force him to become a mini Plushenko

   SP Score: 42.45 (TES) + 35.89 (PCS) - (DED) = 78.34

29) Samuel Contesti (ITA)

   Music: Hungarian March

• I love that he takes the ice in character
• This music is not doing much for me, but he looks great in tails
• He has had some funky landings on his jumps, not incredibly polished
• His spins are lovely
• He has such an elegance and a regal quality on the ice
• I'd like a straighter leg on the signature Patrick Chan kick

   SP Score: 28.62 (TES) + 35.97 (PCS) - (DED) = 64.59

30) Nobunari Oda (JPN)

   Music: Storm

• I love this program and wish his free skate were more like it
• Stumble out of the quad toe for Nobu
• He has such incredible speed
• Nice triple axel
• I love that he exits a jump with the same speed he goes in with
• Nice triple triple combination
• His speed is just crazy and I bet its even more amazing to see in person
• Stumble in the footwork, he had perhaps a little too much energy going in

   SP Score: 43.37 (TES) + 38.44 (PCS) - (DED) = 81.81