2011 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Skate America Men's Short Program [LIVE BLOG]

Here we go...the start of the Senior ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The 1st group of Men are taking the ice for Warm Up! It's a big confusing here on the couch because we're hearing overlapping commentary and in-arena announcers. I can't tell with all the overlap, but I'm excited to see who our commentators are going to be. I love seeing what skaters do during warm-up...some do their tough jumps and some just skate around. Skaters are coming off the ice...here we go!

1) Douglas Razzano (USA)
       Music: Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninov

• A little wobble on the end of the 3axel but a solid start
• He looks a little tentative, popped that toe loop into a double
• I'd like to see him be a little more expressive in his upper body
• He lands the 3-3 combination but it could get a negative GOE
• Could use a little more height in that split jump
• I'm nit-picking, but anytime you land all your jumps in the first major event of the season, it's a solid start
• He could definitely speed it up a little more in this footwork sequence
• I like the choreography of the piece and can't wait to see it grow

SP Score: 30.62 (TES) + 30.07 (PCS) = 60.69

2) Daisuke Murakami (JPN)
     Music: The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel

• He won O Nepela earlier this month so I'm excited for this skate!
• This costume is way over the top
• Quad sal-double toe, I assume should've been a 4-3 combo
• Huge triple axel, could've used more flow out of it
• Triple lutz could've had more height
• He needs more speed on his spins and more stretch in the positions
• What I hate about the new system is some of the heinous spin positions we get
• I like the use of levels on this footwork sequence, he uses his head nicely

SP Score: 39.91 (TES) + 30.76 (PCS) = 70.76

3) Denis Ten (KAZ)
       Music: Elegie Opus 3, No. 1 by Rachmaninov

• Here is one of Frank Carroll's skaters
• Denis is a very lyrical, soft skater
• That is a very 90s costume, very Todd Eldredge
• It's good to see him land that 3axel
• He lands the 3-3 combination, but he lacks a  lot of flow out of the jumps
• Fall on the triple lutz, it looks like he had it but his foot slipped out from under him
• That program had a very abrupt ending for me

SP Score: 35.11 (TES) + 32.27 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 67.38

4) Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA)
      Music:  Kashmir by Led Zeppelin

• Armin is on my Fantasty Team, go Armin!!
• Wasn't this Ashley Wagner's original short program last season
• Very powerful 3-3 combo
• He is coming out very aggressive
• Hand down on the triple axel, very tilted in the air, but nice tight spinning
• I love his donut spin, it's reminiscent of Johnny Weir
• Armin has awesome spin positions
• He is showing more command of the ice than he has in the past, he looks like he belongs at the top
• I like that his weird spin positions fit the theme of the program

SP Score: 33.72 (TES) + 30.82 (PCS) = 64.54

5) Richard Dornbush (USA)
    Music: The Fifth by David Garrett

• Come on Ricky, you're on my fantasy team too
• I love his command and his artistry
• He uses his head like Evan Lysacek
• Great 3lz-3t combo
• This is nice choreography, he doesn't waste one movement
• Huge triple axel with great flow on the edge
• Nice stretched out came position, and those sleeves flow well
• Good triple flip
• This footwork is very nice, the arms are working just as hard as the legs and feet
• I like this contemporary version of Beethoven's fifth; very edgy
• Very solid start to the season for Ricky! Good job buddy!

SP Score: 35.74 (TES) + 34.29 (PCS) = 70.03

6) Florent Amodio (FRA)
     Music: Summertime by Gershwin

• So how does hot pick go with Gershwin?
• I love Florent but he's kind of a hot mess sometimes
• That triple Flip really lacked height
• I'd love to see that triple axel travel more
• I think Gershwin would roll over right now if he heard his music mixed with Jumpin Jack
• And he just popped his Lutz and missed the combination, that is going to hurt his score a lot
• This step sequence is very flashy, I love it!
• I love the low knees and upper body usage in the step sequence
• This music take me back to Kanako Murakami last season and her sippy cup
• Morozov looks pissed, but he's patting Florent's leg lol

SP Score: 27.32 (TES) + 35.14 (PCS) = 62.46

7) Kevin Van Der Perren (BEL)
    Music: Quidam from "Cirque du Soleil"

• I love watching Kevin jump, when he hits that is
• He always skates to highly dramatic music with a really strong beat
• That triple axel was huge
• The dancer in me loves to watch the way his head spots his jumps
• His landings were wonky but he hit the 3-3 with a very fast rotation
• Triple loop is a new solo jump
• Normally we see Quads from Kevin, but we're certain to see that in the free
• I've always loved to watch him skate and I'm so glad he didn't retire
• He is rapidly losing speed on his spins
• Not seeing near the speed in footwork that we saw from Dornbush, Amodio, etc
• He really needs to point his toes on that death drop

SP Score: 37.76 (TES) + 32.3  (PCS) = 70.09

8) Samuel Contesti (ITA)
    Music: Hungarian March, La Gazza Ladra, 1812 Overture

• Samuel is such a showman, I believe this is his short from last season
• Foot totally slipped on the lutz, but jumped right back up
• Stumble out of the triple axel, he is have a rough go of it but you wouldn't know it from his facial expression
• Solo triple flip, I though maybe he'd try to add a combination onto that after the fall on the lutz
• He, like Amodio, has no combination and will suffer greatly on the technical mark
• There is no making nice about it, that was struggle for Samuel, but it's early in the season and he usually peaks later

SP Score: 24.27 (TES) + 32.35 (PCS) 1.00 (DED) = 55.52

9) Michal Brezina (CZE)
    Music: Best of Kodo

• I love the opening Crouching Tiger pose
• Very powerful triple axel to start
• Very solid triple flip-triple toe combination
• He seems to be in the zone
• Triple lutz looked clean as well
• I'm not a huge Brezina fan nor do I like this Survivor-esque music but even I'll admit that this is a solid program
• The wild arm movements are a lot to handle, but they support the theme of the program
• Bobble on the foot change of the combination spin, but this should put him into 1st overall

SP Score: 42.05 (TES) + 37.03 (PCS) = 79.08

10) Takahiko Kozuka (JPN)
       Music: Inner Urge

• Come on Taka, my fantasy team could use some love!
• Another jazzy short for Taka
• Fall on the quad toe, which looked under-rotated as well
• Rebounds with what I thought was a solid triple axel, but drops the hand
• He landed very cross-legged on that Quad Toe fall, I hope he didn't injure himself
• It takes guts to continue after two botched jumps, but he hits his triple lutz-triple toe solidly
• Don't count out Taka, because he came from behind in the short at Worlds to win Silver
• Taka has always been a much stronger free skater in the free that in the short
• I like his improved commitment to choreography; does this remind anybody slightly of Chan's Take 5 short
• Tonia K, do we really think it was about rink size?

SP Score: 34.33 (TES) + 37.16 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 70.69