US Nationals Mens

I'm so glad that before they showed the long program they showed a bit from the short, because otherwise I would have been very confused that Jeremy Abbott wasn't in first place. However, Ryan Bradley's performance was nothing short of perfection and his Quad Triple combo contributed to his success.

I find it interesting that Jeremy Abbot talks about how he doesn't want to be forgotten as a Skater, because really he has spent so much time in the shadow of Evan Lysacheck and Johnny Weir despite his 2 US Championships. Osmetimes however, being a great skater isn't all that makes you memorable. Jeremy is an excellent skater, but it is sometimes easy to forget that he's a part of the team...perhaps his presence is just a bit too quiet and the lack fo a Quad  doesn't help. Ryan Bradley seems to be a bit more memorable not just because of the Quad, but because of his ability to engage and audience and put forth memorable performances like his Short program.

I loved Richard Dornbush's Sherlock Holmes program, but on a Dick Button-esque note, I can't quite buy in to the crazy spin positions some of these guys are doing. Scott Hamilton did comment on the depth of skill in the US Men, and I agree, however we need someone to come forward with the personality of Johnny Weir or the work ethic of Evan Lysacheck and truly lead the US team.

Abbott made minor, but costly mistakes in the short...a fall, a hand down, a double instead of a triple. These mistakes didn't take away from the beauty of the program he skated, but didn't help him to defend his title in any way. Perhaps he put too much pressure upon himself. His long program score was over 12 points behind Richard Dornbush and with 3 skaters to follow him, his spot on the US Team appeared to even be in jeopardy. This skate certainly didn't help with his goal of wanting to be remembered.

The IJS system doesn't leave as much room for skating as the old judging system did. The judging system is so technical and so points based now that it if you don't land every jump you had planned and your spins don't have enough rotations in your various positions, you lose points that could have made a huge difference over all. If you want to see how the judging breaks down for every event and how the skaters actually scored you can go to http://www.icenetwork.com/ and look for the results tab. For US Nationals, CLICK HERE. You can look at individual skaters scores and see how they scored on their individual spins, jumps, and other elements. It takes some time to learn how to read the scores, but it's really interesting to look at them up close.

Ryan Bradley stepped out of his first quad and again on his second. While his program is quite amusing and the spoof nature of it was great to watch, his long program wasn't as technically sound as his short. I do love his showmanship and his ability to connect with the audience. His Triple Axel Triple Toe combination looked like he was literally holding on for dear life, but he did indeed hold on to it. His ability to re-group after those initial mistakes was indeed the stuff of which champions are made. I loved his little backflip bow that he clearly did just to amuse the audience who clearly loves him.

Congrats to Ryan Bradley, but also congrats to Richard Dornbush and Ross Miner for their excellent placement. What a great day for US Men's Skating.