Farewell, Dai-chan: Daisuke Takahashi Retires from Competitive Figure Skating

The Constructivist household is in mourning for the retirement of Daisuke Takahashi from competitive figure skating.  Ever since we found out, I've been asking the Full Metal Archivist to write something celebrating his career, but she's still dealing with the shock of the news and is just too sad to put her feelings into words.  What she has told me has been poetic:  "he flirted with the music, seduced audiences, and challenged judges...he was a shaman on the ice."  So I'll just point you too her April 2010 "Luv Letter" for now.  More on his legacy later!

So What Did You All Think of the Team Skating Event at Sochi?

I haven't had time to fire up the DVR and watch the long programs in the team skating competition at Sochi, but I have to say that having selected men's and women's singles, pairs, dancers preview their routines didn't do much for me.  Maybe it's the obvious home ice advantage in scoring, maybe it's the made-for-tv exhibition aspect of it, maybe it's the fact that it came first and impinges on the individual competition, maybe it was the scoring system (which levelled out differences between skates far too much IMHO), maybe it's just the fact that skating is such a hit-and-miss sport and I'd rather have the drama reserved for one competition....  Maybe it's just the fact that Japan doesn't have world-class pairs or dancers so they didn't have a chance.  Whatever it is, I was left underwhelmed.  How about you?

Daisuke Takahashi Going to Sochi!!

Daisuke Takahashi will be the 3rd Japanese male skater--along with Yuzuru Hanyu and Tatsuki Machida--to go to the Winter Olympics, according to Japan TV.  After pulling out of the ISU Grand Prix Finals at the start of the month due to a leg injury--I've heard it reported as a stress fracture near his knee--Takahashi finished 5th at Japan Nationals, jeopardizing his hopes of returning to the Winter Olympics.  This will be the 2nd time in a row that Takahashi will be rushing a recovery from a major injury to compete in the Olympics.  Let's hope he can bounce back quickly!

Here are his skates:



Here's his emotional interview right after he finished 5th:




I was really afraid this was a career-ending injury. I'm relieved that we'll get a chance to say goodbye to him at Sochi.

[Update 1 (11:02 am):  The Full Metal Archivist pointed me toward this recent interview with his choreographer Lori Nichol.  Helps put his journey and his free skate in perspective.]

[Update 2 (11:38 am):  Wow, this Japan Nationals was one for the history books!  Akiko Suzuki won the women's gold in her last appearance at nationals with her mom watching her skate for the first time ever.  Yuzuru Hanyu broke 100 points on his short program in winning the men's gold.  Kanako Murakami skated a fantastic long program and broke 200 to take the silver, qualifying for Sochi at the same time along with Suzuki and Mao Asasa, who skated a great short program and a so-so long.]

Way to Go, Daisuke!

Daisuke Takahashi skated a near-perfect short program today at the NHK Trophy to take an 11-point lead on Javier Fernandez.  The best part is, we got to see it on high-def TV thanks to TV Japan.  But here's what you can see on youtube (you can also find it at NBC Universal Sports):


Amazing--you've gotta hear the crowd go nuts when he lands his quad perfectly!  I heard that his coach chewed him out for 40 minutes in the middle of the night after his short program at Skate America, which was nowhere close to this in quality.  I mean, he got over 50 points on technique alone, which is usually great but almost always overshadowed by his artistry score.

Takahashi skated last and while the overall quality of the skating was high (most were bunched in the mid-70s to low 80s), nobody killed it, even Fernandez, who skated right before him.  We thought Nobunari Oda got underscored a bit and were once again impressed with Adam Rippon's skating.  Max Aaron's going to need another great free skate like he performed in Skate America to get back in this thing, but it seems like he enjoys the long program more than the short.

Long story short, somebody's going to have to have the free skate of their life to challenge Daisuke tomorrow!

Detroit 2, Constructivist Family 2

I've gotta admit I can't tell a quad from a triple unless Skate America, NBC Sports, or every freakin' skate blogger/tweeter on the planet points it out to me (just search #SA2013), but I can tell you a little bit about what the Constructivist family's Detroit road trip has been like so far.

Like how we avoided another traffic jam on the 75 and got to the men's practice session just about on time by freelancing it through some pretty scary neighborhoods on the way to the Joe Louis Arena (score 1 for Team Constructivist).  Or how we again enjoyed the Detroit People Mover and had another great dinner, but this one gave The Full Metal Archivist stomach trouble (score 1 for Detroit).  Or how cool it was to watch Adam Rippon and Jason Brown rock their short programs, then get smoked by Tatsuki Machida (whose name has been pronounced seemingly every way but right by the rink announcers), but how disappointing it was when our fave Daisuke Takahashi couldn't bring his jumping to the level of his artistry on the ice right after Machida's brilliant performance (score another for Detroit).  Or how much the girls enjoyed dancing around after the practice skates, riding the People Mover, and getting make-up done and pictures taken at the fake Puffs kiss and cry area between the men's skate and the dance competition (score 1 more for the Constructivist family).

Instead, though, let me focus on how amazing Meryl Davis and Charlie White are.  So many couples skated so awesomely.  The Reeds got a season best and still ended up in 6th, while the Shibutanis did the same and looked to be in great position at 61.26 and 1st of 6 teams.  Until the Italians beat them by 8 points, that is.  Facing the same kind of pressure that Takahashi did, Davis and White made it look effortless, elegant, charming, sophisticated, romantic, and athletic.  Like Takahashi, they have a level of artistry and body control and musical interpretation that is truly their own.  Unlike Takahashi, their biggest rivals (Moir/Virtue) weren't competing against them.  But sometimes it's as tough being the favorite--especially in front of a home crowd--as it is being the most popular skater in the world who's fighting for a spot in his 3rd Olympics against 5 other world-class Japanese skaters.

I'll close with some video and some notes, first on Machida:



I was repeatedly impressed by how much air this guy gets.  I wonder if he can dunk...

Rippon:



Loved his reaction at the end! Maybe he can take a page from Adam Scott's book and get a big win today!

Aaron:



Man, he practices hard. He was the only one going full-bore in the morning practice session. Hey, he's young, he can handle it.  (Me, I'm officially in my mid-40s and walking like someone in his mid-80s.  I'm beginning to think my back won't be better by the time we leave Detroit.)

Shibutanis:


I hope onechan and imoto learn from these siblings how to appreciate each other and work together!  Have I mentioned that imoto's discovered moodiness and loves to needle onechan into overreacting and getting in trouble?  Seriously, I don't usually like brother-sister pairs on ice, but these two picked some great music and skated their hearts out!

In closing, Jason Brown has it all:  flexibility, jumping ability, artistry, personality.  Don't be surprised if he wins this thing.

Detroit 1, Constructivist Family 1

The Constructivist Family loves Detroit!

Sure, Detroit scored first against us when construction and a pair of accidents that slowed traffic to a crawl on the way to our hotel just north of the city added about a half hour to our road trip, but we did get to the Joe Louis Arena in time to catch the tail end of Daisuke Takahashi, Takahiko Kozuka, and Tatsuke Machida's practice session and then got to see the rest of the men (we were most excited about Jason Brown, Adam Rippon, and Max Aaron) and all the ice dancers (most notably, from our perspective, Davis and White, the Reeds, and the Shibutanis).  We got our pick of awesome seats and imoto and I got to explore almost every nook and cranny of the arena.  Plus, following her around actually helped loosen up my back!

Afterwards, we explored downtown via the Detroit People Mover, a cute little monorail that took us straight to a restaurant named after one of my favorite bands (not Tool, not Radiohead, think New Orleans-style food...).  I'm not naming them directly because although we loved the place and had a great meal, imoto got a burger with some mold on the bun.  This is where we scored against Detroit because the manager made imoto's meal and ice cream sundaes for the girls all free.  So you can see why we're looking forward to exploring more of downtown tomorrow.  There's a gap between the last of the practices tomorrow and the start of the competition at 7 pm, and the weather for my birthday looks like it'll be much better than today.  Maybe we'll do the River Walk, maybe we'll find another restaurant to check out.

We'll get our first look at the ladies and the pairs tomorrow afternoon and we'll see more of the men and dancers before them.  I'm curious to see whether and how their practices are different from today's, what with the start of the competition for them coming in the evening....

The Golf Gods, They Are Jealous Gods

I'm telling you, it seems like every time The Constructivist Family is about to take one of our patented road trips/pilgrimages to the site of a major international skating competition lately, my body betrays me.  This past spring, an awful stomach bug had me doubled over in pain and dazed for most of the World Figure Skating Championships.  And now this morning, I tweaked my back at the gym so bad that I had to shamble/shuffle/limp/grimace my way through the last day of work before the start of our fall break, which The Full Metal Archivist, onechan, imoto and I will be enjoying in scenic Detroit while we occupy Skate America.

All I can say is, thank you very much, golf gods.  It's not enough that you torment me on the course and deploy the Mostly Harmless jinx against my favorite golfers--no, now you also have to go and punish me for following Daisuke Takahashi and Mao Asada and the rest of the skaters there for a few days!  I get it:  the way the Skate America schedule works out, I'll probably be able to watch only the final round of this week's LPGA/KLPGA tournament, and probably only part of it at that--and that's only if the hotel we switch to on Sunday has Golf Channel.  So I guess I deserve this lower back pain and stiffness by some sick, twisted logic--you know, the kind you golf gods specialize in.

But hear this, o ye golf gods:  we splurged for all-access tickets and, by gum, we shall use them!  We're cutting through Canada early tomorrow morning and plan to be in the Joe Louis Arena by noon!  It's not like I've broken my back like American skater Max Aaron did a few years ago....

Stacy's #1 and Jane Park's on Top at the Kia!

Congrats to new world #1 Stacy Lewis and pole position player heading into round 2 of the Kia Classic Jane Park!  They've got a lot of bogeys on their tails (in the flying ace sense, hopefully not the golf sense), but I have no time to enjoy the air show, as I'm still swamped with work heading into spring break.  Be back when I can!  Until then, enjoy Jane Park's (and everyone else's) interview!

And, no, I still haven't recovered from Ai Miyazato's wedge approach on 16 last Sunday that cost her the RR Donnelley.  (In fact, I was suffering that day in London, Ontario, while we tried to enjoy the gala performance at the World Figure Skating Championships, on which more later.  I had a bad stomach bug and fever, but The Full Metal Archivist took the wheel and I napped in the family play area and we all were able to get in and watch some amazing and entertaining skating.  Still feeling the aftereffects of that illness, but at least my weight has dropped to its lowest in 20 years....)

Gambatte, Ai-sama!

Daisuke Takahashi was finally able to beat Patrick Chan (in an exhibition, but who's counting?), so I'm thinking the stars are aligning for Ai Miyazato to get her 1st win of 2012 at the LPGA Lotte Championship today after twice being unable to hold off Ya Ni Tseng already this year.  She didn't play perfect golf yesterday, but, then, neither did anyone chasing her.  Cristie Kerr and Azahara Munoz showed a lot of grit down the stretch to make up for many mistakes throughout the day, but still are 3 behind Ai-sama, while a host of big names (including the aforementioned world #1) pulled within 4.  At one point everyone who's been #1 in the world of women's golf in the past 2 or 3 seasons was 1-2-3-4.  They're all there in the last 2 groups.  It's feeling a lot like 2010, baby!

Daisuke Takahashi, Mao Asada Win Japanese Nationals

His free skate certainly wasn't pretty, but Daisuke Takahashi retained just enough of his 10-point lead from the short program to hold onto the gold medal at Japanese nationals and hold off Takahiko Kozuka and Sendai native Yuzuru Hanyu.



Instead of making the post-ISU Grand Prix statement I was hoping for, Dai-chan brought his D-game and was lucky that neither Kozuka nor Hanyu could put together a perfect performance.  Both of his challengers had great programs going, but couldn't nail a late jump, the 17-year-old Hanyu clearly because of asthma-induced exhaustion at the end of his program:



Clearly the future of Japanese figure skating is in good hands, as another 17-year-old, Kanako Murakami, had a chance to take the gold after a fantastic short program gave her a tiny lead over Mao Asada:



But the bubbly teenager was off in the free skate, falling to 3rd after Akiko Suzuki thanks to a flat-out trip late in her program:



The contrast in moods between Murakami and gold-medal winner Mao Asada couldn't have been more pronounced. Asada, who pulled out of the ISU Grand Prix Finals in Quebec the moment she found out her mother was terminally ill but who couldn't get back to Japan in time to see her before she died, was somber in interviews even after skating her best short program of the year:



But Mao-chan kept her composure the entire competition and skated a great-under-the-circumstances long program:



The changing looks on her face during the awards ceremony say it all:



You can see in the reactions of the crowd and hear in the voices of the announcers how deeply moved everyone was who watched Asada perform in Osaka the last few days.  The Full Metal Archivist and I were holding back tears ourselves.  Gambatte, Mao-chan!

Daisuke Takahashi Breaks 95 in Short Program at Japanese Nationals

Unlike in golf, breaking 95 is a very rare achievement in figure skating when it comes to the score for your short program.  Well, that's what Daisuke Takahashi just did at the Japanese nationals:


He wasn't satisfied with his step sequence, he said in interviews afterward, but he nailed his quad (in a quad-triple combo!) and was awesome on his other jumps, as well.  Ended up earning himself a 96.05, over 10 points ahead of his nearest pursuer (Kozuka) and over 20 points ahead of his next-closest competitor (Hanyu)!

I'm hoping Takahashi skates great in his long program, because I'd love to see him eclipse the hyper-inflated score Patrick Chan beat him with at the ISU Grand Prix, where Chan actually extended his lead on Dai-chan despite bringing his C-game to the free skate.  Everyone watching thought that Dai-chan completed outskated Chan when the chips were down and that the only question was whether Chan's huge lead from the short program would hold up against Dai-chan's onslaught.  Instead....  Well, just watch.  I still can't write about it....

First, Dai-chan's challenge:


Then, Chan's response:


Dai-chan wuz robbed, I tellz yuh!

Now let's hear the commentary in English, first for Takahashi:


Then, for Chan:


What do you think?

CME Group Titleholders Preview, Predictions, Pairings

I've been dealing with the worst cold of my life--and probably the most intense and lingering illness of my adult life, period--the last 13 days, so I've been unable to write about Catriona Matthews's great win in Guadalajara, Asako Fujimoto's defeat of Sakura Yokomine on the JLPGA, or Daisuke Takahashi's sublime performances at the NHK Cup last week.  Even worse, I really don't have much to add to the fine previews of the CME Group Titleholders, which caps off the LPGA's 2011 season this week, from Hound Dog, Tony Jesselli, and Ruthless Mike (not to mention LPGA.com's own preview, pre-tournament interviews [which includes the news that the LPGA Futures Tour will become the Symetra Tour next year], and Ward Clayton's Stats and Stuff).  In fact, I'll simply note how amazing it is that the likes of Cristie Kerr, In-Kyung Kim, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie, Angela Stanford, Amy Yang, Mika Miyazato, and Anna Nordqvist have 1 last chance to get their 1st LPGA win of 2011!  Is there any better mark of Ya Ni Tseng's dominance this year than the fact that she's blocked so many great and very very good golfers from the winner's circle?

Tony points out in an update to his preview that Ji-Yai Shin, Momoko Ueda, Shanshan Feng, So-Yeon Ryu, Grace Park, Inbee Park, and Juli Inkster qualified for but will not be playing in this week's event.  Shin's season is over, Park is hoping she qualified for the final stage of KLPGA Q-School (it's not looking good for her), Ryu is playing on the KLPGA, Ueda, Feng, and Park stayed in Japan after the Mizuno to close out the JLPGA season there, and Inkster's elbow injury precluded her participation.  Looking at the field, Hound Dog's Hot 20, and the results from last year's LPGA Tour Championship at Grand Cypress (where Maria Hjorth held off Amy Yang, In-Kyung Kim, and Na Yeon Choi, among others), here are my final picks in the 2011 PakPicker competition at Seoul Sisters.com:

1. Choi Na Yeon
2. Creamer
3. Kim In-Kyung
4. Yang Amy
5. Miyazato Ai
6. Tseng
7. Lewis
8. Kerr
9. Pettersen
10. Lang
11. Nordqvist
12. Matthew

Alts: Yoo; Pressel; Stanford

Here are my favorite pairings heading off the 1st tee at Grand Cypress starting in just a couple of hours or so!

10:06 am: Na Yeon Choi, Morgan Pressel, Sun Young Yoo
10:50 am: Ya Ni Tseng, Karrie Webb, Michelle Wie
10:39 am: Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome
9:00 am: Mika Miyazato, Meena Lee, Azahara Munoz
9:55 am: Ai Miyazato, Sophie Gustafson, Julieta Granada
7:43 am: In-Kyung Kim, Christina Kim, Sandra Gal
9:44 am: Catriona Matthew, Anna Nordqvist, Brittany Lang
10:17 am: Suzann Pettersen, Maria Hjorth, Song-Hee Kim
10:28 am: Stacy Lewis, Angela Stanford, Katie Futcher
9:22 am: Lexi Thompson, Tiffany Joh, Giulia Sergas
8:27 am: Hee Young Park, Ryann O'Toole, Vicky Hurst
7:10 am: Beatriz Recari, Natalie Gulbis

With Mina Harigae going off at 7:54 am, I'm hoping she gets some early tv time in Golf Channel's coverage, which starts at 1:30.  And I'm hoping I'll be feeling well enough to actually do some golf blogging after I catch up with the coverage on my DVR!

Skate Canada Saturday: Patrick Chan Makes It 2 in a Row

Heading out to the gala practice now, so no time to do anything but congratulate Patrick Chan on his 2nd-straight Skate Canada victory and embed some youtube clips from the leaders:

Here's the winner:



Here's our guy Daisuke, who had a real opportunity to take the title after Chan made some uncharacteristic mistakes, but came out flat himself:



I wonder if he tweaked his skate or his ankle or knee when he landed his next-to-last warm-up jump badly? Looked like he was worried about his landings early in program....

Fernandez also had a chance to take it, but looked like he got conservative:



All in all, not such great skating from the leaders. I don't like it when the results are left in the judges' hands. Too bad nobody stepped up and won this thing convincingly.

Skate Canada Friday: Daisuke Takahashi Skates Near-Perfect Short Program

20-year-old Javier Fernandez of Spain thrilled the crowd at Skate Canada yesterday evening when he landed a quad and a slew of triples early and charmed his way through the rest of his short program, threatening to preempt the long-expected showdown between defending champion Patrick Chan and 2-time silver medallist Daisuke Takahashi.  Chan's program wasn't perfectly executed, but he got within a point or so of Fernandez by nearly landing a quad himself, so the pressure was firmly on Takahashi's shoulders when he took to the ice.  You couldn't tell it, though, by the way he skated--I'd say it was the best early-season short program of his career.

Take a look for yourself!  Here's Fernandez:



And Takahashi:



Let's see how the new Brian Orser protege handles going last in the free skate tonight, right after Chan and Takahashi get to lay down their challenges!

[Update 1 (10/30/11, 9:56 am):  Here's Chan's short program:


Thought he caught a bit of a break from the judges myself.]

Look for Us on TV at Skate Canada Tonight!

We're here in Mississauga and hanging out at our Holiday Inn Express for a little while after watching a 14-year-old from Russia take the lead in the ladies short program at Skate Canada.  The girls want to go swimming, but we're forcing them to watch the pairs competition on TV.  It turns out that not only did we have great seats at the Hershey Centre but we'll also be visible on camera at times while we watch the men's short program tonight.  Just look for us 5 rows above the Canada sign on the boards--you should be able to see onechan and imoto not too far above the little Canadian flag after the last "a"!  And you'll probably see me shushing them!!

Getting Psyched for Skate Canada

The Constructivist family's heading on a field trip to Ontario for Skate Canada in a couple of days. Of course the main attraction for us is Daisuke Takahashi, a true artist of the ice. Check out the various styles he's a master of (or in the process of mastering):



Love the Cowboy Bebop meets spaghetti western vibe of his free skate (even if it was a sloppy performance):




Of course Dai-chan's main competition is going to be Patrick Chan, but Kevin Van Der Perren came in 2nd behind Michael Brezina and ahead of Takahiko Kozuka at Skate America just last week, so with an up-and-comer like Adam Rippon also in the field and Denis Ten coming off a respectable performance at Skate America, as well, just about anything can happen.  Dai-chan had better bring along a real grizzled veteran's gunslinging attitude to Mississauga!

How 'bout That Patrick Chan?

Total domination is too lukewarm a phrase to convey Patrick Chan's obliteration of his competition in the ISU World Figure Skating Championships this week in Moscow. We're a loyal Daisuke Takahashi family here in the Constructivist household, but even we have to admit Dai-chan was completely overshadowed by Chan's world-record setting performance.

2011 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo Postponed

Now the ISU and JSF have announced that the 2011 ISU World Figure Skating Championship scheduled for March 21st to 27th in Tokyo has at least been postponed and may be cancelled (or, as many are speculating, moved). With fears of Japanese volcanos reawakening from all the seismic gymnastics of the past few days added to my "to obsess about" list, this strikes me as a good decision....

Dai-chan, Arigato Gozaimasu!!

Daisuke Takahashi won the ISU's Four Continents figure skating competition today, on the Full Metal Archivist's birthday. That's a better birthday present than anything I can get her. Way to go, Dai-chan!

Here's how he did it, first in the short program:



I'll post his free skate when his fans get around to uploading it onto youtube. [Update (2/20/11, 10:11 am): Here it is:



Not his best ever, but good enough to dominate for the win!]

BTW, the FMA will be super-pleased to hear that teenage sensation Yuzuru Hanyu finished 2nd! Here's his short program:

Figure Skaters Have More Fun

Check out this Japanese game show with Daisuke Takahashi, Mao Asada, Miki Ando, Takahiko Kozuka, and Nobunari Oda in a heated table tennis match against a couple of comedians (who have never won in this annual competition with different athletes)....



Looks like fun!