TSL/This and That 2016-17

[Daniel1998]

Questions of the week:

1. How do you feel about the use of lyrics? Is it equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory menu? Are there simply too many options?

I don't think there's too many options... You certainly wouldn't think so when you still see 10 people skating to the same piece every year. I do find myself hating more programs than I did in the years without lyrics, though.

2. Who is your new skating obsession of the season?

My new Korean babies, Jun Hwan Cha and Eunsoo Lim.

3. Did you prefer Mao Asada or Kaetlyn Osmond?

Trick question? Mao is obviously the better skater, but if you are asking who deserved to win, I agreed with the judges that Kaetlyn had the edge.

4. Did you prefer Patrick Chan or Nathan Chen?

Same thing as above.

5. How many quads is too many?

However many that Nathan is doing.

6. Will Marina Zoueva be successful at overseeing Patrick and Nathan? Will this set her up for a National Team Coordinator role?

I frankly have no idea how Marina is going to help Patrick.

7. What do Hubbell and Donohue need to do in order to improve?

No idea.

8. Is wearing gray a good choice/bad choice?

I think it CAN be a good choice. I liked Pitkeev's blouse-y thing from his short program last season that had the gray gradient.

9. Were the Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje smart to not be seen until they are 100% given the tenuous state of shifting ice dance politics?

No idea.

10. Which 'This and That' guest cohost has been your favorite?

La Scheu. I like her sass- she makes YOU seem tame in comparison, Dave!

 

[apgold]

Questions of the week:

1. How do you feel about the use of lyrics? Is it equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory menu? Are there simply too many options?

It's a mixed bag, sometimes they work to amazing effect, as in the case of the Shibs' "Fix You," Ashley's "Moulin Rouge" or Josh Farris' "Give me Love." Sometimes you've got to wonder what they are thinking or everyone winds up skating to Sam Smith, I Put a Spell on You or Feeling Good.

2. Who is your new skating obsession of the season?

I wouldn't say obessession but I'm certainly watching them - the Junior Ladies - Eunsoo Lim, Gubanova, Team Mie Hamada

3. Did you prefer Mao Asada or Kaetlyn Osmond?

Mao, no contest. Although I think Osmond has her merits, she's just too wildly inconsistent

4. Did you prefer Patrick Chan or Nathan Chen?

I like both of them. Patrick's skating skills are peerless and I like his programs this year. Nathan is pushing the envelope technically but I do worry about him getting injured. I wish he'd pace himself a bit more. It's so early in the season to be trying for 5 quads in a free program.

5. How many quads is too many?

Those that lead to injury and disrupt the program

6. Will Marina Zoueva be successful at overseeing Patrick and Nathan? Will this set her up for a National Team Coordinator role?

Remains to be seen. I'm a fan of hers but we'll know by the end of the season. I'm more curious about what's going on with Nathan and Raf. I like the sharing of knowledge and training among the big coaches (like when Kori sent Jason to Frank Carroll), but I wish they'd be more transparent about what's going on with this.

7. What do Hubbell and Donohue need to do in order to improve?

Keep working on their programs or maybe adjust their SD to use less music cuts?

8. Is wearing gray a good choice/bad choice?

Depends on the skater and program.

9. Were the Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje smart to not be seen until they are 100% given the tenuous state of shifting ice dance politics?

Remains to be seen where they place in the GPs. The Shibs may have a boost from their World Silver, not sure about W/P.

10. Which 'This and That' guest cohost has been your favorite?

Drew Meekins and Emily Tuttle, with their choreo knowledge. La (I want to call her Lala) is amusing. As a curly haired Jew I thought her comments about Jason's hair were funny. I say embrace the curls! (I know Jenny is in law school and focused on that, but I'm hoping she'll be able to appear if she has time.)

 

[Tavi...]

Diplomatic? She drew conclusions based on no facts whatsoever - only the biased reporting of TSL. None of them know when Liza started taking meldonium or for how long; they don't know what effect it had on her performance. if any. There was never any benefit of doubt given to Liza; nobody ever said "allegedy," "possibly," etc. which would have been the correct and professional thing to do (apart from not bringing up at all, since she never broke any rules in taking it). And it's extremely hypocritical for TSL to keep talking about her using a drug that was not banned at the time, now that we know how many US athletes legally dope with much stronger drugs through the use of TUEs. Why isn't that addressed on the show?

Forgive me, but didn't Liza state she took meldonium? The fact that it wasn't banned at the time means she did nothing unlawful, but it doesn't mean it had no effect on her performance. Do you know for a fact that it didn't?

You state that Kori "drew conclusions based on no facts whatsoever - only the biased reporting of TSL." In fact, you don't know that. You don't know what Kori knows, where she got her information, or how she reached the conclusions she did. Although it wasn't mentioned in this edition of This and That, Kori has a degree in skeletal biology, has co-authored scientific articles, originally planned to attend medical school, and keeps up with scientific literature in fields of interest to her. Kori did not state Liza was a bad person for taking meldonium. In fact she repeatedly said that she's an incredible athlete. She stated her opinions and expressed her admiration for what Liza is doing now. I don't see how that's disrespectful.

 

[Princessroja]

1. How do you feel about the use of lyrics? Is it equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory menu? Are there simply too many options?
Not too many options, since everyone uses the same thing! I just wish people would use them more wisely. They have the potential to make or break a program and too often they wind up breaking it, IMO.

2. Who is your new skating obsession of the season?
Holly Harris, Mariah Bell, Seguin/Bilodeau (old obsession, but hey), Alexandrovskaya/Windsor, Pogrebinsky/Benoit, and of course Tessa and Scott.

3. Did you prefer Mao Asada or Kaetlyn Osmond?
Mao, though I'm not a huge fan

4. Did you prefer Patrick Chan or Nathan Chen?
Is neither an option?

5. How many quads is too many?
When it distracts from the program, especially when people focus so much on them it becomes a jumpathon and there might as well not be a program. They're beautiful when done right though (see: Seimei).

6. Will Marina Zoueva be successful at overseeing Patrick and Nathan? Will this set her up for a National Team Coordinator role?
No idea.

7. What do Hubbell and Donohue need to do in order to improve?
Probably a new short. I loved last year's short so I hope they hit it out of the park again.

8. Is wearing gray a good choice/bad choice?
Good, usually. White, almost never.

9. Were the Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje smart to not be seen until they are 100% given the tenuous state of shifting ice dance politics?
Perhaps, but that assumes they'll be 100% at their first outing. That would be more damaging than not getting feedback earlier, IMO.

10. Which 'This and That' guest cohost has been your favorite?
I watch so rarely it doesn't count, but Kori, because Kori's awesome. Except the Liza part; that was rather frustrating and unprofessional.

 

[skylark]

Questions of the week:

1. How do you feel about the use of lyrics? Is it equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory menu? Are there simply too many options?

Many times I love it, other times I resist listening, watching after 2 or 3 repetitions; I get more tired of talking. But I won't mute. Musical interpretation is too important.

2. Who is your new skating obsession of the season?

Smart and Diaz, Bennet Toman, Nathan Chen, Josh Santillan of Pfund/Santillan, he has such presence and charisma. Fun fact: Bennet spells his name like the Bennet family of Pride and Prejudice..

3. Did you prefer Mao Asada or Kaetlyn Osmond?

Kaetlyn, esp. LP. She keeps her head up! She actively engages with the audience and expresses joy! I enjoyed Mao's programs more after you quoted Mao's remarks. It's probably good that she's promoting her maturity and artistry, so that takes the emphasis maybe off the 3A. Her very conservative jumping paid off here, but she can't count on that going forward. I love the whole idea of using different versions of the same music in both programs, and I love that she continues to want to grow in unexplored directions.

4. Did you prefer Patrick Chan or Nathan Chen?

Nathan, by a country mile, especially in the SP; the FS will develop but even there I enjoyed Nathan's artistry.

5. How many quads is too many?

Whatever number prevents the skater from skating the program with flow, continuity, choreography and musical coherence. But all the skaters need time, at this point of season, to either integrate the jumps into the program or integrate the program into the jumping sequences.

6. Will Marina Zoueva be successful at overseeing Patrick and Nathan? Will this set her up for a National Team Coordinator role?

I like her relationship with Nathan as shown in K&C. As for Patrick, I think it's wonderful for him to have a younger skater, in Nathan, that he can befriend, maybe mentor, maybe he will enjoy the prospect of a personal relationship in which he can influence a younger skater. This is only an impression I have, and I don't know whether PC has mentored younger men in singles before.

7. What do Hubbell and Donohue need to do in order to improve?

Artistically, they need to use a few small movements that are not quite so much their brand. But I like both their programs and think they'll improve.

8. Is wearing gray a good choice/bad choice?

It depends on whether it goes with the program. Sale/Pelletier Love Story: great. Ashley Wagner Exogenesis: great, esp. with the color cascading down the dress so it looks like rain, or like diamonds and black pearls.

9. Were the Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje smart to not be seen until they are 100% given the tenuous state of shifting ice dance politics?

Don't care about politics.

10. Which 'This and That' guest cohost has been your favorite?

Kori. She is fair and knowledgeable and gives an honest opinion, mixed with praising whatever she sees that is good in the particular skater she's talking about. Her analysis deepens my understanding of things I sense already. I like Laura too.

 

[skylark]

We will be reading 'Skating on Air' for the book club. I'm going to interview the author, Kelli Lawrence, after Skate America to discuss the history of skating on TV, the differences among networks, and the current coverage of skating and the Olympics on TV.

Will you have real-time discussions when regular people can participate, or another way for us to contribute to the book club discussions?

 

[daphenaxa]

Forgive me, but didn't Liza state she took meldonium? The fact that it wasn't banned at the time means she did nothing unlawful, but it doesn't mean it had no effect on her performance. Do you know for a fact that it didn't?

You state that Kori "drew conclusions based on no facts whatsoever - only the biased reporting of TSL." In fact, you don't know that. You don't know what Kori knows, where she got her information, or how she reached the conclusions she did. Although it wasn't mentioned in this edition of This and That, Kori has a degree in skeletal biology, has co-authored scientific articles, originally planned to attend medical school, and keeps up with scientific literature in fields of interest to her. Kori did not state Liza was a bad person for taking meldonium. In fact she repeatedly said that she's an incredible athlete. She stated her opinions and expressed her admiration for what Liza is doing now. I don't see how that's disrespectful.

actually as far as I know Liza said she has taken meldonium in the past and stopped taking it in the fall last year when some of her friends (!) warned her it was gonna get banned. But she never stated when she took it. Did she take it during 2015 season? before? both? Did she take it consistently, sporadically or exceptionally?
Kori Ade saying, based on what Liza has admitted, that Liza was part of a doping scandale was untrue. And saying her winning unbeatable season was because of meldonium was wild speculation and disrespectful.

 

[[email protected]]

Please, give Liza a break and remember that 5 time Olympic champion from the USA took amfetamine right before her stellar performancesd based on the condition which is even not recognized in many countries.

 

[Tavi...]

actually as far as I know Liza said she has taken meldonium in the past and stopped taking it in the fall last year when some of her friends (!) warned her it was gonna get banned. But she never stated when she took it. Did she take it during 2015 season? before? both? Did she take it consistently, sporadically or exceptionally?
Kori Ade saying, based on what Liza has admitted, that Liza was part of a doping scandale was untrue. And saying her winning unbeatable season was because of meldonium was wild speculation and disrespectful.

You're entitled to your opinion but I disagree.

 

[shyne]

1. How do you feel about the use of lyrics? Is it equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory menu? Are there simply too many options?
It's fine to include them. But I don't like lyrics from start to finish.


2. Who is your new skating obsession of the season?
Marin Honda

3. Did you prefer Mao Asada or Kaetlyn Osmond?
Mao

4. Did you prefer Patrick Chan or Nathan Chen?
Patrick

5. How many quads is too many?
There's no such thing as too many quads, but there is only quads and no program

6. Will Marina Zoueva be successful at overseeing Patrick and Nathan? Will this set her up for a National Team Coordinator role?
I never really liked Marina. From my volunteer experiences in the past, she's so~~self-centered to the point of almost rude. I hope not.

7. What do Hubbell and Donohue need to do in order to improve?
Stay focus and keep up the good work

8. Is wearing gray a good choice/bad choice?
Bad

9. Were the Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje smart to not be seen until they are 100% given the tenuous state of shifting ice dance politics?
Yes

10. Which 'This and That' guest cohost has been your favorite?
None. I want Jenny back

 

[TSLDave]

Will you have real-time discussions when regular people can participate, or another way for us to contribute to the book club discussions?

I'm certainly open to suggestions. I'm going to ask for viewer questions and topics for discussion.

 

[Tolstoj]

Forgive me, but didn't Liza state she took meldonium? The fact that it wasn't banned at the time means she did nothing unlawful, but it doesn't mean it had no effect on her performance. Do you know for a fact that it didn't?

You state that Kori "drew conclusions based on no facts whatsoever - only the biased reporting of TSL." In fact, you don't know that. You don't know what Kori knows, where she got her information, or how she reached the conclusions she did. Although it wasn't mentioned in this edition of This and That, Kori has a degree in skeletal biology, has co-authored scientific articles, originally planned to attend medical school, and keeps up with scientific literature in fields of interest to her. Kori did not state Liza was a bad person for taking meldonium. In fact she repeatedly said that she's an incredible athlete. She stated her opinions and expressed her admiration for what Liza is doing now. I don't see how that's disrespectful.

FACTS:

1) Liza said she occasionally took the meldonium in the past but that doesn't mean she took it consistently in 2014 or 2015 before worlds to land the 3A.

2) Most importantly it remains to be seen what are the advantages (if there are any) of taking this substance in figure skating, even WADA never cleared out this. So when she says "Liza was consistent all season because of meldonium" that is a wrong statement until you prove that is true. That's how it works.

3) If Kori knows something, please let us know! Prove scientifically that Meldonium helps to improve on this or that in figure skating, otherwise she is making accusations based on nothing, and that is sooo inappropriate and disrespectful considering she is a coach, so she is involved in this sport.

Actually i think those kind of accusations are even actionable, in this case nothing will happen since neither Mishin nor Liza knows what TSL is, but for the future i suggest her to keep these statements private.

 

[mcq]

Questions of the week:

1. How do you feel about the use of lyrics? Is it equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory menu? Are there simply too many options?
Some music without lyrics could be awful for a program and some with lyrics could be beautiful. It depends on the nuance of the program, the choreography construction and the skaters' interpretation. Whether they have lyrics or not doesn't matter to me. They both could be awful or amazing.

2. Who is your new skating obsession of the season?
Because it is "new" obsession , I will leave out my old obsession in the list
This season : Marin Honda, Cha Jun Hwan, maybe Gubanova and Rika Kihira too.

3. Did you prefer Mao Asada or Kaetlyn Osmond?
In general? Mao Asada hands down.
If you are talking about Finlandia I have no problem with the result.

4. Did you prefer Patrick Chan or Nathan Chen?
Same as before. In general, Patrick Chan hands down, for now. But once Nathan Chen matures technically and artistically in the future my answer might change
If this is about Finlandia, again, no problem with the result.

5. How many quads is too many?
There is no such thing as too many quads as long as skaters could execute them without sacrificing the transition, choreography and the program as a whole. For the time being, 2 in the SP + 3 in the LP and still performing a beautiful program is clearly doable for some skaters (like Hanyu, Javi, and Shoma too i think). 4-quad LP is a question mark cause those like Boyang and Nathan has yet to perform theirs without giving the impression of it being a jump-program. Hanyu's LP this year seems promising for a 4-quad program because he has nice transition and choreography in-between and during his elements there, however he has yet to perform it clean so I will wait first whether to say 4 is "too much" or not. Basically if they wanna do 8 quad and they can do it then let them be, but if they can't then maybe tone it down a bit.

6. Will Marina Zoueva be successful at overseeing Patrick and Nathan? Will this set her up for a National Team Coordinator role?
Patrick is already a successful skater even before Marina, I think whatever he will achieve after he move to Marina would be mostly because of himself and that he is already a refined veteran skater with so many accomplishments and for me it will have very little to do with Marina's doing.
I don't know about Nathan. Looks like she may advise him to calm down and tone it down a bit on the jumps and work on other things on his skating beside jumps. Who knows, only time will tell.

7. What do Hubbell and Donohue need to do in order to improve?
Their program this year is a bit "eh?" to me but that is just personal taste. It is not like I can tell them to change their programs.

8. Is wearing gray a good choice/bad choice?
Why not

9. Were the Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje smart to not be seen until they are 100% given the tenuous state of shifting ice dance politics?
Maybe. But will showing up late change anything about the possibility that this season is likely going to be a P/C vs V/M and everyone else fighting for bronze? Would the Shibsibs be marked above V/M since they are the world silver medalist? For now, I doubt it. But hey, I like them and they can always prove me wrong.

10. Which 'This and That' guest cohost has been your favorite?
Honestly, I only watched a few of This and That and competition review/preview; and to be a bit blunt, so far I am not really liking it. So I would say I have no opinion on this.

I do enjoy your interviews of coaches, skaters and choreographers though. I wish there will be more of that kind of content in your channel.

Maybe you can try more interviews with judges, technical panels, referees etc too and perhaps collect questions (or complains lol) from some posters here. Since judging, marks, technical panel calls, seem to be a never-ending debate on this forum

 

[TSLDave]

Questions of the week:

1. How do you feel about the use of lyrics? Is it equivalent to the Cheesecake Factory menu? Are there simply too many options?
Some music without lyrics could be awful for a program and some with lyrics could be beautiful. It depends on the nuance of the program, the choreography construction and the skaters' interpretation. Whether they have lyrics or not doesn't matter to me. They both could be awful or amazing.

2. Who is your new skating obsession of the season?
Because it is "new" obsession , I will leave out my old obsession in the list
This season : Marin Honda, Cha Jun Hwan, maybe Gubanova and Rika Kihira too.

3. Did you prefer Mao Asada or Kaetlyn Osmond?
In general? Mao Asada hands down.
If you are talking about Finlandia I have no problem with the result.

4. Did you prefer Patrick Chan or Nathan Chen?
Same as before. In general, Patrick Chan hands down, for now. But once Nathan Chen matures technically and artistically in the future my answer might change
If this is about Finlandia, again, no problem with the result.

5. How many quads is too many?
There is no such thing as too many quads as long as skaters could execute them without sacrificing the transition, choreography and the program as a whole. For the time being, 2 in the SP + 3 in the LP and still performing a beautiful program is clearly doable for some skaters (like Hanyu, Javi, and Shoma too i think). 4-quad LP is a question mark cause those like Boyang and Nathan has yet to perform theirs without giving the impression of it being a jump-program. Hanyu's LP this year seems promising for a 4-quad program because he has nice transition and choreography in-between and during his elements there, however he has yet to perform it clean so I will wait first whether to say 4 is "too much" or not. Basically if they wanna do 8 quad and they can do it then let them be, but if they can't then maybe tone it down a bit.

6. Will Marina Zoueva be successful at overseeing Patrick and Nathan? Will this set her up for a National Team Coordinator role?
Patrick is already a successful skater even before Marina, I think whatever he will achieve after he move to Marina would be mostly because of himself and that he is already a refined veteran skater with so many accomplishments and for me it will have very little to do with Marina's doing.
I don't know about Nathan. Looks like she may advise him to calm down and tone it down a bit on the jumps and work on other things on his skating beside jumps. Who knows, only time will tell.

7. What do Hubbell and Donohue need to do in order to improve?
Their program this year is a bit "eh?" to me but that is just personal taste. It is not like I can tell them to change their programs.

8. Is wearing gray a good choice/bad choice?
Why not

9. Were the Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje smart to not be seen until they are 100% given the tenuous state of shifting ice dance politics?
Maybe. But will showing up late change anything about the possibility that this season is likely going to be a P/C vs V/M and everyone else fighting for bronze? Would the Shibsibs be marked above V/M since they are the world silver medalist? For now, I doubt it. But hey, I like them and they can always prove me wrong.

10. Which 'This and That' guest cohost has been your favorite?
Honestly, I only watched a few of This and That and competition review/preview; and to be a bit blunt, so far I am not really liking it. So I would say I have no opinion on this.

I do enjoy your interviews of coaches, skaters and choreographers though. I wish there will be more of that kind of content in your channel.

Maybe you can try more interviews with judges, technical panels, referees etc too and perhaps collect questions (or complains lol) from some posters here. Since judging, marks, technical panel calls, seem to be a never-ending debate on this forum

Active judges are not allowed to be interviewed about competitions. In the past, we had sessions where technical specialists gave us 'lessons' and fact checked our IJS videos, but they weren't able to appear on camera or be quoted. I do converse with specialists and judges frequently prior to filming. I have always had a group of individuals whom I will consult with.

I am in the process of planning a number of interviews, including a potential interview with a retired judge. I also have an interview to release with Dick Button from the World Championships. It will be a mix of audio/written, as per Dick's wishes.

Personally, I enjoy interviewing more often than critique shows, but the numbers don't lie. The critique/news shows always outperform the other features (which are far more time intensive). Viewers simply don't watch teams or skaters in interviews until they are familiar with them or fans of them. I have toyed going to an audio format for some time for this very issue.

 

[apgold]

I also have an interview to release with Dick Button from the World Championships. It will be a mix of audio/written, as per Dick's wishes.

Very cool, glad you got to interview Uncle Dick! I miss his commentary, so I am looking forward to hearing and reading what he has to say.

 

[Daniel1998]

Active judges are not allowed to be interviewed about competitions. In the past, we had sessions where technical specialists gave us 'lessons' and fact checked our IJS videos, but they weren't able to appear on camera or be quoted. I do converse with specialists and judges frequently prior to filming. I have always had a group of individuals whom I will consult with.

I am in the process of planning a number of interviews, including a potential interview with a retired judge. I also have an interview to release with Dick Button from the World Championships. It will be a mix of audio/written, as per Dick's wishes.

Personally, I enjoy interviewing more often than critique shows, but the numbers don't lie. The critique/news shows always outperform the other features (which are far more time intensive). Viewers simply don't watch teams or skaters in interviews until they are familiar with them or fans of them. I have toyed going to an audio format for some time for this very issue.

Yeah Dave, I don't watch a lot of your interviews partly because I don't know or care about some of the interviewees and partly because they're not competition related. I enjoy your This and Thats because it's nice to get lots of different viewpoints about competitions that just happened, regardless of whether I agree or not. They're also much more extensive, so I know you'll cover my favourite skaters simply because you have to.

By the way, if I could offer some advice, it would be to invest in a slightly more professional looking and sounding intro to your videos (like your This and Thats), as well as better quality camera and sound for your cohosts, although I realize that with so many of them that becomes nearly impossible.

I like TSL; keep bringing us great content! Are you going to Skate America, btw?

 

[Tolstoj]

Active judges are not allowed to be interviewed about competitions. In the past, we had sessions where technical specialists gave us 'lessons' and fact checked our IJS videos, but they weren't able to appear on camera or be quoted. I do converse with specialists and judges frequently prior to filming. I have always had a group of individuals whom I will consult with.

The Boston Globe interviewed Wendy Enzmann before worlds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpqIc5Dg3mQ

 

[mcq]

Active judges are not allowed to be interviewed about competitions. In the past, we had sessions where technical specialists gave us 'lessons' and fact checked our IJS videos, but they weren't able to appear on camera or be quoted. I do converse with specialists and judges frequently prior to filming. I have always had a group of individuals whom I will consult with.

I am in the process of planning a number of interviews, including a potential interview with a retired judge. I also have an interview to release with Dick Button from the World Championships. It will be a mix of audio/written, as per Dick's wishes.

Personally, I enjoy interviewing more often than critique shows, but the numbers don't lie. The critique/news shows always outperform the other features (which are far more time intensive). Viewers simply don't watch teams or skaters in interviews until they are familiar with them or fans of them. I have toyed going to an audio format for some time for this very issue.

I would be interested in the interview with a retired/inactive judge/technical panel to be honest. There seems to be never-ending discussion about things here (like pre-rotation, PCS markings, GOE markings etc) and hearing from people who were actually doing those would be nice. Sometimes there will be member of forum who are (ex?)-judges too who give their insights but having it in videos would be lovely. I can see that active judges would probably be impossible due to several reasons.

I am not saying that you should not do review/critique shows. It is obvious many people are interested and enjoying them. I am just one of those who don't really enjoy it and prefer interviews, merely stating personal preferences here.

 

[Alex D]

Forgive me, but didn't Liza state she took meldonium? The fact that it wasn't banned at the time means she did nothing unlawful, but it doesn't mean it had no effect on her performance. Do you know for a fact that it didn't?

I have to admit that I do not understand why Russian athletes are so often a target here and at other social media platforms. They do nothing different than athletes in other nations, but they are always called out for it. Besides that, Liza is a great athlete and person with a very big heart and people need to stop with that witch hunt.

What Silverfoxes said, is right.

If we talk about Meldonium, then we also need to talk about all the Western drugs, that athletes take. Why are people in this society such hypocrites all the time? It´s not just in sports, it´s at the Syrian war, it´s everywhere. The own wrongs or of friends, idols are ignored, while those of others are always brought up.

Why can´t people just enjoy the performances, I just don´t understand that.

 

[TSLDave]

Yeah Dave, I don't watch a lot of your interviews partly because I don't know or care about some of the interviewees and partly because they're not competition related. I enjoy your This and Thats because it's nice to get lots of different viewpoints about competitions that just happened, regardless of whether I agree or not. They're also much more extensive, so I know you'll cover my favourite skaters simply because you have to.

By the way, if I could offer some advice, it would be to invest in a slightly more professional looking and sounding intro to your videos (like your This and Thats), as well as better quality camera and sound for your cohosts, although I realize that with so many of them that becomes nearly impossible.

I like TSL; keep bringing us great content! Are you going to Skate America, btw?

I will be at Skate America. I'm looking forward to it.