Ce finala va fi!

Facts:

Plushenko e pe primul loc dupa programul scurt, la JO de la Vancouver.

Plushenko e pe primul lor, dar e la foaaarte mica, prea mica, distanta de americanul Lysacek (90.85 - Plushenko, 90.30 - Lysacek) si de japonezul Daisuke Takahashi (cu un scor de 90.25). As cita-o pe prietena mea Ali, intr-un sms trimis la 6 dimineata, dar mi-e teama ca s-a exprimat prea colorat pentru acest blog. Ca sa reformulez, diferenta asta infima dintre Plushenko si patinatorii care-i sufla-n ceafa o sa ne dea noua, mie si lui Ali, un car de emotii in noaptea finalei.

Practic, cu punctajele pe care le au acum, fiecare dintre cei trei poate lua aurul.
La programul scurt, spun astia care se pricep si spun si eu, diferenta a facut-o saritura cvadrupla: dintre cei trei, Plushenko e singurul care a inclus-o in program. Suna excelent ca rusul a facut saritura cu patru rotatii, dar ma enerveaza sa ma gandesc ca fara ea nu era pe primul loc la programul scurt.
Se poate sa fie doar o impresie (as vreau eu sa fie doar o impresie), dar se pare ca arbitrii nu mai sunt asa entuziasmati de componenta artistica a exercitiilor lui Plushenko. Si la Europene, la partea artistica, Plushenko a avut un punctaj mai slab decat, sa zicem, Lambiel (dar Lambiel e o exceptie, ca are un simt al muzicii extraordinar). Acum insa, la artistic, Plushenko a primit 39 de puncte si ceva, iar Takahashi a primit in jur de 41. Si cred ca a mai fost unul cu punctaj mai mare in zona asta, de interpretare.

Drept sa spun, treaba asta ma cam seaca. Serios si obiectiv vorbind, cvadrupla NU este singura chestie care il diferentiaza pe Plushenko de restul patinatorilor. Il urmaresc pe Plushenko din 97, de cand era doar un pusti slab, cu parul mult mai scurt, care facea pirueta Bielman, si l-am si vazut patinand de vreo doua ori in fata ochilor mei. Si mi-e clar ca emana o energie fenomenala, o bucurie teribila de a patina, are o usurinta incredibila in a face sa para super simple elemente foarte complicata. Si-atunci de ce e in situatia asta? De-a fi la foarte-foarte mica distanta de ceilalti?

In anii trecuti, la campionatele mondiale si europene, era clar: nu faceai cvadrupla, nu erai in carti pentru medalii, nu puteai sa emiti pretentii. Si-acum? Sa fii (tu-Takahashi, tu-Lysacek, tu-Chan) la Jocurile Olimpice si sa vrei sa iei aurul fara saritura cu patru rotatii? Si, mai mult, sa nu faci cvadrupla si sa fii la jumatate de punct distanta de Plushenko?

E enervanta toata povestea asta. Dar se explica intr-un fel prin ce s-a intamplat, ce s-a spus in ultima perioada: de cateva saptamani bune, patinatori americani si canadieni, plus o gasca de specialisti de aceeasi origine, fac lobby pentru ideea ca nu e nevoie de cvadrupla sa castigi cea mai tare medalie. In saptamanile trecute, un arbitru american s-a aflat chiar in centrul unui scandal dupa ce a trimis un mail - vezi-Doamne - de "atentionare" catorva alti arbitri din proba masculina, ca sa aiba grija cum arbitreaza, sa nu se lase influentati de "legenda" care il precede pe Plushenko, ca sa fie atenti ca rusul e cam slab la partea de legaturi dintre sarituri, ca o sari el cvadrupla, dar sunt si alte elemente care conteaza si care ar trebui notate ca atare...

Nu mai spun ca Patrick Chan, reprezentantul Canadei, a facut si el ditamai tam-tamul chiar in ultimele zile ca Plushenko are un stil invechit de a patina, ca el, canadianul, are in program pasi si elemente de legatura care trebuie sa fie punctate similar cu o cvadrupla. Aceeasi discutie si in cazul lui Lysacek. Nu reusim sa aterizam cvadrupla, asa ca macanim ca se poate sa castigi si fara. Si mi-e teama ca unii o sa inceapa sa creada chestia asta. In fine. Ca sa nu-l mai aduc in discutie pe Weir (care e un patinator bun, dar cu ifose) care a declarat ca el nu mai e impresionat de "o coama de par blond fluturand prin aer" (ghici cine e coama?) Pana una alta, dupa programul scurt, Weir e pe 6, iar Chan e pe 7. As zice "sac" acum, dar ce ma seaca e ca toate discutiile astea apar, asa, ca de nicaieri, in toiul unor JO care se desfasoara in Canada (care Canada si-l prezenta pana mai ieri, cu mare fast, pe Patrick Chan drept favorit la aur. Fara cvadrupla, evident:). It sucks (fara ca eu sa ma las influentata de idei conspirationiste, pare cel putin ciudat acest lobby pentru "aur fara cvadrupla"...)

Un razboi al nervilor, imi e clar. Asta a fost cumva atmosfera din perioada premergatoare programului scurt, iar Plushenko a ales sa nu comenteze. A intrat intr-un soi de silenzio stampa si a spus ca va spune ce are de spus dupa programul scurt.

Si dupa programul scurt a vorbit. Si a pus el presiune pe adversarii sai. Destula presiune incat sa le tremure picioarele in finala :)

Preiau comentariul scris de Martin Rogers pentru Yahoo! Sports. Textul vorbeste de la sine, asa ca nu-mi mai bat capul sa traduc. E un fel de rezumat al conferintei de presa de dupa programul scurt.

Plushenko playing mind games

By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – If gold medals were handed out for winning mind games, Evgeni Plushenko would already be headed to the Vancouver airport, ready to jump on a flight to Russia with another Olympic title stashed safely in his baggage.

After surging into the lead after the short program in the men’s figure-skating competition, Plushenko proceeded to turn up the heat on American rival Evan Lysacek with a series of barbed comments that will further fuel a heated showdown set for Thursday night.

Plushenko gleefully poked fun at Lysacek’s refusal to incorporate the quad jump – figure skating’s toughest and most exciting maneuver – into his program. Lysacek suffered a stress fracture in his foot attempting the move last year and will not try it in his long program.

“I believe the future of figure skating lies in the quad jumps,” said Plushenko, with the hint of a sneer dancing across his face. “We can discuss a lot whether it is good or not or whether it is good to focus on other things, but by doing so we are going backward in time.”

It’s not as if any Olympic battle between the U.S. and Russia needs any extra electricity, but Plushenko appeared determined to pick open some psychological wounds on Lysacek before the figure-skating version of a Cold War recommences on the ice at the Pacific Coliseum.

Their news conference shaped up as a verbal boxing match, which quickly turned into a one-sided smackdown reminiscent of Ivan Drago vs. Rocky Balboa in “Rocky IV” – without the fighting back.

Lysacek’s night had gone perfectly to that point. Skating in the final group, he produced one of the finest performances of his career, arguably even better than the one that won him gold at the 2009 world championships.

His 90.30 score puts him in second place at the midway point, just behind the indomitable Plushenko’s 90.85 and well in contention to score the first American men’s gold since Brian Boitano in Calgary in 1988.

However, it remains to be seen whether his low-risk policy of ditching the quad, a move he has performed successfully in the past, will come back to haunt him.

“For me, I have spent a lot of time working on every aspect of my routine,” said Lysacek. “If you ask a speedskater if one stroke is more important than another, they wouldn’t say that it was. It is easy to take the simpler moves for granted, but I am not going to do that and I will maximize the points and importance of them.”

By now, though, Plushenko was starting to warm to his theme and began to play to his audience like a musical conductor. The Russian was quick to pour scorn on Lysacek’s explanation, laughing and joking with reporters and scoring an undeniable psychological lift before eventually giggling to himself as he exited stage right.

“Of course we need transition and spins and steps, harder and harder,” he said. “But I don’t know, I was making triples in 1994. I know in speedskating they have timing [world records], it gets better. Biathlon, they have new timing. I think we stopped. Some people are going to say it is wrong. But that’s my point.”

American Johnny Weir will provide another dose of shock value with his outrageous and extravagant performance in the long program, but he sits in sixth place and seems well out of contention.

Lysacek, though, has a real chance, at least statistically speaking. However, he looked like a lost little boy once Plushenko got his claws out. The Los Angeles-based 25-year-old needs a confidence pick-me-up before Thursday.

Often too much is made of mind games and psychology, but Plushenko enjoys such a standing in the sport that his personality has the ability to overwhelm and crush prospective challengers.

Unless Lysacek steels himself like never before and comes up with the display of a lifetime on Thursday night, he could find himself swatted aside like so many hopefuls before him.

Da. Textul reda intr-un mod interesant si veridic - imi inchipui - atmosfera de la conferinta de presa. Dupa razboiul nervilor si atacurile mai mult sau mai putin voalate la care a fost supus el insusi in ultimele zile, mi-l inchipui pe Plushenko la conferinta satisfacut si increzator. Daca nu, chiar arogant. Cu aroganta aia pe care ti-o da constiinta faptului ca esti bun si da!, le-ai aratat tu lor! Pot sa mi-l inchipui si cu un zambet aproape dispretuitor fluturand pe buze, un zambet de atoatestiutor catre un copil pierdut. Dar, sa fim seriosi: cred ca autorul a exagerat putin transformandu-l pe Lysacek intr-o potentiala victima. Daca statea prost cu psihicul (daca era "labil", cum il etichetam eu si Ali pe Urmanov cand gresea o saritura), nu cred ca Lysacek ajungea aici. Asa ca oricata satisfactie imi produce comentariul asta, nu pot sa-mi permit sa-l subapreciez pe american. Si nici Plushenko nu poate. E o diferenta prea mica, sa fii overconfident. Asa ca vineri dimineata va fi o finala stransa. Iar eu si Ali ne vom roade unghiile. Ca Plushenko e ultimul care intra in concurs, al 24-lea. Alta potriveala tampita :)

UPDATE:
Linkul de la mai jos e de la Luiza, drept pentru care foarte multumesc. Se descarca si se asculta :)

http://www.mediafire.com/?3e0djtjdydn

Dupa sau in timpul conferintei de presa de dupa programul scurt, Plushenko asigura o ziarista italiana ca va fi cu siguranta la Torino, la Campionatele Mondiale, ca Torino, Palavela, inseamna foarte mult pentru el, de vreme ce acolo a castigat aurul la olimpiada. Iar eu voi fi la Torino in martie special pentru competitia asta... Ieeeee!