Oda wins at NHK Trophy

This was the most biased event that I have ever witnessed. The judges should be ashamed of themselves.

Yeah. Looked biased to me too.

This sealed the deal for me as far as ice-skating goes...as an Aussie, all the talk of bribing judges etc was something I never really gave a toss about...but on a dozey Sunday arvo with nothing else on the box, as happens I watched THE MOST RIGGED OF SPORTS EVENTS I HAVE EVER WATCHED before.WWF, I am now a true beliver, compared to this! Oda skated (as Roy and HG would best put it) like a dog's breakfast with tripe...and yet still won the GRAND PRIX? Johnny Weird USA was perfect and clearly the victor. Oda was as shocked by the results as anyone and, somewhat hesitant to take the prize...."How many times must I land on my spangled butt to lose this thing" was his look.,, The judges must have taken a load of fine omiyage home to ensure the homeground victory of the ever mediocre Mao and the sloppy, yet thankfully, less teary this year, Oda. What a farce!

who watches Ice skating and what do they get out of it?

Ladies, it's all about the points (from 2 skates). If Weir didn't perform two of his planned jumps, downgrading them, then he didn't earn the points and he left the door open for Oda to win. And as much as I disagree with it, falling down costs a skater very little if they complete the jump before they fall. It is not surprising that Oda won.

As for Mao, calling her mediocre is just malicious. She has a much more intricate and interesting program than any of the other skaters and is probably the only woman who can challenge the Korean. She's Japan's little treasure, shanabelle (and how does one pick such a queer name like shanabelle?).

proffesser you are absolutely right, this was a scam of the highest degree. Oda landed on his tush, fell out of jumps, and at one point looked totally disoriented flailing his arms about and skipping around till he eventually cuaght up to the music. And for Mao ? What was with the wobbly knees at the end of the performance ? I mean she hit almost everything during the routine and then right at the end a simple turn became an adventure in standing ! Needless to say I'm off japanese sports for the rest of this year... gimme the NFL !

Touche bebert!

"...scam of the highest degree"

I agree. Yukari Nakano should have won. She landed all her jumps and was superior in every aspect to Mao. But like always, the judges deem her not as "cute" as Mao.