Chen wins Skate America in Vegas
Shcherbakova, 15, wins in senior Grand Prix debut
LAS VEGAS, Oct 20, (AP): When Jason Brown had to withdraw from an event in late September, he couldn’t help but wonder if the lingering effects from an August car accident that left him with a concussion would ever subside.
The 2015 US champion’s concern was legitimate, considering he competes in a sport where he’s constantly spinning on 3/16-of-an-inch thick blade and doing programs that call for him to orient himself.
Saturday he put his worries to rest.
While two-time world champion Nathan Chen, also of the United States, won Skate America for the third straight time, scoring 196.38 in the free skate for a total of 299.09 in the first of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, Brown took the silver medal at 255.09, his first competition since the accident. Russian skater Dmitri Aliev finished with a score of 253.55 to take third.
For Brown, who admitted he is still getting acclimated to being on the ice, fighting “through bits and pieces” of his programs, his long program was even more impressive considering it was without any quad elements, while both Chen and Aliev had them in their routines.
“I think it speaks to the quality that I’ve been working so hard to continue to improve,” said Brown, who has now medaled four times in five Skate America events. “I work on the quad jumps every single day and I put in so much time into them. It’s definitely frustrating at times. They’re getting better and more consistent in practice but bringing them into a competition setting is a different animal.”
Especially since it’s only been roughly a month since he suffered from severe headaches while spinning on the ice.
“I do think there was a period of time of feeling these symptoms and not being able to push past a certain point, you do get a little nervous,” Brown said. “The concussion portion scared me a lot, just because you start thinking: ‘is this the new normal?’”
With an energetic crowd inside Orleans Arena igniting the 24-year-old, he looked every bit like the seven-time medalist on the Grand Prix circuit that he is, during his long program.
Brown, who is of Jewish descent, delivered an emotional performance to “Schindler’s List”, featuring a triple Axel-double toe, another triple Axel as well as five additional exquisite triple jumps and several flawless spins. The program ended with Brown expressively sprawled out, face down, at center ice amidst a raucous ovation.
“I’ve always wanted to skate to ‘Schindler’s List’ and I think for me was trying to find the right time, because I really wanted to do it justice and I really wanted to be old enough with the music, where it wasn’t just like I was skating to a piece that I loved, but I really understood what I was skating to and I was really was mature enough to handle the content and bring it to life,” Brown said. “There is that little bit of significance, that desire to put out a story when I go out and compete in this program. That’s what I was very focused to do today.”
In pairs, China’s Cheng Peng and Yang Jin won the gold at 200.89. Russia’s Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin took second at 196.98, and Americans Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier earned the bronze at 192.70.
“This competition, it’s Skate America and it’s important and it feels like the most important thing we’re ever gonna do in our career because it’s right now and it’s happening in the present,” Denney said. “But this is just a step to the big picture, and our big goal, which is the Olympics.”
In ladies, 15-year-old Russian Anna Shcherbakova dazzled the late session with a long program that included a back-to-back quad lutz-triple toe to second quad lutz, and a costume color change mid-routine. She earned a personal-best 160.16 and the gold medal with an overall score of 227.76.
Bradie Tennell, the 2018 US national champion, took the silver at 216.44, while Russia’s Elizaveta Tuktamysheva came away with the bronze with a final tally of 205.97.
HOUSTON, Oct 20, (RTRS): Without quarrel or debate, Jose Altuve serves as the foundation on which the Houston Astros have built their burgeoning powerhouse. He is the heartbeat of a roster flush with All-Stars, the engine often called on at critical times.
And, more often than not, Altuve has delivered everything the Astros have needed in tense postseason moments. But with his resume already overflowing with memorable performances, Altuve did not hesitate in acknowledging that what happened deep in the night Saturday at Minute Maid Park definitively trumped every thrill that preceded it.
Altuve drilled a walk-off, two-run home run in the ninth inning to cap a heart-stopping 6-4 victory over the New York Yankees, clinching the American League Championship Series in six games.
Altuve followed a two-out walk from George Springer with a 407-foot blast to left-center field off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman (0-1). Altuve turned on a 2-1 slider to send the Astros to their second AL pennant in three seasons. Houston will host the Washington Nationals on Tuesday in Game 1 of the World Series.
BASEBALL
“I have to say No. 1 because we’re going to the World Series,” Altuve said when asked to rank this postseason highlight against his others. “But we’re not only going to the World Series because of me, we’re going to the World Series because of everybody inside that clubhouse.”
The Astros fashioned a first-inning, three-run home run from Yuli Gurriel, a resilient performance from seven relief pitchers on a designated bullpen day, plus some sparkling defense into their third consecutive postseason series win against the Yankees, including the 2015 Wild Card Game.
“Continue to fight and work,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of narrowing the gap between his club and the Astros. “I feel like we are on equal footing with them. Unfortunately, sports can be a little bit cruel for the team that goes home, and such can happen in the series.”
The Astros took a 3-0 lead when Gurriel drilled the first pitch from Yankees right-hander Chad Green into the Crawford Boxes in left field for a two-out homer that plated Altuve and Alex Bregman. Houston was 4-for-40 with runners in scoring position in the ALCS before the blast.
Trailing 3-1 in the third, the Yankees loaded the bases against right-hander Josh James – the second Houston pitcher of the game – with two outs, after Edwin Encarnacion worked a walk.
Right-hander Ryan Pressly entered and needed just one pitch to retire Didi Gregorius and stifle the rally, inducing a weak comebacker and applying the tag on Gregorius to end the threat.
With Aaron Judge on first with one out in the seventh, Encarnacion blooped a soft liner to left that Michael Brantley snagged on the dive. Brantley then sprang to his feet and fired a dart to Gurriel, who completed the inning-ending double play as Judge tried to scurry back to the bag.