This is an important year for figure skaters. It's the Olympic Season. The 2006 Winter Olympics will be held in Torino, Italy next February. A lot of questions will be answered this season. Will Michelle Kwan win her first ever Olympic gold medal? Can anyone beat Evgeny Plushenko? Will Johnny Weir come out...with a quad? Can Brian Joubert's posterior get any hotter? You know, the important questions!

The first Grand Prix Event to start the season is Skate America in Atlantic City, NJ. The List of Competitors includes Sasha Cohen, Michelle Kwan, Timothy Goebel, Brian Joubert, Zhang & Zhang (Pairs), & Belbin & Agosto (Dancing).

The Figure Skating TV Schedule shows all times eastern.
Sunday Oct. 23 1-3 PM Skate America (Ladies Short and Long) ABC
Monday Oct. 24 9-11 PM Skate America (Mens Long and Free Dance) ESPN
Sunday Oct. 30 1-2 PM Skate America (Pairs Long) ABC

Simon

I don't think that's possible! Why can't Joubert take off his shirt as often as his countryman Philippe Candeloro did?

I'm really hoping Kwan can return to the top.

It's going to be a shame if Belbin & Agosto win Worlds but are not eligible for representing the USA in the Olympics since Belbin is Canadian.

Other questions:

Will Sasha finally hold it together for all phases of the competition? Will Gay-boel return to premier status? Will Weiss, who I feel has used up his chances, take up a spot on the Olympic team?

And how much has Kimmie Meissner improved? Will she pull a Lipinski?

Has Timothy Goebel come out yet? He's kinda cute. I love Michelle Kwan, and I do believe that in '98 Tara outskated her, and in '02, I was just amazed at Sarah Hughes's performance, but I really hope this is Michelle's year!!!!

Wow, the leaves on the tree has barely changed and it's figure skating? Thanks for the headsup Simon. I'm hoping Michelle skates in more competition this year. She seemed half-hearted last year and didn't get polished in time for the worlds. Although, she's like Barry Bonds, can't overdo that aging body. This will be her last hurrah, me thinks.

If Timothy Goebel gains a bit more muscle, then he'll be cute. As of now, he's just like Johnny Weir, all twig like. We need a new hot male skater, remember the string of hotties? (Brian, both Boitano and Orser, that Cousins guy from London, butt-boy Elvis, and of course Philippe.)

3 things I've learned from the Philippe era:

1. Must have long hair
2. Must take off shirt
3. Godfather routines working? Do it over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Not Good News Department...Michelle has apparently withdrawn from both Skate America and this weekend's Campbells Classic (where I beleive she debuted Bolero last year) due to a ligament strain in her right hip...

http://www.usfsa.org/

Merloni, you forget that one of Philippe's more memorable routines was the Three Musketeers. I wished he did more of that than the Godfather.

From Skate America, I'm really impressed by that new face in American skating, Alissa Czisny! Wow, she's gorgeous, great lines, and pretty strong jumps and definitely great spins! She was a last-minute replacement, I guess for Sasha Cohen. It was weird watching a competition without Michelle or Sasha, but I enjoyed watching Alissa. I just hope she improves and gets better over the next months. I want to see her on the U.S. team in the Olympics! I thought she should have won Skate America but I guess the boring Russian performer had more difficult jumps.

And on a side note, Bebe Liang (why is she Bebe and then Beatrice sometimes, make up her mind!) has a new coaching team and I think her coach, Ken Congemi is hot. I've noticed him in the last couple of years in the sit and cry and he's a hottie. Is he a "partner" for Carroll?

I agree with you batboy, Alissa Czisny was great. I thought she should have won.
The men's long program ended in a surprise. Japanese hipster Daisuke Takahashi won (218.54).
2. Evan Lysacek US (-24.83).
3. Brian Joubert FR (-28.26).
4. Kevin van der Perrin BL (-33.45),
and Timothy Goebel finished 6th. What's happened to Timmy? I think he started screwing up before the changes to the scoring system. He used to be the Quad King and now he can barely complete triples.
I have to complement ESPN, they did a beautiful job of capturing Brian Joubert's backside while he was walking up the K&C to get his scores. Did anyone else see that? MAGNIFIQUE!
I hope he improves over the course of the season and I can't wait to see Johnny Weir's new program. He usually does "come out" until the French competition. Next up, Skate Canada.

I agree with you batboy, Alissa Czisny was great. I thought she should have won.
The men's long program ended in a surprise. Japanese hipster Daisuke Takahashi won (218.54).
2. Evan Lysacek US (-24.83).
3. Brian Joubert FR (-28.26).
4. Kevin van der Perrin BL (-33.45),
and Timothy Goebel finished 6th. What's happened to Timmy? I think he started screwing up before the changes to the scoring system. He used to be the Quad King and now he can barely complete triples.
I have to complement ESPN, they did a beautiful job of capturing Brian Joubert's backside while he was walking up the K&C to get his scores. Did anyone else see that? MAGNIFIQUE!
I hope he improves over the course of the season and I can't wait to see Johnny Weir's new program. He usually does "come out" until the French competition. Next up, Skate Canada.

[ October 25, 2005, 08:19 AM: Message edited by: Merloni26 ]

.

I thought the men's competition in Skate America was disappointing. Daisuke was a strong competitor, but I didn't like his costume or his choreography, so I think it distracted from his performance. (Also, his scary eyebrows didn't help. LOL.)

I do agree with you Simontexas about Joubert's butt. I know people have talked about it before and I never really saw it past Joubert's arrogance. But this new costume of his really seems to bunch and lift. It really looked perfect.

Lysacek also looked like he lost a bit of weight. He really looks more like a stick. And dancing to Grease? Oh no, we have to watch this all winter! eek!

Goebel is having concentration problems since his year at the Olympics. I think it's a reflection of his conflicted innards. Just come out already and just skate without any restrictions! Then he'll be able to do the jumps again.

And by the by, loved Belbin & Agosto, they really danced with gusto. I also really loved Belbin's new look with the straight hair and streaked highlights. She's gorgeous. I hope they do well in Worlds.

With Goebel, I always thought that he cheated the take off to his quad salchow ... his take off on the jump was on two feet for years ... and now that he seemed to fix his takeoff technique, the jump has gone to hell. I respect him for trying to become more artistic, however, without the jumps ... he'll be at home with the Olympic team is in Torino.

As for Daisuke ... *shrug*, I wasn't feeling the costume, but I really liked the program because he has great flow across the ice and the music ... I think he skated to Rachmaninov ... really captured that. (I couldn't have sounded any more gay in that sentence, I know. *smirk*) The Japanese Nationals are going to be a great fight if Honda can get his jumps back together.

As for Czisny, she skated well but she didn't receive credit for a few of her triple jumps b/c they were cheated, so she didn't receive all of the marks that she was expecting on the jumps. I think that her PCS scores were a bit of a joke because while I like Sokolova, Alissa has much better speed and her stroking is light years less choppy than Elena. Either way, I could see a Sokolova win or a Czisny win.

As for Baboo ... *grin*, he has the prototypical figure skating booty. Tennis players have the legs, gymnasts have the arms ... as do former gymnasts, ... but I digress, and figure skaters definately has das hiney.

Nick

He had ankle injuries.

I found this article on him on TSN's website. Warning: If you read it you'll find out how he placed in the short program at Skate Canada.
Honda on comeback trail

Last night I watched the ladies short program and pairs long program from Skate Canada on TSN. I missed the men's short probably the day before. I was going to post some results but looking at the TV schedule in the first post, the shorts will be on ESPN2 and the longs on ESPN November 6th and 7th.

I will list competitors and try to avoid results then. In pairs there was Petrova and Tikhonov skating to a Fellini soundtrack selection (maybe they were looking for an Italian theme for the Torino Olympics). Savchenko and Szolkowy (not easy names to write - she is Ukranian and I'm not sure she is eligible in the Olympics skating for Germany). Also Canadian pairs Marcoux/ Buntin and Anabelle Langlois found a new partner in Cody Hay. Not a very good field.

Ladies taking part: Carolina Kostner, Yukari Nakano and Fumie Suguri from Japan, Alissa Czisny, and Joannie Rochette skating to some classical version of Like a Prayer. Cynthia Phaneuf was absent, she is recovering from injury.

The men: Savoie and Weir from the USA, Buttle and Sandhu from Canada, Honda from Japan. Found this about Weir:

He doesn't like the new scoring system. Right hand meant to be a beak for a swan routine? Intriguing... Maybe he is trying to emulate Oksana Baiul. White swan, black swan? wink

If that's the case Weir should tune into BRAVO tonite at 9 to catch skating's favorite Drama Queen (aside from Sandhu, of course) on Amazing Celebrity Poker Survivor Showdown (or whatever the heck it's called). Let's just hope she doesn't go into one of her patented crying jags if she's the first one in the Losers Lounge ...

Skate Canada Reminder: All times Eastern.
Sun. Nov. 6 / 1-3 Skate Canada (Short Programs) ESPN2
Mon. Nov. 7 / 9-midnight Skate Canada (Long Programs) ESPN

Oh yes, thank you Zeno for not posting the results on the board. I'm sure I can find them online but I'm waiting to see it on tv.

A few things about about Japanese Nationals and Takeshi Honda:

1. Honda has supposedly stated that this is his final competitive season and I believe it's true;

2. Japan only has one Olympic spot for 2006;

3. The winner of Japanese Nationals does not automatically get that spot. Results from Nationals is factored with overall results from the Grand Prix season.

That is a big reason Daisuke Takeshi's win was so huge. Right now, all I think he has to do is stand up through the rest of the Grand Prix season and the Olympic spot should be his. I thought Skate America was an absolute bore, but his program was clearly the best of the lot. Some of the most powerful and seamless skating from a Japanese male since...well, Takeshi Honda.

I don't think Goebel has completely recovered from the "boot" problems he encountered all of the 2003 - 2004 season. I also think it took a while for him to mentally recover from basically being fired by Frank Carroll. Speaking of Carroll, Ken Congemi is definitely a hottie, but he and Carroll are just business partners, nothing more. Congemi is basically the heir apparent at Health South in El Segundo.

I get the sense that skaters are still adjusting to the new Code of Points and I'm not convinced this will be the cure-all change everyone has been waiting for after the scoring fiasco in Salt Lake. Skaters seem to be concentrating a little too much on accumulating maximum points and less on actual creativity, with the possible exception of Emmanuel Sandhu, and he just needs to skate two clean programs and he can win anything he enters because of that creativity. There's just one problem - I've never seen him perform two clean programs in his life!

Okay, I think I've said enough about figure skating for one post...

:confused:

[ November 07, 2005, 11:36 AM: Message edited by: simontexas ]

Skate Canada results after the short program:
1. Jeffrey Buttle - CAN
2. Johnny Weir - USA
3. Takeshi Honda - JPN
4. Matt Savoie - USA
Sadly, Emanuel Sandhu is living up to reputation and is in 6th place. Buttle & Weir each had an error on a jump and Honda's performance didn't gather enough component points. Monday night the long program is on ESPN. Thanks to them for showing the short programs again. I guess my e-complaints worked last season. And thanks to Zeno again for not listing the results he saw on TSN last week.

Skate Canada results after the long program
1. Emanuel SANDHU - CAN 201.85
2. Jeffrey BUTTLE - CAN 201.19
3. Nobunari ODA - JPN 193.08
4. Takeshi HONDA - JPN 191.80
5. Matthew SAVOIE - USA 181.73
6. Shawn SAWYER - CAN 180.76
7. Johnny WEIR - USA 177.59
Well, Emanuel Sandhu did it again. He lept from 6th place to 1st with a performance that had the complete package (in more ways than one). Did any one else this this? Sadly, Johnny went down in flames. He said he didn't want to quit and leaving this ice like his disasterous nationals performance nearly 3 years ago. Hopefully he can recover from his sprained ankle. I feel for Jefrey Buttle. The tear in his pants and the cut on his upper inner thigh. He fell apart after that but held onto 2nd place.

Does any one know if the Paris Grand Prix is in jeopardy of being postponed due to the national riots?
:confused:

I watched the Men's Figure Skating this weekend (Skate Canada Short Program). The guys were really breathtaking in appearance and performance but all were [also] very, very PRETTY. None of them would be considered macho enough to hang around with the football crowd, yet all were ultimate athletes with incredible physical prowess and poise.

Men Singles Final Standings
1. Emanuel Sandhu, Canada -- 201.85 pts. WOW
2. Jeffrey Buttle, Canada -- 201.19 WOWOW
5. Matthew Savoie, United States -- 181.73 WOWOW
6. Shawn Sawyer, Canada -- 180.76 WOWOW
7. Johnny Weir, United States -- 177.59 WOW
9. Andrei Griazev, Russia -- 153.95 WOW
10. Karel Zelenka, Italy -- 153.25 WOW
11. Jamal Othman, Switzerland -- 131.64 WOW

oh yes, I remember Buttle had a tear in his pant leg. I didn't realised at first it was a cut - I figured it was a wardrobe malfunction. wink

Sometimes pairs skaters scare me. When they spin side by side and seem close to one another (could be camera angle), I fear one of the partner will get cut by the skate of the other.

We did not see the young Oda skate the long program. Only saw the final group of skaters. From what I remember they said he got a standing ovation. The Japanese Olympic spot will be hard fought. They will probably go with one of the two more senior skaters.

Now with a lag... the China event. Sandhu comes from behind to win it. He was fourth after the short. It's better for him if he has his good skate of the week in the long program.

I didn't know when it was on TV so I just caught some moments. Saw Stéphane Lambiel. His costume reminded me of the Frosted Flakes Tiger.

I went to his website and learned this year is long program is to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. I'll try to pay attention next time.

I saw some pics on his website:
Wearing something under that towel?
Perhaps auditioning for Brokeback Mountain?


As usual I have heard the results of an event. This time Trophée Eric Lombard. Don't torture me, I will not say!

I caught something on him on France 2's newscast. Not a great thing, you see him fall in practice, speak to the camera and get sensors to improve his jumps with computer model.
Joubert - France2 (it's there only a few days)

Trophee Eric Bompard 2005
Men - Final Result
Buttle, Jeffrey CAN 215.48
Joubert, Brian FRA 210.41
Chiper, Gheorghe ROM 191.95
Goebel, Timothy USA 182.41
Contesti, Samuel FRA 175.99
Weiss, Michael USA 169.60

Well, I think it was a lackluster final with the winner being the one who made the least mistakes. Weiss and Goebel sucked it up again. It will make for an interesting US Nationals. I would say Johnny Weir has it tied up but I don't know how bad his injury is or if it will have lasting effects. I wish I could see the Canadian Nationals. That looks like it will be worth watching. I'm going to e-mail ESPN and ask them to show it. They show the European Championships, why not Canada? Anyway, so both Emanuel Sandhu and Jeffrey Buttle have qualified for the Grand Prix Finals. Sandhu is smoking with the long program; if he fixes his short by Olympic time I think he would beat Plushenko. I hope someone does, I'm tired of looking at his mullet. Plus, Sandhu is half Italian so he may feel like his has an advantage.
Any thoughts?

Even more so this year than in past Olympics, but it seems that the locker room after the men's event could double as a bath house ... Weir, Goebel, Buttle, Sandhu, Lambiel(with Joubert just lurking around ...)

NBC is heavily promoting the Turino games, of course, and they prominently show Michelle Kwan. Any word yet on whether she's definitely competing in the nationals to win a bid for the Olympics? I would love to see her get one more try, but I fear that her lack of competition this season may make her the underdog against Irina Slutskya. I don't know if Michelle can do a triple-triple in her routine to add up the points under the new system.

Michelle's hip injury is healing. She finds it easier to skate than to walk at this point. She will get a spot on the US Team as long as she shows up. The USFSA will not keep the greatest skater and most decorated in history off of the team. NBC won't let it happen either.

Slutskya is a great champion, but like Sasha Cohen she has trouble putting it together on the biggest stages. Remember it was Maria Butyrskaya who became the first Russian women to win the World Championships in 1999. And her federation tried to run her out of the sport in favor of Slutskya. Irina had choked many times before that at World's and the Olympic Games.

The funniest part about Michelle is that everyone thinks she can't do triple/triple combinations. She's been doing them for years. When she was 14 at Worlds she did eight triples and two were triple combinations. It was her triple combination in the long program at the 2000 World's that won her the title that year. She has focused more on the artistic portion in the past because of the scoring, and because she's so strong at it. She's the most well rounded female skater. Part of her strategy with not competeting could be to keep her opponents off guard until she debuts her programs at Nationals. You never know. She may have a couple of triple combinations up her sleeve to gain points with the new scoring system.

[ December 22, 2005, 08:19 AM: Message edited by: TommyC84 ]

Tommy, I hope you're right because I think Michelle finally winning a gold (don't forget she has a bronze and silver, so she is technically an Olympian) will be such a blast to watch, it'll give me chicken skin just like the night I was watching the Daytime Emmys and Susan Lucci won after 13 years! (OK, sounds silly, but it really was emotionally to see her win after years of rejection.)

Still, I think you're right about Slutskya of the past, but this year she seems really fierce and determined. And you need that hunger for a win. I hope Michelle has just as much of that hunger.

She is an Olympian and an Olympic medalist. There is nothing "technical" about her accomplishments. Perhaps in 1994 in Lillhammer she was "technically" an Olympian. After that, she's been a leader of the American delegation and a full participant.

And hopefully, she will return from Torino an Olympic Champion.

[ December 22, 2005, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: jqueer ]

Reports say Michelle Kwan has pulled out of the U.S. championships but will petition the U.S. figure skating association for a spot in Turino. I can't imagine them denying her a spot given her track record, but this doesn't bode well I feel that she's not getting much practice of her program and fine tuning things before the Olympics. If she even makes it there!

It's official - Kwan is out of the US Nationals. Her doctor seems to feel she'll have no problem being ready for Turin, though.


Kwan withdraws from Nationals; will petition for Olympic spot

batboy...Susan Lucci won after 18 years...(could've been 19, but JIP can correct me)

jqueer She wasn't "technically" an Olympian in Lillehammer, she WAS an Olympian. Being an Olympic Alternate didn't make her any less deserving that that horrific truck driving, broken lace wearing, horrible red fright suit sporting, make up watering down the face cuz she's crying, Jurassic Park music themed and Much Ado About Nohting musical themed prorgram skating, wedding night sex tape making bitch.

If I had the chance Paula Jones had, I woulda decked her

Phew...I'm all worked up now.....back to Michelle...She is beautiful, and I think it was so cute back in '96 in she and Todd E. both won the World Title, and he hugged her...damn I wished, for a moment, that I was a girl....actually, I also wished I was Karen Varitek when it showed her on Queer Eye....think of the hotness she sees everyday! LOL

GO KWAN GO!

Here's the deal. Michelle is not skating for a reason. Injuries may be a smokescreen. I think she's been working on perfecting two programs that will meet the new scoring system. Everyone has written her off and this means that she can sneak in with her technical portion upgraded and could steal the gold. Why not have her rivals underestimate her only to be floored and shaking in their skates when they see her new short program for the first time, and then when she blows them away with her new long program.

Remember this, Michelle was a technical skater in her early days. She was a big fan of Tonya Harding pre pipe incident. She scaled back the triples in her programs in the 90's because the artistic mark use to be scored higher than technical in the old system. Now it's the other way around.

She will be on the team because NBC has built their Olympic coverage around her and the other world champions in their sport.

[ January 06, 2006, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: TommyC84 ]

Anyone going to watch Nationals? I'm off Friday and thinking of making the drive to see the pairs and dance. It would be cool to see mens and ladies, but those tickets are a little too rich for my poor blood...

Dance starts today. The gold should easily go to Belbin and Agosto (and they should be an Olympic medal favorite), and barring catastrophe, Gregory and Petukhov should snag the silver. That leaves bronze up for grabs. Stiegler/Magerovskiy, Matthews/Zavozin, and Galler-Rabinowitz/Mitchell look like the couples that will be battling it out. I like Stiegler/Magerovskiy the most of the bunch, but judges seem to prefer Matthews/Zavozin. Silverstein/O'Meara could be a wild card. They're a new pair, but both have had success with previous partners. That doesn't mean much, but they could be interesting to watch still. Now that Belbin, Zavozin, and Magerovskiy are all citizens, none of the top couples should miss out on the Olympics.

My picks:
GOLD:Belbin/Agosto
SILVER:Gregory/Petukhov
BRONZE:Matthews/Zavozin

More to come when I have more time...

Tommy, I hope you're right about Michelle. I'll be watching nationals all weekend, I bet. My favorite is Alyssa. And the free dance couple Belbin/Agosto. Other than that, I don't really know who else is fun to watch. Maybe there might be some new discoveries.

Ok, back to my thoughts on Nationals. Things really get going the next couple days with pairs starting up tomorrow and men and women on Thursday.

As far as pairs go, only the top 2 will advance to the Olympics, so it could really be anyone's competition. Orscher and Lucash are the reigning champs, and they definitely earned the title last year. However, Inoue and Baldwin have performed better since then. I think they are the pair to beat. They're the only ones that have a real excitement about their skating. Orscher and Lucash will probably grab the silver. The bronze medalists won't get to go for the Olympics, but it should still be a close competition. Hinzmann/Parchem and Evora/Ladwig should face competition from former singles skater Naomi Nari Nam and former pairs champ Tiffany Scott and their partners. Shantel Jordan and Jeremy Barrett are my favorite dark horse, but they can't go to the Olympics even if they finish top 2 (she's too young to compete). But unfortunately, ABC will probably show only the top 2 or 3 pairs, and whoever wins will be lucky to finish top 10 at the Olympics.

My picks:
GOLD: Inoue/Baldwin
SILVER: Orscher/Lucash
BRONZE: Hinzmann/Parchem


The men's competition should be quite interesting... six men have legitimate shots for Olympic spots, and three are former champs. Reigning champ Johnny Weir has struggled this season, finishing 7th (OUCH) at Skate Canada. Injuries have bothered him all year. Timothy Goebel has also been hurt and struggled the past few years. His bronze medal in the 2002 Olympics seem like eons ago, but maybe he can put things together for his final go-round. Michael Weiss is also hoping to recapture his magic from the past for his final go-round, but his best days appear to be behind him as well. Meanwhile, reigning World bronze medalist Evan Lysacek still seems to be getting better. He's had the best season of the men and may add a national title to it. Matt Savoie seems to keep finishing just outside the medals, but if anyone slips, he may make the Olympic team. An Ryan Jahnke is one of the most artistic skaters... hopefully he can recover from a 13th place finish last year and win a medal again. My personal favorite dark horse, Ryan Bradley, is always fun to watch, but will be lucky to finish above 7th with all the competition. Hopefully he makes the TV broadcast at least...

My picks:
GOLD: Evan Lysacek
SILVER: Johnny Weir
BRONZE: Timothy Goebel


The ladies competition will be missing something this year without Michelle Kwan, but I'm pretty certain she'll be on the Olympic team anyways. In addition, past favorites Jenny Kirk (retired) and Angela Nikodinov (still not back on the ice after a car accident that killed her mother and injured her) won't be here. So, that leaves the door wide open for Sasha Cohen to capture her first national title. I'm not a huge fan of hers, but when she's on, she's on. Alissa Czisny had a great season this year and should definitely be a favorite to medal here. Young Kimmie Meissner won the bronze last year but has struggled some this season. However, she and Emily Hughes (Sarah's sister) should battle for a spot on the podium. The dark horse here is Amber Corwin. She's 27 and been competing for a decade, but she always seems to be just off the podium. Maybe this will be the year she breaks through.

My picks:
GOLD: Sasha Cohen
SILVER: Alissa Czisny
BRONZE: Emily Hughes

Well, I'm definitely looking forward to a weekend of good skating.

US National Figure Skating Championships, St. Louis, MO
Well, the short programs are done and the biggest surprise has to be Alissa Czisny's 2 falls. She did the jump combination perfectly and I thought she was on her way to possibly take over the lead from Sasha Cohen. Then tragedy befell her. But considering she is only approximately 4 1/2 points out of second place it is possible to make up ground in the long program. She has the international experience - finishing second at Skate America and first at Skate Canada this season. So she still has a very good chance of making the Olympic team. Among the men, Weiss in second and Lysacek fall were a bit surprising. Well it's surprising that Lysacek would still be in third even without that mandatory deduction. But you have to give credit to Michael Weiss and his program. It was much more sophisticated than Lysacek's although Evan's was more crowd-pleasing. And I can't wait to see Lysacek's long program. It is so much better than the one he was skating earlier this season to the Grease soundtrack. It's almost as if he read our comments and decided to change the program! And Johnny Weir was en pointe as if his troubles this season were nonexistent. A personal high mark for Johnny! The surprise in the pairs has to be Inoue/Baldwin in fourth place. Although the reigning champs are leading, I expect the former champs to come out swinging in the long program. Does anyone know if injuries are involved? But I like that Lucash, he's very fit! And everything's as predicted in the Ice Dance. Does anyone else wonder if the only reason Bush signed the decree to make Tanith Belbin a citizen and able to compete in the Olympics was to piss off the Europeans even more?

US Nationals Senior Men Results
Short Program
1 Johnny Weir 83.28
2 Michael Weiss 77.55
3 Evan Lysacek 74.03
4 Matthew Savoie 72.50
5 Timothy Goebel 70.27
6 Ryan Bradley 69.33
7 Ryan Jahnke 67.39

US Nationals Senior Ladies Results
Short Program
1 Sasha Cohen 65.15
2 Emily Hughes 59.11
3 Beatrisa Liang 58.82
4 Kimberly Meissner 55.03
5 Alissa Czisny 54.51

US Nationals Senior Pairs Results
Short Program
1 Kathryn Orscher / Garrett Lucash 60.65
2 Marcy Hinzmann / Aaron Parchem 57.41
3 Naomi Nari Nam / Themistocles Leftheris 56.63
4 Rena Inoue / John Baldwin 55.48

US Nationals Senior Dance Results
Original Dance
1 Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto 107.80
2 Melissa Gregory / Denis Petukhov 94.13
3 Morgan Matthews / Maxim Zavozin 86.79
4 Jamie Silverstein / Ryan O'Meara 86.70
5 Kimberly Navarro / Brent Bommentre 83.13
6 Tiffany Stiegler / Sergey Magerovskiy 82.56
7 Loren Galler-Rabinowitz / David Mitchell 80.64

Canadian Nationals Update
Tuesday's senior men's qualifying session at the Ottawa Civic Centre
Jeffrey Buttle 154.02
Emanuel Sandhu 140.52
Chris Mabee 126.28
Shawn Sawyer 121.89

Qualifying accounts for 25% of the overall score. The short programs are on today, Friday the 13th. In women's news, Cynthia Phaneuf will miss Nationals & the Olympics due to a right knee injury. Defending champion Joannie Rochette leads after qualifying.

ESPN's coverage of the short programs sucked. It was so badly timed and for the West Coast went into the late hours. Which for me was disappointing because I stayed up late to watch Allisa and was disappointed at her falls. She's one of my new favorites to watch because I see a lot of style and beauty in her skating very much like Michelle. But she seems to be having focusing problems. One bright side to staying up late was watching BeBe Liang's performance that put her in third. It's nice to see someone just on and doing really well. She skated with alot of attack which is always fun. And I've said this before, I love her coach Ken Cogemi, he's cute and it was nice to see him so excited by BeBe's performance.


I thought Sasha was good, you could tell she's still recovering from the flu because there wasn't the same flow in her movements, but I have to give her credit for skating clean. But of course I'm not going to gush like Kurt Browning, geesh, get a room!

And Paul Wylie, can you shave please, it's not enough to show a mustache so just shave it off already. And did I see him draw a penis on the board once???

Back to the competitors, I didn't get to see much of the men's but I'm still not a big fan of Johnny Weir. He has too much attitude and I always can't stand his costumes. I think that all distracts from his performance. I have to say my new favorite is Ryan Bradley, he's a tall drink of water huh? I liked watching him skate.

And it was great seeing the ice dancing. Belbin and Agosto didn't miss a beat. I really like watching them and I'm glad they can make it to the Olympics now. And no, I don't think Bush signed the bill to piss off the Europeans. Belbin has been waiting a long time for her citizenship and others who applied after her became citizens before her because of some weird quirk in the IRS laws. So I don't consider this a special favor. And wasn't it funny that because of her, all these other ice dancing partners became citizens as well! Who knew.

I'm watching coverage on ESPN2 at the moment.

Observations:

The biggest trevesty year in, year out is John Baldwin's hair! He's got thin hair and he should not wear it long. But after seeing his father tonight, it explains everything. Someone please call Nick Arrojo from What Not To Wear to give that boy a decent haircut.

Belbin & Agosto are awesome. And it was nice to see Jaime Silverstein return. And did anyone else find Tiffany's comments about her brother (and former skating partner) Johnnie a little disturbing? It was a little too "Flowers in the Attic" creepy (ala Blake/Paige from The Amazing Race) for me.

I was glad to see Naomi Nari Nam back. And her partner, Themistocles Leftheris, hubba hubba. What a nice bod. I thought thier scores were too low.

I was glad to see that Ryan Bradley is sitting in 6th place. I always thought he was cute.

And I never knew Karen Kwan, Michelle's sister, is married to Peter Oppegard!

Well, Michelle Kwan was named to the Olympic team. No big surprise there. Anyways, more of my thoughts on Nationals to come when I'm more awake.

Johnny Weir was no surprise, but it was nice to see Matt Savoie have a nice skate and make it to the team. I also like how Evan Ivascheck is really looking nice as he gets older. I think if he focus more, he can be a contender.

Poor Michael Weiss. His long unruly hair really was a mess, just like his skate. And does anyone else think he looked sickly?

As for the ladies, congrats to Sasha. She has really learned to use the new scoring system.

And a side note about coverage, it always made me cringe to hear Canadian Kurt Browning say the words, "and we're here selecting the national team." Ugh, could they not get Todd Eldridge or even Rudy Galindo to come back and do the floor commentary instead for this "national" competition. It was so odd. That and Kurt congratulating the skaters during the performance commentary. Save the "good for you" for the locker room Kurt.

Michael Weiss can't even win gold in the ugly hair competition. He comes in second to John Baldwin
Johnny Weir's slick back wins the bronze.

Let me start by saying that, while I've been aware of international skating, I'm far from an avid fan. Getting that out of the way, I thought Michael Weiss was kind of hot, and I dug his hair (the fact that I'm balding and envious of anyone with long locks is irrelevant.) His all-black outfit, along with his black hair and eyebrows, was sexy. To each his own! Now, about Michelle Kwan: why should she be named to the Olympic team without competing at the Nationals? I realize that there is some method to petition in based on one's record, but I think that's so lame. Yes, she's had a great career, but so has Peggy Flemming. Should she be eligible based on career accomplishments? I DOn't think so! Kwan has had her chance at the Olympics. She didn't get the Gold. Big F....ing deal! Injuries happen in sports. It's a drag if you get injured just when you have to compete for a spot on a team, but that's life! If I were the third-place skater at the Nationals (was it the Hughes girl?) and I didn't get a shot at Torino because Kwan got to go because of what she's done in the PAST, I'd be pissed.

Bottom line is that the powers that be figure Kwan has a much better shot at a medal than Hughes. Nothing to do with past performances. If Kwan was all washed up they've drop her like Jeff Gilhooley dropped Nancy Kerrigan.

Not to be picky, but it was Shane Stant who actullay clubbed Kerrigan.

And other countries do the same thing. I think Plushenko & Slutskaya have had medical waivers in the past.

Yeah MDB I knew deep down it wasn't the Ghoulster who did the deed, but it was the only name I could remember!

I believe if Kwan hadn't finished as high at worlds then the US would not have been able to send 3 skaters to the Olympics. I think they go by the results for the previous year's Worlds to determine how many skaters from each country can go. I have my doubts about how well Kwan can do at the Olympics, but it would have been a slap in the face for them not to send her after all she has done for the sport. It would also be so sad for her career to end in injury.

I was able to make it to St. Louis for Friday's events, so I was able to see dance and pairs live. Definitely different from watching them on tv. But anyways, my thoughts on a weekend of skating:


PAIRS

I was definitely bummed to see Inoue & Baldwin were in 4th place after the short program since I think they're the only U.S. pair with a shot at being top 10 at the Olympics. But seeing them in the free skate made it all better. While not a perfect program, they were head and shoulders above the other pairs, and seeing history made with their throw triple axel was exciting. They got the biggest standing ovation of the day Friday, and seeing Baldwin go to the stands to hug his parents after skating was the emotional high point. I feel especially excited to see Baldwin make the Olympic team after nearly 2 decades of trying. He seems like one of the good guys of skating. Plus, it's nice to see the old guy do well. None of the other pairs really compared. Although both programs were flawed, I thought Orscher & Lucash should have taken the silver ahead of Hinzmann & Parchem. Nam & Leftheris were fun to watch, but their level of skating isn't quite up to the others yet. If they stick together, they'll be winning national titles some day. And further down the rankings, it was nice to see Jordan & Barrett in person too. Someday, they'll be contenders as well.


DANCE

There really wasn't much of a competition here. Belbin & Agosto were a lock for the gold from the onset. Maybe it was because I was way up in the cheap seats, but this year's program didn't grab me like they had in the past. But, they've still got to be an Olympic medal favorite. Gregory & Petukhov did pretty much as expected too, despite a few errors. The real battle was for bronze, and Matthews & Zavozin lost the medal more than Silverstein & O'Meara won it. M&Z's performances were weak, and I know they're capable of better. But Jamie Silverstein is a pretty expressive skater, so maybe with a little more time under their belt, they'll impress me more. Navarro & Bommentre were a pleasant surprise, and if they stick together, they might be a top team in a few years as well. I have to admit, I took a little bit of delight in Galler-Rabinowitz & Mitchell finishing 9th after hearing his mom sent out a letter asking senators to vote against Belbin's citizenship to help his chances to make the Olympics. As it turns out, even if Belbin couldn't go, they'd be nowhere near Torino.


MEN

I guess Johnny Weir deserved to win, and I can see why he gets such high marks. His still is very European and his programs seem on par with the best in the world. That said, I'm really not all that into his skating. As for Evan Lysacek, the jury is still out in my mind. He's definitely a strong skater, and he's a bit more powerful than elegant like Weir. I do enjoy Matt Savoie's skating a lot though. He may not have quads, but his programs are always very polished and leave you with a great artistic impression. That said, I was surprised the judges placed him ahead of Michael Weiss. Weiss' program wasn't bad, and it seemed to me to be more technically solid than Savoie's... just glad to see the kid from Peoria win out. Timothy Goebel meanwhile was just unimpressive all around. Hard to believe this guy used to be the quad king. Ryan Bradley, meanwhile, has to be my favorite skater in the competition. He definitely wowed me in the short. He may not have all the jumps everyone else does, but he sure knows how to work a crowd. Oh yeah, he's cute too. When I heard he was going to be skating to "Saturday Night Fever" in the free skate, I was expecting great things. Well, to be honest, I was a bit let down. The performance was really lackluster and his usual charisma was really not there. I just hope he sticks around til 2010... I love watching him. But speaking of love, who at ABC has a thing for Rohene Ward? Sure, he's got an interesting background and all, but it seems year after year they show him, and all he does is melt down. If only they showed less of him hugging his mom, maybe we could have seen Ryan Jahnke's program. Grrr... pissed we didn't get to see him, he's another fun skater to watch.


LADIES

This is usually the most exciting part of the competition, but without Michelle Kwan, it was really a bit of a letdown. Sasha Cohen easily won as expected. It was a very solid performance... not perfect, I know she has better in her... but still puts her in the Olympic medal hunt. I was pulling for Emily Hughes or Beatrisa Liang to get the silver, but Kimmie Meissner definitely earned it. Her skating is still missing the mature style of Sasha or Michelle (and I find it annoying that her name is Kimmie), but she has a future ahead of her. So does Hughes and Katy Taylor... the U.S. will be in good shape in 2010. Liang was awesome in the short, but hopefully she puts her free skate meltdown behind her. Alissa Czisny... well, it looks like the pressure got to her. And Amber Corwin can do better also... her performances let me down too. Stephanie Rosenthal, though, was awesome. Her "Rockit" program was great, and it looked like she had a blast on the ice. It's great to see someone doing something different out there... getting away from the "ice princess" style every young female skater tries for.

As far as Kwan making the team, she absolutely positively deserves to. Aside from possibly Cohen, she is the best American female skater right now, and perhaps the best of all time. There is definitely precedent for putting a skater with an injury on the team. Plus, she's said if she's not better, she won't skate. Sounds reasonable to me. And I think it's kind of fitting given her circumstances in 1994. She finished second at Nationals that year, but was kept off the team not only by Nancy Kerrigan, but by Tonya Harding's legal threats. Michelle never complained that she was wronged, she's been a great ambassador for U.S. figure skating in the years since, and her record is outstanding.


A few closing thoughts... I thought the ABC/ESPN coverage was great this year (aside from the Rohene Ward love fest). I feel like they actually showed more skating and less recapping/repetition. It was really nice to see more than just the top 5 or 6. And while they seemed to have way too many commentators (anyone else remember the days when it was just Jim McKay and Dick Button), everyone (with the exception of Paul Wylie) seemed to bring something to the table. Even Katarina Witt's accent didn't take away from things.

Also, I came across this online last night and think it kinda slipped by unnoticed... Randy Gardner came out. Read about it here.