Pic of the Week

This is a personal indulgence!

I must tell you, every time Kurt Browning skates to Brick House I just get up out of my seat and do the choreography with him! I just think the world of Kurt and his skating.

Check out the lyrics to a Kurt classic right here!

My new task!

So I must tell you all I'm very nervous! I've heard that French Canadians can be...um...cold to foreigners, especially those who don't speak French (if there are any French Canadians reading this please inform me otherwise!). So me and my friend Elaine who will be accompanying me to Quebec City for Skate Canada have made it our mission to, at the very least, get the basics!

We have armed ourselves with the Official Fodor's Guide for Quebec City (and can I tell you this thing has me so excited to get there!) and have begun our exploration of the French language!

An important phrase for us will be "Quelle heure est-il?" as Quebec City will be going on Daylight Savings mid competition...that is, we'll need to know "What time is it?"

Super excited and I seriously can't wait to go...maybe I'll meet Brian Joubert and can practice my French out on him!

Pic of the Week

Michelle was in 4th place after a lack-luster short program, she fell on her Double Axle...definitely not a Michelle Kwan we were used to seeing.

The crowd in Helsinki for the 1999 World Figure Skating Championships were in for a treat however. Maria Butyrskaya had a golden opportunity to take down Michelle Kwan. Maria's task: just finish at least second to Kwan in the free skate and win a Gold Medal.

Kwan's free skate was improved from her short program, but not without flaw. She stepped out of her first jump combination and popped her double axle. But she still landed 5 triples and gave a dramatic performance.

But it was Maria Butyrskaya that stole the show. With a fiery determination she powered through seven triple jumps. She was completely dedicated to the music and the choreography the whole performance and it wasn't until she landed her very last jump that she let her satisfaction show through in the form of the biggest smile ever on a Russian and a fist pump at the conclusion of the music, Otonal by Raul di Blasio.

Maria didn't achieve her objective of finishing second behind Kwan and winning a Gold, she beat Michelle flat out and won the free skate along with the Gold! The Finnish crowd (Finland, very near to Russia...) went crazy for her and she enjoyed the greatest moment of her career.

Can someone explain to me?

In the Grand Prix Series...the host nation usually gets to send three skaters. For example, at this years Skate America there will be three American women in the ladies field. That's standard, for all disciplines. Rarely, but on occasion, a country will get to send three skaters to another event they are not hosting. For example, there will also be three American women at Skate Canada as well.

But I have never seen a situation where a nation gets to send three skater in a discipline to three events! There will be three American women at Cup of China as well! The first three events in the series there will be three American women. How does that happen? Not that I'm complaining!

She keeps on impressing me!

I have to tell you, know matter what Michelle Kwan does, it impresses me! It can be nailing a program and bringing a crowd to its feet. It can be not skating great and taking it in stride as a learning opportunity and not a failure. It can be giving up the biggest moment of your life because it's the right thing to do. She is simply fantastic.

It's nice to see in the video below that things are going well for Michelle and that she is happy with where she is in life, her schooling, and her career. Michelle's future is indeed very bright!

Pic of the Week

This is a classic...classic scandal that is!

It was close...desperately close! The Russians Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze had skated well (I know, I know! Amongst hardcore skating fans that is up to interpretation!). The Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier take the ice for the most important free skate of their lives. The music is "Love Story" and the program begins.

The program is over and it's a hit! The crowd goes wild. Canadians flags appear to have simply sprung out of nowhere. Half the women in the arena are in tears, what a moment!

The marks are close, desperately close...and...and...and...silver. Olympic Silver. The fan outrage is immediate...boos and cat-calls last for what seems like an eternity. How could this happen? This isn't the way the story is supposed to end.

After the event the fan outrage intensifies. There are calls for the Russians to give up their Gold Medal, others saying "re-skate!" A judge is found to have tampered with the marks to please her federation...what sensation! The magazines go nuts...Jamie and David are everywhere.

In the end the ISU and IOC get together and do the only thing they can do...issue a second Gold Medal to Jamie and David (I do believe they had to give the Silver back though!). This event marked the beginning of a new era in Figure Skating...this event was the birth place of the new scoring system!

And as Jamie and David prepare to welcome into the world their first child, we can say without doubt that they provided one of the most memorable skating events of all times at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

ISU Grand Prix Rant...

I often complain about the ridiculously tight schedule skaters have in December and January...but I'm going to suggest something that contradicts that...but I have a plan!

I think the ISU should go with the same Grand Prix formula for senior skaters as they do for junior skaters, that is, 8 Grand Prix events with the top eight making it to the Grand Prix Final.

For the added events, I think they should be roaming locations. We have our standard events in the U.S., Canada, France, Russia, China, and Japan. We should have two more events that travel...for example, a Grand Prix event could be held in South Korea and Australia one year. Maybe an event in Mexico and Italy another year. This does two things...gives countries that have little exposure to skating events a chance to shine and provides for an opportunity for skaters who never get to compete in their home countries the chance to do so. It's nice to see the Grand Prix Final this year in Torino, Italy. Italy doesn't normally hold a Grand Prix event and is a first step in this direction for ISU competition!

It doesn't add any more pressure to the skaters schedule to add the events...you keep the formula the same: skaters may skate in up to three events, earning points in two. The added events just provide for more skaters to make the final. You can have the top 8 make the final and have two groups of skaters, 4 in each skating group. Short program draw is determined by qualifying points to the final. Free skate draw is based on short program point totals...it couldn't be simpler!

You give fans the opportunity to see more of their favorite skaters in the Final and you make that event much more exciting with greater talent competing. You also would have skaters really trying to make the event because it would become a small version of the World Championships with all the best skaters there competing.

Where do you fit these events in? Simply move the start date of the Senior Grand Prix up two weeks (the junior skaters begin their season almost two months before the senior skaters...it won't kill them) and stick them in the line-up as convenient. Again...skaters don't have to commit to more events than they already are so it doesn't effect them much unless they are competing in the earlier events, they'd have to be ready to compete a couple of weeks earlier than normal, but the pros of this far outweigh the cons.

I urge ISU officials to really give this some thought...it's a possible way to spark some more interest in Figure Skating internationally.

Pic of the Week

Of my all time favorite moments in figure skating...this one ranks in the top 3! At the 1996 U.S. National Championships evertone criticized Todd for sacrificing his training time by starring in "Nutcraker on Ice." His lack of training showed as he only mustered a silver medal behind Rudy Galindo's once in a lifetime performance.

But Todd stayed focused, he trained hard, and when he got to the World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada he beat a young, surging Ilia Kulik, solid Rudy Galindo (it was his year as well!), Elvis Stojko (even with his Quad), and Alexei Urmanov (not his best effort) to win his first (and sadly, only) World title!

The best part was the medal ceremony...after getting his Gold Medal he skated over to his parents in the audience and put the medal around his mother's neck. Very, very touching.