Pic of the Week: Destination L.A.

Just a few days left! This time next week I'll be snug as a bug at the Staples Center. I have so much work to get done before I go...but I'm on top of it!

So this pic of the week features someone who most definitely will not be in the picture in Los Angeles, Jeffrey Buttle. He wowed us with a big win last year in Goteborg last season and then...retired from competitive skating! I still don't know what he was thinking but I guess he got everything out of the sport he needed (but the Olympics are in Canada next year...oh well).

But this is perhaps one of the most open men's competitions in recent years because their is a lot of last season's competitors not in the mix. Lambiel also retired from competitive skating because of injury, Takahashi had knee surgery and is currently recovering, Weir simply failed to make the U.S. Team.

That is not to say there aren't any big names competing. I bill this Worlds as: Technicals vs Artisticals (heh?)! You have the guys that jump...Joubert, Verner, Van der Perren, and Schultheiss against the super artsy guys like Chan, Kozuka, and Abbott.

But there is a third group...I'll call them the Technartists (...), and these are the guys that are fairly artsy that jump fairly well too. Guys like Lysacek, Voronov, Mroz, Oda, and Ponsero.

Of course of course...some of the techs can be artistic, some of the arts can jump...I'm just talking strong points here!

To be sure...I have no idea how all of this will pan out!

One more thing...I need my Canadian peeps to help me out...Fedor Andreev has been added to the list of competitors for Worlds...for Azerbaijan? Anyone know anything about this?