Pic of the Week

Wamp wamp. Oh Evan Bates...

Oh boo! The last thing a skater wants to hear is that they have an Achilles Tendon injury. That's not an easy thing to come back from.

But don't loose hope...the same thing happened to Hongbo Zhao...he went on with partner Xue Shen to win an Olympic Bronze Medal, another World Title, and of course an Olympic Gold Medal.

Six months the doctor says he has to be off the ice. Do the math...if you start counting from today, he makes his return to the ice March 30th...three days after the conclusion of the World Championships in Tokyo. Bummer.

So basically it's the end of the season for Evan and Emily, and it never even started. "It’s very disappointing," Bates told the Detroit Free Press. "We had just made this coaching change, and we were getting a lot of positive feedback and looking forward to this season. Nothing I can do now except sit here."

And just sitting in Ice Dance is never a good thing when you have lots of teams already nipping at your heels including Maia and Alex Shibutani, Chock and Zuerlein, and Madison and Keiffer Hubbell.

At least Evan is being positive; "We’ll be stronger for it."

Oh better days...

UPDATE: Evan updated his Twitter followers this morning: "I had surgery to repair my achilles yesterday and docs said it was extremely successful. Thanks to all who have messaged me their support!"

JGP Japan/Nebelhorn

Oddly, Blogger wouldn't let me update or post over the past several days so my blog went quiet there for a bit. But Blogger has addressed the issue and blogging can commence.

I won't do a full rundown of the medalists from Junior Grand Prix Japan but the winners were:

Men - Andrei Rogozine (CAN), Dance - Stepanova and Bukin (RUS), Women - Risa Shoji (JPN)

The U.S. picked up two silvers with Kiri Baga and Max Aaron hitting the podium in the men and women's division. You can see all the results here.

Nebelhorn Trophy took place at the same time as JGP Japan and gave us a look at the deepest senior field to compete so far this season. Some familiar faces as well as some fresh face comprised the podiums.

In Dance, veterans Pechalat and Bourzat of France took the title after a rough start in the short dance. Italians Cappellini and Lanotte finished second while Russians Rizanova and Tkachenko took the bronze. Americans Maia and Alex Shibutani, while only fifth overall, were ranked second in the free dance so a solid accomplishment for them.

Amongst the men, Japanese upstart Tatsuki Machida took the title (and he did so skating to one of my music faves, Legends of the Fall). Russia's Konstantin Menshov took the silver and Peter Liebers managed the bronze at home in Germany. American Armin Mahbanoozadeh, while only fourth, had the third best rated free skate and finished higher than both Kevin van der Perren (5th) and Michal Brezina (7th), both of whom were heavily favored in this competition.

For the women, Finland's Kiira Korpi skated to an easy victory (as expected). Not expected was the silver snatched up by Sweden's Viktoria Helgesson or the bronze nabbed by American Melissa Bulanhagui. Outside of Korpi, there was great volatility in the standings between the short and free skates with lots of movement in the standings. The point spread between 3rd and 5th was very close with Viktoria sister Joshi placing 4th and Brit Jenna McCorkell finishing 5th.

In Pairs, top honors went to, also as expected, Russians Bazarova and Larionov. Italians Berton and Hotarek placed second as many predicted. Coming third was the brand (brand!) new Canadian team of Duhamel and Radford. Just this past season Megan Duhamel ended her three year partnership with Craig Buntin after failing to make the 2010 Olympic Team. American youngsters Donlan and Speroff finished an impressive fourth.

Nebelhorn results can be seen here. Below are some notable performances from the event courtesy YouTube user pianomaya65:

The Iconic American Skating Moves

A co-worker of mine was watching a skating performance over my shoulder on YouTube on this slow Wednesday afternoon and she commented on how awesome a particular element was and I exclaimed, "Oh that's an iconic American skating move." I then began to prattle on about other iconic moves...at which point I'm sure I lost her as she started talking about work again but I figured I'd share my thoughts with all of you!

Jenni Meno and Todd Sand always put an amazing lift near the end of their programs that was always mesmerizing. It was a gorgeous stag lift that had this impressive drop-out at the end. The crowd always gasped a little when they did it but Todd never ever dropped her (whew!). Lots of teams after them have performed the element but it never seems to look as great as when Jenni and Todd did it. At one point the ISU considered making the move illegal...but thankfully that never happened.

Dick Button is an icon in the sport of figure skating, American or otherwise, but his invention of the flying camel spin or "Button Camel" is certainly one of the American iconic figure skating moves. Dick Button was quite the skating pioneer, being the first to land a a double axel and a triple jump (a loop) in competition. Quite the over-achiever!

Brian Boitano's "Tano" lutz is a classic. The lutz is already super-hard because it takes off and outside edge but Brian Boitano upped the ante when he decided to throw one arm above his head as he performed the jump. I think what made this move so impressive was the crispness and the tightness of his arm during the jump. Like any iconic move, lots of skaters have copied it, but often their arm looks floppy above their head. Brian's arm was always very strong above his head making it look so much cleaner. One of the more interesting reinventions of the iconic move comes from Adam Rippon who performs a lutz with both hands over his head. We'll see if his jump becomes as famous. Brian is also made the death drop iconic by making it bigger than anyone had ever before.

A spread eagle is such a basic move but no other American skater gave it such effect as Paul Wylie. While many skaters perform a spread eagle, Paul makes the move iconic. Paul has always been known as an artistic skater but he takes it to a whole different level when he enters into a spread eagle. It isn't even about how long or short the spiral it is, it's simply the power he performs the move with. He just explodes into it and hits this amazing position. Speed I think is the factor that makes the move work. Paul Wylie was always a skater with tremendous speed. At the 1992 Olympics during the free skate he hit his spread eagle with such amazing power it was a joy to watch. Brian Boitano also had an iconic spread eagle but he can't have all the credit. ;-)

Not really a move but an iconic part of her performance any is of course the Dorothy Hamill "Wedge" haircut. That hair is an icon all by itself. Every little girl wanted to have the wedge just like Dorothy. She became a fashion icon with that hair and a media hit following the 1976 Olympics. To her credit she does have an actual iconic move, the "Hamill Camel" where she moved immediately from a camel spin into a sit spin. Dorothy has managed to keep her hair current over the years but it always seems to somehow maintain some of that "wedginess" that was so popular.

My favorite iconic move of them all is the Michelle Kwan forward spiral. It isn't that Michelle had the best stretch of any skater in her spiral...she didn't. It was more just how it moved across the ice, had the great change of edge, and simply embraced you with it's openness and honesty (yes...a skating move can be 'honest'). I think the first time she did it with impact was her 1998 Olympic Season short program to Rachmaninoff (which I believe remains one of the greatest choreographed short programs...ever!). At the 1998 U.S. Nationals, she was at the end of a ridiculously amazing performance and she flew into that spiral and the crowd went nuts. That's the moment it became iconic. It made several more appearances in subsequent programs of hers and was a crowd hit every time.

Have I missed any?

Interesting...

I have trouble finding words. Enjoy a Tango performed by Tatiana Tarasova...

Who's It Gonna Be?

Kim Yu-Na is expected to name her new coach soon.

We know that it's a guy...

We know that he's L.A. based...

We think it's whittled down to two possible choices...

So let speculation begin. It all kind of reaks of Frank Carroll doesn't it? But he has a full plate. Evan, while he is having his fun on the side, may return to competition (re-cue State of the Skate's eye roll). There's Mirai Nagasu, Carolina Kostner, and who knows how many other lesser known skaters.

Ken Congemi? Gary Visconti? Rafael Arutunian? John Nicks? Todd Sand?

You have to think it's high profile. You also have to think if this much effort is being put into the decision she is at least considering some type of competitive move forward.

Thoughts?

Nebelhorn Trophy

Nebelhorn Trophy is upon us and it is the first look we'll get this season of some of the top talent in figure skating. Many skaters use this competition to as a pre-season warm-up for major competition which is just around the corner. Some of the top names kicking off their season at Nebelhorn include: Bazarova and Larionov, Cappellini and Lanotte, Michal Brezina, Kiira Korpi, Kanako Murakami, Pechalat and Bourzat, and Kevin van der Perren.

Predictions...I got myself into trouble last season. My prediction rate for the season was terrible but poor alas I feel the need to keep plugging away. So who do I think will take top honors in Germany?

Dance:
GOLD - Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat (France)
SILVER - Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte (Italy)
BRONZE - Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani (USA) (An ambitious prediction but I think they have it in them!)

Men:
GOLD - Michal Brezina (Czech Republic)
SILVER - Kevin van der Perren (Belgium)
BRONZE - Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA) (Ambitious again...go Armin!!!)

Pairs:
GOLD - Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov (Russia)
SILVER - Nicole Della Monica and Yannick Kocon (Italy)
BRONZE - Stefaniea Berton and Ondrej Hotarek (Italy)

Women:
GOLD - Kiira Korpi (Finland)
SILVER - Diane Szmiett (Canada)
BRONZE - Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain)

One of these days I'm going to go 12 for 12!

UPDATE: Yikes, Team Japan is down to one (Tatsuki Machida) so I've updated my ladies preditctions.

Junior Grand Prix Austria Rewind

The Junior Grand Prix kept moving forward this past weekend. Pairs made it's debut in Austria (Pairs is only competed at 4 of the events). Mixed results for Team USA, we managed two medals, a Gold in Ice Dance and a Silver amongst the Women.

Women:
Gold: Adelina Sotnikova RUS
Silver: Christina Gao USA
Bronze: Zijun Li CHN

Pairs:
Gold: Stolbova and Klimov RUS
Silver: Sui and Han CHN
Bronze: Yu and Jin CHN

Men:
Gold: Han Yan CHN
Silver: Artem Grigoriev RUS
Bronze: Zhan Bush RUS

Dance:
Gold: Lichtman and Copely USA
Silver: Sinitsina and Zhiganshin RUS
Bronze: Papadakis and Cizeron FRA

Full Results can be seen here. Next stop on the Junior Grand Prix is Japan.

Social Platform

I don't like to use my blog as a platform to address social issues in the United States but this one is far too important for me to pass up. Next Tuesday, the United States Senate has the opportunity to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell;" a law which prevents gays from serving openly in the U.S. Military. If the Senate approves this measure, the United States will take a long over due civil rights step forward. If you care about this issue and support the measure, please take the time to call your U.S. Senators at (202)224-3121. Also, visit www.wegiveadamn.org

Nicole Bobek in Her Own Words

Wow...just wow.

 

JGP Romania Wrap-Up

Sorry for my blogging tardiness this week but work reared its ugly head this week.

But this past week another Junior Grand Prix Event finished in Romania. The next Junior Grand Prix event in Austria is already underway. My fellow bloggers have done a great job of blogging and tweeting about the event so I'll just recap the results if you haven't seen them. The U.S. had a good showing, especially solid amongst the men where we went 1-2.

Women:
Gold: Elizaveta Tuktamisheva RUS
Silver: Kristiene Gong USA
Bronze: Shion Kokubun JPN

Dance:
Gold: Monko and Khaliavin RUS
Silver: Galyeta and Shumski UKR
Bronze: Bonacorsi and Mager USA

Men:
Gold: Keegan Messing USA
Silver: Joshua Farris USA
Bronze: Keiji Tanaka JPN

If you don't mind the shakiness of the videos, YouTube user divan0 has uploaded lots of the performances from the event. Full results can be seen here.

Pic of the Week

Ah Bliss!

How could Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao celebrate a marriage and an Olympic Gold Medal, and say thank you to your fans all at once? Put on an ice show and invite some of the world's best to join you!

Shen and Zhao even went so far as to recreate a wedding ceremony on the ice...gown and all! Easily the cutest couple on ice in a long time (Sorry Jenni and Todd).

The "wedding" Artistry on Ice also included Stephane Lambiel, Mao Asada, Evgeny Plushenko, Alexei Yagudin, Qing Pang & Jian Tong, and Johnny Weir.

How many people showed up at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing for their wedding on ice? Full house, 20,000.

Beyond Sochi...

The news today that Katarina Witt will take a more prominent role in Munich's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics provides an opportunity to look past Sochi and look at the three cities that will vie for the Olympic Bid. The IOC will will pick a host city next year in Durban, South Africa.

First, it's weird that only three cities made it too the final selection. Second, I'm pretty sure this one is already decided.

Munich wants to be the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics. That's cool. It one of few cities that could pull that off. It would be nice to erase the disaster that was 1972 also. But Munich has this problem with some farmers south of Town that don't want a big new snow park built in their back yard and it's gotten pretty ugly in the media there. Garmisch-Partenkirchen (where the farmers are) also was the site of some events during the 1936 Berlin Games. You know, the ones hosted by Nazi Germany. I don't think the IOC will want to deal with the hiccup of unhappy farmers or flashbacks to the past of swastikas, Anti-Semitism, and tiny mustaches. And while they say geography doesn't play a deciding role...well...it does. Munich is in Europe as is Sochi. I say Munich 2018 is a no go.

Annecy gets the best website award. This cute little town nestled west of Lyon and just south of Geneva would be a picturesque backdrop for the Olympics. But it's small. Olympics are big "to-do's" these days and I worry that Annecy would have trouble just accomodating the Olympics. Geneva and Lyon, both cities which support the bid, would almost certainly have to host events. Then the experience becomes very spread. Sochi, which will be the immediate past host of the Winter Olympics come 2018, has all their events within 20 minutes of each other. Spread is no good. France is also Winter Olympic heavy. Annecy would be the fourth French city to host the Winter Olympics. Share the love! And again...there is that Geography thing with back-to-back European Winter Olympics. I say Annecy is out too.

That leaves PyeongChang, which from the start has been the front runner. This city was almost selected to host the 2010 Winter Games, winning the first round of voting in that Olympic Race. But nearly all of Salzburg's votes threw their support behind Vancouver and Vanocuver won by just 3 votes. PyeongChang also bid on the 2014 Olympics and, of course, lost that bid to Sochi. But they only lost by 4 votes! PyeongChang all but announced they would bid again after losing the 2014 bid and began construction on venues, accomodations, etc almost immediately. They've got big corporate backing, a strong bid record, and more experience with an Olympic Bid than either of the other two cities. Throw in Kim Yu-Na as one of your ambassadors and the fact that PyeongChang is nowhere near Sochi and I believe you have a winner.

Asada Names Nobuo Sato New Coach

Nobuo Sato has long been one of the leading Japanese Coaches and it comes as little surprise that Mao Asada would choose him as her new coach.

Asada has been looking for a new coach since splitting up with Tatiana Tarasova. Tarasova was heavily criticized for 'weighing down' Asada's skating last season with an over dramatic and heavy free program.

Nobuo currently coaches, among others, Takahiko Kozuka. At one point or another, he's coached a good portion of the top Japanese competitors.

I think Mao will flourish under Nobuo's tuteledge.

Evolution of a Skater: Irina Slutskaya

Been a while since I did one of these.

Do you think Evan will actually show up at U.S. Nationals?

I would think it's more likely that he wouldn't show up versus actually competing....

But I think there will be several factors that make this decision for him.

First his training and what kind of shape he is in. Without even a lot of practice if he feels like he's in okay shape and the jumps are still there he may give it a shot.

I think how his chief competitors are doing may also influence his decision. If it looks like Abbott, Rippon, and others are just going to cream him, he may opt to save face and not compete. And even if he believes he can win Nationals, does he feel like he could be competitive with the Chan's, Joubert's, and Takahashi's? To go to Nationals I think is to make a commitment to the end of the season.

Finally, his own schedule will help dictate his decision. If he still finds himself with other diversions (read: money making opportunities) , he may just choose to pass.

But I do feel Evan is competitive. And while I think his short term competitive skating outlooks seem less likely, I'm very much convinced that he would like very much to be in Sochi (that rhymes).

Have a skating question?

Pic of the Week

Next week the Junior Grand Prix will continue with its next stop in Romania. Alexei Mishin never seems to run out of talent to teach and one of his students seems destined for success...

Artur Arturovich Dmitriev or Artur Jr. as most call him makes his Junior Grand Prix debut next week. Yes, if you are wondering, Artur is the son of two-time Olympic Champion Artur Dmitriev (1992 with Natalia Mishkutenok and 1998 with Oksana Kazakova). Mom, Tatiana Druchinina, who was a former gymnast, is his choreographer. Dad, I think (read: I hope!) stays out of the way...wouldn't want any of that father pressure applied.

My guess is Artur applies some of that pressure upon himself...it can't be easing following in Olympic Gold footsteps. But the young Russian has some talent. His second place junior finish at Russian Nationals last season earned him a ticket to the Junior World Championships where he finished a decent 7th...not too shabby for your first major international outing. You can see in the video of his free skate at Junior Worlds he has some jumping ability (including a quad he made look easy!) and some moments of believability that he can be great.

At 18 years of age he needs to kick it in to gear. He's approaching an age when many male skaters start to hit their stride and he's just now making a Junior Grand Prix debut. There is time...just not a whole lot to spare. But, 21 years of age the time Sochi 2014 rolls into his home country...seems about perfect, eh?

Artur Jr., the next big thing out of Russia?