This Blogs About to Blow!

I have been a sleeping giant since Worlds with relatively few posts.

I will share with all of you that this past year I've moved into a new position with my company which requires tons of my time. I'm on the computer as much as ever, but usually in charts, figures, and reports.

But...

Skate America begins tomorrow, and I'm making the trip out to California for the event. I can stay quiet no longer...I MUST BLOG! So, as the Senior Grand Prix gets underway, look for more posts from me (as well as a bigger Facebook/Twitter presence) as we move forward.

So about this Skate America competition...

Pairs

This is quite a mixed bag of goodies. The clear and easy favorites are World Champs Savchenko and Szolkowy. I'm excited to see their Free Skate to Pina which is a German Dance flick. Last season I was impressed with their technical skills but less impressed with the choreography to Pink Panther. However, even more interesting is the return of Zhang and Zhang. Hao of course had to miss the entire season with a hand injury and it will be interesting to see how they look. They ended the 2010 season not on the best note. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch made a splash on the Grand Prix last season with solid skates, can they back it up this season? USA Pairs skating has been in a state of flux recently. All three U.S. teams are making Grand Prix debuts; Baldwin and Vise, Denney and Coughlin, and Marley and Brubaker. I'm praying an American team can make it to the podium. Hausch and Wende of Germany could be the darkhorses in this event.

Ladies

Interesting group...lots of the wildcard types competing. We may get great skates...or iffy ones. I guess I like Alissa the best of them all. I'm hoping her improved form from last season has stuck with her. If it has, she's formidabble. Ksenia Makarova and Carolina Kostner represent solid threats from Europe. Carolina is usually amongst the top skaters often winning by pulling points from places other than jumps (no...not bitter at all). I'm not certain how to handicap Caroline Zhang...wait and see?

Dance

Davis and White and Pechalat and Bourzat should clear the field by leaps and bounds. My guess is that Meryl and Charlie have an easy road to victory but if anyone would give them problems it would be the French. The bronze is a bit up for grabs though...

Men

Really solid group even without Lysacek. If I had to guess on who would take this I'd put the good money on Kozuka but anything is possible. Amodio, if he has his brain together, could be a real threat. Ditto for Denis Ten. Double ditto for Brezina. Will be interesting to see how the U.S. men fare. Armin is the only one with Senior GP experience (including a bronze at this event last season). Dornbush did make a solid senior debut last season and he is known for consistency so it stands to reason he'll do okay. Douglas Razzano has nothing to lose. He turned some heads with his strong finish at Nationals last season...he really has to get after this like it's his last chance to prove anything. Finally KVDP, he keeps at it...I guess if he loves what he is doing. I just hope he comes in competition mode.

I'm landing in L.A. tomorrow afternoon and will make my way to Ontario in time for the start of all of the fun. Look for Twitter and Facebook updates all weekend long!