Trophy Eric Bompard Short Program Flash

Anna KHNYCHENKOVA / Mark MAGYAR (HUN) - Music seemed to just drone on and their program was uninteresting...I can't even remember if they hit their elements or not...that's how uninteresting it was.

Felicia ZHANG / Taylor TOTH (USA) - Felicia completely missed her footing on the side-by-side jumps and never left the ice. Pretty program though. Into the lead despite technical issues.

Klara KADLECOVA / Petr BIDAR (CZE) - Seemed green. Petr made me think of Brian Joubert circa 2001 if he was a pairs skater. Also, totally missed a lift.

Vera BAZAROVA / Yuri LARIONOV (RUS) - Really pretty. Solid Russian basics make this program sing. Great job.

Maylin HAUSCH / Daniel WENDE (GER) - Really solid. Ten points behind Russians but good effort. Strong elements.

Mylene BRODEUR / John MATTATALL (CAN) - This team is so sterotypically Canadian! The music, their outfits, how they move across the ice...screams "Oh Canada!" Lots of Technical troubles...wamp wamp.

Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY (GER) - Great speed. Tight landing on the twist and Aliona had trouble on her sbs jump. Huge throw flip. Coin toss between them and Russians...I think the Russians should get it...a clean skate should be worth something right? Judges disagree with me.

Zoltan KELEMEN (ROU) - Kind of bland. Sat down on the back half of his lutz combo. Needs to pay more attention to performance.

Chafik BESSEGHIER (FRA) - Out of nowhere performance that included a quad triple and nice triple axel. Skating skills need work but the jumps look great! 70.33...impressive!

Peter LIEBERS (GER) - Clean program but he needs to loosen up. You can't skate to the blues and look so serious.

Anton KOVALEVSKI (UKR) - Looks undertrained. Needs to find some inner fight to make these performances happen...because they currently aren't happening.

Nan SONG (CHN) - *Yawn

Florent AMODIO (FRA) - Kind of brilliant. Not so much as an unsteady wobble in that program. Seems to be thriving under Morozov.

Kevin REYNOLDS (CAN) - Maybe some jump downgrades...not near the performance he had in Canada. He was confused a bit by the scores.

Brandon MROZ (USA) - Some awkward moments in the jumping. Muscled the quad combo and had a weird post-slip after axel. Program didn't flow as well as it did in China.

Takahiko KOZUKA (JPN) - Music is awful but he did the elements. Axel wasn't great but completed. He's pretty slick on his feet though and has solid skating skills.

Brian JOUBERT (FRA) - Messy. I am still loving his new programs but Brian is struggling technically this season. Only 5th place.

Cup of China Free Skate Flash

Diane Szmiett (CAN) - Brutal. Needs to go home and "figure it out."

Min-Jeong Kwak (KOR) - Big piece of music for the mini Yu-Na...too big. No connection to the music.

Kristine Musademba (USA) - Program was filled with jump errors and lacked spark. Could be great a future date but needs greater content.

Amanda Dobbs (USA) - Again no spark. Jump errors. And needs harder content.

Joshi Helgesson (SWE) - First skater to land multiple triples. Lost steam at the end but easily the best to this point but behind Dobbs due to a jump not counting.

Alena Leonova (RUS) - Hot mess. But the best hot mess of the day and into the lead. Witches of Eastwick...really?

Bingwa Geng (CHN) - Not much here but landed the most jumps. Transition non-existent.

Miki Ando (JPN) - Vintage Ando. She put on a jumping clinic and never looked back. Huge tech score, hard to beat.

Akiko Suzuki (JPN) - Lovely program. Some jump issues here and there but fought through to the end. Two triple lutzes this year! Behind Ando.

Mirai Nagasu (USA) - Geisha program fell flat. Lots of jump errors and under-rotations. Exact same thing as last year at this event. 1st to off the podium.

Peitong Chen (CHN) - Rough. Lacked content and pizaaz.

Jialiang Wu (CHN) - Terrible. Falls on jumps, footwork, spins. Problems the whole way through...

Peter Liebers (GER) - Awkward Sherlock Holmes program. No flow...not pop.

Samuel Contesti (ITA) - Version 2.0 of Andes Panpipes. Very slow but hit most the jumps. Liked Version 1.0 better.

Jinlin Guan (CHN) - Overused version of Turandot. Failed quad and uninspiring program.

Tatsuki Machida (JPN) - Crash and Burn on Quad. Rushed! Needs to make his movements mean something rather than rushing through them.

Ross Miner (USA) - Improved from NHK. Needs to find some more connection with this music. Judges pounce on him a bit though.

Sergei Voronov (RUS) - Bailed on quad and then stops program. Knee injury...withdraws.

Brandon Mroz (USA) - Nailed it! Great piece of music and solid jumps including the quad. Into the lead big time!

Tomas Verner (CZE) - Cheap Michael Jackson Medley. Like Amodio...too much dancing not enough skating. Behind Mroz.

Brian Joubert (FRA) - Biq quad to open. This is my favorite Joubert program ever. Poor spins which cost him in tech score and into 3rd overall. Ouch!

Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) - Hangs on to most of his jumps and has beautiful spins. Program is bland but it gets the job done. Easy win.

Hole and Johnson (CAN) - Green!

Dong and Wu (CHN) - Disaster. Jumps, throws, lifts were a mess.

Della Monica and Kocon (ITA) - Not bad. Music kind of went nowhere but they managed most of their elements.

Evora and Ladwig (USA) - Pretty. Great lifts. Needs more excitement. Decent score though.

Iliushechkina and Maisuradze (RUS) - Nice elements. They have all the hallmarks of a great Russian Team but I don't feel they sell it. More umpf please.

Yankowskas and Coughlin (USA) - Lovely. Fall on Salchow but still a gorgeous performance. Into medal position.

Sui and Han (CHN) - Messy SBS but gutzy attempts at throw quad salchow and quad twist. Big tech score and comfortable lead. They have a performance factor that only comes naturally.

Pang and Tong (CHN) - Botched SBS jumps but smooth flowing from that point. Experience kicked in and they rode that wave of "know how" right to the win.

Cup of China Short Program Flash

Bingwa Geng (CHN) - Pretty...but a snoozefest.

Qiuying Zhu (CHN) - Lacked technical content and speed. Fall on double axel not good. :-(

Min-Jeong Kwak (KOR) - Almost went through the barrier on fall on lutz. SLOW!

Kristine Musademba (USA) - Watered her content down and struggled. Slow. Fall out of flip and fall on axel. Claire de Lune program is lovely though.

Diane Szmiett (CAN) - Meh...better than NHK.

Amanda Dobbs (USA) - Slow. Lovely program to Moon River. Needs harder content.

Joshi Helgesson (SWE) - Again...slow (broken record here). Repetitive arm movements in choreo but clean jumps.

Mirai Nagasu (USA) - Good gusto! Had to work the flip a little but got it done. Excellent spins. Nice program.

Alena Leonova (RUS) - Shaky. Lots of jumping glitches (no falls though). Program seems a bit...junior?

Akiko Suzuki (JPN) - Step out of lutz but otherwise great. I'll forgive her Tango as well because she skates it so well.

Miki Ando (JPN) - Big triple lutz triple loop to open. Weird hip-hop Plushenko like choreo...didn't get it. Judges put her in third after silly slip on double axel.

Peitong Chen (CHN) - Bland.

Jinlin Guan (CHN) - Bland again. Quad attempt failed.

Ross Miner (USA) - Attacked the program. Kind of rushed. Held on to all the jumps though. Watch the axel take off.

Peter Liebers (GER) - Fun program. Blues is such an American piece of music great to see a German pull it off with ease. Axel didn't work.

Jialiang Wu (CHN) - Bland #3. China must find choreographers.

Tatsuki Machida (JPN) - Quick, frantic at times. Botched lutz will hurt. Good overall.

Brandon Mroz (USA) - Much improved from last season. Quad-triple to open. Needs a bit more spunk but on his way.

Sergei Voronov (RUS) - A tango. Quad issues but otherwise okay.

Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) - Needs more "soul." But he knows how to work the component mark and he hit the jumps.

Samuel Contesti (ITA) - Interesting to begin with but then the jump mistakes started happening and all the character left the program. Ended with slow footwork and rough spin.

Brian Joubert (FRA) - Great Flamenco choreography...really superb. Lacked transitions though. Coupled with botched axel lead to 2nd behind Kozuka.

Tomas Verner (CZE) - Charming Singin' in the Rain program. Fall out of axel and no quad mean's 3rd place.

NHK Trophy Free Skate Flash

Jeremy Ten (Canada) - Great comeback. Love Queen Symphony and glad he kept the program. Solid skate.

Kevin van der Perren (Belgium) - Big jumps! Came back huge from the short program. Needs more Mummy in the program set to The Mummy soundtrack.

Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden) - Weird. Multiple versions of Romeo and Juliet. Odd hand movements. Not a fan of this program...I want the crazy Schultheiss back.

Takahito Mura (Japan) - Good speed...good presentation. Was working hard at making the program work. Into the lead.

Jialiang Wu (China) - Pretty music choice but poor choreo. Nice jumps but program was flat.

Ross Miner (United States) - Great senior debut. Looked like he was thinking his way through the program but managed most of the jumps. Liked the circular footwork at the very beginning. Kurt Browningesque.

Denis Ten (Kazakhstan) - Really rough skate. Lots of silly stumbles. Needs to lighten up...always so serious.

Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan) - Talent in the making. Good program but ran out of gas. Needs a bit more mileage.

Florent Amodio (France) - Rocked choreo. Michael Jackson and Black Eyed Peas medley. Spent a lot of time standing in place dancing. Entertaining but 11 seconds at center ice mimicking Jackson movements I think is a a bit much! Judges love it though...new leader!

Shawn Sawyer (Canada) - Awesome program to Alice in Wonderland. But pesky jump issues continue. Abrupt ending. Skating skills aren't strong enough to hold him up in the free.

Jeremy Abbott (United States) - Masterful program. Only mistake is popped second axel. Really gets the character of the music. Roberto Benigni on ice! Takes the lead but is actually second behind Amodio in free, puzzling?

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) - Great start with quad. Program was crusing along until a late popped salchow and fall on a lutz combo. Still managed to win big which confused me even more. He beat Jeremy on both the technical and component scores. His Tango, however, is the best of them all!

Diane Szmiett (Canada) - Complete splatfest. Nothing went right. Sad

Lena Marrocco (France) - She is more like a junior skater. Program didn't have a lot of depth. Some Rachael Flatt-like choreo.

Viktoria Helgesson (Sweden) - So rushed. She never settles into her programs. The only thing not rushed was the ending which was three seconds late because she had to finish up a spin.

Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia) - Phantom of the Opera...second most used music to the Tango. Okay, nothing special.

Mao Asada (Japan) - Complete disaster. Missed opening axel and never got it together. Behind Elene...shocker!

Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain) - Another splatfest. Geez...

Caroline Zhang (United States) - Labored performance. Lots of missed jumps. Behind Gedevanishvili.

Kiira Korpi (Finland) - Not great but not a disaster. Nabs lead by default. Evita is perhaps an iffy choice.

Ashley Wagner (United States) - Malaguena is great choice but the program looks like it needs more mileage. Jump issues throughout, behind Korpi.

Racahel Flatt (United States) - First girl to manage a decent complete program. Slaughter on 5th Ave. program feels a little old fashioned though. Leader with two left to skate.

Kanako Murakami (Japan) - Totally tanked! Crazy. Program seems a bit mature for her. Behind Rachael.

Carolina Kostner (Italy) - Again super watered down technical content. Hardest jump completed was a loop. However, as per usual, Carolina pulls points out of nowwhere to win. Unbelievable! I'll call it...she deserves the silver at best and received a huge undeserved gift from the judges.

Zhang and Wang (China) - Some strengths technically but not much else. Kind of one dimensional performance.

Hausch and Wende (Germany) - Don't know how much they captured the theme of Prince of Persia but they skated okay. Not great ride out out on throw landings but no disasters.

Yankowskas and Coughlin (United States) - Gorgeous program set to Ave Maria. Technical issues for Caitlin. Still waiting for them to be brilliant.

Brodeur and Mattatal (Canada) - Lots of technical issues. Program lacks attack, just kind of this sweet thing on ice...needs more.

Denney and Barrett (United States) - Program needs some work. Like the choreography but they don't look comfortable in it yet. Little technical issues too. Behind Caitlin and John.

Takahashi and Tran (Japan) - Small disaster. Missed most jump elements. Still managed to nab the lead because of short program points.

Bazarova and Larionov (Russia) - Near clean but lifeless. Man in the Iron Mask is supposed to be exciting...they were not.

Pang and Tong (China) - Not even close despite problems of their own on sbs jumps. Kind of feel like this program is a little slow. Might grow on me.

Turoczi and Major (Hungary) - I really liked this program. They seem to like it too so I guess that's what matters most.

Yu and Wang (China) - Pleasing performance. Lift entrances seemed sticky. Nothing to go bezerk about.

Coomes and Buckland (Great Britain) - The Lion King. Okay...

Reed and Reed (Japan) - Lovely number to Josh Groban piece. Technical issues but still lovely.

Mysliveckova and Novak (Czech Republic) - Hot mess!

Shibutani and Shibutani (United States) - Gorgeous program! Came back like gangbusters from their problem in the SD.

Cappellini and Lanotte (Italy) - Issues all over the place. Lifts, twizzles, spins, all a mess. Behind the Shibs.

Ilinykh and Katsalapov (Russia) - Solid performance. Liked their attack. Good music choice with Don Quixote. But, not as solid as Shibs and into second they go.

Weaver and Poje (Canada) - Great program to Moulin Rogue. Really get into the choreo and it comes across. Not as strong as the Shibs but enough to stay ahead of them overall.

Davis and White (Unites States) - I'm not a huge fan of this program (yet) but you can see just how amazing it is. It's a Tango and there are tons this season...maybe that's why I'm turned off...? Still, magnificent skate, huge score, easy win.

NHK Trophy Short Program Flash

Turoczi and Major (Hungary) - Whole thing kind of felt like a compulsory dance. Not much emotion on Balazs part. Twizzle oopsy.

Yu and Wang (China) - First half moved well across the ice. Good transition from Waltz to Tango. So so on presentation.

Coomes and Buckland (Great Britain) - Seemed to move quick across the ice. Felt frantic at times. Twizzles seemed out of sync and off balance. Meh.

Reed and Reed (Japan) - Clearly looked the most put together of the teams this far but unfortunately Chris slipped on his twizzle. Clever music and costuming.

Ilinykh and Katsalapov (Russia) - Breezing through until Nikita had a little trouble with some turns in the straight-line footwork. Blazing fast twizzles! Still, leaps ahead of the rest at this point.

Mysliveckova and Novak (Czech Republic) - Felt like they could slip at any moment. Twizzles were kind of a hot mess, barely managed. Whole routine felt "barely managed."

Shibutani and Shibutani (United States) - Crusing along...beautiful. But Alex got caught in Maia's skirt and a tumble ensues. Darn...still lovely though.

Weaver and Poje (Canada) - Just pushed through the program with great speed. No major problems and nice presentation. Sneak ahead of the Russians by a smidge.

Cappellini and Lanotte (Italy) - Save some unison and quality issues on the twizzles...clear sailing. Great music choices for them...really sold it. Fun steps and lifts. But then only third place...hmmmmm.

Davis and White (Unites States) - Obvious class of the field. Amazing Twizzles and speed. First place by heaps!

*In general, I found the short dances rushed. All the teams seemed as though they were frantically trying to complete all the required elements in time.

**I don't like how the prescribed dance steps seem stiff and then the original choreography seems less stiff...doesn't mix well.



Bazarova and Larionov (Russia) - Nice job. No fireworks but they put down a decent performance. Solid Russian basics.

Hausch and Wende (Germany) - Nice sbs triple toes. Not quite the level of skating skills as the Russians but nice job overall.

Yankowskas and Coughlin (United States) - Nice performance. Lift was spectacular as always. Timing issue on the sbs spins. Into second but good job.

Zhang and Wang (China) - Lifeless...lacked polish. Nice throw though.

Brodeur and Mattatal (Canada) - Effervescent performance. Lacked some umpfh though. Not bad for last minute entries. Got ahead of Yankowskas and Coughlin by a hair.

Denney and Barrett (United States) - New sophistication. David Wilson choreo works. Solid elements as always. Puzzling to see them go behind Russians.

Takahashi and Tran (Japan) - Some fun quirky moments and interesting transitions. Sync issues here and there. Even more puzzling to see them go ahead of Denney and Barrett...huh?

Pang and Tong (China) - Clean as a whistle...program felt like it wouldn't end though. Kind of slow music that goes nowhere. But of course a huge lead.



Lena Marrocco (France) - Green. Lacked spark and flow.

Diane Szmiett (Canada) - Jumps didn't work. Almost fell on footwork. Another uninspired program. Seemed like she didn't want to be there.

Viktoria Helgesson (Sweden) - Lovely piece of music that she rushed all the way through. Excessive arm movements killed the program for me. Fall on Flip didn't help.

Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain) - She's never been a very elegant skater so I love the "muscle" music. Nice lutz combo. Spins and footwork need some speed.

Ashley Wagner (United States) - Nice presentation. Close jump landings and lutz still looks a little "flutzy." Good speed throughout.

Kanako Murakami (Japan) - Sold the choreography brilliantly. Lots of fun and great jumps. Nabbed the lead and gave a big smile in the K&C.

Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia) - Promising start with triple lutz, but missed her combo and singled the axel. Life went out of program to Cell Block Tango.

Caroline Zhang (United States) - Showed much improved technique on jumps and a wee bit more speed. Also more expression in the choreography. Tried easier content but she did it pretty well! Nice job. Third behind Kanako and Ashley...seems fair.

Racahel Flatt (United States) - First half of the program is vintage Flatt...safe, secure, solid. She cuts loose a bit in the back half of the program after she "strips." Another hot wave included. Behind Murakami, I think they didn't like her lutz a lot.

Kiira Korpi (Finland) - Pleasant. Nothing special. One of those skaters that seems to get points from the "nether regions" above. Slips in just below Ashley.

Carolina Kostner (Italy) - Way easy jump content. Somewhat "forced artistry." Good footwork and spins. Somehow gets the lead...I cannot fathom how! Murakami, Flatt, and Wagner where easily better. Easily I say! Why do the judges love her so.

Mao Asada (Japan) - Technical meltdown. Missed triple axel and then singled the flip. Tomorrow's newspaper headline..."World Champ Asada in 8th Place After Short!"



Jeremy Ten (Canada) - Great choreography. After nice triple axel missed his next two jumping passes. Great program artistically but sorely lacking technical content.

Ross Miner (United States) - Good energy. Hand down on triple axel but smooth sailing from that point. Busy choreography...program feels a little rushed at times.

Takahito Mura (Japan) - Huge quad toe triple toe to open program but the next jumping passed missed a bit. Great selection of music but no real connection to it in choreo.

Jialiang Wu (China) - Lots of times Chinese skaters don't give much attention to artistry and Wu did. Clean program and nice presentation I thought.

Florent Amodio (France) - Crazy good! Fast and super solid triples. Footwork is sick!

Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan) - Super fast! Almost headbutted the ice on his lutz but managed to keep it on one foot and cranked a triple toe behind it! Huge triple axel. Close behind Amodio. Nice senior debut.

Shawn Sawyer (Canada) - Killer choreo as always. I want him to get that triple axel under his belt once and for all! Nabs the lead with ridic skating skills.

Denis Ten (Kazakhstan) - Tight. Stepped out of the opening axel and spins lacked some speed. Not the usual Denis Ten pop. Also, what is it with Frank Carroll skaters and the funeral atire?

Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden) - Bland music that droned on. Double his flip and the program never went anywhere. Way down in the standings.

Kevin van der Perren (Belgium) - Slow program to a remix of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet didn't work. Kept doubling jumps...way near the bottom. Looks to hate skating again.

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) - Botched his axel a bit but then sold it to no end. Footwork was out of control amazing. Looked like he had fun. Decent score and into the lead.

Jeremy Abbott (United States) - Controlled and confident! Program looked super polished and was amazing start to finish. Crazy attention to detail in choreo. Everyone is shaking their heads why he is second behind Takahashi.

U.S. Nationals Ladies Short Program Flash

I received a ton of e-mails asking where the program flashes went. With Nationals (both U.S. and Canada) and Euros happening all together I decided not to. But, for the ladies short program only, I've decided to do a flash...in honor of Sasha's return!

Rachael Flatt - Nailed it. She came out lookin' ready! Hit the triple/triple and worked the footwork. Awesome.

Alissa Czisny - Oooops. Fell on opening lutz and then doubled flip. Spins and spiral are awesome but not enough to hold her up. Probably will miss out on the Olympics because of that short.

Christina Gao - Solid for her first senior outing. Needs a little more stretch and finishing off but nice. What is Brian Orser feeding these kids?

Mirai Nagasu - Skated with good attack and more importantly confidence. Amazing footwork and not a downgrade in sight! Takes the lead...less than a point ahead of Rachael.

Alexe Gilles - Doubled her opening lutz but came back strong with her triple flip combo. In this field of ladies I fear that kind of mistake will cost her though.

Caroline Zhang - Came out with great speed and attack but the life went out of the program after she turned out of her opening combo and fell on the triple loop. She looked nearly panicked in the Kiss and Cry. She said "There's always next year." Sad.

Amanda Dobbs - Her solid week continues. She didn't go after the toughest jumps but what she did she did well. Into 4th ahead (ahead I say!) of Czisny.

Melissa Bulanhagui - Came out like a little spitfire with a Memoirs of a Geisha program. Nice work.

Sasha Cohen - The comeback is successful to this point. She had the face of fierce determination in the short program, hitting all her elements including a ridiculous spiral sequence! She shut up all the nay-sayers with one skate! There is less than a point spread between Flatt, Cohen, and Nagasu at this point.

Emily Hughes - Strong Flip combo but doubled her lutz...cost her. Good attack though. But out of the top six...not good.

Ashley Wagner - She came out with steely determination. After hitting her flip combo she crashed and burned on the lutz. Still, she earned good levels on her elements and still managed 4th place.

Grand Prix Final Free Skate Flash

Crone and Poirier (Canada) - Pretty program, lovely edges. I worry for them though. This program is very nice but lacks fireworks...at Canadian Nationals Weaver and Poje will have fireworks!

Cappellini and Lanotte (Italy) - Program seems slower every time I see it. This had been the one Requiem program that I actually liked until I see it in Tokyo...now it's just bland. Into the lead but actually lost Free Dance to Crone and Poirier...oooooh!

Kerr and Kerr (Great Britain) - Linkin Park is a nice original choice but they need to make this program a little cleaner and sharper. Some sloppy moments, especially on the part of John, throughout. Love the lift where she lifts him!

Pechalat and Bourzat (France) - The other Requiem program...lacked punch. Last 30 seconds was hard to watch! The music reaches its climax at the end but they choose to go on for about 5 more seconds with this drone-like tick-tock...end the program already! Also, did an illegal lift...not sure if the judges caught it/cared?

Virtue and Moir (Canada) - Near perfection. Twizzles were stunning...perfect unison, excellent position, and close together. The lifts they do are unreal. Big score!

Davis and White (USA) - Amazing speed and equally unreal lifts. Almost perfect Twizzles (Charlie got a touch out of sorts but held it together). Davis and White have blazing fast dance spins (might have been the difference). Another big score, barely lost to Virtue and Moir in the Free Dance but hang on to become the first U.S. Dance team to win Grand Prix Final.

Kavaguti and Smirnov (Russia) - Lovely performance. Yuko had a couple close landings, hard to tell if there were tiny two foots or not. Couple of place the intricate choreography in the transitions seemed sticky. Yuko is so flexible.

Zhang and Zhang (China) - Struggles continue. They couldn't leave the ice and get out of there quick enough. Dan never seemed over her feet in the jumping department botching the side-by-side triple toe and throw salchow...complete fall on throw loop. I will say, the first half of the program there was a glimmer of emotion coming from Dan so maybe a slight improvement in that department...trying to find the positives here.

Pang and Tong (China) - Solid performance. Only error was a slight hand down on Jian's toeloop otherwise fine. Throws at the end of the program are like a dream. Awesome. Into a big lead.

Mukhortova and Trankov (Russia) - Something has clicked this season. Again, a beautiful performance. It's subdued and just lovely. Maria's landing edge on those throws were amazing. Love that they sneak Cinema Paradiso into this program. I was surprised they went behind Pang and Tong...thought they were at least "as good" and shoudl have maintained their lead over them.

Savchenko and Szolkowy (Germany) - Tough opening. Bailed on the toeloops, awkward landing for Aliona on throw flip (but she fought and held on) and then awkward landings on the double axels. After the opening jump weirdness though it was gorgeous. Amazing choreography. Throw salchow at the end was masterful. Judges REALLY LIKED Pang and Tong...they still have the lead!

Shen and Zhao (China) - Wow! The rise and fall in this program is so brillantly choreographed to the music. The explosive moments...the tender moments all brillantly woven together. Hongbo did single his first of two double axels but it hardly matters. For the first time this season that program blew me away. Only concern I had was the side by side spins...those need to be 'spiffier' but, details...details. Love the fist pump from Bin Yao! Gigantic score!

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic) - Doubled his opening quad but came back with another one and two lovely triple axels...then the program went to pieces. Fall on the lutz and then he couldn't even rotate jumps. Totally head case, he's so capable of competing with the best and so often lets mistakes get to him.

Jeremy Abbott (USA) - Has a new outfit every time he does this program! Missed the opening quad but was amazing after that. Two triple-triple combos (one a three jump deep in the program)...amazing footwork and spins...big ovation at the end. Nice work! Get's a 'two thumbs up' from Yuka!

Johnny Weir (USA) - Lots of drama in this program. Kind of scary on the first axel, was really leaning outside the circle but somehow landed it and corrected so that it flowed out. Everything else solid. I feel like the choreography isn't as intricate (point grabbing?) as say Abbott but he really feels the music and draws you in. Another big ovation from the crowd...American's are stepping up to the plate, swinging, and connecting! Slips just past Abbott.

Nobunari Oda (Japan) - DEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP breath before start of program. Took out that 3-jump quad combo and instead focused on a clean skate. Crusing along until second triple axel which he popped. Popped a silly double axel at the end as well. He has the character of Charlie Chaplin down perfect though! I don't feel those two mistakes really hurt the program as a whole, the quality of everything he did well is amazing.

Evan Lysacek (USA) - Same as Oda. Cruising along until that second axel which he also pops. Trouble for Evan is that he planned to do his combo there. Still an amazing performance. What happened to the see-through shirt? Still a season's best...get's the lead!

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) - Iffy opening. Crashed and burned on the quad. Then bailed on his second triple axel and followed it up with a messy spin. Then he missed the back part of the lutz combo. Oh my. I was shocked when he slipped heading into that second lutz that he got the jump off and managed it in combination. All the jump errors kept this program from singing like it did at Skate Canada. At the end he seemed out of gas. Way down to 5th...eeeeek!

*WOW Evan and Johnny! Gold and Bronze! Nice comeback too for Abbott!

*Trying to watch the women but it wont load at Ice Network....aarrgh!

*Opting to just wait until tomorrow NBC telecast...the ladies free skate link is been removed entirely from the site.

Ashley Wagner (USA) - Beautiful program. She has to figure out how to get those jumps on one foot to really pull up into the medals. I think this event definitely puts her square in the picture in Spokane.

Akiko Suzuki (Japan) - Bingo! Squeaky clean. I'm absolutely sick of this music yet she makes me love it! She could have stood on that ice for ten years and the audience would have kept screaming. Amazing!

Joannie Rochette (Canada) - Scott Hamilton said something that was very telling during her performance..."Timing seems off." I think this program is weird for her and she has never gotten her timing together. If I were her...Canadian Nationals and Olympics...I'd go back to last season's free. It's battle tested and it works. That or completely re work this program. She needs to do something!

Alena Leonova (Russia) - Kind of a learning experience. Bit of shock to find herself in this field of women and in the thick of it. Pressure finally got to her here. Without the jumps the life goes out of this program and it becomes unimpressive. Too bad.

Kim Yu-Na (S. Korea) - Tentative. Easier lutz combo and the two footed triple toe behind the double axel was unusual. Again, this program doesn't blow me away...but then again I expect so much more from her because she is truly far more advanced than the others. Nice to see the flip landed...now how about the loop?

Miki Ando (Japan) - Before she skates I'm thinking she can totally win this on the strength of her jumping ability. She came so close...really needed the triple loop behind the lutz and the triple salchow to be cleaner. But she did a nice job of at least keeping it close. Both Miki Ando and Rachael Flatt have given hope to the rest of the ladies field!

Grand Prix Final Short Program Flash

*When I watch live skating from Japan I learn how much I love coffee!

Zhang and Zhang (China) - Fosse program still lacks pizazz but it was a little better. Dan has to figure out how to emote...she looks like a limp log out there...the music is Fosse...cut loose!

Kavaguti and Smirnov (Russia) - Lovely program with little awkward moments sprinkled in. Iffy toe loop landing for Yuko, slight collison on split twist, bad landing on throw, slight stumble at the end...not their best.

Savchenko and Szolkowy (Germany) - Beautiful choreography. Robin put his hand down on toe loop...that might be the difference between them and Shen and Zhao...will have to wait and see.

Mukhortova and Trankov (Russia) - Lovely! This team seems to be getting it together at just the right time.

Pang and Tong (China) - They breezed through their program like it was easy. Conservative scores from the judges...puzzling.

Shen and Zhao (China) - Again outclassed the field but a little roughness on a lift exit kept them from running away with it.

Crone and Poirier (Canada) - Good attack. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain so I say go for it 200%!

Kerr and Kerr (Great Britain) - Rushed a bit. John had some weird unfinished edges that made the program look sloppy at times. Good energy though.

Cappellini and Lanotte (Italy) - Charming program. Clean as a whistle but not that difficult.

Pechalat and Bourzat (France) - Solid. Similar to the Kerr's but a touch cleaner. Very close...very close.

Virtue and Moir (Canada) - Sizzlin'! That Flamenco has to be the best I've ever seen put on ice. Epic battle heating up here!

Davis and White (USA) - Looked nervous prior to beginning program but turned it up once they got going. Meryl Davis is so in tune with the character of this dance it's scary. Basically amazing, a season's best score, and the lead!

Akiko Suzuki (Japan) - Not sure if the Grand Prix Final is where you should be watering down the content. Took the lutz out of the program. Slightly under-rotated loop. Good attack though.

Ashley Wagner (USA) - Great performance but technical issues on the jumps...lots of two feet, under-rotations, and edge calls. She had great energy though.

Alena Leonova (Russia) - Whimsical. She manages to get the funky chicken in her program. Struggled on the lutz but lots of personality. Surprisingly solid score.

Joannie Rochette (Canada) - Seemed lifeless. Fell out of the back end of her combination and had to hang on to the flip. Still hasn't found her groove this season. BEHIND Leonova...wow.

Miki Ando (Japan) - Solid jumps but little else. Something weird happened during her layback (forgot a position/transition...not sure) and she had to redo a little choreography. Seemed to get a decent number from the judges.

Kim Yu-Na (S. Korea) - Seemed on her way until she singled her triple flip. Despite amazing choreography only made it to second place. Thinking she may have got downgraded on the triple toe as well. It's like "Stop the Press...Kim doesn't lead a short program!"

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic) - Opened with a gorgeous quad/triple combo and then singled his axel and lutz. Who does that?

Johnny Weir (USA) - Came out with gusto! Beautiful jumps and a big ole score in the mid 80s! Wowza!

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) - Double wowza! Huge jumps, amazing footwork! He so close to catching the highest SP score of all time!

Jeremy Abbott (USA) - Great combo but iffy axel and a fall on the lutz. Still had strong components though.

Evan Lysacek (USA) - OMG! Amazing triple jumps and he sold that footwork like no other! Right behind behind Takahashi...I'm talking less than a point! Both are in the 89's!

Nobunari Oda (Japan) - The hits keep coming! Beautiful! His knee flexibility is enviable. Huge ovation. Into third just ahead of Weir.

*Weir, Oda, Lysacek, and Takahashi put on a short program for sure! The four of them are close! Who needs, Plushenko, Joubert, Chan, and Lambiel!?!?

HomeSense Skate Canada Free SkateFlash

Ozerova and Enbert (Russia) - Rough. Messy sbs triples. Fall on the throw triple flip. Missed a lift at the end of the program...just ran out of steam.

Moore-Towers and Moscovitch (Canada) - Amazzing attack and energy. Nothing was easy but it was terribly exciting. Held on to everything and brought crowd to their feet.

Yankowskas and Coughlin (USA) - Great start but came undone a little bit half-way through. The Colorado skaters are dealing with tough news of a friends death so a little uneasiness is understandable.

Denney and Barrett (USA) - In Caydee and Jeremy fashion put down an amazing free skate that was near perfect.

Langlois and Hay (Canada) - Anabelle was a fighter although there were some two foots and hand downs...still a good performance. Grand Canyon Suite is pretty piece of music.

Dube and Davison (Canada) - Uneasy from the start. Lots of little mistakes and balance checks. Botched berth at Grand Prix Final.

Mukhortova and Trankov (Russia) - Super solid, similar to Paris. Lost a boot strap and had to stop and fix but picked back up and skated great. I love Cinema Paradiso...even if it's folded in with Love Story.

Savchenko and Szolkowy (Germany) - New Out of Africa program is beyond beautiful. New record score after a stunning free skate. Just beautiful...this is easily the program to beat this season.

Jeremy Ten (Canada) - Missed opening axel but then rallied. Mid program began falling on jumps again. Kind of up and down performance. Some lovely moments here...Queen Symphony a great music selection.

Kevin Van der Perren (Belgium) - Looks like he hates skating. After an awesome 3-3-3 program came undone. Slow, no energy, cursing in the Kiss and Cry...not good. Needs to find a way to love skating again.

Stephen Carriere (USA) - Much better. Stepped out of opening triple axel but landed second and was fine from that point on. Needs a little more connection to the music but improved from Beijing.

Joey Russell (Canada) - Lot's of energy. Some jump issues including a jumping pass he never even took off from but good spunk. One for the future.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA) - Fell on opening axel but then rocked out the rest. He's an amazing skater and looked outstanding here. Went behind Carriere...kind of confused about that.

Samuel Contesti (Italy) - So much fun to watch but had a few jump errors. Still, he's a joy to watch.

Patrick Chan (Canada) - Started off beautifully but then came undone. Fell on second triple axel, lutz, and a third jump (salchow?), also doubled a loop. Ended up behind Contesti. Eeeek!

Michal Brezina (Czech Republic) - Opened with a huge triple axel that was hard for him to hang on to. A few little jump issues kept the program from sizzling like it did in Nagano but not terrible.

Alban Preaubert (France) - Put on a jump clinic and delighted the crowd in the process. Only guy on the night to skate 100% clean.

Denis Ten (Kazakstan) - Lacked the excitement of the short and had too many jump issues. Lost his placement...what a shame.

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) - Solid. Seemed to be better conditioned here than in Nagano. Great choreography...will be tough to beat.

Jeremy Abbott (USA) - Opened up with huge quad! Hung on to triple axel (little turned out) but went on to hit just about everything else, gorgeous skating...and the WIN!

Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain) - Messy triples including a fall on the lutz. Lacked spark. She and her husband (Kevin Van der Perren) didn't have great skates today.

Akiko Suzuki (Japan) - Some jump problems but had good attack. Shame she didn't repeat what she accomplished in Beijing. Will have to wait and see if it's enough.

Caroline Zhang (USA) - Slllllooooooowwwwww. Fell on both triple flips and lacked expression. Shame...she looked dejected.

Amelie Lacoste (Canada) - Lacked content. Coupled with some jump mistakes kept her from really being a player here. Surprised she was even in the final group.

Cynthia Phaneuf (Canada) - Ouch...literally, 4 falls. Tears of sadness in the kiss and cry...heartbreaking.

Laura Lepisto (Finland) - Clever choreography but lots of jump errors. So far an underwhelming evening.

Mirai Nagasu (USA) - Looked like she was determined to rotate those jumps...almost to the detrement of her choreography. Improved from Beijing but still needs some more attention to expression and overall flow.

Alissa Czisny (USA) - Started off great. Fell on her second lutz and second loop but impressed with her spiral sequence and final spin. Despite the mistakes was still a lovely program.

Joannie Rochette (Canada) - Lots of little jump errors...program never really took off. Still easily won, although she wasn't close to matching her performance from the short. Win bought her a ticket to Tokyo for Grand Prix Final.

FD is tomorrow and will post comments then.

UPDATE:

Hubbell and Hubbell (USA) - They seem very free on the ice with this program. You get the idea they like it. Couple places where Keiffer had to struggle a bit for balance and he had issues with one of his twizzles but fun to watch.

Bobrova and Soloviev (Russia) - Beautiful flow and great music choice with Adagio by Il Divo.

Samuelson and Bates (USA) - Solid but a little slow...lacked that instant pop they usually have especially on their extensions. Showed up in the score when they went behind (BEHIND I say) the Russians.

Weaver and Poje (Canada) - Gorgeous! Besides a slight unison issue on their twizzles

Pechalat and Bourzat (France) - Good dance. They do themes well (Time this time...no pun intended). Lost some energy at the end. Speaking of the end...it takes to long. It's one of those programs that refuses to end.

Virtue and Moir (Canada) - Masterful. While I'm not a huge fan of this music (for me it's all kind of one level) for a free dance they manage to weave a gorgeous picture out of it. The lifts in this program, I think, are the finest in the world. They set the new high score this season with a big ole 204.38. Sheesh!

HomeSense Skate Canada Short Program Flash

Moore-Towers and Moscovitch (Canada) - This is the first time I had ever seen them. Pleasant team. Lots of excitement...good energy in the Kiss and Cry, seemed excited about their performance.

Yankowskas and Coughlin (USA) - Pretty amazing! Nice SBS Triple Toes, outstanding lifts, and Caitlin knows how to sell a program. Within striking distance of the teams ahead of them.

Ozerova and Enbert (Russia) - Missed throw and SBS jumps. Alexander is really tall...reminded me of Anton Sikharulidze sans solid skating.

Denney and Barrett (USA) - Small step-out on SBS triple from Jeremy but otherwise great. Speed was amazing and throw was gigantic...also in the medal hunt for third.

Langlois and Hay (Canada) - Looked kind of rusty but Anabelle was hanging on to everything and in the end they got the job done. Nice to see them back in action.

Dube and Davison (Canada) - Clunky performance. Jessica singled the SBS salchow and their footwork looked labored. Their skating skills held them to 3rd however.

Mukhortova and Trankov (Russia) - Maria was scratchy on the throw salchow but everything else was fine. Amazing speed. Easily ahead of Dube and Davison.

Savchenko and Szolkowy (Germany) - Pretty amazing performance...solid as a rock. However the general consensus is the clown make-up must go. 74.16, really close to Shen and Zhao and Zhang and Zhang's record SP score (both teams share the record, 74.36).

Amelie Lacoste (Canada) - Ho hum performance. Showed nice triple loop double loop combo. Decent speed. Good enough for top six finish in short, surprising.

Cynthia Phaneuf (Canada) - Looked stronger here than in Nagano. Like Lacoste, ended up in the top six after short despite problem on landing of lutz.

Mirai Nagasu (USA) - Looked sharp. Rotated everything. Score seemed conservative though...some head scratching. Tweeps weren't happy about this. Love the circular footwork.

Joshi Helgesson (Sweden) - Poor skate, poor scores, sad face. Last place.

Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain) - Good attack. Amazing triple flip, textbook. Really surprised she was scored low as well, thought she deserved a better placement.

Sarah Hecken (Germany) - Came out with twice the speed she had in Germany. Attempted triple toe triple tow combo...almost. Seemed happy with her skate.

Alissa Czisny (USA) - Wow! Really good. Judges perked up and took notice. Spins and spirals, as always, were unmatched and the jumps were on point!

Akiko Suzuki (Japan) - Stepped out of her flip but otherwise looked fine but, like Nagasu, got really low scores and ended up behind everyone...confusing.

Caroline Zhang (USA) - Thinking is she got downgraded but couldn't tell. Hit Triple Flip Triple Toe and went on to hit everything else, gave the program some zest but got poor scores. Confusing..need the pdf!

Laura Lepisto (Finland) - Botched her combination but pulled it together from that point. Good choreography kept her in top four.

Joannie Rochette (Canada) - Impressive. Came out with attack and speed. Hit everything well. Score of 70.00 seemed a bit generous without a triple triple but Kim Yu-Na is looking more and more catchable each day. Easily took the short program.

*I was very impressed with the American women here...there is a glimmer of hope for Vancouver!

*Couple notes on the CD. Virtue and Moir killed it and are leaps ahead of the pack. Poje and Weaver have snuck in ahead of Samuelson and Bates for third currently. Pechalat and Bourzat comfortably in second.

Joey Russell (Canada) - Showed good attack! Pulled a triple flip triple loop out of nowhere. Struggles on the triple axel.

Jeremy Ten (Canada) - Ouch! Missed every jump element. Cool program though...can't go wrong with the Beatles.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA) - Had a silly little slip off the top but went on to hit all his jumps including a gorgeous triple axel!

Denis Ten (Kazakstan) - Brilliant. Hit all of his jumps and then sold it! Footwork was crazy ridiculous and full of life. Crowd erupted. Big score!

Stephen Carriere (USA) - Rushed through the whole program. Quick fall then rebounce on triple axel. Needs to find a way to let this program breathe. I think the slower more dramatic version of Carmina Burana would be helpful...just my opinion. Think Todd Eldredge 01-02 SP Carmina Burana...

Samuel Contesti (Italy) - Fun but botched his loop. Needs a bit more difficulty in his footwork. Unable to move ahead of Denis.

Daisuke Takahasi (Japan) - Came out swinging. After somehow cranking out a triple flip triple toe he electrified the house with stunning footwork. Pretty awesome.

Jeremy Abbott (USA) - Another awesome performance! This short program is fantastic and showcases every good quality in his skating. Takes the lead from Takahashi.

Michal Brezina (Czech Republic) - Huge triple axel that he has to work at landing then it was smooth sailing. While his skating was solid, needs more expression in his face.

Alban Preaubert (France) - Lots of fun and gorgeous triple axel. He upstaged Contesti here and was the master showman...decent score has him in the thick of it.

Patrick Chan (Canada) - Didn't go as planned. Fall on the axel and then only a triple flip double toe. Then he had a scratchy sit spin to boot! Came back with great footwork though. Oddly, despite all the problems had the highest PCS...hmmmmmm? Tweeps weren't happy about this.

Kevin Van der Perren (Belgium) - Singled his axel and the program lost all life at that point. He was slow and huffing and puffing at the end. He looks desperately frustrated with his skating right now...fix that.

OD isn't until tomorrow so I'll update post then.

UPDATE:

Hubbell and Hubbell (USA) - They were crusing through until Keiffer totally missed his twizzle. Oh well, the program is cute...Madison Hubbell just sparkles.

Bobrova and Soloviev (Russia) - Another fun program until Ekaterina fell on a twizzle. Finished strong though.

Samuelson and Bates (USA) - Lots of energy. This Dixie Chicks medley works for them! Nice to see an American team go after American Folk Music.

Weaver and Poje (Canada) - Great attack. Went after their program which was a gorgeous Paso/Flamenco Blend.

Pechalat and Bourzat (France) - Good flow and well done. Not as good as Samuelson and Bates' Country OD.

Virtue and Moir (Canada) - Little unsteady a couple of places then actually slipped coming around a corner. Somehow Scott held on to her and they didn't go down. Then Scott messed up a twizzle a little. Weird. Program still has great character!

Cancer.net Skate America Free Skate Flash

Kemp and King (Great Britain) - This felt like a really complete program, charming young team. Needs a technical upgrade.

Castile and Okolski (USA) - This such a lovely program. It's a shame every jumping element was flawed keeping the program from shining. I really hope this team can get it together and more importantly I hope they continue skating after this season because they have all the makings of great skaters.

Evora and Ladwig (USA) - Really nice. Despite the side-by-side issues (she two footed her toe-loop and fell on double axel). They are trying different triples in the short vs. free. I say pick one and train the hell out of it! Throw lutz was a beauty!

Zhang and Zhang (China) - Can't even believe they are in the first group! It just lacked life of any kind. What little life it did have came from Hao, Dan just seems to be going through the motions. What's going on with them? The stamina? The camel spins? The iffy lifts? Weird.

McLaughlin and Brubaker (USA) - Well...they stood up on their salchows which was nice. Still, the program lacks any semblance of India. Slumdog Millionaire is an amazing piece of music and a brilliant choice but they are using the wrong music selections from the Soundtrack. Instrumentals to O Saya and Jai Ho would give this program so much more energy. Still...STILL needs more Mumbai.

Duhamel and Buntin (Canada) - Oh my. That was a spectacular fall on Megan's part. That throw jump was huge and she was already on a tweeked ankle. Unfortunate that they had to withdraw but health is most important.

Volosozhar and Morozov (Ukraine) - I always feel like Stanislav is huffing and puffing to keep up with Tatiana. Ho hum but I suppose it was the best so far.

Shen and Zhao (China) - Certainly not the dominating performance they had in China. Struggles on the axels and throw loop. Still, clearly the best. That they were only a point or so off their score from Beijing is suspect?

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic) - After the fall on the quad it was decent. Kind of slow and lacked energy but apparently had the flu. He should move up with that but I think the podium is well out of reach.

Kevin Reynolds (Canada) - Kind of put on a jumping clinic including a gorgeous quad salchow. Needs more artistic work though but improvement nonetheless.

Jialiang Wu (China) - I feel like i've seen every men's competitor from China skate this exact same program. Really slow at the end. Needs a better choreographer.

Ryan Bradley (USA) - The first half he found the lightness in his feet that was missing in Paris along with the jumps, it was amazing. Then the second half it was back to the slow heaviness. He's figured out the first half now he just needs to get the second half!

Yasuharu Nanri (Japan) - Slow and labored performance. Again, nothing special.

Andrei Lutai (Russia) - Meh.

Shawn Sawyer (Canada) - I want him so badly to fix those little technical glitches in his skating. If he could do that, wow!

Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden) - Kind of careful. Love the little part with Pac-Man.

Brandon Mroz (USA) - Really came undone. Past Lysacek and Weir, U.S. mens skating is not looking so hot right now. Double jumps wont get it done.

Florent Amodio (France) - Kind of let the excitement of being in second go to his head and had lots of little jump mistakes. He's quite a character on the ice and has the ability to be great. Wow...Sawyer and Bradley are medaling!

Evan Lysacek (USA) - Solid. He looks so ready for this season. I think he's right on track to be a serious contender in Vancouver.

*Before the final group of ladies begin me and my friend Debbie are trying to guess how much Kim Yu-Na will win by!

Emily Hughes (USA) - I thought she looked great! Some work yet to do but that opening lutz combo and the triple flip combo was great. Awesome speed and gorgeous choreography. Gone with the Wind is totally one of my faves!

Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia) - Kind of heavy...but then again Carmen is kind of heavy. She did all the easy jumps but not the hard ones.

Elena Glebova (Estonia) - Same as Gedevanishvili. Lots of easy jumps, lacked lightness.

Fumie Suguri (Japan) - Not good enough. I think she put the nail in the coffin on her Olympic chances here. On the upside is her choreography was much better here vs Beijing.

Julia Sebestyen (Hungary) - She improved from Moscow but still not stunning by any means. She needs to get her head around landing those tough triple jumps in the back half of the program...or do them all in the top and back load with easier triples later in the program.

Rachael Flatt (USA) - She looked great! Her programs are growing on me. Every competition she looks stronger and when she hits all those difficult jumps it just makes the program sing more.

Kim Yu-Na (S. Korea) - OMG! All of a sudden the Asada's, Rochette's, Ando's, and even Flatt's are thinking...I have a shot! Kind of disastrous, missing the back half of the lutz combo, the flip, and the second lutz. She'll still win but she gave something for the rest of the world to chew on.

Chock and Zuerlein (USA) - Twizzles were a dream! Solid solid solid.

Navarro and Bommentre (USA) - Have I mentioned how much I love this program. It looked even better here than it did in Paris. That "Thank You" at the end was cute.

Zaretski and Zaretski (Israel) - I thought they turned it up a notch here. The looked comfortable and well paced. Schindler's List is a gorgeous piece of music. Nice work!

Cappellini and Lanotte (Italy) - Powerful. This is a piece of music I hate but I love it for them (weird I know). I love their lifts. However, they were behind the Israeli team in the Free Dance. The silver they won in fact locked them for Grand Prix Final.

Khoklova and Novitski (Russia) - For me it's just rough around the edges. I don't know ever what to think about them. They must have done something wrong...slipped behind Italian's and Israli's.

Belbin and Agosto (USA) - Amazing intensity and tension in the back half of the program. For me...still...I'm not as big a fan of this free as much as I am Davis and White's. However, I still feel Tanith and Ben were brilliant here (save the unison issues on the twizzles at the top). They are still trailing Davis and White and Virtue and Moir on the final score.

Cancer.net Skate America Short Program Flash

*Apparently U.S. Figure Skating didn't get the Friday/Saturday memo and thus the shorts and frees have been spread over three days instead of two...I'll update as I watch.

*A quick note on the CD, Tanith and Ben ripped it! That's how you do Ice Dancing!

Ryan Bradley (USA) - I don't know...kind of a hot mess (again!). He just throws himself into those jumps with reckless abandon and hopes and prays he lands...unfortunately he didn't pray hard enough.

Shawn Sawyer (Canada) - I just get tingly when he's on the ice. Even with the mistakes a decent score, and nice to see him commit to both rotating the jumps and landing them on one foot.

Florent Amodio (France) - This is why I have been raving about this kid all season long. He finally proved me right! Awesome...needs a tougher combo in the short though.

Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden) - This program kind of freaks me out. I like my Schultheiss with hard edged techno, not pretty Christmas.

Kevin Reynolds (Canada) - He lost the Bump It in his hair...lost his jumps too.

Brandon Mroz (USA) - Meh. This music doesn't work for him. Don't take it from me...Sandra Bezic said the same thing.

Evan Lysacek (USA) - I love this SP! The part where, right on the music, he extends his arms and throws his head back directly in front of the judges gets my blood pumping. Needs to get that axel around though, that was a clear cheat. Leaps ahead of the pack though, nice job. He looks so comfortable this season.

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic) - I thought Ryan Bradley was going to win the hot mess award but then Tomas skated. Oh papa...

Shen and Zhao (China) - Wow. I mean, they are so solid. I'm starting to equate them to Kim Yu-Na...unbeatable? Program ends abruptly though?

Castile and Okolski (USA) - Rusty I think. Their coach is the mean one who just yells at his students in the Kiss and Cry.

Evora and Ladwig (USA) - Pretty, little scary on those salchows with Amanda ending up sitting on Mark's foot.

Kemp and King (Great Britain) - Needs an upgrade.

McLaughlin and Brubaker (USA) - Lovely, but they need to solve the problem with side-by-side jumps, frustrating.

Duhamel and Buntin (Canada) - Nice work, throw lutz was scary though. Can't believe she didn't fall on that. This program had more life than it did in China.

Volosozhar and Morozov (Ukraine) - So boring. Strength on the elements alone have them in second place.

Zhang and Zhang (China) - Meltdown kind of. It must be frustrating to have been working so hard for all these years towards Olympic Gold to be completely waltzed over by your own countrymen in one fell swoop. I think their mistakes are coming from their self-applied pressure from Shen and Zhao.

Emily Hughes (USA) - Nice to see her back out there. Popping that lutz will hurt the score though. Triple flip under rotated too...some work to do yet.

Tugba Karademir (Turkey) - She always pleasant to watch. I wish she would upgrade her technical difficulty so she could really compete with the top ladies. Footwork is great...thank you Kurt Browning.

Alexe Gilles (USA) - She has lovely arms. The mistakes here in the short means she has a clean free? Reverse of Paris? I love that she always smiles.

Elena Glebova (Estonia) - Lovely save that spin whoops. Every time I hear this music I'm transported back to the 2001 Nationals where we all gushed over Michelle Kwan...the lady sitting in front of me goes "She's pretty good." And I looked at her funny. Good times in Boston.

Sarah Hecken (Germany) - Seems kind of green. Not a lot of Juliet in that Romeo and Juliet.

*Enjoying Tara's commentary on Ice Network.

Susanna Poykio (Finland) - Meh. Kind of boring, lacks spark.

*First group was really not up to par!

Joshi Helgesson (Sweden) - Wasn't she just here in Lake Placid at the Junior Grand Prix? She seemed excited about her performance. Seems like Sweden is up and coming with their ladies competitors.

Fumie Suguri (Japan) - She upped her game from Beijing. I think a last ditch effort to impress the Japanese Federation and perhaps get another shot at the Olympics. Needs to polish the program a bit.

Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia) - Lacked the spark she had in Paris. Not her best...not her worst. Just so so.

Julia Sebestyen (Hungary) - She did it again! One of these days she is going to connect a clean free with these shorts and be a contender again. Is Cancer.Net her comeback competition? Time will tell. Nice job in the short.

Rachael Flatt (USA) - Unfortunate fall on the triple toe. Otherwise a lot better than Beijing. Gave that footwork a lot more zest!

Kim Yu-Na (S. Korea) - She pulls you in with seductive precision and right when you meet her face to face she sly slips her gun out and takes care of business...then walks away with confidence and class. She's a perfect Bong Girl. She's a vision on the ice, I love this short program, awesome.

Chock and Zuerlein (USA) - I love this OD. I'm a sucker for Cuban music. Twizzles looked better than they did in Beijing but the straight line sequence had issues.

Navarro and Bommentre (USA) - Nice work. They totally commit to the music and the feel of the dance. One place they could work on to move up in the standings would be their transitions in and out of elements and difficulty of the lifts.

Cappellini and Lanotte (Italy) - Trying to squeeze out more points. Very smooth.

Khoklova and Novitski (Russia) - More vodka please. Again the outfits...? Twizzle issues. Took a hit in the OD...Italians have a chance!

Belbin and Agosto (USA) - Well done. They are doing a better job of keeping up with Virtue and Moir/Davis and White here. Big lead.

*Intersting these folk OD's are bringing out everyones culture but the American teams have chosen to not take on American folk themes...just an observation.

NHK Free Skate Flash

*Looks like Sarah Meier just withdrew?

Becky Bereswill (USA) - Rough go for her here in Japan but some beautiful moments. I loved the spiral into the triple loop and also the fight she had on the second lutz.

Shoko Ishikawa (Japan) - Like Bereswill, some nice moments but overall a rough go. She seemed nervous, understandably competing at home in her biggest competition ever.

*What injury does Sarah Meier have?

Cynthia Phaneuf (Canada) - No luck with the lutz but she completed everything else she tried. Like the straight line footwork sequence...very much in character.

Yan Liu (China) - It's like 4 minutes of filler...nothing exciting at all.

Alena Leonova (Russia) - Better than she did in Moscow! Gutzy triple triple off the top then solid from that point on. When the music transforms and she gets into the character of that floozie harlet from the Chicago South Side it's like she can't miss a beat!

Laura Lepisto (Finland) - Too many singled and doubled jumps. The program is a good one though...if she lands all the jumps she would be right in there with the top women.

Yukari Nakano (Japan) - Some awesome moments and some silly ones too. This is such a big powerful piece of music and I'm not sure if she exactly rising to the occasion with this program.

Miki Ando (Japan) - I felt she was far better in tune with her character here. However, still some little issues with a couple of the jumping passes kept this program from singing. She'll have a chance to improve...she just made the Grand Prix Final!

Ashley Wagner (USA) - Great opening and then the little jump mistakes crept in culminating with that big single lutz. Still not a fan of the footwork, feels detached from the rest of the program. Third place isn't bad considering her performance.

Brodeur and Mattall (Canada) - Charming still. Not as spiffy technically as their last event.

Krasilnikova and Bezmaternikh (Russia) - This team lacked the flow and fluidity you would expect from a Russian Team. Lots of jump issues for Ksenia. The music they used from Pirates of the Caribbean was very heavy...very heavy.

Inoue and Baldwin (USA) - I spy clean side-by-side triple toes! Very nice. Kind of surprised they went for the throw triple axel (she fell) considering how clean they were up to that point but it's good to put mileage on it so it's there when you need it. They look much better this season being coached by Meno and Sand...more refined.

Denney and Barrett (USA) - I don't think I've ever seen this team miss a throw in competition so that as well as Jeremy's step out on his triple toe and singling of one his axel's was peculiar. The positive is that this program is great with good energy. They look like they could go another four and a half minutes. Their rise to the top of U.S. pairs skating will have to wait until another day.

Pang and Tong (China) - Anything I could say in dissent of this program would be real nitpicking. Pretty amazing...super solid. Big score!

Kavaguti and Smirnov (Russia) - Not sure why they stopped excepting maybe Yuko just needed a moment to collect herself after that huge fall on the throw quad salchow. She did collect herself though because after that they were near perfect. One of these days this team is going to skate two clean programs and no one will be able to catch them.

*The gap between second and third is dramatic!

*Free Dance isn't available on demand so I'll comment on it in my wrap-up post.

Jeremy Ten (Canada) - I love his music. I'm surprised more skaters haven't used Queen Symphony. This program is a little rough around the edges but I still think he looks far more sophisticated this season. I think he's in the mix to get Canada's second Olympic spot.

Kristoffer Berntsson (Sweden) - This program...I don't know what to say about this program. It was like Bruno at the beginning with the camera snapshots..."WASSSSUUUPPP!" Who ever thought of combining Sweet Dreams with Secret Garden? However, the jumps, spins, and footwork were all a hot mess (yes...Kristoffer gets the hot mess award here). Needs to get the program in better shape...needs work.

Vaughn Chipeur (Canada) - This program, like his short, feels frantic! Came undone a bit in the second half. I don't think he really feels the music either.

Daisuke Murakami (Japan) - Like most of the Japanese men he has great knees that really give him great flow across the ice. Possible jump downgrades? Kind of ran out of steam at the end but definitely one to watch for the future.

*I WANT ONE OF THE JAPANESE TEAM VESTS!

Adam Rippon (USA) - Really good. He hit that first triple axel which was an improvement from Paris (crashed and burned on the second though). Looked a little frustrated with his scores. He is so capable of spoiling the party in Spokane.

Artem Borodulin (Russia) - Nothing like Moscow...struggled the whole way through. Without the jumps the program is unimpressive.

Michal Brezina (Czech Republic) - Wow! Quietly solid as a rock. He didn't miss a thing in this program and his choreography is great. He does need to bring the expression to his face but that will come in time. He reminds me (maybe the hair?) of Jeffrey Buttle.

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan) - Crash and burn on the quad and then missed both his triple axels...eeeek! Sloppy salchow too...not his best by a long shot. Still love the program though. Wow, behind Brezina AND Rippon.

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) - Ugh! He is so brilliant. Choreo, footwork, unmatched. Nice to see the quad back in the program...almost had it. But the two weird falls mid program...what happened. It's like he didn't even get close the rotation. BEHIND Brezina...what's happening here?!?!

Johnny Weir (USA) - Much much improved from Moscow. Both triple axels looked amazing. Weird mishap on the triple loop that never took off but everything else was fine. Better speed here too. Crowd went slightly nuts for him. Barely ahead of Brezina though...that's how good Brezina was!

Jeremy Abbott (USA) - Oh boy...missed the opening quad and it was downhill from there. Crashed and burned both axels and triple lutz. Made a slight recovery 2/3 through the program but by then the damage was done. On the upside this program is very difficult. Should he ever skate this clean this would be a tough program for anyone to beat. Maybe too ambitious?

Brian Joubert (France) - Thought before he skates...no reason he shouldn't win this. And after his program, certain that he will. Played it a bit safe, but that was the smart thing to do. That one little step out on the axel was the only real mistake. Gorgeous quad as always. I'm a fan of the circular footwork in this program, wish the rest of the program was as intricate. A win here probably gets him to Grand Prix Final. He didn't get half the reaction from the audience as Weir did.

NHK Short Program Flash

I did things a little different.

I actually live tweeted during the short programs (yes between 2am and 6am). You can see my thoughts by checking out my twitter profile here.

The Men's competition was amazing!

Cup of China Free Skate Flash

Diane Szmiett (Canada) - Lovely subdued performance.

Beatrisa Liang (USA) - I love the second half of this program. She had good fight here. Despite her difficulties, she looks a bit more put together this season.

Yan Liu (China) - Snoozefest.

Joannie Rochette (Canada) - Still not her best but better. I wish the the first half of the program had some of the faster paced music in it. I suspect she'll gain some ground with this though.

Fumie Suguri (Japan) - Rough around the edges. I miss the old Fumie that was less abrasive on the ice.

Rachael Flatt (USA) - Weird to see her make those jump errors. This program needs a bit more umph. Pretty though.

Akiko Suzuki (Japan) - When I find myself going "Mambo!" during a program set to West Side Story, it means it's one of those rare occasions I actually like the program. I love that this girl has personality and flair on the ice and the jumps were great. I think I have a new favorite Japanese female skater.

*What's with the weird camera angles?

Carolina Kostner (Italy) - What ever she found in the short program, she lost again in the free. Back to the drawing board...again.

Kiira Korpi (Finland) - Snoozefest #2. Her placement...unbelievable! Someone will have to explain to me how these Finnish ladies always seem to get by with less than stellar programs. Secondly, why was a similarly performed program was judged so much higher here in Beijing vs. Paris (her technical score was up about 14 points?).

Mirai Nagasu (Japan) - Before she begins...I'm thinking this is so hers to win or lose. I think they dinged her on a lot of jumps but 5th place seemed a bit harsh. Best quote through fake smile for the camera: "I just want to go home and practice again."

Yu and Wang (China) - Happy Halloween!

*Face paint is officially out of control this season. I'm calling for an immediate moratorium!

Weaver and Poje (Canada) - I think this is a handsome team. Perhaps the best cut of Phantom of the Opera I've heard. Felt kind of slow but there were some gorgeous moments here.

Chock and Zuerlein (USA) - There is some really intricate and clever choreography woven into this program. The music is a bit...eh...non momentous? Twizzles need polished.

*More blood!

Faiella and Scali (Italy) - This team is great at storytelling. They totally nailed the characters of immigrants in a new country. Don't know if storytelling will be enough to make an Olympic Podium.

Khoklova and Novitski (Russia) - I just scratch my head with this team. I don't get them really so it's hard to say how I feel. Feel like they are channeling Bestemianova and Bukin. Outfits are, again, a disaster.

Belbin and Agosto (USA) - I have a dilemma. I love this team but I did not love this program. First half felt slow, some of the lifts felt sticky, and some of the poses were labored. The music leaves me a little cold as well (but perhaps that is the point). I miss the old Tanith and Ben...I want them back. Check the score...well under both Davis and White and Virtue and Moir. Interesting...

*Vanessa James is beautiful!

Evora and Ladwig (USA) - Good performance. This team has so many good qualities. Nice to see them go after and fight for everything. Throw lutz has spectacular potential. Mark looks spent!

Dong and Wu (China) - Pleasant...nothing special. Huibo Dong and Akiko Suzuki look like twins!

Duhamel and Buntin (Canada) - Abstract music choice. Lacked spunk.

Zhang and Zhang (China) - Meh. It's a better music choice than their short but there is still work to be done here. Don't know if they captured Scheherazade there...

Iliushechkina and Maisuradze (Russia) - Far less put together here than in the free. Kind of a let down.

Volosozhar and Morozov (Ukraine) - Sticking with Pearl Harbor, maybe a good decision for them. Wild on the loop...whoa! Still this program needs to find a way to be more exciting. It just kind of soldiers on.

Shen and Zhao (China) - Some tiny little technical glitches on the side-by-side elements to work on but clearly in a class of their own here. Not a fan of the music though, made the program feel slow (even though it wasn't).

Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA) - Nice job. It's clear he's still figuring out the triple axel and how it feels but everything else looked just fine. Looked like he could go another four minutes at the end of his program. Good conditioning.

Kevin Reynolds (Canada) - Lots of weird music cuts. The program didn't flow very well.

Ming Xu (China) - Love the music...not so much the program.

Denis Ten (Kazakhstan) - Shame he didn't have his jumping legs on here. This program skated clean would be a point getter!

Chao Yang (China) - This music has to be retired. Decent performance though.

Stephen Carriere (USA) - Better. He still seems like he's rushing a bit. Nice axel at the top of the program.

Yannick Ponsero (France) - I think it would be frustrating to know you're good enough to be one of the best but to continually fall short (and after that beautiful quad). I'm going to chalk it up to jet lag. Paris to Beijing is a long flight. Look better at Europeans.

Jinlin Guan (China) - Of all the Chinese men here competing he paid the most attention to his component score. Not as technically proficient as the others but a lot more easy to watch. Nice job.

Samuel Contesti (Italy) - Preferred his FS last season a little more but this season's is interesting. He still performs it pretty well for being somewhat 'out there' music. Ouchie on that shoulder banger into the boards.

Evan Lysacek (USA) - Not too shabby. His axel looks so much better this season. Love the choreo, loved the jumps, really love the footwork. Excellent work. Two footed the flip a little. Also, a little short of Plushenko's FS score from Moscow.

Sergei Voronov (Russia) - Better than Paris...not good enough though if he is going to make the Russian Olympic Team. Loved the quad! Hangs on to the podium.

Nobunari Oda (Japan) - This program is great. It didn't seem to sing like it did in Paris but still good nonetheless. That popped axel was unexpected. Not surprised he won but thought it maybe should have been a bit closer between he and Lysacek.

Cup of China Short Program Flash

Yan Liu (China) - Beautiful jumps. Shame her skating lacks real depth, attack, or excitement. If she had those things she would be a real contender. Solid performance though.

Diane Szmiett (Canada) - West Side Story....*sighs*. Who is this young lady? Need some back history on her Canadian fans.

Beatrisa Liang (USA) - No!!! She gets through the super tough stuff that she's has struggled with forever and then that pesky axel followed by the fall on the step sequence...frustrating. She had some good moments in this program though.

*Frank Carroll is going to have a couple busy days in Beijing!

Mirai Nagasu (USA) - Looked awfully good to me! Loved that circular footwork and the cute playfulness that came with it. Maybe a little cheat on the lutz...couldn't quite tell. Wait the score came...assuming no cheat!

Akiko Suzuki (Japan) - Good speed and great choreography. She attacked that program like she had nothing to lose. I loved it! Great music choice.

Fumie Suguri (Japan) - Did she get the memo that the Grand Prix is helping to determine Japan's Olympic team? Kind of bland...not good enough.

*I love those Lotte/Kose vests the Japanese girls have...I want one!

Kiira Korpi (Finland) - What is this music? Uh I love this girl and I can't even get excited for anything she is doing this season. The fact that she got ahead of Suzuki shocks me a bit.

Rachael Flatt (USA) - Madame consistency. There's nothing flashy about her, just good ole' fashioned solid, conservative, consistent skating and their ain't nothing wrong with that. Axel was kind of scary though...that combined with the swing of her free leg on the flip I think caused the lower scores.

Joannie Rochette (Canada) - Shocked to see her miss the lutz combo and the axel. Jump mistakes kept the program from singing. Way down there....my goodness!

Carolina Kostner (Italy) - Is her head back together? Played it a little safe with the triple toe but can't say I blame her. Didn't she seem relieved to get that performance under her belt. Infinitely better than Paris.

Chock and Zuerlein (USA) - I love how Madison just lights up out there (i.e. butt wiggle at the end). Thought this team would have a much stronger position in this competition. My outlook on U.S. Ice Dancing is now much clearer. Some nice complicated movements in this OD.

Weaver and Poje (Canada) - Little misses here and there killed this program...shame. When did the finger slicing happen...didn't catch that?

Zaretski and Zaretski (Israel) - Cute program. I'm a sucker for Hebrew folk music, Hava Nagila me any day. Needs more stretch.

Faiella and Scali (Italy) - I liked this dance. I don't think they missed a single snap and they looked really into it...it suits them well.

Khoklova and Novitski (Russia) - They win the outfit Hot Mess award for this competition. This whole program I just wanted to do a shot of Vodka. I guess that means the program did it's trick and got me feeling all Russian! Who is that singer?

Belbin and Agosto (USA) - What's with the (what feels like...) 20 second pause at the beginning? Once this program gets going it doesn't stop. Fun. To tell you the truth though, I preferred Davis and White's OD from Russia...

Shen and Zhao (China) - Right off the top the big return...but did they ever leave? These comebacks don't feel like comebacks but rather coronations. And I love that they are skating to Queen. Loved the Chinese crowd's reaction at the end of their program (which is slightly abrupt). Hongbo did make me nervous a couple of times but overall they look great. Cute variation on the death spiral.

Evora and Ladwig (USA) - I'm just waiting for this team to be brilliant. Beautiful music choice. Shame the jumps weren't there. I had the pleasure of chit-chatting with this team at 2007 Skate America in Reading, PA and they are the nicest people...I'm really rooting for them! Loved the death spiral twisty-thingy into the spin.

Dong and Wu (China) - Felt kind of robotic to me. Feel bad for this young team that will probably have to wait four years for their go at the Olympics...China is just stacked when it comes to pairs skating!

Duhamel and Buntin (Canada) - Iffy. I like this music but I don't know if I like it for them...or maybe I don't like the choreography...not sure. Program was missing something.

Iliusheckina and Maisuradze (Russia) - Lubov reminded me so much of Sasha Cohen. Was it possible for her to hit a bad position? This team's unison was spot on...very accomplished!

Volosozhar and Morozov (Ukraine) - Those outfits look oddly similar to Savchenko and Szolkowy's Lost in Space digs from last season? What a boring program! The music was almost non-existent and the choreography was...well...non-existent! That they were ahead of the Russians was blatant poor judging!

Zhang and Zhang (China) - Swing...I don't know if it's a good choice for them. That music never seems to work out unless a North American is skating to it. Just doesn't suit them. It's not jazzy enough and ends up coming across uneasy. Single salchow doesn't help either.

Jinlin Guan (China) - He's pretty good! Reminded me a whole bunch of Jeremy Abbott. Anyone else get that?

*In fact, all three Chinese men weren't bad at all. Something to keep an eye on for the future perhaps.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA) - What a talent. Great choreography. All those little turnouts and step outs on the jumps are going to kill the score unfortunately. Overall though not a shabby senior debut.

Kevin Reynolds (Canada) - Quad didn't work but I loved the choreo! He's made big improvements since last season. There's a personality out there now. Looks like he has a Bump It in his hair.

Samuel Contesti (Italy) - This guy is so much fun you have to be in his court. Shame the Chinese audience just doesn't get the Blues and has no idea how well he skated that program. The triple axel left him here but overall he looks good. This program skated clean would bring the house down in Vancouver!

Denis Ten (Kazakhstan) - Showed his inexperience a bit here. I think he was a bit overwhelmed with the whole idea of who he was competing with. Great choreography though. He seems to understand swing just fine! You can see his qualities obviously. That final bit of footwork is fantastic.

Stephen Carriere (USA) - Seemed a bit frantic and somewhat out of control. Settle settle! Also, there has to be a better recording of Carmina Burana he can use, this version lacked something.

Nobunari Oda (Japan) - Woosh! Ditto what I said in Paris + 10% more! Yet Morozov is still reaming him for something in the K&C!

Sergei Voronov (Russia) - Wow! Powerful. I think that was a "back at ya' Borodulin and Plushenko." Quad combo and axel where just perfect. Brilliant.

Yannick Ponsero (France) - He has to get his head around landing these jumps. I like this program (even if it is a bit Lambiel cookie-cutterish) and its complete commitment to character. He needs to upgrade that salchow too...not difficult enough to compete with these guys.

*Lots of blood in this competition!

Evan Lysacek (USA) - Rock solid! The triples jumps were as clean as they come. I was huge fan of the circular footwork. Evan hit every beat of the music perfectly. The costume is a winner too! What a men's competition this is! And yes...he looks even more like Emanuel Sandhu. 3rd place...eagerly awaiting judges pdf.

Rostelecom Cup Free Program Flash

*Over West Side Story as a choice of music. It MUST be retired. Chose another Bernstein classic. On The Waterfront, Candide, Olympic Hymn.

Brodeur and Mattatal (Canada) - A pleasant surprise. Mylene struggled a tiny bit on the side-by-side elements but by no means a disaster. Ever since Kurt Browning, Gene Kelly and Canadians are like Bread and Butter. I thought they were great.

Martiusheva and Rogonov (Russia) - Shame their side-by-side elements abandoned them because I love this team. I think they are so exciting to watch. One's to watch for the future.

Della Monica and Kocon (Italy) - Another surprise. With The Mission, I either love it or hate it and I loved this. There was some quality their. Side-by-side elements need to be closer and he needs to clean his footwork up on lifts but nice.

Bazarova and Larionov (Russia) - Ho hum. Nothing special. Really nice unison on side-by-side spins.

McLaughlin and Brubaker (USA) - Kind of rough. Seems like a work in progress. Felt slow, especially the spiral sequence. However, anytime anyone is under the care of John Nicks I feel they're in good hands. They should work with a bollywood dancer and add a little more creative dance here. Needs more Mumbai!

Kavaguti and Smirnov (Russia) - Classic Tamara Moskvina. There are some wonderful, inventive moments in this program. I love how the music builds and the fun that's there at the end. If this team is clean in Vancouver, they'll be tough to beat.

Pang and Tong (China) - This program is so much better suited for them than last seasons. So many teams pass up Man of la Mancha and instead skate to Don Quixote, so happy they went with the former. Really pretty program.

Brandon Mroz (USA) - Why does Brandon love those ruffles so? But what a different skater from the short. Quad! This music was far better suited to him, the jumps except that one triple axel were fine, and he settled down and skated. Really he's so capable.

*Why is it that so many American men are struggling with the triple axel this season?

Florent Amodio (France) - Outfit...hot mess. Good choreography, great program. But not up to snuff technically. Another one to watch for the future.

Shawn Sawyer (Canada) - I love this program and I'm glad he stuck with it from last season. Did better keeping those jumps on one foot. Even if he never reaches the pinnacle of figure skating he'd be an awesome choreographer.

Kevin Van der Perren (Belgium) - Good, but no triple axel. Also surprised he didn't do trademark triple triple triple combo. Slow at the end. Isn't this a revamped version of his 2006 Free?

Ivan Tretiakov (Russia) - Felt kind of jump to jump to jump. Lack of experience shined through in the free skate. Really out of gas at the end.

Adrian Schulteiss (Sweden) - Is that PAC-Man I hear in his program? How are Sweden's skaters so cool (Kristoffer Berntsson)? PAC-Man, techno music, 80's dance music, robots, disco...they are always entertaining. This is far more what I expected from him along music choice lines. Issues...but interesting. The scream at the end...little scary!

Artem Borodulin (Russia) - Looked like he was ready to keep up with the top guys in this competition. Again, lots of frantic a-la-Plushenko arm waving in this program but the Russian crowd loves it. Sergei Voronov is in trouble.

Johnny Weir (USA) - He really surprised me here. He debuted stronger last season at an earlier event. I thought he was going to be in top form in Russia. Lacked technical content but I think the program is nicely choreographed. I don't think this is a program that can go toe-to-toe however with Takahashi, Lambiel, or Oda's free we've seen. Needs more work if he's gonna be in Vancouver...but maybe it's his plan to peak in Spokane, not here.

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan) - Quad in the program...nice to see he's going for it. There's a freedom in the music that's just perfect for his style of skating. He needs a bit more expression but the program is great. All three top Japanese Men this season have great programs that totally suit them.

Evgeny Plushenko (Russia) - That cocky SOB!!! Any thoughts of rust or inability to compete with these guys after four years was just thrown out the window. He' so confident and sure of himself that even if he wasn't prepared his confidence would have bridged the gap and got it done anyway. I'll note, however, his score was a couple points less than Lysacek's winning score at World's. A glimmer of hope still exists for the other skaters.

Crone and Poirier (Canada) - They seem far more settled this season. Last season, Paul especially, they seemed almost unsteady on the ice...almost like they were hanging to balance. This is much better. I love this piece of music for them. That first set of twizzles they did were amazing.

Rubleva and Shefler (Russia) - Lovely skating. I don't feel it was as easy across the ice as Crone and Poirier but I appreciate the difficulty they have in this program. Nice to skate like that at home. Breakthrough for them.

Cappellini and Lanotte (Italy) - I hate this music, but somehow I liked it here for them. I love the pictures this team creates with their lifts. I love how the position is instant and they hold it. I'm quite impressed with this program! The low score was a shocker though. They were leaps better than the Russians.

Davis and White (USA) - Tremendous skating. The lifts that Igor Shpilband's teams are doing are ridiculous! My one concern or little nitpick is that sometimes I feel they rush a little. They hit so many gorgeous edges and positions...I want them to really lean in to them and let them sing rather than just moving quickly to the next position. Also note, their final score was about 4 points higher than Virtue and Moir at TEB! Uh oh!


Mao Asada (Japan) - She has lost everything good about her skating this season. She doesn't even look Olympic podium worthy, and that's a sad commentary on Mao Asada. She needs to go all the way back to the drawing board. If I were her, i would ditch the short as planned...I'd ditch the free as well and go back to The Nutcracker from 2006. She's got to find herself because this nightmare is just getting worse. I think she blew her chance at making the Grand Prix Final...eeek!

Ashley Wagner (USA) - Well done! I love the landings of her jumps, they just flow out with that deep knee. The program was excellent with the exception of her straight line footwork which lacked intensity and connection with the rest of the program (perhaps still working on that piece of the program). She's obviously worked very hard at making sure those jumps are fully rotated.

Alena Leonova (Russia) - She's so much fun to watch! Could she have picked a better piece of music than Chicago? Her ability isn't quite as high as some of the other ladies but she makes up for it in charisma. Jump issues early but turned it up in the back half of the program (was she wing'n it?).

Miki Ando (Japan) - It's just element to element...there's no real choreography or transitions there. I didn't get Cleopatra at all from that. The jumps were mostly solid though. Nothing to write home about. Kind of surprised she beat Ashley.

Alissa Czisny (USA) - She fought for almost every jump. I think she had some cheated landings too. That program didn't feel easy. Unfortunate splat on the flip. Her best qualities, no matter her performance, always shine through. Gotta rotate those jumps though.

Julia Sebestyen (Hungary) - Lost the focus she had in the short. Too many doubles...too many faltered landings...not enough content. Bland program...I feel like every female skater from Eastern Europe has skated this exact program. Back to the old Julia.

Rostelecom Cup Short Program Flash Pt. 2

Amelie Lacoste (Canada) - If I hear this music one more time for skating...

Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain) - Ouchie on the lutz. I like this music. What's it called...Totentanz? Who cares if you skated bad...you're married to KVDP!

Alissa Czisny (USA) - Ugh...so good then the botched axel. I like this program but I think she needs to bring it harder...more anger is needed, it's all a little too smiley. Bring out the killer instinct.

Ashley Wagner (USA) - Not a fan of this music but boy didn't she skate well. I miss the triple triple combo. Behind Czisny? Did I miss something?

Julia Sebestyen (Hungary) - I haven't seen her look that sharp in years. Footwork was a little too easy for a skater of her ability but nice to see her hit a program. Nice surprise.

Alena Leonova (Russia) - I just love watching her! She has a spirit on the ice that is just great. This music only works for flirty Russians...suits her! Spruce up the spins. Ahead of Wagner?

Miki Ando (Japan) - Heavy music choices for the ladies this season. Fingers crossed she doesn't become Mikisova Andokova. Gutzy triple triple attempt that ended up not really helping her. Program feels disconnected from the music.

Mao Asada (Japan) - I can't believe she left that triple axel in the short. RETHINK...RETHINK! Reports say this is the last time we'll see this short...I hope those reports are right. What happened to the joyful Mao...just sitting in the Kiss and Cry she seems sad, like she doesn't even want to be skating. Her placement...wow. The judges certainly aren't helping her along.

*Amongst the ladies 1st thru 5th is close!

**Ice Network is being too slow to post the OD. Just looked at the results. Only surprise is Rubleva and Shefer keeping pace ahead of Crone and Poirier...interesting.