World's Rewind

It was quite a roller coaster ride all the way around.

The Pairs were first and had the most predictable set of results with Pang and Tong taking their second World Title, Savchenko and Szolkowy pulling in for the Silver, and Kavaguti and Smirnov working out the bronze. I thought the Germans were best on the night but the judges went with the Chinese. Ho hum. Now we get to wait and see who decides to retire...who decides to continue. I'm betting Pang and Tong will call it a day. As far as World berths next season, China and Russia get three, Canada and the U.S. get two, everyone else gets one.

The Men were next and provided the most fireworks. Daisuke Takahashi took this Championships by storm, killing it in both portions of the competition and surprising everyone when he almost completed a Quad Flip! Crazy! Patrick Chan took the Silver with an underwhelming performance, he's very fortunate to have such solid components because that is what kept him afloat. Brian Joubert muscled out a Bronze, having some technical struggles of his own. The surprise of the competition was Michal Brezina who I've called a "Breath of Fresh Air" just skated his heart out to finish fourth. I actually thought he should have been on the podium but I guess it wasn't to be. Jeremy Abbott and Adam Rippon skated fairly well (especially Adam) and earned the U.S. three spots next year. Speaking of those spots, Japan also earned three and Canada eeked out three. France, Italy, and Belgium nabbed two. Everyone else just gets one.

The Ice Dance competition was the closest. As expected, Virtue and Moir and Davis and White did battle...again. This time, Davis and White won the Free Dance but Virtue and Moir had enough lead to hang on to the win and complete a medal set. It's crazy how close these two teams are and how it comes down to the wire every time. Faiella and Scali earned their first World Medal on home ice taking the Bronze in a "feel good" moment. Like Pairs, now we get to wait and see who will and won't retire. As far as berths for next season, U.S. and Canada are in for three with Italy, Israel, Great Britain, France, and Hungary nabbing two.

The ladies competition was blown wide open when Kim Yu-Na finished 7th in the short. It was blown even more open when she made errors in her free skate. The only skater to take advantage was Mao Asada who recaptured the World Title after losing it to Kim last season. Mao did get a downgrade on her second triple axel but she looked far more put together in Torino and skated an amazing free. Despite the problems, Kim Yu-Na still managed to get the silver (actually won the free) and Laura Lepisto took the Bronze with, I'm sorry, a terrible performance. In fact, the ladies event past Asada, had little to hang your hat on. Canada's Cynthia Phaneuf probably had no idea she'd finish 5th! Both American's came undone to finish 7th and 9th...disappointing since Nagasu was the leader after the short program. Berths for next season, only Japan gets three. A smattering of countries including Korea, Finalnd, Canada, Italy, U.S., Russia, and Sweden all get two.

World's kind of ended on an unimpressive note. For me, the real standout star was by far Daisuke Takahashi who was incredible. Still scratching my head about Nobunari Oda's complete implosion and failure to make the free. Sad that the U.S. completely let a great opportunity to earn three women's spots slip away. And so very very thankful for Meryl and Charlie who saved face for the U.S. and kept us from having a medal shut-out.

Lots to digest in the off season. But, 3rd Annual Loop Axels are coming!

Worlds Preview - Ladies

The ladies field at the World Championships remains strong. Joannie Rochette is the only high profile withdrawal.

That means that Olympic Gold Medalist Kim Yu-Na and Olympic Silver Medalist Mao Asada will get a rematch.

I'm going to take yet another opportunity to again plead with all the "fringe fans" out there to cut the outrageous attacks on these two magnificent competitors. Be proud of their accomplishments, celebrate their achievements, understand that they don't want these kind of bitter comments happening on their behalf...in short, cut the crap! To that end, any further comments or links on these two skaters that I feel are out of line that are posted on this blog, I will remove.

Back to the skating, Mao Asada has hinted at fiddling with a quad. No plans to try it in competition at this point but we may see some attempts in practice. Seems a logical step for Asada who has managed to produce a more solid triple axel than a majority of the men's competitors!

Where Asada shows athletic prowess Kim answers with elegance. If she can manage to reproduce her performance from Vancouver she'll be basically untouchable. The combination of solid technical difficulty with amazing skating skills gives her an advantage over the entire field.

The cast of characters chasing after them is many. 2007 World Champ Miki Ando is in the field. Miki's problem this entire season has been the lack of life in her free skate. She skated a technically proficient free in Vancouver that had no life to it whatsoever. It will take more than jumps to be competitive. The surprise of Vancouver, American Mirai Nagasu is in the field and with a good shot at her first World medal. Without Rochette competing, she actually is in bronze position. It'll be interesting to see if she can rise to the occasion and have a moment.

American Rachael Flatt had a role reversal with Mirai at the Olympics. Where Mirai had usually been the one hit with the jump downgrades, Rachael actually got the hand slap in Vancouver and Mirai prevailed with clean jumps. If Rachael can avoid jump downgrades, she'll be in the mix too.

Other competitors to keep an eye on include Finland's Laura Lepisto, judges love her skating qualities and she tends to find her way into the top group of women. Japan's Akiko Suzuki who has this season been a solid competitor, especially in the free skate. Also, Russian Alena Leonova, who can charm the audience (and judges) with her bubbly style and catapult herself into he mix.

Medal Predictions: (GOLD) Kim Yu-Na, (SILVER) Mao Asada, (BRONZE) Rachael Flatt

Worlds Preview - Pairs

The Pairs field remains mostly intact from Vancouver with only the Ukranian's Volosozhar and Morozov and the Gold Medalists, Shen and Zhao not competing. Shen and Zhao have retired from eligible competition and news is Tatiana Volosozhar is looking for a new competitive partner at Stanislav Morozov's request.

So we are left with a showdown between two teams that have both claimed the top spot at the event. Reigning Champs and Olympic Bronze Medalists Savchenko and Szolkowy of Germany and 2006 World Champs and reigning Olympic Silver Medalists Pang and Tong of China. The momentum, at this point would seem to favor the Chinese, who not only bested Savchenko and Szolkowy at the Grand Prix Final, but also was leaps ahead of them at the Olympics (where they actually won the free skate portion of the competition). Savchenko and Szolkowy, have struggled to stay on podiums this season with Bronzes at the Grand Prix Final and the Olympics where they were considered by many favorites for Gold. I still think Savchenko and Szolkowy have the superior program, they just have to skate it.

There are other teams lurking in the background including two teams from Russia; Kavaguti and Smirnov and Mukhortova and Trankov. Both dropped the ball for Russia at the Olympics leading to a Russian Pairs medal shut-out, the first since 1960. That's huge considering Soviet or Russian teams had won every Olympic Pairs Gold from 1964 - 2006. So these two teams have a little face saving to do. Kavaguti and Smirnov are the reigning World Bronze Medalists and were 4th at the Olympics so perhaps they have the best shot at spoiling the party at the top.

Some other teams that could pounce upon opportunity include Zhang and Zhang of China who have looked better in the back half of this season, winning the Four Continents Cup. They are the reigning World Silver Medalists and can't be counted out. Also, Dube and Davison of Canada, who didn't have the skate they wanted in Vancouver. Bronze Medalists in 2008, they have a chance to return to the podium.

I'd like to think that the American's Denney and Barrett and Evora and Ladwig have a shot to, if not medal, at least perhaps sneak into the top six. That would be an amazing result!

Medal Predictions: (GOLD) Pang and Tong, (SILVER) Kavaguti and Smirnov, (BRONZE) Savchenko and Szolkowy

Worlds Preview - Men

The top men's competitors have slowly bit the dust over the past few weeks. In a steady succession of withdrawals, Lambiel...then Lysacek, followed by Weir...then Verner, and finally just yesterday Plushenko, the men's field has opened up considerably.

That means, by defacto, reigning Olympic Bronze Medalist, Japan's Daisuke Takahashi is the favorite to win. But he's been a bit unpredictable this season having some great performances coupled with some rough ones. His artistic ability is unmatched by he's a question mark technically.

Some of Takahashi's greatest competition will come from his own backyard. Nobunari Oda and Takahiko Kozuka are in a great position to spoil the podium and give Japan an amazing opportunity to sweep the podium! Nobunari will need to find the magic he had earlier in the season and Kozuka will need to find his legs and land jumps. Like Takahashi, both are capable of solid component scores that can catapult them to the top.

Canada's Patrick Chan has a chance to regroup and put Olympic disappointment behind him. The reigning World Silver Medalist has everything it takes to win this title, hopefully he's worked out his technical glitches including that inconsistent triple axel.

Two of the other wildcards in this event come from the U.S. First Jeremy Abbott, who had a terrible showing at the Olympics, having to scramble to just get to 9th place overall. But he, like Chan, is more than capable of winning the title (see 2010 U.S. Nationals Free Skate!). He just can't be a head case. Also from the U.S., Adam Rippon just won his first Senior ISU Title at the Four Continents Cup so he too has to be considered a medal threat.

That just leaves Joubert. If Abbott had a terrible Olympics, Joubert had a disastrous Olympics, finishing way down in 16th. But he does this...he has a bad skate, turns into a basket case and has terrible skates...pulls back, gets perspective...then starts having great skates again. And Plushenko, for some reason or another, spooks him. Without Plushenko in the competition, maybe he'll feel like the Alpha-Dog again and get his swagger back. He is the reigning World Bronze Medalist and is also capable of doing well in Torino.

Medal Predictions: (GOLD) Nobunari Oda, (SILVER) Patrick Chan, (BRONZE) Jeremy Abbott

Worlds Preview - Dance

So the World Figure Skating Championships kick off next week in Torino, Italy.

Like many of the events, Dance has been watered down quite a bit from Vancouver. Domnina and Shabalin, Belbin and Agosto, and Delobel and Schoenfelder have all taken a pass.

But the two top teams have not taken a pass, so we'll again be treated to a showdown between Virtue and Moir and Davis and White. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes down. At the Olympics it seemed Virtue and Moir put a smidge of distance between themselves and the Americans but in Torino they wont have the same home crowd support and energy so that small gap might evaporate.

The team that will have the crowd behind them are Italians Faiella and Scali, who finished a solid 5th in Torino and in the absence of other teams look to be in a position to medal for the first time.

But Faiella and Scali will have challengers too. When you start to look at who is looking to move up, you have to consider the French team of Pechalat and Bourzat, the British duo of Kerr and Kerr (who, thanks to a nice alignment of OD requirements, have actually gone back to their very well received Scottish Folk Dance from 2008), the Israeli team of Zaretski and Zaretski, and the Russians Khoklova and Novitski.

Medal Predictions: (GOLD) Virtue and Moir, (SILVER) Davis and White, (BRONZE) Faiella and Scali

Pic of the Week

As we approach the World Figure Skating Championships, the one competitor I have serious questions about is this guy...Brian Joubert.

What in the world happened at the Olympics? It was like a terrible fall from grace that nobody wanted to see. I'll be the first to admit Joubert is not my 'cup of tea' but he does make a competition more exciting and was shocking to see him way down there (with Abbott too!) in 16th at the Olympics.

Yeeeeesh!

He blamed it on his personal life away from the rink, saying he was distracted and not himself.

He's seemed distracted and not himself all season. When he lost the French Masters waaaaaaaayyyyyy back at the beginning of the season to upstart Florent Amodio I smelled trouble. Poor showing at Eric Bompard Trophy, an untimely foot injury, a bad beat at Europeans from Plushenko and Lambiel, and then the Olympic fubar, has put his season, to this point, in the FAIL column. I don't think he can (or would want to) hang his season on NHK Trophy alone.

The French Federation was so worried they made him pass a test skate before they added him to the World Team.

I'm an optimist, I think he'll be in better shape at the World Championships. He's one of a dwindling list of competitors that can challenge Plushenko (if he can realistically be challenged at all) for the title. This will be the second time he will be in a position to bounce back after Olympic disappointment (he won the Silver at Worlds in 2006 after a poor showing in Torino)...can he do it again?

UPDATE: Perhaps Joubert is a Gold Medal Favorite afterall...Plushenko has withdrawn from Worlds.

Hodge-Podge

Lots of little newsbits to report on.

First, three cities have been officially accepted as bid cities for the 2018 Winter Olympics:

PyeongChang, South Korea; Munich, Germany; and Annecy, France.

These three cities now go through a long candidature process that involves heavy evaluation. A winner will be chosen in Durban, South Africa at the IOC Session in July of 2011. Olympic insiders say that PyeongChang is the early favorite to win the bid (but many said the same thing about Chicago 2016...sad face). In the end, the city that can put forward the best bid proposal, cost effectiveness report, environmental sustainability goals, and produce the most public support should win. Geographically, PyeongChang looks like a winner.

Portland, Oregon was selected to host Skate America today. The event will take place November 11-14 at the Rose Garden Arena. "We're thrilled to bring 2010 Skate America to the city of Portland," Chris Oxley, general manager of the Rose Quarter, the district in which the Rose Garden is located, told U.S. Figure Skating. "Portland has shown that it is a very strong figure skating market, evidenced by the success of the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. With the Olympics being held in the Pacific Northwest last month, the region is ready and excited for another opportunity to host an event of this caliber."

Joannie Rochette has withdrawn from the World Championships. She then asked the ISU to "bend the rules" a little to allow her to skate in ABC's Thin Ice without Skate Canada facing sanctions because of her withdrawal. The ISU agreed (shockingly!). "We appreciate the ISU worked with us to find a solution for this situation," said William Thompson, Skate Canada’s CEO. "They have agreed to relax ISU rule 136 for Joannie in this instance, due to the unique and extenuating circumstances of this particular request. We want to thank the ISU for their consideration and understanding in reviewing this in light of Joannie's situation." International Skating Union rules state an athlete can't choose an exhibition performance over an ISU-sanctioned event. If they do, their federation, in this case Skate Canada, can face sanctions. They ISU relaxed the rule for Rochette who will skate a tribute to her late mother on the show.

Finally, here in the U.S., for the first time, the World Championships will be broadcast entirely on Universal Sports. This also means for the first time, the World Championships will be broadcast on a network that not everyone has. The upside of that is Universal Sports is showing the entire competition live on it's website. Downside...many of the events are in the wee hours of the morning because the event is in Italy. I'm crossing my fingers that Universal Sports will archive the competitions online so they can be watched on demand. Universal Sports, if you read this...please make it happen!

Johnny Out...Adam In

The writing was on the wall with the plethora of T.V. appearances Johnny has had since the conclusion of the Men's Free Skate in Vancouver. He's been about as busy as Evan...and he didn't even win a medal.

Johnny Weir has withdrawn from the World Figure Skating Championships in Torino, Italy later this month. He joins Evan Lysacek, Stéphane Lambiel, Tanith Belbin, and Benjamin Agosto...all on the pass list.

But Johnny in his statements is leading his fans to believe that he 'may' continue competing next season. "I want to be a better competitor and win medals for my country, and I hope everyone can respect my decision to take the time to improve. I want my fans to know that I love them, and I work every day to make them proud. I will continue to work hard, and I hope my work for next season will be the most exciting of my career," Johnny told U.S. Figure Skating.

Johnny Weir to compete in the 2010-11 season? We'll see...

Johnny's decision is a golden opportunity for Adam Rippon who'll now get to go to his first Senior Worlds. "I'm very excited and grateful for this opportunity," Rippon told U.S. Figure Skating. "Since competing at Four Continents, I have been training well, and I will be ready to do my best in Torino."

Adam recently won his first Senior ISU Championship at the 2010 Four Continents Cup.

Adam Rippon will join Ryan Bradley and U.S. National Champ Jeremy Abbott in Torino at the end of the month.