Sticking It Out

Amidst all the splitting, switching, and retiring amongst the top U.S. Pairs teams the past couple of seasons, one has remained constant and will continue to be so through at least the immediate future.

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig announced Tuesday they will continue international competition during the 2011-12 season and train in Ellenton, Florida under longtime coach Jim Peterson.

"They are 'staying in' because of their love of the sport, a desire to better themselves as competitors and to ultimately reach their potential as athletes," Jim Peterson told the Southwest Florida Skating Club.

While the announcement would suggest they're leaning towards a run at the Sochi Olympics, they formally announced those plans yet. "Mark and I have always had commitments on a yearly basis" Amanda said.

Well no matter their decision, kudos to them for sticking it out for as long as they have. We've learned keeping teams together is no easy feat and this team has managed to "beat the odds."

Playlist Shuffle

I'm always at the gym, working out, with the iPod Touch going, and constantly thinking to myself..."Oh, so and so should skate an exhibition to this." I think I'm a good judge of what music would fit certain skaters. I often want to see them do something I think they normally wouldn't. I don't know? Here are some of my thoughts. Agree or disagree?

Rachael Flatt - "Not Myself Tonight" by Christina Aguilera. I think I eluded to this is an earlier post about skating perhaps being to PC at times. I would love to see Rachael totally abandon her 'good girl' image and skate to something downright naughty! I think it would do wonders for her career to get her out of this 'goody goody two-shoes' typecast.

Kimmie Meissner - "Send in the Clowns" by Judy Collins. I love the simplicity of this music and I think I miss that most in Kimmie Meissner's skating. I would love to see Kimmie hit the ice with a gentle piece of music, soft understated choreography, and basic command of skating that shows off the very best of what she has to offer.

Virtue and Moir - "Saturday" by Basshunter. This is basically a oddball thought but I would love to see these two kill an Ice Dance number to a hard hitting club hit. They have the youthfulness and audience connection I think to pull this off.

Akiko Suzuki - "Waka Waka (Time For Africa)" by Shakira. Akiko was one of my breakout favorites last season and I love that she doesn't mind letting loose on the ice. This song is all about freedom of movement and fun and I think she could really have a lot of fun with it on the ice.

Ryan Bradley - "Like We Used To" by A Rocket To The Moon. It's a charming piece of music and I think Ryan Bradley has the sensibility to pull it off. It's not a comedy piece but rather a story of a young man's heart. Somehow seems perfect for him...at least to me.

Jeremy Abbott - "Cry Me a River" by Michael Buble. I know, I know...JerBear has done Buble before...but he's so good at it! This song has a different more sophisticated feel than his "Save the Last Dance For Me" number he did a few years ago. Abbott and Buble go together like bread and butter.

Evora and Ladwig - "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Andrea Bocelli and Katharine McPhee. Despite the fact these two aren't romantically involved they still have a great connection on the ice. I think a slow romantic piece that they could accent with their amazing lifts would be amazing.

Kim Yu-Na - "Louboutins" by Jennifer Lopez. I would start off the program with this fierce walk right down center ice and then she just kills it from that point on (oh boy, now I'm choreographing...watch out!). I think her Bond Short from last season showed us she could do sexy...this would just take it to the next level.

Johnny Weir - "I Will Not Bow" by Breaking Benjamin. Something about the tension and slight angst in this song I feel Johnny would kill at a rock program. It's such a departure from what you might expect from him but I think he'd surprise himself.

Did I hit the mark or am I way off base?

U.S. Nationals Preview (Pairs)

The first senior competition that will get underway in Spokane is the Pairs event. The U.S. has the opportunity to send two teams to the Olympics in Vancouver. Who are the teams to keep an eye on? Here are my thoughts on six teams to watch:

Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin - I'm always completely impressed with this team every time I see them. They have dynamic lifts and a wonderful connection with the audience. Caitlin is one of those skaters whom you can't take your eyes off of when she's on the ice. Some inconsistency has plagued them off and on. If they hit their elements they'll have a shot at the podium and possibly a trip to Vancouver. Their most recent competition, 2009 HomeSense Skate Canada, they finished 7th.

Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski - The last time this team competed in Spokane they surprised everyone by winning the 2007 National crown. This team has beautiful classic pair lines and great attention to choreography but often struggles in the technical department. This is the first season since their 2007 Nationals win that they enter the event healthy. The last two years they entered Nationals coming off of injury. They reached the top before...can they do it again? They recently finished 6th at 2009 Cancer.Net Skate America.

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig - One of the teams that seems stuck in that 4th-5th-6th range at U.S. Nationals. Beautiful artistry but again, some troubles often on the technical elements. When this team is on they can be spectacular. Their lifts are some of the most inventive and spectacular to watch. They just missed the podium last year and will need a big effort to make it this season and an even bigger effort to make the Olympic Team. They recently finished 7th at Samsung Anycall Cup of China and 5th at Cancer.Net Skate America.

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett - This team made a splash last season coming seemingly from nowhere to take the silver medal at Nationals (and desperately close to winning). They followed it up with stunning performances at both the Four Continents Cup and the World Championships solidifying themselves as the hot new team to watch. At both their Grand Prix events this season they continued to demonstrate solid technical skills and also showed improved artistic sensibility. Their ability to skate clean under pressure makes them one of (if not the) the teams to beat. This team was 4th at NHK Trophy and 5th at HomseSense Skate Canada.

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin - The veterans of the field and the only team competing in Spokane with previous Olympic experience (7th in Torino). This team has a secret weapon in their back pocket...the throw triple axel. They successfully completed the element this season at Trophee Eric Bompard. What has held this team back is consistency on the side-by-side triple jumps, especially on John's part. The lack of consistency on that element has caused them to put side-by-side double axels in their short program which puts them at a point disadvantage. If they can find consistency on their side-by-side triple jumps they'll be in good shape. They finished 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard and won the bronze medal at NHK Trophy.

Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker - This team barely squeaked out a defense of their National Title last season and have had trouble getting back to gold standard form sense. At last season's World Championships they actually finished behind Denney and Barrett. Over the summer they made a coaching change and made the move from Colorado Springs to L.A. to train with John Nicks (also coaching Sasha Cohen). John has a knack with pairs skaters, turning out several champions in the past. They have a unique free skate (Slumdog Millionaire) that has left me a bit cold this season. If they can find a way to be more engaging with the audience and choreography with their music and improve upon the technical issues that have plagued them this season, they should have no problem making it to Vancouver. If the mistakes come...it could get dicey. This team won the bronze in their season opener at Rostelecom Cup but was just 4th at Skate America.

I make a point of not predicting Nationals but I'm curious to get your opinion on how you see things playing out. Comment below!