Nebelhorn Afterglow

I've found some time to watch the performances. Some thoughts on the winners:



I love Spartacus but I'm not loving this music on Mirai...yet. I'm holding out that she is still working out the kinks and the program is going to blossom later in the season. Felt as though the climax of the program came too late after 3.5 minutes of tone foam. But the jumps (save that little blip on that double loop) looked pretty good. Mirai looks like she has finally grown into her body which is nice to see.



Surprise, surprise, surprise! I was having a hard time picturing Madison on the ice without Keiffer but smiled when I saw these two together. Such strides in such a short amount of time. I think this dance was sexy so some kudos to them for pulling it off. Making big gains in Ice Dance is next to impossible in the U.S. with powerhouse teams perched at the top but nice to see a new team and a fresh prespective.



This one could be a winner. Love Swan Lake and love this team. I think they look the part of Swan Lake. Tatiana is beautiful and pure, but definitely looks like she has a little bit of spunk and 'bad girl' in her. Maxim looks like a guy who given the choice, would choose the 'bad girl.' Sure up those throw landings and make sure to finish 'all' the lifts in the program and you have top quality skating here.



Yuzuru frustrates me a little. He is so talented. I want his coaches to scream at him across the ice and say, "SLOW DOWN!" When I watch him I feel like it's so frantic. I want him to figure out how to have impact without flailing and rushing. I love that he's chosen music from the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack...I love even more the music from Romeo and Juliet he chose for the middle section of the program...but then he just flew through it at lightning speed. I wanted him to listen to the music and slow down and 'feel it.' For example, I loved the Ina Bauer he did...but I wanted it to last at least 5 more seconds. This is what I mean when I say 'reign it in.' stop...breathe...smell the roses...sometimes in skating it's okay to take your time. As an aside, loved the traveling cannon spin in his circular footwork.

Shoutout to Tatjana2541 on YouTube for posting all the Nebelhorn vids!

And Full Nebelhorn results can be seen here.

Twitter Tops

Last October I looked at the who was the Top Figure Skating Tweeps out there. With a season now behind us...I decided to take another look to see where things currently stand in the skating "Twitterverse."

Here is the current Top 10 Figure Skating Tweeps:

#10 Daisuke Takahashi (14,405)

#9 Mirai Nagasu (15,568)

#8 Fumie Suguri (18,046)

#7 Miki Ando (22,363)

#6 Evgeny Plushenko (22,841)

#5 Kristi Yamaguchi (25,464)

#4 Joannie Rochette (26,868)

#3 Evan Lysacek (63,752)

#2 Johnny Weir (95,794)

#1 Kim Yu-Na (356,355)

There have been some change in the results. Japanese skaters are showing up on Twitter and they have big followings. Miki Ando, Daisuke Takahashi, and Fumie Suguri have all made the top 10. Only Nagasu held her ground to stay in the top 10 with Belbin, Chan, and Abbott all getting the boot! Past Ando the placements are unchanged. Women have taken over with 6 in the top 10. Kristi remains the only "Pro" skater to be in the field. Now, all the skaters are single skaters (with Belbin's exit). And the Queen (Kim) is still queen...in a huge way.

I decided to look at the numbers in a different way. Rather than looking at # of followers, I looked at % increase in followers which painted a different story. How do they rank (excpet Ando, Suguri, and Takahashi who I didn't have info on last Oct.) by percent increase of followers?

#9 Evan Lysacek + 8%

#8 Patrick Chan + 31% (No Longer in Top 10)

#7 Kim Yu-Na + 34%

#6 Mirai Nagasu + 34.5%

#5 Johnny Weir + 37%

#4 Jeremy Abbott + 41% (No Longer in Top 10)

#3 Joannie Rochette + 44%

#2 Kristi Yamaguchi + 66%

#1 Evgeny Plushenko + 91%

Wow! The Olympic Champ is struggling! In a more and more socially connected world he was only able to increase his Twitter following by 8%...yikes. The bright-lights of Vancouver are fading...might explain his recent indication that he may be returning to competition. I feel like that was a poor quarterly earnings report.

The rest of the field has made nice gains...but one crushes them all...Plushenko! He's almost doubled his Twitter following. This shows he has a dedicated social core and with his subsequent return to competition I suspect this number will continue to rise as well.

Why has Kristi Yamaguchi gained so many followers? Does someone know something I don't?

Rachael Flatt - Mirai Nagasu Debacle

It was sad to watch...Rachael Flatt totally tanking in the free skate after a less than great short program. Then we learn after the fact that she had a stress fracture...diagnosed on April 22nd.

The question is...should Rachael Flatt have immediately decided at that moment to quick call Mirai Nagasu and say "I'm under the weather...get thee to Moscow!" A conundrum indeed...

To add to the intrigue, Frank Caroll piped up yesterday and said of his student "Mirai is in great shape - better than she has been her whole life. She took the responsibility of being ready as the alternate very seriously. She was doing triple axels and triple lutz - triple loop in practice. She was ready to go." He continued "This cost us three spots." He even went further when Phil Hersh pressed him on the fact that Nagasu's presence at the competition couldn't necessarily guarantee three U.S. berths next season "She blew those other American girls (Flatt and Czisny) out of the water at Four Continents."

Ballsy!

Tom Zakrajsek contends that Rachael was capable of doing all the elements in both her short and free and that is why they made the decision to come to Moscow. Over the course of two shoddy skates and and a couple press conferences the news slowly came out that she was injured and then eye brows were raised.

From my perspective, Rachael, injured or not, had the right to skate in Moscow. She outskated Mirai in Greensboro and earned her spot fair and square. I personally think she shouldn't have gone to Moscow but there is no rule in place that says she has to withdraw so I guess that's where it is. She could of been the bigger person here and put U.S. Figure Skating ahead of her wants/hopes...sad she didn't.

It brings up the bigger question however, should U.S. Figure Skating have a mechanism in place that automatically forces the withdrawal of a skater from major championships if there is a known injury that could affect performance? Food for thought...

Twitter Wars

Whose winning the Twitter War? Who has the most followers? Whose every word are we hanging on too? I have been in a top 10 mood so here are the Top 10 Figure Skaters (by followers at time of posting) on Twitter:

#10 Jeremy Abbott (@jeremyabbottpcf) - 9,980

#9 Tanith Belbin (@TanithJLB) - 10,641

#8 Patrick Chan (@PChiddy) - 10,947

#7 Mirai Nagasu (@mirai_nagasu) - 11,644

#6 Evgeny Plushenko (@Evgeniplushenko) - 11,947

#5 Kristi Yamaguchi (@kristiyamaguchi) - 15,356

#4 Joannie Rochette (@JoannieRochette) - 18,698

#3 Evan Lysacek (@EvanLysacek) - 59,069

#2 Johnny Weir (@JohnnyGWeir) - 70,024

#1 Kim Yu-Na (@Yunaaaa) - 266,581

So my thoughts...

Pro vs Amateur - As far as skating goes, Twitter is dominated by eligible skaters with Kristi Yamaguchi being the only established professional/veteran in the group. Kurt Browning, Scott Hamilton, and Brian Boitano did have followers in the thousands ranging from 5,072 to 7,484.

Johnny vs Evan - Johnny, despite not winning an Olympic Medal and a stint on Dancing with the Stars, has about 10,000 followers more than his arch nemesis (strong words?) Evan Lysacek. A credit to Johnny's inherent ability to simply create buzz and media sparkle. He seems perfect for Social Media.

Singles Club - All but one of the top 10 are singles skaters. Tanith Belbin is the only paired skater to break through. She must have done something right! And that begs the question...why is Tanith so much more popular than Ben and his 4,034 followers?

Vancouver was the Twitter Olympics - All the top 10 with the exception of Yamaguchi competed in Vancouver.

Boys vs Girls - Doesn't seem to be any gender bias on Twitter...5 boys and 5 girls make up the top 10. #equality

10,000 Threshold - Poor Jeremy Abbott is on the only skater in the top 10 not above 10,000 followers...can we get him there. Prove that Pigs Can Fly, follow Jeremy on Twitter! UPDATE: We ran a little Twitter campaign an voila...Jeremy is now above 10,000. Now he's going for 20,000...look out Joannie Rochette!

Popular! - Mirai Nagasu's appearance on this list suprises me. She came to Twitter a bit later than a lot of the top skaters yet has garnered quite a following in a short period of time. I love the 2008 National Champ and reigning U.S. Silver medalist...and apparently so do all of you!

Flag Representation - Twitter's top figure skaters are largely North American. 60% are American, 20% Canadian, and 10% each for Russia and S. Korea. Question...where's Japan?

The Queen - S. Korea's Kim Yu-Na really is the Queen. 266,581 followers and climbing. She destroys the rest of the Twitter competition!

Cake and Candles: Mirai Nagasu

Happy 17th Birthday Mirai Nagasu!

She's just 17...geez, I feel like I've been watching her for years now. She's pulling a Michelle Kwan and growing up right in front of us.

This season I think Mirai got more lessons and experience under her belt than most get in a year. I get the idea that next year will be bright and full of promise.

XXI Olympic Winter Games Figure Skating Ladies Preview

Last but certainly not least, the ladies event in Vancouver promises to be one of the most heavily covered by the media because of some international super-stars in the event. 10 Ladies to keep a lookout for:

Mao Asada (JPN) - After a super bumpy start to her season where she failed to medal at Rostelecom Cup and make the Grand Prix Final, she seems to have put the train back on the tracks with solid performances at both the recent Japanese Nationals and Four Continents Cup. In the free skate at Four Continents Cup she was credited with landing two triple axels in the free skate, making the 2008 World Champ a clear technical threat. The big problems for Asada this season, aside from some technical issues, have been the fact that her programs this season (her free skate in particular) leave many people cold. She skating to the very heavy Bells of Moscow which doesn't give her a chance to show off the usual lightness in her skating. Instead we are treated to what feels like a stage-tragedy on ice. If she can find a way to draw the audience in with the heavy dramatics and hit the technical content, she'll be formidable.

Miki Ando (JPN) - Miki is the only member of the Japanese ladies team that has Olympic experience, albeit a disastrous outing in Torino. She says she has learned her lessons from that experience and is prepared for this event:

This time I know what I have to do; I know what the goal is, so of course it's different.

Miki was one of two Japanese ladies to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where she took the Silver Medal in a close contest between herself and reigning World Champ Kim Yu-Na. However, she was just 4th at Japanese Nationals. She made the team on the strength of her Grand Prix outings. Miki is a solid technician but like Asada, her Cleopatra free skate leaves many cold. In this packed field of women it will take more than a series of triple jumps for the 2007 World Champ to strike Gold. If she can excite with her choreography (something she has yet to do this season) and hit the jumps, then she'll have a shot.

Rachael Flatt (USA) - The newly crowned U.S. Champion enters her first Olympics and is seen by many (if not most) to be a longshot for the podium. However, while many write her off, I think she is in a great position to be a factor in Vancouver. She will not be dealing with all the expectations and pressures of many of the top contenders and will be free to cut loose and just go for it. Rachael is extremely consistent technically and recently has managed to get a triple-triple combo back into her short and long programs. I think she can be a factor here and I would love to see her defy her many detractors.

Kim Yu-Na (KOR) - Kim Yu-Na will be one of (if not the most) talked about athletes at these games. The reigning World Champ is the biggest sensation in her native Korea and enters these Olympics as the heavy (HEAVY!) favorite for Olympic Gold. She turned heads at the Grand Prix opener in Paris where she beat her own record score and set a new high benchmark. Her short program, set to music from James Bond, is one of the sassiest and sexiest things ever put to ice and her free skate is a quiet clinic in elegance. Kim Yu-Na's biggest competitor will be herself. She will have media in her face constantly, heavy expectations from her fans, and I think personal expectations she's likely put on herself. If she can manage all of that and skate clean she will have accomplished a great deal (including a likely Gold Medal).

Carolina Kostner (ITA) - Until the European Championships, Carolina's season had been a disaster. When she lost the Italian National Championships, it became a question if she would even qualify for the Olympics. At Europeans, she not only managed to claim Italy's lone ladies Olympic berth, but she did so with a win. However, her win was unimpressive with a free skate marred with mistakes (in fact, almost all the women at Europeans had unimpressive free skates). But, it at least stopped the momentum hemorrhage that was happening and put her on the path of recovery. Now, the question is if the win has put her confidence back in place? Carolina Kostner, while I've never been a big fan, has always been good at constructing programs that are point getters. If she can be confident and land her jumps she'll be in the mix in Vancouver. If she falters...well...she'd be out (How very Heidi Klum of me).

Alena Leonova (RUS) - Recently I'm scratching my head going "What happened?" At World's last season she was this bubbly, effervescent breath of fresh air that simply reveled performing on the ice. She continued that trend this season with big Grand Prix performances that earned her a ticket to the Grand Prix Final. There, however, things came unglued and the troubles began. She bombed that competition, lost Russian Nationals, and was member of the splat fest that was Europeans. She seems to have lost her spark. I suspect with her success came the pressure of expectation, something she had skated free from up until this season. If she can find a way to enjoy what she is doing and use the electricity of the crowd to her advantage, she'll be far better off than if she worries about placement.

Laura Lepisto (FIN) - The 2009 European Champ hasn't had quite the season she had last year, but she still remains one to keep an eye on. This season she has tackled more challenging technical content in her free skate. Like Kostner, Laura didn't have a great skate at the European Championships in Tallinn despite taking the Silver Medal. Laura has very strong component scores but will need to hit the harder jumps to be competitive with the top ladies in Vancouver. Like Rachael Flatt, she may benefit from having fewer expectations and less pressure placed upon her. Laura is one of those skaters that just seems to grab points from nowhere and if she can keep her cool she may find herself in the running for an Olympic medal.

Mirai Nagasu (USA) - She skated up a storm in Spokane on her way to taking the Silver Medal. She kept insisting that she just wanted to skate great and was looking to the future for greater opportunities. Apparently the future is now! She's a gifted skater with the ability to draw audiences in but her main trouble this season has been pesky downgrades. They plagued her at Samsung Anycall Cup of China, HomeSense Skate Canada, and at U.S. Nationals. With a chance to win at all three events, she received downgrades in the free skate killing her chances. If Mirai can get those jumps 'around the corner' as I say she'll be a tough little competitor.

Joannie Rochette (CAN) - The reigning World Silver Medalist was not looking great in the early part of this season. Two scrappy performances in her Grand Prix events and then a botched Grand Prix Final left many questioning her chances this season. She shut everyone up at Canadian Nationals with a brilliant skate that brought the house down and set herself up for success in Vancouver. Joannie, like Kim Yu-Na, will have tremendous pressure and expectations upon her. The media will no doubt be following her every step. If she can keep herself grounded, shut everything out mentally, and reproduce what she did in London, she could find herself on a Wheaties Box. They do have Wheaties in Canada...right?

Akiko Suzuki (JPN) - All season long you just got the sense that she really wanted to go to Vancouver...she really wanted it! She came out smokin' hot at Samsung Anycall Cup of China with a big unexpected win. She qualified for the Grand Prix Final and took the Bronze Medal with another sassy performance. She was finally able to stamp her ticket to Vancouver by besting Yukari Nakano at Japanese Nationals. She doesn't have the same kind of abilities as Kim, Asada, or Rochette but she has heart and guts and a competitive tenacity that's so fun to see on the ice. She's the only Japanese skater to get my blood really pumping this season and I know many others feel the same. I think she is the sentimental favorite here in Vancouver...Miss Congeniality if you will...and hopefully she can use that support to her advantage.

Friday Fun: Flatt and Nagasu

Happy Friday...here's a couple fun video's to get you caught up on Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu.

U.S. Nationals Preview (Ladies)

Finally, we have reached the ladies competition at Nationals. Seems like it took forever to get here. More than any other discipline, this one is completely up for grabs with lots of ladies with a shot at taking it (or second place which secures the other Olympic Berth).

Rachael Flatt - She's winning my poll on who people think will win the title. She's been the runner up for two straight years now and looks poised to finally take the crown. Her big moment this season so far was at Cancer.Net Skate America where she upset Kim Yu-Na in the free skate. Kim went on to take the title but Rachael proved she could be a heavy hitter. She has a crowd pleasing short program that could vault her ahead of the competition. A betting person would put their money on her...will they cash in?

Alissa Czisny - The defending champion has had an up and down season to this point. She did nab the silver medal at HomeSense Skate Canada but it wasn't off a great performance. Alissa is one of the most gifted skaters as far as artistry is concerned in the competition. Holding her back is those nerves; something she and her mentor, Brian Boitano, have been working on. If she can keep the nerves under check, land her jumps, and most importantly rotate her jumps, she'll have a great chance of making the Olympic Team.

Mirai Nagasu - She arrived in Spokane in good spirits. The 2008 Champ has looked far more confident this season but she is still getting those pesky jump downgrades from under-rotating her jumps. The only thing between her and an Olympic berth is a quarter turn cheat. She admitted during a USOC Presser in Chicago earlier in the season that she was a bit 'intimidated' by the presence of Sasha Cohen in the event. She'll need to get over the 'fear factor' and trust her training has prepared her for this moment.

Caroline Zhang - She's had a rough season to this point. She was late settling on a coach going from Li Mingzhu to Charlene Wong...then back to Li. After a so-so start in Paris she landed a devastating 8th place at HomeSense Skate Canada after numerous mistakes and jump downgrades. Along, with jump downgrades, Caroline is often slow and also receives edge calls on lots of her jumps. Her coach, Li, has also stated that she enters this championship with a back injury that will require constant therapy...further setbacks indeed. She'll need to do several things to be competitive for an Olympic berth in Spokane...land jumps, skate faster, and find a way to connect with the audience. When Caroline is on she has a natural way of relating to the crowd but if she's off, it just doesn't work.

Sasha Cohen - A good portion of the skating world (myself included) doubted she would even make it to this event. After withdrawals from Trophee Eric Bompard and Cancer.Net Skate America and continued talk of injury and unsuccessful triples...the writing 'seemed' to be on the wall. But her coach John Nicks said she has worked harder in the several weeks leading up to this event than she has ever worked in her life. We all took a deep breath when she actually arrived in Spokane and then our jaw dropped when in her first practice session she looked amazing! Now translating a solid practice to a solid competition is another issue. Artistically she can't be touched. People keep talking about her inexperience with the IJS but in fact she is one of the most experienced skaters, posting some of the systems top scores after its inception (her 2003 Skate Canada score is still #6 on the top score list). I had a sneaky suspicion that if she showed up in Spokane she'd be up to the challenge. Olympics bound for the third time?

Emily Hughes - Finally making it back to Nationals after a two year hiatus, she's kind of the wildcard in the bunch. Spokane ice has been good to her, the last time she was at Nationals was here (2007) and she was the silver medalist. A silver medal here would send her back to the Olympics again. At Cancer.Net Skate America she looked a tad rusty but was giving it good attack. If she worked out the rust and is rotating her jumps fully (that is what did her in at Skate America) and can bring that spark that comes natural to her (all Hughes'?), I suspect she'll be in the hunt for a medal and perhaps a trip to the Olympics.

Ashley Wagner - Ashley was the lone American woman to make the Grand Prix Final where she placed a respectable 4th. She's looked solid in practice leading up to the event and has seemed very focused. She's stated that rather than attempting lots of tricky triples, she's just trying to do what she can do well and earn positive GOE's. Third in 2008, fourth in 2009, is 2010 her year? In my poll she is in second place for those predicting who will win this competition. She's been the U.S. leading lady so far this season...does it continue with a trip to Vancouver?

The Op-Ed: Intimidated?

"I don't know about you guys, but I think that it's a little intimidating that an Olympic silver-medalist is coming back to compete against us."

This weekend all the who's who of would-be U.S. Olympic Vancouver competitors are in Chicago for a media summit (think of it as a pre-Vancouver Press Junket) and Mirai Nagasu said she was 'intimidated' by the return of Cohen...

Now I'm no sports psychologist but I don't think you should approach a competitor from a compromised position. If I were Nagasu, I would think Cohen should be intimidated, having not competed in a major international competition since March of 2006. Nagasu is giving Cohen the high ground and it makes Mirai's Olympic quest that much more difficult. If she's intimidated by Cohen, we can only assume that she's also intimidated by the likes of Kim, Asada, Rochette, Ando, etc...can't we? All of a sudden, one remark, and we're second guessing Nagasu's ability to compete.

I'm guessing that most if not all of the crew...Czisny, Flatt, Zhang, Wagner, Meissner, Hughes...are a bit uncertain about their Olympic prospects given Cohen's return. But unlike Nagasu, they're not making it the sound bite on the evening news.

Word of advice...sound and act confident, even if you're not.

Around the World

In Russia, Mao Asada is the buzz this week as she trains with Tatiana Tarasova in Moscow. I cannot find a translated version, but @tokitama69 has posted an interview with Fuji T.V. Mao gave in Moscow on her blog.

Canadian Joannie Rochette has just returned from Peru with some eye opening experiences. She was there to help World Vision Canada get their message across and to see firsthand how Canadian contributions to World Vision are impacting life in Peru. "It wasn't too hard. There was only one time that I cried because it was too much but, even though the people were very poor, they were happy to get help from World Vision and you could really see the difference it made in their lives," Joannie told Ice Network. Also in Canada, casting has begun for CBC's "Battle of the Blades." The show will pair hockey players with female figure skaters and I'm sure hilarity will ensue.

In Japan, Johnny Weir is entertaining fans in Kanazawa, Japan. He's been tweeting about how much he loves it there and how he is looking forward to rocking Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face" for his fans. Also in Japan, Daisuke Takahashi (Looking quite posh! Love the tan and hair!) has resumed his training (jumps still look a little rusty) and @tokitama69 has also posted that video as well.

News out of Italy is reporting that Carolina Kostner is trying out with a new coach for two weeks...that would be Frank Carroll! The Italian national sports newspaper "Gazette of the Sport" is saying while Kostner hasn't made her final decision, she will be in L.A. with Carroll for the next few weeks to try the partnership out. Carroll is also quoted as saying he'd be happy to train her and "Carolina is a lovely girl, she only needs to be more consistent".

Lots taking place here in the U.S. First a happy story! Caroline Zhang had her luggage, complete with skates, stolen from her at the airport just yesterday. After nearly a day of police searching, her skates were recovered. I tweeted her saying she should "pull some celebrity cred, flash some Junior World bling, and ask the officers to hurry." she didn't think that would work, but glad all is resolved. Ice Network is spilling the beans on tons of music choices for next season, you can check it out here, but I will mention that we cannot go a single season without someone using "Carmen." Ugh! Mirai Nagasu has chosen to use it this upcoming season for her free skate and that makes me sad. Finally, Kimmie Meissner (Sounding more confident and looking very fit!) is looking to famed ballet instructor Gyula Pandi to help her with her style. "It was a shock, at first, when I met him," Meissner said. "I was, like, blown away by everything he told me. He pulls out these words of wisdom all the time. And I just soak it in. He brings so much to what I do because he helps me realize little things that can make [my performance] 10 times better."

A final bit of news from Azerbaijan, Ice Dancers Fraser and Lukanin have retired from competitive skating citing physical stress and financial hardship.

Around the World

In Finland...there seems to be some disagreement between some remarks Laura Lepistö, 2009 Ladies European Champ, and her male teammates; especially Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari. In the April Edition of the Finnish Cosmopolitan, Lepistö gave an interview where she described her Finnish male colleagues as very feminine, and "a bit that way". (I don't know if I know what that means?) She goes on to say things are different...like in France (read: Joubert's excessive manliness!). Anywho, Lepistö says that she is being misinterpreted and her comments are not directed at her teammates. Not the best time for Lepistö to get bogged down in this controversy (effeminate skating, etc.) which has heated up considerably over the past several weeks.

Here in the U.S. there is this massive coaching reshuffle taking place. A plethora of past and present U.S. Champions have all done the coaching summer shuffle. Inoue and Baldwin are now with Meno and Sand, Nagasu is now working with Frank Carroll, McLaughlin and Brubaker are taking from John Nicks, and just yesterday (thanks for the update) Jeremy Abbott announced he will leave Colorado (and Tom Zakrajsek) and take from Yuka Sato in Detroit. Don't know if it really counts as a coaching 'change' but when Sasha Cohen announced her return to competition she announced she would be working with Rafael Artunian, not John Nicks, her coach as she temporarily stepped away from competition. Lots of shuffling and it will be the topic of my next op-ed. Also, we found out the Michelle Kwan on Twitter is a fake...boo!

In Russia, Plushenko has officially stated that he is absolutely committed to competing next season. Axels and quads back under his belt, he is currently in training with Alexei Mishin in St. Petersburg. Will it actually happen this season...who can say? I will say this is the most 'serious' he's seemed about it and with the Olympics this upcoming season I think we can expect a legitimate attempt at a return. Plushenko seems to think that Stéphane Lambiel will return to competition as well. Not sure what would prompt him to say that? Nothing official yet from camp Lambiel.

Finally, in Canada...these days no news is good news. While many are still irked by the push to make skating a bit less 'frilly' on the ice, Skate Canada appears to have backed off from asking their athletes to promote the tough side of skating. This combined with the fact that Stojko's 'self-appointed press tour' appears over is causing the story to lose press steam, a fact I'm sure Skate Canada is happy with. They certainly don't want this hanging over their head come February 2010...you know...when the whole world will be in their backyard!

BREAKING NEWS: Summer Shuffle

The coaching summer shuffle continues...

This time it's Mirai Nagasu. Nagasu has left long-time coach Charlene Wong and will train along side Evan Lysacek with Frank Carroll for this very important upcoming season.

"At the end of the season I felt like I really needed a change. After a lot of thought and deliberation, we decided that the right choice was to begin training with Mr. Carroll" Nagasu told NBC's Universal Sports.

An important decision, as the ante has been up'd for next season with Sasha Cohen's return to competitive skating and only two Olympic Berths available for the women. Next season it will take everything Mirai can bring to the table for her to make the U.S. Olympic Team.

And if you're following Michelle Kwan on Twitter...let's just say she's keeping the guessing game going...

So will Nagasu's big move pan out in the end? Only time will tell...

BREAKING NEWS: Nagasu out of Junior Worlds

You may already have heard that Mirai Nagasu has withdrawn from the Junior World Championships set to take place later this month in Bulgaria.

It's probably a smart decision. She's been dealing with an ankle injury all season, but has been toughing it out, culminating with a gutsy performance at U.S. Nationals that placed her in 5th place.

She told U.S. Figure Skating, “After U.S. Championships, I met with my doctor and was advised to take some time off to heal. It was a very hard decision to make, but my doctor and I agreed that it was in my best interest.”

Given the magnitude of next season and a trip to Vancouver on the line, best to be fully healthy rather than dealing with a bum right ankle.

Mirai Nagasu's withdrawal sets the stage for Katrina Hacker, who will give her farewell performance in Sofia. Katrina has stated that she will not be skating competitively next season and will instead focus on her studies at prestigious Princeton University.

“I am very excited and honored to have the opportunity to compete at junior worlds,” Hacker told U.S. Figure Skating. “I wish Mirai a speedy recovery, and I hope to represent the United States as well as she would have.”

I certainly wish Mirai a speedy recovery as well.

Skating for a cause at USC's Galen Center

From the LA Times by Helene Elliott...

It seems like the Summer Olympics ended about 10 minutes ago, but the Vancouver Winter Games are fast approaching -- they're just a little more than 16 months away.

To start getting you in an Olympic frame of mind, the World Figure Skating Championships will be held at Staples Center in March, and it's a biggie because the results will determine how many skaters each country can send to Vancouver, Canada. That makes this whole season a crucial one for skaters who want to establish or reestablish themselves on the international scene, and a star-studded group with big Olympic dreams was on the ice Wednesday at the Toyota Center in El Segundo preparing for a show that will kick off the Olympic buildup.

Two-time U.S. men's champion Evan Lysacek and Mirai Nagasu of Arcadia, who won the U.S. women's title earlier this year at the tender age of 14, were two of the standouts rehearsing Wednesday for the McDonald's Family Tribute on Ice, which will take place Friday at USC's Galen Center and will be aired on NBC Nov. 16.

The show, to be hosted by "Dancing with the Stars" champion Kristi Yamaguchi -- once better known as the 1992 Olympic figure skating gold medalist -- will feature live music from Nick Lachey, promote World Children's Day on Nov. 20 and support the company's fundraising efforts for children's causes.

As a longtime supporter of Ronald McDonald House, Lysacek is especially inspired for Friday's show.

"We're glad to be a part of it and team up with such a philanthropic organization," he said.

"The show itself [is] gonna be phenomenal. Performing with live artists gives us a little bit more perspective about the music. We're just so used to putting a CD in the tape deck and playing it over and over and you don't hear it. When the music is coming from right there you really get into it and it's a cool experience."

Lysacek, who finished fourth at the Turin Games, is eagerly looking forward to this season and the World and Olympic competitions. He spent a good chunk of this summer training in Russia with renowned coach Tatiana Tarasova, who urged him to train with the Bolshoi ballet to enhance his artistry.

"I did an hour and half of ballet a day in addition to eight hours a day on the ice in Russia. It was really intense, but it was the best thing for me," Lysacek said. "It gave me a newfound respect for dancers because nothing I did in my training on the ice made me as sore as that ballet."

"I'm really proud of my programs and I hope I can do them justice. I've been working really hard, and I've had months more than any prerparation I've had for any season before."

"I just have a new appreciation for skating after a lot of stuff that happened last year with injuries and a lot of stuff that was out of my control. I just feel lucky to be healthy and to be able to skate every day. I'm probably looking forward to this season more than any before."

The same is true for Nagasu, who will make her [international] debut at the senior level.

"I just want to get experience and have fun," said Nagasu, who grew over the summer from 4-foot-11 to 5-foot-2 and is still getting accustomed to her new height.

"Less than a year ago I was standing below the wall, so my eye level [was] with the wall and that's where I looked at during my jumps. Now that I'm taller it's hard to focus on where I want to look because if I look at the wall again, then I lean too much forward and it throws me off."

Performing in a show so close to home means she can invite her best friend. "I didn't even know USC has an ice rink," she said.

Tickets are available through the USC ticket office, Ticketmaster.com or at the Galen Center.

More to come as more skaters finish their rehearsals ...

read more | digg story

Also at the LA Times is a great story by Helene Elliott on Kimmie Meissner.

And another one by Evan Lysacek himself!

U.S. Nationals Day 4

What a day! So much to report...it was incredible! But I have to first start with some boos. The way the ladies were split into a morning and evening group for their free skates was just unfair and it sucked (I guess we blame NBC for that!). The fans didn't like getting up that early and it showed because the attendance in the morning was very low. It sucked for the competitors because their practice was at 6:10 a.m. and also it just plain sucks to skate early in the morning. The arena didn't have breakfast food and I was just plain miserable...but I got over it! Three finals today and all were spectacular in their own way.

In the pairs, Vise and Trent were unable to land their history making throw quad salchow but they were good enough to make it to fourth place with a respectable free skate. Castile and Okolski nabbed the bronze (and a spot on the world team, more on this in a moment) with a good free skate. For it being their first competition of the season they looked fairly well trained with a beautiful program set to "Sheherazade." It's clear however if they wish to improve their world ranking they'll have to add in side-by-side triples in addition to their double axels. The silver went to the veteran team of Inoue and Baldwin. They were also unable to land their history maker (throw Triple Axel) but were still able to have a decent performance (a bit slow at times...I still think they should be better trained than this) and also make the world team. For the first time in forever John hit his triple toe! The winners and easily so were McLaughlin and Brubaker. They had some minor glitches but showed great speed, excellent throws, and solid lifts. The only problem for them is despite the win they didn't make the world team. Keauna is still to young to compete at the event...get this...Rockne is now too old to compete at the Junior Worlds so I guess their competitive season will end at the Four Continents Cup. Big news though! At the end of their free skate John Baldwin proposed to Rena Inoue...and she said YES! The crowd went crazy and Rena burst into tears of joy...it was quite a moment!

In Ice Dance the standings amongst the top four remained unchanged after the free dance. Samuelson and Bates made a case for themselves by having a fantastic dance (except for a freak fall on an easy lift...but it barely disrupted the program). However, they weren't able to close some of the gap between them and bronze medalists Navarro and Bommentre. Speaking of which, they had a loose, jazzy free dance that put the crowd in an ultra calm and them on the world team! Davis and White came out with a free dance and held nothing back at all. They had great speed and unison and twizzles like you wouldn't believe. They solidified themselves as a team to watch as the season progresses. Tanith and Ben were simply the class of the field. None of the silly mistakes from the OD happened in the Free Dance. They were simply amazing and posted numbers that would be tough for anyone in the world to get close to. Really amazing skating!

The ladies...oh my gosh the ladies! If you didn't watch this on NBC you missed out on what was one of the most thrilling and shocking finals ever in U.S. Figure Skating history. Did NBC pick a great time to begin hosting this event or what! Two stories were playing: who would win the medals and who would make the world team (because so many of the top competitors are too young for Sr. Worlds)? Let's start with Alissa again as she found herself staying in 9th place. She just couldn't seem to stand up on her jumps falling on several of them. Now lets talk about the 7th place finisher...prepare yourself for this one...Kimmie Meissner. Kimberly was unable to land either a flip or a lutz and went down on all three attempts at them. You could see how dejected she was from her performance and you got the sense she just wanted to get off the ice, get on a plane, and go home. As she awaited her marks in the Kiss n' Cry she fought back tears as the crowd cheered for her and screamed remarks and adoration's for her to help cheer her up...all she could muster was a lipped, "Thank You." This performance not only leaves her well off the podium but in jeopardy of not even making the world team as three of the ladies that finished higher than her are old enough to go to the World Championships.

One of those competitors that defeated Kimmie is 6th place finisher Katrina Hacker. Katrina didn't have a flawless skate, but she didn't bomb either and was in fact better than Meissner this night. The USFSA will have to decide whether to send her or Kimmie to Sweden. The USFSA's rules are clear that the winner of the event earns a spot and then the USFSA picks the rest. Almost always it is in line with the standings at Nationals but the USFSA is not bound to those placements. Given Kimmie's competitive record (even this season she has twice medaled in Senior Internationals) I don't think it would be out of line for the USFSA to pick her over a competitor with no international experience...we'll wait and see. One competitor that knows she is going to Sweden is 5th place finisher Beatrisa Liang. Despite a couple of singled jumps, Beatrisa turned in a strong performance and earned a spot on the world team.

The top four skaters were near perfect. It was a thing to behold and can I say if this is the program we have right now...the United States' skating prospects look very bright! Caroline Zhang pulled up from 7th to 4th with a flawless performance that instantly brought the crowd to their feet! Her trademark move "The Pearl" drew the largest ovation for a non-jump element I've ever heard. I honestly thought with that performance she was going to rise all the way up to the top and win the title. Little did I know of the performances to come. Ashley Wagner nabbed the bronze with a tremendous performance which included a perfect triple lutz triple loop combo. Her only error came when she slightly overrated a double loop on the back end of a combination, no biggie. When her scores came up and she was ahead of Zhang she just looked shocked! Ashley is also old enough to compete at Worlds and can certainly pack her bags as the highest finisher that meets the age requirement. The silver went to Rachel Flatt who skated perfect (she in fact won the free skate!), triple/triples and all. There wasn't a single flaw to this program and she just beamed the whole way through, what a show stopper! However the night belonged to Mirai Nagasu, who despite falling on her opening double axel, came on strong to win her first senior ladies title. After her opening miscue she went on to land six more triples and despite placing third in the free (both Flatt and Wagner beat her), her lead from the short was sufficient to hold her to the title...what a new face on U.S. ladies skating.

Tomorrow the men skate and I don't know if my heart can take it if it's this dramatic!

Full results here.