News Round-Up

Surgery, new Skating shows, old commentators making comebacks...I have to dedicate myself to work for a week and the skating news cycle blows up!

Michal Brezina is out of Cup of China....wamp wamp. Universal Sports Tweeted that "he had surgery yesterday on a varicose vein in his stomach yesterday." Sounds kind of gross...but not too serious. The doctor has ordered two weeks rest, so the Czech Champ will miss stop #3 on the Grand Prix Final and will thus not be able to make the Grand Prix Final...darn. And while on the topic of Surgery, Tessa Virtue also had surgery associated with her CECS (Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome) condition. "Apparently the surgery went really well and I am confident that I have the most competent support team to help me with my recovery. I am excited to get back on the ice as soon as I can and look forward to training and competing pain-free" Tessa told Skate Canada. The Olympic Champ hopes that she and partner Scott Moir can be back on the ice and be ready to compete later this season.

Move aside Jennifer Gray (did I just put in an early DWTS winner prediction; yup!)...at the conclusion of this season of DWTS, Skating with the Stars will hit the ABC airwaves. From the Press Release:

You’ve seen what happens when celebrities take on the ballroom, now see what happens when they hit the ice on blades of steel, in “Skating with the Stars.” The new series from BBC Worldwide Productions pairs a celebrity with a world class ice skater as they prepare to compete in front of a live audience in a televised ice skating competition. The skating pairs will be critiqued by a panel of expert judges and will receive a set of scores based on artistry and technique and by viewers at home, with one couple being eliminated each week. “Skating with the Stars” will kick off its six-episode run with a live premiere episode on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Trainwreck or Triumph...we shall see.

Ah the Glory days of figure skating coverage...aka the Michelle Kwan years. You know, before NBC took over and ABC ruled the skating roost? Well NBC has made one it's best moves yet, by grabbing a little old and making it new. Terry Gannon will join the likes of Scott Hamilton, Tara Lipinski, and Michael Weiss to cover this season's Grand Prix. I'm not even got to beat around the bush and tell you I am not a fan of Tom Hammond and his broadcast "style." If he never returned I'd be happy. Terry covered these skaters for a long time and really 'knew' them and it will be nice to have an actual broadcast voice of knowledge on the Grand Prix. I pray NBC keeps him for Nationals and Worlds!

Last, a little spying on skaters in training for the upcoming season. Take a peek at this spiffy Quad Toe-Triple Toe-Triple Loop from Nobunari Oda. Isn't he about to be (already is?) a dad? Update: Yup! A dad!

Pic of the Week

Coaching Changes are abound! Several of my blogging contemporaries have filled you in on Samuelson and Bates' intention to train with the power duo Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva. We also caught wind a couple of weeks ago that Denis Ten will make the move to L.A. to train with Frank Carroll.

Nobunari Oda, too, it seems is making a switch too...or rather a return. Oda is going back to Lee Barkell", who coached him as a young'in and was Oda's coach as he debuted on the Senior level.

This season has been a complete head scratcher as far as Nobunari is concerned. Brilliant start at Trophy Eric Bompard and continued great performances all the way through until his Olympic Free Skate where he had to stop mid program, breaking that great Charlie Chaplin character and ending with an uninspiring finish. Then at worlds he popped every single jump in his short and failed to even qualify for the free skate...ouch.

Sometimes you just need a change. It's hard to say that Morozov, who coached Oda the past several seasons, is at fault with this poor season finish. Up until that Olympic Free Skate Oda was on a roll. I think it is just a shake-up that one has to go through to refocus themselves...get out of the comfort zone if you will.

He has his sights set on Sochi, fully committing himself to compete for the next four years training in both Japan and Canada. Time will tell if Oda can finally put all the pieces together.

3rd Annual Loop Axel Awards

Ah yes, it's that time of year when we get to bask in the after glow of the season and hand out some much deserved awards. This season is especially interesting as it was an Olympic year.

Sit back...relax...and let the awards begin!

Much like last year, this will be a two day affair. We'll get the official stuff out of the way today and have a little more fun tomorrow!

The categories are:

*Best Ladies Free Program
*Best Men's Free Program
*Best Free Dance
*Best Pairs Free Program
*Best Comeback
*Best Olympic Performance (NEW)
*Short Program/Original Dance of the Year
*Best Forgotten Performance of the Season
*Worst Performance of the Season
*Skater of the Year

*Best Ladies Free Program...the nominees are:

+Mao Asada - 2010 World Figure Skating Championships
+Joannie Rochette - 2010 Canadian Nationals
+Akiko Suzuki - 2009 Samsung Anycall Cup of China
+Kim Yu-Na - 2010 Olympic Winter Games

And the winner is...Kim Yu-Na - Gershwin's Concerto in F - 2010 Olympic Winter Games. I don't think there was a lot of competition here. That was not only the greatest ladies free this season but perhaps this decade (ever?). It was sophisticated, elegant, reserved, thoughtful, and really just brilliant.

*Best Men's Free Program...the nominees are:

+Nobunari Oda - 2009 Trophy Eric Bompard
+Jeremy Abbott - 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
+Daisuke Takahashi - 2010 World Figure Skating Championships
+Evgeny Plushenko - 2009 Rostelecom Cup
+Evan Lysacek - 2010 Olympic Winter Games

The winner is...Jeremy Abbott - Saint-Saens' Symphony No. 3 - 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. That was hard because almost equally as impressive was Daisuke Takahashi's World's Free. I went with Abbott because it was delivered with effortless perfection while Takahashi had to work it a little (little two foot on the quad flip, muscled triple flip/triple toe combo). Both were masterpieces though.

*Best Free Dance...the nominees are:

+Davis and White - 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships
+Weaver and Poje - 2009 HomeSense Skate Canada
+Virtue and Moir - 2010 Olympic Winter Games
+Faiella and Scali - 2010 European Championships
+Belbin and Agosto - 2009 Cancer.Net Skate America

The winner is...Meryl Davis and Charlie White - Webber's Phantom of the Opera - 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. It was such an impressive skate because Belbin and Agosto had thrown down the gauntlet with an amazing performance of their own but Meryl and Charlie just killed it in return...it was incredible.

*Best Pairs Free Program...the nominees are:

+Shen and Zhao - 2009 ISU Grand Prix Final
+Denney and Barrett - 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships
+Savchenko and Szolkowy - 2009 HomeSense Skate Canada
+Pang and Tong - 2010 Olympic Winter Games
+Sui and Han - 2009 Junior Grand Prix: Belarus

The winner is...Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy - Out of Africa Soundtrack - 2009 HomeSense Skate Canada. This was another tough call. The other performance I considered for top honors was Shen and Zhao's Grand Prix Final performance but in my gut I just thought Savchenko and Szolkowy had a little tiny spark that made their performance extra special.

*Best Comeback...the nominees are:

+Evgeny Plushenko
+Sasha Cohen
+Stéphane Lambiel
+Shen and Zhao

The winner is...Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao. In this award which seems very fitting in Olympic years, the candidates were the four who made competitive comebacks this season, and out of all of them, Shen and Zhao certainly took the cake for coming out ahead, nailing an Olympic Gold in the process.

*Best Olympic Performance...the nominees are:

+Joannie Rochette
+Davis and White
+Virtue and Moir
+Johnny Weir
+Kim Yu-Na

The winner is...Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir - Mahler's Symphony No. 5. There were several sensational Olympic performances I considered for this new award, again applicable only in Olympic years, but their performance seemed most fitting, largely due to the fact that they did it at home against several teams all skating their very best. Joannie Rochette's inspiring demonstration of courage was given great consideration. I was there...there were very few dry eyes after both of her performances.

*Short Program/Original Dance of the Year...the nominees are:

+Kim Yu-Na - 2010 Olympic Winter Games
+Mao Asada - 2010 Olympic Winter Games
+Sasha Cohen - 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships
+Denis Ten - 2009 HomeSense Skate Canada
+Davis and White - 2010 World Figure Skating Championships

The winner is...Meryl Davis and Charlie White - Indian Folk Dance - 2010 World Figure Skating Championships. This seemed an easy choice as it was one of the most original things put to ice. Any performance of this OD this entire season is worthy of the award.

*Best Forgotten Performance of the Season...the nominees are:

+Shawn Sawyer - 2009 Cancer.Net Skate America (Free)
+Tomas Verner - 2009 Eric Bompard Trophy (Short)
+Sergei Voronov - 2010 Russian National Figure Skating Championships (Short)
+McLaughlin and Brubaker - 2009 Rostelecom Cup (Short)
+Navarro and Bommentre - 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships (Free)

The winner is...Shawn Sawyer - Amadeus Soundtrack - 2009 Cancer.Net Skate America. It was the most unlikely silver medal of the entire Grand Prix series but it was well earned when a good deal of the men's field at that event commenced in a splat fest.

*Worst Performance of the Season...the nominees are:

+Nobunari Oda - 2010 World Figure Skating Championships (Short)
+Brian Joubert - 2010 Olympic Winter Games
+Jeremy Abbott - 2010 Olympic Winter Games (Short)
+Sasha Cohen - 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships (Free)
+Jeremy Abbott - 2009 NHK Trophy (Free)

And the winner is...Nobunari Oda - Mrvica's Totentanz - 2010 World Figure Skating Championships. Poor thing...not only did he pop every single jump in that short program, but for the first time failed to even qualify for the free skate. Ouch!

*Skater of the Year...and the nominees are:

+Davis and White
+Kim Yu-Na
+Shen and Zhao
+Virtue and Moir
+Evan Lysacek

And the winner is...Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao. What they accomplished was nothing short of extraordinary. And I love that they didn't just comeback to just do the Olympics...they did the whole season and went undefeated in the process. Four Olympics, three Olympic Medals...impressive!

Check back tomorrow for the second half of the 3rd Annual Loop Axel Awards

XXI Olympic Winter Games Figure Skating Mens Preview

An extremely deep field of men will vie for the title of Olympic Champion in Vancouver. Who do I see as the top 12 contenders? There is:

Jeremy Abbott (USA) - Jeremy enters this event as the reigning U.S. National Champion, a title he successfully defended in Spokane. Every time he has competed this season he has looked stronger and stronger. The move from Colorado Springs to Detroit to train with Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen is paying dividends. He has shown when he skates clean he is a force to be reckoned with. Not only does he have solid technical ability (including a quad which has looked rock solid in his free skate) but his component scores are always some of the best in the field. If he repeats what he did in Spokane, he might be the guy to beat.

Patrick Chan (CAN) - When he hits the ice the roar will be deafening! He enters these Olympics as one of Canada's top Gold Medal hopefuls and will have the support of the Canadian people. Like Abbott, he has a knack at grabbing top component scores but his technical ability has come into question recently as he has been working his way back from an injury early in the season. He also had a recent coaching shake-up with he and Don Laws parting on iffy terms. Patrick has reported that the quad will not be in his programs in Vancouver, nonetheless, he remains a threat for the top spot on the podium because of his artistic skill. Again, the home-crowd advantage can help or hurt; it will be interesting to see how Patrick handles the pressure.

Samuel Contesti (ITA) - While he hasn't had the season he had last year with a surprise European Silver Medal and a top 5 finish at Worlds, he continues to skate consistently and could be a dark-horse medal threat. He has crowd pleasing programs that will no doubt go down well in Vancouver and a new found consistency on triple jumps, but he lacks in the component score department. Still, if he skates clean, gets the crowd on his side, and others make mistakes he may find himself in the running for a medal. He has nothing to loose and everything to gain and that may be his biggest asset.

Brian Joubert (FRA) - He looked positively angry on the podium at the recent European Championships where he managed only the bronze medal. Since winning the world title in 2007 it seems like he can't catch a break. He lost Worlds in 2008 despite a clean skate with a quad. Dropped down to 3rd last year after some odd mistakes. He's had to pull out of two consecutive Grand Prix Finals. If all that wasn't enough, he had to deal with a foot injury in December. Oy! Still, he comes to Vancouver with one of the most consistent quads and loads of Olympic Experience. Hopefully, he learned some hard lessons from his failures in Torino that will serve him well in Vancouver. If he is as mad as looks about losing European's, he may come out in Vancouver swinging!

Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) - Part of arguably the strongest men's team (some might contend that Team USA is the strongest), Takahiko is one of several skaters that is easily capable of playing the role of spoiler at these Olympics. This season, however, hasn't been his best. He failed to qualify for the Grand Prix Final (an event that he took Silver in the prior year) and was just third at Japanese Nationals. Despite the recent downturn, his greatest strength is a lack of a weakness. He's solid technically as well as artistically. This season he's fiddled with putting the quad in his free skate, I think sensing he needs a little extra 'umph' to really be a medal threat. If he can complete that jump and skate well...watch out!

Stéphane Lambiel (SUI) - A member of club comeback, Stéphane enters the Olympics coming off a successful European Championships. While he only won the silver medal there, he debuted a well received free skate to music from the opera La Traviata. Lambiel's technical ability is suspect without a triple axel, but he is a brilliant artisan who can rake in the points in the component scores. He is also the most gifted spinner in the competition. He's proven himself to be a clutch competitor, often times pulling off great performances when the lights are on and the chips are down. Like many of the top competitors he has dealt with injury in the run-up to these Olympics. If he can get through the gauntlet of triple jumps, complete his quads, and charm the audience, I don't see how he isn't on the podium.

Evan Lysacek (USA) - The reigning World Champ has looked Olympic ready all season. The only time he looked vulnerable was at the recent National Championships in Spokane where a late decision to rearrange his free skate and add a quad led to some inconsistencies and just a Silver Medal. Nonetheless, he has stated over and over that his goal this season is Vancouver and it is there he wants to peak. Up until nationals he was simply cruising along with big wins at Cancer.Net Skate America as well as the Grand Prix Final. Many are touting Evan as the best chance the U.S. has at a Gold Medal and he is certainly garnering the most American media attention. If he can continue to be as steady as he has been most of the season, he'll give everyone a run for their money in Vancouver.

Evgeny Plushenko (RUS) - The 2006 Olympic Champ is looking for second helpings here in Vancouver and he is, for many if not most, the favorite to win Gold. He made his comeback at Rostelecom Cup with the confidence that only Plushenko can display. Many were unsure of how solid he would look after being away from competition for nearly four years and he waltzed back on the scene...with quad and arrogant #1 finger waves. He has been plagued with some slight difficulty with his knee but it didn't stop him from winning Russian Nationals and Europeans. Despite, in my opinion, having a one dimensional approach to choreography, the judges love him and if he manages a clean skate I can't imagine him not winning.

Nobunari Oda (JPN) - When Nobunari debuted his new free skate at Trophee Eric Bompard, I was impressed! Nobunari has found his stride this season with a beautiful Charlie Chaplin program that suits him brilliantly. He's one of only two skaters that have been successful at getting past World Champ Evan Lysacek; he did so at Samsung Anycall Cup of China. Even though he enters this competition as the #2 ranked man from Japan, I think he is a legitimate Gold Medal threat, especially if he attempts and lands the quad in his free skate. He missed making the Olympics in 2006 because of a scoring snafu at Japan's National Championships that ended up reversing the placement at the top and leaving him at home. This time, he gets to show the world what he's got.

Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) - He has had a roller coaster season to this point. A poor skate at home at NHK Trophy followed by a great skate at HomeSense Skate Canada. He then had another meltdown at the Grand Prix Final but rebounded with a great skate at Japanese Nationals. It's hard to predict where Takahashi will come out in Vancouver. The early season issues were attributed to his being off last season with a meniscus injury but stamina issues have continued to plague him. However, when he is in top form, he is hard to compete with. His program is also well suited to him and full of character and his footwork is some of the best in the world.

Tomas Verner (CZE) - I almost considered not including Tomas in this post and instead focus on his teammate Michal Brezina. Tomas started the season promising but it has been down hill ever since. After winning the Silver Medal at Trophee Eric Bompard, he was just 4th at Cancer.Net Skate America. Then he finished last at the Grand Prix Final, lost the Czech Championship to Brezina and finished a disappointing 10th at Europeans...a far cry from the win he was able to produce in 2008. It would be easy for anyone to write him off at this point but Tomas has an amazing resilience to adversity and an ability to put himself back together after disappointing performances. He's humpty-dumpty if you will. If he stays on his feet and rotates his jumps he has a shot at a medal, if he falters...he's toast.

Johnny Weir (USA) - He has already made the headlines and he hasn't even stepped on the ice. Johnny will take the ice with the distraction of having to deal with Friends of Animals, an animal protection group that slammed Weir for his use of real fox fur on his Free Skate outfit. He's decided to replace the fur with faux fur. In a statement he said:

I made this decision after several threats were sent to me about disrupting my performance in the Olympic Games and my costume designer, Stephanie Handler, was repeatedly sent messages of hate and disgust. I do not want something as silly as my costume disrupting my second Olympic experience and my chance at a medal, a dream I have had since I was a kid.

So far this season Johnny has been okay...not stellar. He barely made the Olympic Team with a 3rd place finish at U.S. Nationals. If he is going to be a medal threat in Vancouver he will have to up his game. He does have a flair for the dramatic so he may shock us all yet.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears in Beijing

First, blood. There was a lot of hand slicing in Beijing. The funny part is I never saw how it happened. I kept going..."Oh, where did they cut their hand?" I always wonder if there is some special cleaning trick when you get blood on your nice (read: expensive!) competition outfit. Ice Charades...any tricks?

Sweat. A lot of skaters were working hard in Beijing. First, congrats to all the winners. Shen and Zhao skated great. Hongbo made me a little nervous on a couple of his side-by-side elements but in the end held it together. There was clearly no one close to them at home in Beijing. Nobunari Oda had another great performance to become the first skater to clinch a spot at the Grand Prix Final. I think he has a gem in Charlie Chaplin. Belbin and Agosto came out on top in Beijing adding to the complex situation that is bound to exist in dance this season...their are so many teams in contention for the top. Perhaps the skater who sweat the most was Japan's Akiko Suzuki who not only pulled up from fourth to take the ladies title with a sassy skate to West Side Story, but did a little double time in impressing the Japanese Federation. She certainly made a case for herself as far as the Olympic Team is concerned.

Tears. Poor Mirai Nagasu. She was the leader after the short and it looked like her troubles might be behind her. Then, her free skate happened and it was back to more of the same. In the kiss and cry she told her Frank Carroll, "I just want to go home and practice again." Rachael Flatt was less than impressive as well with a free skate peppered with little jump errors. Perhaps a few tears for Zhang and Zhang who, I'm sure, were hoping for a betting showing against teammates and rivals Shen and Zhao. Rather than shining they labored their way to a silver medal. Joannie Rochette who entered this competition the favorite found herself way down in 7th after the short. She might have saved herself by managing the bronze overall after a free skate that, while not perfect, pulled her up a bit.

You can check the full results here. This week the figure skating world stays in the region with a trip to Nagano, Japan for the fourth Grand Prix event, NHK Trophy.

Trophy Eric Bompard Gets Grand Prix Underway

I must say I was quite impressed with the level of skating displayed at Grand Prix Paris for this early in the season. It shows these skaters are taking this season seriously and we are in for a great season.

The men's competition was a no brainer. If you read my comments I thought Nobunari Oda was just genius (see video below). Charlie Chaplin has been done many times, but I think it's a hard character to pull off. You have to be quirky but not over the top and I think Nobunari nailed it. Nice to see those jumps so incredibly solid. I think he'll be tough to beat and his win in Paris was very well deserved. I liked Tomas Verner's performance too, although it ultimately lost steam, he did skate initially with a new sophistication I haven't seen from him and I think he looks so much more put together versus last season; his silver was a nice treat for him I think. Speaking of treats, what about Adam Rippon! His short program, for me, was one of the best I've ever seen from an artistic point of view (It would be Brian Orser that would mold something effective with Neil Diamond). While his free skate didn't get me quite as excited, overall I think he has two great programs and I think for the first time I see him as a contender on the senior stage. Brian Joubert....oh Brian. I think Scott Hamilton said it best..."He's like a meat and potatoes skater; there's not a lot of parsley on the plate." He missed the quads and the program just suffered as a result. I was really surprised he finished fourth (that might save him later in the season when you look at making the Grand Prix Final) and I hope this jolts and makes him rethink some things. I like Brian Joubert and I know he is capable of much better than this. Ponsero and Voronov will need to step it up a notch as well.

In Ice Dance, Virtue and Moir were the easy class of the field. I love this teams lifts. They are so inventive and so complex. Their free dance, while gorgeous, for me is a little to stagnant. I wish the music had more rise and fall. But that's a minor complaint and really more of an opinion that doesn't really effect their scores. As I suspected, Pechalat and Bourzat sneaked past the Kerr's to nab the silver. Their free dance is fun. I don't think it's as interesting as last season's but this season's dance is clearly more difficult in terms of steps and movement. The Kerr's used a Linkin Park piece very well but had some tiny unison issues in there twizzles. Overall, however, I felt they were a smidge better than Pechalat and Bourzat and I was surprised there was that big of a gap between the two teams. The Americans were a hot mess, all over the map with their placements in each part of the competition. Samuelson and Bates finished fourth, Navarro and Bomemntre (loved their free dance!) finished sixth, Hubbell and Hubbell finished eigth...however none of them were consistent with their placements in each portion of the competition. I'm now very interested to see how Chock and Zuerlein stack up against these Senior teams. Also, I must toot my own horn and report that I correctly predicted the dance podium here!

The Pairs event gave us a little bit of a shocker. I've been saying as soon as Mukhortova and Trankov can get their heads together (and stop fighting with one another) they would be a force to be reckoned with. They put two solid performances back to back and out classed the field in Paris to take the title. While their "Love Story" program lacked a little love, it was well constructed and they were great technically. Dube and Davison nabbed the silver with a beautiful performance. They are struggling still a bit technically but their free skate is just lovely. The big shock came with Savchenko and Szolkowy placing third after only a fourth place free skate. They had a disastrous skate that culminated with a pop of their throw salchow at the end of their program and a lot of head shaking. A really out of character performance for them. Honorable mention to Inoue and Baldwin who finished fourth overall (third in the free) on the strength of a gorgeous throw triple axel.

The ladies event was interesting. Kim Yu-Na won the event, surprisingly by a margin approaching 40 points, and with a record breaking score. She accomplished the highest point total by a woman ever...without even performing a triple flip. While she was certainly deserving of the title, I don't think she was deserving of those scores. Overly inflated if you ask me. Mao Asada was a distant second with a performance that included a beautiful triple axel combination, solid footwork with deep edges, and impressive spins. While her performance was not to the level of Kim's, she should have been much closer in score. Yukari Nakano earned the bronze medal. The program didn't really sing but she did complete several triple jumps. Two American's finished in the top five. Caroline Zhang finished fourth after a program plagued with deductions due to her jump technique. She also played it safe at this competition nursing a healing injury. Alexe Gilles made her senior Grand Prix debut with a respectable fifth place finish. Caroline Kostner stumbled into sixth with two terrible performances. She still hasn't got her act together.

Full results are here. Next week the Grand Prix moves to Moscow, Russia for Rostelecom Cup.

The Globe Trot

It's been busy times in the world of figure skating!

Starting here in the U.S., we are still reeling from the two big announcements that came down this past week. First, Kimmie Meissner's withdrawal from the Grand Prix and almost by default withdrawal from the entire figure skating season due to her inability to compete and qualify for Nationals. Second, Sasha Cohen's last minute decision to withdraw from Grand Prix Paris. Sasha's withdrawal is being met with some skepticism as she performed in Improv Ice with "an injury" prior to her withdrawal from a major international event. Lots are doubting if her comeback is for real; she'll have the opportunity to redeem herself at Skate America. Also, big news for figure skating fans, we're getting more television figure skating broadcasts than we have in years thanks to a deal inked between U.S. Figure Skating and NBC Universal...WIN!!!

Japan is jumping for joy as Daisuke Takahashi made a successful return to competition last week by winning the 2009 Finlandia Trophy. While there is some work to be done on the free skate yet (he lost that portion of the competition to Russian Sergei Voronov), his short program turned heads and earned an impressive score in it's competitive debut. Japan was not jumping for joy when it lost the 2009 Japan Open (actually finishing last in 3rd) behind an impressive Team Europe and Team North America. Even more disheartening was Japan's high-flyer Mao Asada, not looking her best, and losing more ground to Canada's Joannie Rochette. Asada was just third among the women, losing not only to Rochette but also Finland's Lepisto.

In Canada, they are beginning to ramp up for the Olympic Games full throttle. Leading men's contender, Patrick Chan, was recently dubbed "Ice Prince" by the Toronto Star. Who would this Canadian Prince's dream date be asked Toronto Star sports reporter Randy Starkman? "Jessica Alba. Definitely. I wouldn't even talk the whole date. I'd just look at her with my jaw dropped." Enough said. The city of Vancouver is starting to get a picture of what traffic will be like during the Olympics...chaos. Businesses are being urged to have their employees either walk to work, take public transportation, or better yet...stay home.

The other big news in the world of skating comes from Paris, France where the Senior Grand Prix kicks off. Big match-ups are expected amongst the men and ladies fields. Korea's Kim Yu-Na departed for Paris today with her new programs (a "James Bond" themed short and Gershwin free) in tow. She's up against Mao Asada (who must skate better than she did at the Japan Open), Italy's Carolina Kostner, and American Caroline Zhang. The men are more of a mixed bag with Oda and Joubert looking like the front runners but the possibility of a surprise winner looms.

More digging...

Anonymous...as per your request.

Bit of News...

Coming out of Japan...Nobunari Oda is the Men's National Champion. He defeated Takahiko Kozuka (who took Silver) by a little over 18 points with an impressive 243.70.

After the ladies short program, it is very close between the top three. Yukari Nakano (67.26) leads Mao Asada (65.30) who is just ahead of Miki Ando (65.02)...all three ladies are separated by just a little over two points. Yukari is leading due to a huge Technical Element Score compared to the other competitors.

She spoke with the Japan Times after her short program:
"It was one of my best short programs ever. I'd never had the lead after the short program, so I'm thrilled. I have to admit I feel pressure heading into the free skate, but I'll just focus on four minutes of free skating tomorrow. I'll do what I have to do and hopefully I can earn a place at the world championships." she said.

Also according to the article Mao under rotated the second jump in her combination and was only credited with a triple-single combination.

NHK Wrap-up

I know, I know...all my fellow figure skating bloggers are quicker on the draw on these but for me, Ice Network is like TiVo...I can watch it whenever I want and so I've had a bad habit of planning things on the weekend and watching the competition on Sunday/Monday.

But I've caught the action and I'm ready to give my take on things...

In Ice Dance I was so worried about Samuelson and Bates not making the podium, coming into the Free Dance in 4th. And then on the dance spin Evan lost his footing and plopped down to the ice and I was like, "Oh no...that does it." But a ray of hope as Russians Gorshkova and Butikov were less than stellar and actually dropped a couple of spots securing the Americans a place on the podium. I honestly thought that the Italians, Faiella and Scali would have an easy victory...not the case. After winning the compulsory dance, it was a bumpy road with the French team of Pechalat and Bourzat (who were exceedingly more polished here than I've ever seen them!) winning both the OD and the Free Dance. Luckily for the Italians, their lead all the way back from the CD held and they took the title (barely). That also means I 'barely' accurately predicted the podium!

UPDATE: Ooops! I looked at my predictions below...and I didn't get this one right. I actually had Samuelson and Bates pegged for silver...guess my limb broke!

Among the men, I was dissapointed that Stephen Carriere came undone and failed to either medal or make the Grand Prix Final. This is the second year in a row that NHK has been unkind to him. Stephen made Tomas Verner a very happy fellow! Takahiko Mura showed the depth of the Japanese team with a strong performance and a respectable 5th place showing. Patrick Chan is clearly the class of Canada now but Kevin Reynolds is proving to be quite the competitor as well. Not one, but two beautiful quads in his free skate to capture 4th place (I have to tell you...that is exactly why I pegged him for the bronze...maybe next time!). The bronze medal went to Yannick Ponsero who looked leaps and bounds more comfortable here than he did in Canada. He too opened with a gorgeous quad toe to get a strong program underway. The silver went to Johnny Weir who started very strong but then towards the end of the program he doubled a jump and singled another. Even still he had strong scores and continues to show his attitude change and his new approach to training continue to pay dividends. On a nit picky level, I'd like to see him not front load his free skate so much...and always try the quad. Johnny's jump technique is solid enough that he can almost always keep that jump on its feet. Nobunari Oda won the men's event with a solid free skate (he too threw a quad that was mostly successful). He, like Weir, also had some jump issues here and there but overall he looked very fit and he skated with tremendous speed. The response from the Japanese audience was overwhelming and at one point you could tell he was really trying to hold back some tears. For Oda it was mission accomplished as far as restoring some credibility.

The pairs event was rough. Dube and Davison didn't look themselves at all. About the only element, aside from the lifts, that went right was the triple twist. All of their jumping elements were flawed, they were slow across the ice, and they lacked the spark they usually have in their skating. I don't think this team has helped themselves this season by choosing such a rough cut of Carmen either...it just doesn't suit them. They got the bronze medal only because the all the other teams before them had rough skates as well (well...that...and the fact that even on a bad performance their skating skills were far superior to the teams that had skated prior to them). The bright spot on the evening was the Americans. Inoue and Baldwin, while not as technical as the other teams, did turn in a pretty good performance for the silver. After John fell on the opening triple toe (which despite the fall, I give him credit for rotating it. So often he just does a double and he has to get his head around doing the triple) went on to skate very well. They scaled back from the throw triple axel, opting for a double instead, but it was done well. Solid lifts, amazing side-by-side unison on the spins, and overall...not too shabby. A silver for them was a bit of redemption after their awful showing at Skate America. The winners were China's Pang and Tong. They too had some side-by-side issues but the throws were amazing and they breezed pass the field. I'm still not sure I like the program...I warm up to it about the time it switches from that bland tango music into Concerto de Aranjuez.

Last season, the Japanese ladies didn't fare well at all, with Nana Takeda barely pulling off a bronze. This season it was a clean sweep of the podium for the Japanese women. Poor Ashley Wagner after a promising start in the short got bit by the same bug that got her at Cup of China...wrong edge here, downgraded jump there, and lower than expected component scores and she again finishes just off the podium. In her defense, I just love this 'Spartacus' program and I think she's getting undermarked on the component side of things. Again, how Laura Lepisto can beat her continues to baffle me. Yukari Nakano pulled of a comeback performance to rally back to the bronze (and make the Grand Prix Final). After a clean skate, she was visibly emotional as scores of flowers, teddy bears, and other goodies rained down upon her as she took her bows. These Japanese ladies are under such stress from the press (rhymed!), especially when they compete at home, and it is a relief when they skate well. A lesser known Japanese lady whose actually been around for sometime took the silver. Akiko Suzuki, who actually won the Finlandia Trophy early this season, had a solid performance of her own, showed some flair, and was genuinely pleased with herself and I think a bit surprised when her result came up. But the show stopper was without a doubt Mao Asada who oblitereated the competition. She opened up with a gorgeous triple axel and then...decided to do a second in combination (a separate post is coming on this combo alone), ridiculous! She went on to land everything else she was planning with no wrong edge deductions and nearly all positive grades of execution across the board...this is not the Mao we saw in Paris...this is a Mao that can take on Yu-Na Kim. she was absolutely stunning.

So the Grand Prix Final is set. I'll do a separate post later to talk about that in greater detail. The competition in Korea is going to be fierce. If per chance you missed Mao's amazing performance, fret not...I have it here!

Pic of the Week

Sorry for the lateness of this post but I've been watching the news in horror. A short time ago there were several coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India targeting westerners. Many have been hurt, killed, and hostages have been taken. One of the locations bombed was the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. I was in India this summer for my masters program and actually spent three days in that hotel. It is bone chilling to see a place associated with good memories in flames and ruin on the television. The staff there are some of the nicest, most wonderful people I meet in India. Please pray for all the people affected by this terrible act of terrorism.

But the world must continue to turn and so to my blog, so I present this pic of the week.

Actually this picture is 16 months ago when poor, poor Nobunari Oda apologized before the Japanese Press for his much publicized drunken moped incident.

But bad boys sometimes get a second chance, and after winning the Nebelhorn Trophy earlier this season, Oda is set to make his grand return to major ISU competition this weekend at the NHK Trophy.

And luckily for him he has decided to return now as this may be his best (last, only?) chance to reestablish himself as Japan's leading man. Takahashi has withdrawn from competition this season and Kozuka's stock is on the rise!

Nobunari enters this weeks competition with a mission, restore his pride before the people of Japan. And Nobunari...no more moped incidents, okay?

Here's a clip from this years Japanese Dreams on Ice

2008 Nebelhorn Trophy

This past weekend brought the first major Senior ISU competition of the season. Some surprises here and there and some interesting items to report.

Amongst the men, Nobunari Oda of Japan had a good competitive redebut by winning the men's title. He was able to hold his lead from the short program over the defending champion Michael Brezina of the Czech Republic. Yannick Ponsero of France was a distant third. Surprisingly, Tomas Verner, also of the Czech Republic, reigning European Champion could only muster fourth place...a dissapointing start to his season. Scott Smith and Dennis Phan finished seventh and eigth, respectively.

In Ice Dance, Americans Samuelson and Bates won both the Original and Free Dance and captured their first senior title. The Americans were able to hold off the Israeli team of Zaretski and Zaretski, who lead after the Compolsory Dance but fell behind in later parts of the competition. The Americans also took bronze with Summersett and Gilles. "We skated great," said Samuelson. "We're really happy with how we performed. It was a great senior international debut for us."

No big surprises in Pairs. Savchenko and Szolkowy of Germany posted an easy win over Russians Mukhortova and Trankov. Ukranian's Volosozhar and Morozov, as expected, won the Bronze. Very strong senior debut for American's Denney and Barrett, they finished fourth overall and was actually third in the free skate. Yankowskas and Coughlin were sixth.

Amongst the ladies Alissa Czisny pulled out an impressive win jumpstarting her season. With the withdrawl of Carolina Kostner she seized the opportunity to take her second ISU Senior title. She held off Finnish upstart Laura Lepisto who won the silver and Akiko Suzuki of Japan who took Bronze. Chrissy Hughes of the U.S. in her senior debut finished 13th. After the competition, Alissa spoke with Icenetwork reporters, "I've been working with Linda [Leaver] and Brian [Boitano] on my [jump] technique, and this year it's starting to click. That's one of the things that's making me better plus I'm a little more relaxed in competition."

Apparently there is a team trophy awarded at Nebelhorn and on the strength of Czisny, Samuelson and Bates, as well Summersett and Gilles the American team was able to win that as well!

Full Results can be seen here.

Another Coaching Split!

Well another high profile skater has parted ways with his coach.

It's coming in from various sources (Dig Deep See Clear, Required Elements) that Daisuke Takahashi from Japan has split with coach Nikolai Morozov. Even more shocking, Morozov has taken on a new student, Takahashi's main national rival, Nobunari Oda!

Apparently Takahashi felt he was going to get the most attention leading up to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver...guess not!

Another thing to note, it has been Morozov's choreographic genius that has produced some memorable programs from Daisuke over the past couple seasons (Phantom of the Opera, Cyberswan, Romeo and Juliet)...who will Daisuke get to choreograph his programs with the same intensity? Kurt Browning, Christopher Dean...are you available?

Mental Stress...huh?

What exactly is mental stress in the case of Nobunari Oda? I've been suspended for several months and haven't been training...I watched the Grand Prix Final and realized 'I don't think I can beat Takahashi'...lure of booze and mopeds (that wasn't nice, I apologize)?

Whatever the case, Oda is a scratch this season. He has withdrawn from Japanese Nationals citing "Mental Stress" and will therefore be ineligible to compete in any further international competition this season.

Talk about Bah Humbug!

Check out the story here