EVAN LYSACEK'S Next Move: DANCING WITH THE STARS!

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100301&content_id=8634670&vkey=ice_news

The newly crowned Olympic figure skating gold medalist confirmed to icenetwork.com that he will be vying for his next title, the Mirror Ball trophy, as a competitor on Dancing With The Stars, which begins March 22 on ABC. He hopes to follow in the footsteps, er skates, of other Olympic champions such as Apolo Anton Ohno and fellow figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi to the TV crown.

Melissa Rycroft and Tom Bergeron announced the new cast for Dancing With The Stars Monday during ABC's telecast of The Bachelor.

"I am so excited,'' Lysacek said. "I watched Apolo do it and I went to about five or six tapings when Kristi was on the show. I was looking for my next challenge after the Olympics and I think this will be great.

"I'm getting really nervous right now because I'm not that good of a dancer and people expect me to be because I am a figure skater.''

Not long after Lysacek defeated Russian favorite Evgeni Plushenko for the Olympic men's title in Vancouver, two-time Dancing With The Stars champion, professional dancer Cheryl Burke, posted a message on Twitter suggesting that Lysacek be a part of the show's cast. Burke won the show's title with 98 Degrees member Drew Lachey and with retired NFL star Emmitt Smith.

Lysacek, 24, will have a delicate balancing act on the dance floor but he is not giving up his day job as a skater, either. In fact, he will continue to perform most of the dates on the Smucker's Stars on Ice schedule.

He has to be in Los Angeles on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays for rehearsals and for Dancing With The Stars broadcasts. The good news is when he is taping the show he can sleep in his own bed. He lives about five minutes from the studio.

Lysacek will take red-eye flights to tour dates for shows on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The 41-date Smucker's Stars on Ice tour begins April 1 in Fort Myers, Fla., and concludes May 30 in Portland, Ore. In addition to Lysacek, the tour includes Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and Olympic silver medalist ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.

"I felt it was still important to see my fans and to skate,'' said Lysacek, the first American men's Olympic figure skating gold medalist since Brian Boitano won in 1988. "And the show is such a great platform to promote the sport.''

The biggest challenge for Lysacek will be learning how to dance.

"I know nothing,'' he said. "I don't even know some of the names of the dances.''

He is looking forward to working with the production staff, some of which he has met already, as well as being fitted for various costumes. As a skater, Lysacek is already accustomed to wearing different designs and he has even worked with Vera Wang. At the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Lysacek wore a black outfit with feathers for a routine to "Firebird,'' and his free skate outfit featured two snakes.

"They actually let you have some of your own input,'' Lysacek said of the show's wardrobing department.

"But I have to do a good job first,'' he added. "I feel like there will be an expectation. Kristi and Apolo are both skaters and they both did so good. And it will be a big adjustment for me. Skating is such an individual sport, at least in singles skating. So it will be new to work with a partner.

One advantage Lysacek will have as a dancer that has been considered an obstacle for him as a skater is his height. The 6-foot-2 skater laughed when his height was mentioned. "It's funny because you'd think that but everyone (in dance) is so short,'' he said. "The good thing the show might do is silence some of the critics who say I'm really robotic.''

Lysacek is used to performing in front of judges and worldwide TV audiences, having competed in two Olympics and having captured the world title last year in Los Angeles. In Dancing With The Stars, he'll have to impress fans, who also cast their vote for the winners.

And he's hoping he can count on his friends in the figure skating world to help bolster his vote tally. He should also have fans at the taping of some of his shows as well. He trains with U.S. Olympian Mirai Nagasu in Los Angeles. His longtime coach, Frank Carroll, might swing by, too.

"I hope that he'll be able to come and watch it,'' Lysacek said. "I'm just looking forward to all of it.''

Plushenko's Soviet Craftiness . . .

. . . tricky tricky tricky!

(The picture is hard to read -- it says under each medal --

"Silver" "Gold" "Platinum"

. . . . interesting, I thought that medal you got this last week was silver? My bad, I guess!)

UPDATE: Here is an article elaborating on the subject . . . http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/In-Plushenko-s-mind-and-website-he-s-the-plat;_ylt=AihofTXq1j.UnsYufgbZAQpotLV_?urn=oly,221408


and here is the link to the "OFFICIAL PLUSHENKO WEBSITE" (note: it is in SCARY RUSSIAN)

http://evgeni-plushenko.com/

SEXY FOLLOW-UP, Plushenko Denies Knowledge of "Platinum" Label:
23.02.10
Plushenko isn't creating new Olympic medals

By NANCY ARMOUR
The Associated Press
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Evgeni Plushenko isn't awarding himself a new medal. Or creating one, for that matter.

Reports Tuesday said a picture of the Olympic silver medalist's latest prize was labeled "platinum of Vancouver" on Plushenko's official Web site. His medal from the Salt Lake City Games was properly identified as silver. But agent Ari Zakarian said no one had authority to do this "stupid thing," and Plushenko himself was not aware of it.

There were no labels beneath the pictures of Plushenko's three Olympic medals as of Tuesday afternoon. The Russian also has a gold from the Turin Olympics.

"It's absolutely a mistake. Evgeni has absolutely no idea about this. Absolutely no idea," Zakarian said. "Nobody from our team is awarding a platinum medal."

Plushenko just wants to move on, Zakarian said, and incidents like Tuesday don't help.

"Of course he's sad. He wanted to do his best," Zakarian said. "But it's past, it's done and he's looking forward to the next competition. This is history. It's over."

Look at the article in the Press part

Evgeni Plushenko - SEX BOMB?

True, there has been a lot of sarcasm and maybe even a little nastiness directed towards Mr. Evgeni Plushenko over the last week (and maybe even a suggestion or two he may be sparking off the next Cold War -- but Dickkk Button started it).

However, his performance of "Sex Bomb" has proven that, for as creepy and evil he may be, he also has quite a sense of humor!

Enjoy Plushenko and his bowl-cut mullet golenlocks perform a "rousing" rendetion of Tom Jones's classic "Sex Bomb."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVpgQQUiBh8&NR=1



(Thanks to L.M. for this sexy update)

Evan Lysacek Bob Costas Interview etc.

I have no idea how to share videos (so jealously protected by NBC) but there are a lot of good video links on the NBC Olympics website of our Olympic champion.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/search/video/results.htmx?q=evan%20lysacek



Also, there are video clips of our favorite performances by our other favorite skaters.

Memories . . . like the corners of my mind . . .

EVAN LYSACEK WINS GOLD!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVAN LYSACEK FOR AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE THIS EVENING! NOT ONLY DID YOU REPRESENT YOUR COUNTRY WELL (U.S. OF A.) BUT YOU TOOK EVGENY'S SLEDGEHAMMER AND SHOVED IT UP HIS YOU-KNOW-WHAT.

Yevgeny Plushenko the SLEDGEHAMMER

Yevgeny Plushenko the SLEDGEHAMMER.

Will his mind games pull through or backfire?

"It's so unfair -- he's an f*&king robot" A.W.

He's a jumping machine. Quad into triple toe. It is impressive, I will give him that. Triple axle a little off but he held onto it. He's just knocking out these jumps and jump combos.

I love watching him try to do the bally spin -- not for the heggy among us!

WOW -- was that some crotch grinding/hip thrusting?! Uncomfortable, Yevgeny.

Another awkward ballyspin provides some comic relief.

Now he is making love to the judges with his eyes. "No pervy points." -A.W.

"This guy's a cat! I don't know how he landed that!" Soviet deal with the devil? Or wait, no religion, Soviet deal with Lenin?

High kick high kick. Hip hop time!

He is dancing like Will Forte in that SNL Basketball sketch! WTF! It is kind of sweet how geeky he is, but it also makes me want to cross my legs tightly.

And end with blowing kisses.

"This guy is special . . . This guy deserves whatever he gets." - Scott Hamilton

"He's got the quad, he's got flair, he's got charisma . . . nowhere near as good as Evan."

"that triple axle was wonky" -A.W.

This guy is like rweeaarrrr -- he's a cat!" - Scott Hamilton

SCORE: WHO THE HELL CARES!?!?! EVAN WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Johnny Weir!!!!!

Johnny Weir! Crossing himself as usual. And, who knew? His coach is VICTOR PETRINKO?!?! Holy hell! He was such a sex symbol in the early 1990s and it was such a *thrill* when he came and performed at Kemper Arena in KC and I got to see him. He did a lot of hip thrusting and had his shirt unbuttons.

Oh Johnny . . . you are soooo beautiful to meeeeeee.

Triple flip well landed! As usual, he is so stylish and holds himself so well. The epitome of GRACE. All he needs are some Jackie O. glasses.

Dear lord his triple axles are beautiful. They are what you will see upon arriving at the gates of heaven. Many Johnny Weirs doing triple axles!

"Fallen Angel" 0 but without his signature costume in response to PETA. It was such a lovely malibu fur-trimmed thing. But this costume is also quite lovely and, perhaps, more suited to the formality of the Olympics.

He makes it look almost easy. He is so loose in his movements. And he is thin enough that his proportions look so nice -- like with Evan. Long arms and legs flailing around but with also controlled.

Spinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnand spinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

YAYYYY!!!! STANDING OVATION!!!!!!! "He skated his life out here!"

What a good little Catholic boy. "He's done everything he can and he should be so so proud of that." "That was wonderful!"

And here comes the crown of roses!

SCORE: 156.77 TOTAL: 238.87

WHAT THE HELL! Disappointing!

Daisuke Takahashi

Daisuke Takahashi from Japan! Pomp-adorable!

"To quad or not to quad"

OUCH! That was a tough fall :( He hadn't landed one all season . . . yikes. His coach should not have told him to do that. Lame.

Both triples are looking good. Spinny ball well-executed. The shorter they are the better the spinny ball looks, IMO.

Nice "nod" to the judges. Is that allowed?

Is he also rocking some sort of puppet theme? His costume is hard to understand. It looks like a corset over a checkerboard.

Apparently he is going to "Plan B" -- triple triple with a short landing.

GREAT TRIPLE AXLE!! He seems to have good endurance because he jumps seem to be getting cleaner. "Gaining strength as he's been skating."


I used to not be so into the footwork sections but now it is growing on me. Takahashi really sells it well.

SPINNY BAALLLLLLLL!!!!!

Raise the roof! Raise the roof!

"One GIGANTIC mistake!" - Scott Hamilton Awww the Japanese flags have come out.

SCORE: 156.98 TOTAL: 247.23

Stephane Lambiel

Stephane Lambiel aka Monsieur Gorgeous! xoxoxoxoxo! mwah mwah

TWO QUADS! Holy hell! I hope he doesn't hurt himself. Hand down on the first one.

Wooooo held on to that one by a sliver. They should give him some beauty points because he is easy on the eyes.

Just barely hung on to that combo, but he did it. Now he is whipping himself around in a frenzy. "He's so tight"

Very pretty spinning actions on high and low levels. Blowing kisses! Yes please! More more more!

Spin with the hand in the air, we love that one!

Oh this is a famous Opera piece!

He is so good at spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning . . . . !

Apparently the program "was flat" but I would watch him skate in a circle around the rink so . . .

SCORE: 162.09 TOTAL: 246.72

Nobunari Oda

Nobunari Oda from JAPAN!

"Fingers crossed he's dancing to Gershwin -- or at least some American standard" -A.W.

"But seriously Japan needs to stop with their child labor." - A.W.

Beautiful first jump, a little faulty on the combo but he manages to stay in control!

Spinny ball!

He has such nice looooow landings -- it looks nice. I wish more skaters would land like that.

CHARLESTON! I think J.B. may have called the Charlie Chaplin concept! Way to go, J.B.!

Blowin' kisses! Now some more miming -- a theme of the evening, apparently.

"Wow" - beautiful triple axle landing. He goes sooooo looowwwww on his one leg when he lands it looks so impressive. and he swings his other leg around so well.

OH GOD HE HAS TO LEAVE THE ICE!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO!!!!!!

SKATE LACE? Awww memories of Tanya Harding. He is going to have to fix his skate. Did he get hurt too? This is so unusual! I have never seen anything like this before in my life! How can he even concentrate after such a break??

Wow, and he just starts right up! And right into spinny ball! He gets honorary brass balls for this. Just goes out and lands a big jump. This guy has nerves of steel!

"He won't forget this Olympics, that's for sure" - Scott Hamilton

SCORE: 153.69 TOTAL: 238.54

J.B. "The Japanese need to find someone other than Charlie Chaplin to put in routine for Olympics!!"

EVAN LYSACEK

Evan Lysacek -USAAAAAAAAA

It's time to bring out the big guns!!

"He really likes the shoulder accents" -A.W.

"It's happening! This is so nervewracking!" -A.W.

Combination pass -- it's a bingo!

TRIPLE AXLE! BOOYAH! He hit is beautifully as Scott Hamilton said he needed too. He is all legs. So pretty to watch. Such lovely footwork -- judges-- are you hearing this -- footwork unlike that "Soviet Sledgehammer" Evegeni Plushenko! He really is a pleasure to watching.

It's like watching a ballet dancer he is so graceful.

BONUS TIME! ************

He is hitting the jumps but as J.B. says -- needs some Lance Armstong trainers in his life.

HE HIT THE COMBO!! OMG! lovely lovely lovely.

Anna and I are hyperventilating. "Stop jumping STOP jumping!!!" -A.W. Please just let this routine end so we can all breathe. Dear lord he is all arms and legs. That was cloooose to the wall. Get those fancy footwork points, Evan! Lego hair slightly coming undone!

WONDERFUL! "A clean performance!"

EVAN is from HEAVEN!

Anna put her bets on him over a year ago -- she can sure pick the right horse.

"Who's Arthur?" a disappointed A.W. asks

SCORE: 167.37 TOTAL: 267.67 (PERSONAL BEST!!!)

J.B. "A true super hero on the ice tonight. Oh man it is a snake on his costume. Wonderful and a kid from Chicago."
"A true Olympic performance."
"Oda having to follow Evan--Is he Charlie Chaplin"

Johnny Weir alert!

First glimpse reveals a silver top with no tassels :( It's hard to top a hot pink tassel, no matter who you are.

Evgeny has on the figure skating version of a tuxedo t-shirt. He is getting ready to win the gold and he is wearing THAT? Maybe it is all a part of his SOVIET MIND GAMES!

Michal Brezina

Michal Brezina from Czech Republic! What a handsome devil! Oh shit it's American in Paris! I hope he is going to be channeling Gene Kelly!

And . . . we're off to a good start. I think his costume may be a reference to the movie (or Gene Kelly) as well. Well done.

Trip flip was also perfection. It sounds like the original recording too. He seems to actually be aware of the music he is dancing to which is nice for a change. His footwork is kind of silly and not as graceful but I guess it's in keeping with the theme of his performance?

I can see Cyd Charisse before my very eyes (RIP!) That was a smokin hottt scene in the movie. He could really up the ante on his sex appeal a little. "Shrug"

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh into the wall. Damn it. He was so close to being done it seems and now he is changing his program as he goes. "He's running out of gas" _Scott Hamilton.
And . . . collar grab!

SCORE:

J.B. "cze===well a true jumper but we have to do better with this pink vest! the sparkles don't help. Now we need skating movement and style to become a full time threat. opppps 4 minutes is way too long for these young men bring on Lance Armstrongs trainer"

Patrick Chan

Patrick Chan -- hometown (slightly cross-eyed?) favorite!

Triple axle -- NAILS IT! Beautiful combo move! He looks like a doorman at a gay strip club. And "nails" the triple toe loop.

Phantom of the Opera!! Excellent music choice.

High kick! Love it! Ball spin! A+!

Oh it's a Phantom Medley with a tasteful arrangement. 10 seconds from BONUS TIME!

OUCH! Right on the bum.

This is his first Olympics and he is very young -- so we will hopefully see more of him in 4 years.

It must feel really nice to skate across a big rink while phantom is blasting. Just sayin'

He really does have long lovely line. Sheesh another high kick! Do you even get points for those?

"Patrick is a magnificent talent, he's just not fully ____ yet."

SCORE: 160.30 (best ever!) TOTAL: 241.42

J.B. ""Oh gosh Phamtom of opera woven into this. We really need the mask and cape to make this work. I am so disappointed in this performace as he can truely do better. Olympic year is not the time to change coaches."

Florent Amodio

Florent Amodio -- the Brazilian orphan now representing France! Beautiful beautiful facepaint a la a classy state fair. He plays a marionet?

He's pouting! OMG he is going to be a mime! or a puppet. Noowwwww I get it. I love this little top. Perhaps a little too Halloween costumey but he gets a pass because he is French.

"I be he and Johnny would make a good couple." _A.W.

Over-rotated triple axle. Too excited!

POUTY FACE! And now things are gettin' funky . . .

He crosses the ring very nicely. Did he just finger point a judge? I hope it was the French one bc a Soviet judge would probably take off points for that level of sass.

"He's totally pop-and-lockin'!" -A.W.

God, the French. You have to love them, even when they do stuff that is borderline lame. Such a fallen country.

Wonderful triple axle, so tight!

"High points for taking time out to pop n lock." -A.W.

This marionette stuff is really weird but he is SELLING IT. He's got some balls, even in that satiny glitter costume.

What the hell??? Raise the roof on this last section!

(Applause applause! Very nice performance. We look forward to seeing him in 4 years, perhaps as a ventriloquist dummy).

"He reminds me of Jay from Queer Eye." -A.W.
SCORE: 134.59

J.B. ""Oh good face painting in back in vogue. Florent what are you dressed for?
so is he a puppet? Now we are cooking with the beat"

Denis Ten from Great Country of Kazakhstan

Woah! The great country of Kazakhstan has an ice skater?? Denis Ten! Who knew? Only 16 -- what a baby!

But what size jock strap is he up to?

We did not get to see this little guy in short program but we are very lucky to see him now.

Whoopsie! That triple axle didn't go off quite right. The next one looked great! He is literally growing as we are watching him skate. So brave! I don't know what I was doing when I was 16 but it was not as impressive as thing

Woaaahhhh what was that spinny move with the perpendicular body in a circle? That was so amazing. He is going to be popular with the ladies (or men) when he is legal.

The music choice is slightly bizarre but he somehow makes it work. Ooohhh didn't quite make the "bonus" which is still kind of confusing to me -- but be some Soviet Plot to make sure their guy wins . . .

His costume is very nice -- different from a lot of the other styles but it really works. Kind of matador style.

Now the music has turned slightly Spanish -- maybe it was gypsy themed before?

HURRAH!!! Little Dennis is already an artist with one of the most artistic performances, skating wise, music choice and in his outfit. He's got at least two Olympics ahead of him (barring an accidental US drone missile hitting his home).

SCORE: 135.01

J.B. "kakastan/ well now we have the color better for costume and so young. I don't recall seeing him on the ice rink in Coralville mall in iowa" HA!

Takahiko Kozuka

Takahiko Kozuka -- my darling little ELF!

"Did he tip his hair?!? Oh, it's just he light." -A.W.

"See HE has wonderful musicality!" -A.W.

He does look quite young. ALLLMOST nails the all-important Quad. "He is the future" Dayum triple axle triple toe loop shabang!

His outfit is very classy, black with silver rhinestones, the go-to choice for male skaters who want to be fun but also a little restrained.

He really glides across the rink like a little cherub. He must be about 4 feet tall.

Apparently you get bonuses if you are still alive after 2:15 into your routine! Who knew? Not only did the little vixen make it but he showed off with an impressive combo move.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHITTTTTTTTTTTT triple axle and he's on the ground. "That hurts." -A.W.

And yet, he recovers and continues knocking out one jump after another.

"He has very aesthetically appealing buoyancy." -A.W. (that's what she said)
"If anyone is seeing the Spike Jonez Pharcyde 'Drop' video -- it looks like he is walking backward." -A.W.

The girls of Union street predict big things for him next Olympics!

SCORE: 151.60! (at only 21!) (his stoned turtle coach seems to not be aware that he is at the Olympics)

Jeremy Abbott

Oh good! They are showing our US Great Hope that fell apart -- Jeremy Abbott! Let's hope that he can regain his composure and end his first Olympics on a high note (although with no chance of a medal). As usual his outfit is quite dull and understated with nary a rhinestone to be seen.

QUAD-AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh man. "and then they have to do the rest of the show with ice on their ass." -A.W.

I guess his will has been taken away (Scott Hamilton)

Ball spin - the most unusual move of men's figure skating that everyone seems compelled to do.

"he looks like onw of those kids who sits in the back of the class and is just boring." _A.W. "no panache -- how did he get into ice skating?"

He nailed his triple combo! Please, Jeremy, end this thing right!

He does have nice footwork and seems graceful but it is almost like he isn't listening to the music.

Lovely final tight spin! He looks sad :( Poor kid. I hope to see him again in 4 years (with black hair and glitter eyeshadow)

SCORE: ????????

J.B. "Jeremy Abbot: Please tell me he has the flu. so sad, bring on the costume designer"

OMG it's the COLD WAR all over again!

Update -- Dick Button in semi-normal shoes! Things are looking up!

Showing some Takahashi love right off the bat -- loves him some Asian pompadour! He does not enjoy the "sledgehammer" landings of Evgeni -- perhaps a sly Soviet reference?

Once again he brilliantly comments that they have to "land their jumps." God, this guy is a genius.

Jumps versus Artistry! The judging question of the evening!

It's ABOUT TIME!

Although I hate to say it, it was with joy that I heard Bob Costas announce that Dickkk Button and his very supportive sneakers will be joining him in the studio after this commercial break! Let's hope for an insightful breakdown of the contenders and not another senile rambling by Mr. Button about his glory days doing figure eights.

UPDATE!

Soooooooooooooo apparently the mens skating event is taking place RIGHT NOW!! But NBC is not choosing to show everything -- only the top performers. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

(Here are some pictures of Johnny Weir and Stephane Lambiel to salve the wounds)

NY Times on Tonight's Competition

http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/live-8-p-m-eastern-mens-free-skate/

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia, the reigning Olympic men’s champion, is the leader heading into tonight’s free skate.

If the judges, using the calculus required by the sport’s scoring system, reward Plushenko’s impressive jumps and overlook his lack of artistry, he could become the first repeat gold medalist since Dick Button, who won in 1948 and 1952. This seems possible, despite criticism and conspiracy theories, which abound in figure skating.

“There is no better leaper in the world,” wrote The Times’s Jeré Longman, who will providing live updates from the men’s free skate tonight. “Plushenko jumps like a teenager at a horror movie. He is also fast and calm under pressure.”

But as Longman wrote, and Plushenko freely admitted, he comes up short in footwork and artistry. This is something traditionally rewarded in figure skating, though the crowds like the big jumps.

Todd Eldredge, who will be online tonight to provide commentary on the free skate program, argues that judges should reward the best all-around skater.

“I believe the judges will be looking for the best overall performance to take the title, not just who does the most difficult technical elements or who shows the greatest artistry,” Eldredge wrote in a Rings post earlier today. “The quad is a great trump card, and if you removed it from the short program equation, your top three would most likely be in a different order, but the points difference would still be really close.”

Tonight, all eyes will be on the leaders: Plushenko, Lysacek and Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi. They skate later in the program. Before that, the also-rans will get a chance to entertain the Pacific Coliseum crowd. The United States champion, Jeremy Abbott, who was in 15th place, said he planned to do his part.

Juliet Macur, who will also provide updates from tonight’s final, reported that although Abbott was dejected after his short-program flub, he had regained his verve.

“I promise with all my heart that there will be a reason to smile on Thursday!” he said on his Twitter page. “My goals are out of reach, but my Olympics is not over yet!”

Log on around 8 p.m. Eastern for commentary from Eldredge and updates from Longman and Macur in the stadium for the free program. Before then, tell us what you expect from the men’s free skate tonight. Will Plushenko’s quadruple jumps win him another gold? Can Lysacek or Takahashi catch him?

Chilly rivals ready for men's skating final

The Arizona Republic
VANCOUVER - Evgeni vs. Evan.

It's not the Cold War, but there's a distinct chill in the air going into the Olympic men's figure skating free program Thursday night.

And we all know skating soap operas equal boffo ratings - Nancy vs. Tonya in 1994 and the Battle of the Brians in 1988.

American Brian Boitano and Canadian Brian Orser were virtually tied going into the free program at the Calgary Olympics. Boitano won over five of nine judges under the old 6.0 scoring system in which the last of what were three portions of the competition counted 50 percent, leaving Orser as a two-time silver medalist.

In the first Canadian Olympics since Calgary, three men are separated by no more than six-tenths of a point under a new scoring system that is a significant part of the plot.

Evan Lysacek won at the 2009 World Championships without a quad jump and doesn't plan to attempt one here.

Getting away with that is pushing the sport back in time, said Evgeni Plushenko, who retired after winning at the 2006 Olympics and returned to find the artistic side of his skating under attack.

"Skating without quad is a time before (Elvis) Stojko, before (Alexei) Urmanov," said Alexei Mishin, Plushenko's coach. "(He) who is not able to jump, don't make fake explanation because this is a shame to skate without quad when Stojko, who skated 10 years before, did it."

It's not that Lysacek is trying to make do by channeling Dick Button.

"I used to really enjoy training the quad, and I thought it was important to try in every competition," Lysacek said. "Then I broke my (left) foot, and it became less fun and more scary."

The stress fracture severely limited Lysacek's practice time for 2009 Worlds and continuing pain led to his decision with coach Frank Carroll not to train a quad for the Olympics.

Plushenko completed a quad toe/triple toe combination in the short program Tuesday and might try two quads in the free. He had a 2.8-point edge on Lysacek in total element score, which includes jumps, but trailed him by 2.25 in program components including transitions/footwork, choreography and interpretation.

Carroll has been publicly critical of Plushenko, telling the New York Times: "I'm not impressed with his skating. It's not as complicated as the judging system demands."

A U.S. international-level judge wrote an e-mail that became public questioning high transition scores Plushenko received in winning at the European Championships.

Plushenko's agent, Ari Zakarian, said Tuesday that "some people" don't want the 27-year-old Russian to become the first Olympic men's repeat champion since Button (1948 and '52).

But if Plushenko hits his jumps, especially two quads, skating to Tango Amore, then Lysacek, 24, probably can do no better than silver with his Sheherazade program. Or maybe Daisuke Takahashi, 23, who missed most of last season due to knee surgery, will win Japan's first Olympic men's title.

Lysacek will skate first in a six-man final group at Pacific Coliseum with Takahashi fourth and Plushenko last.

C’mon guys – what’s not to like about figure skating?

David Letterman joked Wednesday night that a scandal is brewing at the Winter Olympics because three male figure skaters “tested fabulous.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/cmon-guys-whats-not-to-like-about-figure-skating/article1473460/

JohnnyGWeir on Twitter

http://twitter.com/JohnnyGWeir


"Relaxing before the long. I hope everyone can be transported tonight. God protect me and give me wings."

DID YOU KNOW?! Johnny Weir Edition!

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Johnny-Weir-A-fascinating-Fallen-Angel-;_ylt=AlAjPszwFKH1vMV.gHDgWQ50fNdF?urn=oly,219928

Love him or hate him, Johnny Weir just may be the most fascinating person to hit men's figure in years. Here are some things you may not know about the U.S. figure skater

• Though Weir is known more for his artistry, he is still a capable jumper and can even throw a quad jump. He threw one in practice Monday, and is considering it for his short program Tuesday night.

• In Vancouver, he is staying with ice dancer Tanith Belbin in the Olympic Village, in what she called "the best smelling room in the village." Weir brought candles, bathmats and a poster of Lady Gaga to personalize the apartment.

• He is fascinated with Russian culture, speaks the language fluently, and has Russian coaches, but says he is above all proud to be an American.

• After Comedy Central talk show host Stephen Colbert said that Weir was "dependent on fabulousness," Weir said that he agreed and considered sending a costume for Colbert to wear on air.

• His free skate is titled "Fallen Angel" and is based on the past year of his life.

• Weir didn't start skating until he was 12 years old – ancient when you consider that there are Olympian figure skaters in their teens – but he showed promise early on.

Plushenko playing mind games?!?

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – If gold medals were handed out for winning mind games, Evgeni Plushenko would already be headed to the Vancouver airport, ready to jump on a flight to Russia with another Olympic title stashed safely in his baggage.

After surging into the lead after the short program in the men’s figure-skating competition, Plushenko proceeded to turn up the heat on American rival Evan Lysacek with a series of barbed comments that will further fuel a heated showdown set for Thursday night.

Plushenko gleefully poked fun at Lysacek’s refusal to incorporate the quad jump – figure skating’s toughest and most exciting maneuver – into his program. Lysacek suffered a stress fracture in his foot attempting the move last year and will not try it in his long program.

“I believe the future of figure skating lies in the quad jumps,” said Plushenko, with the hint of a sneer dancing across his face. “We can discuss a lot whether it is good or not or whether it is good to focus on other things, but by doing so we are going backward in time.”

It’s not as if any Olympic battle between the U.S. and Russia needs any extra electricity, but Plushenko appeared determined to pick open some psychological wounds on Lysacek before the figure-skating version of a Cold War recommences on the ice at the Pacific Coliseum.

Their news conference shaped up as a verbal boxing match, which quickly turned into a one-sided smackdown reminiscent of Ivan Drago vs. Rocky Balboa in “Rocky IV” – without the fighting back.

Lysacek’s night had gone perfectly to that point. Skating in the final group, he produced one of the finest performances of his career, arguably even better than the one that won him gold at the 2009 world championships.

His 90.30 score puts him in second place at the midway point, just behind the indomitable Plushenko’s 90.85 and well in contention to score the first American men’s gold since Brian Boitano in Calgary in 1988.

However, it remains to be seen whether his low-risk policy of ditching the quad, a move he has performed successfully in the past, will come back to haunt him.

“For me, I have spent a lot of time working on every aspect of my routine,” said Lysacek. “If you ask a speedskater if one stroke is more important than another, they wouldn’t say that it was. It is easy to take the simpler moves for granted, but I am not going to do that and I will maximize the points and importance of them.”

By now, though, Plushenko was starting to warm to his theme and began to play to his audience like a musical conductor. The Russian was quick to pour scorn on Lysacek’s explanation, laughing and joking with reporters and scoring an undeniable psychological lift before eventually giggling to himself as he exited stage right.

“Of course we need transition and spins and steps, harder and harder,” he said. “But I don’t know, I was making triples in 1994. I know in speedskating they have timing [world records], it gets better. Biathlon, they have new timing. I think we stopped. Some people are going to say it is wrong. But that’s my point.”

American Johnny Weir will provide another dose of shock value with his outrageous and extravagant performance in the long program, but he sits in sixth place and seems well out of contention.

Lysacek, though, has a real chance, at least statistically speaking. However, he looked like a lost little boy once Plushenko got his claws out. The Los Angeles-based 25-year-old needs a confidence pick-me-up before Thursday.

Often too much is made of mind games and psychology, but Plushenko enjoys such a standing in the sport that his personality has the ability to overwhelm and crush prospective challengers.

Unless Lysacek steels himself like never before and comes up with the display of a lifetime on Thursday night, he could find himself swatted aside like so many hopefuls before him.

MEN’S FIGURE SKATING: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

"Lysacek’s skating was divine on Tuesday night, but his costume was nearly unwatchable: black strips of fabric wrapped and wrapped around the bodice as on a sinister mummy, a sparkly strip of fabric around the neck like a gaudy necklace, feathers at the wrists (song choice: Stravinsky’s “Firebird”), and what looked more than anything like rolled black pipe cleaners at the shoulders. The slicked-back hairdo didn’t help. Lysacek is built like a truck driver, and the whole ensemble just looked … unseemly. As he waited for his results, and the camera treated us to a close-up, I kept wanting to protect his dignity by averting my eyes."

Judging fuss starts before men's figure skaters hit Olympic ice

STANDINGS after SHORT PROGRAM

1 Russian Federation PLUSHENKO Evgeni 90.85
2 United States LYSACEK Evan 90.30
3 Japan TAKAHASHI Daisuke 90.25
4 Japan ODA Nobunari 84.85
5 Switzerland LAMBIEL Stephane 84.63
6 United States WEIR Johnny 82.10

DICKKK BUTTON

Oh god, it's Dick Button again with such wise comments as "skating is a sport." He is captain obvious with his insights.

Also, can we also say that back in the stone age when Mr. Button won his medals all he had to do was make figure eights? Maybe spin around a couple time? I know he won a few golds but he has no clue what these guys are doing today. I'll take Scott Hamilton commentary over Dick's any day!

(Rant over -- I still heart his shoes)

Michal Brezina

Michal Brezina from Czechoslovakia! Great country, that, with many men there who Anna and I love (lets not even talk about Slovakia!).

PUTTING ON THE RITZ! Excellent music choice and "the crowd is lovin' it." Hits that opening triple axle like his pants are on fire. He looks very nice and classy. Where is his tassel? Another jump is nailed by this Czech and so is the combo triple jumps.
"That's really hard!" comments Scott Hamilton.

He looks like Eminem on ice. Or his alter ego Stan. the nice thing about thsi routine is that he is not only hitting the technical aspects but is also performing to the music.

Ball spin! Anna is sad that there aren't more "leg tricks" by which she may mean footwork.

19 years old! What a baby! With some fangs and kisses.

SCORE: 78.80

Jeremy Abbott

Jeremy Abbott of the U.S. -- put a great performance at the US Olympic trials.

"Mr. Dudley Pants"- A.W. (she's not a fan). "He's sooo not sexual dancing to sexy music."

However, he does hit his jumps. Maybe we can do a makeover? Black hair dye and some glitter? At least TRY a little.

Ouch -- single axle. And another error. Apparently it's over. Wow, this all happens so fast -- one minute you're in, the next you're out. That's what she said.

Scott Hamilton is very sad about this. Probably wants to have at least one straight man in the finals. There is a good piece of Scott Hamilton in this week's "In Touch" -- check it out!

His facial expressions are so sad right now. Painful.

"It's a tough one."

"I'm devastated for Jeremy. He's so much better than that." Scott Hamilton

SCORE: 69.40

EVAN LYSACEK!

And now . . . Anna's favorite . . .

EVAN LYSACEK!!

Reigning World Champion! Shoulder pads are sooooo IN this year!. It is time for "class" on the ice.

Triple axle . . . and . . . LANDED!!! Hurrah! He looks like The Crow or a "black swan" -A.W. So long and lanky. (Disclaimer -- Anna "discovered" him a year ago, "check my facebook picture history" -A.W.)

Maybe this song is Hall of the Mountain King? I have no idea. Very dramatique. He is really flailing his feather hands around.

Ladies -- apparently he is gay. (AW checked this last year during her initial photo/history google search), so, sorry.

Little ball spin. Nice head throw back on the tympani! Well timed!


High kick of course!Great footwork! High energy "with heart."

"YES YES YES YES!" -A.W.

America! F- YEAH!

Cry into those feather hand cuffs, Evan! Tears of JOY!

SCORE: 90.30

Time for tears of joy!!!!!!!!

J.B.: ""Evan. Now that is an amazing performance!!! Costume 9.0 what a event to be able to see.""

Tomas Verner

Tomas Verner

The sailing Czech! He is very beautiful and has a family resemblance. He has Tom's hair and my eyes and Anna's teeth!

Lovely outfit with fake jeans. He just missed his first big jump right off the bat, that sucks. Now he is trying for the trip axle -- SHIT. These jumps are not coming off right. "Devastating for him." This is one I would not continue to watch if it were not for my live blogging responsibilities.

His footwork is very nice and spirited like his red bandanna.

He missed in the short program and now we are sad for him.

J.B.: "HMS Penifore costumes do not go with zorba.Not the night for this performance. Costume 3,0" SNAP!!

Kevin Van der Perren

Kevin Van der Perren the Belgian!

First off -- awesome skeletor unitard costume. "Unique in one say -- he spots in the air" That's awesome! I wonder how he chooses the point to spot on?

Fun music choice -- some sort of Fantasia music, can't think of the name . . . Hall of the Mountain King maybe?

He seems more like a normal dude than many of the other skaters. This whole performance is a little weird . . . something doesn't seem quite right. The drum track to the music is kind of funky.

He just seems a little slow on everything compared to the other guys and not as flexible. But he seemed very happy with his performance so he did his best at the Olympics -- and isn't that what this is all about?

J.B.: "Halloween???? Belgium have another calendar? Gosh you have to skate outstanding to wear this." TRUE DAT! That's why Anna and I wear turtle necks -- to keep ourselves properly in "our place"

SCORE: 72.9

Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, he DID just cross himself before his performance. And yes he is the most beautiful "fallen angel" from heaven above. Yes, he is also wearing gold chains -- "what's up with that??"

"Always raise an eyebrow" and some other things . . . if you know what I mean.

He nails it "a little tight there" -- that's what she said.

Nice music choice, reflecting his beauty. Beautiful triple axle. He makes me so happy. I hope he is in my dreams tonight in that very outfit skating around me as I cry gently.

Velvet pants?

And here comes the feisty music!! Now we're getting sassy!! Footwork section and face patting section. WOAH! Was that a finger lick and butt slap combo??

BIG KISS!!

"He delivered the goods" "He rocked the tassle"

and . . . he's speaking in Russian!

SCORE: 82.10 (booooooooooooooos from the audience and from the White girls)

J.B. says ""ohnny!!!!!Now that is a skater outfit!!! What a artist---and the music-----costume 9.0 looking for more in long program"" I agree! The scores weren't right but Johnny isn't finished yet!