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?