tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12102443737984870602011-04-21T14:46:48.762-04:00The Figure Skating Blog with the News You NeedLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.comBlogger1461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-43428152391657133792008-07-11T08:27:00.002-04:002008-07-11T08:30:27.246-04:00

World Champions and Olympic bronze medalists from China, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, carried the torch in the Olympic torch relay Friday morning, and they lit the cauldron at "Sunny Stone" square. Check out the pictures at China's Olympic website.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-91622550418899956572008-07-11T08:21:00.003-04:002008-07-11T08:26:49.609-04:00

Olympic silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan will be honored by Ice Theatre of New York this October, according to International Figure Skating magazine. Paul Wylie will MC the event. The benefit gala is at Chelsea Piers, write to itny@icetheatre.org for more information about attending, etc. There will also be a performance by Ice Theatre at the gala.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-20611431213150824492008-07-11T08:17:00.003-04:002008-07-11T08:21:40.232-04:00

This IceNetwork article is a nice look at how Todd Eldredge has been spending the summer. And part of it has involved coaching - one of his students is Kimmie Meissner (you'll remember that Meissner started to work with Richard Callaghan, who is also Eldredge's old coach). I can definitely see Todd coaching. He's one of those skaters who always looked like the wheels were turning inside his

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-57831051781679493842008-07-10T07:55:00.004-04:002008-07-10T08:02:56.090-04:00

Oksana Baiul will be featured on the Internet talk show Latenet, according to Science Fiction Buzz. She is talking about her role in the groundbreaking (or should I say icebreaking? heh!) broadway musical COLD AS ICE (I NEED OPENING NIGHT TICKETS, STAT!).You New Yorkers are in luck because you can buy tickets, and a portion of those ticket proceeds go to Project A.L.S. Check out the link for

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-46782144056470202432008-07-10T07:53:00.002-04:002008-07-10T07:54:29.674-04:00

Here is a lovely article in the Ottawa Citizen about Elizabeth Manley's mother, Joan Manley, who passed away this week at 73 years old.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-23220533955755430622008-07-09T15:42:00.002-04:002008-07-09T15:53:57.977-04:00

Check out this press release from IceNetwork for a look at what Scott Hamilton will look like in the Fairly Oddlympics. It's adorable, and I think Hamilton is such a vibrant, animated personality to begin with, it really is not that far a stretch to see him as a cartoon. He's got a great cartoon voice too. I'm only mad that I missed his other foray into animation where he played a dog in Nine

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-23137289299077843342008-07-08T08:06:00.002-04:002008-07-08T08:11:07.219-04:00

An update from Johnny Weir's blog. He talks a lot about the shows he's been skating in and how he's spent the off-season. He also mentions training with Stephane Lambiel since Lambiel has switched coaches to Viktor Petrenko. Here is a snippet:...I don't think anything bad will come out of this arrangement. I trust that my coaches will still work with me the same as they did before. I'm at the

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-78121257960365206322008-07-07T22:27:00.003-04:002008-07-07T22:29:56.490-04:00

Skating fans, set your DVRs to record the Fairly Oddlympics on Nickelodeon on Friday August 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern. It's a movie of the Fairly Oddparents television show, and Scott Hamilton is featured as both live action and animated character, according to The National Ledger.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-31833397812153959942008-07-07T22:22:00.004-04:002008-07-07T22:25:28.476-04:00

In another turn of skaters talking about Olympic politics, Scott Hamilton reportedly said that despite the political issues, the Olympics truly come down to the athletes and their stories, according to The National Ledger."You look back at people who tried to use the Olympics for their own personal agenda ... Adolf Hitler wanted to use the Berlin Olympics as a propaganda tool (for Aryan supremacy

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-79322205896197481972008-07-07T08:12:00.005-04:002008-07-07T10:04:29.645-04:00

According to Kiira-Korpi.net, the beautiful Finnish skater has been accepted to Tampere University to study corporate management. The site also states that this is quite a competitive university, so congratulations to Ms. Korpi!

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-61382959735521776762008-07-05T10:33:00.004-04:002008-07-07T11:56:23.469-04:00

Kwantifiable pointed me towards some rule changes by the International Skating Union. It's definitely worth a look, but here are some highlights:For flips and lutzes:Technical panel will use the sign "e" in cases where wrong edge takeoff is severe, in such cases GOE (grade of execution) will be reduced by -1 to -3. In cases where the wrong takeoff edge is not so obvious, the sign "!" will be

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-34105956789630898532008-07-05T10:25:00.003-04:002008-07-05T10:32:20.696-04:00

Calgary-based art company Artevo will globally market the artwork of two-time Olympic bronze medalist Canadian skater Toller Cranston., according to IceNetwork. You can view more of Cranston's work here; I really like it, especially the colors.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-85646742531560659182008-07-05T10:08:00.005-04:002008-07-05T10:22:58.008-04:00

I took a look at Capitol Fourth's Olympic Tribute. Eric Kunzel conducted the National Symphony Orchestra playing John Williams' famous Olympic fanfare, which was first introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. They laid an Olympic montage over part of that, which included such famous summer Olympians as Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton.Then host Jimmy Smits introduced

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-21656643657375685982008-07-04T13:59:00.002-04:002008-07-04T14:00:10.536-04:00

Have a great holiday! Don't forget to watch Capitol Fourth tonight on PBS!

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-12687620532848198442008-07-02T09:00:00.002-04:002008-07-02T09:00:01.071-04:00

I could not snag an interview with Scott Hamilton, who is in town for the Capitol Fourth Independence Day celebration on the National Mall (he'll be leading a tribute to the Olympics and USA Olympic teams). But here's his statement about the event:"I can’t think of a better venue than the U.S. Capitol to honor and pay tribute to my fellow Olympians,” said Scott Hamilton. “These athletes

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-52448823979097371912008-07-01T16:52:00.003-04:002008-07-01T17:13:20.716-04:00

Don't forget to celebrate Canada today, both for the amazing figure skaters the country has produced over the years and for the massive amounts of love that nation has for skating and skaters in general. Not to mention that Canada is home to several loyal readers of this little blog(And for many other reasons that do not directly relate to figure skating). YAY Canada!

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-84211010777143185912008-07-01T09:41:00.003-04:002008-07-01T09:45:27.194-04:00

A coffee table book launched Tuesday at Wimbledon celebrates the 20th anniversary of tennis' reinstatement in the Olympics by having tennis stars pose as athletes in other sports. According to Guardian, among the photos is a picture of Serena Williams as a figure skater. The book is titled "Journey to Beijing: Tennis Celebrates the Olympics."

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-43142736653565074472008-07-01T08:43:00.002-04:002008-07-01T08:47:23.997-04:00

Elvis Stojko has made some more comments seemingly advocating an athlete boycott of this summer's Olympic games in Beijing. The comments were in Sharp magazine, and here's what Stojko said:“Canadians, we live in a bubble. But there are other people around the world, and especially with Beijing hosting the Games, there’s a chance to make some pressure on China in order to change and to move

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-9876221338296631602008-06-29T14:49:00.002-04:002008-06-29T14:52:47.979-04:00

Sports photographer Walter Iooss has a book of photographs out titled Athlete. It sounds to be full of plenty of amazing images, and you might be especially interested in a gorgeous shot of Michelle Kwan, who appears to be skating in the clouds, but is actually on a glassy rink. Check it out in the New York Daily News article on the book.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-15405529252507882132008-06-27T08:27:00.003-04:002008-06-27T13:28:09.720-04:00

UPDATED. I actually have the link now...sorry about that.Here is a great Icenetwork interview with Brian Boitano. There are so many great aspects that I cannot excerpt it all so please go read. Here are some of my favorite parts:ICE: Looking at the skaters around today, a lot of the guys are doing the same elements as you all did in the mid-'80s.BB: Jeffrey Buttle did exactly the technical

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-21898081068493241502008-06-27T08:08:00.002-04:002008-06-27T08:12:28.517-04:00

About.com has news about former U.S. pairs skater Roy Wagelin being found dead. He was a 1968 Olympian. No details, but obviously a sad week for figure skating.Jo Ann from About.com also points out that Wagelin was a graduate of the Hollywood Professional School, a private school for kids in arts and entertainment. Peggy Fleming is another famous attendee, along with other skaters and actors.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-69100438427332047832008-06-26T17:00:00.003-04:002008-06-26T17:06:58.356-04:00

Why all the coach switching? Bouncing around between coaches is nothing new in figure skating. I’m not even saying it’s a bad thing. But it appears to be happening more and more in recent years (**disclaimer: I have no empirical evidence of this. This assessment is based on observation and a very rough survey that consisted of me google-researching several top skaters of the past 30 years).

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-4469367060808158082008-06-26T08:26:00.002-04:002008-06-26T08:32:55.999-04:00

Jim Yorke, U.S. ice dancing Skate America bronze medalist and a coach of Mirai Nagasu, among others, passed away at 45 years old the other day, according to Icenetwork. The article does not state how he died but says it was unexpected. From the article:Following his retirement from competitive skating, Yorke embarked on a professional career with five-time U.S. champion and three-time world

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-43704638778150135462008-06-25T21:56:00.002-04:002008-06-25T22:02:39.320-04:00

Another figure skating video game is hitting the news this week, according to Nintendic. This time it's Imagine Figure Skater for Nintendo DS. Apparently, the stylus is integral in the performance of jumps and spins. The game comes out in August.The game is developed by Ubisoft, which is a European company that was written up in Forbes recently. Ubisoft's Imagine line is geared toward young

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-62085613123699975212008-06-24T11:31:00.003-04:002008-06-24T11:34:47.511-04:00

AFP is reporting that Mao Asada will be training with Tatiana Tarasova as well (we reported earlier that Lysacek will be working with the famed coach/choreographer). "She will design a programme just for me. That means a lot," Asada told a press conference at the airport in central Aichi prefecture as she returned from Canada.Vancouver will be Asada's first Olympics because she was three months

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-67502364278084554972008-06-24T07:53:00.003-04:002008-06-24T11:35:04.477-04:00

Ashley Wagner, who I have to follow extra closely now because she is a DC-area girl, has left her coach of six years, Shirley Hughes, to train with Johnny Weir's former coach, Priscilla Hill, according to the Concord Monitor. Wagner came in 16th in this year's world championships and she is scheduled to skate in the Cup of China and the NHK Trophy this season.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-19766017011044342372008-06-23T15:52:00.003-04:002008-06-24T11:35:19.083-04:00

About.com's Figure Skating Blog has the full text of Janet Lynn's controversial USFS Governing Council speech, which I previously blogged about. Read the transcript here.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-81622775278899481962008-06-23T07:50:00.003-04:002008-06-24T11:35:30.641-04:00

Kristi Yamaguchi is all over the place these days. From JustJared.com, she went with her family to the premiere of the new movie Wall-E. There are several pictures of her family, including her two adorable girls. Also, I am digging Bret's stylish look.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-88519439719818167382008-06-22T21:23:00.003-04:002008-06-24T11:35:39.879-04:00

USA Today reports about a mysterious flexibility devices that helps athletes (particularly figure skaters) improve their flexibility. About the size of a shoebox, with a domed lid and covered in gray vinyl, the device doesn't do anything except vibrate at a particular frequency when it's plugged in.But when athletes from swimmers to skaters put an ankle, a thigh or a hip to it — or use an adapted

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-1257446912085356202008-06-22T21:09:00.003-04:002008-06-24T11:35:54.659-04:00

Icenetwork reportsEv that Evan Lysacek is off to Moscow for a few weeks to work on choreography with Tatiana Tarasova. Interestingly, Tarasova choreographed rival Johnny Weir's programs from 2003-2006. Lysacek normally works with Lori Nichol, and will still work with her according to the article, but is looking for a "new perspective."Lysacek's consulting Tarasova may be a sign that he's trying

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-73539359158346669222008-06-19T08:18:00.003-04:002008-06-19T08:29:48.129-04:00

Thanks to Ice Charades, I now know that I completely blew it by not letting all of you Long Islanders know about "Cold as Ice," starring Oksana Baiul, which closed the other day. It was playing in Bellport, and had I only known I would certainly have tried to attend while visiting family on the Island a few weeks ago! Sorry blog readers.Apparently, she played a skater in the play during the

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-83472576173630256982008-06-19T08:00:00.002-04:002008-06-19T08:02:50.925-04:00

Scott Hamilton will lead a salute to the Olympic Games at the Capitol Fourth celebration this year on the National Mall. In addition to the extended fireworks, A Capitol Fourth will include a special salute to the Olympic Games with figure skater and Gold medal winner Scott Hamilton. The musical tribute will include John William's "Olympic Fanfare" from the National Symphony Orchestra led by

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-17050909216026756692008-06-18T12:00:00.002-04:002008-06-18T12:03:19.308-04:00

Lifeskate linked to this enlightening Japan Times article about Japanese skater and world silver medalist Daisuke Takahashi’s recent split from coach/choreographer Nikolai Morozov. The reason given for the breakup at the time by Dice-K was that Morozov had decided to work with Japanese rival Nobunari Oda. However, the article posits that the split actually came when Takahashi essentially chose

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-62747253645400925012008-06-18T08:10:00.004-04:002008-06-18T08:21:22.387-04:00

Jim McKay passed away nearly two weeks ago at the age of 86. The long-time host of ABC's "Wide World of Sports," McKay's broadcasting career included some figure skating commentary. He is also well known for having the sad task of informing viewers that the hostages were killed during the 1972 Olympic kidnapping of Israeli athletes in Munich. I was lucky enough to hear him broadcast many

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-46558342955978482162008-06-17T21:41:00.002-04:002008-06-17T21:57:18.576-04:00

There's a story making the rounds about the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan investigating whether the City of Plymouth Michigan was discriminating against girls when it cut a figure skating program mainly attended by girls in favor of a hockey program, mainly attended by boys.From the Detroit Free Press:Besides eliminating the basic skills ice skating program, the city decided that

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-67667517215105486862008-06-17T17:02:00.002-04:002008-06-17T17:05:13.401-04:00

Some in Hollywood think there are just too many awards shows. Here at Required Elements, no award is too small or superfluous to garner a mention when it deals with a figure skater. California’s very own Kristi Yamaguchi has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her work on "Dancing with the Stars" in the category of Female Reality/Variety Star, according to WizbangPop! Yamaguchi has a

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-42026381840690515712008-06-17T12:02:00.002-04:002008-06-17T21:20:08.455-04:00

IceNetwork is fast and furious with their Q&As this week. Here is one from Tanith Belbin. She talks a bit about the move from Detroit:Detroit offered us a lot, and we will always consider it home, but it wasn't necessarily the most aesthetically pleasing place. Pennsylania is very pretty, and I know that Ben loves having his house and the garden for the his dogs to run around in. There are

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-39882186945289436882008-06-16T09:01:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:20:30.795-04:00

Here is a Q&A with Johnny Weir from IceNetwork. He describes his new show a bit, but apparently it's actually starting out as a documentary:ICE: Tell me about your TV show Black Swan Rising.JW: It's going to be a movie for sure; I have seen some rough cuts. It is going to be very simple and just sort of show the shell of my world that the TV show -- which will hopefully get put on after the

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-32526948586943827892008-06-16T08:48:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:20:44.535-04:00

Looks like the Grand Prix Assignments are out. You can see the full list of entries here. As for the Americans, here is a complete list.Some notables: The first event, Skate America, is from Oct. 24-26 in Everett, Washington, and will feature Lysacek, Weir, Nagasu, Flatt, Meissner, Inoue & Baldwin, Belbin & Agosto, Rippon, and several others. Unfortunately I can't write a better post right now,

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-49204983756248677482008-06-13T15:06:00.002-04:002008-06-13T15:10:21.709-04:00

A few gossipy of some of our favorite figure skaters today:Dorothy Hamill received a mention in Cindy Adams’s New York Post gossip column today. It was an item on Friday the 13th, and apparently Hamill thinks it’s a lucky day:Skater Dorothy Hamill, who's superstitious, skated 13th on Friday, Feb. 13, the day she won Olympic gold.Meanwhile, Michelle Kwan was mentioned as one of the many

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-44217088656985522422008-06-12T09:13:00.005-04:002008-06-17T21:20:59.387-04:00

Figure Skating Universe pointed me to an article about Johnny Weir in the new issue of International Figure Skating and the link is here. There are some fun pictures and Weir is quoted in the article, which is all I need for an article to be entertaining. He talks about his big comeback last season, including his training with Galina Zmievskaya.Although it took more than three months before

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-20671020417885735572008-06-11T10:28:00.001-04:002008-06-17T21:21:17.215-04:00

Aaron points out that there is quite more to the Grishuk date-rape story, and it is super-dramatic, as is often the case with Oksana “Pasha” Grishuk. ESPN has the different sides of the story. Apparently, Halstead claims he and Grishuk had a three-year affair, while Grishuk denies a romantic relationship. An excerpt:Grishuk, 36, said last month that she had not been romantically involved with

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-5532222373986757732008-06-10T09:24:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:21:30.234-04:00

The Michelle Kwan forum has an adorable picture of Michelle Kwan, her sister Karen, her husband Peter Oppegard (both skaters also!) and their cute kids. Check it out, Michelle looks beautiful as always.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-1002522452698347722008-06-09T16:06:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:21:43.537-04:00

The case against the man suspected of slipping a date-rape drug into Olympic Gold Medalist Oksana Grishuk's drink has been dropped due to lack of evidence, according to ESPN.The case was dropped at what was supposed to be James R. Halstead's arraignment for a felony count of administering the drug to Grishuk.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-46606036971170375092008-06-09T10:15:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:21:54.477-04:00

There has been some scuttlebutt surrounding former U.S. Champion Janet Lynn's recent speech at the USFS Governing Council Skater's Alumni Dinner. It has been floating around the internet that the speech was critical of that judging system and that is why it wasn't available at IceNetwork or the USFS website, while fellow speaker Michelle Kwan's speech was available. I have no idea about any of

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-4581684864628231672008-06-07T11:13:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:22:05.746-04:00

Olympic Gold Medalist Alexei Yagudin has lost one of his world championship gold medals. He left it in his porsche, which was stolen, according to Russia Today. The total loss is estimated at more than $1.5 million, but how do you put a price on a gold medal? Probably not the wisest decision, says the girl who is afraid to even leave $50 earrings in a car that is much less likely to be stolen

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-80235257289084765442008-06-07T09:13:00.009-04:002008-06-17T21:22:39.903-04:00

One of the major questions raised about the Lambiel coaching switch to work with Viktor Petrenko and Galina Zmievskaya is what does this mean for Johnny Weir? According to the IFS Magazine forum:Weir has not commented on the move, but he has said he went to Zmievskaya, in part, for the exclusivity she offered.As you can likely remember, using the same choreographer/coach as a rival became too

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-20799339054537279102008-06-06T10:21:00.002-04:002008-06-17T21:22:54.772-04:00

Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland is leaving his long-time coach to train under Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko, according to swissinfo.ch. The move comes after Lambiel, a two-time world champion, came in a disappointing fifth place at this year’s world championships in Sweden.Lambiel said it had been a difficult decision to leave his coach of 13 years, Peter Grütter, but he was in need of a

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-65959867113178712062008-06-05T23:00:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:29:20.893-04:00

That almost kind of rhymes! Olympic gold medalist Alexei Yagudin is making his stage debut playing Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (or a Putin-esque character) in the play "President on Vacation," according to RussiaToday:The director of the play, Irina Lychagina, says that the story is not about any one president in particular. But the main character is easily recognisable: the writers of

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-40173452068694054352008-06-04T08:34:00.001-04:002008-06-17T21:23:46.046-04:00

The two-time U.S. Champion turns 23 today! Check out his website.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-26153668284542207372008-06-03T21:24:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:24:04.920-04:00

Also from IceNetwork, Spokane has already broken the initial weekend ticket sales record for the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships, selling "2,692 All Event Ticket Packages and 2,026 Skating Spectacular tickets being sold in the first 48 hours."Tickets for the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships went on sale May 31 at Noon EST. As of Monday, June 2, organizers report an increase of 25

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-24407740146055492312008-06-03T21:22:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:24:38.038-04:00

IceNetwork reports that the 2008 U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame inductions will air on NBC on Sunday, August 3 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. As part of the broadcast coverage, viewers will be treated to competition footage as well as insights from friends and competitors of the honored legends who will be inducted into the exclusive group of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic greats."Having the U.S. Olympic Hall of

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-2143806152358872902008-06-03T08:00:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:24:53.087-04:00

I was able to sneak a peak at the Sasha Cohen excerpt of If I'd Known Then yesterday. It was very short, and included an interview with Cohen and then a letter Cohen wrote to her 17-year-old self. The interview revealed Cohen to be an avid "foodie," and she also discusses potential college plans.In her letter, Cohen writes to a younger version of herself who had made the Olympic team and had

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-7915471456428193642008-06-01T16:22:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:25:07.557-04:00

I just read about this book that appears to have been published recently, If I'd Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves, edited by Ellyn Spragins. Sasha Cohen has an entry in the book, so I thought you might be interested if you haven't heard about it yet. I haven't read the book but if anyone out there has and would like to share anything about Cohen's

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-81817455201200484442008-05-30T07:57:00.001-04:002008-05-30T07:57:01.554-04:00

2004 Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Paul Hamm has broken a bone in his right hand, and will have to miss the Olympic trials next month and hopefully petition his way onto the Olympic team. This situation is calling up comparisons to both Michelle Kwan's and Nancy Kerrigan's successful petitions onto the Olympic figure skating teams, in 2006 and 1994, respectively.Gwen Knapp, of the San

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-29079474709151468152008-05-28T17:05:00.004-04:002008-05-29T08:03:01.207-04:00

I’d like to apologize for being so late in writing about the Eurovision song contest. I've seen dozens of articles about Evgeny Pluschenko performing in this contest and I couldn’t tell if it was that big a deal or not, but now I realize, it’s very much kind of a big deal.Apparently, the contest has been around since 1956. It’s an annual contest held among members of the European broadcasting

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-55774919325312361482008-05-28T08:05:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:53:13.789-04:00

2007 World Champion Brian Joubert is working with two-time Olympic gold medalist Evgeny Platov for choreography. According to IceNetwork, Joubert is currently in Princeton with Platov. He worked with Platov earlier when Platov was part of Tatiana Tarasova's coaching team.Platov said Joubert approached him at worlds in Gothenburg about doing the choreography. The two are currently on the ice at

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-16873507482325599792008-05-27T12:20:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:53:36.491-04:00

Spokane 2010 U.S. National Championships tickets are going on sale this Saturday. Yes, that is correct, according to NNCN.com. I unfortunately don't know what my life will be like next month, let alone in two years, so I cannot buy tickets just yet. Tickets can be secured at http://www.spokane2010.com/, or by calling (800) 325-SEAT, starting May 31.Go get 'em!

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-53776063778476264192008-05-27T07:43:00.004-04:002008-05-29T07:53:49.944-04:00

Per a link at FSUniverse forums (free registration required) and Ice Skating International, here is a list of a "group of international coaches'" proposed list of changes to figure skating's International Judging Standards (IJS).I'm not sure where to find a list of the judges who participated, but Ice Skating International states the proposals were recently sent to the ISU singles and pairs

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-12863152152732142302008-05-26T12:56:00.004-04:002008-05-29T07:54:08.557-04:00

Add another to the actor/skater mix: Irina Slutskaya. According to FigureSkatingMystery.com, the Olympic bronze and silver medalist recently made her theatrical debut in “Antigone Forever," a play.Here is a link to some pictures of Slutskaya working. According to the translated article, Slutskaya said: I am also thankful to my partners who gave me a lot of help and support. I think that they

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-88268369545718345372008-05-26T12:49:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:54:34.146-04:00

Hello all, here is a roundup of some stories that don't necessarily merit their own full blog posts:Postbulletin has a quick interview with Sasha Cohen. Nothing new here but if you are a fan you might be interested.Healthcare discount program HealthSaver has teamed up with Peggy Fleming, who says, " "The key to controlling weight is to eat fewer calories whileincreasing physical activity."

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-71323945589545867982008-05-23T13:00:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:54:44.990-04:00

Now that I have all that gossip and non-skating news out of the way, let's talk skating! Susan from Lifeskate has been kind enough to list out all the U.S. Qualifying Competitions for 2009, so take a look if you'd like to attend any.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-30809545050599481682008-05-23T11:48:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:55:01.330-04:00

You read here that gold medal ice dancer Pasha (Oksana) Grishuk was slipped a drug similar to a date-rape drug a few months ago. There is now a warrant out for the arrest of person suspected of drugging Grishuk. He is also accused in civil lawsuits of defrauding investors of $20 million. The man, James R. Halstead, pleads innocence.Reached by telephone, Halstead called the complaint "

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-20764564450919033932008-05-23T09:36:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:55:20.580-04:00

Newsweek has a writeup about Harding and her new book. Here's an excerpt:Understandably, the blogosphere is suspicious of Harding's true motives. "Translation: I'm broke and quickly fading into obscurity," offered one blogger on the San Francisco Chronicle's Web site. "This story makes me want to go to Disneyland," added another. Other critics recall Harding's many desperate moves to make a buck

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-30882384777179173562008-05-23T07:30:00.002-04:002008-05-29T07:55:35.240-04:00

Adam van Koeverden, a Canadian kayaker scheduled to compete in the Beijing Olympics later this year, has called skater Elvis Stojko's calls for athletes to boycott the games "ridiculous," according to The Canadian Press."I don't think going to China to race in my kayak means I'm signing on as a member of their parliament or agreeing with any of their foreign policies," Van Koeverden said. "I

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-82640345084855439282008-05-22T07:33:00.004-04:002008-05-29T07:55:48.695-04:00

Everyone's favorite dancing queen, Kristi Yamaguchi, will wave the flag to start this Sunday's Indianapolis 500. According to Indy500.com, she's the first female honorary starter in the race's history!Unfortunately, Kristi is a last-minute replacement for boxer Floyd Maywether (sorry, had his named completely misspelled earlier), who recently lost his uncle. That's another DWTS connection; the

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-10214401612190205512008-05-21T01:00:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:56:05.880-04:00

Per the Canadian Press, Canadian ice dancers Patrice Lauzon and Marie-France Dubreuil announced their retirement this week after a 13-year-career. The pair have twice captured silver medals at the world championships and are five-time Canadian national champions.They began considering retirement in 2006, a season that included a silver medal at the world championships and successes at the

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-52419030974272178322008-05-20T23:19:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:56:21.790-04:00

YAY!!!!! Kristi won. Of course, she should have won. Both Jason and Cristian grew on me and I loved the camaraderie the past two days, but I was very happy that the very best contestant ever to be on this show was able to win. Kristi and Jason made the final two and Kristi repeated her jive, which up until last night was my favorite performance of the season. She didn't let up in her very

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-56850580110730289992008-05-19T23:42:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:56:40.646-04:00

WOW. That was some dancing going on out there on "Dancing with the Stars" tonight. First, the Cha cha faceoff, the first of its kind on the show. Cristian was first, and I actually enjoyed his performance, which doesn't often happen with him. I think this dance is a very good one for him, it didn't even matter to me how slouchy he was (although one of the judges - Carrie Ann - finally noticed

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-7477123263132575262008-05-19T14:04:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:57:03.687-04:00

Susan at Lifeskate has highlighted this year's Edi awards, announced by the Professional Skaters Association in the latest issue of Professional Skater Magazine.Some notable winners:Best Ladies Performance: Mirai Nagasu "I Got Rhythm" short programBest Men's Performance: Adam Rippon "Moonlight Sonata" free skatest Pairs Performance: Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker, "Romeo & Juliet" free

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-8411033235746074112008-05-19T12:00:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:57:18.619-04:00

Per Kiira-Korpi.net, Ms. Korpi has graduated from secondary (high?) school. She is also aiming to study economics next. I find it pretty impressive that she will be pursuing higher education along with competitive skating, because she must already spend so many hours practicing skating already and economics is a pretty tough subject!The skater is aiming for Tampere School of Economics and the

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-39812542144889097122008-05-19T07:53:00.005-04:002008-05-29T07:57:32.656-04:00

As you may have surmised by now, this is not just a figure skating blog, but also a figure skater blog. So any time some famous skater does something, we'll likely let you know. To that end, three-time skating world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko of Canada is speaking out about this summer's Beijing Olympics. He wants the Canadian government to pressure China on its

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-67789952468093525132008-05-17T09:56:00.004-04:002008-05-29T07:58:17.447-04:00

I recently saw something written about the movie "Moondance Alexander," in which Sasha Cohen has a role. It was actually released last year in North America, but I don't remember seeing any commercials or anything. It got me thinking about figure skaters who try to break into acting. So far, it seems, the results haven't been too stellar. Why can't figure skaters seem to really make it in the

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-30404390524767145612008-05-16T08:11:00.004-04:002008-05-29T07:58:37.062-04:00

Lifeskate has a transcription of Tonya Harding's Today Show interview yesterday. She was promoting The Tonya Tapes, which is actually a book. Not a VHS tape collection. However, the book is a series of recordings of Tonya describing her life. Anyway, check out the interview.Update:Here is a link to the interview at MSNBC, and another article discussing the book at International Herald Tribune (

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-38072104946209449212008-05-14T20:15:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:58:47.220-04:00

According to People, Nancy Kerrigan has given birth to her third child. It's a girl!!! Kerrigan, who announced her pregnancy in January, gained only 25 lbs. with this baby, a pound less than she gained with Brian and two pounds more than she put on with Matthew.As for what to call the little girl, "I think that is the hardest job, to pick a name for somebody," says Kerrigan. "We are not very

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-62099871030805576602008-05-14T06:38:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:59:01.308-04:00

Evan Lysacek has announced that he signed with Total Gym (thanks FSuniverse!). Apparently the deal includes a television commercial!Does this mean that Lysacek will join the pantheon of figure skating infomercial stars!!!?? Well, let's just hear what he had to say about the product:"I am so proud to be a spokesperson for the Total Gym," he said. "It's a product that I trust and believe in,

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-38388248554104763292008-05-13T08:13:00.005-04:002008-05-29T07:59:13.381-04:00

Just a quick note that I am sorry Mario wasn't there this week. He was the only one aside from Kristi who was actually attempting difficult choreography and the week would have been better with him. Now - to the dancing! I thought Jason Taylor's foxtrot was nice n' easy, like most of his dances. Emphasis on the easy. Not that I could do it, but it wasn't that impressive. His second dance,

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-1840276573220243552008-05-12T12:17:00.001-04:002008-05-29T07:59:28.254-04:00

Technology Liberation Front discusses a paper by Barbara Ebsin that looks at the issue of the NFL Network seeking arbitration to force cable programmers to carry their network (at their prices) because they believe they have "must have" network that should be made available to consumers. Ebsin suggests that carrying this network might actually be anti-consumer, because it may lead to cable

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-51184333521464848142008-05-12T08:10:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:59:41.560-04:00

I usually limit my fashion critiques to the ice rink, but thankfully the ladies of Go Fug Yourself aren't as close-minded, and have brought us this shot of Oksana Baiul in what I can only describe as an aluminum foil tracksuit. See for yourself. She was snapped at the recent Sports Museum of America opening.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-9615168335776950452008-05-10T08:43:00.003-04:002008-05-29T07:59:58.682-04:00

According to Dramabeans.com, Yu-na Kim recently showcased her little known singing talents on the Korean show "The Star Show" the other day. You can find a clip on the web site if you would like to hear. Here is the site's review:Granted, it’s not exactly a perfect performance, and she chose a difficult song to perform live — but dude, I’m not going to rip on the singing skills of anyone who

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-6862227821049470312008-05-10T08:37:00.003-04:002008-05-29T08:00:17.798-04:00

Kristi Yamaguchi threw out the first pitch at Dodgers Stadium on Friday. And since I love baseball almost as much as figure skating I felt the need to share. Unfortunately, I could not find a like to the video - I'd love to see how Kristi did. She doesn't appear a natural ballplayer, she's so petite! Anyway, it was apparently the first trip to Dodger Stadium for the native Californian. She

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-91481392255898479332008-05-09T16:19:00.001-04:002008-05-29T08:00:33.593-04:00

USA Today's Feedroom has a short video interview of Kristi Yamaguchi with her adorable family. Her daughters are so cute and I loved hearing from her husband as well.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-71686912819917121262008-05-08T07:58:00.003-04:002008-05-29T08:01:25.466-04:00

Japanese figure skater Daisuke Takahashi has split with coach and choreographer Nikolai Morozov. The move comes after Morozov's decision to coach Japanese rival Nobunari Oda, according to The Japan Times."It's a bit awkward to have the same coach with my rival. I had expected Nikolai to concentrate on me toward the (2010 Vancouver) Olympics," Takahashi said.Takahashi, a 2007 world silver

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-11408508860168544142008-05-07T07:52:00.004-04:002008-05-29T08:01:45.597-04:00

U.S. National Champion Mirai Nagasu has been named one of America's "most promising athletes" by Forbes magazine, according to an International Figure Skating forum. The posting says Nagasu was the only figure skater to be selected by the mag, which is trying to pinpoint the next big thing in sports.Also, congratulations are due to our favorite dancing queen, Kristi Yamaguchi. Sports Illustrated

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-31262425650024853572008-05-05T21:50:00.003-04:002008-05-29T08:02:02.395-04:00

To start today's "Dancing with the Stars" recap, I have to admit I was not sorry to see Derek and Shannon go last week. I'm not usually rooting against people, but those two were getting pretty distracting, what with the crying, and the ranting, and the not so candid kissing, and the fake butts even. Now, I will try to be a little bit more positive (even though there was no figure skating on

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-25252993056393429062008-05-05T16:48:00.003-04:002008-05-29T08:02:20.347-04:00

According to KHQ in Spokane, Washington: At 5 p.m. Eastern there is apparently a live announcement regarding the 2010 U.S. Nationals....I may not be able to update so I wanted to let you all know to look for it.UPDATE: Well, as expected, the announcement was that the 2010 U.S. figure skating championships will be returning to Spokane, Washington. Congratulations Spokane!!!

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-29055936160685180512008-05-05T09:45:00.001-04:002008-05-29T08:02:42.269-04:00

Watch out Jeffrey Buttle, 2006 Olympic gold medalist Evgeny Pluschenko is getting serious. According to Figure Skating Mystery, Pluschenko and coach submitted a detailed outline of their preparation plans for the 2008-2009 figure skating season. The plan described all of the goals and milestones for each step of the preparation, defined the due dates for selecting the music, dates for

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-2514978323992895322008-05-03T09:53:00.003-04:002008-05-29T08:03:18.922-04:00

An article from the Martlet points out a study that was recently published in the Journal of Sports Economics that figure skating judges alter their scores to conform with other judges' scores. The data was taken from figure skating world championships between 2001 and 2003.From the article:Author Jungmin Lee, a labour economics professor at Florida International University, found that judges

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-2017251863378630072008-05-02T11:07:00.002-04:002008-05-29T08:03:38.353-04:00

Korean skater Yu-na Kim would like a little bit of peace from fans while she practices. That’s what was reported in the Korea Times regarding a recent posting Kim had on her website (although when I visited the site, it stated that it would reopen soon, so I couldn’t check the post out).The article states that the excessive attention has made Kim feel “bitter,” and quotes the skater as stating:`

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-70468678477114908952008-05-01T07:45:00.005-04:002008-05-29T08:04:51.176-04:00

Apologies for the very late Japan Open results. The competition actually took place last week in Tokyo. Apparently this was a team competition - Japan vs. Europe vs. North America. Japan won. The North American team, made up of only Americans, was last. (Guess where Europe ended up!?)A piece of great news is that Evan Lysacek actually won the free skate, beating Stephane Lambiel by more than

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-36465798787976900222008-04-30T22:50:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:25:31.570-04:00

The Houston Chronicle has a review of two figure skating video games. Both are marketed towards young girls. The first game is from the Imagine series and is titled Imagine: Figure Skater. The other is from the American Girl series and is called Mia, featuring the American Girl figure skater character. It appears the both games are big on plot and invite girls into the non-skating worlds of

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-55847040003716322502008-04-29T07:20:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:25:55.394-04:00

Well, first of all, YAY for the figure skating scenes!!! Kristi was so cute. As for Kristi's waltz, I did not love it. It was probably one of my least favorite dances of hers so far, and I had to agree with Carrie and Len that there were some technical issues. It was still very pretty though and I love to watch Kristi dance no matter what. Her cha cha on the other hand, was ridiculous!!! So

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-43817912313488007322008-04-28T10:03:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:26:16.566-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts; I just moved and do not yet have Internet in my new place. I'm working on it though.Apparently Victoria Beckham and buddy Kate Beckinsale and their respective children, Brooklyn and Lily Mo Sheen, were photographed at an ice rink in Culver City, California this weekend. From the article on Celebrity Gossip:And while Brooklyn stuck with hockey style skating, it was

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-39917788757553296132008-04-24T08:21:00.003-04:002008-06-17T21:26:43.560-04:00

Werner Groebli, half of the famed skating team "Frick and Frack," died the other day in Zurich at 92 years old.From the San Francisco Chronicle:Mr. Groebli - Frick - and his skating partner, Hans-Rudi "Frack" Mauch, were Swiss-born figure skaters who turned successfully to goofing around. Life magazine dubbed them the "Clown Kings of the Ice," but they were praised for their grace as much as

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-82679558215283352622008-04-23T14:13:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:27:02.865-04:00

It looks like U.S. Figure Skating, or more specifically, NBC, are trying to get more out of the 2010 U.S. national championships. Philip Hersch is reporting on Chicagosports.com that the 2010 Nationals will be spread across two weekends.According to the article:The switch is being made to accommodate NBC, which wants to have live prime-time telecasts of all finals.The four cities bidding to host

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-47062287493897306162008-04-22T16:32:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:27:25.574-04:00

Well, here is an odd story. It appears that Pasha Grishuk, the female half of 1994 and 1998 Olympic gold medal winning ice dancers Grishuk and Platov, was drugged with GHB. GHB (or gamma hydroxy butyrate) is commonly known as a date rape drug because it can reduce resistance to a sexual assault. It can also cause loss of consciousness and seizure, among other effects.According to Sports

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-30306163296398803282008-04-22T07:35:00.002-04:002008-06-17T21:28:09.513-04:00

Here is some great backstory from Lifeskate about the "Outside the Lines" interview regarding the 2002 Olympic judging scandal. The program aired last weekend on ESPN.

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-4034863249621160222008-04-22T07:18:00.005-04:002008-06-17T21:28:29.019-04:00

I definitely enjoyed last night's episode of "Dancing with the Stars" more than I've enjoyed some others. Maybe I'm glad that they are getting down to the last few dancers, it's more manageable or something. Or maybe it's because the dancers were mainly AWESOME. I was duly impressed. However, I will also be critical below. Of course. (As if I could ever do any of it...)Of course, Kristi

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-75321546378347551842008-04-21T07:05:00.004-04:002008-06-17T21:28:55.488-04:00

Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune lays out the case for Spokane, Washington to host the 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. He reveals that Providence, RI and Portland, OR are two of the other three cities in the running. Hersh writes:Two years ago, Spokane put on the best U.S. Championships of the nearly two dozen I have attended -- including Portland (2005) and Providence (1995

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1210244373798487060.post-39333206905566371052008-04-18T09:18:00.001-04:002008-04-18T09:18:59.528-04:00

Hey skating fans, don’t forget to tune into ESPN or ESPNews this weekend. Both channels will be airing a report called “Outside the Lines,” which focuses on the 2002 Salt Lake City figure skating judging scandal. That incident resulted in a shared pairs figure skating gold medal between Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier and Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.According to

Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15077491738568971736noreply@blogger.com0