Congratulations to Rudy Galindo on his U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Nomination!

It was recently announced that Rudy Galindo, along with Michelle Kwan, among others, was recently nominated for the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Click HERE to read the news article from Ice Network.com.

After a vote, the skaters chosen to enter the Hall of Fame will be announced at the 2012 U.S. Nationals in San Jose, California. It would be significant for Rudy to be inducted in San Jose. He is a native of San Jose and the biggest moment in his career--and one of the biggest moments in the United States skating history--came at the 1996 Nationals in San Jose when Rudy brought the house down to win his first U.S. title , becoming the oldest man in U.S. history to win the title at age 26.

In a later post, during my 12-days of Christmas series beginning on Dec. 14, I will highlight Rudy's scintillating U.S. National title freeskate to Swan Lake. Today, to honor Rudy's Hall of Fame nomination, I will highlight his short program from that championship to Pachelbel's "Canon in D". This performance was a preview of greatness that was to come in the freeskate two nights later.

Enjoy!

Todd Eldredge's "Your Song" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack

I just stumbled across this video of Todd Eldredge skating to "Your Song" from Moulin Rouge in the 2002 TV special "Kristi Yamaguchi's Salute to Gold." My family and I saw Todd Skate this program live on the 2002 Stars on Ice tour following the Salt Lake City Olympics and we--along with the entire audience--gave him the most enthusiastic standing ovation of the night. What a terrific performance!

I hope you enjoy!

Meryl Davis and Charlie White's "Someone Like You" by Adele from Fashion on Ice

As a follow-up to the Jeremy Abbott Adele program that I just posted, I'd like to share Meryl Davis and Charlie White's performance to Adele's "Someone Like You" from the recent TV special Fashion On Ice. This is a very raw song and a heartfelt skate from Meryl and Charlie.

With this program, and Abbott's, I'm a huge fan of Adele's music as skating music. (Does anyone else join me in petitioning for Adele on Ice as the next TV special??)

Meryl and Charlie are having another standout season as the reigning World Champions (though they haven't met their main rivals Virue and Moir in competition yet) and this exhibition is proof of how they are continually maturing and growing as skaters and artists. This performance shows a more vulnerable, personal side of Meryl and Charlie that stretches them as performers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Jeremy Abbott's "Hometown Glory" by Adele from 2011 Fashion on Ice

I feel so much love, admiration, and respect for Jeremy Abbott's skating watching this performance to "Hometown Glory" by Adele from the recent TV special Fashion on Ice.

I am a huge Jeremy fan as it is, but I feel some extra adoration while watching him skate this program.

Jeremy is a true artist on the ice and I know that because I actually feel emotion while watching him skate. Jeremy is among the select few in the world who puts as much emphasis--if not more--on the artistic side of the sport as on the technical side. And when he is able to combine both: wow. His skating seems even more profoundly beautiful this year than ever before. I love how Jeremy's skating is seamless woven together as in 1.59-2.06 when his Arabian flows into a spiral and a spread eagle. Another highlight for me comes at 2:55-56 when Jeremy performs what looks to be reverse "falling leaves"--a floating leap of sorts.

I hope you enjoy Jeremy's performance to Adele's "Hometown Glory" as much as I do!

Brandon Mroz's 2009 Bach Freeskate

At the 2009 U.S. National Championships in Cleveland, OH, Brandon Mroz threw down the gauntlet in his senior debut. My sister and I were in attendance for this competition and it was a thrilling display of controlled technical brilliance and fresh artistic sensibility. I re-watched this program last night on VHS and was again wowed by Brandon's calm and control. What a terrific moment for the then-18-year-old skater!

Since this stunning Nationals debut, Brandon has not been able to reach that level of excellence again. I hate to say it, but I don't even remember his programs from the 2010 Nationals because I don't think they were broadcast on TV. Last season, Brandon's Grand Prix competitions were impressive--he finished on the podium in both--skating to Leonard Bernstein's "On the Water Front," but by the time he reached Nationals, couldn't quite pull it together. He was close, but with the incredible depth of the field at Nationals, good enough only lands a skater outside the top 5.

This season, Brandon has been making waves by landing the first official Quadruple Lutz in

skating history.

My sister and I were communicating via text message last evening as I told her how much I enjoyed re-watching Brandon's 2009 Nationals Freeskate. She asked me what has happened to him in the subsequent years. I mentioned that he's recently made history with his Quad Lutz. She replied: "He can achieve more than that!" And she's absolutely right. Brandon should and could be about more than technical feats.

I felt sad watching Brandon's freeskate to Carmen this season at the recent NHK Trophy competition that was broadcast on TV. As terrific of the music of Carmen is, it is incredibly over-used and Brandon can do better than to resort to using Carmen. The music didn't seem to fit him or accentuate his skating in any way, shape, or form. The performance was flat. Brandon needs to stretch the boundaries and try something different, fresh, and inspiring. Watching Brandon, I did NOT feel that he was inspired. He needs better material. Something that challenges him, reflects him as a person, and brings out the best in him. Brandon is a very talented skater who is capable of great things. Here's hoping that Brandon finds a vehicle that suits him and showcases him as the strong skater that we all know he is.

But in any case, let's celebrate the fabulous effort of Brandon from the 2009 U.S. Nationals that earned him the silver medal.

Enjoy!

Josée Chouinard's "Moon River" by Henry Mancini

Tonight I heard the song "Moon River" by Henry Mancini and was instantly reminded of a lovely program set to the music that Canada's Josée Chouinard skated back in 1994. I couldn't find the exact performance that I wanted to post, but I found one from the 1994 North American Open that will suffice. Josée isn't as clean in this one, but the program is still good.

Josée , a 3-time Canadian national champion is also remembered, unfortunately, as the skater who had to skate unexpectedly in the wake of Tonya Harding's broken skate blade debacle at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammar, Norway.

Michelle Kwan's "One More Time" by Laura Pausini from the Message In a Bottle soundtrack

Dear readers, Happy December first! Also, Happy U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame nomination for Michelle Kwan! In honor of these two firsts, today's post is a video of Michelle Kwan's beautiful performance from the 1999 Hershey Kisses Figure Skating Challenge to "One More Time" by Laura Pausini from the Message in a Bottle Soundtrack.

On the tail of Michelle's defeat at the World Championships to Russian Maria Butyrskaya at the 1999 Worlds in Helsinki, Finland, it was important for Michelle to skate cleanly at this "fluff" competition. Not that she ever had to prove anything, in my eyes, but critics were always quick to write Michelle off after one defeat. Michelle showed everyone here why she was a 2-time World Champion and the reigning Olympic silver medalist at this point in time. Pure elegance on ice.

I've always loved this exhibition to "One More Time." I think this performance broadcast on ABC was the only time I saw her skate this. I've been searching for this video on YouTube for quite some time and was thrilled to find it at random this morning while looking for a Michelle program to post. I am also pleased to hear the commentary of my favorite Dick Button.

This program reminds me all over again while Michelle Kwan is--and always will be--the best!

Enjoy this post of Michelle's "One More Time":