This just in! Michelle Kwan has been nominated for the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Skaters will be inducted at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose in January.
(Assuming Michelle gets inducted in January, the location would be appropriate. Michelle won her first of 9 U.S. Championships in San Jose in 1996).
A few weeks ago, Ross Miner turned in an impressive performance to "The Untouchables" soundtrack to finish third at NHK Trophy in Japan. Ross' bronze medal was his first Grand Prix podium finish in his career.
Congratulations to Ross on this fine effort! I am excited to see how this program further develops by the National Championships in January.
In support of Penn State despite the terrible scandal and the announcement of both JoePa and Graham Spanier being fired. We are....better than this. We will get through this. Still Penn State proud.
Congratulations to Jeremy Abbott for being named USA Today's Olympic Athlete of the Week for his gold-medal at Cup of China last week. Click HERE to see the news brief.
At last weekend's Skate Canada, Patrick Chan moved up from third after the short program to finish first by less than three points. The reigning World Champion had some struggles with his quadruple Toe Loop in both the short and the long, but rebounded after a fall on the quad in the freeskate with a beautiful quadruple Toe Loop-Triple Toe Loop combination. As commentator Michael Weiss pointed out, Patrick displayed a short-term memory, a critical skill that a top skater needs to have. Immediately after making a mistake, Patrick brushed it aside and didn't allow it to disrupt the rest of his program.
I'm a fan of his new freeskate to "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo, choreographed by Lori Nichol. Many other skaters have used this music in the past, including Michelle Kwan during the '02-03 season, and Evgeny Plushenko during his '09-10 comeback season, but Patrick brings something different to his rendition. Even though I've heard the music many times before, Patrick makes it feel fresh. I might be in the minority here, but I was never a huge fan of his Phantom of the Opera freeskate (I can't quite pinpoint why...maybe it was the music cuts. My favorite program of his was his "Four Seasons" by Vivaldi during the '07-08 season), but I immediately liked this new one. I see growth in Patrick as a skater and performer. He exudes confidence and his performance is well-rounded and complete. I can't wait to see how "Concierto de Aranjuez" looks when Patrick skates clean.
At last week's Skate Canada, 2010 World Champion Daisuke Takahashi finished third. The 2010 Olympic bronze medalist didn't have his best showing in the freeskate, but he was on top of his game in the short. His attempt of the quadruple Flip in the freeskate shows he's not slacking on technical content this season, as the whole world has been "upping the ante" since Patrick Chan's quad fest at last year's Worlds.
Daisuke has always been one of my favorite skaters. He's not only an athlete, but truly an artist. I'm looking forward to seeing him skate in his next Grand Prix event.
At last weekend's Skate Canada, Adam Rippon finished fourth with his freeskating effort to Bach's "Air & Toccata & Fugue". Adam attempted the most difficult quadruple jump: the quad Lutz. The jump was under-rotated and two-footed, but was still a valiant attempt that showed Adam is here to fight with the upper-echelon of men's skaters this season. He's now working with Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjeon, training alongside a pair of 2-time U.S. National Champs, Alissa Czisny and Jeremy Abbott, so I'd imagine his competitive juices are flowing and he's ready to make a statement this year.
At Skate Canada, Adam's triple Axel's continued to be his nemesis, but what really caught my attention were his other unique elements and combinations. Adam executed a beautiful "Rippon Lutz" (a Lutz with both arms over his head) and a triple Lutz-single loop-triple Salchow combination, the latter of which I've never seen anyone do before! Adam's "in between" movements--spins, footwork, and skating skills--are beautiful. If he can find a way to get his triple Axels consistent and land the Quad Lutz, Adam is going to be very competitive at his next competition, and more importantly for him, at U.S. Nationals in San Jose in January.
Despite the mistakes, I still really enjoyed Adam's performance at Skate Canada. It's evident that he's in terrific shape, and he never let the program or performance quality fall apart after mistakes. He's on the right track. I wish Adam the best for the season!
This just in! Michelle Kwan has been nominated for the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Skaters will be inducted at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose in January.
A few weeks ago, Ross Miner turned in an impressive performance to "The Untouchables" soundtrack to finish third at NHK Trophy in Japan. Ross' bronze medal was his first Grand Prix podium finish in his career. 
Congratulations to Jeremy Abbott for being named USA Today's Olympic Athlete of the Week for his gold-medal at Cup of China last week. Click HERE to see the news brief.
At last weekend's Skate Canada, Patrick Chan moved up from third after the short program to finish first by less than three points. The reigning World Champion had some struggles with his quadruple Toe Loop in both the short and the long, but rebounded after a fall on the quad in the freeskate with a beautiful quadruple Toe Loop-Triple Toe Loop combination. As commentator Michael Weiss pointed out, Patrick displayed a short-term memory, a critical skill that a top skater needs to have. Immediately after making a mistake, Patrick brushed it aside and didn't allow it to disrupt the rest of his program.
At last week's Skate Canada, 2010 World Champion Daisuke Takahashi finished third. The 2010 Olympic bronze medalist didn't have his best showing in the freeskate, but he was on top of his game in the short. His attempt of the quadruple Flip in the freeskate shows he's not slacking on technical content this season, as the whole world has been "upping the ante" since Patrick Chan's quad fest at last year's Worlds. 
At last weekend's Skate Canada, Adam Rippon finished fourth with his freeskating effort to Bach's "Air & Toccata & Fugue". Adam attempted the most difficult quadruple jump: the quad Lutz. The jump was under-rotated and two-footed, but was still a valiant attempt that showed Adam is here to fight with the upper-echelon of men's skaters this season. He's now working with Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjeon, training alongside a pair of 2-time U.S. National Champs, Alissa Czisny and Jeremy Abbott, so I'd imagine his competitive juices are flowing and he's ready to make a statement this year.
