COESpiral

I don't think it's 2020 where USAG starts having problems (which is only two years away). Simone will be competing and, barring injury, you know she's still going to bring home a lot of hardware. It's after Tokyo where we see the repercussions. I'm not sure I see a team that could bring home medals, much less gold. It's all going to depend on finding the right leadership and a training method that protects the athletes in all aspects, body and psyche.

I'm really excited to see this get underway. I've missed Phryne and Jack and Dot and all the rest of the crime-fighting gang!

She says she’s been having boot problems all season and was recently thrown under the bus by her boot manufacturer after she posted a pic on Instagram of the heel coming apart (she never gave the name of the company). But someone from Avanta decided to jump in and point fingers making themselves look stupid in the process. I don’t know if that’s the actual problem or if she doesn’t have the mental toughness to compete but either way it’s frustrating.

What she did is definitely impressive and kudos to her, but she’s 13 and built like a pencil. What happens to her when puberty fully hits? Maybe she’ll be one of the lottery winners where her body doesn’t change much and she can continue the momentum but the odds aren’t in her favor. Enjoy while it lasts I guess and congratulations on making history.

Oh right, I forgot about H/B taking their place. So it's basically P/C's Worlds to lose. My guess is H/D will end up with a medal unless they pull last year's stunt and trip mid-way through the program. I thought C/L were underscored at the Olys, so it wouldn't surprise me if a Worlds medal was consolation prize. Patrick Chan as a model? Um...no.

With a number of the big names out of Worlds, this year's competition will be interesting. But then, the Worlds following an Olympics usually is as it gives us such champions as Kimmie Meissner in 2006 and Cappellini/Lanotte in 2014. Who's going to be the surprise champion this year? My predictions: Men: Nathan Chen or Shoma Uno Women: Pick a Russian, any Russian Pairs: Sui/Han Dance: Papadakis/Cizeron (or if they opt out, the Shib Sibs)

Anymore, I think of Mirai in the same way I think of Gabby Douglas: she's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. Both ladies seem to have an absolute talent for saying wrong thing at the wrong time and while you know full well they don't mean to come across as not thinking or crass or irresponsible, that's how it's translated. And then they have to go back and say, no, that's not what I meant and it came out wrong the first time. I don't for a second believe Mirai thinks she's the "savior" of the team event or that she is flip about her performances. Girl just has her mouth working at a different speed than her brain and when her brain catches up it's like, oh shit. It's the kind of thing the media absolutely loves and I hate that. She's apologized, she's exhausted physically and mentally, and she just wants to go home and snoodle with her dogs. I'm giving her a break.

*sigh* Well, I know how this is going to end, so I'm calling it an Olympics. At least Mirai's got a bronze medal in the team event.

Great job, Choi!!! Maybe you'll be South Korea's next skating star?

Love the South Korean girl's dress. A beautiful blue.

"She's the queen of the triple-triple!" Well, you jinxed her in the SP and the LP Tara. You should have used some of your eyelash glue in your lipstick.

Tara was doing some fluff piece about rivalries and showed Nancy/Tonya, Katarina/Debi, and then went to Michelle/Tara and Tara snidely comments about how SHE knows how well that can turn out. Eff her. I'm still convinced had the skating order been switched, she'd be singing a different song.

I said the exact same thing. I can't even with this.

Awww, poor Brazilian girl. I like her. She's got an it factor that makes me want to watch her.

Lipnitskaya was the one that after the team event, Putin rubbed her head. I think that's what did her in for the individual event.