Good Queen Jane

Dee Dee Leng won Junior Ladies in 2009 and teamed up with Timothy LeDuc in pairs in 2012. That team was 3rd after the short at Nationals in 2014 but fell (literally) to 7th after a bad free skate.

I thought Alex confused Hamlet with A Streetcar Named Desire since the women's voices sounded Southern and the men's voices sounded like thugs. The accent certainly wasn't Danish or even British. And how could Molly, who was confident enough about the category to bet a true Daily Double, not know Horatio?

I can almost hear Jill Flint thinking, " I left the Hamptons for this?" How big is San Antonio where every surgical specialist is an hour away from the ER even when supposedly on call. But then if they could get to the hospital, we wouldn't know what a surgical whiz Dr.Special Snowflake is. I'm only watching because of Ken Leung, but I don't know how long even he can keep me.

"Tim" was well named. The other two were really getting into being back-up dancers while "Tim" was just "Whaaa?" I wish that they would get more people in the audience involved. They can be funnier that the guest star.

Tigershark, when will your appearance air (the first of many, I hope)? If I remember right from TWoP (sigh), it should be soon. I did enjoy Julia's run. I hope she takes her $400K + and does amazing things with it. She didn't seem to like being a "supply chain specialist" very much.

So sad that Charlie was eliminated, but now I am hoping that he will get to do part of the freestyle with Meryl. I really, really want to see the two of them dance together without being in skates.Make it happen, Maks!

Finch did say "You must have been very young." I know several men who fought in WWII who look as good or better than Greer, so I didn't have a problem with him being a child during the Blitz.

Reigning U.S. Pairs champions Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir announced that they are ending their partnership. Both skaters said they want to continue to compete in Pairs, and each will look for a new partner. Castelli and Shnapir have been skating together for 8 years, but they almost ended their partnership two years ago. They decided to stick it out until at least the Olympic year, especially after John Coughlin had to have hip surgery. With the then reigning U.S. Pairs champions “on the shelf” for a while, Castelli and Shnapir felt they had an opportunity to make it to the Olympics if they stayed together. As you know, they did make it to Sochi. Now, they’ve decided 8 years together is long enough, and they both will look for new partners to skate with. Keeping a Pairs team together has always been a challenge in the U.S. Let’s hope the that few Senior Pairs we have left decide to stay together. With so many other countries' pairs breaking up (Germany, Russia, Canada), the field is wide open. ETA: Another one bites the dust. Canadian Pair skaters Page Lawrence and Rudi Sweigers have announced the end of their partnership. Lawrence and Sweigers released a statement saying that they were thrilled to have achieved their dream of competing at the Olympics “but we reached the point where we want different things” (translation: they don’t want to skate together any more).Lawrence said she will be looking for a new partner (um, Dylan Moscovitch is available...).Sweigers is taking a year off from skating for “personal reasons”. I believe the deadline to submit the list of candidates to the ISU for this coming fall’s Grand Prix events is June 2. So the Federations are probably telling skaters that is time to make up their minds about coming back next season. I expect we will send more end of partnership and/or retirement announcements over the next few weeks

Am I wrong in wanting a scene next week where Collier is cross-examining Finch and Finch shouts "You can't handle the truth!"? Although Harold would more likely just calmly and quietly lay out in great detail why Collier is wrong in what he is doing. This was a typical second episode in a triology where our heroes have set backs and seem to have lost everything. But the third episode is always the triumphant victory over the Forces of Darkness, so I am looking forward to some real ass-kicking next week (or ass-biting in the case of Bear).

Rachel, on behalf of strong, independent females everywhere, I am revoking your woman card (not that you'd notice.).

I'm not sure what the rules here are about double posts, but the ISU Technical Committee has issued some major scoring changes so I thought I'd risk a warning to post them because these address some of the issues that had a lot of discussion during the Olympics. JUMPS 1. A jump which is under-rotated will have its base value reduced by 30% and receive negative GOEs. In the case of a flip or a lutz, an edge call will result in the base value being reduced by 30% and will receive negative GOEs. In the case of a flip or a lutz, if there is an edge call in addition to an under-rotation, the base value will be reduced by 50% and receive negative GOEs. To clarify, if a skater under-rotates a jump, he or she will no longer receive the full base value for that jump; the base value will be only 70% of what they would have received if they had done the jump properly and negative GOEs will lower the points awarded even more. To give an example of how this would work: if a skater under-rotates a quad toe, the base value for the quad toe would be reduced from 10.3 to 7.2. The points awarded for the jump would be reduced even further - from 7.2 to 5.2 points - if the judges gave the jump GOEs of -2. In the case of a flip or a lutz, if the jump is merely WEEDed (wrong edge entry deduction) OR under-rotated, the base value is reduced by 30% and receives negative GOEs. However, if the jump is WEEDed AND under-rotated, the base value for the jump is reduced by 50% and receives negative GOEs. Falls are not mentioned specifically in these changes, but since falls on jumps are almost always the result of an under-rotation, a fall usually will result in the base value of the jump being reduced by 30% and then more even points will be deducted due to the negative GOEs. 2. Jumps with less than 1.5 revolutions in both the Short and Free Programs of Seniors and Juniors will have no value. In the past, when a skater popped a jump, the skater still received some points. A popped jump would be given a single jump base value, and even with the negative GOEs, a skater would end up with getting something like 0.8 points for the jump.Now when a skater pops a jump, the jump will be considered "not done" and no points will be awarded. 3. In the Short Program, jumps which do not satisfy the requirement will have no value. To give an example here, in the Short Program, the Senior Men are required to do a either triple or double axel. If a Men's skater does a single axel in the Short, the jump will be considered as not satisfying the requirement and no points will be awarded for the jump, even if it is done properly. SPINS Any spin in which one of the requirements is not fulfilled will have its base value reduced by 30% and receive negative GOEs. Any spin in which two or more of the elements are not fulfilled will have its base value reduced by 50% and receive negative GOEs. On the judges sheets, an "s" sign will indicate one of the requirements of the spin was not fulfilled and the base value reduced by 30%; an "ss" sign will indicate two or more of the requirements of the spin were not fulfilled and the base value reduced by 50%. PAIRS 1. Both partners must fulfill the requirements listed above for solo jumps or spins. 2. Three basic positions by both partners are mandatory for a combination pair spin. Failure of one or both partners to do three different positions will result in a 30% reduction in the base value of the spin. An "a" sign on the judges sheet will indicate that this requirement was not fulfilled and the base value of the combination pair spin reduced by 30%. 3. Death Spiral a. Change of arm hold by the Lady or the Man is allowed but is no longer a Level feature. In other words, changing hands during a death spiral will no longer increase the Level (degree of difficulty) for the element. b. Change of pivot is considered as the end of the death spiral. This means that if the man changes his pivot foot during the death spiral, anything done after the change of feet is not considered. 4. Lifts: Features such as change of hold, Lady's position, or rotational direction will not be award if the change is interrupted by a carry. In other words, a Pair can't do a lift, then do a carry and then go back to doing a lift. All the elements of the lift must be completed before the carry (we're looking at you, Duhamel and Radford). In addition to the above, the Technical Committee wants to make sure that Pairs and Dance are distinct disciplines and the lines between the two aren't blurred. As a result, they have added the following for Pairs: 1. Step Sequence - Twizzles should not be included in the Step Sequence. 2. Small Lifts (small lifts are when the man lifts the lady off the ice but his arms do not extend above his shoulders). a. Small lifts performed in isolation are limited to one in the Short Program and two in the Free Skate. However, small lifts are unrestricted when used in preparation for a listed element in the Short Program or Free Skate (e.g. before a throw or a twist). b. Violation of this restriction will result in a 1.0 point deduction per program according to the opinion of the referee and the majority of the panel. No deduction will be made if there is a split vote of 50-50. In other words, the referee and the majority of the judges have to agree that the Pair violated the small lift rule in order to make a deduction. If there aren't at least 6 "yes" votes, then no deduction will be made. There were a number of other technical rule changes - such as what constitutes a difficulty entry into a spin or death spiral -- with which I won't burden you. Frankly, those are the kinds of things which judges and skaters know but most fans don't see. The above are the major changes that fans will understand when looking at the scores and/or the judges sheets. The new rules address one of the problems most of us have had with the quad, which is that a skater gets rewarded with lots of points even if he messes up the quad. Now, a skater might be better off doing, for example, a clean triple lutz than trying a quad and ending up on the ice. That should get a number of the Men thinking about whether they really want to try the quad or not. Eliminating any points for a popped jump is also a good change, in my opinion. Skaters shouldn't get points for not really doing a jump. Those small points can make a difference in the standings, and it doesn't seem right that the difference between 2nd and 3rd, for example, is decided by points awarded for a jump that was popped and not actually done. The 1.5 revolution rule might cause a bit of a headache for a skater doing a three jump combination with a single jump as the middle one, but a lot of skaters cheated a bit on the single anyway. The Technical Committee is basically saying that, with the exception of a cleanly done single axel, there is no place for single jumps at the Senior or Junior Level. I'm both pleased and a bit amazed that the Technical Committee actually addressed some of the problems with the technical scoring. Now if we can get them to work on the component scores...

U.S. Figure Skating will elect a President at its annual meeting this week, and this election has turned into quite a controversial matter. One of the people seeking to become President is Ron Pfenning, who was a leader among the group trying to form the World Skating Federation in 2003. The WSF was an attempt to split the Figure Skating federations away from the ISU in order to make them independent from the Speed Skating federations and allow the sport to have more autonomous and targeted governing. Those of you who attended the 2003 Worlds in Washington D.C. might remember the group demonstrating and seeking signatures on a petition outside the arena. Pfenning was sanctioned by the ISU and basically kicked out of the organization. Pfenning's candidacy is causing quite a stir. Morry Stillwell, a past president of U.S. Figure Skating, wrote a rather scathing letter against Pfenning's campaign for office, stating that Pfenning's past involvement with the WSF shows he can't be trusted, and that Pfenning would hurt U.S. Figure Skating because he couldn't be credentialed at any ISU events. The ISU also has let it be known that it would not be happy with Pfenning's election as the president of the U.S. figure skating federation, although it can't legally do anything to bar his election. On the other side, Pfenning has supporters who feel U.S. Figure Skating needs some "shaking up" to make the sport more attractive to the public and to improve the quality of the sport. Pfenning says that he has received the support of Ben Wright, a long-time and very respected member of U.S. Figure Skating, among others. Dick Button has also written a letter supporting Pfenning. Janet Lynn, former U.S. Ladies Champion, has written an Open Inquiry to the candidates seeking the presidency of U.S. Figure Skating, asking them to state how they would improve the sport in a number of areas. Samuel Auxier, currently the 1st Vice- President of the USFSA, is the organization's endorsed candidate for President. . U.S. Figure Slating's 2014 Governing Council Meeting will take place in Seattle on May 1-3. It should be quite an interesting meeting.

I turned this off after the second time time this brilliant neurosurgeon dumped her meds. I almost turned it off after Dr. Black's loving boyfriend kicked her out of his SUV after begging her to tell him everything. (Way to supportive there.) It doesn't sound like I missed anything.

The main thought I had in watching this episode. Zelena to Rumple: Your son could be alive again! OuaT Fandom: NOOOOOOO!!!!

I really thought Fitz was going to kill himself when he went off alone to the Oval Office, which would make Andrew the President and he and Mellie could live happily ever after. Am I a bad person for being disappointed that it didn't happen?

I just love this show and this episode epitomizes why. I love the deadpan interaction between Reece and Finch, I love the partnership between Shaw and Root (the scene with the two of them drinking and then the pan of the knocked out henchmen made me laugh for a long time), I love the way people show up at just the right moment to rescue the team, and I love, love, love that Finch's moral choices keep both the Machine in check and have spread to the rest of the team (even the absent Fusco. Who would have expected the Fusco we saw in the first episode to have become the bad ass hero he is?) I am content to lie back and watch,knowing that somehow things will be all right in the end.

Who would have thought that Maks would have body issues? He seemed quite shy in his bare chest and it didn't seem to be play acting. Actually, it was his bare face that kept distracting me. He did look quite boyish. The practice clips of NeNe and Tony really made me uncomfortable.I was ready to join the Free Tony movement until after the dance when NeNe seemed to genuinely realize what a beyotch she was coming across as. Then I felt sorry for her. The practice clips really made it difficult to judge Amy. She was so obviously upset by the limitations her prosthesis create, so it would be really cruel for the judges to point out the problems she had with the waltz. But she doesn't want nor should she get pity points.

Drawing on my knowledge of Ohio election law, if someone dies before the election, it still goes forward. If the dead person is elected, his/her party would choose his/her sucessor unless a line of succession is set up by law. I assume that is the same for federal law, although I can only go on The West Wing as authority (when Leo, the VP candidate, died on Election Day.) I wonder who Sally's VP candidate is and whether he/she is at the funeral?

Time matters not in the Scandal Universe. We are in October/November (six days before the election, in case you forgot) with nary a coat in sight. In 24 hours we have Olivia bed Jake, shut down B613, confine Fitz to the White House, find an elusive terrorist and watch Papa Pope shoot him, and have a late night phone call with Jake. In the next 24 hours, we have Fitz fly to Ohio, Olivia fly to Ohio,Olivia fly back to DC, find dying Papa Pope, and Fitz fly back after giving a major speech. Meanwhile, a Senator who died suddenly six days before the election is going to be buried four days before the election,. I don't know when we are. Where's Jack Bauer when you need him?

The Japanese held another retirement ceremony, this time for Ladies skater Akiko Suzuki and Men's skater Nobunari Oda. Suzuki had announced her intention to retire from competitive skating at the end of this season back in October, and Oda announce his retirement after coming in 4th at the Japanese Nationals in December. Maybe the USFSA should have retirement ceremonies - a nice speech, a little video and some lovely parting gifts. That would make it tougher for skaters to change their mind about competing after saying they were going to retire, especially if they had to give back the gifts. Just saying...

Jeremy Abbott has told icenetwork.com that he is wavering on his decision to retire from competitive skating. Abbott said he learned “so much about myself as a person and a competitor this year, more than I have the rest of my career. I feel like I want another chance to utilize that knowledge and give it another go.” Abbott added that his coach Yuka Sato is supportive of whatever he decides. Sato told him not to make a decision now, to think about it and take his time before making up his mind. Abbott plans to take some time off after his Stars On Ice tour to rest and think about what he wants to do. Abbott, who has shows scheduled during the spring and summer, also is planning to have programs choreographed for those shows which can ultimately be turned into competitive programs, especially since vocals will be allowed next season for single and Pairs skaters. That would help him prepare for the season if he decides to continue to skate competitively. Whatever he decides, Abbott said, he wants to continue to be involved in skating, feeling he has a lot of knowledge that he would like to pass down to future generations of skaters.

I said it in the episode thread and I'll say it here: DON'T TOUCH THE CURLS!

See what happens when you slick back Charlie's hair? DON'T TOUCH THE CURLS! I agree that the dance wasn't a rhumba, but I don't see why the star should get dinged if his pro can't do the right choreography. Thank goodness everyone is going back to his/her original partners.

This and that Canadian Men's skater Patrick Chan said he was uncertain about his future plans in an interview earlier this week on a Canadian talk show. "My whole life has been in four-year cycles [preparing for the Vancouver and Sochi Olympics]. I have an open book now," said Chan. "I'm just really relieved and can look at the next part of my life, the next chapter. Whether it's continuing skating or going on to something else, I don't know." Evan Lysacek told NBC that he is pain free for the first time since August and has been doing jumps, including triples, in training the last four weeks. "Whatever capacity I'm skating at, I don't really know right now, but it's nice to be back," said Lysacek. Lysacek isn't ready to say if or when we will return to competition, though. "Definitely a little premature for that," he replied to the question. "But I'm back on the ice, looking a dong some shows and dipping my toes back in the water." Lysacek also stated that, after watching the error-filled Men's Free Skate at the Olympics, the judging system should be altered to not weigh quadruple jumps so heavily. "There was a lot of attempted difficulty. I think, overall, things have to change. They must know they have to change the system now. The dial was moved a bit too far after Vancouver with rewarding attempted quads. So I think they'll really have to take a hard look at how they're scoring it - again Mirai Nagasu plans to continue her skating career; she is going to be performing with Stars On Ice this spring and is already working on competitive programs for the 2014-15 season. "I've found that I really still enjoy skating. I'm not really committed to anything yet, but I hope that I can skate for myself," said Nagasu. She spent time in February and March working with coach Tom Zakrajsek in Colorado Springs but said she is not ready to commit to any coach as of yet. She also has been working with Adam Rippon to craft the two programs for the upcoming season and is looking forward to unveiling them in competition. Her ultimate goal is to make the U.S. Olympic team in 2018. The NBC Sports channel will present the Best of the U.S. Awards Show, the U.S. Olympic Committee's inaugural event honoring outstanding U.S. performances from the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The show will air on Monday, April 7, at 7 p.m. (Eastern time) on NBCSN. Evan Lysacek and Michelle Kwan are among the presenters. The awards being presented are: Best Male/Female Olympian, Best Male/Female Paralympian, Team of the Olympic/Paralympic Games, Moment of the Olympic/Paralympic Games, Fan of the Games, and the USG Building Dreams Award, which honors an individual who has gone above and beyond his/her support of Team USA athletes. Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski will host red carpet coverage at the event. A nominating committee consisting of the U.S. Olympic Committee, athlete and media representatives selected the finalist for the individual athlete and team categories, as well as the Moment of the Games, based on nominations from each National governing body. Awards were determined via fan voting on Facebook.

Glad to see this thread going even if the skating season is over. However, the next couple months are always interesting as skaters retire or get new partners. Maybe we can finally keep US Pair skaters together for more than three years. I'm one of the refugees from TWoP. I'm the one who always posts the US broadcast/cable/icenetwork schedules before each major event. I'll continue to do so unless you all here would prefer I don't.