Good Queen Jane

I kept thinking he had bad teeth or dentures. His smile while he was playing looked like he was trying not to show his teeth. However, he had a charming smile when he won.

The number of skaters each country can enter into the Grand Prix events is determined by the standings at last year’s Worlds. For example, based on last year’s placements in Men at Worlds, the U.S. has 12 entries into the six Men’s events, while Canada has only five entries. Additionally, each country hosting a Grand Prix event get a “host country selection” in each discipline for their event. It’s always interesting to see who is and who is not on the list: - As posted by BelleBrit, Jeremy Abbott of the U.S. has announced he will not compete in the Grand Prix this fall, but rather will concentrate on Nationals and Worlds (if he makes the U.S. team). That’s a bit of a risky move, doing your programs for the first time at those major events. Usually skaters like to have at least one Grand Prix assignment in order to get feedback from the international judges on their programs, as well as see how they match up with their competition. - Evgeni Plushenko of Russia has not followed through on his pledge to compete in the Grand Prix this season (what a surprise), although Russia still has a “host country selection” available for the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow. Plushenko is on Russia’s list of skaters who are eligible to receive international assignments this year. - Patrick Chan of Canada will compete at both Skate Canada and Trophee Bompard in France; at Skate Canada, he faces off against Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. - Nathan Chen of the U.S. does not have a Senior Grand Prix assignment. He is still young enough to compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, although last year, he opted to do just one competition in the Junior Grand Prix. - Reigning U.S. Champion Ashley Wagner will not to compete at Skate America. Traditionally, all the U.S. reigning champions compete at that event. However, Gracie Gold has a higher World Ranking than Ashley Wagner, which means Gold got first choice on which events at which she wanted to compete. Wagner will compete at Skate Canada and the NHK Trophy in Japan. Gracie Gold will compete at Skate America as well as at Trophee Bompard in France. - Mao Asada of Japan is returning to the Grand Prix; she will compete in Cup of China and the NHK Trophy in Japan. - Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada apparently is fully recovered from her broken leg, and will compete at Skate Canada and NHK Trophy in Japan. - Adelina Sotnikova of Russia, the reigning Olympic champion, does not have a Grand Prix assignment. The reports were she was going to compete this year (she’s on the Russian Federation’s list of international competitors), but so far, there is no indication that she has returned to training. - U.S. Pairs Denney and Frazier did not get a Grand Prix assignment. Denney is recovering from knee surgery, so the feeling must be that they will not be ready to compete by October. - Castelli and Tran of the U.S. received two Grand Prix assignments; Leng and Shnapir did not get a Grand Prix assignment (although there is still a “host country selection” in Pairs available for Skate America). Reports are that Leng competed at Nationals last January with a cracked pelvis (ouch!), and while she has recovered, the injury has put them behind in their training for this season. - The Russians are sending Stolbova and Klimov, Kavaguti and Smirnov, and Volosozhar and Trankov to two Grand Prix competitions each. Apparently Stolbova and Klimov now feel they are ready to compete again. You will recall, they skipped Worlds last March because “they felt they couldn’t be competitive” (I still think there is more to that story).

Several skaters (or former skaters) are using the June “off season” to get their love life in order: - Former U.S. Pairs Skater Rockne Brubaker married former Italian Pairs Skater Stefania Berton on Saturday, June 5, at Lake Lawn Resort in Lake Delavan, Wisconsin. Brubaker’s brother Collin (U.S. Dance) was his best man and former U.S. Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley was one of the groomsmen. Among those in attendance were U.S. Ice Dancers Evan Bates and Charlie White, along with former U.S. Men’s champion David Santee. - Canadian and World Pairs Champion Megan Duhamel married her long-time coach Bruno Marcotte on Saturday, June 5, at The Reefs Resort in Bermuda in front of a small group of family and friends. Guest at the wedding on the beach included her Pairs partner Eric Radford, Canadian and now U.S. Pairs skater Mervin Tran and coaches Richard Gauthier and Nick Young. Duhamel and Marcotte have been dating for five years. - Italian Pairs skater Ondrej Hotarek (who formerly skated with Stefani Berton) and Italian Ice Dance Champion Anna Cappellini will tie the knot in late June. - Czech Republic Men’s skater Michal Brezina and Danielle Montalbano, a U.S. skater who now competes for Israel, have announced their engagement. The couple have been dating for about 2 1/2 years. No date has been set for the wedding but Brezina said it will likely be early in the summer of 2017. - Russian Olympic and World Champion Pair Skaters Tatyana Voloszohar and Maksim Trankov have announced their engagement. Voloszhoar and Trankov have been a couple both on and off the ice for several years. No date for the wedding has been announced. Ah, ain’t love grand?

I give props to the folks at Fun Home, who got cut off way too soon so they could have Jersey Boys end the show. They just went center stage and danced with the chorus to Oh What a Night and seemed to be having fun doing it.

Divya should have no problem with the baby in car issue. Besides all the other things posters have mentioned, she swiped her credit card to pay the meter, which will show exactly when she got there and that she was in eyesight of the car during the emergency. But of course we will have months of child endangering and custody drama to go through. I really hate this storyline as leaving kids in a locked car is a real problem, but if one of the show's main characters does it, it will be considered okay and everyone overreacting.

So nobody notices Divya doing surgery on a bench while across the street two police cars and multiple bystanders gather around a car with a baby in the back seat? And why would Boris build a Bat Cave in the hospital when he has a perfectly good ginormous estate where he can do anything in private? It may take me a while to get back in the mood for this show.

I liked the second season more than the first. I actually liked Karen in Hit List. Maybe that's the way they should have gone, showed the making of a big time Broadway musical in comparison with an Off Broadway production. They could have had the crossovers and really explore what is fundamental in both. Ivy and Karen could run into each other from time to time, not friends but both working actresses, comparing experiences. That would have been a great show!

I have always wanted to see a series showing the behind the scenes of putting on a Broadway musical. Smash could have done that but veered into soap territory too fast. It would have worked better if they had focused more on Eileen, Julia and Tom in the beginning and showed Ivy and Karen pursuing their careers before the audition - Ivy getting more and more frustrated by being in the chorus, Karen trying to get auditions while juggling her waitress job. And leave out the family complications until we got to know the characters better.

I know that for Shonda children are just a plot contrivance, but I couldn't help but wonder whether Little Teddy, America's Baby, would be going with Mellie or staying with Fitz. Not that it matters. Dead Jerry has had far more mentions on this show than Live Jerry ever did.

Didn't Harold say that when The Machine moved Herself, She went to a warehouse on the West Coast? Although She ultimately moved into the electrical infrastructure, she would have started from there. So Samaritan was just following Her path until It could finally catch Her. And maybe that's how Samaritan will finally be defeated. Harold will tell it about its creator, his goodness, what he intended in making Samaritan, and what ultimately happened to him, and Samaritan will abandon its wicked ways to make Daddy proud.

U.S. Figure Skating has formally announced that Milwaukee has been chosen to host the 2015 Skate America. Here’s what you need to know about this year’s Skate America: - The event will take place at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, which is in the downtown area, on Oct. 22-25. Unlike past events, this year’s Skate America will have only two days of competition (rather than three). Thursday will be practices, Friday will be the short programs, Saturday will be the long programs, and Sunday will be the exhibition. - The Skate America website will go live next Tuesday, May 12, and all-event tickets will go on sale through the website on Wednesday, May 13. The address for the Skate America website will be www.2015skateamerica.com. - NBC will do live coverage from Skate America on Saturday, October 24, from 5-6 pm (Eastern). NBCSN will present taped coverage of the event on Sunday, October 25, from 9 -10:30 pm. Icenetwork will live stream coverage of all events at Skate America. (The rest of the Grand Prix events will be televised on Universal Sports and NBC, like last year). - The ISU will announce the line-up of competitors for Skate America, as well as the other Grand Prix events, on June 15. Usually, the reigning U.S. champions compete at Skate America (Ashley Wagner, Jason Brown, Scimeca and Knierim and Chock and Bates). In addition to the ranked skaters who qualify for the Grand Prix, the USFSA will be able to add one competitor to each discipline as the “host country’s selection”. Skate America is the first Grand Prix event of the season. The rest of the Grand Prix schedule: - Skate Canada (Lethbridge, Alberta) on Oct. 29- Nov. 1 - Cup of China (Beijing) on Nov. 6-8 - Trophee Eric Bompard (Bordeaux) on Nov. 13-15 - Rostelecom Cup (Moscow) on Nov. 20-22 - NHK Trophy (Nagano) on Nov. 27-29 - Grand Prix Final (Barcelona) on Dec. 10-13 It’s only 6 months until the start of the Grand Prix season. Start making your plans.

Oh, Show, you were doing so well until the end when TC was aiding and abetting insurance fraud with the ALS patient. Good way to turn your life away from crime! It would have been much better if he realized that all his son would want is some time with him before the disease takes over.

And the nominations go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/28/tony-nominations-2015_n_7160170.html

I did like that the show didn't go the unicorn and rainbows route by having the kid perfectly fine after the heroic surgery by Scott. I also liked that it was an true accident, not caused by drugs or alcohol or even texting, just a moment's inattention. It would have won the trifecta if the kid had just been ordinary, not the next music prodigy, but you can't have everything. Really, show, a cowboy who doesn't eat beef?

I understand the need to compress time lines to tell a story, but the brain tumor segment was just too much. The girl had a tumor removed from her brain (sucked through her nose? I never saw Derek on Grey's Anatomy do that, but okay) and then less than four hours later she has a lap band surgically inserted?! And all under the direction of her emergency room physician? The story would have worked better for me if they had just stop with the discovery of the tumor. And while I'm complaining about things taking me out of the story, couldn't they have had Jordan and Krista coming back from the conference instead of being on the way there? I kept worrying about Jordan not showing up for her talk not to mention why they were traveling so late since conferences are rarely held at night. Minor stuff, I know, but still distracting.

Team USA won the final skating competition of the season - the World Team Trophy - edging Russia by 1 point to take the title. The final standings were: USA - 110 points, Russia - 109 points, Japan - 103 points, Canada - 82 points, China -77 points, France - 59 points. The win primarily was due to Scimeca and Knierim beating Kavaguti and Smirnov to come in 3rd in Pairs in the Free Skate (yes, that’s right; the Pairs sealed the victory). That placement got the U.S. the 10 points and put the trophy pretty much out of reach for Russia even if their Ladies finished 1st and 2nd in the Ladies Free Skate. All the teams were encouraged to do wild celebrations in the Kiss and Cry area as a skater or skaters from their country waited for their scores. Everyone had flags, multi-colored boas and funky hats (the French favored duck hats while the Chinese - for unknown reasons - preferred rabbit and mouse ears). The Russians had big inflated hands and clappers, while the Japanese finally acknowledged their obsession with Phantom of the Opera by sporting Phantom masks from time to time (they even played music from Phantom as the Japanese skaters took the lowest step on the podium at the awards ceremony). The Americans showed up with an inflated Statue of Liberty torch and a Captain America shield, along with colored wigs (pink and green). The Chinese Ladies at one point wore Superwomen costumes, while Jeremy Ten of Canada dressed up in a moose costume for one segment. Jeremy Ten also scribbled on a white board as he waited for his Free Skate scores. Finally, he held up a hand-written sign which read: “Patrick, we miss you. Look forward to seeing you soon”. So now we enter the skating off season. Stay tuned for the Change Your Partner Polka and the Will She/He or Won't She/He Skate Samba.

Apparently, the American skaters are planning to get pretty wacky in the Kiss and Cry area during the ISU Team Trophy Event, which starts tomorrow (our time) in Tokyo. http://www.teamusa.org/News/2015/April/14/US-Skaters-Plan-To-Rock-The-House-At-World-Team-Trophy Unfortunately, only icenetwork is showing the competition. NBC, this is a fun competition that would interest a lot of casual skating fans. Why aren't you showing it?

I was trying to figure out why Reese couldn't get to his car and why he was in such terrible straits. My guess is that the murderer had parked his car out in the woods since it wasn't seen by Reese and the son when they got to the cabin. The murderer than dragged Reece out in the woods to bury him away from the cabin. When he came back with the shovel, he and Reese exchanged fire, the murderer shooting Reese in the side and Reese killing the murderer. One of the shots during the gunfight went through the car's window. Reese only had enough strength to go between the murderer's car and his body. He was too weak to go back to the cabin and/or his car. The murderer's car had sat out in the woods for a while (the murderer waiting in the cabin for the son to show up), so that's why the battery was dead. At least that's my fanswank version.

This is just a reminder that NBC is going to show the Men’s final from Worlds, plus other highlights from Worlds, on Sunday from 3-6 pm Eastern time. Check your local listings for the times in your areas. Also the World Synchro Championships start today in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The U.S. has two entries – the Haydenettes from Massachusetts and the Miami University (OH) team. The favorite in this competition is Finland, which is a powerhouse in synchro skating, but you never know what might happen. The ice is slippery sometimes.

Khan was targeted by Samaritan when he accidentally found out about the excessive fuel drain which would lead him to finding out that Samaritan was using his anti-virus programs to search for the Machine. Samaritan caused all Khan's investments to drop and his personal information to be released so he would be fired by his company before he found out what Samaritan was doing . The hacking caused a lot of conversations on the Internet about Khan which attracted the Machines attention and she figured out that Samaritan (or someone) was targeting Khan in a particularly hostile way. It wasn't a terrorist attack, so Khan was an Irrelevant. Or at least that's my speculation. The Machine and I are on worse speaking terms than she and Root.

Khan got on the Machine's radar when the news of his being hacked got out. It appeared that Finch got the phone call about the same time Khan did.

This turned out to be a decent episode, taking a fresh perspective on some of the old tropes. Paul's Dad turned out to be right that Paul should be a surgeon, but Paul still found his own way. Former medic gets a new career ( although I would have preferred if they had given him a different injury; can a reattached arm really function well?) Rogosa and Topher had some good moments in sharing parental concerns. Even TC and Jordan acted like real people instead of drama queens. Well done, show!

U.S. Figure skating has announced the team they will send to the ISU Team Trophy competition in Tokyo later this month: Ladies: Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner Men: Max Aaron, Jason Brown Pairs: Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim Ice Dance: Madison Chock and Evan Bates Interesting that the second man is Max Aaron.

My favorite scene was when the men all reacted to the word "period." It never ceases to amaze me how some men can talk about the most disgusting things at work but practically go into little old ladies' faints if menstruation is mentioned. It happens every month, guys. Get over it.

The ISU has named the countries which qualified to send teams to the ISU Team Trophy Event, which takes place in Tokyo on April 15-19. The six countries are Russia, USA, Japan, Canada, France and China (listed in order of points accumulated). The rules for the ISU Team Trophy Event are similar to the rules for the Olympic Team Event, with some adjustments: two Men and two Ladies will compete along with one Pairs and one Dance team from each country (instead of just one in Men and Ladies), the same skaters must skate the Short and Free Skate segments, and there is no elimination after the Short Programs. Each skater does a short and long program, and points are awarded based on where the skater finishes in the Short Program and in the final standings. The team with the highest total points will win the World Team Trophy. This is an event that skaters usually enjoy competing in because it’s fun and the prize money is good. The winning team gets $200,000 in prize money, and even the last place team gets $130,000 in prize money (the prize money is put up by wealthy Japanese businesspeople.) Skaters are encouraged to cheer on their teammates with wild celebrations. In the past, rooting in the Kiss and Cry area has included Canadians wearing funky moose hats, Italians doing choreographed dancing, and the French building a human pyramid. Definitely a time for the skaters to “let loose” at the end of the season. U.S. Figure Skating has not yet announced the skaters who will represent the U.S. in the Team Trophy event. Icenetwork will Live Stream the event as well as make video of the event available on demand to subscribers.