Good Queen Jane

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.