Libby96

I recently rewatched Slutskaya's LP from Salt Lake. What a sloppy mess for a silver medal winning performance. It was so much worse then I remembered. But I was already traumatized by Kwan's mistake that night.

They will immediately start lavishing skating-while-(not)Russian PCS on whomever Eteri plops onto the ice next year.

So happy the Shibs took the bronze! My love of them is approaching my level of love for Michelle Kwan back in the day, which means I am going to agonize every time I watch them compete. It's so much easier to watch skating when you can just watch it pan out and not feel so (irrationally) invested in the results!

Terry can also stop saying how H/D finally "made it to the top step of the podium at Nationals" every time they appear on the screen. We know they beat the Shibs. Stop reminding us.

The NotRussians usually don't do anything for me, but I give them a thumbs up for skating to "Secrets" by OneRepublic and for that awesome upside down rotational lift.

NBC, you annoy me so. You chacked Gilles and Porier so you could chat with Lindsay Vonn about a training run. Nice.

Yeah, Shibs! They were amazing! I'm not going to lie, I don't wish ill on any of these teams, but the Shibs are the ones that I like so much that I feel nervous for them. Madison Chock is a beautiful woman, but her dress choices are questionable at best. How do those "tails" on her dress not drive her bonkers as she skates? I won't even get started on her costume's color scheme.... Last group up soon! How prissy will Madison Hubbell look? How much will Tanith (and I love Tanith) tell us that V/M and P/C are So Much Better Than Everyone Else? How much Skating While (Not) Russian PCS be thrown at B/S? We soon shall see .

My main hope for this Olympics was for the Shibs to skate well and medal. With them barely squeaking by the NotRussians in the team event and with H/D now national champs, I am worried for the Shibs. (I was going to say more about how Bobrova looks hunched when she skates and how Hubbell's recent demeanor is making me not like her much but ... well, I guess I did just say it!)

All I can think of when I see Johnny, Tara and Terry today: "On Wednesdays we wear pink!"

I am so sick of backloading. SO sick of it. Johnny mentioned her saving all her jumps for the second half like it's some kind of clever and wonderful idea. I'd say take your tech points, fine, but your PCS should take a hit since it's not a balanced program. Also, Med is good, very good and amazingly consistent. But I'm still not totally sure she is the Second Coming of ladies' skating. Maybe I'm mean, but I would be so behind something happening to shake up the expected 1-2 finish by Med and Zag (in whatever order). That would shut up Johnny's Russophile gushing for a while.

Does anyone know when Olympic Ice is airing? Is it on one of NBC's networks, or is it only an online thing? Will it be daily during the Olympics?

I am so annoyed that they didn't show Bychenko. There were only five skaters in the group, for heaven's sake. Show them all! It serves NBC right that he's in second. It almost seems like they jinxed Nathan, running that gushing fluff piece while Bychenko skates, then Nathan immediately comes out and implodes. (And I know jinxing isn't real, and I feel badly for Nathan and hope his individual event is stellar.)

NBCSN is airing an hour long documentary called Calgary '88 tomorrow, 7:00 pm ET right before the Olympic coverage starts. I'm pretty excited about it. It focuses on the men's and ladies' figure skating competitions. That was the Olympics that started by skating obsession.

I agree that the PCS has become a place to hide shennanigans. I do not come from a skating background and don't claim that my 30 years of fandom makes me an expert, but when I see it seemingly discussed in matter of fact terms that newer skaters on the scene won't get the PCS based on their reputation, or when PCS seems to almost always rise as tech scores rise (looking at you, Zagitova) it does not seem that judges are always judging the skating skills, transitions and interpretation that is happening right there, in front of them, on the ice THAT DAY. But I will watch, I always do, and there will be moments of happiness and disappointment, of transcendence and frustration, and if we are lucky the skaters who are nearly flawless on that day will land on the podium.

I really hope the Shibs get to skate at least part of the team competition. They are my favorites and I want to see them get a medal. I guess an individual medal isn't out of the question as well, but it will be a tough fight. I have no problem with clean athletes from Russia being able to compete in pairs, dance and the individual disciplines, but letting them band together as a team without a country (but really as Russia as their country) seems hinky to me. Will there be short track speedskating relays of OARs? A hockey team of OARs?

Wow. That is not an attractive dress. But, hey, she covered up that seductive collarbone lest she cause a man in the audience to be defrauded.

What a wonderful article about Jason. It sounds like the author truly recognizes that a magical figure skating performance is more than the sum of its parts. I throught the author referring to Nathan Chen as sweeping over the ice like Darth Vader was hilarious. Don't get me wrong, I think Nathan is terrific, but his black clad figure and the intensity of some of his programs does make that an apt comparison!

I was kind of rooting for Carolina, mainly because I didn't want another Russian sweep. I am kind of surprised she hung on to third place with that rough free skate. But maybe I was distracted by her skating in a sparkly green sock. It's not easy being green.

I still wonder why they wanted to come back. Obviously they still have the skills, and I certainly think if you can compete with the best in the world they have every right to do so, but I really can't see what they have left to prove, unless they couldn't stomach coming in second in what was at the time thought to be their last Olympic appearance.

I was sad enough when Tara won over Michelle in '98. I don't need to relive it. Tara skated lights out that night, but I still think if the skate order had been reversed, Michelle would have won. Anyway, on the subject of Olympic anniversaries, it's been 30 years since the Battle of the Brians. During NBC's ice dance "coverage" last weekend ( I use that term loosely, since they showed about seven programs) there was a short piece about Calgary. Does anyone know if it was a promo for a longer special? I hope so. That was the Olympics that started my skating fandom.

The backloading makes me absolutely crazy. I think the idea of a bonus jumps in the second half of the program makes sense as it is harder to jump on tired legs and discourages front loaded programs. However, now we have ridiculous programs like Zagitova's which looks like a spin and footwork practice followed by a two minute jump clinic (while some pretty music plays in the background). Balanced programs should be rewarded, yet the backloaders don't seem to lose any PCS points for this. If I were in charge of the world at least three jumping passes would have to be placed in the first half, quads would be limited to one for SP and three for LP, and arm variations on jumps would be limited to two or three. Or if you are Sotskova and always do ugly ones you get none. :) If you can do attractive Rippons like Vincent Zhou, you can do a few.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.... this crowd has a very limited view of modesty. They try to boil it down to the length of a skirt or covering a collarbone, and have forgotten the part about not trying to call attention to oneself and not flaunting your so-called virtues in order to gain praise. Also, how does someone who thinks being a stay-at-home mom is the Most Important Job in the World have time to craft her face like that every day? Shouldn't she be cleaning something or home-preschooling her kids? (I'm not knocking stay at home moms in general; I was one myself for eleven years.)

I hope they use Adam for the short. He's had a lot of consistency with it this season. Even if Nathan doesn't skate a perfect long, he will rack up a lot of technical points. I will be sad if losing the national title keeps the Shibs out of the team competition. They didn't get to do it last time because Meryl and Charlie skated both.

If Ashley skipped the gala for a health/ injury reason, that's one thing. If she skipped it because she is disappointed in her results, then that is just being a poor sport.

I think Ashley had better finish on that podium if she wants to make it to the Olympics, especially if the current top three stay in podium position. Who would you bump? I can't see Bradie, Mirai or Karen being left off if they are the top three. Now if Angela Wang snuck onto the podium, I could see them taking a fourth place Ashley instead.