Figure Skating: Men's Short Program

OK so, Johnny Weir and Tanith Belbin are rooming together at the Olympics in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite. People are making a big freaking deal out of this, which is stupid - I know we all like confirmation that Johnny is gay, but I think a straight man could share a two-bedroom suite with an old friend and teammate without impropriety. They are two adults who are sharing a suite. Yes, it's unusual for Olympic athletes to room across gender but it's not like they're strangers that got assigned together.

However, they are being very cute about it. . . and I am incredibly amused by the reasoning behind it: "There was one single and a two-bedroom available that had to be divvied among Belbin, Lysacek and Weir. 'And if you take Johnny and myself and Evan and do the math, the only logical answer was me and Johnny,' Belbin said."

Bwahahahaha!! Johnny and Evan kind of HATE each other. And Tanith and Evan are exes. ( evan is a creepster )

So, Evan is kind of icky, in addition to being a reeeeeally boring interview and a skater who does not know how to costume himself.

However, he is a very strong skater! I feel pretty proud of myself because I pegged him and Takahashi as the two skaters who could really challenge Plushenko. Lambiel if he had done the jumps he needed. (Still, I adore Lambiel's short program!)

The coverage talked a lot about how hard Lysacek works, which I really respect, and it really shows. Even without being a fan and only very casually paying attention, I have a feeling of confidence and comfort about his skating. So yes, I am impressed with the depth and committment of Lysacek's training.

I am, however, devastated for Jeremy Abbott (Katie and I call him A-Butt because Jeffrey Buttle calls himself J-Butt on twitter, so then we started calling Dick Button D-Butt and we pulled Jeremy on board too). He's an absolute sweetie and I love him, and he had a really rough Olympic skate. And I loooove his short program. But he had two perfect skates at nationals, so as I fan I always have those to go back and watch. It's frustrating when every program of your favorite skater has some bobble in it, so I'm really glad we have those perfect, beautiful skates of Jeremy's. And I hope we'll have a great one in the long. Usually people come back awesome after a rought short!

For Patrick, or as I call him, the Chidster, I'm more disappointed about his scores than his skate. I just felt like they were maybe 2-3 points low. That music thing hurts, too, he's so much better than that. As to two-footing the axel landing and the stumble in the footwork, no big deal. Still an overall strong program. He's far out from the top three competitors, though - he can pass Johnny and Stephane without them making too many mistakes if he has an awesome long program, but at least one of the top three are going to have to really mess up (Takahashi, possibly? I think he can hold it together, but I also think he might not) for him to have a shot at a medal, and I'm not sure about Oda. His long program has been so strong this season and I love it, but I don't know what his consistency is like. If Patrick skates a great long program I'll be happy with his Olympics, no matter what the results are and despite the pressure Skate Canada's been putting on the poor little muffin.

I thought Takahashi really brought it, I was totally pumped by his program. Evan and Plushenko much less so, but I'm just not a fan of their skating. And I was distressed about Patrick's scores for the end of the night, so that distracted me from Evan. Plushenko's spins are not attractive, and that little wiggle he does in between jumps does not count as transitions (in my mind, at least). His presentation could have been worse, though.

I adore Stephane's short program so much, it's too bad he had problems with it. Nothing horrible, though, it'll still be re-watchable. I hate Oda's short program. XD And I missed Johnny's because I was thinking about Patrick. It seemed really strong, though.

I think Evan and Plushenko are likely to hold it together in the long. Takahashi, I have no idea, but I'd love to see him lay it down again. Oda could definitely do it, but I can also see him having a mistake. Stephane also seems likely to not have a really powerful long program, just based on his season so far, but I think he can compete if he needs to. Johnny has fallen apart on the long program in the past, but he seems a bit more together this year. If he doesn't have some sort of personal crisis between now and Thursday night, he seems in good shape. For Patrick I predict something like the Canadian Nats - good but not perfect. However, I also think he's fully capable of putting down and amazing program, and coming from behind might make that easier, so I will be optimistic.

I mean, almost all the pairs programs had fantastic short programs, and then in the long there was only one single clean skate. So you know, anything can happen in the long program.


On a different note, I was reading about the Paralympics last night at CTV's website, and it really puts everything in perspective. The Paralympic Games start March 12, I think, and hopefully they'll be covered for my viewing enjoyment! I'm really looking forward to it - all the events are way more exciting! Downhill skiing? Pssht! Visually impaired downhill skiing! EAT THAT! Katie and I were saying we don't know why the Paralympic athletes don't go to Olympic events and call the athletes weenies. Actually, Brian McKeever, a visually impaired cross-country skier, is competing in both games - the first Winter Olympian to do so! He says he wants to send a message that the Paralympic athletes train just as hard and reach the same peak level of physical fitness as the Olympic athletes (or in the case of wheelchair curling, the same not-so-peak level! Ahh, curling. I watched it for the first time yesterday and it was AWESOME.)


Tonight I want to vacuum and clean my room a bit more. No figure skating, though. Phew! A day off. Then on Friday I get to start stressing about the dance!