Baltimore Sun reported that U.S. Figure Skating Director David Raith said it's a "logical assumption" that Sasha Cohen will be competing in Skate America in the fall. The selections for that competition will be officially announced at the end of the month. Raith added that another of the earlier Grand Prix events will likely be interested in selecting Cohen.

She said Friday she's been working with new coach Rafael Arutunian for six months, and has already seen an improvement in her jumps. She was doing triples with ease at a "Stars" show last month, and said she's "very close" to doing the triple-triple combinations she'll need to compete with Kim and Asada.

"You don't want to go just to be your best, you want to be the best," Cohen said. "There are amazing skaters out there, technically and artistically. That's great, though, because great skaters bring out the best in you.

"I'm excited for the challenge, I'm excited to start with the Grand Prixs and see where I'm at."

Cohen's strength has always been her artistry and expression, and some feel that has lessened in importance under the current judging system. But Cohen has experience in this system — did very well in it, in fact — and said it's all a matter of knowing how to put the programs together.

Besides, Kim's runaway victory at the world championships shows beauty can still trump brawn.

(I threw in that last sentence just because it annoyed me. Everyone can see how superb Kim's jumps are and that they are a major reason why she does so well, along with artistry!) Anyway, I was surprised to read that Cohen has been working with Arutunian for six months already! That is good. I'll be very impressed if she manages a triple/triple. But I'm more worried about the consistency, which always was Cohen's issue.

Also, I'd like to say how much more fun this story is to blog about now that Cohen's committed to trying for the Olympics than it was when we were just speculating on what her decision would be. Yay.