Now that the Grand Prix of figure skating final is over, here is a look at some of the major (and possibly surprising?)fortunes of this year's Grand Prix season.

Winners

Davis and White: Not only did they rack up great scores all season long, but they managed to beat their rivals and training mates, Canadians Virtue and Moir, in the Grand Prix Final. That was a major win for them. Tanith Belbin may get the photo spreads, but Davis and White are the number one U.S. ice dance team this season. And so far, their the number one team in the world, as well.

Akiko Suzuki: She's no longer just a fluke winner of a Grand Prix. She's now a medalist in the Grand Prix final, and it will be hard for Japan's skating federation to ignore that when they are selecting the Olympic team. And if she were to skate at the Olympics the way she skated in Tokyo at the GPF, she would be an absolute joy to watch.

Alena Leonova: She may have had a disastrous GPF, but I don't think that will take away all the progress she made leading up to that competition. She could easily be a medal factor in Vancouver, and now everyone knows it.

Jeremy Abbott: Sure, he has had a roller coaster season. But his programs have been well-received, he routinely receives the highest grade of execution points of all the American men, and he has landed the elusive quad. Additionally, the other potential competitors for the US men's Olympic team outside the big three of Evan Lysacek, Johnny Weir, and Abbott (Adam Rippon, Ryan Bradley, and Brandon Mroz) have not looked as good this season.

Shen and Zhao: At this point, I would not bet against them at the Olympics.

Rachael Flatt: The only lady to beat Yu-na Kim in the free skate this season. Granted, Kim skated the worst she's skated in years, but Flatt skated the program of her season. She also had the good sense to skate her best in the American Grand Prix on national television, which can't have hurt.

Losers

Skate Canada: This federation has very high hopes for medals in Vancouver. But things don't seem to be working out according to plan; Joannie Rochette has regressed to the skater of a few years ago rather than last season, Patrick Chan is currently a wild card, Dube and Davison haven't been very relevant on the pairs scene, and even Virtue and Moir lost at the GPF.

Caroline Zhang and Mirai Nagasu: The international judges have weighed in on these ladies and the verdict was not a positive one.

Belbin and Agosto: Although they won both of their events, they were not as impressive as rivals Virtue and Moir and Davis and White, and then had an unfortunate withdrawal from the GPF.

Takahiko Kozuka: Last year's fabulous Skate America winner. This year's "who?"

Savchenko and Szolkowy: What a difference two weeks makes. They broke records at Skate Canada but could not compete at the same level at GPF. Two disappointments overshadows the Skate Canada triumph, and have lost them gold medal momentum.

Broke Even

Evan Lysacek: He is skating great and you can't ask for much more than winning the GPF. However, he has left a lot of points on the table and has yet to skate his very best in the free skate. He's going to have to do that in order to have any chance against Plushenko.

Yu-na Kim: She came in unbeatable, she goes out unbeatable. But she's starting to show cracks, both emotional and physical. And there is always an excuse for her mistakes - she tightened her boots at the wrong time, she clanged her blades together and that damaged them. These may all very well be valid reasons for Kim's errors, but hearing excuses all the time can get really annoying. Just say she's human and leave it at that. Don't constantly try to tell us that if she makes any errors, there must be something to blame.

Miki Ando: She's had as successful a season as could have been expected. But at the GPF she had what could have been her best chance to beat Kim and she could not take advantage of it.

Sasha Cohen: Nobody's sure if her "comeback" is legit or not, but she probably has just about as good a chance now of making the Olympic team as she did before she withdrew from all the Grand Prix events.

Nobunari Oda: He started out so strong but lost some momentum in the Grand Prix Final. He is still formidable but he fizzled out before worlds last year and hopefully he will not do the same before the Olympics.

American Pairs: They performed pretty much as expected. Which is...not very well.

Some I have left out are Ashley Wagner, Alissa Czisny, Daisuke Takahashi, Plushenko...feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

Pairs

Shen and Zhao, China: Amazing. Although if I am nitpicking, their side by side spins were in different time zones. But, I will not pick against them again! They just do everything the best.

Pang and Tong, China: Hand down on the side by side triple toes. Still, this program is great and this pair skates like they belong here, unlike Zhang and Zhang. Great job moving up to silver.

Mukhortova and Trankov, Russia : Everything was so nice until their spins were a bit out of wack.

Savchenko and Szolkowy, Germany: Ack, right off the top she flies out of that triple toe. Not a good start to a subpar program. They were both a little bit off. This performance has made the pairs event a whole lot less interesting at the Olympics-Shen and Zhao would seem the overwhelming favorites for sure.

Kavaguti and Smirnov, Russia: This was fine but not a great performance. I'm surprised how much of an afterthought they were at this competition.

Zhang and Zhang, China: she had a hand down on those side by side triples and throw triple salchow, and then that fall on the throw triple loop. They are just not looking very dynamic for some reason.

Results:

Ladies

Yu-na Kim, South Korea: Another imperfect performance from Kim. Obviously much stronger than at Skate America.

Miki Ando, Japan: This was a good skate but you can see all sorts of tiny deductions in Ando's jumping and I'm sure that affected her. It made me sad to watch her in the Kiss and Cry because she appeared to think she had a chance but Kim did not make enough mistakes today.

Akiko Suzuki, Japan: Fabulous Suzuki, and it was so clean! She was lovely as she had been earlier in the season and it was great to see her jump from last to the bronze medal.

Ashley Wagner, USA: For Wagner to come in fourth here was not bad at all, and she did a great job in the free skate. Still, she gives away enough downgrades and edge deductions for me to think she's still going to have to perform her heart out at nationals to make that Olympic team.

Joannie Rochette, Canada: Just a sad state of affairs. All popped jumps and sloppy landings. I don't think there are even excuses because although this competition was the worst, she hasn't looked good at all this year. Perhaps she needs to speak with the sports psychologist more...she is just giving medals away.

Alena Leonova, Russia: It was like someone turned the lightbulb off. The spark was completely gone and she didn't even look happy! So many errors, it was not a great performance. But I think the ground she broke in getting here and starting out from third place after the short is not going to be wasted by one performance like this.

Results:

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Life and illness sometimes get in the way of extra-curriculars, but I will hopefully be back on schedule soon.

So, let's break down the Grand Prix Final, which starts tomorrow in Tokyo, Japan.

Pairs

I have to say that this group of pairs is about as good as it could get - all the major Olympic medal contenders - and this is the only discipline we can say that for at the GPF. Also, it's the first time this season that Germany's Savchenko and Szolkowy, and China's Pang and Tong and Shen and Zhao will face off against each other, and a lot of people are looking forward to it. Most expect it to come down to a competition between Shen and Zhao and Savchenko and Szolkowy. Most recently, Shen and Zhao had some mistakes in their Skate America free skate while Savchenko and Szolkowy, though not perfect, received a 10 in their components scores for a dominant skate at Skate Canada with their new free program to Out of Africa.

It will also be a chance to see how Zhang and Zhang react with such stacked competition - they have not been on their game so far this season and things will only get tougher for them as the Olympics get closer. Mukhortova and Trankov and Kavaguti and Smirnov are also very dangerous pairs, and pairs from Russia should never be counted out in an Olympic year. This should be a very good competition.

Predictions

1) Savchenko and Szolkowy

2) Shen and Zhao

3) Pang and Tong*

*All season I have had a feeling about Kavaguti and Smirnov, but they've lost to Pang and Tong twice so I just could not pick them.

Men

France's Brian Joubert pulled out of the competition due to a foot injury, but he was replaced by Czech Republic's Tomas Verner, who should have his quad on display. Japan's Nobunari Oda has another chance to give his Chaplin program a whirl - but will he have his quad as well?

This is also a meaningful competition because it pits who many regard as the top American male skaters - Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek, and Johnny Weir, against each other for the first time this season. And not to be forgotten is Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, who seems to be gaining strength as the season wears on.

Predictions

1) Oda

2) Lysacek

3) Takahashi*

*Augh, this went from being Abbott to being Weir to finally being Takahashi. I DON'T KNOW.

Ice Dancing

This became a two-horse race when Belbin and Agosto withdrew. And to be honest, with the absence of Delobel and Schoenfelder and Domnina and Shabalin, the results here pretty much mean nothing to me in the grand scheme of things. But, on the bright side, this is the first ice dancing competition all season that may actually be a competition, so that's something to look forward to.

Neither Davis and White nor Virtue and Moir have been perfect this season, although it doesn't seem to have hurt either team too much. I think both of these teams are so wonderful to watch. The international judges have seemed to prefer Virtue and Moir when these teams compete head to head, so I am going to have to pick Virtue and Moir.

Predictions

1) Virtue and Moir

2) Davis and White

3) Pechalat and Bourzat

Ladies

I don't know what has happened with me and the ladies, but I am not thoroughly excited about this field. I'll be impressed if Yu-na Kim finally puts a complete and clean two programs together (remember she bailed on her triple flip at Trophee Eric Bompard) because she obviously does not have to do nearly her best to win these days. We can also look forward to "Queen Yu-na is back" headlines if she skates cleanly.

Major questions: will ANYONE skate clean? Will Joannie Rochette be the Joannie Rochette from last season or continue her 2009 mediocrity? Will Ashley Wagner continue to assert herself as deserving of a US Olympic slot? Does Alena Leonova continue her medal streak...I will be completely unsurprised if she finds herself on that podium. I would also be unsurprised if Rochette misses the podium, because her skating has not been up to par lately. Still, as you can see, I am playing it a bit safe in my predictions.

Predictions

1) Kim

2) Rochette

3) Ando

If I seem slightly cranky in this post, I blame it on the meds!

Here is news you might already know, but I felt remiss since I haven't been blogging about it in the past couple of weeks:

Brian Joubert's foot surgery was deemed a success, according to USA Today. The surgery was meant to repair ligaments in Joubert's foot. Joubert is out of the Grand Prix Final but hopes to compete in the French championships in mid-December. That seems so soon! Let's hope he is healthy enough...at least for the Olympics.

Per ESPN, Russia's Andrei Lutai has been banned from skating for a year by his country's executive skating board due to his arrest on suspicion of stealing a car and driving it drunk following Skate America. This means Lutai will not be competing in the Olympics.

And finally, a few weeks ago it was reported that Patrick Chan would move his training to Palm Beach Iceworks in Florida, per this release. Chan had previously been training in Orlando.

Here it is, the final Grand Prix event (not counting Grand Prix Final). This is for all the marbles!

Men

Why to Watch: Our first and last chance to see Canada's Patrick Chan in a Grand Prix this season. Chan was a gold medal threat not too long ago, and maybe still is if he's been able to rehab an early season muscle tear. He was able to win both of his Grand Prix events last season despite errors, so this being his first Grand Prix event shouldn't factor too much for him. This is also another shot for America's Jeremy Abbott...he really needs a cleaner performance here to make US Figure Skating forget the NHK Trophy free skate disaster. And we'll see if Japan's Daisuke Takahashi is able to iron out any of the problems he had from NHK as well.

Keep an Eye out For: Czech Republic's Michal Brezina. He had one of the rare clean performances at NHK Trophy a few weeks ago, and another medal would be quite the coup for Brezina.

Prediction

1) Chan

2) Takahashi

3) Abbott

Ice Dancing

Why to Watch: Canada's Virtue and Moir should easily beat this field. And the fight for second and third is a bit less dramatic since Italy's Faiella and Scali have withdrawn, reportedly due to injury.

Keep an Eye Out For: America's Samuelson and Bates; they will be gunning for a medal here. And America's Hubbell and Hubbell switched coaches since their first Grand Prix of the season, so it will be interesting to see if they look any different at all in such a short time.

Predication

1) Virtue and Moir

2) France's Pechalat and Bourzat

3) Samuelson and Bates

Pairs

Why to Watch: A Trophee Eric Bompard rematch. It will be interesting to see what Germany's world champions Savchenko and Szolkowy look like since their free skate at TEB was hopefully a fluke. And will Russia's Mukhortova and Trankov be able to carry over the TEB confidence boost? If both teams skate to their potential, then this will be quite a competition.

Keep an Eye Out For: Home country team Dube and Davison of Canada. They would love to add another medal to their TEB silver.

Prediction

1) Savchenko and Szolkowy

2) Mukhortova and Trankov

3) Dube and Davison

Ladies

Why to Watch: I have a feeling Joannie Rochette will not have trouble bouncing back from her disappointing showing at Cup of China. However, she may have more competition than she bargained for from Japan's Akiko Suzuki, who has been the cleanest Japanese performer this season. And don't forget the three US ladies - all three will be looking to make up for lackluster initial Grand Prix skates. Every one of them will likely be looking for their version of Rachael Flatt's Skate America.

Keep an Eye Out For: Finland's Laura Lepisto. She is not the most exciting skater but she has the ability to sneak in there for a medal.

Prediction

1) Rochette

2) Suzuki

3) Czisny

So many questions from last weekend's Skate America. Here is my attempt to answer them.

Shen and Zhao's mistakes in their long program. What does it mean!?

It means that some of the other top pairs can breathe a bit easier knowing that there may in fact be a competition for the gold medal this season. But Zhang and Zhang have absolutely no chance unless they figure out what they need to do to make both partners happy. Dan Zhang looked absolutely miserable in their programs, particularly Sing, Sing, Sing. It's sad to see them fall back like this.

Ryan Bradley's Fun Mozart Free Skate. WHAT?

I know I enjoyed it a lot more once he had a couple of high scoring jumping passes behind him. It also means that he is back in the Olympics mix - especially if Jeremy Abbott has problems again next week at Skate Canada. But Bradley was still sloppy and wild on his jumping - I don't see him medaling in most other crowds (this competition was very sloppy!). Still, it will be fun to see this program again at Nationals. Unfortunately, Bradley's performance made Brandon Mroz's troubles look even worse.

The American Pairs Here. Does it Mean Anything New?

I thought there were some bright sides to the American performances here but overall, too many errors. It was nice to see Keauna McLaughlin land her side by side triple in the free skate, but with the other errors (and overall lackluster program) this team will not be able to compete with the true medal contenders anytime soon.

Yu-Na Kim's Meltdown

What this means is that I like her free skate a lot less when the life gets sucked out of it like this. Meanwhile - I barely remembered Rachael Flatt erred by the end of her short program because she sold it so well and she didn't ACT like she screwed up. Good job, Flatt. I think the fact that Kim still won here (and only lost the free skate by like...5 points...that's ridic) despite that disastrous free skate means that she really does have very little competition. As others have done the calculations, even if Flatt had gotten credit for her final spin (she did not) and if she hadn't fallen in the short program, Kim would still have won. I think it's highly unlikely that Kim will skate like this in the Olympics, but I'm convinced her only true competition if she does make mistakes like this is a very clean Joannie Rochette, and a very clean Mao Asada.

Still, Rachael Flatt definitely reasserted herself as the frontrunner for a US Olympic berth. There is a lot of nitpicking I could do with her skating, but the bottom line is she scored way more in that free skate than any other American lady has this season. And she hit that triple/triple and has vowed to keep it in every competition from here on out, which means she is ready to fight! Such a great outing for her!

Khokhlova and Novitski and the Ice Dancing Shakeup

This was a pair the others surely feared last season, and they started out the year predictably by coming in second at Cup of China. But they are having troubles as evidenced by their finishes here in the original dance and the free dance (jet lag has been cited as a cause of the problems...but still). Meanwhile, the Italian team Cappellini and Lanotte are quickly climbing the ranks. I don't mind that - I like that team overall (although I don't really love their free dance). However, I don't think they are quite ready to compete with the likes of Belbin and Agosto yet. I think this competition further cemented the dominance of teams like Belbin and Agosto.

Belbin and Agosto had a moment or two of unison problems that made me wince, and on second look, I don't really love their program at all. It obviously has oodles of difficulty, but as a lay observer, if I saw them up against Virtue and Moir and Davis and White, I would prefer one of the other pairs, which is kind of a big deal, because I love these two. Augh!

Let's Not Try to Figure These Out and Just Enjoy them!

Chock and Zuerlein and Navarro and Bommentre

I know neither of these teams are making the Olympics (or at least, that is my prediction). But I kind of really liked both their original dances and free skates (particularly Navarro and Bommentre's, which is kind of a big deal since I don't think I liked what Navarro and Bommentre were doing last season, although she just lights up the rink!). Up those levels, kids!

Florent Amodio's Sublime Short Program

Ok, he doesn't have the difficulty of many of the other skaters and he could not reproduce the magic in his free skate. But, how nice that short program was...

Evan Lysacek

The man is a professional, ladies and gentleman. Two very smart, very engaging programs. I love watching him. He hasn't been perfect, and he admitted he will have to be in order to be in competition for a medal at the Olympics. But whether he is perfect or not, he pours his heart into those skates, which I really do appreciate.

As for my predictions?

I was five for 12 with exact podium spots. I guessed the full pairs podium, along with two out of three ice dancing medalists. But, yikes, what a shakeup in ice dancing and mens!

Final Results: Ladies

Results:

Final Results: Ice Dance

Results:

America's Evan Lysacek wasn't perfect, but he still dominated the men's competition in Lake Placid, winning Skate America despite his errors. And kudos to Canada's Shawn Sawyer and America's Ryan Bradley for vaulting onto the medal podium. Unfortunately, Florent Amodio was not as mesmerizing today as he was yesterday, although he was still quite interesting to watch. And America's Brandon Mroz has some work to do (wow, I could be a commentator with these cliches!) because he made several errors.

Results: