There really isn't too much to add, but just a few things to say:

Ok, so it's still unlikely that the American Ladies will medal

And if they don't, it will be the first time in more than 40 years that that happens.  But being behind the powerhouse quadruplet of Kim, Asada, Rochette, and Ando (and in Ando's case, just behind her) is really not too shabby.  Neither American lady had a perfect performance, and we should be happy with those standings. They also skated their adorable hearts out and gave the crowd something to cheer for.  BUT.  I think it was a bit low to score Flatt under a 7 for her choreography for that program. It was a great, fun program and it appeard difficult and had cool footwork.  Nagasu also obviously has a ways to go in the judges eyes before she is thought of as artistically on par with the top four ladies, which, when you're comparing Ando with Nagasu, is kind of odd.  But I actually think Ando's short is better than her free skate artistically, so maybe their components won't look as different for the free.

Explain spirals to me

I've read the judging technical rules, so I understand how spirals levels work.  But grade of execution points are supposed to be about how well you actually...execute.  So how does Yu-na Kim received a +2 for her spiral grade of execution, with arabesque spirals that are shaky and do appear to show the flexibility that some of the other ladies' spirals do?  I don't have complaints on the catch foot.  This has been my major issue with judging for Kim all year.  Her arabesque appears mediocre...I would argue that she doesn't do as well there as Asada or Nagasu, and Asada received the same GOE while Nagasu received much lower.  But I am no ballerina, so if someone can answer this, and maybe explain why Kim scores so high there, I would love to hear it.  And I know the other spiral positions Kim hits are better than the arabesque.  Other than that, I have no problem with Kim's scores.  Spirals or not, I would have had her a few points ahead of Asada.

UPDATED:  Spurred on by my helpful commenter, I have decided not to be lazy and have linked to the Go Figure Skating site, which explains the GOE better than I can.  Here is what it says:

To establish the starting GOE Judges must take into consideration the bullets for each element. It’s up to a Judge to decide on the number of bullets for any upgrade, but general recommendations are as follows:

+1 - Skater achieves 1 - 2 bullets +2 - Skater achieves 3 - 4 bullets +3 - Skater achieves 5 - 6 bullets

And for spirals:

• Good flow, energy and execution
• Good speed during sequence
• Good body line
• Highlights the character of the program
• Superior flexibility
• Creativity and originality

Going off of what the judging system says, I still don't understand the +2 for Kim.  I will also reiterate that that would not have changed her standing and I still think Kim is amazing and deserves to be in first place by a few points.

It was nice to see Cheltzie Lee and Tugba Karademir

But why no love for Russia's Alena Leonova?  She can be such a joy to watch and she sits only about a point behind Mirai Nagasu.  I would have loved to have seen her in the NBC telecast last night.

Also, NBC.  The formula with ladies skating is always "MORE Dick Button."  Not less.

It doesn't matter how far apart the scores on the board are

After the men's competition, the top three were separated by less than a point, and we knew the free skate would be exciting.  Here, Kim has a fairly commanding lead and she will likely win tomorrow if she's clean, (no matter whether Asada does two triple axels).  But that doesn't really tell the story of those performances and the competitive fires we saw last night.  If anyone has been following Mao Asada this season and has seen the disastrous short programs she has put up...it must have been such a personal victory for her last night.  And aside from that, it was one of the best performed ladies' short programs of the Olympics!  And she did a clean triple axel (I hope some of the men were watching and taking notes).  And Yu-na Kim, who battles nerves and the expectations of millions of people, comes right after Asada and puts down the best short program ever - my god.  If anyone insults skating today I am going to have less patience than usual.

As far the competition goes, I'm hoping that even though the first and third places are so far apart and third and fourth are so far apart, we'll still see amazing skating tomorrow night, just like we did on Tuesday.  I think last night was a great showcase for ladies skating.

And Joannie Rochette is in a class by herself

Joannie Rochette has also battled through a bad season with a lot of short program falls and disasters.  So her amazing performance and clean performance of that program last night would have been something to talk about no matter what.  But this woman came out and skated her heart out just two days after her mother unexpectedly died from a heart attack.  I am tearing up just thinking of the bravery of Rochette and the emotions that skate must have held for her and her father in the stands.  I can't imagine anyone was not being moved by Rochette last night.  Not a dry eye.  And back to the competition side - she is rightfully in contention for a medal here, although what she did last night transcends medals.

Here is a look at our Olympians in the Ladies event, which starts tomorrow with the short program.

Rachael Flatt

Flatt is the newly crowned U.S. ladies champion.  The word most often associated with Flatt in recent months has been "consistent."  After coming on strong in 2008 and winning the national silver medal, Flatt won the Junior World Championships.  The next season, she repeated her silver medal finish at Nationals and went on to an impressive fifth place finish at her first senior world championships.  Flatt started this season off with a disappointing fourth place effort (which was uncharacteristically sloppy) at Cup of China.  She then fell in the short program at Skate America.  But it has been nothing but uphill from there.  She skated a fabulous free skate at Skate American (on national television) to actually beat reigning world champion Yu-na Kim in that portion of the competition, and pulled herself up to the silver medal.  She had an almost perfect performance in January where she won her first National championships - her only major error was stepping out of a jump landing.  She received credit for two triple/triples in that competition.  Flatt does not generally receive downgrades, and she is a solid competitor.  Even if she falls, it does not tend to affect the rest of the performance. 

Flatt has been a benefactor of the scoring system  but sometimes pays for that.  The closer attention to downgrades and underrotation helped give her the edge at Nationals over Mirai Nagasu - but it was the sort of victory that folks at home couldn't necessarily see for themselves because downgrades are hard to judge unless you have slow motion. Many spectators thought Nagasu had won the competition.  Presentation-wise, Flatt has a ways to go before she is truly considered an artist.  But she shouldn't have to defend her nationals victory - it was convincing and she skated amazingly.

Quick Take

The Programs:  Rachael Flatt's Sing, Sing, Sing short program is absolutely amazing. It's so much fun and it's the best way to let her personality shine through.  Her free skate is not as fun and although it's a nice program, it doesn't really stand out at all.

Latest Performance:  Not quite perfect but an amazing effort to convincingly win her first national championship.

Strengths:  Flatt rarely gets jump downgrades and she has a triple/triple in both of her programs.  She also has an awesome short program.

Weakness:  Her presentation is weak in some areas.  She has noticeable posture issues, can sometimes appear slow on the ice, and does not have a great line or amazing positions in spins or spirals.

I think it's awesome when:  She lands those triple/triples

Outlook:  I think that someone like Rachael Flatt is not usually bothered by a fall here or mistake there, so even if she errs, it won't bring down the whole program.  She may very well skate cleaner than anyone else here and wind up on the podium.  However, all things being equal, I think she would be scored lower on grade of execution points than some of the other major contenders and will have to capitalize on the errors of others.

Mirai Nagasu

Nagasu wowed everyone when she won the U.S. National championships at the young age of 14.  She then showed us what a fighter she was in her free skate at the championships a year later, when she took the ice in tears but turned in a gutsy performance with no falls.  Nagasu hasn't been particularly successful on the senior international circuit.  Her strength is the short program.  She seems able to deliver clean, high-scoring, short programs.  However, when it comes time for the free skate, her fatal flaw truly kicks in.  That flaw would be the jump underrotation.  And now that Nagasu has a reputation for underrotating, judges appear even tougher on her.  No hint that this problem will somehow be resolved before the Olympic competition.

I sometimes think Nagasu has an immature look on the ice, like her movements aren't quite carried through or her arm positions aren't great.  But I didn't feel like that during her performances at the U.S. Nationals last month.  Everything seemed to come together.  She had great presentation, a lot of speed, beautiful spiral and spin positions, and a connection with the crowd.  She captivated people in person and on television.  Unfortunately, she also underrotated multiple jumps in the free skate.

One thing that I like about Nagasu is that she doesn't seem to be putting any pressure on herself here, which is different from her attitude in the past.  She just seems to be enjoying herself and being ambitious with her skating.  For example, she's adding a triple/triple to her short program, rather than doing the triple/double she did at nationals.  And I know a few other American teenagers who went for broke at the Olympics and came home with gold medals, so Nagasu should not be overlooked.

Quick Take

The Programs:  Both of the programs are a lot of fun.  I was worried that Nagasu was not mature enough to make the Carmen long program work, but I was wrong.

Latest Performance:  Performance-wise, these were perfect.  Technically, she can't have that many downgrades and do as well at the Olympics. 

Strengths:  Energy, presentation, positions

Weakness:  Underrotation (have I mentioned this before?)

It gives me the creeps when:  She cries.  Thankfully, she has given up crying.  Or Frank Carroll (her coach) won't let her cry anymore.  Either way, she is a different skater these days!

I think it's awesome when:  She performs these programs to their potential.  She is a breath of fresh air.

Outlook:  Nagasu is reportedly doing a triple lutz/triple toe loop combination in her short program.  If she lands all of her jumps cleanly, she could have a very high placement after the short program.  She's also been practicing very well.  I am unsure if I trust that she will be able to rotate all of her jumps in the free skate, but like I said, she's a fighter and I won't count her out.

Here are some interviews with Evan Lysacek after he won the Olympic gold medal for men's figure skating.

Interview with Bob Costas (02/19/10).  He addresses Plushenko in this one.

Lysacek on The Today Show (02/19/10).

Lysacek's family on The Today Show (02/19/10).

If you've been watching the Olympics over the past few days, you may have heard that men's figure skating silver medalist Evgeny Plushenko is having a case of sour grapes.  He's commenting all over the place that Evan Lysacek is not a true champion because he did not do the quad.  You can read some of this helpful fan post, courtesy of reader Freesia39. 

Now, International Olympic Committee President Jaques Rogge has chimed in, according to Phil Hersh in the Chicago Tribune.  But Rogges isn't too upset by Plushenko's antics:

...Rogge pretty much gave Russian figure skater Evgeny Plushenko a pass for repeated comments disrespectful of his opponents and his sport after losing the Olympic men's figure skating title Thursday to Evan Lysacek of the United States.

Plushenko, the 2006 Olympic champion, also made light of the awards ceremony and the traditional medalists' victory lap.

In the awards ceremony, he jumped up to the gold medalist's step on the podium, grinned and then walked to the lower silver medal step.  He tried to avoid the victory lap and wasted no time removing the silver medal from his neck once leaving the ice.

Asked by the Tribune Saturday for his reaction to Plushenko's behavior, Rogge said, ``I think he was very disappointed, obviously, and some times in disappointment, you express things you wouldn't express at another time.''

Rogge said he did not know that Plushenko said a competition in which the winner did not try a quadruple jump was ``not men's skating.  It is dance.''

``If that is the case, it is ill-advised, of course,''  Rogge said.

Rogge asked to be told what Plushenko said.  After hearing it, the IOC president said.

``He should respect his competitors, which I think he does.  He has probably pronounced some words in the emotion of disappointment, but definitely he has to respect his opponents, of course.''

Since I was under the impression that sportsmanship was part of the Olympic ideal, I'm glad that Rogge did say that Plushenko should respect his competitors.  But Hersh compares Rogge's reaction here with Rogge's repeated criticism of Jamaican runner Usain Bolt's victory celebrations during the Beijing Olympics.  Hersh speculates that "Of course, it certainly is a lot easier to take on a little Caribbean island than mighty Russia, once an Olympic superpower and host of the next Winter Games." 

I also wonder whether the fact that Plushenko lost the competition has anything to do with Rogge's lack of comments.  He seems more worried about someone being an obnoxious winner than someone else being an obnoxious loser.  I don't really care at this point what people say to Plushenko.  He has never been a great sport about anything.  And all he is doing now is making Evan Lysacek look better, because Lysacek is not only a great skater, but he is also being a complete class act about this situation as well.  The only thing I hate is that so much of the post-competition interviews have consisted of Lysacek being asked about Plushy's digs.  It's too bad the focus can't just be on Lysacek's amazing skate.

Russian reigning world champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin won the compulsory dance portion of the Olympic ice dancing competition in Vancouver tonight with a dramatic Tango Romantica.  They lead Canada's Virtue and Moir by about a point.  The American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White are in third place, while America's reigning Olympic silver medalists sit in fourth place, separated from the leaders by just under three points.  Compulsories are Domnina and Shabalin's strength, but the other top teams have been more successful in the original dance and free dance portions. The competition continues on Sunday with the original dance.

Some other big news is that 2008 world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder are way down in sixth place, nearly six points away from the leader. 

Americans Samuelson and Bates are in 14th place.

Here were my thoughts as I watched the compulsory dance:

Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte (Italy):  Happy birthday Anna!  She is 23.  She is wearing a lot of glitter in her hair for the occasion.  I find myself wishing that one of the higher-ranked teams were first so I truly know how well everyone else is doing.  Tracey Wilson (commentator) likes the tango because there is more room for interpretation.  Anna is very happy.  They look so young.  And they are done.  Fine job.  33.13.  We should see the top skaters getting up around 40 tonight, so not a fab score.

Allison Reed and Otar Japaridze (Georgia):  They are the first Georgian athletes competing.  Allison is a 15-year-old American who has never been to Georgia, but the president pushed her citizenship application through so she could compete here, says Tom Hammond.  Reed may visit the country of Georgia this summer.  Tracey is pimping the online partner searches again.  Has there been a New York Times article on that yet?  There soon will be.  Allison is siblings with Cathy and Chris Reed who are representing Japan here.  Anyway, they're finally going to skate.  This dance is less vibrant than Cappellini and Lanotte's, I think.  They are not as expressive, they are not doing as much with their legs, no extension.  Apparently this is only this couple's fourth competition. We get a lot of info during compulsories because NBC assumes you could not possibly want to actually watch the skating.  And no twizzles, so what will they point out?  Anyway...these two were kind of adorable at the end.  Good for them.  26.65.

And now, Bode Miller and the gang.  Delobel and Schoenfelder and the rest of the big names soon!!  Can't wait!

Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (France): Cute start for these two.  Olivier is most apprehensive about this part of the competition.  You can already tell how much better they are than the beginning pairs, like comparing apples to kiwis or something.  Tracey is explaining that they are using "soft, rhythmic, knee action" which helps create speed.  and stuff. They have a lot of flow.  That's what Tracey says and I would agree.  They have taken a soft approach to the dance.  Wilson says it lacks the definition of later teams.  I agree and I have a feeling that all of their dances are going to be on the soft side - but is that even possible with the can-can (their original dance)? 37.99.  wow, that doesn't sound too good to me.  Perhaps they are a little rusty after their time away, or they are just not big on the Tango.

Emilly Samuelson and Evan Bates (USA):  I don't love their costume choices tonight.  I wonder if these outfits look different in person, as so many do?  Odd color pairing, lavender and red.  They finished in 11th at the worlds last year.  Tracey says Emily has the most beautiful feet in the business.  That is what she said.  Good toe point and good lines.  I don't think these two look nearly as good at Delobel and Schoenfelder, but they are adorable anyway.  31.37.  Wilson says the end of the dance pattern is weak, and they have immature expression.  I suppose I agree.  Samuelson looks like Catherine O'Hara in Beetlejuice with whatever she's done to paste her hair to her face like that.  31.37 - so that seems kind of low...with a lot of skaters left!

Up close on Meryl/Charlie and Tanith/Ben!  Squeal!  Charlie's wearing his glasses!  Squeal!  Tanith doesn't think they would be here without the belief that they can win.  I have to raise the volume six notches to have any prayer of hearing Meryl Davis - NBC, where is the audio person...they should know how quiet Meryl is by now.  Meryl says they are not in Tanith and Ben's shadow. Ben says he and Tanith have emotion and experience.  Charlie's all....we are the bomb, diggity.  Right now.  hee.  Tanith looks too pretty for me to pay attention.  How is anyone that pretty?  Oh, sorry, the up close ended like twenty seconds ago.

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat (France):  His hips do not move the way he wants them to, I think.  Great expression at the top.  They were fifth at worlds last season.  Tracey says their weakness is unfortunate mishaps.  No whammies!  They are doing well so far.  I like this very much.  Not as much as I liked Delobel and Schoenfelder's, though.  Tracey says there is nothing to draw you in.  I am drawn in by her headband.  OMG Meryl and Charlie next!!! Squeal!  36.13, pretty close to Delobel and Schoenfelder.  These two are in second place for now.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White (USA): I am a bit nervous.  I want these two to do well so they can rock the house the rest of the way.  Tracey says these two use the music like no one else.  I would agree with that this season.  Compulsories are their weakness and they've lost this portion before.  Augh.  Cute opening.  I love them from the start.  They are not soft like Delobel and Schoenfelder but I think the strength works for them here better in this dance.  WOW 41.47!  Now, that's what you call a SCORE. Good for them!  That's quite a lead on Delobel and Schoenfelder.

Domnina and Shabalin (Russia):  Reigning world champions and threats to win the gold medal.  But their programs are a mess!  This is their strength, though.  I like her look here and I like what they are doing.  I might prefer this dance to Davis and White's, which is actually admitting a lot because I don't usually like this team, at all.  But I would only give these two a slight edge; I really liked this dance.  (Don't worry, I'll be back to my old self when the first beats of the original dance start playing).  43.76.  Wow!  Two points is not as close as it seems when you are considering ice dancing.  This is a very good start for them...

Khokhlova and Novitski (Russia):  Psych!  I don't love this team and I don't think they're going to medal, so I'm going to use this time to look at the "Marlie" and "DomShabs" scores.  I do agree with the presentation edge that Domnina and Shabalin got (21.84 to 21.01 for Davis and White), although a 9 for interpretation is quite high for the Russians.  I wouldn't have thought that the grade of execution marks would have been this different (Davis and White got 20.46 overall in technicals to DomShabs's 21.92, that is a huge difference) - I think all that Domnina and Shabalin's strength was in presentation and expression rather than their execution of the steps, but I am no ice dance expert so it matters not what I think and I'm probably wrong.  Oh, well.  Domnina and Shabalin have done what they needed to do - get a large lead in compulsories and hope that no one can catch them despite their inferior original dance and free dance. The cynic in me is pretty sure that either D&S team is going to win this (just because I can't imagine the figure skating world being able to go on if non-Europeans won pairs, men's, AND ice dancing).  And Delobel and Schoenfelder are (I guess) not looking up to the task, tonight, so Domnina and Shabalin it is!  OH BTW, Khokhlova and Novitski scored 37.18, so I guess they were pretty good after all.  HA.

Belbin and Agosto (USA):  Here we go...I'm expecting big things here.  Dramz!  I knew they'd be good at this.  Very sharp on their movements, slightly different from all the styles we've seen before.  I don't want Ben to make that face.  Tracey says strong edges.  Yes, they are being very aggressive.  Tracey thinks this is not easy for them.  I would agree with that.  I still liked Domnina and Shabalin better on this dance.  40.18, ugh.  These are big gaps in the scores.  Not a great score considering the ground they have to make up, and they know it.

Faiella and Scali (Italy): Let's see if they can pull this off - it's their weakness.  They could not overcome Domnina and Shabalin's lead in the compulsories in Europeans.  I hope to God someone can do it here.  Speaking of not looking easy, this does not look easy and it really doesn't flow, for me. 39.88.  Very close for them - I wonder if they are surprised to be ahead of Delobel and Schoenfelder??  I am.  I am also surprised they are that close to the other top pairs.

Sinead Kerr and John Kerr (Great Britain): Maybe not medal contenders, but who doesn't love the Kerrs?  This compulsory does not have too much personality for me.  You just don't see a special quality to pick out like you could for Davis and White or Domnina and Shabalin or Belbin and Agosto.  Can't wait to see them in the original dance and free dance.  37.02 - not too shabby!

Virtue and Moir (Canada):  Listen to those cheers!  They already look the best out of all the pairs tonight and they haven't started skating.  Such passion right off the bat, and both partners are equally bringing it, which I have not seen much of tonight.  Loving this.  My new favorite dance of the night...Every move is just gorgeous and flowing and looks easy but also difficult if that makes sense. I will stop gushing.  42.74, second place.  I would have picked them for first tonight.  But the strengths of pairs two through four will hopefully come out even more in the original dance and free dance.

The competition continues on Sunday night with the Original Dance!

I am not as adept at deciphering ice dancing technique as I am at singles and pairs skating. So I am going to point you toward this wonderful page at Ice-Dance.com which explains the Tango Romantica, which is the compulsory dance that was drawn for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The compulsories open the ice dancing competition tonight, airing at 8pm eastern on NBC. Competition continues on Sunday with the original dance and concludes on Monday with the free dance.

The ice dancing event should be competitive here and unpredictable. There are three North American teams who are legitimate contenders for the gold medal - but no North American team has ever won the event. Additionally, we haven't seen one of the major contender pairs (Delobel and Schoenfelder) compete in over a year, so there is definitely an element of surprise there.

I'm not going to make official predictions but I have a feeling Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will medal here. They are a fabulous and technically proficient couple, without a doubt one of the top three pairs, and they are Canada's best medal chance at these Olympics (sorry, Joannie!).

I think that leaves at least one of the major American teams out. But which will it be? Here are the six teams I think have the best chances to medal here. Listen for when the commentators talk about "deep edges" tonight, that's a sacred ice dancing compliment. Another major difference is the levels that the judges assign to the moves - the tiniest flaw or adjustment can mean the different between a level three move and a level four move. The judges are also looking for great presentation by the pairs...so everyone better bring the drama tonight!

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, USA: Four years ago, they won the silver medal in Torino. They were fun and crowd-pleasing and we all thought they would surely win some world championships with the retirement of several top pairs. However, they just have not been able to get it done. They were left off the world championship podium completely in 2008 (after a fluke fall by Belbin), but they did rebound last season to win the silver behind Russians Domnina and Shabalin. But they have had some troubles this season. They have two very good (if not great) programs, but they have not been scoring as high as Virtue and Moir and Davis and White. Their presentation is not as fresh as it used to be. And they were fairly easily beaten by American rivals Davis and White at the recent nationals.

The programs: Belbin and Agosto have improved in their compulsory dances over the years. However, from what I can tell, they haven't competed the Tango Romantica this season, which may not matter. I think their Moldavian folk (original) dance is very fun - but there were some speed issues on the steps at Nationals. It will likely be outshined by Davis and White's Indian dance and Virtue and Moir's Flamenco. Ave Maria is their free dance. This is their strongest dance, for me. It's definitely improved since they first unveiled it, and of course this pair knows how to perform the heck out of it. It's difficult and I think it will likely be one of the top dances of the night. Again, I think it might be shadowed by Davis and White, Virtue and Moir, and even Delobel and Schoenfelder.

Medal outlook: Like I said, at least one North American team is likely to be left in the cold (if not all three). And judging from the results this season, and even my own opinion of the dances, it might be Belbin and Agosto. I personally think that this pair's Olympic experience will be a great benefit to them, though. They don't often make big mistakes (although they do lose levels here and there). At the 2009 world championships, they lost due to a lower level of twizzle than the champions, Domnina and Shabalin, so they will have to watch every single move. This will likely be a close competition.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White, USA: Davis and White have the momentum coming into this competition. Not only have they beaten their contry rivals recently at the US Nationals, but they also beat Canada's Virtue and Moir at December's Grand Prix Final. Their programs are all well-received. The only thing I'm worried about is that they don't have Olympic experience and they've never medaled at worlds. I can see them making a mistake here or there as well, but I really hope not!

The Programs: Davis and White have skated the Tango Romantica this season and they have done well. They have the best original dance of the year (an Indian dance), in my opinion. I absolutely love it, and it's a YouTube sensation. If they skate it clean, it should score big time. Unfortunately, Davis had a twizzle problem at nationals, and she always seems to be about to lose it on the twizzles in this program, for some reason. I am hoping they can keep it all in check so that the program can be appreciated. I admit I don't love the music cuts for their Phantom of the Opera program; I thought they were jarring the first time I heard it. But I do love the program itself, and they were able to move me with overdone music, which is impressive. This should be a very high scoring skate and, at the very least, a crowd pleasing program. It's difficult and they know how to deliver it.

Medal Outlook: It may come down to neatness for Davis and White. They sometimes give points away, and they can't do that here and earn a medal.

Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, France: This team was on a roll. They won the 2008 worlds, then won all of their Grand Prix events the next season and the Grand Prix Final. Then Delobel injured her shoulder and they had to miss worlds last season. And she got pregnant and they missed the Grand Prix season this year. And they refused to compete at the Europeans because the secret of their free dance would get out (or was it because they were not ready? We will never know). This is a great pair, the quality of their skating comes through. She is a joy to watch for me. Although the North Americans have won my heart this season, I can see this team coming in despite their long break and skating to the gold.

The Programs: This team hasn't skated Tango Romantica in years. And I haven't seen either their can can original dance or their free dance to a French version of The Impossible Dream. I am really not sure what kind of shape they're in and they may be rusty but it doesn't sound like it. If they can come out and skate like they've never been gone, I will be duly impressed with them.

Medal Outlook: I know the judges love them and they are a great pair, with deep edges and a lot of feeling. I expect that barring any major disasters, they will score very high and are a good bet for a medal.

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, Russia: Domnina and Shabalin are the reigning world champions. I would say that they are not my cup of tea, although I can objectively see that they belong with the top pairs. They finished ninth at the last Olympics, but they have been plagued with injuries over the years, which is why they missed this entire Grand Prix season and have not competed against the North American teams. They finally broke out last season and won the world championships for the first time. At Europeans this season, they won the competition on the basis of their big compulsories lead, although they lost the other portions of the competition. The

Programs: Aside from Tango Romantica, I don't think their dances are particularly strong this season. Their original dance has been criticized as derogatory to Aboriginal people it's supposed to be honoring, and they had to scrap the costumes because they were deemed offensive and were drawing too many complaints. Costumes or not, it's not a good dance. I assume the injury has made it difficult to perfect their dances. I didn't think their free dance touched the ones we saw by the North Americans.

Medal Outlook: I almost expect them to win, but mainly because they are the reigning world champions. Their skating does not appear up to their normal levels.

Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali, Italy: This is a pair of veterans. This will be their third Olympics, and they have never cracked the top ten. They have also never won a world medal, but they recently outscored world champs Domnina and Shabalin in two portions of the European championships competition, so who knows what is going to happen. They have a reputation as story-tellers. They are super dramatic and I think they just don't always get the job done technically. For example, recent mistakes in the compulsories at Europeans may have cost them the title. However, they should take confidence from the fact that they beat the reigning world champions, Domnina and Shabalin, in both the original dance and the free dance at the Europeans. The Programs: They made mistakes on Tango Romantica at Europeans, which may have cost them the gold. Although they won the original dance and free dance portions of the competition, their programs are not among the tops for me. If they perform them flawlessly and with emotion, though, they may score well here.

Medal outlook: I think the odds aren't good, but perhaps they could sneak onto the podium if both D&S teams are hampered by their lack of recent experience and nagging injuries. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada: Virtue and Moir are a beautiful, beautiful and technically proficient team, with such a deep connection. They have quickly jumped into the top level of ice dancing and have already medaled twice at the world championships. They train with Meryl Davis and Charlie White. The Pacific Coliseum is going to be CRAZY when these two take the ice.

The Programs: They are solid at Tango Romantica but they really get me with their Flamenco original dance and their free dance to Mahler. The original dance is so difficult and so interesting to me. They've had some slipups on it in competition this season so hopefully they won't repeat that here. Their free dance is very understated but the lifts are so amazing that you will literally have to go back and watch them in slow motion. Medal Outlook: They are the only team here to have medaled in the last two world championships, and they are the home team. It looks good for them. But, can they beat Davis and White? Watch out for: France's Pechalat and Bourzat, Italy's Cappellini and Lanotte, Russia's Khokhlova and Novitski, and Americans Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates. Samuelson and Bates are not expected to medal but this will be a good experience for them as they try to move up internationally.

I'll be updating as the competition unfolds; feel free to post your thoughts in the comments as we watch the men skate!

Florent Amodio (France, Music:  Munich soundtrack):  I've seen him do this short program just beautifully.  Nice triple axel...triple lutz, great, and triple salchow/triple toe.  Perfect!  What a nice start.  I love his skating quality in this program.  Look at how much he gets into it.  Nice spins. 75.35, that is a really nice score for Amodio.  Wow.  This will be a high scoring Olympics.  Well-deserved personal best.  I feel bad not having profiled him, I knew he could do this in the short but I wasn't sure he'd contend for a medal.  I guess we'll see if I was wrong!

Viktor Pfeifer (Austria, Music:  Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven):  Nice tano lutz!  Triple axel he hung onto.  Good triple flip.  His skating lacks energy for me.  He shares a coach with Ashley Wagner.  60.88, nowhere near Amodio's big score.

Vaughan Chipeur (Canada, Music: Come on Baby by J. Satriani):  Oh, Chipeur.  Glittery man.  He has quite a hand from the crowd.  Darn it, bad landing on the triple axel.  Chipeur cannot control his jumps, so much energy.  nice triple flip/triple toe, and triple lutz.  These spins are fine.  He doesn't quite have the abilities to connect with the audience...oh crap he screwed up that footwork. It was choreographed by Kurt Browning.  Next up - The King.  57.22 for Chipeur, ugh.

Evgeny Plushenko (Russia, Music: Concierto de Aranjuez):  Crazy hair?  Check.  NBC is going with "Yevgeny."  Some people are really into him in the crowd, lots of screaming.  He'll start when he's ready, dammit!  Quad toe/triple toe.  No speed necessary, he can land it in his sleep.  triple axel into footwork?  Child's play.  Triple lutz...little weird on the landing (but was never in doubt).  Very slow camel but the rest of the spins here are good.  Here comes the crazy arm waving.  He is making faces to the judges.  I don' t like this end footwork, I think it is kind of slow, but the spins are good.   I'm pretty sure we just saw the highest scoring short program of the games, if not a new record.  That's my guess.  This man is the real deal, he will not be denied.  90.85.  Yes, a big score.  But not a personal best or a record.  And I will point out that his "transitions" score was a point to two points lower than his other program components.  heh.  Button is on now, haha points out the "arms are flying all over the place."  Button doesn't like it. 

Daisuke Takahashi (Japan, Music:  Eye by Coba):  Oh, snazzy new outift.  Also, Daisuke, you still haven't answered my emails asking who waxes your eyebrows.  Stop holding out on me!  Ugh, now I am nervous.  Of course Plushy is in the crowd.  Whether he skates clean or not, this was quite a comeback for Dice-K.  ACK SO SCARED on that triple flip but he held on.  YES triple axel.  Here are some transitions.  BAM triple lutz.   YAYYYY.!!!!  Here he sells it.  The footwork is as scary as the jumps because it looks so hard. This has to be the most difficult footwork here (sorry, Patrick and Stephane). I HEART DAISUKE.  His triple flip may not have been picture perfect but everything else was so lovely.  90.25!!!!!  SEcond place, but he is sooo close.  Wow. Transitions were higher than Plushy's.  I will not lie...I just screamed and clapped in my living room when I saw the score.

Stephane Lambiel (Switzerland, Music:  William Tell Overture):  I'm excited for this - the crowd will surely get into it.  Aw, so cute as the flag-bearer.  hate those nagging groin injuries.  This is an ambitious program.  Double axel...nice but so easy.  Loses point potential.  Quad toe - oohh...he really stopped the fall, so I'm impressed, but then doubled the toe off of it.  Augh.  Finished his last triple fine though.  Hopefully he rack up the points with the rest of this program.  Great spins of course.  ANd this footwork is so fun.  Another perfect spin from Lambiel.  84.63.  Still a very very good score...there's still a chance for him.  That score is a little bit high for me.

Nobunari Oda (Japan, Music:  Totentantz):  Triple axel, done.  Triple/triple combo,done.  Very difficult entrance into final jump, perfect.  Wow.  Sell it, Oda!  Good footwork here.  He is starting to look a little slow?  His personality comes out a lot more in the free skate and I can't wait!  Good spins, some positions we haven't seen much of.  I think he might be around Lambiel range.  oh, I was right - 84.85.

NBC's Patrick Chan up close and personal thought:  He is much more adorable to hear talk on tv than he is in print articles. 

Brian Joubert (France, Music:  Rise by Safri Duo):  Joubert has reportedly been skating really well in practice, so we'll see if he can deliver.  I have a feeling his components will hold him back tonight.  He's coming  back from a foot injury and surgery from December.  Oh, the pelvic thrusts.  My eyes!  Quad toe/triple toe - turned out of it and didn't do the combo.  Not good.  Triple axel - much better.  Augh complete disaster on the triple lutz.  That's really sad, I don't know if he can make it back from all these mistakes.  Let's see if he can finish strong on this footwork.  He's doing a good job with it but he's just kind of subdued.  Whoa, what was that running?  I must have blocked that out if he's done it before.  Anyway, what a downer for him.  68.00 in tenth place.  Not a chance, that is completely devastating.

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan, Music:  Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix):  I love his skating, but not this program.  NICE triple lutz/triple toe.  Argh, ugly landing on the triple axel.  Spins are ok.  It's hard to watch people spin after Lambiel has gone.  Nice triple flip!  Like the end spins better.  Footwork looks difficult, crowd is loving him!  He did really well, not perfect, but great.  Go Japan.  79.59.  Fifth place.

Samuel Contesti (Italy, Music: Wish Me Well by Whammer Jammer) I love these overalls.  You are ridiculous, Samuel! In a good way.  Just ok triple lutz/triple toe.  Here comes triple axel - wow he saved it.  Not pretty but landed.  auhhhhh he falls on the triple flip.  That was kind of threatening to happen with the other jumps.  But he's so cute in this program with the footwork and interacting with the crowd.  70.60

Patrick Chan (Canada, Music: Tango de los Exilados):  watch out, here is Canada's big gold medal hope.  The crowd will go WILD.  OMG talking about Chan's not needing a quad - DRINK!  Ergh turned out of triple axel like usual...I wonder if he'll lose points on Grade of execution.  Nice triple/triple combo.  Good triple flip.  well, here comes the awesome Chan footwork - he is so good at this.  Nice spins.  For some reason he is not winning me over the way Takahashi and Lambiel did.  I would definitely have him in third here because of that landing mistake.  UH OH he just slipped up on the footwork - did the judges catch that?  Also, he followed off the music.  Pang and Tong got dinged for that the other night in the pairs short.  This score should be interesting. Uhoh. 81.12 - not great for him considering the other scores.  He is fifth.  He did get a music deduction.

Johnny Weir (USA, Music: I love you, I hate you):  Rocking the corset as only he can.YES triple/triple combo - made it happen!!!  Come on, Johnny.  Triple axel - YES - was that all the way around?  Whatever, I Don't care, he did it.  Final triple - YES!! YAYY JOHNNY.  Now just work it.  Spin positions are great.  Footwork is so fun.  That's my number three program of the night so far, but I may be biased, heh.   Yeah, Johnny.  Awesome.  82.10.  Wow, the judges just aren't that into him.  That's pretty low for what he just did out there, but he doesn't have the strongest transitions, as Bezic points out.  It's true, I suppose.   Just compare his transitions to Jeremy Abbott's...and you can see the difference.  Still, I thought that was great.  There is speculation that he two-footed a jump.  I'd have to look at it in slo-mo..had no idea that was the case.

Kevin Van der Perren (Belgium, Music:  Night on Bald Mountain): has the skeletor suit in full force.  Ick!  Scott is saying he is a freaky spotter.  Interesting.  Triple axel...not perfect.  Triple lutz/triple toe - well done.  I don't really love to watch this skater.  His components will not be as high as the top guys tonight.  Announcers are explaining why his footwork isn't too hot. 72.90 - season's best.

Tomas Verner (Czech Republic, Music:  Zorba):  This is a cute crowd-pleasing performance.  Watch the quad.  AUGH he popped his quad.  Dang, Tomas@!!!  This program gets less cute when he errs, I admit.  And triple axel FAIL.  This is what he has been doing all year.  Just a disaster.  He held onto the triple lutz, but who cares at this point.  He will not be contending.

Evan Lysacek (USA, Music:  Firebird):  And here comes EVAN!!  He's got hose poofs on the shoulders and odd things on his gloves as usual.  He looks really...serious? Questioning?  Not really sure.  Anyway...here he goes.  YES TRIPLE AXEL.  And it was clean and full three and a half turns.  I think! hee.   Perfect triple/triple combo.  This man is on tonight!!!  triple flip - perfect.  Great footwork here.  So perfectly on the music.  Spins are fast and low.  Look at his face - he looks relieved.  AMAZING performance, my god - the best he's done it all year. And he's done it great all year.  What a moment.  Wow, he is tearing up. This is very emotional.  HE HAS TO be up there.  HOLY CRAP 90.30 - he is in SECOND place!!!  GREAT for him, personal best.  Oh my gosh, I would not have expected it to be this close.  Are the judges changing before our eyes??

Jeremy Abbott (USA, Music:  A Day in the Life):  Combo is clean but he is a little tight.  This program is beyond beautiful.  Triple axel - CRAP WHY DID YOU POP IT ABBOTT?  This is so devastating.  And he doubled his lutz.  Man this is all psyche.  So sad.  And it just makes me so sad to see the rest of this gorgeous gorgeous program.  I can't believe it.  He really does have it all - except maybe the ability to skate on the world's biggest stages.  I am absolutely heartbroken. 69.40.  ugh.

Michal Brezina (Czech Republic, Music: Puttin on the Ritz):  Wow, nice triple axel.  Great triple lutz, perfect triple flip/triple toe.  Wow, he really delivered!  He will just have to work on presentation.  He seems to be great at handling the pressure.  Program is not fabulous but it is cute.  78.80, not bad!

Did anyone expect for the top three guys to be less than a point away from each other?  How meticulous was Lysacek tonight - he really came through on his promise to maximize points.  Despite the various heartbreaks, this was an AMAZING night of skating.  So many amazing performances.