From @icenetwork:  Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek, and Jeremy Abbott have officially been named to the U.S. Olympic team!!!  Congratulations - we have two returning Olympians (Weir and Lysacek) and one newbie (Abbott).  Abbott certainly skated like an Olympian today!

That was such a great finish to the men's event here.  I will try to round up my thoughts on what this all means to the U.S. Olympic chances soon.  Such a heartbreaker for Ryan Bradley - he placed second in the free skate.  What might have been if he had not doubled those jumps in the short program.

Below are the full standings for Pairs:

This was going to be the final two groups but NBC and Icenetwork are conspiring against us so it will just be whomever they decide to show.  These are my thoughts as I watched the skating unfold:

Ryan Bradley:  the commentators love this program...held onto the first quad toe...YES got the next one as well.  This program is really fun.  aaand he doubled his first triple axel.  Very cute footwork but he's not quite at the level of the skaters we'll see later as far as skating qualities.  Beautiful triple flip.  ooh close one on the triple loop.  He really is too adorable.  And such a testament to the strength of the American men that Bradley is not even one of our top three.  Great job, too bad about the triple axel.  He looks like he's saying "bye" to the crowd.  Sad!  He's so fun.  Nice score - 155.34!  Total - 225.97.

Adam Rippon:  Right off the bat you see the beauty of his skating!  Step out of triple axel..but no fall.  He's not really performing this like he can be - doesn't appear to really be connecting with the audience or something.  Maybe it's just me.  Bradley was a tough act to follow.  SOFT KNEES alert! hee.  argh.  Dastardly triple axel.  Tano lutz, perfect.  Rippon Lutz, wow, triple jump combo, simply amazing.  There's a smile!  Good job.  152.16 on the free skate, 225.07 total.  Slightly surprised that he was that close to Ryan Bradley but his components were surely very high.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh:  ouch.  First fall in the top group.  popped the triple flip.  Hopefully he has regrouped now.  Some nice jumps at the end here.  Wow, such concentration going into that triple lutz, but he just looks really tired, as he sits down on the combo.  too bad - but this is still such a big moment for him, to be in the last group at the national championships.  Looking very tired in the footwork.

Evan Lysacek:  OH MAN, darnnnn on that quad fall.  Great combo.  You wouldn't know he fell watching this section of footwork...held onto that triple axel/double toe.  AUGh doubled triple loop.  No good.  great footwork sequence, the rest of the jumps were great.  But there are a lot of points out there.  wow.  Sandra Bezic talked about a box for magic. hahahaha.   154.94 in the free, 238.63 overall.  Wow, that's a really high score...considering he fell and doubled a triple.

Johnny Weir:  Great start here!  COMEON (popped second triple axel).  Triple loop...triple/triple combo but he steps out of the end.  augh...i'm nervous...triple lutz combo, very nice.  Loving the passion here in this footwork. Not great, but I think he'll make the Olympic team.  148.58, 232.09 total.  There's his ticket to Vancouver.

Jeremy Abbott:  AND THERE'S THE QUAD!  Wow, Abbott didn't even have to try that.  Little shaky on the next landing, but he made it.  Triple Axel/Triple toe.  Yes, Scott Hamilton, game over.  Abbott is so intense here.  Another great pass.  Now for the triple jump combo - AMAZING.  And one last jump for good measure.  Thank you, Jeremy Abbott.  175.81, 263.66 total.  OH MY GOD that score was big. 

Podium:

1) Jeremy Abbott

2) Evan Lysacek

3) Johnny Weir

That will surely be the Olympic team as well.  Not quite the cleanest day, but a lot of passion from all the skaters and Jeremy Abbott just did one of the best programs we've seen...amazing!!!!!

The Men's skating is on in 20 minutes!

But, while we're waiting for that, here's some more controversy from last night's pairs selections.  According to the OC Register, Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, who placed in third last night and were denied an Olympic slot, WERE offered a slot at the 2010 world championships over Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig.  Here is what the article says:

The controversy took a further turn when Inoue and Baldwin turned down a spot to compete at the 2010 World Championships. The U.S. Worlds team is critical in part because the combined finish of each country's entrants determine the number of spots a country receives for the next Worlds and in the pre-Olympic year before the Olympic Games.

"You want to use us (at Worlds) to help you save a spot because you don't think the other team (Evora and Ladwig) are good enough to keep that other spot," Baldwin said he told a U.S. Figure Skating official in turning down the Worlds position.

I find it odd that if the selection committee are so behind Evora and Ladwig for the Olympics that they would not also be behind them for the worlds.  Very weird.  I personally think that US Figure Skating made its choice when the judges posted their scores last night.  I mean, as the article explains, Inoue and Baldwin received negative grades of execution on their throw triple axel.  It wasn't the greatest throw triple axel they've ever done, but come on...I would think they deserved the base score for landing it cleanly...it's not like she put a hand down or anything.  I don't mean to take away from Evora and Ladwig's awesome skate, but I can see why Inoue and Baldwin would be frustrated.

Per Icenetwork, Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett and training mates Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig were named to fill the pairs spots on the Olympic figure skating team.  The pairs won the gold and silver medals at today's nationals, respectively.  Both are coached and choreographed by the team of Jim Peterson, Lyndon Johnston, and Alison Smith. 

How great for these two teams - and how exciting.  Congratulations to our future Olympians!!!

Amanda Dobbs and Joseph Jacobsen:  These two train with Meno and Sand and start out in sixth today.  A fairly new pair; how nice it must be for them to be getting national tv coverage..  A single on a side by side (planned double?) jumps.  Great throw triple salchow.  This pair does seem new to this sort of competition but they are skating so well.  They'll surely add some more difficulty as time goes on.  97.34 in the free.

Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski: Fifth place after the short.  yes - land sbs triple salchows.  AH she held onto that throw triple salchow landing.  But a bit wonky on the next side by side jumps.  Turned out on throw triple flip landing, ugh!  This pair is so pretty, they remind you that pairs skating is more than just two people skating next to each other and flinging each other around.  114.31. 

Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker:  ooh, the eyes of intensity.  Let's see.  landed the sbs trip salchows, but kind of screwed up the toe loops.  No fall!  hee.  great twist.  Rockne held onto that double axel.  Great throw triple sal!  Looks like Keauna's eyes of intensity work magic.  Argh, sloppy landing off the lift.  Two-foot landing on throw triple loop.  Good, but definitely some mistakes.  113.18.  Wow - behind Castile and Okolski.  The Olympic selection announcement just got a lot more interesting, although Hamilton just expressed doubt that they could be named to the team.  I'd have to agree...how many sponsors are freaking out right now....

Molly Aaron and Daniyel Cohen:  These two are adorable.  Double twist, sbs doubles nice.  Great throw triple toe.  sbs jumps strike again, but again not a fall.  Erk...crazy ending lift...she kind of falls onto him at the end, but he seemed a bit out of control at the beginning of it.  I think they were tired.  What a great job, though! Someone was talking to me and I missed the score.

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig:  Nice triple twist, triple toes were ok, but the combo was not nice.  Aaand she just fell on the throw triple lutz - sad.  wow, landed that last throw nice.  This lift is sick.  They are really nailing the second half of this program...unfortunately I assume those early errors will hurt them. 115.02 - ACK I may have been wrong!!  They are in first!!!  It was a really great performance.  Three pairs left...

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett:  good twist...nailed those side by side triples.  YES throw triple lutz.  geez they don't quit with the side by side jumping success - so refreshing!  Ridic.  A perfectly clean skate, how often do we see that in pairs?  Vancouver, here you come!!!!  127.29.   No one will come close.

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin:  Still a chance for this team to make another Olympic team.  Can they follow Denney and Barrett?  Of course, he doubles the side by side triple toes.  Throw triple loop.  SHE ACTUALLY LANDED THAT THROW TRIPLE AXEL.  No speed at all - well, that was nice to see.  I know how important that move is for them.  No major errors, and they really did a great job with this program.  Rena is overwhelmed, and I kind of am too!  I think they have a very real shot at making the team.  Sigh...I love skating.  115.41.  oh no they did not.  Wow.  Guess the judges are ready to move on.

Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin:  I'm still kind of reeling from that placement for Inoue and Baldwin but I will shake it off for you readers.  heh.  NICE TWIST.  er, that throw triple sal had just too much for her.  Held onto that side by side triple toe.  Another wacky spin for them.  I don't understand Tom Hammond.  I try not to.  Nice lift.  And there it goes....fall on the throw triple loop.  And she's done - fell on the side by side double axels.  102.74.

So the podium:

1) Denney and Barrett

2) Evora and Ladwig

3) Inoue and Baldwin

The olympic announcement is coming later tonight and I'll blog it.  I didn't think Inoue and Baldwin should be placed after Evora and Ladwig, but now that these are the standings, I would personally give the Olympic spots to the top two teams.  I don't think Inoue and Baldwin are likely enough to medal to warrant leapfrogging them over Evora and Ladwig.  Wow - they have finally broken through onto the nationals program podium and possibly onto the Olympic team.  And Denney and Barrett gave us another  memorable nationals program.  What a great day to watch pairs skating.

I will be honest on this one - I would not have objected to Johnny Weir placing higher in the short program.  Yes, Lysacek's program is more difficult, but I really thought Weir and Abbott had the better performances of the night here.  Still, Weir is so close to Lysacek in points and he's in the third spot, so nothing really to be disappointed about.

Jeremy Abbott was absolutely amazing.  He has a great short program and he really does everything he can with it.  Combine that with clean jumps and great skating qualities (and very difficult jump intros) and you get an 87.85.  Abbott looked very confident. 

Evan Lysacek made a small error by turning out of the landing on his triple axel.  Still, he looks like such a pro out there, almost daring the judges not to score him high.  It's great to watch.  83.69.

Weir was clean and had a great skate.  I did see how he might not have gotten the highest grades of execution on this jumps (although I'm not sure if that's the case as I haven't seen that breakdown) but he really performed this program well.  Way to step up to the pressure.  He got an 83.51.

Adam Rippon landed in fourth place - he had some troubles with his Rippon lutz (which he performs with BOTH hands over his head) and had to double it, but did not fall.  He did, however, fall on his footwork.  His skating is so beautiful and intricate that he managed to get a fairly high score considering his errors.  72.91.

Armin Mahbanoozadeh was absolutely delightful to watch.  He has had juniors success, but not as much success on the senior Grand Prix circuit.  He finds himself in fifth place and in medal contention, with a 72.56.  He is actually competing with a hip contusion and a muscle bruise, so what a valiant skate!

Ryan Bradley started off with a quadruple toe, triple toe.  AMAZING.  And then, in Ryan Bradley style, he doubled the rest of his jumps.  So disappointing.  He wound up with a 70.63.  Substantially far from the top three, but not insurmountable. 

Brandon Mroz put a hand down on his quad toe loop.  Popped his triple axel, just couldn't get enough speed on that spread eagle entrance.  I really like that Mroz is a risk-taker, but the problem with that is that when they don't pay off you are left way off the leaders.  He scored a 64.45, placing him in 10th.

Stephen Carriere wound up way down in 17th place.  No medals for him this season.

The men's free skate is tomorrow afternoon.

The biggest story of the night in pairs was that two-time defending national champions, Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker, landed in 7th place.  And that's pretty disastrous, particularly considering the competition.  It's a beautiful program, but they honestly performed it like they were in practice or something.  She fell on the side by side triple salchow, and then he kind of lost his balance on the footwork, which I'm not sure how much that affected them.  She then fell on the death spiral, which really seemd like such a fluke, so sad.  They had a 52.55.

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett came out and did what is starting to be their trademark, a remarkably clean and confident short program.  It was a great job - in the air the throw triple flip looked like it could go either way, but it was a perfectly clean landing.  It wasn't the most beautiful or technically demanding program, but they nailed it and it was all clean.  They ended up with a 63.01.

Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin were awesome!  They are so soft and smooth; no major errors, although he appeared to maybe have done an extra rotation on the side by side spins.  They had a 62.09.

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig find themselves in podium position, the third place slot.  Ladwig turned out of the side by side triple toe loops, then she put her foot down on their throw.  Not the strongest performance.  But, this is pairs, so, hey!  Third place!  58.76, slightly ahead of Inoue and Baldwin.

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin gambled with their throw triple axel and it didn't quite pay off - she could not hold onto the landing.  Their throw triple twist was terrible, with a complete collision.  Then Baldwin fell out of a spin.  I'll add that their side by side jumps were (clean) double axels, rather than triples.  This pair should thank their lucky stars that they are no lower than fourth.  They wound up with a 57.77.

Castile and Okolski started out beautifully with their triple twist and throw triple salchow (which was a bit forward but looked ok), then blew up the program when he fell on the side by side triple salchow (which she popped anyway). 55.64.

The competition concludes tonight.  It'll be very interesting to see if McLaughlin and Brubaker can come back and make that Olympic team.