Faina, I don't remember that incident w/Nichole Bobek. But I do recall 1994 when Nancy Kerrigan was unable to compete in Nationals because of her knee injury. However she was sent to the Olympics anyway, and the person who got bumped was Michelle Kwan. Michelle was the alternate and she would have competed if Nancy had dropped out, of if Tonya Harding had been kicked out. But neither of those things happened, so Michelle Kwan didn't compete that year.

I had mixed emotions about Michele K making the Olympic team this year because she has competed very little this season due to her groin injury. Meanwhile, Emily Hughes had competed well all season long, placing 3rd on the olympic team, only to be bumped. When the committee decided to send Michele I was behind her ready to cheer and I would have loved to see her win though whether she was there or not I believe, unless something goes terribly wrong, Irena Slutskaya or Sasha Cohen will get the gold cd ;-)

Don't forget the Japanese girls, some of them are very good!

Whoever wins, I'll be there to cheer!

Watching the pairs last night was just awesome. The Russian woman reminded me of the ballet with immense additional strength . Her arm movements were exquisite, with all else she was doing technically perfect, that artistic component was at the same level. Her partner doesn't have the upper body strength that some of the other guys demonstrated but his artistic interpretation and flow were almost as good as hers.

The Silver Medal team- well that girl deserves to have her own school after this for the rest of her life, IMHO. The Chinese in training hardly ever return home to their original families. I bet they are tougher than we can imagine.

Their coach's story WAS worth seeing. Could you imagine trying to do that only by seeing still pictures of it.

I too have found out who won a couple of times already without wanting to. You can't turn on the msn or any internet engine without some info coming through.

CBC was highlighting their cross-country skiers -- was in or near the lead in a 2 man sprint -- then the Canadian's ski pole broke -- immediately, a Norwagian coach ran alongside and gave her a new pole. The Norway team was behind the Canadian in the race at that time. This is true sportmanship and demonstration of the Olympic spirit. Examples like this is why I enjoy watching the Olympics and help us forget the nasty ice skating judging scandals of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. I also like the fact, that it is the unexpected -- such as the Downhill gold medalist coming out of nowhere to take it. Bode Miller -- got a wakeup call and let's see if he can respond.

Bode can definitely respond-verbally anyway!

Yes, the Japanese women figure skaters are awesome, too! They are Fumie Suguri and Shizuka Arakawa.

AnnMarie_C, I'm with you .... I think Irina Slutskaya will be hard to beat. She is very good AND the judges have favored her in the past. Can Sasha keep it together and take the gold? I really hope she can but I wouldn't bet big bucks on her. I really like Michelle Kwan... her skating is gorgeous ... I admire her as a person, but I felt her time to win Olympic gold had come and gone; her best skating was done during the years that Lipinski and Sarah Hughes beat her. I don't think Kimmie or Emily have enough experience, or rise to the level of artistry, to medal against the competition; I hope they'll prove me VERY WRONG!

Hope our USA guys skate well tonight!

Men's short results are in. I'm not spoiling a small surprise there!

Oh, well, it's only the short program.

I hate the way they show it on TV: 10 minutes of figure skating, 2 hours of skiing, 10 minutes of figure skating, 2 hours of half-pipe... And the best figure skaters come in after midnight

Thank you, Faina--could not have said it better! The back and forth is driving me crazy and I don't need help in that department! The events lose their momentum and I lose interest. On CNBC, however, less popular events in the States, such as curling, are being shown in their entirety (sp?), seemingly commercial free. Grrrrrh.

Bonnie, is your grand-daughter still skating? Oh, to be 35 years younger--I'm a 43 year old wannabe, lol.

Hey, AnneMarie, maybe we can root for you in the 2010 Olympics!! If you are chosen for the team, I'll buy a ticket to Vancouver and throw flowers on the ice for you.

Ann_Marie, my DGD is eight now, and just skated her first competition a couple of weeks ago, in Boston. Won a silver medal!!! It was basic moves, no music. Now she is starting to skate to music ... something from Harry Potter. It comes to her so naturally ... the teacher uses her to demonstrate! She seeems to be one of those naturally-gifted athletes. (Also a terrific swimmer and skier!) Thanks for asking ... and being the typical Granny, I'm sure I'm telling you WAY MORE than you wanted to know!

P.S. AnnMarie, I say "basic moves", which is what my DGD calls them ... but she's jumping, spiraling, etc. Doesn't look "basic" to her Granny!

Wow, bonniebroad!! Maybe someday we'll see your DGD in the games. I'll throw flowers on the ice for her as well.

Bonnie, that is SO exciting! Congratulations!! I'm at the rink when the 8 year olds +- skate and they are so much fun to watch! Sounds as though DGD is doing really well, good for her! I'll be with P_M throwing flowers for her In the meantime, look for me to compete in the SENIOR Olympics, LOL!

Hey, AnnMarie, I didn't know they have a Senior Olympics. Cool!! I don't like to brag, but I'm a very speedy card shuffler, maybe I can make the US team. [-o< I'm also a classic yodeler, but everyone says yodeling more of an art than a sport. Personally, I disagree.

I agree, P_M! Perhaps we could team up and take our show on the road...I'll skate to your yodeling...things that make you go hmmmmmm ;-)

Wow, as much as I like and admire the U.S. men's skating team I LOVE Pleshanko and he was awesome last night!

P_M,have you ever thought of taking your yodeling to Gruene Hall? We'd come see you and throw flowers at your feet there! OK...next GTG, you know there will have to be a little demonstration. How on earth did you learn to do that?

I was driving along yesterday afternoon listening to NPR and suddenly with no warning, they gave the results of three of the events. What were they thinking? At least warn us before so we can turn the radio down or off!! So...I knew what happened to Bodie before watching, drat them.

OK, we've got a plan for our next SA GTG!!

I also hate it when they spoil the surprise by telling us the results without warning. I remember when Dan Jansen won the gold and they did that. It would have been so exciting to see him win without knowing the results in advance. But next time around the Winter Olympics will be in Vancouver, so we won't have this problem.

We've been watching the biathlon; it's a sport my husband thinks he might like to take up at some point. We've seen a lot of it previously on German tv (Germans LOVE the biathlon). Those rifles are actually fairly heavy and the sport is so demanding the competitors have to eat at least 6000 calories per day to have the energy needed for the course...I would love to participate in a sport where you have to eat 6000 calories a day just to maintain your weight ;-)