Recent content by barbk

Oooh...Michael Hopfes of the incredible step sequences...but alas, not of the incredible jumping. OTOH, sometimes coaches who struggled with jumps are the best coaches. I hope so. I really enjoyed his skating. Glad he's still engaged in the sport.

I have very mixed feelings about the acceleration of citizenship for athletes when people going through the regular processing often have to wait weeks or months between passing the test and taking the oath and then waiting again to get a passport.

It will be very interesting to see the men given the questions for that third Olympic spot. I'm thinking that the women's comp may help with 4CC and Worlds-after-Olympics slot discussions.

Lovely routine. I especially like the oozy slink stretch near the start. She showed flexibility with style.

I'm not even sure they CAN change now -- didn't they have to commit to USOC their plan for picking folks?

Once a plane reaches a specific speed for that model/configuration, takeoff is the only option. Additionally, this aircraft was likely at close to max weight given that it was headed for Hawaii, and there are bunches of warehouses right at the end of the runway. A different video shows where the...

I was surprised to see a news story touting a new world champion figure skater from Portugal - https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2025-10-27/madalena-costa-is-world-figure-skating-champion/908147 but it turned out to be roller figure skating. Very cool combo spin beginning at 1:57 with a...

News I never expected to post: LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Skating Union is investigating after two Chinese ice dancers were shown with what appeared to be a toy ballistic missile during a Grand Prix figure skating event. TV footage showed Ren Junfei and Xing Jianing sitting...

Nicole was like Christopher Bowman - she just had an incredible way of engaging the audience.

I was really sad to hear that a whole bunch of folks in the CU Boulder crowd chanted an anti-Mormon slur when they played BYU this past weekend. It was unlikely that it was a super MAGA crowd given Boulder's overall political leaning. Some people were just born in a barn.

What happens to spots that become vacant going forward from countries that qualified but that no longer have athletes that qualify (injury, nationality, break up, NOC won't nominate,...)?

I know a family that emigrated to Spain using the digital nomad visa with the hope of eventual permanent residency. I recently learned that it might be possible to gain Canadian residency because my grandmother was born there, but I don't think I'll pursue that.

If they do well on the GP (better than other possible #2/#3s) and place top three at Nationals, I don't see why they wouldn't be a good choice for the Olympic team. All the other teams have to do is beat them. Seems fair. (And I'll take Fix You over Je Suis Malade any day of the week.)

What is so funny is the meaning of that song, and why any American team would choose it?

I need glasses. Read that as "bullfighting flamingo," and thought, well, Chock can probably pull that off.