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Feb 09, 2010

Figure Skating in Harlem prepares for annual ice show honoring Michael Jackson

Figure Skating in Harlem
This past weekend I stopped by Lasker Rink in Central Park for Figure Skating in Harlem's 13th annual Soul on Ice Winter Skating Party. Figure Skating in Harlem is a program in NYC that combines skating with academics for young girls in the Harlem community. Sharon Cohen is the founder and she and her staff have done an amazing job over the years of teaching skating, the values that come with skating, such as hard Complete coverage of Figure Skating in Harlem work, discipline, responsibility and pride, and the importance of doing well in school to get anywhere in life. Saturday's event was a combination of fundraiser (the parents association raised $40,000!) and a sneak preview of their ice show which is scheduled for Saturday, March 20. Over 800   guests were treated to a performance of Michael Jackson's FSH_Michael_Jackson Earth Song (see photo above) and his music will be headlining the recital. Last year's show was a tribute to  Hollywood movies and it was soooo great! (Watch recital here.) I can't wait to see the girls skate to Michael Jackson songs in full costume!

Important dates:

  • Saturday, March 20: Figure Skating in Harlem's annual ice recital at Sky Rink in Chelsea Piers, NYC. This year's theme will be a tribute to Michael Jackson.
  • Monday, April 5: Figure Skating in Harlem's benefit fundraiser called Skating with the Stars. The all-star lineup includes Evan Lysacek and Dorothy Hamill, who have been long-time supporters of the program.

Feb 08, 2010

Ice acrobats Bert Cording and Oleksiy Polishchuk thrill audiences with death-defying tricks

Ice acrobats Bert Cording and Oleksiy Polishchuk The pairs competition at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics begins on Sunday, February 14 -- Valentine's Day! (See complete figure skating schedule here.) Get ready for high flying triple twists, throw triple, even quadruples, and other heart-pounding tricks that make it exciting and also unbelievably dangerous. The New York Times even did a story about the morbid attraction of figure skating crashes on Youtube.

And let's hope that that the International Skating Union (ISU) never approves tricks done by ice acrobats Bert Cording and Oleksiy Polishchuk (see right). What they do should only be done by...them. The duo recently performed at an ice benefit last year called Skate for Knowledge in Little Falls, New Jersey. Every time they went for a trick, I had to cover my face and my videographer commented, "It's a good thing I'm in charge of the camera or you couldn't shoot any of this." Bert, by the way, is a former U.S. pairs competitor (interesting that he's now the one being lifted), and Oleksiy was doing his ice acrobatics for a very long time with Vladimir Besedin, before he retired from performing. Enjoy everyone!

Note: The benefit also featured Johnny Weir skating his signature Ave Maria number (before Lady GaGa's Poker Face took over), Jeremy Abbott debuting a new show program Gotta Get Thru This and Israeli ice dancers Sasha and Roman Zaretsky having fun with Hit the Road Jack.)

Feb 07, 2010

What were the greatest moments in sports? Len Berman knows

The Greatest Moments in Sports by Len Berman Do you have a friend who's not that into sports, but who still likes to be an informed person? Then you need to give him or her Len Berman's The Greatest Moments in Sports. The book is being promoted for children and young adults, and I'm certain that they will enjoy the stories, glossy photographs and the accompanying CD that contains the live broadcast audio of some of these moments. But I have tons of adult friends, some of them skating friends, who are like me -- not that much into baseball, basketball, football, hockey, etc. unless it's the playoffs -- but who has a real appreciation of The Athlete. And who is also interested in knowing about the athlete's, or team's, accomplishments in context of the particular sport's history. At least that's what I'm interested in and why I found the book so engaging.

Len is an Emmy award-winning veteran sportscaster and I used to watch him for decades on my local NBC news station. I was never a sports person and would turn to a different channel on other stations when the sports guy came on talking about this homerun, this touchdown, this trade, so seriously delivered. But I actually tuned in to Len because for some reason, maybe it's the way he told it, it wasn't tedious and he invited us to his world with a wink and a smile. He has a way of telling a story and maybe that was his gift 

Len chose Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps as the opening chapter of The Greatest Moments in Sports. He then goes through the '69 Miracle Mets (and after reading that chapter, that was a miracle), covers Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky, soccer player Brandi Chastain and many others, and ends with what he considers to be the greatest moment in sports. With the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics just around the corner, I couldn't pass up the chance to ask Len about his experience covering two Winter Olympics -- 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah and 2006 in Torino, Italy. 

What is the hardest part about covering the Olympics as a journalist?
 
LB: You can only be one place at once. If the big story is breaking at figure skating, and you're at luge you Len Berman, author of The Greatest Moments in Sports better hope that a colleague is covering for you. The logistics can be tricky. Buses to venues, and then  lines as you have to go through security. Having said that, there's something special being there in person. But if you're expected to cover the entire scope of the games, you just have to hope you're at the right place at the right time.

Although figure skating did not make it into the book, if you had to choose, what is the standout moment in your mind in the world of figure skating, other than the Nancy-Tonya scandal? 
 
LB: Personally for me, I loved the Sarah Hughes story. As her opposition kept tripping up in Salt Lake in 2002, my producer and I were saying to each other, "Wow, maybe she has a chance for a medal." Then it became, "Can she actually win this thing?" That scene with her coach Robin Wagner when she found out she had won the gold medal is priceless. Of course I'm a little biased -- I have gotten to know her family. They are tremendous people.

Of all the sports covered in your book, baseball, swimming, hockey, tennis, golf, boxing, soccer, etc. what would you say is different about the crowds at these different events? 
 
LB: Now that's a great question which I've never been asked before. Clearly crowds are very different. Super Bowl crowds are more corporate, less rowdy. The cost of tickets/transportation has a lot to do with that. The most passionate are probably soccer crowds (other than America). The singing (and unfortunately at times) the drinking is non-stop. Tennis and swimming are clearly more civil than boxing and hockey crowds. And you never go to a figure skating event and hear anyone yell... "throw the bum out!"

Don't forget to sign up for Len's daily top 5 sports moments on his website Len Berman's That's Sports where he brings you his daily dose of sports news. Don't worry - It's fun, informative and not intimidating, and most of all, funny!

Feb 06, 2010

Figure skaters competing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics: Complete list of figure skaters and countries I just love when my friends provide great ideas for posts. Yesterday morning I skated my usual 50 minutes at Rockefeller Rink (it's GREAT first thing in the morning at 8:30 a.m.) and my skating friend asked, "Susan, do you know how many skaters are competing in total?" What a great question! When I sat down and actually counted the number of countries and skaters (from the Vancouver 2010 website), it was quite impressive. There will be 31 countries represented and 150 skaters competing in singles, pairs and ice dance. Want a further breakdown? 30 ladies, 32 men, 25 ice dance teams and 19 pair teams.

I'm always struck by the country that is sending one skater -- what a proud moment for the athlete! Check out the lone skater from North Korea, 23-year-old Song Chol Ri. What's his story? When I saw his name, I immediately thought, "North Korea has a skating program with coaches and choreographers?" Then after some YouTube research, I realized that yes, North Korea has turned out some really fine skaters. Here's a YouTube link to Song Chol Ri's free skate at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, an Olympics qualifying competition, where he finished 11th overall.

The list below is up-to-date as of today so it may change. 

COUNTRY
ATHLETES (AGE)
DISCIPLINE
Australia
Cheltzie Lee (16)
Ladies singles
Austria
Viktor Pfeifer (22)
Men's singles

Miriam Ziegler(15)
Ladies singles
Belgium
Kevin van der Perren
Men's singles

Isabelle Pieman (26)
Ladies singles
Canada
Patrick Chan (19)
Men's singles

Vaughn Chipeur (25)
Men's singles

Cynthia Phaneuf (22)
Ladies singles

Joannie Rochette (24)
Ladies singles

Vanessa Crone (19) and Paul Poirier (18)
Ice Dance

Tessa Virtue (20) and Scott Moir (22)
Ice Dance

Jessica Dube (22) and Bryce Davison (24)
Pairs

Anabelle Langlois (28) and Cody Hay (26)
Pairs
China
Yan Liu (25)
Ladies singles

Xintong Huang (23) and Xun Zheng (22)
Ice Dance

Xue Shen (31) and Hongbo Zhao (36)
Pairs

Qing Pang (30) and Jian Tong (30)
Pairs

Dan Zhang (24) and Hao Zhang (25)
Pairs
Czech Republic
Michal Brezina (19)
Men's singles

Tomas Verner (23)
Men's singles

Kamila Hajkova (22) and David Vincour (25)
Ice Dance
Estonia
Elena Glebova (20)
Ladies singles

Irina Shtork (16) and Taavi Rand (17)
Ice Dance

Maria Sergejeva (17) and Ilja Glebov (22)
Pairs
Finland
Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari (26)
Men's singles

Laura Lepisto (21)
Ladies singles

Kiira Korpi (21)
Ladies singles
France
Florent Amodio (19)
Men's singles

Brian Joubert (25)
Men's singles

Nathalie Pechalat (26) and Fabian Bourzat (29)
Ice Dance

Isabelle Delobel (31) and Olivier Schoenfelder (32)
Ice Dance

Vanessa James (22) and Yannick Bonheur (27)
Pairs
Georgia
Elene Gedevanishvili (20)
Ladies singles

Allison Reed (15) and Otar Japaridze (22)
Ice Dance
Germany
Stefan Lindemann (29)
Men's singles

Sarah Hecken (16)
Ladies singles

Christina Beier (25) and William Beier (27)
Ice Dance

Maylin Hausch (21) and Daniel Wende (25)
Pairs

Aliona Savchenko (26) and Robin Szolkowy (30)
Pairs
Great Britain
Jenna Mccorkell (23)
Ladies singles

Penny Coomes (20) and Nicholas Buckland (20)
Ice Dance

Sinead Kerr (31) and John Kerr (29)
Ice Dance

Stacey Kemp (21) and David King (25)
Pairs
Hungary
Julia Sebestyen (28)
Ladies singles

Zsuzsanna Nagy (23) and Mate Fejes (21)
Ice Dance

Nora Hoffmann (24) and Maxim Zavozin (24)
Ice Dance
Israel
Alexandra Zaretsky (22) and Roman Zaretsky (26)
Ice Dance
Italy
Samuel Contesti (26)
Men's singles

Paolo Bacchini (24)
Men's singles

Carolina Kostner (22)
Ladies singles

Anna Cappellini (22) and Luca LaNotte (24)
Ice Dance

Federica Faiella (29) and Massimo Scali (30)
Ice Dance

Nicole Della Monica (20) and Yannick Kocon (23)
Pairs
Japan
Daisuke Takahashi (23)
Men's singles

Nobunari Oda (22)
Men's singles

Takahiko Kozuka (20)
Men's singles

Mao Asada (19)
Ladies singles

Miki Ando (22)
Ladies singles

Akiko Suzuki (24)
Ladies singles

Cathy Reed (22) and Chris Reed (20)
Ice Dance
Kazakhstan
Abzal Rakimgaliyev (17)
Men's singles

Denis Ten (16)
Men's singles
North Korea
Song Chol Ri (23)
Men's singles
South Korea
Yu-Na Kim (19)
Ladies singles

Min-Jung Kwak (16)
Ladies singles
Poland
Przemyslaw Domanski (23)
Men's singles

Anna Jurkiewicz (25)
Ladies singles

Joanna Sulej (20) and Mateusz Chruscinski (22)
Ladies singles
Romania
Zoltan Kelemen (23)
Men's singles
Russia
Artem Borodulin (20)
Men's singles

Evgeni Plushenko (27)
Men's singles

Alena Leonova (19)
Ladies singles

Ksenia Makarova (17)
Ladies singles

Ekaterina Bobrova (19) and Dmitri Soloviev (20)
Ice Dance

Oksana Domnina (25) and Maxim Shabalin (28)
Ice Dance

Jana Khokhlova (24) and Sergei Novitski (28)
Ice Dance

Vera Bazarova (17) and Yuriy Larionov (23)
Pairs

Yuko Kavaguti (28) and Alexander Smirnov (25)
Pairs

Maria Mukhortova (24) and Maksim Trankov (26)
Pairs
Slovenia
Gregor Urbas (27)
Men's singles

Teodora Postic (25)
Men's singles
Slovakia
Ivana Reitmayerova (17)
Ladies singles
Spain
Javier Fernandez (18)
Men's singles

Sonia Lafuente (18)
Ladies singles
Sweden
Adrian Schultheiss (21)
Men's singles
Switzerland
Stephane Lambiel (24)
Men's singles

Sarah Meier (25)
Ladies singles

Anais Morand (16) and Antoine Dorsaz (20)
Pairs
Turkey
Tugba Karademir (24)
Ladies singles
Ukraine
Anton Kovalevski (24)
Men's singles

Alla Beknazarova (25) and Vladimir Zuev (24)
Ice Dance

Anna Zadorozhniuk (25) and Sergei Verbillo (25)
Ice Dance

Ekaterina Kostenko (25) and Roman Talan (22)
Pairs

Tatiana Volosozhar (23) and Stanislav Morozov (31)
Pairs
United States
Jeremy Abbott (24)
Men's singles

Evan Lysacek (24)
Men's singles

Johnny Weir (25)
Men's singles

Rachael Flatt (17)
Ladies singles

Mirai Nagasu (16)
Ladies singles

Tanith Belbin (25) and Benjamin Agosto (28)
Ice Dance

Meryl Davis (23) and Charlie White (22)
Ice Dance

Emily Samuelson (19) and Evan Bates (20)
Ice Dance

Caydee Denney (16) and Jeremy Barrett (25)
Pairs

Amanda Evora (25) and Mark Ladwig (29)
Pairs
Uzbekistan
Anastasia Gimazetdinova (29)
Ladies singles

Evan Lysacek on The Jay Leno Show: I'm superstitious about urinals

Kudos to Jay Leno for inviting Evan Lysacek to The Jay Leno Show on Thursday. Topics included how he got started in figure skating, his daily training schedule, superstitions before a competition which for Evan means using the same urinal in the bathroom, a comparison to Gene Kelly from Jay, and Evan's obsession with Scrabble. Also in the audience were Kristi Yamaguchi and Mirai Nagasu, so I guess Frank Carroll gave both Evan and Mirai the afternoon off. Evan leaves for Vancouver on Thursday, February 11 and the men's short program begins on Tuesday, February 16.

Feb 05, 2010

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics: NBC and Universal Sports television schedule

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics: NBC and Universal Sports television schedule The figure skating competition at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics begins on Sunday, February 14, with the pairs short program. NBC and Universal Sports are providing live coverage, previews, recaps, in-depth analysis, more recaps, more repeats -- basically, there's no reason why you should miss any of the figure skating coverage. For handy dandy reference,  below is the complete NBC and Universal Sports television schedule for figure skating.

DATE
TIME (ET)
NETWORK
DESCRIPTION
Sat. Feb. 13
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Preview of the figure skating competition.
Sun. Feb. 14
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
In-depth analysis and preview of the pairs competition focusing on pairs short program.
Sun. Feb. 14
7:00 - 11:00 p.m.
NBC
Women's alpine skiing combined; live coverage of pairs short program; and gold medal final of men's luge.
Sun. Feb. 14
11:30 p.m. - midnight
NBC
Recap and analysis from pairs short program; medal ceremonies from speed skating and more.
Mon. Feb. 15
12:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Women's alpine skiing combined; coverage of pairs short program; and gold medal final of men's luge.
Mon. Feb. 15
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
In-depth analysis and preview of the pairs competition focusing on pairs free skate.
Mon. Feb. 15
8:00 p.m. - midnight
NBC
Live coverage of pairs free skate; finals in snowboarding (men's SBX) and speed skating (men's 500m).
Tues. Feb. 16
2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Conclusion of pairs competition; finals in snowboarding (men's SBX) and speed skating (men's 500m).
Tues. Feb. 16
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Recap of pairs competition and preview of men's short program.
Tues. Feb. 16
8:00 p.m. - midnight
NBC
Live coverage of men's short program. Plus, snowboarding and speed skating (women's 500m).
Wed. Feb. 17
2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Men's short program. Plus, snowboarding and speed skating (women's 500m) and alpine skiing (men's super combined).
Wed. Feb. 17
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Recap and analysis of men's short program.
Thurs. Feb. 18
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, including preview of men's free skate.
Thurs. Feb. 18
8:00 p.m. - midnight
NBC
Live coverage of men's free skate; also, women's snowboarding and speed skating (1000m).
Fri. Feb. 19
2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Men's free skate, women's snowboarding and speed skating (1000m).
Fri. Feb. 19
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, focusing on ice dance competition.
Fri. Feb. 19
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
NBC
Cross country skiing airs live. Plus, a recap of men's figure skating.
Fri. Feb. 19
8:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
NBC
Live coverage of Compulsory Dance. Plus, women's skeleton.
Sat. Feb. 20
1:30 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Compulsory Dance and women's skeleton.
Sat. Feb. 20
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, focusing on continuing ice dance competition.
Sun. Feb. 21
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, focusing on continuing ice dance competition.
Sun. Feb. 21
7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
NBC
Live coverage of Original Dance. Also, men's giant slalom.
Mon. Feb. 22
12:30 a.m. - 4:30 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Original Dance and men's giant slalom. Also preview of ladies figure skating.
Mon. Feb. 22
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, focusing on Free Dance tonight.
Mon. Feb. 22
8:00 p.m. - midnight
NBC
Live coverage of Free Dance. Also, freestyle skiing and ski jumping.
Tues. Feb. 23
2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Free Dance, freestyle skiing and ski jumping.
Tues. Feb. 23
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, focusing on ladies event which begins tonight.
Tues. Feb. 23
8:00 p.m. - midnight
NBC
Live coverage of ladies short program. Plus freestyle skiing (women's ski cross qualifying and final), women's bobsled and Nordic combined.
Wed. Feb. 24
12:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
NBC
Recap of the ladies short program. Plus, medal ceremonies for ski cross and speed skating.
Wed. Feb. 24
2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Ladies short program, freestyle skiing (women's ski cross qualifying and final), women's bobsled and Nordic combined.
Wed. Feb. 24
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, including preview of ladies free skate.
Thurs. Feb. 25
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition, including preview of ladies free skate.
Thurs. Feb. 25
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
NBC
Live coverage of cross country's classic events the 4x5K relay. Plus, an exclusive look at ladies free skate.
Thurs. Feb. 25
8:00 p.m. - midnight
NBC
Live coverage of ladies free skate and freestyle skiing.
Fri. Feb. 26
12:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
NBC
Recap of ladies competition and medal ceremony.
Fri. Feb. 26
2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Ladies free skate, women's hockey and freestyle skiing.
Fri. Feb. 26
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Highlights and analysis of figure skating competition.
Sat. Feb. 27
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Universal Sports
Recap of entire figure skating competition.
Sat. Feb. 27
8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
NBC
Champions Exhibition Gala. Plus, alpine skiing (men's slalom), bobsled (four man) and snowboard (men's parallel).
Sun. Feb. 28
1:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m.
NBC
Repeat telecast of: Champions Exhibition Gala. Plus, alpine skiing (men's slalom), bobsled (four man) and snowboard (men's parallel).
Sun. Feb. 28
6:00 a.m. - noon
MSNBC
Figure skating overview.

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