US Figure Skating announces World teams

• US Figure Skating announces teams for World Championships in London, Ontario. [US Figure Skating]

• Oksana Baiul sues NBC and Disson Skating for using her name for upcoming shows. [Daily News]

• Ashley Wagner won US Nationals but everyone's talking about Gracie Gold. [Chicago Tribune] [USA Today]

• Poor Rockne Brubaker! Such a great guy who's met with some bad luck. [icenetwork]

• Caitlin Yankowskas confronts the rumors regarding her split with partner John Coughlin. [Aunt Joyce's Ice Cream Stand]

• Four Continents Figure Skating Championships preview -- could be Japanese sweep! Event begins in Osaka, Japan today. [Examiner]

• Johnny and Viktor vacay in Aruba. Johnny tries on his first Speedo. [Binky's Johnny Weir blog]

• Want to see a FREE ice skating show? On February 27 at Rockefeller Rink in NYC, Ice Theatre of New York will put on a 30 minute extravaganza. [Ice Theatre of New York]

• Yu-Na Kim and Michelle Kwan to close out Special Olympics in Korea. [KoreaHerald]

• Evgeni Plushenko to miss World Figure Skating Championships in March. [GlobalPost]

Mao Asada and Yuzuru Hanyu win Japanese National Championships

• Results of 2012 Japanese National Championships. [Examiner]

• Watch Johnny Weir on a cooking reality show. [Binky's Johnny Weir Blog]

• Top 10 noteworthy national champions include Evgeni Plushenko and Michelle Kwan. [CBC Sports]

• Evgeni Plushenko: I'm thrilled to win a medal of any color at 2014 Olympics. [Goldenskate]

• Ashley Wagner skates at Dallas mall rink and advises young skaters to skate for the love, not for the glory. [NBCDFW]

• 12 most memorable moments in 2012. [icenetwork]

• Frogs on ice! (at right) [SFGate]

• TLC's reality show Jersey On Ice gets a .... D- [State of the Skate]

• Japan's Daisuke Takahashi to quit after Sochi. [Yahoo! Sport]

• Podcast with Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. [Aunt Joyce's Ice Cream Stand]

• Ever wonder how show skaters celebrate the holidays? [Ice Charades]

• US Nationals begin January 20 in Omaha, Nebraska. [Official site]

• Tennessee Titans cheerleader has figure skating background. [TitansOnline]

Michelle Kwan engaged!

• Congratulations to Michelle Kwan who recently got engaged to Clay Pell, a fellow State Department employee. [WashingtonPost]

• 3M Canada to provide free Post-Its to all volunteers at 2013 World Championships in Ontario, Canada. [MetroNews]

• Johnny Weir hates Las Vegas, loves Dallas. [DallasVoice]

• Johnny Weir performs secretly for judges...Is is truly ready for competition? [Ice Skating International Online]

• Adam Rippon leaves Jason Dungjen and Yuka Sato in Detroit for Rafael Arutunian in Lake Arrowhead, California. [icenetwork] 

• Coach turns himself into police. [PressRepublican]

• Skate America, the first of six major skating competitions from October to December, begins October 19, in Kent, Washington. Olympic champion Evan Lysacek is scheduled to compete -- tickets on sale now! [USFSA]

• Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi launches fashion line Tsu.ya. [Reuters] 

• Nancy Kerrigan's brother asks judge to go back to jail. [espn]

• Will the US ever have a breakout senior figure skater? [neontommy]

• Took only one hour for Evan Lysacek to decide that he was going for a second Olympic gold medal. [espn]

 

Johnny Weir to skip 2011-2012 season

• Johnny Weir announces he will skip 2011-2012 competitive season to focus on professional career. [Johnny Weir Official Site]

• Johnny Weir: I love a woman in a heel, and a gentleman in a heel. [Daily Caller]

• Japan to host 2014 World Figure Skating Championships. [USA Today]

• Rachael Flatt fined by US Figure Skating for not reporting injury prior to World Championships. [Chicago Tribune]

• Michelle Kwan: role model for the ages. [Chicago Tribune]

• International Skating Union (ISU) allows Evgeny Plushenko to compete again in ISU sanctioned competitions including the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. [ISU]

• Adam Rippon (at right) leaves Ghislain Briand in Toronto to train with Jason Dungjen at the Detroit Skating Club. [US Figure Skating]

• Ryan Bradley, Amanda Evora, Mark Ladwig, Jason Brown, Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukov and others to perform in Lake Placid. [Lake Placid Skater]

• Guess who's in Skating Magazine!?! [Manleywoman Skatecast]

• Ashley Wagner leaves Priscilla Hill in Delaware to train with John Nicks in California. [icenetwork]

• Canada's national figure skating team members Shawn Sawyer, Joey Russell, Adam Johnson and Diane Szmiett announce retirement from amateur skating. [montrealgazette]

Michelle Kwan at 31st Annual Salute to Women in Sports (video)

On Tuesday, October 12, the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) held its 31st Annual Salute to Women in Sports at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in NYC. Figure skating luminaries Michelle Kwan (at right), Yu-Na Kim and Sarah Hughes attended the event, which celebrates the contributions that WSF has made to young girls and women worldwide.

I got to catch up with Michelle on the red carpet and let me tell you, she is one of the most thoughtful and poised people I've ever met. She commands your attention without screaming, "Look at me! Look at me!" and I could totally see her as an ambassador to some country where we desperately need a good representative. Or maybe heading up a committee in the United Nations -- Basically something where she can use her knowledge and personality to bridge the world divide. In the interview above, Michelle talks about aiming high and what that really means, the impact that tennis legend Billie Jean King (founder of WSF) has had on women everywhere and a very special award that Michelle received from Billie Jean.