Should skaters go to school? I mean real school.

• Who should play Todd Eldredge in the movies? Todd says Jake Gyllenhaal. I say Tobey Maguire. [courant]

• Greensboro, North Carolina wastes no time and gets their 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships website up. [NorthCarolina2011]

• Robin Cousins does laundry to unwind. To truly relax, he vacuums and dusts. [The Lady]

• Axels, Loops and Spins comes up with a brilliant idea to save figure skating viewership, and it doesn't involve clubbing. [Axels, Loops and Spins]

• Nancy Kerrigan puts it all in perspective. [abcnews]

• Lots of mentoring going on, starting with Dorothy Hamill and Rachael Flatt. [International Figure Skating]

• And continuing with Paul Wylie and Jeremy Abbott. [icenetwork]

• Read Michelle Kwan's blog as the US Public Diplomacy Envoy. [US Department of State]

• Ann Fauver stays in the background but is the force behind synchronized skating. [Portland Press Herald]

• Those flashing blade guards (see right) -- to buy or not to buy? Not! [Ice Mom's Adventures in Figure Skating]

• Fight multiple sclerosis with Melissa Bulanhagui. [National MS Society]

• Should skaters go to school? Can skaters go to school? [Current Skate of Mind]

Robin Cousins, Olympic champion and doodler

Did you know March 7 was National Doodle Day in England? May 8 was National Doodle Day in the U.S. Why the different dates? Anyway, 1980 Olympic champion Robin Cousins donated his doodle (see right) to raise money for two charities: The Neurofibromatosis Association and the British Epilepsy Association.

I wonder what it is about skaters that draws them to art. Canadian great Toller Cranston has been a professional artist for decades now. He currently lives in Mexico and recently entered into an agreement with Artevo to distribute his paintings and prints worldwide. Maybe skaters at the elite level always need to express themselves creatively as much as possible, and when the body doesn't quite follow as in the past, they put pen or brush to palette? I'm probably overthinking this -- people just like to doodle!

Clip of the week - Robin Cousins

There are a handful of skaters who remind me of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly on ice, among them John Curry, Kurt Browning, and Robin Cousins.

Robin Cousins, representing Great Britain, was the 1980 Olympic gold medalist, and in the same year won the European Championships and came in second at the World Championships. A highly successful professional career followed and I watched him in many many televised skating shows. What struck me about Robin was his sense of musicality in all his programs. Plus the fact that he was tall for a skater (six feet) also made his spins, jumps, movement on the ice, his line, a little more striking.

In addition to touring, producing many ice shows, and also performing on stage in the West End, Robin was also the technical advisor and skating scene coordinator for the movie The Cutting Edge. Most recently, Robin was a judge on Dancing on Ice in the UK (sort of like the U.S.'s Skating with Celebrities) and will also be involved with the Dancing on Ice Tour in 2008.

Below is the 1985 World Professional Figure Skating Championships with Robin skating and dancing to "Satan Takes a Holiday."