FS Worlds Day 5...Sasha is smokin'! Japan is rockin'! And a new era in ice dance.
Yes! Sasha is continuing her great performance so far at Worlds! Amazing, passionate, and determined performance in the ladies' short program. That's one of the best performances of Malaguena I've seen by Sasha. Just by the look on her face you could tell how confident she was. Her intensity on the ice is something to behold, I tell ya. I really like the spins in this program. And the yellow dress is great! She may not have had the triple-triple that some others had, but as they said on CBC, skating is not always about jumps (thank you, finally someone that recognizes this and takes advantage!). She got four 6.0s for presentation! So Sasha stays in 1st place after the short.

What can you say about Michelle Kwan. You just knew she would come back after struggling in qualifying, and what a way to do it. In terms of overall "chills-down-the-spine" factor, I thought Michelle's program resonated with even more passionate expression than Sasha's, particularly in the latter part of the program. Michelle's face after the double axel told us all abouy the focus and intensity of passion that she was feeling as she skated that. Just amazing. However, she had a glitch where her music ran too long, which seemed to cost her a bit...I don't understand how someone could possibly be so incompetent as to screw up Michelle's music! I can't comprehend this situation...So anyway, Michelle's in fourth right now. This sucks because I wanted to see a major Sasha-Michelle duke-out. But you know Michelle will go down swinging: never count her out. Her free skate will be breathtaking! Beautiful costume by the way! Wow.

This was my forst time seeing Miki Ando, and she really is quite good! Great jumper for sure. She doesn't have the performance level of a Cohen or a Kwan though. But an impressive debut for a 16 year old, she sits in 3rd. And Shizuka Arakawa skated very well too, but she had some cheated landings on her jumps. The judges put her ahead of Miki though, into 2nd. I have to say, that Shizuka's Swan Lake costume is terrible! The feathers, the sleeves, ahh...very gaudy. Kind of distracting too. But otherwise, good job by Shizuka-chan!

As for Canadian content, the ubiquitous Jennifer Robinson keeps plugging along. She may not be explosive like Cohen or have the performance level and speed of some other skaters, but she's improved every year at her own pace and has kept working hard, and I admire that. She skates with elegance and grace, and she pretty much nailed down her short program today, besides some minor flaws. As always, her costume is gorgeous. Right now she's in 13th...I think the judges were a tad bit harsh on her :(. And Joannie Rochette skated very well for Canada as well! She also skated clean, and her performance level increases every time I see her. She's a rising star, right now in 9th. Pretty nice dress too. And who else...Julia Sebestyen skated the best I've ever seen her, she's currently 5th. Irina Slutskaya's 7th in her comeback. Ahh, I still don't know what on earth happened to Fumie! She's moved up, now she's 8th, but they haven't shown her or talked about her all week. What a disappointment. I hope they at least show her or mention what happened, tomorrow. And so, I'm pumped for tomorrow's free skate!

As for the free dance...I have to say, I was a little disappointed by this free dance, both in the lack of depth in the field and the lack of coverage (okay, I really just wanted to see Belbin and Agosto). But really, pretty much all the heavyweights from years past have retired, leaving only 2 really good teams and a lot of up and comers and mediocre teams. There's no dance team that really blows me away right now, like Bourne and Kraatz did for so many years. That being said...

Navka and Kostomorov won the gold, they deserved it I guess. Their Pink Panther program was fun and bubbly, even though it wasn't as intricate as D&S or even Dubreil and Lauzon. But really, I am no judge of the technical side of ice dance...Maxim and Albena won silver. They skated great I thought, lots of passion and intensity. Although I wasn't a fan of Maxim's fabric-flying-everywhere costume...But anyway, I always enjoy this team, and I admire their athleticism and technique. They may not be as statuesque and striking and N&K, but they make up for that with amazing programs.

I wasn't particulraly impressed by Grushin and Goncharov, the bronze medallists; I felt like I'd seen that movie before. It was cool to see Winkler and Lohse make it back-to-back medals for Germany. Their program was more fun that Grushin and Goncharov's, despite...interesting costumes. Wing and Lowe are so cute, I love them! I think the judges shaft them because they are lighthearted and carefree instead of moody and dramatic. They finished 11th and Piche and Denis 23rd. Congrats to both! Ahh I think Dubreil and Lauzon were great! They have great choreography, I have annoyed to see them only in 8th. Once again I don't understand ice dance judging. And boy was I ever disappointed when CBC didn't show Belbin and Agosto! I will have to try and catch that on ABC tomorrow...In the meantime, I'm gearing up for an exciting ladies' free! Go Sasha!

In hockey...The Giants are up 3-1 in the series over the Blazers, wow. They can close it out on home ice tomorrow. And the Nucks take on Dallas tomorrow in a fourth place showdown. Luckily the ladies' free is in the morning. Big day tomorrow, should be good! (ahh I hope! *knock on wood!*) Okay, gonna go enter the Sasha wallpaper contest...Go Canucks Go!