Can I pick ’em or can I pick ’em?
Four years ago, I picked Evan Lysacek to win gold in men’s figure skating in Vancouver, and he did. The moment the new team competition began in Sochi, I knew that Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan would win the men’s gold. He just had the right combination of athleticism and artistry, focus and looseness – even if his free skate was less impressive than his short program.
Still, he was clutch while Patrick Chan of Canada, the three-time world champion, never seemed to lose his deer-caught-in-the-headlights quality. Just as some people seem to inspire confidence, others make you wonder why they can’t consistently come through when it’s all on the line. As NBC commentators Scott Hamilton and Sandra Bezic noted, Hanyu’s flawed free skate left the door open, and yet, Chan failed to walk through. Read more
Read MoreIs there any sport with more drama than figure skating? The men’s short program Thursday may not have been Tonya and Nancy – What is? – but it was emotion-packed. First, Evgeni Plushenko withdrew and then retired. You could see the pain etched on his face as he tried his jumps. I haven’t been his biggest fan, because of the arrogance and defiance he brought to his silver-medal finish at Vancouver, but you’ve got to give the guy credit for leading the Russians to gold in the team competition. He’s a gamer. Still, at 31 and with two back surgeries behind him, Evgeni represents the past.
Right after Plushenko withdrew, the unsteady American Jeremy Abbott crashed on a quadruple jump, but had the presence to get up and finish, the crowd supporting him all the way.
But then came a group of young men with charm, personality and the technical goods… Read more
Read MoreWell, it didn’t take long for the theme of rising to the occasion – or not – to emerge at the Sochi Games with the new team figure skating event. American Jeremy Abbott, whom I’ve rarely seen skate well, turned in a disastrous performance. Canada’s elegant Patrick Chan, the three-time world champion who acknowledged that hometown nerves got to him at the Vancouver Games, skated well but tight. Evgeni Plushenko was, well, Evgeni Plushenko. He’s a big-game skater but loses points in my book for arrogance. (We all remember how he dissed gold medalist Evan Lysacek in Vancouver when Plushenko stepped up to the top of the podium before taking his silver medal place.)
No matter. For me the performance of the first night of team competition belonged to Japan’s Yuzura Hanyu. Read more
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