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Did anyone see that Jack Gallagher article about Mai MIhara and the rumours around her illness? I have to admit the thought had crossed my mind that anorexia might be involved, especially after seeing the recent CoA picture and those posted by her other skater friend, but I"m a bit surprised that he's actually written about it because it is rumour and it's still a sensitive topic. But, no matter what it is, the truth is she's been ill and still looks ill... I just hope she can get better...

OMG. I love that statement...I burst out laughing... thank you for adding to my snow storm filled morning, lol!

Who is that?

Mai. I was thinking exactly the same thing... very pretty, but very, very fragile and delicate... her face... I hope she can have a Cinderella season next year, if she's able to skate again... (complete with fairy godmother who can rescue her and wave a magic wand and make her healthy again) Edit: and gosh that's a beautiful back drop...

ahhh, so Yuzu spent time at a hot spring hotel.... hmmm, that makes me very jealous, actually, lol!!! Seriously, good for him. Hopefully he was able to really relax and enjoy some down time.

Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing how much Stephen's grown and how his skating had changed since moving to Raf. I hope it's just growing pains and resulting issues with training and not because of any injury... and not because he's going to compete for somewhere else... (in this day and age my mind always goes there when someone has dual citizenship and then doesn't compete for a while)

Good luck to Vincent. I really hope they address those URs... I hope he'll be able to get ready and in good enough shape for Nats... it's not that far off... Nice to see that the Granite Club is now starting to build its own little group of top international skaters again too. Having Lee there has brought them not only Gabby but Satoko and now Vincent. Good. The more places for top skaters to train, the better.

Not surprised to hear he is in Toronto. I would have been more surprised if he came back after New year's. He has to get that 4a, change his sp, master new layouts, work on stamina for all of that, and try to get that ready for 4cc.... yup, def lots to do. And Jason has Nats, so does Joseph.... serious work going on for these guys.

If I bought new equipment (of high quality and $$) only a few weeks ago and it suddenly broke (and at a major competition at that etc..), I"d be looking for another brand to try out as well...

I would never tell anyone how much I was studying my competitors... I wouldn't want anyone to think they had some sort of mental advantage over me.... and that's what this looks like to me, at first glance. I'd be like *ha, he's obsessing over me!! I can mess with him even more*

who knows... he could've already ninja'd back... but i hope not.

another month of worrying over what the heck he's doing over there at TCC... originally I thought, well, maybe he's home for the holidays (maybe even.... relaxing???LOL) until the New Year... but it would not surprise me if he's heading back soon to tackle the next stage of his ongoing quest for more perfection...

OH wow. I had not read what was going on exactly either... Plush is definitely not afraid to get into it, lol.... what drama. You can always count on Russia to bring the drama.

I was kind of thinking the opposite... I would think Brian would want to go to JNats because Yuzu comes first (from what Brian said last year when he said his first priority in terms of Nats would be Yuzu), it's Yuzu's first Nats in years, and there was all the coach drama at Torino which I am sure everyone wants to squash. And as for Med and RusNats, well, unless you're one of the 3A, or another baby Eteri student, I highly doubt you'll get on the podium no matter how well you skate. But, since Brian said he was going to do both then it doesn't matter. If he doesn't go I can imagine all sorts of alarm bells would be ringing in the fandom, even more than what they did in Italy. And this time, I actually wouldn't blame them, tbh.

During the week the ROM can be very quiet if you pick your time carefully... If this was in Montreal, I'd say the curator was very savvy... knowing what else is happening in Montreal, in March, with a certain Pooh Bear...

Just 17. In any other country she'd be considered an up and comer... if she eventually does officially *retire* (is Adelina still on a break? lol) well, an Olympic and World title are pretty darn good results to rest on. Like Julia and Evgenia, Alina has now graduated from her club... with Med refusing to really graduate *properly* as in, accept retirement gracefully. But, maybe this is all worth it to these young girls? Alina is now set up with a chance at a great income for many years... Med too. So, maybe while it seems to us like it's just a factory producing pre pubescent champions, the fact that they win their titles and then can go on to have lucrative show careers makes their relatively short shelf life worth it? I am not them, or in their shoes, so I have no idea. And 30% she pays to Eteri? Wow.

Are we thinking this could become a permanent break from training? It just seems from watching her that her spirit seems to be dimmed... her coaches seemed kind of relaxed about her and she has a body that is not suitable anymore for certain training methods. Maybe I read too much into it...

Ive wanted this for years....

Simple person that I am, I only thought he was saying they are both American with Chinese ancestry. Facts. My mind just doesn't seem to go towards other reasons other than the obvious.

Beyond the first feelings of shock and horror and disappointment, am I alone in wondering why some men feel the need to send pictures of their parts to females, and even worse, females who are children? I just don't understand. How awful for these girls, and everything they experienced afterwards from adults in positions of trust. I really want to understand what went on here... especially the *why? and how could you?*

Sometimes, in the world of figure skating, if you protest too much about something, there is a backlash against your skater... it is a judged sport, those judging don't want to be criticized very much and can get defensive... and it turns out even worse for your skater. Tthis has gone on since I started watching decades ago... so you have to pick your moments, your words, do it behind the scenes etc... yes, some Feds can get away with bold pronouncements (the big, powerful ones), but not everyone.

I love that quote... and it could very well apply here, lol!

Didn't we see in a recent interview with Brian (either at SC or NHK) where he said that he would be going to J Nats and then he'd get to Rus Nats after that? I remember him saying he was in the process of figuring out how to get to one after the other. And after this brouhaha, especially , I think Brian will definitely want to be at Yuzu's first J Nats in years...

I said no, just because historically he's stayed home either nursing injuries or preparing for the bigger events. And this time he needs all those months to get that 4A and/or build the stamina for the 4lz layout. BUT, if he plans on doing a 4A, and doing more technically, then it makes sense to try it out in competition first to iron out wrinkles.... I would not be surprised if he does go... If he is healthy, I hope he does... the travel for World's is minimal this year, so it's not like he has to worry about time change and too much travel beforehand disrupting his training etc., we'll find out shortly after JNats, I assume. I think they usually announce the 4CC team right after, don't they?

What a tough schedule (jet lag wise) Yuzu has/had... to NHK> back home for a week > Italy GPF > home for a week (assumption) > back to Japan for J Nats and hopefully staying for a bit for the holiday season... the coaches often do it during the GP series, poor Brian... but they don't have to compete!