GreatLakesGal

I think it was terrific PR for him, PR that could potentially affect the judging. After months of dead silence, it was critical that he finally let everyone know what had been happening with him--what his "story" was for this Olympics. And I thought he did an excellent job.

Are we absolutely certain that Yuzu's Pooh tissue box is not hidden under that strawberry shortcake? Because that would explain Brian's careful handling of it.

I must say that he certainly does look and sound confident. His demeanor seems very different than what it was at the beginning of the season at the Autumn Classic when he wasn't 100%.

I've wondered about that. Because if I were him, that's exactly what I would want to do. He's skating's rockstar and I'm sure he can afford it---although it's possible he wouldn't even have to pick up the tab for it himself.

I've just been to several other forums and, for someone who didn't skate last night, our guy is certainly getting a lot of attention. Thank goodness he's used to it because, when he finally makes it to Korea, both the fans and the media are likely to go a little crazy over him.

Please, please be right about this, Jack.

I loved that too. Badass Yuzu is also my favorite Yuzu and the version of himself that I hope he brings to Korea next week.

This thought had crossed my mind---but I dismissed it as wishful thinking. I hope you're right!

In thinking about it, I'm guessing that what Brian meant is that despite having to wait so long to resume training, Yuzu has been able to successfully land all his jumps now (except for the 4 lutz) and will be competitive enough to seriously compete for gold.

"It's surprising how well he has trained." What an odd thing for a coach to say about his student.

That's what I'm hoping he'll do. And you know he'll always give every performance his absolute best.

Thanks to Vera Wang, Nathan will always be "zipper boy" to me.

Of course it's not the the best of news. The best news would be that he never got injured in the first place. But what if he did the team event and didn't do well and Shoma and/or Nathan did? That would certainly give those two a massive advantage going into the individual event. If he doesn't compete at all, no one will have a clue what to expect---and that could be a major advantage for him. I'm also concerned that Yuzu's body may not be healthy enough to compete in two separate competitions. Actually, being a pessimist by nature (and also a medical person), I'm concerned his body may not even be healthy enough to compete in one. We'll just have to wait and see. Whatever happens, it won't change my opinion that he's the greatest male figure skater of all time.

I think you're right and I'm not at all surprised by this decision. He would lose too much precious training time to do the team event. He also would increase his risk of getting one of those nasty flu viruses. I'm actually feeling relieved about this.

Those frames do not suit him at all. He looks geeky but not cute geeky. Asian actors are often costumed like this for American TV shows when they are cast as villains. Amazing how he can vary his appearance so much. Maybe he should consider an acting career.

Off topic but just had to say to CupidsBow: I love those huge glasses Yuzu is wearing in the Gif you have on your posts. I think they look adorable on him and I smile every time I see one of your comments.

Impossible to know. My concern is that there have been no updates on his condition, not even very general ones like "his training is going well."

was my reaction.

Doesn't TCC always hold mock competitions prior to Worlds? Where they go to an actual arena with an actual audience? I know Yuzu hasn't participated in these in the past but doing so this year would give him a chance to get the feel of competing again.

I wonder who that veteran North American mentor that Brian spoke to was--Frank Carroll maybe? If it was Carroll, I wouldn't have told him anything either after that comment he made for that NYT article about Yuzu. (Actually, I would have told him something but it wouldn't have been very nice. )

Eteri certainly does like to be the center of attention, doesn't she?

Those red and gray "uniforms" look so familiar and dated to me. So I did a search and apparently those tracksuits are coming back into style again. (Yuck!)

I'm thinking that he will go into the Olympics absolutely pissed that all his plans were derailed by injury. And I'm hoping that anger will override his nerves and cause him to deliver some great performances--just like he did with that Helsinki FS. This is all assuming, of course, that his injuries have healed and that he has had sufficient time to train.

Where did you guys get the idea that Phil Hersh doesn't like Yuzu? I've never had that impression. He's said some wonderful things about him over the years. Unlike hack Christine Brennan, Phil's done a good job of covering figure skating. As an American journalist, he's been pretty much alone in doing that here.

I think most American fans would rather watch Starr than Ashley or Ross. Apparently she really lit up that arena in San Jose.