Okay, yeah I know but, it is my passion. The Winter Olympics start in just about five weeks (“36 days to go” as expressed by these totally WEIRD mascots which look like nothing so much as two marshmallows. Go check me on this - www.torino2006.org (the Paralympic ice crystal is far better looking….)

And Nationals are coming up. Starting SATURDAY. Michelle Kwan has withdrawn. But still expects to go to the Olympics.

Okay, those who talk skating with me know I’m not a fan of Kwans. Never have been. She simply has never done it for me. In this case, I’m most vehemently of the opinion that it’s ENOUGH already. MOVE ON and let other skaters have the chance. She’s won Nationals nine times, and that’s not enough, apparently, as she apparently intended to go again this week. There were years when she was clearly the best, and years when I thought the judges had their heads so far up their asses that they should’ve stayed home, giving her higher rankings because she was Michelle Kwan. Several commentators have said that she’s having trouble competing with the new “code of points” a code I think is very good for skating because it tends to mean that you can’t conspire nearly as well as judges did previously, that things like footwork and spins and spirals matter more than they used to. I’ve tried not to be gleeful about this – Kwan has immense skill. I can’t explain my lack of enthusiasm for this skater but in recent years, it’s become real resentment. I think she’s got some ego problems and needs to let go, move on and let other people take their places in the skating line-ups. Alissa Czisny deserves time on the ice. Sasha Cohen – whom I believe HAS outskated Kwan more than once deserves the medal she CAN win (I know, I know, consistency blah blah blah, but she’s the most amazing all-round skater I’ve seen. Ever. Watching how many women are now doing moves that for a time only she was doing says something about her influence on the sport.)

Michelle wants a bye. She’s got a pulled groin muscle but expects that while she can’t skate now, she will be able to by Feb. 21, when the Ladies Short program is scheduled. She was recovering from a September hip injury when this new thing happened. I don’t think she’s been seen in competition all year as I recall, but she’ll be ready for Torino? I imagine she REALLY wants that Olympic gold medal before she retires (for the record, Bronze in 2002, Silver in 1998.) Does anyone think that she can get a gold medal in 2006? Not I. Not with the talent she’ll be facing

So very quickly. Tanith Belbin is a US Citizen. This means that the US actually has a chance for a medal in the-very-boring-sport-of-ice-dance. The ONLY chance by the way. If Ben is healthy. Belbin, a Canadian, got special dispensation as an “alien of extraordinary ability” (pause here for all the comments that comment to mind, giggle) and took the oath on January 1, 2006. I’m never sure how I feel about the whole “changing citizenship” thing, which probably means I don’t give a rap. Everyone is skating with everyone nowadays, coached by who knows, and skating wherever. Russians train in the US but skate for Russia. Americans marry Japanese skaters. Chinese world champs marry Russians and live in China. It’s cute.

I went into a rant today and sent a letter to the editor of the Seattle Times – I doubt it will see the light of day. I’ve had several letters printed over the years, but when they don’t print one, it’s usually because I’ve found fault with a) an icon or b) the newspaper itself. And while Stu and I very much like the writing of Kay McFadden, the tv critic for the paper, I had to take her on when she commented that a new show would probably be hurt next month when it was preempted for the Olympics, or rather due to “tiny girls on ice”. Give me a BREAK. AS I said in my letter “Michelle Kwan is 25. Sasha Cohen is 21. Susan Poykio of Finland is 23, while Irina Slutskaya, the Russian champion was born in 1979; she's not a girl. Julia Sebestyan of Hungary was born in 1981. She's about 5'4" - which is taller than the woman writing this letter. I'm not tiny. Okay, they're short. We get it.”