I’ve been meaning to comment on the recent World Figure Skating Championships in LA but I actually was a little depressed after them. I mean, wait, first I should say that it was awesome that Evan Lysacek won the gold (go, Evan!) and fantastic that the lovely Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto grabbed a medal after being off due to Ben’s injury, but I so wanted Tanith and Ben to win gold, especially after having the chance to interview them in person. Greedy, I know, but still.

But the real source of my melancholy was over the women’s scene…or more specifically Alissa Czisny. I was not expecting Czisny or Rachael Flatt to medal, but I was hoping that Czisny could rise to the challenge so: 1) everyone could see what an amazing skater she is; 2) she wouldn’t leave a lasting impression as a choke artist; and 3) she would place high enough so that the US women would get three spots for the Olympics. (Flatt and Czisny needed a combined placement of at least 13; Flatt held up her end of the bargain skating consistently as usual and placing an amazing 5th at her first World’s, but Czisny melted down during the short, placing 14th, then ending up 11th overall.)

The thing about Czisny that kills me is that she is unbelievably gorgeous when she is on. I hate talking about potential, but it’s true, if she could put together two clean programs, she would be lethal on ice. But she just can’t seem to do that and unfortunately now I’m thinking that her legacy has been solidified as a choke artist. Unless Brian Boitano can work some serious magic over the next year, I just don’t see her being in the mix for the Olympics.

Another thing I wonder about is whether US Figure Skating is regretting having sent Czisny, given that her long program at Nationals was less than stellar, and given that Caroline Zhang might have been a safer option. Off the top of my head I don’t know the rules, but I vaguely recall that they have the latitude to make decisions about who goes to Worlds beyond the Nationals placements. It also would have been kind of mean to bypass the newly minted National champion Czisny, but I can’t help but wonder how things may have worked out had Zhang been sent in Czisny’s place.

It definitely will be interesting to see how things play out now that there are only 2 spots for the Olympics. Rachael Flatt seems like a given at this point, but barring a stunningly consistent season, I think Czisny is out. Otherwise, referring back to my notes from Nationals I think Ashley Wagner looks like a dark horse candidate with Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang also as contenders.

And so what of the talk about Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen (not to mention fellow “veterans” Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes)? As much as I love Kwan, I’m hard pressed to think that she could bring it to the level needed to keep up with the young jumpers but I sure as hell would love to see her make a go of it. Sasha Cohen seems a better chance, although for all I have seen written about Cohen’s comeback, no one seems to mention that she also has struggled in the past with consistency and has had trouble putting two clean programs back to back. Like Czisny, Cohen is a breathtaking skater when she is on, but she had help to get her Olympic silver in 2006. Her long program wasn’t great and I seem to remember reading that she had already changed out of costume because she figured she was out of the running, until other competitors started to flail and fall. And as for Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes, if they are healthy and in top shape, they may be the best of these veteran options; both also have the benefit of international (and Olympic) experience.

This next year will be interesting to see. Best case scenario: all of these wonderfully talented athletes really bring it, and make us impassioned to root for whoever marches to the Olympics with those two coveted spots.

Steve Wozniak probably isn’t long for the Dancing With The Stars world, but I think his amazingly upbeat attitude sends the world a much-needed message.

Living in a world focused on overachievement - where I see parents freaking out over academically rigorous preschools (whatever the hell that means) and drilling their kids with extracurriculars - there was something so pure and refreshing about The Woz’s joy last night. Yes, he’s an uber achiever professionally, but there’s something to be said for the manner in which he is embracing something that clearly does not come naturally or particularly well to him. At one point, in the face of the judges’ criticism, Wozniak said something along the lines of, “How can this feel disappointing? I get to dance with Karina Smirnoff. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

Credit: People.com

That simple statement stopped me in my tracks. Because for as much as I bristle against the overachieving tide and encourage Laurel (and myself!) to try new things for fun – not mired with worries of perfection or what it means for the future – I know that deep down I still have some work to do there. For example, a few weeks ago I had the ridiculously fun opportunity to sit down and interview Olympic figure skaters Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, after which I was invited to hit the ice for their skating clinic.

I did, in fact, have my skates in the car (I’ve only been out a handful of times with Laurel, but we had such a blast that I bought a pair) but I was paralyzed by the prospect of getting on the ice. I rationalized to myself that I didn’t want to cut into the clinic time of the others at the rink, and to some degree that was true, but likely the bigger issue was that I didn’t want to make a complete ass of myself in front of Tanith and Ben. Or that I didn’t want to be the worst skater amidst the (um, 3-6 year old) beginners group.

Undoubtedly, that was my once in a lifetime opportunity to skate with Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto and I missed the fun in the face of fear. It makes my brain hurt thinking about how idiotic that is! But thanks to gleaning wisdom from Steve’s attitude, if provided a similar opportunity (or anything else fun and possibly embarrassing, for that matter) in the future, I won’t hold back.

What a fun month this has been! In addition to interviewing Kimmie Meissner and Salma Hayek, last week I got to sit down in person with Olympic ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.

Tanith and Ben are absolutely lovely - very down to earth. Ben is friendly and laid back, cracking jokes and laughing a lot, and Tanith also is friendly and completely accessible (not to mention ridiculously model beautiful) and definitely is the passionate and opinionated counterpart. I loved that she was completely tell it like it is during the interview (and extremely articulate to boot). This dynamic apparently works well for them on the ice and in interviews; they automatically seemed to take turns in responding to my questions.

You can read the interview transcript at Boston Mamas; meanwhile here are some additional personal photos.

Truly adorable in real life!

With Ben & Tanith. Sadly the pillow collar on my Nordstrom puffer looks very odd in this photo (though I think it looks cool in real life...weird).

Fantastic moment: Tanith overheard the young girl to the left tell her Dad that she hated stretching and Tanith said, "You have to stretch! Let me teach you some of my favorites!" Tanith and Ben immediately led her through a series of stretches.

A collective awww went through the rink when this teeny tiny 3-year-old stepped onto the ice. Tanith worked with the beginners.

Meanwhile, Ben worked with the advanced skaters.

This was a staged media shot, but pretty cute to see everyone doing spirals.

I did have my skates in the car but didn’t end up hitting the ice because this was an ice clinic for people affiliated with the rink and I didn’t want to cut in on their time. At least, that’s what I like to tell myself!