The best and worst from '09-10

After more than seven long months of thrills, spills and fierce competition, the figure skating season has finally come to a close. From Yu-Na Kim's stunning Olympic victory to Mirai Nagasu's breakthrough, to Domnina & Shabalin's controversial Original Dance, here are the best and worst from 2009-10.

(Left: One of my favorite pictures I took of Mirai Nagasu at the U.S. Championships. Nagasu was most definitely a highlight of the season).

Best Pairs Moments:
Gold-- After back-to-back bronze medals in 2002 and 2006, the Chinese team of Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao finally captured Olympic gold in Vancouver with two stunning programs. Though their free skate wasn't entirely perfect, the duo capped off an illustrious career and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest teams of all time, alongside Russian legends Gordeeva & Grinkov and Rodnina & Zaitsev.

Silver-- Amanda Evora's heartfelt reaction upon learning she and partner Mark Ladwig had earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. The team had spent years hovering around the 4-6 range at Nationals but put it all on the line in Spokane. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that they were able to gain confidence from their U.S. silver medal and earn top-1o finishes at both the Olympics and World Championships.

Bronze--The free skate of China's Qing Pang & Jian Tong at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. They bested Shen and Zhao in that segment with a world-record score of 141.81 points en route to the silver medal overall in their third Olympic appearance.

Worst Pairs Moments:
-- Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker's short program at the U.S. Nationals in January. Two huge mistakes and other small errors took them completely out of contention for the Olympic team, and seeing Keauna cry backstage after was heartbreaking. Here's hoping they come back strong next season!

-- Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov's odd long program to a remix of the "Blue Danube Waltz." The strange, gimmicky choreography and Yuko's mid-program costume transformation didn't help, either.

Best Men's Moments:
Gold-- Jeremy Abbott's flawless free skate at the U.S. Championships. In successfully defending his National title, Jeremy landed 8 perfect triple jumps and one gorgeous quad toe loop. He would go on to defeat (eventual) Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek by more than 25 points en route to a 9th place finish in Vancouver and a 5th place finish at the World Championships in Torino, Italy.

Silver-- Speaking of Evan Lysacek, his emotionally charged Olympic short program was definitely a highlight of the season. The 24-year old American would score a personal best 90.30 points for that segment before coming from behind to defeat defending Olympic champ Evgeni Plushenko of Russia. His victory in Vancouver marked the first time an American man had won Olympic gold since Brian Boitano in 1988.

Bronze-- Japanese star Daisuke Takahashi's comeback from a nearly career-ending injury is the stuff legends are made of. With each competition, he appeared to get stronger and stronger, and capped the season off with Olympic bronze and a World title, the first Japanese man to medal at the Games and win a World Championship. On top of that, his "La Strada" free skate is my favorite men's program of the season, so kudos to Dai.

Worst Men's Moments
-- Plushenko's incessant whining about how he deserved to win the Olympics over Lysacek simply because he landed a quadruple jump and Lysacek did not. News flash, Evgeni: it's not called "figure jumping." Quad or no quad, Evan was far better than you in terms of spins, footwork, choreography, transitions and the triple jumps. Your silver medal is a great achievement, so stop trying to rain on Evan's parade.

-- Elvis Stojko's rants about "manly skating" and "feminine skating." Like Plushenko, perhaps Elvis should brush up on the judging system rules before running his mouth.

-- Johnny Weir's scores at the Olympics. I don't know what the judges were watching, but Johnny was FAR better than Canadian Patrick Chan in Vancouver. The scores did not accurately reflect what happened on the ice, and Weir's near-flawless programs should have put him into 4th place overall, not 6th.

Best Ice Dance Moments
Gold-- The season that Meryl Davis & Charlie White had, winning another U.S. title and becoming the Grand Prix Final champs and World and Olympic silver medalists. They are arguably the most exciting ice dance duo in a long time, and this lift is simply outstanding.

Silver-- Hearing Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (and all of Canada, really) singing "O, Canada" during the medal ceremony in Vancouver. While I'm not Canadian, it was an amazing, goosebump-inducing moment.

Bronze-- The free dance of Kimberly Navarro & Brent Bommentre to U2 and Mary J. Blige's version of "One." There aren't really words to describe this program, except that it incredibly moving to see live and in person at Nationals. This duo will certainly be missed.

Worst Ice Dance Moments
-- The Original Dance of Russian champs Oksana Domnina & Maxim Shabalin. What. Were. They. Thinking?!?! While their intentions were probably good, their "Australian Aboriginal" program came across as extremely offensive to many. Aside from that, the construction of the program was not Olympic-caliber, and Max's declining knee strength and skating skills didn't help either. And those costumes? Oy.

-- Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto's scores at the Olympics. They skated three flawless programs yet still finished 4th behind Domnina/Shabalin. Like Weir's scores in the men's event, the marks for Belbin/Agosto had me scratching my head.

Best Ladies Moments
Gold-- Yu-Na Kim's Olympic gold medal winning free skate was an obvious choice. Never before had she performed such a perfect long program, and to save it for the biggest stage of all is quite remarkable. Along the way, she set another world-record score in the free skate of 150.06, and an overall record of 228.56, more than 23-points ahead of silver medalist Mao Asada of Japan. Whether she decides to continue competing or retire from amateur skating, Kim's legend in the skating world is secure.

Silver-- Mirai Nagasu's breakthrough was another highlight of the 09-10 season for me. After a terrible year in 08-09, Mirai came back in a big way with better jumps, a world-class coach and the joy she exuded when she first burst onto the scene in 2007. Her steady climb this season resulted in a silver medal finish at Nationals, a 4th place finish in her senior international championship debut at the Olympics, and a top-7 finish at Worlds. Her winning short program at the World Championships has set her up beautifully as a serious world contender over the next four years.

Bronze-- Joannie Rochette's heartfelt tribute to her late mother, Therese, at the Olympics in Vancouver. It still amazes me that she was able to compete only two days after her mother's passing, and to win an Olympic bronze medal with the stunning performances that she gave is truly awe-inspiring. Kudos to you, Joannie.

Worst Ladies Moments
-- Mao Asada's meltdown at the Rostelecom Cup in October was not a pretty sight. A 6th place finish in the relatively weak field there meant no Grand Prix Final trip for Asada. The only bright spot in all of this was that perhaps her poor performances motivated her for the rest of the season, as she went on to capture Olympic silver and another World title.

-- The entire ladies free skate event at the World Championships can be summed up in one word: "yikes." Falls, popped jumps, and double-footed landings plagued many of the Worlds best skaters last month in Torino. The fact that Yu-Na Kim was able to win silver despite three huge mistakes in her short program (an under rotated triple flip, a messy layback which ended up not counting, and a near-fall on her spiral sequence) and a fall in her free skate is quite telling. Aside from Nagasu's short program, this is was not a memorable event.

-- Carolina Kostner's Olympic-sized implosion in Vancouver is legendary--and not in a good way. It brought back memories of Laetitia Hubert's "human Zamboni" free skate from the 1992 Olympics where she fell four times. Carolina rebounded somewhat at Worlds with a 6th place finish, but 09-10 seems like a season she hopes to forget.

'Tis the season for Grand Prix Final withdrawals

With the six regular season events all wrapped up, the Grand Prix Final is set to take place next weekend in Tokyo, Japan. The top six point-scorers in each discipline will compete, minus a few exceptions.

Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are out of the dance event after Tanith required emergency oral surgery this week. Though they have received a lot of flack for pulling out of the Final, I don't fault them at all. It can take up to a few weeks to recover from wisdom tooth surgery, and if they can't be at their absolute best, there is no reason why they should compete and risk a poor performance. Their scores this season rank them below Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, as well as U.S. champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White. Hopefully Belbin and Agosto will rework their programs and make sure their levels are up to par so they can compete with their two younger rivals.

Belbin and Agosto's replacements, Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, are also out of the Final, as she has come down with the flu. Canadians Vanessa Crone and Paul Porier, the second alternates, will compete in their place.

France's Brian Joubert is also out of the men's event after suffering a cut on his foot in training. He is replaced by Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic, the silver medalist from the Trophee Eric Bompard event earlier this fall.

Grand Prix Final Competitors:
Men: Nobunari Oda (JPN), Evan Lysacek (USA), Daisuke Takahashi (JPN), Jeremy Abbott (USA), Johnny Weir (USA), Tomas Verner (CZE)
Ladies: Yu-Na Kim (KOR), Miki Ando (JPN), Joannie Rochette (CAN), Alena Leonova (RUS), Ashley Wagner (USA), Akiko Suzuki (JPN)
Pairs: Shen/Zhao (CHN), Savchenko/Szolkowy (GER), Pang/Tong (CHN), Kavaguti/Smirnov (RUS), Mukhortova/Trankov (RUS), Zhang/Zhang (CHN)
Dance: Virtue/Moir (CAN), Davis/White (USA), Pechalat/Bourzat (FRA), Kerr/Kerr (GBR), Cappellini/Lanotte (ITA), Crone/Poirier (CAN)

Lysacek, Flatt looking to rebound at Skate America

After less-than-perfect starts to the season, Americans Evan Lysacek and Rachael Flatt look to rebound this weekend at Skate America, the fifth stop on the 2009-10 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

Lysacek is coming off a silver medal finish at the Cup of China two weeks ago, where he lost to Japan's Nobunari Oda by just over 7 points. While he still scored a respectable 232.17 points there, he also had two jumps downgraded. Nonetheless, the gold medal is his to lose this weekend in Lake Placid, as his main competition will come from the Czech Republic's Tomas Verner, the silver medalist from the Trophee Eric Bompard event a month ago. Lysacek has said that he will not be putting the quad in either of his programs here, instead opting to save it for the U.S. National championships and the Olympic Games later this season.

Flatt also began her season two weeks ago at the Cup of China, though she was only able to manage a disappointing 4th place. A podium finish there was definitely the expectation, and now her chance to make the Grand Prix Final is all but gone (she would need two win this competition to qualify for the Final, which is virtually impossible with World champ Yu-Na Kim in the field). Still, Flatt definitely gets better as the season progresses, and with more time to train her programs and feedback from the judges in China, she is the clear silver-medal favorite.

Other contenders in the men's event include fellow Americans Brandon Mroz and Ryan Bradley, while the United States' Alexe Gilles will battle for bronze with a slew of international competitors like Fumie Suguri, Susanna Poykio and Elene Gedevanishvili.

In pairs, look for China's Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao to claim gold like they did in China two weeks ago, with teammates Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang the front runners for second place. Americans Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker, coming off a bronze medal at the Cup of Russia, will have to contend with both Tatiana Volosozhar and Stanislav Morozov, and Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin for the third spot on the podium.

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto should easily win their second Grand Prix title of the season, and I predict that Russia's Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski will take second, with Italy's Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte winning bronze. Reigning World Junior champs Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein out of Canton, Mich., have a great shot at a top-five finish here after placing 8th at their senior international debut at the Cup of China.

Shen, Zhao hit comeback trail at Cup of China

Finally, a comeback worth getting excited about.

Three-time World pairs champions and two-time Olympic bronze medalists Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China will skate for the first time in 2.5 years tomorrow at the Cup of China, the third stop on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series.

The sentimental favorites of so many in the skating community, Shen and Zhao are looking very strong for so early in the season. In a practice clip from Chinese TV, the pair landed beautiful side-by-side triple toe loops, a soaring triple twist and huge throw triple jumps.

The duo dominated the years leading up to Torino, winning two World titles and nearly every Grand Prix event in which they entered. Before the 2006 Games, however, Zhao suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon. Surgery and rehab followed, but their participation in the Games was in severe jeopardy. In they end, they rallied back from a fifth place finish in the short program there to take the bronze overall, a medal they also won four years prior in Salt Lake City.

The team went undefeated in the 2006-07 season, capping it off with a third World championship and a marriage proposal. They toured with Stars on Ice and performed in numerous shows, but their "unfinished business" with the Olympics has clearly led them back for another shot at the gold medal--and the chance to go out on their own terms.

Though the German team of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy have won the past two World championships, the Olympic gold medal is far from theirs yet. This is figure skating, after all, and anything can happen. If Shen and Zhao can remain healthy throughout the season, I see no reason why they can't be the top team in Vancouver. The top Russian, Canadian and American teams are either inconsistent, relatively new to the international scene, or both. The other two Chinese pairs lack the finesse and experience of Shen and Zhao. I repeat: anything is possible, especially at the Olympics.

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The Cup of China will also feature the season debuts of World champion Evan Lysacek and four-time World medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. Japan's Nobunari Oda could provide some stiff competition for Lysacek, but look for Joannie Rochette of Canada to take gold in the ladies event, with Americans Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu battling it out for the remaining podium spots with Japan's Akiko Suzuki and Italy's Carolina Kostner.