And unlike yesterday morning when highlights meant full highlights, today we're back to basics, and according to Simon and Chris we're starting this off partway through group 2 - I've no idea how much we'll miss, but we're starting with Tomas Verner. According to my list, that means that the following have already gone: Sergei Kotov ISR, Zoltan Toth HUN, Juraj Sviatko SVK, Gregor Urbas SLO, Karel Zelenka ITA, Konstantin Tupikov UKR, Silvio Smalun GER and Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari FIN.

Tomas Verner CZE

In black leather trousers and blue tshirt, with squares and triangles of blue on it....he's 16, ddin't go to Malmo, 11th in his q,group..... very big pianoy opening, with steps... axel to begin, long bbuild up and he got it! round he goes down the length of the rink, triple lutz double toe... turning steps into the camel to sit to upright change sit, and losing speed throughout it, getting slower all the time, ... to the boards he goes... striaght line step.. he has a brother who's a junior level skater... steps ok but not too hard... steps unto triple flip and that was shaky on landing I thought....flying back sit.... travel muchly.... steps in a circular step, done in mostly the same rotational direction....sit change sit to finish, again his passport should be needed with that much travel, and he's done. And quite thrilled, big huge smile on his face, arms a pumping madly, and for 16years of age, that was something else...needs to work on hsi spins, perhaps his presentation, but it will come. Chris thinks that we'll see lots of people skating better based on the atmosphere in the place, he says that it's fantastic...oh to be there, but alas I much teach how to turn a fraction into a percentage for the third day this week...sigh.... we see once more the slomo of the spins and the travel therein...

marks and he's not sitting, he's too happy! conducting the crowd to appluase! 4.4-4.9... 4.5-5.0. He leads - and he jumps up and down!

Roman Skorniakov UZB
Cream shirt, high waisted black toursers, matching tie like thing around his neck...and has Tatiana Malinina ever looked better? I'm just saying! She's retired now Simon tells us...Roman was 10th in his group, is 27...music is Jalousie (sp?)....kinda tangoish.... lots of speed to begin...and build up for axcel...yes! triple with triple toe! you go boy! notice how I didn't say I like him? long pause bet jumps, but it all count! steps and lutz with pause before it, but 3turns...sit change sit...nice position on each foot... to the boards and he steps in a tango hold and more steps...nice changes of direction here, good link with music too...turns on his knees.... and 2ax clean... camel to sit to upright change sit, and nice positions again, upright with travel at the end... and stop.. and he's beaming! tango arm position again and he goes into his circ step...again, going in diff directions and he's selling it, and nice interp of the music...huge flying sit... looks fairly well centred...and he's posing...and he's done! and there's tatiana jumping up and down and I may cry! that was so good! there are people standing, and he was excellent! look at that smile! ooooooh! and a big hug from tatiana and he literally lifts her off her feet...oh that is so sweet....what is this water in my eye? chris has ded of .1 for the lutz and pause from steps... but can you take the smiles of either one of them? tatiana his coach now...

marks come on now... 4.6-5.2...not bad for group two hey? 4.7-5.2...and he leads.

Andrejs Vlascenko GER

Who we do not see. Which can mean only one thing.

Stanick Jeannette FRA
In a denim look shirt and pants, showing of the midriff. And I ask myself were those pants stitched onto him. And I further ask, if so, where does one apply for hte job? Disaster in qual we're told, he's 26, and is in 23rd place....Jazz is his music....posey dancey steps to begin, avec waggling of the hips...too many comments to make! flies around the ice...triple axel double toe, loads of speed going in and coming out.... steps into the triple lutz, with kinda scratchy landing, but he makes it ocunt, and he goes into a flying sit with variation, loads of speed the whole way through....to the boards for a strahgt line step that has me drooling, and we get a great shot of just his feet as we go through it...see , iI'm not that shallow really...double axel is clean...sit chgange sit.... does the back spin first, more difficult chris says...steps circular.... so much innovation here, and into camel to sit with variation cahnge sit with travel...to scratch spin, and the speed is something else...and ehs' done. And that was very very good, and you just get the sense that he was having a ball there, and I really enjoyed it too. Second mark is going to be high,and you can really see why... step sequences were great, full of content...

marks 4,5-5.2... 4.9-5.4...he's in first on the night and second overall.

As we look at the standings, Simon confirms my belief that the Germans had a meltdown - apparently, they had a skate off with Vlascenko, Smallun and Stefan Lindemann, and Lindemann didn't make it. (Warning, snotty comment to the German federation ahead!) Betcha you're regretting not letting my beloved go now, aren't you???

Ahem.

Stanislav Timchenko RUS
Who is in a wine coloured blouse and black trousers and is still in need of a haircuit. he also needs to have the floating tassley thing at the back of his costume trimmed. tango is hius music...those trousers are leather looking... and that shirt is so distracting! axel triple with triple toe, dodgy on landing, but gets it... strange entry into it... and around he goes and down the ice... huge triple lutz... flying camel, great position in the spin...and good speed esp on the way out... to the baords he goes...straight line step... great use of edges notes chris... and he goes the length of the ice...and sit, nice and low change sit...great position on the first spin... and turning steps out and around, and down the rink to the double axel.... circular step... again with the great use of th edges.... camel to sit change upright variations...as simon raves about his spins. and he's done. not bad at all says simon, and I've got to say that I didn't notice the time passing...not the magic of a Jeannette, or for me, even a Roman, but I'm sane enough, for now, to say that he might lead over Roman, though not for me obviously! I don't know how against Stanick though...

marks big long pause which is never good! 4.5-5.4... 4.7-5.5...and he is in first overall and on the night.

Gheorge Chiper ROM
His waiter costume, white shirt black trousers, little dickey bow... 24, 15th after qual, red bow tie, I might add! little turns and poses to begin... triple axel is ok, but touches down on double toe... and badly so, not great laning on axel... does the lutz from steps with deep knee on that landing...huge flying sit... posing steps at centre ice... and circular step sequence... which is nicely done I've gotta say... 2ax is picture perfect... into camel to sit change sit to upright and out of that... crossovers and diagonal steps the legnth of the rink.. sit spin...change sit...nice position on both... and upout of that, and he's done right on the music. Not bad at all says Simon, and tech, hands down on the toe notwtihstanding, it was slow along the ice and it didn't have the magic of some things that we've seen. .2 off for the combo.. we see it again now... axel had way deep landing, hard to get the leg back, and he leaned right the way through the toe...

marks 4.4-5.2.... 4.7-5.3 he's in second overall.

Vakhtang Murvanidze GEO

Excuse me while I cheerlead for I love this man and still bitter am I about missing his free from Euros! He's got a haircut and is looking well, even if he is wearing a white blouse, high waisted blue trousers, though the waist comes from teh sparkly cumberband like thing that he's got going on there. Costume not all that, but as long as the sakting is, I care not! Dark navy cravat of chiffon...he's 23. Moonlight Sonata...axel to begin. triple axel, skidded on the way in? no combo there... down the ice luitz triple with double toe... and music changes to beaty rocky music... flying camel ...just made rotation...and it's still moonlight just not as we know it! steps to the triple flip with over rotation and just hung onto the ladning..steps sequence which is wsonderful and diagonal.. and camel change camel...lovethis program! more steps, mugs teh judges... serpentine step? ..camel to sit change camel to catch foot to sit with travel in middle...and ehs' done, slightly behind the music, but that'll do me! He doesn't look too chuffed, but the audience are receptive enough...little shrug to them as he takes his bows, just about made the required revs in all of his spins Chris says and I trust him...can't count and type at the same time.... lutz was huge... landing of the flip was right on the toe rake but he didn't put the foot down...and chris says step sequence wasn't hard, though sold well

marks he shakes his head... and another big long wait... 4.4-5.1... 4.7-5.3..he's not hanging around...5th so far.

and we take a break, and while we do, I take the time to type what C&S have so far told us about this World Skating Federation that is being talked of to rival the ISU. Last night at the comp dance he told us that Ron Pfenning, Sally Stapleford and John Jackson (I'm prepared to be hella wrong on that name) are the ones who have brought it up. Skaters, he says now, who have come out in support of it, include Katerina Witt, Brian Boitano, Kurt Browning and Kristi Yamaguchi. I'll have to wait until I go on later to see if there's any news reports about it, but I just wanted to write down waht I've been told so far!

Ivan Dinev BUL
24, now training in Lake Arrowhead... black trousers, very coloured shirt, would we expect anything else? one side dark, one side gold, with gloves.... and swirls of colour on it... black and gold theme...and drums.... steps to begin... broke his leg during the summer...16th in malmo... steps triple flip... steps around the ice... axel triple with turn out of it and did the double toe.... sit spin change sit.... nice and centred... I know this music and I can't place it... is it bolero? but not as we know it... steps... and much posing in the steps, little hops and the like... axel double is fine... simon calls the music a strange choice, and that i's almost inconsequential for whta he's doing on the ice, though then he does a sdtriaght line step that belies that! flying sit was fine... camel to sit with travel to upright change camel to sit to upright and he's done, as the cd sounds liek it's stuck...yeah, and that music was ...yeah, you know it really was kinda...well, there really are no words. It was odd. And he doesn't look the happiest of campers... .1 off for the turn between the combo, Chris didn't like the music either, so we are a majority of three! long skid going into the axel....

marks and yet another long wait! 4.3-5.1 - not what he wanted to see says Simon - 4.6-5.4.. he's second, ordinals from 1st to 7th!

Brian Joubert FRA
Baby baby baby, my reason for robbing the cradle this year, what are you doing here??? You should not be here! Black bodysuit type thing with clocks and cogs and pendulums on it...aged 18.. pink floyd, time... 13th last year... nice interp of bells ringing to start... could see quad here notes simon... down the ice he foes...yes! quad toe triple toe! that's what I wanted to see! steps around he goes... axel triple with step out, and I thought he had that! flying sit, with touch down? but nice speed on teh way through... .3 off for the axel thing ...steps into the triple flip, nicely done...circular step is so fast I just love it! nice use of edges and changes of direction... sit change sit nice positions in both, and good speed all the way through...to the boards...striaght line step...great foot clouse up and this is relaly good! kinda step dancing steps...crowd love it...camel to sit with travel and variation cahnge sit to scratch spin...and he's done looking at his watch, and he's throwing the arms up in the air when he's done! missed 3ax twice in qual we're told and he missed it again there; Chris calls this a big skate for him - fell 3times in qual, youch! Chris praises the footwork, as Simon points out that he can do it at Euros but not at worlds....see the quad again and it was a beauty...axel just stepped out of it, chris thought that he just snatched at it a little bit?

marks 5.0-5.4, 5.4-5.7..that's more like it! row of ones, and he's first at the moment.

Kevin Van Der Perren BEL

And I loved him last year! Black and grey outfit, think Todd Eldredge from 96 and you've got the idea...did 3/3/3/ in his qual! he's 20... 7ht in his group... romeo and juliet, prokofiev... lutz triple with triple toe to begin..nearly ran out of room! 3toe right aroudn the corner... steps down the rink to the triple flip...flying sit is nice and high, and bit of travel as it goes on... didn't do 3a in qual either... circular step... lots of running steps it seems to me... axel double which was fine... into sit spin change sit nice position in each... to the boards and he smiels...striaght line step... nicely done and he used the full length of the rink, powerful simon calls it...no1 he falls going into the spin! combo spin...caught in a rut? nearly got himself out of it,got the speed back to it, then he fell back on his backside! oh dear oh dear oh hdear...and he claps himself on the head....and I don't blame him...a year he'd rather forget opines Simon... chris calls it not a good skate, quality of hte jumps not what we've come to expect from him... yeah, foot stuck and hte hand went down on the spin, and he was trurning to get himself back and he just went down...laughs as we see the reaction on the replay...

marks and he claps the head again... nikolai morozov is with him, as is linda van troyen (sp?) - do you need me to tell you that there's a big long wait for hte marks? thought not! and he can't look... 3.9-4.9 ... simon is complaining about this...4.7-5.4...if it's the judges or the tech support, either way it needs work! 8th place with 12 to go...ouch ouch ouch!

Ilia Klimkin RUS

aged 22..7th post qual, t shirt and black tousers, purple on the shirt, plus gloves...music is X Files? steps to start in striaght line...hsa planned quad combo... quadd toe triple toe and made it look easy! he missed quad in qual...lace problems? triple axel and down he goes, take off didn't look great...camel nice postiion change camel.. steps out of that and .4ded for the fall... steps in thetriple flip and down he goes again...stars into the flying camel, no conviction on landing of jumps as chris onwders if something is wrong with his skate, because he didn't look over the skatre in the landing of the flying spin...circular step is nice... good enty into the camel to sit to upright change camel to sit to upright...nice positions, unusual in some of the spins and hes' done. Note that he is in need of a shave and it doesn't look well on him in my opinion... ded of at least a mark says chris, quad might have been under rotated he thinks... but it was ok.... .8 off for the other two jumps, didn't get the height on the axel, and when we see the boots on the quad, you can see that he did have to scramble the last turn...has two diff blades on each foot... one is much harder and stronger steel. just so you know!

marks 4.2-4.8...5.2-5.6... 1st overall, and I hear boos. about what , 5th on the night though?

Chengjiang Li CHN
White shirt, black belt cinching it at the waist, black trousers, black accents on the shirt...23 years old... martial arts theme? from the steps at the start, arm movements etc I think so... speeds around ... down the ice for the quad toe triple toe...and he gets it, around he goes now ..kung fu is the music simon telsl me...triple axel and he flew in and out of it! triple loop from nowhere! csit spin nice and low, cahgne sit not as low wtih travel... steps, with arms a going...circular step this is and rather a good one... plenty of speed anyway... flying camel... good centering! and out of that... into camel to sit to Y spin cahnge sit to upright...there are whoops and a raor from him! straight linestep which is blinding! this is great! and he stops...and he roars! that was great, loved it! medal opportunity notes simon, and he can be proud of that...it had everything! chris thinks spins not as quick/adventurous as what we will see later on... see combo again, it was huge! and so was teh toe on the end... the amount of spring that he gets in his jumps is just phenomenal, and the steps I've never seen him do better, esp the striaght line step...

marks 5.3-5.8... wow! 5.3-5.6... ones all the way? no, one second. but he leads anyway.

Sergei Davydov BLR
Ah this guy! All in pastel teal, with sparkles on the shoudlers and going down the back....24, 11th after qualifying... steps to start to piano type music... lots of speed going into ael..and he gets it and is off axis on the triple toe but he gets that too... lutz and again with the lena, but he lands it...steps into sit change sit... nice positions and loads of speed.... out of that, and to the boards, throws the arms up and goes into the stirahgt line step, end to end,no complaints there.... axel double is fine... flying camel, litlte bit of travel, comes out of that ...serpentine step, which just looks a little messy to me....camel to sit layback..change camel to sit to scratch spin and eh's done. very very good...and those spins are just something to behold. I have to admit, I was surprised when I saw his name here, but I'm impressed. Good footwork says Chris, but he'd like to see a bit more of his character coming out; which is true, it didn't much go over the barrier. Axel was a beauty, and his spins were so fast! Just the req amount of rev says Chris...

marks should be second reckon the lads... 4.8-5.5... 5.1-5.6... and he is in second overall.

Jeffrey Buttle CAN

And here we go, my little favourite! Deep crimson short sleeved polo shirt, gold checked trousers...oh no no no, I may want to give you a big hug, but this does not mean that you must dress like Rupert the Bear...all he's short of is the scarf! No no no, this will not do, not do at all.... but look at that smile... music is conspiracy theory... turning steps to begin... hands down onthe quad and does a triple toe, .3 off right away... axel triple, and his entry is much improved! camel spin with great position change camel, well centred I think... and up and out of that... circular step... which he's certainly selling! around the corner we go... spread...and steps..into the triple lutz and look at the smile. huge flying sit with great low position... ooooh great close up as he does teh head waggling thing...ya flirt! steps... striaght line step... camel to sit to butt spin to variation to change sit with variation and I can't keep up with him! and he's done. and that final combo spin was great..and you know he could just stand there and smile all day and I'd be happy... didn't look as if he had a nerve in his body says chris...almost had the combo... and there's Doug! And I'm sorry, but SaucerGirl here just can't get past the trousers, and not in a good way! Quad was under rotated...and the butt spin, no no no, we must talk... spins were amazing. which I've said before but which bears repeating...how does he DO that? great close up at the end!

marks 4.6, then 5.0-5.4, 5.0-5.7 for pres.... 3rd on night? 4th overall though. one has him 14th?

Emanuel Sandhu CAN
Oh dear good God...come back Jeffrey with the Rupert pants, all is forgiven! from the front it looks ok is, white shirt with short sleeves, black trousers and a high corsety waisty thing with suspender like straps goign up over his shoulders. From the back... it's blue and several other colours, and there are marks on the side of the trousers and oh dear lord the sideburns! Please, please, someone sign him up for a sponsorship deal with Gillette! Death to the sideburns say I! But he's to skate now, so I put my horror aside to talk about this..apart from the makeup which looks like he's been tangoed... and there's purple and blue on the sides of the waisty thing...oh lord...quad... which he falls off the end of and does the triple toe on the end...landed quad on two feet chris tells us... axel triple, and it was ahrd work... flying sit... and you know the more you look at it, the wrose it gets...steps into the litz and that was also hard work...camel change camel... nice position...and out of that. to the boards....straight line step... very drummy music and this certainly uses the beats... that was great... circular step... camel to sit to butt spin cahnge camel to sit with travel to screatch, no much speed in the spins...steppy steps and he's done, right in the music. lots of speed throughout, good skating to the music, step sequences were the highlight for me. chris picks on the low free leg he thinks the lutz may have been df, I didn't think so myself. he's looking hard atthe ice, scratching it - is there something wrong with his skate? he was doign something funny as we went into slomos...right foot did touch on quad... and the free foot did stay off the lutz... great close up of the footwork... so much energy...chris points out that the straight line step was in same rotational direction all the way through...S&C don't like his hair...that's quite a cowlick, which was a word I had to explain in our english reader, I think I shall be screencapping! "THIS is waht it is!"

marks 4.5-5.3... 5.3-5.6... he's 5th overall. and I think perhaps o nteh night? one had him 11th one had him 3rd!

Min Zhang CHN

Black shirt with brown floaty stuff stapled on it, black trousers, was 27 on Monday... Oceanic by Vangelis... speeds to the triple axel to start and not high enough, lands badly and tilts forwards on it... around he goes, waving arms madly...crossover round the corner.. down the ice.. quad toe and down he goes... couldn't hold the landing... camel spin which he might've lost going int to layback, sit change sit tp upright... and out ... lutz which was fine but he needed to work hard and long pause before steps, sit change sit... to the boards he goes. striaght line step... not the speed, not the tech of some that we've seen... flying camel... slow.... and out of that... into steps... circular step.. and slides to a stop. And he's done. And doens't look happy and why should he? Ninth last year. He's better than this. No conviction on the landings Chris notes, quad toe we seee again, Chris says that he should have had it...was low on the ice when ladning it, but he's doubtless pulled out worse...

marks chris has ded of a full mark; 4.2-5.0... 4.6-5.4... he's 10th, ordinals of 6 to 17

Evgeni Plushenko RUS
And the black body suit of velvet with the goldy lines meshed on it.. gloves... not a disaster compared to what I'm used to from him. has problem with his knee...music is Adagio... quad toe triple toe...perrfect. around for the axel triple and a squeaky landing! could've been disaster! slides to a stop and waves the arms and goes into a spin, then steps... circular step... steps in triple lutz, and nearly ran out of room...sit change sit.... good speed right the way trhrough that...to the boards... striaght line step with much flailing of arms and throwing hismself around the place...and to the boards but it didn't fit with teh music to me? flying camel... to catch foot... and out of that... camel with travel to sit to biellman change sit to scratch and he's done. And I don't quite know what to say about it...yeah, technically it was all there, though I've seen him better. But wehre were the sparks, the fireworks, the passion? It just seemed flat to me; Chris not sure about the music, and Simon says that in the steps it lookedas if he was skating tom completely differet music...combo was textbook...axel, right leg got away from him, and that was close. "Alesser man wouldn't have made it" chris says...

marks 5.7-5.9 (one nine, the rest mostly 8s) 5.8-5.9 (9 from all but three) and he leads.

Ryan Jahnke USA
Can someone teach Simon how to say his name? Please? White shirt, polka dot black waistcoat, red flower in his buttonhole, black trouesrs...25... black bow tie.. la strada... fflies about the ice to teh first jump... triple lutz triple toe just made it! by which i mean he nearly ran out of rink... this is the first time I've sene him I think... axel triple and down he goes...just as I thought I could like him, sorry Ryan! huge flying sit... steps, incl cantilever, more steps, sperentine I think... I could be wrong! steps in to the triple flip and that was fine... camel change camel... out of that... steps ciruclar, incl spread eagle, camel to sit nice and low with variation on position, change sit, great position and upright crossfoot and he's done! lvoely finish notes simon, and I've gotta say I liked him. I liked the program, and it's just a shame about the jump. someone holds up a sign, ryan elegance on ice, and that's true! .4 off for the fall.. good lines on the spins good speed across the ice..chris remarks on his slow rotation... he was leaning on the axel all the way through... trains in Colorado Springs, does his free back to back on training sessions... tom dicckson beside him, I knew I kenw that man!

marks 4.4-5.2..well, they've not helped him...5.0-5.7... he's 4th, ordinals 5th to 13th.

Takeshi Honda JPN
Crimson shirt, black trousers, ruffles on the shirt but you can't have everything...22 on Sunday, 2nd in qual group...La Yenda? (sp) the music...kinda spanish flavour..down for hte quad... had to work on the ladning, leaning on it, but a double toe... not great but not disaster...come on now.... axel triple! sit spin change sit and nice nice nice position and speed! around the corner he goes and down the rink in steps to the trpple lutz which is huge, as is the glying sit immediately after it..simon called the lutz out of nowhere... steps along the rink serpetine pattern methinks... camel to sit to upright change camel with travel on change to sit to shotgun and out of that... to the boards... striaght lines teps... good changes of direction adn nice footwork..he could tango with me anytime. slides from boards and he's done. and that was great. So much sparkle and chemistry, the whole package you think.... seocnd mark will be high and chris preferred it to plushy, kurt choreographed it! And I will not, as invited, shoot chris down in flame; I'm preferred it to Plushy too. Doug in kiss and cry, and they tell us that he's not going to beat plushy, but hey! quality of jumps was great, apart from quad, axel a beaut... no hesitation in the lutz... great . loved it!

marks and michelle leigh is getting younger looking! I'm just saying! 5.3-5.7...5.5-5.8... second place with a bullet. 2 3rdand a 4th

Stephane Lambiel SUI
Body suit of black/blue velvet, with tangerine stripes on sides and sides of legs...eeek....and gloves.... posing steps to start but done right to the beat of the music... axel triple and he needed to work on that... stirpe goes along chest too... down hard on teh quad, does a single after it... which is a shame...steps after it, and it was a hard fall chris reminds us...I have a bruise that's how hard it was! flying sit is blindingly fast... slides to stpo after it, and gets goign again....flies along the ice...lutz and downon that....camel to sit with variation...change sit...great positions and innovations...to scratch spin worthy of the name which he stops on a dime! to the boards for the straight line step... which is very nice... sit with variations and travel chagne sit with arms out behind him... and he's done. and a big smile but you can just see that he's crestfallen. putting a breave face on it though as he takes his bows, got a standing O in qual. Didn't make rotations on quad... which we see twice, once from footsie angle, and he was at least half a turn short...the spins, we could look at all day...smile from him in kiss and cry...

marks deep breath...0.8min down remember? another big long wait as the computer wonders what to do with him... 4.2-4.9...5.0-5.7... he's 11th. ordinals from 6 to 17th

Timothy Goebel USA
Here we go...he's sick, he has the flu I'm told... brown outfit with cream shirt? and on him, it's not too bad looking though it may be black.... nice natty waistcoat with strings... romeo and juliet again? quad sal triple toe! good boy good boy! axel yes triple! good boy... great picking out of musical points, great sit spin change sit, noce and low on both feet.... steps into the flip..triple and that was great.... steps ... circular I think, though from the camera angle its hard to know..nice steps though... stars into the gflying sit, and the foot stayed off, though it was low... steps along the diagonal... what steps they are too! stars into camel to sit change camel to sit... to upright...and he's done.and he roars and so do I! Standing O from teh crowd, and look at that smile! I gotta say, and you all know it already, I'd have it ahead of PLushy...looked as if he was struggling at the end says Chris, and if he was, I couldn't see it through the fog of pheromones misting up my screen! flip was worst jump in program, quite low, but he was thrilled! sore hands from clapping!

marks long wait, as I repeat I'll be happy with second...I will,,...I mean it... 5.7-5.8 .. 5.6-5.8.... crowd you just ssense dont like that...one first, the rest second which is where he is.

Michael Weiss USA
Black leather trousers, matching tshirt, blue effect going down one side... michael competes on skates designed by our own chris! steps around to begin... down the ice we go.. quad troe triple toe with no much running edge out of the second part... down the ice axel triple which is perfect, stars to camel spin hop to change sit to screatch.... bangs on knees as music changes to drums....and steps have the crowd going wild... circular step this is and is very nice...turns ..steps into the oh no! down on the lutz... sit spin change sit.... nice and low on first position...loosing speed on second... to the boards and right around for the straight lines step... hes' still going he's not giving up at all... flying sit... to screatch and he's done right on the music. and what a shame says simon, and I for one and for once agree with him....he points to the head...oh dear.... has strained ligaments and tendons in his right ankle... oh such a shame... chris corrects us that someone else designed the blades, he just developed the idea...oh I don't know what to say...I'm not a fan of his, you know this about me, but it's not a bad program, and you have to feel for him... hips just too far back..and poor Lisa ..they had a camera right on her...which is drawing chuckles on the replay...

marks they're guessing 4th ...5.2-5.4..there are rumbles... 5.6-5.8...thye've been nice to him... he's 4th. nothing wrong with that.

SO Plushy, Goebel, Honda, Weiss, Li, Davydov, Jahnke, Joubert, Buttle Sandhu are the 1-10. Klimkin, Timchenko, Lambiel, Dinev, Jeannette, Zhang, Skorniakov, Chiper, Murvanidze, Van Der Perren, Verner, Vlascenko, Urbas and Smalun make it through to the free. Which will be live on Eurosport, as will I be. Tomorrow night, pairs free and dance original right on the heels of one another - it's gonna be a long day!