Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto took a small step backward in their pursuit of a fifth Skate America ice dancing title.

Belbin and Agosto are still solidly entrenched in second place behing Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France, but finished third Saturday afternoon in the original dance.

Belbin and Agosto’s 57.47 points weren’t as good as the British brother-sister combo of Sinead and John Kerr, who scored 57.74 points. Delobel and Schoenfelder scored 58.26 points but were not entirely pleased with their performance.

“Out technique marks were not what we wanted,” Shoenfelder said, “because we made

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I have to confess, my primary sports interests are pretty typical. College basketball and any kind of football. I also love skiing, cycling and many Olympic sports.

But when it comes to figure skating, well, let’s just say I don’t get it.

As I watched ice dancing a few minutes – listening to the Viennese Waltz 9 times in an hour – I kept pondering this thought: “Sport or not sport?”

I get that these competitors are athletic – probably more so than some baseball and football players – and if I ever start thinking figure skating

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Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder showed why they are the defending world ice dancing champs by effortlessly taking winning the compulsory dance.

The French pair earned a score of 38.49 during the Viennese Waltz to take the lead over USA’s Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto.

Belbin and Agosto, defending Olympic silver medalists, are the clear crowd favorites and were pleased with their performance.

“That’s the most comfortable I’ve ever felt in a compulsory,” Agosto said.

I spent the afternoon at Comcast Arena where some of the world’s best figure skaters were practicing for Skate America. The 3-day event starts Friday.

The event is the kickoff to the pre-Olympic season and no small thing for the athletes.

“I’ve made a lot of changes,” defending Skate America champ Kimmie Meissner said after practice skate. “… I think I’m stronger (this season).”

The first event of the season will allow her and the other skaters see how there off-season changes stack up against everybody else.

“It’s the start of everything,” Meissner said. “We

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From the Chicago Tribune:

By Philip Hersh
Chicago Tribune
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Rachael Flatt is a young woman in a hurry.

Flatt finishes her second on-ice training session of the day at the Ice Hall of the Colorado Springs World Arena — half her usual number of sessions because she had to take a standardized statewide achievement test at school.

In less than five minutes she takes off her skates, pulls on a sweater and drags a suitcase, briefcase, oversize quilted bag and a purse outside the building, where she waits for her mother to drive her to a two-hour physical training session at the Olympic Training Center.

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From the U.S. Ski Team:

When it comes to specific race preparation, the U.S. Ski Team goes ‘All Out,’ or in this case, all in.

In order to ready for the upcoming Europa Cup indoor slalom at Landgraaf, Netherlands, tech aces Cody Marshall (Pittsfield, VT) and Tim Kelley (Starksboro, VT) joined up with Paul MacDonald (Bellevue, WA) for a training block at Snow Funpark, an indoor skiing facility in Wittenberg, Germany.

“We slept at the same place we skied, you can’t beat that,” said Marshall, who had a breakout World Cup season last winter scoring slalom

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This just in from the Associated Press:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The 2010 Vancouver Olympics remain financially strong, organizers said Thursday, despite a current deficit, rising venue budgets and concerns about the global financial crisis.

The organizing committee’s latest financial statement says it ran a deficit of $40.5 million in the year ending July 31, compared to the $51.3 million surplus it had in 2006-2007.

"It’s important to look at that in the context of the entire run of the Games, the six-year period," said John McLaughlin, the chief financial officer for the organizing committee, who

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From the U.S. Ski team:

The U.S. Ski Team’s Liz McIntyre, Nelson Carmichael, and Cary Adgate, along with a man who set the precedent in American ski mountaineering, Bill Briggs, will be inducted to the 2008 U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in April according to Hall of Fame President Tom West.

Both Olympic medalists, McIntyre and Carmichael will be recognized alongside Adgate, an Olympian who was named 2005 Masters Racer of the Year, and Briggs, who has a collection of famous first descents to his name.

McIntyre’s career spanned 20 years with the U.S.

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