women's Long Program ****SPOILER CITY, BABY****

[northzax]

Peuniltimate group skating now, Emily Hughes fell, but is in first with two left in her group to skate.

you can see live standings here:http://www.nbcolympics.com/results/1500191/detail.html

and live updates here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/figureskating/5128847/detail.html

[northzax]

1. and Joanie Richette of Canada takes over the lead

superb performance. up now: Caroline Kostner, Italia.

[northzax]

2. bad luck, Carolina- into fourth.

now up: Elene Gedevanishvili, Georgia

[northzax]

4. Gedevanishivili into 5th-Cohen up now

[northzax]

7. COHEN results:

116.63. Not that good, but she's in first for now. She stumbled on a triple flip and fell on a triple lutz-double toe combination.

[Nimrod2005]

3. Please keep updating as muh as you can...Thanks

[Nimrod2005]

5. Has Sasha skated yet? How did she do?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

6. She fell twice. Arakawa has just finished skating

and according to PBP on another board, skated extremely well.

[northzax]

8. yes, 125.32 for Arakawa

Cohen in Second. She'll be out of the medals, I fear.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

9. Not making excuses for Sasha, but on the other board,

there has been references to her wearing a bandage on her left leg/knee.

Fumie Suguri is skating now and apparently has doubled a two of her planned triple jumps.

Kimmie Meissner is up next and then Slute.

Edit to add: Suguri didn't double any jumps but is presently in 3rd behind Arakawa and Sasha.

Meissner skating as we speak and has fallen on her opening jump. Only Slute left.

The OGM is now between Arakawa and Slute and I have a sneaky feeling it gonna be a Russian OGM sweep...

[northzax]

11. no russian sweep

Slutskaya into third- 114.74

Final medals:

Arakawa: Gold
Cohen: Silver
Slutskaya: Bronze


Yankees: Meissner 6th, Hughes 7th.

KEMPAI!

[joeybee12]

16. Too bad...she got the silver, but from what I read it was Shuzuki's night.

...the top three were so close that even if Sasha hadn't fallen, then she still might not have gotten the gold.

[HuckleB]

10. How did Slutskaya score that low?

Wha' 'appened?

[northzax]

12. in the words of NBC's live blogger...

She's skating to a flamenco medley, guitar music. Starts with a triple Lutz. She was supposed to add a loop, but didn't. Triple Salchow-double toe-double loop; she's done her second combination. Next into a spin. Then a triple flip; slightly dodgy landing -- the leg flew up a bit. But it was landed on one leg. Next into her Biellmann spin. Then her spiral sequence. Not in the same class as Arakawa's or Cohen's. Now a double flip-double toe. She meant to triple that. Then a fall on a triple loop. The gold is Arakawa's. Then a triple toe-double toe. She looks tired. Double Axel. Slutskaya smiles as she goes into her straightline footwork. The pro-Russia audience claps along, but this is not the performance they, or Slutskaya, wanted. Her final combination spin now. She hits her final pose and then leans over. Hands on hips. She looks exhausted, and disappointed. Now taking her bows, but the gold is Arakawa's for sure.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

13. She fell....

OMG, I'm sooo happy for Shizuka Arakawa. She's a beautiful skater and a former World Champion (2004).

And props to Sasha as well.

I'm just waiting to see how Ms. Slutskaya takes the bronze medal. I'm sure it will be a bitter pill for her to swallow...

[joeybee12]

15. Yeah, congrats to her...she really skates beautifully... too bad

about Sasha, but I'm glad Shizuka won over Irina. With her winning, and the others 2 Japanese ladies doing well (one one who didn't even make it here because she was too young!) they're going to dominate for many years.

[JVS]

19. What's everyone got against Slutskaya?

[joeybee12]

20. I just don't think she's the best skater out there...she's been the most

consistent lately, but she doesn't dazzle the way some can. She's very, very good, but when she doesn't hit her jumps (her strong point) her routines look very bland...her spins and footwork aren't that good, nor is her artistry.

Besides, she bitched and moaned after Salt Lake about being robbed. Sounds like tonight was a repeat of Salt Lake--she almost fell there, and her scores barely beat Kwan. And actually, had Kwan done slightly better, she would have finished ahead of Slutskaya and gotten the gold.

[LisaM]

14. Stupid Yahoo news gave the results on their front page

GRRRRRR.....

[lanlady]

17. I had to look at the spoiler

I just know NBC will drag out the skating coverage til midnight, and I don't think I can last that long.

So, a Japanese upset! Wow. I thought this might turn out to be a repeat of the Baiul/Kerrigan match at Lillehammer. I've never been a fan of the Japanese skaters but will have to give them a second look.

We should all be proud of our US figure skaters. The hockey players, on the other hand, seem to be behaving like jerks again....

[joeybee12]

18. I keep reading about the results, and I'm just drained!

I hate it when people flub up. I didn't want to see Irina win, but I don't think I'll watch her blow it tonight--too painful. Happens far too often to enjoy the skating. Anyone else feel the same way?

People talk about Michele not winning the big one, but Sasha and Irina fall into that group as well--two Olympics, no gold.

I think I'll keep the tv off, or maybe just tape it to see Arakawa skate--sounds like she's the only one who stood up the entire time!

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

21. POSE - GLIDE - JUMP - WAVE ARMS - SPIN - JUMP - SPIN - JUMP

I hate the new scoring system. All of the performances lack passion and artistry. Maybe it's just me, but I found all of the skating disappointing and canned. Why do they even bother with the music anymore...just test their jumps, leg-in-the-air glides, spins and be done with it.

Very disappointing. Booooooooo!:(

[1gobluedem]

22. I agree

Watching, to me it looked as though everyone skated the exact same routine. There wasn't much originality in any program. I like the old days better.

[northzax]

23. yes, the system rewards technical expertise

and aggression more than artistry. The next generation, the ones who grow up in this system may be better at it..

[joeybee12]

24. Very true...these people spend their whole lives learning and

practicing according to the old rules, then they get switched. What you do well doesn't count so much anymore. And, as people pointed out, the artistry is gone. I think the judging is always going to be subjective, so the new rules don't really get rid of that, nor do they make it any more fun to watch.