Aaaaaand… We’re Back: Dance & Pair Predictions, NHK 2010

It turns out that NBC won’t be the only network featuring figure skating this fall.

Remember when I mentioned back in March that ABC might bring a Dancing with the Stars spin-off to the airwaves that featured skating in place of the dancing? Turns out it’s really coming to pass. Check out this article at ABC.com to learn about Skating with the Stars, which will apparently be picking up where DWTS leaves off… for six weeks starting November 22, which (gasp!) means it will premiere during “November Sweeps” (a 4-week period where advertisers reset their rates based on the Nielsen ratings of TV programs). If I’m not mistaken, this will be the first time a non-Olympic, prime-time figure skating event is showing up during Sweeps since the final airing of Ice Wars… four long Novembers ago. Hope this goes well! The cast will be announced during the November 2 airing of the DWTS “results” show. All of this begs the question… what star would YOU like to see on this show? (Leave a comment if you like!)

But that’s not why you came, is it? As for NHK, I’ll post IceNetwork streaming times and Universal Sports/NBC air times a little later in the week. Right now, it’s time for some top-of-the-season predictions…

For DANCE:

Gold: Davis/White (USA)
Silver: Cappellini/Lanotte (ITA)
Bronze: Weaver/Poje (CAN)

D/W and Cappellini/Lanotte should be a lock for 1 & 2; if you’re curious (as I am), D/W – or do you call them Marley?—are using Il Postino and cuts from Forever Tango for their Free Dance this year.

Breakout star watch? I’m trying to pay more attention this season to names that are unfamiliar to me on the various GP rosters, and in doing so have noted several of the Junior World champs from last season are making their debuts here at NHK. For dance, those “champs” are Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov of Russia. They used Schindler’s List and Fiddler on the Roof last season, this year they’ll use Don Quixote.

The Replacements: Myslievckova/Novak (Czech Republic), Turoczi/Major (HUN), and Coomes/Buckland (GBR), replacing the retired Zaretsky/Zaretsky, the injured Samuelson/Bates, and the your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine Beknazarova/Zuev.

And of course, this will mark the debut of the Short Dance in the GP series (replacing the Compulsory Dance and Original Dance). I suppose if an SD feels long, it’s failed in some way…


For PAIRS:

Gold: Pang/Tong (CHN)
Silver: Bazarova/Larionov (RUS)
Bronze: Denney/Barrett (USA)

This should be a no-brainer for Pang/Tong (Pong??)… and ooh, I’m loving their music choices this season: Chopin for the short, and Liszt’s Liebestraume (the same music as Mao Asada). Bazanova are going with The Man in the Iron Mask... Denney/Barrett might not have been my bronze choice, had Italy’s Berton/Hotarek been here as planned. But now I think the U.S. team will have a clear shot at their first podium finish.

Breakout Star Watch? Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran are not the Junior World Champs, but they’re the runners-up… and only the second Japanese team to do that in the history of Junior Worlds. Here’s their free skate (the Clip of the Day) from last season’s 4CCs, where they finished 5th. Interesting side note; they have competed NHK 2 years running, but also continue to compete in the JGP. I didn’t know that was possible!

The Replacements: Takahashi/Tran (JPN), Yankowskas/Coughlin (USA), skating in lieu of Inoue/Baldwin and the aforementioned Berton/Hotarek.

Singles’ medal predictions coming Thursday!!