Rostelecom Cup 2010: Airtimes and Predictions

Let’s cut right to it—here are your IceNetwork streaming times for the Rostelecom Cup:

Friday, Nov. 19

7:00 a.m.: Men's short program

8:50 a.m.: Pairs short program

11:00 a.m.: Ladies short program

12:50 p.m.: Short dance

Saturday, Nov. 20

6:45 a.m.: Men's free skate

9:00 a.m.: Pairs free skate

10:40 a.m.: Ladies free skate

12:40 p.m.: Free dance

And as for Universal Sports:

Friday, Nov. 19

6-7 p.m.: Men’s and Pairs Short Program

8-9 p.m.: Ladies Short Program and Short Dance

10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.: Men’s and Pairs SP (rebroadcast)

12:30-2 a.m.: Ladies Short Program and Short Dance (rebroadcast)

Saturday, Nov. 20

5-7 p.m.: Men’s and Pairs Free Skate

8-9 p.m.: Free Dance

11 p.m.- 1 a.m.: Men’s and Pairs Free Skate

Sunday, Nov. 21

5-7 p.m.: Ladies Free Skate

11 p.m.- 1 a.m.: Ladies Free skate

This Ladies Free Skate will first air on NBC Sunday from 2-4 PM. (The Disson Special Improv-Ice will follow from 4-6 PM.)

I bettered my predictions to 5-out-of-12 last week, so let’s see if I can finally bat .500 this time:

For MEN:

Gold: Patrick Chan (CAN)

Silver: Jeremy Abbott (USA)

Bronze: Tomas Verner (CZE)

By this event-- #5 of the 6—I’d be remiss if I didn’t factor previous finishes into my predictions. So Chan, with his often inexplicably high component scores that we’ve already seen can make up for just about ANY technical deficit, is my pick for gold here. Who I’d really like to see in that spot is Abbott. But while he reportedly will bring the quad back into his repertoire, I’m going to guess he’ll miss it this first time out (sorry)-- and with his wider-ranging components, I just don’t see it.

If Verner skates here like he did at Cup of China, it should be good enough for at least 3^rd… but if there is any wiggle room, look for Japan’s teen phenom Yuzuru Hanyu to make a move.

For PAIRS:

Gold: Kavaguti/Smirnov (RUS)

Silver: Takahashi/Tran (JPN)

Bronze: Berton/Hotarek (ITA)

While I’m sure the centerpiece of this competition will be Kavaguti/Smirnov’s season debut (with a free skate to “Claire de Lune”), I’m actually going to be paying much more attention to the season debut of Berton/Hotarek… and hoping they find their way to a medal. Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers of Canada (replacing Dube/Davison) would be my first guess to get the bronze if the Italian team proves less promising than they were at Worlds last season.

For LADIES:

Gold: Miki Ando (JPN)

Silver: Akiko Suzuki (JPN)

Bronze: Ksenia Makarova (RUS)

Last time Ando and Suzuki went head to head—at Cup of China—I predicted Suzuki to win, underestimating the reliability of Ando’s jumping prowess. Though I still prefer Suzuki, I’ll put this as Ando’s to lose.

The bronze is tough; I can see four different possibilities. Alena Leonova got bronze behind the Japanese women at Cup of China, but that was largely on the errors of others. Ashley Wagner has a shot, but her two-footing tendencies could get the best of her. Even Agnes Zawadski could be on the podium, if she doesn’t fall apart like she did in the NHK free skate. That leaves Makarova, who gave a solid performance to earn silver at Skate Canada behind Alissa Czisny. And at this point I’d predict Makarova over Leonova in any event.

For DANCE:

Gold: Bobrova/Soloviev (RUS)

Silver: Faiella/Scali (ITA)

Bronze: Ilinykh/Katsalapov (RUS)

Until I read that The Kerrs were pulling out of this event due to Sinead’s shoulder injury, I thought it was a pretty safe bet as to who would make the podium here. But even then, I wasn’t sure about the order. Faiella/Scali will presumably have their costume issues resolved, but are their dances this season gold-medal worthy to begin with? I’m not yet convinced… which is why I’m suggesting Bobrova/Soloviev will win instead. And while bronze may be an interesting battle between Canada’s Paul/Islam and Russia’s Ilinykh/Katsalapov, I’ll give the tip to the latter—who also happen to be home country faves.

I’ll be back with results and observations after the event!