Updated the headline to reflect that there is not really any new information, just thoughts on the situation.

Last week it was reported that Alissa Czisny will be undergoing surgery on a torn labrum in her left hip. She reportedly received the diagnosis last Monday, according to Detroit Free Press. Commence the skater's rush to blame the late season troubles on the hip injury:

"It's a relief to know that there's a reason why I couldn't do things," said Czisny, 24, who opened last season with two medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit before hurting her left ankle in December -- an injury that might have contributed to her hip issue.

I guess I'm just surprised that if the injury was severe enough to have affected Czisny enough to contribute to a 22nd (!) place finish at Worlds, how is it she was not aware of it? And why did it take so long for the diagnosis? Was she in pain at Worlds? In that case, how is she different from Rachael Flatt, who was fined an unprecedented amount for not reporting an injury that dogged her at the 2011 Worlds (where it should be noted, she came in 10 spots AHEAD of Czisny's 2012 effort, in 12th place, and received very little sympathy from the internets or press, while mostly everyone just felt bad for Czisny's terrible showing). So what's the difference? Did Czisny really not know something was wrong at Worlds even though she may have had a latent hip injury? Or was she smarter than Flatt by not drawing attention to any possible injury for a couple of months?

I can't say I'm an expert in hip injuries, but I would assume Czisny knows her body well enough to have had an inkling that her inability to land jumps was caused by a pain if she...indeed, felt a pain. And if not, then I'd rather she not use the injury as an excuse now if it may not have been the culprit then. But maybe I am mistaken in thinking she would have felt something was wrong. Maybe it really is just the sort of injury that creeps up on you and affects you for awhile without you knowing it. And let's not forget that timing is everything, and Flatt's timing of her injury announcement last year was pretty atrocious.

Either way, Czisny's surgery will require about four months off ice recovery, so we hope it's a speedy one. Czisny is still one of the most beautiful skaters in the world, with or without the jumps.

The Grand Prix selections have been made and the big news is that Johnny Weir (listed by US Figure Skating as Johnny Weir-Voronov, his married name) has received two assignments. Evan Lysacek, despite a change of agents and reported hopes that he could iron out his deal with US Figure Skating to get back into competition, is absent from the assignments. Find the full list of assignments here.

Weir received assignments to Rostelecom Cup and Trophee Eric Bompard, which are just a week apart. Other than Weir, some notable news about the assignments:

-Alissa Czisny has only received one placement - at the final event, NHK Trophy. This could be in part due to the fact that she is about to undergo surgery for a torn labrum in her hip (more news on that in a later post).

-US Junior ladies champ Gracie Gold has two assignments, as does comeback kid Caroline Zhang.

-Mirai Nagasu has only one assignment - Cup of China.

-Rachael Flatt has only one assignment - Skate America. If it's not yet a changing of the guard for the American ladies, the USFSA would love it if it WOULD be. And looks like the smart money is on Gracie Gold. But I think any money bet on an up and coming US skater these days is not really well spent. Gold is still pretty young.

-Though Grand Prix medalist Armin Mahbanoozadeh does not receive any slots, Richard Dornbush receives two and Douglas Razzano one. However, there is a TBD slot for American men at Skate America.

-Mark Ladwig will be making his Grand Prix debut with new partner Lindsay Davis at the NHK Trophy. Caitlin Yankowskas will hit the ice with new partner Joshua Regan at the Cup of China.

-Miki Ando is back, with two placements.

-Pang and Tong are back on the Grand Prix circuit.

SKATING Magazine is inviting readers to tweet or Facebook comment their way into its pages. They are asking discussion questions every month and encouraging readers to submit responses via tweet or Facebook comment. They'll publish some answers in SKATING Magazine.

This month's question is "What is your favorite skating memory?" Tweet to @USFigureSkating or check out the US Figure Skating Facebook page.

Pairs world bronze medalist Mervin Tran has been trying to gain Japanese citizenship (he's Canadian) so he can compete in the 2014 Olympics with partner Narumi Takahashi. But the plans are not going as smoothly as he'd hoped.

According to The Mainichi, the Japanese government does not want to approve Tran's application on the basis of special services to Japan:

A ministry official, however, said Tuesday that because Tran had no history of residency in Japan, it would be difficult to grant him an exception.

"Having considered the case, we just found no precedent," the official said. (The minister, vice minister, and parliamentary secretary) all agree with the way we see it."

It is unclear whether this is the official ruling or if there is hope still for Tran. I'll update as new articles come out.

Johnny Weir will be making an appearance on Say Yes to the Dress this season, though I'm not sure the exact date his episode will be airing. The new season premieres June 15. Remember, Weir got married on New Year's and will be having a big wedding this summer. I have not heard about Johnny's wedding being turned into a reality show yet and I am shocked and dismayed by that. This offseason has been so boring already I am itching for some Weir hijinks. But maybe he's too busy actually training to get back into competition to go find reality show contracts to sign. We'll see soon enough!

Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na of South Korea has been known to do a commercial or two in her day. Ah, who are we kidding - there's not much she won't endorse. But she's gotten into a bit of hot water since lending her mug to some mugs of beer. Kim's modeling work with Hite beer has sparked a backlash.

The Korean Academy of Addiction Psychiatry has called for a ban on sports starts advertising alcohol, highlighting Kim particularly and sports stars influence on youth culture, according to The Jakarta Post.

Additionally, a recent editorial in The Korea Times urged Kim to pull out of the campaign. "So when I plead her to yank herself out of that beer commercial, the power of my plea comes from the fact that she is a role model for many young people and should determine by her good sense whether that commercial serves any good purpose," reads the editorial.

This brings up a topic I sometimes think about. When do you say no to advertising for something, no matter how much money you are getting paid? I always wonder about the ethics of athletes posing as spokespeople for junk food or fast food, but I suppose you don't have to necessarily eat something or support something to put your face on it (though your face is a tacit endorsement of the product). But I guess the alcohol endorsement goes even a step further given the more immediate negative effects alcohol can have and the fact that it's illegal for the younger population. Kim obviously does not need the money; I would imagine she could probably have been a bit more picky in her endorsement. Interestingly, the NFL and MLB apparently do not allow their players to endorse alcoholic beverages in the United States, which I think is probably the smartest move for the leagues' images.

What do you think? Athletes should be able to endorse whatever they want -- or should they be more picky about their gigs?

Todd Eldredge, world and national champion, recently underwent hip replacement surgery. He is keeping fans updated on his progress via his twitter handle @toddeldredge. Icenetwork recently reported on his recovery. The article states the Eldredge hopes to be back in Stars on Ice next year. He may be able to head back out on the ice in six months.

From the article:

My biggest motivator is my son! I want my son to be able to see me skate in person, so I figure I have a couple years before he really can have an idea that that's his dad out in the lights performing. I think that has to be one of the most inspiring things a father can feel. I'll let you know afterward."

Eldredge is very excited about becoming a father for the first time. His fiancée, Sabrina Corbaci, expects to give birth to the couple's son soon. Corbaci, a graphic designer, was a U.S. novice pairs medalist, with Eddy Zeidler, in 1991 and 1992. She also has a 7-year-old son, Ryder. Eldredge said the couple hasn't set a date for their wedding yet.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be an elite athlete and have to take off six months, let alone come back and relearn jumps on a new hip! I'm sure it will be a formidable task for Eldredge but it'll be pretty amazing for him to get back out there. Best of luck to him on his recovery!

Some of the skating news from the recent weeks:

-The Japanese Olympic Committee is trying to help pairs skater Mervin Tran to gain citizenship so he can skate for Japan in the next Olympics. That world medal definitely made it a bit of a bigger deal that Takahashi and Tran be able to skate in the Olympics. Tran is Canadian. According to Icenetwork:

Tsunekazu Takeda, president of the JOC, said Thursday his committee "was willing to make a special request (on behalf of Tran) to the government if necessary."

Japan has strict criteria for becoming a citizen, including maintaining residency in the country for at least five years. Japan's immigration laws also rule out dual nationality, meaning Tran would have to give up his Canadian citizenship.

Tran's hope lies in something called the Nationality Act, which states that the Diet of Japan (Japanese Congress) may confer Japanese nationality to a person who has provided extraordinary service to Japan, similar to the "aliens of extraordinary ability" provision that was invoked in expediting Tanith Belbin's U.S. citizenship prior to the 2006 Olympics. This provision, however, has never been invoked in Japan.

-Todd Eldredge underwent hip replacement surgery in Michigan. 40-year-old 1996 world champ Eldredge is having his left hip replaced...years of skating and jumping have obviously taken their toll. Eldredge's fiance is pregnant with their child, according to Detroit Free Press, so hopefully the hip will help Eldredge run around after a toddler. Congrats to him.

-Last month, Evan Lysacek was named a U.S. sports envoy according to the Chicago Tribune. After being named an envoy, he made a trip to Belarus and Sweden where he performed in shows and skating clinics.

-Ice dancers Charlotte Lichtman and Dean Copely have ended their four-year partnership. They were the 2011 U.S. Junior champs and world junior bronze medalists.

-Ice dancer Kieffer Hubbell has teamed up with Anastasia Olson.

World bronze medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan will not work with coach Brian Orser according to Icenetwork. Hanyu had been training under Nanami Abe in Sendai, Japan. Hanyu is still attending high school in Sendai but will make trips to Toronto to work with Orser. Not sure how easy of a schedule that will be to get used to for Hanyu, but I guess he decided he needed to make the switch to reach the next level of skating.

Hanyu had a breakthrough year this season that culminated in his world medal. He has a young but often elegant style and he's been racking up the technical points when he lands the jumps and he has a quad.

Orser's got a full house of skaters. Some of this famous current students are Javier Fernandez of Spain, Christina Gao of the US, and Elene Gedevanishvili of Georgia. I'll be interested to see what changes or improvements he can spark in Hanyu, who seems to be on the way up either way.

Japan narrowly beat out the United States in last weekend's World Team Trophy, 55 points to 53. Canada came in a distant third with 42 points.

The headlines of the event went to Daisuke Takahashi for edging out Patrick Chan of Canada in the men's competition. America's Ashley Wagner came back from short program woes to win the free skate over Japan's Akiko Suzuki and Italy's Carolina Kostner, both world medalists. Let's hope Wagner can keep the momentum going for next season. Akiko Suzuki won the event, followed by Kostner and Wagner in second and third.

Russia's Bazarova and Larionov won the pairs event over Canada's Duhamel and Radford and Japan's Takahashi and Tran, while America's Davis and White won the ice dance portion.

Patrick Chan's split with Christy Krall, the coach who has been credited with getting him to a consistent (and oftentimes glorious) quadruple jump, seems a big deal to me. Some publications have been looking into it.

The official word is that Krall resigned. Krall told the Canadian Press that she had gradually been moved out of the coaching role as choreography Kathy Johnson moved more into it. Here's what Krall said:

But Krall said her role had diminished while Chan's other coach Kathy Johnson, a modern dance teacher who studied dance at Juilliard but also works with skaters, had assumed a larger role.

"It's all good, it works, it's successful," Krall said. "But I was stepping out of the coaching role I was in and becoming an instructor, and I personally wanted to do more than that.

"Things were switching inside the dynamics of my partnership with Patrick."

Krall has coached Chan in Colorado since he split with Don Laws just weeks before his fifth-place finish at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Chan is going to continue working with Johnson in Colorado and will be making more trips to Toronto, his home. The article also notes that Chan had been dealing with a lack of motivation and frustration this season and even wanted to quit. (I am confused. It's not like he won the Olympics or something. OY).

Anyway. So now Chan is mainly with Johnson and I guess wants to continue to focus on the artistic side of the skating, and in that case, the ISU will have to raise the possible scoring totals for program components because he already gets such high marks in all the artistic areas as it is.

Examiner writes a love letter to the Johnson/Chan relationship. It doesn't actually interview anyone but gushes about the connection between Chan and Johnson. So lucky for Chan, the lovefest will continue.

Chan just recently came in second in the men's portion of the World Team Trophy.

Japan has lengthened its lead at the World Team Trophy and is now at 59 points to the United States' 51. Team France is in third with 44 points.

Japan is buoyed by not only it's typically strong singles skating, but also its newly strong pairs skating with world bronze medalists Takahashi and Tran, who lead the pairs event after the short program.

And in the men's event, Daisuke Takahashi handed Patrick Chan his first loss since November 2010. And Chan only had one fall. Continuing their skid in international competition, Adam Rippon and Jeremy Abbott finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Full results here. The competition concludes tomorrow with the ladies and pairs free skates.

Daisuke Takahashi earned a world-record score in the short program at the World Team Trophy today (94.00). The prior record was 93.02, set by Patrick Chan at last year's Moscow world championships. It sounds like the judges were generous for the Japanese world silver medalist, who admitted he was imperfect in his step sequence. Takahashi and Patrick Chan both landed quads, though Chan fell on another jump.

When it counts the least, Japan's Daisuke Takahashi won the short program today at the World Team Trophy, more than four points ahead of Canada's Patrick Chan Jeremy Abbott finished third. Japan was first overall; though they had the same point total as the US, the tiebreaker is the scores in individual disciplines. For whatever reason they decided to do that.

World Champion Carolina Kostner won the short program over Japan's Akiko Suzuki. America's Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner are in fourth and fifth place, respectively. And Meryl Davis and Charlie White beat out world champs Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in the short dance.

Full results here.

Two-time world champion Patrick Chan may have just defended his world title, but that doesn't mean everything is peachy keen. He is leaving coach Christy Krall, according to the Washington Post.

The article reports that Chan will continue to work with Kathy Johnson, who was part of his coaching team in Colorado Springs.

No word as to what brought on the split, but I'm sure someone will write something about it soon.

The title says it all on this one. Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig have announced that they are ending their skating partnership after ten years together. Evora is retiring but Ladwig hopes to continue skating.

Evora and Ladwig have medaled in the last four national championships. My personal favorite part of their career were their lovely performances at the Vancouver Olympics, where they placed tenth. They missed making the world team this season when they came in third.

Evora and Ladwig also had some of the best lifts in the world. I hope Ladwig can continue that with his next partner.

Major changes going on with Mirai Nagasu. She has left coach Frank Carroll and will be working with Wendy Olson. Olson had collaborated with Carroll in the past but he is no longer a coach for Nagasu, according to Chicago Tribune.

Carroll had moved to a rink closer to Palm Springs and it created a much longer commute for Nagasu.

Carroll, who had been Nagasu's coach since May, 2009, feels the commute was a big part of the problem.

"There was no problem between us as people," he said. "The two-hour drive each way was too much. She was exhausted by the time she got here."

Her new training rink, Pickwick, is about a 30-minute drive from her home.

"I hope this is the answer for Mirai," Carroll said. "What we all want is what is best for this kid."

Nagasu has gotten a lot of comments on her work ethic or speculation about her happiness in skating. In the Tribune article, her agent says she loves skating and wants to continue. She also says that Nagasu is taking art classes to get her mind off of the sport.

I love Nagasu as a skater. I hate all the backstage stuff and the fact that she hasn't been able to skate up to her potential. I hope this move will help her get back in the game. She was a nonentity this season, finishing seventh.

Michal Brezina, of the Czech Republic, will be working with Viktor Petrenko starting with next skating season, according to Ria Novosti. Brezina placed fourth at the world championships in 2010 and 2011 and then slipped to sixth place this season after being in second after the short program.

Petrenko is the 1992 Olympic gold medalist and recently coached former US champ Johnny Weir.

US Figure Skating has named the competitors in this year's World Team Trophy, which takes place in Tokyo April 19-22. Only thing a bit conspicuous is the choice of Gracie Gold instead of Alissa Czisny, but who's going to argue that choice? (Though it may be that Gold earned more "points" this season than Czisny due to her successes in competition).

The competitors:

-Senior champ Ashley Wagner

-Junior champ Gracie Gold

-Ice Dancing champs Meryl Davis and Charlie White

-Men's champ Jeremy Abbott

-Men's silver medalist Adam Rippon

-Pairs champs Caydee Denney and John Coughlin

The world team trophy is a competition between the six countries that earned the most points this season and the country with the highest point total at the competition wins. This year's competitors are the US, Canada, Japan, Italy, Russia and France.

UPDATED TO ADD: The points totals that were counted were from the ISU events and rankings. For example, in the case of the American team members, the points were accumulated at the junior and senior world championships, the Four Continents Championship, the 2011 Grand Prix series including the Finals, and the ISU rankings. If I can find a full breakdown of all the points earned by these teams, I will post.

The world championships wrapped up last weekend. Here are some of my additional thoughts on the competition.

Pairs

Orange you glad you aren't as addicted to tanning as Caydee Denney apparently is? She's the only one who got more tan once she moved away from Florida. It's a bit distracting. Other than that, they have obviously stopped Yankowskas-fying Caydee and she has gone back to letting her hair down. But let's get past the style and into the substance. Denney and Coughlin hit pretty much everything (well, they had a popped axel that I barely even noticed) and looked great doing it (except the lifts, I hate her lift positions).But they still only came in eighth in the free skate. I'm not sure I would agree with that given some of the sloppiness of other pairs, but their weaker basic skating is going to hold them back.

I was impressed with Sui and Han landing their quad salchow, though judging from the scores, the judges were not as impressed. Unfortunately, these two obviously could be skating without music and would probably look the same, but I can't wait to see them develop (and since they are a Chinese pair, I assume they will stay together for many years) and see how they mature as a pair.

Volosozhar and Trankov pulled it back together in the free skate but a little something was still missing for me. I swear out of sync spins really take the wind out of my sails or something. Anyway, I think these two were so nervous after the disaster of a short program but I did love seeing that smile after the last throw jump. And pretty much everything was right on other than those spins, so I can't complain about their amazing comeback. Good for them. Next year could be the year they break through for gold. I was surprised that they did QUITE so much better than Savchenko and Szolkowy, but they came in with a much higher base score, partly because of more robust jumping content. And they were the obvious winners on the night. Only a tiny bit more and the would have had the gold.

The second-to-last group was very good but that last group just did not show up or something. Bazarova and Larionov were back to their normal mistake-ridden form; the absence from competition caught up with Pang and Tong; Savchenko and Szolkowy were not bad but had a couple of deductions (some wonky spinning and a jump error); Takahashi and Tran had some rough jump landings but were able to pull it together and took advantage of others' mistakes. The highlight here for me was seeing Volosozhar and Trankov almost pull off the win. And also, was nice seeing poor Kavaguti and Smirnov come back from having the ice open up and swallow them (or whatever it is that Smirnov accused the ice of doing) in the short program. But I must say, Takahashi and Tran, as young as they appear out there, have really won me over with their free skate this season. Congrats to them on their bronze. It wasn't a clean program, but I enjoy watching them.

Ice Dancing

I don't know what to say. I've watched Davis and White and Virtue and Moir's free dances from worlds a couple of times now, and I don't see how Virtue and Moir's free dance gets even the same grades of execution and program components as Davis and White's, let alone a few points higher. Sorry, friends, I'm sure many of you disagree with me. But I truly feel that Davis and White's program was better executed and better choreographed and more difficult. This is one of those times when I wish I knew more about what goes on behind the scenes in this sport, because I just do not get it. And I won't even get in to Pechalat and Bourzat. I guess they were fine though not great. I have never preferred Weaver and Poje to them until this competition, so kudos to Weaver and Poje for winning me over. Though it could be because I hate Egyptian-themed programs.

The Shibutanis must be disappointed with their showing but they made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes in the free dance. It was probably not for the best that they did so well on their first time out, because now the failures will sting that much more. But Hubbell and Donohue had an auspicious worlds debut as the third US team.

Men

Gosh, I loved Michal Brezina landing that quad salchow - the LAST jumping pass in his short program. Often people will throw a quad at the beginning and then the rest of the program falls apart. So it was very sweet to see him land that. Too bad he can never keep up through the free skate anymore.

Jeremy Abbott.

Adam Rippon will never get the scores he needs to compete with these folks unless he adds a consistent quad. That's my verdict on him. Not really relevant as an international player right now. And he is particularly not relevant when he makes the mistakes he made at worlds and comes in 16th in the free skate.

What to say about Patrick Chan? Let's say what we always say. He has absolutely glorious skating skills and he landed some nice jumps and has exceptional choreography and is nice to watch and he made some faces at the right moments in his programs. He wasn't perfect but he deserved to win.

But the one who won the emotional vote for me and those in the arena was Daisuke Takahashi, as he usually is. He had what seemed like an amazing performance, and yes, there were deductions here and lower grades of execution there and it didn't matter at all to those who saw him skate. He creates some amazing moments out there. And he was not going to be able to catch Chan. So I will try not to ask what drug a person would need to be on in order to give Chan higher performance scores than Takahashi, and higher interpretation scores. I won't ask that. Nope.

What a nice job by Yuzuru Hanyu, winning a bronze medal off of a great technical performance in the free skate. He is another skater who has grown on me by leaps and bounds this season, and I guess he's grown on the judges as well.

I was very impressed by the Frenchmen as well. Brian Joubert and Florent Amodio turned in nice performances (including a quadruple salchow from Amodio), though it would not be enough to get them on the podium. And it's going to be difficult for them to do that worlds from now on with their relatively low program components scores. Although the fact that Joubert gets a similar components total to Jeremy Abbott is appalling.

Which reminds me. Jeremy Abbott. I do like that he appeared to have some fight in the free skate. But...sigh. That is all. Just, sigh. Actually, le sigh, because this was in France.

Ladies

Should I not complain that this year's ladies champ Carolina Kostner only landed four triples? And did not do a triple lutz? Should I be happy that this year's ladies champion wore a catsuit? And had a nice enough but completely unmemorable program lacking any attack? I don't know. I don't know what to think.

The highlight for me was Ashley Wagner's free skate. She really fought. Though she had an underrotation on one of her triples and an edge call on the lutz. But it was a gutsy performance. We did not see much of that at this championship. Also, she landed six triples, and that doesn't include the underrotation. So I am not loving the fact that she did not edge Carolina Kostner on the technical score, though Kostner is a neater skater. I am also a bit shocked at Wagner's components. I can take her being five points behind Kostner there, but is she really nearly eight points behind her? I mean, that's a bit much.

I was very pleased to see Akiko Suzuki win a bronze medal with one of my favorite programs of the year. I hated seeing her pop that lutz at the end but she pulled off her final triple loop. Overall it was a fun program and what a great thing to see her break through to the podium.

Mao Asada...I don't know what to say about her. She is another one who doesn't seem to have much fight these days. I am so over the triple axel that I feel like I have not only divorced it but I've also gotten remarried to a triple/triple combination. And I'm pregnant with a flutz.

Alissa Czisny.

Have to hand it to Alena Leonova. What an amazing short program - such attack and fire! And then she was not perfect in the free skate but she landed a ton of triples. She's not my favorite to watch but she earned her silver medal.

And the United States keeps just two slots in next year's single categories at the world championships and it seems like we are lucky to even have those at this point.

Go ahead and caption this photo of Pechalat and Bourzat's free skate. It's this week's Slate caption contest.

We saw some fight in the ladies final today. While American Alissa Czisny had an unprecedented five falls, teammate Ashley Wagner fought all the way but was unable to grab a medal after starting so far out. But Carolina Kostner wins her first world championship, followed by Alena Leonova of Russia and Akiko Suzuki of Japan (yay!).

Full results...

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After an amazing performance by Daisuke Takahashi, Patrick Chan came out and started ridiculously well...but ended up falling and making other mistakes. Still, it was enough to repeat as world champion. Someone explain to me how Patrick Chan gets five program components points more than Daisuke. ANYONE. Anyway, impressive showing by the other medalists, as well as some of the skaters who didn't quite make the podium. Pretty great day of free skates.

Full results after the jump.

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For men's short and pair's final, click the link.

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The Canadian team of Virtue and Moir recaptured their world championship by about four points, which might cause you to think that it was an overwhelming victory but from the sounds of it, it was not like that on the ice. America's Davis and White got the silver while home crowd favorites Pechalat and Bourzat won the bronze.

Full results after the jump:

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Well, the day has finally come. No more latin short dances this season! Or for many seasons, if I get my wish. Let's revisit some of the torture inflicted upon us (me) by the latin dances:

-Tessa Virtue trying to "break it down" in the first 10 seconds of her program

-skaters generally trying to be sexy who should not be

-alternatively, Maia and Alex Shibutani trying to pull of Latin dance but not even really trying to be sexy because, hey, they are brother-sister and that would gross people out, but they also ended up coming off like junior skaters half the time

-disjointed programs that were unsure whether they should be upbeat and happy or slow and seductive. But never slow and happy or upbeat and seductive. Hmm...

-So many ponytails. Some real, some fake. Some high, some low. Many ugly, some cute. TOO MANY PONYTAILS.

-costumes whose next gigs are as neon glow sticks at your cousin's Bar Mitzvah

I'm sure many of you love the latin dances. In real life, I LOVETHEMSOMUCH. For some reason, I could not get into them this season on the ice. But I don't like short dances in general. So it's my own problem.

But adios, Latin dances. I'm sure I'll yearn for you next year when I'm on my 35th hour of watching polkas. But the costumes alone are going to make it worth it. And the Heidi references! Think of the Heidi references, everyone.

Oh, yeah, and let's talk a little bit about the competition from yesterday.

I am no expert on ice dancing, so I cannot analyze why America's Davis and White received negative grades of execution on their rhumba yesterday. Needless to say, it was not an obvious deduction like a fall or out-of-sync twizzle would have been. But in terms of just being a fan watching, I will say it was definitely not the best they've ever performed that program. Whereas I felt that Canada's Virtue and Moir did perform theirs the best they have all season. That doesn't necessarily mean that Virtue and Moir deserve to be leading the competition, but I won't argue with it. I will, however, argue with France's Pechalat and Bourzat (whom I love and who deserve all the respect in the world for coming back from Pechalat's schnozz injury so well) being so close to Davis and White and even beating them on technical elements. Not in any other country would that have happened. I will also add that I loved Weaver and Poje of Canada. I think that's a great program for them, and they sold it yesterday. But they need to kiss their bronze medal dreams goodbye, because this is the year that Pechalat and Bourzat get on the podium.

Shibutani and Shibutani have been up and down with their not-very-riveting program all season, and yesterday they almost looked out of their league. And the judges agreed by placing them seventh. Something seemed a bit off. Their scores are still quite high and they will do better in the free dance, hopefully, but they just looked young out there.

Otherwise, I was happy to see Ilinykh and Katsalapov and Cappellini and Lanotte do so well; I enjoy both pairs. However, I do think the bronze medal has Pechalat and Bourzat's name on it. They'll need a fall or something disastrous to lose it.

Wow. So...if you want these results (and you may not) find them after the jump.

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The short dance just concluded in Nice, France. Results after the jump...

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Alexander Smirnov, of pair Kavaguti and Smirnov, was quoted in Rianovosti as complaining about the ice at the world championships today. The Russian pair entered the competition favorites for a medal but finished the short program in 11th place and about nine points off the lead.

According to Smirnov, “I fell because my skate cracked the ice,” Smirnov said. “The ice is all new and very fresh. It just cracks under your feet like glass.”

Maxim Trankov, of (former) gold-medal favorites Volosozhar and Trankov, also complained about the ice. He said:

it crumbled and was of “weird quality.” The pair finished eighth with a score of 60.48.

Well, it doesn't appear that all of the top teams had the same ice-cracking problem. So I have a feeling the show will go on.

Competition is underway at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, France. See the results of the pairs short program after the jump.

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