Big names coming back to Skating!?!
Scott Hamilton not only stepped back into the spotlight on Celebrity Apprentice this winter, but he announced today he will be returning to the ice for the first time since being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2004. Press Release here.
Michelle Kwan will be commentating for NBC at the 2009 World Championships, and possibly for the 2010 Olympics if all goes well. Story here.
Oh, speaking of Michelle Kwan, she says she may be back for a 2010 Olympics attempt. Scroll down to the bottom of this Jan. 2009 L.A. Times article.
Oh, and Sasha Cohen may attempt a comeback for the 2010 Olympics. Chicago Tribune Feb. 2009 article here.
Can’t forget about Evegeni Plushenko as well, who also plans to be in Vancouver for 2010 Olympics.
That goes for Shen & Zhoa, as well. Article from china.org.
What’s Irina Slutskaya and Alexei Yagudin up to these days, anyway? 
Who’s next to come out of the wood work? (Eh, from behind the rink boards?)
I say, bring it! If you can still skate well enough to score the points to beat the current crop of your national competitors, then you deserve to be on the team. Period.
Plushenko should have an easy time of making the team, as talent/strength of Russian mens skating has declined over the past 8 years. Shen & Zhoa may have a tougher time given the scores these past few seasons of Zhang & Zhang and Pang & Tong.
And what about Sasha & Michelle? Well. We might only have 2 Olympic spots next year… I think the half of the hardcore skating fan base might blow a gasket if Sasha and Michelle took those two spots… but. May the best total scores win the Olympic spots, regardless of who it is. 
Besides… I wonder if the strategy will change for the likes of Alissa, Rachael, Mirai, Caroline, Ashley, Kimmi, Emily, and others now that it appears Sasha and Michelle may come back. Perhaps that 95% effort will turn to 100% and we’ll see an amazing set of programs from these top competitors — and an unforgettable U.S. Nationals.
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