So, did the wrong guy win the US figure skating title in St. Paul? Depends upon how you interpret the rules. If you read the International Skating Union's guidelines, Johnny Weir should have dethroned Evan Lysacek instead of losing on a tiebreaker when their scores deadlocked at 244.77. That's what Weir's supporters have been yowling about on the Internet, and some mathematically-inclined fans agree.
They say that, instead of having the trimmed scores for the long program averaged, factored by two, and rounded off to two places beyond the decimal point, the scores were rounded, then factored. Had they been computed correctly, Weir would have regained his crown by a hundredth of a point.
US Figure Skating says it was simply using the IceCalc software provided by the ISU and that its own rule is just a basic description of the scoring that isn't meant to include all elements.
"All the participants were judged and scored by the same standard," said USFSA executive director David Raith.
In any case, it's too late to do anything about it, since the rules state that the results are final as soon as the medals are awarded. Weir himself isn't griping.
"I am fine with the result and I think everyone should be," he says on his website. "If not a champion this time, work harder and be a sure champion next time."
By then, the ISU will have clarified the rules at its summer congress. But the controversy points to what critics have been saying about the post-Skategate scoring system: It's too complex and confusing and leaves fans scratching their heads. You shouldn't have to be an MIT applied math professor to determine a skating champion. You used to only have to count to 6.0.
Sharp blades
How good is the next generation of American female skaters? Mirai Nagasu, who won the US senior title, finished third behind teammates Rachael Flatt and defending champion Caroline Zhang at last weekend's world junior championships in Bulgaria. It was another fantastic showing by the US kids, who duplicated last year's three titles, with Adam Rippon winning the men's crown and Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates the dance . . . If leader Lindsey Vonn ends up winning the Alpine World Cup title this month, last Sunday's canceled slalom in Germany may be the difference. It's the best event for Austria's Nicole Hosp, who trails by only 54 points, and Vonn's worst. If she wins this week's downhill and super combined in Switzerland, Vonn should have a decent cushion going into next week's four-race season finale in Italy. Sitting pretty, meanwhile, is Bode Miller, whose gold and two silvers in Norway last weekend put him 185 points up on Switzerland's Didier Cuche going into this week's slalom and giant slalom in Slovenia . . . Belmont native Emily Cook chose a dramatic spot for her first World Cup aerials victory last weekend - downtown Moscow with 30,000 spectators, including Russian president Vladimir Putin, watching in brutally windy conditions. "City aerials" may well be the event's future - any open spot where they can put up a scaffolding, from Times Square to Tiananmen Square - is fair game.Crossing pattern
The US sprinters keep tearing up the snow on the World Cup cross-country skiing circuit. Last weekend in Finland, Andy Newell of Shaftsbury, Vt., won a silver for his second career medal and Kikkan Randall finished fifth in the women's race . . . Shani Davis, who dominated both the 1,000- and 1,500-meter events during the World Cup speedskating season, will be favored to retain both titles at this weekend's world single-distance championships at the M-Wave oval in Nagano. If sprinter Tucker Fredricks is on, he could get a bronze in the 500, as he did last year. No chance for the US women, who are well off the pace in all five events . . . Another solid season for the US skeleton sledders, who are on the upswing after getting blanked at the last Olympics. Katie Uhlaender took silver at the world championships behind Germany's Anja Huber after winning the World Cup title, while Zach Lund and Eric Bernotas were third and fourth in the men's Cup chase . . . Are the Lords of the Rings being sexist by refusing to add women's ski jumping to the Vancouver program for 2010? No, insists Jacques Rogge, who says the sport's global base (an estimated 80 females) is far too small. "We do not want the medals to be diluted and watered down," the IOC president says. "That is the bottom line."Field day possible
The Yanks figure to give the Russians a go at this week's world indoor track and field championships in Valencia, Spain. On the squad are defending champions Brad Walker (pole vault) and Reese Hoffa (shot put), plus former medalists Allen Johnson (hurdles), Angela Williams (60 meters), and Christian Cantwell (shot put), and Olympic medalists John Moffitt (long jump) and Bryan Clay (heptathlon) plus top contenders Michael Rodgers (60), Lolo Jones (hurdles), and Jenn Stuczynski (pole vault) . . . While sprinter Justin Gatlin is trying to get his four-year doping ban cut to two, the international track and field federation wants it doubled to the original eight when the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides his case. At issue is Gatlin's first doping positive for an amphetamine in 2001, which Gatlin says he was taking for attention deficit disorder and shouldn't count against him. The IAAF claims that Gatlin was warned at the time that a second offense (his testosterone positive in 2006) could lead to a lifetime ban. If the CAS rules his way, Gatlin will be eligible for this summer's Olympic trials . . . Though Philip Dunn easily won the Olympic trials in the 50-kilometer race walk in Miami recently, he still needs to be nearly six minutes faster (4 hours, 7 minutes) to make the B standard for Beijing. That's nothing new for Dunn, who did it four years ago to make his second Olympic team. He'll get another chance in May at the World Cup in Russia, where the temperature should be decidedly cooler than 80 degrees.Day in the Park
The US 8K championships (a.k.a. the Central Park Challenge) in New York a week from Saturday will feature many of the top contenders for the women's distance team for Beijing, most notably Shalane Flanagan, Jen Rhines, Katie McGregor, and Amy Rudolph. On the men's side, Dathan Ritzenhein, who made the Olympic marathon team in the Park in November, knocks heads with old schoolboy rival Alan Webb plus former champion Jorge Torres . . . The US men's soccer team (U-23 version), which didn't make it to the last Olympics, will have everything going for it in next week's qualifying tournament: home-field advantage (Tampa and Nashville) and a gentle draw (Cuba, Panama, Honduras). The two finalists (likely the Yanks and Mexicans) go to Beijing. The women, who won the gold medal in Athens, have to go to Mexico for their April qualifier, where they'll face Jamaica and Mexico in their qualifying group, with the two tournament finalists going to the Games. The women are competing in the annual Algarve Cup in Portugal this week, where they'll meet China tomorrow, then Norway and Italy in their prelim group . . . Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the inaugural Olympic women's marathon in 1984, is among the finalists for the USOC Hall of Fame, along with basketball players David Robinson and Teresa Edwards, boxer Oscar de la Hoya, swimmer Mary T. Meagher, volleyball player Karch Kiraly, and figure skater Brian Boitano, among others. Candidates for the team category include the 1992 Dream Team in men's basketball, the 1996 women's gymnastics Magnificent 7, and the 1998 women's ice hockey team. Wheelchair racer Jean Driscoll, the eight-time Boston Marathon champion, is on the Paralympian list. You can vote online at usolympichalloffame.com.Material from Olympic committees, sports federations, interviews, and wire services was used in this report
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