Typing as well as one can since I've just scalded the first two fingers of my left hand (and I'm left handed) and they've got a good three inches of cream on them in the hopes that they'll stop stinging.....plus I'm missing the St Louis Green Bay game to look at this.....St Louis'd better win and Maurizio keep his shirt on or my day'll have ended quite badly!

Eurosport are once more running late with highlights, but we're being treated to more Tim Henman....anyone who thought it'd end when he lost was sadly mistaken....

Chris and Nicky promise us most of the medalists..

And heres Viktoria Volchkova...

PUrple dress with black boa....Memmory from cats......she loses the boa...spiral to start...double lutz....ina bauer.....layback.....nicely centred.....nicky talks about the big party....and how hard it can be to skate....now I know she stepped out the lutz but it's not that bad....gets the boa loses it again....in time to fall on the triple sal....spiral....nicky balmes spots for the fall....tripl toe.....catch foot sprial....and change to the other foot and sprail....into layback spin....to catch the foot layback....and more steps....and shes done/ That was lovely I must say.....and she picks up her boa at the end and does the splits on the ice.....that was really pretty, a real softness to her skating that we haven't seen before....4times a bronze medalist, in a row....chris tells us that he thinks they all went out scared in the ladies long program as nicky ponders viktoria's lack of self belief.

Brian Joubert

In black...wit hwings! no! no! no! not the wingy thingys Brian no! no! some french vocal ....a live version....he skates around the ice....does a sprail....and back spiral with bent leg....flying sit...really fast....nice spreadeagle into double axel...I can nearly forgive the wings after that.....more steps, nice interp of the music I must say....triple flip....besti squat in the steps...serpentine step....ina bauer no arch of the back....all off axison the toe so doubles it...sit spin change sit....nicky tells us that he reminded him this week of an american style skater more so than the originality of a french stlye skater....turns into a triple toe....flying camel.....needed to keep that freee leg up....low to the ice hydroblading spiral with hand down on the ice. And he's done and I enjoyed that. Chris tells us for the gazillionth time that he started off as an icehockey player and that it won't be long until he has four diff quads in his program. Brian, not Chris that is.

Irina Sluteskaya

In her shiny blue bodysuit with the deep v at the front....starts with a little spin...flirts with the front row....triple flip, heavy landing...flying spin....music gets the crowd going....straight line steps up centre ice...split jump and another....doubles the toe....into camel to sit layback to biellman change foot to biellman....and cross foot....and stop spinning and around the houses we go....into layback....really goodposition of the back,she was leaning right back in that....and she stops and flirts with the camera again,lies down on the ice and shes done...that was great..really really enjoyable. nicky ponders the message that irina and maria have sent across the atlantic, and they don't think that michelle will be having many sleepless nights from the sounds of things....and she does an encore of her double biellman. and a flying camel to catch foot camel ....they say its such a pity she didn't skate better in the free...once more I scream at my tv that she won the flipping thing! am I the only one who thinks that? is my maths gone south?

Abitbol and Bernadis

OK...she looks like shes wrapped in a blanket...and she is. an amber one. And pale makeup which doesn't suit her. He's in blakc and kind of an egyptian top....he unwraps her from the blanket....and she's in a gold dress with blakc skirt...lift to start with....and down she goes....into a pairs spin....him in sit, her in sit also but he's lifting her and her legs are out straight in front of her as seh spins....and they stop...and techno moves to this...great timing....they skate away from eaach ootehr and the camera soesn't know who to go to...death spiral into him swinging and turning her by the arm...stop and kneel to eacho ther....he pulls herinto his arms and lies her back and looks at her...I might melt right now....lift her straight up....and lower her and spin again....this is lovely this....steps....french vocal comes in...banana lift with one arm.....and she lets one of hers off and he lets her down....throw 2axperfect.....arms thrown up to heaven...adn great steps i nunison....and lift where she's right up....singing along....he carries her with one arm....camera is following her not him...grrr.....and shes kneeling by him...well who wouldn't really....headbanger.....which we see from overhead which loses the effect slightly...and they're done facing each other....and he kneels with his arms around her as she stays standing....sigh....I search for my drool bucket which has rusted from lack of use this week, rather than the otehr reason...and here comes the dog again! that dog is the cutest thing...he can hardly keep his feet!

Alexander Abt

He's in the turkey thanksgiving tin foil costume which is even tinfoilier inder the spotlights....goes down the ice form the off....into a huge triple jump which I miss....triple axel...into camel with variation into harding spin....techno type of thing....nice steps...goos changes of position and direaction.....lots of speed too....camel spin....to sit....and I hate like a living thing the overhead camera when it comes to spins! more changes of position follow....triple toe.....camel spin.....change camel....wow! footwork! good footwork in the straight line step! and he's done! chris sings a song called "the many injuries and illnesses of alexander abt" which we've become familiar with. Nicky decides not to follow this up and segues into "the girls love him even if he doesn't have a manly mane of hair like mine."

Fusar Poli and Margaglio

With two chairs on the ice. Just sit there for hte duration. I don't mind/ She's in a rahter nice red dress it must be siad, side more or less missing from it. He's in a tux, which cannot possibly come off, so I feel better....tango music, and they flirt from the chairs...and stand and dance....and he puts her sitting from chair to chair...his hair is slicked back in aponytail....she swings under his arm....diagonal steps....she jumps back and he lidts her and they do a glidy slidy thing....and more trad tango dancing....and she spins on the ice as he looks at her expressively.....dance spin where he's lifting her later and holding her upside down...I try not to shout drop her , go on! and fail utterly. circular tango steps as nickys song changes to :the sad lack of judical endorsement and whatever willl they do." diagonal step....she does lots of turns and kicks. he skates around holding her hand.. she jumps and he supports her....more steps....another jump and lift...and he leans her back and they're done. Nineteen days to the winter olympics! Nicky tells us what they should do - it's called "The Return of Romeo and Juliet and the need for a new OD with light and shade in it to give you impetus and a buzz" Hey Nicky, I've got a buzz for you and Maurizio - it comes from a razor which you use when you CUT YOUR HAIR!

Maria Butyrskaya

Blakc and white dress.....in alternating squares of four...as Chris borrows my drool bucket, what a picture he says....there's fluff on the top of her dress....she vamps on the ice...a fine affair is the music....nice steos...triple flip....music changes ....all that jazz instrumental....nice interptration...doules the loop....shes selling this well...as we go into a luesy thing...layback.....great footwork here....right in time and cahracter with the musci....chris is strangley quiet....double axel....music is now changed agin...hot honey rag....great sepentine steps....and a straight line....little bit of dancing at centre ice.....into camel to sit change sit...half biellman....and when you thought she was done....into cabaret.....split jump...flying camel......lovely position...and she's odne! that was graet! better than her free! I can't remember the last time I enjoyed one of her routines that much. I can't remember hte last time I enjoyed one of her routines.

Totmianina and Marinin

In blue jeans and red shirts both...a girl like you by edwin someone or other....wasn't it? this brings back memories of my summer jobs one year when you couldn't stop hearing this on the radio....spins ot start....good unison thus far....high double twist...and he has her by the arm and leg and boucnes her around the place....throw triple sal which she sits down on...turny aroundy lifty thing that doesn't go above the head...death spiral...he lies down on the ice and she ignores him....star lif...with changes of position where she goes into splits upside own.....jump sequence...great timing....glidey move where she's lying down her foot on his foot....carry lift...where she's stnading in his arms....and he swings her down...carries her upside down her hand on his skate.....pairs camel spins....and more pairs spins....including move where she's lying down and hes holding her, her legs on his knees and they're done and I really liked that. There's a great rhythm to the music, and they interpreted it really well....nicky sings the song of "I love her hair it suits her" - take a hint nicky and lose six inches off your own as well....they also raphsodise about the amount of ice coverage....

Alexei Yagudin

All in blakc with gloves....isn't this Memorial...as in "please erase the images of pasha and platov from my mind and make me like this music please even though I hate michael nyman???" just wondeing....and it is....mimes hands on glass....quad toe ! nailed it! take that! diagonal steps...besit squat...around he goes.....triple axel!...flyinfg sit....steps....runs back and forht....don't think much of the cmaera choices sometimes here....into camel to sit change sit to sit with blakde held...lies on he ice...kneels.....lies again....and kneels again....rises up....and down again....pulls himself up and around by the scruff of hte neck....moonwalks a little.....throws up the ice....little hops and steps and hops and steps....and around.....triple flip triple toe....striaghe line step....and lookat those feet! camel to sit layback change sit.....cross foot....and he's done and he punches the air! I was wrong about the name of the music - it's "you thought that Abt should have won but look at this and think again, this is what i can really do so take that!" Chris has never seen an exhibition with so much technical content...he tlaks baout the quad in spotlight, no prep, party last night....beggars belief... same withthe 3ax....

Anissina and Peizerat

It's Susanna! Oh drool....I love me Gwendal in that jacket....I just want to rip it off him....ok, they're skating...she drapes herself over him...well who wouldn't ? leaning hydroblading move....he chases her around....lift her whie kneeling in a sit poistion....she stands on his fett...he runs his fingers though her hair....run them through mine Gwendal....she carries him...again, I'd do that for free.. .the phone rings....sheskates away, he kneels and throws the phone away...she rolls him over on the ice...steps on him....he chases her....great steps.....ilovethis!....he carries her and turns....there goes the hacket and tehre are the bump and grinfs....I fan ymself....she slaps his face...how could you???/ dance spin....she skates and waves goodbeye....s/s steps...and look at that smile! look at that hair! look at that body.....he lifts her upisde down and on the shoulder....and the split lift whre she carries him....and ends with him lying on the ice, her back to him...I love this routine, and I have not drooled much this week, what with no Markus broadcast and no Rene (ah Rene) but I'm a-making up for it now! Oooh boy....if you think the video is going to stay where it is and not get rewound, you'd be wrong...sorry Kurt Warner and firends, you might just be waiting for my company....dear lord he's a good looking man....come on bring them out again...shirtless if possible....nicky and chris are discussing the politics of ice dance judging...

And we get no encore, we get teh chorus line of skaters at the end....look at them all....and that's that until Olympics. Which are in a time zone seven hours behind me....so I'll be teaching all day, snatching scant hours of sleep then doing this...oh the fun we will have....