That’s a Jethro Tull reference. Would you prefer Avril Lavigne? Some skater boys did pretty well over the weekend.
Short-track: A lot of world records fell over the weekend at the World Cup opener in Calgary, and J.R. Celski came up with one of the biggest, breaking the 40-second mark in the 500 meters. Celski also picked up a third-place finish, as did John-Henry Krueger, a discretionary pick for the World Cup squad who must have done some industrial smoothing to finish just behind Celski and Canadian favorite Charles Hamelin in the 500.
Check out the 500-meter final (via DailyHouse):
Canada’s Valerie Maltais took the women’s 1,000-meter record, though the overall World Cup leader at 1,000 is Britain’s Elise Christie.
Not a great weekend for the U.S. women, who finished eighth in the team classification. The men were a solid fourth, well ahead of China, despite finishing eighth in the relay.
Figure skating: Here, the U.S. women had a great weekend. For all my fretting over the “rise up and fade” tendencies they’ve had over the last few years, the results at Skate America speak for themselves: Ashley Wagner first, Christina Gao second. (On the downside, Rachael Flatt was ninth out of 10.)
Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the ice dance so comfortably they probably could’ve tossed in a bit of the Chicken Dance toward the end. Caydee Denney and John Coughlin were a promising third in pairs.
So if you want to panic about anything from a U.S. standpoint, consider the men. Japan swept the podium, Jeremy Abbott was fifth, and the other U.S. men were in the bottom four.
MLS: The playoff field is set, with Columbus and Dallas falling short of the last spots. San Jose has the Supporters’ Shield, but L.A. defender Omar Gonzalez cares not for the Quakes’ style of play, accusing them of some off-the-ball ref-not-looking shenanigans. And Galaxy supporters group Angel City Brigade raises some pointed questions for security at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Women’s soccer: Germany announced its re-emergence, holding the USA to a 1-1 draw on the Fan Tribute Tour at Toyota Park, the former home of the Chicago Red Stars.
Swimming: Missy Franklin is going to Cal. Can’t blame her, but those of use who learned to swim at the University of Georgia may be a little sad to hear the news.
Triathlon: Gwen Jorgensen knows how to finish a season in style — second place in the last World Championships series race, moving her up to ninth on the year. Sarah Groff was ninth on the day, seventh on the year.
The U.S. men had a rougher time, but the USA also came away with several paratriathlon and age-group prizes. If only they had a category for “over-40, can’t stand cold water or running” entries.
Rowing: Want to see a frightening photo? Go to the Head of the Charles’ official site and wait for “Day 2 underway” to come around. Is this rowing or rugby?
Swimming: A lot of Olympic swimmers pass on the World Cup season, particularly after the Olympics, but Anthony Ervin and Jessica Hardy seem to be making up for lost time with a few wins on the circuit this weekend.
Also in the Team USA roundup: Katie Compton’s latest cyclocross medal and the Head of the Charles.
Duresport.com 