Podcast appearances and mentions of Michelle Kwan

When it comes to the Olympics, it seems as if there are always certain athletes that give the Games this personal touch for us. Let's go back to the 1994 Winter Olympics. I remember we all wanted to see the women's skating showdown between Nancy Kerrigan and Tanya Harding. In 1998, it was two teenagers named Michelle and Tara. Michelle Kwan was heavily favored to leave Japan and the Olympics with that gold medal; 15-year old Tara Lipinski was expected to bring home the silver maybe. But in a stunning performance, and an Olympic upset, young Tara Lipinski captured the gold. Michelle Kwan, who had skated an almost flawless program, was disappointed but she was gracious. She won a silver medal that so many would love to win, but you know it still had to hurt. Some of that hurt slipped out as she sent a message to her family, and TV carried it around the world. She said, "I love you, Mom and Dad, and Karen and Jimmy. I hope you still love me." Ouch! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Love Even When You Lose." "I hope you still love me." That's not just a feeling a disappointed Olympian has felt. Many of us have had those moments when we have wondered, "Can you love me like this? I mean, the way I've failed you or hurt you? I'm not very lovable right now." It's just a fact that a lot of love in our lives is "performance love." People will love us if we perform. Sales people know a company and co-workers base your worth on this month's sales. Did you get the grades? Did you get the win? But who loves you when you lose? When you're not as young and attractive anymore? Who loves you when you've blown it? When you can't do the things that have always brought you approval? You may know all too well the sting of love that used to be there for you. The love that was supposed to always be there, but it's gone. Conditional love. There are lots of people who are willing to say, "I love you if..." What your heart cries for, though, and mine too, is someone who will just say, "I love you. There is nothing you can do to make me love you more. There is nothing you can do to make me love you less. I have made my choice. I love you. That will never change." Maybe you think that kind of "never-leave-you" love is impossible. Well, there really is a love you cannot lose, because it's a love you cannot earn. The undeniable proof of that love is described in our word for today from the Word of God in Romans 5:8. "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." In other words, God loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son for us even though we were doing the things God hates. Maybe you've tried to earn God's love by being a good person, a religious person, a Christian person. But God says clearly that the way to begin a relationship with Him is "not by works" (Ephesians 2:9). It's by His "grace," the Bible says, which means undeserved love. All your goodness cannot erase a lifetime of sinning. Sin puts us on eternity's Death Row. But even with all our "sin-garbage" - totally unlovable spiritually - God sent His Son to die for us; to die for you. If He didn't turn His back on you when His Son was hanging on that cross for you, He will never turn His back on you. Once you put your total trust in Jesus to be your Rescuer from your sin, you have His unloseable love. And on your very worst days, you can ask God, "Do You love me like this?" and He will always answer, "Yes." This is the love your heart has been aching for all these years. He's within your reach right now. Just tell Jesus you're giving your life to Him, beginning today. I'd love to help you know how for sure you belong to Him if you would just go to our website. That's why it's there. It's ANewStory.com. Please check it out today. Imagine, never unloved again, never another day alone. Not because you deserve it but because Jesus died to remove what could ever take you out of God's love. He made His move on the cross, and now, my friend, it's your move.

With the 2022 Olympic Games warming our hearts and making us wish for brand new ice skates, we knew it was time...time to learn more about the one and only (Ambassador) Michelle Kwan! Join us in reading Heart of a Champion, one of Michelle Kwan's many autobiographies. Some people might wait to finish high school before writing a memoir, but Michelle had lived enough to write a book at 17. We talk about Michelle's years of training, her family's commitment to greatness, and of course, "the Tara Lipinski of it all." No coach has put us in, but we are ready to skate.   Original due date: February 24, 2022

In 2022, the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history landed a remarkable new role, as Ambassador to Belize. In her conversation with José, she describes her transformed life, growing up in a Chinese restaurant -- and what she's discovered about food since arriving in Central America.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The word “iconic” gets thrown around a lot these days. But with two Olympic medals, five World Championships, and nine US Championships, figure skater Michelle Kwan is nothing if not iconic. And after representing the US on the world stage in the ice rink, she has moved on to an incredibly fitting second act: she's the US Ambassador to Belize. Ambassador Kwan talks about her Second Act, and the lessons she learned in her storied figure skating career.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Sense of Self, a podcast where we explore the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what happens when those stories stop working. In this episode, I had the privilege of chatting with Akemi Look, a multi-talented actor, producer, and writer based in Los Angeles. Akemi's journey is one of resilience, healing, and self-discovery.We delved into Akemi's childhood, where she shared her experiences of growing up half-Japanese, half-Chinese in Michigan. She opened up about the challenges she faced, including racial taunts and the struggle to assimilate in a predominantly white community. At the age of 10, Akemi set her sights on becoming a rhythmic gymnast, driven by a deep desire to prove her worth and be accepted as "American enough." She recounted the grueling training regimen, the sacrifices she made, and the pressure she felt to succeed. Akemi's dedication to her sport led her to represent the United States in international competitions, but it came at a cost.Our conversation took a poignant turn as Akemi shared about a life-altering accident that shattered her face and forced her to confront deep-seated trauma. This event became a turning point in her healing journey, prompting her to slow down, reflect, and prioritize her well-being. Akemi's vulnerability in discussing her struggles with mental health, addiction, and trauma highlighted the importance of self-care and seeking help.We also explored Akemi's relationship with her family, particularly her journey towards forgiveness and understanding with her parents. The role of friends, her husband, and her own inner strength in supporting her through difficult times was a testament to the power of community and resilience.As we wrapped up our conversation, Akemi reflected on her growth and transformation, describing herself as a bright, hopeful person ready to shine her light. Her journey from self-doubt to self-acceptance is an inspiring reminder of the healing power of self-discovery.Thank you for listening to Akemi's story, and for being a part of our community. Tune in next week for episode 2 of season 1, and please subscribe. You can learn more about us at www.senseofselfpod.com and follow us for updates on  Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sense.of.self.pod/. You can check out what Akemi is up to next here:www.AkemiLook.comhttp://www.imdb.me/akemilookhttps://www.instagram.com/akemilookEpisode Credits:Produced by Andrew Coles. Elizabeth Rose. Allison Keeley, and Dr. Gowri Aragam.Edited by: Ben MontoyaMixed by: Aja SimpsonMusic from:  Blue Dot SessionsLogo, branding, and graphic design by: Melanie KwanSense of Self is a podcast from The Mission Entertainment.  A note on ethics, process, and safety: The individuals in this podcast have graciously shared their stories and it's important to note that while these discussions are enriching and enlightening, they are not a substitute for therapy or mental healthcare.Please note that each guest has given their consent to participate, had full control over what aspects of their journey were shared, and either currently engages in therapy or has done so in the past.Thanks from all of us at Sense of Self and The Mission Entertainment.

What do the names Michelle Kwan, Brian Orser, Tonya Harding, and Elvis Stojko have in common? That's right, they are all figure skaters from the 80s and 90s. In this episode, Jamie and Milo are joined by Ryan Stevens, author of the upcoming book Sequins, Scandals & Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980s to discuss those names and more, as they revisit the golden era of figure skating.   Find Ryan and "Sequins, Scandals & Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980s" at Web: www.skateguardblog.com Barns and Noble Amazon For More from the 80s and 90s visit Web: the80sand90s.com    Instagram: @The80sand90sCom  YouTube: The 80s and 90s Overlooked If you enjoy this episode, don't keep it a secret, tell a friend and/or share it on social media so others can experience it as well. 

What do you think about TOO MUCH????  We Show Some Love: The Great Comet's 2017 TONY Award and Michelle Kwan's 1998 Olympics Win   Follow, Like, and Subscribe: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter @inAdditionpod Anchor.fm/inAdditionpod Contact us: inadditionpod@gmail.com Hosts: Stephanie Crugnola, Emily Swan, Mike Ellison, Tony P. Henderson Music: Pomade by Silent Partner --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inadditionpod/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inadditionpod/support

Steve and Cat talk about Craft Beer. Is there still a market for craft beer? Our one awesome lady this week is figure skating great Michelle Kwan. What Ca Watchin is Apple TV's "The New Look" Shot of the week is The Butterfingers Shot. Our band of the week is Rock Legend David Bowie.

In this captivating episode of the podcast, Emily Merrell interviews Ariel Hoffman, delving into her fascinating journey from competitive figure skater and ballet dancer to Broadway performer and celebrity fitness trainer. Ariel shares candidly about her childhood, her love for dance, and the pivotal moments that led her to pursue a career in health coaching. From defeating Michelle Kwan in junior nationals to working with Shaun T on fitness videos, Ariel's story is both inspiring and insightful. Join Emily and Ariel as they discuss the importance of nurturing passions, overcoming perfectionism, and fostering a positive mindset. Dive into this engaging conversation and discover how Ariel's journey can inspire you to embrace your true calling and lead a healthier, more fulfilling life.What You'll Learn:Embracing Change: Ariel's journey from competitive figure skater to health coach highlights the importance of embracing change and following one's passions.Parenting Insights: Reflecting on her own upbringing and parenting experience, Ariel discusses the importance of fostering children's talents while also understanding their unique personalities and needs.Overcoming Perfectionism: Ariel's experience with perfectionism in sports and fitness led her to help others overcome self-judgment and strive for progress rather than perfection.Virtual Coaching: With a majority of her coaching conducted virtually, Ariel emphasizes the accessibility of her services, making health coaching available to anyone, regardless of location.Celebrity Encounters: From meeting Michelle Kwan in junior nationals to encountering Brad Pitt in Los Angeles, Ariel shares amusing anecdotes about her brushes with fame.Community and Support: Ariel highlights the importance of community and support in fitness endeavors, acknowledging the role of friends and mentors in motivating and encouraging progress.To learn more about Ariel Hoffman, visit her website www.arielhoffman.com  and follow on instagram at @wellxarielhoffmanSign up for The Second Degree Membership! By becoming a member, we're getting more intimate than ever! Get the Membership now! Check our past episodes of The Second Degree podcast! Remember to follow us on Instagram. 

Michelle Kwan is a world-renowned figure skater who has redefined what it means to be a champion. Her grace and determination are brighter than any medal and she inspires young people everywhere to be true to themselves. This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It's based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. This story was produced by Deborah Goldstein with sound design and mixing by Mumble Media. It was written by Gina Kaufmann and edited by Abby Sher. Fact-checking by Joe Rhatigan. Narration by Joy Smith. Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi. Joy Smith and Jes Wolfe were our executive producers. Thank you to the whole Rebel Girls team who make this podcast possible. Stay rebel!

In this very special, one-hour episode, you'll meet Lindsey Gau and Bill Hansen, part of our new, rotating crew of podcast hosts. They each share memories from formative canoe trips--both were 15 years old, and included travels with life-long friends. And WTIP introduces a new podcast feature called "Keep it Wild," a conversation with a USFS Wilderness Lead about all things wild. We also say "see you out there" to Joe Friedrichs and M. Baxley, the founders of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, who in this episode give their parting words, and share interview segments with Emily Ford, Bear Paulsen and Michelle Kwan about connecting to the outdoors. And finally, there's a look back to Christmas 2015 with Dave and Amy Freeman, Ely Wilderness Adventurers who spent Christmas in the BWCAW, complete with cookies and ice luminaries. (Photo courtesy of Lindsey Gau)

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 917, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: biblical numbers 1: The number of days it took God to create the universe and everything in it (not resting). 6. 2: The number of days Jesus fasted in the desert. 40. 3: This many friends of Daniel were thrown into the fiery furnace but saved by God. 3. 4: The number of Hebrew Old Testament books named for specific women. 2 (Ruth and Esther). 5: In Genesis 35 Joseph had this many brothers (including half brothers). 11. Round 2. Category: the civil war years 1: War was raging when this holiday was 1st observed nationally, on the last Thursday in November 1863. Thanksgiving. 2: This 4-word motto was first stamped on U.S. coins during the war, in 1864. In God We Trust. 3: U.S. diplomat Charles Francis Adams. this president's son, sought to keep the British neutral. John Quincy Adams. 4: In 1861 Army Surgeon Bernard Irwin earned the 1st Medal of Honor in Hostilities vs. Chiricahua Apaches in this future state. Arizona. 5: "Little Women" author who became famous when letters she wrote as a Civil War nurse were published in 1863. Alcott. Round 3. Category: 1959's bestsellers 1: In a Paul Gallico title, "Mrs. 'arris Goes to" this European city. Paris. 2: At No. 1, this Leon Uris book left the other works of fiction behind. Exodus. 3: This book by Pasternak was No. 2 in the fiction bestseller rack. Doctor Zhivago. 4: "Twixt Twelve and Twenty" was an advice book by this "April Love" singer. Pat Boone. 5: Please "state" the name of this James Michener book, No. 3 on Publishers Weekly's list for the year. Hawaii. Round 4. Category: michelle 1: Graceful skating champ Michelle Kwan was born in and trains in this state known more for surf than ice. California. 2: Get "Up Close and Personal" with this "Catwoman" who was Miss Orange County in 1978. Michelle Pfeiffer. 3: This actress whose middle name is Michelle slays me as TV's vampish Buffy. Sarah Michelle Gellar. 4: Wins at the Sara Lee Classic and the Oldsmobile Classic make Michelle McGann a seasoned pro in this sport. Golf. 5: The lovely and talented Michelle Forbes played Ensign Ro on this "Trek" incarnation. Star Trek: The Next Generation. Round 5. Category: "t"3 1: The Holy Bible is made up of the "Old" and "New" ones. testaments. 2: Gouverneur Morris was responsible for much of the wording of this in 1787. the Constitution. 3: It's the lever pilots use to control the power and speed of many planes. throttle. 4: To create an opera, you need a composer and this person who writes or adapts the text. librettist. 5: While not an M.D., this person can still diagnose eye problems and prescribe glasses. optometrist. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia! Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/

In this episode of The Beautiful Bag podcast, we are joined by Jacqueline, a talented ice skater who has overcome the challenges of living with Crohn's disease. Jacqueline shares her inspiring journey and how she continues to pursue her passion for ice skating despite her health condition. Episode Highlights: Living with Crohn's Disease: Jacqueline reveals that she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 15, and her mother also has the same condition. With half her life spent battling the disease, she emphasizes the importance of spreading awareness and breaking stigmas associated with Crohn's disease. Trial and Error: Jacqueline discusses the challenges of finding the right medications to manage her Crohn's disease. She shares her experience of trying various treatments and going through different medications, including biologics, to achieve remission. Making the Decision for Surgery: After years of managing her condition with medication, Jacqueline faced a severe flare in 2020. Fearing the potential loss of her colon, she made the difficult decision to undergo surgery to disconnect her small intestine from her colon. Despite the surgeon's warning of a low success rate, Jacqueline remained determined to save her colon. Embracing Life with an Ostomy: Jacqueline reflects on her post-surgery life with an ileostomy bag. Initially concerned about how her life as an athlete, particularly as a professional ice skater, would be affected, she discovered a Facebook group dedicated to ostomy lifestyle athletes. Witnessing the accomplishments of fellow athletes with ostomies, she realized that her passion for ice skating would not be hindered. Returning to the Ice: Jacqueline shares her joy of returning to the ice after her surgeries. She highlights how, while performing, she feels completely in her element, and her ostomy bag becomes inconspicuous. Her dedication to skating and her ability to overcome obstacles have remained unwavering. A Special Call from Michelle Kwan: Jacqueline recounts a remarkable moment in her journey when Michelle Kwan, an iconic figure skater, called her during a challenging time. Michelle offered words of encouragement, assuring Jacqueline that she would be able to come back from her illness just as she had overcome injuries during her own career. This phone call served as a tremendous inspiration for Jacqueline. Jacqueline's story serves as a testament to the resilience and determination of individuals living with Crohn's disease. Despite the obstacles she has faced, she continues to pursue her passion for ice skating and inspire others with her unwavering spirit. Her journey reminds us that with the right mindset and support, we can overcome any challenge and live a fulfilling life. Thank you for joining this episode of The Beautiful Bag podcast. Stay tuned for more inspiring stories of individuals who triumph over adversity. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. Until next time!       

This is SUCH a Madigan episode... This week, we're talking about Tiffany Chin, Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan, and Nathan Chen, all trailblazers for Asian Americans in figure skating. You'll also get some Madigan skating stories sprinkled in throughout, because, of course! JOIN ME ON PATREON FOR THE ANGRY FEMINIST BOOK CLUB! Join me in covering this month's book, Still Learning by India Oxenberg! https://www.patreon.com/angryneighborhoodfeminist This episode was brought to you by Nutrafol! Go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code "ANGRY" to save $10 off your first month's subscription AND free shipping!! The episode was also sponsored by Nutrablast! Go to https://nutrablast.co/YourAngryNeighborhoodFeminist and use code Feminist20 to get a 20% discount on your order! GET YOUR YANF MERCH! https://yanfpodcast.threadless.com/  Do you have a topic that you want the show to take on?    Email: neighborhoodfeminist@gmail.com Social media:     Instagram: @angryneighborhoodfeminist **Don't forget to REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Paddler Profile series continues in this episode. The featured paddler is Wendy Paulsen, a dedicated paddler of the BWCA and other waters across North America. Wendy is the sister of Northstar Canoes General Manager Bear Paulsen. She has a generous spirit for introducing others to the BWCA, including Michelle Kwan, an avid fan of the BWCA who was featured on episode 52 of the podcast. In addition to paddling, Wendy enjoys swimming recreationally across BWCA lakes. And not just a dive-in, jump-out type swim. Literally swimming laps around lakes in the wilderness is something Wendy has embraced, as podcaster Matthew Baxley learns and shares in this episode.

What is the biggest danger to your success? Today, Darren shares the cautionary tale of Michelle Kwan and how she fell from grace. Pay attention! This is one mistake you can't afford to make. Get more personal mentoring from Darren each day. Go to DarrenDaily at http://darrendaily.com/join to learn more.

In honor of the upcoming Oscars (Sunday, March 12th), we're rewinding to the films we've covered that have been nominated for Academy Awards! This film is nominated for a record eleven academy awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best supporting Actress (for both Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu), Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Score, and Best Song. So in other words, best everything!The Daniels Everything Everywhere All At Once is 2022's best film. Go see it and tell us it is not. This is the most excited we've been about a major action/sci-fi release in a long time (maybe ever) and we were ecstatic to welcome the lead cast to the mic - Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and directors  Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. With the Daniels, we get to hear how they met, how they're process was writing this script before and during the Trump presidency, they're very fun fight props, setting the tone on-set and off, how in the hell they got Andre 3000 on the score of this film and a little bitch talking about some of our favorite directors making movies that feel tone deaf. Changing over to the lead cast, Erin talks with Michelle Yeoh about an off camera comment she made to one of the Daniels, Stephanie Hsu talks all about her bad ass wardrobe's while playing villain Jobu Tupaki, and Ke Huy Quan talks about coming back to the big screen after years of feeling invisible in Hollywood. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a wild ride that needs to be watched more than once. Thanks for listening!Follow Daniel Kwan on IG  and TwitterFollow the Daniels on Twitter  Follow Michelle Yeoh on IG Follow Ke Huy Quan on IGFollow Stephanie Hsu on IG --Thanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 10 years, 700 episodes or Best of The Bay Best Podcast without your help! --Be well, stay safe, Black Lives Matter, AAPI Lives Matter, and abortion is normal.--SUPPORT US HERE!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.Listen every other Thursday 9:30 - 10 am on BFF.FMPOWERED BY GO-TO Productions 

This Week in Skating is hosted by Gina Capellazzi and Daphne Backman and is a cooperative project between Figure Skaters Online and Ice-dance.com. New episodes are available every Monday.Website: http://www.thisweekinskating.comEmail: thisweekinskating@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisweekinskatingTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/thiswkinskatingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinskating-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode 57 Show NotesEvents Results BriefChallenge CupBellu Memorial Tallink Hotels CupSynchro: Spring CupNovice Canadian Championships & Skate Canada CupSegment - General Skating NewsWADA appeals case of Russian Olympic Committee figure skater to Court of Arbitration for SportThe Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS registers the appeals filed by the RUSADA, ISU and WADA against the decision by the RUSADA disciplinary anti-doping commissionU.S. Figure Skating released a statement Friday that Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker have chosen not to compete at the World Championships as they continue to prioritize their healing and mental health.Kaitlin's statement:https://t.co/Qq0nGyLR47 Jean-Luc's statement: ​​https://www.instagram.com/p/CpFxBxWu6xA/U.S. Figure Skating sent out a press release saying Robert Yampolsky has withdrawn from the World Junior Championships due to medical reasons.Segment - Recent InterviewsJeremy Abbott finds his niche, by Susan D. Russell, International Figure Skating Magazine Team USA Reminisces About Their Favorite Memories from the Beijing Games One Year Later, by Kristen Henneman, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZonePutting the Great Back in the Great Falls FSC, by Harry Thompson, U.S. Figure SkatingAljona Savchenko: Finding a new path five years after Olympic glory, by Hiro YoshidaGasparotto and Chapple named Mabel Fairbanks Skatingly Yours Recipients, by Lois Elfman, New York Amsterdam News A Look Back at Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan in Nagano, by Lynn Rutherford, Team USA Bruno Marcotte: The Door is Wide Open, by Anna Keller, Golden SkateDebi Thomas makes comeback in Lake Placid, by Parker O'Brien, Adirondack Daily EnterpriseNaomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer Thrust onto World Junior Stage Six Months into Partnership, by Paige Feigenbaum, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZoneMartynov Aims to Skate Clean, Show What He Can Do in Junior World Debut, by Christie Sausa, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZoneJosephine Lee Up for the Challenge at World Juniors, by Grace Knoop, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZoneStarlights Continue Upward Climb, Inspiring Future Generations Along the Way, by Grace Knoop, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZoneThe Fond du Lac Blades Are Back, Alright, by Paige Feigenbaum, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZoneSkyliners Senior Writes Their Own Story, by Marissa Pederson, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZoneCrystallettes Test ‘Never Tear Us Apart' Theme in First Senior Elite 12 Season, by Rachel Lutz, U.S. Figure Skating Fan ZoneSegment - Social Media UpdatesPiper Gilles announced through a Happy Valentine's Day posted that she married her longtime boyfriend, Nathan KellyNicole Della Monica got engaged to her boyfriend, Abraham Conyedo, who is an Olympic wrestler. Stars on Ice posted that this will be Kurt Browning's final tour.Skate Japan News posted that Kaori Sakamoto & Mai Mihara received the Hyogo Sports Excellence AwardAnastasiia Smirnova and Danil Siitanysia posted two videos of them back on the ice, training together.Canada's Haley Sales posted on Instagram that her partner, Nikolas Wamsteeker has decided to retire from competitive skating to join the Canadian Air Force.Junior ice dancers Emma L'Esperance / Mika Amdour have announced their retirement from competitive ice dance.Acacia Hill, sister of Asher Hill, was on the Canada talk show “Cityline” to talk about Brampton Hill Skating Academy, which is the first black-owned skating school in North America.Nathan Chen's children's book came out this week! He's also been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award.Jason Brown has a bobble head! It is available from pre-sale on the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum website. Info on Jason's website.IFS Magazine posted a letter from Claudyne Hutchinson stating that she is retiring from Silver Blade Tours as of February 13.Segment - Upcoming Events for the WeekISU World Junior Championships, Feb. 27-March 52023 U.S. Synchronized Championships, March 1-4 Junior, senior, senior elite 12, and collegiate competition will be available on Peacock PremiumAll other levels will be available free of charge on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.Synchro: Steel City Trophy, March 3-6IDC and FSO spotlightIDC:Photos: Challenge CupIDC: Janse Van Resnburg & Steffan embrace new opportunities FSO: Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise on joining forces to become a new pairs teamFSO: A family affair FSO: Lia Pereira & Trennt Michaud: A perfect matchSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/this-week-in-skating-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The United States Figure Skating National championships was first held in 1914 in New Haven, Connecticut, and has been the spot for fans of the sport to see the best in the history of the sport, including Dick Button, ScottHamilton, Brian Boitano and Nathan Chen on the men's side, to women's sports icons such as Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hammill, Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan. This year's event is in San Jose, California, at the SAP Center. SportsTravel Managing Editor Matt Traub talked with Bob Dunlop, the senior director of events for U.S. Figure Skating about what goes into organizing the national championships, how the event is more than just the elite competition seen on television, working with destinations and venues over the years including during the pandemic, best practices in the business and the one event that he still wants to check off his sports bucket list. We hope you enjoy the conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tara Lipinski, internationally acclaimed figure skater was catapulted onto the world's stage when she won the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics – earning her the distinction as the youngest individual Gold Medalist in the history of the Winter Games. As the official correspondent and commentator for the Olympics, Tara was the primetime analyst for figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and hosted NBC's coverage of the 2021 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Tokyo. She has served as the host and commentator for many NBC events such as the Kentucky Derby, the Superbowl, and the National Dog Show, as well as hosted Food Network's Wedding Cake Championship. Released in January 2022, she produced a three-part docuseries for NBC's streamer Peacock, entitled “Meddling: The Olympic Skating Scandal that Shocked the World.” Most recently she started a production company called May Fifth Productions with her husband, Director/Producer Todd Kapostasy. Tara recently shared her own fertility journey struggles which you can hear about in her and her husband's podcast “Unexpecting”. When I began listening to their podcast, I couldn't stop! If you are on the fertility journey, you must give their podcast a listen! Tara's website: https://taralipinski.com https://www.instagram.com/taralipinski https://www.facebook.com/TaraLipinski Unexpecting podcast: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwii__PW_fuCAxVokoQIHTeEA14QFnoECBUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Ftara-lipinski-unexpecting%2Fid1703350436&usg=AOvVaw0DrbzYpVRMqngykpkd_n85&opi=89978449 For more information about Michelle, visit www.michelleoravitz.com The Wholesome Fertility facebook group is where you can find free resources and support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/ Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/ Transcript: Michelle: [00:00:00] Welcome to the podcast, Tara. Tara: Hi, so excited to be here. Michelle: I'm so excited to have you here. First of all, I'm a little starstruck. I actually remember the time when you were against Michelle Kwan. And I was like, Oh my God, I remember that. It was incredible. So, and first of all ice skating is my favorite winter sport. So Tara: Good. That's a good thing. I love it. That's Michelle: sure. Michelle: And. So I know that your story has so many ups and downs and I've been listening to the podcast and I almost don't even want to get too into detail because I don't want to ruin it if people are going to listen to the podcast. Cause I literally was hanging on the edge to listen to the next one. Michelle: And the next one, it really was like cliffhangers. Tara: I know. Michelle: And at the same time It was it definitely captured the emotion. I remember specifically episode 10. I was like bawling listening to that it was really really emotional and touching and [00:01:00] knowing your background and That you're a figure skater and that you're an athlete and just really what goes into being an athlete In that kind of competition and like the personal development that you have to have and the strength and it seems like nothing prepares you for this. Tara: Nothing does and I think that Being an athlete and growing up as an athlete You just have this mentality that the harder you work the more effort you put in Then you'll achieve your dream. You will get results. And that's just not the case with a medical diagnosis or infertility. And that was a really hard lesson for me to learn and to accept, because I'm such a type A controlling person, if I'm being honest, where I want to have control over things in my life, that it was the first time where I realized, this is so out of my, hands, this is something that I can't control, and I had to really try to learn patience and acceptance and Realize that you can't just will yourself to [00:02:00] have a baby or, you know, to, to fight this awful path that sometimes people are put on when you get an unexplained infertility diagnosis or even any type of fertility diagnosis, it still can be a day to day struggle of trying to find out what's wrong and that's It's really hard to live in that anxiety inducing space. Tara: And that's, you mentioned it with the podcast of sort of these cliffhangers. Our journey in particular felt like I was solving a mystery every single cycle and it's, it's life altering when that becomes your world. Michelle: 100%. And I remember you mentioning also, even though you went to like the best RE and she was amazing. I mean, she really was like looking into everything. She's really honest with you. Even though you did that, it still wasn't like, you couldn't figure out that you actually needed to talk to an immunologist.[00:03:00] Tara: Right, and it's because, you know, I, I think what's interesting about infertility is there's a large community and you hear, there are so many people that are experiencing pregnancy loss or going through infertility, but in the grand scheme of things. There still is a population that just gets pregnant very easily and you can have multiple children very easily without problems or complications. Tara: And IVF isn't an exact science. So, as amazing as it is, and it's incredible that we ha I wouldn't have my daughter without IVF. So, it's incredible that we have this, but it also isn't a guaranteed. Result when you go into IVF, it's not like you are guaranteed a baby and I think doctors are just trying their best to Find the problem and I think when people go into IVF The great thing is is usually within two retrievals or two transfers You have positive results, [00:04:00] and that is great that those are the statistics, but there is a community out there where, where my husband and I fell into, where that's not the case. Tara: We went through six failed transfers, we had four miscarriages, we did eight retrievals. And there's a world where you can be the best doctor in, in the world and not know exactly why my body isn't keeping a pregnancy. And, you know, my doctor says it. She said, I have tested you more than any other of my patients. Tara: And we couldn't find an answer until the reproductive immunology result came about. And we finally got a little bit more information. Michelle: yeah, and I remember like listening to your stories I loved listening to you and your husband and I love the connection that you guys have together and how you can infuse humor and you know in a time that is so difficult and just listening to like the rawness and the realness of the whole situation and I can feel the frustration like I was like like what what is it, you [00:05:00] know, cuz I'm like Following as you're going, Tara: Right. And we just hit so many different obstacles, too, where then all of a sudden, you know, I had a septum that was a residual septum and you think, oh my goodness, we found the answer. And then you lose another embryo and, you know, it's just, it really is a rollercoaster ride when you're, you're part of this world. Tara: It's traumatizing. Michelle: sure. And also, I mean, you know, everybody wants that positive pregnancy, but then when you go through that positive pregnancy and every single time you're waiting for that heartbeat and you're going through the PTSD over and over and over again. It was just, it's traumatizing for sure. Tara: It really is traumatizing and I think especially, I mean, obviously any type of loss, any type of miscarriage, but when you start having repeat or recurrent miscarriage, it really is like reliving that first trauma over and over again and it feels like the worst, you know, nightmarish movie [00:06:00] of deja vu playing out in front of you and it's, it's really hard to know how to cope and I, you know, obviously I, I started therapy, but. Tara: You know, it's just dealing with grief and loss, and that's a lot to take on while also still pursuing and going down the road of trying to build a family through it all. So I think people that don't experience pregnancy loss or infertility or any of these types of journeys or IVF, that you don't really realize what this world entails and how there are no guarantees and how there are so many failures and there's so much. Tara: grief and loss associated with every kind of failure that people are really struggling in this world, you know, emotionally and mentally, let alone the physical feats they have to put their body through. Michelle: And also the fact that you are having to perform during this time and be out in the public. And I mean, yeah, it's like one thing to be a public figure, but then all of a sudden to actually [00:07:00] express your journey with the public is a whole different level of courage. Tara: Yeah, it's terrifying. I remember for the first time, I've always been so open, but the, the night before the podcast came out and we released that we, you know, We're going to talk about this journey. It was just, you know, I was so nervous. I was so anxious. I felt so unsettled to just be sharing this information. Tara: Just because also it's, it's a subject that's not talked about enough. It's a subject that's still, there's still shame and, silence that surrounds infertility and pregnancy loss and miscarriage. So it was really hard to just put it all out there. Michelle: And so what was the final reason? I mean, obviously you probably wanted to get the story out there because you knew it was going to help a lot of people. I know it was hard for you because you were talking about how when you were speaking about it, one of the days you came home and you cried, you really felt it. Michelle: And you're like, that's weird. I thought I was like, I dealt with this. And all of a sudden all these emotions are coming up. And then also [00:08:00] did you feel on some level, it was also healing to, to speak about it? Yeah. Tara: I mean, of course, I want to help people and connect people. But I think it was something that Todd and I went through together that was, you know, very traumatic. And of course, we had tried to process all the feelings as they were happening, but that's hard to do. And I think for us, it was really nice to sit down and do this together alone. Tara: You know, there was no one else. You know part of this podcast but the two of us and to reflect back and to Really see it all laid out. And I think Todd said it in one episode where he just said, you know, you go through it and you're always getting to that next step. But when we started to plan out this podcast and write it down on cards, we really realized all that we had been through and it was healing for us to talk about it and I guess sort of even just honor our own journey and all the embryos we lost and, kind of come to terms with this was five years of our life. And at a certain point, another reason I wanted to do it was it just. It's [00:09:00] one thing to be like, oh, I went through IVF and had a loss and then had a baby and I don't really need to go into detail with the world about it, but this was such a huge, life changing, life altering thing that happened to us that I think it would have always felt very strange to just not share that part of my life and let people in on exactly what was happening. Michelle: Yeah. And I'll be honest. I mean, it's, it's a big thing. It's not easy to do that at all. Like even, if it's just sharing, a lot of people don't even share it to their families Tara: And that's fine. And I think that's another thing that I continue to say is like, protect your heart. And if you don't want to talk about it, you don't want to share, you don't have to. And there was a reason I didn't for five years because I really was not able to cope with sharing and continuing. Tara: Treatment and trying to figure out my own emotions. It was way too overwhelming to share with people and I think that's okay as well Michelle: 100%. And I think that you [00:10:00] really do have to be ready for anything. And I like that you mentioned that a lot in the podcast, you talked about if people don't feel comfortable with this, that is their journey and it has to be a personal thing. So I thought it was really important to mention. Michelle: And one thing that actually struck me is the fact that you didn't get your period until 25, that was like, wow, like nobody said anything to you at that point. Tara: no I brought that up because I just think it's it's it's an important topic of just women's reproductive health in general how So little we actually know and so little is being tested for us throughout our twenties or thirties when it comes to fertility or really the education there for us about fertility and, you know, making informed decisions about, you know, family building for me, getting my period so late, didn't have an impact on my journey and, and wasn't any part of the reason for IVF I didn't go into it because it was [00:11:00] just very long winded in the podcast, but I simultaneously were, I was having a ton of other symptoms and we found out that I had a pituitary disorder. Tara: So we had to, I went on medication, thyroid medication and we sort of addressed that with other medications as well and it immediately brought on my cycle. But it goes to show that. You know, when it comes to women's health, something like that probably would have been found way sooner if people were actually concerned about why, you know, that wasn't happening for me. Tara: And I think sometimes it's like, Oh, it's, it's okay. Or it could be because she's an athlete or Oh, it's, you know, periods are, cycles are, sort of, you know, they can be mysterious, but clearly there was a, an underlying problem and thank goodness we found that, because that could have affected my health in other ways, too. Tara: You know, but I was diagnosed with secondary pituitary thyroid disease as well when we found this, which was obviously, [00:12:00] affecting my, hormones. Michelle: One of the things too you mentioned is is going to the OB at first and then the OB is not having like the same information as the REs. Michelle: That's a big thing because a lot of times people won't know. that there's a reproductive endocrinologist and sometimes they'll think, okay, I'm not, I don't need IVF, so I shouldn't go. But it's something I mentioned a lot is just really uncovering. They understand fertility it's a little more specialized. Tara: Yes, I think to just in general, like I'm saying, whether it's women's reproductive health or fertility, it's so crazy that in 2023, we don't know so many things that would help us make, different informed decisions about our life. And I just think for, me, even just waiting until my late thirties to begin the process of family building is interesting for me to think about just because. I, I never even thought to do it sooner. Michelle: And also, when you were taking us through your journey, it's interesting to kind of note that like, initially , you were, [00:13:00] looking into the surgery for the endometriosis, but then you're like, no, and you were reading about it. And. And you were like, definitely no, like a no on that. Michelle: And then you eventually changed your mind and then you were like, thank God I did it. But what I, what was interesting about it is that that's kind of how life is. you change your mind, you look more into things. You realize that even though you make decision, it can change and that's okay. Michelle: And so that was interesting. And then similar with having a surrogate. Tara: Yes. I think for us at that point you know, that wasn't the first, journey that I ever expected that we'd be on towards, our daughter. But when you go through so much for five years, you get to a point where you stop worrying about the experience of, for me, at least I stopped worrying about the experience of pregnancy that I wanted so badly. Tara: And I had already experience for pregnancies and sort of the charm of it all was taken away from me. And it would've been lovely if I could innocently go through a pregnancy [00:14:00] and, birth a child, but that just isn't my story and it finally got to the point where I realized I wanted to get to the next step of actually having a family instead of focusing on this nine month experience. Michelle: Yeah, it's interesting how things play out but you did mention when you were going into the surrogate process That's like a whole other animal and you were also saying which is something that really struck me is you vibed with The surrogate. Michelle: You just knew it was like an intuitive knowing or feeling like, Oh my God, this, this is it. You found alignment. Tara: Yes, and I think for me, it was one of the best blessings that has come along in our journey. Not only just, you know, a surrogate in general, that we're so lucky to have surrogates who can, help families or people or women going through infertility or pregnancy loss, but to find someone who I really connected with. Tara: And to find someone that we had [00:15:00] this communication, daily communication, and we had this, this feeling of being teammates was just super special. You Michelle: Even though you had a surrogate, you still went through that initial fear. That was like the one feeling that you had and then eventually tapered down, like, once the tests came and everything was like looking Tara: It really was in the beginning so hard because it was the ultimate test, right? We had these, these genetically normal embryos that weren't working in me and now we take that variable out of the mix and we have a surrogate and we kind of felt this pressure of if it doesn't work, which of course there's a chance it wouldn't, but it really felt like there was so much hanging on this actually working to prove that, you know, our embryos were able. Tara: To produce a baby, finally, we kind of knew that it was probably the immunology [00:16:00] in my body, but now is the ultimate test and the anxiety just leading up to that was, was so overwhelming. Michelle: I mean, I felt it, I felt it listening to you guys and I felt it following your story. You could, you could really feel it, but of course you can't feel it like you guys felt it. But I felt what it must've been like to go through that because that's all you've known in the past. So it's hard to see a different future when something like. Michelle: Has repeatedly happened over and over and over again, so I can completely see how petrifying it could be. Tara: Right. And it's just, you know, what do you do then? You know, we have tried and exhausted so many options. We were just getting to the point of,, I think it was just the sitting with the fear of like, Can this be a possibility for us? Because if this doesn't work, where do we go next? Michelle: And then you were also simultaneously performing around that same time, which is the most like Tara: Right. And, Michelle: that you felt Tara: right. And to be keeping that [00:17:00] a secret as well just felt and I think that's why we did the podcast because at a certain point it just felt like, all right, Tara, just, just share because it's so hard to keep the sadness and pain and put on a smile and pretend like life is okay. When it's really not. Michelle: and you've had people approach you guys and mention or say certain comments during this journey. That you guys were having to deal with while you were going through this simultaneously. Tara: Right, and you, you, I think anyone in the infertility world experiences these feelings or during pregnancy loss or again, just an IVF journey, whatever it may be, unless you really walk in those shoes, it's hard to explain the feelings that you have and then to know that. You know, your family or your friends may not truly understand the pain you're in can make it even more isolating or make you feel even more alone.[00:18:00] Michelle: That's one of the reasons why I find like communities or people that really understand where you're coming from or going through it as well can be so healing and I noticed also you were mentioning that it brought you and your husband so close on a different type of bond Tara: we did, and we went through, you know, hard times through infertility trying to understand where he was at, where I was at, you know, at one point, I think he was really rethinking how much he, he wanted to continue, whereas I was, you know, desperate to continue, and we had to figure out how to get on the same page a lot of times. Tara: And I think infertility has helped us now, even as we move forward in life and marriage find ways to understand each other and know what each other really needs in that moment and to be able to support them because it's hard when you're going through loss or infertility to always be on the same page. Tara: But I also think the podcast has helped us too, as we had to relive all of these moments in detail and [00:19:00] not skim over them kind of like we were doing in real life. To kind of go back in and even re examine them even more and I think that's brought us closer You know, we'd finish these episodes and feel Very close and bonded obviously through what we just talked about or what we went through Michelle: I think that was just one of the amazing things about it because you don't often hear the couple, both. Talking about their different perspectives and really hearing what they went through throughout the process. Michelle: And then you do feel at times where you guys have different emotions or dealing with it in different ways. So I thought that brought more realness to the whole. Tara: Right. I'm so glad ty was able to be part of this and add his perspective because I think any partner in this situation has a lot of feelings if they're the one not going through the treatment and You know, they probably feel that they have to support their partner, but they're also feeling so many emotions and [00:20:00] they probably don't understand exactly what their partner is going through. Tara: So I hope that the podcast was able to open up those conversations or if partners listen together to, to really relate or. To re examine or think about what that other person is going through to see how they can support them even more. Michelle: No doubt. And for people listening that are still on the journey and they're still in the unknown what words would you like to share with them? Tara: You know, I never really have an advice because I don't know if I have any perfect answers and I, every time I went through it I just tried to do the best I could. And my advice would be to feel all the feelings and none of your feelings that you're feeling are abnormal. And the thing I would like to say is. Tara: More than anything, I, I see you, I hear you, I understand you. I may not know you, you may be a stranger, but we probably have a [00:21:00] shared experience that creates a bond more than, you know, many people I know in my life because we've gone and walked down this road, and I know what you're going through, and I know that type of pain, and you know, looking back at my career, the Olympics, of course, I'm proud of the things I have done, but I'm very proud of being able to get through pregnancy loss or IVF Or infertility. Tara: And those are maybe my proudest moments. So I just hope that everyone listening knows how strong they are and how proud they should be because success of a live birth is you know, one dream that people have. But you are accomplishing so many little things, even through all of those failures and losses by just being able Yeah. Tara: To get up the next day and start again, or maybe making the decision of, no, this is no longer for us. I've learned so much through this process, but I need to take care of myself in a different way. Michelle: Yeah, that's beautiful. [00:22:00] And for people who want to find you, and of course, I'm sure a lot of people are already following you, but what is your, the best way for people to reach out to you? Cause you had mentioned DMs, right? Sometimes Tara: Yes. Michelle: going through, Tara: Through the podcast, I've Michelle: I know that must be overwhelming DMs, but Tara: little overwhelming, but responding to so many DMs and connecting with all of these beautiful people, which has been so meaningful, but you can find us on Unexpecting Pod on Instagram or Tara Lipinski at Instagram, and then of course Unexpecting is on Apple, Spotify, anywhere you find your podcast, iHeart, as well as my YouTube, which is Tara Lipinski. Michelle: awesome. Tara, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story. And of course I. Suggest for everybody to listen to unexpecting. It is incredible. It's amazing. It's all the details. It's everything. It really is everything So I highly recommend. Oh, I loved I really enjoy it. I really did I really enjoy it and I couldn't stop listening to Tara: Yeah, I love it. Michelle: I want [00:23:00] to hear it happens. And I felt like, I really got to know you and your husband and the connection that you guys had together and it was just really special. So thank you so much for coming on the podcast and it was such a pleasure talking to you today. Tara: Thank you so much.  

This Week in Skating is hosted by Gina Capellazzi and Daphne Backman and is a cooperative project between Figure Skaters Online and Ice-dance.com. New episodes are available every Monday.Website: http://www.thisweekinskating.comEmail: thisweekinskating@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisweekinskatingTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/thiswkinskatingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinskating_________________________________________EPISODE 26 SHOW NOTESEvent Results BriefOndrej Nepela Trophy (Results / Videos)Junior Grand Prix - Solidarity Cup (Results / Videos)Japan Regionals - Tokyo (Results)Japan Regionals - Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu (Results)Skate Alberta Competitive Fall Invitational (Results)Boston Open (Results)Dick Button Artistic Skating Festival in Lake Placid (Info)Segment - General Skating NewsParking information has been posted for Skate America at the Skating Club of Boston. There will be three parking options for the event and passes for two of the parking options will be on sale this week. Ilia Malinin made the TIME100 Next list for his quad Axel.Segment - Recent InterviewsPolina Edmunds' latest podcast interview with Canada's Dylan Moscovitch Segment - Social Media UpdatesHarley Windsor posed on Instagram that he broke his ankle in a training accident and had surgery.Michelle Kwan confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador to BelizeVictoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov announced on Instagram that they are married (Photos / Video Reel)Nathan Chen posted on social media that he will not be able to participate in the Japan Open due to an injury.Segment - Upcoming Events for the WeekJapan Open - Oct. 8 in Saitama, Japan (Entries / Event Page)Stars on Ice shows - Oct. 9-10 in Japan (Info / Photos)Finlandia Trophy  - Oct. 4-9 in Bratislava, Slovakia Junior Grand Prix - Baltic Cup Oct. 5-8 in Gdansk, PolandIDC and FSO spotlightIDC: New Team Series: Romy Malcolm and Noah LafornaraFSO: Photos from Nebelhorn TrophySupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/this-week-in-skating-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Homer is hired to present the Superbowl Halftime show, after Lebron James, Tom Brady, Yao Ming, Michelle Kwan and Warren Sapp employ him as their "taunt" coach. Meanwhile, Flanders takes it upon himself to make violent biblical films. Support the show for EARLY ACCESS & EXCLUSIVE CONTENT at patreon.com/fourfingerdiscount  

A Canadian figure skater and choreographer who has won two Emmy Awards for Scott Hamilton: Upside Down and for choreographing the opening and closing of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kawahara joined the Ice Capades at age 17 and skated with them for seven years. In 1997, she became the first skater to win the Best Choreography Emmy Award. Sarah has choreographed for numerous competitive skaters, including Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming, Kurt Browning, Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul, Robin Cousins, Victor Petrenko and Tia Babilonia & Randy Gardner. She was coach and choreographer for the films Go Figure, Blades of Glory and I, Tonya, and for the television series Spinning Out. On this episode Sarah tells us when ice rinks were first added to cruise ships and about watching her daughter Hayley Kiyoko perform recently at Kamala Harris's home. 

This week, the boys argue. And argue. And argue some more about updates to some of Paul's older crimes. Stay hydrated. theperfectcrimepodcast.com.

We are super excited about this episode because we are bringing you our first guest. She is a fierce competitor, a badass business owner, and she has achieved greatness in many ways. Ashley Wagner is an American figure skater who is the 2016 World silver medallist and a 2014 Olympic bronze medallist in the team event. She's a multiple time international medallist and is the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back U.S. championships and three total U.S. titles since Michelle Kwan, making her arguably one of the best women figure skaters in US history. She is now the proud founder and boss of Skate And Sculpt, which provides an awesome new opportunity for retired figure skaters to redefine their relationship with skating and to share their love of the sport! Ashely is unapologetically herself throughout this conversation as she shares how she handled all of the opinions and criticism that she received while she was competing, how she handles opinions and criticism now, and how she has learned to choose confidence. Connect with Ashley on IG @ashwagner2010 or @skateandsculpt >>> Text us!: https://my.community.com/paigearianne >>> For Feel Good Friday text us FEELGOOD >>> For Mindset Monday text us MINDSET >>> Text us PODSQUAD with your questions

Every Tuesday at 1:30, Reese takes some time to give an acknowledgement to the people and things that deserve the credit. Today, some great local Olympians and an amazing assistant coach get the respect that is due. 

MLB – Major League Baseball Last Night Tigers, White Sox, and Cubs were off Tonight Chicago Cubs (Thompson 6-0) at Baltimore (Bradish 1-3), 7:05 p.m. Detroit (Skubal 4-2) at Pittsburgh (Quintana 1-2), 7:05 p.m.                WSJM/WCSY 6:45 L.A. Dodgers (White 1-1) at Chicago White Sox (Kopech 1-2), 8:10 p.m. MLB – AP Source: Keuchel agrees to minor league deal with D-backs The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league contract with former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel (KY’-kuhl), according to a person with knowledge of the situation.  The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the move has not been announced. The left-hander was recently released by the Chicago White Sox after having a 2-5 record with a 7.88 ERA through eight starts. He was in the final season of a $55 million, three-year deal. The 34-year-old Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros in 2015 and is also a two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Conference Finals Last Night Colorado Avalanche 6, Edmonton Oilers 5 – OT                 (COL Wins 4-0) Avalanche 6, Oilers 5 – OT – Avalanche sweep Oilers, advance to Stanley Cup Final Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:19 into overtime, and Colorado rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 Monday night, completing a four-game sweep in the Western Conference final and sending the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. Colorado will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the New York Rangers and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Cale Makar, Devon Toews Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado. Pavel Francouz stopped 30 of 35 shots. Zach Hyman scored twice for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian also scored for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl had four assists and goalie Mike Smith finished with 36 saves. Tonight New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:00 p.m.          (NYR Leads 2-1) NHL – Bruins fire coach Bruce Cassidy after 1st-round playoff exit The Boston Bruins have fired coach Bruce Cassidy several weeks after losing in the first round of the playoffs. General manager Don Sweeney says the search for a replacement will begin immediately. Boston made the playoffs in each of Cassidy’s six seasons behind the bench. He coached the Bruins within one victory of the Stanley Cup in 2019. Cassidy immediately becomes a top candidate for vacancies in Philadelphia, Chicago, Winnipeg, Vegas and Detroit and any others that may now come open. The Bruins are expected to be without first-line left winger Brad Marchand and top defenseman Charlie McAvoy for at least the first two months of next season.   Cassidy was previously an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was also a head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins. NHL – Jets’ Kyle Connor wins Lady Byng for gentlemanly conduct Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor has won the Lady Byng Trophy, given to the NHL’s most gentlemanly player. Connor tied for the second-fewest number of minor penalties during the regular season. He was penalized just twice in over 1,700 minutes of ice time that included regular short-handed shifts and matchups against top offensive opponents. It’s his first Lady Byng honor. Last year’s winner, Jaccob Slavin of Carolina, was second in voting by the Professional Hockey Writer Association. Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon was third. Soccer – Canada men back at practice after meeting with federation Canada Soccer says its World Cup-bound men’s team has returned to practice after refusing to play in an exhibition match against Panama because of strained labor negotiations. The nation’s governing body announced on social media on Monday that the two sides had met the night before. The team returned to practice and future meetings were scheduled. Canada is set to play Curacao at Vancouver’s BC Place on Thursday in the CONCACAF National League. NFL – Denver Broncos sale could come as early as this month The Denver Broncos could have a new owner as soon as this month in what’s expected to be the most expensive deal in sports history at around $4.5 billion. A second round of bids for the franchise was due Monday from prospective buyers. The Pat Bowlen Trust will have to accept the winning bid, and NFL owners will need to approve the sale of the team that’s been in the Bowlen family for nearly four decades. NFL – Romeo Crennel retires after almost 40 years as NFL coach Romeo Crennel announced his retirement Monday, ending a 39-year NFL coaching career that included five Super Bowl titles. Crennel, spent the past eight seasons with the Houston Texans. He was the team’s defensive coordinator from 2014-16 and assistant head coach from 2017-19. In 2020 he was the associate head coach before becoming the interim head coach after coach Bill O’Brien was fired after just four games. NFL – All-Pro Aaron Donald returning to LA Rams with a big raise All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is getting a big raise to stay with the Los Angeles Rams under a reworked contract through 2024. The team didn’t disclose terms of the new deal, but the NFL Network reported Donald is getting a $40 million raise that will make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. Donald was already under contract for the next three seasons, but he openly contemplated retirement after he won his first ring with the Rams in February. Instead, the seven-time All-Pro will be back to torment offenses at the heart of Los Angeles’ defense. NFL – Browns’ Watson named in 24th lawsuit by massage therapists A 24th woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is also awaiting possible discipline from the NFL. The latest lawsuit was filed in Houston by attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing all 24 women. Buzbee says in a statement that the women “continue to stand firm for what is right." Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin said he could not immediately comment on the latest lawsuit. Hardin has repeatedly said Watson has done nothing wrong. Watson has been accused by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during appointments and the latest lawsuit makes similar allegations. NCAABSB – Louisville wins 3 straight to reach super regionals Levi Usher hit a two-run single in the eighth, Cameron Masterman added a go-ahead homer in the inning and No. 12 national seed Louisville beat Michigan 11-9 to win the Louisville Regional. Louisville won three straight regional games, after a loss to Michigan on Saturday, to advance to the super regionals against Texas A&M. Usher went 4 for 5 with four RBIs and Masterman added three RBIs, including his fourth homer of the regional. Michigan started the game with three straight doubles to take a 2-0 lead, but Louisville scored seven runs with two outs in the bottom of the first. Golf – LIV – Mickelson joins Saud-funded league Phil Mickelson is ending his 4-month hiatus from competitive golf and is joining the Saudi-funded rival league. Mickelson was the last big name added to the 48-man field for the LIV Golf Invitational outside London that starts Friday.  The six-time major champion was the chief recruiter for the Saudi league. But it appeared to backfire when he was quoted as accusing the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed.” He also says while he’s aware of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, it would be worth it to join if it meant having leverage against the PGA Tour.  Mickelson says he’ll still play the majors. Golf – Jack Nicklaus to become honorary citizen of St. Andrews Jack Nicklaus is returning to St. Andrews in July to become an honorary citizen. And this time he’ll be joining some exclusive company. The honor from the town council has been awarded to only two other American citizens. One was amateur great Bobby Jones in 1958. The other was Benjamin Franklin in 1759. Nicklaus won two of his three British Open titles at St. Andrews. He loves the Old Course so much that he chose St. Andrews in 2005 to play in his 164th and final major championship. Nicklaus says he won’t be playing in the Champions Challenge exhibition. Olympics – Phelps, Vonn among those heading to US Olympic & Para Hall Lindsey Vonn, Michelle Kwan, Mia Hamm, Billie Jean King and the late Pat Summitt are among the nine individual women who will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame this summer. Michael Phelps and hurdling great Roger Kingdom are also going in. Others voted onto the 2022 class were Natalie Coughlin, Muffy Davis, David Kiley, Trischa Zorn-Hudson and Gretchen Fraser. The 1976 women’s 4×100 freestyle relay swimming team, anchored by Shirley Babashoff in its stunning upset over the East Germans, and the 2002 men’s Paralympic sled hockey team also were voted into the hall by a mix of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, media and administrators and fans. The induction ceremony is set for June 24 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs. NCAAFB – Tim Tebow among first-timers on College Football HOF ballot Tim Tebow is among the former players making a first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year.  Tebow led Florida to two national championships and won a Heisman Trophy and has been outspoken in his Christian beliefs. Some of the other former players on the ballot for the first time are quarterback Alex Smith of Utah, wide receiver Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State, running back Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State, linebacker Luke Kuechly of Boston College and defensive lineman Dewey Selmon of Oklahoma. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Yesterday No games yesterday Today Lansing Lugnuts at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Cedar Rapids Kernels at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m. Great Lakes Loons at Dayton Dragons, 7:05 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Today Girls Soccer – Regional Semifinals Division 1 at Caledonia Portage Central vs. Traverse City West, 5:00 p.m. Hudsonville vs. Rockford, 7:00 p.m. Division 3 at Otsego Otsego vs. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 5:30 p.m. South Haven vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 7:30 p.m. Division 4 at Portage Northern Kalamazoo Christian vs. Lansing Christian, 5:00 p.m. Our Lady of the Lake vs. Saugatuck, 7:00 p.m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MLB – Major League Baseball Last Night Tigers, White Sox, and Cubs were off Tonight Chicago Cubs (Thompson 6-0) at Baltimore (Bradish 1-3), 7:05 p.m. Detroit (Skubal 4-2) at Pittsburgh (Quintana 1-2), 7:05 p.m.                WSJM/WCSY 6:45 L.A. Dodgers (White 1-1) at Chicago White Sox (Kopech 1-2), 8:10 p.m. MLB – AP Source: Keuchel agrees to minor league deal with D-backs The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league contract with former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel (KY’-kuhl), according to a person with knowledge of the situation.  The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the move has not been announced. The left-hander was recently released by the Chicago White Sox after having a 2-5 record with a 7.88 ERA through eight starts. He was in the final season of a $55 million, three-year deal. The 34-year-old Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros in 2015 and is also a two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Conference Finals Last Night Colorado Avalanche 6, Edmonton Oilers 5 – OT                 (COL Wins 4-0) Avalanche 6, Oilers 5 – OT – Avalanche sweep Oilers, advance to Stanley Cup Final Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:19 into overtime, and Colorado rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 Monday night, completing a four-game sweep in the Western Conference final and sending the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. Colorado will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the New York Rangers and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Cale Makar, Devon Toews Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado. Pavel Francouz stopped 30 of 35 shots. Zach Hyman scored twice for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian also scored for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl had four assists and goalie Mike Smith finished with 36 saves. Tonight New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:00 p.m.          (NYR Leads 2-1) NHL – Bruins fire coach Bruce Cassidy after 1st-round playoff exit The Boston Bruins have fired coach Bruce Cassidy several weeks after losing in the first round of the playoffs. General manager Don Sweeney says the search for a replacement will begin immediately. Boston made the playoffs in each of Cassidy’s six seasons behind the bench. He coached the Bruins within one victory of the Stanley Cup in 2019. Cassidy immediately becomes a top candidate for vacancies in Philadelphia, Chicago, Winnipeg, Vegas and Detroit and any others that may now come open. The Bruins are expected to be without first-line left winger Brad Marchand and top defenseman Charlie McAvoy for at least the first two months of next season.   Cassidy was previously an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was also a head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins. NHL – Jets’ Kyle Connor wins Lady Byng for gentlemanly conduct Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor has won the Lady Byng Trophy, given to the NHL’s most gentlemanly player. Connor tied for the second-fewest number of minor penalties during the regular season. He was penalized just twice in over 1,700 minutes of ice time that included regular short-handed shifts and matchups against top offensive opponents. It’s his first Lady Byng honor. Last year’s winner, Jaccob Slavin of Carolina, was second in voting by the Professional Hockey Writer Association. Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon was third. Soccer – Canada men back at practice after meeting with federation Canada Soccer says its World Cup-bound men’s team has returned to practice after refusing to play in an exhibition match against Panama because of strained labor negotiations. The nation’s governing body announced on social media on Monday that the two sides had met the night before. The team returned to practice and future meetings were scheduled. Canada is set to play Curacao at Vancouver’s BC Place on Thursday in the CONCACAF National League. NFL – Denver Broncos sale could come as early as this month The Denver Broncos could have a new owner as soon as this month in what’s expected to be the most expensive deal in sports history at around $4.5 billion. A second round of bids for the franchise was due Monday from prospective buyers. The Pat Bowlen Trust will have to accept the winning bid, and NFL owners will need to approve the sale of the team that’s been in the Bowlen family for nearly four decades. NFL – Romeo Crennel retires after almost 40 years as NFL coach Romeo Crennel announced his retirement Monday, ending a 39-year NFL coaching career that included five Super Bowl titles. Crennel, spent the past eight seasons with the Houston Texans. He was the team’s defensive coordinator from 2014-16 and assistant head coach from 2017-19. In 2020 he was the associate head coach before becoming the interim head coach after coach Bill O’Brien was fired after just four games. NFL – All-Pro Aaron Donald returning to LA Rams with a big raise All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is getting a big raise to stay with the Los Angeles Rams under a reworked contract through 2024. The team didn’t disclose terms of the new deal, but the NFL Network reported Donald is getting a $40 million raise that will make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. Donald was already under contract for the next three seasons, but he openly contemplated retirement after he won his first ring with the Rams in February. Instead, the seven-time All-Pro will be back to torment offenses at the heart of Los Angeles’ defense. NFL – Browns’ Watson named in 24th lawsuit by massage therapists A 24th woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is also awaiting possible discipline from the NFL. The latest lawsuit was filed in Houston by attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing all 24 women. Buzbee says in a statement that the women “continue to stand firm for what is right." Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin said he could not immediately comment on the latest lawsuit. Hardin has repeatedly said Watson has done nothing wrong. Watson has been accused by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during appointments and the latest lawsuit makes similar allegations. NCAABSB – Louisville wins 3 straight to reach super regionals Levi Usher hit a two-run single in the eighth, Cameron Masterman added a go-ahead homer in the inning and No. 12 national seed Louisville beat Michigan 11-9 to win the Louisville Regional. Louisville won three straight regional games, after a loss to Michigan on Saturday, to advance to the super regionals against Texas A&M. Usher went 4 for 5 with four RBIs and Masterman added three RBIs, including his fourth homer of the regional. Michigan started the game with three straight doubles to take a 2-0 lead, but Louisville scored seven runs with two outs in the bottom of the first. Golf – LIV – Mickelson joins Saud-funded league Phil Mickelson is ending his 4-month hiatus from competitive golf and is joining the Saudi-funded rival league. Mickelson was the last big name added to the 48-man field for the LIV Golf Invitational outside London that starts Friday.  The six-time major champion was the chief recruiter for the Saudi league. But it appeared to backfire when he was quoted as accusing the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed.” He also says while he’s aware of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, it would be worth it to join if it meant having leverage against the PGA Tour.  Mickelson says he’ll still play the majors. Golf – Jack Nicklaus to become honorary citizen of St. Andrews Jack Nicklaus is returning to St. Andrews in July to become an honorary citizen. And this time he’ll be joining some exclusive company. The honor from the town council has been awarded to only two other American citizens. One was amateur great Bobby Jones in 1958. The other was Benjamin Franklin in 1759. Nicklaus won two of his three British Open titles at St. Andrews. He loves the Old Course so much that he chose St. Andrews in 2005 to play in his 164th and final major championship. Nicklaus says he won’t be playing in the Champions Challenge exhibition. Olympics – Phelps, Vonn among those heading to US Olympic & Para Hall Lindsey Vonn, Michelle Kwan, Mia Hamm, Billie Jean King and the late Pat Summitt are among the nine individual women who will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame this summer. Michael Phelps and hurdling great Roger Kingdom are also going in. Others voted onto the 2022 class were Natalie Coughlin, Muffy Davis, David Kiley, Trischa Zorn-Hudson and Gretchen Fraser. The 1976 women’s 4×100 freestyle relay swimming team, anchored by Shirley Babashoff in its stunning upset over the East Germans, and the 2002 men’s Paralympic sled hockey team also were voted into the hall by a mix of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, media and administrators and fans. The induction ceremony is set for June 24 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs. NCAAFB – Tim Tebow among first-timers on College Football HOF ballot Tim Tebow is among the former players making a first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year.  Tebow led Florida to two national championships and won a Heisman Trophy and has been outspoken in his Christian beliefs. Some of the other former players on the ballot for the first time are quarterback Alex Smith of Utah, wide receiver Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State, running back Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State, linebacker Luke Kuechly of Boston College and defensive lineman Dewey Selmon of Oklahoma. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Yesterday No games yesterday Today Lansing Lugnuts at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Cedar Rapids Kernels at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m. Great Lakes Loons at Dayton Dragons, 7:05 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Today Girls Soccer – Regional Semifinals Division 1 at Caledonia Portage Central vs. Traverse City West, 5:00 p.m. Hudsonville vs. Rockford, 7:00 p.m. Division 3 at Otsego Otsego vs. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 5:30 p.m. South Haven vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 7:30 p.m. Division 4 at Portage Northern Kalamazoo Christian vs. Lansing Christian, 5:00 p.m. Our Lady of the Lake vs. Saugatuck, 7:00 p.m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MLB – Major League Baseball Last Night Tigers, White Sox, and Cubs were off Tonight Chicago Cubs (Thompson 6-0) at Baltimore (Bradish 1-3), 7:05 p.m. Detroit (Skubal 4-2) at Pittsburgh (Quintana 1-2), 7:05 p.m.                WSJM/WCSY 6:45 L.A. Dodgers (White 1-1) at Chicago White Sox (Kopech 1-2), 8:10 p.m. MLB – AP Source: Keuchel agrees to minor league deal with D-backs The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league contract with former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel (KY’-kuhl), according to a person with knowledge of the situation.  The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the move has not been announced. The left-hander was recently released by the Chicago White Sox after having a 2-5 record with a 7.88 ERA through eight starts. He was in the final season of a $55 million, three-year deal. The 34-year-old Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros in 2015 and is also a two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Conference Finals Last Night Colorado Avalanche 6, Edmonton Oilers 5 – OT                 (COL Wins 4-0) Avalanche 6, Oilers 5 – OT – Avalanche sweep Oilers, advance to Stanley Cup Final Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:19 into overtime, and Colorado rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 Monday night, completing a four-game sweep in the Western Conference final and sending the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. Colorado will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the New York Rangers and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Cale Makar, Devon Toews Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado. Pavel Francouz stopped 30 of 35 shots. Zach Hyman scored twice for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian also scored for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl had four assists and goalie Mike Smith finished with 36 saves. Tonight New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:00 p.m.          (NYR Leads 2-1) NHL – Bruins fire coach Bruce Cassidy after 1st-round playoff exit The Boston Bruins have fired coach Bruce Cassidy several weeks after losing in the first round of the playoffs. General manager Don Sweeney says the search for a replacement will begin immediately. Boston made the playoffs in each of Cassidy’s six seasons behind the bench. He coached the Bruins within one victory of the Stanley Cup in 2019. Cassidy immediately becomes a top candidate for vacancies in Philadelphia, Chicago, Winnipeg, Vegas and Detroit and any others that may now come open. The Bruins are expected to be without first-line left winger Brad Marchand and top defenseman Charlie McAvoy for at least the first two months of next season.   Cassidy was previously an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was also a head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins. NHL – Jets’ Kyle Connor wins Lady Byng for gentlemanly conduct Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor has won the Lady Byng Trophy, given to the NHL’s most gentlemanly player. Connor tied for the second-fewest number of minor penalties during the regular season. He was penalized just twice in over 1,700 minutes of ice time that included regular short-handed shifts and matchups against top offensive opponents. It’s his first Lady Byng honor. Last year’s winner, Jaccob Slavin of Carolina, was second in voting by the Professional Hockey Writer Association. Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon was third. Soccer – Canada men back at practice after meeting with federation Canada Soccer says its World Cup-bound men’s team has returned to practice after refusing to play in an exhibition match against Panama because of strained labor negotiations. The nation’s governing body announced on social media on Monday that the two sides had met the night before. The team returned to practice and future meetings were scheduled. Canada is set to play Curacao at Vancouver’s BC Place on Thursday in the CONCACAF National League. NFL – Denver Broncos sale could come as early as this month The Denver Broncos could have a new owner as soon as this month in what’s expected to be the most expensive deal in sports history at around $4.5 billion. A second round of bids for the franchise was due Monday from prospective buyers. The Pat Bowlen Trust will have to accept the winning bid, and NFL owners will need to approve the sale of the team that’s been in the Bowlen family for nearly four decades. NFL – Romeo Crennel retires after almost 40 years as NFL coach Romeo Crennel announced his retirement Monday, ending a 39-year NFL coaching career that included five Super Bowl titles. Crennel, spent the past eight seasons with the Houston Texans. He was the team’s defensive coordinator from 2014-16 and assistant head coach from 2017-19. In 2020 he was the associate head coach before becoming the interim head coach after coach Bill O’Brien was fired after just four games. NFL – All-Pro Aaron Donald returning to LA Rams with a big raise All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is getting a big raise to stay with the Los Angeles Rams under a reworked contract through 2024. The team didn’t disclose terms of the new deal, but the NFL Network reported Donald is getting a $40 million raise that will make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. Donald was already under contract for the next three seasons, but he openly contemplated retirement after he won his first ring with the Rams in February. Instead, the seven-time All-Pro will be back to torment offenses at the heart of Los Angeles’ defense. NFL – Browns’ Watson named in 24th lawsuit by massage therapists A 24th woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is also awaiting possible discipline from the NFL. The latest lawsuit was filed in Houston by attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing all 24 women. Buzbee says in a statement that the women “continue to stand firm for what is right." Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin said he could not immediately comment on the latest lawsuit. Hardin has repeatedly said Watson has done nothing wrong. Watson has been accused by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during appointments and the latest lawsuit makes similar allegations. NCAABSB – Louisville wins 3 straight to reach super regionals Levi Usher hit a two-run single in the eighth, Cameron Masterman added a go-ahead homer in the inning and No. 12 national seed Louisville beat Michigan 11-9 to win the Louisville Regional. Louisville won three straight regional games, after a loss to Michigan on Saturday, to advance to the super regionals against Texas A&M. Usher went 4 for 5 with four RBIs and Masterman added three RBIs, including his fourth homer of the regional. Michigan started the game with three straight doubles to take a 2-0 lead, but Louisville scored seven runs with two outs in the bottom of the first. Golf – LIV – Mickelson joins Saud-funded league Phil Mickelson is ending his 4-month hiatus from competitive golf and is joining the Saudi-funded rival league. Mickelson was the last big name added to the 48-man field for the LIV Golf Invitational outside London that starts Friday.  The six-time major champion was the chief recruiter for the Saudi league. But it appeared to backfire when he was quoted as accusing the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed.” He also says while he’s aware of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, it would be worth it to join if it meant having leverage against the PGA Tour.  Mickelson says he’ll still play the majors. Golf – Jack Nicklaus to become honorary citizen of St. Andrews Jack Nicklaus is returning to St. Andrews in July to become an honorary citizen. And this time he’ll be joining some exclusive company. The honor from the town council has been awarded to only two other American citizens. One was amateur great Bobby Jones in 1958. The other was Benjamin Franklin in 1759. Nicklaus won two of his three British Open titles at St. Andrews. He loves the Old Course so much that he chose St. Andrews in 2005 to play in his 164th and final major championship. Nicklaus says he won’t be playing in the Champions Challenge exhibition. Olympics – Phelps, Vonn among those heading to US Olympic & Para Hall Lindsey Vonn, Michelle Kwan, Mia Hamm, Billie Jean King and the late Pat Summitt are among the nine individual women who will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame this summer. Michael Phelps and hurdling great Roger Kingdom are also going in. Others voted onto the 2022 class were Natalie Coughlin, Muffy Davis, David Kiley, Trischa Zorn-Hudson and Gretchen Fraser. The 1976 women’s 4×100 freestyle relay swimming team, anchored by Shirley Babashoff in its stunning upset over the East Germans, and the 2002 men’s Paralympic sled hockey team also were voted into the hall by a mix of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, media and administrators and fans. The induction ceremony is set for June 24 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs. NCAAFB – Tim Tebow among first-timers on College Football HOF ballot Tim Tebow is among the former players making a first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year.  Tebow led Florida to two national championships and won a Heisman Trophy and has been outspoken in his Christian beliefs. Some of the other former players on the ballot for the first time are quarterback Alex Smith of Utah, wide receiver Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State, running back Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State, linebacker Luke Kuechly of Boston College and defensive lineman Dewey Selmon of Oklahoma. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Yesterday No games yesterday Today Lansing Lugnuts at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Cedar Rapids Kernels at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m. Great Lakes Loons at Dayton Dragons, 7:05 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Today Girls Soccer – Regional Semifinals Division 1 at Caledonia Portage Central vs. Traverse City West, 5:00 p.m. Hudsonville vs. Rockford, 7:00 p.m. Division 3 at Otsego Otsego vs. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 5:30 p.m. South Haven vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 7:30 p.m. Division 4 at Portage Northern Kalamazoo Christian vs. Lansing Christian, 5:00 p.m. Our Lady of the Lake vs. Saugatuck, 7:00 p.m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MLB – Major League Baseball Last Night Tigers, White Sox, and Cubs were off Tonight Chicago Cubs (Thompson 6-0) at Baltimore (Bradish 1-3), 7:05 p.m. Detroit (Skubal 4-2) at Pittsburgh (Quintana 1-2), 7:05 p.m.                WSJM/WCSY 6:45 L.A. Dodgers (White 1-1) at Chicago White Sox (Kopech 1-2), 8:10 p.m. MLB – AP Source: Keuchel agrees to minor league deal with D-backs The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league contract with former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel (KY’-kuhl), according to a person with knowledge of the situation.  The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the move has not been announced. The left-hander was recently released by the Chicago White Sox after having a 2-5 record with a 7.88 ERA through eight starts. He was in the final season of a $55 million, three-year deal. The 34-year-old Keuchel won the AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros in 2015 and is also a two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Conference Finals Last Night Colorado Avalanche 6, Edmonton Oilers 5 – OT                 (COL Wins 4-0) Avalanche 6, Oilers 5 – OT – Avalanche sweep Oilers, advance to Stanley Cup Final Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:19 into overtime, and Colorado rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 Monday night, completing a four-game sweep in the Western Conference final and sending the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. Colorado will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference final between the New York Rangers and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Cale Makar, Devon Toews Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Colorado. Pavel Francouz stopped 30 of 35 shots. Zach Hyman scored twice for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian also scored for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl had four assists and goalie Mike Smith finished with 36 saves. Tonight New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:00 p.m.          (NYR Leads 2-1) NHL – Bruins fire coach Bruce Cassidy after 1st-round playoff exit The Boston Bruins have fired coach Bruce Cassidy several weeks after losing in the first round of the playoffs. General manager Don Sweeney says the search for a replacement will begin immediately. Boston made the playoffs in each of Cassidy’s six seasons behind the bench. He coached the Bruins within one victory of the Stanley Cup in 2019. Cassidy immediately becomes a top candidate for vacancies in Philadelphia, Chicago, Winnipeg, Vegas and Detroit and any others that may now come open. The Bruins are expected to be without first-line left winger Brad Marchand and top defenseman Charlie McAvoy for at least the first two months of next season.   Cassidy was previously an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was also a head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins. NHL – Jets’ Kyle Connor wins Lady Byng for gentlemanly conduct Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor has won the Lady Byng Trophy, given to the NHL’s most gentlemanly player. Connor tied for the second-fewest number of minor penalties during the regular season. He was penalized just twice in over 1,700 minutes of ice time that included regular short-handed shifts and matchups against top offensive opponents. It’s his first Lady Byng honor. Last year’s winner, Jaccob Slavin of Carolina, was second in voting by the Professional Hockey Writer Association. Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon was third. Soccer – Canada men back at practice after meeting with federation Canada Soccer says its World Cup-bound men’s team has returned to practice after refusing to play in an exhibition match against Panama because of strained labor negotiations. The nation’s governing body announced on social media on Monday that the two sides had met the night before. The team returned to practice and future meetings were scheduled. Canada is set to play Curacao at Vancouver’s BC Place on Thursday in the CONCACAF National League. NFL – Denver Broncos sale could come as early as this month The Denver Broncos could have a new owner as soon as this month in what’s expected to be the most expensive deal in sports history at around $4.5 billion. A second round of bids for the franchise was due Monday from prospective buyers. The Pat Bowlen Trust will have to accept the winning bid, and NFL owners will need to approve the sale of the team that’s been in the Bowlen family for nearly four decades. NFL – Romeo Crennel retires after almost 40 years as NFL coach Romeo Crennel announced his retirement Monday, ending a 39-year NFL coaching career that included five Super Bowl titles. Crennel, spent the past eight seasons with the Houston Texans. He was the team’s defensive coordinator from 2014-16 and assistant head coach from 2017-19. In 2020 he was the associate head coach before becoming the interim head coach after coach Bill O’Brien was fired after just four games. NFL – All-Pro Aaron Donald returning to LA Rams with a big raise All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is getting a big raise to stay with the Los Angeles Rams under a reworked contract through 2024. The team didn’t disclose terms of the new deal, but the NFL Network reported Donald is getting a $40 million raise that will make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. Donald was already under contract for the next three seasons, but he openly contemplated retirement after he won his first ring with the Rams in February. Instead, the seven-time All-Pro will be back to torment offenses at the heart of Los Angeles’ defense. NFL – Browns’ Watson named in 24th lawsuit by massage therapists A 24th woman has filed a civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is also awaiting possible discipline from the NFL. The latest lawsuit was filed in Houston by attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing all 24 women. Buzbee says in a statement that the women “continue to stand firm for what is right." Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin said he could not immediately comment on the latest lawsuit. Hardin has repeatedly said Watson has done nothing wrong. Watson has been accused by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during appointments and the latest lawsuit makes similar allegations. NCAABSB – Louisville wins 3 straight to reach super regionals Levi Usher hit a two-run single in the eighth, Cameron Masterman added a go-ahead homer in the inning and No. 12 national seed Louisville beat Michigan 11-9 to win the Louisville Regional. Louisville won three straight regional games, after a loss to Michigan on Saturday, to advance to the super regionals against Texas A&M. Usher went 4 for 5 with four RBIs and Masterman added three RBIs, including his fourth homer of the regional. Michigan started the game with three straight doubles to take a 2-0 lead, but Louisville scored seven runs with two outs in the bottom of the first. Golf – LIV – Mickelson joins Saud-funded league Phil Mickelson is ending his 4-month hiatus from competitive golf and is joining the Saudi-funded rival league. Mickelson was the last big name added to the 48-man field for the LIV Golf Invitational outside London that starts Friday.  The six-time major champion was the chief recruiter for the Saudi league. But it appeared to backfire when he was quoted as accusing the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed.” He also says while he’s aware of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, it would be worth it to join if it meant having leverage against the PGA Tour.  Mickelson says he’ll still play the majors. Golf – Jack Nicklaus to become honorary citizen of St. Andrews Jack Nicklaus is returning to St. Andrews in July to become an honorary citizen. And this time he’ll be joining some exclusive company. The honor from the town council has been awarded to only two other American citizens. One was amateur great Bobby Jones in 1958. The other was Benjamin Franklin in 1759. Nicklaus won two of his three British Open titles at St. Andrews. He loves the Old Course so much that he chose St. Andrews in 2005 to play in his 164th and final major championship. Nicklaus says he won’t be playing in the Champions Challenge exhibition. Olympics – Phelps, Vonn among those heading to US Olympic & Para Hall Lindsey Vonn, Michelle Kwan, Mia Hamm, Billie Jean King and the late Pat Summitt are among the nine individual women who will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame this summer. Michael Phelps and hurdling great Roger Kingdom are also going in. Others voted onto the 2022 class were Natalie Coughlin, Muffy Davis, David Kiley, Trischa Zorn-Hudson and Gretchen Fraser. The 1976 women’s 4×100 freestyle relay swimming team, anchored by Shirley Babashoff in its stunning upset over the East Germans, and the 2002 men’s Paralympic sled hockey team also were voted into the hall by a mix of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, media and administrators and fans. The induction ceremony is set for June 24 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs. NCAAFB – Tim Tebow among first-timers on College Football HOF ballot Tim Tebow is among the former players making a first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year.  Tebow led Florida to two national championships and won a Heisman Trophy and has been outspoken in his Christian beliefs. Some of the other former players on the ballot for the first time are quarterback Alex Smith of Utah, wide receiver Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State, running back Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State, linebacker Luke Kuechly of Boston College and defensive lineman Dewey Selmon of Oklahoma. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Yesterday No games yesterday Today Lansing Lugnuts at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Cedar Rapids Kernels at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m. Great Lakes Loons at Dayton Dragons, 7:05 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Today Girls Soccer – Regional Semifinals Division 1 at Caledonia Portage Central vs. Traverse City West, 5:00 p.m. Hudsonville vs. Rockford, 7:00 p.m. Division 3 at Otsego Otsego vs. Brooklyn Columbia Central, 5:30 p.m. South Haven vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 7:30 p.m. Division 4 at Portage Northern Kalamazoo Christian vs. Lansing Christian, 5:00 p.m. Our Lady of the Lake vs. Saugatuck, 7:00 p.m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in January 1994 it was the story of all stories that year. Fast forward 28 years later and we're sitting down with director Justin Young who's directorial debut, My Hero the Hitman, focuses on the person who was hired to attack Nancy Kerrigan, Shane Stant, and his sister Maile Stant.  There's a lot to uncover in this film. It's not specifically  about the act of violence that happened in 1994, but dives into the backstories of siblings that grew up with an abusive father, how their fathers behavior shaped their worlds, and what healing looks like years later as adults.  We speak with Justin about how he ended up telling this story, how redemption is at the heart of this film and what he learned from Maile and Shane's relationship, Justin's music career, his friend Michelle Kwan (who is a part of this documentary), the buttoned up skating world, and more. Thanks so much to Justin for his time and making a film about healing family trauma.   --My Hero the Hitman is streaming now on Apple, Vudu, Roku, and anywhere you stream movies. Follow Justin Young on IG,   Twitter, and Facebook Follow My Hero the Hitman on IG  and on their website--Thanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 600 episodes without your help! --Be well, stay safe, Black Lives Matter, AAPI Lives Matter, and thank you for being vaxxed and masked!--SUPPORT US HERE!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.Listen every other Thursday 9:30 - 10 am on BFF.FMPOWERED BY GO-TO Productions 

Who visits the Boundary Waters in winter? Refreshingly, it's a diverse group of people who come to the wilderness for a variety of reasons. In this episode, we hear from: --Emily Ford, a Duluth resident who traveled by skis across the frozen border lakes in winter 2022. Ford, along with her Alaskan husky, Diggins, took on frigid temperatures and deep snow to raise awareness about the threats facing the Boundary Waters. --Michelle Kwan, the owner of a bakery in Minneapolis and a dedicated Boundary Waters traveler. In winter 2022, Kwan completed a winter camping trip with Bear Paulsen from Northstar Canoes and his family and friends. --Dave and Amy Freeman also share memories from some of their favorite trips to the Boundary Waters in winter, including stories from their Year in the Wilderness. --Katie Mumm, a photographer and business owner in Grand Marais who takes pictures of moose and other wildlife during the winter months.

I chat with 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski about her life: how she got into skating, her coaching teams, training away from home, what to was like to be the youngest champion and her strategies for excelling at such a young age against older competitors, what it was like having a skating rivalry with Michelle Kwan, the 1998 season and how she felt going into the Olympics, media during that time, her Olympic experience, why she decided to retire competitively and turn pro at 15, retirement and finding her next passion, her journey commentating, and her thoughts on current women's skating regarding the age change.

She was born in Philadelphia, lived in New Jersey and Sugar Land, Texas. At the age of 14, Tara Lipinski won the World Figure Skating Championships, beating her fierce rival, Michelle Kwan. The next year, in 1998, she beat Kwan again to win the Olympic Gold, the youngest ever in skating history. Once known for her triple-jumps, Tara now walks the Red Carpet, working everything from the Academy Awards to the Kentucky Derby. Starting this week, she and her fellow champion and fashionista, Johnny Weir, will bring their fun and expertise to NBC's coverage of the Olympic Games.

Today I was joined in the diner booth by leadership consultant and owner of Becky's Mindful Kitchen, Becky Schmooke. Becky, her wonderful sarcasm, and I dove in discussing popcorn in bed and Minnesota diners.  We then talked about what she wanted to be when she grew up and how she got to meet both Michelle Kwan and Jill Biden (but didn't realize it was her).  From figure skating to playing the cello to running cross country, Becky has had no shortage of interests. It was cool to hear her talk about her theory that winners quit. She then told me about what mindfulness means to her, and I was surprised by her answer! Lastly, we dove into her passion for stoicism and how it shows up in both her daily life, teaching, and leadership consulting work.  Lots of laughs throughout this one and some pretty great insights. Enjoy! About the Guest:  The year was 1987, the month January, and as the sun rose on the final day of the first week of the new year, a blessed baby was born over looking the Pacific Ocean… no? Not the bio you were looking for? Okay… take two Becky Schmooke is the founder, owner, goat wrangler and dishwasher of Becky's Mindful Kitchen. A cooking school in the Midwest that has evolved into a truly one of a kind countryside escape and home to summer camps, leadership retreats, mindfulness workshops, and bachelorette parties. After 10 years of studying mindfulness, leadership and stoic philosophy, she now focuses on mindful leadership consulting and speaking, helping organizations find simple and effective ways to integrate her mindful leadership systems into their workplace and personal lives. Becky has started speaking in schools about mental health and mindful leadership and teaches mindful parenting from a leadership perspective.  Cooking still remains and will forever remain a part of BMK, from kid classes to corporate team building- the skills learned in the kitchen extend beyond the table. Breeding goats and contending with 60 plus hens means life here is never dull. With a vet supply shelves stocked full, Becky has had to deal with a multitude of goat and chicken emergencies. She also splits her own wood, uses a chainsaw, teaches archery and fire starting, makes soaps and candles and skin care products to gift to people. Other fun facts, she has 2 bio daughters, 1 bonus daughter, Married, Type 1 diabetic and has almost died a few times!   Connect with Becky and learn more: https://beckysmindfulkitchen.com/ (https://beckysmindfulkitchen.com) https://www.facebook.com/beckysmindfulkitchen/ (https://www.facebook.com/beckysmindfulkitchen/) https://www.instagram.com/beckysmindfulkitchen/ (https://www.instagram.com/beckysmindfulkitchen/) About the Host:  Friends! Here's a somewhat stuffy bio of me:   I am an author, professional speaker, coach, host, and entrepreneur. My first book, Leading Imperfectly: The value of being authentic for leaders, professionals, and human beings, is available wherever people buy books. I speak internationally to willing and unwilling attendees about authenticity, vulnerability, and leadership. My clients include American Express, General Electric (GE), Accenture, Yale University, The Ohio State University, and many others. As a speaker, I am doing the two things I loves the most: making people think and making people laugh!  I host my own events multiple times a year. They are 2-day events called Living Imperfectly Live (and sometimes they are 1-day virtual events). They are a space where humans from every walk of life can come together to be part of a community on the pursuit of badassery. The goal is to help attendees start living the life we say we want to live. Alas, you're here because of an idea I had a number of years ago and didn't think I was good enough to pull it off. I finally acted on it and alas Diner Talks with James was born! As you can see from what I do in my professional life, Diner...

Michelle Kwan welcomes her first baby, Pope Francis pushes for fewer pet parents, and why Meghan Markle opted for a 1-pound payout in her privacy suit. Plus, inside PEOPLE's incredible story about a potential serial killer and the psychiatrist he says saved his life and many others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Michelle Kwan drops by and shares her experience about mental health in the Asian American Pacific Islander community. Michelle mentions how her family was very reserved and never revealed their true feelings, whether it was financial stress or adoration. Michelle also expresses her immense support for all of the recent Olympians sharing their mental health struggles and dropping out when they needed to. Go to BetterHelp.com/GettingBetter for 10% off your first month of therapy Executive Producers: Brittany Clevenger, James Imrie, Sim Sarna, and Sahiba Krieger Producer: Devin Ruskin Audio Engineer: Emily Crain  Music: Josh Cooke Artwork: Brian Stefanik Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode, we explore what it takes to become a professional athlete. Michelle Kwan: Megan Masako Haley Karen Kwan: Alicia Kaori Announcers & Reporters: Gabrielle Mirabella & Ernie Bird Written & Narrated by Gabrielle MirabellaMusic & Production by Ernie BirdKeep our show running by becoming a Sustaining Member! https://www.patreon.com/whatwillshedonextpodcast  

Welcome to Episode 63! It's still a few months away, but we're so excited about the Winter Olympics, so we take time to talk about the history of Asian Americans in figure skating. Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi are so well known, but we also take time to talk about Tiffany Chin. To open the episode, we take time to catch up and talk about the news on disaggregating Asian Pacific data. We also take time to talk about a great organization called Gold House that has a wonderful program called Gold House Futures. To learn more, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or https://linktr.ee/AAHistory101 for social media. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@1882media.com. Segments 00:26 Catching Up, Talking About Disaggregating the Asian Pacific Data, and Winter Olympic Excitement 07:32 Asian Americans in Figure Skating 21:19 Highlighting Organizations: Gold House 

Episode # 141 - This WINTER WINNER WEDNESDAY we look forward to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and talk about Nathan Wei Chen. Chen is an American figure skater. He is a three-time World champion (2018, 2019, 2021), a 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2017 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), and a five-time U.S. national champion (2017–21). Chen grew up in Salt Lake City and began skating at age three. As his skills grew, he began to look beyond his hometown for a different kind of inspiration.  Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi, trail-blazing Asian-American figure skaters, widened his perception of who could succeed on the ice. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY? LINKS BELOW FOR: APPLE, GOOGLE, PANDORA, AND SPOTIFY. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ladiespromotingtransparentadvocacy/id1526382637 https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2xhZGllc3Byb21vdGluZ3RyYW5zcGFyZW50YWR2b2NhY3kvZmVlZC54bWw&ep=14 https://www.pandora.com/podcast/ladiespromotingtransparentadvocacy/PC:52161?corr=17965216&part=ug&_branch_match_id=819557998249581330 https://open.spotify.com/show/5x7xSxWi2wj2UXPsWnZ0cw?si=peGax6j6SIumBT5tq7_hhg Sources: https://news.yale.edu/2021/10/25/keeping-balance-yales-nathan-chen-and-pursuit-olympic-gold and YouTube Interview Follow us on Instagram:  @advocacyladies Follow us on Twitter: @AdvocacyLadies Podcast Email: podcasthostshapta19@gmail.com Org. Email: Ladiespromotingtransparentadvo@gmail.com Podcast Call-in Line: 404-855-7723  

Michelle Kwan is a co-owner of Keefer Court Bakery in Minneapolis. Michelle is an avid fan of the BWCA. She makes as many trips to the wilderness as she can each year, including intentions of winter camping and canoe camping. The daughter of immigrants to the U.S., Michelle says she was introduced to the Boundary Waters by Wendy Paulson, the sister of Northstar Canoes General Manager Bear Paulsen. Michelle shares her connection to the Boundary Waters in this episode of the podcast. Also featured in this episode: BWCA smoked trout wild rice chowder...Tune in and find out the details.

The Kwan Sisters - Michelle Kwan is an American retired figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time World champion (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003) and a nine-time U.S. champion (1996, 1998–2005). She is tied with Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record. She competed at the senior level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. For well over a decade, Kwan maintained her status not only as America's most popular figure skater but as one of America's most popular female athletes. Kwan landed numerous major endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage. From 1997 to 2005, she was the U.S. Figure Skating Association's top-paid skater in appearance fees and prize money, as well as one of the highest paid Winter Olympic athletes in endorsements. Kwan was also the highest paid skater on the Champions on Ice tours.Karen Kwan Oppegard is best known as the older sister of figure skater Michelle Kwan. Karen is two years older than Michelle and was an elite figure skater herself. The Kwan sisters began figure skating at the same time and trained and competed against each other for years. Karen, like Michelle, was coached by Frank Carroll at the Lake Arrowhead training center. Though Karen's results never quite matched Michelle's, she was known for her long legs and arms that added a lyrical style and an elegant dimension to her skating. She also had consistent triple jumps and good technical spins. Karen also represented the United States at numerous international skating events, and won the bronze medal at the 1996 Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany. She retired in 1997 to focus on school. She attended Boston University. Since ending her competitive skating career, Kwan has maintained her connection to the sport. She has worked as a choreographer and is the skating director at the East West Skating Palace, in Artesia, California. The Kwan family owns and operates the rink. Kwan graduated from Boston University in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in communications. She interned with clothing designer Vera Wang (a relative), who is noted for designing figure skating costumes and personally designed Michelle's costumes.

Ari Afsar is a singer/songwriter with placements on ABC, Disney, and Amazon. A graduate of Ethnomusicology from UCLA, Afsar just released her Concept Album distributed by Sony Masterworks, "We Won't Sleep" She is the composer of Broadway-bound We Won't Sleep the Musical, as named by Playbill. It was developed at the O'Neill NMTC where Afsar won the Lyricist Award. She has been commissioned for her compositions at the La Jolla Playhouse, Warren Miller Performing Arts, and The Berkshire Theater Group. Afsar has opened for Michelle Obama, Gloria Steinhem, Jane Fonda, Madeleine Albright, Misty Copeland, Michelle Kwan, Ani DiFranco and opened at the ACLU national conference with Bryan Stevenson as the keynote speaker. Her credits include starring in the Netflix original movie, “Wedding Season”, originating Eliza in Chicago's Hamilton, Miss California 2010, top 10 at Miss America 2011, and top 36 American Idol Alum. She is the co-founder of "Until We Do It" which provided masks to communities disproportionately affected by Covid-19.In this episode, we talk about activism and the role and responsibility of the artist, how to find your collaborators and mentors, cultural representation in the arts, the making of her new musical, being a multi-hyphenate artist and the power of art to affect cultural & political change.Creative Resources Mentioned:Democracy NowBroadway for Racial JusticeBroadway Advocacy CoalitionIndustry Standard GroupConnect with Ari:@ariannaafsar@wewontsleepmusicalListen: https://open.spotify.com/album/4VLwAYBfhNy8YtgNkGLI29

Simple question, hard to answer! Angela and Annie share their journeys exploring their identities with respect to Taiwan, and reflect on definitions contributed by a wide variety of Taiwanese individuals in America and Taiwan. We pitch each other some thought experiments that test our hypotheses about identity, and discuss the evolution of the Taiwanese identity in relation to China and in the context of America.Links: Nationality, Ethnicity, & Race, by Hello Prosper (blog post, IG post)Michelle Kwan's stories at #RecipeForChange dinner (YouTube 24:11)Taiwan's urban landscapes by Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry (IG story highlight)See the Olympic flag for Chinese Taipei (Wikipedia)Xi Jinping remarks for CCP centennial (Reuters article)Crackdown and closure of Apple Daily in Hong Kong, coverage by New Bloom and Taiwan Mixed (IG post)#notsponsored: Taiwan Mixed for news in English about Taiwan (website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)Show notes for full credits and sourcesFeaturing: Kelly Lan, Hello Prosper (IG: @hello.prosper)Darice Dan Chang (IG: @darice_dandan)Dr. Zonram Liao, Wellnergy Pets (IG: @wellnergypets)Sticky Rice Sisters (IG: @stickyricesisters)Cathy Huang, Avery & Me (IG: @averyandme)Lulu Cheng, Bitty Bao Books (IG: @bitty.bao)Connect:instagram.com/heartsintaiwanfacebook.com/heartsintaiwanheartsintaiwan.com

We talk about the upcoming World Championship and about a classic Michelle Kwan-skate! Shout-out to the Lilah Jo show for teaching Dea about Nathan Chens origins:)

How do you think about research when beginning a new play? When do you begin the research process? How do you know when to start writing? In this episode we discuss our own experiences on which plays of ours have required research; how did we do this research; and how do we feel about research. We ask ourselves how do we incorporate research without making the play overly expositional or boring and what are some best practices in organizing all this research? Let us know what you think! We'd love to hear from you. GLISTENS: Sarah: Michelle Obama. Michelle Kwan. Michelle McNamara. Michelle's. Sam: Wool Blankets HELPFUL LINKS: "On the Fine Art of Researching For Fiction" by Jake Wolff lithub.com/on-the-fine-art-of-…rching-for-fiction/ “Inspiration from artifacts: writing plays for the future inspired by the past” by Katie Bender pwcenter.org/playwriting-toolki…ture-inspired-past On dramaturgy howlround.com/research _______________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode to your friends, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @beckettsbabies And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: contact@beckettsbabies.com For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/beckettsbabies/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beckettsbabies/support

Jonah Keri hits a double axel with Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater and broadcaster Tara Lipinski about whether she'd want her kids to follow in her footsteps; skating at 3:30 a.m. every day as a child; eating disorders in the sport; her skating heroes; schooling as a child athlete; thriving on pressure; winning gold at the Olympics; her rivalry with Michelle Kwan; an ice cream party with Wayne Gretzky; the transition from amateur to pro to broadcaster; Johnny Weir; and Tara's Life Tip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 2014An interview with Sylvia Fontana, 5-time Italian Champion, 2-time Winter Olympian (for the 2002 Salt Lake City games and the 2006 Torino Games), show skater, coach, reality TV star, and founder of Karisma Sportswear with her husband american pair skater John Zimmerman. She talked about working with Carlo Fassi, why her cats didn't like her methods of warming up, and how she balances team coaching with her husband. 33 minutes, 29 seconds Thanks to Fiona Mcquarrie for transcribing these interview highlights: On her most embarrassing skating moment:  I want to say that it is probably the fact that I can't hide my emotions very well. So even yesterday as Brandon [Foster] and Haven [Denney] were skating, it was just hard to maintain composure. After every one of my good performances, I would just start crying, and some of the audience or the people watching would wonder why without winning a gold medal I would break down in tears [laughs]. I'm not embarrassed but I definitely can't hold my composure. On starting skating: My father was in construction, and that's why I was born in New York, because he had a temporary job building a big sports center in New York City. Then when we moved to Italy he was building a sports center in Rome, and there was a mini-rink. And of all the sports in the center, I was attracted to that. I couldn't go down stairs and they tell me I still wanted to see the people skate. And I see my little Sofia [her older daughter] just has the same focus when people skate, everything stops. Even better than Minnie Mouse [laughs]. I have US citizenship, and that made it easier when I had to choose a country to train in. No visas, nothing like that. Carlo Fassi at the time was training in Lake Arrowhead and therefore I selected the US for my site of training. In Rome it was really difficult to get a good systematic training schedule. So I moved to the US to improve my skills and really learn the triples. And when I met John [Zimmerman, her husband], he was funny, he was like...and I was, I am, I am a US citizen. But I didn't speak English very well so he couldn't understand how that could be possible [laughs]. On being an Italian skater and training in the US: At the time there was [backlash from the Italian federation] but now they're more used to understanding that some of our infrastructure and coaching has gotten better throughout the years, but wasn't up to par with what other countries had. And when I moved I was kind of like the first one to have done that. And Carolina [Kostner] had always trained outside of Italy, and now Valentina Marchei is in Detroit. There is always part, I think, of the Italian federation and the Italian coaching staff that looks at you a little bit with disappointment because you're emigrating, but I think now that Italy is so competitive, they are understanding how one athlete is driven and how to support them in their decision. So it's better now. But at the time it was a little challenging. I was going to Carlo at first, so it was really emigrating to skate with an Italian, so it was kind of okay [laughs]. And then unfortunately Carlo passed away, so that's when I moved my coaching to Frank Carroll and Evelyn Kramer. On whether she could have skated for the US: I could have [laughs] but it's much harder. Yesterday I saw the women's short program and it's such a deep field, it's awesome. It's beautiful to watch. For a very short moment John was without a partner and we had a mini-tryout, so we could have skated for the US in pairs, but I had just gotten all my triple jumps, and I skate lefty. And we never fight, but we had our first fight 30 minutes after skating together, and we didn't think it was a good idea [laughs]. On being interested in ice dance: I was always a singles skater at heart. I love pairs, I love watching pairs, and now with John we're coaching pair teams. And I'm learning so many more aspects of choreographing pairs and what to look in a pair team as far as choreography, I wouldn't touch the technical part. I do think it's very interesting to have two people on the ice creating a story, I love that aspect. But for me to skate — I enjoy skating with John and it's very special to do all these shows, but even then sometimes, I'm like, you took off, wait for me [laughs]. I'm a singles skater that way. On working with Carlo Fassi: He had an aura about himself. He had a lot of charisma. He had that personality where it wasn't so much what he would say to you, what correction he would give to you, but how. Just the tone of his voice, the command, it almost transferred so much confidence. He knew exactly how to make you better. And to me, that is how I remember him as a young woman growing up. He gave me a lot of confidence, and whenever I felt that he believed in me, it made me believe in myself that much more. And Christa Fassi, I just saw her at Italian nationals, and Christa is a very very good coach and still coaches full out, I have very fond memories of them. It was very hard [when Carlo passed away], I had just lost my father that year, and then Carlo, that was very difficult. On training with Frank Carroll, who at the time was coaching Michelle Kwan: It was awesome. I was very much looking up to Angela Nikodinov, Nicole Bobek, and Michelle — it was really the epicentre of the skating world at the time. I learned a lot from the coaches and from the skaters. Now in coaching I find myself relating stories of training times with Michelle, and how she would start off a long program and maybe missing her first jump but continuing the program as if that never happened, in practice as she would do it [in competition]. And just her work ethic, how she would warm up and cool off. She definitely was a huge role model for all of us training there. And it's sad that some of the kids now, they are, oh, Michelle Kwan, I heard about her [laughs], and I always say, go and research on YouTube because she is an institution for our sport, she's an icon. On missing the 1998 Olympic team: I had a very poor national championship. I skated very poorly. It's so funny now watching an Olympic trial, it's a different stage when you are competing at a nationals to qualify for the Olympics. I had qualified Italy to be in the Olympics at a competition in August, at the time it was the Vienna Cup, and I was the very favorite to go. And I just didn't perform well at all, the nerves just got the best of me. And I contemplated quitting, because that's another four years [to the next Olympics], and I had already gone to Worlds, so that's another four years to invest into your craft, and I was already 21 so that's not very young. And I'm very glad that I stayed in because I did two more Olympics [laughs]. It was not the right time, but at the time it was so devastating. And I see so many things going through skaters' faces now, like, well, you can't get up from this. But you do, and it makes you stronger. And everything in your career as a skater makes you stronger as a person later. On 2001 Worlds, where she placed 10th after being 19th the year before: I worked very very hard. I had my triples thanks to Carlo, Frank and Evelyn. Then I moved to Connecticut to be closer to John but also to be under the guidance of Galina [Zmievskaya]. Galina really put so much work into improving my skating and I really owe it to her and Nina [Petrenko] and Viktor [Petrenko] to have improved so much. And I was emotionally ready. As I was saying before, as an athlete I grew that mental toughness, and they were behind me to improve my skating to where I needed to be to be up to par with that top 10. It's really tough to get in to the top 10 [laughs] but I felt - my skills, when being raised in Rome, technically I had so many things that weren't perfect. And so we had to make do with some things. And Galina tried to improve my technique a little bit without completely starting over, because we didn't have the time, and she was very successful at that, very smart. On placing 10th at the 2002 Olympics: I wasn't thrilled because I think — I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, and I think I made two mistakes. One big mistake and one slight mistake, and I knew I could skate better, so that's why I was unhappy with myself. I wasn't that unhappy with the score, I wasn't that type of skater that really focused on the score, but I was really crying only when I skated my best [laughs]. On competing in the 2006 Olympics in Torino: I saw the NBC commercial, I don't remember how many days it was but it was like 154 days until the Olympics, and they were showing all parts of my country, with the Olympic circles. And something came onto me, I have to try. I was so far back and I was not in shape at all, I had never done triple flip or triple lutz in four years. And I was touring in Broadway on Ice with Brian Boitano and it was in theatres, with very small ice. So I asked Brian, so how was it to come back? And he said, very difficult, but it was a good challenge. So it was good that he was there. And I didn't want to even admit in my brain that I had thought about coming back, because we had bought a house and I was in a different phase of my life. So I said, I'm just going to start training silently, on my own, and see where I go. And John was on tour in Stars on Ice. So my tour was done in March, so I said, in June, when John comes back, if I am in good shape, maybe I'll verbalize it out loud [laughs]. And it was good. The drive that you have in training for the Olympics is amazing. And [with the new judging system in 2006] I had never trained some of the required positions in the spins. So when I trained from March to June, I turned on the heaters and did hot yoga in the house. The cats hated me going back to the Olympics, they were dying [laughs]. Obviously I didn't place as well [as in the 2002 Olympics], I also had several injuries from being 29 and training all these new things. By the time I got to the Olympics I was injured a lot so I really couldn't do triple flip and triple lutz, which I did at nationals to qualify. But that to me was the peak of my career. Even though I knew I didn't have the goods and I couldn't deliver the jumps at that point because of the injury, just to be able to put it together — those nine months leading to the Olympics, getting back into shape, qualifying at Italian nationals, and then skating in front of the home crowd and doing the best I could at that moment — that was it, that was worth it. Peter Tchernyshev did the choreography for the long program. He's brilliant. And he was the best man at our wedding so I knew he would have the best interests [laughs]. He's a great friend, and musical and talented. And I had moved to New Jersey, and Robin [Wagner, her coach] was appropriate for my age and what I was going for, my goals. Galina was amazing but I probably could not have handled Galina's type of training at my age. I was training very hard on my own and tried to get back in shape, but Robin was a great support for me at that time. She was very smart and supportive and positive. She connected with me and understood what I needed at that time, and understanding that if there was an injury, how to manipulate around it. To a younger skater I could say, especially in an Olympic year, to take the defeat as a gift and not as a defeat, and say, what can I learn from this, and not to get you down. Your soul as a skater, as a performer, as a champion, has to be stronger than those little bumps in the road. And that's what I learned from other skaters, like Michelle and Brian. I was very lucky to have met them and seen them and seen them train, and you learn that from life, it's a great lesson. Don't let your confidence and your dream and your drive be shattered by things like, that's it, a door is closing. Something else will open if you keep at it. On being on the Italian version of the Skating with Celebrities TV show, and winning twice: It's funny, but when I go back to Italy now that's how they introduce me [laughs]. It was a very popular show, and it was fun to do. It was interesting that, it's my curse, I ended up skating pairs [laughs]. It was just a challenging experience. You're a little bit of both, you're a coach and a skater. You have to teach them how to skate, you have to teach them how to perform and put together programs, but you're also the partner and the skater and the performer. It was challenging, but it was fun, because you feel that you're really bringing the sport that you love into the houses of people that never knew about skating before. So you see so many people falling in love with your sport, and that's worth it. And so many little kids are starting to skate because skating is popular because of the show. I also did the judging for Dancing with the Stars in Italy for a little while, so I had the opportunity to venture into the TV world. I knew that wasn't me. I liked more the contact with the sport. It's a very lucrative job, but coaching is much more satisfying, and my clothing line Karisma. That part of it to me was more challenging than waiting for the next contract. I liked the show for what it was but I wouldn't want to do TV for a living. We both like The Amazing Race because we are like that with each other, oh, let's see who gets there first. We used to play tennis, and John looked like John McEnroe, with the same intensity, we are both very competitive people. So that type of television, that type of reality show, we would both love to do. On successfully coaching with her husband: I think it's the respect we have for each other, and I truly believe he has so much to offer and vice versa. We trust each other in making good decisions, and we really like to hear what the other person thinks and believes. And then we come up with the best solutions for the skaters. We have the common respect for each other. We were both lucky that we had great American coaches and great Russian coaches. John trained under Peter Oppegard and Tamara Moskvina, and I had Carlo and Frank and then Galina. So we know a bit of both systems, and I feel that helps us. Not every skater is the same and not every skater needs the same thing, so our experience helps us. That's why it's really hard for me to watch because I know what they're going through [laughs]. On her clothing line, Karisma: It's a great challenge and it's fun because it's my baby, it really is. We started from zero, completely, and not knowing much about that type of business, but it's very demanding. Always thinking and always growing. It's the most popular clothing line in Russia for figure skating, and it's sold right now in the US, in Asia, in Japan and Hong Kong, and in Russia and all the other European countries. It's popular and it's doing really well, but obviously having these two little devils [her daughters] kind of put a stop to growing it for a little bit. But we believe in the product so much, and as a skater I knew how important it was to look your best, and how you feel good when you have things that look good on you. We aspire to having it grow because we were front runners in finding the fabric, in finding the right machine. It wasn't just an investment where we give money and forget about it. We put our heart into creating the right thing for the skaters, and hopefully it will develop into something more than just skating gear. But for now that's what we know and that's what we're passionate about. We will never quit growing, and we're proud of every little step. When we went to Moscow for worlds and saw how popular it was, and all the stores were approaching me to have the exclusive and bring me flowers, it was, wow [laughs]. We had a table, and of course having John and Peter at the table helped with all the women coming [laughs], but a flood of people were interested and we sold a lot of the product, and I did a lot of the vending personally. We are driven to make it grow and find ways to make it better.

February 2014An interview with the legendary Dick Button. What hasn't he done? He's practically the father of our sport (if Jackson Haines were Grandfather). The two-time Olympic Gold medalist invented many of the jumps and spins we see today, and he invented figure skating commentary. He's a skater, producer, commentator, actor, truth-seeker, hall-of-famer, stirrer-upper, and figure skating's biggest fan. This first episode focuses on his new book Push Dick's Button, a fantastic book that is a really wonderful conversation on skating. 55 minutes, 50 seconds. [display_podcast] AM: Allison ManleyDB: Dick Button AM:  Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Manleywoman Skatecast. I'm your host, Allison Manley, and this is Episode 73, an interview with Dick Button. That's right!  You heard it, here it is! Any longtime fan of my podcast knows I have been chasing this interview for years. Years! And it only took writing a poem, some polite stalking, a pinch of begging, and quite a bit of persistence and tenacity — and let's face it, it doesn't hurt that he was trying to spread the word about his new book. All I know is that I'm thrilled to have been finally able to interview him. So, in case you don't know his many accomplishments, I'm going to list them off first. Here is the general overview of what Dick Button has done for this sport. He was the first skater to have won the men's novice, junior and senior titles in three consecutive years. He was the first skater to land a double axel. He was the first skater to land a triple jump, which was a triple loop, and the first male skater to perform a camel spin. And he was the inventor of the flying camel spin, also known as the Button camel. He's the only American to win the European title. He's the first American world champion, the first American to win the Olympic title in figure skating, the first and only American back-to-back champion. He is the first and only American skater to simultaneously hold all of the following titles: national, North American, European, World and Olympic. That's five. He's the youngest man to win the Olympic title in figure skating, at age 18, and it shocks me still that this record stands today. He is the winner of the Sullivan Award. In the 1960s he began doing television commentary, and has been gracing our television sets for decades since. He was inducted into the World Skating Hall of Fame in 1976, which was the initial class. He won an Emmy Award in 1981 for outstanding sports personality/analyst. He was a producer of skating shows including The Superstars, which was the first of the reality shows. He starred in movies and on television, and on the stage. The autobiography he wrote in 1955 is a fount of knowledge, and is incredibly well written. I highly recommend that you all find a copy and give it a read. And, of course, he is the author very recently of Push Dick's Button, a fantastic book that is a really wonderful conversation on skating. Dick and I decided to do this interview in two parts. The first will be focused on his book and all the ideas within. The second part will focus more on his career and life in skating, and will follow at a later date to be determined.  Anyone who knows my podcast knows that I've been dying to capture his voice on tape for the fans. So, ladies and gentlemen, may I present — Dick Button. ----- AM:  All right, Dick Button, are you ready? DB: I am. AM: So, thank you so much for your book. It's wonderful. I have to ask, why did you write it at this time? DB: And my question to you is, what do you mean by “at this time”? Are you saying that I'm a very old poop [laughs] and therefore don't have any understanding of what the hell is going on in today's world? Or are you asking it because it's been a long time since I have written? I wrote a book in 1952 or 1954, when I was a very young person, and then I did one other paperback kind of book a couple of years later. I don't understand the question “at this time”?  I mean, that does that mean? Am I missing something? AM: I guess it is curious that it has been such a long time. I do actually have the book from the 1950s, and I think it's interesting that the book that you chose to release now, rather than being a biography or an autobiography, is such a conversational book. So I suspect that you felt the need to have this conversation, so that's why I'm asking. Is skating frustrating you to the point where you felt like you had to tell these opinions? DB: I'll tell you what it really is. Number one, it was in the past exceedingly difficult for me to write. The advent of the computer and the lectures that I give on gardening introduced me to an entire new way to write. If you write on your computer, you can erase things, you can change things, you can move things around, and you don't have to rewrite painfully every single word. So the system and the ability to write was exceedingly pleasant. Then I also have a very good friend who had gotten me a major contract ten years ago, that was with Simon and Schuster, and I had a great opportunity to write a very good book at a very high-priced contract. And that was at the same time that I had gone skating on New Year's Eve, and fell and fractured my skull, and got concussions and lost the hearing in my left ear. And I also had a co-writer with me, and it didn't work. We just didn't work out. In other words, it was too much. I couldn't handle it at that time. It took me about two or three years to really get my act together and to recoup from that fall. So the important thing was, this same lady, who is a great friend of mine and who got me that contract, her name is Pat Eisemann-Logan — I finally said to her, Pat, what can I do for you? And she said, I'll tell you what you can do. I would like it if you would come and sit on the couch next to me and tell me what the heck is going on with what we are watching. So I sat down one day and I just wrote out a couple of things, a few chapters, and she said, yeah, that's terrific. And I love it because, number one, it doesn't have to be The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire of Skating. It is a simple conversation. Conversations are meant to be interrupted, to have answers, to have somebody kvetch about it. Conversations can range from any subject to any subject, and that's why I like the idea of this. I did not want to do a history of skating, which others have done before this, and I did not wish to do a biography. I think there's far too much more of great interest around the world of skating. I wanted to do what subjects came up to my mind, what it is to watch for at the Olympics, and most of the questions you've asked me about this are  all in that book. So it was a very pleasant experience for me, I enjoyed it no end, and I'm happy to have done it and done it the way I did. Although I will tell you that there are three books that you write and three skating programs that you skate and three pictures that you paint.  They are, number one, the book you plan, number two, the book you do, and number three, the book you wish you'd done [laughs]. So if you can put up with that, you're a good gal. AM: It does seem to have worked out that this is the book you wish you had done. You seem very pleased with it. DB: Oh, yes, but there's a lot of things that I . . .  listen, if I had started with all the things I made notes of, I would have had six more volumes [laughs]. I don't think so. AM: Well, I do love the fact that even though it's not biographical, that you have a lot of sprinklings of your history in there. I mean, I think that's a great addition to the opinion pieces that are in there, because there's definitely opinions in there as well. DB: Well, it's a conversation. It covers whatever's on your mind. The one chapter that many people have criticized, they say, we know what jumps are, you don't have to put a chapter in there saying the different jumps. But my doctor said to me, "Dick, my daughter skates and we all really like watching the skating, but I can't tell one jump from another, how can I do that?" And it annoyed him. So I put in this brief explanation, if you don't know what a jump is, there's three or four or five or six pages of it, and if you already know which jumps are which — skip over it! This is not the end of the world book. This is not the end of the world subject. It is a conversational piece. And I hope like the devil that people can figure out that they can learn something from it. Because I enjoyed very much doing it. AM: Well, great. And I do want to ask you some questions about it, obviously without giving away too much, because people should buy it and read it, of course [laughs]. DB: [laughs] Well, we don't have long enough on this conversation, so go ahead and spring your questions. AM: Well, one of the things you are concerned about is losing the theatrical part of skating. And I wonder, from a competitive standpoint, how you think it can be preserved. There are a lot of people trying to preserve it outside of competition, but in the competitive arena, what are your thoughts on that? DB: Let me also start out by saying that competition, the Olympic Games which we're about to start into in another day or two — they get the most audience. Figure skating and dancing, they're kissing cousins, and figure skaters have the opportunity to become instantly famous and household names. Dancers don't have that. So if a figure skater has that opportunity, and the Olympic competition is there, it's marvelous that they take part and do it. However, figure skating is a complete sport. It's a sport that has music, choreography, costuming, performance level, story level — it has so many different aspects that are intimately intertwined with each other. Figure skating is theatre, and I don't care who tells me that it's not. The head of the ISU, the head of the Olympic Committee, and a lot of guys get all honked about it and say it's not a sport. Well, don't watch it! If you think it's not a sport, don't watch it, and I couldn't care less. However, the point is very simply that it is all of these things. It is theatre, it always has been theatre, and it will always continue to be theatre. And that is the very reason that makes it so popular at the Olympic Games. Now the reason I'm saying this is, there's an old saying that Oleg Protopopov used to tell me all the time, and that was, “Deek! Deek! You cannot have artistry without technique. But neither can you have technique without artistry”. The old votes, the old judging system had two marks. They were for technical merit and for artistic impression. The new marks, in essence, if you really want to see what the icing on top of the cake is, the subterfuge of it all, is they have all the marks that you get on your point system first, and then they have the component scores. Have you ever read the component scores? AM: I have. DB: Then you know that they mix together choreography, step sequences, footwork, et cetera, et cetera, and they have something like 27 or 28 different criteria to figure and allot to a skater's program within about two seconds. That's almost an impossible thing. And also, you will never know what it's about because it's secret. All I'm saying is that yes, there are many other organizations — there's Disney on Ice and Stars on Ice and individual singles skating here and there, and there's ensemble skating with the Ice Theatre of New York, and there's synchronized skating, and there's all kind of things. But it's the theatrical performance level that mesmerizes us. I mean, why did we look at Katarina Witt? Not only was she sensational looking, but she had personality and pizzazz. Let me ask you a question. Why is Evgeni Plushenko such a hot subject? I'll tell you why. Because he has personality. He's a great jumper, not a great spinner. But he has personality. He has pizzazz. And you can't take your eyes off him, watching what he's going to do. He will bamboozle you with his wrist movements . . . AM: He'll make you think he's skating with those wrist movements [laughs]. DB: Of course, I've seen him do that half a dozen times. He stops and does a bunch of fancy wrist movements around his belt line, and that's supposed to be great theatrical skating or something. Let me tell you something. Who is it that you want to watch at this Olympic Games? Who is it they are looking forward to watching? AM: Jeremy Abbott and Jason Brown. DB: You mean you want to see the competition between them. AM: The competition between them, but I think both are so wonderful. They bring something so different. DB: Absolutely right. And so do half a dozen of these skaters. I think what you really want to see also is Davis and White and how they impact the show. And who do we remember out of the past? Come on, you remember the stars that had pizzazz, that had presence, that grabbed you. There's a whole chapter in my book there about entrances and exits, and it's all about the difference between an Irina Slutskaya entering the skating arena — the first thing she does is skate over to her coach, takes a swig of water, high fives her coach, and adjusts the pants on her dress. And the next thing she does is blow her nose. Now, come on, is that theatre? That's not a humdinger of an entrance. The point is that, how does Katarina Witt do it? She doesn't lose for one moment the presence, the theatre aspect of it. And the gal we remember most of those two has gotta be Katarina Witt. And that's why there's a chapter in the book called "Where Are You When We Need You, Katarina Witt?" And . . . what else can I tell you? [laughs] This is my favorite rant. AM: You're passionate and I love it. I love every minute of it. DB: Well, come on, you know, it's a fun activity. It's a very complicated activity. It has so many elements to it that you simply cannot avoid any one of them. And the level of performance is one of those characteristics. AM: Yes. Well, you are a vocal critic of the judging system, but I am curious because you have said that there are parts of it that you think are worth preserving. What parts would that be? DB: Well, for example, I think you should always have a markdown if you fall. Right now what we are seeing is — how many people fell in the last [2014] National Championship, both men and women, in the different parts. How many people fall down? AM: Not a lot this year, actually. DB: Well, Ashley Wagner, she did. But you're being rewarded if you do a quadruple jump and you fall down but you're rotated almost enough to complete the thing in the air. This is all part of Ottavio Cinquanta's desire to — if he had his way, he would not have any judges there at all, and it would all be based on points and timing. I would like the fact that there would be no reward at all for a fall. And a deduction if you fall down.  I write about this in my book, there was a communiqué from the ISU explaining what falls were. You don't know what a fall is, I don't know what a fall is, certainly. But this rule came out and then three months later, there was — I mean, the question was, what part of the body was the fall on, was it on your bottom, was it on your core, and if you were on your fanny, were you on one buttock or another buttock or were you on both buttocks [laughs]. And then along came three months later this explanation, this clarification, and then changes to the rule that explained what a fall was [laughs]. So you have to read all that to understand the sense of the nit-picking. Now listen, let me tell you something else, and I write about this in the book . I challenge you to count — take one of the ladies anywhere, not necessarily Ashley Wagner, but start with a young lady and start counting the number of times when they're doing step sequences and all of those wonderful things, where they raise either one or the other or both arms over the level of their shoulders. And if you start counting, my bet is that you will get to 20 very, very quickly, and then you can stop. They're like flailing windmills. That's exactly the point. That does not augur well, in my book. First of all, there's just gotta be less talk about it. Why do you have to have something that is exactly two minutes with so many seconds on either end of it? That isn't the way. You should have one program that is your technical program, and one program that is your creative or other program, but neither one should be acceptable or be able to be marked well unless it has the qualities of the other one. One should be of technical merit and one should be of — the old judging captions, artistic impression, they are in a sense that way now, they're just called something different, it's technical marks and the program components. AM: So I wonder, you do outline at the end of the book your wishes and suggestions for better scoring, and they do include that the two programs should be different and that there shouldn't be a time limit. DB: Put it this way, there should be a time limit, but a generous one. I mean, during the World Professional Championships, we recorded the length of time of every skater, and only once did somebody ever go over, I think, maybe four and a half or five minutes.  So if you have three and a half minutes or four minutes, a generous thing — what difference does it make? Why do you just have to limit yourself? This is just the one program, not the technical program, the artistic impression program. AM: Well, I'm curious, what do the powers that be think about your ideas? Have you gotten any feedback? DB: No, I don't have feedback, because they . . . Ottavio Cinquanta does not want any subjective judging there. Remember, he is a speed skater, and all he can see — number one, he has two goals to his agenda. And once you understand a man's agenda, you will understand what he will do. His agenda is to have, number one, to never have another scandal like we had in Salt Lake at the pairs skating competition. And number two, he's all for eliminating anything subjective about the sport. He would like it to be like speed skating. You get over the line first, you've won. Now that is not figure skating. And besides he's said it too many times, and he's the one who put the new rules system in. My chapters go into all of that and show the chicanery that was involved with it. And now because he [laughs] made a contractual offer and placed every officer in their position for an additional period of time, he will now remain as head of the ISU until the year 2016. It's a chapter in the book as well. AM: You have always been an advocate for great spinning. You've talked about Dorothy Hamill, Lucinda Ruh, Ronnie Robertson, so I have to wonder, that in the new judging system, it has to be nice that at least you see the spins getting rewarded even if you don't always love the positions. DB: Well, I find that the multiple levels — you know, everything that you look at, there's a grade of execution, there's a level of difficulty. If you add more moves and turns into your spin, you get more points. But nobody gets points for blurred spinning. Nobody gets points for the things that used to make the audience stand on their feet and cheer. Spinning is just as important as jumping, and it's one of the two major technical elements in skating, the other being jumping and then of course there's spinning. And when you see somebody moving from position to position and changing their edges, all that sort of thing, you're not looking at the spin. At least have one spin that reflects the total true quality of a fast, delayed, long lived spin, where everything counters on the centering and everything counters on the blurring of it and on the finishing of it. Look, I don't have to have everything that I like, it's what other people like too, but I will tell you, there's very little to cheer for when you get a 243.8 personal best score. That doesn't give the average person an understanding of what the heck the score is all about, except that somebody else can get 283.9. And I trust that was more than the first number I gave [laughs]. AM: Well, I've actually always wanted that. I've always wanted there to be at least one spin that was skaters' choice, if you will, that they could do just for choreographic effect. Just like they've finally done with the step sequences, where you can just do one that you don't have to do without so many turns and flailing and windmilling, but it's one that just works with the music. DB: Well, there's very little — you can't really create things that are unusual or unexpected or different and expect to get anywhere under the current judging system. AM: Well, you have of course mentioned before that the ISU needs to be split, that skating shouldn't be run by a speed skater any longer. It's going to be a while, of course, since Ottavio wrote his own contract . . . DB: Well, of course he did, and nobody stood up to him. Nobody was able to stand up to him because he has cultivated so many federations which are all speed skating federations which get their money from figure skating. So what do they care? Why would they care what the rules for figure skating are, any more than a figure skater would care less whether the speed skating race is another 50 meters or not?  That's up to the speed skaters to understand that. And the very fact that they — did you know that there are over 80 federations in the world of skating? AM: I didn't know there were that many. DB: Over 80, and most of them all — the majority either are speed skating or joint speed skating and figure skating. And they get money from figure skating, the ISU pays them money from figure skating. And the end result is that of course they're going to do what he wants. AM: Do you think there's anyone out there right now who can challenge him, who can be the next great leader, to separate the two? DB: I think probably everybody is scared beyond belief. You see, the impact of the Olympic Games is always the most publicized event, but I can guarantee you, even the world championships which are taking place after the Olympic Games, they're not going to be on live. They're going to be in about two weeks in a summary program on NBC. Now maybe there's some obscure cable system or Ice Network that will show them, but you have to buy that cable system. I'm sure there will be recordings of it. But [laughs] here's a world championship that will be coming up a month later than the Olympic Games. Wouldn't you think it should deserve — and it used to always be very much of a highlight. Now it's sloughed off and it's shown a week or two weeks later after the world championship is over. I don't like that. AM: I don't either. All right, well, let's move on from the judging and talk about which skaters for you right now are really exciting. You've mentioned Davis and White. DB: Well, look, let me tell you something. My book covers a point about to wilt or not to wilt. When you have somebody who simply does not wilt, that in itself is exciting. And many a time, those people that can rise to the occasion, and suddenly pull together a program that is phenomenal — it's what you want to see. I mean, I found myself rising out of my seat when Jason Brown performed, because he in a sense broke the rules. It will be very interesting to see how he fares in this international competition, when he has competition from not only Jeremy Abbott but from Chan, Plushenko, Denis Ten, Javier Fernandez, and the Japanese skaters. It'll be very interesting to see how he compares in that to them. Remember, the national championship is one where it's a single country. And there aren't countries that are vying to improve their lot because that's the way they get money from the ISU. It's a different situation. I hope like the devil that he does brilliantly. I find him a fascinating skater and I was entranced by the choreography. And the choreography was done by Rohene Ward. I remember talking to him a couple of years ago, saying, you are going to keep on skating, aren't you? And he said, no, I'm not. And I felt that was a great loss. I'm very happy now to see him back in force as a choreographer. AM: Yes. And I'm happy to see someone, that he has a student that can interpret that choreography so well. Because, you know, Rohene was a very unusual talent, and oddly enough Jason has a lot of the same qualities, with his extreme flexibility and his showmanship. DB: Wait a minute. Are you telling me that that flexibility can't be gained by other people? They can, if they would understand what that is and follow that. AM: No, but I think Rohene was very unusual for a male skater to be able to use it to choreographic effect. DB: Why as a male skater? AM: Well, because most men, if they could do the splits like that, they certainly wouldn't lower themselves on the ice and pull themselves back up and do a lot of — Johnny Weir could lift his leg all the way up before a lutz, too, just like Jason and Rohene can, but it is unusual. DB: Well, that's because they don't follow that either. If you look at the number of skaters among the ladies that – well, look, there's a totally developable way. Guys can learn. You see it in gymnastics, for heaven's sake, If they do it, why can't figure skaters? Look, this is called the development of the — right now, I can guarantee you there's very, very little of the component score voting for some of the stuff that Jason Brown did. He was marvelous in the fact that he did not open his program with the single most difficult jump that he could. I'm really fascinated to see how the international version of this will work out, the international competition coming up in the Olympic Games. AM: So you did mention that he is a bit of a rule breaker in that sense, and you have said in your book that rules are made to be broken. And you did use Torvill and Dean as a perfect example of that, of course, from 1984. Is there a rule that you see right now that you wish someone would break, or push a little more? DB: Yeah. If you look at the rules of the component scores, you will see that, number one, they include skating skills, transitions/linking footwork and movement, performance and execution, choreography, and composition. Now what is the difference between choreography and composition, and transitional and linking footwork and movement, et cetera? I mean, aren't these the same things? AM: To me they are. To me it's semantics. DB: That's right. And isn't it better to have a skater develop that through their own intelligence rather than having to control those step sequences through it? And the linking movement and the linking footwork? And the transitions and the linking movement? [laughs].There was a wonderful English lady who would always comment on English television, and she had a very high voice, and when it came out, linking movements, we were all happily amused [laughs]. AM: Well, that's a good challenge for the next person listening to this, to try to push those boundaries a little bit per Dick Button's request. All right. So, you have a chapter on music choices, and there are a lot of choices as you know that are constantly overused and that we are all tired of hearing about. So is there a piece of music that you have never gotten tired of hearing, that you feel is underutilized? DB: Look, these pieces of music are time-honored pieces of music. So if you look at, for example, Swan Lake, I still will go, when I go to the theatre in the winter time, I still will go to New York City and see Swan Lake. I mean, it doesn't stop any more than certain songs that you get tired of. It is the way they're developed, and I do a whole thing in this book on the development of music by the skater, and whether they understand what the music is saying. And when you pick a piece of music like Carmen or Swan Lake, it comes with over a hundred years — one comes with much more than a hundred years and one comes from close to a hundred years — of very fine history and development and interpretation. Are you telling me that because six skaters do it within a two-year period of time that you're tired of it? I find it's that the skater hasn't developed it. We're always seeing different interpretations of dance, and if you get tired of Swan Lake being done, then try to bring a great quality into it that makes it sing. Swan Lake is wonderful for skating because it has long sweeping movements. It is not Irish clog dancing or step dancing. AM: Well, I think if you're going to pick, and this is my opinion, but I think if you're going to pick one of the commonly used pieces, you better make it good and different and that's what I think — Samantha Cesario, I don't know if you saw her program, when she did it this year at Nationals I thought it was fantastic. And I am not a fan of using Carmen because I think that after Debi Thomas and Katarina Witt had the battle of the Carmens, you'd better leave Carmen pretty dead. You know? [laughs] DB: But one of the things is, you have to understand what the music is. I write about this in the book, and I talk about Mao Asada who is a lovely skater and a very nice person. But she had all the white feathers and all the music, et cetera, but there was no understanding of the movement of a swan in that. There was no understanding of the history of Swan Lake. I mean, you can't have a program that has been performed for more than one hundred years now, nearly one and a half centuries, in great companies with great choreography and great sweeping music, and not understand what that performance level is. You must understand the music, you must be able to — and there are different interpretations of the music, different orchestrations, there are many times different ones. Whatever the piece of music it is that you choose, you can find sometimes more than one interpretation, and unfortunately we don't hear about that on the commentary, I don't think. AM: Is there a piece of music you would like to hear more? DB: Look, that's like saying is there a great skater that I'd like to see more of. Always! Always.  I like great skating. That's all I'm saying, I like the best. And I want to be — it's theatre, it's athletic ability, it's competition, it's technical demands, it's music, it's choreography, it's costuming, it's the whole kit and caboodle. And I guarantee you, do you think they're going to cut out — I wouldn't be at all surprised, if Ottavio Cinquanta had his way, that he would make everybody wear the same costume for the team competition. AM: They were talking about that. One of the articles this week was talking about putting all the athletes in Nike outfits [laughs]. DB: Yeah, yeah, yeah, remind me of one event I don't want to see if that's the case [laughs]. Oh, gawd. If you have a great product, don't mess with it. Skating was a great product. Now we've messed with it so completely and for so long that it's very disheartening. Remember, you're not a member of the rules committee if you're not making rules. If you're a rule maker, you have to be making rules or otherwise you're not a rule maker. AM: [laughs] They got a little over-zealous. All right. Your commentary is epic. People still talk about it, they miss hearing you, your catchphrases have inspired a drinking game and compilations on YouTube. And you have gotten some heat for your comments such as “refrigerator break”. DB: I'd like to address that. What the heck, would it have been better if I had said, it will give you an opportunity to make a toilet break? I don't think so. A refrigerator break — you know, I think I got over 1100 letters from people saying that I had only said that, I wouldn't have said that if this, that, and the other thing. And I wrote each one of them back and I said, look, Angela Nikodinov was a very talented skater, but she was skating against Michelle Kwan, and there is no problem coming in second behind Michelle Kwan, but she was coming in fifth, fourth, second, third, fourth, that sort of thing, floating around. But what she allowed you to do was to lose your sense of concentration on her. That's where performance level comes in. She was a gorgeous, lovely skater, with wonderful technique and very, very beautiful on the ice. But she allowed you to lose your sense of concentration. She allowed you to switch off and take a refrigerator break. And after I answered that, I never heard anything more about it. AM: But she did listen to you, though. Because she came back amazing the next year. She made you pay attention. DB: [laughs] Well, that's my gold medal. My gold medal is when I hear, when I make a criticism of somebody and then I see later that they have either improved it or changed it. One of the things I always said about Evgeni Plushenko was, way back in 2002, I said, he's a wonderful jumper but he's a lousy spinner. And the next year, or two years, I was at a championship, and he said, how are my spins? Are they better? So he was listening, and he made it good. And his spins were better. And that's a great compliment to me, when somebody does that. AM: So how many skaters would you say have come up to you and talked to you about your comments about their performance? DB: Well, I had a lot of skaters say, can you point it out to me. One of them was Jason Dungjen and his partner, Kyoko Ina. Kyoko Ina had exquisite posture and stretch and arching of the back, and Jason was like a nice all-American skater without that same stretch. So when they did a pair move, hers was extended beautifully and his was not parallel to it. As soon as I pointed that out to him, he understood exactly what I was talking about, and I think they worked hard on it. So that was a great honor to me. That is my gold medal, my reward, when a skater will do that. And look, you really only criticize, I say this in the book, you really only criticize a skater if they're talented. If they're not talented, it doesn't spark comment. AM: Would you say the refrigerator break comment was the largest reaction you've gotten over the years from fans, or was there another one? DB: It was one of them. Another one of them was when I commented one time about, I think it was crossing the street in New York, and everybody said, oh, you wouldn't have said that if the skater that I was referring to wasn't black. And come on, I encourage my kids to cross the street, I say, stop and look in both directions, otherwise you'll get run over and then you'll look like a pancake on that road. It's about an awareness of your surroundings, and you've got to be aware of the surrounding effect in an arena. How many times do you see — go back and look at programs. That's why some day I would like to see a great media museum of skating. Because if you go back and you look at these performances and you consider them, then you will never forget that. And it will apply itself, it will be another basis for another understanding of what it is that you're doing. Every position you take on the ice should be thought out. You cannot just do these positions where you see the skater come out and they take their position and the free leg toe is pointed behind and to the side of the skating leg — you know, the kind of position you take where one foot is flat on the ice and the other is on a point behind you. Look at the number of times you see, what is the position of that foot? Is it turned under, or is it not in an elegant position? If you want to see proper position, look at Oleg and Ludmila Protopopov, and John Curry, and Janet Lynn, and Peggy Fleming. And Dorothy Hamill, who became an infinitely better skater after she had won the Olympics. I was a better skater after I had finally learned, long after I had retired, and learned from — there's a whole chapter in this, it's called "Open Your Eyes, Dummy." And it was my opening my eyes which led me finally to understand what the heck skating was all about. AM: Well, I would love it if we finally had a media museum with all those performances. DB: There is the museum in Colorado Springs, but it doesn't have any money. US Figure Skating is not really going to support it because they want to support skating today. But sometimes the education, the media education is imperative. AM: Yes. Well, I am hopeful that one day will come to fruition, that there will be a central place where all that is housed, and it's not just Youtube [laughs]. So, all right, your book, I sort of felt like as I was reading it, and this is sort of getting heavy here, I really felt that it was a metaphor for living a balanced and fulfilling life. It talks about centering yourself, breaking the rules, having a solid foundation, fighting the good fight, not wilting under pressure, and having a whole lot of fun. Do you view skating that way? DB: Yep. You know, skating is no different than gardening, than painting, than anything else. You know, I hope you'll come some day and see my garden lecture [laughs]. Then you can do a conversation on that for a different sport. But all of these things intertwine. Why do you dress the way you do? Why do you speak the way you do? Why do you live in a house, if you have the opportunity to live in a house, why do you choose the style of house you do? All of these are inherent in skating, and they are inherent in everything else. It is called not only what the eye beholds, it's what the eye registers. One of my pet peeves is watching skaters take position in the center of the ice, when they skate down and they're on one foot, and the other knee is bent. Time after time, you look at that particular entrance move on one foot, and it's not a beautiful move, but yet there is every skater doing it. What is that move, what is that position supposed to be? If you ask the skater, what are you trying to express by that, are you expressing a welcoming moment to the crowd? You don't have to be on one foot to do that. Take a look at it yourself, and I urge all your listeners to take a look at that, and take a look at the number of times an arm flings above the shoulder. And question each and every one. Peggy Fleming, always, I would see her in front of a mirror at a rink, constantly checking out the way she finished a turn or a pirouette, or made a turn, and how the dress worked with it. She was constantly looking at that. And you will find that she does not make a move even today without knowing exactly what that position is, whether she's on skates or not. Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov, and I talk about this in the book, I went up to Lake Placid where they were getting a lifetime achievement award, and of course the Lake Placid club or whoever it was didn't have any money for publicizing it, and it was an almost empty arena. However, the Protopopovs skated in it as if they were skating for the King and Queen of England. And Oleg took an opening position with Ludmila, and you take one look — without them moving one inch, they took a position, and I said, that's it, that's their whole performance right there in that position.  They were stunningly beautiful in that position. And they're well into their 70s, and there was the story, right there. My problem is, I can't look at skating — that's one of the sickening things with having watched it for so long, is that I've seen extraordinary performances, Belita Jepson-Turner, Noffke and Schubach, pairs skaters who were champions of the US in the 40s, the movement, their parallelism of their moves was extraordinary. They couldn't do throw axels and they couldn't know what triple side-by-side jumps were and so forth, but their pair skating quality was without compare. I mean, it was just extraordinary. All I'm asking the skaters to do, and everybody else to do, is to look at it, and say, why are we doing this? Each step, what is it supposed to do, and is it? Does it interpret the music and does it interpret — John Curry, we did a thing with Ice Theatre of New York, Dance on Camera, at Lincoln Centre over the weekend, and it was all about, it was a great deal of comment and production in the John Curry film of what he was teaching skaters and the way he was making them look at film. Slavka Kohout used to do that. She would take all her dancers in to see the ballet, or any other production that had dance movement in it. It wasn't about seeing it, it was about registering it. And that's the important thing. If there's only one thing I hope for in this book, with a little bit of tomfoolery that you don't get stuck into something serious, and, number two, that it opens your eyes. AM: I love that. All right, I just have one more question for you, then, since we are just days away from the Olympics. I am curious what you think about the new team event. DB: Oh, I don't really think much about it at all one way or the other. I think if they want to do it, that's fine. It gives a secondary skater a secondary choice, and it gives somebody who may not win a medal another chance to win a medal, and I'm fine with that. I don't have any great problem with it. You know, God bless them, what they're doing is trying to get another set of television exposure, and that produces money and blah blah blah. The one thing, though, that I did understand was that when the rules were not quite set in Budapest, at the European championships, the newspaper people were asking Ottavio Cinquanta what was the rule about such and such, and he said he didn't know. He said, you have to ask the Russians about that. Well, hello! Are the Russians the ones that are controlling the sport? I mean, the Russians are a hell of a good skaters, and very efficient, and they've got a wonderful team going, but are they the arbiters of our sport? That's my complaint. “I am a speed skater, I know nothing about figure skating.” AM: I know, it's incredible. Well, I agree with you that it's wonderful that there's another opportunity for skaters to get medals, because there's just been the one chance all these decades. But I also don't think that it was done for any reason other than ratings and money. I'm cynical enough for that. But I'm glad to see the skaters get another opportunity. DB: Right. But you've also got to remember that that's why figures are no longer with us. They didn't bring in any money, nobody watched them, they took a lot of time, they were expensive, and they didn't add anything to the income. So this is another one that adds to the income, and it really doesn't change anything. I'm sure they'll all do their same programs that they will do again. They're not going to create a new program now. They might for another year. AM: Maybe for the next round. But we'll see. To be determined [laughs]. Well, I am going to take you up on your offer and invite myself to one of your garden lectures someday. DB: [laughs]. All right. I just finished one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and one at the Botanic Garden in Arizona, and I've done several in the New York area, in the New York and Connecticut area, and maybe there'll be one in the early spring or so in a nearby city to New York. So I'll let you know. AM: Please! And as we've discussed I'm hoping to come out and see you in a couple of weeks, and do another interview more about you. DB: Good. AM: And I hope that you'll let me come up and take a look at your fantastic art collection of skating art. DB: Oh, you're more than welcome. AM: I would love it. DB: You're more than welcome. You have a good one, my dear, and keep the faith. AM: You too. Enjoy the next couple of weeks of good television. DB: Thank you, ma'am.   AM: And there it is. I have finally had my dream of interviewing Dick Button. I can now die happy. I think. Although, as you heard, he did want to have another conversation later. So we will plan to do that. And until next time —May you be a pioneer with whatever you choose to do. May you be as opinionated and passionate about your life's work as Dick Button is about his life's work. And as he says in his new book Push Dick's Button, on page 46, and yes, I'm paraphrasing just a little bit: don't skate to Carmen. Bye-bye!

June 2013 An interview with Ricky Harris, the first dedicated figure skating choreographer, and author of three books on figure skating and choreography. Ricky Harris skated with the Sonia Henie show, and created a series of successful workshops that are being continued by American Ice Theater with Jodi Porter. She did choreography for Evan Lysacek, Michelle Kwan, Babilonia/Gardner, Blumberg/Seibert, Scott Hamilton, Linda Fratianne, and so many more. Ricky Harris talks about what it was like being the first choreographer to sit in the Kiss & Cry, how Scott Hamilton wouldn't initially take direction from her, and how Frank Carroll and Don Laws were her biggest supporters. 1 hour, 8 minutes, 37 seconds.