Read carefully, especially what is written with
red letters 
-----------------------------------------------
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/n...xpect+vancouverBy Lee Ann Gschwind, NBC OlympicsFigure skating: What to expect
Olympic medalists return, Asian powers take control
Russian Yevgeny Plushenko returns to defend his Torino gold.As this Olympic season approached, a theme began to appear: comebacks. From injury, from pregnancy, and most notably from retirement - four medalists from the 2006 Torino Games returned this year to pursue another Olympics. Vancouver would be the third Games for Sasha Cohen, Yevgeny Plushenko, and Stephane Lambiel, while Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo are seeking a fourth trip. The celebrated Chinese pair has won three world titles, but remains motivated by the opportunity to claim their country's first Olympic figure skating gold.
The presence of these veterans adds intrigue to what already promised to be a compelling figure skating competition in Vancouver. Below, a look at five key storylines to watch:
The King is back 
The most intimidating return so far has been that of Plushenko. With his convincing win at Cup of Russia in late October, the 2006 Olympic gold medalist sent a clear message to the men who've been taking titles in his three-and-a-half year competitive absence: to win gold in Vancouver, you're going to have to get through this three-time world champion.
With his reliable quadruple jumps and equally unwavering confidence, Plushenko is poised to make all kinds of history - he would be the first man to win two straight golds in more than half a century, the second man ever to win more than two Olympic medals, and the sixth straight Olympic gold medalist from Russia/the former Soviet Union.
In Vancouver, Plushenko will have to fend off a deep field of challengers, six of whom have won world championship medals. That group includes two-time world champion Lambiel, 2007 world champion Brian Joubert, host country sensation Patrick Chan, and reigning world champ Evan Lysacek, who in 2009 ended a 13-year world title drought for the U.S. men. Daisuke Takahasi, the 2007 world silver medalist, sat out all of last season with a knee injury, but returns to lead a talented trio of former world junior champions from Japan. Joining Takahashi in Vancouver should be Takahiko Kozukaand Nobunari Oda, who quickly claimed two Grand Prix golds to start his Olympic season....
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=2366/index.htmlGetting to know: Yevgeny PlushenkoRetired after winning Olympic gold in Torino, but returned to competition three seasons later...Moved to St. Petersburg on his own at age 11 to train with renowned coach Aleksei Mishin...The charismatic blonde loves fast cars and has achieved rock star status in Russia...Also has made a name for himself politically in Russia, serving on the St. Petersburg parliament and working on the 2014 Sochi Games.
Read Full Bio:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlet.../bio/index.htmlCareer Highlights: 2006 Olympic gold medalist, 2002 Olympic silver medalist, three-time world champion, five-time European champion, seven-time Russian champion
2009-10 MusicShort Program: Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo
Free Skate: Tango Amore by Edvin Marton
Welcome Back!After dominating men's figure skating, winning Olympic silver and gold, three world championships and five European titles, Yevgeny retired from competitive skating in 2006. Concerned about the state of Russian men's figure skating, Yevgeny announced that he would return to competitive skating for the 2007-08 season, but that comeback never happened. Many doubted his sincerity when he announced, again, that he would return for the Vancouver Games, but he proved himself as an Olympic gold medal threat yet again with his performance at a Grand Prix stop in Russia. "To come back after a three-year break isn't easy, but it's worth the risk," he told Russian reporters.
King QuadPlushenko's return has played a key role in shaping the dynamics of men's figure skating for the Olympic year. In the past two seasons, a quadruple jump wasn't necessary to win a world title. That won't be the case in the Olympics, considering Plushenko is likely to do quad toe-triple toe combinations in both his short program and his free skate, and says he wants to do a second quad in the free skate as well. Several other men will attempt the quad, but Plushenko's mastery of the jump sets him apart. He does it so well that he earns positive grades of execution - his quad-triple combo can garner more than 15 points. He rarely misses it. And he's so comfortable with the jump that he does it in his exhibition program.
No honeymoon this timeStreamed live on the internet, Yevgeny's second marriage to Yana Rudkovskaya included guests Nikolay Valuev (WBA heavyweight champion), Olympic gold medalist Svetlana Khorkina and a few Russian music stars. Yevgeny met Yana through Dima Bilan, a Russian pop artist; Dima has performed with Yevgeny and Yana is Dima's manager. Yevgeny married his first wife in 2005, a year before the Olympic Games, even though his coach objected to the timing. This time around, Yevgeny says that Mishin didn't comment, but the couple didn't take a honeymoon - Yevgeny left with Mishin and his choreographer the next day.
Transparent approach 
In a sport typically shrouded in secrecy, Yevgeny has taken the opposite approach for the lead-up to Vancouver.
He has a slickly-designed web site, official MySpace and YouTube sites - where he regularly posts videos and photos, including training video. Fifty-one of Yevgeny's fans from around the world recorded messages on a golden CD as a welcome back gift. They presented the surprise when Yevgeny was training in Pinzolo, Italy. In return, he posted a thank you video on his web site.("unfortunately", they no put and link to the site )A need for adrenalineYevgeny admits that a lack of excitement in his life drew him back to the rink. He says that he took his motorcycle to 150 mph, played paintball and went four-wheeling, but now skating provides enough adrenaline now. "Many people asked me in the spring, 'Why do you need this? Practices again, the training load, stress. You have everything - money, fame, titles ... you've won everything. Why are you returning?' Sinply, I was bored. There wasn't enough passion, fight, inner drive or goals. Or, like my coach Aleksei Mishin said, I just want to prolong my youth, I'm all of 26 years old, why not compete some more?"
Thanks, mom!Unusually flexible for a male skater, Yevgeny credits his mother with encouraging him to do a lot of stretching when he was younger, saying, "It hurt, and I was a young boy, and I thought I didn't need to stretch. But now...thanks, Mommy."
Sex bombPlushenko is known for an exhibition program set to "Sex Bomb," which he debuted at the 2001 Worlds. With a flesh-colored muscle suit and a gold bikini bottom, he flirted his way through the program, even dancing with members of the audience.
---------------------------------------------
http://www.examiner.com/x-20118-Figure-Ska...ko-close-behindNovember 2, Figure Skating Examiner, Jackie WongRinkside Power Rankings (Men) - Oda out in front, Plushenko close behindAt the beginning of the season, few would have predicted the success of double Grand Prix gold medalist Nobunari Oda this season. He has always had fantastic jumps and skating skills, but he was somewhat of an underachiever. But he is certainly raced out to the front midway through the Grand Prix series with his consistency and, more importantly, his Chaplin free skate. He has emerged as a genuine contender. Will he keep it up when the big competitions come around?
Not far behind are the two comeback stories of the season on the men’s side, reigning Olympic gold and silver medalists Evgeni Plushenko and Stephane Lambiel. Plushenko’s quad is still as strong as ever and there was little competition against him at Rostelecom Cup. Lambiel does not have a Grand Prix assignment, but he had terrific performances at Nebelhorn Trophy and the Japan Open.
Both Plushenko and Lambiel will likely be laying low before their face off at the European Championships in January. Until then, they may be flying under the radar, but they may end up being on fresher legs than most with time to work out the kinks in their programs before the Olympics in February.
MEN1. (-) Nobunari Oda – Chaplin transformation is doing wonders.
2. (-) Evgeni Plushenko – A warm welcome back to the king of the quad toe.3. (-) Evan Lysacek – Starting off well, hoping to peak later.
4. (-) Stephane Lambiel – Solid skating early on at Nebelhorn and Japan Open.
5. (-) Tomas Verner – Looked great for a program and a half at Paris.
6. (-) Daisuke Takahashi – Good skate at Finlandia, onto Nagano to battle the big guns.
7. (-) Takahiko Kozuka – Still skating in the shadows of his teammates.
8. (-) Adam Rippon – Rising American, can he pick up where he left of in Nagano?
Yet to compete this season: Patrick Chan
... you know themselves, as it is. 
... because that, everyone and skate in "own village" 
... but while I ransacked the Russian and western media 
... in my country (which has half of a skating rink 
