It’s never too late, is it? Nazareth, the Scottish rock band that made rock ballads a thing, has come home. As other bands have gradually fallen by the wayside hobbled by age and time, Nazareth has been rocking for 58 years, since the birth of rock. And now the band is back. The foursome sound […]
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Kagiyama: More than Silver
Silver this. Silver that. That’s the colour linked perennially and always to Yuma Kagiyama’s name. But that pile of shiny metal bits doesn’t come close to explaining what the world saw in the men’s free skate at the world figure skating championships in Prague on March 28. Kagiyama’s free skate was epic. Homeric. Classy. The […]
Saying Goodbye
First of all, nobody wanted to see Kaori Sakamoto go. They all wanted her to stay forever, amazing us with her power and spirit on the ice, her bubbling joy off the ice. They all knew: If she goes away, she’ll take the sun away. But she was skating to “Je ne Regrette Rien” after […]
Pairs: the Astronomical Clock is Ticking
Timing seems to be everything. The only times in history that the world figure skating championships have previously been held in beautiful, historic Prague, Canadian pairs and men’s skaters have excelled. Make that four world gold medals at two events, separated by 31 years: 1962 and 1993. It’s now another 33 years […]
Gogolev: Finding his Spot in the Sun
Suddenly, Stephen Gogolev was just there. Tall, lanky, a master of understatement, a greater master of quick rotation, Gogolev emerged during the Olympic season like a bursting bud that had been buried for a long demoralizing winter. He’ll be going to his first world championship in Prague next week as a player, after having […]
Gilles and Poirier: Peace at Last
After battling through the predictable/unpredictable trenches of ice dancing for 15 years, and a rash of ups and downs enough to startle a tornado, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier both stepped onto an Olympic podium in Milan last month and jumped up and down with utter, irrepressible joy. “We wanted to stay on the podium […]
Tears and Fears
Tears are not enough. The tears were rolling down Ryuichi Kihara’s face. Nobody sobbed as much as Ryuichi Kihara at the Olympic pairs figure skating event. There wasn’t a tissue box in the house that could contain those tears. They were tidal. But can you blame him? Kihara, now 33 years old, was on his […]
Men Meet Friday the 13th
Friday the Thirteenth. That’s all you need to know. The men’s Olympic final was on this day of black cats, and blood moons, and things that go bump in the night. Unfortunately, so many of the men went bump in the night. But nobody, just nobody, even into the far corners of this earth, imagined […]
Gilles and Poirier: Long Path to Olympic Bronze
You look at Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier – nametag Olympic bronze medalists – and you rub your eyes. They were always a couple of goofballs who didn’t care what anybody thought of their creative schemes. Now they are much more. Or rather, the world now recognizes them as much more. On the Olympic stage, […]
Gilles and Poirier: Vincent in their Corner
“Now I understand, What you tried to say to me And how you suffered for your sanity And how you tried to set them free. They would not listen. They did not know how. Perhaps they’ll listen now.” So Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, skating to these words this Olympic season, are setting forth “some […]