Next, I watched the Men's long program at the national championships. I knew who had won and who had skated well or poorly, so none of that was a surprise.
What was a surprise was that two of our finest male skaters weren't there: Ryan Jahnke and Matt Savoie. I didn't read anything about their retiring from amateur skating, so when I saw the group of guys who were among the top tier, I was shocked at how many I was unfamiliar with (and after I saw them skate, I was not surprised they were unknown - terrible).
Lysechek was brilliant unquestionably. I've never seen him skate with that much flair or passion, and he richly deserved his score and the gold. Ryan Bradley has always been a showman, and I was pleased to see him not fall apart on his jumps. Johnny Weir is coming off an injury that took him out of the Grand Prix finals, and I didn't hear any of the commentators talking about that. Not making excuses for him; he skated a lackluster short and long program, but usually with other skaters, when there are physical problems, the excuses are offered up ad nauseum. Not with Johnny. I have a feeling he's alienated some folks out there.
