Ana wins Linz in a stunning 6-2 6-1 victory over Vera Zvonareva

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Photo sources: (all) Yahoo! News/AP Photo/rubra

So going into the long, its Yu-Na Kim, Miki, Yukari Nakano and the the US

Actually, here is that international panel for the short from the ISU's offical Skate America site. With the long scheduled for broadcast on NBC at 3 CDT I see, this was these are the results in the women's short program this evening:

Current Standing	Name	Nation	Total
1	Yu-Na KIM	KOR	69.5
2	Miki ANDO	JPN	57.8
3	Yukari NAKANO	JPN	57.46
4	Mirai NAGASU	USA	56.42
5	Rachael FLATT	USA	54.92
6	Kimmie MEISSNER	USA	54.9
7	Annette DYTRT	GER	48.32
8	Susanna POYKIO	FIN	47.82
9	Yan LIU	CHN	46.96
10	Mira LEUNG	CAN	45.74
11	Tugba KARADEMIR	TUR	41.26

Miki Ando does . . . Skate America, again

The results of the short program are just beginning to come in, but I see that Miki Ando (pictured immediately above and below from practice yesterday) chose to do Skate America again this year. Wasn't that part of the very same strategy that kept her out of the Grand Prix finals last year and - oops, I don't know how she did at worlds last year because I still have not watched my taping of it? On it. Official lineup I am sure that there is an international panel of judges for the event, but it seems so hard for a non-American to win our ISU Grand Prix event.

And in that lineup, Mirai Nagasu (below also from yesterday's practice session), who just whisked, just swept, just stormed her way to the US (senior) championship title last year, is listed as the world junior bronze. Oops. Rachael Flatt is reigning junior world champion. (Wait, last year's worlds is coming back to me: the US continent who were old enough to go, didn't they totally embarrass themselves or something. I watched.)

Photo sources: (all) Yahoo! News/AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

this! is what I've been waiting on . . .

'Dis hea'! battling for 'dat $million. No Sharapova. Jelena Jankovic has been on a tear since her US Open final lost of dat $million to Serena (who has tasted 'de sweet taste of 'dat $million now). Heck, only half the field is Russian, what's up wid' 'dat, huh?

Ana has floundered, as I expected, since Wimbledon, but (big but) I expect her in every final every slam next year. Ana has stepped into the public eye (GOD forbid); that takes some adjustment. She'll make that adjustment to her liking (that's her fight here) in the (brief) off-season, but (big but again) she could break out here, too.

Jelena and Nadia lean on the Porsche Carrera 911

Jelena Jankovic won it in her 6-4 6-3 victory over Nadia Petrova in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart, Germany on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. But Nadia is hanging around later and later in the tournaments, and that is good news: Nadia is good people. What actually caught my attention about the tournament, though, was Jelena's 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 6-2 victory over Venus the day before. During the US Open, I was really pulling for Venus over Serena in the semis, because I thought that Venus would more probably win the tournament. Serena beat Venus then Jelena Jankovic to win the Open. So, I guess all is well, huh?