The tournament, which began on Wednesday and is taking place in Finland, brought together the top four women's hockey teams in the world -- the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden -- and is the last international women's hockey tournament before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in February.

In today's match, the final one in the preliminary round, the U.S. beat Canada 3-2 behind Natalie Darwitz, who had a goal, Hilary Knight, who tallied a goal and an assist, and Meghan Duggan, who scored the game-winning goal late in the second period after an assist from Kelli Stack. 

Team USA finished first in the preliminary round standings with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record.

Also Friday, Sweden beat Finland 2-1 with an overtime goal; they will play for third place Saturday.

The Americans are the defending champions after beating Canada in a penalty shootout last year. Saturday's championship is at 8 a.m. PST. USAhockey.com will have a live webcast of the game.

-- Debbie Goffa

He trained long and hard, skating powerfully through a morning practice session at the Toyota Sports Center.

Although a surprise blizzard delayed his return from last week’s Cup of China competition in Beijing, he was on the ice Wednesday as usual, sharing the surface with Italy’s Carolina Kostner, 2008 U.S. champion Mirai Nagasu, Bebe Liang and others. Afterward, he pondered whether 100 days is a long time or a short time to wait for what looms as the biggest moment of his career.

“Both. I have mixed feelings,” said Lysacek, who pulled up from third after the short program to finish second at the Cup of China behind Japan’s Nobunari Oda.

“I feel like I’m really in a good place physically and mentally for this season, but at the same time, 100 days is a long time to stay calm. As it gets closer, anxiety will start to kick in a little more than it already has, but I feel like the last several years for me have been so rewarding.

"I’m really satisfied with the way things are going. I don’t feel the constant need to be proving myself, and proving myself and proving myself, and I think with that, I’ve found an inner peace where I truly love skating every single day and being with my friends and traveling.”

That, he said, has helped him rediscover the essential joy of skating.

“I’ve sort of come full circle. I feel like I’m right back where I started where I’m just doing it because I love it,” he said. “And I really hope I can keep that, because I want to have that feeling at the Olympics and be able to enjoy the experience and not be so hung up on how every tiny little detail is going in my skating.

"I know it’s about the sport as a whole, but like any athlete will tell you, we’re ambassadors for our sport, our country, each of our families and cities and clubs and coaches.”

That sounds like a lot of responsibility, but not to him.

“No. It’s an honor,” he said.

Lysacek also said he was happy with his performance at the Cup of China.

“I just had a couple of questionable calls on edges,” he said. “I sort of had my list of what I wanted to work on, but reviewing them, I don’t so much. It seemed like just calls. I’ll just try to make it more obvious, I guess. What they say with this system is, ‘Don’t leave any gray area.’ Even though I think it was correct, what I did, I did leave a gray area so that’s what I have to correct.

“I’ve seen great skating so far this season. It’s going to be a really exciting season leading up to the Games.”

And, as of Wednesday, there were only 100 days left until the Feb. 12 Opening Ceremony.

San Jose also hosted the nationals in 1996 when Michelle Kwan won the first of her nine championships.

The 2010 nationals and Olympic trials will be held in Spokane, Wash., in January.

-- Austin Knoblauch

In alphabetical order, the list is:

Belarus: Dec. 23
Canada: Dec. 31
Czech Republic: Dec. 30
Finland: Dec. 30
Germany: Dec. 30
Latvia: Dec. 29
Norway: Dec. 29
Russia: Dec. 25
Switzerland: Dec. 30
Slovakia: Dec. 29
Sweden: Dec. 27
U.S.: Jan. 1 (during NHL Winter Classic)

The last day to change the roster will be Feb. 15, when members of the directorate -- the mucky-mucks in charge of the tournament -- will meet on the eve of the first men's game.

Here's the men's Olympic schedule.

In honor of today being the 100-days-out point before the Games, the IIHF unveiled a new hockey page on its website with links to Olympic hockey rules, trivia and other information.

The announcement of the team that will compete at the Vancouver Games in Canada will be made during NBC's national telecast of the Philadelphia Flyers playing the Boston Bruins on a temporary rink set up in the middle of Fenway Park.

"It’s terrific to have partners like NBC and the NHL,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, in a news release. "I think by announcing our men’s Olympic team as part of the broadcast of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, we all feel like it will add to the pageantry of what is sure to be a spectacular event."

The men's hockey tournament at Vancouver will begin Feb. 16 and will end with the gold medal game Feb. 28.

The U.S. women, who have most of their team in place and will make only a few cuts before Vancouver, continued their Olympic preparation by defeating host nation Finland, 4-0, in the first game of the Four Nations Cup.

Goaltender Molly Schaus of Natick, Mass., got the shutout by stopping 15 shots. The U.S. women took 52 shots and got goals from Monique Lamoreux, Erika Lawler,Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej and Hilary Knight.

-- Helene Elliott

Jennifer Kirk, who won the 2000 world junior figure skating championship, finished third at the U.S. championships in 2004 and fourth in 2005, will write a weekly blog for The Times providing insights into the skating world during the months leading into the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Since retiring from figure skating in 2005, Kirk, 25, has been working on obtaining a college degree in broadcast journalism and has spent the last few months blogging about skating at Trueslant.com/jenniferkirk.

Americans Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu came to the weekend’s Cup of China event with high hopes. Facing a relatively weak field, both had a reasonable shot at medaling. 

It was shocking, then, when the ladies’ podium was void of an American flag. After dealing with their respective struggles in Beijing, Flatt and Nagasu were left with disappointment and empty hands heading home from their first Grand Prix event of this Olympic season.

What’s most significant about the weekend’s event isn’t that Flatt and Nagasu left a relatively mid-level Grand Prix event without a medal, but rather what it means for the larger hopes for American ladies’ figure skating.

Without a clear standout star among the American women, to some degree, the hopes of an Olympic medal rests in the hands of a relatively unpredictable group of young women who have yet to establish themselves as consistent threats for international medals. 

This week’s Cup of China served as a microcosm of this predicament. That said, it’s important to note that although the Cup of China was a disappointment, Flatt and Nagasu have the ability to rebound from the weekend’s setbacks and revive American ladies’ skating. But it will take some work.

Nagasu, who trains in El Segundo, skated with good speed and security in Friday‘s short program, winning the first phase of the competition. After a 2009 season that was marred with injuries and inconsistency, Nagasu came to Beijing looking to display an improved jump technique and more mature choreography.

She showed marked improvements in these areas in the short, getting through her jumps and receiving level 4’s on four of her elements. 

While Nagasu’s win in the first phase of the competition was promising and well-deserved, she learned an unfortunate lesson in her long program: If you’re going to jump, you have to make sure that jump is fully rotated. 

Although Nagasu’s jumps were strong in her short program, with better technique and height than we saw from her last season, Nagasu seemed to revert to old habits in the long. It appeared as if she tried to play it safe and, instead of getting the height and distance needed to fully complete the rotations, Nagasu muscled through her jumps, trying to assure she landed on her feet -- even if that meant her landings weren’t entirely backward. 

Nagasu received downgrades on five of her seven jumping passes in her long program, which completely killed her in the standings. Dropping from first to sixth in the long program, Nagasu was left to settle for fifth place overall and was more than twenty points behind the winner, Japan’s Akiko Suzuki, who had 176.66 points. Nagasu had 155.38, just behind Flatt’s 157.71.

The key for Nagasu is to keep herself from slipping into old habits under pressure. As a skater, it’s really easy to try to skate “safe” when you are leading after the short program, but the weekend taught Nagasu that safety isn’t going to win her international medals. 

The opening Grand Prix brings with it a ton of pressure and personal expectations for skaters. It’s understandable that Nagasu succumbed to this pressure in the long program. To some degree, all skaters have a moment where they drop the ball after an impressive short program, allowing mental lapses and safe skating to keep them off the podium. (Mine came at Skate America in 2002.) However, Nagasu can’t afford to make the mistakes we saw from her in Beijing in future events.

Like Nagasu’s shocking win in the short program, it was equally as alarming to see U.S. silver medalist Flatt struggle with her consistency and landings throughout the event. Flatt is known for being a clutch skater under pressure, but it seemed like she was off in China, leaving her usually secure jumping legs back at home. 

Although Flatt is a two-time national silver medalist, she lacks the speed on her spins and finesse to be competitive with the top international skaters. Because of her consistency, Flatt usually benefits from others’ mistakes, but, as we saw in the short program in China, when everyone skates well, there’s not a lot about Flatt’s skating that stands out. 

Flatt could fix this if she focused on polishing her stroking and improving her second mark. She needs to skate faster, work on the speed of her spins and her skating skills. While Flatt has a ton of potential, without the artistry and maturity of skaters such as Joannie Rochette or Kim Yu-Na, she’ll have a tough time breaking onto the podium at international events. Flatt has two weeks to get the timing back on her jumps and work on skating with more energy and command before her next event, Skate America.

While Flatt and Nagasu are surely frustrated by how their seasons began, both have the talent and opportunity to learn from the weekend’s competition. My advice to them would be to leave the Cup of China in the past. If they don’t, and they fail to spend the time fixing what’s been lacking from their skating over the last few seasons, American women’s figure skating will remain a rudderless ship still waiting for the next great star to emerge.

For Flatt, this means focusing on polishing up her skating, working on her flexibility and polish. And for Nagasu, it means working on the height and rotations of her jumps and her consistency under pressure.

The worst thing either could do right now would be to get too down about a rocky start to their Olympic seasons. The season’s far from over, and what they‘ll remember the most about this year isn‘t how it began, but how it ended.

-- Jennifer Kirk

They handed it off to rower Silke Laumann, a three-time Olympic medalist, and diver Alexandre Despatie, a two-time medalist and the first Canadian man to win an Olympic diving medal.

The Vancouver Olympic website has a nifty section about the torch relay, with an interactive map, videos and stories on some of the 12,000 folks who will carry the torch across the country and back in time for the Feb. 12 Opening Ceremony. 

Among the higher-profile torchbearers: NHL standout Sidney Crosby, who is scheduled to carry the flame in his home province of Nova Scotia on Nov. 18. Crosby was left off Canada's Olympic team for the 2006 Turin Games but that won't happen this time.

-- Helene Elliott

One is the committee, as previously promised by USOC board Chairman Larry Probst, includes representatives of every USOC constituent group, including two members of the Athletes Advisory Committee.

The other is that it does not include any of the U.S. sports federation (NGB) leaders who have been publicly critical of the current USOC leadership --  Probst and acting CEO Stephanie Streeter.

But there are valid reasons for not having the two most outspoken NGB leaders, Steve Penny (gymnastics) and Skip Gilbert (triathlon).

Since Penny's name has been bandied about as a candidate for CEO, it makes sense that he would not be on a search committee.  Gilbert was not interested in the role. And the NGBs backed the choice of USA Hockey boss Dave Ogrean -- a former USOC deputy marketing director -- as their representative in the search process, for which the USOC announced Thursday it has hired Spencer Stuart as its search firm.

And the search committee does include the one USOC board member, Mike Plant, willing to be loyal opposition -- both to the previous chairman, Peter Ueberroth, whose ideas had been essentially rubber-stamped by a board full of Ueberroth appointees, as well as to Probst.

Penny and Gilbert were, however, among several NGB leaders who met with Probst on Tuesday at his office near San Francisco. Probst also had a private meeting with Gilbert, who recently had called for him to resign as chairman. The feeling that emerged, sources said, is that Probst does not bear grudges.

During the general meeting,  Probst let all the NBG leaders candidly air their grievances and suggestions. A key one was that the new CEO needs real familiarity with the world of sports (and preferably the Olympic movement) to avoid a long learning curve. Whether Probst agrees remains to be seen.

Streeter and two of her three immediate CEO predecessors, Lloyd Ward and Norm Blake, all came from corporate backgrounds, were unsuited for the USOC post and spent little time in the job.

Maybe that is why the USOC won't a) pay the search firm until 18 months after the CEO is in place and b) retained the right to set the amount of the payment.  If the result is another short-term stiff, the USOC should stiff Spencer Stuart, selected from nine search firm candidates.

The search committee can recommend one or more CEO candidates to the board.

Probst reiterated to the NGB leaders what he had told the media when Streeter announced Oct. 7 she did not want to be considered for the permanent post:  That he now is willing to devote full time to the chairman's job and that he is in it for the long haul, which presumably means his four-year term that ends after the 2012 Summer Olympics. 

The most significant promise Probst made at the Tuesday meeting was for more transparency in the USOC board's activities, a move NGB leaders have been advocating for the last three years.  That will include having NGB leaders among  outside observers at the board meetings and publishing minutes of the meetings.

Now everyone interested can only hope the board doesn't sidestep that scrutiny by going into executive session to discuss everything.  I want to know what they ordered for lunch.

--Philip Hersh

Olympic all-around champions Mary Lou Retton (left) and Carly Patterson, with USA Gymnastics Chief Executive Steve Penny, a potential candidate to lead the USOC.  Photo: USA Gymnastics.

Yes, the $5.7-billion NBC paid for U.S. broadcast rights to the Summer and Winter games from 2000 through 2012 had something to do with it. So when NBC was angry the U.S. Olympic Committee did not cut a deal with its "mini'' Olympic network, Universal Sports, the IOC told the USOC to cease and desist on the launch of its own planned network for the immediate future.

But there is another reason why the IOC loves its U.S. rights-holder, and that will start to be evident Nov. 4 when NBC launches its "Countdown to Vancouver,'' 100 days before the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Games.

The IOC wants to drum up interest in both the next Olympic Games and the idea of the Olympics.

Never has a U.S. broadcaster committed to an effort of the scope that NBC has planned to promote both its own upcoming Olympic coverage and the Olympics in general.

Using all its broadcast platforms, including NBC, Universal Sports, MSNBC, CNBC and the Weather Channel, NBC will air more than 1,250 hours of pre-Olympic winter sports competition, plus a variety of other Olympic-related segments beginning with the Nov. 4 "Today" show.

That night there will also be a prime-time Olympic segment across all the networks featuring U.S. Olympic champions Shaun White (snowboard) and Apolo Anton Ohno (short track speedskating) and the designated star-to-be of the 2010 Winter Games, alpine skier Lindsey Vonn.

[Updated 4:45 p.m. Tuesday] Expect NBC to give Vonn the Michael Phelps treatment as she goes after medals in several events. The difference is skiing is so much less predictable than swimming that no one would dare suggest Vonn should win multiple gold medals, even if she is the favorite in downhill, Super-G and combined. (An earlier version of this article said: The difference is skiing is no much less predictable than swimming that no one would dare suggest Vonn should win multiple gold medals, even if she is the favorite in downhill, Super-G and combined.)

The things Vonn can't control, like wind gusts that might hit during her run but affect none of the other skiers (which is entirely possible), mean her superior ability can be negated. That's just the inherent injustice of the sport, which is why skiers chant the mantra that the season-long World Cup is a better reflection of an athlete's prowess.

Vonn opened the 2009-10 World Cup season last Saturday with a solid ninth in giant slalom, her weakest event.

You can see plenty of Vonn on the NBC pre-Olympic event coverage, since it will broadcast (on NBC Sports, Universal Sports and Universalsports.com), the entire World Cup seasons of alpine skiing, long and short track speedskating, snowboard, bobsled and luge plus some events in freestyle skiing, ski jumping and cross-country skiing; the figure skating Grand Prix series; and the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Beginning Dec. 1, Universal Sports will have a "Countdown to Vancouver'' show every night (5 p.m. Pacific).

And if that's not enough for Olympic and winter sports junkies, nbcolympics.com will be up and running Nov. 4. 

And I will be frequently blogging about things Winter Olympic as well.

-- Philip Hersh

Photo: Lindsey Vonn figures to be the star of NBC's enormous pre-Olympic and Olympic coverage this winter. Credit: Thomas Vonn  

Jennifer Kirk, who won the 2000 world junior figure skating championship, finished third at the U.S. championships in 2004 and fourth in 2005, will write a weekly blog for The Times providing insights into the skating world during the final months leading into the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Since retiring from figure skating in 2005, Kirk, 25, has been working on obtaining a college degree in broadcast journalism and has spent the last few months blogging about skating at Trueslant.com/jenniferkirk.

When reigning Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko announced his plans to compete this season following a 3½-year hiatus from the competitive arena, most were initially skeptical about the success of his return. Would he be in competitive form? Was he going to be able to adapt to the various changes in the judging system? Would he regain his standing as the No. 1 male skater in the world?

Last weekend Plushenko answered those questions.

Winning his first and only Grand Prix event of the season, Plushenko kicked off his return to competitive skating with a bang. Skating a squeaky-clean long program and commanding the ice in Moscow, he picked up exactly where he left off in 2006. Not only did Plushenko take the gold, but he crushed the competition, winning by 25 points over Takahiko Kozuka of Japan.

What was most impressive about Plushenko’s skating in Moscow was his unwavering confidence. Though  his victory dance after the completion of his long program could be perceived as cocky by some, this blend of cockiness and confidence proved to be the reigning Olympic champion’s winning ingredient. Plushenko seems incredibly committed to his quest of winning a second Olympic crown, and after two events of the Grand Prix series he’s the front-runner heading into the Games.

Although Plushenko may be leading the pack at this point, Olympic gold is by no means solely his for the taking. Even as clean as he was last week, the reality is Plushenko is still beatable. It seems as though the shock of how well he did has masked the apparent flaws in his skating, but these weaknesses have the potential to be the deciding factor in Vancouver.

Although Plushenko’s spins are faster than they were in 2006, they are still slow. The ending combination spin in his short program inched along, and he needs to work on adding more variety to his spins. Along with this, the choreography in both of his programs isn‘t as strong as it could be, and his programs have far too much two-footed skating. Plushenko’s hip rolling and rapid arm movements may be fun to watch, but I don‘t know how they‘ll stand up to Patrick Chan‘s edgework and artistry.

That said, Plushenko won fair and square in Moscow, and without a second Grand Prix event he has a lot of time to work on fixing his flaws. What will be telling is how Plushenko responds to his season opener, which then leads to more questions.

Will last weekend’s overwhelming victory lead him to fall off from his training, now that he has answered his critics and, I’m sure, some of his own doubts about his return? Or will this win motivate him to work harder, culminating in gold in Vancouver?

Perhaps the most important question surrounding Plushenko’s win is whether his performances will spook his closest competitors. I’m sure most of his competitors weren’t planning on having to contend with such a strong Plushenko. If I were reigning world champion Evan Lysacek, I’d use this weekend’s Cup of China to respond to Plushenko by not only winning the event but beating his score of 240.65.

Among all the questions, what we do know is that there is only one Olympic gold medal up for grabs, and the season is still young. Although Plushenko’s skating in Moscow was beyond expectations, we shouldn’t hand him Olympic gold just yet.

-- Jennifer Kirk

MILWAUKEE --  It was a great weekend for Olympian-turned-coach Nancy Swider-Peltz until her husband, Jeff Peltz, drove back to their Wheaton, Wis., home with her car keys Sunday.

Jeff would be the one who paid for that mistake, having to drive nearly all the way back to the Pettit National Ice Center to give his wife the keys.

Before that little inconvenience, it was all good for the Swider-Peltz family.

Two of the skaters Nancy coaches made the U.S. team for the fall World Cup circuit, where the results will determine how many 2010 Olympic places the United States gets in long track speedskating -- and which skaters get most of the spots.

One of the two is Nancy's daughter, Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. The other is Brian Hansen of Glenview, Ill., a 2009 graduate of Illinois' Glenbrook South High School.

Both qualified in the 1,500 meters and the distance races and were put in the five-person pool for team pursuit.

The Olympic-qualifying situation would take the better part of a week to explain, but it boils down to this for both Swider-Peltz Jr., 22, and Hansen, 19:

Their best chance at both the Olympic team and an Olympic medal will be in team pursuit.

Hansen skated on the U.S. pursuit team that won a bronze medal at the 2009 World Single Distance Championships. Swider-Peltz won a bronze medal in pursuit at one of last season's World Cup meets.

Four men and four women will be selected in December for the U.S. Olympic team in pursuit. Three skate in the race.

The World Cup season begins 12 days from now in Berlin. That is too soon for coach Swider-Peltz, a four-time speedskating Olympian (1976 through 1988).

"We need three or four weeks more training before we begin serious racing," she said, but the system the International Skating Union "set up for Olympic qualification means you have to be there."

There could be two 2009 Glenbrook South grads skating in the Olympics. Lana Gehring, 19, made the U.S. short track team. Whether she competes in Vancouver will depend on results of four global qualifying events in short track. Her best chance is to make it on the relay.

Jonathan Kuck's skating in the World Cup team trials clearly justified his decision to take the fall semester off from the University of Illinois.

And there is a good chance he will be taking the second semester off as well to compete in the Olympics.

Kuck, 19, of Champaign, Ill., made the World Cup team in four events -- 1,000, 1,500, distance (5,000 / 10,000) and team pursuit. His most impressive performance came in the 10,000, where Kuck finished second to Shani Davis.

"It would have been disappointing if I hadn't made it after taking a semester off," Kuck said.

Kuck is a junior majoring in engineering physics. He plans to get a minor in computer science and specialize in computational physics.

-- Philip Hersh

Photos: At top, Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. gets some pointers from her mother and coach, Nancy Swider-Peltz, before her final race at the World Cup team trials Sunday in Milwaukee. Credit: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images. Lower, Glenview's Brian Hansen skating onto the U.S. World Cup team. Credit: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

Even if Davis is offered one of the five team pursuit spots on the World Cup circuit today and declines it, that does not definitively rule him out of skating team pursuit at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The U.S. Speedskating rules say the four Olympic team pursuit members may or may not be from the five team pursuit members selected for the fall World Cup events.

There appears to be a Catch-22 in the situation, though.

The rules also say the Olympic team pursuit members will be chosen, in part, based on performances in the fall World Cups.

If Davis chooses not to skate pursuit on the fall World Cups, he would have no such performances as selection criteria.

Forget all these scenarios. The best thing for everyone involved would be for U.S. Speedskating and Davis to give a definitive yes or no about team pursuit today and not leave uncertainty that could cause a repeat of the 2006 Olympic controversy on this very issue.

-- Philip Hersh

That's because Doug Arnot is going to work as director of games operations of the London Summer Games.

Arnot was director of sport, venues and Games operations for Chicago 2016. His star did not fall when Chicago's burned out in the first round of the Oct. 2 voting that made Rio de Janeiro the 2016 Olympic host city.

During Chicago's final presentation, Arnot began and ended by speaking French (the only Chicago presenter to deliver a sentence in anything but English), therein recognizing and honoring the idea that French is one of the two official languages of the Olympic movement.  Such a gesture was, of course, too little, too late for a bid that foundered at least partly because of the United States Olympic Committee's inability to communicate, through either the words or actions of its leadership, a real desire to be part of the Olympic world as more than an occasional Games host.

Arnot went to Chicago 2016 after resigning as the chief executive of USA Rugby. (Coincidentally, rugby was voted onto the 2016 Olympic program a week after the host city selection.). He had been managing director of operations for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games and managing director of venues for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. He has worked on eight Olympics as a consultant or organizing committee staffer.

Arnot, an avid cyclist, is part of a group of Olympic nomads that go from Games to Games, bid to bid, passing on their knowledge. If Chicago had won, Arnot would have been in line for a top organizing committee position, perhaps even chief operating officer.  

It figured Arnot wouldn't be out of Olympic work for long.

Photo: Doug Arnot addresses the International Olympic Committee this month during Chicago's final presentation before the vote for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Credit: Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune

Shani Davis skating to second place in the 1,500 meters Saturday in the U.S. World Cup team selection meet.  He has made the team in two events already. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

By Philip Hersh

MILWAUKEE -- The only question left for Olympic speedskating champion Shani Davis of Chicago to answer at the long track World Cup team selection meet that ends Sunday is the one that led to an enormous controversy at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

And that is whether he wants to be considered for the team pursuit event at the 2010 Olympics.

Davis, 27, who has shown again the last four days that he is the country's preeminent speedskater, must tell U.S. Speedskating officials Sunday whether he wants to be in the five-man pool for the team pursuit, four of whom will be selected for the 2010 Olympics in the event. (Three skate in the race.)

Saturday, after he finished second to Chad Hedrick in the 1,500 meters by 2/100ths of a second, Davis was asked what he intented to tell U.S. Speedskating about his interest in the team pursuit.

"We'll just have to see,'' Davis said.  "I can't predict the future.''

That seemed to sound like a no, but one thing is certain: No matter what Davis decides, the current U.S. Speedskating leadership won't hang him out to dry the way their predecessors did in 2006.  Instead, they intend to make a public statement of support for his choice.

Although Davis told the federation well before the 2006 Olympics began that he did not want to skate the pursuit, preferring to concenrate on his individual events, its officials never corrected reports that he had chosen to withdraw at the last minute.  That left him open to a firestorm of criticism, especially when Hedrick accused Davis of betrayal for not skating the pursuit, saying Davis' decision cost Hedrick and the U.S. team a gold medal.

Hedrick would like Davis to on the pursuit team next February but he too will simply accept whatever Davis prefers to do.

"I would love for him to be part of it,'' Hedrick said.  "If he wants to, we're going to have a great team.  If he doesn't, we're still going to have some great skaters to fill that spot.

"There would be nothing better than for him to want to be a part of it.  Gold medals are hard enough to win, and we've got one sitting right in front of us.''

The way both skated Saturday, either could wind up with gold in the 1,500.  And the third finisher, Trevor Marsicano, could make it a U.S. sweep in Vancouver.

Hedrick won in one minute, 44.47 seconds, shaving 1/100th from the Pettit Center track record Davis set a year ago.  Davis clocked 1:44.49.  Both were well under the time of 1:46:17 in which Davis won the event in the 2009 World Single Distance Championships last March on the 2010 Olympic oval, where the ice conditions are similar to here.

"That's a big message we're delivering to the whole world by skating 1:44s in October,'' Davis said.

And the effect of that message on the U.S. skaters' rivals?

 "I think they are going to be pretty scared,'' Davis said.  ``In all fairness, I think they are going to be pretty afraid.''

Davis won Thursday's 5,000 against Hedrick by 2/100ths of a second.  Davis also finished third in the 500 and won the first of the two races in the 1,000.  The world team meet finishes Sunday with the second 1,000 (the winner is based on the better of the two times) and the 10,000.  Davis has qualified for the World Cup team in the 500 and 1,500 and is a lock to make it in the 1,000 and the 5,000/10,000 combo.

Each country gets Olympic spots based on results in the five World Cup meets this fall.

"I'm stronger and faster than I have ever been in my life,'' Davis said.

That says something for a guy who has won Olympic gold and silver medals, world all-around and sprint titles, world single distance titles and set multiple world records.

To Hedrick, beating Davis also said something.

"To beat a guy of that stature, who was so consistent last year. . . . I'm trying to work my way back to the top, and that's a big step for me,'' Hedrick said.

Hedrick won a medal of each color at the 2006 Olympics.  He was third and Davis second in the Olympic 1,500, but their achievements were subsumed in the controversy Hedrick started.

"I think it would be a great story for him and I to enjoy (the 2010 Olympics),'' Hedrick said.  ``I feel like last time we worked so hard for America to be proud of us and everything happened and it went south from there.  I hope everyone enjoys it a little more than they did last time.''

Davis agreed.

"I would love to enjoy an Olympics,'' Davis said.  ``One out of my three would be nice.''

In 2002, Davis' selection to the Olympic short track team was mired in controversy that also was not of his doing. He did not compete in those Winter Games.

"Let's just say I haven't had the best Olympics, having fun-wise,'' Davis said.  ``Every day, I'm having more and more fun.  I enjoy the level of competition and going out there trying to be the best I can be.''

He is already the sport's gold standard.

-- Philip Hersh

That is what U.S. Speedskating Executive Director Bob Crowley is asking after a bank failure knocked $300,000 out of his federation's $3.8-million annual budget.

Dutch bank DSB, which had sponsored individual skaters as well as the U.S. federation, went under in September, spurring Crowley to seek additional help if he wanted to avoid a repeat of the situation after the 2006 Olympics, when U.S. Speedskating had a deficit of about $700,000.

"Our goal is to be break-even after the 2010 Olympics," Crowley said.

Speedskaters Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick took a financial hit when DSB dropped its individual sponsorship programs last season. Each had six-figure deals with the bank.

The U.S. federation had used DSB's money for individual-athlete funding.

And the bankrupt bank still might be advertised on U.S. skaters' legs unless someone can figure out how to remove the large logo on the skin suits.

Crowley was meeting with U.S. Olympic Committee officials Saturday in Milwaukee, where the long track World Cup team selection meet was taking place. The competition is a showcase for 2006 Olympic champions  Davis and Hedrick as well as new star Trevor Marsicano, who won a world single distance gold last year.

Olympic spots will be allocated to each country based on results of the five fall World Cup meets.

"We're not going to let anything disrupt our Olympic preparations," said Crowley, who added that he expected any major cuts to come from development programs. "We think we can win 10 to 12 medals" in short and long track at Vancouver.

The USOC is likely to kick in some funding -- maybe it can use some of the $25 million to $50 million a year it would have been wasting on the indefinitely delayed U.S. Olympic Network.

Crowley also will ask some of the federation's remaining nine sponsors if they are able to increase their support.

"What we're really looking for is a company that wants to come in and be a hero,'" Crowley said.

-- Philip Hersh

TGIF: A six-pack of figure-skating observations to kick off the weekend:

1. Yes, he was overscored. Yes, his arm movements are distracting, annoying, useless. And for all that, after watching Evgeny Plushenko's comeback performance Friday at the Rostelcom Cup Grand Prix event in Moscow, I have no doubt the 2006 Olympic champion will be a medal contender in Vancouver. The guy tossed off a quad-triple combination and a triple axel with almost disdainful ease, looking like someone who had been doing them every day the last four years instead of someone who had not been in an Olympic-style event since the 2006 Winter Games. (I'm not counting the meaningless Russian Cup 10 days ago in Perm.)

2. No, Plushenko is not headed to Skate America. That's what U.S. Figure Skating publicist Scottie Bibb told me after I e-mailed her to ask about the rumors that began hitting figure skating message boards as soon as the Russian finished his short program. When a Skate America spot opened up recently after Takahito Mura of Japan withdrew, it was filled by Igor Macypura of Slovakia.

3. If Plushenko, who turns 27 on Nov. 3, can come back that strong after a three-season absence, why can't Sasha Cohen, who turns 25 Monday? (Yes, I am aware the Russian long has had the jumping consistency Cohen always has lacked.)

4. Having watched three of the top five U.S. women (Caroline Zhang, Ashley Wagner, Alissa Czisny) at Rostelcom and last week's Grand Prix event in France, it seems clear only Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu have even an outside chance at an Olympic medal. Both Flatt and Nagasu make their Grand Prix debuts next week in China, where the women's field is weak once you get past them and Canada's Joannie Rochette.

5. Mao Asada is in trouble. The 2008 world champion from Japan slopped through her short program today, meaning she has given three straight seriously flawed performances (two in France last week). She is deservedly sixth going into Saturday's free skate. Is that a coaching change I hear coming?

6. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Miki Ando's short-program music -- choral passages from the Mozart Requiem, including the haunting "Lacrimosa'' and the terrifying "Dies Irae'' -- "Day of Wrath.'' It's music that she has been using in an exhibition program, some of the most powerful and beautiful music ever written, but what is the 2007 world champion mourning? And why the mood-spoiling schlock separating the opening notes, which are Mozart's, and the two passages from his Requiem at the end? And is this music choice an inside joke on the idea that the "Dies Irae" is a poem about the Last Judgment? A stanza from the poem:

For now before the Judge severe

all hidden things must plain appear

no crime can pass unpunished here.

Does that mean the fires of damnation await Ando if she misses a triple jump? Or just really bad scores?

--Philip Hersh

Photo: Arms and The Man: Contortions aside, Evgeny Plushenko showed he still had a firm handle on skating Friday in Russia; credit: Yuri Kadobnov / Getty Images

The lighting ceremony of the Olympic torch takes place at the temple of Hera, where the ruins of a temple dedicated to this goddess remain.

First, the flame is lit by sunlight focused on a metal reflector, part of a ritual including a prayer and a hymn made by a woman representing the ancient role of the high priestess.

The ceremony also involves a young boy who cuts off an olive branch and gives it to the high priestess, a symbolic gesture.

 Once the flame is lit and placed in an urn, the high priestess brings it to the Pierre de Coubertin monument and hands it over to the first torchbearer marking the start of the eight-day Greek stage of the Olympic torch's journey.

Photo: Actress Maria Nafpliotou in the role of the High Priestess lights the torch. Credit: Giota Korbaki, EPA.

DSB Bank, based in the Netherlands, was thrown into bankruptcy on Monday, ending its financial support of U.S. speedskaters. In an unusual step, U.S. Speedskating issued a news release today announcing it would have a budget shortfall of more than $300,000 because DSB Bank is no longer able to provide funding. As a result, U.S. Speedskating Executive Director Bob Crowley and the organization's board are working on a new financial plan for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.

"DSB Bank has been an excellent partner for US Speedskating and has allowed us to provide excellent service for our athletes,” Brad Goskowicz, U.S. Speedskating's president, said in a statement. "It is our mission to ensure our U.S. Speedskating Olympic Team has everything they need to be successful and we will continue toward that end. The impact will be seriously felt and we will be seeking additional sponsor opportunities."

The organization also said that sponsorship money had dropped significantly during the last two years of economic uncertainty. But Crowley is hopeful about attracting new financial partners.

"There are very attractive sponsorship opportunities now available,” Crowley said, “and this is a great opportunity for a company to attach themselves, at a very low cost, to the sport that is projected to win a record number of Olympic medals.”

U.S. Speedskating is proceeding with its scheduled events, including the national championships, American Cup series and the U.S. World Cup/Olympic-qualifying event that began today in Milwaukee. 

Updated:

The U.S. Olympic Committee has been in contact with U.S. Speedskating officials about the budget shortfall caused by DSB Bank's bankruptcy, according to USOC spokesman Bob Condron.

"Mike English, our Chief of Sport Performance, and Alan Ashley, our Team Leader for Winter Olympic Sports, spoke to Bob Crowley about the situation, and Alan is going to meet with Bob this weekend at the Trials to try and understand the impact on U.S. Speedskating," Condron said in an e-mail.

"We'll make some decisions after that."

-- Helene Elliott

Gigi Marvin of Warroad, Minn., and Jenny Potter of Edina, Minn., scored for the U.S. Goaltender Jessie Vetter of Cottage Grove, Wis., lost to Canada for the first time in six games against the defending Olympic gold medalists.

The two teams are likely to meet again in the Women's Four Nations Cup, Nov. 3-7 in Finland.

More info about the women's team is available at the team's Facebook page and at www.usahockey.com.

--Helene Elliott 

Intent on helping Team USA return to gold-medal glory in February at the Vancouver Games, she worked out with male hockey players this summer at the Athletes Performance training facility at the Home Depot Center in Carson. She emerged leaner and stronger—and believes she might have added 10 years to her playing career.

Ruggiero spent May, June, July and part of August at Athletes Performance as the only woman in a training group that included Chris Drury of the New York Rangers, George Parros of the Ducks, Orange County-raised Richard Park of the New York Islanders, former King Noah Clarke—now playing in Switzerland--and other pro players.

She said she lost eight pounds of fat and added six pounds of muscle, all while enjoying the work.

“For me it was really cool,” she said from Spokane, Wash., where the U.S. women’s national team will face Canada tonight at 7 in a game televised by the NHL Network.

“I actually played against Noah growing up in California, when I played in Pasadena, so it was really neat for me not only to train with pro guys but train with some of the guys I grew up playing against. Now we’re all adults and still playing hockey, so it was kind of a thrill there.

“I’m 29 years old, I’ve played in three Olympics and done quite a bit of off-ice training in my lifetime but this was definitely the best summer training I’ve ever had.”

Varying her workouts helped, she said, as did the intense drills and being pushed by the guys.

“I spent two, 2½ hours in there each day and I felt I got something out of it each and every day,” she said. “It wasn’t just going through the motions or just trying to get through a workout. We were actively engaged in each and every exercise. Their philosophy was just amazing. The technology they have is second to none….

“Really, it was like I was a little kid because I felt that I was learning something every day and challenging myself in a way that I hadn’t been able to do before. When I got to training camp in August I felt better than I ever have.”

The U.S. and Canada are fierce rivals in women's hockey. The U.S. women lost their last game against Canada, 3-1, on Oct. 5 but have won six of the teams' last nine games. The U.S. is ranked No. 1 in the world now but will go to the Olympics as the second seed based on its ranking after the 2008 world championships.

“Which is fine by us,” Ruggiero said. “All the pressure’s on their shoulders because they’re the defending gold medalists and they’re hosting the Olympics and that’s their national sport. So I think there’s more pressure on their side, but our team has high standards.”

-- Helene Elliott