Exciting News!

I was barely over my excitement that my three favourite US men all get to go to Worlds, and now I hear that, apparently, Plushenko will not be in Turin after all!

This is great news for me. This is also great news to the following guys, all of whom I reckon now have a real shot at the title:

Jeremy Abbott
Brian Joubert
Daisuke Takahashi
Patrick Chan

I'd love to see those first three on the podium. I love Daisuke, but I'd especially love for Brian and Jeremy to go 1-2, preferably in that order, after their disappointing showings in Vancouver. I'm not a Chan fan and am secretly hoping he repeats his sloppy performances from the Olympics.

Here's who else I'll be looking out for in Turin:

Takahiko Kozuka - Honestly, if it weren't for my deep love of Brian and Jeremy, I'd be quite happy to see the Japanese men sweep the podium. I am definitely interested to see what he puts out there in Turin!

Adam Rippon - I feel like I haven't seen him skate in forever and I am so looking forward to seeing that gorgeous Rippon lutz of his a couple more times! Hopefully he can nail two clean programs, a la TEB, although honestly, I'd settle for a bit of a wonky SP and a FS like at 4CC.

Ryan Bradley - He has one of my absolute favourite long programs this season and hopefully he can do it justice once more in Turin. Like Adam, I'm also really hoping to see him turn in two clean programs, because I just love him.

Michal Brezina - Verner's out, so it's pretty much up to Brezina to earn the Czech Republic two spots for next year. Luckily, this guy doesn't seem to melt under pressure like some of the others do, and with all the withdrawals, he has a great shot at a top ten placement. I am just looking forward to seeing his programs again.

Samuel Contesti - I love that FP of his, but he hasn't exactly captured me (or the judges) this season the way that he did last year. Still, if others falter, he could find himself with a decent placement. I imagine he'll be shooting for top ten.

Florent Amodio - He also has a pretty good shot at top ten; he's up against a lot of guys who aren't exactly known for their consistency and as far as I can remember, Florent is pretty damn consistent. He's also generally wonderful, which helps.

Nobunari Oda - My least favourite of the Japanese, but that's not to say I don't like him. Hopefully he can get through his Charlie Chaplin this time without his bootlace breaking! I figure he definitely has a chance at the podium, maybe even at the title if others falter and if he goes lights out.

Denis Ten - He's been looking a little burned out lately, with a less-than-stellar showing at Junior Worlds last week. I'm not surprised, though; he's had a crazy competition schedule the last couple of months, what with 4CC, Olys, JW and now Worlds.

Then we also have Kevin Reynolds, Artem Borodulin, Sergei Voronov (who takes Plushenko's place), Adrian Schultheiss and Javier Fernandez, who are all pretty interesting to watch, and there's always Kevin van der Perren to consider. Really, it's amazing that with so many of the top men withdrawn, there is still such a deep field!