Hubba Hubba Tugba. She made up for the lack of the goods that most of the top skaters have, at least in one way. There was fight in the program. Even though she would have liked to have started her program with a two triple toes, she doubled them both, but she didn't let those get her down, going on to hit three triple jumps and two double axels en route to a 21st place finish. There may be better skates and stronger jumps ahead. Additionally, NBC's dedication of the Chevy Olympic moment to her was apt, and worth a look for any kid growing up in America, especially if they're partaking in sport. Hopefully they get the right message: though Tugba's parents sacrificed everything for her talent, she seems to be very grounded and respectful of that, even perhaps a bit in disbelief that her parents did all of that for her.

Kiira Korpi will be good in a few years. She needs to find music and choreography that better suit her... if she doesn't make it big as a model.

Liu Yan could be the next Lu Chen, and hopefully for her, it will be without a season similar to the one in 1996. She needs the special sauce, and maybe there won't be such a dispute over singles coaching.

Elena Sokolova's performance was the biggest disappointment. I thought that she would have been in form, especially since she was coming off a great pair of programs at Europeans. Though she looked like she might have had the sort of fire that won her a silver medal at the world championships when she nailed her opening combination, things quickly unraveled. I noticed that she looked less fit than she had been even a month ago. No word if Johnny Weir has gotten in touch with her about the unitard.

I was looking for performances more like the free skate of Emily Hughes. Yes, she could have not fallen on the triple loop, but she really went for it, she was energetic, she enjoyed the moment, and finished in a very respectable seventh place, breaking 100 points in the long program for the first time in her career. She has come a long way in a short amount of time; she should go into the Grand Prix next season thinking medals.

There was one other noteworthy performance before the final group: that of Joannie Rochette, who should have been ranked second... at least under the old judging system. I think her music was quite hard to skate to, and she gave it a great interpretation. Perhaps there can be some more refinement in stretch, but I admire her fight, and her double axel-triple Salchow near the end of the program.

Announcers should nickname Elene Gedevanishvili "peanut" because she looks really short in comparison to the other skaters... and also so the don't have to say Gedevanishvili so much. Conditioning got her, but she's got a bag of tricks that we should look forward to seeing in years to come.

Sasha Cohen really is lucky that she finished with the silver medal, not only because of the mistakes that she made, but literally, because the technical specialist should have downgraded the triple Lutz that she fell on to a double (NBC showed that it was underrotated), which would have cost her 2.3 points, and the silver medal. The program could have been magnificent if all the elements were in place, but it wasn't to be. Perhaps she should have taken a light practice instead of taking the day off? At least she fought her way through the program after the rough start. One thing that I didn't like was the placement of her circular steps.

Shizuka Arakawa delivered a solid program, which, for a few seconds, hearkened back to her 2004 performance. However, it didn't quite have the same attack or passion. She's done it better (for example, with triple-triples), but tonight, it was clearly the best program. Easy jumps, superb Ina Bauer, good footwork, just the minor doubling.

Fumie Suguri's program was good, but it didn't quite have the in-between elements or the spin quality to merit making up the six points that she needed to to stand on the podium. She's also skated this program better; at the NHK Trophy, she did it with a chip on her shoulder and seemed so pleased to have gotten through it cleanly. I think she needed to show that off more.

Kimmie Meissner was having jump timing issues. It happens. She'll be back. I hope she goes for the triple Axel again in the near future.

Irina Slutskaya looked like she was on her way to gold. I would have liked her to follow Arakawa's lead and opt for her last year's program. I don't know if this one could have won her the gold medal even if her skate was clean. She had doubled a flip before, but her fall was shocking, considering that that move into a triple loop is like a signature move for her. Can you blame her for being upset? Here's someone who might drop the name Maria Butyrskaya and come back in 2010.

If that happens, we might just be seeing Michelle Kwan there too. The quality of the free skates could have kept the door open for Kwan if she were not injured. I know that she's indicated that this was her last chance, but you never know, and you don't know how up-and-coming skaters will deal with the pressure of the Olympics. Maybe she should lay low, but stay fit and try for a last hurrah. Who knows? It could be the nicest surprise ever.