Effie Folkerts

Friday, August 12, 2011

Science (Boston Public Library)

science (Boston Public Library)

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Thursday, August 11, 2011

Canadian Pair Win Ice-Dancing Gold

wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-HQ478_freeda_G_20100222234408.jpg" vspace="0" hspace="0" border="0" alt="[freedance0222]" height="369" width="553"/> Getty Images

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada compete in the free dance portion of the ice dance competition.

Vancouver, British Columbia – Canada renewed its romance with skates on Monday night, as Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won a gold medal for ice dancing by performing a love story of their own to Mahler's "Symphony No. 5."

Canadian ice dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue tell WSJ's Phred Dvorak what's on their iPods and what they've been up to in Vancouver.

Following Sunday's loss to the U.S. in hockey, Canadian fans cheered wildly after a performance from Ms. Virtue and Mr. Moir in which the two completed complicated by-the-book rotational lifts and turns, all while managing to convey an intense emotional connection.

For their interpretation of the music, the judges awarded them 9.7 out of a possible 10 points – the highest of the night. Their final score of 221.57, based on the combination of performances across three nights at the Games, set a new record for ice dancing under its current generation of rules.

"We're proud to have gold in Canada," said Mr. Moir. Asked what he would do with the medal, he said he'd never take it off, joking "I'm probably going to wear it in the shower."

video

Olympics: Is Ski Cross Canada's Golden Chance?

8:18

Canada is seeing a golden opportunity in a relatively new sport called ski cross, WSJ's Kevin Helliker reports. Plus, Phred Dvorak explains why Japanese and South Korean figure skaters have emerged as dominant contenders, and curler Dean Hemmell talks about the intricacies of the sport.

Their win – the first ever for a North American couple -- ends a European streak of winning gold all of the ten times it has been held at the Olympics. The 2009 world champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin took the bronze medal after a dark performance to "The Double Life of Veronique" that contrasted sharply with the Canadian love story.

Russian figure skaters could leave Vancouver without any gold medals, should they not win in women's singles skating on Thursday. South Korea's Kim Yu-Na is heavily favored to win gold in that event.

"I'm sure that everything will be ok with Russian figure skating. It won't go down," said Mr. Shabalin. Later, he added, "I think we have to take all the Russian coaches back to Russia."

Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White won silver at the ice dancing on Monday, skating to "Phantom of the Opera." They took a one-point deduction from the judges for a lift that lasted longer than the sport's 6-second limit. That's possible when you're "in the moment," and having a good time, said Ms. Davis.

The night's results also marked a victory for younger skaters, including both the Canadians and Americans, who have grown up skating under the sport's new judging system. It assigns points for completing specific elements to a performance, and gives preference to choreography that clearly shows off those elements.

"I really do love this new system in ice dance, and how much more credibility it has given our sport," said Mr. Moir. "I feel like you get rewarded for exactly what you do and if you don't like your marks, you can see it there on a piece of paper and go home and improve on that."

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Online.wsj.com

Woods tries to end Williams sideshow

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Staring at a significant fork in his path, Tiger Woods opted for the high road yesterday.

Knowing he was going to be asked about his public divorce from his caddie, Steve Williams, Woods spoke as if they were still the best pals they were when they were groomsmen in each other’s weddings.

This despite the fact Williams called Woods out as a liar on Sunday at Firestone Country Club, where Williams’ new boss, Adam Scott, won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Woods, speaking for the first time since Williams’ harsh comments, refused to be drawn into a war of words, instead matter-of-factly revealing that he texted Williams after Scott’s victory to congratulate him.

Getty Images

WHAT’S TEXT? Tiger Woods, practicing yesterday as he prepares to chase his 15th major title, said he sent Steve Williams “a nice text” after Williams carried Adam Scott’s bag to victory Sunday.

“I was happy to see Stevie and Adam win,” Woods said. “Adam has been a friend of mine and same with Stevie. I sent Stevie a nice text after completion of play congratulating him on his win.”

When asked if he and Williams have corresponded since Williams’ Sunday rant, Woods offered only a cold stare and said, “I think that’s between Stevie and myself.”

Surely, open wounds remain between the two and probably will for a long time.

Yet with Woods and his guarded way, you never really know what he’s truly thinking.

Listening to Woods speak, it’s almost as if he’s whistling past the graveyard, oblivious to his current state of uncertainty and pretending all the demons and calamity that have ruled his life the last two years never existed.

With the PGA Championship starting today at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Woods did his best to make fans believe everything is back to normal in his life. Yet the reality is few things are back to normal, other than the fact that he appears healthy again.

Woods still is dealing with the messy Williams fallout, and he remains without a full-time caddie.

He hasn’t a tournament of any kind since November 2009 and his last PGA Tour win was September 2009.

He hasn’t won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open.

On the course, he has tumbled so far down the world and Fed-Ex Cup rankings, he probably will have to finish 14th or better this week to qualify for the Barclays Championship at Plainfield Country Club, the first leg of the playoffs.

Off the course, he’s lost his wife, his dignity, major sponsors and millions of dollars.

His popularity has plummeted to such depths fans at Firestone on Sunday were chanting Williams’ name — a clear negative reaction to their sentiment about Woods, considering how unpopular Williams has been in his 12-plus years as Woods’ bully.

The Williams issue simply won’t go away. Williams and Mark Steinberg, Woods’ manager, were spotted speaking to each other in a parking lot at the Atlanta Athletic Club, spurring speculation there might be a thaw to the cold war in motion.

On Sunday, Williams disputed Woods’ claim that he fired him in person at his AT&T National event in July, claiming Woods sacked him in a phone conversation in June.

Steinberg on Monday ripped Williams, saying Woods’ version is the truth and that Williams was out of line making his statements.

Woods refused to elaborate on what was said between Williams and Steinberg, saying only this through clenched teeth: “They talked, yeah, absolutely.”

Williams issued a statement on his website yesterday that included apologies to Scott for not acknowledging his win and to his fellow caddies for his boisterous comments. Nowhere in that statement, however, was there any indication of an apology to Woods.

Asked if, after all the years of Williams declining interview requests, he was surprised to see him go off so publicly on Sunday, Woods said, “Yes.”

Asked if he felt Williams showed disloyalty to him in the way he went public with the spat, Woods said, “I’m not going to speculate on Steve. Those are obviously his feelings and his emotions and his decision to say what he wants to say.”

mcannizzaro@nypost.com

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