Save The Drama...Decide!

This is the off season for figure skating, not much competition news but for insiders it's one of the most important times.  Who's switching coaches?  What music will they use next season?  Who's competing where?

In an Olympic year, as next season is, there's another question...who's coming back?

We already know two semi-retired skaters are making big comebacks.  That would be 2006 Olympic Champion Evgeny Plushenko and 2006 Olympic Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen.

There is another possibility on the comeback front that has figure skating fans sitting on the edge of their seat.  U.S. Figure Skating has neatly scheduled all of its top athletes in this fall's Grand Prix of Figure Skating.  The Grand Prix is six events taking place across the globe (France, Russia, China, Japan, U.S., and Canada), the top six finishers get to compete in the Grand Prix Final.  The U.S. has three openings at Skate America and we've only filled two of them.

Why would U.S. Figure Skating only fill two of the three spots?  

The answer is simple, like the rest of us, they are waiting with baited breath to see if Michelle Kwan, the ultimate ice diva, will try to one more time see if she can't nab an Olympic Gold Medal.

This Olympic Season, where just a year ago we thought we'd see our newest talent shine, it turns out may be a battle of the veterans.

So how long must we endure the drama of 'will she or won't she?'  U.S. Figure Skating has set a September 1st deadline for Michelle.  They need to know by that date so they can handle the press roll-out and obvious media attention the decision will cause should she decide to return to competitive skating.  That's also about the time she would have to register for sectional competition so she can qualify for U.S. Nationals (since she didn't medal in Torino, she doesn't get the same bye that Cohen gets).

Michelle Kwan has some choices ahead of her.  Does she continue her work as Public Diplomacy Envoy with the U.S. State Department?  Does she take her International Studies Degree from Denver University and find another job?  Does she become a professional skater?  Does she decide that she's fit and make a competitive comeback?

I, for one, want her to make that decision MUCH sooner than later.  I can't stand the drama...decide already!

(Photo: Getty Images)

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Needless to say Aaron Harris is crazy about figure skating! He eats, drinks, and breathes the sport! You can check out more of Aaron's figure skating thoughts at his blog, Axels, Loops, and Spins

Unless otherwise stated, no particular sexual orientation of anyone depicted is implied or should be presumed.