Big Ten lunch links

Straight down the middle: no hook, no spin, no fuss. Anything more and this becomes figure skating. Bill Rabinowitz explores whether 2012 recruiti...

Abbott wins third U.S. title

It was a mixed bag for the newly crowned U.S. Men’s champion at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Jeremy Abbott, the 26-year-old from Aspen, Colo., was having perhaps the performance of his life in front of a packed house, while in the stands, his stepfather, Allen Scott, 64, was having a medical emergency.

Focused so completely on his performance, the three-time champion missed the melee that was just rows away from the ice.

“Before the medals ceremony, people kept telling me that I needed to call my mother,” he explained. “But I thought it was just her being her normal self, and just wanted to congratulate me.”

Abbott learned that shorted after his Exogenesis: Symphony program had started, that Scott blacked out and started convulsing.

“I spoke with my mom and learned that his heart rate is…

Denney and Coughlin capture gold at U.S. Nationals

It was the third consecutive year that either Caydee Denney or John Coughlin ascended to the top step of the podium at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose.

Denney, who won the title with former partner Jeremy Barrett in 2010, and Coughlin, who was the gold medalist last year with Caitlin Yankowskas, won the 2012 U.S. pairs title together with a flawless routine that brought the crowd to its feet.

Coughlin became the first American skater to win back-to-back titles with a different partner since Melissa Militano did it back in 1973-74.

“Has it been that long?” Coughlin said. “I didn’t know that. Cool.”

Skating to Jeff Beck’s modern version of Nessun Dorma from the Puccini opera Turandot, Denney, 18,…

Kostner takes fourth European title

Italy’s Carolina Kostner continued her stellar season in Sheffield at the 2012 ISU European Figure Skating Championships, taking her fourth title. Kiira Korpi of Finland held on to second place to earn her first silver medal, while Georgia’s Elene Gedevanishvili grabbed her second bronze medal at the event.

Kostner gave an inspiring performance of her exquisite program to Concerto No. 23 for Piano and Orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She completed five solid triples, including a flip, and two level-four spins to score 120.33 points.

It was nice to see how she enjoyed her performance. Overall, the 24-year-old accumulated 183.55 points.

“I am very pleased with the whole week here,” said Kostner. “I had an awesome feeling on the ice, and just hearing the crowd cheer me on, it was amazing.”

“I completely canceled…

Figure skating — Coughlin, Denney rally to win pairs title at U.S. nationals

John Coughlin and Caydee Denney rallied to capture the pairs event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Sunday with a nearly flawless skate.

Figure skating — Jeremy Abbott will enjoy being atop skating stage, for now

Jeremy Abbott will get to enjoy being the king of U.S. men's figure skating for a few months after winning his third U.S. title this weekend, but the marquee may soon begin to get very crowded.

Plushenko takes seventh European title

Evgeni Plushenko skated off with his seventh European title Saturday at the 2012 ISU European Figure Skating Championship in Sheffield, Great Britain.

Overnight leader Artur Gachinski settled for the silver, making it one-two for Russia in the Men’s. It’s the first time since 2004 that the Russian men took two medals at Europeans. Defending Champion Florent Amodio of France moved up from fourth to claim the bronze.

Plushenko underlined his status as a legend in Sheffield. The 29-year-old defied the naysayers and overcame a knee injury to give a strong performance.

The 2006 Olympic Champion opened his Tango de Roxanne with a solid quad, followed by two beautiful triple Axels and three more triples. All jumps had excellent quality, except for the last double Axel, which was…

Jeremy Abbott wins 3rd U.S. figure skating championship

Rust will no longer be Johnny Weir and Olympic champion Evan Lysacek's only worry if they come back.