Reply #13: Today's Update...let the cat-fighting begin!!!! [View All]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – If gold medals were handed out for winning mind games, Evgeni Plushenko would already be headed to the Vancouver airport, ready to jump on a flight to Russia with another Olympic title stashed safely in his baggage.

After surging into the lead after the short program in the men’s figure-skating competition, Plushenko proceeded to turn up the heat on American rival Evan Lysacek with a series of barbed comments that will further fuel a heated showdown set for Thursday night.

Plushenko gleefully poked fun at Lysacek’s refusal to incorporate the quad jump – figure skating’s toughest and most exciting maneuver – into his program. Lysacek suffered a stress fracture in his foot attempting the move last year and will not try it in his long program.

“I believe the future of figure skating lies in the quad jumps,” said Plushenko, with the hint of a sneer dancing across his face. “We can discuss a lot whether it is good or not or whether it is good to focus on other things, but by doing so we are going backward in time.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/figure_skating/news;_ylt=Ar9iJzXJC2qaz3rJE4f3Hpx9sbV_?slug=ro-mindgames021610&prov=yhoo&type=lgns