Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir always has been comfortable in his skin, especially if it is an oilskin corset with a pink shoulder tassel, a pink stripe down an arm and pink laces across the chest like the one he wore for Friday's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. "I felt very diva tonight," Weir said after finishing third, putting himself in excellent position to make a second straight Olympic team with Sunday's free skate. Only once since Weir won his first of three U.S. titles in 2004 has the diva persona not fit, even if there often was a palpable disconnect between the classical skater and the avant-garde showman who never hides his light under a tassel, who never apologized -- or needed to -- for anything he did on or off the ice. At last year's nationals, Weir rationalized his fifth-place finish by pointing out he had been very sick after an ill-advised long trip for an ice show in Korea, a trip he made despite having been ill before going.

Boasting an abundance of talent usually reserved for the Winter Olympics or World Figure Skating Championships, the star-studded "All That Skate" show takes the ice for its U.S. premiere. Among the performers are reigning Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na of South Korea; hometown hero Michelle Kwan, a five-time world champion; and Johnny Weir, who has captivated audiences on the ice as well as on reality TV. Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., L.A. 7 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. $42-$260.

Boasting an abundance of talent usually reserved for the Winter Olympics or World Figure Skating Championships, the star-studded "All That Skate" show takes the ice for its U.S. premiere. Among the performers are reigning Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na of South Korea; hometown hero Michelle Kwan, a five-time world champion; and Johnny Weir, who has captivated audiences on the ice as well as on reality TV. Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., L.A. 7 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. $42-$260.

SERIES The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love: It's down to the final four on a new episode of the reality competition (8 p.m. ABC). Heroes: The nefarious Samuel (Robert Knepper) must be stopped before his evil scheme results in thousands of deaths on the sci-fi drama's season finale (9 p.m. NBC). Intervention: A fitness instructor gets help with her bulimia and an exercise addiction in this new episode (9 p.m. A&E) Operation Repo: The docu-series about the men and women who take back the goods you can't afford to pay for returns for another season (9 and 9:30 p.m. Tru)

FIGURE SKATING, MEN'S LONG PROGRAM Johnny Weir was right. The U.S. champion has been saying for months that the Olympic gold medal is Evgeni Plushenko's to lose, and the blond Russian backed him up Tuesday by performing a technically superb if emotionally flat short program. Plushenko leads Weir by 10.66 points, and reigning world champion Stephane Lambiel by 11.62. The other U.S. competitors, Matt Savoie and Evan Lysacek, are eighth and 10th after performing flawed routines.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Johnny Weir knew what Evan Lysacek would be going through. When Lysacek found out, he was left with immense respect for Weir. They could not be more different as people and skaters, but now they have a common bond few others can claim. "I hope Evan can get over the nerves of trying to repeat as national champion," Weir said after he finished his short program Friday night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. "I've had to deal with it, and it's hard."

SERIES The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love: It's down to the final four on a new episode of the reality competition (8 p.m. ABC). Heroes: The nefarious Samuel (Robert Knepper) must be stopped before his evil scheme results in thousands of deaths on the sci-fi drama's season finale (9 p.m. NBC). Intervention: A fitness instructor gets help with her bulimia and an exercise addiction in this new episode (9 p.m. A&E) Operation Repo: The docu-series about the men and women who take back the goods you can't afford to pay for returns for another season (9 and 9:30 p.m. Tru)

Entering tonight's free skate, Johnny Weir, for the last three years the U.S. champion, stands a strong chance of winning silver behind Russian Evgeni Plushenko, who all but sewed up the gold with a technically brilliant short program Tuesday. Weir, 21, of Newark, Del., second after the short program, a skater with uncommon artistry and lyricism, is also a flamboyant soul, candid and outgoing, seemingly unafraid to speak his mind or wear his emotions on his sleeves.

His landings were soft as a cat's, his spins a blur of blue. Three judges gave Johnny Weir a 5.9 for technical mastery and five gave him a perfect 6.0 score for the presentation of his long program Saturday, but Weir was a tougher critic. "I'd give myself a 5.6 or 5.7 on the first mark and 5.8 or 5.9 on the second," he said. "I know I skated well, but it wasn't perfect." Perhaps not, but the 20-year-old's polished performance to "Otonal" clinched his second consecutive U.S.

If Johnny Weir was cautious on Saturday, he had a good reason. "I was scared out of my mind," he said of the prospect of winning his third straight U.S. men's figure skating title and a spot on the Turin Olympic team. "This is something I have dreamed about and always wanted. There are no words to really express the different emotions inside me." Weir's long program to selections from Croatian pianist Maksim Mrvica was neither gripping nor perfect.

SERIES Chuck: When the evil Sydney Price (Angie Harmon) mistakes Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) for a super-spy, Chuck (Zachary Levi) becomes Awesome's handler and shows him how to be a real spy (8 p.m. NBC). 24: Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) becomes more involved in preventing the assassination of visiting President Hassan as the fast-paced drama continues (8 p.m. Fox). Antiques Roadshow: In Raleigh, North Carolina, professionals examine items related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1966 visit to St. Mark's AME Zion Church (8 p.m. KCET)

Johnny Weir always has been comfortable in his skin, especially if it is an oilskin corset with a pink shoulder tassel, a pink stripe down an arm and pink laces across the chest like the one he wore for Friday's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. "I felt very diva tonight," Weir said after finishing third, putting himself in excellent position to make a second straight Olympic team with Sunday's free skate. Only once since Weir won his first of three U.S. titles in 2004 has the diva persona not fit, even if there often was a palpable disconnect between the classical skater and the avant-garde showman who never hides his light under a tassel, who never apologized -- or needed to -- for anything he did on or off the ice. At last year's nationals, Weir rationalized his fifth-place finish by pointing out he had been very sick after an ill-advised long trip for an ice show in Korea, a trip he made despite having been ill before going.

For all the talk about the depth of talent in U.S. men's skating, numbers seemingly large enough to make the selection of three Olympic team members more than a perfunctory exercise, it looks like the process has become as simple as a third-grade math problem. Take the man with the most U.S. titles. Then the one with the second most. Then the one with the third most. Add them up, and you get the team going to Vancouver: Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek and Jeremy Abbott, the only national champions in the field.

Figure skating fans may thrill to the jumps and spins, but it's the pageantry that keeps us watching. Sometimes a skater wears the costume; sometimes it's the other way around. Here's a snapshot of memorable (and a few forgettable) style moments in skating history. -- Andrew Harmon Dick Button Sequins? Out of the question. In the post-World War II era, Dick Button clinched two Olympic gold medals and landed the first triple jump in competition while dressed to the nines.

Forget ultimate cage fighting, there's plenty of potential for violence on the ice these days. But no, not in the NHL. We're talking about from Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir, the top men's figure skaters in the United States. Weir dropped the gloves recently, telling the New York Times that Lysacek's style was "a little too fake" and adding, "I just don't like him." Lysacek has tried to triple-axel around such comments but did say, "If this is what it takes for figure skating to attract some attention, I can live with that."

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Johnny Weir knew what Evan Lysacek would be going through. When Lysacek found out, he was left with immense respect for Weir. They could not be more different as people and skaters, but now they have a common bond few others can claim. "I hope Evan can get over the nerves of trying to repeat as national champion," Weir said after he finished his short program Friday night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. "I've had to deal with it, and it's hard."

U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir is either cagey or he's conceding the Olympic title before the men's competition even begins Tuesday. After Weir won his third consecutive U.S. men's figure skating title last month in St. Louis, he declared Russia's Evgeni Plushenko the clear favorite to win gold here.

Regardless of where you stand on figure skating's legitimacy as a sport, perhaps we can agree on this: It's enough of a sport that a competitor should not be asked about his choice of sexual partners right after messing up the biggest night of his career.

Regardless of where you stand on figure skating's legitimacy as a sport, perhaps we can agree on this: It's enough of a sport that a competitor should not be asked about his choice of sexual partners right after messing up the biggest night of his career.

FIGURE SKATING, MEN'S LONG PROGRAM Johnny Weir was right. The U.S. champion has been saying for months that the Olympic gold medal is Evgeni Plushenko's to lose, and the blond Russian backed him up Tuesday by performing a technically superb if emotionally flat short program. Plushenko leads Weir by 10.66 points, and reigning world champion Stephane Lambiel by 11.62. The other U.S. competitors, Matt Savoie and Evan Lysacek, are eighth and 10th after performing flawed routines.