The gal-pal goes to sleep and gets up before I do, and she nodded off before the men’s figure skating finals had ended Thursday night.

She mentioned this to me this morning.

Um, I said, as brightly as I could.

“Did Plushenko win the gold medal?” she asked.

No he did not, I replied.

“Did Lycasek win?”

Yes he did, I said, feeling pleased that I was able to pass along the information. I’d been at the Missoulian until 11:30 the night before.

She left the room. In moments, she was back. “Did Plushenko not land the quad?” she asked.

OK, now you’re asking questions I can’t answer.

The Washington Post’s Tracee Hamilton, however, has the answers. I refer the gal-pal and anyone else to this article. I’m not a skating fan, but it’s a heck of a good read.

- Fritz Neighbor