Want to watch the creation of the 2006 Turin Olympics figure skating team? Check out the televised championships on television this weekend.

Tonight from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.* (set your Tivo) on ESPN 2, you can watch pairs and ice dance competition.

Tomorrow, from 4-6 p.m., ABC will televise the Men’s program. This will be followed from 8-11 p.m. by the Ladies program, also on ABC. This will be particularly exciting, but will it mean that the three winners are going to Turin? Or will Michelle Kwan bump one of the ladies and attend the Olympics in her stead?

If you miss those broadcasts, you can see the rebroadcast on Sunday on ESPN 2. Men’s and ladies programs can be seen from 1-2:30 p.m. Ice dancing and pairs will air from 2:30-4 p.m.

And, finally, the U.S. Championships Exhibition will air on ABC on Sunday from 4-6 p.m.

For more rebroadcast times, as well as broadcast times of other Championship events, visit the U.S. Figure Skating’s official site.

*All times Eastern time zone. Check your local listings for local air times.

Yes, sports fans, you read correctly. Now, instead of fantasy basketball or football, you can participate in fantasy skating teams. Pick your favorites to win U.S. Championships, European Championships, ISU Four Continents Championships, Olympic Winter Games and World Championships. You can sign up, choose your teams, or simply read more about it at the U.S. Figure Skating site.

Turin will be the first Olympics with the new scoring system generated after the last Olympics figure skating fiasco. I’ve been reading articles that mention the new scoring system, but I finally read an article that actually explains what it consists of. It seems like there are pros and cons to the new system. A newer, less well-known skater may have more of a chance– that seems to be a pro to me. On the con side, in my opinion, the judges’ scores are now anonymous. You’ll no longer know if it’s that pesky Russian judge (or French, or German, or whatever) causing your favorite person grief. It will just be an anonymously generated score.

So, I have a confession to make. I really like reality television. In fact, it makes up a large percentage of the television I watch. So, last week I was watching The Learning Channel (probably Trading Spaces or What Not To Wear– I’m not really sure which) when I saw a preview for a new show– Ice Diaries. It follows the stories of four Olympic hopeful figure skaters- Alissa Czisny, Danielle Kahle, Beatrisa Liang, and Sandy Rucker.

Now, Sandy Rucker is on Team B for the U.S. Figure Skating Team. (Team A consists of Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan.) She was Junior National Champion last year, but she’s been battling a back injury. On the show, she seems tired and burned out. But she’s the most experienced and well-known of the four and therefore, you would think, a favorite to make the 2006 Olympic team. However, she is not listed to skate at Nationals, so I don’t know if that means she is injured and not planning to compete or if she didn’t make Nationals.

The other three are from Team C. Of the three, Alissa Czisny seems the most driven. Danielle Kahle is a doll and the typical girl next door. I have a soft spot in my heart for her. Her Mom is a single mother and has five children. Since I have five children, I can identitify. Beatrisa (or Bebe, as she’s known) is the one that I feel like I know the least about.

From checking the U.S. Figure Skating site, I know that Bebe and Alissa competed in Skate America after Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan withdrew with injuries. I’m horrible about waiting for results of shows, so quit reading if you don’t like spoilers: Alissa finished 2nd and Bebe finished 4th. Alissa went on to skate at Skate Canada and finished first. Just from watching the show, I thought she was the most driven and, therefore, the most likely of the four to end up at the winter Olympics with a medal hanging around her neck.

We’ll soon know who will be competing, as the U.S. Nationals started yesterday. You can watch coverage on ESPN starting later this week. The Senior Ladies short program is on Thursday, followed on Friday by the long program. The Senior Men compete at the end of the week, as well. So, we should know the Olympic team by next weekend.

This seems to be a burning question among sports journalists today. Because Michelle Kwan pulled out of Nationals due to an injury, there is no guarantee she will compete in this year’s Olympics in Turin. Many feel that U.S. skating owes her a place on the team. I tend to agree.

It’s true that her chances for a medal are slim, but she’s Michelle Kwan. When I told my Mom that we had started an Olympics blog, her first question was “Is Michelle Kwan competing this year?”

My favorite quote from an article on the subject pretty much sums up Kwan’s popularity with the people and with the media:

“And how would NBC, which spends so many millions on Olympics coverage, feel about a Kwan-less team? The network is already using Kwan in its advertising for the Turin Games. If NBC executives have to fly her there in a private jet and provide an around-the-clock medical staff to ensure her health, they’d probably do so.”

Citing a groin injury, Michelle Kwan has decided not to skate in next week’s U.S. Figure Skating Championship. Kwan will, however, petition the U.S. Figure Skating International Committee for one of three ladies spots on the 2006 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team.

Kwan was injured during practice on Dec. 17 and her doctor has recommended limiting skating since then. She is expected to resume her normal training schedule on Friday, Jan. 13.

Cynthia Phaneuf has been forced to withdraw from the Canadian National Championships because of a knee injury. She was expected to take one of the top positions, assuring her of a place on the Canadian Olympic figure skating team. Phaneuf can skate but, because the injury is to her landing knee, she can’t jump.

Joannie Rochette, who is the defending champion, is expected to win in Ottawa next week, and Mira Leung, Amanda Billings, Lesley Hawker and Meagan Duhamel now are favored to fill out the team competing in Turin.