Talking about the quad

Scott Hamilton, 1984 gold medal winner in Sarajevo, TV commentator and ice show genius, was clear in his assessment of the need for U.S. contender Evan Lysacek to include a quadruple jump in tonight's free program:

"If I were Evan's coach, and he was thinking about doing a quad tonight, I'd tackle him," Hamilton said this morning. "For him to try to throw this thing tonight would be a huge gamble. If he landed it, it would be legendary."

With a gauntlet thrown down, all eyes are on the tight grouping atop the men's figure skating competition.

Defending gold medalist Evgeny Plushenko's notorious contention that any routine that doesn't incorporate a quad retards the sport's growth seemed devalued a bit after Lysacek finished the short program Tuesday just .45 points behind the Russian. Daisuke "Dice-K" Takahashi finished .6 back.

Neither tried a quad. Lysacek is nursing a stress fracture in his left foot. Dice-K, Japan's inconsistent star, has a knee issue.

Only a catastrophe could keep that trio off the podium, but Lysacek and Dice-K need to be flawless, Hamilton said. Their injuries, combined with their smoother styles, could overcome Pleshenko's raw athleticism – especially Lysacek.

"His strength is in his consistency. His strength is his overall performance," said Hamilton, noting that Lysacek's two triple-axels later in his program could trump the Russian's quad.

And, well, some USA smack-talk might not hurt, either, assuming Lysacek kills his program, which comes before Pleshenko's.

"I'd be backstage, high-fiving, fist-pumping," Hamilton joked. "But that might fire him up, too."

And that could be dangerous.

"You're not going to beat (Pleshenko) in the air," Hamilton said, "but you can beat him on the ice."