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Julia Lipnitskaia gets a leg up on the competition. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

By now, it should be needless to say that NBC hardly showed any of this competition, as is their custom. This week, however, we give thanks for the paucity.

Savchenko & Szolkowy win. Bazarova & Larionov stay grounded. Moore-Towers & Moscovitch do something or other. Davis & Brubaker learn on the ice. Scimeca & Knierim go for 20.

Davis & White get the full court press. Bobrova & Soloviev take us back. Weaver & Poje bring us back. Chock & Bates get respect.

Julia Lipnitskaia leaps. Carolina Kostner distracts. Mirai Nagasu doesn’t have a good time. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva gets frogged. Agnes Zawadzki takes it slow.

Maxim Kovtun quads it out. Artur Gachinski gets no press while Konstantin Menshov does. Javier Fernández hits. Richard Dornbush surprises. Tatsuki Machida flies out of nowhere. And Joshua Farris withdraws while Evgeni Plushenko goes to Latvia.

And the results from Sectionals give us pause.

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Patrick Chan fires up the lasers. (Source: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Europe)

We’re woozy after this one, and it’s not because we stuffed ourselves full of cheese and talked like Maurice Chevalier all weekend, although we did do that. No, it’s from boredom. Here’s what triggered our malaise.

NBC hates ice dancing, especially Virtue & Moir, Péchalat & Bourzat, and some Russians. Where are Doug Wilson and Dick Button when you need them?

NBC hates pairs, too, especially Pang & Tong, Duhamel & Radford, and Denney & Coughlin.

Patrick Chan wins without falling down. Jason Brown catches our magic. NBC hates Michal Březina and Florent Amodio. Yan Han celebrates the season.

Ashley Wagner chooses the wrong music. Adelina Sotnikova spins right round like a record, baby. Anna Pogorilaya cuts it up. Samantha Cesario goes Gotham. Christina Gao doesn’t have her best skate. Rachel Flatt gives us a scare. Tara Lipinski tries to not tear her hair out. And Tori has some good news and bad news about Rostelecom.

Want even more Ice Queens? Of course you do. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, and you can buy some great merch at Cafe Press.

P.S. Before we recorded this episode, we came across the Skating Lesson’s interview with Alissa Czisny in which she talked about a comeback this year. After we recorded the episode, we came across Alissa’s statement that she’s dropping out of sectionals and seemingly is retiring from competing. It’s been a joy watching Alissa over the years, and The Ice Queens wish her nothing but the best.

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Elena Radionova (Koki Nagahama/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Surprisingly, NBC disappoints! Volosozhar & Trankov forge ahead. Peng & Zhang do something. Davis & White get no coverage. The Shibutanis do something. The Japanese fans crank up the generators. Mao Asada chokes up. Elena Radionova gets Johnny Weir to agree with the Ice Queens. Akiko Suzuki runs the embassy. Gracie Gold gets Johnny Weir to agree with the Ice Queens again. Satoko Miyahara gets scanned. Valentina Marchei doesn’t threaten. Alena Leonova does something. Mirai Nagasu slows it down. Elene Gedevanishvili does something. Daisuke Takahashi does fab. Nobunari Oda gets Johnny Weir to disagree with the Ice Queens. Jeremy Abbott fights and draws. Adam Rippon needs to do some connecting. Javier Fernández melts the ice, which trips him up a bit. Takahito Mura does something. Max Aaron does something. And we preview the Trophée Eric Bompard.

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Anna Pogorilaya, selling it. (Photo: GOH CHAI HIN AFP/Getty Images)

The 2013 Cup of China is the third Grand Prix competition we’ve sat through this season, and we’re already bored to tears. Here are just some of the reasons why:

Savchenko & Szolkowy avoid the rats. Pang & Tong don’t retire.

Chock & Bates medal invisibly. Péchalat & Bourzat win. Bobrova & Soloviev remain unwatchable. Aldridge & Eaton bring up the rear.

Yan Han invokes Patrick Chan. Maxim Kovtun goes to the max. Takahiko Kozuka does the Sweaty Vulcan. Denis Ten didn’t finish last. Richard Dornbush cuts his hair. Florent Amodio flairs.

Anna Pogorilaya sells sea shells by the sea shore. Adelina Sotnikova tries to pull one over, glove-wise. Carolina Kostner goes out with a splat. Kanako Murakami sets our remote to “scan.” Agnes Zawadzki takes it nice and slow; well, at least, slow.

And we look forward to the NHK. Talent and eye candy. Maybe NBC will actually show some of it.

Want even more Ice Queens? Of course you do. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, and you can buy some great merch at Cafe Press.

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Tessa VIrtue and Scott Moir – ANDREW VAUGHAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS

You can tell it’s an Olympic year. NBC is showing a lot of events, and the Ice Queens are doing a lot of shows. This one’s about 2013 Skate Canada. Here’s how it went down.

Berton & Hotárek get their 15 seconds. Sui & Han come of age. Duhamel & Radford disappoint the home crowd. Denney & Frazier – accept no substitutions. Davis & Brubaker get on the merry-go-round.

Virtue & Moir seem like a couple. Weaver & Poje close the gap. Hubbell & Donohue cash in on their IQ luck.

Julia Lipnitskaia can be a contender. Gracie Gold gets Franked. Akiko Suzuki invests. Christina Gao doesn’t wow. Courtney Hicks makes us cry for her.

NBC’s B Team —Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir – get an A. The icenetwork.com gets an F.

Jeremy Abbott recycles. Joshua Farris get Johnny’d. As does Yuzuru Hanyu. Nobunari Oda gets the bends. Patrick Chan stands up. And Ross Miner gets no screen time.