Cohen brings down house in first show since '06

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Sasha Cohen can still put on a show like nobody else. And bring the house down. Skating for the first time since the 2006 world championships, the Olympic silver medalist skated with her trademark elegance and smoothness and showed she is not to be taken lightly. Here and, if she keeps skating like this, at the Vancouver Olympics. The women's final is Saturday. "I'm so happy to be out here," said Cohen, whose score of 69.63 had her in second place before the last warmup, just behind 2008 national champion Mirai Nagasu. "It was really a special night for me." The folks in the arena would say much the same thing. The United States has been desperately seeking someone to fill Cohen's considerably large skates since she went on her hiatus. The Americans haven't won a world medal since '06 and fared so poorly at last year's world championships they have only two spots in Vancouver. It's only the second time since 1924 the Americans have failed to have the maximum. But as Cohen reminded everyone Thursday, the original is always better than any substitute. Cohen acknowledged she had some nerves -- she could be seen talking to herself (or maybe she was singing along to Britney Spears) as she waited for her name to be called -- but when her "Espana Cani" music started, she was all business. Her triple lutz-double toe loop combination was solid, and she tossed off her triple flip with ease, something she wasn't always able to do. As always, though, it's the show that sets Cohen apart. She headlined the "Stars on Ice" tour during her break, and it has only sharpened her performance skills. Her spirals are, if possible, even more impressive than before, and the audience probably would have been happy just to see those. She did a forward Charlotte, extending her leg so her body is in the full splits and her upper body is touching her skating leg, that had the audience whooping and whistling. And as she began her footwork, she gave the fans in the front row a saucy little smile as if to say, "Missed me, didn't you?" "I love the support and positive energy. Just that people care," Cohen said. Oh, people care, standing well before her music finished. As Cohen stood at center ice, soaking in the adoration, longtime coach John Nicks thrust his arms in the air. "I enjoy her skating so much," Nicks said. "I didn't come here for ego or because I enjoy nationals. I came here to watch her skate." Cohen's performance will overshadow that of Nagasu, a shame because it was excellent. Nagasu gave the U.S. women some spunk and pizazz -- not to mention some darn good skating -- when she won the national title in 2008. But she hasn't been able to duplicate that magic -- until Thursday night. "I'm just here to show myself and everyone that I'm the future of the U.S.A.," Nagasu said. "I'm not in my personal bubble all the time, and I do have access to the Internet. I can read what people write. I just want to be a dark horse and come up from behind." Her "Pirates of the Caribbean" program was as big a hit as any of the Johnny Depp versions, the kind of get-your-blood-pumping fun U.S. audiences haven't seen since Michelle Kwan ruled the rink. Her jumps were so huge the judges had to look up to see her, yet they flowed like poetry. Her spins were exquisite. The positions of her layback were spellbinding -- Gumby's got nothing on this girl -- and she was so fast she was practically a blur. Yet she didn't budge an inch, staying in the same tight little circle. "She's really skating well," coach Frank Carroll said -- high praise, considering he was threatening to kick her out of the rink in November when he didn't like her reaction to a poor performance at Cup of China. Asked what changed, Carroll said, "Believing that she can perform and have personality and hit the elements. Before, she was worried only about hitting the elements." Indeed, that's where the move to Carroll has benefited Nagasu most. She used every inch of her body, from the top of her head to the very tips of her fingers, and she said as much with her face as she did with her skates. "All I can say is Frank's girl must have been pretty good to beat (Cohen's) performance," Nicks said. "And I told him that." Rachael Flatt, runner-up the last two seasons, was third after a solid effort that included a triple-triple combination.