The glamorous life! 2010 Russian champion Ksenia Makarova prepares to go on camera for her interview with NTV America.

In the control room: Ksenia's interview as shown on the monitors!

Olympic figure skater Ksenia Makarova, the 2010 Russian national champion, was interviewed today for NTV America’s Persona Grata television show! 

NTV America is one of the best and most respected Russian-language television channels, combining the programming content of its sister network, NTV Russia, with original local programs from America.

Previous interviewees have included 1994 Olympic champion Oksana Baiul. See more in NTV America’s Persona Grata Facebook album!

Ksenia’s segment will air in an upcoming broadcast.

Danell Leyva competes in the floor exercise during the American Cup gymnastics competition at Madison Square Garden in New York, Saturday, March 3, 2012. Photo courtesy of Universal Sports.

UniversalSports.com: Jordyn Wieber kicked off her Olympic year with a victory and may have found a new threat to her gold medal hopes.

The reigning world champion captured her third American Cup at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

In the men’s event, American Danell Leyva roared back from a slow start to win, surging from fourth to first in the final rotation with a thrilling high bar performance. Leyva finished with a score of 90.664, just ahead of Ukraine’s Mykola Kuksenkov.

Leyva started slow Saturday and was in fourth going into the final event. On the high bar he unleashed a series of four daring release moves, flinging himself into the air then almost casually grabbing the bar on his way down.

Read the full article here, and see Universal Sports’ American Cup slideshow here .

Watch a video interview with Danell here.

See video of all Danell’s American Cup routines at Universal Sports.

US National Gymnastics Champion Danell Leyva hits the red carpet at Alice + Olivia, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, New York.

While attempting to break up a fight between the youngest of his three American bulldogs and Hercules—Pirata’s father—last month, the reigning US gymnastics champion lifted the 110-pound Pirata into his arms and tried to swing him out of danger.

Instead Pirata (Spanish for “pirate”) lunged at Leyva’s head, taking a chunk of his owner’s face with him.

“I went inside and I saw my ear was like hanging off and I was like, `Oh, that’s not good,”’ Leyva said.

Not at all.

The gash around Leyva’s right ear took 80 stitches to clean up, though less than two weeks later the only evidence is a barely detectable scar that seems to blend in perfectly with Leyva’s fashionable stubble.

“The plastic surgeon did wonders,” Leyva said with a laugh.

Leyva is hoping to do the same on Saturday in the American Cup at Madison Square Garden.

Read more from the article here.

Leyva’s agent, Tara Modlin, told ESPN.com that Leyva, 20, was alone at the family home in Miami on Feb. 20 when their three American Bulldogs began fighting in the yard.

Leyva had been cautioned by his father and coach, Yin Alvarez, not to intervene when he saw the dogs engaging in aggressive play. But Leyva was alarmed at their behavior and tried to break them up by holding one of the dogs.

Read more from the article here.

Danell Leyva, 2011 US National Gold Medalist, Gymnastics. Photo courtesy of USA Gymnastics.

FIREWORKS SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT is excited to announce representation of champion gymnast Danell Leyva!

Danell, age 20, is the current US All-Around Champion and the current World Champion in Parallell Bars. His parallel bars performance in October 2011 earned the American men their first World Championship gold medal in eight years. According to the NY Times, Leyva is not only “one of the world’s best gymnasts,” but also “one who could win multiple medals … at the London Olympics.”

As teenagers, Danell’s mother, Maria Gonzalez. and stepfather, Yin Alvarez —Danells’ lifetime coach — were both members of Cuba’s national gymnastics team. Born in Cuba himself, Danell suffered from severe asthma; in 1993, his mother fled the country with two-year-old Danell and his older sister in a desperate search for better medical care for her son. She reunited in Miami with Alvarez, who fulfilled  his longtime goal just two years later and opened his own gym. Young Danell was fascinated by the sport, and soon his career was under way.

In a recent Associated Press interview, Danell said, “I’ll always be proud to have been born in Cuba. I’ll forever be Cuban. But I’m also equally proud to be able to represent the US the way I do, because this is the best country in the world.”

Danell is especially looking forward to fulfilling his lifelong dream of representing the US at the 2012 Olympic Games. Read more about Danell here, and visit his profile on the USA Gymnastics site!

Johnny Weir at his press conference. Photo courtesy of Andrew Werner and Ice Network.

IceNetwork.com: Johnny Weir — the reality TV star, fashionista, author (Welcome to My World), singer (“Dirty Love“) and three-time U.S. champion — is putting other interests aside to attempt a competitive comeback.

“I’m here to announce, officially, my return to competitive figure skating in hopes of being a member of the 2014 U.S. team at the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia,” Weir said.

“I’m going to continue to work with Galina Zmievskaya, Viktor Petrenko and Nina Petrenko as my coaching team, and I will train at the Ice House in Hackensack, N.J.”

Weir, whose last competitive result was a sixth-place finish at the 2010 Olympics, plans to skate three hours a day, work out off the ice and regain his competitive mettle at summer competitions, including the Moran Memorial in Hackensack and the Mid-Atlantic Figure Skating Championships, held at New York’s Chelsea Piers. Both events take place in September.

While he would welcome a fall Grand Prix assignment — “I’d prefer to spread my sparkle all over the place” — he said he would be willing to qualify for the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships by competing at his regional and/or sectional events.

Read the full article here.

Young Philadelphia-area skaters shine in Fireworks' Holiday Dreams on Ice 2011. Photo courtesy of David Ingogly.

Headliners perform in the opening number of Fireworks' Holiday Dreams on Ice 2011 in Philadelphia. Photo courtesy of David Ingogly.

Cast of Holiday Dreams on Ice with the young skaters in the show. Photo courtesy of Michele Mansoor.

SkatingMagazineBlog.com: Old and new friends nearly 7,000 miles apart gathered in Philadelphia the night before Christmas Eve to watch Johnny Weir headline the second annual Holiday Dreams on Ice, held at University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena.

The three-time U.S. champion and his parents, Patti and John, welcomed more than 60 well wishers from his hometown of Lancaster, PA, who bused into town especially for the show. The Pennsylvanians met 20 of Weir’s Japanese fans visiting from Tokyo for a long holiday weekend in New York and Philadelphia, capped by front-row seats for the performances and a post-event party.

“I’m excited about this show; they literally ran out of printed tickets,” Weir said. “It’s my first time performing in Pennsylvania, my home state, in forever. I’m thrilled so many old friends are here.”

Weir gained standing ovations for an outrageous routine to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and his traditional holiday number “Ave Maria,” highlighted by special designs from Vincent DiGiorgio’s Digital Lighting, who created the Christmas lights for the White House this season.

The Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus kicked off the evening with a singing of “Sleigh Ride.”  More than 100 young local skaters hit the ice to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Former Israeli champion Tamar Katz, a student at Penn, skated to Adele’s “Someone Like You,” while 2010 U.S. silver medalist Brandon Mroz offered up two numbers: “Mack the Knife” and “Greased Lightning.”

Read more from the article here, and see the photo gallery here.