Better Than A Medal

From the day the announcement first came down, the void was massive.
Not just here this weekend at HomeSense Skate Canada International, but in the ranks of men's figure skating in this country in general.
You can't have a world champion retire unexpectedly and not feel it.
But if Shawn Sawyer can fill the gaping hole left by Jeffrey Buttle's absence as well in the future as he did today at Scotiabank Place, we'll really have something here.
Sawyer astonished everyone by winning the free program with a 142.36-point total that surpassed the number rung up by all three medallists. But because he came into today's proceedings sitting seventh after the short program, the 22-year-old from Edmundston, N.B., couldn't climb any higher than fifth in the final standings. He wound up a little less than three points back of bronze-medal winning Evan Lysacek of the U.S.
"You don't expect to see a score like that go up before the final warmup," said American silver medallist Ryan Bradley (212.75), who used the word "wow" to describe his immediate reaction.
That about summed up Sawyer's thoughts afterward, too.
"When the score came out, I couldn't believe I could get that score with that program," said the 22-year-old from Edmundston, N.B., whose previous personal best with it came a week ago at Skate America (135.84). "That's incredible. I've been third before in segments of the competition but winning a segment of a Grand Prix — and not the short but the long program — that's unbelievable. It's something I didn't think I could achieve.
"It's not a medal but it feels better."
Not bad for a guy who's only here because Buttle bowed out of eligible skating less than two months before this competition.
"At first, I only had one Grand Prix (Skate America in Everett, Wash., where he placed fifth)," said Sawyer. "But I ended up doing something very good with it and used it to my advantage."
After Patrick Chan — who snared the gold today with a 215.45-point overall total) upset Buttle last January at the Canadian championships in Vancouver, it seemed we were on the verge of another of those great men's skating rivalries. But buoyed by his performance here today, Sawyer is game for jumping into that picture.
"Why not?" Sawyer said when asked whether a Canadian title is possible for him in January in Saskatoon. "Patrick is an amazing skater and an amazing competitor. I have a little bit more experience than him and it does cross my mind sometimes but I don't want to put too much emphasis on it.
"But after skating a solid program like that, why not go for it?"