CLEVELAND — Johnny Weir isn't like Mike.

Weakened by a severe case of the flu over Christmas, Weir wasn't nearly as well trained as he should have been when he arrived at this week's U.S. Figure Skating Championships. It showed, with awful performances in the long and short programs that could very well knock him off of the world championships team.

"I hope the federation and the (selection) committee can see all the hard work I've put in and not overlook but understand the circumstances I was in," Weir said Sunday after his free skate.

Reminded that Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to victory in a critical Game 5 of the NBA Finals despite being dehydrated and feverish only hours before tipoff, Weir said the circumstances were completely different.

"It may sound like an excuse, but you have to remember that Michael Jordan had a whole team around him," Weir said. "I'm a single, skinny, sparkly boy standing by myself."

Weir lost 8 pounds in a single day when he got sick while in South Korea for a benefit show. He spent Christmas Day in a hospital, hooked up to an IV, yet was back on the ice just a few days later. But that big of a weight loss will disorient even the best of skaters, altering their center of gravity and changing the way they jump.

Though coach Galina Zmievskaya "was pushing chicken cutlets down my throat" to get Weir's weight back up, there wasn't enough time to get him in proper shape for this competition.

"I completely take primary ownership of my illness and the fact I wasn't prepared," he said. "But at the same time, I can't push myself and expect something that I know is impossible."

The international selection committee is to name the world team later Sunday, and Weir pleaded his case for still getting a spot on it no matter where he winds up. Only the national champions are guaranteed spots on the world team.

These worlds are all-important, determining how many skaters a country can send to next year's Vancouver Olympics. The United States can send three men to the worlds in Los Angeles in March, but the top two have to finish with a combined placement of 13 (fifth and eighth, for example) or better to earn three spots for Vancouver.