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BOSTON - Every night for the last three weeks, Jeremy Abbott had the same nightmare. Hed implode in the short program of the U.S. Championships, buried in seventh place with an Olympic berth out of reach. "I would wake up crying, and it was just horrifying," he said. The reality Friday was nothing like that. A spotless performance set a U.S. record with 99.86 points in his final nationals before retiring. "I wouldnt say it was a dream, because I was very in it," Abbott said. "I was very focused and very aware of what I was doing the entire program. I think thats why it was as good as it was." The three-time U.S. champ leads Richard Dornbush by 7.82 points heading into Sundays free skate. "Honestly, I have much more confidence in the long program than I do in the short program," Abbott said. The only time he came close to falling was when he nearly tumbled during his celebration afterward. The three jumps were perfect, his footwork exuberant. Hes dazzled like this before at U.S. Championships, but there have been few of these moments since his last title two years ago. Abbott often struggled as he overhauled his training program. "When things didnt work at competition, I believed in what weve done," he said. "And I just kept plugging at it, and it paid off tonight." Usually he bubbles with energy in the lead-up to nationals, his favourite event. The 28-year-old Abbott felt strangely nonchalant this year until the day before he headed to Boston. "I just realized that I was leaving and this was the last one," Abbott said. "I had this flood of emotion and excitement and fear and dread and passion and everything. Since Ive been here, its been really joyous." World champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White felt the same way earlier Friday in their short dance. The 2010 Olympic silver medallists are well on their way to a sixth straight U.S. title. Skating to selections from "My Fair Lady," Davis and White broke their own record with 80.69 points to build more than a seven-point lead on Madison Chock and Evan Bates. Siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani were third; three teams will go to Sochi. The free dance is Saturday. "This is the first time we felt comfortable enough to let things happen naturally," Davis said. "This is the fifth time were competing the program. With this program, its all about being comfortable enough to let things happen naturally, and when you reach a point where it can be just fun, thats what we really enjoy about skating." Abbott has enjoyed U.S. Championships far more than major international competitions in his career. He beat Evan Lysacek at the 2010 nationals before the last Olympics, only to finish ninth when his countryman captured gold in Vancouver. Abbott held the previous U.S. mark for a short program, 90.23 at the 2012 nationals. Dornbush, 22, has struggled since coming in second in 2011 and didnt even compete in the Grand Prix series this season. Only the second skater of the night, he was spectacular from the get-go Friday, landing a perfect quad and triple axel that had the fans entranced. By the time his 2 1/2-minute program was done, the crowd was on its feet, Dornbush was on his knees throwing an imaginary punch through the air and celebrating a career best. "Im not sure any thoughts went through my head," he said. "I was pretty excited, pretty pumped." Jason Brown was in third after a smokin skate to Princes "The Question of U." He even wore a black and purple costume embellished with rhinestones around his neck and down his back and side, plus Princes "love symbol" on the back. He nailed a triple axel and a triple flip-triple toe loop with gorgeous flow to open the program. Brown, who just turned 19, added a lutz with both hands above his head, footwork that meshed with every element and with every nuance of the music, and speedy spins that had the crowd roaring. "I think the whole season has pushed every guy to just really push themselves to their limits because anything is possible at this event," he said. Defending champion Max Aaron was fourth, one of five skaters to land a clean quad. The U.S. will send two men to Sochi. Abbott knows exactly what stands between him and a shot at Olympic redemption: eight jumping passes, 13 jumps, three spins and two series of footwork. "That was just fun," he said. "I love to figure skate. When you hit all the technical stuff and you do all the athletic part, thats when you can really enjoy the performance." ___ AP Sports Writers Barry Wilner and Jimmy Golen contributed to this report. JMon Moore Jersey . 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Instead, do feel free to complain if the roof is closed for any reason other than to allow a game to be played.Im unsure if I have ever seen the week before the Super Bowl generate more interest than perhaps the actual preparation week will itself. The whole deflation of New England Patriots footballs is like a murder mystery without the violence or significance. On one side, this is a ridiculous issue. The amount of air taken out of the football by whatever the means to be determined has, in my mind, no effect on winning and losing or in the execution of precision play. Perhaps, it is a comfort zone thing for a quarterback, a feel of confidence which begins with a grip and ends with a completion...but no one can say it determines outcome. On the other side, in talking to quarterbacks, just about every one has said that the deflation helps and enhances a better feel for the ball. Though not one of them ever said it would assist them in on-field statistical performance, but just a better sensation or more stable sensation in handling the ball. And on this other side is a true argument as to ethical standing of fair play. Everybody has to play by the same rules, same standards, same limitations and extremes. I dont think we will ever find the truth in all of us this. The Patriots will deny any knowledge, not just in the present, but in the complete future . As time goes on, what would be gratifying to be conclusive, I would assess, will remain speculative - a mystery. The only way it will not is if someone, almost anyone, says, I did it. And if that person were to come forward, he would be taking a huge employment risk and, logic says, character assassination . Everything diffuses over time from the most tragic to the most comical to the most entertaining . Time takes the intensity out of it all. Did the powerful trio of Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady know about or conspire to create this minimal advantagge? Nobody can definitively say no, but the mental picture looks absurd.dddddddddddd I cant see Robert Kraft in the equipment room in the dead of night adjusting football air pressure with a pin . I cant see Belichick walking into the equipment room hiding in a corner, taking out a pin, testing a football 12 times and, with precision, eliminating one pound of pressure. And the most unusual visual image would be Tom Brady himself, before his sixth Super Bowl appearance, a quarterback of the highest confidence and ability, hiding and peering around a corner, making sure no one sees, as he doctors a football. How unprofessionally immature would that look? Did the ball boy do it, the equipment manager or anybody with 24-hour access to the interior of the Patriots locker room? That, to me, is more plausible, but why? An order from above? Initiation on their own part - a casual conversation overheard and an action taken to assist? I doubt that. Why risk the possible consequences and probable paper trail? That really leaves only weather and the effects of weather. But then why only 12 of 13 and why only on one sideline? The only way we as football fans will ever know is if someone is fearful and that fear translates into accountability. But the onslaught of condemnation would be a price that creates the silence alternative much more attractive. So then, who knows and it is just about time to ask who cares? Yet, this will not go away until an answer, hopefully a believable answer, will be found . Silence can be the most aggravating response to a given question and I anticipate all Patriots players to be silent. But the Seattle Seahawks, they will have fun with it and so will all in attendance in the fans, media and entertainers. And maybe that is the best response if an answer is never found . 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