Boitano

Olympic gold medal skater Dorothy Hamill is being treated for breast cancer at Johns Hopkins' Kimmel Cancer Center. "I'm OK," Hamill said last night in a short telephone interview. "I'm still a little woozy. It's been kind of a hit in the head." Hamill, 51, had to leave the starring role in the 19-stop national touring company of Broadway on Ice, but she said she would like to rejoin the cast later this month. "I'll be up to normal things soon, but I've got to take it easy right now," she said.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Figure skating is undergoing a subtle shift -- a change that could bring aesthetic satisfaction to traditionalists.As the U.S. Figure Skating Championships begin in San Jose, Calif., look for a return to the artistry that characterized the sport for so long. Judges will still expect to see plenty of difficult triple jumps, but skaters this year will be expected to go beyond the pure athleticism of the recent past."This year they'll be looking for the all-around skater," said Carol Heiss Jenkins, five-time women's world champion (1956-60)

Figure skating in the Winter Olympics was one of the most popular events, receiving prime-time television coverage and propelling CBS to top ratings over the other networks. However, some of the world's best figure skaters, including Brian Boitano, Katarina Witt and Scott Hamilton, could not compete because Olympic skating still isn't open to professionals who receive money from events not sanctioned by the International Skating Union. In contrast, professional players in basketball, tennis and hockey can be involved in their sports in the games.

DETROIT -- Who's No. 2?That is the question, and rallying cry, of the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, today through Saturday at Joe Louis Arena.Brian Boitano, making his return to Olympic-caliber competition, and Nancy Kerrigan, a reigning American champion, are among the favorites expected to glide through the nationals on the way to next month's Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.But the suspense isn't who will win in the United States -- it is who will earn the other Olympic qualifying spots.

With "Seinfeld" in reruns, how about giving "Murder One" a try tonight? It's a crime the network honchos schedule these two shows opposite each other, but tonight, the choice should be clear."

In addition, descriptions of tonight's "Pretender" episodes (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11), as well as the special "Santa vs. the Snowman" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2), were mistakenly included in yesterday's Today's TV column.The Sun regrets the error.It's all Christmas tonight in prime time on CBS.After "Frosty the Snowman" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) makes his annual appearance (Jackie Vernon, Billy De Wolfe and Jimmy Durante provide the vocal talent), he takes that part about being back again next year very seriously: the 1995 sequel "Frosty Returns" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m.)

Brian Boitano is coming back. So is Katarina Witt.And 75 percent of the U.S. team may be composed of alumni from the Olympic Class of '92.Welcome to the Winter Olympics -- the sequel.In just 361 days, 1,800 of the world's best athletes on ice and snow will reassemble at the Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, Feb. 12 to 27, 1994.The International Olympic Committee, in a move to unclutter its calendar and enhance marketing opportunities, has split the Summer and Winter Games and placed them on a new, alternate, two-year track.

It took aggressive, 5-foot-5 Baltimore welterweight Chuck Sturm only two rounds last night to cut lanky Jeff Passero of Glen Burnie down to size in the scheduled eight-round main event at Martin's West before a sellout crowd of 2,000.A straight right hand by Sturm all but closed Passero's eye in the first round. Passero (20-11-1) was groping around the ring in the second round while Sturm (3l-4-1) continued to pummel him at will.Ring physician Marilyn Boitano examined Passero after the second round and stopped it despite the fighter's protests to go "one more round."

LANDOVER -- Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean took ice dancing from Fred-and-Ginger ballroom-boring to a new level when they won the Olympic gold medal in 1984 with "Bolero."It was not so much a higher level of skill as it was a new inner level.The British couple abandoned the traditional dancers' embrace for an intricate weaving of arms and legs that only hinted at the fabric of human responses that they sought to convey.dTC Those complexities -- both physical and emotional -- will be on display tomorrow night at the Capital Centre at 7 p.m. when Torvill and Dean, whose names are legendary even outside the skating community, return to head-to-head competition for the first time since 1984 in the NutraSweet World Professional Figure Skating Championships.

It's fitting that "Wide World of Sports," which kicks off its 35th season Saturday (Channel 2, 4:30 p.m.) and is television's longest-running anthology series, presents a new host, Robin Roberts, who embodies the kind of variety "Wide World" is known for."Because I've done so many different things in 'SportsCenter' and in my career . . . they [the producers] can throw anything at me and I'll be able to handle it," said Roberts. "In all the conversations I've had with [producer] Curt [Gowdy Jr.]