Nancy Kerrigan

The TV Repairman:For more than a week we've known it as Northern Lights Hall, an arena CBS announcer Verne Lundquist affectionately describes as "looking like a hot tub."It's way too small, containing few more than 6,000 seats, which gives indication of just where figure skating stands on the likability list of Laplanders.But what have they got against money? A conservative estimate is they could have accommodated thousands upon thousands of people for the short (technical) program of the ladies tonight (CBS, 8 p.m.)

I forgave Tonya when she did not tell authorities what she knew about the attack on Nancy Kerrigan.I forgave Tonya when she was accused by her ex-husband of plotting the attack.I forgave Tonya when she brandished a baseball bat at the driver of a car that did not turn right on a red light.I forgave Tonya for being found with a 9mm handgun and a shotgun after a gunshot brought police to her apartment.I forgave Tonya when she dropped out of school in the 10th grade.I even forgave Tonya for smoking.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- As a tax-paying, child-rearing believer in truth, justice and the American way, I hope Tonya Harding plants her nose in the ice tonight.I hope she takes a banana-peel pratfall and winds up chewing Zamboni slush. It's only right.But as a member of that noble (if slightly soiled) institution known as the sporting press, I hope she whacks a homer. No pun intended.I hope she nails every jump, finishes with a graceful flourish and sends the Olympic movement into spasm over the prospect of having to award the gold medal in women's figure skating to a scheming little weasel who lied to the FBI.What can I tell you?

Some troublemaker asked the other day if I was sick of hearing about Tonya and Nancy, and of course I said no."Are you a communist?" I asked her.She seemed startled by this."

HAMAR, Norway -- She talked of lace outfits with Nancy Kerrigan and a hair pin with Tonya Harding.She gave her feuding friends plenty of room to maneuver around the ice.And after two of the most-watched practices in Winter Olympic history, Lily Lyoonjung Lee of South Korea found herself providing an analysis of a skating soap opera.As reporters shouted questions to her, Lee yelled up a runway to Kerrigan, "Nancy, Nancy, look what is happening to me."Until this week, Lee, born and raised in Alexandria, Va., was simply known as the women's champion representing her parents' country, South Korea.

Where are the animal rights people? -- Visible agitation among moose and reindeer population around Lillehammer now thought to be caused by high-pitched whiny voice of CBS skiing analyst Christin Cooper.Thanks, but no thanks -- A secret video of Charles Kuralt sunbathing in the nude has reportedly been offered to "Hard Copy." After viewing it, shaken producers of the tabloid show agreed the tape is too alarming to air so soon after the dinner hour.Round one -- After Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan greeted each other at the athlete's village, a 6-inch sewing needle was discovered embedded below Ms. Kerrigan's shoulder blade.

Fans who wanted to see a showdown between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding within the larger competition of Olympic ladies figure skating are obliged. The gods of modern Olympus are letting the skater skate and be judged on skating merit. Those who wanted Ms. Harding banned are disappointed. The controversy distracted from the glory earned by U.S. skier Tommy Moe and the pathos of U.S. speed skater Dan Jansen.The U.S. Olympic Committee backed down from regulating ethics under a menacing lawsuit.

COLUMNIST Susan Reimer says her sports writer husband doesn't consider figure skating a sport because "people watching decide who wins."I agree, though this creates a problem with what many sports writers consider the No. 1 guys' sport. Boxing. A referee and judges often have to tell the rest of us who won a prize fight.In the good old days, they didn't have decisions. Boxers fought till one or the other couldn't fight anymore. That was a sport. Now, actually, when you think about it, that's the way Tonya Harding skates.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- It is out of control.There are four books published, with one on the way.There are payoffs from "Inside Edition" and "Hard Copy," dueling interviews with Connie Chung and Diane Sawyer, live appearances on Court TV and a movie deal with Disney.And you thought the Bobbitts were at the cutting edge of tabloid-mania?"Skategate" is big.It's Michael Jackson, Joey Buttafuoco and the Menendez brothers wrapped into one.It has everything, including sex, lies and videotape.Oh, and there are also FBI transcripts.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway -- They had such a nice, little sport.Pre-dawn practices in frigid, out-of-the-way arenas where the audience consists of kids and a Zamboni driver. Glittering, once-a-year competitions in midsized cities. And finally, once every four years, the chance to shine at the Winter Olympics.But those in American figure skating never have gone through a month like this, from the knee-bashing of Nancy Kerrigan to the potential Olympic expulsion of her rival, Tonya Harding.The story has grown so strange and frenzied that Brian Boitano's coach, back home in the San Francisco Bay area, barely could leave home without hearing about it."