Yamaguchi

I know I should hate myself for this, but I am having a hard time feeling sorry for Kristi Yamaguchi.Just in case you missed the Winter Olympics, Yamaguchi won the gold medal for the United States in women's figure skating.And, if you like figure skating, she was terrific.Recently, however, a number of stories have appeared in print and on network television claiming that because Yamaguchi is a Japanese-American, she won't get the big endorsements that turn athletes into multimillionaires.

NFLers rules Diane Pucin Los Angeles Times Apolo Anton Ohno dazzled with his footwork. Shawn Johnson dazzled with her determination and her leg strength. Kristi Yamaguchi was elegant, Helio Castroneves was smooth, but the best athlete to win "Dancing With the Stars" has to be one of the NFLers. Emmitt Smith and Hines Ward play a sport where you have to be strong and fast, use your hands and your feet. So which one is it, Smith or Ward? Who should win the Super Bowl Mirror Ball, if we were to give one for the best of the athlete winners?

Colorado@Dallas 8 p.m. [ESPN2] It's the Crush vs. the Desperadoes. Need Mr. Flip say more? He certainly hopes not, because he doesn't know anything else about this game. Reality TV Dancing with the Stars 8 p.m. [chs. 2, 7] Heavy sports involvement here: the Miami Dolphins' Jason Taylor, former tennis star Monica Seles and ex-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi. Oh, and Shannon Elizabeth. If you saw American Pie, you know she's a real sport.

ALBERTVILLE, France -- The U.S. women are expected to win two medals in the Olympic figure-skating competition, but they will have to do it without any help from the American on the nine-judge panel.There isn't one.Based on past performances, 10 countries were placed in a pool, and nine judges were selected. By the luck of the draw -- or lack of luck -- U.S. judge Margaret Wier of Park City, Utah, was eliminated.Wier said she did not know about her exclusion until she read it in a newspaper.

Baltimore will certainly have something to root for on the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars. " We'd already heard Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones -- known for a little end zone shuffle -- will be strutting his stuff, partnering with Karina Smirnoff. And joining him will be a woman who should have a serious edge -- Olympic skating champion Dorothy Hamill, who lives in Baltimore. Hamill will be dancing with Tristan MacManus. The Baltimore kids will be joining a cast including Wynonna Judd, Kellie Pickler and Aly Raisman.

ALBERTVILLE, France -- The pendulum is swinging.Once, ladies' figure skating was a soap opera of a sport, more art than action, more emotion than energy.But not anymore.Now, it's a triple-jump montage, a sport filled with athletes who lace up their skates as if they're putting on Air Jordans.If you can't do six triples and smile, there is no need to apply for the gold medal at the Winter Olympics.Tonight, the present -- and the future -- will be on display in the ladies' singles final.In one corner will be the artists like Kristi Yamaguchi and Nancy Kerrigan of the United States.

Dr. Paul M. Zoll, 87, a heart specialist whose research led to the pacemaker and the defibrillator devices that have helped millions of patients, died in Newton, Mass., Tuesday of respiratory arrest.Norman Reyes, 76, a Filipino-American radio broadcaster who was the voice of the resistance on the Bataan peninsula during the World War II battle there, died Thursday in San Pablo, Philippines. Reyes had been bedridden for several months after a stroke.Bartolome Carrasco, 80, a retired Roman Catholic archbishop who was one of Mexico's most dedicated champions of the poor and of Indian rights, died in Mexico City Thursday of liver complications related to diabetes.

Tokyo -- Michitaka Yamaguchi, Tokyo branch manager for the Baltimore-based RTKL Associates Inc. architects, was sipping coffee and leafing through the Japanese-language construction-trade newspapers one July morning when he spotted the ad.He read only the address before rushing downtown to place RTKL's name atop a list that Ministry of Construction officials were just posting. That fast response, the symbolism of getting RTKL's name down first, a documented history of intense effort and perhaps a hundred other small factors stretched over six years -- all paid off for RTKL last week.

Thousands of years ago, the Chinese invented the philosophy of Feng Shui to figure out furniture arrangements at home that would give them positive energy flow and harmony in their lives. Today, Feng Shui is enjoying increasing popularity in America -- but not just as a decorating tool. In the grand American tradition of repackaging an age-old practice for marketing to the masses, image consultants have begun using the ancient philosophy to determine what clothes a person should wear to bring them luck and happiness.

Hello, darlings. We're back in the ballroom, this time with a bunch of new dancers. That All-Star season had its moments, but was kind of a dud overall. Lordie. Someone's given Barbara Barrie's hair to Kellie Pickler. (Relevant fact about Barrie: She's 81-years-old.) I get that Kellie shaved her head in solidarity with a friend being treated for cancer. But that doesn't answer why the hairstylist tonight hates her. This new Lindsay pro (who I have a vague recollection of from "So You Think You Can Dance")