Yamaguchi

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Call them Murderers' Row on skates.Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding constitute the most powerful spinning and jumping lineup in the history of ladies figure skating.They bring artistry and athletic charisma to a sport built on song and dance.Last night, they might not have been perfect, but they dominated the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.Yamaguchi, 20, of Fremont, Calif., won her first U.S. title by landing seven triple jumps and earning one perfect score of 6.0 for artistic elements.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tonya Harding was knocked down, but she wasn't knocked out of contention at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships last night.The defending ladies' champion, bothered by a strained tendon in her landing foot, missed her signature triple axel jump, and tumbled into third place in the original program.But it was only a minor setback for Harding, who can retain her title by winning today's free skate final, worth 67 percent of the overall score.Besides, Harding's goal at these championships was simply to finish in the top three and land a spot at next month's Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France.

TCBird breaks his silence on JohnsonLarry Bird finally broke his silence about his friend and rival Magic Johnson. And, at the same time, Bird opened up about the emotions he felt when his father died. "These have been the two toughest days for me since my father died. I've been sort of out of it. I can't believe what happened. He's a friend and he's a competitor," Bird said Friday night about Johnson, who announced Thursday he was retiring because he had contracted the virus that causes AIDS.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It will take less than seven minutes.Fifteen years of Kristi Yamaguchi's life, innumerable falls, dozens of routines, a gazillion sequins, and in 6 minutes, 40 seconds next February, all that time and effort will be put to the test.A new Ice Queen will be crowned at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Will it be Yamaguchi?Perhaps, but whatever Yamaguchi makes of her few Olympic minutes -- a 2-minute, 40-second original program the first evening and a 4-minute program two days later -- will shape the rest of her life in ways both profound and petty.

Discriminating burglarSaints quarterback Bobby Hebert was booed by hometown fans who were upset about his yearlong holdout last season, even when he led New Orleans to an opening-day victory.They are not the only ones upset about him.About $12,000 worth of shirts, jerseys and shoes were taken in a burglary this week at Gordon Dumont's athletic shoe store. Left behind were a rack of black jerseys emblazoned with gold No. 3s.Hebert wears No. 3."The only thing we know about the criminal is he's not a Bobby Hebert fan," Dumont said.

FREMONT, Calif. -- "Hi there!" chirps Kristi Yamaguchi, flashing her lip-gloss-pink smile at the next in line.At 20, she is perhaps the best female figure skater in the world, and hundreds of fans have come to see her at Macy's.She has been at it for an hour, perched behind a makeshift desk. In front of the black bustier and miniskirt display in the juniors department, she is writing words of inspiration and drawing a loopy flower after each signature she writes on the glossy 8-by-10s of her winning performance at the World Figure Skating Championships last March.

Going into the World Figure Skating Championships in Munich six weeks ago, Kristi Yamaguchi was just "hoping for a medal," any medal.What the diminutive (4 feet 11, 82 pounds) dynamo came away with was the gold medal, her first major championship, leading the United States to the first-ever sweep of the medals in the women's event at the prestigious international competition."It's just starting to sink in," said Yamaguchi, who will appear at the Baltimore Arena Friday as part of the 1991 Tour of World Figure Skating Champions.