`super Conference' Needs Adjustments To Serve All Teams 
When The Wyoming Valley West Swimming Team Destroys Scranton Prep, There Is No 
Blood In The Water.

4th Suit Filed Against City's `impact' Team

Sunday, January 18, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 11 





Women's figure skating lacks pizzazz: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Where have you gone, Tonya Harding? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; have a terrible confession. No, make that two terrible confessionsFirst of
all, I admit that I watched the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships in
Philadelphia on ABC. All two hours, to be exact. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Their performances were nearly flawless. Arguably, they delivered the
greatest single night of figure skating in the history of the "sport." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And there of course lies the problem. Figure skating isn't a real sport,
not by any stretch of the imagination. It's merely an exhibition, albeit a
very skilled exhibition. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Figure skating also lacks drama. I'm sorry, but wondering whether Lipinski
could overcome her fourth-place finish in last Thursday's short program and
earn a Top 3 finish to land on the Olympic team isn't my idea of drama. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And that brings me to my second confession: I miss Tonya Harding. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I know that's not a cool thing. Fans have never forgiven Harding for her
involvement in the Nancy Kerrigan knee-bashing incident prior to the 1994
Winter Olympics. She was banned from amateur competition. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But you gotta admit that for better or worse, the Harding-Kerrigan soap
opera gave figure skating some pizzazz. And it made for great TV ratings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It also provided something that Saturday's championships lacked- a villain. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By comparison, Kwan, Lipinski and Bobek are so squeaky clean that they're
downright boring. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The U.S. skaters will be profiled so many times on television in th

Women's Figure Skating Lacks Pizzazz: Where Have You Gone, Tonya Harding? Have A Terrible Confession. No, Make That Two Terrible Confessions.