The iceman goeth; This is Scott Hamilton's last year with the Stars on Ice tour

Copyright 2001 Spokane Spokesman-Review

Scott Hamilton is an institution. He's a throwback to the days when the Olympics were an amateur competition, the days before quad jumps, when figure skating was a sport, not an entertainment industry.

Hamilton's been there through the evolution of contemporary figure skating, and after this season, he says he's ready to do something different.

He may still lace up his skates from time to time. But after 15 years full-time with the Stars on Ice tour, he's calling that a career. So, when Hamilton skates off the ice after tonight's show at the Spokane Arena, that's probably it for him in this town.

Prior to the opening of this year's Stars on Ice tour in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November, Hamilton announced that he'll retire from the tour after the show in Portland, Maine, on April 7. Not retiring, period; just from this tour. He makes that clear at every opportunity.

"I still want to skate and perform, but being on the road for four months straight doesn't make any sense for me now," Hamilton said during a phone interview from his Los Angeles home. "I'd like to start a family and settle into a normal lifestyle and I can't do that until I make a decision to stop making a big tour.

"The tour is a huge time commitment every year and I've been having to focus on the tour only and I can't do that any more. This is simply me saying, 'OK, it's time to open myself up for other things.' "

Hamilton is confident the show that he started 15 years ago will go on without him, because the lineup is loaded with talented skaters.

This year popular skaters such as Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and four-time World Champion Kurt Browning return to perform. The lineup also includes Olympic gold medalists Tara Lipinski and Russian Ilia Kulik.

Pairs champions Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, World Champion Yuka Sato, National Dance champions Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur, British champ Steven Cousins and two- time Olympic champion Ekaterina Gordeeva will also perform. Olympic silver medalist Denis Petrov will skate without his partner, Elena Bechke.

The script includes a number of pieces that are farewell tributes to Hamilton.

"I know this show is strong with or without me," he said. "It will be just fine when I move on. I might guest in the future but there are many cities I will never perform in again. I'm trying to savor each show and really sit down and take it all in."

Hamilton had his moment in the prime-time spotlight in 1984, when it seemed as though figure skating was all about Scott Hamilton and no one else. That year he won the Olympics and the World, U.S. National and Eastern championships. Then he turned pro and won the World Professional Championships. Since then, it's been a very long and distinguished career.

But one of his satisfactions is watching young skaters make the same amateur-to-pro transition he did.

"So much focus is put on competi-tion, but the competitive part of your career is a specific, exciting time," Hamilton said. "The professional part of your career is where things get personal. You're out there doing whatever you want to show yourself and develop in the ways you want.

"I've tried in the past to be a mentor," he said. "Everyone comes out of the Olympics with a swagger, a great phenom with self-esteem. They conquered the world and now all the worlds are different.

"I got a review that was just nasty the first year after the Olympics and this one was kind of right. Instead of being in a transitional phase between competition and pro, I went ultimate pro all the way. I needed to find my place."

He created that place when he put the first Stars on Ice tour together.

"I've left open some opportunities," Hamilton said. "I may guest with this tour in the future. I love the smaller, more intimate buildings. The nice thing for all of us is to have the opportunity this year on the tour to express gratitude. It's a nice way for me to say 'thank you.' "

And, come April, what then for the popular Hamilton?

"I'm not retiring," he said, again. "I have dreams I want to realize later on. For now, though, the space shuttle program is full and Hollywood is not ringing my phone."

So, for now, there isn't a plan. "I'm thinking about the next step," Hamilton said. "But figuring out what that is, or whether I'm having rational thoughts . . .

"I'm 42 and I'm still backflipping and tripling. It's important for me not to go out on tour for five months. It's time to check off the rest of my wish list."

Two sidebars appeared with the story:

1. Target Stars on Ice

When, where: Tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Spokane Arena

Tickets: $ 55, $ 42 and $ 32, through G&B (325-SEAT, 1-800-325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com)

2. Scott Hamilton at-a-glance

* Six weeks after his birth on Aug. 28, 1958, Hamilton was adopted by Ernest and Dorothy Hamilton, both professors at Bowling Green State University.

* At about age 2, Hamilton contracted a mysterious illness and was given six months to live. As part of his treatment at Boston's Children's Hospital, he began ice skating. A year after he joined a hockey team, his illness disappeared.

* He quit competitive figure skating in 1976 because of financial difficulties and enrolled at Bowling Green. An anonymous couple volunteered to sponsor his skating. In 1980 he won third in national competition and fifth at the Olympics.

* In 1981 Hamilton won the World Championship.

* In 1984, he won Olympic Gold in Sarajevo, turned pro and joined the Ice Capades for two years.

* In 1990 he was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

* In 1997, Hamilton battled testicular cancer, detailed in a CBS special, "Scott Hamilton: Back on the Ice." His autobiography, "Landing It," was published in 1999.

GRAPHIC: 2 Photos;

1. The Target Stars on Ice start skating tonight at 7:30 at the Spokane Arena.;