Fox Puts Rivals On The Spot

When Tonya Harding walked into the room, Nancy Kerrigan averted her eyes as a queasy look came over her. It was the first time the skaters had been together since the Lillehammer Games.

Fox interviewer James Brown stood up to greet Harding, who then asked Kerrigan how she was. Kerrigan, looking in her lap instead of at the woman whose ex-husband conspired to break her kneecap, quietly replied “fine” and the interview began.

The meeting is the highlight of a two-hour retrospective Fox will air on Kerrigan and Harding, who became household names in 1994 after the attack, which was intended to help Harding’s Olympic chances. Fox’s “Breaking the Ice: The Women of ‘94 Revisited” airs today at 8 p.m. PST.

In the four years since Lillehammer, Harding and Kerrigan had not crossed paths until Fox put up the money for the brief reunion, at least $100,000 for each skater.

NHL players could be banned

Despite widespread warnings, the chief Olympic drug tester said today he expects some hockey players to be banned from the Winter Games for using Sudafed, an over-the-counter cold medication.

“Sudafed is not an accepted substance,” said Dr. Makoto Ueki, director of the International Olympic Committee drug testing laboratory. “It is prohibited, even for colds. It cannot be used.”

Ueki said he expects the medication to show up in testing of some NHL players in the Olympics.

Sports Illustrated reported last week that 20 percent of NHL players routinely use the medication to increase their energy. Sudafed contains pseudoephedrine, which in large enough amounts acts as a stimulant. It is banned by the IOC but not by the NHL.

“I think the Sudafed issue will be a problem for this tournament,” Ueki said as he guided journalists through the testing laboratory. “This is not new. It has been banned previously.”

Flaim to carry flag

Four-time Olympic speedskater Eric Flaim, who turns 31 next month, was selected to carry the American flag at the head of the U.S. delegation in the opening ceremony Friday night.

The choice was made in a Thursday vote of team captains of the U.S. squad, the largest at the Olympics with some 240 athletes, coaches and officials.