TV Talk

With figure skating heating up at the Olympics this week, we
checked in with NBC analyst Scott Hamilton, the 1984 men's gold
medalist.

SI: One of your nicknames is Skate God. Did you get that moniker
for your on-ice or off-ice prowess?

Hamilton: On the ice.

SI: Who's the sexier skating duo: Torvill and Dean or Gretzky and
Messier?

Hamilton: I'll take Torvill and Dean.

SI: Rumor has it that every Olympian fell in love with Katarina
Witt at the 1984 Games. Are you on that list?

Hamilton: I told everyone in 1984 that 16 will get you 20.

SI: Have you ever skated to Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby?

Hamilton: Only in the privacy of my home.

SI: Will you be able to correctly pronounce Irina Slutskaya and
Elena Berezhnaya?

Hamilton: They're nothing compared with Anton Sikharulidze.

SI: Doesn't Lutz sound too close to yutz?

Hamilton: Only in some temples.

SI: Brian Boitano has been lampooned on South Park. Do you feel
sorry for him?

Hamilton: I'm jealous. They've made Brian a cult figure for a new
generation.

SI: You're an avid golfer. Did you ever hit a long drive and
scream, "I am Tiger Woods"?

Hamilton: More times than I can count.

SI: Do you think Tiger Woods has ever skated and yelled, "I am
Scott Hamilton"?

Hamilton: I think he's getting closer to doing it.

SI: If you were making a movie starring an action hero, would you
want a lead character named Dick Button?

Hamilton: Absolutely.

SI: How does it feel to have kicked cancer's butt?

Hamilton: It was a pretty good fight, but it was well worth
winning.

SI: Who plays Scott Hamilton in The Scott Hamilton Story?

Hamilton: Brad Pitt.

SI: Do you miss Jeff Gillooly?

Hamilton: Only with my car.

--Richard Deitsch

COLOR PHOTO: MIREK TOWSKI/DMI