Opening of Sports Museum of America

On May 6, 2008, the Sports Museum of America (SmA) opened in lower Manhattan with great fanfare. SmA partnered with more than 50 single sport Halls of Fame and other athletic organizations to showcase treasured memorabilia and exhibits and to tell the stories of our sports heroes through interactive exhibits and videos. Partners include the National Basketball Hall of Fame, NASCAR, the United States Tennis Association, USA Track & Field, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the United States Golf Association, USA Hockey and of course, the World Figure Skating Museum & Hall of Fame. In addition to hosting the first women's sports hall of fame, SmA is also the new home of the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center and the legendary Heisman Trophy. Founded by Philip Schwalb and Sameer Ahuja, SmA is the U.S.'s first museum of its kind to bring together over 25 different sports under one roof.

I attended both the opening ceremony and the evening gala and what a thrill it was to see our sports heroes from all disciplines gathered together! The opening ceremony started off with a welcome by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The emcee for the event was none other than Jim Craig, goalie for the United States in the Miracle on Ice, when the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the team from the Soviet Union. (Remember the line "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" It came from sportcaster Al Michaels calling the game.) Jim introduced Eli Manning, Rick Barry, Bonnie Blair, Dick Button, Bud Collins, Bob Cousy, Tony Dorsett, Walt Frazier, Camille Duvall-Hero, Ron Harper, Bruce Jenner, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Pat LaFontaine, Patrick McEnroe, Carl Lewis, Charles Smith, John Starks, and many more figures who've made significant contributions to their respective sports.

Inside SmA, visitors are greeted with the first gallery entitled "Dreaming Big," which shows videos and photographs of athletes, such as Magic Johnson, Venus Williams, and Michelle Kwan, in their youth. There is also an immersion theater that wraps around the room where you can see gymnast Kerri Strug's famous vault from the 1996 Olympic Summer Games and Hank Aaron's 715th home run, among others, in a very high tech environment. Visitors are also treated to lots and lots of treasured memorabilia and artifacts, such as Jackie Robinson's cap, and the U.S.A. flag that Jim Craig wrapped around him after his team defeated the Soviet Union.   

The figure skating section includes a nice tribute to 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, great video of Michelle Kwan, and displays of Kristi Yamaguchi's skating dress at the 1992 Winter Olympics where she won gold, Sasha Cohen's skates from the 2006 Winter Olympics, and Dick Button's figure skating jacket. Hockey great Pat LaFontaine also said some nice words about figure skating when I spoke with him. Overall, they did a great job for the figure skating fan, and I also used the opportunity to roam around and learn about fishing, softball and NASCAR!

I'll be back with some great footage from the opening night gala, which was attended by sports and nonsports celebrities. For all you Oksana Baiul fans, she promised to speak to me first at the press line, because as she puts it, "You're a figure skater, you're my people."

Sports Museum of America
26 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
(212) 747-0900

Admission prices (hold onto your hats, this is not cheap)
Adults (15-59): $27
Seniors (60+) and students: $24
Children (4-14): $20
Children under 4: FREE

Dorothy Hamill to host golf tourney to fight breast cancer

If you've sometimes wondered what skaters do during the summertime, here's a great example of how Olympic champion Dorothy Hamill (see below right) is keeping busy. If you recall, in January 2008, we were so saddened to hear Dorothy's announcement that she was being treated for breast cancer at The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She missed part of Broadway on Ice, but came back after treatment to complete the tour. I imagine that she's still undergoing treatment and involved with many organizations to help raise awareness on the importance of early detection.

On Monday, June 16, Dorothy will be the honorary chairperson for the "Women Fore Women" golf tournament at The Golf Club at Oxford Greens, in Connecticut. The tournament is sponsored by the Saint Mary's Hospital Foundation and will raise money to provide free mammograms for women in the Greater Waterbury area who cannot afford to have this critical screening to detect the early signs of breast cancer. The cost is $150 per golfer and this amount will provide two women in the Greater Waterbury community with free screening mammograms. The fee also includes lunch and a cocktail reception with Dorothy. Dorothy will also greet players in the afternoon.

For more information, or to register for the tournament, please call the Saint Mary’s Hospital Foundation at (203) 709-3761 or visit www.stmh.org/golf.

Clip of the week - Carolina Kostner

I did a "Catching up with..." piece on Lisa Ervin recently. Lisa was a star in the early nineties and is now a skating coach and ISU technical specialist and judge. She mentioned during our conversation how impressed she was with Italy's Carolina Kostner, whom she judged at the recent European Championships. That got me to thinking that I have not watched enough of Carolina Kostner and I really should. Thank you YouTube!

In addition to being the 2007 and 2008 European champion, Carolina is also the 2008 World silver medalist. Below is her short program at the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships where she showcases her amazing speed and grace on the ice. I love her opening jump -- her trademark triple flip/triple toe executed just perfectly. She also wore a very pretty and distinctive kind of unitard/catsuit for her short program, which I swear, my girlfriend wore the same thing to a club.

It just gets stranger

Prosecutors in Orange County, California, recently dropped charges against James R. Halstead (see bottom right), accused of slipping Olympic ice dancer Oksana "Pasha" Grishuk (see right) a date-rape drug at a hotel bar lounge on April 12. The criminal case against Halstead was dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence, and Grishuk's attorney, noted victims' rights attorney/media hound Gloria Allred, stated that her client is "very disappointed" in this decision. Allred further stated that, "I hope that this decision by the D.A. will not deter other women from contacting law enforcement if they believe that someone has attempted to victimize them by placing a drug in their drink." (read LA Times article here)

Halstead claims that this is a media stunt by a spurned woman and that he and Grishuk were romantically involved for over three years. She was apparently upset that he was breaking up with her and not considering marrying her while he was going through a divorce. Grishuk denies that they had anything but a business relationship involving a clothing and vitamin line. And further, Grishuk denies that she herself put the date-rape drug in her own drink when Halstead left to use the restroom for a few minutes at the lounge. Halstead, who is 61-years-old, issued a statement explaining "his side" and also apologized to his wife and three sons for his behavior, which he described as "probably the worst case of midlife crisis in recent U.S. history." Grishuk is 36-years-old and has a five-year-old daughter from a prior relationship. She has not decided whether to pursue this matter further.

I don't know what to believe after reading all this. Grishuk was an amazing ice dancer, winning two Olympic gold medals (1994 & 1998) with partner Evgeny Platov. But she has been known to act in poor judgment and I think the skating world's view of her is mixed. Halstead is no angel himself -- in the early 90s, he was put on probation for investor fraud. Incidentally, in case anyone can assist, I just wanted clarification on something: Is having an affair when you're 61 called a "midlife crisis?" And also, doesn't Grishuk above resemble a young Diane Sawyer? I really think this is a case for Judge Judy to say "Baloney!" to one or both parties.

Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club: Cricket, and Skating, and Curling, Oh My!

The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club has it roots from a coin toss. On June 18, 1956, J.L. Bonus, second vice president of the Toronto Cricket Club, and F.J. Boland, president of the Toronto Skating Club, decided that whoever won the coin toss would decide which sport would come first in the name of this newly formed organization. Boland called out "heads" and the rest is history. On April 10, 1957, a third club, curling, was brought into the merger.

Today, the skating club of this tri-sport organization boasts membership in excess of five hundred members, comprised of a diverse mix of competitive, recreational, adult, and power skaters. (see above, club member and current World champion Jeffrey Buttle, fourth from left, with club members) The club also has 18 coaches on their coaching staff,  including eight-time (1981-1988) Canadian champion, two-time (1984 & 1988) Olympic silver medalist, and 1987 World champion, Brian Orser. Also part of the staff is ice dancer Tracy Wilson, who with partner Rob McCall, won the Canadian national championships seven times (1982-1988), were three-time bronze medalists at the World Championships and won the bronze medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics. What a reason to train there if you're undecided about your discipline! "Let's see, should I be coached by Brian Orser, or Tracy Wilson? How about both?" They were initially brought in to help revive interest in the club and boy, did they ever! In addition, noted choreographer David Wilson is also part of the coaching staff. (see below, Jeffrey Buttle, left, and his choreographer, David Wilson)

The club's interim skating coordinator, Patti Cooke, recently told me that the club also attracts attention as a world-class training facility. It is not uncommon to see skaters from Australia, Poland, Korea, Mexico, Israel, and Germany, to name a few, come to the facility to train. Recently, the Canadian senior pairs team of Rachel Kirkland and Eric Radford were at the club working with their German coach Ingo Steuer. Patti also added that Brian Orser, as well as being the main coach for South Korean phenom Yu-Na Kim (see right, Brian and Yu-Na), also teaches an adult class once a week and is involved with CanSkate. For those unfamiliar, CanSkate is the Canadian learn-to-skate program that covers basic skills such as balance, gliding and edges.

One of the goals for the club, which is being spearheaded by Tracy Wilson, is to create a program for those young skaters, ages 15 and up, which will maintain their interest in figure skating beyond testing. Whether these kids will become involved with teaching or judging, Tracy's vision is to create a program from the ground up which will offer many options for the skaters once they've decided that they want to explore other areas. What a great idea...I don't think enough young adults are exposed to the other avenues of skating, such as judging, or coaching, early enough. Regardless of whether they do decide to pursue it, the exposure to the different sides is invaluable to their growth in the sport.

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