Maxim Staviski, ice dancing champion, will serve jail time

The Associated Press reports that the Bulgarian court has sentenced two-time World ice dancing champion Maxim Staviski to 2 1/2 years in prison for a fatal drunk driving accident. In August 2007, Staviski crashed his car which killed a 23-year-old man and left an 18-year-old woman in a coma. This case has been ongoing, with Staviski at one time getting a suspended sentence and the family of the victims appealing the decision as well as the monetary damages awarded by the court. It's all been very sad, and in the meantime, the woman is still in a coma and Staviski and his ice dancing partner and wife Albena Denkova have raised money for her ongoing medical care. Perhaps this is the final chapter in this story. (See Associated Press article here.)

Fashion trends and bling for the coming season

• Danny O'Shea heads to Italy with Paul Wylie's blessing. [PioneerLocal.com]

• Oksana "Pasha" Grishuk continues her case against alleged date rape drugger James R. Halstead. [Orange Country Register]

• Simply Mirai-culous -- Who is this about I wonder? [GoldenSkate]

• Travel tips for the competitive skating fan. [Axels, Loops and Spins]

• Pairs teams Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig and Caydee Denney/Jeremy Barrett set sights for 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. [BayNews9]

• Judging in synchronized swimming needs to follow figure skating's lead. [Vancouver Sun]

• Figure skating camp: What exactly goes on there? [Ice Mom's Adventures in Figure Skating]

• Majestic Norway spruces (see right) take cover! Rockefeller Rink in NYC opens for the season on October 11. [TheRink]

• New York Fashion Week is September 5-12, but who needs Bryant Park? Del Arbour talks skating fashion trends and bling for the coming season. [icenetwork]

Oksana Baiul channels Marilyn Monroe on LateNet with Ray Ellin

Last Wednesday I attended LateNet with Ray Ellin, held at the Gotham Comedy Club in NYC. Ray's guests were 1994 Olympic champion in figure skating Oksana Baiul, Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy, and comedian Kyle Grooms. Stay tuned tomorrow for a full video report from the show.

Oksana, looking very Marilyn Monroe-like, spoke about her experiences winning the Olympics in Lillehammer, her subsequent move to the U.S., the very first word she learned in English (can't print it here), being on the Late Show with David Letterman, her three-and-a-half-month rehabilitation stay for drug and alcohol abuse, rehearsing for Cold As Ice (a Broadway musical where she will play a Russian skater, gasp!), her attempts at finding true love (she's been engaged four times), and she's quite the storyteller! (I know, I was surprised too.) For example, she explained that after she won the gold medal, there was a delay in the medal ceremony with Nancy Kerrigan (silver medalist) and others looking irritated that they were waiting for Oksana to appear. Someone spread a rumor that she was crying uncontrollably in the men's locker room (happy tears) and that she couldn't pull herself together fast enough. On LateNet, Oksana set the record straight and told the audience that she was told to wait in the locker room because the Ukrainian team leader had to rush to the Olympic village to get a tape of the Ukrainian national anthem. Apparently, no one expected that she had a chance in hell of winning so no one thought to bring the music. You have to hear her tell it, trust me.

Whatever preconceptions the audience had of Oksana, she definitely won them over with her honesty, humor (at times raunchy) and endearing command of the English language. Ray was also an excellent host who brought out the different sides to her personality that we don't normally get to see.

Leonard Nimoy was equally entertaining and I learned a lot about the alleged feud between Nimoy and William Shatner, the Star Trek prequel movie that he's in, a possible appearance on Mission Impossible IV, directing Three Men and a Baby, meeting future president John F. Kennedy in a cab, his short singing career, and his new book of photography called The Full Body Project. Nimoy also told a funny story about the time he was admonished by a Japanese translator that the character of Mr. Spock is very much like a samurai, and thus, a Japanese actor should play Mr. Spock. How do you respond to something like that? You'll have to watch the show to find out. And comedian Kyle Grooms had the audience rolling with his take on the presidential election, at times playing Barack Obama.

Portions of the show are currently available for viewing on DailyComedy.com. (photos below, backstage with Oksana and makeup lady, Leonard Nimoy wih Ray Ellin, and Kyle Grooms with Ray)

The state of figure skating

In the July/August issue of Professional Skater magazine, Executive Director of the Professional Skaters Association (PSA) Jimmie Santee (see right) wrote an editorial about the state of figure skating; specifically, peoples' perception of our sport. Whether it's the Nancy and Tonya saga, or the 2002 Winter Olympics judging scandal, he believed that the integrity of the sport becomes compromised when judges, coaches and skaters are constantly the target of jokes, whether they be from talk show hosts, bloggers or columnists. Now that is not to say that being the butt of these jokes is totally unwarranted -- at times, we ask for it. Jimmie also pointed out that recent news have cast a somber note over the sport, including the alleged rape of a young skater by her coach in Japan, Pasha Grishuk's date rape case, Christopher Bowman's death, and Maxim Staviski's sentence for drunk driving, which put a boy in a coma. Jimmie emphasized that we owe it to ourselves and to our predecessors who worked so hard to bring legitimacy to our sport, to act morally and ethically, and to forgo the idea that all press is good press. Below is the story that he ended with, which I thought was really great:

Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

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.