PAIR EXTRAORDINAIRE WITH OLYMPIC-SIZE ICE CAPADES BEHIND THEM, CANADIAN SKATERS ARE MAKING IT BIG ON THE ROAD.

Byline: Jerry Rice  Staff Writer

IT HAS BEEN quite a ride for figure skaters David Pelletier and Jamie Sale.

Olympic gold. Worldwide fame. And a featured role in the 17th Smucker's Stars on Ice tour, which comes to three Southland venues this weekend starting Friday night at Staples Center.

``It's uneasing, but we're enjoying every minute of it,'' says Sale, just after having her hair done for a guest appearance last week on ``The Wayne Brady Show.'' ``Obviously, some things we didn't expect. Being Canadian, we're a little more low profile.''

That's tough to pull off when you're part of one of the biggest stories of last year. So big that Sports Illustrated ranked it No. 3 in its annual review, well ahead of the improbable World Series win by the Anaheim Angels (No. 10) and the Los Angeles Lakers taking their third straight NBA title (No. 16).

For those who avoided any news of the Winter Olympics last February in Salt Lake City, here's what happened:

Russians Anton Sikharulidze and Elena Berezhnaya entered the pairs competition as gold medal favorites over a field that included Pelletier and Sale. But the Russians did not skate their best when it counted - turning in a long program that had as many as six flaws, including Sikharulidze's stumble on a side-by-side double axel.

The Canadians, meanwhile, turned in a more polished performance that included extra technical flourishes on the death spirals and lifts.

Yet, when the scores came in, it was the Russians who came out on top, giving way to boos from 16,000 witnesses at the Salt Lake Ice Center, cries of fraud from television commentators and an awkward awards presentation with Pelletier and Sale wearing bewildered looks along with their silver medals.

In subsequent days, reports surfaced of vote-swapping and score-fixing among the judges. Investigations revealed possible involvement by an alleged Russian mobster, who last week was ordered extradited to the United States.

To put an end to a figure skating brouhaha - certainly the biggest since the assault on Nancy Kerrigan in 1994 - the International Skating Union and International Olympic Committee awarded a second set of gold medals to Pelletier and Sale, and allowed Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya to keep theirs.

``It was an unfortunate situation that everybody was put through,'' Sale says.

Through it all, the Canadians were awarded high marks for their sportsmanship. At the time Pelletier even quipped, ``We do hope we can get the bronze, too, so we can get the entire collection.''

Scott Hamilton, a former Olympic gold medalist and a figure skating commentator for NBC, believes all four skaters turned in golden performances after they stepped off the ice. ``Jamie and David and Anton and Elena handled themselves brilliantly,'' he says. ``They were put in a very difficult situation.''

If that was difficult, the situation all four find themselves in with the Stars on Ice tour could be considered interesting. Pelletier and Sale skate side by side with Sikharulidze and Berezhnaya in the show.

``It's a great number,'' says Pelletier of the segment, which includes fellow skater Todd Eldredge reciting a poem.

``It's about your journey and what it is for an athlete from the day you start skating until the day you're done and what you end up with,'' Pelletier adds. ``Who can judge us? Nobody can judge anybody in the world. We all have our paths to follow and we all make our own bed in the morning - and I'm not talking about skating. Some people might think it's about the controversy, but it's not at all.''

The journey Pelletier and Sale are taking together started in 1998 when they decided to pair up on the ice after disappointing results competing with other partners. The two clicked and were undefeated at the international level from November 2000 through last year's Winter Olympics.

Apparently, there's some chemistry off the ice, too. Pelletier divorced his wife two years ago and moved in with Sale. But don't ask them for details.

``It's something we keep to ourselves,'' Sale says. ``There have been lots of rumors because we were on 'Entertainment Tonight' and 'Access Hollywood.' It wasn't even about skating; it was about being a couple.''

Back on the ice, every day is a new experience for Pelletier and Sale since turning professional (forgoing a return to the Olympics) and committing to a four-year stint with Stars on Ice. Instead of gearing up for big amateur competitions, they're on a 61-city tour with a cast of Olympic, world and national champions that includes Kurt Browning, Jenni Meno, Todd Sand, Katarina Witt and Eldredge.

``When you turn pro, it's a two-year transition figuring out who you are,'' says Hamilton, who after taking last year off is returning to Stars in a part-time role, which includes the three Southland shows.

``It took you a long time to understand the rules and learn how to win on the international, world and Olympic scene,'' he says. ``When you turn professional, you're in a different environment, you're in a different format, and you've got to get your professional legs under you to figure out what your significance and what your impact is going to be in that world. And it's not about wearing a medal at the end of every year.''

``Obviously, there is a transition to be made,'' admits Pelletier, 28, who points out positives about this part of his and Sale's careers. ``Competition is performance with a lot of stress. Now we get to perform more often with less stress. It's good. Very good.''

Hamilton believes they're handling this part of their careers as, well, professionals.

``They're coming into this world thoroughly focused and dedicated. It's wonderful to see,'' he says. ``The energy they bring to Stars has been great. It's been totally about the show, and totally about the group, and wanting to bring something special to the night.''

Looking ahead, they're leaving all of their options open. The ``Wayne Brady'' hairdresser says Sale is a natural for television - something the 25-year-old is open to pursuing. Coaching is also an option.

``We're going to tour for four years and then we'll see,'' Pelletier says. ``We may want to keep skating or we'll say thank you very much and then move on to another part of our lives.''

SMUCKER'S STARS ON ICE

Where: Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles; Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim; San Diego Sports Arena, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego.

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Staples; 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Arrowhead Pond; 6 p.m. Sunday at San Diego Sports Arena.

Tickets: $36 to $62 at Staples and Arrowhead Pond; $37 to $57 at San Diego Sports Arena.

Information: Ticketmaster at [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com; www.starsonice.com.

HAMILTON puts retirement on ice

Two years removed from a Stars on Ice ``farewell'' tour, Scott Hamilton is back on the blades.

``The fact that it was presented as a farewell kind of made me uncomfortable,'' says the 44-year-old Olympic champion and Stars on Ice co-founder.

Actually, he was careful not to say he was retiring during that 2000-01 tour because he wanted to leave the door open to a part-time return. This year, Hamilton is performing in 16 of the 61 cities, including this weekend's shows at Staples Center, Arrowhead Pond and the San Diego Sports Arena.

``In any press thing I said, 'I just can't imagine doing a full tour anymore,' '' he says.

In Hamilton's time away from Stars on Ice, his attention has been focused elsewhere. He has been developing a detailed treatment of a theater-type show to be staged on the ice.

``We have a theatrical booking (company) that has budgeted it and we're just waiting to hear back to see if they're willing to take the risk as far as the financial end of it,'' he says.

``We're hoping to put it in a place for a few months to develop it more and make sure it's properly rehearsed so when we take it on the road ... we're up to speed and the show can really break ground and deliver a style of skating that people really haven't seen before.''

Hamilton also has been developing a relationship with Tracie Robinson, a 33-year-old former nutritionist whom he married Dec. 14. Nineteen guests (including skaters Steven Cousins and Kristi Yamaguchi) were on hand for the vows, which were exchanged at a private Malibu estate.

``It was just the people closest to us - the very, very closest to us,'' Hamilton says. ``We're going to throw a party at the end of this month, a reception for all the people we couldn't include in the wedding.''

But first comes some Stars on Ice appearances. While Hamilton was always open to the idea of a limited return, it became a little more urgent once show organizers approached him after injuries forced Cousins and Tara Lipinski out of the lineup. At the time, there also was uncertainty over the participation of Alexei Yagudin, who already had dropped out of Skate America in October because of severe hip pain. However, the Russian Olympic gold medalist recovered quickly enough to join the tour.

``The producers asked if I could consider developing a guest spot and help them out during this injury time, and also help the new cast get into the show with the philosophies of the tour,'' Hamilton says. ``It kind of fit into my philosophy of two years ago when I said I didn't want to do a full tour anymore, but I wasn't going to retire.''

-Jerry Rice

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) After the GOLD RUSH

Olympic skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier put Salt Lake behind them for Stars on Ice tour

(2) Jamie Sale and David Pelletier perform to the music from ``Love Story'' during the pairs free skate at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Barton Silverman/The New York Times

(3) Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, middle, receive their gold medals six days after the pairs competition. With them are Russian gold medalists Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, right.

(4) Olympic champion figure skater Scott Hamilton is rejoining Stars on Ice on a part-time basis during the current tour.

Box:

HAMILTON puts retirement on ice (see text)