U.S. LADIES FIGURE TO SPARKLE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

One week of salchows, axels, flying camels, death spirals and flutzes at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and what have we learned?

That we've seen more stuffed, yellow car logos thrown on the ice than we need to see in the next several lifetimes. Makes you want to buy Japanese.

That, much to my cable-holdout, 86-year-old Aunt Grace's chagrin, there is something out there called the Family Channel. She did enjoy watching the Lakers' slugfest, though.

That skaters can spin in circles 15 times in about five heartbeats and somehow not get dizzy, yet we go twice around our desk chair and fall down. I said the desk chair.

That if you are just about to make a triple jump as your music hits a crescendo, and the music suddenly stops and you fall, you get a do-over. Amber Corwin did Saturday and then nailed the last 1:15 of her long routine. We could play golf.

And that the women are going to be sending one super team to Salt Lake City.

The ladies, as usual, were the story this week at Staples Center. They were the stars of the show, brought the most interesting storylines, turned in the most electrifying programs and are the U.S.' most bankable medal winners next month.

World champion Michelle Kwan skated beautifully, looking almost the mature woman hanging with the girls. She was graceful, under control, in command.

Her showdown with Russia's Irina Slutskaya figures to be an Olympic highlight, although Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes also are capable of medaling.

``Maybe we might sweep it, who knows?'' said Peggy Fleming, the former Olympic gold medal winner and current ABC commentator. ``It's not impossible.

``Our ladies' field is extremely strong and they've got that balance about what our sport really stands for. The technical elements, the artistry, the whole package.''

This ``Fellowship of the Rings'' won't come easily. The U.S. women never have had an Olympic medal sweep (the men managed it in '56). The last Olympics at Nagano was just the second time they'd even gone gold-silver (Tara Lipinski, Kwan).

At the world championships, the U.S. women have swept the medals once. That was back in '91, before Tonya Harding's buddies tried to rearrange Nancy Kerrigan's knee.

That, of course, actually led to the peak of interest in women's figure skating. Now we're reduced to Kwan and the feisty Cohen almost bumping into each other during warm-ups as our excuse for skating controversy. Harding might have at least thrown an elbow, or had her people do it.

``I love competing,'' Cohen said. ``I think I'm pretty tough, because I'm always trying to do my best and will always be trying for everything.''

Cohen is hoping to become the first woman in history to perform a quad jump during the Olympics. The little thing thinks big.

The men are all capable of medaling but also look plainly a notch below Russians Alexei Yagudin and Evgeny Plushenko.

``They're joint favorites,'' U.S. champ Todd Eldredge said. ``Granted, they have won most of the competitions they've entered in the last couple of years. They have a little edge.

``But on any given day, there are any number of guys - approximately seven - who can go out there and deliver the goods to win it.''

The men almost certainly need a quad to win Olympic gold, and Eldredge did not hit one in either of his programs this week. Tim Goebel does have a quad but always gets knocked for his presentation.

``Todd Eldredge is very elegant, strong skater,'' Fleming said. ``He has the big picture of what skating is about. He doesn't have the quad quite secure enough yet. He's up against really tough competition with the Russians. They're absolutely phenomenal.

``Tim's working on the artistry. I don't know if it's quite there yet. His quads are beautifully executed, but he doesn't have that balance.''

If we could just combine the two, Eldredge-Goebel would be a medal lock.

U.S. pairs champs Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman have a chance to medal (they've been placing this season), but dancers Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev are a long shot.

It'll be interesting in Utah - let's hope without yellow car logos - with the women again carrying the U.S. banner.

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Michelle Kwan (with her father/coach Danny Kwan) will help make the U.S. women a formidable team in the Winter Olympics next month.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer