On His Terms

TORONTO - Kurt Browning knows now he could have conquered all in this new war of the worlds.

For the first time, the World Pro was opened up to skaters in the eligible ranks. And it was Russia's Alexei Yagudin who spoiled Browning's quest for a fourth consecutive crown. After an unsteady fourth-place technical program, the 32-year-old Canadian won the artistic program using a wildly entertaining clown theme.

"I was up with someone (Yagudin) who was loaded up with all the artillery, but all I needed was a couple of clean skates and I would have won - that was the frustrating part," said Browning. "Since I won the long, it was a harder loss to take because I realize exactly where I lost it."

The first few months of 1999 have been relatively quiet for the four-time World men's champion - in largeg part because he's taken the year off from the grueling U.S. Discover Stars on Ice tour. That meant, perhaps above all, a chance to spend a relaxing Christmas with his family in Caroline, Alberta.

"It was very weird, but in a wonderful way," said Browning. "I always had to leave the night after Christmas, and to me that really taints Christmas, when you have to leave so soon after it. You have to take care of a lot of things because you're going to be gone for months, so there's no relaxing; there's tension in the house. It's hard to be chipper about Christmas in that situation."

On Browning's schedule: headlining the Canadian Stars On Ice tour, which begins in April. Until then, he's planning to spend most of his time at home. Not that he hasn't had lots of offers, especially since word got out that he wouldn't be touring from January through March.

"As soon as people realized I was available, the phone started ringing off the hook with so many wild, weird, and wacky offers," he said. "But I said no to just about everything. That would have defeated the purpose of not doing Stars on Ice."