Fire on ice

PREVIEW
Smucker's Stars on Ice
When, where: Tonight at 7:30 at the Spokane Arena.
Tickets: $55, $42 and $32, through TicketsWest (325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com)

With a name like Smucker's, it doesn't sound like it would be ripe with scandal and intrigue.

But the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour, which comes to the Spokane Arena tonight, will feature four skaters who grabbed headlines during last year's Olympics in Salt Lake City -- and not just for their triple salchows.

Among the tour's cast of skaters are Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze and Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. The two pairs teams became entwined in controversy in the midst of an Olympic judging scandal.

All four were eventually awarded gold medals after it was discovered that one of the judges committed misconduct.

Six-time U.S. National Champion Todd Eldredge appears in a Stars on Ice piece with the four skaters. During it, he reads a poem about skating's ups and downs that talks "a little about the judging thing from last year," Eldredge said in a recent phone interview.

"Everybody has trouble in their career at some point," he said. "You just kind of deal with it as it comes along."

In his many years as a skater, Eldredge has dealt with his share of highs and lows. He made it to the Olympics three times, but never to the podium.

"I've had a great career outside of the Olympics," he said.

But enough with troubles.

The Smucker's Stars on Ice tour, now in its 17th year, is mostly about fun.

The show will feature a wide range of music, from Elvis to Ozzy Osbourne to Bon Jovi to Tony Bennett.

And it boasts plenty of star power on the ice to go with those tunes.

Among the performers are 2002 Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin, two-time Olympic champion Katarina Witt and four-time world champion Kurt Browning.

Two-time Olympic champion Ekaterina Gordeeva will make guest appearances at selected performances, including tonight's show.

Also on the bill are pairs skaters Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman and Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur.

"The cast is awesome," Eldredge said. "It's one of the deepest and most exciting casts they've had in many, many years."

This is Eldredge's first full year on the Stars on Ice tour, after joining it midway following the 2002 Olympics. He has a six-year contract with Stars on Ice.

"It's a whole lot more relaxing" than competition, he said. "You throw the rules out the window. You go out there and skate to what you want."

Eldredge may have more time for fun in the future. He just decided to turn pro, which means he can no longer compete in amateur contests.