Sorry, Sasha

It was thrilling tonight to see Olympic Figure Skating silver medalist Sasha Cohen give it a shot for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Team. It would have really been something for her to be a three-peat Olympian after skating at Salt Lake in 2002 and Torino in 2006.

Watching Cohen skate this evening -- during the AT&T 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash. -- brought back memories of last March, when Cohen was skating on tour in Atlanta and she took time for a blogger interview rink side at Philips Arena (was it really only 10 months ago when it was uncertain whether she'd be competitively skating now?).

Sorry to see Cohen won't be in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic figure skating as a returning Olympian, but I have a feeling she'll be spotted around town doing paid appearances to adoring fans.

Best of luck to the U.S. Figure Skaters who apparently will be coming to Vancouver, including Rachel Flatt and Mirai Nagasu (is it just me, or is it too weird to see another U.S. ladies figure skater, Nagasu, head to a Canada Olympiad with music from "Carmen" in her main routine? Not another Debi Thomas, please -- if Nagasu is to skate to Bizet, she better keep her Witts about her).

With a name like Smucker's ...

... it had to be good.

And it was, er, they were -- the interviews with 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 1998 Olympic gold medalist Ilia Kulik, that is.

Both skaters are now touring with Smucker's Stars On Ice, which stopped by Atlanta's Philips Arena on Wednesday (the tour continues with several dates through April 11).

I'll let the videos and Cohen/Kulik speak for themselves -- both Olympians were helpful and direct with their answers on camera, and cordial off-camera. The biggest surprise: Cohen apparently is an AC/DC fan, given her T-shirt and lip-synching to a couple of the band's tunes during a pre-event warm-up session.

The main question for Sasha -- what's up regarding Vancouver 2010? For Kulik: His involvement with Sochi and the 2014 Winter Games preparation to date, as well as future plans for getting in the mix for Russia's first Winter Olympics.

Many thanks to the tour and venue publicists for their help and time to accomodate the interview requests.

And if you were one to "Elf Yourself" a few holiday seasons back, you might enjoy transforming your headshot photos and friends into Stars On Ice skaters.

Snow, Skating and Stars in the ATL!

March is off to a great start.

In Atlanta it snowed a few inches today -- big, fat snow -- which is timely considering the upcoming arrival of the Smucker's Stars On Ice tour at Philips Arena.

For those who are fans of top-level figure skating, the tour is an opportunity to see some of the best known winter athletes, and it should be a fun event (tickets are available).

According to the Philips Arena calendar, Britney Spears will be in the venue the following night, no doubt to break the ice (again) with Southern fans.

If things work out as planned, by week's end I'll be able to post here a few interviews with the Stars On Ice skaters. With thanks to the media relations team for the tour, it will be fun to learn from Sasha Cohen and Ilia Kulik about their past Olympic experiences and future plans. Here's hoping the questions I submitted make the cut.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, there is a big-time Hollywood film production in town this week as well. Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray and others are shooting "Get Low" around Dallas, Ga., with a call for extras for a sunrise scene (not sure I'll make it there, but if I do, it would ROCK to speak with any of the three stars!).

Since Bill Murray is a Chicago native, would love to get his take on the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid. Landing this interview would indeed be a "Cinderella Story."